We had been at the Palace more than two months, and I had had no opportunity to see my father at all, who was quite ill at that time. We did not know whether we could ask leave of absence from the Court. I received letters from my father every day, telling me to have courage, and to do my duty. My mother asked the Young Empress if it would be correct to ask Her Majesty for permission to go home for a day or two. The Young Empress told us that it would be quite all right to do that, but she thought it would be better if we could wait until after the eighth, for there would be a feast on that day. The eighth day of the fourth moon every year is the ceremony of eating green peas. According to the Buddhist religion there is a hereafter which divides or grades, according to the life that is lived on earth, that is to say, those who live good lives go to Heaven when they die and those who are bad go to a bad place to suffer. On this occasion Her Majesty sent to the people she liked, each a plate containing eight peas, and we had to eat them. The Young Empress told me that if I presented a plate of peas to Her Majesty it would please her, which I did. This meant: "May we meet in the hereafter" (Chi Yuen Dou). Her Majesty was very happy that day. We went to the west side of the lake and had our luncheon there. Her Majesty talked to us about the first day we came to the Court, and then said to mother: "I wonder if Yu Keng is any better. When will he be able to come to the Court? I haven't seen him since he returned from France." (My father had asked three months leave of absence from the Court on account of his poor health.) My mother answered and said that he was feeling better, but that his legs were still very weak, and he could not walk much. Her Majesty then said to us: "Oh, I have forgotten to tell you that if you wish to go home, you can ask permission. I have been so busy lately, and forgot to remind you." We thanked her and told her that we would like to go home and see how my father was, so she gave orders that we should leave the Court the next day. Then she asked me how long I would like to stay at home, and of course I knew the custom, and told her that I was waiting for her orders: "Would two or three days be enough?" We told her that it suited us beautifully. I was so surprised when she mentioned it to us, and wondered if anyone had told her of our intentions, or if Her Majesty was a mind reader.

When she retired that afternoon I went to see the Young Empress, who was always very nice and kind, and asked me to sit near her. Her eunuch brought me a cup of tea. Her rooms were furnished exactly the same as Her Majesty's, but everything looked extremely dainty, and showed very good taste. We talked about the life at the Palace for a long time, and she told me that she was very fond of us, and so was Her Majesty. I told her that Her Majesty had mentioned to us about going home for two or three days and that I was surprised to see how thoughtful she was. She said that someone had reminded Her Majesty to let us go home, for we had been at the Court for more than two months. I found out afterwards that it was the head eunuch Li who had heard that we were anxious to go. The Young Empress said to me: "I want to teach you to be wise, that is, you are ordered to leave the Court to-morrow, but Her Majesty did not mention any particular hour. You must not talk about it to anyone, and don't show that you are excited to go home. Don't dress as if you are going out to-morrow, but be natural and do your work as if you don't care about going at all. Don't you remind her, in case she forgets to tell you to go, and come back on the second day, which is the custom. It will show that you are anxious to see Her Majesty, so you come back one day earlier than the appointed time." I was so happy to get this information and asked her if it would be all right to bring Her Majesty some presents when we returned to the Court. She said that was just the proper thing to do. The next day we did the same work, and went to the Audience Hall with Her Majesty, as usual. After the audience was over Her Majesty ordered her luncheon to be served at the country teahouse. This teahouse was built in country style, and right on top of her peony mountain, with bamboo and straw, and all the furniture was made of bamboo also. They were beautifully made, and the frames of the windows were carved into a line of characters—Shou (long life), and butterflies, with pink silk curtain hangings. At the rear of this exquisite little building was a bamboo shade, with railings all around, hung with red silk lanterns. The seats were built against the railings, so that one could sit on them comfortably. This was supposed to be used by the Court ladies as their waiting room. We played dice with Her Majesty when luncheon was over. We played a very long time, and I won the game that day. Her Majesty laughed and said to me: "You have luck to-day. I think you are so happy to go home that your fairies have helped you to win the game." As I mentioned before, this game was called "Eight Fairies Going across the Sea." "I think it is time for you to go now." While saying this she turned and asked one of the eunuchs what the time was, and he answered that it was half-past two. We kowtowed to Her Majesty, and stood waiting for more orders. Then she said: "I am sorry to see you go although I know you are coming back within two or three days. I know I shall miss you." To my mother she said: "Tell Yu Keng to take care of his health and get well soon. I have ordered four eunuchs to accompany you, and am sending some of my own rice for him." We had to kowtow again in thanking Her Majesty for her kindness and finally she said: "Nemen tzowba" (you can go now).

We withdrew, and found the Young Empress on the veranda. We courtesied to her, and said good-bye to the Court ladies and came to our rooms to get ready to start. Our eunuchs were very good, and had everything packed up ready for us. We gave ten taels to each of our eunuchs, for that was the custom, and gave four taels to each chair bearer of the Palace. When we arrived at the Palace Gate our own chairs were waiting for us. We said good-bye to our eunuchs. Strange to say they seemed attached to us and told us to come back soon. The four eunuchs ordered by Her Majesty to see us home were there, and as soon as we got into our chairs I saw them riding on horseback beside us. It seemed to me just like a dream the two months I had spent at the Court, and I must say I felt very sorry to leave Her Majesty, but at the same time I wanted very much to see my father. We got home after a two hours' ride, and found him looking much better, and one can imagine how happy he was to see us. The four eunuchs came into our parlor, and placed the yellow bag of rice on the table. My father thanked Her Majesty by kowtowing to the ground. We gave these eunuchs each a little present, and they departed.

I told my father about my life at the Palace, and how very kind Her Majesty was to me. He asked me if I could influence Her Majesty to reform some day, and hoped he would live to see it. Somehow or other I had the idea that I could and promised him that I would try my best.

Her Majesty sent two eunuchs to see us the next morning, and also sent us food and fruits. They told us that Her Majesty missed us, and had told them to ask if we missed her. We told these eunuchs that we were returning to the Court the next day. We stayed at home only two days and a great many people came to see us, and kept us busy all the time. My father suggested that we should start from the house at about 3:00 A. M., so as to get to the Summer Palace before Her Majesty was up. We left our house at 3:00 A. M. in total darkness, just like we had two months before. What a change. I thought I was the happiest girl in the world. I was told by many people, especially by the Young Empress, that Her Majesty was extremely fond of me. I had also heard that she did not care for young people at all. Although I was happy, I noticed that some of the Court ladies did not like me, and they made me uncomfortable on many occasions by not telling me just the way Her Majesty wanted the work to be done. They smiled to each other whenever Her Majesty was saying to my mother that she liked me, and that I was always careful in doing anything that pleased her. I knew I was going to see those people again. However, I made up my mind to fight my battles alone. I only wished to be useful to Her Majesty, and would not take any notice of them.

It was a little after five o'clock when we reached the Summer Palace. Our own eunuchs were very happy to see us again and told us that Her Majesty was not up yet and that we had time to go to our rooms, where they had some breakfast prepared for us. We went to see the Young Empress first, and found she was ready to go to Her Majesty's Palace. She was also very glad to see us, and told us that our Manchu costumes were all ready, and that she had seen them and they were perfectly lovely. We were very hungry, and enjoyed our breakfast immensely. After that we went to see Her Majesty. She was awake, so we went into her bedroom. We greeted her the same way that we did every morning, and kowtowed to her and thanked her for all the things she had sent us while we were at home. She sat up on the bed, smiled, and said: "Are you glad to come back? I know everyone who comes to me and stays for a while does not like to go away from here any more. I am glad to see you (to my mother). How is Yu Keng?" My mother told her that my father was much better. She asked us what we did for those two days, staying at home. She also wanted to know whether we still remembered which day she had chosen for us to change into our Manchu costume. We told her we knew the date, and were looking forward to it. The eunuchs brought in three large yellow trays, full of beautiful gowns, shoes, white silk socks, handkerchiefs, bags for nuts, in fact the whole set, including the gu'un dzan (Manchu headdress). We kowtowed to her, and told her we were very much pleased with everything she had given us. Her Majesty told the eunuchs to bring everything out for us to see. She said to us: "You see I give you one full official dress, one set of Chao Chu (amber heads), two embroidered gowns, four ordinary gowns for everyday wear, and two gowns for Chi Chen wear (the anniversary of the death of an Emperor or Empress), one sky blue, the other mauve, with very little trimming. I also have a lot of underwear for you." I was excited and told Her Majesty that I would like to commence to dress up at once. She smiled, and said: "You must wait until the day comes, the lucky day I have selected for you. You must try to fix your hair first, which is the most difficult thing to do. Ask the Young Empress to teach you." Although she told me to wait, I knew she was pleased to see that I showed so much enthusiasm. She asked me the first day when we came to the Court why my hair was so curly. I showed her that I curled it with paper, and she teased me ever afterwards. She also said that I could not pull my hair straight in time to wear Manchu clothes, that everyone would laugh at me, and how ugly I would look. That night one Court lady came over to me while I was sitting on the veranda and said: "I wonder if you will look nice in Manchu dress?" I told her I only wanted to look natural. "You have lived so many years abroad we consider you are a foreigner to us." I told her that as long as Her Majesty considered I was one of her own, I would be satisfied and that she need not worry herself about me. I knew they were jealous of us, so I went in search of the Young Empress and left this girl alone. We were talking with the Young Empress in the waiting room, and this girl came in and sat near me, smiling to herself most of the time. One of the servant girls was fixing some fresh flowers for Her Majesty. She looked at her and asked her why she was smiling. The Young Empress saw, and asked her the same question. She would not answer, but kept on smiling all the time. At this moment a eunuch came and said that Her Majesty wanted me. I afterwards tried to find out what she had told the Young Empress but could not. Several days passed very quietly. Her Majesty was happy, and so was I. One day the Young Empress reminded us that we should make all preparations in order to be able to dress ourselves properly on the eighteenth, as the time was getting short—only two days left. That night, after Her Majesty had retired, I went to my own room and fixed my headdress on and went to see the Young Empress. She said that I looked very nice, and that she was sure Her Majesty would like me better in Manchu costume. I told her that I used to wear Manchu dress when I was a little girl, before we went to Europe, and of course I knew how to put it on. I also told her that I could not understand why these girls looked upon me as a foreigner. She said that they only showed their ignorance, and that they were jealous of me and I should not pay any attention to them at all.



