in case the pear fails to ripen. But
in the humble opinion of Ch'i-chao, the troops are now all fully
inspired with a sense of obedience to the Chief Executive. Who then
can claim the right to drag our Great President into unrighteousness
for the sake of vanity and vainglory? Who will dare disobey the
behests of the Great President if he should elect to open his heart
and follow the path of honour and unbroken vows? If to-day, as Head
of the nation, he is powerless to silence the riotous clamour of the
soldiery as happened at Chen-chiao in ancient time, then be sure in
the capacity of an Emperor he will not be able to suppress an
outbreak of troops even as it happened once at Yuyang in the Tang
dynasty.[20] To give them the handle of the sword is simply courting
trouble for the future. But can we suspect the troops--so long
trained under the Great President--of such unworthy conduct? The
ancients say "However a thing is done, do not hurt the feelings of
those who love you, or let your enemy have a chance to rejoice."
Recently calamities in the forms of drought and flood have
repeatedly visited China; and the ancients warn us that in such ways
does Heaven manifest its Will regarding great movements in our
country. In addition to these we must remember the prevailing evils
of a corrupt officialdom, the incessant ravages of robbers, excesses
in punishment, the unusually heavy burdens of taxation, as well as
the irregularity of weather and rain, which all go to increase the
murmurs and complaints of the people. Internally, the rebels are
accumulating strength against an opportune time to rise; externally,
powerful neighbouring countries are waiting for an opportunity to
harass us. Why then should our Great President risk his precious
person and become a target of public criticism; or "abandon the rock
of peace in search of the tiger's tail"; or discourage the loyalty
of faithful ones and encourage the sinister ambitions of the
unscrupulous? Ch'i-chao sincerely hopes that the Great President
will devote himself to the establishment of a new era which shall be
an inspiration to heroism and thus escape the fate of those who are
stigmatized in our annals with the name of Traitor. He hopes that
the renown of the Great President will long be remembered in the
land of _Chung Hua_ (China) and he