her palace was plundered
and very much injured, and she escaped in her stocking feet through a
side door. At the first luncheon given at her palace thereafter, she
apologized for its desolate appearance, saying that it had been looted
by the Boxers, though we knew it had been looted by the allies. At
later luncheons, however, she had procured such ornaments as restored
in some measure its original beauty and grandeur, though none of these
dismantled palaces will regain their former splendour for many years to
come.

Next to the Imperial Princess are the two sisters of Yehonala, one of
whom is married to Duke Tse, who was head of the commission that made
the tour of the world to inquire as to the best form of government to
be adopted by China in her efforts at renovation and reform. It is not
too much to suppose that it was because the Duke was married to the
Empress Dowager's niece that he was made the head of this commission,
which after its return advised the adoption of a constitution. The
other sister is the wife of Prince Shun, and is the opposite of the
Empress. She is stout, but beautiful. She has always been the favourite
niece of the Empress Dowager, appeared at all the functions, and though
very sedate when foreign ladies were present at an audience, I was told
by the Chinese that when the imperial family were alone together she
was the life of the company. She would even stand behind the Empress
Dowager's chair "making such grimaces," the Chinese expressed it, as to
make it almost impossible for the others to retain their equilibrium.
As she was the youngest of the three sisters, and because of her happy
disposition, the Chinese nicknamed her hsiao kuniang, "the little
girl." These three sisters are all childless.

The Princess Shun and Princess Tsai Chen, only daughter-in-law of
Prince Ching, herself the daughter of a viceroy, were very congenial,
and the most intimate friends of all those in court circles. The latter
is beautiful, brilliant, quick, tactful, and graceful. Of all the
ladies of the court she is the most witty and, with Princess Shun, the
most interesting. These two more than any others made the court ladies
easy to entertain at all public functions, for they were full of
enthusiasm and tried to help things along. They seemed to feel that
they were personally responsible for the success of the audience or the
luncheon as a social undertaking.

Lady Yuan is one of two of these court ladies w