With the Empress Dowager of China

by Katharine A. Carl

The slow movement of the Palace boats was never so appreciated by me as on this morning, for I was thus enabled to see well this curious National ceremony, which I would never have seen but for the accident of the hour of my crossing the lake and the time it took to do so; for, as at all ceremonies where men are present, there were, of course, no members of Her Majesty’s entourage, and none of the Ladies or Princesses had ever seen this ceremony!

CHAPTER XXXIV FINISHING AND SENDING OFF THE PORTRAIT

The nineteenth day of April was approaching, and the portrait steadily advancing. As it neared completion Her Majesty’s interest in it seemed to grow. She spent a great deal of time in my pavilion watching its progress, and expressed herself as much delighted with it. A few days before the nineteenth, I asked Her Majesty to allow Mrs. Conger to come and see it on that day. She immediately consented, and invitations were sent through the Foreign Office, not only to Mrs. Conger, but to the wives of the Ministers and First Secretaries of Legations to come to the Palace on the nineteenth day of April, for the purpose of “seeing the portrait of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Dowager, painted by the American artist.”

The ladies of the Legation, of course, responded to the invitation, and on the morning of the nineteenth the portrait was placed in the splendid frame. Her Majesty decided she would receive the ladies first in her Throne-room, after which they were to come to my studio to see the portrait. As I was still working until the “fateful hour,” I did not go up to the Throne-room but awaited the ladies in my own place. Her Majesty did not accompany the ladies when they came to see the portrait, but she sent the young Empress and Princesses to my pavilion to assist me in receiving and to lend a proper dignity to the occasion. The portrait, in a Chinese milieu, and seen in the light in which it was painted, made a better effect than it could in any other surroundings. The ladies were, of course, much interested in seeing this long-talked-of picture—the first ever painted of Her Majesty—and the novelty of the precedent, as well as the interest of a visit to the Palace, favorably predisposed them, and they expressed themselves as most interested in the work, finding it a good likeness. The admiration it received from the young Empress and the Ladies of the Court was almost embarrassing, and the eunuchs said it was so lifelike when they passed the windows that it inspired the same awe Her Majesty’s own presence did.

After the ladies had duly looked at and commented upon the portrait, they repaired to one of the halls in connection with my studio, where a repast had been prepared by the orders of Her Majesty. Here, for the first and only time, while I was in the Palace, the young Empress sat down at the table with the foreign ladies, and acted as hostess, and very gracefully she filled her rôle.

After the visit of the ladies of the Legation, Her Majesty informed me that the Princes and nobles, whose rank entitled them to enter the Palace Inclosure, were to come to see it the following day. As it would not have been “according to the Proprieties” for gentlemen to enter the quarters reserved for ladies, or the buildings where even a foreign lady worked, the portrait was, for their visit, carried out into the open court of my pavilion.

To place the portrait in its carved pedestal, it was necessary to erect a scaffolding by which the framed picture was raised into the air, and then lowered into its stand. When all was finally arranged, the scaffolding was removed, the debris cleared away, and the Princes and nobles, in full dress, came into the court to see the portrait. Each one approached the picture and closely examined it, even touching the canvas. Unfortunately, I could not hear their comments, as I only saw the ceremony discreetly ensconced behind a curtain, but I could watch their faces and study their expressions, though I must confess that they revealed very little.

A young Manchu, who had been attached to a Legation abroad and had learned photography in an amateur way, had been ordered by Her Majesty to make a photograph of the portrait. This was done while the Princes and nobles were still in the court. When it was photographed, and the Princes had retired, the scaffolding was again put up, the picture was raised out of its carved wood pedestal and was replaced in my studio. All this took the greater part of the day.

Her Majesty was so pleased with the comments she heard upon the portrait (of course no unfavorable ones were made to her), that she decided to accede to the prayers of several of the high officials, and allow the Sacred Picture to be viewed by a number of other high functionaries. For this purpose, the portrait was removed to the Wai-Wu-Pu (Foreign Office); for many of the highest Officials are not permitted to enter the Palace Inclosure.

At the Foreign Office, not only the high Chinese Officials, but the foreign Ministers and their staffs were invited to see it. Many of the foreigners went in full dress uniform for this visit, in deference to Chinese prejudices. After it had been duly viewed by all in Peking of sufficient rank to have that honor, it was inclosed in a satin-lined camphor-wood box, covered with satin of Imperial yellow, and the box was closed with great solemnity. The pedestal was placed in a similar box. Each had splendid bronze handles and huge circular locks. These boxes were inclosed in others, also lined with the Imperial color, and were finally ready for shipment. The packing-cases, containing the framed picture and its carved pedestal, were placed upon a flat freight car, which had been elaborately decorated with red and yellow festoons of silk. The boxes were covered with yellow cloth, painted with the Double Dragon. A special railway had been laid from the Wai-Wu-Pu to the station outside the Chien-Mên, for it was not considered fitting that ordinary bearers transport the picture of Her Majesty.