louder. This was placed on the right side
of the Audience Hall. On the left side a similar instrument was placed,
with the exception that the bells were carved out of white jade. The
music which could be brought out of the instrument was very sweet.

When this ceremony of receiving the Ministers was concluded, the Emperor
proceeded to his private Palace, where the Young Empress (his wife),
the Secondary wife and all the Court ladies were gathered, and, after
kowtowing, all of the Court ladies present, led by the Young Empress,
knelt before him and presented him with a Ru Yee. This is a kind of
sceptre. Some are made out of pure jade, while others are made out of
wood inlaid with jade. This Ru Yee is a symbol of good luck and was
supposed to bring happiness and prosperity to the person to whom it was
presented. The ceremony was gone through to the accompaniment of music
played on string instruments, which was very sweet.

Next the eunuchs were received by the Emperor, and they similarly
congratulated him, but without the accompaniment of music. After the
eunuchs came the servant girls, and the whole of the ceremony was over.
The Emperor next proceeded to Her Majesty's Palace, where he knelt
before Her Majesty and thanked her for the celebration which had been
given in his honor, after which Her Majesty, accompanied by the whole
Court, went to the theatre to see the play. On arrival at the theatre we
were all presented by Her Majesty with sweetmeats, this being the custom
on these occasions, and after a little while Her Majesty retired for her
afternoon rest. Thus the celebration ended.

Two days after the celebration the seventh moon commenced. The
seventh day of the seventh moon was the occasion of another important
anniversary.

The two stars, Niu Lang (Capricorn) and Chih Nu (Lyra) are supposed to
be the patrons of agriculture and weaving and, according to tradition,
were at one time man and wife. As the result of a quarrel, however, they
were doomed to live apart, being separated from each other by the "Milky
Way." But on the seventh day of the seventh moon of each year they are
allowed to see each other and the magpies are supposed to build a bridge
to enable them to meet.

The ceremony is rather peculiar. Several basins full of water were
placed so that the sun's rays would fall upon them. Her Majesty then
took several tiny needles and dropped one into each basin. These floated
on the water, casting a shadow a