42
H. J. LETHBRIDGE
long with the proposed intention of working his new-found country." He merely wished to form a syndicate to prospect the country, and agreed if their report was favourable to grant certain concessions. And the China Mail writer ought to know, since he claims to have taken so much interest in the King's personal affairs as not to be ashamed to pry into his private life, who he took to supper, and other details which only a hypocritical Pharisee and blackguard of the deepest dye would have had the audacity to set out in print, that the syndicate in question had been duly formed and the agreement signed. Had M. de Mayréna been the adventurer and swindler he has been called by the China Mail he would have surely tried to raise money by his promised concessions but he made no such attempt. He asked for nothing until his bona fides had been clearly established and the enterprise he proposed was thoroughly tested and shown to be genuine. That he may have acted foolishly in some respects during his stay in Hong Kong is probable enough, but we doubt if the China Mail's self-constituted censor is so immaculate a being that he can afford to throw mud at an erring brother. The China Mail oracle says he cannot conceive, even supposing M. de Mayréna's conduct to have been perfectly straight, how any speculators in Hong Kong could have been induced to embark in such an enterprise. That merely proves poverty of conception and further shows that the writer knows nothing whatever about the subject which he pretends to elucidate for the benefit of the public.38
It is at first sight difficult to understand why Bain and Fraser-Smith attacked each other with such rancour, but a clue is provided by the following comment in the Mail: 'Imitating the example of the old Kings of France, the King of the Sedangs showed a remarkable affection for literature; and, one night, when the "flow of soul” was especially strong, he knighted the whole staff of a local newspaper which had kindly taken to espouse his cause.39 The newspaper was of course the Telegraph, which had a staff of five Europeans in 1888. The journalists of the Telegraph, all of whom had suddenly become 'chevaliers' of the Kingdom of Sedang, no doubt swelled up with pride at their elevation and infuriated the puritanical Bain by their airs.
There is a pendant to the story of Mayréna's odyssey in Hong Kong. In Sir Hugh Clifford's words:
42
H. J. LETHBRIDGE
lony with the proposed intention of working his new-found country." He merely wished to form a syndicate to prospect the country, and agreed if their report was favourable to grant cer- tain concessions. And the China Mail writer ought to know, since he claims to have taken so much interest in the King's personal affairs as not to be ashamed to pry into his private life, who he took to supper, and other details which only a hypocri- tical Pharisee and blackguard of the deepest dye would have had the audacity to set out in print, that the syndicate in question had been duly formed and the agreement signed. Had M. de Mayréna been the adventurer and swindler he has been called by the China Mail he would have surely tried to raise money by his promised concessions but he made no such attempt. Ho asked for nothing until his bona fides had been clearly establish- ed and the enterprise he proposed was thoroughly tested and shown to be genuine. That he may have acted foolishly in some respects during his stay in Hong Kong is probable enough, but we doubt if the China Mail's self-constituted censor is so im- maculate a being that he can afford to throw mud at an erring brother. The China Mail oracle says he cannot conceive, even supposing M. de Mayréna's conduct to have been perfectly straight, how any speculators in Hong Kong could have been induced to embark in such an enterprise. That merely proves poverty of conception and further shows that the writer knows nothing whatever about the subject which he pretends to eluci- date for the benefit of the public.38
It is at first sight difficult to understand why Bain and Fraser- Smith attacked each other with such rancour, but a clue is provided by the following comment in the Mail: 'Imitating the example of the old Kings of France, the King of the Sedangs showed a remar- kable affection for literature; and, one night, when the "flow of soul” was especially strong, he knighted the whole staff of a local news- paper which had kindly taken to espouse his cause.39 The news- paper was of course the Telegraph, which had a staff of five Euro- peans in 1888. The journalists of the Telegraph, all of whom had suddenly become 'chevaliers' of the Kingdom of Sedang, no doubt swelled up with pride at their elevation and infuriated the puritanical Bain by their airs.
There is a pendant to the story of Mayréna's odyssey in Hong Kong. In Sir Hugh Clifford's words:
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.