The morning journal-courier., 1908-12-02
EMPRESS OF CHINA
Interesting Facts Told by Wild oW of Former Minister
 to China,
RESPECTED UNITED STATES
She Had the Tender Heart of Il WOmau-~Was a Busy
 Worker,

"T look upon tho death of the dow ager empress of China as a personal loss" says Mrs H, Ii, Conger, widow of the former minister to China, E, II. Conger. When my husband was United States minister to China I had special opportunity of becoming ac- auainted with her, Since l returned to this country have frequently re- ceiyod messages of Friendship from her. admired her greatly. Sho was truly a remarkable woman We went to China in 1898, and shortly after our arrival in Pokng the doWager empress gave Ithe first audience to foreign women ever given in the kingdom, She had never seen foreign women and the au- dioncc was naturally very formal l saw nothing of her until after the re- turn of the court from exile in 1902. At that time I was dean of the women of the foreign embassy, Tho position gave me occasion to sec a great deal of the dowager empress, l was al- lowed my own private interpreter and my interviews were frequent and in a sonse quite intimate She was anXi- ous to learn, and showed q wonderful knowledge of outside affairs, particu- larly relating to this country.
 "She showed the greatest respect for tho United states ! remember at one Itine when she had been assailed most bitterly had an audience with her. General and Mrs Nelson Miles and Ad- mral Evans being with me I made so bold as to ask permission to bring Ian American painter, a woman, with me for the purpose of getting her por- Itrait to bc exhibited at the St. Louis exposition she quickly assented ask. ing only that the work be done in such and such month, that being counted a propitious month immediately sent for Miss Katharine A Carle sug- Igesting that she stop with me until the dowager empress should summon
 her. She dld SO. The portrait wa'
 painted, exhibited at the st. Louis OK
 position and by the dowager empress later presented to the American peo
 pie as a token of her friendly feeling
 "In her audience, the dowager emr
 
 press was always exceedingly watch
 ruI of her guests comfort Her enter.
 tanments were elaborate. For instance her own private theater played for Ill
 and she personally explained the pla! so that we might enjoy it At another
 time | asked her for her autograph She readily agreed to what must hav' seemed an audacious request and ask
 ed mo to provide a suitable blank book | did so did not dare to ask for th,
 autograph of the emperor, but whel
 the book came back to mo a short tim
 after, 1t contained not only the auto
 graph and seal of the dowager empress but also the seal Q) tho emperor him self and the signature of the prince
 and princessos of the court You ma,
 imagine that l prize this gift yer. |, highly At another audience the dow . ager empress painted eighteen scroll for her guests, standing all the tim f over the table on which the paper wa laid and welding the brush withou { apparent fatigue"
 You can imagine from this sail , Mrs Congcr, 'just how vigorous phy 1 sically the empress dowaser was. a I that time 70 years of age. She ha the tender heart of a woman, and l
 associating with her I learned moro e r tho true Chinese character than in an , other way. l never talked religo
 with her It would have been unwlst f When we came away from China th dowager empress bestowed upon me special order of decoration of th a Double Dragon, the first ever present led to a woman.'