CHAPTER ELEVEN—OUR COSTUMES

THE next day we got up earlier than usual and dressed ourselves in our new gowns. I could not believe my own eyes, and asked several times whether that was myself or not. I found that I looked all right, although I hadn't been wearing this sort of costume for so long. They seemed to think that we would look awkward. Our own eunuchs were delighted to see us dressed that way. The Young Empress came in while passing our rooms on her way to the Empress Dowager's Palace, and waited for us to go with her. When we arrived at the waiting room a lot of people came in and looked at us, and talked so much about us, that it made me feel rather shy. Everyone told us that we looked much better that way than in foreign clothes, except the Emperor Kwang Hsu. He said to me: "I think your Parisian gowns are far prettier than this." I smiled and said nothing. He shook his head at me, and went into Her Majesty's bedroom. Li Lien Ying came and saw us, and was very much excited and told me to go and see Her Majesty at once. I told him that everyone was looking at us, as if we were curios. He said: "You don't know how nice you look now, and I wish that you would not wear foreign clothes at all." Her Majesty laughed so loud when she saw us that it made me uncomfortable, for I was afraid we looked unnatural to her. She said: "I cannot believe you are the same girls. Just look at yourselves in this looking-glass." She pointed to a large mirror in her room. "See how you have changed. I feel that you belong to me now. I must have some more gowns made for you." Then Li Lien Ying said that the twenty-fourth would be the first day of the Summer. On that day everyone would begin to wear jade hairpins instead of gold, and we had none. Her Majesty said to Li: "I am very glad you told me that. I must give them each a jade hairpin after having asked them to change into Manchu dress." Li went away and came back with a box of hairpins of pure green jade. Her Majesty took a beautiful one and handed it to my mother and told her that that pin had been worn by three Empresses. She took two very nice ones, and gave one to me and one to my sister. She told us that these two were a pair, and that the other Empress Dowager (the East Empress Dowager) used to wear one, and that the other was worn by herself when she was young. I felt ashamed that Her Majesty had given us so many presents and I had done nothing for her in any way. However, we thanked her most sincerely, and showed our appreciation. She said: "I look upon you as my own people, and the gowns I have made for you are the very best. I have also decided to let you wear the full Court dress, the same as one of the Princesses. You are my Court lady, so you are equally ranked here." Li stood there behind her and made a sign to us to kowtow to her. I cannot remember how many times I kowtowed that day. The headdress was very heavy, and I was not quite used to it; I was afraid it might fall off. Her Majesty also said that she would make our rank known to the Court on her seventieth birthday. I will explain this. On every decade from the time of her birth Her Majesty used to give special favors to anyone she liked, or to anyone who had done something for her, and had been useful to her. She could promote anyone at any time, but on these occasions it was something special. The Young Empress congratulated us, and said that Her Majesty was looking for a young Prince to marry me. She was also very fond of teasing. I wrote to my father about all the favors that had been given to me. He wrote me he hoped that I deserved them all, and that I must do all I could to be useful and loyal to Her Majesty as long as she lived.

I was very happy. Life was perfectly lovely at the Palace. Her Majesty was always nice and kind. I noticed the difference in the way she had treated us since (as she said) we had become Manchus once more. One day Her Majesty asked me while we were sailing on the lake in the moonlight, if I wanted to go to Europe any more. It was a superb night, and several boats were sailing behind us. In one boat several eunuchs were playing a kind of sweet music on the flute and an instrument very much like the mandolin, called Yeuh Chin (small harp, like the shape of the moon), with Her Majesty singing very softly to herself. I told her I was satisfied to be with her, and did not wish to go anywhere at all. She said that I must learn to sing poetry and that she would teach me every day. I told her that my father had made me study all kinds of poetry and I had composed some myself. She looked surprised and said: "Why didn't you tell me that before? I love poems. You must read to me sometimes. I have many books here containing poems of different dynasties." I told her that my knowledge of Chinese literature was very limited, and I dared not let her see how little I knew. I had only studied eight years. Her Majesty told me that the Young Empress and herself were the only ones who were familiar with Chinese literature at the Court. She told me that she tried to teach the Court ladies to read and write some time ago, but having found them so lazy she gave them up. My father told me to be very careful not to show them what I could do until I was asked, so I kept it to myself. After they found this out, some of the Court ladies were very disagreeable to me, and this went on day after day.

Except for this unpleasantness the fourth moon passed very agreeably. The first day of the fifth moon was a busy day for us all, as from the first to the fifth of the fifth moon was the festival of five poisonous insects, which I will explain later—also called the Dragon Boat Festival. All the Viceroys, Governors and high officials, besides the Imperial Family, Court ladies and eunuchs, all offer Her Majesty beautiful presents. I never saw such a lot of things as came into the Palace during this festival. Each person who sent in presents must accompany them with a sheet of yellow paper, and at the right lower corner the sender's name must be written and also the word Kuai Jin, meaning to present their gifts kneeling, also to write what the presents were. The eunuchs took big yellow trays to bring them in. During these five days everyone was busy, especially the eunuchs. I could not count just how many people sent presents to Her Majesty. The presents were of every kind, such as things for the household; silks and jewelry of all kinds and description. A large part of the presents were foreign goods of the ordinary kind. I also saw lovely carved thrones and embroideries. Her Majesty ordered them to be put away, and the foreign things to be kept in her Palace, for those were new to her.

The third day of the fifth moon was the day for just the people of the Palace to make presents. It was a most beautiful sight to see. We were busy all night making preparations, and had to go and help the Young Empress. The next morning we placed our presents in the big courtyard in these big yellow trays. The Young Empress had her trays in the first row. The presents from the Young Empress to the Empress Dowager were made by her own hands. There were ten pairs of shoes, silk embroidered handkerchiefs, little bags for betel nuts, and bags for tobacco, all exquisitely done. The Secondary wife of the Emperor Kwang Hsu presented about the same to Her Majesty. The Court ladies' presents were all different, as we could ask permission to go out shopping before the Feast. We could not go out together, for one or two of us must be there at all times, and it was very exciting to tell each other what we had bought. We ourselves did not ask permission to go out of the Palace, for we had our presents ready long before. Everyone seemed to be talking about presents, whether Her Majesty would like them or not. My mother, my sister and myself had written to Paris to get some lovely French brocades, one set of furniture, French Empire style. We had learned Her Majesty's taste already during our short stay there, so including those presents we also gave her fans, perfumes, soaps and some other French novelties. Her Majesty always looked over everything, and noticed some of the presents were of very poor quality, and wanted to know the sender's name. The eunuchs and servant girls also made her good and useful presents. Her Majesty would select the articles she liked the best, and order the rest to be put away, and she might never see them again. I must say that Her Majesty liked and admired some foreign things very much, she especially loved the French fancy brocades, for she was making new gowns almost every day. She was also pleased with soaps and powder that would beautify the skin. She always thanked us in a very nice way and said how very thoughtful we were in selecting beautiful articles for her. Her Majesty would also say something nice to the eunuchs and girls, and that made everyone feel pleased.

The fourth day of the fifth moon was the day that Her Majesty gave presents to us all, the different Princes, high officials, servant girls and eunuchs. Her memory was something extraordinary, for she could remember every one of the presents that had been given to her the day before, and the names of the givers also. That was a busy day for us. Her Majesty gave people presents according to the way they gave her. We had yellow sheets of paper and wrote out the names of those to whom she wished to give. That day Her Majesty was very angry with one of the wives of a certain Prince because her presents were the poorest. Her Majesty told me to keep that tray in her room and said she would go over them and see what they were. I knew she was not pleased, for she had a telltale face. She told us to measure the silks and ribbons in that tray, and leave it in the hall. The ribbons were all of different lengths, all too short to trim a gown, and the dress materials were not of good quality. Her Majesty said to me: "Now you look for yourself. Are these good presents? I know very well all these things were given to them by other people and they of course would select the best for themselves, and give me what was left. They know they are obliged to send me something. I am surprised to see how careless they are. Probably they thought as I receive so many presents I would not notice. They are mistaken, for I notice the poorest the first, in fact I can remember everything. I can see those who gave me things in order to please me, and those who gave because they were obliged to. I will return them the same way." She gave the Court ladies each a beautiful embroidered gown and a few hundred taels, the same to the Young Empress and the Secondary wife. The presents which she gave us were a little different, consisting of two embroidered gowns, several simple ones, jackets and sleeveless jackets, shoes, and flowers for the Manchu headdress. She said that we had not so many gowns, and instead of giving us the money, she had things made for us. Besides that, she gave me a pair of very pretty earrings, but none to my sister, for she noticed that I had a pair of ordinary gold earrings, while my sister had a pair set with pearls and jade. Her Majesty said to my mother: "Yu Tai Tai. I can see you love one daughter better than the other. Roonling has such pretty earrings and poor Derling has none." Before my mother could answer her she had turned to me while I was standing at the back of her chair: "I will have a nice pair made for you. You are mine now." My mother told her that I did not like to wear heavy earrings. Her Majesty laughed and said: "Never mind, she is mine now, and I will give her everything she needs. You have nothing to do with her." The earrings she gave me were very heavy. Her Majesty said that if I would wear them every day I would get used to them, and so it proved that after some time I thought nothing of it.

