<?php
function webARX_connect_to_db(){
  $servername = "remote_host";
  $username = "username";
  $password = "password";
  $dbname = "database_name";

  // Create connection
  $webARX_connection = new wpdb($username, $password, $dbname, $servername);

  if (empty($webARX_connection->show_errors())){
    return $webARX_connection;
  } else {
    return $webARX_connection->show_errors();
  }
}
?>