ngers, on which is carved the characters Ta Hsi (Great Happiness).
The meaning of the symbol or sceptre Ru Yee is "May all joy be yours."

During this entire ceremony absolute silence is maintained and
immediately they have finished, they return to the Palace and inform Her
Majesty that the ceremony has been completed.

CHAPTER FIVE--AN AUDIENCE WITH THE EMPRESS

No one informed us the day before that there was to be an audience
to receive the Russian Minister's wife on that very day. We told Her
Majesty that we must go and change our clothes in order to receive this
lady. The dresses we wore that day were very simply made and short. The
reason we wore this kind of costume was that there was no carpet and
the bare brick floor had ruined our beautiful red velvet gowns, also the
clumsy eunuchs had kept stepping on our trains all the time. We had made
up our minds that short dresses for general wear every day would be more
practical. Her Majesty said: "Why must you change your clothes? I see
you look much better without that tail dragging behind you on the floor.
I laughed at the idea of having a tail on one's dresses. I noticed that
the first day when you came to the Court." Before we had time to
explain to her, she said: "I see, dresses with tails behind must be more
dignified than short ones, am I right?" We told her it was so. Then she
said: "Go and put on your most beautiful gowns at once." We immediately
went and changed. My sister and myself wore our pink crepe de chine
gowns, trimmed with Brussels lace and transparent yokes of the same
color chiffon. My mother wore her gray crepe de chine embroidered with
black roses and a little touch of pale blue satin on her collar and
belt. We dressed in a great hurry, as Her Majesty had sent eunuchs to
see if we were ready. When she saw us she exclaimed: "Here are three
fairies with long tails." Then she asked us: "Is it very tiring to hold
half of your dress in your hand when you are walking? The costume is
pretty, but I do dislike the tail, there is no sense having a thing like
that. I wonder what these foreigners will think of me having you dressed
in their costume. I am sure they won't like the idea. My reason is
this: I want them to see you in foreign clothes in order to let them
understand I know something about the way they dress. I must say that
no foreign ladies have yet been presented to me dressed in such lovely
gowns as you three have. I don't believe foreigne