Now about this Feast. It is also called the Dragon Boat Feast. The fifth of the fifth moon at noon was the most poisonous hour for the poisonous insects, and reptiles such as frogs, lizards, snakes, hide themselves in the mud, for that hour they are paralyzed. Some medical men search for them at that hour and place them in jars, and when they are dried, sometime use them as medicine. Her Majesty told me this, so that day I went all over everywhere and dug into the ground, but found nothing. The usual custom was that at noon Her Majesty took a small cup filled with spirits of wine, and added a kind of yellow powder (something like sulphur). She took a small brush and dipped it into the cup and made a few spots of this yellow paint under our nostrils and ears. This was to prevent any insects from crawling on us during the coming summer. The reason why it was also called the Dragon Boat Festival was because at the time of the Chou Dynasty the country was divided into several parts. Each place had a ruler. The Emperor Chou had a Prime Minister named Chi Yuan, who advised him to make alliance with the other six countries, but the Emperor refused, and Chi Yuan thought that the country would be taken by others in the near future. He could not influence the Emperor, so he made up his mind to commit suicide and jumped into the river, taking a large piece of stone with him. This happened on the fifth day of the fifth moon, so the year afterwards, the Emperor got into a Dragon boat to worship his soul, and throw rice cakes, called Tzu Tsi, into the river. On that day the people have celebrated this feast ever since. At the Palace the theatre played first this history, which was very interesting, and also played the insects trying to hide themselves before the most poisonous hour arrived. On that day we all wore tiger shoes, the front part of which was made of a tiger's head, with little tigers made of yellow silk to wear on the headdress. These tigers were only for the children to wear, and signified that they would be as strong as a tiger, but Her Majesty wanted us to wear them also. The wives of the Manchu officials came to the Court, and when they saw us they laughed at us. We told them it was by Her Majesty's orders.

A register recording the birthdays of all the Court ladies was kept by the head eunuch, and a few days before my own birthday came around, the tenth day of the fifth moon, he informed me that the custom of the Court was to make a present to Her Majesty and said that the present should take the form of fruit, cakes, etc., so I ordered eight boxes of different kinds.

Early in the morning I put on full Court dress, and made myself look as nice as possible and went to wish Her Majesty good morning. When she had finished dressing, the eunuchs brought in the presents and, kneeling, I presented them to Her Majesty, bowing to the ground nine times. She thanked me and wished me a happy birthday. She then made me a present of a pair of sandalwood bracelets, beautifully carved, also a few rolls of brocade silk. She also informed me that she had ordered some macaroni in honor of my birthday. This macaroni is called (Chang Shou Me'en) long life macaroni. This was the custom. I again bowed and thanked her for her kindness and thoughtfulness. After bowing to the Young Empress and receiving in return two pairs of shoes and several embroidered neckties, I returned to my room, where I found presents from all the Court ladies.

Altogether I had a very happy birthday.

I can never forget the fifteenth day of the fifth moon as long as I live, for that was a bad day for everyone. As usual we went to Her Majesty's bedroom quite early that morning. She could not get up and complained that her back ached so much. We rubbed her back, in turns, and finally she got up, though a little late. She was not satisfied. The Emperor came in and knelt down to wish her good morning, but she scarcely took any notice of him. I noticed that when the Emperor saw that Her Majesty was not well, he said very little to her. The eunuch who dressed her hair every morning was ill, and had ordered another one to help her. Her Majesty told us to watch him very closely to see that he did not pull her hair off. She could not bear to see even one or two hairs fall out. This eunuch was not used to trickery, for instance, in case the hair was falling off, he could not hide it like the other one did. This poor man did not know what to do with any that came out. He was frightened, and Her Majesty, seeing him through the mirror, asked him whether he had pulled her hair out. He said that he had. This made her furious, and she told him to replace it. I almost laughed, but the eunuch was very much frightened and started to cry. Her Majesty ordered him to leave the room, and said she would punish him later. We helped her to fix up her hair. I must say it was not an easy job, for she had very long hair and it was difficult to comb.

She went to the morning audience, as usual, and after that she told the head eunuch what had happened. This Li was indeed a bad and cruel man, and said: "Why not beat him to death?" Immediately she ordered Li to take this man to his own quarters to receive punishment. Then Her Majesty said the food was bad, and ordered the cooks to be punished also. They told me that whenever Her Majesty was angry everything went wrong, so I was not surprised that so many things happened that day. Her Majesty said that we all looked too vain with our hair too low down at the back of the head. (This Manchu headdress is placed right in the center of one's head and the back part is called the swallow's tail, and must reach the bottom part of one's collar.) We had our hair done up the same way every day, and she had previously never said a word about it. She looked at us, and said: "Now I am going to the audience, and don't need you all here. Go back to your rooms and fix your hair all over again. If I ever see you all like that again I am going to cut your hair off." I was never more surprised in my life when I heard her speak so sharply to us. I don't know whether I was spoken to or not, but I thought it well to be wise, and I answered I would. We were all ready to go and Her Majesty stood there watching us. When we were about five or six feet away we heard her scolding Chun Shou (the girl who was neither a Court lady nor a servant). Her Majesty said she was pretending she was all right, and Her Majesty ordered her to go also. When we were walking towards our own place, some of them laughed at Chun Shou, which made her angry. When Her Majesty was angry with anyone, she would say that we were all doing something on purpose to make her angry. I must say that everyone of us was scared, and wondered who would have dared to do that. On the contrary, we tried our best to please her in every way.

But that day she was furious all day and I tried to stay away from her. I noticed some of the eunuchs went to her to ask questions concerning important matters, but she would not look at them, but kept on reading her book. To tell the truth, I felt miserable that day. At the beginning I thought all the eunuchs were faithful servants, but seeing them every day, I got to know them. It did not do them any harm to be punished once in a while.

The Young Empress told me to go in and wait on Her Majesty as usual. She said that probably if I would suggest playing dice with her, she might forget her troubles. At first I did not want to go, for I was afraid that she might say something to me, but seeing that the poor Young Empress spoke to me so nicely, I told her I would try. When I entered Her Majesty's sitting room I found her reading a book. She looked at me and said: "Come over here, I would like to tell you something. You know these people at the Palace are no good and I don't like them at all. I don't want them to poison your ears by telling you how wicked I am. Don't talk to them. You must not fix your hair too low down at the back of your head. I was not angry with you this morning. I know you are different. Don't let them influence you. I want you to be on my side, and do as I tell you." Her Majesty spoke very kindly to me, and her face changed also—not at all the same face she had that morning. Of course I promised her that I would be only too happy to do all I could to please her. She spoke to me just like a good mother would speak to a dear child. I changed my opinion and thought that perhaps after all she was right, but I had often heard from the officials that one cannot be good to a eunuch, as he would do all he could to injure you without any reason whatsoever.

I noticed that day they all seemed to be more careful in doing their work. I was told that when once Her Majesty got angry, she would never finish. On the contrary, she talked to me very nicely, just as if there had been no troubles at all. She was not difficult to wait upon, only one had to watch her moods. I thought how fascinating she was, and I had already forgotten that she had been angry. She seemed to have guessed what I was thinking, and said: "I can make people hate me worse than poison, and can also make them love me. I have that power." I thought she was right there.



CHAPTER TWELVE—THE EMPRESS AND MRS. CONGER

ON the twenty-sixth day of the fifth moon, during the morning audience, Prince Ching told Her Majesty that Mrs. Conger, the wife of the American Minister to Peking, had asked for a private audience, and would Her Majesty please mention a day. She told him not to give any answer until the next day, just to give her time to think it over. I was sitting behind the large screen, listening, but the other Court ladies made too much noise, so Her Majesty ordered them not to say a word during audience. I was very glad myself, because I could listen to some of the interesting conversations between the Empress Dowager and her Ministers. After the audience, Her Majesty ordered her lunch to be served on the top of the hill at Pai Yuen Dien (Spreading Cloud Pavilion). She said that she preferred to walk, so we followed her very slowly. To get to this place we had to mount two hundred and seventy-two steps, besides ten minutes' climbing over rough stones. She did not seem to mind the climbing part at all. It was the funniest thing to see two little eunuchs on either side, to support her arms, trying to keep pace with her. I noticed that she was very much preoccupied, and did not speak to any of us. When we arrived at our destination we were very tired and quite exhausted. Her Majesty, who was a good walker herself, laughed at us. She was always very much pleased when she excelled in games of skill or endurance. She said: "You see I am old, and can walk much faster than you young people. You are all no use. What is the matter with you?" Her Majesty was very fond of receiving compliments. I had been there long enough to know and had learned to say things which would please her. She also hated anyone to pay her compliments at the wrong moment, so one had to be very careful even in paying her compliments.

This "spreading cloud" pavilion was a beautiful Palace. It had an open space in front of the building, just like one of the courtyards, with pink and white oleanders all over the place. There was a porcelain table and several porcelain stools. Her Majesty sat on her own yellow satin stool and was drinking her tea in silence. It was very windy that day, although the sky was blue with warm sunshine. Her Majesty sat there just for a few minutes, and then said it was too windy and went into the building. I was more than glad to go in, too, and whispered to the Young Empress that I thought the wind might blow off my headdress. The eunuchs brought the luncheon and placed everything upon the table. The Young Empress made a sign for us to follow her, which we did. When we came to the back veranda we sat down on the window seats. I will explain about these seats. All the windows were built low at the Palace, and on the veranda there was something like a bench built along the window, about a foot wide. There were no chairs to be seen excepting Her Majesty's thrones. The Young Empress asked me whether I had noticed that Her Majesty had something on her mind. I told her that perhaps she was thinking about the private audience which Prince Ching had mentioned that morning. She said that I had guessed right, and asked: "Do you know anything about this audience? When will it take place?" I said that Her Majesty had not yet given her answer.

