The Empress Dowager began to take long promenades now and was much out-of-doors. Sometimes in the mornings, on our arrival, she would already be in the gardens. One day we met her on the banks of the lake and made our morning salutations there. Another day, she and the Emperor were inspecting the new buildings which were being erected to replace those burned during the occupation of Peking by the Allies, when Count von Waldersee had his headquarters in the Sea Palace. Splendid buildings were being erected on the site of those burned. The Emperor and Empress Dowager, each with his own suite, carefully visited every part of these new constructions and seemed much interested in their progress. Of course, the workmen were banished during the visit of Their Majesties. One of these new halls was to be used for the entertainment of foreigners, when they are invited to the Palace, and many concessions had been made to foreign ideas in its construction. Let us hope it may not lose its Chinese character! I am sure the foreigners will regret this innovation and would prefer the typical Chinese interior, even though it be less suited to the exigencies of a modern reception. Sometimes we would see the Empress Dowager in her Japanese “jinricksha.” This was a beautiful, gold-lacquered affair in dragon form, the two dragons’ heads in front. It had splendid gold-lacquered shafts and wheels--the latter with rubber tires. It was pulled by one eunuch and pushed by another, and Her Majesty seemed greatly to enjoy this novelty for a while, but she said she preferred to walk or to be carried in her open chair, as a usual thing. Two other modern and novel methods of locomotion had been installed in the grounds of the Sea Palace. There was a small railway, which ran from the outer gates to the dwelling Palaces, which had its engine and complete running outfit. This had been constructed by some progressive Mandarins, who wished to get the Empress Dowager’s support for some railway scheme, but though she often spoke of how much she had enjoyed her one trip on a real railway, her spirit was too utilitarian to care for toy pleasures. She couldn’t stand the puffing of the engine, the tiny cars, and all this trouble for so short and useless a jaunt.