CHAPTER XXII. 185

PALACE CUSTOMS Early Rising--When the Empress Dowager Sleeps--Her Bedroom-- Irregular Hours except for the Audience--Domestic Duties-- Her Favorite Game--Her Luck--Her Meals--Conventions Observed at the Empress Dowager’s Table--Her Dishes--The Hour of the Siesta--Her Promenades--The Days of the Theater--When Their Majesties Dine Together--Rigorous Observance of Fasts at the Table of the Empress Dowager--Court Etiquette--The Graceful Bow--Rigid Observance of Court Customs--Her Majesty’s Reproof of Too Indulgent Mother.