Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry-Tree (2024)

ERNEST BRAMAH

THE STORY OF PRINCE YING, PARAMOUNT RULER OF THE STATE OF FURTHERYIN: THE OCCASION OF HIS SEARCH FOR MERIT AND THE MANNER OF HISULTIMATE PASSING HENCE, TOGETHER WITH SOMETHING OF WHAT TOOKPLACE MEANWHILE.

First published by Grant Richards Ltd., London, 1940

This e-book edition: Roy Glashan's Library, 2018
Version Date: 2018-11-15
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. —THE STORY OF PRINCE YING, VIRTUOUS
MEI, AND THE PURSUIT OF WORTHINESS.

"IN order to appreciate more fully the various involvementsconcerned in the legendary tale which a scrupulous anduninventive recorder of actual facts has selected for recital onthis gratifying occasion, it is necessary to take into accountthe usages and conditions of primitive simplicity existing in theState of Yin at that distant era of what has been aptly termed'our celestial and richly-embroidered country's crudely-chisellednarrative'."

Thus auspiciously Kai Lung responded to a well-sustained requestthat after a surfeit of round-bodied merchants, occupied chieflywith their wares, officials of not very imposing rank,unsuccessful students—no matter how hard-striving—earth-tillers, redolent of their toil, stall-keepers and beggars of the street, hired assassins, travellingminstrels, actors, sleeve-snatchers and persons of no particularkind, he would gratify their attentive ears with a story in whichone of really exalted standing played an essential part, so thatthey might learn how people belonging to a class widely distantfrom their own ordered their doings. Nor when Kai Lung pointedout that a story where nobles of distinguished Line were broughtin naturally involved a more sustained effort than one concernedwith their own low-conditioned sort and was therefore worthy ofan increased reward, had they failed to respond to theobligation.

"Yet how, seeing that the bulk of those who form your circle areordinary persons of menial task arid unlettered tastes—howis it attainable for these to take into account, as you say,usages and complexities of whose operations they are profoundlyunconscious?" asked one, an industrious crier of wayside herbswhose ambition it was to become a spokesman. "Is it not incumbenton the one professing to scatter the seed of entertainment firstto prepare the soil of knowledge?"

"There is a grain of truth in the generality of your charge, butthe matter is not so remote from a common understanding as yourwords might imply," was Kai Lung's admission. "It is perhapssufficient to realise that in that distant and credulous age whatwas said was currently believed, and the more sonorously it wasclaimed the greater was the degree of conviction carried; thatwhat another was seen to do was sedulously reproduced in thefaith that what another did must be necessarily right, and thehigher the degree of the one observed the more implicit theassurance; that those who had achieved success were the worthiestto succeed while failure to obtain material weal was the logicaloutcome of inferiority on the part of the striver. To this mustbe added that it was an era when, as the records of the mostesteemed narrators disclose, whatever the appearance of adeplorable outcome meanwhile, Righteousness invariably triumphedover Iniquity in the end, but which constituted the one and whichthe other lay wholly within the province of the discloser."

"Yet wherein does this fabled state of affairsdiffer——" began a simple-minded goat-herd from theBarren Uplands, but reproving voices pointed out that Kai Lunghad already spread his mat and taken the position.

IN the feudatory days of the State of Further Yin the venerableand widely-esteemed, ruler, Hysi Ming, had at length announcedthat it was his gracious inclination (since it was not to beimagined that so powerful a monarch could ever be constrained)shortly to Pass Above, and to confirm his words it was soonafterwards generally agreed that a flourish of celestial dragonshad hovered above the palace grounds bearing a cordial invitationfor Hysi Ming to join his devoted forerunners.

It is of this enlightened sovereign's humane outlook that manyworthy sayings have been preserved, including the inscription onhis outer gate: "When this door is freely ajar there is no needto seek justice elsewhere." Notable also is his admission that ifany man was unlawfully killed throughout the land it was asthough he, as their responsible Head, had committed murder; ifanother's goods were despoiled he was inferentially guilty oftheft; and should the meanest of his subjects be wrongfullyaccused it was not too much to say (though none actually venturedto go to the extent of saying it) that Hysi Ming had borne falsewitness.

Indeed, so benevolently-inspired was the sympathetic potentateunquestioningly admitted to be that several influentially-supported risings had come to a fruitless end, when all but readyto launch, merely on it being pointed out by mutual well-wishershow seriously the intended course would wound Hysi Ming'sfeelings.

In this courteous atmosphere of general amity and resolutegoodwill Prince Ying had passed his youth, nor did it ever occurto his somewhat restricted vision that any other state of thingsmight possibly exist outside the palace walls, or that theuniversal deference which he received as a matter of officialroutine had any other source than as a natural tribute to hisexceptional qualities. He could not fail to be aware that heoutshone all others in feats of arms, for he had been instructedin the correct positions of archery by the foremost exponents ofthe age, and trusty attendants saw to it that by an ingeniousarrangement of hidden cords his arrows never failed to reach "theyellow;" at sword-play the most redoubtable champions of that arthabitually fell beneath the rain of blows that he was able toinflict upon them, and when he rode, either in pursuit of prey oralong an appointed course, no other horse could—or at allevents ever did—outrun the one on which Prince Yinghappened to be seated. A like success invariably attended thegames of chance, the contests with coloured discs, or thepoetical matching competitions in which he took a part, for if byany mishap he failed to win outright a dependable slave wasalways near at hand so that the table became overturned or asuitable interruption broke in at the most convenient moment. Norin the matter of his outward form had the prince any reason todistrust the opinion of those who extended praise, for hisreflecting surface of polished brass disclosed that he was of anagreeable colour, well-proportioned in all his parts, and had analert yet ingenuous expression. The jewelled profusion of hissplendid robes amply proclaimed the distinguished aloofness oftheir wearer's high position.

The earliest faint rustling of a breath of doubt—theslenderest shaft of suspicion that everything might not perhapsbe exactly so unblemished as it seemed in the most desirable ofall imaginable States—would be attributable to a chanceremark overheard as he stood unseen on the inner side of thepalace stockade, beyond which a group of persons of the mostordinary kind expressed themselves" in very unrefined tones withdistressing freedom. For the first time in his unclouded lifeYing heard the venerable and widely-honoured head of their royalLine, the benign Hysi Ming himself, referred to not withdeference by his many ceremonial titles but allusively as anelderly, white-whiskered baboon of predatory tastes andequivocative habits, while one whose identity he could notaltogether avoid conjecturing was veiled under the similitude ofa brightly-hued bird with well-spread tail or, by anotherspeaker, an irrational-natured domestic beast of burden. Withoutstaying to rebuke these uncouth travesties of humanity on theirgrotesque distortion of a flowery and richly melodious tongue,Prince Ying passed unostentatiously on but his unquestioningconfidence in the essential equipoise of inherent uprightnesscould never be quite the same thereafter.

DOUBTLESS it was some recollection of this unworthy band's lackof culture—even though they should be only an infinitesimalfraction of those whom he must rule—that caused the princeto approach that task, when the sublime Hysi Ming condescendedeventually to Pass Up, in a hitherto-unsuspected spirit ofenquiry.

"It is one thing to maintain that impartiality prevailsthroughout the land and that all men receive satisfaction, but itis quite another whether those who are directly concerned wouldspontaneously assent to the declaration," was the direction ofhis thoughts. "This can only be set at rest by merging one's trueposition."

Having this end in view Ying passed through the palace gateswithout any premonitory beating of ceremonial drums or blowing ofprocessional horns and for the first time in his life whollyunaccompanied by a retinue of bearers. Although he wore what heconsidered to be a mean and inconspicuous garb he was so muchmore richly attired than any person of ordinary rank that nonewhom he approached had any difficulty whatever in recognising anoble of exalted station.

"Being but newly arrived at your romantic and favoured land astranger would gladly learn something of its condition," heexplained, addressing himself to one who leaned with lethargicease at an angle of the ways, waiting for the gate of anadjoining tea-house to be unbolted. "Is justice administered witha single face in Yin or would it be necessary to approach aclosed door with a well-filled hand held open?"

"It is impossible to speak too highly of all that goes onaround," was the discreet reply; "from base to apex the endeavourof each official is directed towards a single object. Just as theState of Yin is the most desirable point of all inhabitablespace, so its rulers' virtues are practically unmeasurable, andlesser functionaries only descendingly less perfect; while thenever-failing splendour of the facile-handed guardians of theways has passed into a saying."

"Is disaffection then unknown in any form?" enquired the prince,who had his own reasons for seeking assurance on this specificdetail.

"Not only is antagonism unseen from dawn to dusk but it is soremote that its face would not be recognised should you chance tomeet it on the highway."

"It is aptly spoken," declared Prince Ying, and after bestowing apiece of gold, in what he understood to be the customary way, hepassed on to investigate elsewhere.

A sentry standing by a weak point of the wall next responded tohis call, for seeing the evident consequence of the one who spokethe warrior readily laid aside his weapons of defence andwithdrew from the position.

This one in turn assured Ying that insubordination or the thoughtof discontent was unknown among any of the various sections of athoroughly willing and grateful army. When the prince referred inidiomatic terms to certain forms of laxity or craft of which hehad dimly heard from martial courtiers, the sentinel confessedhimself as at a loss even to understand the meaning of the alienwords, and almost inexpressibly grieved that such duplicityshould exist, albeit if only among outside tribes and barbarianhordes strange to the scrupulousness of polite campaigning. Thosein authority over themselves, he added, were so solicitous tosecure a life of luxurious ease for all within their charge thatduring every midday rice one of high standing passed among theirranks and besought that if even the lowliest should have anycause for dissatisfaction or complaint he would openly expressit; while scarcely a night passed without a head being thrustthrough the opening of their tent, to be assured that all werefree from discomfort.

"What then is the most prevalent cause of annoyance advanced onthese occasions?" enquired the prince.

"How should murmuring be heard, seeing that one and all get more,as it is, than the extent of their desires?" was the significantadmission. "No more convincing testimony to the efficiency of aresolute and vigorous system need be produced than that, despitethis gracious encouragement from above, no man has ever yet beenknown to proclaim a grievance."

Recognising that it would be fruitless to probe for that whichdid not exist Ying commended the sentry for the simple candour ofhis word and having rewarded him fittingly with a costly jewel,the prince bent his footsteps on in the hope of furtherdiscoveries.

WHAT new evidence of contentment and well-being might have beenforced upon his attention it would be unprofitable to assume, foron passing into a secluded place Prince Ying stumbled upon asight that he had been influenced to believe could not existwithin the confines of his dominion—that of a strong man inthe lusty prime of life who had turned aside from the more publicways to lament unseen, now beating his sinewy breast withclenched hands in reasonless despair, now again raising them infierce challenge to the attesting sky while he called down theseven-fold curse from which there is no escape on the heads andrepose of those whom he inculpated. This peculiar scene theprince observed for such a space of time as wherein a man mightcount five-score; then disclosing himself from the obscurity inwhich he had stood concealed he approached the stranger.

"How comes it," he enquired, "that in the most justly-ordered andbountifully endowed of all discoverable lands one in fullpossession of his years and strength should find cause to arraignauthority?"

"Before we discuss that," replied the other, displaying anattitude that was neither subservient nor bold, "it is necessarythat I should know with whom I speak and the definite reason forhis avowed interest."

"Since you ask," replied the prince, "there is no absolute reasonwhy I should conceal my identity behind a mask of evasion. Theone who speaks is Hysi Ying, Prince of Yin, and HereditaryBrother of the Yellow Dragon, though for a set purpose he assumedthis lowly garb, so that he might freely pass unrecognised aboutthe city."

"In that case," accepted the man, with no great concern, "ShengYei is now as good as among the spirits. Therefore call yourawaiting guard and end an existence that has already exceeded thenormal capacity of misfortune."

"We are evidently involved in a mutual labyrinth," declared theprince, "in which neither sees the outcome of the other. Whyshould this one condemn unheard a person against whose life hehas no possible grievance?"

"It is the usual course when a subject, however moved, has beenled into speaking without due respect of a member of the royallineage. Was it not for this reason that your Great Highnesslurked alone in the byways of your city?"

"So far from that being the case," maintained the prince, "thesole purpose of this second-hand disguise was to be assured thatuniversal justice was being done, or to redress the balance ofright and wrong if it should appear that any form of iniquityflourished."

"Disguise!" repeated the one who had thus avowed his name to beSheng Yei, and for the first time his voice lost its consciousbitterness. "It would be as profitable to go begging with YenSung's silver bowl as to expect sincerity from those who are in aposition to speak, towards one wearing the obvious marks of arich official."

"This is certainly unlooked for," admitted Ying, "since thecostume appealed to this person's eye as indicating modest want,being of an inconspicuous tone and wholly obsolete in its lastyear's fashion."

"The test of the stew lies in what the chop-stick brings to thesurface. Did any man confide to your ear of disaffectiongathering from the four points of the wind or was it a smoothtale of prosperity and contentment, perchance with theexpectation of a small piece of silver in return, that wasflatteringly presented?"

"There may have been some negligible coin that fell unheeded fromone's sleeve," replied the prince with a distant air, "but thatwas apart from the subject matter of our conversation. Yet ifsincerity is not to be found by these extraneous means how is itpossible to arrive at a true understanding?"

"It is in the nature of things that any ordinary person shouldseek to mislead one suspected of possessing official rank, justas certain creatures instinctively feign death on the approach ofa natural enemy," was the tolerant reply. "Now had you been inthis one's place——"

"The suggestion is inspired!" exclaimed Ying, stirred by newhope; "therein lies the germ of what is necessary. It is not tobe denied that your general appearance is much more calculated towin the confidence of the beneath and withdrawn than thisperson's ill-chosen aspect. All that remains, therefore, is forus to assume each other's being."

"Pre-eminence!" protested the one thus equally involved, "is itto be thought——"

"It is useless to demur," interrupted the prince, "for not onlyis it incumbent on you as a vassal subject to obey your lord butit is also futile to resist, the one who commands being trainedto the usage of all manner of arms and able to vanquish anyadversary. Lead, therefore, to your conveniently-situated thoughno doubt inexpensive abode so that we may effect the change, andif possible let our path be screened from observation."

Seeing no outlet from this course Sheng Yei made his way bysecluded tracks to a crumbling dwelling among the Lower Wastesand there untying a knot that held the bolt he stood aside forthe prince to enter. It was dark within until the shutter wasswung back but an emotion of disquietude stirred some innerfaculty at the feeling which Ying encountered.

"There is an influence that pervades this place," he wasconstrained to exclaim as he looked round. "What are the threeobjects that lie there side by side and why is each hid beneath acoverlet?"

"They are all that remain of a once prolific house," repliedSheng Yei, now relapsing into his former morose mood, "and theirfaces are veiled because the manner of their Passing Hence wasnot tranquil."

"It was of this that you spoke when you arraigned authority atthe meeting of our ways?" enquired the prince, and Sheng Yeiacquiesced by a despairing sign, for spoken words were just thenbeyond his power.

"It is well that we should have come together now and hereafterall who are concerned will be held to a strict account, but forthe time being I am not to be put off from my immediate purpose,"was Ying's firm resolve after he had swung his sleeve ambiguouslyfor an undecided moment. "Meanwhile, take this solace to heart,Sheng Yei: 'Iniquity must achieve its end by a sudden stroke, butjustice can wait until the avenging gods are ready.' "

"Can reparation call back spirits from the Upper Air or restorethe severed limbs to dismembered shadows that must now existbereft of the common faculties?" was the outspoken reply. "Howthen, Omnipotence, can exact justice be rendered?"

"It may not be actually possible to do as you truly observe,"admitted the one addressed, "but should you establish your chargeyou will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that those atfault are being punished in exactly the same heartrending waythat you yourself have suffered. Beyond that, the most exaltedimpartiality could scarcely go. To do more would savour ofmalice."

Being eager to pursue his way unhampered by any outward sign ofwealth or rank Prince Ying was already discarding his distinctiverobes and assuming Sheng Yei's threadbare raiment. His elaboratesandals also he cast off and his well-gilt hat, taking in itsplace one that would have the advantage of protecting a wearer'shead from the weather. When Sheng Yei sought to restore a weightypurse of gold that he found in the inner sleeve Ying thrust itheedlessly aside, though on being pressed he consented to carry ahand-count of pieces in a concealed knot of his garment.

"Three things, Imperishable, rank as the necessities of life: apiece of money, a smooth-noosed cord, and a knife of superiorkeenness," was Sheng Yei's counsel. "Properly used, as theseveral emergencies arise, these should be enough to bring aresourceful man through most ordinary difficulties."

"In a pressing angle an authoritative voice would carry furtherthan a weapon could be flung," was the self-confident reply."Moreover, the one whom you would warn is admitted to beinvincible at every kind of martial encounter. Have no fear,therefore, but should any unforeseen tangle occur make your wayto the inner ward of our palace here and there discover to thetrusty Captain of the Guard, Hao Hsin his name, all that you knowof this arisem*nt."

"My head shall answer for that charge," undertook Sheng Yeistoutly. "Indeed," he added, as he realised what the undertakingmight involve, "that is what will probably result should thisone's account be received in a misgiving spirit."

"It is very evident that affliction must have obscured yournaturally clear-sighted mind or, in the most perfectly-arrangedState that exists (with, perchance, an occasional lapse) youwould scarcely refer continually to unpleasant happenings,"remarked the prince with unshaken confidence. "However, take thisinscribed ring"—and he withdrew from his thumb a jewelbearing the royal device—"and display it whenevernecessary. Even supernatural Beings—unless very highlyplaced—would hardly venture to dispute its authority."

With this assurance Hysi Ying—now wearing a weather-beatenrobe and no other sign of his regal state—proceeded on hisoutward path, for he had already determined to leave the city,where he had apparently been misinformed, and take the unenclosedhighway. Sheng Yei, dressed as a leading dignitary of the land,his sleeve weighed down with considerable gold and a ring ofunlimited authority encircling his thumb, could not entirelysatisfy himself that he had not been involved in a delusivevision.

AS he proceeded on his adventurous quest, so light-hearted didPrince Ying become at the thought of the many instances ofmeritorious government and virtuous content which he wouldpresently disclose that as he went he was impelled to raise hisvoice in an exultant song that told of bygone paladins. Hitherto,whenever he had condescended to exhibit his unique gift ofmelody—whether alone or blending with his voice the tonesof a many-stringed zither—all those who had been allowed toshare the privilege of listening had united to declare that itwent far beyond anything previously deemed credible; while onlythe previous day a maiden of the court, on recovering from anecstasy into which she had passed while he sang, affirmed thatshe had been transported to a celestial glade wherein a flock ofnightingales poured out notes that changed into strings oflustrous pearls as they plashed into a crystal fountain. On thisoccasion, however, none whom he encountered stayed actually tocommend Ying's voice although one or two did extend a passingreference to it.

In his new found release from the cares of state the prince hadadded li to li with no thought beyond that of discovering forhimself what precise forms loyalty and contentment took in theoutside parts of his territory. Not until a growing sense ofinsufficiency beneath his waistcloth and a realization that thegreat ancestor of the sky was calling in his messengers did itoccur to him that never before had it been necessary to do morethan strike a summoning gong for whatever he desired of therichest food and the most costly wine instantly to appear. Inthis contingency he recalled, not without an element of relief,that he carried a few negligible pieces of gold secured in a foldof his garment, but so far no suitable resort had appealed to hissomewhat exacting taste, and of late the path had been destituteof so much as the scantiest tea-house. Had even a pedlarpropelling a migratory wheel-barrow vending sweetmeats passedthat way Prince Ying would gladly have interrupted his progressand purchased one.

But as it has been aptly said, "When the hills come to an end theplains begin," and it was at this point of his extremity thatYing encountered a wayfarer seated by the side of the earth-roadwho had built a wood fire over which a metal vessel boiled whilea diversity of curious viands was spread out about him. It was asthe prince was regarding this appetising fare with a covetous ifpolitely-restrained glance that the one stirring the contents ofthe iron pot addressed him.

"Seeing that we are two vagrant men of the outcast tribe, onejourneying from the east and the other from the west, would itnot be well that we should mutually disclose what may be expectedas the fruits of mendicancy when we reach a stage further?"

"It is this one's intention to diffuse enlightenment, as well asto acquire knowledge, wherever the soil is ripe," replied theprince. "He should, however, since you have spoken of rank,impart that his name is Ying, being in the elder sovereign Lineof succession."

"It has never yet been said of Lee Fat that he was slow toexchange an appropriate jest," declared the other with rudeapproval. "He himself is of the younger branch of a very well-known but by no means unindustrious House and his own especialline is what is generally known as door-step tale-pitching."

"Is it a profitable thing, this of which you speak?" asked Ying,seeing in the encounter an occasion to learn somewhat of the artsand crafts by which his people obtained their rice. "Is it highlyesteemed in Competition circles?"

"On the contrary," replied Lee Fat, "it ranks as rather less thannothing among those who hold the Courts, and its sole reward isoften a harsh reference to a ferocious animal precariouslyrestrained by a slender chain in an adjoining outbuilding.Indeed," confided the deplorable loiterer by the way, familiarlytouching the liberal-minded descendant of the Supremesignificantly on the forefront, and at the same time lowering hisdiscordant voice, "between we two who are here conversing affablytogether and a hanging lantern, it is this one's intention tobecome a member of the fraternity of Associated Thieves andBound-together Sleeve-snatchers as soon as he reaches thecapital."

"Yet thereby you risk imprisonment and death," exclaimed theprince, unable to restrain his concern that one with whom he hadso much as exchanged words should contemplate wrong-doing.

"A reasonably scrupulous person sooner or later finds itnecessary to work, beg or steal in order to sustain life,"maintained Lee Fat with a certain amount of stubborn dignity."Having so far successfully avoided the first, this one has nowoutworn the second and it thus becomes inevitable to fall back onthieving. There is admittedly the chance of a sudden death byviolence if he adopts this course, but there is the certainty ofa lingering end by penury and need should he reject the hazard."

"But by doing so you also violate the Enactment of Yaou," urgedYing, "whose all-embracing digest speaks of theft as only lessheinous than book-burning."

To this Lee Fat made a concise reply of which Ying missed thedirect trend since it consisted of an elusive connection betweenthe inspired Yaou's imperishable Code and an obscure detail ofthe speaker's outline; but from the tone employed it was to beassumed that it implied disparagement.

"That no doubt was well enough in a prosperous and affluent age,"he added, evidently not encouraged by his companion's ambiguoussilence, "but under the concave and effete administration of ourpresent rule, by which all original enterprise is fettered, it isnecessary to have the adaptability of a tapeworm."

"The air is no longer genial in its touch and the shadows arelengthening out," abruptly declared the prince. It is not to bedenied that after his own fur-trimmed cloak the scanty one he nowwore was a sadly inadequate covering, but beyond this he wasbeginning to doubt whether Lee Fat was very refined in hisoutlook. "As this one's chief object in being here is to seek outvirtue in unlikely spots it would be well to turn his enquiringfootsteps onwards."

"Restrain your abnormal zeal for instilling rectitude for anotherhalf gong-stroke of time," pressed the one who stirred the pothospitably. "Already the rich fat that forms the basis of thisstew has assumed a delicate translucent glaze," and he held up apiece of meat transfixed upon a skewer persuasively.

Doubtless the outcomes are already written in a marble book witha brush of surpassing exactness but while Ying had been resoluteto continue his progress when he spoke, as an enticing odour fromthe slice of pork which Lee Fat thrust out assailed his nose thefoundations of resistance crumbled. He recalled how few andmeagrely supplied had been the tea-houses by the way, with thelikelihood tending towards a still sparser choice as the pathgrew narrower. And although the one whose guest he would be hadan unpleasant habit of noisily sucking in his lips whenever hestirred the meat, Prince Ying realised that in the circ*mstancesit would seem incongruous to be exacting. "If you are a goat,lust; if sheep, provide wool; but do not expect to have it bothways," is a precept of wide application.

"What you offer with both hands, it would be churlish for asingle tongue to refuse," he accordingly acceded. "At the sametime, not to incur an obligation so heavy as to weigh down one'sprogress, would it be too much to ask your acceptance of a singlepiece of gold towards the merely material part of theentertainment?"

"The refreshment of your truly diverting society is more than acontinual feast in return," replied Lee Fat, not desirous ofbeing outdone in gravity removing. "Also, there is a sort ofprejudice against accepting the last piece of gold from anagreeable stranger encountered in the ways. The superstitioushold that it has been found to turn to brass afterwards."

"As to that, it is not the last, there being a negligible hand-count of pieces," admitted Ying. "But your amiable scruple mustbe respected."

"There is a certain judicious wariness to be observed in carryingsuch things about loose in one's sleeve," cautioned Lee Fat withan observant glance, "nor is it well to display too much wealthin the presence of chance acquaintances whose outlook maypossibly not be of our own exalted standard."

"Your words are well designed," acknowledged Ying, "but in thiscase there is no ground for concern. The trivial sum is not loosein his sleeve but securely knotted in the hem of this one'sgarment."

"Doubtless also," hazarded Lee Fat, "you wear some priceless gemby which to establish your inalienable right in the event ofdissentient challenge?"

"There was a trifling emerald bearing the dynastic sign, butSheng Yei, of the Lower Wastes, was vested with this in order toreassure his scruples," explained Ying. "In the event ofunforeseen mishap it would be his province to alarm the banners."

By this time Lee Fat had equally divided the meat into twoshares, putting one portion on a wooden dish which he blewrepeatedly before he permitted Ying to accept, lest his guestshould suffer any discomfort. He also added the flavour ofseveral herbs of which he knew, these being among the remarkableassortment of possessions that he carried.

As they ate they conversed informally at their ease and theprince endeavoured to learn some particulars bearing on the morecommendable qualities of those over whom he had lordship. In thishe was only successful to a limited extent. Lee Fat did notappear to have noticed anything meritorious about those who hadcrossed his path and on the subject of any kind of work or labourwith the hands his mind was an unsullied parchment. But there wasno form of guile by which an occasional cash might be enticed andno variety of subterfuge for avoiding the toils of justice thatwas unknown to his nimble-witted mind, and on subjects germane tothese he spoke fluently with vigour and precision. All those whoacted on a different basis he freely described as "wound-stainedearthenware vessels," and although the prince found many of hismore involved allegories too elusive for his grasp he did notdeem it practicable to maintain an opposing outlook. Under thecombined influences of a genial fire, the gross fare, and LeeFat's discursive voice he was gradually passing into a state ofpleasurable unconcern, and presently, despite an expressedanxiety to resume his way, his uncontrolled sentience floatedupwards.

WHEN Prince Ying awoke from this inopportune relapse the time ofno-light had definitely arrived, only an inconsiderablescattering of the fire remained, while of the egregious Lee therewas even less indication. With an emotion of self-reproach Yingrealised that an unsuspected delicacy must have inspired thatmisjudged wayfarer to withdraw rather than be overwhelmed by theceremonious thanks of one whom he had succoured.

"Whang-lei had the seeing eye when he declared: 'An opportunestranger is more to the point than a multitude of heedlessneighbours'," reflected the prince, "and this person was verymuch to blame for permitting sloth to interfere with the dictatesof politeness."

With the return of his senses to earth Ying found it desirable toreadjust his position. It was now later than it was advisable tobe alone in those exposed parts where Beings of various sorts andunknown creatures of the outside world might reveal themselves atany moment; beyond this, his limbs were stiff with prolongedinaction, his garments damp with the dew of night, and so far hecould not definitely assert that he had fallen in with any accessof integritous behaviour. The least hazardous course as thingshad emerged would be to press determinedly on and endeavour tofind warmth and protection from unfriendly Powers for theremaining gong-strokes of darkness.

If the resorts had hitherto been scarce, dwellings of any kindwere thereafter wholly lacking. Had it been feasible to reversehis footsteps now and seek the roughest couch Ying would soongladly have withheld his pursuit of virtue for whatever periodthe return involved, but meanwhile he had covered many moreexhausting li, and to go back was beyond his capacity. He was,indeed, contemplating drawing his inefficient cloak still closerand reposing by the path when an opportune flash of celestiallight (released beyond doubt by the quick-witted spirit of awatchful ancestor) showed a building of above the customary hovelsize standing in a well-tilled field at some distance from theearth-road. To this the prince thankfully made his stumbling wayand judging from the various indications scattered about that hehad reached the homestead of a prosperous farm he took up aconvenient bamboo pole and beat loudly on the door-post.

"Who is he that comes at this untimely gong-stroke of the night,and what is the occasion of your summons?" demanded a forbiddingvoice, and the shutter of an opening in the wall was grudginglyunfastened.

"One who seeks shelter from the various Influences which may beabroad and a pallet on which to extend his limbs," replied Yingagreeably "As regards the period of dark—that was beyondhis contriving."

"This is not a beggars' roost to accommodate any who pass," wasthe harsh response as the light from an extended paper lanternrevealed Ying's deficient state. "Lie by the path-side if youmust sleep—and may prowling demons take you!" Whereupon theshutter would have been inhospitably closed had not the oneoutside resourcefully thrust his pole into the crevice.

"This one is no suppliant begging alms though for a purpose hehas seen fit to adopt a habit far below his station," gave backthe prince. "Accommodate me to the simple extent of your poverty-stricken hut and when I leave at daybreak a few negligible piecesof gold shall reward you."

"Your Magnificence is honourably welcome to my sordid roof and toall that the four decayed walls enclose," declared the master ofthe house profusely. "The feeble glimmer of this ill-nurturedlamp was wholly at fault for I now perceive that your attire,without being sumptuous, is such as a responsible merchant mightbend to assume or even a lower official. Let it not bethought——"

"To express regret is to blunt all the weapons of recrimination,"generously assented the prince. "Your hasty words are as thoughthey had never been spoken."

By this time the outer door had been unbarred and the strangerwas being ceremoniously entreated to make the house worthy ofbecoming a temple of the gods by entering. The owner of theforbidding voice disclosed himself as designated Meen Kan, andthe swart hue of his repulsive face proved the name to have beenwell chosen. He was not one in whom the prince would have reposedunlimited confidence had the matter not been thus and thus, for alack of sincerity seemed to colour his attitude from time totime, but (in addition to recalling his own unrivalled feats)Ying took courage from the words with which a wise counsellor hadreassured him when he had first seen a lizard: "He who hasintegrity on his side may safely converse with demons."

In spite of his many protests that all he required was as he hadsaid, nothing would satisfy the obtuse-headed Meen Kan but thathe must call those whom he controlled to lend their weight, andpresently a well-spread meal was set before Ying. While he madesome pretence of trifling with this the prince occasionally spoketo these who served his hand, and in this way he learned theirvarious functions. In addition to the clay-souled Meen Kanhimself there was Chao, his obsequious wife, an all-thumb son,Ah-woh, to whose feet the more redolent virtues of the soil stillclung, and two wholly unattractive daughters of the house,Coyness and Good Looks, who thrust alternately to press forwardto Ying's side, though it would have been wiser to keep in theshadow. There was also an obscure dependant of the Line, Mei byname, who was relentlessly constrained to remain beyond, althoughafter a passing glance this was the one whom Ying would have themost willingly suffered to engage his attention.

When at length he was permitted to retire a like display offulsome willingness attended his going. Finally he disentangledhimself from Meen Kan's laborious talk and having committed hisascending essence to the protection of all benevolent Things helay down and slept soundly.

DESPITE his exertion on the previous day the great sky light hadscarcely risen before Ying's spirit was back again in itsmaterial shell and throwing off the quilted cover he rose andmade to pass into the assembling room. Somewhat to his admittedsurprise he found the way was barred for a wedge had beeninserted at the outside of his door and though this was speedilyremoved when he raised his voice, and even a shallow pretext madethat it was to safeguard him against intruding Beings, theincident cast an ambiguous shadow.

In the outer chamber his early rice was being laid out, and thistime Ying obtained a clearer view of the gently-moving Mei whoserved the board, since Chao was engaged at a charcoal firebeyond, Ah-woh gone hence to control a restive beast, Coyness andGood Looks still gumming their deficient hair and the covetousMeen Kan rubbing his misshapen hands together as he stood aboutthe door in a grossly expectant manner.

"Her eyes are like twin pools of hidden depth in which one seesfair images of noble thought glide to and fro like bright-huedfish," mused Ying, as he watched Mei (as he thought) unnoted."Her cheeks must surely be the petals lightly strewn from breeze-stirred peach trees while she slept beneath; her teeth, when shedeigns to smile, the crest of a foam-tipped wave; her hair thedark mantle of night in the Season of Great Tempest. It isdoubtful whether she has any actual feet at all, so delicate aretheir proportions, and her movements as she brings these quiteunnecessary viands are those of a golden butterfly sipping honey.Indeed," he reflected, "it must have been of one like Mei that myillustrious ancestor is reported to have said, 'If ever I canobtain Tseo Kin it will be necessary to build a golden palace forher to live in'."

By this time Ying discovered that he had taken all that wasrequired to satisfy his need although it did not appear that anyfood had definitely been eaten. He would gladly have lingered toconverse with Mei but the opaque-witted Meen Kan stood by, yet sofar removed from all sense of what was fit that he continued torattle a few pieces of inferior money in his sleeve so that itwas impossible to ignore his squalid meaning.

"All that I have is not too much to repay what I have met beneathyour attractive roof," readily admitted Ying and unknotting thepleat that held his store he would have poured the gold freelyinto Meen Kan's voracious hand when to his openly-expressedsurprise the fold appeared to be empty. Probe the part how hewould it did not yield up a single ingot.

"This is very remarkable," explained the prince, aware that MeenKan's discordant eyes were fixed suspiciously upon his hand, "andit is all the more incredible since the knot was still intact sothat it cannot be that the contents have fallen out unseen andare scattered. Possibly magic has been employed or how otherwiseshould the gold have passed through this substantial cloth,seeing that the fastening has held securely?"

"Possibly," assented Meen Kan, with a measurable distance in histwo-faced voice, "but doubtless so affluent a personage,travelling in this state, will have other objects of valueconcealed about his picturesque garment?"

"As to that," replied the prince affably, "it so happens thatbeing desirous of observing worthiness unmarked this one cameaway with only a negligible hand-count of pieces. That is easilyset right, however. On his return he will at once command atrusty slave to hasten here and recompense you."

"This one is indisposed to imagine!" retorted Meen Kan, employingthe deplorable archaism of that barbaric age in his obscenedispleasure, and with this the slender cords of his never well-sustained control gave way so that his ill-assorted teeth clashedmenacingly together.

"Is it not enough that you should appear in the darkest period ofthe night and disturb the well-earned repose of an entirehousehold? To what end does it tend that the choicest recesses ofthis one's store have been despoiled to supply your insatiablethroat if when the moment of requital comes you should advance anempty sleeve and pass out scathless? Indeed, by the revealinglight of day it now becomes plain that you who would claim to bea substantial traveller, journeying at ease, are nothing but anoutcast beggar."

