Mourning An Emperor

The London Wecklij Vispatcn nas wie following : " ïho Emperor of China being dead, all Ha subjocts, according to tlieir rank, will bo required to rnouru his deooase. On tho proclamatiou of tho Govemor of tlie province, the mandarina under hi not only put on mourning, but paint out tlie decorations on thoir house wails, aud ■vvrap tlieir sedan chaira in blaok cloth. The comnion people havo to ehave their ïeads, and also to perfonn oertain coremouies prosoribed especially for them ; mt as for the mandarina and loose gentry, on a second proclamation from he Governor öf tho province, they meet wgether on certain appointed days in a particular temple, to ' lif t up their amentationa ' for the departed monarch, i -whoai most of these mourners never once beheld. The mode of their proceedings is in this wise : Tlie mandarins, jentry and others entitled to take part in tlie ceremonial, having mustered inside the temple, slowly and silently take n-n ooyli mm t.lin nositioii ürcsoribed for urn, according to lus rank, on a raisoa riatform previously prepared. This dons, a professor of ceremony appears upon iho soene. Everything bemg reaáy tho professor, amid profound ; siloiico, oalls out in a eornmanding tone : ' Kneel do-mi ! ' Immediately ono i dred individúala, more or less, being tlie ïighest in rank and power in the provmce, simultaneously fall proatrato Tlien the next order comes : ' Knock your hoads once on tho ground,' which the corapany immediately do. Again and again tho foreheads tap the fioor, and yet a third time they are required to tnock and knock. "The professor, while they are stül on their hands and knoes, now commands them to 'begin their lamentations,' whereupon these adult, rational beings commence to moan and -weep m a wliimpeiing, sabdued tone oí voice. Tlds having been kept up for a minuto or so, all are ordered to ' stop their ing,' ' rise up,' and ' disperse from their i places,' which, by this time, they seem not unwilling to do. Thus ends the ceremony of ' three bowings and mne knockings.' The funniest thing connected with the whole business is that, until the Emperor's death lias been officially announced from Pekín, nobody is supposed to be sorry. A steamer oommonly brings the news down to a provinco long bef ore the Governor s official dispatch arrivés, and thus, thougü the Emperor's decease is perfectly -wellknown, everybody surprisingly commands his feelings, and goos about his business as usual. It is only -when the Governor sends forth his public announcement that the land is convulsed with sudden and universal Borros'. Happy is the monarch whom the people dehght to honor."