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green suns, dry fogs, light sufficient for reading at midnight, and very fine red twilights. A volcano had formed a new island in the Mediterranean in July, and the height of the column of dust was found, by the measurements of Professor Hoffmann and Dr. Schultz, to be about thirteen miles. Arago explained the prolonged twilights of 1831 by the great height of the dry fog and the multiple reflections of the sun's rays.

Incidentally, an eclipse of the moon in 1885, in which the earth's shadow was very much darker than usual, has been explained by the absorption, or reflection, by the layer of dust enveloping the earth, of the red rays which are usually refracted and reach the moon's surface. The amount of extra matter in the air was undoubtedly sufficient to interfere seriously with astronomical definition for one or two years.

By a very complete chain of evidence, due in great part to the observations which happened to have been undertaken by the captains of ships for the Meteorological Office in 1883, and to the excellent observations of the captains of German vessels, the connexion between the phenomena which were observed in all parts of the world, viz. the haze in the sky, the coloured sun, the coronæ, and the twilight illuminations, and the derivation of all these from Krakatoa, is established. To corroborate the conclusion and extend its application, the authors bring forward evidence of the production of persistent dry fogs, and red twilights, in former years distinguished by great eruptions, and of blue suns, observed not only through volcanic dust clouds, but through the dusty atmosphere of the Loess in China, of the Sahara Desert, and of the neighbourhood of stone works at Eastbourne, where large quantities of seabeach are crushed by machinery. The coronæ, as we have seen, have been artificially produced by particles corresponding in size to those of the pumice cloud. From the conclusions reached by Professor Archibald and Mr. Russell in the optical sections, we learn that a cloud of fine dust may remain suspended at a height of from twenty-four down to thirteen miles without being sensibly affected by the weather of the lower atmosphere; that such a cloud in the tropics revolves round the earth from east to west in thirteen days; that it does not apparently condense vapour upon itself; that it interrupts the red more than the blue solar rays; that, like Tyndall's actinic cloud produced in the laboratory, it may strikingly reflect rays falling upon it without sensible hindrance to transparency, and, like it, may consist of an almost incredibly small quantity of matter.

It is remarkable, bearing in mind the strong electric effects occurring at such altitudes as the summit of Mount Washington, that the elevated dust cloud exhibited no forms suggesting electric arrangement, as in the case of cirrus. It was either uniform and featureless, or covered the sky with parallel streaks resembling the long rollers of an unruffled

ocean.

A study of the dates and particulars furnished in the English and German Reports should lead to a knowledge of atmospheric movements above the cirrus region which has hitherto been inaccessible. According to theoretic views stated by Mr. Archibald, the system of circulation indicated by the dust-stratum might have been, and to some extent was, though rather heretically, anticipated. No opportunity seems to exist at present of testing the validity of the theory enunciated, for balloons have never reached a height exceeding one-third of that of the stratum, and clouds are not formed above a comparatively moderate altitude. The motion of the highest cirrus, moreover, can only be learnt in the somewhat disturbed condition which their presence betokens. If small test-balloons could be constructed to remain for a definite time at heights from 70,000 to 100,000 feet, and to be brought down at will, interesting information would be gained respecting the eternally unclouded region within twenty miles of the habitable surface, and its system of regular currents of high velocity. In the distant future, when ballooning has attained a much higher stage of developement, such knowledge may possibly be of practical value.

The section of the English Report dealing with opinions and hypotheses expressed is very instructive, and shows extraordinary differences among scientific men on their first acquaintance with the facts. In America the meteoric dust theory was much in favour, and in all countries the Krakatoa origin of the phenomena was widely discredited. The tendency of the observer everywhere was to connect them with the particular branch or twig of science with which he was best acquainted. Only the minute investigation of the whole range of sensible consequences of this great natural experiment could have led to the establishment of the truth respecting their origin and their relation to one another. More than one conclusion which has been arrived at will be the starting-point for fresh discovery, and, we may hope, the means of practical advantage to mankind.

ART. VII.-1. The Long White Mountain; or, A Journey in Manchuria. With some Account of the History, People, Administration, and Religion of that Country. By H. E. M. JAMES. With Illustrations and a Map. London: 1888. 2. Life in Corea. By W. R. CARLES, formerly H.M. ViceConsul in Corea. With Illustrations and Map. London:

1888.

