Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-30

such of his Chinese treasures as he
wanted to preserve. though he gave
many of the most valuable to the
French Republic.
Mandarins Led the Party
ITO conduct us" writes Van
Braam, 1--WE had three mandarine OF
distinction. The first, called Van
ta-loye, wore the dark blue button
and was versed in political matters;
the second. named Ming-ta-lovc,
wore the blue transparent button
and was a military man; the third,
called Sam a-loye, was of the white
transparent button and was a great
! mandarin of letters. Each of them
had under his command several in
ferior mandarins carrying gold
sticks. The military mandarin was
Tartar and the two others were
Chinese"
Despite a great company and the
pomp of their journey, the members
of the embassy encountered many
discomforts. The intense cold, the
poor accommodations, and the care
lessness of the coolies all added to
their troubles. while upset palan-
quins and jolting Chinese carts jar
red the dignity of the Dutch and
French gentlemen, and on many oc-
casions, as Van Braam paintively
points out, supplies were so slow in
reaching them that they had to go
for weeks with nothing to drink but
water,
In their journey across the coun-
try to Peking to pay their visit to
the Imperial Palace they travelled
route never before seen by white
men" crossing Shantung, and on
their return penetrated still further
into what was then an unknown
land" to Europeans.
Van Braam Meets the Emperor
Van Braam began the trip as sec
ond in the embassy, though he
shared all honors. AS it happened,
however, the head of that body be-
came ill during the journey, and so
it was Van Braam who was first re-
ceived in audience by the aged En-
peror Kien-Long. Van Braam also
met the seventeenth son of the En-
peror, who was to succeed him on
the throne in 1896.
Royal audiences were decidedly
early affairs in Peking. The Dutch
man, to his great disgust had to
rise at in the morning and wait
in the cold for an hour or more
while the Emperor did homage 10
his ancestors before the audience be-
gan.
The outside of the palace, coated
as 1t was with plaster, painted a
pale red and elaborately gilded de-
lighted the eye of the Hollander,
as did the ceremony of the skates,
which he witnessed, and which was,
so he learned. a yearly celebration,
the Chinese never donning the IA
mlliar Dutch ice shoes" at any
other time.
The insidte of the palace, how
ever he found less attractive; TIE
winding canal that wandered
through it, to the long cold corridors
like dark streets; the smallness of
the rooms, all disgusted him, though
the Emperor's own apartment was
large with a huge window made of
a single sheet of glass through which
he could survey his kingdom.
After the Mongul and Korean
ENJOYS had performed the salute of
honor to the Emperor" he says, II
was likewise presented to the aged
monarch, and in my turn went
through the ceremony of prostra-
tion. He was sitting on sophia
(sofa) with his legs crossed under
him, according to the Chinese GUS
tom. On his right hand was the
Noo-tchong- tang, and on his left the
Fok-lio-tayen, who, upon their
to the Emperor, as we'll as l could
judge, about me. The prime minis
ter then rose and ordered the Lingua
to tell me, on the part of his majesty
that he had attained his eighty-f fifth
year, and that l was the first Dutch
man that had ever had an oppor-
tunity of approaching so near to his
person. | addressed my thanks to
his majesty for this signal favor in
the most respectful manner and re-
peated the salute of honor, after
which we rose.
I'VE were then placed a little to
the left, as were also the ENJOYS l
have just mentioned, and were all
told TO sit down upon the ground on
carpets that had been spread on
purpose, in two ranks. one behind
the other. AS l was not accustomed
to that mode of sitting, it was to
me a real penance."
Standings Riches Not Then Known
OF Shantung Van Braam spoke
with contempt, as being merely the
birthplace of Confucius and a pro-
vince of no account since it did not
yield great harvests of rice or silk
or of the popular nankeen. In the
minds of the Dutch embassy, Shan
tung, whose stored riches of coal,
gold, silver, straw and what not had
not been discovered, was forgivable
as n roadway only because it's chief
mandarin presented to them rich
furred coats of red and smaller
pelisses to all the men of their staff
Van Braam depicts in his book his
long visits with the Emperor; the
strange ceremonies of the moon and
the sun; the dance of the sons of
mandarins; the feasts and the won
derful fireworks that at least won
enthusiasm from the Dutch. His
account of the marvellous temples;
of the Chinese custom of burning
the dead with ceremonies filched
from ancient Greece and Rome; his
story of the fields of buckwheat; the
great barges laden with rice; the
Emperor's pools of goldfish, Fifteen
inches long and of rare coloring;"
his description of the scenery and
the private rooms of the imperial
palace, where no European or
American had ever before set foot,
all make up a wonderful picture of
the China of the past.
Hot Air Pipes Heated Houses
A land of contrasts, always, for
while on one page he speaks of the
rough carts, such as are used in
Holland for manure" being the
main type of conveyance and horses
few IN number and badly cared for,
on the next he describes the heating
of the houses, showing that furnaces
with hot air pipes extending to the
different rooms, were installed in
the mandarins' homes. The furnaces
were not built in the houses, but in
-