The National tribune., 1908-11-26


DR. Rupert Wells, 1889 Radol Bldg, St. Louis,
Mo.
house will be obliged to depend largely
upon the generosity of his American
grandfather, his young mother wiii,
after all, hold the trump card, and Will
be interfered with much less by her
husbands relatives than If the reverse
were the case.
The ceremonies attending death in
! China and especially the death OF roy
| atty, SEEM to the Eastern mind, strange
| indeed When in Pekin, the other day,
| it was found that their imperial Majes-
ties, the Emperor and the all-powerful
Empress Dowager, were dying, they
| were quickly clad in the gorgeous en-
broidered robes such as are worn only
on the most important official occasions,
placed carefully on a richly appointed
litter and carried to the somber death
chamber of the palace, accompanied by
court officials in proper ceremonial
| dress The imperial yellow clay w2s
at once spread all over the road lead
ing to the Forbidden City, within whose.
confines, in the beautiful Summer pal
ace, surrounded by hundreds of follow
ers and the dignitaries of the court,
that remarkable personality, Tsze Hsf
~
the Celestial Empire for so many years,
and the man who has been as puppet
in her hands, calmly awaited the COM
ing of the Grim Reaper. When 1t was
known that their Majesties were actual
" dead, the greatest confusion reigned
thruout the palace. That curious sound
which the Chinese make to express
grief filed the great building, and thru
the barbaric splendor of the magnlh-
cent halls, unsurpassed in TINS respect,
ran the palace eunuchs, carrying with
them articles of great value which they
| had successfully secured in the ex-
citement of the moment. Prince CHING,
who has been appointed Regent until
| his baby boy, the new Emperor, shall
| be old enough to reign, soon restored
| order, however, and everything is now
quiet The deceased Empress Dowager
| has been compared to the great Cath
crime IL of Russia. AS far as both
were women of remarkable intelligence,
infiexible will and strength of charae-
| ter, they were very much alike. The
| Manchu woman was in some respects,
| however, the more remarkable, since
she sprang from the most obscure and
| humble surroundings, being the child
of poor people, who sold her in child
hood as a slave to a famous Chinese
General She was so extraordinarily
| beautiful, even from a Western point
| of view, and so remarkably intelligent,
| that he offered her as present to his
| Emperor, and she at once became the
| favorite concubine of the imperial
harem, her power becoming fixed when
she bore her royal master son. How
she managed the affairs of the King
dom, the terror and admiration of her
| people, how she put her own son and
afterwards her nephew on the throne,
yet keeping all power in her own hands,
everyone knows. She was a law unto
herself, breaking thru even the ancient,
sacred customs of the Chinese when it
served her ends to do So Mrs. Conger,
widow of our former Minister to China,
who knew her quite well, says she pos
sessed great charm of manner, and
showed a wonderful fund of general
Information regarding other countries,
etc. Altho the Empress Dowager has
been called cruel, even bioodthirsty. and
is no doubt responsible for the death
of large number of persons, Mrs.
| Conger says she showed a tender and
sympathetic heart, and was constantly
doing little thoughtful, kindly services
for those around her. The whole Ma
| ton is now, of course, thrown into
| mourning by the death of their Majes-
ties, and for 100 days all persons con-
nected in any way with the court will
wear garments made of white and
| trimmed with white fur, as white is the
mourning color of China. During this
period. also, the men will not shave,
and the women will lay aside their
elaborate Manchu head-dresses The
second mourning, which is worn for II
months, Is either black or some dark
color, and during this period no be-
trothal takes place among the higher
classes, while all entertainments and
public functions are suspended for one
year. In the meantime the infant heir
has been taken from his family and
ia pniliar apyirOnr ~ fn ho no Iao nd
Is said to be putting in the full time
believing to the extent of his baby
lungs for his own nurse.
John d. Rockefeller has everything
real nice and convenient in his home at
Pocantico Hills. He believes in work
himself, and he likes to see people busy
about him. but he also keeps up with
the times in the way of employing all
sorts of labor-saving devices and do
mestic conveniences. Kitchens and
laundries and all the practical side of
housekeeping appeal to the richest man
in the world as they do not to many
men, and it is his aim to be behind
no one in this respect. Just now the
laundry force of his establishment, the
washers and ironers who keep his linen
Immaculate and that of the members
of his household, are wearing particu-
larly smiling and contented faces, for
Mr. Rockefeller has Just completed a
laundry which cost him $2b, 900, prob
ably the most expensive private laundry
In the country il not the world. This
does, indeed, seem q great deal of
money to put into a wash-house, and
one wonders how 1t could be done un-
less the tubs were made OF the most
expensive hardwoods, the faucets of
solid silver, etc. Most of us would like
very much to see that laundry.