iable, but these people always make
me angry. I know the American Admiral will go home and tell his people
about me, and I don't want him to have a wrong impression." It took her
almost two hours to dress her hair, and by that time it was too late
for her usual morning audience, so she proposed holding that after the
foreigners had gone away. She looked at herself in the looking-glass,
with her Imperial robe on, and told me that she did not like it, and
asked me whether I thought the foreigners would know that it was an
official robe. "I look too ugly in yellow. It makes my face look the
same color as my robe," she said. I suggested that as it was only a
private audience, if she wished to dress differently, it would not
matter at all. She seemed delighted, and I was afraid lest I had not
made a proper suggestion, but anyway I was too busy to worry. Her
Majesty ordered that her different gowns should be brought in, and
after looking them over she selected one embroidered all over with the
character "Shou" (long life), covered with precious stones and pearls,
on pale green satin. She tried it on, and said that it was becoming to
her, so she ordered me to go to the jewel-room and get flowers to match
for her hair. On one side of the headdress was the character (shou)
and on the other side was a bat (the bat in China is considered to be
lucky). Of course her shoes, handkerchiefs and everything else were
embroidered in the same way. After she was dressed, she smiled and said:
"I look all right now. We had better go to the audience hall and wait
for them, and at the same time we can play a game of dice." Then to us
all she said: "All of you will stay at the back of the screen during
the audience. You can see all right, but I don't wish that you should
be seen." The eunuchs had laid the map down on the table and were just
going to commence playing dice, when one of the high rank eunuchs came
into the Hall and, kneeling down, said that the American Admiral had
arrived at the Palace Gate, together with the American Minister--ten or
twelve people altogether. Her Majesty smiled and said to me: "I thought
it was just going to be the American Minister and the Admiral, and one
or two of his staff. Who can the rest of the people be? However, never
mind, I will receive them anyway." We helped her to mount her throne
upon the dais, fixed her clothes, and handed her the paper containing
the speech she was to give. Then we went back of the