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 role.
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 Enclosure, 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