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. After the banquet,
however, the Empress Dowager always appeared and conversed
cordially with her guests.
"Her failure to appear at table may have been influenced by the
following incident: One of the leading lady guests, anxious, no
doubt, to obtain a unique curio, requested the Empress Dowager to
present her with the bowl from which Her Majesty was eating--a
bowl which was different from those used by her guests, as the
dishes from which her food was served were never the same as
those used by others at the table!
"After an instant's hesitation she turned to a eunuch and said:
" 'We cannot give her one bowl [the Chinese custom being always
to give things in pairs]; go and prepare her two.'
"Then, turning to her guests, she continued apologetically:
" 'I should be glad to give bowls to each of you, but the Foreign
Office has requested me not to give presents at this audience.'
It had been her custom to give each of her guests some small gift
with her own hands and afterwards to send presents by her eunuchs
to their homes.
"On another occasion the lady referred to above took an ornament
from a cabinet and was carrying it away when the person in charge
of these things requested that it be restored, saying that she
was responsible for everything in the room and would be punished
if anything were missing.
"The above incidents do not stand alone. It was not uncommon for
some of the Continental guests, in the presence of the court
ladies, to make uncomplimentary remarks about the food, which was
Chinese, and often not very palatable to the foreigner
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