cross the bottom of the basins. These
shadows took different forms, according to the position of the needle,
and if the shadow took certain prescribed forms, the person throwing
in the needle was supposed to be very lucky and clever, while if they
represented certain other forms, they were despised by the gods as being
ignorant. In addition, Her Majesty burned incense and offered up prayers
to the two gods referred to.

This was always a sad moon for Her Majesty, it being the anniversary of
the death of her husband, the Emperor Hsien Feng, who died on the 17th
of that month. The fifteenth of the seventh moon each year is the day of
the festival for the dead, and early in the morning the Court moved
to the Sea Palace in order to sacrifice. The Chinese hold that when
a person dies, his soul still remains on the earth, and on these
anniversaries they burn imitation money, the belief being that the soul
of the departed one will benefit to the extent of the amount of money so
represented. On the anniversary above referred to Her Majesty sent for
hundreds of Buddhist priests to pray for those unfortunate people who
had died without leaving anyone who could sacrifice for them. On the
evening of this day, Her Majesty and all her Court ladies set out in
open boats on the lake, where imitation lotus flowers were arranged as
lanterns, with a candle placed in the centre, which formed a sort of
floating light, the idea being to give light to the spirits of those who
had departed during the year, so as to enable them to come and receive
the blessings which had been prepared for them. Her Majesty ordered us
to light the candles and place the flowers on the water ourselves, as
she said it would be appreciated by the spirits of the dead. Some of the
eunuchs had told Her Majesty that they had actually seen some of these
spirits, which assertion was thoroughly believed. Although she had never
seen them herself, she accounted for this by the fact that she was of
too high a rank and the spirits were afraid of her, but she ordered all
the rest of us to keep a sharp lookout and tell her if we saw anything.
Of course we didn't see anything, but many of the Court ladies were so
frightened that they closed their eyes for fear they might see something
supernatural.

Her Majesty was devoted to the late Emperor Hsien Feng, and she was very
sad and morose during this period. We all had to be very careful indeed
not to upset her in any way, as she w