they made but little impression upon the temperature of this lofty room. The curtains over the immense doors that opened on the courts were constantly being raised for the passage of some eunuch, and it was very drafty. But one could at least warm one’s hands by the braziers, and they were so beautiful and picturesque, I was reconciled to being a little cold; besides, I soon became accustomed to the temperature. The Chinese Ladies wear heavy fur-lined dresses in the house, and cannot stand the rooms very warm.
At dinner, a large carpet was now placed under the table, which was an improvement over the cold marble floors. This was done for my comfort, for the Chinese Ladies wear two-inch-thick cork soles to their fur-lined shoes. Down the center of the table, during the winter, there were several silver chafing-dishes, with burning charcoal beneath their steaming contents. Soups, vegetables, and meat stews were thus kept boiling hot on the table. One night I suggested to one of the eunuchs to place the claret-bottle near the fire before serving it, that the chill might be taken off. One very cold day, soon after, the eunuch brought in a large teapot, and began pouring the boiling claret out of this! The Chinese drink their wines hot, and he thought he would improve on my suggestion of “taking off the chill,” and he naively remarked “it was better for me to drink it thus on such a cold day!”
When there was no Theater, and it became too dark to paint, I would join the young Empress and Ladies in their sitting-room at the left of Her Majesty’s Throne-room and there await dinner. The young Empress would then teach me Chinese. She was very particular about my accent and seemed to take a real interest in my progress. The Chinese language is very difficult for a beginner, even for one who has a good ear, for the “tone” or inflection with which you pronounce the word may change its meaning. Sometimes one after the other of the Princesses would repeat the same word in different tones and make me repeat it and then give the meaning of each tone. They would sometimes make puns on words, or