Althoush this is well worthy of being monmaental work," Tt anu-t t. Tike most' such tomes, though useful for reference, it docs not at the same time come under the head of light, and most attraeti From start to finish, we ated by the nar told. and the wonder Hinanner in which thrilling episodes cal facts, dug out fro} themselves from lone forgotten and obtained from personal reco Leon dinal'y wrought: up into the volume Mr. Davidson has new 1 to the reading publ Our author, however, is by no means unknown, for, as one of the intrepid ex-blorers who accompanied Lieut. Peary to the Arctic Regions on his first expedi Hent. Davidson, as he then wa into 7 had no returned than he ones more sought ad-employment as the sole warcorrespoi he Formos: ich work he had done did not to itiract the notice of the United States Government. and when they determined to post a Con: yulin ones Mr. Davidson was at once selected.
Daring the eight years he has thus been stationed "in the island evident he has been unremitting in his travels, investigations, and obvorvati and, a'thonzh he has made free use of all hie sources of on. mast of this ha from far and wide, while, after all. he has relied, and very properly relied, on his own able personal observations and couclu-
His previous experienc: leon invaluable as inspirers of the cretion, wi reader dors the marked has from Chinese 2 nen to AD. 151 occupa details of the period we can only refer cry line in the book itself pooh. sure that he will ne. in the continuud elegantly set out by Mr. David-on. to what we may call of Chinese rule, from the period iS prominently assertsticmpts made to expand the upicd by purely Chinese includes an account of the ter course with the island sacro of British sub-crews of the Indian sand Ann were and there brutally tong and favourably wu paratively recent date, and ten reserved to be sent to Peking but Mr. Patridge. with tually arrived described peculiar into: stain from to ack, vith their pnt ing. and out to wir head sith jetty. V he first vreneh d off his' own, and then put ther (the sol-liers) into theirs (the irons), to th sure of the Chinese soldiers, but latter wished to replace his, he securing of officer to them. before him temple, "Ths officer was so pleaed with thi Procedure. that he turned round te the sole il ordered them to carry him ack to the city.
This and is full of sir We come ne of Formosa 10 1868; then ths J. with all its comes unde the events of the period from 1870 to 1884, we come to tha French campaign, with its soled "Pacific Blockade," followed by what Mr. Davidson alls" Progressive Formosa," that is, the island incorporated asa province of China, under the rule of Governor Liu Ming-chian, until we arrive at the Republic sct up, and run for a few months by Tang in the North, and the der Liu Yung-fu in the anth. very bit of the foregoing is teemnz with interest, and no less attractive ectals, We refrain from quoting any ial portion, tha whole is too rich and to be mutilated, even if the space posal permitted.
in the turn for narration, comes the Japanese occupation, first of the Peseadores and then of Norih Formosa, follow-ca, ina month or tye, by the conquest of the South, and Lin Yung-fu's rather shady icht. leaving his 3 to be taken over the Japanese. This legacy was most sly geeepted and carried out, and nts were returned to Hi fed and cared for, nin 4S hours of the occupation.
Referring to the occupation of the or rather to certain events a curious attern Power te anti vent of the Japanese, ton the part of a Western ipato the present rulers be quoted as throwing an interesting ti ne of the Diplomatia In-trioes international jealously, or aggres~ rise to. ight, or three weeks prior to the actual arrival of the Japanese lect, two French warships suddenly appeared in Makung harbour, and the senior officer at once began showering hospitality and attentions en the Chinese command dant stationed there. This official, who besides being of a decidedly festive nature was undoubtedly living in constant dread of a Japanese attack, cordially reciprocated and accepted the overtures made to him by the Frenchmen, "Before long the intercourse assumed practical shape, and, if the telegramy sent by the Pescadores commandant to Gen eral Lin Yung-fu, who was in command of the troops of South Formosa, may be acpied aa reliable evidence of what was on, it would appear that the French Seitior officer made constant and. urgent appeals to the commandant to hand over ud to French custody, and permit to be hoisted on all the to the commandant's ports. the Ay officer assured him the occupation would only be tem artied out in the interests of ship to the Chinese Government, and retrocession would he at once made scon as the troubles, then going on between Japan and China, were settled. vho never seemed to have forgiven the French for what they did to him when command manding the Chinese troops Annam, was furious at the bare sugges:
and from the very first asserted that nly some treacherous motive could po underlie anything done by the French.
"He wired most positive orders to the commandant to pay no attention whatever to any overtures of the sort; but trary. to look on all such as nz prompted by hostile and self-inter-motives. He further ordered, in the ut of any more French ships appearing ith officers inclined to interfere, that the forts should open fire upon them!
This no doubt recounts for what, at the ime, seeited the rather sudden descent apanese on the Pescadores. which, vas assumed, they would tackle about ame time, or just before attacking No doubt. some friendly hint was conveyed 4 them of Gallic desires and movements aasacieae We now pass on to all the details and incidents of the Japanese attack and con fonnora, Vir. Davidson shows how well the st, first, of North, and then of Sout
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.