ave of absence from the Court on account
of his poor health.) My mother answered and said that he was feeling
better, but that his legs were still very weak, and he could not walk
much. Her Majesty then said to us: "Oh, I have forgotten to tell you
that if you wish to go home, you can ask permission. I have been so busy
lately, and forgot to remind you." We thanked her and told her that we
would like to go home and see how my father was, so she gave orders that
we should leave the Court the next day. Then she asked me how long I
would like to stay at home, and of course I knew the custom, and told
her that I was waiting for her orders: "Would two or three days be
enough?" We told her that it suited us beautifully. I was so surprised
when she mentioned it to us, and wondered if anyone had told her of our
intentions, or if Her Majesty was a mind reader.

When she retired that afternoon I went to see the Young Empress, who
was always very nice and kind, and asked me to sit near her. Her eunuch
brought me a cup of tea. Her rooms were furnished exactly the same as
Her Majesty's, but everything looked extremely dainty, and showed very
good taste. We talked about the life at the Palace for a long time, and
she told me that she was very fond of us, and so was Her Majesty. I told
her that Her Majesty had mentioned to us about going home for two or
three days and that I was surprised to see how thoughtful she was. She
said that someone had reminded Her Majesty to let us go home, for we had
been at the Court for more than two months. I found out afterwards that
it was the head eunuch Li who had heard that we were anxious to go. The
Young Empress said to me: "I want to teach you to be wise, that is,
you are ordered to leave the Court to-morrow, but Her Majesty did not
mention any particular hour. You must not talk about it to anyone, and
don't show that you are excited to go home. Don't dress as if you are
going out to-morrow, but be natural and do your work as if you don't
care about going at all. Don't you remind her, in case she forgets to
tell you to go, and come back on the second day, which is the custom. It
will show that you are anxious to see Her Majesty, so you come back
one day earlier than the appointed time." I was so happy to get this
information and asked her if it would be all right to bring Her Majesty
some presents when we returned to the Court. She said that was just the
proper thing to do. The next day we did the