were younger, finally winding up
by telling me that I could go to him at once. I again wished everybody
good-bye, fully expecting to return very soon; but this was not to be.
I found my father in a very dangerous condition, and after a lingering
illness, he died on the 18th of December, 1905. Of course we went into
mourning for one hundred days which in itself prevented my returning to
the Court.

While in Shanghai I made many new friends and acquaintances and
gradually began to realize that after all, the attractions of Court life
had not been able to eradicate the influences which had been brought to
bear upon me while in Europe. At heart I was a foreigner, educated in a
foreign country, and, having already met my husband the matter was soon
settled and I became an American citizen. However, I often look back to
the two years I spent at the Court of Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager
of China, the most eventful and happiest days of my girlhood.

Although I was not able to do much towards influencing Her Majesty in
the matter of reform, I still hope to live to see the day when China
shall wake up and take her proper place among the nations of the world.

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The Princess Der Ling

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