"The music might be considered as a sort of birth-day ode, or state anthem, the burthen of which was, '_Bow down your heads all ye dwellers upon earth, bow down your heads before the great Kien-long, the great Kien-long_.' And then all the dwellers upon China earth there present, except ourselves, bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves upon the ground at every renewal of the chorus. Indeed, in no religion either ancient or modern has the divinity ever been addressed, I believe, with stronger exterior marks of worship and adoration than were this morning paid to the phantom of his Chinese majesty. Such is the mode of celebrating the Emperor's anniversary festival, according to the court ritual. We saw nothing of him the whole day, nor did any of his ministers, I imagine, approach him, for they all seemed to retire at the same moment that we did. "In the course of a tour we made in the gardens with the prime minister and other great officers of state, whom the Emperor had directed to attend us, we were entertained at one of the palaces with a collation of petitpatis, salt relishes, and other savoury dishes, with fruits and sweetmeats, milk and ice-water; and as soon as we rose from table, a number of yellow boxes, or drawers, were carried in procession before us, containing several pieces of silk and porcelain, which we were told were presents to us from the Emperor, and we consequently made our bows as they passed. We were also amused with a Chinese puppet-shew which differs but little from an English one. There are a distressed princess confined in a castle, and a knight-errant, who, after fighting wild beasts and dragons, sets her at liberty and marries her; wedding-feasts, jousts, and tournaments. Besides these, there was also a comic drama, in which some personages not unlike punch and his wife, Bandemeer and Scaramouch performed capital parts. This puppet-shew, we were told, properly belongs to the ladies' apartments, but was sent out as a particular compliment to entertain us; one of the performances was exhibited with great applause from our conductors, and I understand it is a favourite piece at court. "On the morning of the 18th September we again went to court, in consequence of an invitation from the Emperor, to see the Chinese comedy and other diversions given on occasion of his birth-day. The comedy began at eight o'clock and lasted till noon. The Emperor was seated on a throne, opposite the stage, which projected a good deal into the pit. The boxes were on each side without seats or divisions. The women were placed above, behind the lattices, so that they might enjoy the amusements of the theatre without being observed.