Doubtless Ying might have appealed successfully to Meen Kan'sinordinate greed but at that moment Chao, followed by Coyness andGood Looks, became attracted to the strife, and having learnedthe cause they added an even harsher voice to stifle forbearance.Coyness and Good Looks in particular shed all restraint, the oneaccusing Ying of impure designs upon herself, the otherreproaching him for a studied disregard of suitableopportunities. When this discord was at its height Ah-woh brokein, and outvoicing the uproar by reason of his persistence andsinew he went on to tell how one who was to have stayed andlaboured on the land for an agreed wage—Lee Fat hisrevolting name—had possessed himself of what he could inadvance and failed to remain as he had promised.

"It is as though this had been arranged by a directing hand,"declared Meen Kan when he understood how they were positioned."Now is the season of our busiest need and we must have anotherpair of sturdy hands or the period of lengthening dark willquickly overtake us. Since he whom we hired has gone this oneshall take his place and by these means he will—sooner orlater—be able to pay off the debt which he has sofraudulently undertaken."

To this Prince Ying would have made a forcible demur, but hiswords were clamoured down, and when he endeavoured to thrust themcontemptuously aside and to pass out on his way Meen Kan and Ah-woh overcame him by an ignobly-delivered stroke against which hehad not been taught the parry, while at the same time Chao,Coyness and Good Looks confused his guard by throwing hot teawhen his back was turned and by other unbecoming devices.

Having by these degraded means frustrated the efforts of Ying'ssuperior skill they bound his limbs with leather cords and casthim into a strongly-built out-pen, there to remain until theycould safely make use of his powers.

FOR a period of which he ceased to take account Ying laboured inthe rice fields of Meen Kan or about the yard, while one or otherof the offensive pair worked by his side, always with an iron-tipped staff at hand ready to strike him down if he attemptedflight or maintained resistance. But neither of these expedientswore a very plausible face when regarded at close quarters. Hadtheir outlook been more refined the prince could easily haveoverthrown both at once, even with his more powerful handderisively bound down, but so narrow-minded had been their scopethat neither had the most shadowy knowledge of how either attackor defence should be courteously effected. Against escape theywere ever alert, and an additional precaution was observed afterYing had disclosed something of his position.

"Although it is in keeping with this one's scheme of observingexcellence among the obscure paths unseen that he should toil asa bonded serf on your bankrupt patch, it is only just for you toknow that he is really an exalted prince in disguise, and astrict account will ultimately be taken," he had said, whereuponthe morally pock-marked Meen Kan had suffered his gravity to meltaway in a grossly outrageous manner.

"Since you are a great noble of the land it is but in keepingthat you should wear an emblem of high rank," had been his slow-witted taunt and soon afterwards he contrived a broad iron ring,calling it a collar of state, which, with Ah-woh's aid, wasclinched securely round about Ying's neck, while Coyness and hersister stood by and exchanged derisive sayings. On the metal werestamped characters signifying that the one who wore it was,"Prince None, of Far Beyond, slave to the hand of Meen Kan, ofthe hill shaped like a tortoise," and to the effect that shouldhe be found astray a price was set on the occasion of hisrecovery.

It need be no longer withheld that an added reason might be foundfor Ying's submissive role, and had not the bright image of Meiillumined even the most sordid task he would have made a moredetermined stand to assert his authority. But as the days went bythe thought of leaving the spot which Mei's celestial presenceadorned—even for the briefest span—became offensiveto his imagination. Within the four walls of Meen Kan's ill-ordered home her position was very little removed from that ofthe prince outside it, for both Coyness and Good Looks, enviousof Mei's superior grace, engaged her in the meanest toil andcompelled her to wear a worn-out robe of the coarsest fabric. Tothis iniquity the others supinely kowtowed as the price ofdomestic peace, and when Ying sought inoffensively to point out,without being invidiously precise, how embarrassing would betheir state if Mei should become a queen, there was nodisposition to profit by the warning.

To those who would assert that Ying's plain course should havebeen to make his way thence at any hazard and returning witharmed force dispense promiscuous justice, there are two feasibleobjections. Being closely held by day and in a barred loft atnight the chances of escape were not outlined in coloured lights,while should the venture fail the rigours of his servitude wouldbe redoubled. The other reason was even more a barrier to thiscourse, for having become deeply imbued with ballads of mythicalexploits and tales of romantic doings the prince was resolvedthat for himself alone, in the guise of a despised hireling, wasit appropriate that Mei should be led to admit her affection. Itis not to be denied that so far this avowal was more in thenature of a remote dream than a concrete vision, for theirencounters were few and confined to the strictest terms, nor didYing sufficiently appreciate that in the intervening days hisusually smooth and engaging face had become covered with a rough,bristly growth, his distinguished finger nails robbed of theirnoble length and his general appearance robustly compact ratherthan poetically languid.

It was not until a fuller realisation of the desperateness of hisquest had begun to assail. Ying's hopes that a plausible way ofescape was indicated as he pondered on the various facets of hisposition.

"The obligation being to discharge a debt by an equivalence oftoil, how can it be held that this one is any longer subject to arightful claim?" he decided.

With this contention he approached Meen Kan and while notaltogether closing the door against some more reputable task, hedemanded the quittance from a state of bondage. Meen Kan affectedto listen with an offensive pretence of impartial weight and thenshook his double-stomached head craftily.

"How should this be, seeing that you have meanwhile consumed infood and lodgment more than the offset of your feeble effort?" hereplied. "Indeed, strictly speaking, you are now, as it were,further back from going forward than you were at the beginning."

"Yet if that is so, on what does this person stand?" demanded theprince resentfully. "Logically considered, not only would it beunattainable to discharge the debt on earth but an ever-increasing load would accumulate for which this one's ghost wouldbe accountable to your ghost in the hereafter."

"That is a matter for those who have framed the Code to expound,"was Meen Kan's evasive retort, "it only being this one's affairto observe it. The Enactment of Yaou and Shun, under the Section:'Cases wherein that which is impossible may be reasonablyclaimed' amply covers any trifling instances of personal hardshipthat may arise in its function."

WHETHER it was owing to the effect of this depressing stroke offate on a naturally sensitive mind or due to the bite of amalignant worm on which he trod as he left Meen Kan is a matterof historical dispute but the undeniable outcome persists thatfrom that moment Ying was stricken with an obscure complaint thatundermined his power. For another day he maintained a droopingfront, but at nightfall he could do no more than stumble to hisdepressing loft and when morning came he was unable to rise fromthe comfortless pallet.

In this emergency the obscene Meen Kan revealed himself to thecore and by the extremity of his sordid greed he alienated theprotection even of demons. Declaring that one who was too infirmto work could have no occasion to eat, he commanded that Yingshould be left unattended where he lay, and then proceeded to diga hole at the roots of a favourite plum tree.

"If he will not develop the fruitfulness of the earth in one wayhe shall increase it in another," was his profane saying. Itwould have been well for Meen Kan if he had recalled the aptrejoinder of a temperate lawgiver when pressed to adopt adoubtful course: 'If the deities are on your side you can crossthe ocean on a single plank; without them you may slip and bedrowned in a wayside puddle.' However devious the road it isscarcely to be imagined that a prince of the reigning House ofHysi would be permanently subjugated.

It is at this point that it becomes necessary to take intoaccount the influence of Mei, to whose personal appearanceattention has already been directed. Hitherto she had tended toignore Ying's respectful glance, partly on account of heranomalous standing in Meen Kan's ill-balanced house and also atthe prompting of an inherently refined nature. But while thetidings of a despised hireling's extremity only moved Coyness andGood Looks to shrilly-voiced mirth it had a contrary effect onthe gentle-hearted menial who performed their lowliest tasks, andsetting apart a portion of her own deficient bowl she resolved,at whatever jeopardy it involved, to succour the helplesscaptive.

It was dark when Mei unbarred the door of the squalid loft whereYing lay in an uneasy sleep for she had not dared to ventureforth until the middle gong-stroke of the night, when the chieflantern of the sky had withdrawn its betraying radiance. Light asher step on the ladder had been it was enough to recall Ying'swandering spirit and he raised himself feebly on a trembling armto receive her as she entered.

"It is either Mei or a bright Being of the Above," he whisperedacross the void, "since no other would come to relieve the lot ofone so hapless."

"Alas, O Ying, you have been brought to a grievous plight indeed,but by the timely assistance of one or two of your ancestors'shades—hitherto, no doubt, otherwise engaged—there isno reason why you should not surmount this juncture," declaredMei with apt encouragement. "See, here is a little rice,flavoured with oil, to sustain your vigour meanwhile. From timeto time, as the occasion may allow, this one will steal acrosswith what she can obtain, so that—poor and insufficient asit may be—you shall not be wholly lacking."

"It is truly said: 'Though condemned to lie in the dust evenbeggars may lift their eyes Upwards,' and the present situationamply justifies the adage," remarked Ying gratefully."Nevertheless, it would be inept to obscure the truth: not food,which it is now beyond this one's power to receive, but bodilywarmth is the need of which he is perishing."

"Why should this be?" asked Mei in some surprise. "There is aroof above and four walls around while the season is yet that ofopen watercourses."

"Notwithstanding, if you will but overcome your high-mindedrepugnance to the extent of laying your delicately-proportionedhand on mine——" Whereupon Mei touched his extendedhand as he had asked and a graceful shudder marked hersympathetic distress at the icy contact her own fingersencountered.

"While the great ruler of the sky is up, a little warmth pervadesthis hutch, and at one point a single ray creeps through anopening in the roof so that this person stretching across canrevive his ebbing spirit at it. But when darkness closes in thefeeble glimmer sinks down again and each time the spark of lifebecomes fainter. It is as all the ancient tales of romance wouldordain that you should have come this night, fair Mei, for Igreatly fear that for the one who speaks there will be no to-morrow."

"Surely it cannot be irrevocably written in the Book ofHappenings that one so inoffensive should Pass when so littlewould avail," pleaded Mei, "but how is that essential life-givingglow to be procured there being neither hearth nor brazier here,even if the nigg*rdly Meen Kan——"

"It is enough to have heard your incomparable voice expresscompassion," protested Ying. "Do not distress your over-indulgentmind with another regret; though there is no possible releasethis one can now cheerfully carry the memory Upwards."

It was some beats of time before Mei replied to this, thoughmeanwhile Ying had heard her breathing change as if a suddenweighty thought had swept the quiet current of her being.

"Yet there is still one expedient that may not fail," were thewords, murmured so low that Ying only grasped the essentialmeaning. "Unusual as the action might be deemed by the ill-bredand superficial this one will not shrink even from so extreme acourse when a life which may be preserved for some heroic deed issuspended in the balance."

"Speak further," entreated Ying, "whatever be the outcome. Todelay your going even for so much as a single step this one wouldgladly endure a full moon of torment."

"Although you are only an unlettered serf, making his toilsomeway, it is quite evident from one or two things that you arecapable of expressing very superior emotions. Yet is your pledgesuch that one of my defenceless sort might put implicit relianceon the undertaking?"

"Even in the ordinary affairs of State this person has never hadoccasion yet to eat his words," was his assurance. "How much morethen in the case of one whose well-being he values above theprosperity of nations?"

"Words fade in the morning light; deeds, both good and bad, liveon for ever," recalled Mei. "The one standing by your side hasonly one possession, yet that is more in her poverty to her thanall the rest she has not. Do you, O Ying, avow as a true man thatwhatever may emerge from your extreme need, she who does notshrink from what may alone avail shall leave this sequesteredplace in the innocency with which she came here?"

"To that I will solemnly affirm," replied Ying; "calling uponfive witnesses to truth—earth, fire, wood and the spiritsof we two who are concerned—to bind me by the promise."

"Then there is no need of further speech," said Mei and throwingoff her outer robe she lay down on the pallet by Ying's side anddrew over both of them the garment. All through the night theylay together thus and thus and neither spoke nor did Ying stir,as though he feared that the slightest breath of reality mightdestroy some cherished illusion, but the tranquillising warmth ofher radiant body permeated his and restored its natural balance.Presently he fell into a refreshing sleep that lasted until thesun returned to raise his hopes as he had said, when, awaking, hefound the bowl of rice still by his side and was able to swallowa little. Meanwhile, being assured by the steady rhythm of hisbreathing that he really slept, Mei had ventured imperceptibly toadvance one arm on either side of Ying's unconscious form so thatwithout any undue forwardness she might the more effectuallysustain him. With the first promise of light that filteredthrough she withdrew as guardedly as she had come and leaving thecloak of plaited grass to comfort Ying she gained unseen her ownscanty corner.

The following night Mei came again, as Ying had dared to hope,though on this occasion even less was said between them thanbefore. Six times in all she ministered to his need throughoutthe night while daily Ying contended against the infection thathad possessed his being and with each recurring day grew haler.Occasionally the effete Meen Kan climbed up the ladder and lookedthrough a crack in the door to see whether Ying still lived orhad yet Passed Beyond but that was all to mark the course of timefrom dawn to nightfall.

On the morning of the sixth night of her being there Mei pausedfor a moment at the door as if uncertain in her mind, and seeingthat Ying was now stirring on his bed of straw she turned andspoke to him from a little distance.

"Now that you are almost restored to a normal state of being,Ying, and can well maintain your own, it is no longer becomingthat this one should support your constituents through the night,though until you have renewed a compact with the unendurable MeenKan she will endeavour to replenish your bowl daily."

"All that remains of this one's life is henceforth yours,inasmuch as you alone have preserved it, and it is only fittingthat you should decide the outcomes," replied Ying submissively."Yet it would be more endurable to abide stricken down and haveyou nightly at my side than rise to the most assured healthwithout that celestial presence."

"Since you have expressed yourself to this extent," declared Mei,"there is nothing indiscreet in the one standing here also goinga step further and admitting that with each day an increasingpropensity to linger in this not otherwise attractive loft warnsher of the advisability of avoiding it, beyond the bare bounds ofnecessity, for the future."

"How should that be," demanded Ying, "unless this whollyunprepossessing one's society might in some way have become notabsolutely repulsive to your charitable imagination?"

"To concede so much, seeing that we have of late been brought, asit were, more together, might not in the circ*mstances be goingbeyond the bounds of strict propriety," confessed Mei, with aglance not entirely devoid of encouragement.

"That being the avowal for which this person has submittedhimself to bondage so long, very little more remains in the wayof a formal exchange of mutual plighting gifts to regulate theposition. It may now be fittingly revealed that he who speaks isHysi Ying, Prince of the State of Yin and Hereditary Custodian ofthe Three-tiered Canopy. Hitherto it has been his usage to signofficial decrees with the aloof: 'I alone'; will you, lovely Mei,by becoming a queen, henceforth enable this to be: 'We twotogether'?"

"It is impossible to deny what is so poetically besought—ifby our mutual toil we can earn a sufficiency to provide ourscanty living," replied Mei, though with rather a far-removedexpression. "In any case, beloved, be well assured that after thenecessary rites have been performed this one will watch over yourvarious moods—whatever you may decide upon becoming."

IT was a few gong-strokes later that hearing the sounds of anunusual stir the prince looked through a cranny of the ill-builtwall and saw in the distance a noble company of heavily-armed menapproaching. In the forefront, even at that distance, he had nodifficulty in recognising some, among them Hao Hsin the trustyCaptain of his Palace Guard, Sheng Yei, with whom he had changedattire when he set out, and the ever-resourceful Lee Fat whoappeared to lead them.

"It is not too much to assume that Lee Fat, by putting togetherthis and that, has contrived to join up the various threads oflife which meet eventually outside these very ordinary walls atwhat might be called the appropriate instant," reflected Ying."The least we can do will be to create Lee Fat a provincialduke—unless he is already too deeply involved in crime, inwhich case the custodianship of the palace hold might be more inkeeping. Sheng Yei, in addition to receiving justice for what hehas hitherto suffered, will merit a special grant, and somerecognition in the shape of a coveted militarybadge—possibly the Yellow Scabbard or the Rat SkinGlove—must mark Hao Hsin's devotion."

By this time Ying had completed his trifling preparations for theday and opening the door—which Mei in her becomingagitation had thoughtlessly left unbolted—he set forth tomeet his company. In the outer space he encountered Meen Kan whobared his voracious teeth at the sight of the prince's cheerfulguise, and Ah-woh, who displayed a not unsympathetic face, forthe latter person, though subservient to his father's rule, hadnever been really contentious.

"It is well that you should at last have cast off your torpidsloth," exclaimed the obtuse Meen Kan, "seeing that your task hasmeanwhile been steadily mounting. The time has now come when ifyou would escape the knotted cord you must bend your stubbornback to the neglected furrow."

"It is not my time but yours that has come at last, O mostconcave Meen Kan, nor is it this one's back but your ownheadstrong neck that will presently be bent—and that overthe sawdust bucket," replied Prince Ying, in a tone that wasstrange to those who listened. "Pending that moment you aredispossessed of all your lands and goods and as soon as anassembly can be formed to look on and acclaim, your Tablets willbe burned amid public derision."

"My lands!" cried the still opaque Meen Kan, standingalternately upon the right foot and then the left, so unbalancedwas become his emotion. "Learn, O one destitute of reason, that Ihold my farm direct from that high functionary, the Mandarin WongQuong, for the yearly quit-rent of three full measures ofbullock's dung, presented on a pewter salver."

"Who himself holds his rank from me, and in fealty thereof mustappear at stated times and lay his submissive head beneath mypressing sandal," continued Ying, in a voice of ominousforeboding. "Lift your eyes from searching the ground for yourannual tribute, thrifty Meen Kan, and behold my approachingbanners!"

"This is what comes of ignoring the Essential Principles!"exclaimed Meen Kan, when at last he understood the pitfall intowhich his parsimonious thumb had led his devious footsteps (forby this time exalted officials were approaching Ying with everymark of deference); "something of the sort having been predictedby a holy anchorite on seeing this person, at an early age, spitimpertinately in the direction of a comet. Plainly there is onlyone thing to be done." With this resolve Meen Kan graduallywithdrew amid the ceremonial greetings that were in progressaround, and providing himself with the most suitable implement hecould find, he succeeded in committing self-ending in the trenchthat he had intended for Ying's disposal. To those who found himthere it did not seem necessary that one so execrable should begiven honourable burial. The earth was therefore hastily thrownback, but ever afterwards it was noticed that the fruit from offthat tree had an acrimonious flavour.

Nothing could exceed the respectful joy with which theadventurous prince's return to his distracted capital was greetedby all classes, and when it was understood that in the intervalhe had discovered a captive princess in disguise, who washenceforth to be his queen, and had rescued her unharmed from thelair of a particularly repulsive giant, there was no form ofgratuitous entertainment in the long round of public celebrationsthat followed which they did not willingly attend in order todemonstrate their pleasure.

Seated together in a crystal chair, richly jewelled at everypoint, Ying and Mei slowly advanced by leisurely stages towardsthe city. No doubt to both of those chiefly concerned a moreexpeditious form of progress would not have been disdained, butas Ying explained to Mei's attentive ears, on these occasionsceremonial ordained that the longest possible way round should bethe route undertaken. Meanwhile, he endeavoured to lighten thetedium of the march by pointing out the various objects ofinterest that bordered their path, so that, indeed, when atlength they reached the end, Mei declared the period to havemelted like a summer mist before the sun of Ying's dazzlingeloquence and far-flung word-painting.

"Had there not existed a regrettable inadequacy among the StateDepartment of our Personal Sleeve it might have been a goldenpalace to which you more fittingly would have come," declared theprince as a prolonged outburst of loyal sounds announced theirarrival at the courtyard, and he described how his imaginationhad built for her a more worthy edifice of priceless gems andprecious metals, its graceful minarets piercing the middle air,on the occasion when they had first encountered.

"A hundred thousand welcomes, nevertheless, to our ramshackleancestral hovel," he encouragingly concluded.

"A wind-swept loft roofed over with affection and which has itsfoundations embedded in mutual trust has hitherto sufficed tocontain the four corners of this one's most extravagantambition," was Mei's unassuming answer. Then regarding Ying withan alluring glance she added: "One thing, however, admittedlyremains. Why should you into whose hand the choice of all theearth is freely poured, have descended from your dragon throne tofix your eyes upon this very ordinary person?"

"As to that," conceded Ying with a responsive look, "why shouldyou, who are the choicest of all the inhabitable earth's fairgifts, have risen from the material ground to bring life and hopeto a nameless outcast who had no possible claim on yourinclinations? The answer to both these heart-searchings, adoredMei, is that in our exceptional case no answer can ever be, for,as the noble Li Chiang replied when asked of what thisenchantment might consist: 'When you can explain love you willhave killed it'."

II. — THE THREE RECORDED JUDGMENTS OF PRINCE YING,
FROM THE INSCRIBED SCROLL OF MOU TAO, THE BEGGAR.

IT was the custom of Prince Ying to dispense justice freely toall his subjects and in the exercise of this usage thediscriminating ruler did not only bend his ear towards those whowere at variance with their fellows but willingly lent his weightand authority to every kind of happening. Should one, even of themost menial class, by his superior craft propagate a new speciesof herb which proved to have healing virtues, or another composea felicitous ballad for which he received inadequate praise, or athird discover to the benefit of mankind that by suitablyattaching a circular block of wood to a hollow box one man couldreadily transport a load which otherwise would have taxed thelaborious efforts of many—all these could attend at theopen court of Prince Ying and there dutifully prostratingthemselves while pleading their cause, each receive the verdictof his deserts. Thus the skilful gardener to whom reference hasbeen made was given full charge of all the prince's enclosures ofcultivated ground and allotted a monthly sufficiency of taels,together with a sign added to his name signifying distinction;the poet who was so much in advance of his era as to beincomprehensible to all but the chosen few was permitted to shaveaway an added breadth of hair beyond that ordained by law so asto enhance the lofty prominence of his noble forehead; while theingenious toiler who had stressed only the material profit of hisdevice was given so much pure silver from the royal store as his"wheel" (the name by which the innovation was soon called)enabled him to carry.

On the other hand the idle, the pretentious, or those merelyinspired by any unworthy aim found the prince's face turnedtowards them with a very different bearing, for by someundisclosed means he possessed the attribute of being able to seebeneath and beyond their spoken words and his mind pursued andexplored what was claimed to an ultimate conclusion. For thisreason, while one man would be met coming away from the courtwith a joyful step and loudly proclaiming the triumph of justiceanother might be seen painfully making his way alonginconspicuous paths and pausing from time to time to assuage hissmarting outline. Thus was amply justified the modest inscriptionthat Prince Ying had caused to be written above the entrance ofhis hall of audience: "Here all who present themselves shallreceive according to their due—either in one place oranother." Even while he slept this painstaking sovereign wasamenable to his people's needs, for outside the palace gate therewas suspended a massive copper gong and it was generallyunderstood (for so far there had been no occasion to put theprivilege to an actual test) that in any case of sudden stress itwas within the prerogative of whosoever would to beat upon thegong and by that act summon the prince to rise from his onyxcouch and descending to the court of impartiality there and thenadminister promiscuous justice.

SO great indeed has become the repute of Prince Ying in thecourse of succeeding years that many minstrels have extolled hisfame in appropriate verse and his name has been associated with aproverb. Yet to the heedless passer-by in these days of profanehaste a reference to Hysi Ying, of the State of Further Yin,conveys nothing but the dim recollection of a forgotten song andthe aggressive challenge is proclaimed, "But what did he do,this much belauded prince of a bygone race that we who are inevery way so much advanced beyond that barbarous age should payhim deference? There is an apt saying, 'What a man is becomesdust when his breath departs, but what he does lives on forever.' Expound this acclaimed wisdom."

In order to discountenance these presumptuous witlings,therefore, this obscure but tenacious relater of actual facts hasdug deeply beneath the obliterative crust of intervening time andbrought to light something of the amiable monarch's middleperiod.

THREE instances of Prince Ying's just and statesmanlike treatmentof affairs within his hand are recorded by Mou Tao, a literarymendicant of that era who lived in a cask on a fortified angle ofthe city wall. From this elevated post Mou Tao was able to takean impartial view of all that went on below, and hisdisquisitions are simply expressed, temperate and sincere.

The first narrative records the audience given to Quang-hi, anunlettered craftsman in hard wood, who diffidently explained thatwhat he had stumbled on by chance might haply relieve the tediumof an occasional gong-stroke of his imperishable ruler's leisure.

"Say on," encouraged the prince, "but what you so enticinglyrefer to as gong-strokes of leisure might be more accuratelydescribed as moments precariously snatched from ceaseless labour.He whom you call Supreme is unable to command what every waysidebeggar freely squanders."

"The length and breadth of your High Majesty's devotion toaffairs of state is a perpetual beacon to all your subjects,"declared Quang-hi. "Nevertheless, as will presently emerge, it isthis specific circ*mstance that has emboldened your presumptuousslave to venture here, for the method of removing tedium to whichhis involvement refers is one that may be taken up and laid asideand again resumed as circ*mstances favour."

As he spoke the ingenious-minded carver in the hard wasextracting from his sleeve a variety of wooden forms of differentshapes and sizes and these he next proceeded to arrange on alevel surface before Prince Ying, explaining as he did so theoccasion of their being. The Lady Mei, according to her wont, wasalso seated there to lend, if encouraged, her voice to any issue.As seemliness required, her position was at some distance behindthat taken by the prince yet not so far removed but that by theone leaning negligently back and the other reaching studiouslyforward their hands might not infrequently encounter.

"In the process of his menial toil," continued Quang-hi, "it isinevitable that a certain amount of rejected material should fallunheeded to the floor. Working as he does with staple of uniformshape and size, producing to a consistent rule, it naturallyresults that the bulk of this, as it may be termed, waste shouldconform to a few recurring patterns. Until the occasion of arecent day it was the custom of this one's lesser half to storethese in a sack and with them replenish the hearth from time totime in the absence of a more profitable disposal."

Remembering the period when she herself had performed this lowlytask Mei would have interposed an appropriate remark, butrecalling that she was now a queen she decided that it would besuperfluous.

"Chancing on that day to which reference has been made to gatherup these, fragments himself, the one who is now recounting thecirc*mstance, was struck for the first time by the undoubtedresemblance which certain of the blocks might be said to bear toeasily recognised types of our complex society. By a fewconsidered strokes of the incising tool these identities can beassured, so that even an ordinary person of no particularcapacity or knowledge would, as Your Omniscience may see foryourself, have no excuse for missing the allusion."

"It is not to be denied that there are here certain attributeswhich seem to indicate clearly marked orders of our subjectpeople," encouragingly agreed Prince Ying, touching as he spokethe several carved figures which Quang-hi had by this time spreadout before him. "In this short, squat, and essentiallycommonplace type, we have the unpretentious, simple-wittedpasser-by, such as you yourself, worthy Quang-hi, might fittinglyexample. These martially-accoutred, dragon-faced beings areobviously masked warriors within their fear-inspiring gear, andin the attenuated, sombrely-robed, shaven sort it would be ineptnot to recognise devout priests of the higher orders. Greatterritorial nobles could scarcely be more clearly meant than bythe representation of strongly-built towers with embattled walls,but there are here two of superior height but no preciseindividuality of line who do not seem to conform to anyparticular character."

"It is for that reason that it has been thought more discreet toleave that commanding pair unspecified by any sign or badge,representing as they do one of each sort of the rulers of ourland—a supreme prince and his royal consort," submittedQuang-hi readily. "But this, Most High, comprises only a meagrefragment of the device, for having fashioned these severaleffigies to typify an entire Empire in their limits, it nextdevolved to contrive how they might be brought into entertainingaction."

"Thus and thus!" exclaimed the prince with enhanced interest."The creation of these likenesses, diverting as they admittedlymay be, is not then the full measure of their function?" and evenMei drew imperceptibly towards the front in order to miss nodetail of what might follow.

"Their scope of tedium-dispelling may be said to be only yet, soto speak, in the embryo," maintained Quang-hi. "And since theynaturally fall into two distinctive bands—those formed ofebony representing an alien race of some barbarian out-land—it was inevitable to regard them as the ranks of twoopposing armies."

"So much may be readily allowed," agreed Ying graciously; "andnow, under your arranging thumb, they take up their assignedpositions."

"For this imagined strife it is more convenient to allot each toan indicated square, defined by rigid boundaries but with asufficient space between the forces to allow them to unfold theirtactics. Thus in the front row, to withstand the opening shock ofarms, are arranged footmen of the common stamp, each reassured bya comrade's shoulder. Behind this screen of bow-and-arrow fare ofthe least expensive sort lurk those in highercommand—banners, martial prelates, barons possessingembattled keeps, all clustering about the persons of the king andqueen whom they are sworn to protect and guard at any hazard.Thus are they to be regarded now as being drawn up for battle."

"This, to a very remarkable degree, depicts the actual disposalof both sides at the opening of that memorable encounterresulting in the great victory named after the mountain passknown as the Wild Goat's Horn," declared the enchanted prince,considerately indicating to the queen that she should approachstill nearer to his side, so as to miss no detail of hissatisfaction. "By that overwhelming stroke the rebel hosts werefinally thrust back and the power of the usurping Sheerat of Mustdefinitely broken. Had only these unresponsive forms beenamenable to the words of command it would not have been beyondthe powers of one who had some negligible share in the outcome ofthat day to indicate the progress of the battle."

"Even that, to a certain extent, may be deemed within theirscope, Pre-eminence," was Quang-hi's modest claim, "for to eachcombatant has been allotted an agreed sphere of activity, suitedto his living counterpart's powers. Thus the footmen in theirslow advance can only progress a single square each march, and bethe danger what it may they must ever press forward. All otherranks can come and go according to their circ*mstance but theirmovements likewise are ruled by a strict adherence to theirnormal usage. By this scale of their different spheres theheavily-accoutred knight-at-arms is not permitted to strike anadversary beyond two squares away but to compensate this imposedrestraint he is free to leap unexpectedly into the thickness ofthe fray by a sideway movement. The holy men of action, silentyet swift, are only limited by the confines of the field ofbattle; their progress—as it were to indicate one eye beingturned towards a material goal and the other fixed on the UpperAir for celestial recognition—is oblique, but in anyadvantageous direction. Secure in their massive towers thehereditary nobles of the land are no less potent in their range,but their influence is limited to the straight paths of directonslaught, though to them alone is given the unique privilege notonly of succouring their sovereign lord in his shift of direstneed by interposing their bulk between him and the foe but evenat the same time of drawing him away from the point of danger."

"So far," observed Mei pleasantly, as Quang-hi paused toillustrate this feat, "you have spoken only of those ofsubordinate rank. In the case of the two whom you have sodiscreetly left, as it were, in the rough, doubtless an evengreater latitude of influence is permitted?"

"All that the rest may do lies within a queen's sphere—saveonly that it was not thought fitting for one of that degree toadvance with a sideway movement."

"That is as well," agreed the prince, though the Lady Mei did notat first seem reconciled to this curtailment of her prowess, "forthe actions of the one towards whom all eyes are turned shouldnot be anything but straightforward. Now as regards theomnipotence of a sovereign of divine descent——"

"It is no more than a matter of general remark that one soendowed would be capable of anything," was Quang-hi's outspokenadmission. "Yet in this mimic scene of strife a certainconvention has to be imposed or quite ordinary persons might inthe vigour of their zeal be led into assuming a regrettablefreedom. Inasmuch as a rightful sovereign is superior to thecommon lot of death it would manifestly be a treasonable as wellas an illogical act to subject his defenceless effigy to thatinfliction. In order, therefore, to safeguard the outward personof a king from the dangers of a pronounced valour, such as yourMajesty is burdened with, this representative of the Supreme isrestrained from thrusting himself into the hazard of the fray bymore than a single boundary."

"Up to this point logical exactness has marked your plan andthereby raised this device for dispelling tedium far above any ofthe other monotony removers," declared the prince. "How then canyou maintain this congruity now seeing that you must eithersuffer one of imperishable nature to be slain or else by allowingthe two opposing monarchs both to maintain their ground to reducethe outcome to an untenable dilemma?"

"Such a contingency has not been overlooked, Supreme, and thesubterfuge by which the involvement is, so to speak, flattenedout, has been admitted by impartial lookers-on to be apt and notdevoid of cunning....When the king on either side has beendriven into such an extremity as would in the case of a warriorof mortal cast be presumed to involve his end and necessitateremoval from the field, it devolves upon the player who achievesthis point to draw attention to the distinguished combatant'slamentable plight by a sharp but respectful movement of thecombined tongue and palate. At the sound of this admonitory'Tcheck!' it is still feasible for his Majesty to escape from thesnare, but should he be unable to extricate himself, although hehas not suffered the indignity of actual demise, he and his bandmust be deemed to have been vanquished."

"You would truly seem to have foreseen every arising doubt,"remarked Prince Ying, "and all that remains is for us to marshalour opposing hosts and make a practical test of what willfollow."

"Forgive the ill-timed interruption of one so negligible as shewho speaks," ventured the Lady Mei, "but is it conducive to aseemly regard for authority throughout the land that in thisimagined strife even an illiterate serf should be permitted toassail the Very Highest?"

"Even that eventuality has been known to take place in ourjustice-loving realm," was her lord's concise reply, and his handunconsciously was raised to verify the ancient scar left by aniron collar. "Since the versatile Quang-hi has ingeniously soughtto embrace all phases of our complex State in one decisive clashthe contingency you outline cannot reasonably be excluded."

"My Omniscient's words are, as usual, gemmed with truth," Meihastened to reply. "This one's contention was unworthy ofdiscussion."

Assembling their respective groups that truly broad-mindedsovereign, Hysi Ying, Prince of Further Yin, and the low-conditioned craftsman, Quang-hi, engaged upon the first recordedgame of Tcheck (or "Tchess!" as it afterwards came to bepopularly styled from the menacing threat of the admonitory soundwhen uttered by enthusiasts with aggressive vigour), the latterperson fittingly seated upon the floor while the prince naturallyoccupied a considerably higher station. Drawn into the orbit ofthis engaging rivalry the queen viewed the field of contest firstfrom one side and then from the other, nor did she refrain fromfreely offering advice impartially to either player whenever hersagacious mind detected a flaw in the method of attack or herready eye found a weakness in the menaced line of defences.

It was not long before it emerged that the force controlled byYing must inevitably succeed, though it is not definitelyexpressed whether this should be entirely ascribed to thatprince's admitted superiority in whatever he undertook orpossibly in part to the lowly Quang-hi's assumption of a positionthat restricted his range of vision. Be this how it would, beforethe hostile ranks were favourably deployed Ying's oncoming hosthad swept through a disorganised foe so that one of his frontline had reached the limit of its allowed movement.

"Yet what arises now?" enquired the prince. "Inasmuch as thisadventurous thrall is not permitted to turn and reinforce hisfellows it would almost seem as though our arms are to be at aloss by reason of his dexterity and valour."

