Another singular report comes from Vienna, where mer- chants profess
to have received telegrams declaring that if Pekin is threatened, the Court will move to Nankin, the ancient Chinese capital. They have even ordered the palaces there to be got ready. This was the course recommended by General Gordon, and the only objection to it is that it places the dynasty among a purely Chinese population, and breaks their connection with the desert tribes. The fact, if it is a fact, of such a rumour being in circulation in Pekin, indicates either that the Chinese have no thought of peace, but will carry the war on to the bitter end, or that they are hopeless of saving Corea. With the Peninsula in Japanese hands, Pekin would be the worst possible capital, for it could always be threatened by a Japanese army. Nankin is beyond the approach of any foreign General; and if supported by his subjects, the Emperor could keep up the war for years until he had found a General and formed an army.
