I have heard it said that the Empress Dowager puts all this charm on for these occasions; that she is a consummate actress, but during the whole time I was in the Palace I never saw her other than the charming hostess, considerate of the comfort of those who surround her and readily sympathizing with sorrow, and I have seen her under all circumstances, at Audiences and in private, in anxiety and sorrow and in joy. She was too great a lover of Nature in all its phases to be cruel and heartless, and I am convinced she is really genuinely kind. She apparently greatly admired intelligence, and goodness always seemed to appeal to her. She was ever a fascinating study, and her magnetic personality full of charm. I found her thoroughly human and perfectly womanly. CHAPTER XXXII THE CHINESE NEW YEAR--OFFICIAL AUDIENCE The Chinese New Year, the greatest of the popular festivals, is, of course, celebrated with much pomp and enthusiasm at the Palace. Splendid decorations, hundreds of beautiful horn lanterns, with their long, red silk tassels, the great red “Sho” emblazoned on their sides, made the courts and verandahs gay with color. Painted figures of red-clothed gods regarded one at every turn. Hideous monsters with vermilion faces, painted on the outside doors, brandished spears to frighten away the bad spirits. There were the usual gala representations at the Theater; and the Palace, as at all festivals, was filled with visitors. The Chinese pay all their debts at the New Year. If they have not the ready money to do so, they will dispose of anything valuable they have, in order to begin the New Year free from debt. It is considered tempting Heaven to begin it otherwise. A great deal of silver imitation money is exchanged at this season. This is an old custom and supposed to bring abundance during the year. At the New Year, present-giving reaches its culminating point in China. Every one, rich and poor, high and low, gives presents then. Their Majesties not only gave to all the Ladies and Princesses, but to every inmate of the Palace, and even the beggar at the gate was not forgotten; but the presents exchanged at the New Year are never so handsome as those given for a birthday. The presents the Empress Dowager received on this occasion were principally flowers (her Throne-room was full of them, as well as her private apartments)--dwarf fruit trees twisted into fantastic shapes, laden with fragrant blossoms and splendid plants of peonies in full flower, and countless vases of the Chinese Lily, as they call the Narcissus in China. The Empress Dowager tried to be cheerful and not dampen the gaiety of the Festival by her alarm, but the long-looked-for and much-dreaded war between Russia and Japan had then actually begun, and she was mortally anxious! The Japanese were already in Manchuria, and no one knew how it might affect China! [Illustration: SLAVE GIRLS]