Cabinet presented the Prince Regent's card, with messages of welcome from his Imperial Highness to General Grant, who returned his thanks to the Prince. This reception was ceremonious, though of short duration, and was attended by the serving of refreshments and "tea," after which these Mandarins, who were among the highest and most distinguished personages of the Empire, made their adieus and retired.

T

The Emperor was a delicate child, seven years old; consequently General Grant did not request an audience with him, which the Chinese probably considered most gracious on the part of the "foreigner" to whom they were according imperial honors. They call their Emperor the "Son of Heaven," regarding him as a sacred being, and feared that a precedent would be established which could be taken advantage of-foreign ambassadors might also demand audiences. General Grant might have properly requested the audience, as he had been at the head of a great nation, and had himself accredited representatives to other nations. The Chinese have always contended that their Emperor would receive the "rulers of nations," but not their diplomatic "agents."

The day after our arrival General Grant called upon Prince Kung at the "Yamen," where, at the door, we found the Regent, with the Cabinet and his court officials, waiting. He saluted my father in a ceremonious and courtly manner, and all of our party were presented to him. I remember that when he spoke to me he asked me about the uniform I wore that of a lieutenant-colonelinquiring my age, and what family I had. When I replied that I had a little daughter named Julia, the Prince condoled with me, and said, "What a pity!" which exclamation I, a happy young father, thought most shocking. Some one, however, explained to me that "in China girls are not counted of importance to human happiness." My natural desire was to argue the question with the Prince, but etiquette forbade. I suppose that he would have congratulated me afterwards if I had announced to him the birth of my son, Ulysses.

Prince Kung was a most interesting personage, I thought. He was in reality the Emperor of China, and master of four hundred millions of human beings. He was the brother of an emperor and the uncle of an emperor, and was, for the latter, acting as Regent. In presence he was most distinguished, with a finely shaped head and noble physique, being much lighter in complexion than any Chinaman whom we had met. His costume was simple, and his rank designated by the yellow in his apparel and by a yellow silk knot on his hat. His manner was impressive and courtly. After receiving General Grant, the Prince conducted him into an apartment of the palace where a great repast was served in a stately manner, and where they conversed for some time. In the beginning of their discourse the Prince talked to my father in a very ceremonious and complimentary manner, observing his guest closely at the same time; but gradually he became more and more intent and interested in the conversation, and finally threw off all reserve, and, apparently having decided that his guest was worthy of all confidence, he talked to him as a trusted friend and adviser. This gradual change of manner to warmth from that of formal ceremony was most noticeable to all present. During this interview Prince Kung confided to my father that he had received a letter from Li Hung Chang recommending

that he should consult General Grant and seek his assistance as an arbitrator between China and Japan upon the question of the sovereignty of the Loochoo Islands, land recently occupied by Japan, though the Prince of these Islands had always paid! tribute to and recognized the supremacy of China. This seizure on the part of Japan was considered outrageous by the Chinese authorities, and war was threatened between the two Empires. The quiet interest and open candor of General Grant's manner encouraged Prince Kung to become confiding, and after talking some time upon the subject the Prince said that he would like to discuss the question more in detail later. Having partaken of tea, our call came to an end, and we said au revoir, leaving to make a visit to the Tunguon College, which was under the direction of Dr. Martin, an American.

On the next day Prince Kung came to the Legation to return promptly the call of General Grant, being accompanied by the Under-Secretary of State. After the usual formalities of greeting, the Prince sat down to converse with General Grant further upon the Loochoo question.. He spoke with animation and earnestness, repeating the request that my father would arbitrate upon the trouble between China and Japan. He did not fail to mention how "highly esteemed General Grant was by the Chinese," and how the latter "appreciated all the just and kind consideration which they had received during his administrations." General Grant explained that he was simply a private citizen, and traveling for pleasure, having no longer power in the Government, and that he could not, therefore, enforce any decision that might be reached; he, however, expressed great interest in all that the Prince had said to him, and replied frankly that he looked upon war as such a calamity to a country that any sacrifice short of a national humiliation should be made to avoid it, and added that war between China and Japan would cause boundless misfortune.

General Grant agreed to inform himself fully upon the question and lay the matter before the Japanese authorities, and hoped that he could make such suggestions as to bring about an adjustment of the question in a way to avert the calamity of a war. Prince Kung, whose manner had seemed very earnest and overwrought during the interview, became satisfied and pleased with my father's calm and friendly consideration, for which he thanked him repeatedly and took his leave.

