The true northerner., 1900-09-21

Region" than any other man. Whlle
at the capital he won the confidence
of a great many educated Chinese at
a time when there was much less an
ti-foreign prejudice than there is now,
and thus obtained an invaluable store
of information.
The Palace OF Heaven
Ascending a stairway and passing
another gate one reaches the Tranquil
Palace of Heaven, in which is the
imperial council chamber and wherein
candidates for Office are presented to
the sovereign. This is the richest
loftiest and most magnificent of all
the palaces In a court beneath its
walls Is small tower of & II copper
adorned with a great number of
statues. Beyond this building is the
Palace of Earth's Repose which ac-
commodities the imperial harem, su-
perintended by the Empress.
Between this palace and the north
wall of the Forbidden city are the gar
dens appropriated for the use of the
Inmates of the harem-the wives OF
the Emperor, the eunuchs and otner
attendants. These gardens are adorn-
ed with pavilions, temples and beau
tiful groves of trees, interspersed with
canals, fountains and other ornamen-
tai articles
This walled imperial precinct is
veritable city of the Arabian Nights,
and it's truthful annals might COM
pose many a volume of fascinating and
romantic interest. 1t is surrounded by
a deep moat, and the eastern part OF
it contains, among other buildings,
the Offices of the Cabinet and the
treasury.
North OF these Offices is the so-called
Hall of Intense Thought. where peri
odical sacrifices are made TO Confucius
and other sages, and near by is the
Hall of the Literary Abyss-in other
words, the library-which publishes
from time to time a catalogue, which
is an excellent synopsis of the best
Chinese literature up to date.
Palaces and Temples.
At the north end of the eastern di-
vision are numerous palaces and build
ings occupied by Princes of the blood
royal and their relatives and families.
In this same quarter is a small tenn
pie, to which the Emperor and his
family go to perform their devotions
before tablets commemorating their
departed ancestors. Whenever he
leaves or returns to his palace on the
first day of the year and on all other
occasions of Importance the Emperor
goes through elaborate devotions in
this hall. The European powers may
find it necessary to desecrate this tenn
pie as a punishment for the present
Chinese outrages, because an affront
to the memory of his ancestors is the
greatest injury that a Chinaman can
suffer. In the last Anglo-French war
against the Chinese the allies desc
Grated the graves of the ancestors of
the ruling Emperor, but the peculiar
situation of the present ruler may
make a difference this time
The inclosure which surrounds the
imperial palaces is called wang ching.
and In an oblong rectangle about six
miles in circuit, encompassed by a
wall twenty feet high and having a
gate at each face. From the southern
gate, called the Tien-an Manor Gate
OF Heavenly Rest. broad avenue
leads up to the kin ching, and before
IT. outside Of the wall is an extensive
space walled in and called the Gate or
Great Purity. which no one is allowed
to enter except on foot.
On the right of the avenue within
the wall is a gateway leading TO the
Tai Mao, or gate temple of the i'm
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