so on.

Then come the verbal applications for special appointments, and the list of persons nominated on extraordinary temporary duty; for instance: "The Board of Revenue applies for a special auditor. His Majesty was pleased to nominate the Grand Secretary X." Or, "The War Office submits the propriety of appointing special examiners for the military status of competent armorer. His Majesty was pleased to name the Princes A. and B., the President C., and Messieurs D., E., and F. for this duty." Next follows a list of special audiences accorded; thus: "Special audiences granted to Li Hung Chang and to A., the ex-minister to Russia and Germany." Finally, the movements of the emperor are notified, just as with us; thus: "His Majesty proposes to pass through the A. gate at 8 A.M. to-morrow, proceed to the B. audience chamber, and formally sanct.on the documents awaiting submission there. After this the emperor will proceed by way of the C. court and the D. portal to the E. palace, and will there perform the appropriate rites for the day. His Majesty will present his respects to the dowager-empress on his way back, take a turn in the new sceam-launch, quit the Lily Pond, and regain his private apartments by way of the F. garden and G. gate."

The range of ground covered by the imperial decrees is of course very wide. Yet there is considerable sameness and similarity. I have read nearly all the imperial decrees published during the past twenty years, and I think I may safely say that out of a daily average of ten there is not one which is not worded in purely stereotyped fashion. The following are all routine decrees, varying only slightly according to special circumstances. In order to save space and avoid wearying the reader I have much curtailed them.

I. The worthy Viceroy X.Y.Z. of Sz Chwan began his career as an ordinary bachelor, gradually working his way through the various administrative ranks until he was entrusted with a province of his own. He had repeatedly solicited permission to retire, and both

our imperial mother and ourself had conferred presents of pills and ginseng upon him at various times. We now hear, alas! that he is no more. X.Y.Z.'s penalties during life are hereby cancelled. One thousand pounds are bestowed for funeral expenses, and the local officials will pay every respect to the coffin as it passes through their jurisdictions. Prince A. will meet the procession outside Peking, and spread a Tibetan quilt upon the remains. Let X.Y.Z.'s son B. become a junior president; his eldest grandson C. will be presented when he comes of age. In this way do we delight to honor an upright and loyal servant.

2. Let X. become viceroy of Sz Chwan. 3. Let Y. replace X. as governor of Ho Nan, proceeding direct to his post without seeking our further instructions. Until he arrives, let Z. the treasurer act as governor.

4. During the past ten years China and the foreigner have learnt to know each other better, yet there are still districts where Christian missionaries are viewed with hostility. The viceroys and governors of provinces should circulate copies of the treaties throughout all subordinate local offices, and see that prefects and magistrates carry out our imperial desire that in future distant men be treated with every kindness.

5. The Governor X. reports a number of incompetents. The Prefect A. is an opium sot and too fond of actors! the Magistrate B. is a fellow of low and mercenary spirit. Let each be reduced one grade. The Prefect C. is no fool. but he is getting old and feeble. Let him retire on his present rank. The Magistrate D. is simply an idiot. Let him take charge of the local education department instead.

6. The Governor A. reports the death of the Prefect of Canton. Let him select a successor from one of the available competent prefects in charge of any other town; let B. have the post thus vacated.

7. The remarks of the Censor X. upon the immortal tendencies of the age are not destitute of common sense. In

striving after virtue, we only follow the lead of our sacred ancestors of never-to-be-forgotten memory; still, it is possible that failure of our own may exercise a deleterious psychological effect upon the minds of men at large. In future let all viceroys and governors watch their own conduct more closely, with a view to propitiating Heaven's favor.

8. The Resident in Tibet reports that the soul of the defunct Dalai Lama has been found in the body of A., an infant of the peasant B. family. It must be remembered that, in consequence of an offence by C., his late Majesty commanded twenty-five years ago that no sculs should be found for three generations in the district of D. It is presumed that the resident has this command in his mind's eye, and that the B. family is untainted with local disability. If this be so, the finding of the soul is approved.

