A Ribbon of Iron. E-book. Formato PDF Annette M. B. Meakin   -  Forgotten Books, 2017  - 

Within twenty days of our visit to Blagovestchensk, that town was the scene of a massacre, the descriptions of which were received with horror throughout the civilized world. As we returned to St. Petersburg by way of America it was not until after this book was written that I succeeded in getting from eye-witnesses a reliable account of what actually took place. While we were at Blagovestchensk (we left on June 28, just four days before the first shot was fired) all its troops were being mobilized for China, and every boat except the post boat had been chartered to carry soldiers across the water. So little did General Gribsky and the police dream of danger near at hand that only one reserve battalion and one battery were left to guard the town. The rumour we had heard of a Chinese force stationed near Aigun was a true one.

Galicia: The Switzerland of Spain. E-book. Formato PDF Annette M. B. Meakin   -  Forgotten Books, 2017  - 

Galicia may justly be called the cradle of the Spanish nobility, for almost all Spain's proudest families have their roots in Gallegan soil, their titles having been given to their ancestors as a reward for the heroic resistance they offered to the Moors. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Galicia seems to have been left out Of count, and to have gradually sunk into Oblivion. Even the Spaniards themselves know very little about her to-day. Yet in the Middle Ages her fame as a goal Of pilgrims rivalled that Of Palestine, not only throughout Spain, but throughout the length and breadth Of Christendom; while earlier still, when she bravely resisted Julius Caesar's attempt at conquest, she won for herself no little glory. The small amount of information relative to Galicia which is to be Obtained from English and French books is distinctly unfavourable. We are told that her Climate is damp and rainy, and that her inhabitants are dull, stubborn, and stupid While her wonderful history, her exquisite scenery, and her fascinating architecture are barely alluded to, if not passed over in absolute silence. It is to Spanish writers that we must turn for information that is neither superficial nor unreliable.