Upon General Grant's return to Tientsin, the Viceroy Li Hung Chang secured several long conferences with him. upon the same question of the Loochoo Islands, and later, when we reached Japan, General Grant talked upon the subject with the Japanese authorities, and the matter was adjusted through his efforts and suggestions, without the two countries being involved in the horrors of war,. much to the satisfaction of both nations. General Grant later received formally the warm thanks of China and of Japan for his friendly intercession.

The Regent, Prince Kung, and the Viceroy, Li Hung Chang, discussed with General Grant many state questions besides that of the Loochoo Islands, the most important one being that which referred to the development of the resources of the Empire. These two statesmen, as well as the Cabinet of China, seemed forcibly struck and amazed with the disinterested reply of General Grant upon this subject. He told them that the develop-.

ments and improvements of the Empire, to be permanent and not a drain upon their nation, must be accomplished by the Chinese people themselves, without granting charters to aliens, who would use foreign money and open the way for foreign Governments to interfere with the internal affairs of China. This unselfish advice from General Grant won for him their admiration and implicit faith. It was the first time that a foreigner had ever suggested or acknowledged to the Chinese a possibility that railroads, factories, etc., etc., could be built and operated in China except under the guidance and control of foreign nations. Attention may be called here to the fact that at the present time the Chinese are beginning to construct railroads, telegraph lines, and factories, which are owned and operated by themselves.

Our stay in Pekin quickly drew to a close, after numerous forms and cere

monies of state, and when we had visited all the places of interest in the city. We returned to Tientsin in our little fleet, reaching there on the early morning of June 12, and General Grant had not yet breakfasted before he received a message that the Viceroy was on his way to call upon him. He received Li Hung Chang as he stepped from his chair, and welcomed him into the

Consulate, where sweets and tea were served, and the two Generals conversed together in the most animated manner for several hours. During this conversation, and all others which General Grant had with the Viceroy in Tientsin, the questions of the Loochoo Islands and of Chinese internal improvement were discussed atlength.

When we were in Tientsin the second time, we saw the Viceroy every day, as before, and he was most hospi

table and attentive to my father. Many grand functions and entertainments were given for our party, at all of which Li Hung Chang was present. The most interesting and novel of these affairs was an entertainment given by the wife of the Viceroy to my mother, Mrs. Grant. Madam Li, of course, had not been present at any of the other festivities, as she lives in absolute seclusion, and it is difficult for foreigners to understand what a radical step and overthrowing of Chinese customs and etiquette this was in the distinguished lady to give an evening entertainment to Mrs. Grant. No foreign lady had ever been received before in the home of a Viceroy or other great Chinese, nor even seen Madam Li. There was much excitement and talk over this affair among the foreign colony, as well as among the Chinese, and my mother has told me that the entertainment was most interesting and delightful. Mrs.

Grant, with the other foreign ladies who accompanied her, went to the palace in sedan chairs, and was received at the door by Madam Li. During the evening, when refreshments were being served, the Viceroy himself came to the door to look on the scene of his wife's entertainment, which was an entirely new and novel affair to him. No other gentleman, of course, was admitted to Madam Li's salon.

Our last visit, as our first one, to Tientsin was most interesting, and I shall ever cherish the pleasantest memories of the days passed there, and of the kind friends who entertained us, among the latter the great Viceroy, Li Hung Chang, being always the most prominent. Our stay in Tientsin ended with Madam Li's entertainment for my mother. The following morning, with our party on board, the Ashuelot steamed down the Peiho River,

on

amidst the booming of cannon and the waving of flags, until we had passed the Waku forts. Lying at anchor some distance out at sea was the United States frigate Richmond, which awaited General Grant and his

party to convey them to Japan. Near by was the Viceroy's yacht, surrounded by a fleet of Chinese gunboats. The Viceroy had preceded us to the open sea, having declared that he would bid farewell to General Grant the extreme boundary of his dominions. Immediately after we had boarded the Richmond, the Viceroy's yacht steamed forward, stopping about two hundred yards from our vessel. The barge of the Richmond was sent to the yacht to bring Li Hung Chang and his high officials for his last visit to General Grant. This final meeting of the two Generals was impressive, and I re

