o'clock in the evening and are not opened except on special
occasions until daylight. We inquired of the guard why this was,
and were told that orders had been given for the gates to be
opened for us to pass. The officials who had charge were standing
in a double line dressed in full official dress and saluted us as
we passed.

It was still quite dark when we had passed through the gate and I
thought of the many experiences of my short life; but this was by
far the strangest of them all. I wondered what Her Majesty would
be like and whether she would like me or not. We were told that
probably we would be asked to stay at the Court, and I thought
that if that came to pass, I would possibly be able to influence
Her Majesty in favor of reform and so be of valuable assistance to
China. These thoughts made me feel happy and I made up my mind
then and there that I would do all I could and use any influence I
might have in the future towards the advancement of China and for
her welfare. While I was still dreaming of these pleasant
prospects, a faint red line appeared on the horizon heralding the
coming of a most perfect day, and so it proved. As the light grew
brighter and I could distinguish objects, a very pretty view
gradually opened to me, and as we came nearer to the Palace I
could see a high red wall which zigzagged from hill to hill and
enclosed the Palace grounds. The tops of the wall and buildings
were covered with yellow and green tiles and made a most dazzling
picture in the bright sunlight. Pagodas of different sizes and
styles were passed, and when we arrived at the village of Hai
Tien, about four li from the Palace gates, we were told by the
officers we only had a short distance further to go. This was good
news, as I began to think we would never get there. This village