worth speaking of at all. Toy revolutions are
constantly occurring first in one and then another of the South American
republics, and people have grown so accustomed to them that they hardly
notice them now.

Uruguay, though a very small country, is particularly fond of these
disturbances. The entire population of the whole country is no larger than
that of the city of Brooklyn, but this handful of people manage to have
enough revolts and disturbances to keep the country in constant
excitement.

This present tempest is receiving more attention than is usual because it
is supposed that the monarchists of Brazil are stirring the people of
Uruguay to rebellion, with the hope of overthrowing both governments at
the same time, joining the two countries together, and uniting them under
the one emperor.

If this report is true the matter is worthy of serious attention, because
Brazil is not one of the little insignificant republics whose perpetual
disturbances affect no one but themselves, but a large and important
country, and changes in the government of Brazil would be liable to affect
all the other countries which trade with it.

* * * * *

A party of wealthy Chinese merchants arrived in New York the other day
from San Francisco. They were on their way to Washington, to see the
Chinese Minister and ask him to intercede for them with the Emperor of
China.

Their trouble is that the Emperor has kindly invited ten of them to visit
China without delay: two to have their heads chopped off, and the other
eight to be imprisoned for life.

Of course none of the Chinamen are going to accept the Emperor's
invitation, and so they are not seeking the help of the Minister for
themselves. Their anxiety is on account of their relatives.

It would seem that one of the curious little customs they have in China is
to arrest all the relatives of a man accused of crime, as well as the
criminal himself. These unfortunate people they cast into prison, taking
away from them their property, and everything of value they possess. This
punishment is for no known reason but that they have had the misfortune to
be members of the same family as a rascal.

The consequence is that when a Chinaman gets into trouble, his relatives,
instead of standing by him, and trying to help him, desert him with the
greatest possible speed, and do their best to hide themselves in less
dangerous districts.

While the Chinamen w