On Friday morning a despatch from Peking announced the serious illness of HLH. Princess Ch'un, Consort of th late Prince Ch'un, parents of the Emperor Kuang-hsii, and that the Dowager Empress, Emperor, and Empress had been pay: ing several calls upon the Princess in consequence. We subsequently learned from the Hupao of the receipt of an edict of the 19th instant on Saturday afternoon, announcing with deep regret the death of the Princess on the morning of the 18th instant, at about 8 o'clock. The Emperor states in his edict that he has "received the Empress-Dowager's special commands to acknowledge H.IH. Yé-he-ne-la, Princess Ch'un, to be our own mother and we are to go through the mourning ceremonies required of a son in the same manner done by_us upon the occasion of H.I.H. the late Prince Ch'un our father, in reverent compliance with the sacred instructions of our forefathers who preceded us." The Emperor pays, in another edict, his mother the tribute of being, when in life, possessed of a love of harmony between the members of the Imperial House, and characteristics in which are blended' all the virtues of probity and chastity and a serene nature, insomuch, that not a single member of the Imperial House but reverently looked up to her highness us an example of goodness. Furthermore her highness' household was the model of good family government and when the Prince was alive, the Princess was his helper in all matters." Upon receipt of the nows of his mother's death the Emperor went at once to hor palace to worship the remains, taking a" T'odo Fimpress Dowager to the deceased. Princess, prayer coverlet" with him, the gift of the
A T'o-lo prayer coverlet is a strip of Imperial yellow satin having, it is alleged, one hundred and eight funeral prayers inscribed upon ithe work of Tibetan Inmas—the first few prayers being from the Dalai Lama, the Buddhist Pontiff, himself. These prayer coverlets are granted 1s special gifts by the Emperor only to the highest personages in the Empire, and are used as a shroud, the possession of which "<onables the spirit of the deceased to enter Hades without being subjected to punish ment for past sins." In fact, Pluto himself, and his nine colleagues, are supposed to come out and meet the spirit thus enshrouded and escort it to its abode prepared for it in Hades. In the latter part of the edict translated above the Emperor apints K'un Kang, the noyly-appointed rand Secretary and Comptroller-General of the Board of Works; Huai T'a-pu, President of the Board of Rites and a Comptroller-General of the Imperial Household Department; Wen Lin, Vice-President of the Board of Punishments and a Comptroller-General of the Imperial Household Department; and Ying Nien, Vice President of the Board of Works (all Manchus) to be the Executive Committee in charge of the funeral ceremonies of the deceased Princess, while the Board of Rites are ordered to send up for approval the list of ceremonies necessary for such a solemn occasion..
We may mention here, incidentally, that the deceased Princess seldom, if ever, interfered in state affairs after the death of her husband who, on the other hand, although he did not openly accept otice until after the disgrace of his elder brother Prince Kung, was always a power behind the Throne upon the accession of his infant son Kuanghsii.
The Empress Regent never omitted to consult with Prince Ch'un upon all important matters of state in deference to his being the Emperor's father.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.