of
procedure when in the presence of Her Majesty. Many foolish suggestions
were made by these generals. During one of the conversations Her Majesty
remarked on the inefficiency of the navy and referred to the fact that
we had no trained naval officers. One of the generals replied that we
had more men in China than in any other country, and as for ships, why
we had dozens of river boats and China merchant boats, which could be
used in case of war. Her Majesty ordered him to retire, saying that
it was perfectly true that we had plenty of men in China, but that the
majority of them were like himself, of very little use to the country.
After he had retired, everybody commenced to laugh, but Her Majesty
stopped us, saying that she did not feel at all like laughing, she was
too angry to think that such men held positions as officers in the army
and navy. One of the Court ladies asked me why Her Majesty was so angry
with the man for mentioning the river boats, and was very much surprised
when I informed her that the whole of them would be worse than useless
against a single war vessel.

Just about the end of the eleventh moon Chang Chih Tung, Viceroy of
Wuchang, arrived, and was received in audience. Her Majesty said to him:
"Now, you are one of the oldest officials in the country, and I want you
to give me your unbiased opinion as to what effect this war is going to
have on China. Do not be afraid to give your firm opinion, as I want to
be prepared for anything which is likely to happen." He answered that
no matter what the result of the war might be, China would in all
probability have to make certain concessions to the Powers with regard
to Manchuria for trade purposes, but that we should not otherwise be
interfered with. Her Majesty repeated what had been discussed at the
previous audiences on this subject and also regarding reform in China.
Chang Chih Tung replied that we had plenty of time for reform, and that
if we were in too great a hurry, we should not accomplish anything at
all. He suggested that the matter be discussed at length before deciding
upon anything definite. In his opinion it would be foolish to go to
extremes in the matter of reform. He said that ten or fifteen years ago
he would have been very much against any reform whatsoever, but that
he now saw the need for it to a certain extent, as circumstances had
changed very much. He said that we should adhere strictly to our own
mode of living and not abandon