ng the past year, returning to earth again on the last day of
the year. The idea of offering him these sweets was in order that they
should stick to his mouth and prevent him from telling too much. When
these candies were prepared, we all adjourned to the kitchen and placed
the offering on a table specially placed for the purpose. Turning to
the head cook, she said: "You had better look out now; the God of the
Kitchen will tell how much you have stolen during the past year, and you
will be punished."

The following day another ceremony had to be gone through, that of
writing out the New Year Greetings for the guests and Court, so in the
morning we all went with Her Majesty to the Audience Hall, where the
eunuchs had prepared large sheets of yellow, red and pale green paper.
Her Majesty took up a large brush and commenced to write. On some of
these sheets she wrote the character "Shou" (Long Life) and on others
"Fu" (Prosperity). By and bye, when she began to feel tired, she would
get either one of the Court ladies or one of the official writers to
finish them for her. When finished, they were distributed to the guests
and different officials, the ones Her Majesty had written herself being
reserved for her special favorites. These were given out a few days
before the New Year.

Her Majesty received New Year presents from all the Viceroys and
principal officials. She would examine each present as it was received,
and if it found favor in her eyes, she would use it, but if not, she
would have it locked away in one of the storerooms and probably never
see it again. These presents consisted of small pieces of furniture,
curios, jewelry, silks, in fact everything--even clothing. The present
sent by Viceroy Yuan Shih Kai was a yellow satin robe, embroidered with
different colored precious stones and pearls designed to represent the
peony flower; the leaves were of green jade. It was really a magnificent
thing, and must have cost a fortune. The only drawback was its weight;
it was too heavy to wear comfortably. Her Majesty appeared delighted
with this gown, and wore it the first day, after which it was discarded
altogether, although I often suggested that she should wear it, as it
was the most magnificent gown I ever saw. Once when Her Majesty was
granting an audience to the Diplomatic Corps, I suggested that she
should wear this dress, but she refused, giving no reason, so nobody
outside the Court has ever seen this wonderful