The Eddy current., 1898-10-15
China and Der Emperor.
An Audience With the Rich Monarch Of the
FOwey Kingdom.



Busy preparations are under way At
the American and other embassies ut
Pekin FOR the annual audience with
his Imperial Majesty. Kuang Hsu the
emperor ~ China, which is tu take
place within fortnight The occasion
IS always one of great moment 10 dip
lomatlc circles Of the empires capital,
and is particularly important this year
Ia view of the possible partition Of the
empire In the near future. In the
present contest Tor concessions which
the European ministers are conduct
INK, an cn0rt will be- made by each 10
make an impression on his Majesty
at the audience. 20 that The most gor.
geous pageant the empire has ever Wit
nossed is likely 10 be seen.
Tho audience will probably not dinor
IN other respects from its usual lines.
Though once year only does Kunng
Hsu delgn 10 shed the Hight of his
countcnance on the barbarian" rep
resenthtiyea of foreign countries. he
rarely permits the interview to last
longer than ten minutes This is
doubtless due 10 proper rospec, for
she comfort of the diplomatic corps
They could not be- expected TO endure
with comfort a longer association
with the dnzzling effulgonce which
emanates from the presence of the
"Son of Heaven For this brief peri
cd. however weeks Of preparation are
necessary TO perfect tho glory OF the
diplomatic uniforms for the eyontful
day
When the morning arrives there Is
great run on sedan chairs Ot would
be deemed highly indocOrous 10 travel
90 the palace In any other convey
ance). and frequently those used At
weddings are brought into requlsltlOn.
On the windows of bridal chair are
inscribed the characters "Shuang Hsl," 4"
and when these conyeyances pass
through the streets considerable
amvlement Is created among the spec
tators the more wagglsh Of whom.
with the porilnaclty Of London street
boy, inquire OF the occupant whether
he expects 20 obtain wife from the
palace
The annual audience Is the only oc-
casion when foreigners are permitted
60 enter the sacred precincts OF the
Forbidden city" the punishment in
flcted on intruders at other times be-
ing instant death. From a pagoda on
the south wall OF the Tartar City the
yellow turrets Of the royal buildings
can plainly be distinguished beyond
the capaclous court yard. while In the
latter there may be seen on any flno
day the Imperial Guards summing
themselves In various pOstures. all un-
mindful of the fact that thoy have In
their keeping tho Ruler Of tho Uni
verse.
The members OF the foreign lega-
tlons. on arriving at a side entrance IN
Che palace walls. are received by some
two thousand mandarins. gOrgeously
apparelcd in silks and furs their re-
spectlye degrees being denoted by the
color Of the button on their hats and
the square decoration on their breasts
The English and American legations
are usually urrayod In sober evening
dress. unless the minister happens "a
be military man. when ho wears his
uniform The AGglo-snxons ara com.
pletely outahono by The French. RUS
sian. German. Holland Austrian,
Spanish. italian aud Japanese legn-
tlons. whose display OF gold lace. gold
embroiderles. medals. ribbons. insig-
Mas. plumes spears. swords ana he'll
NETS look for an the world like an
Alhambra ballet. and, OF course. make
most profound impression an the
mind Of the tlnsoi-loylng Oriental
The waiting room into which tho
diplomatic corps ~ shown can host be-
c0sHpnrod "a "a waiting room on the
London Chatham and Dover Railway.
n is wroichcd apartment spsrsely
furnished. and the walls are decorated
with few scrolls ON which are in
H0fihed Con!uclan proverbs. more hon.
orod 100 the breach than IN the oh.
aeryance Tho room Is not half bic
enough 40 accommodate the ministers
and their suites numbers Of whom
have 90 wait Ia the hall 10 fortlfy
them against the trying ordeal await
ing them. tea iH served in cups Of dirty
china. and Japanese Cigarette ara dis
tributed. While waiting here the mln-
listers are visited by the chief officers
of state. the commanding figure " IL
Hung Chang being cunsplcuou iy
prominent as be passes from one group
20 another indsglng In that species
Of mental horso-play for which hc ia
90 noted and greeting everyone with
"A genial smile Rival ministers. for.