"That indeed is an eventuality for which no provision has beenmade," admitted the one who had devised the method of dispellinglethargy, betraying some confusion. "Hitherto no other hassucceeded in bringing about what your High Majesty's inspiredskill has so deftly accomplished, whereby the situation had notso far arisen. Manifestly an adequate reward for a signal feat ofability must accrue, but it is not altogether easy to suggest theequivalent."

"Seeing that by patient resource and devotion to a cause one oflow estate has reached the limit to which an ordinary person canaspire, would it not be a fitting mark of distinction thereat toproclaim a queen?" was Mei's opportune proposal.

"For what must be regarded as a mere drudge or unit in the gameto attain so high a rank might almost seem beyond the bounds ofwhat is credible," maintained Quang-hi, he being as artless as hewas unassuming.

"Nevertheless, such a transition is not unknown in the annals ofour romantic Court," declared the queen, regarding Prince Yingwith a descriptive glance, and caught by the look the princestruck his capable hands together in emphatic accord as heexclaimed:

"Thus shall it be in memory of this and that occasion. Theobscure pawn who triumphantly surmounts all obstacles and gainsthe further bounds shall attain the full privileges ofqueenship!"

Meanwhile the test had been proceeding to its destined end andafter that the field was rearranged, the prince affably rallyingQuang-hi on the outcome of their first encounter and graciouslyenjoining him to cast obsequiousness aside and display his innermetal. Not until a full hand-count of games had been played (allto a like result) did the gratified ruler admit repletion.

"This method of tedium-dispelling that you have contrived, Quang-hi, is superior to any other device of its kind for a variety ofreasons," was his considered judgment. "Devoid of the haphazardelements of fan-tan and other games of chance it inexorablyresults that victory is the outcome of a superior skill, and thisprinciple of justice naturally precludes any sediment of rancourlingering in the mind to embitter even the most self-opinionatedloser. By assembling so many diverse types, all with a kindredaim, and met on a common ground, a sentiment of mutual good-willand trust is forged, which, adequately maintained, should go farto make our flowery and phrase-strewn land a country suitable forpaladins to inhabit.

"Turning to the more material side of the innovation it isobvious that with accessories of so primitive a stamp the profiton the sale of sets at even a moderate cost should beconsiderable, so that, in return for an Imperial decreeappointing you alone the only allowed maker (together with theprivilege of hanging out a yellow banner embellished with ourpersonal sign) you will account for a score and five out of eachhundred taels received, as a due to the Royal Treasury. As everyloyal subject will be advised to make himself proficient in thenew method of beguiling leisure without delay the success of youropportune contrivance may be regarded as assured. An inscriber ofour spoken word will draw up the necessary document free oftaelage; meanwhile if you will inconvenience your naturallyupright feet to the extent of descending to the beneath parts ofthis ill-constructed palace a sufficient if not very appetisingrepast of rice and wine will enable you to refresh your no doubtby this time severely taxed endurance."

LEST it should be thought that on this occasion the high-mindedPrince of Further Yin betrayed perhaps even too acute a graspupon the commercial possibilities of Quang-hi's timely diversionit would be well to record the lack of encouragement extendedtowards Lao San who unfolded an even more attractive project.

It was, moreover, at a time peculiarly apt to suit Lao San'sscheme for owing to an altogether unforeseen deficiency of taelsin the Department of the Private Sleeve it had been foundnecessary to issue an unusually large number of edicts connectedwith extraneous sources of revenue and the like, and the labourof inscribing these at the hands of the various takers-down ofspoken words and of tracing thereon the royal characters andstyle by the assiduous prince himself, had stretched the capacityof their sinews to the utmost. When, therefore, Lao San professedhimself able to compress, so to speak, all the entailed labourinto a single stroke it is not to be doubted that Prince Yingreadily turned both ears towards so attractive a promise.

"Enlarge the outline of your words more fully," was his graciouscommand. "It has ever been the privilege of the rulers of ourobliging Line to listen at any length to whatever even the mostconcave-witted of our subjects claimed the right to lay beforeus."

"Omnipotence," was the assured reply, "this is no mere artificefor beguiling time or verbal snare such as removes the gravity ofthe light and fantastic. By means of a hitherto unthought-of planit will henceforth be feasible to produce as many copies as youwill, none differing from the parent stock or from each other bythe variance of a single line, with as little fatigue as nowconcerns the tracing of a solitary example. Whether the matterinvolved should be a complex edict, a lengthy ode, or merely anattesting stroke of the Vermilion Pencil does not disturb theassertion."

"The claim is a sufficiently vainglorious one—setting asidethe Forbidden Arts—and it next remains for you to make goodthe boast," pronounced the prince. "Whatever you require in theway of accessories towards performing the ingenious feat will nodoubt lie within the capacity of our royal attics."

"There is no need to inconvenience the hallowed palace dust evento that extent," was Lao San's polite assurance, as he produced adiversity of quite ordinary objects from within his ample sleeve,and these he proceeded to display before Ying. "This verycommonplace block of wood—as your High Majesty's quick-witted eyes will at once detect—is substantial to thetouch, containing neither inserted cavity, deceptive bulk, norsecret appliances. Upon this, by means of an adhesive paste, theextremely clumsy-thumbed individual who is so imperfectlyexplaining the act proceeds to fix a strip of in-no-way unusualrice paper bearing the symbols indicating, 'Assured honourrewards the inventive.' From the surface of this, by means of anexceptionally keen-edged but not otherwise remarkable knife henow shears away the superfluous space, leaving the auspicioussentiment alone protruding. This pledge being next smeared withsome convenient pigment of the most ordinary kind and successivelayers of an identical stamp produced on innumerable sheets ofundoubted parchment by mere contact, it may suitably be claimedthat the essence of the vaunt has been established."

"It would be futile to deny so much in the face of what appears,"confessed the prince, closely regarding the half-score or moreidentical prints which Lao San had achieved with the speed anddexterity of a three-handed magician. "Yet one sufficientlyobscure peculiarity exists to mark these productions out fromamong all others: that while in our ornate and flowing script thecharacters extend from east to west and progressively upwards,here a converse direction is maintained and the linear trend isdownwards."

"Your divine Majesty's powers of vision would pierce a mountainside, nor could the deepest secrets of the unmeasurable earthremain long hidden," loyally declared Lao San, although thegeneral impression conveyed by his harmonious voice might be asof one who sought to gain a respite in which to formulate asolution. "It must indeed be accounted one of the inscrutableparadoxes of this newly-discovered art that while the originalinscription maintains a normal course and the lines arethereafter adhered to with undeviating exactitude, the product isin every case mysteriously reversed, as though by Unseen Forces."

"The suggestion casts a forbidding shade," observed the prince."One never knows to what anything may lead when it comes todealing with the other world Beings."

"The analogy was only in the way of a simile of words, Pre-eminence," hastily interposed Lao San, deeply annoyed withhimself for having made so indiscreet an admission. "No doubt inthe endless process of time some expedient may be found wherebythe systematic inversion of all that is thus reproduced may beingeniously frustrated, though to our restricted capacity to-daythe problem may well seem insoluble. Meanwhile, even ordinarypersons by the exercise of no very great amount of imaginationcan so, as it were, adapt their mental poise as to transpose thecharacters with ease, all that is required being to stand on thehead—emblematically speaking—and look backwards."

"In the case of a prince of the Predominant House—Brother,moreover, of the Sun and Moon and Upholder of the Canopy—tostand upon one's head, even as a mere figment of speech, would beunsupportable. In the case of the lesser ones of our noble andscrupulous Line——"

"The matter was ill-expressed, Benign," pleaded the abject LaoSan, trembling at the thought of the profanity into which he hadall but stumbled. "Let it be as if the Hoang Ho in flood hadswept seven times over the indiscretion. No need exists for sostrenuous a course in any case, as by holding whatever is soreversed before a reflecting disc it at once assumes a normalposition."

With much in the same persuasive vein for the greater part of agong-stroke Lao San sought to induce Prince Ying to assume abenevolent interest towards his device for multiplying examples;for in spite of all that could be advanced some element ofprudence warned the prince against what might be the finaloutcome of so far-reaching a measure. But it was not until LaoSan, in an access of pride at what he could achieve, again turnedto his engraved block and without a pause showered copies to thefour points of space in an unending stream, so that the audiencechamber took on the appearance of a prolific but wind-sweptorchard in the Season of Ripening Blossom, that Ying came to afixed decision.

"Return the various belongings to your commodious sleeve, LaoSan, and go hence in peace, but claiming no especial mark orbenefit of our royal approval," was the prince's formal message."Yet had your undoubtedly noteworthy advance on existing methodsbeen confined to some process whereby a hand-count or perchanceeven a score of copies should be produced it would have beenimpossible to withhold commendation."

"Seeing that this power for good is increased a hundredfold,Sublime, should it be reasonable to maintain an ambiguous face,in view of its benefits to mankind at large?" pleaded Lao San,realising that all hope of gains and advancement must fade ifdenied the prince's countenance.

"It should not," courteously agreed Ying, "but he who sets out tobenefit mankind at large would be well advised to leave allthought of reasonableness on his own door-step. Good mayadmittedly come of this untried device, but so, to an evengreater extent, may evil ultimately follow, and the enlightenedprince who hopes to have his name written in letters of pure goldas the patron of a humane and peaceful art may find it tracedwith messages of blood and fire across a devastated Province."

"Yet how can that which makes for order, learning, and a healthycompetitive spirit lead to so detestable an issue?" besought LaoSan. "Whereas to-day a solitary edict may well escape the eye,royal proclamation of State import would appear on every wall,copies of the Immortal Classics be multiplied a hundredfold andof a score of hard-striving students who must now share atattered scroll at the cost of hunger and cold, henceforth eachone might readily possess a camel-load of books and suffer noprivation."

"It has been said by those who have tested the result, 'Call noday your lucky date until the arrival of to-morrow,' and it mayhaply be premature for we two who are seated in an enclosedchamber at the inception of an event to speak with any definiteassurance of what may be the final outcome," replied the prince,with a tolerance and restraint rare among monarchs of hisdynasty. "If official decrees are thereby multiplied, topenetrate remote and distant ways, may not also subversiveleaflets and treasonable advice incite revolt at every turn andeven be thrust in at open windows? Can it be definitely assuredthat those who begin by applying this new facility to spreadingworks of the imperishable Sages will not sooner or later find itmore profitable to supply writings of a lewd or questionabletrend and thus gradually assail and undermine the high standardof our ancient culture? In the past learning has been hardly wonat the cost of patient toil and ungrudged sacrifice and therebyjustly esteemed with relation to the laborious process of itsacquisition. Who is to assert that with all that is treasurableto be procured at the price of a paltry ballad the Classics maynot fall into disrepute and our golden age be followed by an erathat is unable to discriminate between literary style and what isephemeral and meretricious?"

"Whatever you may say, Revered, is notoriously inspired,"dutifully conceded Lao San, "and is not therefore to be eitherweighed or measured. Nevertheless, beneath your ruling thumb, theday may yet emerge when the ink-brush shall be spoken of as moreformidable than the spear and the imprinted word admitted tooutrange the swiftest arrow."

"It is for these reasons that so momentous a decision imposes tooburdensome a test on any but the All-Seeing Ones whose impassiveeyes can discern the ultimate issues," assented Prince Ying, withan appropriate gesture. "To endorse a cause that must readjustthe standards of the inhabitable world for good or ill, givesovereign power to those who would otherwise be weak andcountermine the undisputed prerogative of monarchs—who butthe Deities themselves should venture?" Whereupon the one who hadcome exultantly to plead an obvious cause, understanding thenthat there was nothing to be gained began his reluctantdeparture.

"Your onward path promises to be a rugged one, Lao San," was thefinal message he received; "may the directing spirits of yourrace guide your footsteps with prudence."

IT was an ill-arranged moment for Chang Won, who beneath the signof a gigantic severing tool performed the healing processes, whenmixing together certain obscure earths in an iron pot somethingoccurred of which he could have had no premonition. It would havebeen well for the too-persistent enquirer into matters best leftalone had he there and then renounced all traffic with thesehidden powers, but Chang Won was urged on by a revengeful Being(who saw in this turn an occasion to gain his ends) and did notrest until—despite his crippled hand—he had probedthe matter to a satisfactory basis. Then with his mingled earths,his tubes of hollow brass and carefully selected pebbles from ariver bed he sought the presence of Prince Ying, and foreseeingsuch gain and honours as a deeply grateful sovereign might wellbestow, he revealed the nucleus of his message. "Only the foolishpig exults when he finds that he is being taken to the fair," wasthe saying that might well have conveyed a doubt, but Chang Wonwas more familiar with the secret properties of alien soils thanwith the higher classics.

"I bring for your acceptance, Mighty Prince," he proclaimed, "adevice by means of which you can, without incurring any danger toyour own arms, destroy all your enemies at one blow in a singlebattle."

"Had your contrivance been one by means of which this personshould have no enemies to destroy," replied the humane prince,"then in return he would gladly have shared with you the bulk ofhis possessions."

"Yet when all that are shall have been destroyed, your GreatHighness will indeed be in that enviable state," maintained theother.

"So far from it being the case, their ranks will be increased,"was the morose reply, "since for every one who is removed byviolence two of his kinsmen step into the opening. However,disclose this new stroke of swordsmanship or spear thrust bymeans of which victory becomes automatic."

"It concerns neither of those obsolete weapons, Mightiness, butinvolves a hitherto unsuspected force by means of which, thoughyour band might otherwise be inferior in every arm, you couldinfallibly strike down every foeman, if necessary from behind, atsuch a distance that they would have no apprehension of yourpresence."

"There is a certain etiquette to be observed in our polite methodof waging war which you, Chang Won, as a distinguished member ofone of the exclusive trades, may be excused for overlooking. Totransfix an enemy from behind implies no reproach on either side,but it must be done within such a space that if he should besufficiently alert to turn he has a least a speculative chance ofretaliating."

"That is beyond the instance, Omnipotence," Chang Won sought toexplain, "the purpose of the contention merely being to indicatethe immunity of the assailants. A face-to-face onslaught would beeven more conclusive."

"Let such a combat be assumed," agreed the prince, "and on thatbasis proceed to explain the method."

"If there should be about the palace walls an infirm or agedslave of either sort, whose end would entail no actual loss, itwould be a convenient and effective way of establishing what is -claimed," suggested Chang Won, busily arranging his contrivance.

"Those who have served us with their strength are not to be castaside to become the food of homeless dogs in the season of theirweakness," was the prince's firm rebuke. "Some apter thought mustassail your inventive mind, Chang Won, if you are to make goodyour promise."

"Things were very different in the stirring days of this lord'sgreat ancestor, Tien the Thunder Cloud, when a half-scorethousand stalwart men, every one of them worth a full bar ofsilver in the public mart, were relentlessly used up and flungaside in the process of building the river barrier," murmuredChang Won deep inside his two-faced throat. "It is quite evidentthat our present ruler rather resembles Min Sing, called 'of theYielding Knee,' who in the proverb apologised to the nail forusing a hammer." But aloud he said:

"Nothing could be more opportune than your High Majesty'scharitable demur. The body of an ill-nurtured slave would providea very inadequate resistance. Now if, instead, a substantial balkof timber, of about the thickness of three fingers'breadth——"

Under such conditions the first (and as it subsequently emerged,the last) essay of Chang Won's elaborately prepared "tubedust"(as he fondly referred to what had the appearance of being aninnocuous grit) took place in Prince Ying's audience chamber and,regard it as one will, the result was overwhelming. To theprince's unbounded surprise the formidable mass of hard wood waspierced through at about the spot previously indicated by ChangWon and the missile hurled forth by the brass tube was foundembedded in the wall beyond it. But such was the force of theoutburst of pent-up violence at large that the rich silk hangingsof the hall were torn from their firm hold, the close-fittingwindows of well-oiled paper blown to the four winds, and the deepfoundations of the palace itself shaken; while an extremelyoffensive smell, not unlike that left by the passage of amalignant spirit, permeated the air for several gong-strokesafterwards. Nor was this the full extent of the confusion wroughtby the ill-judged display, for the ominous sound and some of theunclean vapour penetrating beyond the walls a variety ofdisturbing rumour filled the ways, which sent men, both officialand of the common sort, questing to the eight quarters. Whilesome affirmed that an army of invading Khings had entered bystealth and now possessed the gates others no less determinedlymaintained that a celestial dragon had appeared to escort PrinceYing Above so that a change of sovereignty was imminent. It wasnot until an increased force of guarders of the routes appearedand with whips of knotted cords proceeded to assail all those whofailed to secure their esteem that the populace realised therewas nothing to be feared and that matters were going on exactlyas before.

"Chang Won," admitted the prince, after reassuring himself thathe had not Passed Hence when his faculties were somewhatrestored, "you have this day fired such a train as would, if itwere permitted to exist, engulf the whole world in ruin."

"Such as opposed your invincible Majesty's triumphant arms,"amended the short-sighted Chang Won obtusely. "It is not to bethought that the secret process and composition of tubedust wouldbe at the call of others."

"For how long?" demanded Ying sombrely, "and by what miraclecould so vital a possession be safeguarded? Are there no traitorsof our land who for all that—and more than—theyshould ask, would not yield up the essential information? Are ouroutposts so strong at every point that by a concentrated effortone or another should not be overcome, their arms and equipmentseized and the secret of this all-powerful grit dragged from itsconstituent particles by patient tests and skilful investigation?What would be the plight of Further Yin when other and moreaggressive lands possessed the knowledge?"

"Being the first to become invincible in arms by reason of thispower your Omnipotence would naturally attack each one in turn,conquer and reduce all to the condition of vassal States and thenproclaim your Empire from the Khin-ling range to the barrier ofthe trackless seas—one Land, one Prince, one Banner! May hewhom we revere live for a thousand years!"

Overcome with passionate loyalty at a vision of the martialpredominance thus obtained (and the amount of merchantabletubedust involved in the process of obtaining it) Chang Won casthimself bodily upon the marble floor and struck it repeatedlywith his intellectual brow in an ecstasy of homage.

"And is it to be imagined," continued the prince, indicating by asuitable gesture that while he appreciated the sentimentexpressed such details could be more conveniently postponed to amore ceremonious occasion; "is there indeed the most shadowychance that all ingenuity would meanwhile halt at this one stage,or that bold and resourceful men of other tribes would not pushon beyond your puny tubes of brass, Chang Won, and harness thisgenie which you would have raised, to every form of menace? Whowould not foresee great warrior ships of the Seven Pirate States,their sides overlaid with metal shields, their tubes perchance asthick as a grown man's thigh and casting iron weights thatnothing could withstand, ride boldly out at sea beyond all dangerof retort, and leisurely destroy our coastal possessions? Whatavails the protection of the insuperable Khin-lingrange—the immemorial buttress of our fertile land—ifmonstrous kites, each charged with death-dealing loads, can be socontrived as to shed their burdens promiscuously upon defencelesscities?"

"That would transgress the permissible bounds of recognisedassault," warmly protested Chang Won, to whom the direction ofPrince Ying's thoughts was becoming obnoxious. "The predominantsovereignties of the civilised earth would interpose: an all-embracing Confederacy of Realms would thereupon be formed towhich the weak and unprepared when assailed by lawless forcecould look for succour."

"Admittedly they could look," agreed the prince, "but to discoverthe expected army of relief might overtax their vision....Forwhere then would be the might of the Confederacy itself when someheadstrong Power, bolder than all the rest and more devising,should presently resolve that the use of missiles howeverpropelled—deadly as you have shown this energy tobe—is too slow and uncertain a specific for its owninsistent needs, and proceeds to flood a tardy and by that timehelpless world with some new and corroding form of life-destroying vapour?"

"At last it appears that your Great Highness is wittily outvyingthe fantastic imagination of a distraught story-teller's orballad-singer's mind to give edge to a jest," declared Chang Won,relieved to find that all that Prince Ying had so far implied wasto be taken in a gravity-removing spirit. "Even Nameless Thingsrespect the source of life itself, and not even during theinvasion by Gholls and Daiks of the Dark Outer Lands have thewells and watercourses been poisoned. Plainly, if the normalforces of nature could be threatened in this unendurable way andthe Immortal Principle of Essential Equipoise endangered, theRuling Deities themselves would step down from the Upper World intheir just wrath and breathe on the offenders."

"It is well to know from a source so intimately concerned exactlywhat would take place," acquiesced the one who thus indicated therole which by that time he had determined to accept, "though itis frequently said with no less truth that for their ends theDeities sometimes choose unexpected appliances....Since theopportunity may not arise again, Chang Won, avow for my ear aloneat what extremity of space one of your metallic tubes could berelied to inflict its load on a well-proportioned personfatally?"

"Assuming that the tube-wielder attained a vital point even thedistance of a li, or perchance two, would afford little or noprotection."

"Thus and thus!" assented the prince with an acquiescent look."In all our future wars a li or two will then afford a defeatedgeneral no protection. It is very truly said that what actuallytakes place is more remarkable than that which is devoid ofprecise existence. No man, whatever his degree, will henceforthbe really safe on the field of battle: even a prince, completelysurrounded by his chosen guard, and theoretically imperishable,may be laid out, so to speak, by a chance or a well-directedmissile."

"It is as lengthy as it is far across, Esteemed," maintainedChang Won with easy unconcern, "or, as the adage runs, there is asharp edge protruding in both directions. Henceforth, greatnobles and rulers of high degree will doubtless find that theconditions of modern warfare demand their presence behind whatmight be termed the yamen line, where their exceptional qualitieswill be more valuably employed hastening supplies, devising awe-inspiring uniforms, tabulating records and similar work ofessentially national import."

"It then falling to this one's lot perchance to maintain thesupply of tubedust unimpaired?" suggested the prince, with whatimpressed itself upon the other as truly refined condescension."In such an emergency where should the secret of its componentparts be found, Chang Won, or is all knowledge of it that existshaply contained beneath the base of your own pig-tail?"

"There is a single account, traced in a cryptic form, which as alast resort might be found in an intricately screened part ofthis one's moss-grown dwelling," replied Chang Won. "Beyond thatunique record this unserviceable head alone is the solerepository of the secret."

"So that," thoughtfully considered Prince Ying, "should you, tothe inexpressible loss of all the civilised world, meet with afatal mishap, and by an unparalleled stroke of destiny your well-appointed residence be, at about the same time, wholly consumedby fire, what you have now achieved must be irretrievablydestroyed for ever?"

"Were so incredible a happening to assume an actual form, anyhope of this person's epoch-making discovery again seeing thelight of day is remote in the extreme," admitted Chang Won. "Yetthis frail chance persists: that Faithful Branch, the first-comeof our obscure Line—all unwitting of the purpose of hisyouthful aid—oft-times attended this one's hand, while thelesser one herself and others of our simple but harmonious stockmight contribute stray crumbs of knowledge. Thus, by adding thisto that, perchance——"

"You possess a stalwart band of sons, Chang Won, who—in theordinary course of what a man foresees—will support yourfailing years and provide for you in the Hereafter?"

"Six well-formed and obedient he-children assemble round ourTablets, Supreme, not counting two of the negligible sort, who,however, in a gentler way are scarcely less engaging. Even now,"added Chang Won, recalling the gong-strokes that must havepassed, "they and she to whom a reference has been made awaitround the door, impatient to greet this one's long-looked-forreturn with welcoming cries of gladness."

"They await!" came harshly from Prince Ying's overburdenedthroat, as he struck a silver bell that conveyed an insistentmessage. "It is well that this should be added to what hasalready gone before, for are there not some everywhere who awaiteach one's return? And, to expose another facet of yourprecarious case, what may await each one on his return if thatwhich you have contrived emerges?"

"Omnipotence!" besought the one who found himself thus suddenlyarraigned, for with these threatening words the prince'scompliant attitude had changed to that of an accusing judge, "ifanything in my homely speech has been repugnant to your well-bredears let it be accounted as a deficiency of taste and not to anyaccess of presumption."

"We are neither of us here to give or to take affronts in ourrespective offices of life, but in obedience to a destiny thathas been laid upon us," replied the prince remotely. "You, ChangWon, have no doubt served a high purpose in being led to attemptwhat you would do; it remains no less for me, as paramount rulerof the State of Further Yin, to do my princely work and thwartyou."

"Commander of our services," announced the Captain of the PalaceGuard, appearing at the door, "every entrance to and fro is held,the leaders of all companies are being warned and he who speaksawaits your charges."

"It is well done," replied the prince, turning aside to avoidChang Won's beseeching glance, "but let nothing unusual outwardlyappear and reassure all those beyond your personal authoritywhile keeping a sufficient band in readiness. This effected,remove Chang Won, whom we have already judged, to a secret placeapart and there, as painlessly as can be done and with every markof honourable regard, suffer him to Pass Upwards. Afterwards..."

"Afterwards?" questioned the Captain of the Guard with duerespect, seeing that the prince had lapsed into an introspectivestate, while Chang Won hung breathless on the next spoken words."What is to follow thereafter?"

"Take all those of his immediate Line who dwell with him—astrict reckoning of a double hand-count save one must bereturned—and submit them to the same compound of sternnecessity and due consideration. This done, burn down the housewith the Sign of a Hanging Blade so that no tangible traceremains, and finally disperse the ashes. You have our warrant."

"All-powerful!" was torn from Chang Won's trembling lips, "it maywell be that either in this or a former life your suppliant slavehas unwittingly provoked a stern and relentless Being. But whatshould be said of the nine that you equally condemn—whoseinoffensiveness would cause tigers to forgo their nature?Cannot——"

"It is better for ten to suffer a decorous and painless end to-day than that ten thousand—equally devoid ofguilt—should be doomed to the torturing pangs of what mustotherwise result hereafter," was the dispassionate rejoinder. "Intaking the prisoner hence, Hao Hsin, let it be a charge laid onyour life that he exchanges words with no one."

"It is for your Sublime Excellence to command and for others toobey," replied the Captain of the Guard compliantly, and heapproached Chang Won for a specific purpose.

"There yet remains a last resort under our ancient laws,"abruptly claimed Chang Won, resolutely confronting the two whoopposed him; "and before the gag is placed this person, beingcondemned by one voice alone, invokes the Enactment of Yaou, theFounder."

"The miscreant is within his right, Most High," confirmed HaoHsin, temporarily laying aside the cord and the spike from theirinterrupted service. "Since only one—albeit your omnipotentself—has assessed his guilt, by Yaou's imperishable chargehe may require an analogous case to be laid promiscuously beforetwelve of his own condition. Should not even one of these in turnpronounce that ruling to be just, he who appeals must then gofree nor be subject to any oppression."

"It has ever been our function to uphold the existing law anddoubtless an anachronism such as Chang Won has invoked originallyhad its tap-root spring from some actual grievance," declared theliberal-minded ruler freely. "Unlatch the shutter most convenientto your hand, Hao Hsin, and call in to our conclave thefirst—being neither noble nor of outcast rank—whomchance leads past the opening."

"That will be Ming Yon, chief gardener of the public lands,"reported the Captain of the Watch when he had done as he was bid."He sees and obeys the summons."

"Everything would seem to be admirably arranged," was theprince's assent, "since one who by the nature of his task must befamiliar with the principles of life and death is hardly likelyto be swayed by extraneous matters. Ming Yon" (he then beingpresent), "there is a subject on which we would profit by youradvice, it lying strictly within your province. Should youdiscover among the plants committed to your care a prolific butdeadly herb which by its influence must contaminate the rest andultimately destroy many, how would you safeguard the helplessgrowth around from what you saw impending?"

"Surely that, Sire, only entails a simple and elementary act, asinstinctive as voidance at the call of nature. The poisonous weedmust be at once plucked up and cast aside to die so that itneither robs the profitable growth of its sustaining earth norchokes it with rank profusion."

"That is as we deemed appropriate to the case," agreed theprince, "but Chang Won here has a special doubt which goes alittle deeper. Would it not, he asks, do all one needs to cut offthis malignant plant at its parent stem, since that is thevisible source of its being?"

"Such a course would be (as it is not your Majesty's view) supinein the extreme," warmly declared Ming Yon, "for thereby the rootsare left to thrive unseen and each of these is capable, in thefullness of time, of sending out a vigorous shoot partaking ofthe same injurious nature. Indeed, a conscientious husbandman(such as he who speaks) would not be content until he had dug upand consumed by fire not only the weed itself but all thecontaminated ground around so that neither seed nor root of thatpernicious growth should survive ever to flourish."

"You have expressed yourself capably and resolved all ourdoubts," said Prince Ying, dismissing him with a suitablepresent. "Hao Hsin, this disposes of the Enactment of Yaou sinceone has already endorsed our ruling. Chang Won is such adestructive influence within the realm as that weed which MingYon would utterly uproot would be in a garden. Proceed to fulfilyour office."

THESE are the three judgments of Prince Ying that Mou Taopreserved, writing them down as he begged for alms at his stationby the city wall, each described without any presumptuousafterthought as to whether it made for ineptitude or for wisdom.

"It will all," sagely propounds Mou Tao on the margin of hisunique scroll, "be as one a thousand years hence; why, therefore,offer gratuitous comment on matters that are irrevocable now andwill concern men even less hereafter? The far-sighted preserve alevel mind as events pass by, just as a capable swimmer is notengulfed by the waves that overtake him."

What really matters, the conscientious chronicler seems elsewhereto imply, is that the unsullied purity of the ink he uses shouldbe maintained and the precise outline of the characters he formednever lose its firmness. It is much to be regretted, as Mou Taospoke the obscure dialect of his time and province and wrote inan archaic script, that when repeating what he tells it isnecessary to recast the form, so that much of his flawlessdiction and sincere yet simple style is lost, while thedeplorable inadequacy of the one who now narrates must inevitablyrepel the discriminating listener.

III. — THE IGNOBLE ALLIANCE OF LIN T'SING
WITH THE OUTLAW FANG WANG, AND
HOW IT AFFECTED THE DESTINIES.

FOR a score of years and nine Prince Ying had ruled over theState of Further Yin so that the land had prospered, but this isnot to say that all were contented with his wise and lenientsway, for is it not aptly said, "Few there are who find shadebeneath a tree of their own planting?" and while men cry out fortranquillity and settled ease in a time of urgency and stress,they no less lament the bygone adventurous spice of risk when theage has become peaceful. Merchants counting their knotted cordsof gain behind closed doors and women hopeful of rocking thecradles that would contain sons' sons might have reason tocommend Ying's politic course, but the voices of these are seldomraised in the ways and market spaces, where, indeed, the moreturbulent and vainglorious a man should be the greater wouldbecome the volume of his following.

In the immediate time succeeding the day when, taking Mei also bythe hand, Prince Ying had ascended the steps of the ancestralDragon Throne of his Line, there had been a conflicting activityof tongues, which presently diverged into two pronounced streamsof endless comment, the one upholding their ruler's attitude nomatter what he might do, the other to an equal length decryingall his actions. Even so chivalrous a thing as the sovereignty ofMei was not exempt from unfavourable review, after the firstburst of gladness, for while the better-instructed maintainedthat it was only befitting for a champion to espouse one whom hehad rescued from a voracious monster's lair, an opposing factionclaimed this account to be largely a delusive tale, and suspectedMei herself of being the questionable offspring of a changelingshe-fox, who had been able to infatuate the prince by magic.This, needless to relate, was in the care-free days before thesalutary practice of shortening at either one or both ends thosewho allowed incautious tongues to outrun the dictates of loyaltyhad induced a more charitable outlook; indeed it would have beenunseemly to have referred to so offensive a report at all were itnot that from this implication of traffic with the forbidden artsthere eventually emerged the uncertainty that was one of thedecisive influences in the clash of contending ambitions.

Scarcely less, unpopular than that he should be associated withdoubtful Beings was the prince's decision, shortly after he hadascended the throne and looked round to survey his realm, todismiss the entire staff of palace concubines.

"Is the State of Further Yin sunk to so low an ebb that it can nolonger maintain this honourable appendage of royalty?" wasinsidiously dropped into receptive ears by intriguing tongues atthe meeting of the ways, and fanned into a spreading flame bythose who had personal aims to serve, what should have beennothing more than a purely domestic affair became a publiccontention. Husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, friendsacross their rice and strangers at the barber's stall—eventhose of both sorts who had not yet braided their hair or takendistinctive names—all disputed over the seemliness or notof what Prince Ying had done and left undone, so that the routineof official work and the harmony of family life were shaken. Mostregrettable of all, the ones chiefly involved were drawn into thebroil, and being assembled as a continuous line paraded the cityin that form calling attention by means of inscribed placards andthe banners of the ancient Guild to the indignity of theirpresent position. By these ignoble means an atmosphere notfavourable to Prince Ying was maliciously contrived, for thevenerable appearance and infirm gait of many of those concerned(some of whom had maintained their exacting office from the timeof the previous dynasty) evoked sympathetic comment as theypassed, nor was the prince's liberality in bestowing on each asufficiency of corn and wine to support her remaining daysreferred to by the ill-wishing.

For more than a score of years the punctilious sovereign hadobserved a conciliatory and straightforward course, putting veryfew to death and inflicting torture only in persistently stubborncases, and that as a last expedient. With the surroundingPrincipalities he had preserved an abiding peace and evenuntutored barbarian chiefs of distant Out Lands—some soilliterate in their native state that they were quite unable tocompose their gravity at the sight of our refinedetiquette—these also reposed confidence in Prince Ying'suprightness. It remained for one of his own race and heritage,Lin T'sing, until then the obscure head of a small and unrulyclan, to foment dissent and by uniting all the elements ofdiscord from whatever cause it sprang, to threaten the ruler'sauthority.

Lin T'sing had always been of a crafty, grasping cast, seekinghis ends by devious paths and in the event of a miscarriage ofhis plans invariably leaving others to incur the burden. Hismother, of distant kinship with the Line, had been ambitious forherself at first, but being compelled to marry an outside man ofno particular wealth or esteem she had thereafter attributedtheir obscurity to his deficiency of caste and fixed all herhopes on T'sing's advancement.

