The advent of a bona Jide Embassy from the Celestial Empire to the Terrestrial United Kingdom, has not created that sensation which might have been expected, or probably was expected by His Excellency Kwoh Ta-jen and suite, after the flattering receptions they met with at Hongkong, Singapore, and Gibraltar on their voyage from Shanghai., You have no doubt taken note of the accounts of their landing at is port. Being resident here for some time, of course I witnessed the disembarka-
reporters present, from the ion papers, tion/and ascertaining that there were no Thont a latter to' the Standard, which you may have seen, together with some three columns of matter connected with the Ambassador and his
concerning the Legation in Portland Place, Since then, brit notices have appeared and the movements of the Envoy and his suite, in all of which Dr.
English Secretary and cicerone holds a prominent place. The first public appearance of any of the suite was, as you will have' seen, in a Police Court. This was certainly far from being a "Celestial" sphere in its surroundings, and the case of a drunken Irishman assaulting a ' Heathen Chines" was anything but heavenly in its aspect, while the swearing of the complainant by ing a saucer had little of the psychological philosophy in it. However the punishment of the assailant has given satisfaction to the Embassy and gave a warning to rowdies in the metropolis that John Chinaman is not to be assaulted or annoyed in the streets with impunity, ports and leading articles on this affair One would have supposed that the re would have ceased with mere written notices, but The Illustrated Police News has im: Proved the occasion, by giving 'a correct likeness of this notability." The portrait of the Envoy is good and evidently copied from one that appeared in The Graphic, but its surroundings on the first page are anything from being of a dignified character, as they are pictures of a a. a, gi " Prize Fighting "in Worcestershire," and other disgraceful scones suitable to the morbid taste of that and similar newspapers. Of course the Iustrated London ives a portrait of both the Envoys, with a brief notice of their antecedents; also a sketch of their appearance in the House of Lords at the opening of Parliament, which is not exactly correct in likeness or costume.
The appearance of the Embassy at Her Majesty's Levée and Drawing Room receptions among the Diplomatic Corps has pled its members in their proper sphere suf as there is a Lady Kwoh," it is noticeable that she has not been presented at Court; while the Japanese r not only presented his wife, but the Princess Nabeshima—wife of the ex-Daimio of Hizen, who was himself among the presentations yesterday at Buckingham Palace. No doubt the absence of the Chinese Amassador's lady on that occasion is excused from the etiquette of her country preventing her appearance in public assemblies, but Ihave some suspicion that the "golden lilies" form the impediment. Whether she will be privately introduced to the Queen remains to be seen, but no announcement of such an event has been given; or that she will attend the entertainments of her husband's colleagues in the diplomatic body or the receptions at the Foreign Official residence.
You will have: noted the arrival of Colonel Sonia. pier ay i departure again for ler the highest auspices as Governor-General of the Soudan and the recently annexed Equatorial province. We who know his antecedents in China, may not be surprised at this distinguished advance in his career, but the public generally were astonished at the brilliant leading articles of The Times, showing that he was "a born leader of men," and qualified above all others to govern the province of Bulgaria. But these flattering notices had not sufficient influence to divert Gordon's plans for completing the subjugation of the slave hunters in Africa, 30 he left England quietly, and assumed his command of the Khedivé's new expedition. I may mention that I had the pleasure of communicating with him in this town on his arrival, as Southampton is his home. On asking if he had any intention of publishing an account of his expedition to Central Africa, he replied in the negative, adding that anything in detail would be simply a repetition of Spoke's and Baker's narratives. However, T understand that an outline of his journey Magazine; se, myself, giving and maps wall appear in the phical sketch of the anna lora local poblonnicn compiled from data in my possession.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.