matter under discussion was of interest to all three, he had come of his own accord to participate in a friendly way in the proceedings. He thereupon withdrew somewhat less blithely than he had entered. Count Inouye then repeated what he had said and gave the Korean plenipotentiaries clearly to understand that he would not tolerate the repetition of such childish antics, but would regard them, if again attempted, as reason for the gravest offence. This warning had its effect; the negotiations thereafter proceeded expeditiously and the Convention was signed on the 9th of January. It stipulated an apology; the payment of an indemnity of 110,000 _yen_ to the relatives of the murdered and the merchants who had been plundered; the punishment of the murderers of Captain Isobayashi, military _attaché_; the furnishing of sites for legation and consulate, materials for building the same, and 20,000 _yen_ to pay the cost of construction; the building of barracks for Japanese troops adjacent to the Legation; and further that the murderers of Captain Isobayashi should be punished within twenty days after the convention was signed. The events of 1882 and 1884 had emphasized what the entire history of the relations of Japan and Korea had made manifest—namely, that some distinct understanding with China must be reached if the two neighboring countries were ever to live together in peace. The task of establishing such an understanding was assigned to Marquis Ito, and in the spring of 1885 he proceeded to China as Japan’s special Ambassador. Li Hung Chang, who was then Viceroy of Chi-li, was the Ambassador appointed by the Peking Government. The latter appointment was the more significant because Li was supposed to entertain a profound distrust and dislike of the Japanese; moreover, Yuan Shi Kai, whose subsequent career has been so important in the politics of the Far East, and who had been in command of the Chinese soldiers at the time of their slaughter of the Japanese in 1884, was a _protégé_ of Li’s. In spite of the inherent difficulties, the broad statesmanship and frankness of the Marquis overcame them; and the intercourse of these two men, whose personality and policy afterward had so much to do with the history of their respective countries, resulted in their becoming friends. The Chinese statesman expressed regret that he had not met Ito before, since he had now for the first time gained a correct conception of Japan’s policy; he even went so far as to ask the Marquis to mention the need of governmental reforms to the Dowager Empress of China, who became angry at him, her own Viceroy, when he ventured to refer to the matter before her.