He was a fixed star in the Eastern firmament for so many years and possessed such an unparalleled Knowledge of China, that the Chinese Government relied mainly upon his political sagacity and unusual diplomatic ability when any great international question arose. Te was he alone, for instance, who negotiated "pence with France in 1885, on behalf of China, and thus stopped what promised to be a long and costly war. It is related that he announced his success in that imaginative language which, as he well ktiow, always appeals to the Oriental mind. "If is now nine months ego," said he to the assem-led Ministers, "sine you placed
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.