s outlive those who are Incapable.

The circumstances connected with the office of the valuable and
accomplished Mandarin of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements at Si-chow
have, in recent times, been of anything but a prepossessing order.
Owing to the very inadequate methods adopted by those who earn a
livelihood by conveying necessities from the more enlightened
portions of the Empire to that place, it so came about that for a
period of five days the Yamen was entirely unsupplied with the
fins of sharks or even with goats' eyes. To add to the polished
Mandarin's distress of mind the barbarous and slow-witted rebels
who infest those parts took this opportunity to destroy the town
and most of its inhabitants, the matter coming about as follows:

The feeble and commonplace person named Ling who commands the
bowmen had but recently been elevated to that distinguished
position from a menial and degraded occupation (for which, indeed,
his stunted intellect more aptly fitted him); and being in
consequence very greatly puffed out in self-gratification, he
became an easy prey to the cunning of the rebels, and allowed
himself to be beguiled into a trap, paying for this contemptible
stupidity with his life. The town of Si-chow was then attacked,
and being in this manner left defenceless through the weakness--or
treachery--of the person Ling, who had contrived to encompass the
entire destruction of his unyielding company, it fell after a
determined and irreproachable resistance; the Mandarin Li Keen
being told, as, covered with the blood of the foemen, he was
dragged away from the thickest part of the unequal conflict by his
followers, that he was the last person to leave the town. On his
way to Peking with news of this valiant defence, the Mandarin was
joined by the Chief of Bowmen, who had understood and avoided the
very obvious snare into which the stagnant-minded Commander had
led his followers, in spite of disinterested advice to the
contrary. For this intelligent perception, and for general
nobility of conduct when in battle, the versatile Chief of Bowmen
is by this written paper strongly recommended to the dignity of
receiving the small metal Embellishment of Valour.

It has been suggested to the Mandarin Li Keen that the bestowal of
the Crystal Button would only be a fit and graceful reward for his
indefatigable efforts to uphold the dignity of the sub