wished, she ordered it to be done at once, saying she would “speak to the Emperor” about it. An order of Her Majesty’s was always promptly carried out, and two days after, to my astonishment, the plate-glass windows were placed as I wished. I had the divan that was built under the windows removed, and all the furniture taken out of this end of the hall. The eunuchs hesitated about removing an immense elephant clock of wonderful mechanism, as it had not been moved for a hundred and fifty years, but I finally accomplished even this! Even without the furniture, this end of the hall was but a small space in which to work; but I had a fairly good light, and a quiet place to paint in, for the first time since I began painting the Empress Dowager. Here I was sufficiently far away from Her Majesty’s apartments, as well as from those of the Princesses and Ladies, to be able to work in quiet, without interruptions. A set of European furniture had been placed in the great hall, when it was decided to give it to me, and though this did not please me, in an artistic sense, it being absolutely out of keeping with its environment, I found the well-cushioned easy-chairs a real comfort when I wanted to rest.
As soon as I was comfortably settled in my new studio, the Empress Dowager began to talk of having another large portrait begun—large enough to represent her with all the paraphernalia of Royalty (the ceremonial fans, the threefold screen, the nine phoenix, plants of heavenly bamboo) and pyramids of apples—all emblematic, or symbolic. I told Her Majesty it would be best to make a small study for this picture, and that the size of the portrait could be determined on after this was finished. She readily assented, and I began the small study. There were a number of beautiful thrones in the Palace, any one of which would have suited the lines of the composition. I selected one of the superb, antique thrones of red lacquer, a magnificent work of art, but the Empress Dowager did not care for this throne. It was not a matter of whether the lines or color suited the picture, the point was to have everything Ho-shih (proper), as the Chinese say. With the Chinese, propriety is a