The frigate had on board a large amount of specie--gold and silver--the destination of which appears to be somewhat of a mystery. If the specie was merely sent by London Merchants to Hamburg on purely commercial transactions--as is alleged--how was it that a frigate ship was employed, and how did it come to be so near the Zuider Zee? To explain this some say that the specie was intended for the pay of British troops then in the Netherlands. Up to the present, treasure to the value of £100,000 has been recovered; but it is estimated that gold and silver worth a million pounds still lie buried in the shifting sands north of the Zuider Zee. Various attempts have been made to recover the specie. On July 17, 1858, divers brought to daylight the bell of the frigate. It was well preserved, and weighed 80 lbs. It now stands at the footboard of the table in the library at Lloyd's, where other relics of the _Lutine_ are also to be found.] [Footnote 145: Men who undertake the insurance of ships.] [Footnote 146: See p. 173.] [Footnote 147: Capital of Brazil, on the beautiful bay of Rio.] CHAPTER XXIII. THE FALL OF KIAO-CHAU. We must now hark back to Kiao-chau, and learn what was taking place in that "model of German culture." I have already told you how Germany played the chief part in ejecting the Japanese from the Liao-tung peninsula, and how, while professing to be China's friend, she stole from her 200 square miles of territory, on which she established the fortress and naval base of Tsing-tau. A few years later, when a mixed force of British, American, German, French, Russian, and Japanese troops invaded China during the "Boxer" rising,[148] the Kaiser's soldiers treated the Japanese with the utmost contempt. Japan had therefore old scores to pay off. She was Britain's ally, and, as such, was Germany's foe. Friendship for Britain and hatred of Germany made her eager to take a hand in the great struggle, though it is said that many high-placed Japanese believed that Germany would win. Nevertheless Japan did not hesitate for a moment to throw in her lot with the British. She was staunchly loyal to her plighted word; while the Germans, who scorned her, were tearing up their bond in Belgium. The war was not three weeks old when Japan declared war, and undertook to make a clean sweep of German sea power in the Far East. She proposed to wrest Kiao-chau from the Germans, and at the end of the war restore it to China. Japan has a fine navy of six Dreadnoughts, six other battleships, four first-class battle cruisers, and large classes of other cruisers, destroyers, and coast-defence ships. A squadron of her fleet at once co-operated with the British in Eastern waters. Her army, which had been trained on the German model, numbered 250,000 on a peace footing, and could be increased to 1,100,000. It was admirably equipped, especially with heavy guns. Japan was thus formidable, alike by land and sea.