By this time Her Majesty had finished eating and was walking up and down the room, watching us eating. She came over to my mother and said: "I am just wondering why Mrs. Conger asks for a private audience. Perhaps she has something to say to me. I would like to know just what it is so I can prepare an answer." My mother said that probably Mrs. Conger had someone visiting her who wished to be presented to Her Majesty. "No, it can't be that, because they must give the list of names of those who wish to come to the Palace. I don't mind the formal audiences, but I don't think that I should have private ones at all. I don't like to be questioned, as you all know. The foreigners are, of course, very nice and polite, according to their own way, but they cannot compare with us, so far as etiquette is concerned. I may be conservative in saying that I admire our custom and will not change it as long as I live. You see our people are taught to be polite from their earliest childhood, and just look back at the oldest teachings and compare them with the new. People seem to like the latter the best. I mean that the new idea is to be Christians, to chop up their Ancestral Tablets and burn them. I know many families here who have broken up because of the missionaries, who are always influencing the young people to believe their religion. Now I tell you why I feel uneasy about this audience is because we are too polite to refuse anyone who asks any favors in person. The foreigners don't seem to understand that. I'll tell you what I will do. Whenever they ask me anything, I'll simply tell them that I am not my own boss, but have to consult with my Ministers; that although I am the Empress Dowager of China, I must also obey the law. To tell the truth, I like Madame Uchida (wife of the Japanese Minister to Peking) very much. She is always very nice and doesn't ask any silly questions. Of course the Japanese are very much like ourselves, not at all forward. Last year, before you came to the Court, a missionary lady came with Mrs. Conger, and suggested that I should establish a school for girls at the Palace. I did not like to offend her, and said that I would take it into consideration. Now, just imagine it for a moment. Wouldn't it be foolish to have a school at the Palace; besides, where am I going to get so many girls to study? I have enough to do as it is. I don't want all the children of the Imperial family studying at my Palace."

Her Majesty laughed while she was telling us this, and everyone else laughed, too. She said: "I am sure you will laugh. Mrs. Conger is a very nice lady. America is always very friendly towards China, and I appreciate their nice behavior at the Palace during the twenty-sixth year of Kwang Hsu (1900), but I cannot say that I love the missionaries, too. Li Lien Ying told me that these missionaries here give the Chinese a certain medicine, and that after that they wish to become Christians, and then they would pretend to tell the Chinese to think it over very carefully, for they would never force anyone to believe their religion against their own will. Missionaries also take the poor Chinese children and gouge their eyes out, and use them as a kind of medicine." I told her that that was not true; that I had met a great many missionaries, and that they were very kind-hearted and willing to do anything to help the poor Chinese. I also told her what they had done for the poor orphans—given them a home, food and clothing; that sometimes they went into the interior and found the blind children who might be useless to their parents, and when they get them they have to support them. I know several cases like that. These country people offer their deformed children to the missionaries, as they are too poor to feed and take care of them. I told her about their schools, and how they helped the poor people. Her Majesty then laughed, and said: "Of course I believe what you say, but why don't these missionaries stay in their own country and be useful to their own people?" I thought it would be of no use for me to talk too much, but at the same time I would like her to know of the dreadful times some of the missionaries had in China. Some time ago, two of them were murdered at Wu Shuih, in June, 1892 (a little below Hankow), the church being burnt down by the mob. My father was appointed by Viceroy Chang Chih Tung to investigate the matter. After much trouble he caught three of the murderers and, according to the Chinese law, they were put to death by hanging in wooden cages, and the Government paid an indemnity to the families of the murdered missionaries. The year after, 1893, a Catholic church was burnt down at Mar Cheng, on the Yangtse, near Ichang. The mob said they saw many blind children at the church, who were made to work after having their eyes gouged out. The Prefect of Ichang Province said it was true that missionaries did get the Chinese childrens' eyes for making medicine, so my father suggested having those blind children brought into the Yamen and ask them. The Prefect was a most wicked man, and was very anti-foreign also. He gave the poor children plenty of food, and taught them to say that the missionaries did gouge their eyes out, but when they were brought in the next day they said that the missionaries treated them very kindly and gave them a nice home, good food and clothing. They said they were blind long before they became Catholics, and also said that the Prefect had taught them to say that the missionaries were cruel to them, which was not true. The blind children begged to go back to the school and said that they were very happy there.

Her Majesty said: "That may be all right for them to help the poor and relieve their suffering. For instance, like our great Buddha Ju Lai, who fed the hungry birds with his own flesh. I would love them if they would leave my people alone. Let us believe our own religion. Do you know how the Boxer rising began? Why, the Chinese Christians were to blame. The Boxers were treated badly by them, and wanted revenge. Of course that is always the trouble with the low class of people. They went too far, and at the same time thought to make themselves rich by setting fire to every house in Peking. It made no difference whose house. They wanted to burn so long as they could get money. These Chinese Christians are the worst people in China. They rob the poor country people of their land and property, and the missionaries, of course, always protect them, in order to get a share themselves. Whenever a Chinese Christian is taken to the Magistrate's Yamen, he is not supposed to kneel down on the ground and obey the Chinese law, as others do, and is always very rude to his own Government Officials. Then these missionaries do the best they can to protect him, whether he is wrong or not, and believe everything he says and make the magistrate set the prisoner free. Do you remember that your father established rules in the twenty-fourth year of Kwang Hsu, how the Chinese officials should treat the Bishops whenever they had dealings with each other? I know the common class of people become Christians—also those who are in trouble—but I don't believe that any of the high officials are Christians." Her Majesty looked around and whispered: "Kang Yue Wai (the reformer in 1898) tried to make the Emperor believe that religion. No one shall believe as long as I live. I must say that I admire the foreigners in some ways. For instance, their navies and armies, and engineers, but as regards civilization I should say that China is the first country by all means. I know that many people believe that the Government had connections with the Boxers, but that is not true. As soon as we found out the trouble we issued several Edicts, and ordered the soldiers to drive them out, but they had gone too far already. I made up my mind not to go out of the Palace at all. I am an old woman, and did not care whether I died or not, but Prince Tuang and Duke Lan suggested that we should go at once. They also suggested that we should go in disguise, which made me very angry, and I refused. After the return of the Court to Peking, I was told that many people believed that I did go in disguise, and said that I was dressed in one of my servant's clothes, and rode in a broken cart drawn by a mule, and that this old woman servant of mine was dressed as the Empress Dowager, and rode in my sedan chair. I wonder who made that story up? Of course everyone believed it, and such a story would get to the foreigners in Peking without any trouble.

"Now to come back to the question of the Boxer Rising. How badly I was treated by my own servants. No one seemed anxious to go with me, and a great many ran away before the Court had any idea of leaving the Capital at all, and those who stayed would not work, but stood around and waited to see what was going to happen. I made up my mind to ask and see how many would be willing to go, so I said to everyone: 'If you servants are willing to go with me, you can do so, and those who are not willing, can leave me.' I was very much surprised to find that there were very few standing around listening. Only seventeen eunuchs, two old women servants and one servant girl, that was Sho Chu. Those people said they would go with me, no matter what happened. I had 3,000 eunuchs, but they were nearly all gone before I had the chance of counting them. Some of the wicked ones were even rude to me, and threw my valuable vases on the stone floor, and smashed them. They knew that I could not punish them at that important moment, for we were leaving. I cried very much and prayed for our Great Ancestors' Souls to protect us. Everyone knelt with me and prayed. The Young Empress was the only one of my family who went with me. A certain relative of mine, whom I was very fond of, and gave her everything she asked, refused to go with me. I knew that the reason she would not go was because she thought the foreign soldiers would catch up the runaway Court, and kill everyone.

"After we had been gone about seven days, I sent one eunuch back, to find out who was still in Peking. She asked this eunuch whether there were any foreign soldiers chasing us, and whether I was killed. Soon after the Japanese soldiers took her Palace, and drove her out. She thought she was going to die anyway, and as I was not yet assassinated, she might catch up with the Court, and go with us. I could not understand how she traveled so fast. One evening we were staying at a little country house, when she came in with her husband, a nice man. She was telling me how much she had missed me, and how very anxious she had been all that time to know whether I was safe or not, and cried. I refused to listen to what she was saying and told her plainly that I did not believe a word. From that time she was finished for me. I had a very hard time, traveling in a sedan chair, from early morning, before the sun rose, until dark and in the evening had to stop at some country place. I am sure you would pity me, old as I am, that I should have had to suffer in that way.

"The Emperor went all the way in a cart, drawn by a mule, also the Empress. I went along, and was praying to our Great Ancestors for protection, but the Emperor was very quiet, and never opened his mouth. One day something happened. It rained so much and some of the chair carriers ran away. Some of the mules died suddenly. It was very hot, and the rain was pouring down on our heads. Five small eunuchs ran away also, because we were obliged to punish them the night before on account of their bad behavior to the Magistrate, who did all he could to make me comfortable, but of course food was scarce. I heard these eunuchs quarreling with the Magistrate, who bowed to the ground, begging them to keep quiet, and promised them everything. I was of course very angry. Traveling under such circumstances one ought to be satisfied that one was provided for.

"It took us more than a month before we reached Shi An. I cannot tell you how fatigued I was, and was of course worrying very much, which made me quite ill for almost three months. So long as I live I cannot forget it.

