he walls covered with animals and small
images of Buddha. The three lakes, northern, middle, and southern, are a
little over two miles long; a beautiful marble bridge connects the
northern with the middle lake.

[Illustration: _The White Pagoda of the Yellow Temple_]

The Winter or Skating Palace was distinctive for the finest wood
carvings in China; these were also burned by accident in 1900. A large
pavilion, surrounded by a circular wall, is near the marble bridge. In
this pavilion is the throne, and it was there audience was given to
several European ambassadors in 1893; there also the Emperor puts on
mourning garments,--when, for instance, he had to grieve for his father,
Prince Chan. At the northeast corner of the palace stands the fine
yellow-tiled temple, with an imposing entrance; it has large gates,
within the outer of which are two very quaint pavilions. Four or five
roofs are piled, one on the other, and these can be distinctly seen from
outside the walls of the Forbidden City. This brief outline may give one
a little idea of what the public are deprived of seeing. Most of the
buildings of the Forbidden City are yellow-tiled, as are also the walls.

The Summer Palace is the only one of the Peking buildings that dates
from the present Manchu dynasty. There had previously been a palace
there, but it had a long while since fallen into decay. It is said to
have had lovely gardens, and many canals winding in and out, while in
other places little miniature lakes are formed. The principal palace is
attractive and rises on an eminence, but there are pavilions and lesser
buildings scattered about. The present palace is, however, very inferior
to those royal residences of olden times; it suffered greatly in 1900;
the Russian soldiers seemed to take delight in destroying works of art
and historic buildings. Some of the marble bridges are very effective,
and there is a marble boat, not in itself very beautiful, but a
picturesque feature as it lay anchored by the lake. We saw it from a
high hill beyond the Emperor's palace, where is located a Buddhist
pagoda. We had a view of the palace with its enclosure and its minor
buildings.

This was one feature seen during an excursion which a friend and I took,
escorted by a guide and a picnic luncheon basket on Saturday, May 25th.
We left the hotel early for a six-mile drive, passing first through the
crowded streets, again noting the dusty way of the Imperial City, which
wo