n where
we just managed to catch the last steamer of the season leaving for
Shanghai. As it was, the water was so shallow that we ran aground on the
Taku bar.

On arrival in Shanghai my father immediately consulted his physician
who examined him and prescribed medicine. The trip itself seemed to have
done him a lot of good. I very soon began to miss my life at Court,
and, although I had many friends in Shanghai and was invited to dinner
parties and dances; still I did not seem to be able to enjoy myself.
Everything seemed different to what I had been accustomed to in Peking
and I simply longed for the time when I should be able to return to Her
Majesty. About two weeks after our arrival, Her Majesty sent a special
messenger down to Shanghai to see how we were getting along. He brought
us many beautiful presents and also a lot of medicine for my father. We
were very glad to see him. He informed us that we were missed very much
at Court and advised us to return as soon as it was possible for us to
do so. As my father began to show signs of improvement he suggested that
there was no further need for me to stay in Shanghai, and thought it
better that I should return to Peking and resume my duties at Court. I
therefore returned early in the New Year. The river was frozen and I had
to travel by boat to Chinwantao, from thence by rail to Peking. It was a
most miserable journey and I was very glad when it was over. Her Majesty
had sent my eunuchs to the station to meet me and I at once proceeded
to the Palace. On meeting Her Majesty we both cried again by way of
expressing our happiness. I informed her that my father was progressing
favorably and that I hoped to be able to remain with her permanently.

I resumed my previous duties, but this time I had neither my sister for
a companion nor my mother to chat with and everything appeared changed.
Her Majesty was just the same, however, and treated me most kindly.
Still, I was not comfortable, and heartily wished myself back again
in Shanghai. I stayed at the Court, going through pretty much the same
daily routine as before until the second moon (March 1905), when I
received a telegram summoning me to Shanghai as my father had become
worse, and was in a critical condition and wished to see me. I showed
Her Majesty the telegram and waited for her decision. She commenced by
telling me that my father was a very old man, and therefore his chances
of recovery were not so great as if he