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. Let any woman who
reads this imagine, if she can, herself placed in the position of
either of these ladies without being inclined to despise the less
fortunate, ease-loving Empress if she be the dowager, or hating
the more powerful dowager if she be the Empress. Such a state of
affairs as these two women lived in for more than a quarter of a
century is almost if not entirely unique in history.
Perhaps the incident which made most impression upon her was one
which happened in 1860 and is recorded in history as the Arrow
War. A few years before a number of Chinese, who owned a boat
called the Arrow, had it registered in Hongkong and hence were
allowed to sail under the British flag. There is no question I
think but that these Chinese were committing acts of piracy, and
as this was one of the causes of disturbance on that southern
coast for centuries past, the viceroy decided to rid the country
of this pest. Nine days after the time for which the boat had
been registered, but while it continued unlawfully to float the
British colours, the viceroy seized the boat, imprisoned all her
crew, and dragged down the British flag. This was an insult which
Great Britain could not or would not brook and so the viceroy was
ordered to release the prisoners, all of whom were Chinese
subjects, on penalty of being blown up in his own yamen if he
refused.
Frightened at the threat, and remembering the result of the
former war, the viceroy sent the prisoners to the consulate in
chains without proper apologies for his insult to the flag
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