For quite two months the one absorbing topic of talk has been the departure of the Court. That event has focussed the efforts of the officials and suspended their ordinary business. The preparations have been so elaborate that it would have been impossible to complete them by the date first fixed for the return to Pel The Dowager has always had the reputation for hea g wealth. The tour to the Western capital has supplied an excellent oppority for the accumulation of enormous resources. On the route from Taiyuan every place was compelled to contribute to the Imperial Pi All articles of value—eurios, bedding, curtains, drapings—were bagged for her use. The same absorption, repeated in Honan, will ensure considerable appropriations for Her Majesty's house. "Some 3,000 carts hare been commandeered for this Royal transport. The cost of a single night is roughly £1,000—a fairly lange sum for the people of any given district to contribute. But as one remarked, there are many mouths and more pockets in the Royal Train.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.