October 19, 1917 - (continued) From the Winter Palace, we descended through a tunnel in the limestone rocks to the borders of the lake where a fine marble promenade flanked the water with a row of compartments where dwelt the numerous wives or concubines of the Emperors in former times. This building was highly ornate and extended the whole length (200 yards) of the promenade. The walls and ceiling were ornamented in gay Chinese painting of landscapes, hunting, fishing, and domestic scenes. About Noon, we entered the Forbidden City through its pink or red wall. Within it is quiet, without much human life. The buildings were gay with golden yellow-tiled roofs, green and blue gables, and white marble approaches and courts. Some of the buildings were covered by green tiles. The scene was extremely colorful, and a painter of a color photo could only give one an idea of its brilliance. The place was cut through by a moat, covered thickly by a pea green duck weed, crossed by marble bridges, and flagged by marble blocks. We visited the Museum which contains rare treasures of art of the Royal families, like cloissone, porcelain, ivories, bronzes, lacquer, silk rugs, arms etc. The Museum was spotlessly clean, the exhibits in fine glass cases and well labeled in Chinese characters. Every object was bright and attractive and the place was roped off so that visitors had to proceed in one direction and could not collide. Some of the Chinese rugs were wonderful affairs, soft in color and rich in material. An emperor's saddle was studded by several hundred pearls. One of the curios exhibits was a drum made of two human skulls, sewn