ind fault." I could not believe these things that they said, and
intended to tell them that I refused to hear such statements, but I
thought I had better listen to what they had to say first and not to
offend them, for I never believed in making enemies. I then told them
that it would be impossible for so sweet and kind-hearted a person like
Lao Tsu Tsung (the old ancestor) to find fault with such helpless girls
as we were, for we were her people, and she could do anything she liked
with us. They said: "You don't know, and have no idea how wicked this
place is; such torture and suffering one could not imagine. We are sure
that you think you must be happy to be with the great Empress Dowager,
and proud to be her Court Lady. Your day hasn't come yet, for you all
are new to her. Yes, she is extremely kind to you just now, but wait
until she gets tired of you and then see what she will do. We have had
enough, and know what the Court life is. Of course you must have heard
that Li Lien Ying (the head eunuch) rules this Palace behind Lao Tsu
Tsung's back. We are all afraid of him. He pretends that he cannot
influence Lao Tsu Tsung, but we always know the result after a long
conversation consulting how to punish anyone. If any of us do anything
wrong, we always go to him and beg him to help us out. Then he says he
has no power to influence Her Majesty, and also that he dare not tell
her much, for she would scold him. We hate all the eunuchs, they are
such bad people. We can see very plainly they are awfully polite to you
because they can see that you are in favor. To receive such rudeness
from them, constantly, as we do, is unbearable.

"Lao Tsu Tsung is very changeable. She may like one person to-day,
to-morrow she hates this same person worse than poison. She has moods,
and has no appreciation whatsoever. Even Chu Tzu, the Young Empress (Chu
Tzu means Mistress, that is to say she was mistress of us all, for the
Manchus were considered by the sovereign as slaves) is afraid of Li Lien
Ying, and has to be very nice to him. In fact, we all have to be polite
to him." They talked so long that I thought they would never finish.
About this time Wang came in and brought tea for us. Suddenly I heard
people howling in the distance, so I asked Wang what was the matter. The
girls were listening also and a eunuch came flying in and told us Lao
Fo Yeh chin la (The Great Buddha wakes up). The girls got up and said
we must all go to see her, s