to take Miss

of the family

as his consort,

and orders the ministers to take the seal of the empire with the nuptial presents, in accordance with the sacred rites." So soon as the herald has ceased speaking a Secretary of State takes the seal from the table and hands it to an imperial messenger who, in company with officials carrying the pavilion and other gifts, and preceded and followed by the imperial guards, goes to the house of the future empress. Everything there has been prepared for his reception. A table has been placed in the centre of the hall between two others, draped with appropriate hangings. On the arrival of the messenger the father of the lady salutes him on the threshold, and kneels while he carries the imperial gifts to the tables in the great hall. On the centre table the envoy places the imperial seal, and on the others the various portable presents, while the horses are arranged on the right and left of the courtyard. When all are disposed in order, the father of the lady receives the gifts kneeling, and prostrates himself nine times, as a token of his gratitude for the imperial favour. The departure of the messenger, who carries the imperial seal away with him, is surrounded with the same ceremonies as those which greeted his arrival.

Two banquets form the second part of the ceremony. The mother of the bride is, by order of the emperor, entertained by the imperial princesses in the apartments of the dowager empress, while the imperial chamberlains and high officials offer the same hospitality to her father.

On the wedding-day officers appointed for the

C

purpose present to the bride two hundred ounces of gold, ten thousand ounces of silver, one gold and two silver tiaras, a thousand pieces of silk, twenty caparisoned horses, and twenty others with equipments. To her father and mother are in like manner offered gold, silver, and precious ornaments; pieces of silk, bows and arrows, and countless robes.

The declaration of the marriage follows. An ambassador is sent with an imperial letter to the father of the future empress. On his knees, this much genuflecting man listens to the words of his future son-in-law, and makes nine prostrations in the direction of the imperial seal, which again stands on his table. On this occasion his wife and two ladies of his household take part in the ceremony. Six times they bow low, thrice they bend the knee, and twice as often they prostrate themselves before the seal. This done, they receive from the envoy the tablet of gold, on which is inscribed the declaration of marriage, and retire with this evidence of the fulfilment of their hopes to the apartments of the bride.

On the eve of the eventful day ministers are sent to announce the auspicious event to Heaven, and Earth, and to the deities of the imperial temple. On the following morning, so soon as the august procession is formed, the emperor enters his sedanchair, and is borne to the Tzuning palace, where the dowager empress awaits him seated on a throne of state. With dutiful regard he kneels, and thrice, and again nine times bows low at the feet of his mother. Having thus manifested his respect, he proceeds to the "Hall of Great Harmony," accom

panied by bands discoursing music from an infinite variety of instruments. There, at a signal given, the members of the Board of Rites kneel and prostrate themselves before their august sovereign. This done, a herald advances and reads aloud the imperial decree, which runs as follows: "The emperor, in obedience to the desire of the empress his mother, agrees that the princess shall be his

consort. In this propitious month, and under this favourable constellation, he has prepared the customary gifts and the usual contract, and now commands his ministers to escort the chosen bride to his palace." In harmony with this last clause, the imperial envoy, followed by chamberlains and officers of the guard, and accompanied with music, takes the great seal and starts on his mission. Following in his train come officers carrying the tablet and seal of gold, and bearers with the sedanchair destined for the bride. In strange contrast to the ordinary state of the streets, the thoroughfares on this occasion are swept, garnished, and made straight. On arriving, over these unwontedly smooth ways, at the dwelling of the bride, the envoy is received with every mark of honour and reverence, not only by the father of the bride, but by the elder ladies of the household, dressed in their most brilliant costumes. In the grand hall the father kneels before the envoy, who hands the seal to a lady in waiting, while his lieutenant delivers the tablet and the imperial letter to the ladies appointed to receive them. As these things are borne to the private apartments of the bride, her mother and ladies kneel in token of reverence, and then, following in their wake, listen with

devout respect to the terms of the letter addressed to the bride.

When this ceremony is concluded, the bride, with her mother and ladies in attendance, advances to the "Phoenix Chair," in which, preceded by ministers bearing the imperial seal, and followed by musicians and guards of honour, she proceeds to the palace. On arriving at the gate, the officers and attendants dismount from their horses, while porters bearing aloft nine umbrellas ornamented with phoenixes lead the procession to the Kientsing gate. Beyond this the attendants and officials are forbidden to go, and the bride proceeds alone to meet her affianced husband. One more ceremony has to be performed to complete the marriage. A banquet is spread for the august pair, at which they pledge each other's troth in cups of wine, and thus tie the knot which death alone unravels. This, however, does not quite conclude the laborious ceremonial which falls to the lot of the bride. On the morning after the wedding it becomes her duty to testify her respect to the dowager empress by bringing her water in which to wash her hands, and by spreading viands before her, in return for which courtesies the dowager entertains her daughter-in-law at a feast of welcome. Meanwhile the emperor receives the homage of the princes, dukes, and officers of state, and for some days the palace is given up to feasting and rejoicing an echo of which reaches the remotest parts of the empire when the proclamation announcing the joyful event is made known in the provinces.

But the imperial mentors not only teach the

emperor how to live, but they teach the "still harder lesson, how to die." On the approaching death of the late emperor, the following valedictory manifesto was put in his mouth :

"It was owing to the exalted love of Our late Imperial father, Our canopy and support, that the Divine Vessel (i.e. the throne) was bestowed upon Our keeping. Having set foot in Our childhood on the throne, We from that moment had, gazing upwards, to thank their two majesties the empresses for that, in ordering as Regents the affairs of government, they devoted night and day to the laborious task. When, later, in obedience to their divine commands, We personally assumed the supreme power, We looked on high for guidance to the Ancestral precepts of the Sacred Ones before Us, and in devotion to Our government and love towards Our people, made the fear of Heaven and the example of Our Forefathers the mainspring of every act... To be unwearied day by day has been Our single purpose. . . . Our bodily constitution has through Our life been strong, and when, in the 11th moon of this year, We were attacked by smallpox, We gave the utmost care to the preservation of our health; but for some days past Our strength has gradually failed, until the hope of recovery has passed away. We recognize in this the will of Heaven." And then the dying man named his successor in the person of his first cousin, the present emperor.

So soon as the august patient has ceased to breathe, his heir strips from his cap the ornaments which adorn it, and "wails and stamps" in evidence of his excessive grief. The widow and ladies of