ng in common with the dignified majesty of an Emperor; but were
the highest official of the United States to be in future officially
known as Emperor, all these depreciatory remarks would fall to the
ground. There is no reason whatever why he should not be so styled,
as, by virtue of his high office, he possesses almost as much power as
the most aristocratic ruler of any nation. Secondly, it would clearly
demonstrate the sovereign power of the people; a people who could make
and unmake an Emperor, would certainly be highly respected. Thirdly,
the United States sends ambassadors to Germany, Austria, Russia, etc.
According to international law, ambassadors have what is called the
representative character, that is, they represent their sovereign by
whom they are delegated, and are entitled to the same honors to which
their constituent would be entitled were he personally present. In a
Republic where the head of the State is only a citizen and the
sovereign is the people, it is only by a stretch of imagination that
its ambassador can be said to represent the person of his sovereign.
Now it would be much more in consonance with the dignified character of
an American ambassador to be the representative of an Emperor than of a
simple President. The name of Emperor may be distasteful to some, but
may not a new meaning be given to it? A word usually has several
definitions. Now, if Congress were to pass a law authorizing the chief
magistrate of the United States of America to be styled Emperor, such
designation to mean nothing more than the word "President", the title
would soon be understood in that sense. There is no reason in history
or philology why the word "Emperor" should never mean anything other
than a hereditary ruler. I make this suggestion seriously, and hope it
will be adopted.

Marriage laws in the United States, as I understand them, are more
elastic than those in Europe. In England, until a few years ago, a man
could not contract a legal marriage with his deceased wife's sister,
although he could marry the betrothed wife of his deceased brother. It
is curious to compare the Chinese view of these two cases. Marriage
with a deceased wife's sister is, in China, not only lawful, but quite
common, while to marry a dead brother's betrothed is strictly
prohibited. Doubtless in the United States both are recognized as
legal. I was not, however, prepared to hear, and when I did hear it, I
could not at first