3. Through the Yang-tse Gorges; or, Travel and Trade in Western China. By ARCHIBALD JOHN LITTLE. London: 1888.

4. A Tour in China. By Lieut. D. A. MILL, R.E. From the 'Royal Engineer's Journal' of March 1, 1888.

ORIENTAL statecraft has always been the despair of European observers. Its tortuous courses, its apparent inconsistencies, and its diversities of operations, have presented it to the unpractised eyes as nothing more than a tangled web of eccentricities. But if rightly understood it is, when matched against European diplomacy, but as the cuts and thrusts of an untutored fencer opposed to the passes of a practised swordsman. Those, however, who have not found this clue, and who consider that, because the diplomatic acts of oriental politicians do not harmonise with the traditions with which they are familiar, they can only be the outcome of whims and the effect of intrigues, must necessarily see the whole conduct of Asiatic governments in a false light. But when we recollect that they are designed to deal as occasions arise with those unexpected incidents, common both in the domestic and foreign concerns of eastern states, and that the men at the head of affairs have so to shape their policy as not to outrage the prejudices of their fellow-countrymen, and at the same time to meet the requirements of their European allies, we are forced to admit that an unconventional line of policy may after all be best suited to the needs it is intended to serve. But of all oriental policies, that pursued by China is popularly regarded as the most inexplicable. To the uninitiated no puzzle is more difficult to solve than the one presented by the apparently ever-varying conduct of the Chinese Government. Thus, as we shall presently see, at the same time that persistent opposition was offered to the establishment of European enterprises in the interior of the country, a vassal state was compelled to establish international relations with

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foreign countries by orders from Peking; and while European travellers to the provinces were being persecuted even unto death, their fellow-countrymen were basking in the sunshine of imperial office and emoluments in the capital.

These and other phases of Chinese policy are instructively illustrated in the books of travel placed at the head of this article. In them we have described the defensive attitude assumed by the Chinese Government against Russia in Manchuria, the progressive policy inaugurated in Corea, and the obstructive tactics pursued towards Mr. Little on the Yangtzu-kiang. These lines of action, though apparently inconsistent, are all, as we shall show, directed towards one main object-the prevention of foreign interference in the concerns of China. And, to return to our simile of the fencing school, they are but the counterparts of the guard, thrust, and parry of a skilful, though possibly an unconventional, swordsman.

The gradual growth of international relations has of late years brought China face to face with unexpected problems, which she has been called upon to solve unaided, and without delay. That she has successfully managed her affairs, while possessing only a very imperfect knowledge of the power, aims, and ambitions of European nations, is strong evidence of the wisdom and clear-headedness of her leading statesmen. The war of 1860 found her still in a contemptuous mood towards foreigners, whom she had always been accustomed to despise, and whom she had not then learned seriously to fear. In her eyes they were still outer barbarians,' who possessed a certain devilish power for mischief while on board ship, but who, when once on shore, were as helpless as dodos. The disillusion which followed was sudden and complete. The Chinese troops were scattered like sheep in every encounter, and the climax was put to the disaster when the flags of England and France floated over the Gate of Peaceful Rest' in Peking. But while China was thus wrestling with acknowledged foreign foes, another power with simulated friendship was watching to seize on China's necessity as her opportunity. When the allies were marching on Peking, the Russian ambassador, the well-known General Ignatieff, proposed to supply the Chinese Government with guns in exchange for a slice of territory embracing seven hundred miles of coast, from the mouth of the Amour southwards. In their extremity the Chinese agreed to the demand-it cannot be called an exchange-and in return for a few old-fashioned guns, which

arrived after the war was over, presented Russia with a strip of maritime territory, which has since become the province of Primorsk.

So soon, however, as the empire had recovered from the immediate effects of the war, and the Taiping rebellion had, with the assistance of Gordon, been suppressed, the Chinese turned their attention to the doings of their northern neighbour. During the years of prostration which followed on the troublous times of 1860-65 the Russians had made silent and constant encroachments on Chinese territory. No doubt there was some reason in their complaint that in proportion as the central power became weakened and disorganised the frontier tribes became restless and unmanageable. It would be plainly unreasonable to expect that Russia could submit to the constant raids committed by roving bands of Calmucks, Kirghiz, and other trespassers of the marches on the flocks and farms of her subject settlers. And unquestionably she did well to be angry. But the Chinese complain that though, when the border was barren and inhospitable, the Russians contented themselves with inflicting sharp punishments on the marauders by means of flying columns, the same flying columns showed a remarkable tendency to drop their wings when they found themselves in the fertile valleys which descend from the southern face of some of the frontier. ranges.

By elective processes of this nature Russia gradually occupied the province of Kuldja, and when the Chinese had so far recovered themselves as to be in a position again to administer it, Russia was disinclined to restore to them a land which she had discovered literally to flow with milk and honey. During the course of negotiations on the subject the relations between the two Governments became so strained that war appeared to be inevitable; and, with that steady eye to the future which characterises Muscovite policy, the Russians made arrangements for seizing the Manchurian frontier towns of Ninguta and Sansing so soon as hostilities should break out. Happily war was averted by the diplomatic skill of the Marquis Tseng, and the threatened towns remained peacefully in the possession of the Chinese.

But the danger which the Chinese on this occasion escaped accentuated the fears which they had long had of the aggressive designs of their Russian neighbours. A cruel fate seems to have decreed that ready access to the sea shall be denied to the Russians in all parts of the world. In Southern Europe and Western Asia treaty conditions and intervening

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