9. A man stopped our sedan-chair yesterday with a petition. Let him be handed over to the Board of Punishments whilst enquiry is made.

lu. We yesterday received the benign commands of our imperial mother the dowager to save our legs by riding in a litter instead of walking across the Lily Garden. Though we thought our body was fairly sound, still we must not forget our capacity as representative of all men under the sun. In future, at least when it is windy, let the litter be prepared.

11. Let A. be general at Foochow.

12. Eunuchs are at the best of times but the orts of men. Taking warning by the fate of the T'ang and Ming dynasties, we Manchus have never entrusted these menials with any important charges. The head eunuch A. appears to have used rude language to Li Hung Chang on the latter's declining to pay certain fees. Let him receive fifty blows with the stick, and let the iron tablet of rules suspended in the eunuch department be read out aloud to them all once a month.

13. The Viceroy of Hu Kwang reports the descent to the earth from the clouds of a green lizard, and the consequent

sudden stoppage of the floods in nine districts. We are infinitely touched by this gracious evidence of the gods' intervention. The Academy has been ordered to compose a suitable aphorism for engraving on a gorgeous tablet. The Viceroy will proceed in full uniform, followed by the whole official body, to hang this tablet in the Moth's Eyebrows Hall, in order to prove to the local deity that we are not indisposed to requite his services.

14. When the eclipse of the moon takes place to-morrow, let the proper authorities set up the usual howls, and save the moon in due legal form.

15. Let the X. murder case be handed to the Governor of Kwang Si, who will duly summon all parties and witnesses, examine the papers, and endeavor to get at the real truth. Let the appellant be sent back from Peking to be at once confronted with the appellee.

Specimens of imperial decrees and rescripts might be multiplied indefinitely, but the above are sufficient for illustration. Nos. 2, 3, 6, 11 occur almost daily, Nos. 5 and 15 at least once a week. The others occur at rare intervals. It rarely happens that a decree appears couched in entirely new style, or treating of quite a fresh subject.

The area covered by reports from the Provinces is just as extensive as that occupied by decrees and rescripts. As

a

are

rule, confidential memorials treated confidentially, but cccasionally they are published in all their baldness, and viceroys and governors indulge in very unconventional language about each other before the emperor. I remember in 1872-73 the Viceroy Liu K'un-yi (now at Nanking), when governor of Kiang Si, got into a mess with a local magnate then on a visit to Peking. The local magnate had written him private letters with a view to evading taxation on certain property. The governor, in contradicting the magnate's slanderous statements, said: "His motives must have been corrupt, for long before that I had half-a-dozen private letters from him on the subject from Peking." The emperor said: "How came you to let them run into the

half dozen? When he wrote the first time, you knew he had no right to do so. Why did you not report him? He says you were hoping to make better terms with him." The governor rejoined: "It is the custom for viceroys and governors to correspond with local men at Peking, and, though it may be wrong, I am not one of those who pretend to goodygoody perfection. I simply wished to oblige him as a local man; but when he asked me to let him off scot-free, I gave him a piece of my mind. Anyhow, no one can say I am corrupt in money matters; and even if I was such an idiot as to try and make terms, I am at least not such an idiot as to leave six letters on record, as he did." This viceroy was totally fearless, and I subsequently had very close relations with him. He has innumerable faults which a censor might fairly denounce, but he is so honest and courageous that the emperor cannot well forego his services.

Sometimes treasurers and judges, who as a rule only address the throne on taking up and abandoning office, and on imperial birthdays, may denounce their superiors, the viceroy or governor, This has happened several times at Canton; in one case they had the governor degraded for giving a feast during the time of imperial mourning; and when I was there in 1875, the Manchu viceroy, Yinghan, was summarily removed for encouraging gambling, on the application of the Chinese governor and Manchu general. Very few high officials can write their own memorials, or care to do so if they can. Yet they are held severely responsible for any slips in grammar, etiquette, or tact which their secretaries may make. Manchus always style themselves "slave," whilst Chinese use the word "subject;" for some unexplained reason certain Chinese military officers also use the word "slave." The highest provincial official is the Manchu general (where there is one); the next the viceroy, whether Manchu or Chinese; or, if no viceroy, the governor. Memorials are in most cases returned in original, with the original rescript endorsed thereon;

copies are made and kept at Peking, so that each side keeps the version it is responsible for, and tampering with documents is thus impossible.