gret that no picture was made of that memorable scene. As the Viceroy came on our ship he was received by General Grant, surrounded by officers in full uniform, while the sailors manned the yards, and a salute of nineteen guns was fired. The two friends clasped hands, and showed great regret that the time had come for them to part, perhaps never to meet again. They remained together in conversation a long time, and the Viceroy's manner was that of perfect confidence and almost affection. Finally, and reluctantly, Li Hung Chang said farewell and returned to his yacht. With all the ships dressed, flags floating on the breeze, yards manned, and amidst the roar of cannon from the Richmond, Ashuelot, and Chinese fleet, our vessel turned her bow and sailed into the open sea. General Grant had parted from his friend the Viceroy Li Hung Chang-forever.

I

NE Sunday morning Mr. Beecher arose in the pulpit and said, in substance: "I hold in my hand the notice of a bazaar to be held by the ladies of the church. I refuse to read it as it is written. The notice says, 'for the sale of useful and ornamental articles.' don't like the distinction. All useful articles should be ornamental; all really ornamental articles are useful." So, in the same spirit, I might justly say that it is hard to draw a straight line between the higher life and the lower life of a great city. The simplest material things may really contribute to the former; while things that are meant to be moral and spiritual in nature may stand as obstructions in the way of a city's better growth. Colonel Waring's "white angels" furnish a perpetual object-lesson to the great metropolis of what the humblest untrained toil may do to advance the best interests of a great city. Who sweeps a room as by God's law

Makes that and the action fine.

Bear with me, then, if I seem at times to be wandering from my text.

In these days of extreme individualism we have almost lost the sense of corporate personality. We forget what was so plain to the ancients, that the city has a distinct life of its own, apart from, or rather born out of, the individual character of its people. And nothing is of more interest than to trace this corporate life back to its roots. St. Louis, as part of the Louisiana purchase, is of pure French origin, but the traces of its parentage survive almost entirely in the social complexion of the city, rather than in the structure of

THE HUMBOLDT MONUMENT, IN TOWER GROVE PARK
The Gift of Henry Shaw

its permanent character. I think it may be justly said that no representative of the distinguished French families that ruled the social life of the city at the beginning of this

Previous articles in this series have been: "The Higher Life of American Cities" (introductory), by Mr. Theodore Roosevelt (The Outlook for December 21, 1895) "The Higher Life of New York City," by Albert Shaw January 28, 1896); The Higher Life of Chicago," by Melville E. Stone (February 22); The Higher Life of Boston," by Edward Everett Hale (March 28); Higher Life of New Orleans," by Grace King (April 25); Buffalo, the City of Homes," by the Rev. W. Burnet Wright, D.D. (June 27); and "The Higher Life of Philadelphia," by Talcott Williams (July 25).

The

century impressed himself strongly and vitally upon its intellectual, its educational, its political, or its spiritual character. Socially, the French element has been dominant, and its influence has produced that ineffable charm of social intercourse, that delightful spirit of hospitality, that refinement and geniality in domestic life, that blending of

social dignity and simplicity, which are apt to characterize French people of intelligence and culture wherever found. But, for some unknown reason, the French have never been good colonists. In St. Louis, as in all other parts of the American continent, while they are thrifty, temperate, and valuable citizens, their distinct contributions to the higher intellectual life of the city have not been very great. Of course this judgment must be modified by a grateful recognition of the service rendered to the cause of religious education by the devoted, disinterested, and untiring labor of the ubiquitous disciples of Loyola and St. Xavier.

But the dawning life of the city was not entirely French. We find in the earliest records of the land office a few names that are distinctively Irish. Representatives both from the north and south of Ireland soon began to mingle in the stream of municipal life. Then came people from Kentucky and Virginia. Since '48 Germany has sent to St. Louis an increasing number of university-bred men, whose thirst for education, love of liberty, and alertness of intellectual life have been of incalculable value. While I recognize that "comparisons are odorous," yet I cannot withhold the expression of my conviction that in no other city have the citizens adopted from Germany been of so high a type. The stamp of slavery on Missouri frightened away many of the hardy and enterprising pioneers from New York, Ohio, and the New England States, who either remained in Illinois or hurried through to Kansas and Nebraska; while the "Alton riots not only paralyzed that infant city, but incalculably damaged the immediate future of the metropolis of the Mississippi Valley. Nevertheless, New England sent some rare men to us, and the "Yankee schoolmarm" was almost as ubiquitous and quite as devoted as the Jesuit priest. This mingling of metals made the Corinthian bronze of our municipal character.