"We returned to Peking early in the twenty-eighth year of Kwang Hsu and I had another dreadful feeling when I saw my own Palace again. Oh! it was quite changed; a great many valuable ornaments broken or stolen. All the valuable things at the Sea Palace had been taken away, and someone had broken the fingers of my white jade Buddha, to whom I used to worship every day. Several foreigners sat on my throne and had their photos taken. When I was at the Shi An I was just like being sent into exile, although the Viceroy's Yamen was prepared for us, but the building was very old, damp and unhealthy. The Emperor became ill. It would take a long time to tell you everything; I thought I had enough trouble, but this last was the worst. When I have time, I will tell you more about it. I want you to know the absolute truth.

"Now let us come back to the question of Mrs. Conger's private audience. There must be something special, but I hope that she will not ask for anything, for I hate to refuse her. Can you guess what it is?" I told Her Majesty that there could not be anything special; besides, Mrs. Conger considered herself to be a person who knew Chinese etiquette very well, and I didn't believe she would ask for anything at all. Her Majesty said: "The only objection I have is that Mrs. Conger always brings one of the missionaries as her interpreter, when I have your mother, your sister and yourself, which I think should be sufficient. I don't think it is right for her to do that; besides, I cannot understand their Chinese very well. I like to see the ladies of the Diplomatic body sometimes, but not the missionaries. I will stop that when the opportunity comes."

The next morning Prince Ching told Her Majesty that the American Admiral, and Mrs. Evans, and suite wished to be presented to her. The American Minister asked two private audiences. He said he had made a mistake by telling her that Mrs. Conger had asked an audience for herself, the day before.

After the regular morning audience was over Her Majesty laughed and said: "Didn't I tell you yesterday that there must be a reason for asking an audience? I rather would like to meet the American Admiral and his wife." Turning to us she said: "Be sure and fix everything up pretty, change everything in my bedroom, so as not to show them our daily life." We all said "Jur" (yes), but we knew it was going to be a hard task to turn the Palace upside down.

It was just the night before the appointed audience. We started to work taking off the pink silk curtains from every window, and changing them for sky blue (the color she hated); then we changed the cushions on the chairs to the same color. While we were watching the eunuchs doing the work, several of them came into the room, carrying a large tray full of clocks. By this time her Majesty had come into the room, and ordered us to remove all her white and green jade Buddhas and take some of the jade ornaments away, for those things were sacred, and no foreigners should see them, so we replaced them with these clocks, instead. We also took away the three embroidered door curtains, and changed them for ordinary blue satin ones. I must explain that these three curtains were sacred, too. They were embroidered to represent five hundred Buddhist deities, on old gold satin, and had been used by Emperor Tou Kwang. Her Majesty believed that by hanging these curtains at her door they would guard against evil spirits entering her room. The order was that one of us should remember to place them back again when the audience was over. We fixed every piece of furniture in her bedroom. Her toilet table was the most important thing. She would not let anyone see it-not even the wives of the Officials who came in, so of course we had to put it in a safe place, and lock it up. We changed her bed from pink color into blue. All her furniture was made of sandalwood, also carvings on her bed. This sandalwood, before it was made into furniture, was placed in different temples, to be sanctified, so of course no foreigner could see it. As we could not take this carving from her bed, we covered it up with embroidered hangings. While we were working Her Majesty came in and told us not to hurry in her bedroom, because the audience the next day would only be for Admiral Robley Evans and his staff, and they would not visit the private rooms. The audience for Mrs. Evans and the other ladies would be the day after. She said it was important to see that the Audience Hall was fixed up properly. She said: "Place the only carpet we have here in the hall. I don't like carpets anyway, but it cannot be helped."

After we had finished, Her Majesty started to tell us what to wear for the ladies' audience. She said to me: "You need not come to the throne to-morrow, there will only be gentlemen. I will get one of the Ministers from Wai-Wu-Pu (Bureau of Foreign Affairs). I don't want you to talk to so many strange men. It is not the Manchu custom. These people are all strangers. They might go back to America and tell everybody what you look like." At the same time Her Majesty gave orders for the Imperial Yellow Gown to be brought in next day, for the gentleman's audience. She said that she must dress in her official robe for this occasion. This robe was made of yellow satin, embroidered with gold dragons. She wore a necklace composed of one hundred and eight pearls, which formed part of this official dress. She said: "I don't like to wear this official robe. It is not pretty, but I am afraid I will have to." She said to all of us: "You need not dress especially."

The next morning Her Majesty got up early, and was busier than ever. It seemed to me that whenever we had an audience we always had so much trouble. Something was sure to go wrong and make Her Majesty angry. She said: "I want to look nice, and be amiable, but these people always make me angry. I know the American Admiral will go home and tell his people about me, and I don't want him to have a wrong impression." It took her almost two hours to dress her hair, and by that time it was too late for her usual morning audience, so she proposed holding that after the foreigners had gone away. She looked at herself in the looking-glass, with her Imperial robe on, and told me that she did not like it, and asked me whether I thought the foreigners would know that it was an official robe. "I look too ugly in yellow. It makes my face look the same color as my robe," she said. I suggested that as it was only a private audience, if she wished to dress differently, it would not matter at all. She seemed delighted, and I was afraid lest I had not made a proper suggestion, but anyway I was too busy to worry. Her Majesty ordered that her different gowns should be brought in, and after looking them over she selected one embroidered all over with the character "Shou" (long life), covered with precious stones and pearls, on pale green satin. She tried it on, and said that it was becoming to her, so she ordered me to go to the jewel-room and get flowers to match for her hair. On one side of the headdress was the character (shou) and on the other side was a bat (the bat in China is considered to be lucky). Of course her shoes, handkerchiefs and everything else were embroidered in the same way. After she was dressed, she smiled and said: "I look all right now. We had better go to the audience hall and wait for them, and at the same time we can play a game of dice." Then to us all she said: "All of you will stay at the back of the screen during the audience. You can see all right, but I don't wish that you should be seen." The eunuchs had laid the map down on the table and were just going to commence playing dice, when one of the high rank eunuchs came into the Hall and, kneeling down, said that the American Admiral had arrived at the Palace Gate, together with the American Minister—ten or twelve people altogether. Her Majesty smiled and said to me: "I thought it was just going to be the American Minister and the Admiral, and one or two of his staff. Who can the rest of the people be? However, never mind, I will receive them anyway." We helped her to mount her throne upon the dais, fixed her clothes, and handed her the paper containing the speech she was to give. Then we went back of the screen, with the Young Empress. It was so very quiet, not a sound anywhere, that we could hear the boots of the visitors as they walked over the stones in the courtyard. We were peeping from behind the screen, and could see several of the Princes mounting the steps, conducting these people to the Hall. The Admiral and the American Minister came in, and stood in a line. They bowed three times to the Empress Dowager. The Emperor was also on his throne, sitting at her left hand. His throne was very small, just like an ordinary chair. Her Majesty's speech was simply to welcome the Admiral to China. They then came up to the dais and shook hands with their Majesties, ascending on one side, and retiring down the other. Prince Ching took them into another Palace building, where they had lunch, and the audience was over. It was very simple and formal.

After the audience was over Her Majesty said that she could hear us laughing behind the screen, and that maybe the people would talk about it, and did not like it at all. I told her that it was not myself who laughed. She said: "The next time when I have men in audience you need not come into the Audience Hall at all. Of course it is different when I have my own people at the morning audiences."

Her Majesty did not go to her bedroom that afternoon. She said she wanted to wait until these people had gone and hear what they had to say. After a couple of hours Prince Ching came in and reported that they had lunched, and that they were very pleased to have seen Her Majesty, and had gone away. I must here explain that the Admiral had entered by the left gate of the Palace. The middle gate was only used for Their Majesties, with one exception, viz.: in the case of anyone presenting credentials. Then they entered by the center gate. The Admiral left by the same gate he had entered. Her Majesty asked Prince Ching whether he had showed them around the Palace buildings or not (this was in the Summer Palace), and what they had thought about it. Did they say anything, and were they pleased or not. She said to Prince Ching: "You can go now, and make the necessary preparations for the ladies' audience next day." That same evening Her Majesty said to us: "You must all dress alike to-morrow, and wear your prettiest clothes. These foreign ladies who are coming to the Palace may never see us again, and if we don't show them what we have now, we will not have another opportunity." She ordered us all, including the Young Empress, to wear pale blue, also the Secondary wife of the Emperor. She said to me: "If the ladies ask who the Secondary wife is, you can tell them; but if they don't ask, I don't want you to introduce her to them at all. I have to be very careful. These people at the Palace here are not used to seeing so many people and they might not have nice manners, and the foreigners will laugh at them." Then she said to us again: "I always give presents when ladies come to the Court, but don't know whether I will give this time or not, for at the last audience I did not give anything at all." Addressing me, she said: "You can prepare some pieces of jade, in case I need them. Put them in a nice box and have them all ready. Don't bring them to me until I ask for them." She said: "We have talked enough now, and you can all go to rest." We courtesied good night. I was only too glad to go to my own room.

The next morning everything went on very nicely and there was no trouble at all. Her Majesty was well satisfied, for we had all taken great care in fixing ourselves up. She said to me: "You never put enough paint on your face. People might take you for a widow. You will have to paint your lips, as that is the custom. I don't need you yet, so go back and put some more paint on." So I went back to my room and painted myself just like the rest of them, but I could not help laughing at seeing myself so changed. By the time I got to her room again, she said: "Now you look all right. If you think that powder is expensive, I will buy some for you." She said that with a laugh, for she always liked to tease me.