Official despatches are conveyed through a service organized by the Board of War, and on arrival are placed in a locked box at the Transmission Office; a eunuch takes this box to the emperor, who alone possesses the key. The emperor sometimes endorses his minute at once, but usually he reserves his decision until the Cabinet officers appear, at 3 A.M. The empress, when regent, had a regular system of thumbnail rescripts; not because she could not write, but because this method saved trouble. The Inner Council then instantly copies the reports, whilst the "junior lords" of the Cabinet submit fair copies of the proposed decree. The Grand Secretariat is the depository for the copies of memorials and endorsements. Memorials are sent to Peking in flat wooden cases, fitted with spring locks, which can only be used once. A stock of them is periodically supplied by the Peking Board. The emperor returns the original box, with the original document simply wrapped up, not locked, in it, and all old boxes and envelopes have to be ultimately returned respectfully to Peking, duly numbered. The couriers travel with the despatches strapped to the back, and are escorted by the official who sends the documents as far as the third inner gate; the grand central portal is then thrown open, and off rides the courier, to a salute of six guns. Ordinary letters go easily "by post," i.e., by comfortable stages of thirty miles a day. The order to "go one hundred and thirty miles (or one hundred and fifty miles) a day" is merely formal, and simply means that all speed, without incurring extra expense, is to be made. On the rare occasions when two hundred miles a day are ordered, the same courier is expected to travel even six days without stopping more than a minute or two at a time; three such successful rides entitle him to the lowest official button. The most rapid journey ever ordered is two hundred

and sixty miles a day, and the man who accomplishes it for long distances is pensioned for life. (Chinese pensions, however, tend to exiguity.) When Canton was taken by our troops, the news reached Peking in six days, and the reconquest of Kashgaria in 1878, took very little more to report. On the great western highroad there are now 2,680 post-horses and 1,340 post-boys. Previous to the Yakoob Beg rebellion there were nearly three times these numbers, but the Kan Suh province has for long been somewhat disorganized.

To return to our reports. Each important document would be on the average quite as long as the whole of this paper, so that it will readily be seen that we cannot give full examples. As with the decrees, so with the reports,-many occur daily; others weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Daily ones-not daily from each province, but appearing almost every day-are such as propose promotions and transfers; report the rehearing of appeal cases; announce the despatch of funds to Peking; apply for the imperial approval in cases of marked filial piety, and so on. But their nature can be best judged by the light of the decrees and rescripts, of which instances have been given above.

E. H. PARKER.

P.S.-Since writing the above, I have received a Gazette containing a very curious memorial from the Dalai Lama of Tibet, an exalted ecclesiastical functionary analogous to the pope of Rome, except that the Manchu emperors. whilst recognizing his spiritual claims, insist upon his keeping to his proper temporal place.

Petty priest that I am, in obedience to the precedents followed by my predecessors, I descend from my mountain seat, and, having selected a propitious day, proceed to the Great Temple to hold a full choral service on all occasions upon whic the territories subject to Tibetan rule are found free from temporal afflictions, with a view to somewhat relieving my loyal cares by offering devout prayers for the peace and long life of his Majesty the Emperor, and the tranquillity of the world

in general. Thanks to the felicitous ægis of our Sacred Master, Tibetan territory is now free from any plague of sickness, and all remains at peace. Accordingly, my private vicar-general and preceptor has selected the 23rd of February, 1896, as an auspicious day upon which I, petty priest that I am, am to proceed in person, at the head of the whole ecclesiastical bodies of the three chief Lhasa temples, to the Great Metropolitan Temple, there to hold solemn service, and to offer up special prayers for our Sacred Master's long life and prosperity, and for the welfare of his people.