GOVERNMENT

Samuel Tilden once said, in substance, that the man who helped to give a good government to mankind did better service than the one who gave his country a hundred eleemosynary institutions. The remark was wise. Surely the art

of living together in peace and justice is the highest result of social evolution. How has St. Louis solved the problem of civic government? Only indifferently well. We have as good a government as we deserve; very probably, as good as we desire. St. Louis is unique among American cities in being a free city. It received in 1875, from a Constitutional Conven

tion, the gift of municipal freedom. But the very novelty of the condition has served to partially deprive the city of many of the advantages which the "scheme and charter" were designed to bestow. Several notable decisions of the Supreme Court have curtailed its privilege. And the absence of any purely municipal politics, separated from State and National partisanship, has left the city largely in control of the managers of the two great political organizations. Like most American cities, we suffer from the lack of a wholesome public spirit. We select our Mayor and our street-sweepers from the body of our fellow-citizens who agree with us upon the subjects of "tariff" and "free silver"! The adoption of such an astute principle in the conduct of private business would subject'a man to the suspicion of lunacy, but very few people seem to object to it in public affairs. Quite recently we held an election for members of the School Board, and the Republican "bosses" forced the nominees to publicly promise to submit their official action to the decision of the Republican caucus. Upon the day of the election the voters went to the polls and solemnly gave these caucus-tied gentlemen the absolute control of the educational interests of the city. Soon after this the Supreme Court of the State made an order which these same gentlemen saw fit to disobey. The Court promptly fined and imprisoned them for contempt. Upon their return to the city an attempt was made by the "bosses" to honor them with a public reception in recognition of the service they had rendered their party in gracefully ac cepting constructive martyrdom at the hands of a tyrannical Democratic court.

well as private profit, I think I am justified in saying that we have a government as good as we deserve. Now let me hang the picture in a different light. I believe that St. Louis will be one of the first of the large American cities to adopt and work a sensible and efficient civil service reform. We have no great and arrogant political "rings" which it would require gigantic effort to throw off. Generally speaking, our "bosses are men of little education and intellectual force. They have simply grasped at power and privileges which we have cast aside in supine indifference. As Cassius says

of Cæsar:

Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf,
But that he sees the Romans are but sheep.

Substantial reform has already been achieved, and more is promised. We move slowly because the old French. conservatism is in our blood. Both in its legislative and executive departments St. Louis can count a gradually increasing number of men who care more for duty than party. The Civic Federation has recently been resurrected, and, under the leadership of the Rev. W. W. Boyd, D.D., shows signs of vigorous life. The effort is being made to organize the young men of the churches and synagogues and ethical culture clubs into societies for the study of the sacred duties of citizenship. Those of us who believe that it is as absurd to shut a minister out of politics as it would be to shut a physician out of a hospital are trying to teach that religion is designed to transform this world into the kingdom of God instead of making the churches mere post-mortem emigration societies.

EDUCATION

Unlike the New England States, Missouri took to the public school but slowly. For more than thirty years after its entrance into the Federal Union the free-school system of the principal cities of the State was in a very weak and disorganized condition. In the year 1857, Ira Divoll was made Superintendent of the Public Schools of St. Louis, and he may be justly called the Father of our Public Schools. His genius gave them organic life. His untiring zeal commended them to the care and tardily awakened

Fortunately the scheme fell through, largely, perhaps, because of the dignified and manly protest uttered by Mr. Charles Nagel, the honored President of the Council. We hear much general and spasmodic denunciation of municipal corruption, but when gentlemen of unimpeachable business integrity are willing to pay secret money for public franchises and justify their action on the ground that what they seek is for public good as

enthusiasm of a rapidly growing city. Upon the foundation he so wisely built, Professor W. T. Harris was, perhaps, mainly instrumental in rearing a splendid educational structure. Professor Harris has since achieved an international reputation as a teacher and philosophical scholar, and the corner-stone of that reputation was laid in the work of perfecting the school system of St. Louis. Of course the arduous and admirable work of Divoll and Harris was

