o this place the Emperor goes in
time of drought to confess his sins, for he confesses to the gods that
the drought is all his doing, and to pray for forgiveness, and for rain
to enrich the thirsty land. The towers on the corners of the wall of
the Forbidden City are the same style of architecture as the small
pavilion in the front court of this temple.

Now as the buds of spring are bursting and the eaves on the
mulberry-trees are beginning to develop, will you go with the Empress
Dowager or the Empress into a temple on Prospect Hill, between the Coal
Hill and the Lotus Lake, where she offers sacrifices to the god of the
silkworm and prays for a prosperous year on the work of that little
insect? Above it stands one of the most hideous bronze deities I have
ever seen--male and naked--in a beautiful little shrine, every tile of
which is made in the form of a Buddha's head. During the occupation
tourists were allowed to visit this place freely, and their desire for
curios overcoming their discretion, they knocked the heads off these
tiles until, when the place was closed, there was not a single tile
which had not been defaced.

One other building in the Forbidden City is worthy of our attention. It
is the art gallery. It is not generally known that China is the parent
of all Oriental art. We know something of the art of Japan but little
about that of China. And yet the best Japanese artists have never hoped
for anything better than to equal their Chinese teacher. In this art
gallery there are stored away the finest specimens of the old masters
for ten centuries or more, together with portraits of all the noted
emperors. Among these portraits we may now find two of the Empress
Dowager, one painted by Miss Carl, and another by Mr. Vos, a well-known
American portrait painter.

XIII

The Ladies of the Court

I love to talk with my people of their Majesties, the princesses, and
the Chinese ladies, as I have seen and known them. Your friendship I
will always remember. Her Majesty, your imperial sister, found a warm
place in my heart and is treasured there. Please extend to the Imperial
Princess my cordial greetings and to the other princesses my best of
good wishes.--Mrs. E. H. Conger, in a letter to the Princess Shun.

XIII

THE LADIES OF THE COURT

The leading figure of the court is Yehonala, wife of the late Emperor
Kuang Hsu. She has always been called the Young Empress, but is now the
Empress Dowager. Af