ctive--the black
hair and white cloth making a pretty contrast to the Western eye,
though it would probably not be so considered by the Chinese.

After I had watched them for a few moments I said to the princess who
accompanied me:

"I must not intrude upon your time longer; you have been very kind to
allow me to witness all these interesting customs."

"Oh, but you must not go now," she insisted; "you must remain and see
the arrival of the priests, and the burning of the paper houses, goods,
chattels, and images on the great street. I want you to understand all
our customs, and this is the greatest and most interesting day of the
funeral ceremonies."

I urged that I ought not to intrude myself upon them at this time.

"No, no," she said, "you must not say that. It is not intrusion; you
must stay and dine with us this evening."

When I still insisted upon going she said that if I went they would
feel that I did not care for them, and she was so persistent that I
consented to remain if the maid might be sent home to the children,
which they at once arranged for.

In the interval between the arrival of male guests, the ladies took me
out into a large canopied court to see the decorations, and into the
sacrificial hall. These ceremonies were all conducted in the house and
court which the Dowager Princess had occupied, and where I had often
gone to see her when she wanted to thank me for some medical attention
I had given her children or grandchildren.

As we passed through the great gate, I noticed that the court was
covered with a mat pavilion making a room about one hundred and fifty
feet square, lighted by great squares of glass near the top, and
decorated with banners of rich brocade silks or satins, of sober
colours, blue, gray or white, on which were texts extolling the virtues
of the late Dowager or her family. These were the gifts of friends, who
had been coming and would continue to come for days if not weeks.

At the north end as one came in at the gate was a gallery running the
whole length of the northern court, fitted up with special hangings
which separated it into different compartments. Many elegant banners
and decorations gave it a striking effect. This was the place where the
priests, who had not yet arrived, were to say their prayers day and
night until the funeral ceremonies were over.

Directly in front of the catafalque, in the gallery, there was a table
on which I afterwards saw the pries