NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE Emperor and Empress-Regent of China re-entered their capital on Tuesday, the 7th inst., with stately cere- monial. They moved forward surrounded by a thousand " noblemen " on horseback, in glittering costume, escorted by the trained troops of the Viceroy of Chih-li, and between a double row of soldiers which stretched for four miles. The Princes were borne in gorgeous palanquins, the population swarmed in thousands to see, and the welcome was of the heartiest kind possible to Asiatics. The Emperor seemed listless, inert, and pale, but the Empress-Regent looked as keen as usual, and, it is specially mentioned, acknowledged the bows of the foreign ladies. The many breaches in the walls of the palaces were filled up with wood and gilt paper, and great efforts had been made to prevent the Sovereigns feeling the dilapidations in the palace, which they reached at last. Perhaps the most .unusual features in the scene were that the troops who lined the way were all kneeling— an unusual attitude for soldiers, even in China—and that many Europeans disregarded the distinct request of the Empress that they would not be present at the ceremonial. The usual courtesies will be at once resumed, and the Empress has signified her intention of receiving the ladies of the Legations,—as she did, if we remember aright, just before the great explosion. The dominant idea of the Chinese, as we have argued elsewhere, is to shciw that nothing is altered. An infuriated bull has charged through the crowd, but it has closed, scarcely harmed, behind the beast.