By the time Her Majesty had finished her toilet, one of the ladies brought a number of gowns for her to select one from. She said she would wear pale blue that day. She looked over twenty or thirty gowns, but found nothing which suited her, so she gave orders for some more to be brought in. Finally she chose a blue gown embroidered with one hundred butterflies, and wore a purple sleeveless jacket, which was also embroidered with butterflies. At the bottom of this gown were pearl tassels. She wore her largest pearls, one of which was almost as large as an egg, and was her favorite jewel. She only wore this on special occasions. She wore two jade butterflies on each side of her headdress. Her bracelets and rings were also all designed in butterflies, in fact everything matched. Among her beautiful jewels, she always wore some kind of fresh flowers. White jessamine was her favorite flower. The Young Empress and the Court ladies were not allowed to wear fresh flowers at all unless given to them by Her Majesty as a special favor. We could wear pearls and jade, etc., but she said that the fresh flowers were for her, her idea being that we were too young, and might spoil fresh flowers if we wore them. After she was dressed we went into the Audience Hall. She ordered her cards to be brought in as she wanted to play solitaire. She talked all the time she was playing, and said that we must all be very nice and polite to the American ladies, and show them everywhere. She said: "It doesn't matter now, for we have everything changed." She said: "I want to laugh myself. What is the use of changing everything? They will imagine we are always like this. By and bye, if they question you about anything, just tell them that it is not so, and that we change everything at each audience, just to give them a bit of surprise. You must tell it some day, otherwise no one will know it at all, and the trouble would not be worth the while." It was a private audience for ladies, and Her Majesty did not use the big throne, but was sitting on her little throne at the left side of the Audience Hall, where she received her own Ministers every morning; the Emperor was standing. A eunuch came in, the same as the day before, and announced that the ladies had arrived at the Palace Gate, nine in all. Her Majesty sent some of the Court ladies to meet them in the courtyard, and bring them to the Audience Hall, which they did. I was standing at the right side of Her Majesty's chair, and could see them mounting the steps. Her Majesty whispered to me, and asked: "Which one is Mrs. Evans?" As I had never seen the lady, I answered that I could not tell, but when they got nearer I saw a lady walking with the American Minister's wife, and concluded that she must be Mrs. Evans, and told Her Majesty. As they got nearer, Her Majesty said: "Again that missionary lady with Mrs. Conger. I think she must like to see me. She comes every time. I will tell her I am very glad to see her always, and see if she understands what I mean."

Mrs. Conger shook hands with Her Majesty and presented Mrs. Evans and also the wives of the American officers. I was watching Her Majesty and saw that she was very nice and amiable, with such a pleasant smile—so different from her everyday manner. She told them she was delighted to see them. Her Majesty ordered the eunuchs to have chairs brought in for the ladies, and at the same time other eunuchs brought in tea. Her Majesty asked Mrs. Evans whether she liked China; what she thought of Peking; how long she had been there; how long she was going to stay, and where she was staying. I was so accustomed to Her Majesty's questions that I knew exactly what she would ask. Mrs. Conger told her interpreter to tell Her Majesty that she had not seen her for such a long time, and enquired about Her Majesty's health. Her Majesty said to me: "You tell Mrs. Conger that I am in good health and that I am delighted to see her. It is a pity that I cannot hold an audience more frequently, otherwise I could see more of her." She continued: "The Imperial Princess (her adopted daughter-daughter of Prince Kung) will accompany them to lunch." This ended the audience.

Lunch was served at the back of her own Palace building (Yang Yuen Hsuen—the place where the clouds gather to rest). This room was specially furnished as a banqueting room where refreshments could be served. All the Court ladies went to the lunch, except Her Majesty, the Young Empress and the Secondary wife. It had taken me two hours to fix the table for the luncheon. Her Majesty ordered that a white foreign tablecloth should be used, as it looked cleaner. The eunuch gardeners had decorated the table with fresh flowers, and Her Majesty gave instructions as to how the seats were to be placed. She said: "Mrs. Evans is the guest of honor. Although Mrs. Conger is the wife of the American Minister, she is more of a resident, so Mrs. Evans must have the principal seat." She also told me to arrange to seat everybody according to their respective ranks. The Imperial Princess and Princess Shun (Her Majesty's niece, sister of the Young Empress) were hostesses, and were to sit opposite each other. We placed golden menu holders and little gold plates for almonds and watermelon seeds; the rest all silver ware, including chopsticks. Her Majesty ordered that foreign knives and forks should be provided also. The food was served in Manchu style, and was composed of twenty-four courses, besides sweetmeats—candies and fruits. Her Majesty instructed us that only the best champagne was to be served. She said: "I know that foreign ladies love to drink."

I think I was the only one who was really happy to meet these ladies, more so than the rest of the Court ladies, the reason being that Her Majesty lectured them too severely, telling them how to behave, so that they had grown to hate the very mention of a foreign audience. While we were eating, a eunuch came in and told me that Her Majesty was waiting at her private Palace, and that I should bring these ladies there after the lunch was over. So when we had finished we entered her own Palace and found her waiting there for us. She got up and told me to ask Mrs. Evans whether she had had anything to eat—that the food was not very good. (This is a custom with the Chinese when entertaining, always to underrate the food.) She said that she would like to show Mrs. Evans her private apartments, so that she could form some idea of the way we lived, so she took Mrs. Evans to one of her bedrooms. She invited Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Conger to sit down, and the eunuchs brought in tea, as usual. Her Majesty asked Mrs. Evans to stay a little while in Peking, and to visit the different temples. She said: "Our country, although very old, has not such fine buildings as there are in America. I suppose you will find everything very strange. I am rather too old now, otherwise I would like to travel around the world. I have read much about different countries, but of course there is nothing like visiting the different places and seeing them yourself. However, one cannot tell. I may be able to go after all, by and bye, but I am afraid to leave my own country. By the time I returned I should not know the place any more, I'm afraid. Here everything seems to depend on me. Our Emperor is quite young."

She then turned and ordered us to take these ladies to visit the different buildings of the Palace, also the famous temple of the King of Dragons. This is on a little island in the center of the lake of the Summer Palace. Mrs. Conger said that she had something to ask Her Majesty, and told the Missionary lady to proceed. While Mrs. Conger was speaking to this lady Her Majesty became rather impatient as she wanted to know what they were talking about, so she asked me. It was very hard for me to listen to both of the ladies and to Her Majesty at the same time. The only words I heard were: "The portrait," so I guessed the rest. Before I had a chance to tell Her Majesty this Missionary lady said: "Mrs. Conger has come with the special object of asking permission to have Her Majesty's portrait painted by an American lady artist, Miss Carl, as she is desirous of sending it to the St. Louis Exhibition, in order that the American people may form some idea of what a beautiful lady the Empress Dowager of China is." Miss Carl is the sister of Mr. F. Carl who was for so many years Commissioner of Customs in Chefoo.

Her Majesty looked surprised, for she had been listening very carefully whilst this lady was talking. She did not like to say that she did not quite understand, so she turned to me, as had been previously arranged,—a sign for me to interpret. I did not, however, do so immediately, so Mrs. Conger told her missionary friend to repeat the request in case Her Majesty had not quite understood it. Her Majesty then said to me: "I cannot quite understand what this lady says. I think perhaps you can tell me better." So I explained everything, but I knew that Her Majesty did not know what a portrait was like, as, up to that time she had never even had a photograph taken of herself.

I must here explain that in China a portrait is only painted after death, in memorium of the deceased, in order that the following generations may worship the deceased. I noticed that Her Majesty was somewhat shocked when the request was made known to her. I did not want Her Majesty to appear ignorant before these foreign ladies, so I pulled her sleeve and told her that I would explain everything to her later. She replied: "Explain a little to me now." This was spoken in the Court language, which the visitors were unable to understand, it being somewhat different from the ordinary Chinese language. This enabled Her Majesty to form some idea of the conversation, so she thanked Mrs. Conger for her kind thought, and promised to give her answer later. She said to me: "Tell Mrs. Conger that I cannot decide anything alone, as she is probably aware that I have to consult with my Ministers before deciding anything of an important character. Tell her that I have to be very careful not to do anything which would give my people an opportunity to criticize my actions. I have to adhere to the rules and customs of my ancestors." I noticed that Her Majesty did not seem inclined to discuss the subject further at the moment.

Just then the head eunuch came in and, kneeling down, informed Her Majesty that the boats for the ladies were ready to take them across the lake, to see the temple. This action on the part of the eunuch was owing to his having received a signal from one of the Court ladies, which implied that Her Majesty was getting tired of the conversation, and wished to change the subject. I must explain that on every occasion when a foreign audience was taking place, one of the Court ladies was always told off to watch Her Majesty, and whenever she appeared to be displeased or tired of any particular subject under discussion, she, the Court lady, would give the signal to the head eunuch, who would break in upon the conversation in the above manner, and thus save the situation from becoming embarrassing. So Her Majesty said good-bye to the ladies, as she thought it would be too late for them to have to return to say good-bye, besides which it would give them more time to see the various sights.

The ladies then proceeded to the island in the Empress Dowager's pleasure boat known as the Imperial barge, previously described, and visited the temple. This temple is built on top of a small rock, in the center of which is a natural cave, and it was generally supposed that no human being had ever been inside of this cave. The Empress Dowager believed the popular superstition that this hole was the home of the King of Dragons—from which the temple derives its name.



