The Crown Princess had her own house and establishment like the Dowager Empress, but on a smaller scale. Every afternoon she went to pay her respects to the Emperor, attended by her ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs, and they might not leave the royal presence until dismissed. This custom was not confined to royalty, but in the Korean nobility etiquette demands that daughters should pay their respects to fathers, and daughters-in-law to their fathers-in-law, and that they should remain standing until dismissed or asked to sit down. According to the usual custom in the East the wives of the sons live in the same compound as the father, frequently in the same building as his wife and daughters, so the carrying out of this custom is a simple matter. It may be of interest to know some details of the life of the women in an eastern palace. They come into the palace as children of nine or ten years old, bright, good-looking (the Korean ideal of beauty is very different from ours), and intelligent girls. They are trained by other girls a year or two older than themselves, each for her own department. As soon as the children enter service the pigtail of childhood is abandoned, and the hair is dressed in a knot, resting on the nape of the neck. This signifies marriage in the case of all other Korean maidens; but marriage is prohibited in the case of those who enter service in the palace, although it is admittedly the duty of every woman. The girls are dressed in white silk jackets and long mazarine blue silk skirts. The little ones are sometimes allowed to wear pink or yellow silk jackets, but never the elder ones. If the attendants commit any serious offence, it is reported to the head of the department; those, for instance, who act as ladies’ maids are reported to the head lady in waiting, those in the kitchen to the head housekeeper. One particular woman in this department had been responsible for over fifty years for the dressing of the fish, yet she was only sixty-five when she mentioned the fact, so her responsibilities had begun early. There are, however, alleviations to the lot of the palace attendants, for they have alternately ten days’ duty and ten days’ holiday. The royal ladies have not only women attendants, but also eunuchs, one of the worst curses of life in an eastern palace. They are required to carry messages from one department to another, and also to perform other duties. One of the eunuchs belonging to the household of the Dowager Empress used to read aloud to her a small daily Korean newspaper. While so doing he sat outside the window, where he could be heard, but whence he could not see inside, because the window was of paper. Korea is like China in respect of windows, and is only now beginning to replace paper by glass.