It required no great stress of persuasion to convince the latterperson that he was well qualified, at some future moment, tousurp the throne—not on any right of descent which wasadmittedly remote, but by claiming Prince Ying's inability,through flaccidity of character, to maintain a puissant rule, andinstancing his own lack of scruples. With this in view he soughtpersistently to ingratiate himself among the passers-by,occasionally distributing small pieces of money with what mightappear to be a lavish hand, promoting contests of skill to whichhe contributed the awards, declaring assemblies of those whostrove to provide monasteries with the means to subsist open forall to frequent, and willingly affixing his thumb-print to theparchments of misguided ones whose passion it was to amass avariety of such emblems. Not content with these meretriciouslures, Lin T'sing is credibly declared to have invoked theactivities of members of the Make-known Gang—a sinisterorganisation which in return for a specific reward extolled thedoings of those whom it upheld by means of approving wordsdropped casually in frequented ways, complimentary messagesinscribed on public walls, likenesses of the one concerned(depicted as though caught unawares in charitable acts); toys,sweetmeats, lotions and improving essences bearing the commendedname and a multiplicity of unworthy shifts all tending towardsadvancement. To those who, a little more discerning, said: "Whyshould we rely on this belauded one by reason of his extremelycommonplace face and a blend of opium associated with hisdiscordant name?" the reproof would assuredly be cast, "Hispraise is on every lip: what better evidence that he musttherefore be praiseworthy? In any case is it not wiser to bewrong surrounded by a multitude than right standing on one's ownmidden? Would you alone make yourself out to be more dependablethan many, O boaster?"

WHEN Lin T'sing, bound, heavily manacled, and charged with manycrimes was, in the fullness of time, brought up before PrinceYing, the latter person commanded that his cords should beunloosed and the chain that made escape impossible slackened. Hethen threw an unsheathed dagger upon the ground between them,saying:

"He who first stretches out his hand to take it up admits theweakness of his cause. This one relies upon integrity alone forhis authority to rule a nation."

"The word is aptly used by one seated upon an alabaster throneand hedged in by a company of spears," retorted Lin T'sing,meanwhile computing the distance between his ready hand and theopen knife lying before them. "He who speaks has no other assetsthan the essential principles of truth and uprightness by whichall men are ultimately measured."

"It is as though we possessed a single voice," politely endorsedthe prince. "Yet it has somewhere been observantly remarked,'Snails and bulls both have horns but their natures are notsimilar.' It is easy to raise the standard of revolt, Lin T'sing:it is another matter to keep the flag of settled authoritycontinually flying."

"You are evidently referring to the irregular levy which thisperson, as Warden of the Outer March, enrolled in a time ofthreatened trouble," glibly advanced Lin T'sing, forgetting forthe moment that this had lain beyond his province.

"Is the offence of which Lin T'sing has made admission laid tothe prisoner's charge?" asked the prince of the official who keptthe roll, and that one, after referring to the tablets beneathhis thumb, signified the deficiency.

"It is not specifically arraigned, High Majesty," he wasconstrained to allow, "though without any undue distention of thebounds of statutory form, the crime: 'Conduct in general wherebythe voice of authority might be stifled' may be held to entanglethe delinquent."

"Let the omission be rectified with as much clearness as thenecessary legal terms admit," was the command. "Meanwhile, sinceit is not our unreasonable practice to assume the transgressor'sguilt until he shall have been declared innocent, it would beillogical to allow Lin T'sing at large, as must presumably be thecustom where the converse rule is maintained. Short of that,provide the recreant with whatever threadbare amenities ourobsolete walls contain until such time as we who speak haveconsidered his position."

IT was the practice of both Prince Ying and also of Mei his queento withdraw themselves to a certain room built high on acastellated tower whenever they would be apart from those around,and this gave rise to many ill-formed reports and misleadingsayings. As no one beyond the two concerned had ever glancedinside this room (for its bolt was secured by an agreed word and,moreover, the approach was complicated by a ladder) it becamenecessary for those about the palace who would professfamiliarity with all that went on around to substitute what couldbe the most readily adduced for what would otherwise have been ahumiliating admission. From these causes it was generallymaintained about the city ways and the spaces beyond that in thishigh and wind-gnawn place (1) Queen Mei practised the ForbiddenArts with which her name was linked; (2) Prince Ying sought todiscover the process of converting clay into gold; (3) theyapplied their united powers to devising a system whereby timewas, so to speak, held poised, with the result that no one needgrow any older. For in what other manner (ran the word) could itbe reasonably explained (1) that Mei, though of obscure Line,could do so much that others failed to do and was in many waysimmeasurably wiser; (2) that the in and out amounts of theNational Sleeve had never yet adjusted, so that, sooner or later,something miraculous would have to be done about it; (3) thatwhile all others shrunk and grew bent with the pressing burden ofyears, for the half cycle of time that these two had been beforetheir eyes neither had lost a scintilla of the bright attributesof youth nor had the gallantry of their bearing faltered.

It was further maintained that the room itself was decked in themost lavish taste with costly furs and richly embroidered silk;that it was plainly furnished but massively built to withstandattack and stored with an extensive variety of meat and drink soas to form a secure retreat if at any time beleaguered; that inan ordinary sense the room did not actually exist at all, beingbut the occasional creation, for such periods as it might berequired, of magic.

WHEN Prince Ying withdrew the bolt and entered the forbiddenroom, after contriving the expedient by which he need not passjudgment on Lin T'sing at once, he found the queen alreadywaiting there, for it had always been his custom to meditate inthat reminiscent place and surrounded by rude evidences of thetransient nature of royal state whenever an issue of exceptionalcomplexity or doubt required decision. On all these occasions Meiprofessed a willingness to contribute the weight of her advisingvoice, and although the prince sometimes felt that this wasbeyond what he could reasonably expect she herself neverprofessed any incapacity.

"The burden of his iniquity being already disclosed it isdifficult to see how Lin T'sing can legitimately retain hishead," explained the prince. "On the reverse side hisacceptability to the throng is such that any attempt to make theoccasion of his execution a public holiday might result in anunbecoming fiasco."

"Is it not said that on occasions when a person's moral obliquityrendered such a course well-advised the one involved has been, asit may be expressed, constrained to go on a journey and thenthrough some obscure circ*mstance found himself unable toreturn?" suggested Mei resourcefully.

"We understand that in the past there have been one or twoinstances of, so to speak, metrical retribution working itselfout in the manner you describe," admitted Ying. "But in order tojustify such a measure it is essential that the unseemlymisdemeanant involved should be sufficiently low caste as topreclude too close an enquiry into the details of his absence."

"Yet is it to be endured that between these two extremities soabject a delinquent as Lin T'sing should pass throughscatheless?" protested Mei, equally concerned that vice shouldnot seem to go unchecked or the prince's equitable rule bechallenged. "If those who rebel are not held to strict accounthow is it feasible for the more active of your Illimitable'sloyal subjects to feel that their services are adequatelyrequited?"

"It not infrequently happens that slight but gratifying gifts maybe suitably bestowed," replied the prince, "and the creation oftitular honours—even when accompanied by the usualpecuniary obligation in return—is seldom unappreciated."

At this palliation Mei arranged herself in an attitude of profuseyet graceful demur and extended a jade-like hand impressively.

"What greater gift than life itself can be devised, that beingthe outcome when a justifiable doom is irrationally averted?" sheclaimed. "What higher honour may be obtained than that, whenarraigned on a shameful charge, of being triumphantly acquitted?It will be necessary for you to consider anew, Revered, if asatisfactory answer to those who plead a natural acrimony shouldbe forthcoming."

"There are occasions when a really satisfactory answer from aperfectly conscientious informant to a quite legitimate enquirercannot be forthcoming," declared the one who thus outlined hisuntoward position. "He who would not be unjust to any musthimself put up with much injustice."

"What then is it your inspired course to pursue in the concreteinstance that is occupying your refined deliberation?" dutifullyimportuned Mei. "Provided that your guiding footsteps leadtowards any specific point this one will faithfully conform tothe impression."

"It has been profoundly said, with the engaging ambiguity towhich our harmonious tongue is fundamentally prone, that 'He whocan keep his own counsel lives in an impregnable castle',"observed the prince, swayed between an ingrained disinclinationto commit himself to what did not yet exist and a sympatheticdesire that Mei should on all occasions share his deliberations."There are occasions, however, when the accomplishment does notinvolve any strain beyond a purely negative effort. Be content,adored," he added with a reassuring glance, "that should anyparticular danger arise your claim to bear a part will be neithergrudged nor restricted."

IT was at about the darkest gong-stroke of the same night thatLin T'sing, being called from an uneasy sojourn in the middle airby the door of his ill-constructed cell creaking, prepared tolace on his sandals, never doubting the nature of the summons. Onseeing by the wavering light of the torch which the other carriedthat it was Prince Ying alone who came, the gross-minded rebelnoisily inhaled a sprinkling of snuff from the phial carriedbeneath a finger nail and sneezed offensively towards theprince's direction.

"There is a suitable apothegm to the effect that what is imbibedwith the milk will only be relinquished with the breath, and thenature of this greeting, Lin T'sing, clearly indicates yourconnection with the one from whom you have derived your nature,"fittingly rebuked the prince as he placed an assortment ofarticles upon the floor. "Had it been possible to establish amutual amity in the past this one's hand would not have beenwithheld, but what he is constrained to do now must inevitablyearn even your undying detestation."

"The excessive refinement of your elevated verbalstyle—setting apart the low-conditioned reference to thisone's venerated she-parent, which even the polluted imaginationof a tomb-haunting leper would have shrunk from—is somelodiously involved that it is beyond the slow-witted capacityof this very illiterate person to extract the solid honey of factfrom the flowery convolution of hyperbole by which it issurrounded," replied Lin T'sing superciliously. "Compress whatyou must relate within its narrowest possible limits, Hysi Ying,for this one would return to the preferred society of a pest-infested pallet."

"Had it not been for the evidence of your case, Lin T'sing, itmight have been thought that a rebel could also be a person ofsome delicacy," was the prince's becoming rejoinder. "Inconformity with the requirements of your stunted mental growth,however, let it be crudely said that here is a suitable disguiseto take you past the guard, a sufficiency of both fruit and wineto last you on your path, and that the pass-word for the nightis, 'Unworthiness may be found wherever a painted door standsajar, but integrity must be sought beneath a narrow opening'."

"This is sufficiently astonishing in view of our respectiveclaims," confessed Lin T'sing, in some embarrassment how heshould readjust himself to meet the new conditions. "The objectof your coming apparently being this one's release why shouldyou, who are thus conferring a boon, assert that he who speakswould thereafter detest you beyond oblivion?"

"Inasmuch as your revolting ways must have made you loathsomeeven to yourself it inexorably proceeds that whoever shouldextend the period of your degraded life must be regarded as yourworst enemy," replied the prince frankly.

"The subtlety of your inductive process is a shade beyond anilliterate rebel's intellectual range," confessed Lin T'sing,passing his unshapely fingers through his coarsely-arranged hairdespairingly. "His own spontaneous impulse is to take whateverlies within his grasp and beyond that distance to go for it withan uplifted spear. Since this person has admittedly fallen intoyour power, and his existence is an impediment to your peace,what have you to gain by diverting the natural course ofinjustice?"

"The position is a little complicated by the conflicting currentsof circ*mstance, with the result that your disposal is not thesimple affair that you would affect to regard it," courteouslyexplained the prince, at the same time graciously assisting LinT'sing to assume the disguising robes, which, as it chanced, werethose of a female fish vendor. "Owing to your offensivepopularity with the ever-credulous and easily-swayed throng apublic execution involves an element of disquiet, while to conveyyou secretly away might prove equally jeopardous. Yet, to put onthe other glove, should it go to the length of producing you fortrial, this incorruptible administrator's deep-rooted zeal forimpartiality would oblige him to condemn you to an ignominiousend, that being the only recognised sentence in the case of oneso tainted."

By this time Lin T'sing had assumed the outward appearance of theone whose character he was to feign, and his uncouth nature didnot entice him into any elaborate leave-taking, such as a personof more ceremonious trend might have thought becoming in thecirc*mstances. He only tarried to make one remark of anysignificance, though the very thorough transformation of his miendetracted to a certain extent from the impressiveness of thewarning.

"It is a common saying among those whose affairs bring them intocontact with the official class that door-keepers hold out anopen hand even in their sleep," he asserted: "The idiosyncrasyunder which you exist, Hysi Ying, is that you are beset by anoverwhelming sense of justice and this in the end will bringabout your ruin, for most of those by whom you are now opposed(including the one who is hereby predicting your overthrow) haveno hesitation in using any underhand device that offers....May your essential constituents preserve a harmonious blendhereafter."

"And your principles of equipoise be no less tranquillymaintained for ever," politely responded Ying, thoughscrupulousness constrained him to add:

"Henceforth, Lin T'sing, your position will be that of an escapedcriminal with a price set on your head. By this means it shouldbe possible to contrive your Passing Beyond without incurring anydirect responsibility."

IF without too much fatigue to their refined imagination thehonourable circle of listeners who are so graciously disguisingtheir feelings of despair at the laborious unfolding of thisbadly-arranged romance will condescend to have their interesttransported, as it were, from Hysi Ying's many-towered andmassively-walled capital to the wild recesses of the Khin-lingrange it will be possible to follow the sacrilegious Lin T'sing'scorrupt designs—on the understanding that a sufficientperiod may be assumed to have elapsed since that occasion whenthe large-hearted prince magnanimously set him free, so as torender the situation feasible.

At that time the more inaccessible passes of the mountain slopeswere the haunt and refuge of Fang Wang, a notorious and blood-thirsty robber chief whose ordinary daily life included everynameless kind of outrage. Fang Wang is described as having threerows of teeth on either side—six rows in all—and eyesso fierce that when he glowered famine-driven wolves slunk backinto their bone-strewn lairs trembling. By continual exposure tothe penetrating mountain storms and raging torrents themiscreant's outer surface had acquired an unyielding quality thatwould turn aside the sharpest arrow. Relying on this, and toexpress his contempt for the prowess of those who sought todestroy his band, the intrepid chieftain frequently went into thethickness of the fray completely naked.

Fang Wang had taken to brigandage as the outcome of an act ofjustice on Prince Ying's part, and although the amiable monarchhad no personal feeling in the matter at all (regarding himselfmerely as an instrument of the Higher Purpose) Fang Wang veryillogically thereafter cherished a bitter and unceasing rancouragainst the prince himself, and undertook, by a series of verybinding oaths, to undo him. How little resentment Ying, for hispart, bore is well displayed by the fact that although he wasrequired by the Enactments to set a price on the proscribedoutlaw's head, he charitably assured him a practical immunityfrom pursuit by estimating the value of what was sought as theequivalent of ten small copper cash or, alternatively, as muchrefined salt as could be taken up by a single hand with thefingers held downwards.

When an account of this humane proclamation reached the opaque-witted bandit's ill-conditioned ears he ground all hisoffensively-arranged teeth together for upwards of a gong-stroke,and passed the remainder of the day tabulating the variousindignities that he would impose on the Prince Ying in turn whenthat one should have fallen into his power. Thereafter no oneventured to take salt before Fang's eyes or to shake a handful ofcopper cash while he stood by until several moons had faded. Yetbeneath his somewhat forbidding exterior Fang Wang was of asimple and ingenuous trend, and if approached in a discreet andgradual way, especially when replete, he would freely converse ona variety of themes and express tolerant and even high-mindedopinions. In this respect he was at a disadvantage whentrafficking with the two-headed Lin T'sing, who in addition tobeing coarse by nature was both insinuating and disloyal.

Lin T'sing had long regarded Fang Wang—commanding aresolute and well-armed band—as a likely tool towards hisown rebellious ends although at the same time he mistrusted thatone's adherence when the existing dynasty should have beenoverthrown and the country in a state of confusion. Judging thebrigand by his own corroded mould it was not unreasonable toassume that Fang Wang might then himself usurp the power, and itwas not until this point in their intermingling lines of destinyhad been reached that Lin T'sing's wiliness foresaw a way bywhich he hoped to make use of the other's help and at the sametime put it beyond his capacity to become unpleasant.

Fang Wang, for his part, had for some time marked Lin T'sing'ssubversive policy with interest so that when one of his outpostson a certain day (of the period now graciously assumed) reportedthe approach of the pretender's banner, by this time reduced to ameagre throng of followers, he not only commanded the barriers tobe raised and the paths assured, but he killed several fully-grown pigs and prepared a lavish entertainment in his visitor'shonour.

When they had all eaten to excess and their adherents withdrawn,Fang Wang and Lin T'sing both unloosened several knots of theirunder-robes and, stretching themselves at greater ease, preparedto discuss their projects. The jars of distilled rice spirit wereagain refilled and at every pause each ceremoniously pressed asuperfluity upon the other. Fang was the less susceptible to thestupefying effects by reason of his hardy frame, but Lin T'singhad taken the precaution to chew the root of a certain herb and,moreover, from time to time he contrived secretly to pour thegreater part of the contents of the horn beneath his neck-cloth.

"Everything points to a growing disaffection in the north andwest," declared Lin T'sing, "while the increased saltdues"—at the ill-omened word he guardedly observed theother's face and was satisfied to note that Fang spat severaltimes noisily—"the iniquity of this should alienate thefrugal-minded. At the first marked success of those who stand forintegrity and the abolition of every form of tax the entirenation will respond heartily. As the proverb opportunely says:'When the fruit is ripe the time has come for the tree to beshaken.' To what extent is your hand grasping the trunk, FangWang, since we are now alone and both mutually trustworthy?"

"This person's attitude is a common saying throughout thecountryside and his sincerity has never yet been called inquestion," replied Fang Wang a little rashly. "To oust thepresumptuous upstart from the existing throne and write hisoffensive name in fading characters on the windswept dust the onenow replenishing your cup pledges himself and his band to theoutside limit."

"Would you then," negligently demanded Lin T'sing, affecting toforget the words and rolling uncertainly in his seat, "would youeven at the cost of your head itself maintain that oath, providedthat a reasonable likelihood of success upheld you?"

"Assuredly," replied Fang Wang although he had not previouslyunderstood until the other specified an oath that his vaunt hadbeen of an irrevocable nature. "He who speaks has never yet beenwont to cover even his most vulnerable parts in the fiercesthand-to-hand encounter. How then should he forbear to risk thesame sacrifice in a matter so closely affecting a cherishedambition?"

"The word has been spoken and the plight confirmed," declared LinT'sing, meanwhile performing the simple rite by which he acceptedthe other's pledge as binding. "From their high pearly retreatthe spirits of your departed ones look down approvingly on theirworthy descendant's indomitable resolve and prepare to welcomehim with gratifying effusion."

"The display, though honourably conceived no doubt, is manifestlypremature in its scope, since the one chiefly concerned has nointention of proving inferior to any in the forthcomingstruggle," demurred Fang Wang, not altogether gladdened by thesympathetic forecast. "He who has never yet lost so much as asingle finger in countless desperate affrays is hardly likely toyield up life itself when pitted against palace hirelings."

"The position is not quite so simple as your words would imply,and the undertaking to sacrifice your extremely attractive headin our virtuous cause has been accepted in something more than afigurative spirit," explained Lin T'sing. "Crudely described,this is the outline of the strategy to which you have givenassent and sworn adherence."*

[* Though inspired by no element of rancour,a painstaking if admittedly mediocre chronicler of actual factsfinds it necessary to disclose that Lin T'sing's strategy ofgaining admission by the subterfuge of an accomplice's severedhead did not take place until performed under differentcirc*mstances by two other persons several dynasties later.]

THE plan by which Lin T'sing hoped to surprise the capital andpossess its strategic points was both bold and ingenious indesign, nor did it entail any particular hardship for those wholed the van—with the exception of Fang Wang himself who,however, by that time would be enjoying an unalloyed surfeit offelicity Elsewhere.

Inside the city walls Lin T'sing had many friends and adherents,but in order to reassure their confidence in him it was necessarythat he should be able to produce some evidence of success and bein a position to justify a rising. Even to lurk among the outerways as things were then would be in itself a hazardous task, andif he should his part must be that of an indicted outcast withwhom it would be dangerous for any man to exchange a greeting.But if he could boldly present himself before a fortified gatedisplaying the severed head of a notorious and fear-inspiringrobber chief on which a price was set and demand the right topass through to claim his due, no question of the sincerity ofhis motive would be raised and so far as a thoroughly loyal butsimple-minded garrison was concerned he would be greeted withshouts of approval.

Following, at a respectful but convenient distance, a mere hand-count of picked stalwarts from their united camps would attendwith evidences of the encounter in which the brigand leader hadmet his end—his sword and shield and the velvet flag, silk-embroidered with his personal motto. Spears and javelins from hisstore-house cave would be brought, all testifying to thethoroughness of the band's defeat, knives and clubs of varioussorts and the umbrella beneath which Fang sometimes—toexpress contempt—passed his time during a battle. Carryingthese trophies in an unskilful way these chosen few would strayinto the gate-house as though unwilling to be there—andthen at a preconcerted word from T'sing, being armed at everypoint themselves and their antagonists unmindful of theirweapons, fall on the scanty keepers of the gate with silentdexterity and despatch each one whatever his professions.

The first gate held, nothing stood in the way of an entry by theentire united force, who during the preceding interval of no-light had occupied a leafy ravine that extended to within a bow-shot of the city wall, and until the moment of being called uponto play their allotted part had lain unsuspected among its manyrocks and crevices.

From this point, on an arranged and well-concerted plan, chosencompanies of men would swiftly penetrate the ways, and fallingsuddenly on the guardians of the other gates from a side whichnone foresaw would make themselves masters of all the essentialroutes and thereby hold the city. Meanwhile those allegiant toLin T'sing's cause, seeing how the matter then stood, would throwoff the appearance of unconcern and fully profess their adhesion.

"So that," maintained the one who was defining the manyadvantages of the plan, "the city will thus be taken, the peoplefreed, a usurping and tyrannical dynasty overthrown, and thetreacherous and self-seeking Hysi Ying dragged from his lasthiding place and submitted to a painful and humiliating end amidthe derisive amusem*nt of a rejoicing throng. And this,"concluded Lin T'sing, shifting his weight from one quarter to theother in order to release more freely, "at the cost of a singleperson's head, and he thereby not only fulfilling the obligationof a sacred oath but accomplishing a cherished ambition."

Had Fang Wang not to a certain extent been stupefied by theexcess of rich food to which he had given way and the many cupsof pungent wine accompanying it, he would doubtless have seenthrough the speciousness of the other person's claim, and takenmeasures to counteract it. As it was, the most prominent image heretained of Lin T'sing's admittedly diffuse and crafty speech wasthat the one in question had devised a notable distinction andwas pressing it upon him. As provider of the entertainmentcourtesy required that he should disclaim and reciprocate suchadvancement.

"By no means," he accordingly maintained; "the honour of goingnot merely hand in hand with the redoubtable Lin T'sing in thistriumphant affair but even, so to speak, a full head in advance,would be more than what one accustomed to press others on, couldreasonably endure."

"Yet consider how——" Lin T'sing would have urged, butwith unquenchable politeness Fang raised his one-sided voice morepowerfully.

"Stem the flood-tide of your acknowledged stream of eloquence fora few trifling beats of time," he craved, "for an equallyeffective course and one more in keeping with our respectivemerits is not undiscoverable. Has it escaped your usually quick-witted mind, Lin T'sing, that you are similarly proscribed, whileyour detestation of the existing rule is no less vehement?Nothing stands in the way, therefore, of your prepossessing headplaying the part that shall fructify your hopes while thisretiring subordinate aptly fulfils the less illustrious rôle ofmerely being the one who shall display it."

"May the seven——" Lin T'sing would have said, butremembering that the brigand chief though not slow to draw hissword was scarcely likely to be so alert in other ways where hehimself excelled he decided that it would not be difficult toentrap him.

"The fact that we are, as it were, occupying one junk had for themoment become lost among my weed-grown faculties," he plausiblyadvanced. "In the circ*mstances, since neither is willing toadmit himself the more competent to lead it had better be settledon the lines of classical precedent."

"Say on," replied Fang Wang, who was as egregious as he wasconfiding. "Whatever medium you may choose will not find this onelacking."

Lin T'sing considered the various attainments that the leader ofa robber band might reasonably be assumed to be the leastproficient in. Every kind of weapon he dismissed at once, nor didthe arbitrament of chance or reference by augury to the wishes ofthe Ruling Powers impress him as sufficiently inevitable.

"In the heroic past it was customary for one to depict a themeand the second then endeavour to surpass it. He who attainssuperiority in the test to have the privilege of conferring thisdisclaimed honour on the other."

Then, not to allow Fang Wang the opportunity to dispute thistrial, he propounded:

"The rising sun shines through a translucent mist and each dropof dew reflects a golden point of brilliance."

By this time Fang Wang was scarcely in a condition to produce asuccessful antithesis on any theme, and he would no doubt havesunk into a restful sleep had not the discordant cries of apassing tribe of migratory sea-birds recalled the occasions when,as a ferocious pirate chief, he had been accustomed to leanagainst the mast and consider his course by the known variationof certain recognisable planets.

"The full moon illumines a broad path of light and the edge ofevery wave becomes a line of rippling silver," he remarkedlethargically as he looked back on the remembered scene, andwithout any particular reference to the matter in hand, but LinT'sing bit his double-faced lip for he could not deny that FangWang had successfully maintained the analogy.

"Since it is impossible to assess the respective value of anindeterminate bag of silver and an unspecified weight of goldperhaps it would be better to depend on the intervention of thedeciding fates," he accordingly declared, reasonably assumingthat the one whom he would ensnare must now be beyond the powerof logical deduction. "Here are two blades of grass, differing inno way but in their varied lengths; we will equally incur the lotand he who selects the more appropriate stalk shall assume therequisite function."

"That is but equitable," assented Fang Wang, not grasping in hisinvolved state that in order to provide a satisfactory basis theessentials should have been more clearly fixed. "Thus"—fromLin T'sing's outstretched hand he plucked the furtherstem—"the longer one has fallen to this person's share andso——"

"—it accordingly devolves on you to become, so to speak,the headpiece of the rising. Manifestly the shorter blade, whichby the hazard of the lot is left for me, indicates thecomparatively lowly part of attendant on and bearer of your nobleand awe-inspiring head which will be at once the forefront ofassault and our inspiration to victory."

WHEN the tidings reached Prince Ying that Lin T'sing, in abecoming alliance with that notorious robber chief Fang Wang, hadagain raised the standard of revolt and by a thoroughlydespicable ruse had seized one of the eight city gates, he wasdeeply engaged in affairs of State, but at once laying aside hisink-brush and the parchment rolls he called up the variouscaptains of the inner guard and keeping only Hao Hsin by his sidehe directed all the others towards strengthening the defences.Had there been sufficient time to effect these moves thelamentable outcome might have been reversed, but Lin T'sing wasnot one to allow the rice to sprout above his ankles, and as theyled their bands the captains were met by fugitives from otherpoints of assault who reported the loss of the remaining gatesand the essential ways, and told of certain prominent time-servers who had joined the invading force, and how they had drawnwith them many waverers. Upon this some of the captains laid downtheir weapons and sought to make terms, others fled rather thanendure so base an offence, while a few would neither turn asidenor yield but honourably embraced an inevitable end, defyingoverwhelming numbers.

The full meaning of this disaster was not hidden from Prince Yingwhen a wounded but loyal bowman stumbled in and faithfullydelivered his dying message. The prince was conferring with HaoHsin then and addressing that one in ceremonious terms heinstructed him to take up a stand outside and displaying a flagof amity as the rebellious horde appeared, yield up the palacekeys and claim immunity for those who surrendered.

"It is for you to command, High Majesty, and all others to obey,"replied Hao Hsin; "yet out of the unquestionable devotion ofsomething approaching two score years and ten to your illustriousHouse is it permitted one on the verge of joining his obscureancestral host to release the bonds of usage?"

"Speak freely," exhorted the prince, taking his elbow in anencouraging way. "At such a moment, between two positioned as weare, there can be no barrier."

"In the course of many years, when sons' sons have grown old,this will be written in a scroll. Words will by then have beenforgotten and only deeds remain. Should it be said that HysiYing, last of his imperishable Line, played a recreant part orthat in the hour of their dependence on his leadership he lefthis people guideless?"

"Beggars are not necessarily blind because they close theireyes," quoted the prince; "nor can that which takes place berightly judged apart from its surroundings. Whether would it bebetter, Hao Hsin, to pass down into history as one of heroicmould and yet sacrifice the people to a vain parade ofindomitableness, or be deemed hereafter to have been wanting inspirit as the outcome of preserving the manhood of a nation?"

"Your propoundance of this and that is plainly outside my verbalscope," replied Hao Hsin evasively. "This person's place is wherea strict command ordained him."

With these words and a mutual salutation of appropriate form theyturned apart, the prince seeking Mei where he thought she mightbe found, Hao Hsin to the steps before the chief palace gate, bywhich a victorious foe would enter. There, laying the great keyof the outer door by his side, and with it a formal parchmentclaiming a general freedom to come and go, he took a suitablecord from his sleeve and with it performed self-ending. In thistruly high-minded way he sought to discharge what he had beencommanded to do and yet preserve his feudal oath intact: thatover his dead body alone should any enter the palace inaggression.

Let it be conceded towards Lin T'sing's final account that when,a little later, he came to the spot and saw, he commended whatHao Hsin had done and confirmed the requisition. Furthermore, hestrode across the body lying there as if to uphold that oath,although he might have had it cast disrespectfully away oreasily, by stepping aside, have avoided it altogether.

AS the prince passed through the various apartments of the palacein order to reach the central court he spoke in a usual way tothose whom he chanced to encounter there, but at the same time headvised one and all to find safety in flight, taking with themwhatever of value they most coveted. Not a few protested anundying adherence to his person and Line, but after finding thathe had no intention of displaying supernatural powers* and hadgone with the queen apart, they began to look round, so that bythe time Lin T'sing arrived there were few of much consequence tobe found within and little of any real value.

[* It is scarcely to be doubted that bycutting out a multitude of paper figures, which the queen's magiccould have endowed with life, a sufficient army might have beenraised to annihilate the invading forces. To account for theomission, Lai Pui, a very reliable annalist, living only a fewcycles later, advances the theory that Prince Ying was visited byan ancestral Apparition at about this time, who advised a changeof dynasty in the interests of the State and people.]

Seated in her inner chamber of ivory and jade Mei was deeplyconsidering the involvement attending the last stage of anassumed game of tchess, the remaining effigies, left by a warmly-contested strife, arranged on a geometrical slab—composedof alternate squares of turquoise and chalcedony—beforeher. She was then alone, having also dismissed all her personalattendants and slaves and seeing Ying enter she indicated, by agraceful yet dignified manifestation of despair, that theaccomplishment lay outside her powers.

"The ingenious-minded person who has propounded this testrequires that the invested king should be reduced to a conditionof impotence by the exercise of three movements," she explained."Though admittedly beyond this one's grasp your own superiorskill perchance——"

On this invitation Ying regarded the involvement from her side,and although he had approached it with a neglectful air he wassoon constrained to admit that it defied any known solution.

"Unless the attacking foe should be endowed with more than humanpowers there always remains one loophole of escape by which thesorely-pressed monarch may avoid the indignity of surrender," hefinally declared.

"Therein this one deferentially concurs," acquiesced Mei with aninspiring look, "and it would almost appear, from the variedsounds of an unbecoming tumult without, that the moment may havearrived for maintaining the contention. He who would offend us byhis presence is doubtless supplicating admission at the menials'gate, and although it would be unfitting to have our footstepsinfluenced to so much as the width of a silk-worm's thread bywhatever this male offspring of an aged she-dog may effect, theless contact of any sort that one should have with persons of solow a type the more desirable. Is it not said that it isimpossible to finger a glutinous pigment without some of itstaint adhering?"

"That time which we have always foreseen is inevitably at hand,"agreed the prince, as the clamour grew in violence. "Let usretire to the innermost sanctuary of our secret lives and takerefuge where none may follow."

Leading Mei affectionately by the hand, but without anyunbecoming display of imposed haste. Ying came by those high andwinding passages to the ultimate ladder. At the top of this hearranged the necessary word and unbarred the door. When both hadpassed within, by a powerful thrust the prince cast the ladderaway so that it heeled over from its supporting base and plungeddown the face of the precipitous rock to be shattered in theabyss.

The room itself was insignificant in size, its beams and wallscrude and rough-hewn, and it was almost wholly deficient infurnishings. Only a low couch with a pallet of uncombed straw andtwo plain stools spoke of human habitation. Few of their subjectseven of the outcast class would have been content to occupy someagre a place of rest, but to the two chiefly concerned it washallowed as the exact counterpart and abiding reminder of thataustere loft where their mutual affections were first to findexpression.

"Unless these very deficient ears have heard amiss it is herethat this one converts the baser metals into gold to theenrichment of his personal interests," remarked the prince,sharing with Mei a look of tolerant understanding. "It is much tobe feared that the throng would regard themselves as left behindif it should have become known that the only transmutationeffected here is to exchange the cares and jealousies of a thronefor quietude and assured affection."

"This one also is reputed herein to practise the forbidden arts,"contributed Mei's small, pearl-like voice. "Yet the soleenchantment she has ever performed is that endowed on all of hersort alike by Koom Fa, the Universal Mother. None the less, it isscarcely to be denied that we alone have to a great extentpresented an inexplicable appearance of arrested years while theothers have passed onwards. It may perchance be, afterall——"

"It was through the opening above that he who was then a shackledserf was able to glean a sustaining ray of warmth as the greatsky fire wheeled on its changing course," mused the prince,indicating the broken roof that had been scrupulously reproducedin every detail. "Here, through it, the heavens can always beseen by day, and at night the stars in their endless procession."

"It is here that we have never failed to find peace from gong-stroke to gong-stroke as the urgency arose," agreed Mei. "It isfitting that from here we should Pass Upwards to a state oftranquillity that is everlasting."

"Seeing that we are but going on a journey side by side and willpresently arrive together at an abiding destination is there anyreasonable pretext to delay or occasion for a ceremonious leave-taking?" asked Ying, as the sounds and outcries of a company ofmen who strove to lift beams and wrench impediments aside grewever nearer.

"It is for him whose spoken word has always been to this one morecompelling than a written law, to decide," replied Meisubmissively. "The moment will not find her lacking."

"When cited before a mandarin take money in your sleeve; whencalled to judgment by the deities integrity in your heart,"declared the Profound Thinker who wrote his wise sayings on anenduring stele : what need therefore had these two of furtherpreparation? Unsheathing the light blade he habitually wore Yingcomposed himself into a suitable position on the couch and aftera reassuring glance towards the queen performed with a singlestroke all that was necessary for a dignified self-ending. Aftera brief but sufficient interval spent in arranging his limbs andthe covering above Mei took from a concealed place about her-robes a small crystal jar in which gold leaves floated among adelicately perfumed essence. When she had consumed the liquid andassured herself that nothing more remained to effect a becomingclose she lay down by the prince's side and drew the coverletover them.

