I hope, therefore, that these first impressions of countries which, in name at any rate, are far more familiar to the British public than they were four or five years ago, may prove of great interest to many readers in England and America.
The chapters on The Tsar of all the Russias, The Reception at the Summer Palace, The Audience of the Emperor of Korea, and The Mikado and the Empress, appeared in "Pearson's Magazine," and thanks are due to the Editor for kind permission to reprint them. The chapters on Manchuria under Russian Rule first appeared in the "Revue des deux Mondes," and those on Japan and China in the Twentieth Century in the "Deutsche Rundschau," but none of these have been translated into English before. The whole has been carefully revised, and considerable additions have been made.
JOHN MURRAY.
CONTENTS
General situation—Eve of the war—Political outlook in Russia—Characteristics of the two capitals—Siberia and Siberians—Conquest of Manchuria—Position of China and the Powers—Korea's difficulties—Racial tendencies
Page xvii
I
[THE TSAR AND TSARINA AT THEIR HOME OF PETERHOF]
The Baltic station of St. Petersburg—The Imperial "Special"—Through the suburbs of the capital—Peterhof—Sentries and passwords—The Imperial Family's favourite home—Alexandrovsky—A homely interior—The Empress and her tastes—Mother and wife—H.M. Nicholas II—A conversation on different topics
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