ething which
they thought would amuse Her Majesty. So long as it was nothing of a
serious nature Her Majesty would always overlook it, but in case it
proved serious or was carelessness, she would always order them to be
severely punished. Thus it was very hard to tell just what to do in
order to please her.

Another of Her Majesty's peculiarities was inquisitiveness. For example:
As I have stated before, it was the custom for Her Majesty to have
sweetmeats brought to her before every meal, and after she had finished
with them, the remainder were distributed among the Court ladies.
Whenever it happened that we were very busy, we did not bother with the
sweetmeats at all, which Her Majesty very soon found out. One day, after
she had finished dining, she came and looked through the window to see
what we were doing, and saw some of the eunuchs eating the sweetmeats
which she had given to us. She did not say anything, but simply ordered
that the sweetmeats should be brought back again, making us believe that
she wanted some more herself. I knew that there was something wrong, as
she never ordered them back before. When she saw what was left of them,
she asked who had been eating so many, as they were nearly all finished,
but she got no reply--we were all too scared. However, after thinking
it over, I came to the conclusion that it would be best to tell her the
truth, for I was quite certain that she knew anyhow. So I told her that
we had all been very busy and had forgotten all about the sweetmeats,
and that the eunuchs had come and taken them themselves, and I added
that this was not the first time they had done so. I was rather glad
that she had given me this opportunity to report the eunuchs, for Her
Majesty replied that if she intended the eunuchs to have sweetmeats, she
herself could give them some, but thought it a lack of appreciation
on our part not eating them ourselves after she had been so kind as to
provide them for us. She turned to me, and said: "I am glad that you
have told the truth, as I saw myself what was happening." She gave
orders that the offending eunuchs should each have three months' wages
deducted as a punishment, but of course I knew very well they didn't
mind that, as they were making many times the amount of their salary in
other ways. On my return to the sitting room, one of the Court ladies
said: "You should not have told Her Majesty about the eunuchs, they are
sure to revenge themselves in som