The above was received through K'weihwan, Manchu resident in Tibet. An imperial rescript was received as follows: "Let the department concerned take due note." By the emperor.

In view of the revolution now taking place in Tibet, the above official definition of the relations between the Buddhist pope and the emperor of China is interesting. E. H. P.

From The Fortnightly Review. "SIR GEORGE TRESSADY" AND THE

POLITICAL NOVEL.

Critics of authority assure us, and we all repeat after them, that the nineteenth century has found its distinctive and characteristic medium of expression in the novel. Politicians tell us, therein perhaps a little magnifying their office, but still with substantial truth, that, next to sport, the subject which enlists the greatest interest of the greatest number of Englishmen is that of politics. Yet of all forms of nineteenth-century fiction, the political novel is the most rarely attempted, and very much the most rarely attempted with success. It would almost seem as if this peculiar literary genre-popular and attractive to the literary artists as, for the reasons above set forth, we

should have supposed it to be had perished with its inventor. More than fifty years have passed since the young Benjamin Disraeli startled, half scandalized, and wholly delighted his then

contemporary world of letters and politics with the first of three novels, which a quarter of a century later he described as "forming a real trilogy," having for their motive the exhibition of (1), "the origin and character of our political parties;" (2), “their influence on the moral and physical condition of the people;" and (3), “the means by which that condition could be elevated and improved." The first member of this trilogy was "Coningsby;" the second, "Sybil;" the third "Tancred." All three, but the first two in particular, were brilliantly successful with at any rate the educated and informed public of their time; they were recognized, consciously or unconsciously, as new and happy experiments; they are admired, quoted, and even read to this day. Yet, though half a century has elapsed since their appearance, they still occupy a place by themselves in literature. They are not only the first in their class, but they are almost alone in it. Nec viget quicquam simile aut secundum. Even the claimants for a place in that class during the fifty years' interval may be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Of course, no formidable rival of Disraeli was to be reasonably expected. The peculiar combination of gifts and advantages to which his extraordinary success was due will possibly never repeat itself: assuredly it is not likely to recur except at cometary intervals. We may get again-perhaps unknown to ourselves we have already had again among us that happy compound of youth, wit, audacity, and impertinence which gives to his political novels their complex charm. But we can no more restore the political and social conditions under which he wrote than we could re-create his personality, and surround it with the peculiar environment amid which it developed. One of the wholly irreproducible conditions of the Thirties and Forties was that political, like fashionable, "society,"-and indeed the two terms were to a large extent convertible-was a numerically small body, with characteristics, like those of all exclusive coteries, proportionately

well marked; and that Disraeli had, for him, the great good fortune of not having been born into that society, and yet obtaining such early opportunities of observing it from within-if from only just within-its portals, as to enable his quick satiric observation to master its types, its language, and its ideas by the time, or more probably much before the time, when his brilliantly effective literary faculty had fully matured. His own account of those experiences, given with that mixture of pomp and naïveté which has so delightful a relish when you have once acquired the taste for it, is to be found in a well-known paper in the introduction to the "Hughenden" edition of his novels, published in 1870. "Born in a library," he wrote, "and trained from early childhood by learned men who did not share the passions and prejudices of our political and social life, I had imbibed on some subjects conclusions different from those which generally prevail, and especially with reference to the history of our own country." This, if I may be allowed to quote certain previously published remarks of my own on the same subject, "was no common advantage in a day when strait was the gate and narrow the way that led through public school and university to political distinction, but when those who took that route found that the high walls which on either hand kept out competitors proportionately obstructed their own view of the world in which they lived. It was from the heart of this outer world that the young Disraeli made a way for himself into the sacred avenue by dint of an inborn power which would not be denied recognition, and a native audacity which did not know the meaning of rebuff. Once there, he was able to survey the scene of petty strife and ignoble ambition around him with a critical detachment which was impossible to his rivals, and with larger, other eyes' than theirs.”

These advantages, however, of origin and training, and exceptional mode of entrance into public life, were not the only valuable superadditions to the "dæmonic" element in Disraeli's nature.