"Tsing-tau has fallen. The history of the German leased territory is henceforth at an end. It was short but glorious. From a decayed Chinese fishing village had been made a shining testimony to German culture. That the most beautiful, the cleanest, and the most progressive town in the Far East had sprung up in a couple of years from the soil was calculated to awake the jealousy of the slit-eyed people of the East. Never shall we forget the bold deed of violence of the yellow robbers or of England that set them on to do it. We know that we cannot yet settle with Japan for years to come. Perhaps she will rejoice over her cowardly robbery. Here our mills can grind but slowly. Even if years pass, however, we shall certainly not often speak of it, but as certainly always think of it. And if eventually the time of reckoning arrives, then as unanimously as what is now a cry of pain will a great shout of rejoicing ring through Germany. 'Woe to Nippon.'"[150] [Illustration: The city of Warsaw looking north-west across the Vistula, which here flows under the three bridges connecting the city proper with its suburb, Praga. Warsaw is beautifully situated on the left bank of the Vistula, which is here about as wide as the Thames at Gravesend. Most of the city is built on a low hill which rises from the broad plain to a terrace 120 feet above the river-level. Though dating from the Middle Ages, Warsaw is very modern in appearance. It is a large manufacturing centre, but has none of the smoke and grime which characterize most industrial towns. There is no livelier or gayer city in the east of Europe. Its buildings are fine, and its well-laid-out public gardens are a great attraction. In Sigismund Square is the former royal castle, round which the life of the city is centred. Four main thoroughfares radiate from it, and on or near these are the chief public buildings, churches, and statues. The Church of the Holy Ghost contains the heart and monument of the great Polish musician Chopin. The population of Warsaw in 1911 was 872,478, one-third of the people being Jews. Praga is the junction of six great trunk lines which converge from Vienna, Berlin, and Danzig on the one side of the frontier, and from Petrograd, Moscow, and Kiev (South Russia) on the other.] [Footnote 148: Europeans gave the name "Boxers" to members of a widespread society in China which had for its object the ridding of the country of foreigners. The German Minister at Pekin was murdered in 1900, and several of the legations were besieged. The expedition referred to above relieved the besieged on August 14, 1900, and exacted a penalty of sixty-four millions from the Chinese Government.] [Footnote 149: Literally, ten thousand years; "Japan for ever!"] [Footnote 150: The Japanese Empire.] CHAPTER XXIV. THE FIRST ATTACK ON WARSAW.