IV. — THE STORY OF YIN HO, HOA-MI, AND THE MAGICIAN.

THE dusty earth-road had been long and wearisome, his paperumbrella a frail protection against the mounting sun, so that itwas with more than an ordinary feeling of relief that Kai Lungsaw before him the open space at the meeting of the ways withinWu-whei and the spreading mulberry tree beneath whose familiarbranch he hoped to cast down his burden, seek a reviving shade,and after beating persuasively upon his woodendrum—together, if it seemed desirable, with the explosionof a few propitiatory fireworks—earn a sufficiency toprovide his evening rice and a pallet for the night, with,perchance, even something added to his scanty store. Admittedlythey of Wu-whei were a tight-sleeved community when he drewattention to the inadequate lining of his bowl, but it neverlacked a sufficiency of the idle and dissolute who asked nothingbetter than to recline at ease while the shadows lengthened andlisten approvingly to the recital of a tale of martial valour oran account of how some hero, apparently no differentlyconstituted from themselves, rose to a position of abnormalwealth and incurred the affections of a variety of excessivelybeautiful and virtuous maidens.

It was at this point, when he was indeed actually selecting theparticular romance most fittingly suited to the low standard ofliterary intelligence of those who would form his circle, thatKai Lung became aware of something gravely amiss. For more than adouble hand-count of years now it had been his usual practice toturn aside whenever his wandering footsteps brought him at nottoo great a distance from the mud walls of Wu-whei and to passthe phase of the moon with its simple dwellers. He was the mostpopular relater of imagined tales who ever raised his voicethere, inasmuch as he was the only one, and his right to spreadthe immemorial mat beneath the mulberry tree had never yet beenquestioned. Despite his frequent references to their cupidity,ignorance, sloth, lack of mental poise, illiberal outlook,timidity in the face of risk and truculence when nothingthreatened, greed, criminal propensities and general unworthinessof conduct, no ill-will was engendered therefrom, it being wellunderstood that these were only paper darts from the story-teller's professional armoury, designed to arouse their interestand stimulate the imagination.

"What is directed equally against all can single out no one," wasthe tolerant comment, "and how should that which neither causes apecuniary loss nor leaves a cicatrix breed dissension?"

It was no empty boast, therefore, as he frequently remarked whenexhorting them to increased benevolence, that Wu-whei was to himas a well-spread board and a luxurious couch whereof he was evermade gladly welcome, but what shall it avail the hungry if whenhe arrives at a feast the last seat has already been filled, orthe weary who finds the expected bed in the possession ofanother? Not to disguise the unpleasant fact, howeverconsiderately, beneath a too excessive verbiage of warning let itbe freely discovered now that what caused Kai Lung to shorten hissteps and then to pause at the junction of the ways was the sightof another who occupied the exact spot he himself was wont tooccupy—one who had kindled a fire and erected a sign andnow made whole the imperfection of tin and iron vessels to theaccompaniment of a discordant hammer.

"Were a man to possess the brazen throat of Yuen-hi who outviedseven hostile trumpets he could not prevail in such a contest,"lamented Kai Lung as he understood the extent of thisinfliction.* "How would it be possible to indicate the moredelicate shades of the Lady Hia's refined despair on learningthat a mercenary father had affianced her to an elderlyvampire—whereat a skilled narrator's voice has to tremblelike a withered leaf held in a cobweb—if he must perforceextend his lungs to the capacity of a tornado to be heard at all,even by the inner ring of an assembly? Truly the arts havelanguished since the days when the ruling deities withheld anearthquake in mid air in order to listen to the ode, 'DucksFeeding on Snails by Moonlight,' which the sublime Li Pu wasreciting."

[* At the celebrated battle of WindingTorrent the enemy, representing the usurpatory States of North,East, Upper, Middle, Suen-ming, the Outer Han and Tiger Forest,were assembled under seven distinguished generals, eachtransmitting his orders by trumpet. Seizing a favourable chancethe seven rebel leaders gave a combined order to advance and theseven trumpets began the "Onslaught" message. Yuen-hi, at thattime merely a "larger-sergeant" as it was called, fighting in thevery forefront of the loyal troops, recognised the criticalimportance of the move and, conscious of his vocal powers, issueda command for those about him to form themselves into bands offour men each and thus stand firm, in a voice so resonant andwell-sustained that it completely drowned the puny efforts of thetrumpeters. Doubtful of what was taking place in the absence ofany recognised call, the insurgents at once began to accuse eachother of treachery, and although some pressed forward to attack,an equal number turned and retired, while others, not wishing tocompromise themselves so far with either cause, went off insideway directions. A signal national victory ensued, all theseven generals being made prisoners. The grateful sovereignconferred upon the rank of larger-sergeant the distinctive title"Leather-lunged," and reserved to Yuen-hi the unique honour ofcarrying an umbrella with two handles.]

"This comes of your wandering and unsubstantial habit of life,Kai Lung," declared a sympathetic friend who had marked thatone's approach and now understood the cause of hisdejection—Sing You, the fruit-seller, who possessed a shedin which he followed his settled calling. "Had you been contentto domesticate yourself respectably in Wuwhei, chant versescommendatory of the wealthier sort of those who dwell here andobserve the regular gong-strokes of the day, you would now haveestablished an unassailable lien upon the area lying within theshadow of yonder mulberry."

"Yet in that case this person would never have seen the mistsgather on the surface of the lagoons in the Valley of Blue JadeMountains, with the melancholy cormorants in homeward flight, norlistened to the silence that greets the dawn by the sacredtemple-caves of Yang-tse-shien," replied Kai Lung. "An ox is ledby the nose, O estimable Sing You, a woman by her eye, but a manby his imagination."

"The trend of your analogy is obvious enough," conceded Sing You,"and you are not the only one who professes to find existence inthe narrow confines of a remote walled village somewhat cramping.But, as a very meritorious verse-maker of a former dynasty hasobserved, wooden palisades do not constitute an insuperablebarrier nor metal staples form a restraining curb; the corollarybeing that a person of equable temperament and law-abiding habitrequires no more extensive range than the boundaries of his ownconceptions."

"None the less there is an essential germ of truth in what theobservant Kai Lung maintains," supinely declared Wang Yu, theshallow-witted pipe-maker, who never missed an occasion to attachhimself to a group—generally hanging upon his shutter asign implying that he had been called hence to traffic with aperson for the possession of a goat and would return within halfa gong-stroke. "Even the best trained cormorants are wont toabandon their pursuit of game at the approach of night, and thosewhich eluded him were but subservient to their natural instincts.As regards the noises that he heard proceeding from some caves atdaybreak, doubtless the ox, resenting the infliction of animposed restraint——"

"It is well said," interposed Sing You capably, "but the moreimmediate need is in the direction of procuring a respite fromthe existing clamour rather than assuming a cause for someillusory occasion."

"That is as good as effected," exclaimed the egregious Wang, whowas incapable of being subdued by politeness. "Beneath this one'sbankrupt roof is an unattractive but commodious room to which allwill be honourably welcome."

"The offer is a gracious one, and but for a single circ*mstanceit would be grasped by both hands with effusion," replied KaiLung. "But the beggar who wears a costly silk robe displays hissores in vain, and so engaging is the rich profusion of yoursplendidly-proportioned hall that this person's never veryalluring stock of second-hand tales would, if related there, seemmore threadbare than usual."

By this, Wang Yu understood that Kai Lung had foreseen someunworthiness on his part with regard to the position of thecollecting bowl, but this did not dispel the former person'surbanity, for he had, indeed, cherished a design to recompensehimself to a slight degree, though by a process which he couldnot have explicitly stated.

As they had thus agreeably conversed together Li Ton-ti, thewood-carver, Hi Seng, the water-carrier, Ming Li, who owned achair, and certain others who had no definitely settled purposefor the disposal of the day, had been drawn aside from theirvarious paths so that an assembly had been formed. Kai Lung wouldwillingly have complied with the general feeling that theoccasion was one on which a related story, applicable to theexigencies of the arisem*nt, might fittingly be told had it beenfeasible to do so.

"This, in a way, justifies the profound Tchuen Chang's muchdiscussed apothegm that his own throat is the only thing which avery credulous person cannot swallow," he propounded. "How is itpossible to relate a story illustrating the annoyance caused byan unseemly clamour which in turn renders the finer points of therecital inaudible?"

Meanwhile the inopportune restorer of unserviceable utensils whohad established himself within the only shadow suitable for anassembly that the length and breadth of parched Wu-wheipossessed, continued to beat upon a copper dish to repair itsmisplaced outline, from time to time emitting the recognised cryof his guild, so that even the most distant should not neglectthe occasion.

"Seeing that we are many and this disturber of our quiet but onewhy should we not drive him from the place we would occupy byforce?" suggested Quang, who made an uncertain livelihood bybeing present when bargains were struck. "If the more aggressiveof our number will undertake that office this person will lurkcapably in the rear and safeguard them against interruption."

"Yet this affair may not be so simple as it might appear,"advised another, one who supplied to the more affluent keepers ofdomestic animals pieces of cooked meat upon a skewer. "Being onan early errand this way the one who is now explaining the factwitnessed the whole event, which was to the effect that when thisoutside man first set up his sign he bestowed upon an officiouscustodian of the way what was described between them as 'the costof assuaging a thirst' to secure his protection. Should that sameguarder of the roads be attracted by his cries it would go illwith such of us as were led before the mandarin."

"None the less we shall have justice on our side, it beingmanifestly impossible for the law-abiding Kai Lung to pursue hisinoffensive calling," warmly advanced a third. "Furthermore, isit not aptly said, 'He who foresees everything accomplishesnothing'? Are we who are gathered together here men of Tze thatwe should flee from an unsubstantial shadow?* Plainly the mindsof certain persons are more impenetrable than logwood."

[* In the feudatory State of Ancient Wei thepeople of two neighbouring districts, Tze and Snz, took oppositesides during the dynastic wars—which finally involved eventhe deities—and continually harried each other's territory.Learning that the defenders of Snz would be absent on a raidelsewhere on one occasion those of Tze thought to effect an easytriumph and by a forced night march they, reached the enemy'sunprotected stronghold without being seen under cover ofdarkness. Anticipating something of the sort, however, the womenof Snz had contrived a number of dummy figures which they set uparound the camp, attaching them to the branches of trees so thatthe creatures, casting life-like shadows, responded to everymovement. Had the invaders seen the crude makeshifts in actualitythey would have detected the ruse at once but the moving shadows,into whose constitution they could not probe, convinced them thatthey were falling into a trap, and they hastily drew off and fledhome in the utmost trepidation. Thus imaginary obstacles may beeffective where physical opposition would be made light of.]

"It is with equal truth laid down, 'Distrust a spider when heproduces honey,' " replied the vendor of offal meat, beginning toremove his outer robe explicitly, "and that Fang Chu shouldcounsel a pugnacious front shows how logically the saying may beextended. Whereunto, thou double-stomached Chu of the decayedLine of Fang, it is by no means forgotten that upon one occasionwhile affecting a benevolent interest in the welfare of an edibledog that had sought your door——"

"Forbear!" appealed Kai Lung, seeing that very soon the upholdersof his cause would be divided into two hostile camps between whomhis immediate hope must perish. "Is it to this end that he who isnow scattering handsful of camel-wisdom has sought, through thepalatable medium of imagined tales, to inculcate the simplerelements of intelligence among you? Replace that aggressively-discarded robe, Lai-chi, and declare for how many seasons thisincompetent relater of fabled events has been in the habit ofmolesting you by his distasteful visits. And straighten themenacing angularity of your capable elbows, Fang Chu, andcalculate, according to your artless rule, the approximate numberof recorded legends which this justly ill-rewarded minstrel musthave inflicted upon your heavily-taxed indulgence."

"The span of your ever-welcome appearances within our dilapidatedwalls, O integritous Kai Lung, is so insignificant in comparisonwith what we should desire that the period has slipped by like anunrecorded moment," replied Lai-chi courteously, while Fang Chu,who had meanwhile been industriously computing the outcome uponhis finger ends, no less politely avowed that the full count ofKai Lung's miraculously-endowed romances could not fail to exceedthe stars in number.

"Thus and thus," agreed the one chiefly affected "although alittle more or less may be prudently conceded. Yet during allthese varying seasons, scrupulous Lai-chi, has he ever resortedto the display of violence to reinforce his feeble voice or,mettlesome Fang Chu, can it be said that among all the widely-differing exploits he has described, touching every phase ofexistence from that of emperor to beggar, and involving warriors,priests, merchants and artificers and craftsmen in all staples,hereditary witnesses in disputed lawsuits, professional stumblersinto unprotected vats, bringers of good news,candidates—both successful and the inept—at thepublic competitions, substitutes for those condemned to death,omen-readers and soothsayers of every sort, persons to whom noparticular description can be applied, actors, those of his owncommonplace art, assassins—among all these and countlessothers can the index finger of denunciation be pointed to asingle case where wrongdoing has flourished in the end or wherethe ultimate success and felicity of the one on whose behalf thecircle's sympathy has been enticed has not been satisfactorilyadjusted?"

"It is even as you so specifically maintain," confessed Lai-chi,while Fang Chu might be heard admitting that the regularity withwhich the oppressive and evilly-inclined came to a sudden anddistasteful end at Kai Lung's hands while the unassuming andpraiseworthy never failed to attain their virtuous hopesindicated a story-teller of exceptional merit.

"Why then should there be contention among us, or where does thenecessity for strife arise? Seeing that we who are here gatheredtogether are all persons of unblemished life and meritoriousaims, while the one whose presence we deplore is manifestly aninstrument of undeserved oppression it is scarcely to be doubtedthat if the logical outcome of the circ*mstance is put before himin a reasonable way he will kowtow before the inexorable demandsof metrical uprightness."

With these encouraging words (though the opaque Wang Yucomplained that he could make neither forepart nor hind-quartersof this device of standing to chant before the aggressor) KaiLung turned aside from his band and presently they saw him engagein familiar conversation with the one who had occasioned theirdilemma. Before any excessive number of words could have beenspoken the stranger gathered together the accessories of hisindustry and after they had exchanged ceremonious courtesies witheach other he departed on a westerly bend, swinging a reluctantcharcoal brazier. From afar they heard the special cry by whichhe announced his traditional calling.

"Yet how was this accomplished without a blow being struck, nor,so far as any among us could detect, was consideration moneytendered?" one asked, when they were again come together.

"It has been fitly claimed that he who strikes the first blow ina wayside brawl finally involves two well-disposed empires,"replied Kai Lung, "and as regards that other force, until yourinsistent benevolence rewards this unresourceful story-teller byburying his utterly inadequate bowl beneath a continuous showerof gold and silver of the most honourable denominations, hissleeve is as empty as the mind of a high official who has beenreminded of an inconvenient promise. In particular, the wornpiece of unnegotiable copper, bearing the attractive effigy of avenerated ruler of an alien barbarian land, with which the effeteWang Yu has sought to discharge his undoubted obligation cannotbe regarded as a basis. When the avaricious and clay-souled pipe-maker has contributed in an acceptable medium and taken his placeamong the outer fringe of this expectant throng there will berelated the Story of Yin Ho, or Inoffensive Merit Rewarded,wherein the more enlightened of those standing around maydiscover a thread of analogous balance."

"There is an apt saying: 'Men think that they test money; moneyin reality tests men,' and by this sordid exactitude the covetousKai Lung has disclosed his fictitious nature," retorted Wang Yu,but seeing no thriftier way he contributed a piece of full weightand authentic stamp to the bowl though for some time, by apretence of catching passing flies and other offensive gestures,he affected an air of no-concern towards the entertainment.

THE STORY OF YIN HO, HOA-MI, AND THE MAGICIAN

During the reign of the liberal-minded thoughill-fated Emperor N'gou-shin, a virtuous but not otherwiseconspicuous young man, Yin Ho by name, lived in the Street of theWell-meaning Camel close to the water-gate of the strong city ofChi-yi, endeavouring, at the moment when this badly-constructedstory opens its mediocre page, to pass the literary examinationof the first degree so that he might qualify for a small officialpost with, haply, its monthly sufficiency of taels.

Lest the allegiant and confiding should be led to expect fromthis early introduction of the gifted Ruler's name that theevents to be recorded are concerned with the affairs ofdistinguished nobles who will ultimately recognise in Yin Ho along misplaced off-spring of their high-born Line, let it befreely admitted now that nothing satisfactory may be expected inthat direction. Literary etiquette and a correct Balance of theEssentials naturally demand that the august occupant of theDragon Throne should be mentioned before any ordinary person, andnothing more clearly shows the degraded standard of ceremonialpoliteness existing among certain outlying tribes on the confinesof tangible space than their custom of chanting a tutelary ode tothe paramount chief when every other detail of the occasion thatdrew them together has been fitly honoured!

In the case of the enterprising N'gou-shin, however, it is not tobe gainsaid that a somewhat ambiguous state of things prevailsto-day whereby it is questionable whether he is to be execratedas a disturber of the Immortal Equipoise or venerated as a morethan usually celestial Being. Always deeply immersed in siftingthe obscure this painstaking Sovereign allowed himself to bedrawn into a misguided project by an ingratiating stranger whohad lately arrived in the Capital from a distant Out Land.

The conversation on one occasion having been skilfully directedby this untrustworthy incomer towards the nature of thatparticular class of demons whose passage is indicated byunnaturally high winds he proceeded to entice the imagination ofthe Supreme One by the following very doubtful project.

"Since the accompanying winds must irrefutably be kept in someremote and hitherto inaccessible spot where the spiritsthemselves reside it is inexorable that if a means can bediscovered of attaching oneself to a passing wind not only wouldthat secret and highly-favoured confine be reached but it wouldthen be possible to enter into unrestrained conversation with theBeings in person on a variety of congenial topics."

"The subject relating to the exact point of our illimitableEmpire where the various spirit-winds are, so to speak, kept inbondage—and to which they must sooner or later return orwhat indeed becomes of them afterwards?—is one that hasoften engaged our speculative leisure," admitted the Sublimeencouragingly. "The detail of conversing satisfactorily withBeings, however, is one of some delicacy."

"Yet inasmuch as the Wearer of the Imperial Yellow is on terms ofadmitted equality with several grades of deitiesthemselves——"

"Hypothetically such a condition undeniably prevails and thisorthodox Holder of the Five-clawed Emblem is wholly unassailed byphilosophical doubts so long as he can feel the unyielding earthfirmly established beneath the Dynastic Sandals," agreed the onewho thus referred to his high office, becoming somewhat morefamiliar than strict etiquette prescribed as he inhaled thesubject. "But in the unstable medium of the Upper Air or even ifexploring the pathless wastes of Middle Distance certain qualmousthoughts might obtrude as to the exact scope of one'somnipotence. However, the occasion is scarcely likely to arise,for the technical difficulty of securely attaching a weighty andsubstantial body to so nebulous and elusive an object as apassing wind must be regarded as insuperable."

"In the past that may well have been the case," replied thestranger darkly. "But owing to the stupendous onrush of modernsorcery it is open for your Celestial Majesty to be the firstruler to visit the upper layers of his dominion."

"Disclose your obscure mind more fully," commanded the All-knowing, at the same time drawing a richly-mounted chrysolitefrom his thumb and dropping it into the visitant's conveniently-arranged sleeve according to the lavish process which obtained inthat golden age when anyone narrating the occurrence would besuitably rewarded. "These ears are both in your direction."

"If," confided the unscrupulous adviser, so far forgetting hisown low-class condition as to tap the Brother of the Sun and Moonsignificantly on the elbow, "if a sufficiently-proportionedhollow cone, of an adequately-reliable substance, should beplaced at a favourably-judged angle on a suitably-chosen day whatensues? It is inexorable that one or more of the wind-creaturesunsuspectingly passing in at the wider end would be compelled tofind emergence at the narrow one."

"So much may be fittingly conceded," granted the Highest. "Butwherein does that advance your cause seeing that theForce——"

"Restrain your gratifying curiosity for a few more beats oftime,"—for so incredibly profane had become the one withwhose malign influence we are now concerned that he did notscruple to interrupt the sublime Monarch's inspired utterance,"for therein resides the artifice. Enveloping the mouth of thenarrow end there will have been placed a specially constructedbag or receptacle of the finest woven silk, shaped not unlike apartially distended cucumber and protected along every seam bypowerful occult symbols. What ensues, Omnipotence? The moment thecreature is seen to be imprisoned within the sack a trusty handdraws tight the cord closing the narrow opening. Thus cornered,as it may be loosely put, there is no alternative to this: thatin making its frantic efforts to rejoin the band the envelopingcase is also borne aloft to be carried to their lair, and,Munificence, whatever is attached to it!"

It is unnecessary to describe in detail the distressing course ofevents that followed. Indeed, high officials, jealous of theImperial repute, have caused the name of N'gou-shin to besecretly expunged from every public record, in a laudable butvain endeavour to prove that the one in question never had anordinary existence but must be regarded as allegorical: futilebecause the ballad-writers of the age and in particular thosepicture-makers who devise gravity-removing borders for printedleaves of the cruder sort did not refrain from making what mustnow be admitted to be an unseemly use of the arisem*nt.

Up to a certain point the mendacious wanderer from afar had nocause to eat his words for scarcely had the two who were chieflyinvolved taken their station in the attachment of plaited reedsthat was to bear them painlessly aloft (for with incrediblecondescension the humane Emperor had insisted upon the vainly-protesting necromancer sharing the unique experience) than it wasrecognised that an unusually powerful Force had fallen into thesnare and was using every subterfuge to rejoin its alreadydistant fellows.

What occurred thereafter has never been quite satisfactorilyexplained, but it is plausibly claimed that amid the complexityof advice and encouragement freely tendered by the assembledthrong, some among those who controlled the various cords musthave lost the orderly sequence of their task and exerted aninopportune stress in a misapplied direction. The deplorableoutcome was that while the dependent crate was torn from itssupporting bonds and remained supinely below, the broad-mindedSovereign became entangled in a misshapen loop of trailing ropeand despite his well-voiced protests he was snatched up into theMiddle Air with an ever-increasing celerity. To the last he washeard assuring the Being that, whatever its rank might be, he asa direct descendant of the legendary Yaou, should be treated asan equal, even if his exact status in the circ*mstances might bedescribed as "equal but lower."

On account of this equivocal ending to an otherwise normal careerthe actual position of N'gou-shin in the Upper Air has never beendecisively settled. Some historians assert that his sudden andunlooked-for appearance in their midst was regarded by theSuperior Deities as a calculated act of defiance and ere theextenuating circ*mstances could be put before them in a properlight N'gou-shin had been reduced to a fine white powder. Othercommentators no less strenuously maintain that the shades of theFormer Ones were favourably impressed by the dignified bearing ofthe one who thus arrived under such very up-hill conditions andacclaimed him of their Order. What definitely persists—andthis is held equally by the contending sects to establish theirdifferent views—is that no trace or indication of theambiguously-regarded Monarch was ever afterwards forthcoming.

By an appropriate act of celestial justice the presumptuousmiscreant from the Outer Land also vanished at about the samegong-stroke, and it is reasonably assumed that he carried outsome particularly disagreeable and annihilatory form of self-ending in remorse for his share in the happening. No importanceneed be attached to the report that one bearing all his outwardsigns had been seen unostentatiously leaving the city accompaniedby a string of heavily-burdened camels, for, as the better-informed did not neglect to point out, when he arrived scarcelymore than a moon before, all the repulsive intruder's possessionswere contained in a folded neck-cloth.

§

IN the meantime the studious youth Yin Ho, from whose commonplacedestinies the attention of an eventually lavish and ever-indulgent circle of listeners has for the moment been necessarilydeflected, had again failed to gladden the faces of those whojudged the Competition papers.

"As regards the candidate Yin Ho," was the substance of theirvoice, "were it not that he may be described as 'docile but ill-equipped' it would be necessary to refer in sterner terms to whatmight otherwise point to a contorted strain of gravity-dispersal.At a certain angle it is doubtless logically exact when requiredto 'state as concisely as possible what you know of the Chan-tungtheory of the relation of one class of immaterial conceptions toanother' to fill the generous space provided for an encyclopaedicdissertation on this important theorem with the undisputablylaconic statement 'Nothing,' but it is not thus that responsibleofficials begin their career, and the last feather of self-esteemmust be plucked from the wing of Yin Ho's literary pretensions.It would be well if Yin Ho were to remember that those whose eyesare closed are not necessarily sightless."

On reading this severe decree, which, with the congratulatoryremarks applied to more successful ones, was displayed atprominent angles throughout the Ways for all to see, Yin Hoyielded himself to an access of despair and turned his facetowards the unfrequented paths lying outside the city. Despitehis numerous failures in the past he had gone into the latestcontest buoyed by a reasonable hope, for on this occasion he had,with commendable foresight, carried secretly about himself acomplete set of answers to the themes which he had ascertained(by means of a suitably-bestowed bar of silver) would inevitablybe set: a summary covering the essentials of many weighty booksand yet so delicately contrived as to be easily concealed underthe nail of a single finger. It now emerged that thoseresponsible for the test had so far debased their responsibleoffice as to substitute another series of questions at theeleventh gong-stroke. It was this element of duplicity, more thanhis own absence of success, that tended to unsettle Yin Ho'sdigestive function. If integrity was not to be found in sofundamental an institution as the Competitions whereunto werethings tending? There was, moreover, a scarcely-veiled barb inthe last phrase of the notice on the gate; could it be that whileaffecting to be wrapped in a contemplative reverie the one whosat on a raised dais had been unscrupulously watching himclosely?

A prey to these funereal thoughts and doubts Yin Ho paid noattention either to the measured direction of his steps nor tothe encroachment of the passing gong-strokes. His one ambitionwas to avoid those well-wishers who would have read withpleasurable elation of his discomfiture and who would not fail togreet him with pliant tongues and speak sympathetically of theincredible obtuseness of the examiners on this occasion. Inparticular, Yin Ho was desirous of avoiding Hoa-mi, the onlydaughter of a poor but reputable, dog-stealer, on whose accounthe had so determinedly persisted in the Competitions. Hoa-mi'seyes are said by poets of that age to have been formed of thevelvet petals of dark flowers, her eyebrows composed of smallfeathers in place of down, while her hair outshone the wings ofseven Manchurian ravens alighting at once in its billowy spreadand sombre lustre, and although some of the description may havebeen more or less figuratively intended at the time itsufficiently indicates the extent of Hoa-mi's perfection.

Although he was in the habit of affecting her society at aprudent distance whenever the chance occurred, it had neverpresented itself to Yin Ho's simple-hearted mind that sounapproachable a being as Hoa-mi could regard him—if,indeed, she actually saw one of his inferior composition atall—with any other emotion than a well-sustained sense ofloathing, a feeling to which the edict on the wall must haveadded a contemptuous apex. In this Yin Ho overlooked the pure andmagnanimous extent of Hoa-mi's well-proportioned nature for shehad long been aware of his complicated sensations whenever sheappeared and had already decided that he was worthy of herdisinterested affection.

After reading the offensively-worded pronouncement sountastefully displayed upon a pole Hoa-mi delicately recognisedwhat must be the exact mood of Yin Ho's feelings with regard toordinary persons in general and especially towards herself. Sheaccordingly lurked behind a crevice of her shutter until she hadwatched him pass, then emerging unseen she followed at asufficient interval, with the set purpose by keeping him in sightof thus averting the risk of a chance meeting. In this amiablestratagem she would undoubtedly have gained her end had not YinHo at one point stepped upon an over-ripe loquat and turned inthe path to save himself from falling, while at the same momentHoa-mi chanced to catch sight of a bent twig which might notunreasonably have resolved itself into a venomous snake and inher gracefully-displayed alarm given way to a thoroughly refinedcry of terror. Thus taken, as it were, by surprise it did notseem plausible to Hoa-mi, amid Yin Ho's impassioned reassurance,to deny the depth and breadth of her affection. By thesescrupulous means (towards which the ever-regarding spirits of twosets of ancestors undoubtedly played a part) what would otherwisehave taken an interminability of moons to bring laboriously aboutwas humanely accomplished in a single beat of time without in anyway inconveniencing outsiders.

As they sat together on an outgrowing banyan root, thusdisclosing the increasing ardour of a mutual attraction, Yin Hofor the first time withdrew his eyes from Hoa-mi's enchantingface and discovered that the red grandfather who rules the skyhad miraculously gone down in the brief instant they had sat andhis place been taken by a gathering assembly of dark clouds thatthreatened very soon to release their forces.

"Alas, O wonder of mankind," he lamented, "that this one'sunworthy neglect should have involved you in so embarrassing adilemma! The time of no-light is already close at hand and manylaborious li stretch between us and the city. Furthermore, theouter gates will by then be securely barred, the guard eitherasleep or otherwise incapable of movement, while any whom weshould chance to meet within will be precisely those whom youwould be most desirous of avoiding."

Yin Ho would have continued indefinitely in this respectfulstrain had he not become aware that instead of falling into arigid state at the benumbing prospect Hoa-mi had no appearance ofbeing in any way disconcerted.

"Since the position is thus and thus," she replied with gracefulease, "would it not be well for us to seek a refuge from theimpending storm before it actually involves us? Across the arenaof this conveniently-arranged glade stands what has the semblanceof being a small but opportune dwelling. There we shall doubtlessencounter a compassionate face, for, as it has been suitablyexpressed, 'A malicious word may carry across the land but acharitable deed penetrates to the Upper Region'."

Were it not that the sequence of events had for the time bluntedYin Ho's faculty of passionless discrimination he might haveimplied a doubt as to the outcome of this proposal. Accustomed tofrequent those paths as he committed long passages of the Odes orthe Analects to his head he knew the spot as well as the patternof his own much-worn robe, and he was fully aware that nohabitation had ever stood where this one was; indeed in comingthere Hoa-mi and he must have walked through its existingstructure. Nevertheless, so subservient to the harmony of herspoken words had he become that without questioning the wisdom ofwhat might result he threw open the outer gate and leading Hoa-misubmissively by the sleeve struck several times upon the doorpost.

The door was opened by a venerable person wearing a long flowingrobe embroidered with occult signs who had all the appearance ofbeing a benevolent sage, or, possibly, a minor wizard.

"You are honourably welcome to this wholly inadequate abode,"remarked the patriarch as he shook hands with himselfcourteously. "Indeed, for upwards of a gong-stroke now I havebeen awaiting your approaching feet and could only assume thatyou were more agreeably engaged elsewhere."

"As to that, we were detained by the ill-regulated condition ofour path," replied Hoa-mi, thinking it more polite to conform tothe ancient's evident expectation. "Thus positioned, and theseoverhanging clouds beginning to gather——"

"They, obviously, are part of the arrangement to guide you tothis hovel," explained the seer. "As this effect has now beensuccessfully achieved there is no necessity to continue the inanedisplay," and he waved his hand with a gyratory movementwhereupon the threatening manifestation at once withdrew, leavingthe upper air bare to the silvery splendour of the great skylantern. "Is it convenient to your mutual wish that the Riteshould now proceed?"

"There is an atmosphere of ambiguity about our respective anglesthat does not altogether tend to explicit intercourse," confessedYin Ho. "To what specific Rite is your accommodating offerrelated?"

"Is it possible that you are unacquainted with the purpose forwhich you have been enticed towards this spot?" exclaimed theother. "This comes of the lack of co-ordination in the variousDepartmental Boards of the Beyond. The one before you has neverceased to lift a protesting voice against the unnecessary greencord by which the simplest acts of enchantment are complicated.He himself was merely instructed to project physically hitherfrom his cave in the distant province of Kan-su, materialise afew simple effects, and be ready to perform the nuptial Ritesupon two who would present themselves thus and thus at such agong-stroke. You, on the other hand, would appear to have beenled to present yourselves thus and thus without being informed ofthe significance of your ever-welcome visit. In thecirc*mstances, of course——"

"Since you have obligingly come so far on your charitable errandit would be scarcely humane not to fall in with an obviouslypredestined fate," capably inserted Hoa-mi before a divergentword could be spoken. "This one, for her part, will cheerfullysubmit to whatever ensues if it is ordained by the Powers," andwith an encouraging glance towards Yin Ho she concealed her high-minded reluctance behind the expressive fan she carried.

"It cannot be denied that there is something out of what might beregarded as the normal course of events in much of this," was YinHo's more guarded response. "Yet it is none the less true, as theprescient Chen Hing remarked, that under any circ*mstances takinga wife is like buying nuts, inasmuch as one has to go largely bythe outside," and he also signified a readiness to embark on theventure.

"That is very satisfactory all round, especially after the wantof consideration exhibited by the controlling Beings," declaredthe venerable recluse, moving the outline of his face to expressapproval. "Even in quite ordinary cases a certain amount of, asit were, recoil is often apparent on the part of one, orsometimes even both, participants at the fifty-ninth beat of timeof the eleventh gong-stroke. Now if you will obligingly precedemy concave footsteps into this thoroughly ill-contrived shed Iwill do an incapable best to accomplish my flattering mission."

Within, everything had the appearance of having been arrangedwith a simple but adequate provision for the Rites of theceremony. Upon a table of curiously-inlaid wood stood a varietyof symbolistic wares; there were inscribed tablets about thewalls and hanging curtains of richly-embellished silk indicatedthe existence of suitably-retired inner chambers; a charcoal fireon the hearth contributed an agreeable atmosphere of domesticrepose and several ewers of perfumed water, each standing in asilver bowl, invited the weary to refresh their footsore members.From an unseen source the melody of stringed woods suggestedemotions appropriate to the occasion, while the perfumed smoke ofaromatic pastilles produced an agreeably lethargic sensation.Both to Hoa-mi and no less to Yin Ho nothing suitable seemed tohave been forgotten.

"It is remarkable," was Hoa-mi's unspoken thought, "that areclusive philosopher inhabiting a noisome cave in the remotefastnesses of barbarous Kan-su should have so competent a graspupon the requirements of the situation."

By this time the one to whom she so appreciatively referred hadmoved a space apart and in what appeared to be an outside tongue(though Hoa-mi afterwards maintained that it was in reality theirown flowery speech delivered with unintelligible purity)pronounced a set invocation. He then took from a ceremonial jar alittle rice which he threw into the air so that some fell amongtheir hair and garments (thereby indicating the earth's universalpurpose of fruition); attached a worn-out sandal by a cord to therobe of each (thus symbolising that along the path of lifethriftiness should go step by step with progress) and tracingcertain lines on an embossed page gave it into Hoa-mi's hands asa conclusive testimony of her reputable position.

"You are now satisfactorily married by virtue of a specificedict," declared the accommodating soothsayer, "and may thereforesafely proceed to any further detail. In the meanwhile, however,though it is not strictly required, if you can endurablycontemplate another gong-stroke of my lamentable society beneaththis squalid roof it is usual to partake of certain viands whichare immemorial to the occasion."

"If it is not inconveniencing your phenomenal powers tooexcessively—" sympathetically protested Hoa-mi, while YinHo no less politely declared that he was equal to anyrequirement.