CHAPTER THIRTEEN—THE EMPRESS'S PORTRAIT

AFTER staying a little while at the temple, we returned to the Palace, and the ladies said goodbye and took chairs to the Palace gate, where their own chairs were waiting for them. I then went to report to Her Majesty in the usual way what had been said by the visitors; whether they had expressed themselves as being pleased with the reception they had received. Her Majesty said: "I like Mrs. Evans. I think she is a very good woman. It seems to me that her manners are quite different from those of the other American ladies whom I have met. I like to meet people who are polite." Then, referring to the subject of the portrait Her Majesty said: "I wonder why Mrs. Conger has this idea. Now please explain to me what painting a portrait really is." When I explained that it would be necessary for her to sit for several hours each day she was excited, and afraid she would never have the patience to see it through. She asked me what she must do during the sitting, so I explained that she would simply have to pose for the portrait, sitting in one position all the time She said: "I shall be an old woman by the time the portrait is finished." I told her that I had had my own portrait painted during my stay in Paris, by the same artist Mrs. Conger had proposed should paint her own portrait (Miss Carl). She immediately told me to fetch the portrait of myself so that she could examine it and see what it was like, so I gave the order right away to a eunuch who was standing by to go to my house and bring it. Her Majesty said: "I do not understand why I must sit for the portrait Couldn't someone else do it for me." I explained to her that as it was her own portrait, and not that of somebody else, they wished to paint, it would be necessary for her to sit herself. She then enquired whether it would be necessary for her to wear the same dress at each sitting, also the same jewels and ornaments. I replied that it would be necessary to do so on each occasion. Her Majesty then explained that in China it was only necessary for an artist to see his subject once, after which he could start right away and finish the portrait in a very short time, and thought that a really first-class foreign artist should be able to do the same. Of course I explained the difference between foreign portrait painting and Chinese, and told her that when she had seen it she would see the difference and understand the reason for so many sittings. She said: "I wonder what kind of a person this lady artist is. Does she speak Chinese?" I said that I knew Miss Carl very well, and that she was a very nice lady, but that she didn't speak Chinese. She said: "If her brother has been in the Customs service for so long, how is it that she doesn't speak Chinese also?" I told her that Miss Carl had been away from China for a long time; that in fact she had only been in China for a very short time altogether, most of her work being in Europe and America. Her Majesty said: "I am glad she doesn't understand Chinese. The only objection about this portrait painting is that I have to have a foreigner at the Palace all the time. With my own people gossiping they might tell her things which I don't want anyone to know." I told her that would be impossible as Miss Carl did not understand Chinese at all, neither did any of the people at Court understand English, with the exception of ourselves (my mother, sister and myself). Her Majesty answered: "You must not rely too much on that, as after spending a short time at the Court they will soon learn to understand each other." Continuing, she said: "By the way, how long will it take before this portrait is finished?" I told her that it depended entirely upon how often she sat, and how long each time. I didn't like to tell her exactly how long it would take, as I was afraid she might consider it too much bother, so I said that when the artist arrived I would tell her to get along and finish the portrait as quickly as possible.

Her Majesty said: "I don't see how I can very well refuse Mrs. Conger's request. Of course I told her, as you know, that I would have to consult with my Ministers, just to give me time to think the matter over. If you know all about this artist lady, and think she is quite all right to come here to the Palace, of course she may come, and I will tell Prince Ching to reply to Mrs. Conger to that effect. First of all we must talk over what we are going to do, for to have a foreign lady staying in the Palace is out of the question altogether. As a rule I always spend the summer at my Summer Palace, and it is so far from the city that I don't think she will be able to go to and from the Palace every day, on account of the distance. Now, where can we put her? Someone will have to watch her all the time. This is such a difficult matter that I hardly know what to decide upon. How would you like to look after her? Do you think you could manage it in such a way that no one at the Palace will have a chance to talk with her during the daytime, but who is going to stay and watch her during the night?" Her Majesty walked up and down the room thinking it over for quite a while. Finally she smiled and said: "I have it. We can treat her as a prisoner without her knowing it, but it will all depend on your mother, your sister and yourself to act for me in this matter. Each of you will have to play your part very carefully, and I mine also. I will give orders to have the Palace Garden of Prince Chung (the Emperor Kwang Hsu's father) fixed up for Miss Carl during her stay here."

This Palace garden is quite close to Her Majesty's own Palace, about ten minutes' drive. It is not in the Palace ground, but is quite a separate Palace outside the Summer Palace.

Continuing, Her Majesty said: "Now, you will have to come with her every morning and return to stay with her every night. I think this is the safest way out of the difficulty, but be careful with regard to all correspondence which she may either receive or send away. The only thing about it is that it will give you a lot of extra work, but you know how particular I am over things of this kind, and it will save a lot of trouble in the end. There is another thing you will have to be very careful about, and that is to watch that Miss Carl has no chance to talk with the Emperor. The reason why I say this is because, as you know, the Emperor is of a shy disposition, and might say something which would offend her. I will appoint four extra eunuchs to be in attendance during the sittings for the portrait, so that they will be on hand in case anything is wanted." Her Majesty then said: "I noticed that Mrs. Conger was watching you when you pulled my sleeve. I wonder what she thought of it. You needn't care, anyway. Let her think anything she likes. I understood what you meant if Mrs. Conger didn't, and that is all that is necessary." I told her that perhaps Mrs. Conger thought I wanted to advise her to refuse this request, but Her Majesty said: "What does that matter? If it hadn't been that you know the artist yourself I would not have consented in any case. It is not the painting of the portrait that I mind, but it might give rise to serious results."

The next morning I received a letter from Mrs. Conger begging me not to prejudice Her Majesty against Miss Carl in any way. I translated this to Her Majesty, and it made her furious. She said: "No one has any right to write to you in such a way. How dare she suggest that you would say anything against Miss Carl? Didn't I tell you she was watching you when you pulled my sleeve? When you reply to that letter tell her whatever you like, but answer in the same way she writes herself, or, better still, you write and inform her that it is not customary for any Court lady to try and influence Her Majesty in this country, and that in addition, you are not so mean as to say anything against anybody. If you don't like to say that, just say that as Miss Carl is a personal friend of yours you certainly would never think of saying anything against her."

I therefore replied to Mrs. Conger's letter in the ordinary way, making it as formal as possible.

Her Majesty then talked of nothing but the portrait during the whole of that afternoon. By and bye she said: "I hope that Mrs. Conger will not send a missionary lady with Miss Carl to keep her company during her stay at the Palace. If she does I will certainly refuse to sit." The next morning the eunuch arrived with my portrait, and everyone at the Court had a good look at it before I took it to show to Her Majesty. Some of them were of the opinion that it was very much like me, while the others thought the painting a very poor one. When I informed Her Majesty of the arrival of the portrait she ordered that it should be brought into her bedroom immediately. She scrutinized it very carefully for a while, even touching the painting in her curiosity. Finally she burst out laughing and said: "What a funny painting this is, it looks as though it had been painted with oil." (Of course it was an oil painting.) "Such rough work I never saw in all my life. The picture itself is marvellously like you, and I do not hesitate to say that none of our Chinese painters could get the expression which appears on this picture. What a funny dress you are wearing in this picture. Why are your arms and neck all bare? I have heard that foreign ladies wear their dresses without sleeves and without collars, but I had no idea that it was so bad and ugly as the dress you are wearing here. I cannot imagine how you could do it. I should have thought you would have been ashamed to expose yourself in that manner. Don't wear any more such dresses, please. It has quite shocked me. What a funny kind of civilization this is to be sure. Is this dress only worn on certain occasions, or is it worn any time, even when gentlemen are present?" I explained to her that it was the usual evening dress for ladies and was worn at dinners, balls, receptions, etc. Her Majesty laughed and exclaimed: "This is getting worse and worse. Everything seems to go backwards in foreign countries. Here we don't even expose our wrists when in the company of gentlemen, but foreigners seem to have quite different ideas on the subject. The Emperor is always talking about reform, but if this is a sample we had much better remain as we are. Tell me, have you yet changed your opinion with regard to foreign customs? Don't you think that our own customs are much nicer?" Of course I was obliged to say "yes" seeing that she herself was so prejudiced. She again examined the portrait and said: "Why is it that one side of your face is painted white and the other black? This is not natural—your face is not black. Half of your neck is painted black, too. How is it?" I explained that it was simply the shading and was painted exactly as the artist saw me from the position in which she was sitting. Her Majesty then enquired: "Do you think that this Artist lady will paint my picture to look black also? It is going to America, and I don't want the people over there to imagine that half of my face is white and half black." I didn't like to tell her the truth, that her portrait would in all probability be painted the same as mine, so I promised Her Majesty that I would tell the artist exactly how she wished to be painted. She then asked me if I knew when the artist proposed commencing the portrait. I told her that the artist was still in Shanghai, but that Mrs. Conger had already written to her to come up to Peking, to make the necessary preparations. One week later I received a letter from Miss Carl informing me that she proposed coming up to Peking at once, and that she would be delighted if Her Majesty would allow her to paint this portrait. I translated the letter to Her Majesty, who said: "I am very glad that you know this lady personally. It will make it much easier for me. You know there may be some things which I may want to tell Miss Carl, but which I don't want Mrs. Conger to know. I mean that there might be certain things which I shall have to say to Miss Carl, which, if Mrs. Conger heard of them, would give her the impression that I was very difficult to please. You understand what I mean. As this lady is a friend of yours, you will of course be able to tell her things in such a manner as not to offend her, and I may tell you again that if it were not that she is a personal friend of your own I would not have her here at all, as it is quite contrary to our custom."

