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In the interval between the arrival of male guests, the ladies
took me out into a large canopied court to see the decorations,
and into the sacrificial hall. These ceremonies were all
conducted in the house and court which the Dowager Princess had
occupied, and where I had often gone to see her when she wanted
to thank me for some medical attention I had given her children
or grandchildren.
As we passed through the great gate, I noticed that the court was
covered with a mat pavilion making a room about one hundred and
fifty feet square, lighted by great squares of glass near the
top, and decorated with banners of rich brocade silks or satins,
of sober colours, blue, gray or white, on which were texts
extolling the virtues of the late Dowager or her family. These
were the gifts of friends, who had been coming and would continue
to come for days if not weeks.
At the north end as one came in at the gate was a gallery running
the whole length of the northern court, fitted up with special
hangings which separated it into different compartments. Many
elegant banners and decorations gave it a striking effect. This
was the place where the priests, who had not yet arrived, were to
say their prayers day and night until the funeral ceremonies were
over.
Directly in front of the catafalque, in the gallery, there was a
table on which I afterwards saw the priests place a silver vessel
which the head priest carried, and the others regarded with much
solemnity
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