ll
the time she was in the room, as did four of the secondary princesses
or wives of her husband. They were all beautifully dressed, but they
are beneath the Princess in rank, and so must stand in her presence. If
the Prince's mother had come in, as she often did when I was there, the
Princess would have to stand and wait on her. All Manchu families are
very particular in this respect.

"You will be interested," said the Princess, "in one phase of our visit
to the palace." Then turning to one of her women she said: "Bring me
those two pairs of shoes."

"These," she explained, "are like some made by my mother-in-law and
myself as presents for the Empress Dowager. On the eighth of the eighth
month we have a feast, when the ladies of the royal household are
invited into the palace, and our custom is for each of us to present
Her Majesty with a pair of shoes."

The shoes were daintily embroidered, though not so pretty as some I
have seen the Empress Dowager wear. Some of her shoes are decorated
with beautiful pearls and others are covered with precious stones.

"The Empress Dowager," continued the Princess, "is very vain of her
small feet; though," she continued, as she put her own foot out,
encased in the daintiest little embroidered slipper of light-blue
satin, "it is not so small as my own."

It seemed very human to hear this delicate little Princess make a
remark of this kind. Of course, both she and the Empress Dowager have
natural feet.

It was late in the afternoon, some months after my visit to the
Princess, that a very different call came for my services.

The boy came in and told me that a man wanted me to go to see his wife,
who lived in the southern city outside the Ha-ta gate. It has always
been my custom never to refuse any one whether they be rich or poor,
and so I told him to call a cart.

It was in midwinter and a bitter cold night, the room was without fire
and yet there was a child of three or four toddling about upon the kang
or brick bed whose only garment was a long coat.

"You should put a pair of trousers on that child," I said, "or it will
catch cold and I will soon have to come again."

"Yes," they said, "we will put trousers on it."

"You had better do it at once," I insisted.

"Yes," they continued, "we will see that it is dressed."

After attending to the woman, and again urging them to dress the child,
I wrapped my warm cloak around me and started home, though I could not
forge