On this avowal the many-sided anchorite—who now disclosedhis agreeable-sounding name to be Jin—called into existencea well-spread feast, which he did by pointing to any part of thetable where there chanced to be room for the inclusion. By thisconvenient process there appeared vessels of wine, both sweet andbitter, corn-pastes baked to a brittle texture, pieces of themost esteemed varieties of meat ingeniously concealed betweenslices of less attractive fare and spiced with a saffroncompound, a sort of coloured foam that melted refreshingly amongthe internal organs, conserves and sweet-meats on a liberal scaleand syrups and nectars of unsurpassed flavours, fruit and sheath-encased berries.

Last of all, pointing to a reserved space of some extent in thecentre of the board the adroit-fingered solitary caused theappearance (after one or two ineffectual moves since therequirement seemed to have been exacting) of a many-tiered pagodain a very rich edible composition, the outside deeply encrustedwith a solid rind of peculiar sweetness. This he instructed Hoa-mi to cut (typifying by the act a complete severance from herformer life and domestic altars) and this, after he had caused aheavily-weighted and keen-edged hatchet to materialise within herhand, she succeeded in doing.

As they ate together, from time to time assuring one another of amutual regard, accompanied by the ceremonial replenishing oftheir cups, Yin Ho sought to penetrate into the cause of thearisem*nt. The later appearance among the fruit of a number offireworks, which exploded with a loud report when pulled apartand disclosed an appropriate apothegm in verse together with anincongruous covering for the head or face tended still further torelax austerity.

"Yet how comes it," had been the import of Yin Ho's not unnaturalquest, "that we two should be made the objects of thisexceptional display, seeing that on neither side are our Lines ofany particular account and this one has persistently failed atthe Competitions?"

"That is merely your restricted view of things as they exist to-day," was the tolerant reply. "In such matters the outlook of theArranging Ones is infinitely more wide-angled. It may be, forinstance, that a remote descendant of yours shall have beenalready marked out to commit a particularly heinous crime, tofound a dynasty or uphold a righteous cause or to write an ode ofimperishable lustre. Yet how deplorable a state of things wouldcome about if when the time arrived it proved that through thewant of a little foresight now the one in question should not beforthcoming!"

"Yours must assuredly be both a strenuous and an entertaininglife, interspersed as it no doubt is with frequent excursionsthrough space—and so forth," pleasantly remarked Hoa-mi, towhom the instance of a direct offspring, however remote, seemedunnecessarily specific. "Indeed," she added, with the well-intentioned purpose of varying the theme, "there is little todistinguish one in such a position from an inferior Being. Doesit involve any particular attainment at the Competitions tobecome a seer?"

"It is related of a certain music-loving official who wasaccustomed to play on a vibratory shell fitted with hollow tubesthat when a friend demanded of him why he did not marry one whosevoice was notorious for its melody, he replied, 'Because althoughMu's notes are admittedly superior to those of a perforated shellshe cannot be put away in a box when the song is finished'."

With this curious instance of what occurred among the musically-inclined—in which, however, Hoa-mi failed to disclose anyclue to her enquiry—the many-sided philosopher turned roundseveral times and lay down on the floor. This, he explained wasin accordance with his frugal habit when occupying a leaf-strewncave in the depths of the Kan-su mountains.

As a direct outcome, he considerately added, he was a profoundsleeper at all times and no particular notice need be taken ofhis presence.

§

WHEN Yin Ho and Hoa-mi awoke the next day the song of woodlandbirds was the first sound to assail their ears and the continuousquivering of a myriad leaves would doubtless have lulled them tosleep again had not Hoa-mi leapt to her feet with a definiteassurance that something out of the usual course had unsettledher normal routine. Yin Ho also was aware of a confused happeningas of an occurrence taking place, and together they reassembledtheir obscure impressions.

They were reclining on a grassy bank which lent itself totranquil repose, nor could there be any doubt that this was wherethe small but seemly house had stood the previous night althoughevery trace of its existence had now vanished. Not even a grainof rice or a discarded paper covering for the head remained toattest its reality, but at a spot a little apart a shapeddepression of the turf clearly indicated that this was where theaustere anchorite had formed his meagre pallet.

"Yet here is that which definitely establishes our claim,"reassuringly maintained Hoa-mi, and from an inner fold of herrobe she disclosed the inscribed paper. That alone, owing to thecomplexity of its hiding place, had escaped notice. It was ofunusually fine texture and of a sort that Yin Ho, who claimed tohave had a wide experience of the nature of papers, declared tobe hitherto unknown, but in spite of these rare qualities when itcame to be more closely seen it emerged that the writing itselfhad wholly disappeared. Only in the most favourablecirc*mstances, and by those whom Hoa-mi really esteemed, somefaint indication of what had undoubtedly been a character hereand there might be recognised.

Notwithstanding this, as it might be expressed, triflinginformality surrounding their actual Rites, Hoa-mi neverentertained the most shadowy doubts as to the efficacy of theceremony performed by the devout anchorite in the wood, and shecontinued to cherish the parchment which so conclusivelydemonstrated the four walls of her claim until in course of timethe faded characters became appreciably moredistinguishable—to her own eyes if not markedly so to thosewho stood around—and she was able to show line by line howthe context was assembled. To the revered sister of her veneratedmother who in a somewhat narrow-minded spirit took the occasionto remark: "Thus and thus, but as it is well expressed, 'Thatwhich one sees can be believed'," Hoa-mi no less capably replied:"It is even better said, 'That which one believes can be seen',"and it was felt by those who were not prejudiced that Hoa-mi wasmore than maintaining her vertical poise adequately.

Yin Ho, for his part, was equally convinced, and as, in theprocess of time, there came seven stalwart he-children, allprepared to worship his memory to the accompaniment ofappropriate gifts, and seven graceful-handed ones of the othersort who contributed to his material comfort while here in anordinary state, he was able to point to these as a clearindication of celestial approval. The she-children, moreover, allreflected Hoa-mi's unapproachable charm while the otherspossessed in a marked degree Yin Ho's literary tastes andintellectual outline.

The only one, indeed, of their immediate Tablets to maintain anaggressive front was the opaque-witted dog-stealer beneath whoseunscrupulously-supported roof they continued to reside, heplainly being too mentally short-sighted to appreciate thedistinction conferred upon his low-conditioned hearth by Yin Ho'sincessant presence. As fresh evidences of the unvaryingaffections of the two chiefly concerned clustered about hisboard, while Yin Ho continued to fail in the Competitions withwell-maintained regularity, the attitude of this despicableperson became more and more unrefined until he acquired thetactless habit of stamping heavily upon the floor whenever thestudent passed, on the pretence of crushing an unwelcome insect.

It was in connection with this annoying custom that Yin Ho atlength cleared his throat before Hoa-mi nor did he find herunresponsive.

"Yet it is to be remembered, adored," she confessed, "that theone in question, if hopelessly Yangwangian* in his ways, and ofpainfully obsolete outlook from our more enlightened angle, mustbe regarded as the sole existing mainstay of an open-mouthed andprolific Line until the time when your exceptional merits shallcompel the attention of even a corrupt Board of Examiners."

[* This obscure allusion undoubtedly hasreference to a preceding Ruler of that name during whose long andpacific reign the nation fell into a stagnant and mentally-lethargic state that passed into the nature of a saying with themore rapidly-moving age that followed.]

"Things being as they admittedly are," she continued, afterpausing to impart a caress to the base of Yin Ho's pig-tail,"would it not perhaps be prudent if for a brief span of time yourelaxed your tenacious efforts to assimilate the Classics and,instead, fostered the esteem of the one upon whose industry wemust meanwhile continue to lean by accompanying him, even if in arelatively passive capacity, on some of his less hazardousexpeditions?"

"The suggestion is appreciably lacking in commendable taste,"replied Yin Ho, who had more than once divined a similar trend inHoa-mi's delicately-outlined implications. "To one who has failedto pass the first degree on no less than eleven occasions theprospect of becoming a hired accomplice to an intellectually-concave dog-snatcher——"

"The term applied is unnecessarily harsh, beloved," interposedHoa-mi definitely. "Although the envenomed tongue of calumny haslong been accustomed to assail this person's respected sire, beassured, star of my firmament, that however severely compressedfinancially he might be, the one in question would never stepdown to anything actually ignoble."

"Yet as regards the half-score animals of divergent breeds atthis moment assembled in a beneath chamber——?"

"That in itself is a tribute to his sympathetic qualities,"replied Hoa-mi, "and it is from this circ*mstance that muchunpleasant conversation has arisen....These creatures, itwould seem, follow his steps and attach themselves persistentlyto his hand out of a natural and innate regard for somethingabout his person. If, at a subsequent period, he succeeds, withmuch inconvenience and loss of time involved, in restoring manyto distracted seekers is it to be accounted a reproach to anyconcerned if a grateful owner should press a few negligible taelsof silver into his reluctant sleeve as some slight return forthis labour? Remember, esteemed, there is a congruous saying,'Because two men lower their voices in the Ways they are notnecessarily planning a murder'."

Out of an inexhaustible store of the Classics engraved on thetablets of his mind Yin Ho had a conclusive reply to practicallyevery apothegm that could be fashioned, but he did not alwaysdeem it expedient—especially in conversing with Hoa-mi—to disclose this knowledge.

"There is always a golden hem to the fabric of your most prosaicremarks and the dazzling quality of your matchless voiceeffectually obscures any inadequacy on the score of eitherveracity or logic," he accordingly declared freely. "Thereexists, however, one insuperable barrier in the path of thispersons's successful career as a hound-decoyer."

"My revered is all-knowing," dutifully avowed Hoa-mi, "and at afitting moment he will doubtless reveal this hidden obstaclewhich threatens our common well-being."

"The answer is concise," replied Yin Ho, "and may be fittinglyenclosed in the shallower end of a neglected thimble; for whileall classes of dogs are led by affection to seek your engagingprogenitor's hand, in this person's case, inspired apparently byanother fervour, they persistently attach themselves to hisunworthy ankles."

"That is easily remedied," exclaimed Hoa-mi with an assuringglance, "and nothing now remains but for my dragon-hearted one toprove that he spoke from a really single-minded stomach....Upon an upper shelf, to which this one has access, there is asmall jar of some potent drug possessing talismanic virtues. Theeffect of the bare scent of this serviceable compound is tosecure the friendship of even the most obstinately-suspiciousdog—from the merely purposeless inconstant puppy to theresolutely-aggressive watch-hound. All that devolves, therefore,is to smear an immaterial trace upon one's sandals and acontemplative stroll through the more secluded ways...."

Had it not been that the time of the Competitions was againdrawing near it is questionable if Yin Ho, thus continuallyassailed in his most vulnerable parts, might not have stumbledfrom his high purpose. Once indeed he had gone so far as toanoint his sandals, unknown to Hoa-mi, with the contents of asmall jar that he found on an upper shelf, but it is to beassumed that his hand had strayed, for when he subsequentlyapproached a formidably-proportioned animal with an ingratiatingword it suddenly released the cords of all restraint and consumedan integral portion of the more necessary of Yin Ho's garments.

That night he Was made the recipient of a vision for whilefloating in the Middle Space he became aware of the presence onone side of what he took to be the outraged spirit of a remoteancestor who continually shook his head, and on the other side ofa subordinate demon who smiled and nodded approval.

"This will be in the nature of an admonition," resolved Yin Howhen he returned to the lower level. "To incur the rancour of adistant ancestor may be a slight matter but to be patronised bythe good opinion of a third-rate demon oversteps the boundary,"and he applied himself even more relentlessly than before todigesting the obscurer Classics.

It was well for Yin Ho that he did so, and nothing more clearlyindicates the inspired wisdom of his favourite Verse than his ownexample—this to the effect that if a person tenaciouslymaintains an undeviating course through life he will, sooner orlater, arrive at the end of his journey, whereas the one whocapriciously diverges from the way may find himself back at thepoint from which he started.

Not to make any literary pretence about an event which was bothlyrically just and historically exact, the moment had now arrivedwhen the broad-minded but aeronautically-premature Emperor N'gou-shin embarked on his profane adventure. To those of an ever-attentive circle of listeners who have already forgotten whatensued the most humane advice would be to recommend a course ofmemory-reinforcing but the really intellectual—andinvariably more open-sleeved—will recall with scarcely aneffort that as a direct consequence the badge and emblem of thetoo-enterprising Ruler was, by a confidential edict of theunanimous Board of Censors, unostentatiously removed from everychronicle. Not shrinking from the logical development of thispatriotic act the devoted body concerned further ordained thecomplete reversal of all that had taken place during N'gou-shin'smisguided reign, and as an incentive to exactitude among theobtuse, insubordinate, or, possibly, merely slow-moving, it wasadded, with the graceful terminology then in official use, thatany authority who faltered, whether provincial administrator orcustodian of a village street, "would be Invited Home to add tothe interesting series of his picturesque Ancestral Tablets."

The effect of this enactment was diversified but profound, and itis from the circ*mstance that there has arisen the saying: "Threebeneficial decrees are worse than a Tartar invasion." Here andthere dissatisfied areas unfurled the banners of rebellion andtook up arms, a certain number of indolent officials resorted toself-ending as the simplest way of avoiding trouble and one ortwo rivers overflowed their banks or rearranged their courses. Inthe province of Kiang-si a six-winged phoenix appeared, on theanalogy, it was thought, that as nothing of the sort had occurredduring N'gou-shin's abrogated reign the ingenuous creature deemedthat its presence then became necessary.

§

FORTUNATELY for the strong city of Chi-yi it was, at thatcritical period of its variegated history, ruled by the MandarinTsing Won, a functionary of whom it was well said that he was notthe sort of official to remain seated during the occurrence ofany absurdity. With commendable promptitude this self-reliantwearer of the coral button had every wall and high tower manned,the city gates closed and wedged, all business or claims forrepayment suspended by debar and the Uprising Decree read, withan appropriate accompaniment of trumpets, drums, and muffledflutes, at the yamen gate. He then proclaimed a Condition ofDynastic Emergency to exist and under the wide powers therebyconferred issued so many edicts on his own account that allwithin his rule were kept fully occupied in endeavouring to grasptheir requirements. Having thus reduced every section of unrestto a state of exhausted stupor and gained a useful respite, TsingWon summoned his inscriber of the spoken word before him.

"What, O invariably well-informed Wen-fi," he asked, "are thelatest events of general interest?"

"The result of the biennial Competitions has recently beenannounced, High Excellence," replied Wen-fi, "and while thepopular favourite, Wing Lee, emerges first, the last name on thelist, accompanied by comment in the usual appropriate vein, isagain that of the effete Yin Ho, both placings conforming to whatthose who forecast outcomes by means of interpretable signsrightly predicted."

"Let Yin Ho, suitably guarded, duly appear," was the resolutecommand, and the Scatterer of Justice rubbed his handspleasurably together as one who after steering a hazardous coursesees a favourable harbour.

"Furthermore, High Excellence, three couples of the Chi-yi andarea dragon-hounds have disappeared during the moon-end,"continued the inscriber morosely. "This elusive despoiler of ourlocal pack is either a revengeful Being whose haunt they havedisturbed or else a notable dog-enticer of the Seven Gongsquarter, one Shi Koo, better known as the father of FeatheryEyebrows, winner of last year's Chi-yi Harmoniously-ArrangedFaces Contest and urger-on at the combined Provincial Gathering."

"Inscribe the name of Shi Koo on a detachable sheet of your ever-ready tablets, Wen-fi; consideration of the Being's guilt can bepassed on to the temple authorities."

"The low-born criminal whom we were bidden to seize, GreatMagnificence!" announced two custodians of the door, and Yin Ho,heavily manacled and in expectation of an immediate end, wasthrust into the presence.

"In view of the excessive promptitude with which our orders arecarried out it is possible to overlook any slight intellectualparalysis in matter of detail," pronounced the Inspired Lawgiver,readily assuming his most impressive Court of Audience manner."The body-guard specified in the present case was palpably anescort of distinction not of ignominy. Let thepris—honoured guest be extricated."

"Pre-eminence," besought Yin Ho, freed of his shackles, "if anywrong should have been——"

"To the ordinary passer-by the position might seem to be one ofsome embarrassment and delicacy," continued the broad-visionedlegislator, arranging together the well-proportioned tips of hissymmetrical fingers with leisurely precision and allowing hisdiscriminating gaze to concentrate upon a point of the richly-ornamented ceiling where a spot of damp was beginning to appear,"but not to the judicial mind trained in the best traditions ofthe Heavy Boot and the Torture Chamber. The occupant of the Red-upholstered Chair—no matter how gifted he may be—isin that responsible position to administer the Immortal Code, notto question its, possibly, grotesque terms, and so long as thisscrupulous official continues to receive his monthly adequacy oftaels so long will he unswervingly observe that condition. Ithaving been enacted that the reversal of what took place duringthe reign of his late unmentionable majesty shall nowproceed—without, however, precisely indicating on whatlines the inversion should be—the one who is now expoundinghis own obsolete interpretation of what is meant will safeguardhis position against any possible charge of contumacy byrelentlessly reversing whatever has an alternative facet. To you,Hin Yo, is given——"

"Yin Ho, Much Exaltedness," ventured that one, "and anything thatmay unintentionally——"

"—the unique distinction of being the first illustration.Having been adjudicated last in the Competitions during theclosing days of the not-to-be-referred-to sovereign it logicallyemerges that you automatically become first, and thereby entitledto the full perquisites, as they may be termed, of thatposition."

"Exaltitude of Justice!" exclaimed Yin Ho, scarcely able tobelieve his irrational ears, "can it be——"

"But in addition to this," continued the Sledgehammer ofImpartiality, indicating by an almost imperceptible movement ofthe magisterial brow that while he thoroughly appreciated theemotion of gratitude involved the occasion was not opportune forits suitable expression, "it would appear that you have been lastat the eleven previous tests and it therefore inexorably obtrudesthat, to all intents and purposes, you have the unprecedentedrecord of heading the list on twelve successive occasions. As noexisting distinction is adequate to meet this unique feat a newoffice must be created and you are therefore tentativelyappointed Chief Detector of Hitherto Undetected Crimes with anadequate technical and executive staff and a monthlyinsufficiency of taels which you will, of course, supplement, atthe expense of those whom you accuse of crimes, in the usualofficial manner."

"Supreme Munificence!" was wrested from Yin Ho's grateful throatdespite the injunction laid upon him; "may you live a thousandyears and beget ten thousand strong he-children!"

"In order to prove your fitness for the high office," resumed theIncorruptible Administrator after slightly acknowledging thisspontaneous tribute, "it is necessary that you should detectsomeone in crime, and for this purpose we have chosen Shi Koo, ahitherto persistent evader of the cangue, whose unvarying successin this direction must be brought to an abrupt close in order tocomply with the new regulation. A certain number of domesticanimals of the more athletic build have recently gone, as itwere, south, and the analogy of their disappearance is notexacting. Implicate Ki Shoo in this obscene offence by means ofany of the numerous devices that will no doubt occur to anaturally problem-solving mind and your advancement is assured.The provisional authority will be ratified on a permanent baseand be not only hereditary but retrospective in function so thata formidable band of gratified ancestors will be untiring in yourinterests....May you also live a reasonable number of yearsand provide a suitable posterity."

With this gracious leave-taking the Mandarin Tsing Won closed hisexpressive eyes to indicate that it was now that period of theday when he was wont, for a meditative gong-stroke, to dismissthe merely temporal affairs of state in order to contemplateinwardly. Wen-fi, also, added a complimentary proverb, while thetwo door-keepers arranged their footsteps on either side of YinHo and professed themselves resolute to go anywhere and doanything in his service. Before he left the palace a badge ofauthority was added to his robe and he was given a wand ofoffice; as he crossed the outer court several unusually expensivefireworks were exploded in his honour. It was very clear to YinHo that at last his period of unworthy trial was now at adefinite end but, withal, he could not entirely free his mind ofan element of suspense at the thought of what Hoa-mi's exactattitude might be when she learned of what would by then havehappened to her venerated father.

V. — THE STORY OF TON HI, PRECIOUS GEM
AND THE INCONSPICUOUS ELEPHANT.

IT was the custom of Ton Hi every morning when he took down theshutter of his small but many-sided shop, the InconspicuousElephant, in the least frequented byway of Shenking, to stand atthe open door and shake the appliance by means of which hecomputed what was due on a transaction, towards each of the fourdirections. This device was an ingenious arrangement of smallcarved ivory spheres threaded on strands of wire and whenvibrated by an expert hand, such as long practice had enabled TonHi to acquire, a slight and not altogether unpleasant sound wasproduced which could be maintained indefinitely.*

[* The abacus, later explained Kai Lung, may be said to have owedits origin to the lucky accident of an elderly camphor merchantof Kwang Yuen being too obtuse to grasp Yung Chang's new systemof mathematics. In consequence he made very regrettable errorscontinually in his sums, and had it not been for the wiseprecaution (in common with the other merchants of Kwang Yuen) ofcharging ten times the value of his wares he might have gleanedonly a slender profit. One memorable day, after filling an orderfor twenty liang of the drug he operated, it began to weigh onthis trader's mind that in charging as for twice times one lianghe had fallen into a numerical snare although it was difficult tosee where it could be, since the difference between 2 and 20 waslogically nothing. As the depressing conviction became moreprofound the unhappy merchant staggered to his door, partly tobenefit by the reviving effects of external air, partly toconsider dispassionately the least painful way to accomplishself-ending. Standing there he idly watched a group of smallpeople who performed an engaging street ritual with insignificantsquare bones upon his step, when in an inspired flash it occurredto him that if a certain number of such units were assembled thusand thus upon a frame and after every so many another of adifferent colour was placed....The name of this publicbenefactor has unfortunately been lost in the passage ofcenturies, but to this day the merchants and traders of KwangYuen (in common with those of other places) begin by asking tentimes the value of whatever they have for sale as a simpletribute to his imperishable memory.]

To any who without actually entering the shop stopped to enquireof Ton Hi why he thus occupied his time he would courteouslyexplain the motives. The rhythmic beat, which by continuous habithe could unfailingly produce, was for some reason distasteful tocertain classes of malignant Forces that were in the habit offrequenting such shops as his, and by this convenient andinexpensive process he effectually purified his premises of theirobnoxious presence. It is not to be denied (as Ton Hi's sincerenature compelled him to admit at once to those who sifted thecontingencies further) that other and more objectionable Beingswere unaffected by the rite, and to dislodge these it would havebeen necessary to explode several heavily-charged fireworks, aperpetual outlay that was quite beyond Ton Hi's slender means.None the less his orderly mind led him to do what he could for,as he was accustomed to say when this inconsistency was pointedout, "Half a bird's nest is preferable to an entire absence ofsoup, and even when escaping from a ravenous tiger it is none theless irritating to have to take refuge in a bed of nettles."

In addition to this practical service the formality had otheruses, for the well-sustained note informed the neighbours and anywho might chance to be in the Way Leading Nowhere that Ton Hi hadtaken down his shutter and was prepared to supply their needs. Italso conveyed to Ton Hi himself a reassuring indication that thebusiness of the day was, as it were, in actual movement, even if,as did indeed generally arise, this constituted the whole extentof its progress.

It can no longer be concealed from the least intelligent of thosewho are so wasteful of their priceless time as to read theseprinted leaves that the commerce of Ton Hi was entirely destituteof the opulent sound that indicates a swelling prosperity. Moonby moon his store of merchandise grew slenderer and had to bemore widely placed; day by day the meagre equipment of hisshelves looked dingier and less likely to attract, and had it notbeen that he rose with the early light, retired at the dusk,slept in a box beneath his bench and subsisted on such wares ashad definitely become unsaleable, he would have found itnecessary to close his shutter and to throw open his door to allwho maintained a claim on indebtedness long before this laboriouschronicle unfolds its immature pages.

Yet to those who are unacquainted with the frequently obscuremethods of the controlling Powers it might appear that Ton Hi wasa person who could reasonably have expected a more satisfactorydestiny. He sacrificed generously to the spirits of even quiteremote ancestors, nor for this humane service did he—exceptunder unusual circ*mstances—select offerings from histraffic which had been handled beyond sale. No hungry ghost,wandering by night, need pass his closed door unfed for aconveniently-arranged hole gave ready access and, within, anever-failing bowl of rice invited the empty-stomached. To themost exacting customers he was obsequious and profuse, andreadily agreed with all that they contended, while those whomerely struck his gong to ask where the better-class shops wereto be seen or to complain about the inadequate paving of the Wayfound him outspoken in gratitude that they could have thought himworthy of consulting. Should any succeed in deluding him with afalse coin he did not pursue them with threats of legal redressbut waited for a convenient opportunity when he might charitablybestow it on one of the many deserving blind beggars.

It was very different with the case of Mok Cho whose kindredestablishment, less than a bowshot away in point of space,flourished beneath the sign of the Resounding Lyre. Mok Cho wasnot a person of really refined taste at all, and if he did notcommend his own wares in actual words he had an unbecoming habitof spreading out his hands and stepping back as he displayed themto the simple-hearted which did not tend towards an unbiaseddecision. Whereas Ton Hi hastened to point out whateverimperfections his closest search could detect, Mok Cho had beenseen to keep his thumb over a small hole in a robe of embroideredsilk, and although the tolerant-minded pointed out that inexhibiting a piece of cloth even a magician's thumbs must besomewhere the incident left a displeasing shadow on recollectionsnot warped by impartiality. Then again Mok Cho did not sacrificewhat dependent spirits in the Upper Air would be likely torequire most, but whatever he himself found to be in the leastdemand among the people of Shenking, nor did it escape the eyesof the observant that the tablets recording the price (which heinvariably left on) had been dexterously transformed to suggest agreatly enhanced value. On the matter of delusive currency it isunnecessary to speak at all since Mok Cho had never been known tostumble, but it was a subject of comment among those who freelydiscussed the affairs of others that the more far-seeing blindbeggars invariably closed their eyes towards the profit ofvisiting the Resounding Lyre.

Yet when all has been spoken and achieved the deplorableantithesis remains that while Ton Hi, leading a blameless andunobtrusive life, seldom profited by so much as a single hand-count of cash for the day's industry and oft-times crept into thescanty box foregoing his evening rice (rather than that homelessShades, whose need might be even more acute, should go empty) theinsufferable Mok Cho counted his gain with each finger on asilver tael and after every well-spread meal grew more obese andfull-coloured. To those who complimented him on the extent of hisaffairs the gross-hearted person would reply, "The same sky isabove all, but it is the politest pig that loses his place at thetrough," and the direction of his glance plainly indicated thetrend of this distinction. Truly, but not idly is it written,"When the High Destinies have faltered in their office the lastword remains with him who relates the occurrence," and it willspeak ill for this justice-loving if uninventive storyteller'sliterary handicraft if before the end is reached both Ton Hi andMok Cho shall not have been restored to their proper places.

IT was the eleventh of the Moon of Opening Lotus Buds when thatwhich is about to be narrated took place and at a later periodTon Hi recorded the day by means of notches on a bamboo stickwhich he kept among his possessions. The time of middle light wasthen at hand and Ton Hi, who meanwhile had been endeavouring tostimulate a drooping gourd into fruitfulness by probing about itsroots, was preparing to close his shutter when the note of hissummoning gong, struck with a vague but very melodious touch,claimed his attention. Within, he found one of the other sort whoappeared to have been examining the contents of his dwindlingshelf with auspicious interest. Yet her first spoken words didnot reassure Ton Hi in a business sense though her voice had theenchanting quality of stringed music. In the deepening obscurityof his unlit shop nothing precise emerged with relation to thesymmetry of her veiled outline.

"Is it permissible, keeper of the shop, that one who has nodefinite need of any of your attractive store should approach youwith a question?" was the substance of her enquiry, and as thewords reached Ton Hi's ears he underwent a sensation—so farunknown to his experience—as if several of his internalorgans had coalesced into a void and a diversity of highlycoloured lights taken the place of normal vision. So overwhelmingand involved was the nature of his mood, although he was whollyunable to account for the happening, that several beats of timewent by before he was able to express himself rationally.

"The request is by no means an unusual one, inasmuch as morecross my crumbling door-step to increase their own knowledge thanto diminish my worthless stock," he diffidently admitted."Therefore whether you seek direction to a seemlier shop whereyour high-born wants can be more suitably fulfilled, or wouldmerely enquire to what remoteness this pathless waste may lead,do not hesitate to express it."

"Neither of these things engaged my trivial mind, nor would ithave appeared becoming to call you from your exacting task onsuch an errand," replied the attractive stranger. "For theseextraneous matters the voice of one would serve equally well withthat of any other, but this is a nicety of which you alone wouldbe competent to speak, and here briefly is the issue: how is itpossible for a creature of the admitted dimensions of an elephantto become inconspicuous, and why should it discard the naturaladvantages of bulk and importance?"

"In symbolic allusion of this kind it is necessary to allow for acertain amount of, as it were, colloquial margin," conceded TonHi after he had adjusted his mind to the emergency, for hithertothe requirement was one that had never arisen. "Setting aside thecontingency of a purely incorporeal elephant it may be taken intoaccount that there might exist an animal so endowed with what maybe termed defensive simulation as to merge, so to speak, into thenative growth by which it is surrounded. Or, just as there aredwarfed and pigmy beings among men so might there be thediminutive and elusive offspring of a race of beasts which arenormally a byword for volume. Again, with creatures of theforest, the more skilled in avoiding——"

"Haply; as among the race of men," capably interposed the one whomay now be disclosed as Precious Gem, the negligible daughter ofan official of some standing. "But this matter rests on a moresolid basis than a hypothesis chasing fictitious monsters throughan illusory forest. Above your select though rather untidy placeof business there stands the representation of a monsterconforming in all respects to a well-grown and virile member ofthe species. Originally there would appear to have been a wordproclaiming high distinction among its kind, but a later hand hasadded a negatory sign thereby despoiling it of this pre-eminence."

"There is an apt saying that little is hid from the eye andnothing from the mind of a really well brought-up woman,"acknowledged Ton Hi, "and by discovering what had hitherto passedunseen you have given a doubly pointed edge to the proverb....It is not to be denied that when the sign adorned the commercialhouse of a highly successful dog-butcher of the Upper Way it borea written symbol pronouncing the device to represent theNoticeable Elephant."

"Why then should you seek to efface so reassuring a claim toeminence?"

"What was appropriate in the case of a prosperous dog-butcher ofthe Upper Way would be unbecoming if applied to the standing of athird-rate general shop in the insignificant Path LeadingNowhere, for, as the observant Li-chang declared, a vainglorioussnail which endeavoured to adopt the discarded shell of a deadtortoise not only broke its own back but drew down ridicule uponthe whole line of its family tablets. When, therefore, requiringan emblem beneath which to erect a stall this person acquired foran obsolete ballad, as the synonym has it, the dog-butcher'scast-off sign, by a stroke of the brush he transformed what wascrudely assertive of a unique repute into something which,despite its natural size, is temperate and unassuming."

"Your reference to an invertebrate and mentally-stagnant insectis no doubt classically exact, but among the more advancedthinkers adopting the vernacular school of approach to-day it iseven more precisely stated, 'The merchant who fails to strike thepasser-by in the eye forthwith will never succeed in touching thecontents of his wallet'," maintained Precious Gem resolutely."Surrounded as you are by a pretentious band of Resounding Lyres,Inspired Hopes, Colossal Benefits, Attractive Jades, MiraculousPhiltres, Celestial Scales, All-protecting Umbrellas, RighteousPrinciples and other assertive testimonies of worth—howamong these can an Inconspicuous Elephant entice the reluctantpurchaser to turn within at your secluded door, or itself survivethe stress of bulk opposition?"

"It is very plain that although for some reason or other you havethe effect of causing all my less controllable emotions toundergo a severe convulsion by merely being here and have,moreover, brought into this usually obscure shed what appears tobe a personal rainbow of exceptional power, in other ways thereis nothing remarkable about your nature. Possibly at some earlyperiod a fox came into your distinguished Line and from thiscirc*mstance you inherit certain unusual qualities?"

"There does not appear to be any actual record of such an event,but our deficient tablets are far from being complete. Paou Yuhthe one wasting your valuable time has always been called; heruniversally-respected father's House is that of Cheung and theFurther Expanse the situation of their inadequate dwelling. Yetin what particular way has she who is now speaking failed in youreyes to win approval?"

"As to that," replied Ton Hi, "it would be profane for one of myscanty means to question the outlook of so lavishly-endowed avision. Apart from this the matter may be stated thus: thatwhereas to press forward and wrest affluence from circ*mstancewould appear to be your precept, to remain unostentatiously inthe discreet background and gain the esteem of the more reputabledeities has always been this one's ambition."

"It is a high-minded resolve and places you more or less on alevel with the philosophers of old," dutifully admitted PreciousGem. "Still," she added, imparting an even more entrancingquality to her jade-like voice, so that Ton Hi's traitorousjoints relapsed incapably, "might not a series of eventualitiesarise whereby, in order to procure something on which your heartwas set, a really substantial balance should become necessary?"

"In such a case this person has up to now always found itpracticable to obtain the extent of his needs by limiting themeasure of his desires," maintained Ton Hi. "But since thesubject has to a certain extent been inoffensively approached isthere any particular amount that your no doubt reasonably-inclined father would have in mind in the event of a meritoriousbut not otherwise financially robust suitor appearing?"

"It is scarcely imaginable that so intimate a detail would havebrushed, however imperceptibly, across this one's remotestthoughts," modestly avowed Precious Gem. "Yet it is not to bedenied," she added, recognising that it might be desirable tostimulate Ton Hi's resolution with a concrete fact, "that uponone occasion while passing a not absolutely closed door and beingmomentarily detained there by an ill-laced sandal, a reference tofive hundred silver taels by the voice of this slow-fingeredone's venerated father in reply to an enquiry on the lips of herhighly-esteemed mother did not seem incompatible with some detailof her own future disposal."

"'Even a beggar may approach a queen—in his dreams,' is anundeniable maxim," was the extent of Ton Hi's remark, and heturned aside to prepare a small pot of jasmine tea, partly toshow that he was not really cast down by the mention of sounattainable a sum and partly to conceal an emotion of despair,but also, if possible, to detain Precious Gem a little longer.

In this agreeable device he was not misled, and although he hadnot hoped that one so expensively connected would do more thanaccept and leave the cup unsipped (or at the most, consideratelypour away the contents when his face was turned) Precious Gem notonly "revealed the gold leaf," as the paraphrase has it, but withmany expressions appreciative of the flavour of the herbindicated that she was not altogether unequal to another. Bythese tactful means she delicately sought to convey to Ton Hi'sknowledge that despite the alien circ*mstances of theirrespective paths if it could be feasibly arranged she was notlikely to be inflexibly proceeding in an opposite direction.

As they sat together amiably conversing in this high-mindedstrain the unrecorded strokes of time sped by, for although TonHi more than once expressed his self-reproach that by reason ofhis necessity he could only provide the feeble glimmer of asingle paper lantern Precious Gem magnanimously replied that tothe imaginatively-inclined the period of early no-light was morepleasurable than any other.