ably seconded by a body of noble instructors and devoted laymen. Men like W. G. Eliot, Wayman Crow, George Partridge, Hudson E. Bridge, John Cavender, John O'Fallon, Colonel Thomas Benton, David Armstrong, Colonel Richardson, Dr. Carr Lane, and a host of others, gave an unstinte 1 measure of unpaid toil. And, not behind these in skill, devotion, and intelligence, there were of valuable women "not a few." To St. Louis belongs the enviable distinction of being the first city of this country to embody the ideas of the brilliant Froebel in its public-school system. Miss Susan E. Blow established in this city the first public kindergarten in America. This was in 1873. We now have fifty-eight schools of this character, in which 9,000 children

are enrolled. Six of these schools are for colored children, in charge of carefully trained teachers of their Own race. Under the admirable supervision of Miss Mary C. McCulloch this department of instruction constantly increases in efficiency. At present our school system is under the superintendency of Professor Soldan, whose brilliant scholarship and rare executive ability afford a notable illustration of the great debt the city owes to its educated German population.

Very early in its history the prelates of the Catholic Church began to display a profound interest in the educational affairs of the city. In 1818 Bishop Dubourg made strong efforts to establish a Catholic college for the train

THE CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH

ing of young men. The enterprise languished, and was abandoned in 1826. The effort was renewed in 1828, and the St. Louis University finally established. It numbered among its professors the celebrated Father DeSmet. Fostered by Bishop Rosatti, and the venerable prelate to whom we were proud to give the name of the "Great Archbishop" Kenrick, the University is in a highly prosperous condition.

Despite the fact that the public-school system of St. Louis

is exceptionally fine, the city swarms with private schools, secular, Catholic, and Protestant. The chief of these is, of course, Washington University, so closely identified for many years with one of the most remarkable men in the history of the city's higher life. About the year 1834 a young minister came to St. Louis from Massachusetts for the purpose of establishing a Unitarian church. The presence of a very few New England families furnished a possible constituency for a movement which was then regarded as a subtle form of infidelity. This young man was William Greenleaf Eliot. Despite the damaging fact that he was both a Yankee" and a Unitarian, he early identified himself with the developing spiritual and ethical life of the city, and for more than half a century he was the acknowledged center of every movement for advancing the higher interests of St. Louis. His influence was seen in the progressive legislation that perfected our commonschool system. He was vitally associated with the estab lishment of every secular and Protestant philanthropic institution. He challenged the wisdom and morality of the infamous "Social Evil Law," and, almost singlehanded, created the influences that wiped it from the statute-books. In this he was bitterly opposed by certain "practical" moralists, but he was backed by the ablest lawyers, prominent among whom were the Hon. Henry Hitchcock and Governor Charles T. Johnson, the most distinguished criminal lawyer in the State, and at that time a member of the State Legislature, while his judgment was indorsed by the present Chief of Police, Major Harrigan, who declared the law to be not only inefficient as a corrective of evil, but a pregnant source of official corruption. In the great work which Dr. Eliot achieved for St. Louis he was surrounded by a body of men and women whose unstinted liberality and consecrated labor can scarcely be paralleled in the history of any other American city. Most of these people were members of his own church, but noble-hearted men and women of other communions freely struck hands with him in the good work. Notable among these was James E. Yeatman, a great-souled Tennessee Presbyterian, whose genial and beneficent religion, like a vigorous morning-glory, refused to be confined to the trellis of any creed !

In 1853 the Hon. Wayman Crow, then a member of the State Senate, secured a charter for an educational institution to be known as the Eliot Seminary. A year later the school was formally organized, changing its name, at Dr. Eliot's suggestion, to Washington Institute. Three years later it became the . Washington University. It is the vigorous mother of a brood of hardy educational children. Its first offspring was the night-school system, sustained at first by the gifts of Ralph Sellew, a member of the Church of the Messiah. This child was afterwards adopted by the State. In 1856 the Smith Academy was formed, bearing the honored name of James Smith. Then followed quickly the Mary Institute, an annex for the education of girls; the Law School, the Manual Training School, the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, the Medical College, and the School of Botany. Of these comely and vigorous children the School of Fine Arts, the Manual Training School, and the School of Botany are the most picturesquely interesting. The Training School enjoys the enviable distinction of being the