on speaking terms, was commanded to remain with him.
She, as Tzŭ Hsi's niece, could be trusted to spy upon the
Emperor and report all his doings. He was allowed to see
no one but her and the eunuchs in attendance, except in the
presence of the Empress Dowager.

To the end of his life Kuang Hsé blamed Yéan Shih-k'ai,
and him alone, for having betrayed him. To Yéan he owed
his humiliation, the end of all his cherished plans of govern-
ment and the twenty-three months of solitary confinement
which he had to endure on the "Ocean Terrace." Almost
his last words, as he lay dying, were to bid his brothers
remember his long agony and promise to be revenged upon
the author of his undoing. Of Jung Lu he said that it was
but natural that he should consider first his duty to the
Empress Dowager and seek to warn her; and, after all, as
he had planned Jung Lu's death, he could hardly expect
from him either devotion or loyalty. The Old Buddha's
resentment was also natural; he had plotted against her and
failed. But Yüan Shih-k'ai had solemnly sworn loyalty and
obedience. The Emperor never willingly spoke to him
again, even when, as Viceroy of Chihli, Yüan came to the
height of his power.

To-day Yéan lives in retirement, and under the constant
shadow of fear; for the Emperor's brother, the Regent, has
kept his promise. Such are the intricate humanities of the
inner circle around and about the Dragon Throne, the never-
ending problem of the human equation as a factor in the
destinies of peoples.

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