When the actual moment of her leave-taking arrived they stood foran appreciable pause regarding the massive outline of theauspicious quadruped that had so opportunely, as it were, enticedthem together. Both to Precious Gem, and equally to Ton Hi whenit was pointed out, it was noticeable by the beams of the risingsky-light that the usually somewhat vacant expression on the faceof the intelligent monster had now given place to a look ofbenevolent concern which they could not doubt was directedtowards their interests.

On the following day at about the same period of light chance hadagain led Precious Gem's inadvertent feet along the Path LeadingNowhere and she was on a homeward course when happening to lookup and recognise the descriptive sign she was reminded—asshe specifically assured Ton Hi when he hastened to hersummons—of a need which on the previous call she hadthoughtlessly forgotten. Otherwise, it seemed, moons woulddoubtless elapse before she passed that way again—if,indeed, she did ever.

"Should you possess among your inviting accumulation of goods acontrivance suited to the mental grasp of a child of perchancethree it would be a charitable action if this one should bepermitted to obtain it," was the core of her requirement.

"From every nook and cranny the obsolete profusion of my bankruptstock is poured in a gratuitous stream at your incomparablefeet," declared Ton Hi. "Yet, in order to lessen your gracefulfatigue, is the offspring to whom precise allusion has been madeof your own ornamental sort or one of my more uncouthdescription?"

"At the rudimentary stage there is very little to discriminatebetween the tastes of either kind," replied Precious Gem. "Exceptthat the ones whom you so flatteringly regard are, if anything,the more rapacious and domineering."

On this assurance Ton Hi searched among his store and presentlyhe laid out such devices as he considered suitable for theoccasion. These were:

The figure of a rebel warrior chief, which on being compressedtowards the middle parts emitted a forbidding sound and extendedhis tongue and eyes in menace. But owing to some hidden defectnone of these things could be assured.

A gravity-removing figure described as Tcheng the Toad in whoseperson were contained most of the least attractive features bothof ordinary beings and of his own repulsive species.

A life-like representation of a scorpion of the most venomousorder. Properly adjusted it would cross the floor or drop from aheight and attach itself to the lower members of people of eithersort who were deemed to be suitable for hilarity-raising. Havingfallen into decay and its sense of direction becoming impaired noreliance could, however, be placed upon it besetting the intendedperson.

An assemblage of austerity-melting snares consisting of thingswhich were not as they appeared to be. These included suchagreeable guiles as pieces of red-hot charcoal which might becarelessly dropped upon a priceless rug; life-like features,extremities, and even limbs, which could apparently be broken offand left disconcertingly in the hands of those touching them;fictitious bandages indicating sanguinary wounds; labelled jarsof wine which when poured from emitted flames instead, and avariety of pleasurable artifices whereby pain, dread orhumiliation could be inflicted upon the unsuspecting. But none ofthem actually deceptive owing to the natural processes ofdeterioration.

As Ton Hi displayed these wares it is not to be supposed that hisscrupulous face betrayed any acute gratification, and althoughPrecious Gem was not really concerned to secure an adequatereturn for her outlay she also failed to maintain an appearanceof spontaneous gladness.

"None are worthy of your most distant glance, all being in someway faulty, time-worn, or superseded, and in most cases allthree," declared Ton Hi. "Your most satisfactory course,therefore, would be to seek the mart of Mok Cho who willassuredly produce a much more attractive selection."

"Yet this impersonation of the universally acclaimed Tcheng theToad, whose name was yesterday on every lip: though revolting inthe extreme it has all the fascination of the widely-known, andwould doubtless be greeted by the immature of either sort withshouts of rapture."

"Yesterday," assented Ton Hi; "but to-day Tcheng has given placeto Wang the Wonk, and no self-respecting infant whatever its Linewould now be seen in the Way grasping a representation of theformer creature."

"Is it not possible, without giving an actually misrepresentinglustre to goods, to endow them in the eyes of those who enteryour stall with some vestige of attraction?" enquired PreciousGem, on whose restraint Ton Hi's insatiable probity was beginningto exercise a corrosive influence. "There must surely exist adiscoverable way of not unprofitably combining an excessivepersonal integrity with reasonable commercial astuteness."

"It is impossible to doubt whatever is spoken in a voice thatresembles a five-stringed lute touched by a seraph's hand in anenchanted garden at evening," deferentially admitted Ton Hi."Nevertheless there occurs the profound Chang-li's caution: 'Itis better to be held dumb than to incur even the chance of beingthought boastful'."

"The ripe pearls of proverbial wisdom fall from your lips in socontinuous a stream that it is difficult for an ordinary personto disentangle their exact significance," declared Precious Gem,who was more high-spirited than philosophical. "Yet this muchdoes obtrude: that your determination to acquire not less thanfive hundred taels of silver by, so to speak, chop-stick orbarge-pole, may be regarded through the wrong end of a spyglass."

"Touching that," unassumingly replied Ton Hi, "it is shallow toignore the recondite Hang-chi's sage admonition: 'He who sets outto catch sturgeon with a shrimp-net will go——' " Butat this point a cry of despair in Precious Gem's most melodioustones warned Ton Hi that she had now reached the attenuatedlength of her endurance.

"Here then at least are five-score cash towards the attainmentwhich you so tastefully refer to under the analogy of anunsightly and gelatinous fish," she exclaimed, and casting astring of money at Ton Hi's feet she would have caught up thediscredited figure of Tcheng the Toad and fled had not the otherperson courteously detained her.

"The label indicating the price of five-score cash has long sincerun its course, and as the creature to which it refers is nolonger held in esteem eighty pieces of inferior copper currencywould be the utmost that could be righteously exacted.Furthermore, owing to the delusive obscurity of this ill-equippedstall it has doubtless escaped your too lenient eyes that one ofthe being's toes has gone hence for which at least a furtherhalf-score cash must be conceded, while with regard to this fadedspace marring its upper garment——"

"That which was already enough has now become too much—itis very plain that your mind is inexorably set against acquiringfive hundred taels by any process," declared Precious Gemexplicitly. "This one, however, is no mendicant by the wayside orchafferer at a stall to calculate to the minute fraction of astring of cash," and leaving the matter thus and thus sheimpulsively flung the object of her purchase far out into thePath Leading Nowhere and set off without a backward glancetowards the Further Expanse.

"The luminous Ching-yi had evidently someone very like PreciousGem in mind when he advanced the saying, 'An attractive woman ismore unsettling than an earthquake'," considered Ton Hi as he putback the rejected devices. "In the circ*mstances it is just aswell that she should have taken an active dislike to this one'sface, for all the fabled wealth of Shun* is not more unattainablethan the five hundred pieces of silver. Nevertheless, had thecontrolling deities been inclined it would have been pleasurableto have Precious Gem continually outraging this one's mostcherished emotions."

[* This legendary treasure, of incalculableworth, was stored in a remote cave, deep in the almostinaccessible craggy wilds of the spectre-haunted Ki-lingmountains. To enter the cave the venturesome had successively topass seven massive doors, each one sealed with a test and madeformidable by an incurred imprecation. The first door, of iron,and guarded by a co*ckatrice, yielded only to the person who hadnever done an evil deed; the second, brass, and watched by abasilisk, to one who had never spoken an unjust word; the third,silver, in the charge of a phoenix, to him who had nevercherished an unworthy thought. The fourth door was of gold, andstanding before it was a tortoise; this could only be passed byone so mindful of the immortal principle of life that he hadnever trodden on a beneficial, or even an inoffensive, insect.The fifth, malachite, its custodian a unicorn, was a bar to allwho had not so high a reverence for knowledge as never to havedestroyed a printed or written page or put one to questionableuses; while the sixth, of jade, and sentinelled by a wingeddragon, withstood those who could not match a propoundedantithesis.

The seventh and last barrier was a block ofcrystal, purposely transparent so that the treasure spread beyondcould be seen by one approaching. The keeper here was the demonof the cave, and the test enjoined that the seeker should neverhave given the most shadowy thought to what he would do with anypart of the fabulous wealth within when once he had obtainedit.

Few indeed could open a single door, and thepath was indicated by the bones of those who, through countlessaeons, had made the attempt and perished. Once only had thesanctuary been seriously menaced, this being when anexceptionally holy anchorite—one who had worn the samegarment and remained on the same spot for three and thirtyyears—passed door after door in an introspective reverie.Even the sixth obstruction could not withstand, since the devouthermit's contemplative silence presented the most perfectlymatched antithetical balance to the wordily spoken challenge. Inan extremity of panic for the integrity of their hoard the demonof the cave sought counsel of his fellows.]/p>

In the meanwhile the one whom he so constantly had in mind wasproceeding on her way and very soon she would have passed MokCho's pretentious stall had she not stopped to regard it. Thiswas made possible by its owner's ineradicable bad taste, for inplace of the seemly obscurity by which Ton Hi's establishment wascontained Mok Cho nightly hung a succession of powerful paperlanterns in such a way that while hidden themselves their lightflooded the external details of his egregious mart with an almostincredible radiance.

"This is surely the place which the mentally slow-witted but byno means unprepossessing Ton Hi advised me to affect," consideredPrecious Gem, who had by this time recovered the natural poise ofher essential temper. "Perhaps it would be as well to obey hisword therein since it must inevitably come to that in the end,and this being so it might be wise to observe how the enterprisemay be successfully conducted against such time as when this onewill herself have to take up a stand behind the serving bench ofthe Inconspicuous Elephant."

There was no need to strike the gong inside for Mok Cho himselfwas resting on his thumbs and his attitude was that of oneprepared to go to the ends of the earth to serve her purpose.When he learned the nature of her quest it could no longer bedisguised not only that the Resounding Lyre was the one place inall Shenking esteemed for such commodities, but that they hadthat day received an attractive consignment of the most approvedcontrivances from the leading device makers of the Capital.Nevertheless, when Precious Gem, later in her inner chamber,unfolded what she had bought it presently transpired that one ofthe parcels was void of its content, Mok Cho having adroitlydropped the article behind his serving bench as he affected tobind the package securely, while of the other purchases one wasdeficient of an important link and another did not look the samewhen regarded closely.

"It is very evident that although Mok Cho's immediate profit maybe large, when the extensive vista is considered Ton Hi's conductof the enterprise should really prove the more enduring," sheconsidered astutely.

But while allowing herself to be induced by Mok Cho's delusivemethods into acquiring his threadbare goods Precious Gem wasnarrowly observing all that went on around, and by a series ofapparently aimless remarks she enticed the obese-headed merchantinto boasting impressively of his most confidential arrangements.In this commendable way Precious Gem undoubtedly learned muchthat was not without an influence on the unfolding of events, butshe also unwittingly contrived a snare for her own feet, therebyshowing (as at a later day Ton Hi took occasion to point out)that the prescient Ying-ni had struck the spigot on the thickerend when he declared that there was equally an in and an out toevery opening.

This concerns the involvement that in making herself agreeable toMok Cho Precious Gem had, if anything, exceeded the necessarybounds of formal persuasion. So harmonious had been the subtlerinflections of her matchless voice, conjoined, as it were, withthe lighter manipulation of her not unexpressive eyes, that thepreposterous huckster beneath the Resounding Lyre presentlyformed the ill-digested conviction that she was allegiant to hiscause, while by some process which he could not accuratelyresolve he discovered that the possession of Precious Gem hadbecome essential to his existence. It is not to be denied that sofar as Precious Gem was concerned a similar result had frequentlyoccurred before, quite irrespective of any set intention on herpart, for, as it has been pithily expressed, if women andbullocks but knew their power all men would henceforth be rockingcradles or drawing wagons. In these, so to speak, indiscriminatecases, she with whom we are engaged had been able to evade anydefinite outcome by undertaking thenceforward to regard the oneof the other sort concerned as bound to her by ties of kinship,but Mok Cho was both too old and too obtuse to be lightly eluded.Bearing substantial tokens of his wealth and probitous intentionin outstretched arms he sought the house of Cheung upon theFurther Expanse and the day was not far distant when PreciousGem, stopping to recover a jewelled star that had chanced toescape from her lavishly-arranged hair while passing her idolisedfather's imperfectly latched door, could not close her ears intime to avoid grasping that the assurance of a thousand taels ofsilver and the formal exchange of mutual cups of wine had adirect bearing on her own ambitions.

"This comes of taking too literally the recommendation of one whoin spite of an agreeable personality would be more suitablyplaced balancing apothegms on the edge of a contingenteventuality than conducting a decrepit commercial enterprise inthe face of relentless present-day conditions," was the outcomeof her deliberation.

Thus positioned, with the reverence due to an all-but-worshippedfather on the right hand and on the left the ingrained diffidenceof a carefully nurtured maiden towards one of the other sort whonot only failed to possess the necessary means by which toestablish their hopes but who maintained an inflexible reluctancetowards procuring them, it might have occasioned no reproach ifPrecious Gem had meekly kowtowed to a destiny that appearedinevitable. Nor, still further to explore the ground, could it beany assuagement of her distress that this dilemma was to acertain extent of her own fashioning.

"Had this one's capricious footsteps not been drawn towards thetainted Mok Cho's pretentious door," flowed the trend of herlogically-directed line of thought, when she was again safelywithdrawn to a distance, "that outrageous person would not atthis moment be negotiating with an ever-to-be-honoured butadmittedly more often than not mentally bed-ridden parent on sovery delicate a subject. Yet there must surely exist some meanswhereby to frustrate this obscene conspiracy, or are the ImmortalPrinciples of Essential Right and Wrong suspended?"

As she formulated this profound misgiving Precious Gem raised hereyes to the Tablet before which she happened to bestanding—that of a several times distant cognate of herLine, who in a somewhat similar case had been disposed of to anexceptionally unpleasant high military official—and shenever afterwards expressed any doubt whatever that the course ofaction then suggested to her mind was by the direct guidance ofthis protecting ancestral spirit.

"If," ran the analogy that took spontaneous form apart fromconscious effort, "if this person was led to turn into Mok Cho'smart merely at the instigation of one individual, of whosebusiness discrimination (as apart from his personal charm) shehas only a negative regard, what must be the effect on the mindsof the generality of lesser ones—admittedly of a lowerstandard of mentality than she who is now formulating thescheme—if they should be urged to bend their footsteps inthe direction of the Inconspicuous Elephant by a hundredinsistent persuasions of whose source or origin they knowabsolutely nothing?" Therein lay the nucleus of Precious Gem'srevelation.

At this, our own advanced stage of commercial enterprise, when itis not unusual—much as those who expire reluctantly maydeplore the change—for even integritous traders to admit ifclosely taxed that what they vend is not inferior to the wares ofrival neighbours, it may involve some stress of mind to realisethe courteous days when no really polite stall-keeper would ceaseto protest in suitable terms that not only were his commoditiesinferior to those of everyone else but that a close comparison ofthe cost would establish how they were appreciably dearer. Noother course seemed endurable in that halcyon age to those who inaddition to selling merchandise were also beings of a kindredsocial structure; for what man standing beneath the lintel of hisdoor even to-day would raise an assertive voice and proclaim tothe passing throng that he was better, his house larger, hismethods purer, his income and outgo vaster, and that he was inevery way superior, more worthy of esteem and immeasurablyquicker-moving than all those who dwelt around him? Certainly itwas not so in the expansive days of the Three Kingdoms when ascrupulous fruit-seller of Ai-kiang on being asked whether hislichi were sound throughout made this notable reply:

"To affirm that my lichi are sound at heart might, to theperfunctory ears of some chance passer-by, be construed intoindicating that those at the stall of Sing-ho across the way arerotten to the core. Integrity will shine through an externalrind, but it is better to eat underdone fish in a friend's housethan to raise the spirit of discord."

Let it be freely confessed—as the meticulous maycontend—that in every age there have existed those ofdegraded propensities who while not going to the length ofactually extolling what they purvey have not scrupled by variousinsidious wiles to create an atmosphere favourable to their ownselfish interests. Not to indicate a spot a thousand li distantfrom Shenking there was the unendurable Mok Cho (for whom, as themore intellectual of those who have so far persevered with thisbadly-narrated episode will by now have begun to suspect, asuitable end is in preparation) but they were always regarded asbeing persons who effected what was not perpetrated.

How then, it may be asked, was Precious Gem going to achieve herend seeing that it involved the very antithesis of establishedcustom? To this it may be aptly replied that in defying theusages, as in leaping a swollen stream, to exceed the normallimit may well succeed whereas to go only half way willinevitably result in disaster. Furthermore, it may be added thatas Ton Hi, with whose ascendancy Precious Gem may be said to haveallied her cause, was virtuous and worthy of esteem, while MokCho was plainly depraved and probably in league with demons, itwould be profane to doubt which would ultimately triumph.

Thereafter ensued a period when Precious Gem's movements were sodiverse and rapidly outlined that it was impossible to followtheir involvement. Those to whom her footsteps were best knownwould speak of encountering her in remote and unlikely quartersof the city, but, it was added, her usually carefully gummed hairwas devoid of shapely style, her attire serviceable rather thanthat of one who reclined at languid ease, no jewels or ornamentsset off her lotus grace—even her priceless jade armletshaving apparently gone hence—nor, to crown so distressingan edifice with a final cope, did she respond gladly to the well-meant suggestion of a leisurely three or four days at the selectTheatre of Ten Thousand Attractions.

During this term either regard or the necessity of her searchtook her more than once on a path that led past Ton Hi'sunpretentious home, but with matters positioned thus and thus shedid not consider it becoming to look in that direction.Nevertheless she could not fail to become aware of variousindications about and with an emotion that held a pang sherealised that the approving expression on the InconspicuousElephant's face had now given place to an anxious look ofsuspense, as of one who doubtfully watches the unfolding of anexisting scene in which he is deeply concerned but can offer nopractical assistance. Of Ton Hi himself there was no definiteindication, for having by this time formed the not unreasonablebelief that no one would ever enter his shop again the oneconcerned now passed all his time either endeavouring to incitethe meagre vegetation of his scanty plot of earth intoproductiveness, as all other means of sustenance had failed, orin composing aphorisms suitable for the occasion.

It was at this point that Precious Gem opened what for want of asaying to describe something hitherto unseen became referred tothereafter as a "make-known attack"—the first in thehistory of commercial persuasion. Between that time and thepopular revulsion during the next dynasty-but-one, when Li Ching,who controlled eleven thousand "rope-marts," was compelled towalk through the crowded Ways clad in a shred of cloth andcarrying a bowl of rice, with the inscription, "Thediscriminating person needs nothing more: why then support myeleven thousand superfluous and parasitical rope-marts?" hunground about his neck, Precious Gem lived to witness suchextraneities of her inspired scheme as public competitions in theart of casem*nt bedecking, academies whereat successful disposal-ship was taught and the most enticing ways of allurement-writing;also systems by which ordinary persons were encouraged not onlyto purchase but to carry away whatever they desired without anyobligation to pay for it. Not all of these were to receive herunstinted approval.

No absolute record has been kept of the exact date or the preciseorder in which Precious Gem launched her "make-known attack" butit is reasonably inferred that it began when the city of Shenkingwas thrown into a ferment by the appearance overnight of aplacard, affixed to every convenient spot, bearing the words:

CLOSELY REGARD THIS SPACE FOR
THAT WHICH WILL APPEAR HEREAFTER

and so deep was the concern aroused that many devout persons arecredibly affirmed to have maintained a night-long vigil at thesepoints expecting something of a supernatural order to manifest.Doubtless it was from this cause that nothing more appeared untilthey had withdrawn, but a period later it was found that by someunseen agency each one of these announcements had been supersededby another whereon might be read:

WHAT IS THAT WHICH IS AT THE SAME TIME
AMPLITUDINOUS AND YET IMPERCEPTIBLE?

To an involvement-loving people this could but be in the natureof an implied challenge and many and diverse were the proclaimedsolutions which were traced in various degrees of brushmanshipupon every displayed placard. In the lower quarter of the city anoccasional lapse from strict seemliness was aregrettable—if frequently gravity-moving—characteristic of the suggestions, while a tendencyto penetrate into the subtleties of classical analogy marked thetone of the purely literary districts. Between these extremitiesa spirit of tolerant reciprocity prevailed and at any angle ofthe Ways there might be seen persons as varied as chair-carriersand wearers of superior buttons, periodical removers ofsuperfluous dust and the wives of high officials, all courteouslypressing each other to take precedence of themselves and manyremaining to commend—while within hearing—oneanother's efforts. No event of such general interest had takenplace at Shenking within the memory of the most venerableresident. Several lottery offices conducted ventures turning onthe result.

When this development might be assumed to have established asufficient hold and every corner of the city was agog withrumour—and not only Shenking itself but among the villagesand spaces around for many score li distant—the expectedannouncement appeared:

AN INCONSPICUOUS ELEPHANT
IS BOTH COLOSSAL AND UNOBTRUSIVE

It is to be found in the Path Leading Nowhere (save thereunto)and offers a variety of astonishing reductions in every sectionof acquirement. At the Inconspicuous Elephant your dreams cometrue and whatever a person may have imagined it will be foundthat the accommodating Ton Hi will be able to produce somethingquite considerably beyond it. Furthermore, in the case of theInconspicuous Elephant one tael achieves more than two taelselsewhere.

Bend therefore your hastening footsteps in the direction of theInconspicuous Elephant and if you would avoid the stress bendthem promptly.

With a docile and proclamation-observing race the effect of thisnotice—which, being the first of its kind ever to appear,many assumed to be an official decree—was immediate andprofound. The Path Leading Nowhere would soon have becomeimpassable by reason of contending chairs and hurrying throngshad not a resourceful keeper of the Ways put out a sign notifyingthat it was to be regarded as an in-but-not-out thoroughfare andthereafter amity prevailed though it is not to be denied thatthere were exceptions. Before the Inconspicuous Elephant specialcustodians of the public rule marshalled what would otherwisehave been an unruly mob into an ordered line, for whoseentertainment as the day progressed, street jugglers andcontortionists performed their feats, minstrels sang well-knownballads, beggars exposed their claims to charity and vendors ofsweetmeats, fruit, cordials and essences assembled. So successfulwas this novel expedient for avoiding the usual fatalconsequences of a stress (to whose constitution the term "pig-tail" was at once applied in allusion to the line's sinuousattenuation) that thereafter it became universal. But that day soincredible was the rumour of an orderly crowd which moved inunison that many coming with no other intention beyond satisfyingtheir eyes became involved in its extended ambient and so wereled through the open door to become customers.

Meanwhile Ton Hi had been drawn into the scheme despite hisfundamental apathy towards every form of self advancement. Leftto himself it is obvious that the scanty contents of his denudedshelf would soon have melted away like a field of rice before aswarm of locusts, but so essential a detail was not likely tohave escaped Precious Gem's capable strategy. Before the daybegan a considerable line of stalwart porters halted at Ton Hi'sdoor and despite his repeated protests they proceeded to unloadtheir burdens there and to display what was contained within hisstall until every available span of capacity was taxed and eventhe outer walls festooned and garlanded with goods of the lesscovetable order. This, the leader of the band explained, they didat the behest of one who would be nameless, nor, he added, werethey likely to be dissuaded from their course since Ton Hi'spolite dissent was as gently falling snow compared with thesuccession of thunderbolts to be expected from that other oneshould they impair her purpose. Subsequently Ton Hi had littletime to do anything beyond passing on such wares as were requiredand receiving the price in exchange. He was not even given theopportunity to point out any imperfections that might exist, bothby reason of the stress and also because he had not had theleisure himself to become acquainted with their failings. Towardsevening he underwent an emotion to go forth and destroy all thenotifications bearing his name but he realised that he hadneither the time nor the vigour to achieve his purpose. Thatnight he slept on the unyielding floor of his stall, the boxunder the serving bench being now occupied by countless stringsof cash among which pieces of silver were by no means infrequent.

What took place thereafter might be measured by what had gonebefore, for Ton Hi had passed into a supine state in which hemutely acquiesced to all that was happening round him. Againbefore daybreak a company of load-bearers appeared andreplenished his stock and a little later craftsmen carrying toolsattacked one of his walls and cut a door where there had beennone before so that the stream of those who came to buy shouldsuffer no delay but pass in and out by separate channels.

That day kites of an unprecedented size were flown above allquarters of Shenking each bearing as its tail an inscribed scrollextolling Ton Hi's wares and also his domestic virtues; while atnight a lavish display of coloured lights wrote the same messageagainst the darkened heavens by a hitherto unthought of processof sky-inscribing and though a few of the more orthodoxmaintained that to make use of the floor whereon the deitiesactually stood for announcing bargain lines in articles ofpersonal wear fell athwart the Celestial Code all agreed that itwould certainly be as well to pay the Inconspicuous Elephant anearly visit. To reach the more austere and lofty-headed, PreciousGem hired for a period a reserved space in the Shenking Gong-Strokes and therein day after day she wrote in a most high-minded strain of Human Endeavour, the Profundities at Large, ofthe After-allness of Attainable Effort, and similar veryhonourable emotions. These inspired essays might be credited withthe thumbprint of an enlightened philosopher of a bygone age but,it was claimed, those who were responsible for the conduct of theInconspicuous Elephant (which almost escaped mention) actedlikewise.

Meanwhile several deft-fingered adherents had been pressed in toshare Ton Hi's toil, every night a weighty bag of silver wasburied in a safe place, and the one himself, no longer able tofind sufficient room even on the floor of his mart, was driven tosleep outside beneath a sheltered angle.

It is not to be thought that the clay-souled Mok Cho would tamelykowtow before this growing edifice of a despised rival'sadvancement. Had he been a person of less repulsive parts itwould have been possible to accord him a certain amount ofsympathy in this, for, not content with exalting Ton Hi, PreciousGem soon combined with that a determination to prostrate theResounding Lyre. Side by side with the notices commending the onethere might be read those impugning the other and look which wayhe would Mok Cho could not avoid seeing banners inscribed with awarning to shun his mart, coupled with the advice to those whomight be so unfortunate as to be enticed in to weigh whatever wasdue to them with their own scales, to hold all fabrics up againstthe light, not for a moment to leave their belongings unguardedon his serving bench and so forth. Still later she 'employed anelusive band who chalked arrows indicating the position of MokCho's stall and with them such directions as: "To the Robber'sCave," "This Leads to the Pirate's Lair," "Continue along theIndicated Line if You would be Plundered."

Throughout this period Mok Cho did little beyond grinding hisunsightly teeth and invoking ceremonial curses as he viewed hisdiminished gains but on the day when he found a notice pegged tohis outer gate in which he was described as, "the famouscontriver of illusions and counter-delusions including thecelebrated and continually-repeated disappearing-purchase act," hetook counsel with another.

"It is futile to think of carrying your grievance to themandarin's court," advised the friend, "seeing that all which hasbeen said, if discourteously expressed, can be more thansubstantiated. Had it been she of whom you complain alonesomething might have been done by a criminal charge with hiredwitnesses, but by this time Ton Hi will have grown so rich thathe could easily hire twice your number."

"May bats procreate among both their ancestral tombs and apesresort to their ruined temples for unspeakable purposes,"mechanically repeated Mok Cho, whose mind was now turned towardsa deeper project. "In this matter can you be relied upon tosupport my, shoulder?"

"If my indebtedness to the extent of five taels seventy-five cashcan thereby be wiped out I am with you to any extremity," repliedthe friend. "There is also Pan Wo owing you a somewhat similaramount whom it might be as well to take, for, as the adage says,what two make sure three make certain."

It is sufficient indication of the decayed state of Mok Cho'smind that he agreed to this compact without demur—he whobut a short moon before would have fought relentlessly, cash bycash, for some part of the debt's retention. On thisunderstanding they parted.

The sordid scheme by which Mok Cho planned to dispose of Ton Hionce and for all had much to recommend it. Carrying a weightyclub concealed beneath his robe and with a friend on either sidehe would knock upon his rival's door some gong-strokes after darkand when the ways and the spaces around were all deserted. WhenTon Hi appeared the other would strike him as often as might benecessary with the iron staff, the two accomplices meanwhile eachholding him by the right hand and the left to bear down anyresistance. They would then scatter and despoil the contents ofthe place by which it would appear that thieves had done this,attracted by a report of the wealth which Ton Hi was known tohave gathered. There being three of them each man would have twowitnesses to testify to the contrary, no matter what might bebrought against him.

In ordinary circ*mstances there can be no reason to doubt thatthis would have proceeded as arranged or although Ton Hi was notwhere they had thought he would inevitably have obliginglyappeared in answer to the summons. But as Mok Cho beat upon thefastened door there was a threatening sound above and before itcould be sufficiently realised what was taking place the massivevolume of the Inconspicuous Elephant had overborne its poise andwas precipitating itself upon them. Pan Wo and that other one,both standing more remote, received the extremities of its headand tail and escaped with broken limbs but the effete Mok Cholurking directly beneath, gathered the middle part and from thatthere was no hope of presentable extrication. Recognising his endhe explained to Ton Hi and those who had been attracted by thenoise how it had come about and after admitting that on the wholeit was a suitable and not undeserved close to a thoroughly ill-spent life he composed himself as well as, in the very difficultcirc*mstances, he reasonably could and unobtrusively PassedUpwards.

Those who must needs measure all happenings by a scored rule orby an earthen measure pointed out that some of the fastenings hadcorroded away and sought to demonstrate that even so slight a jaras Mok Cho's aggressive blows was sufficient to disturb a precisebalance; but Precious Gem, visiting the spot a little later,observed the expression of complacent satisfaction (despite thefact that it lay under side upwards) which the devoted mammal'sfeatures had now assumed and recognised that this had beenloyally achieved with a deliberate purpose.

It is well said, "When you have washed a pig he will dry himselfa*gainst a dunghill," and the conduct of Pan Wo and his baseaccomplice in wrong-doing, after they had sufficiently recoveredof their hurt, amply confirms the statement. Maintaining thatwhat had befallen arose out of the nature of their hired task andholding the fault to be Ton Hi's in that he did not efficientlyrestrain a creature which, whether alive or dead, was manifestlycapable of inflicting a material scar, they took their case tothe Court of Those Who Have Nothing to Lose and sought to havethe one who had meanwhile been not unsympathetic towards theirplight made answerable for the future. As Ton Hi repeatedlymaintained, it was not the amount of silver involved but afundamental principle of justice that was at stake; indeed theunstinted nature of the offerings that he privately bestowed notonly on the chief magistrate concerned but on all the courtofficials sufficiently proved that he was taking on his new-foundprosperity in no rind-scraping spirit. In the end a not ignobledecision was reached for while the ruling held that the elephantwas legally to blame it was equally agreed that had Ton Hiexerted all his restraining influence he would have beenpowerless to arrest it. What the elephant had already done therecould be no pledge that it would not do again and since it wascontrary to the Enactment of Yaou wittingly to maintain acreature of uncertain mood the judgment was that Ton Hi shouldforthwith destroy it. The loss weighed on Precious Gem the moreheavily of the two but in the end she was consoled by having thesubstance recast in the form of a neat but serviceable bronzechain whereby (with small recumbent elephants on every uprightpost) the shop was then encircled; so that, although in anotherform, it could still safeguard their welfare.

With the out-passing of Mok Cho it may be said that the period ofTon Hi's unworthy trial was definitely closed. To mark theoccasion of their union—though it would not have occurredto Ton Hi—all those who purchased above a certain amountthat day were freely given a small portion of the wedding feastin a richly-mounted box and it was understood that certain luckyattributes would be theirs if they performed a simple observance.Under Precious Gem's fostering care the InconspicuousElephant—which, with the passing of the sign, she renamedthe Stupendous Mammoth—took on a hitherto-unattemptedlustre so that ordinary persons passing that way after a lapsewere accustomed to say that they would have failed to recognisethe building; nor in this were they merely conversing as theywalked for in the period between the third year of the EmperorChe Huang-te and the completion of The Wall Precious Gem pulleddown the existing structure eleven times and on each occasionrebuilt it on a different and more lavish basis. When not engagedin pulling down she completely hollowed out the lower parts(using for this task a newly-invented inflammable grit which hadthe property of disrupting large masses) and established it aswhat was called an "attraction area" to which people wereconveyed by means of revolving ladders. In these caves it wasusual to receive for ten-and-three-quarters cash what at a higherlevel would require eleven and although those who profitedthereby were unable to discover where the involvement layPrecious Gem did not seem unduly concerned however much they thusgained from her.

In all this Ton Hi would have faithfully borne a part althoughmany of the details were alien to his nature but after he hadpointed out what he considered to be the shortcomings of anattractive display of head-coverings for the ones of the innerchambers to those who would otherwise have bought, Precious Gemconceived the expedient of entrusting to his charge the care of astall for the sale of fruit and produce of the earth which wasgrown in his own extensive gardens. Thereby she attained her endfor Ton Hi's conscientious nature would not allow him to admitthat anything could excel, either in flavour or size, theperfection of these achievements.

"I beg of you——" he began, when the tortoise, thesagest among created things, interrupted.

"Not of us—of the saintly recluse himself," was his craftyadvice, and noting his half closed eye the demon foundenlightenment. He at once transformed himself into a beggar ofthe most untouchable caste, afflicted with every known diseaseand a mass of cancerous sores. In this distressing guise heintercepted the pious solitary between the sixth and sevenththresholds and displaying himself at full claimed that one'scharity.

"What I have not I cannot bestow," was the compassionate reply,"but so dire is your need that if I possessed the treasury ofShun I would freely share it with you."

No sooner had the word been spoken than an unprecedented crash ofthunder shook the earth, but even above it could be heard theoffensive laughter of the seven guardians of the cave, nowdelivered from their benumbing apprehension. When the sympatheticzealot recovered consciousness he was lying, naked and bruised,on the mountain side, his life having been spared as anexceptional tribute to his saintly qualities.

VI. — THE STORY OF SAM-TSO, THE FAMILY
CALLED WONG AND THE WILLING BUFFALO.

ALTHOUGH the company that gathered around and formed themselvesinto a circle at the sound of Kai Lung's distinctive call or themelodious beating of his hollow duck were for the most partdocile in bearing and alliant to his cause there were from timeto time those who stood forth and raised an aggressive voice.This they might do either with the hope of gaining a fictitiouslustre in their fellows' eyes or as an ignoble subterfugewhereby, being dissentient, they should not be expected tocontribute to the bowl. Failing these reasons it may be safelyassumed that any such persons were not of a desirable kind.

"It has been claimed, story-teller," insidiously suggested onewho was guilty of this offence, "that there is no emergency inlife for which the retentive tablets of your mind cannot furnishan apt and profitable illustration?"

"That contention may have been advanced in the presumptuous flushof this person's youth, when he was, perchance, more prone torespond to a vainglorious challenge than to assume a seemlydiffidence," fitly replied Kai Lung. "Nowadays, no such arrogantboast can be traced to his utterance."

