loyally in her schemes for Reform, to put off the old bad
ways and to persist energetically in well-doing, she gives a
graphic description of the hardships which she and the
Emperor endured during her compulsory "tour to the
West." After referring to the unforgettable shocks and
sorrows of that journey, the Edict says:--

"I have now returned once more to my Palace and find
the ancestral Temples reposing as of old in dignified and
unbroken serenity. Beneath the deep awe which overcomes
me in the presence of my glorious ancestors my soul feels an
added weight of grief and remorse, and I only hope that by
Heaven's continued favour I may yet live to accomplish
some meritorious work."

And again, in a later passage, after referring to the
drought which had brought Shensi and Shansi to the verge
of famine, she says:--

"The Empire has come upon days of dire financial dis-
tress, and my people have been compelled to find funds for
me from their very life blood; ill would it be for me to
requite their loyalty by further levies of taxation, and the
Throne is therefore bound to curtail its ordinary expenditure
and to make strict economy its guiding rule for the future.
With the exception of such repairs as are necessary to the
Temples and ancestral shrines, I hereby command that no
expenditure be incurred for repairs or decoration of the
Palaces, except in cases of absolute necessity."

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