On the third day of the second-fifth moon Prince Ching informed Her Majesty that the artist had arrived at Peking and was staying with Mrs. Conger and wished to know Her Majesty's pleasure in regard to commencing the portrait. Now I must explain that the Chinese year varies as to the number of moons it contains. For example, one year contains the ordinary twelve months or moons. The following year may contain thirteen moons. Then the two years following that may contain twelve moons only, and thirteen moons the next year, and so on. At the time of the proposed visit of the artist the Chinese year contained thirteen moons, there being two fifth moons in that year. When Prince Ching asked Her Majesty to name the day on which Miss Carl should commence her work, she replied: "I will give her my answer to-morrow. I must first consult my book, as I don't want to start this portrait on an unlucky day." So the next day, after her usual morning audience Her Majesty consulted this book for quite a time. Finally she said to me: "According to my book the next lucky day will not occur for another ten days or so," and handed me the book to look myself. Eventually she picked out the twentieth day of the second-fifth moon as the most lucky day for beginning the work. Next she had to consult the book again in order to fix on the exact hour, finally fixing on 7 o'clock in the evening. I was very much worried when she told me that, as by that time it would be quite dark, so I explained to Her Majesty as nicely as I could that it would be impossible for Miss Carl to work at that hour of the day. Her Majesty replied: "Well, we have electric lights here. Surely that would be sufficient light for her." Then I had to explain that it would not be possible to get such good results by means of artificial light as if it were painted during the daytime. You see I was anxious to get her to change the hour, as I was sure that Miss Carl would refuse to paint by means of electric light. Her Majesty replied: "What a bother. I can paint pictures myself in any kind of light, and she ought to be able to do the same." After much discussion it was finally settled that 10 o'clock on the morning of the twentieth day of the second-fifth moon should be the time for Miss Carl to commence to paint this portrait, and I can assure you that I felt very much relieved when it was all settled. When the eunuch brought in my portrait, he also brought in several photographs which I had had taken during my stay in Paris, but I decided not to show them to Her Majesty in case she should decide to have a photograph taken instead of having this portrait painted, as it would be much quicker and save her the trouble of sitting each day. However, as Her Majesty was passing on the veranda in front of my bedroom the next morning she stepped into the room just to have a look around and, as she put it, to see whether I kept everything clean, and in good order. This was the first time she had visited me in my own room, and I was naturally very much embarrassed, as she very rarely visited the rooms of her Court ladies. I could not keep her standing, and I could not ask her to sit down in any of my own chairs, as it is the Chinese custom that the Emperor and Empress should only sit down in their own special chairs, which are usually carried by an attendant wherever they go. I therefore was on the point of giving an order for her own stool to be brought in, when Her Majesty stopped me and said that she would sit on one of the chairs in the room, and so bring me good luck. So she sat down in an easy chair. A eunuch brought in her tea, which I handed to her myself instead of letting the eunuch wait upon her. This of course was Court etiquette, and was also a sign of respect

After she had finished her tea, she got up and went around the room, examining everything, opening up all my bureau drawers and boxes in order to see whether I kept my things in proper order. Happening to glance into one corner of the room she exclaimed: "What are those pictures on the table over there," and walked across to examine them. As soon as she picked them up, she exclaimed in much surprise: "Why, they are all photographs of yourself, and are very much better than the picture you had painted. They are more like you. Why didn't you show them to me before?" I hardly knew what to answer, and when she saw that I was very much embarrassed by her question, she immediately started talking about something else. She often acted in this manner when she saw that any of us were not quite prepared for any of her questions, but she would be sure to reopen the subject at some future time, when we were expected to give a direct answer.

After examining the photographs for sometime, which by the way, were all taken in European dress, Her Majesty said: "Now these are good photographs; much better than the portrait you had painted. Still I have given my promise, and I suppose I shall have to keep it. However, if I do have my photograph taken, it will not interfere at all with the painting of the portrait. The only trouble is I cannot ask an ordinary professional photographer to the Palace. It would hardly be the thing."

My mother thereupon explained to Her Majesty that if she desired to have her photograph taken, one of my brothers, who had studied photography for some considerable time, would be able to do all that was necessary.

I would like to explain that I had two brothers at Court at that time, who held appointments under the Empress Dowager. One was in charge of all the electrical installation at the Summer Palace, and the other, her private steam launch. It was the custom for all the sons of the Manchu officials to hold certain positions at the Court for two or three years. They were perfectly free to walk about the grounds of the Palace, and saw Her Majesty daily. Her Majesty was always very kind to these young men, and chatted with them in quite a motherly way. These young fellows had to come to the Palace each morning very early, but as no man was allowed to stay all night in the Palace they of course had to leave when they had finished their duties for the day.

When Her Majesty heard what my mother said, she was very much surprised, and asked why she had never been told that my brother was learned in photography. My mother replied that she had no idea that Her Majesty wished to have a photograph taken, and had not dared to suggest such a thing herself. Her Majesty laughed, and said: "You may suggest anything you like, as I want to try anything that is new to me, especially as outsiders can know nothing about it." She gave orders to send for my brother at once. On his arrival Her Majesty said to him: "I hear that you are a photographer. I am going to give you something to do." My brother was kneeling, as was the custom of the Court, whilst Her Majesty was addressing him. Everybody, with the exception of the Court ladies, had to kneel when she was speaking to them. Even the Emperor himself was no exception to this rule. Of course the Court ladies, being constantly in attendance, were allowed not to kneel, as Her Majesty was talking to us all the time, and it was her orders that we should not do so, as it would be wasting a lot of time.

Her Majesty asked my brother when he would be able to come and take her photograph, and what kind of weather was necessary. My brother said that he would go back to Peking that night, to fetch his camera, and that he could take the photograph at any time she desired, as the weather would not affect the work. So Her Majesty decided to have her photograph taken the next morning. She said: "I want to have one taken first of all in my chair, when going to the audience, and you can take some others afterwards." She also asked my brother how long she would have to sit, and was surprised to learn that only a few seconds would suffice. Next she enquired how long it would be before it was finished, so that she could see it. My brother answered that if it were taken in the morning it could be finished late the same afternoon. Her Majesty said that was delightful, and expressed a wish to watch him do the work. She told my brother that he might select any room in the Palace to work in, and ordered a eunuch to make the necessary preparations.

The next day was a beautiful day, and at eight o'clock my brother was waiting in the courtyard with several cameras. Her Majesty went to the courtyard and examined each of them. She said: "How funny it is that you can take a person's picture with a thing like that." After the method of taking the photograph had been fully explained to her, she commanded one of the eunuchs to stand in front of the camera so that she might look through the focusing glass, to see what it was like. Her Majesty exclaimed: "Why is it your head is upside down? Are you standing on your head or feet?" So we explained when the photo was taken it would not look that way. She was delighted with the result of her observations, and said that it was marvellous. Finally she told me to go and stand there, as she wanted to have a look at me through this glass also. She then exchanged places with me, and desired that I should look through the glass and see if I could make out what she was doing. She waved her hand in front of the camera, and on my telling her of it, she was pleased.

She then entered her chair, and ordered the bearers to proceed. My brother took another photograph of Her Majesty in the procession as she passed the camera. After she had passed the camera she turned and asked my brother: "Did you take a picture?" and on my brother answering that he had, Her Majesty said: "Why didn't you tell me? I was looking too serious. Next time when you are going to take one, let me know so that I may try and look pleasant."

I knew that Her Majesty was very much pleased. While we were at the back of the screen during the audience, I noticed that she seemed anxious to get it over, in order to have some more photographs taken. It only took about twenty minutes to get that particular audience over, which was very rare.

After the people had gone, we came from behind the screen and Her Majesty said: "Let us go and have some more pictures taken while the weather is fine." So she walked the courtyard of the Audience Hall, where my brother had a camera ready, and had another photograph taken. She said that she would like to have some taken sitting on her throne, exactly as though she were holding an audience. It took us only a few minutes to have everything prepared in the courtyard. The screen was placed behind the throne, and her footstool was also placed ready for her, and she ordered one of the Court ladies to go and bring several gowns for her to select from. At the same time I went and brought some of her favorite jewelry. She ordered the two gowns which she had worn at the audiences when she received Admiral Evans and Mrs. Evans, to be brought in, and also the same jewels as she had worn on those respective occasions. She had two photographs taken in these costumes, one in each dress. Next she wanted one taken in a plain gown, without any embroidery. She then ordered my brother to go and finish the pictures which had already been taken, as she was anxious to see what they were like. She said to my brother: "You wait a minute, I want to go with you and see how you work on them." Of course, I had not considered it necessary to explain to Her Majesty the process of developing the pictures, the dark room, etc., so I explained to her as well as I could the whole thing. Her Majesty replied: "It doesn't matter. I want to go and see the room, no matter what kind of a room it is." So we all adjourned to the dark room in order to see my brother work on the photographs. We placed a chair so that Her Majesty could sit down. She said to my brother: "You must forget that I am here, and go along with your work just as usual." She watched for a while, and was very pleased when she saw that the plates were developing so quickly. My brother held up the plate to the red light, to enable her to see more distinctly. Her Majesty said: "It is not very clear. I can see that it is myself all right, but why is it that my face and hands are dark?" We explained to her that when the picture was printed on paper, these dark spots would show white, and the white parts would be dark. She said: "Well, one is never too old to learn. This is something really new to me. I am not sorry that I suggested having my photograph taken, and only hope that I shall like the portrait painting as well." She said to my brother: "Don't finish these photographs until after I have had my afternoon rest. I want to see you do it." When she got up at about half-past three, it did not take her long to dress herself, as was her usual custom, and she went immediately to where my brother had the papers and everything prepared. He then showed Her Majesty how the printing was done. There was plenty of light, as it was summer time, and as it was only four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was still high. Her Majesty watched for two hours while my brother was printing, and was delighted to see each picture come out quite plainly. She held the first one in her hands so long while examining the others, that when she came to look at it again, she found that it had turned quite black. She could not understand this at all, and exclaimed: "Why has this gone black? Is it bad luck?" We explained to her that it must be washed after printing, otherwise a strong light would cause the picture to fade, as this one had done. She said: "How very interesting, and what a lot of work there is."