"Thou, then, art the servant of this dog who has profaned the imperial gardens?" said the chief of the eunuchs; adding, before Nicholas could interfere for Chow, "Let the dog be taken to the prison, as he will doubtless be strangled with his master when the will of the Emperor is known." Then, in obedience to this command, the boy was hurried away, and Nicholas led forward to the court of the inner palace. CHAPTER XXI. ASSEMBLY OF THE GREAT PRINCES OF THE EMPIRE. The audience-chamber of the Emperor was a vast square hall of great height. The ceiling was of pale green, sculptured in devices, and decorated with paintings, charged at intervals with the Emperor's crest in gold. The walls were smooth and without other ornament than the carved window frame, which was set with panes of richly painted paper. The roof was supported by rows of columns, elaborately sculptured and japanned, which rested upon a pavement of the rarest veined marble, of so high a polish that it reflected the whole interior. In the centre stood a lofty alcove, above which, upon a drapery of yellow silk, were embossed in pale blue enamel the words "Ching Hoang," (Holy Emperor). Beneath, upon a dais, ascended by a flight of broad steps was a throne of frosted gold, surmounted and upheld by dragons of the same metal, but burnished, and whose claws rested upon a carpet of blue velvet, besprinkled with the same monsters in silver. Opposite the throne upon a raised platform, were placed several vessels of the precious metals, filled with incense, which, as it burned, sent forth a delicious perfume, and candlesticks ingeniously wrought into the shape of animals.