their own rank, and so their children have no place in the imperial
clan. Many of the princesses therefore prefer to marry Mongolian
princes, by which they retain their rank as well as that of their
children.

Naturally a marriage of this kind brings changes into the life of the
princess. She has been brought up in a palace in the capital, lives on
Chinese food, and is not inured to hardships. When she marries a Mongol
prince, she is taken to the Mongolian plains, is not infrequently
compelled to live in a tent, and her food consists largely of milk,
butter, cheese and meat, most of which are an abomination to the
Chinese. They especially loathe butter and cheese, and not infrequently
speak of the foreigner smelling like the Mongol--an odour which they
say is the result of these two articles of diet.

Prince Su's fifth sister was fortunate in being married to a Mongol
prince who was not a nomad. He had established a sort of village
capital of his possessions, the chief feature of which was his own
palace. Here he lives during the summers and part of the winters;
though once in three years he is compelled to spend at least three
months in his palace in Peking when he comes to do homage to the
Emperor.

During one of these visits to Peking the Princess sent for me to come
to her palace. I naturally supposed she was ill, and so took with me my
medical outfit, but her first greeting was:

"I am not ill, nor is any member of my family, but I wanted to see you
to have a talk with you about foreign countries."

She had prepared elaborate refreshments, and while we sat eating, she
directed the conversation towards mines and mining, and then said:

"My husband, the Prince, is very much interested in this subject, and
believes that there are rich stores of ore on his principality in
Mongolia."

"Indeed, that is very interesting," I answered.

"You know, of course, it is a rule," she went on to say, "that no
prince of the realm is allowed to go more than a few miles from the
capital without special permission from the throne."

"No, I was not aware of that fact."

She then went on to say that her husband was anxious to attend the St.
Louis Exposition, and study this subject in America, but so long as
these hindrances remained it was impossible for him to do so. She then
said:

"I am very much interested in the educational system of your honourable
country, and especially in your method of conducting girls' schools."