"Then the inadequacy is confessed and the vaunt of the claimwithdrawn?" craftily pressed the other, looking round for theexpected approval of his mercenary wile, and he pushed thecollecting bowl still further from his reach as if to indicatethat from one so exposed nothing could be expected that wouldprove worth rewarding.

"By no means: it is merely that there exists no need to claimwhat is universally admitted," benignly replied Kai Lung."Except," he added negligently, "at the distorting lips ofmalice, the illiterate, or incapable and discredited rivals."

When the murmur of approval that greeted this dignified retorthad died away (for following Kai Lung's glance many nowrecognised in the one who would have caused dissension Li Fung,who earned a sordid inadequacy of broken cash by chantingequivocal ballads with his foot thrust in at the door of dubioustea-houses) another stood forth and in a very different guisesuitably expressed what must have been in the minds of many ofthe assembly:

"Yet how can it be, accomplished Kai Lung, that amid the ever-changing facets of our strenuous age a classical example shouldbe forthcoming for every happening now, seeing that many of thearts and devices upon which the theme must hinge were yet unknownin the epic days of mighty doings and legendary heroes?"

"Ngou-you, the message-carrier, has indeed struck the spigot onthe thicker end," Confided half the gathering, one to another;"it is not in vain that he has trained the faculties. That isprecisely what hung upon this person's lips at the moment."

"The question is a natural one," replied Kai Lung, "and theinoffensive way in which it has been put demands a fittinganswer....It is beyond denial that amid the interminableprocess of countless aeons the very foundations of thesubstantial earth have moved so that even the immemorial barriersof the Whang Ho itself have seven times altered. Yetnotwithstanding this, three things upon which all outcomes dependhave remained the same since time began: the unstable heart ofman, the abiding courses of the guiding stars, and theinscrutable purpose of the supreme deities."

"That is outside reasonable dispute," declared a needy wood-cutter, standing among the fringe, to those who chanced to benearest; "for when the one who is disclosing the fact staked theentire proceeds of a laborious day upon the prowess of a certainquail, seen in a lucky dream, the malign influence of anoverlooked planet——" but at this point hisneighbours, finding that something was being said which they weremissing, blew threateningly from between their teeth in hisdirection.

"This being so," the story-teller had continued, "it unfolds thatwhile the pattern of the frame, as it were, in which thedelineation may be displayed is amenable to endless change, theessentials of the depicted scene, having their roots in humannature, the disturbing influence of fate and the high purpose ofthe all-seeing gods, speak in terms that are eternal."

"There is a certain amount of plausibleness in what is claimed,"contended the woodland-man to those about him, "though theincapable performance of a hitherto victorious fighting birdrequires more explanation than——" but he was againsignified that his voice was deemed superfluous.

"It may be that a virtuous son, desirous of performing a filialact to-day would continually deny himself the insidious delightsof rapidly-outlined figures seen upon an illuminated screen, inorder to procure for a venerated sire an ingenious device wherebyhis leisure would be solaced with the harmonious clash ofinexistent bands proceeding from a closed box destitute of hiddenwires. Yet wherein does the essence of this devotion differ fromthe classic instance of Tsang-ho of the ancient State of Yen, anofficial of high rank and proverbially austere, who at the ripeage of three-score years and ten did not hesitate to climb a talltree and hang by his feet suspended from its branches at the sametime repeatedly scratching his sides, in order, by this gravity-dispelling impersonation, to scatter the gathering clouds of adark depression by which his patriarchal father's mentalstability was threatened?"

"That bears on the subject of which this person just now spoke,"thrust in the inert-witted peasant, endeavouring to claim theattention of those nearest to his elbow. "It being well knownthat the matter of nocturnal visions rule in opposites, to see ahigh official upside down must indicate——" but thosewhom he would engage in speech, without making any pretence ofpolite regrets, moved to more distant positions.

"This naturally calls for the story of the merchant Sam-tso, thelowly house of Wong and the compliant buffalo," proceeded KaiLung, "since a general interest has obviously been shown towardsa portrayal of the qualities involved and the situations therebydeveloped; for it has never been the custom of this admittedlyill-qualified narrator of recorded facts to shirk the prescribedtest, however severe, set by an expectant and invariably large-hearted and open-handed throng of listeners."

Having by this inoffensive move led the awaiting circle to assumethat the story (which it had indeed been his original intentionto relate) was one especially brought forward at their behest,and thereby established an implied pledge on their munificence,Kai Lung abstractedly drew attention to the ornamental designembellishing the outer surface of his collecting bowl, struckthree premonitory notes upon the wooden duck and taking up asuitable position upon his much-worn mat began the indicatednarrative.

DURING the reign of the amiable but short-sighted Emperor Quang-te (called by posterity "the Unassuming" from his neglect ofoutward display) an inconspicuous earth-tiller of the Province ofKiang Si, Wong Hi his name, sought by the exercise of unceasingtoil and an ever-watchful thrift to attain a life-long ambition.This was that one of his House should rise to a position ofofficial rank and after gaining distinction at the Competitionseventually become the wearer of a superior button. Yet in thisWong Hi pursued no selfish end (apart from a fleeting vision ofsome slight deference paid to his spirit in the Upper Air by lessofficially-connected spirits) well knowing that the spectacle ofyoung birds carrying choice worms to the old is of remoteoccurrence.

In this desire that one of themselves should bring lasting reputeto the Ancestral Tablets of their Line Wong Hi was no lessloyally supported by Han, his wife, and when the season of theirfruitfulness was past they considered those who sat at theirboard so that the one best qualified for the task might be chosenand all their endeavour concentrated on his advancement.

Valiant Arm, their first-born, was at once dismissed, it havingbeen plain for some time that whatever qualities he possessed layin another direction. He was a strenuous worker in the field,adept at snaring birds and luring fish but prone to fall into astupor if asked to compose the simplest apothegm and by no meansparticular in his choice of classical expressions. Clearly hispart in the scheme was to remain at home and labour with hisstrength, thereby contributing to the support of his chosenbrother.

Bright Hope came next and in his case it was by no means easy toreach a fixed decision. There were times when it seemed as if hemight have been destined to rise to any height but the nextmoment by a perverse mood he would shatter the germinatingpromise. When not employed in active toil he would often reclineextended at ease, generally with closed eyes, but those whothought him asleep were liable to a sharp rebuff for there was nosudden question to which he could not produce an immediate andapt reply, involving though it might a close antithesis or aremote parallel allusion. Working among the rice he could evenoutdo Valiant Arm for a time, but presently his inclination wanedand going apart he might spend the passing gong-strokesunprofitably casting small missiles at a mark or even observingthe behaviour of insects. On such occasions if companionablyapproached with a congenial word he was liable to consign thewell-meaning intruder to the Beneath Regions or to recommend himto the society of demons; yet in general Bright Hope wasrestrained in speech and so compliant in grain that, unlessmorose, he would readily give away whatever he possessed orcheerfully undertake the allotted task of another.

"He is not of a nature that conforms to the official mould," WongHi would regretfully declare; "otherwise he could have pluckedmelons from the tops of lofty bamboos. But to concentrate all ourhopes on him would be to embark in a gracefully proportioned junkof which the planks were glued together."

When Bright Hope heard this pronouncement he laughed, but withoutrancour.

"When the time comes, revered," was his spirited reply, "the onewhom you decry will harness six influential mandarins to thewhippletree of his plough and with them harry an entireProvince."

Although not given to speech Valiant Arm had many opportunitiesof observing his brother in his various moods and when he spokehe was explicit.

"He is not one of ourselves," Valiant Arm was wont to maintainapart. "He is an outside man beneath, or even something moreremote than that, and one favourable moon he will ignore theTablets on the wall and forget the path leading to our door andgo hence from among us. Regard this person's utterance."

Han also, though far too deferential to raise a dissentientvoice, would gladly have seen Bright Hope's cause upheld but shelikewise had uneasy visions. She recalled how rebelliously inwaves his hair had long refused to submit to a seemly line andthat at first his eyes had been of an unnatural paleness. Couldit be that by some indiscreet thought or unconsidered act she hadmade it possible for any mischievous Being to convey into theformless growth an element of his own alien nature?

On the qualities of Fragrance and Delight there is no need todwell. They were two-togethers, and being of the lesser sorttheir only possible use in the scheme would be to attend to thewants of others.

Sturdy Vine gave promise of being the chosen hope but a few moreseasons yet would have to pass before he could be definitelyassured in this position. Meanwhile he was both apt and sincereand being instructed to press relentlessly towards a literaryattainment he was the only one on whom no settled domestic taskwas laid. Even little Wei and still smaller Chu had tools suitedto their puny hands and were required to contribute aproportionate share towards the common ambition. Meanwhile it wasnot hidden that should either of them overshadow Sturdy Vine astheir years increased the latter would be resolutely dispossessedof his privilege and return to a life of manual toil while thesupplanter automatically stepped into his position. Oneunremunerative member was the utmost that the frugal Wonghousehold could afford to carry.

When the light of day was definitely withdrawn so that it was nolonger possible to labour in the field or even to continue withthe simplest tasks about the homestead Wong Hi was accustomed tocall the family to his side and surrounded by his five sons (withHan and the other two taking their places at a respectfuldistance behind) to speak with them on such subjects as were bestsuited for discussion. In this way he hoped to test the range andthe capacity of each so that he might justly estimate theirvaried claims to be the chosen one when the moment came for anirrevocable decision. Towards the successful issue of theirmutual hopes he freely admitted that there existed contingenciesbeyond their power to rule and to illustrate this he repeated thesix-fold obligations laid down by the Inspired Teacher. He alsoenjoined on Sturdy Vine that at a convenient time he shouldinscribe these principles in his worthiest style and hang thescroll in a prominent place so that none could plead an ignoranceof the hazards their quest involved:

It is to be accounted to the mother's blame if a child does notescape the perils of fire and water.

It is to be reckoned in the father's account if having escapedthese risks a son is not given (at the braiding of his hair) theadvantages of a teacher.

It is then his own fault if having gone to a school the pupildoes not make good progress.

It is by his friends' shortcomings if having satisfactorilyprogressed he attains no reputation.

It is the Board of Authority's neglect if having achieved areputation he is not recommended for office.

It is by the ruling Sovereign's default if when he has beenrecommended for office he is not confirmed in an appointment.

IN the days of their virility it had been the custom of Wong Hiand Han to draw the plough themselves, sustained at the turn ofevery furrow by reminding one another how much a suitable animalwould have cost and the constant toll of its provision. Later,when Han was found to be unequal to the task, Wong Hi maintainedthat a hard-striving and not too voracious beast would reallyconstitute a gain and in this humane way he sought to reconcileHan to her weakness.

The purchase of a vigorous but exceptionally gentle-heartedbuffalo undoubtedly proved a severe tax on their hidden store butthis was soon forgotten in the well-expressed delight all took intheir new possession. The buffalo for its part left no stoneunturned to prove the fitness of their choice; there was no tasktoo arduous for its willing limbs, no gong-strokes too long forits unforced endurance, and in a hundred tactful ways it stroveto reciprocate the care and affection lavished on it. Heretoforeit had merely been known as Moo, with no particular qualitiesinvolved, but it was now to be called Thoughtful Sage from theplacid and introspectful nature of its expression. When notactively engaged in needful toil Fragrance and Delight wouldsearch for bright flowers along the remoter ways and these theystrung into garlands to hang round its responsive neck, meanwhiletelling it of such simple doings in their daily life as might bedeemed most fitting. The polished smoothness of its gracefulhorns was the gratified Wei's proud and especial care and nothingformed a more effective check on Chu's behaviour than the threatthat he would no longer be allowed to clean and blacken its hoofseach day unless he proved himself worthy. On Wong Hi himself andalso on Valiant Arm devolved the more practical details ofThoughtful Sage's usefulness. Bright Hope stood somewhat apart asone who came between two decades but when called upon he bore hisshare with meticulous care and on more than one occasion, duringa period of failing crops, he was known to divide his scanty farewith their willing helper. Even Sturdy Vine, who never crossedthe threshold without an open scroll, asked that a settled task,however trivial, might be placed upon him, but this was deemedinexpedient.

Thus and thus the position stood as the seasons passed and WongHi was again beginning to account the slowly replenished hoard asadequate for the accomplishment of its destined use when a direand wholly unlooked-for calamity befell the frugal andindustrious household. Thoughtful Sage, which had gone to itsaccustomed toil in its usual willing mood, returned withlethargic step and vacuous eye and despite the repeatedentreaties of the entire family would neither eat nordrink—not even when Wei and Chu brought their own littlebowls of evening rice, though at this mark of solicitude it madea touching effort. The following day it lay inert and despite theexorcism of a very esteemed spell-caster whom they procured withno heed of the cost, that night the truly courteous spirit ofThoughtful Sage uncomplainingly Passed Upwards. Anxious to make atangible return to justify his heavy dues the conscientioussoothsayer disclosed by the aid of subtle tests that in some wayor other the inoffensive creature must have incurred the enmityof a revengeful Being, or perchance, he added, disturbed therepose of a nesting co*ckatrice. Bright Hope was understood tomaintain aside that the likelihood pointed towards consuming anoxious herb but this was charitably ascribed to a passing moodof choler.

THE story of the inconspicuous Wong family and a rich but perhapsearthly-minded merchant called Sam-tso is chiefly commendable onaccount of the example it affords of how the intricately relatedlines of destiny may be controlled to play their appointed partsin leading diverse persons into situations necessary in order toaccord with the requirements of the outcomes which the arrangingdeities have all along had in view. To those who in a narrow-minded vein complain that a similar result could be obtained in asimpler way by leaving things to themselves it is only necessaryto point to the starry Above and ask where the two who are nowconversing philosophically together would be if the Bodies wereallowed to gyrate on aimless paths and clash irresponsiblytogether. "Any man's hand may draw the bow," says the wisecounsellor, "but the will of an Unseen Ruler directs the arrow."

Had the one who is so crudely relating the matter here exerciseda more balanced grasp over the facts to be portrayed, theimportance of Sam-tso in the events that are to follow might havebeen, if only casually, as it were pressed in at a point more inkeeping with his undoubted position.

At that time the one described if not actually the mostsubstantial merchant in the neighbouring strong town of Kien-fiwas certainly the heaviest, and if there were not wanting thosewho made an allusive gesture at the mention of his name this wasdoubtless traceable to interested motives. Regarding the exactnature of Sam-tso's commerce it is a little difficult to explainits scope but broadly speaking it would seem to consist of avariety of enterprises under different signs but all socommendable in each other's eyes that when a suppliant applied toone he invariably found it incumbent on him before thetransaction was closed to pass through the hands of all theothers. In this process it was feasible for Sam-tso to be helpfulto those who required something which at the moment they did notpossess, in a diversity of ways without forcing himself unduly ontheir notice. So well received were these advances (it being nouncommon thing for an obliged person to recompense him tenfoldfrom beginning to end in quite ordinary transactions) that he wassaid to be able to eat meat four times every day and even thenthere were occasions when he was powerless to dispose of quiteall that was set before him.

But of late Sam-tso had come to have an uneasy internal sensationthat everything was not entirely right somewhere in his affairsand he was unable to shake off an overhanging weight ofoppression. This feeling was liable to come upon him at timeswhen logically he might expect to be the most free from care, asfor example soon after partaking of a more than usually elaboratemeal or when he floated in the middle air so devoid of ceremonyas not even to have removed his sandals or outer garments. Onsuch occasions the infliction generally took the form of eitherdull or sharp pains administered by unseen Forces at variouspoints of his body. Search his mind however he would, Sam-tso wasunable to recall any recent occasion when by commission orneglect he was likely to have attracted the unfavourable noticeof a Spirit so potent and malicious as the persecution clearlyindicated.

The apex, as it were, of this series of attacks was reached onenight after Sam-tso had been celebrating a more than usuallycomplex arrangement by which he had been able to oblige a personof exalted rank who in a purely temporary sense urgently requireda certain number of taels with which to free himself from theembarrassment of a previous transaction. To this feast Sam-tsohad bidden not only the one who was to be thus paid off but alsoseveral others who would become benevolently disposed as theinvolvement progressed and while they partook of a variety ofwell-spiced foods and unsealed successive jars of fragrant winethey harmoniously arranged into whose share the estates andvarious possessions of the one whom they were benefitting shouldultimately be allotted.

At a later stage Sam-tso was lifted into his silk-hung couch by abody of stalwart attendants and it was as he half floated in themiddle air and half realised where he was that a Being of anotherpart passed into the reclining chamber and indicated itspresence. At the first glance Sam-tso assumed this to be one ofthe ordinary or couch-side demons, such as frequent antique innerchambers but with the spoken words he recognised the shadow asthe venerated mother of his revered first wife, she who had somefew moons before involved him in a suitable outlay ofuncontrollable regret by obstinately Passing Upwards.

"Sam-tso," announced the vision, "little as you deserve anyconsideration on this apparition's part she has descended at someconsiderable inconvenience to herself and purely for your owngood to convey an urgent warning."

"Say on," replied Sam-tso, morosely resigning himself to arecital of wherein he fell short of everything that was desirablein a human being. "Already your unsubstantial shadow would appearto be carrying on the meritorious work congenial to your handswhen in the state of an ordinary existence."

"It might be better if you were to cast your eyes forwardstowards what is shortly to befall, rather than backwards at whathas now passed out of your keeping," reproved the phantom. "Butthat was ever wont to be your failing. Remember: 'It is moreprofitable to consider a single step ahead than to examine awhole li that has been traversed'."

"It is likewise said: 'Springs will dry up with the drought, andeven rivers be stilled by the forces of winter, but nothing canever stop the tongue of an interfering woman'," was Sam-tso'sunwise rejoinder. "Compress what must be said, however, withinthe compass of a single breath for already this person's head isbeginning to suffer."

"The demand has been made and the challenge will be accepted,"said the shade. "Learn, O Sam-tso, that your Book of Deeds hasbeen unclasped and the record is deemed insufficient."

"This is very surprising," said Sam-tso, who up to that time hadnever doubted that he stood on favourable terms with the awardingDeities, "for it is not easy to see where an ordinary personcould have done better. Only recently the one who is relating thefact made an arrangement whereby he would be repaid a hundredfoldin a transaction embodying no possible risk and the entirepossessions of an improvident over-lord will ultimately pass intohis keeping."

"That is not enough——"

"It is difficult to imagine how even a vampire could have exactedmore," protested Sam-tso, assailed in the most vulnerable part ofhis self-approbation.

"That is not the angle at which your achievements are regarded inthe Above," explained the spirit, "and in this sense it isdescribed as excessive. Taking you all round, Sam-tso, it is heldthat you have failed to justify existence in a human form and ithas been decided that you will at once return to earth with aless reputable shape. In your next incarnation, therefore, whichwill be for the period of ten thousand years, you will work outyour expiation in the semblance of an unusually large dung-collecting beetle."

"Forbear!" exclaimed Sam-tso who, apart from food and moneyaffairs, was a person of some refinement. "Yet what is there tobe feared from empty words that carry their own refutation? It isplain that if anything so distressing were, so to speak, in theair, the adored mother of this one's engaging inferior half wouldbe the last person to convey a timely warning."

"It would be well for both of us if that were indeed the case,"lamented the spectre, shaking a nebulous head acrimoniously, "butin what now portends we are equally implicated. Owing to thegrotesque state of things which prevails in our favoured andlogically-ordered Empire all the members of a House are heldaccountable for whatever its head achieves—be the recordworthy or degraded. It follows therefore that while you arecondemned through interminable cycles to roll an unsavoury sphere(emblematic of your former acquisitive mode of life) which youlaboriously collect and mould from unmentionable sources, allthose connected with your Line to the third degree will bemembers of your band—though in their less reprehensiblecase only as ordinary-sized black-beetles."

"This is even worse than the distortion of a dragon-dream!"bewailed Sam-tso; only too conscious, however, that he was now inthe alert state of a sentient condition. "To draw out a solitaryexistence in the form and manner described would be bad enoughbut to be assailed through countless aeons by the unmeritedreproaches of three generations of female relatives, all endowedwith peculiarly repulsive attributes, transcends the normallimits. Is there no discoverable loophole through which somemutually satisfactory deal might be made with a subordinate butpossibly influential Being?"

The wraith performed an indication of despair, which Sam-tsoattributed to a passing breath of wind as he saw nothing unusualin the suggestion.

"Even to whisper so incredible a profanity would extend theperiod of your atonement by a few more thousand ages. Be guardedin your speech for henceforth not only your deeds but even yourwords will be set down and advanced as a testimony against you.One thing alone will modify the sentence when judgment is finallyspoken, and having regard to your usual way of life the chance isremote in the extreme that you can avert the issue."

"Nevertheless, in the circ*mstances it would be well to disclosethis possible subterfuge," urged Sam-tso, uneasily noticing thatthe phantom's outline was beginning to fade and the well-remembered voice grow slightly less oppressive. "Recall how itinvolves not only this justly reprobated one's fate but your owngraceful and well-proportioned appearance also."

"This one has never considered herself—or her position inthe Upper Air would to-day have been very different," declaredthe object scrupulously. "For your own sake, however, renounceyour former paths and in the short span of time remaining to youhere distribute as much of your sordidly-acquired wealth amongthe necessitous and reasonably deserving as seems desirable inthe circ*mstances. Cultivate the society of a community of devoutpath-seekers who are pledged together each to perform ameritorious action between dawn and the closing of the city gatesand contrive if possible to be admitted to their Order. In such away, if you are sincere and resolute, it is just possible tomitigate——" but at this point a distant gong soundedthe arrival of day and with a wail that affected Sam-tso veryunpleasantly the apparition vanished.

THOSE who have intelligently followed the badly-arranged sequenceof this commonplace tale so far will need no hint as to theidentity of the one who on the following day laboriously toiledalong a dusty earth-road at a distance from the city, anxiouslyscrutinising the vista on either side from time to time in thehope of unmasking something in the need of succour on which hemight bestow compassion. In addition to carrying a staff he worea badge and the austere abbreviation of his sombre garb markedhim out from among the commonalty of town dwellers. As he trod itmight be observed that he was at some pains not to step upon anychance insect.

At an angle of his path the wayfarer paused for he was by nomeans accustomed to progress other than in a well-padded chairand the road was both steep and stony. Thus positioned there cameto his ears sounds that unmistakably betokened grief, and at thisSam-tso (for it would be inept any longer to obscure the fact)grasped his staff and resolutely thrust on since here at last hewould seem to be on the point of tracking down one who stood inthe need of service.

The sounds of distress led him along an obscure path and therebyto a meagre building. Unacquainted with the prevailing forms ofetiquette to be observed in these remote parts Sam-tso stoodhesitant for a few beats of time, then assuming a sympathetic airhe unlatched the nearest door and entered.

In the obscurity of a lowly shed it was difficult at first torealise what variety of benevolence might be employed and Sam-tsohad indeed trodden upon a supine form, and expressed profoundregret in chosen terms, before he discovered that the only otheroccupant of the hovel was the body of a domestic buffalo whichhad so definitely Passed Beyond as to be outside the range ofearthly benefit. In this contingency the charitably-disposedmerchant sought another door upon which he struck, being by thistime increasingly doubtful of the usage. This door was presentlyopened by an ordinary person of the toiling class who seeingbefore him, as he thought, a wandering visionary of somereligious caste, courteously invited him to enter and refresh hisfeet and at the same time partake of such trifling fare as mightbe put before him.

"Though," added the hospitable person heavily, "the room itselfis poor in the extreme, the food beneath contempt, and as afamily we are labouring under the stress of an unsupportableaffliction."

"It is on that account that the one before you has sought yourdoor," explained Sam-tso, rejoiced that at last he had come faceto face with adversity. "If it is not too trying an effort inyour present dejected mood would you indulge one who has had someconsiderable experience of dealing with losses, by recounting thetrend of your misfortune?"

"That is no great matter to achieve," averred Wong Hi (as he maynow be fitly revealed) "for the calamity is too close at hand toadmit of any effacement." Then with the smaller ones clusteringabout the stranger's knee, Wong Hi related the story of theiruntoward loss and how in addition to the bereavement of a trustyfriend Going Hence their ambitions had suffered a formidablematerial blow from which it is doubtful if the family would everagain recover. As he told of Thoughtful Sage's intrepid endscarcely any could restrain evidences of their grief; fromFragrance and Delight and from Wei and Chu the sobs that hadfirst attracted Sam-tso broke out anew; those of a more impassivemould stood moodily apart, while Han remained with averted face,a cloth concealing any evidence of emotion.

"This is certainly very regrettable at the first glance,"condoled Sam-tso, "yet it is somewhere written, 'What looks blackby night is seen to be only grey at daybreak', and it behoves usto consider what may be, so to speak, recovered from thewreckage. This person has already made acquaintance with theremains, which seem to be exceptionally well-conditioned. Wouldit not be wise to set about laying down some of the choicerportions in salt so as to provide a substantial reserve of foodagainst——" but at this point the agonised cries ofdismay from four strenuous throats as they grasped the tenor ofthe advice warned Sam-tso that he was not gaining approbation.

"Not perhaps for direct consumption in the case of one who was sohighly esteemed," he accordingly hastened to amend, "but thequadruped itself, being devoted to your well-being, wouldprobably be the first to suggest that there could be no suspicionof harm in disposing of it in suitable joints to your no doubtwilling neighbours."

"It is very evident that you are not a way-side man or you wouldnot speak in that harsh strain," was Wong Hi's mild rebuke, whilethose who had formerly pressed about Sam-tso now shrank away fromhim as though he had been afflicted with some dread contagion."We whose feet tread the exacting earth maintain that after anarduous and meritorious life these faithful sharers of our dailytoil are worthy of honourable burial and not condemned to appearin the next world in piecemeal fashion. He who would consume avalued friend rather than live on mast might fitly herd withjackals."

"An appropriate spot has already been marked where he wasaccustomed to roll in the moist earth and Fragrance and Delightwill scatter flowers such as decked his smooth neck in the daysof his strength and glory." Thus Wei confronted Sam-tso and spokea defiant challenge. "This one himself will place by his side thescraping tool and cloth and jar of oil with which his noble hornswere daily glossed and Chu will lay between his trusty feet anample pot of darkening stain so that when he reaches the UpperAir Thoughtful Sage may still receive his accustomed attention."

"These hands and those of Valiant Arm will shape the grave andSturdy Vine has composed and inscribed a suitable elegy whichbeing burned at the same time will favourably introduce theascending spirit to the other spirits already inhabiting theHigher Region," explained Wong Hi. "Bright Hope and this person'slesser one will also take part in the ceremonies."

"It almost appears as though nothing remains for an ardent well-wisher to do in that direction," lamented Sam-tso. "But," headded hopefully, "after so formidable a pecuniary blow is it notpossible that you may require some trifling advance—merelyas a temporary convenience and on really exceptionalterms—until you have, as it were, rounded the angle of yourmisfortune?"

"Yet how would that avail?" enquired Wong Hi, "since the weightof his indebtedness must thereafter hang about this person's neckand consume the bare excess that otherwise would have provisionedour ambition?"

In the course of his normal occupation Sam-tso was frequently metby a similar demur from one whom he would benefit so that in theprocess of time he had come to acquire a form of speech by whichhe could conclusively demonstrate that anyone becoming indebtedto him was actually taking advantage of a lack of commercialacumen on his part and really held him at a disadvantage. Carriedaway by the familiar circ*mstances of this trend and his owninalienable promptings Sam-tso had arranged his hands in apersuasive display and was on the point of admitting his businessincapacity when a slight, yet in the conjunction suggestive,happening recalled him to a sense of his dangerous position.

Through a crevice in the mud-built wall a wandering beetle hadstrayed into the room and now, unmarked in the general stress, itwas affecting to be busily engaged in collecting chance particlesof garbage about the floor. To an ordinary person there wasnothing therein to excite remark but Sam-tso had reason to bealert; he continued to watch guardedly with lowered lids andpresently he realised that under the cloak of an all-absorbingzeal the beetle was listening intently. But for this lucky chanceSam-tso would inevitably have been committed to an indiscretion.

"There are, however," he resourcefully pressed on, "a variety ofwise apothegms and inspired remarks directly analogous to ourcase—as, to exemplify, 'In for a brass cash in for a silvertael'; 'It is obtuse to endanger the raft for the sake of anothernail'; 'He who is to be decapitated for a treasonable word may aswell throw in an offensive gesture'—and it would be shallowto ignore their teaching. This person, therefore, so far fromrequiring a thumb-signed bond will freely provide anotherbuffalo, the counterpart and equal of the one but lately PassedAbove, wherewith to assure your prosperity."

It was several beats of time before any of those assembled therecould clarify their minds to meet this incredible offer.Questionable glances passed from eye to eye and Han cast off theobscuring cloth but before Wong Hi (as their head and authority)could make a suitable reply the inconspicuous Chu (who, as thelatest-born, was seldom strictly checked, since, he claimed,being too small to be seen it was necessary to make himselfheard) thrust his way forward to confront Sam-tso and cast backthe terms of his promise.

"There is no other buffalo the equal of Thoughtful Sage," hefervently declared, "nor could his counterpart be discovered. Howthen should we be served by an inferior substitute—we whohave known that one? Indeed, it is preferable to tear the earthapart with our bare hands rather than follow the plough drawn byany other."

"So sleek were his well-kept sides that when he wallowed on hisback it was as though lilies grew on him rather than in thestream for the reflection outdid the growing flowers." Thus Weitook up his praise in turn with Fragrance and Delight impatientlyplucking at his sleeve. "The shining points of his two horns werelike the morning and the evening stars. It is impossible to thinkof tending a successor."

"When in the Season of White Cold Chu lay between his extendedpaws for warmth he never stirred throughout the night butstretched his head so that he might breathe on Chu from time totime and Chu was soothed and comforted by the warm breath andslept soundly," exclaimed Fragrance and Delight together. "Wouldany other buffalo throughout the land have been so tolerant anddiscerning?"

"The ode wherein his virtues are sufficiently described willprobably never be written." admitted Sturdy Vine. "There areseveral attributes very difficult to bring in with classicalprecision. Even this person's dirge strains allowable antithesisalmost to distortion."

"His nose had never to endure the guiding cord which is thecommon lot of ordinary buffaloes—Fragrance and Delightcontrolled him by a word in every movement." Bright Hopereflected for a pause after bestowing this tribute. "This nodoubt contains an essential germ of state policy—though itsapplication is another matter."

"He was a docile bearer of the yoke," briefly maintained ValiantArm; "and of him it might be truly said that on no single day ofhis life was he ever either indisposed or apologetic. His placeis empty."

"You have heard what their united voice maintains," indicatedWong Hi, turning to Sam-tso regretfully. "How then is it possiblefor this one, who must lean on their willing arms increasingly asthe years advance, to ignore a common verdict?"

"Your prepossessing family's high-minded display of ceremonialgrief is honourable in the extreme but it comes at aninconvenient moment," deplored Sam-tso, who was more accustomedto see hands stretched out to grasp a single cash than feetaverted from an offer involving many pieces of silver. "For," hefreely disclosed, "as the time of sunset draws near and thisperson has not yet performed his meritorious act the positionbecomes increasingly jeopardous. Is there no means within yourpower whereby their excessively loyal sympathies may be enticed,as it might be expressed, towards a less impractical standpoint?"

"It is just possible that they might be driven from aninconsistent position by the force of a sound logical conclusionand, as it chances, a suitable line of argument presents itselfto my usually bankrupt mind," confessed Wong Hi. "Who has comedown to us," he questioned, turning to his sons who had now drawnsomewhat apart together, "as the classical exponent of adisinterested benefactor? You, Sturdy Vine, on whom the scantyproceeds of our labour have been lavished, will be expected toinform us."

"The most benevolent figure of all times, in an epic sense, maybe held to have been Cheung Tsz-chun whose charitable deeds, asrecorded on fourteen alabaster slabs in the Temple of AllVirtues, include the bestowal of three successive fortunes onpoor but deserving scholars, who would otherwise have had todepend on fortuitous toil for a living, while he himself ofttimeswent barefoot and hungry."

"Yet is it anywhere recorded of the munificent Cheung Tsz-chunthat one day chancing upon a needy though praiseworthy family indistress through the loss of a greatly esteemed buffalo whosestrength was their only substance, he freely and spontaneouslyendowed them with another, specifically disclaiming anyconsideration?"

"Such an incident does not seem to have been preserved in theexact form but it is related that on a certain occasion, meetinga destitute water-carrier whose ass had been seized to dischargean unjust debt, the charitable——"

"The question of asses is not involved in the comparison, SturdyVine, and your lack of precision in wandering from the pointsuggests an untidy mind," interposed Wong Hi severely. "It wouldalmost seem as if your educational advantages were being wasted."

"Your well-merited rebuke will be a continual lamp to keep thisone's feet from stumbling," admitted Sturdy Vine submissively.

"Strictly confining ourselves to the subject ofbuffaloes—the sole excuse for this discussion—it isnow clear that we have in our midst a benefactor who by hisunprecedented largeness of heart not only equals but excels theone who for untold dynasties has stood as the embodiment ofdiscriminative giving. Can it therefore any longer be logicallywithheld that since our opportune visitant overshadows thevaunted liberality of the legendary Tsz-chun so there may even beother buffaloes not inferior in quality to the excellence ofThoughtful Sage?"

"The inference of the analogy would seem to be unflinching," wasthe general admission; "yet what reasonably follows?"

"Since the crux and structure of our disinclination to supplantthe image of Thoughtful Sage was based on a misconceived anduntenable premise it becomes necessary for us as rational beingsto reverse a mistaken conclusion. There would therefore seem tobe no discoverable ground for failing to avail ourselves of thenoble prodigality of our open-handed guest, who is no doubt aprince of the Ruling House, seeking, in this romantic disguise,to redress hardship throughout the land, if, indeed, he is notactually a superior Being."

"Your decision is a welcome and enlightened one," declared Sam-tso with profuse relief, "though in some respects you are lessscrupulous than flattering. The one before you—despite whatmay outwardly appear—is of very little superior nature toyourselves. If there should be anything of an immaterialcomposition present"—here Sam-tso looked round but thebeetle had by this time disappeared—"no doubt it hasaccomplished its mission."

Little more remained to be said; Sam-tso had already brushedaside the offer of such simple food as the shelf contained norhad he availed himself of the suggestion that he should removehis sandals and recline at ease on the floor. Wong Hi, however,was loath that he should depart with their gratitude soinadequately expressed and after a whispered colloquy aside heagain advanced an offer.

"Both Fragrance and Delight have attained a certain untaughtproficiency with tubes of hollow wood from which they extract asimple melody. Sturdy Vine, also, can recite, with scarcely apause for breath, several entire chapters of the dynastic Books,a large part of the historical Rites and as many of the Odes asmay be conveniently included. All of these——" but atthis point Sam-tso raised his hand and made a movement indicatingthe approach of leave-taking.

"Having safely accomplished one meritorious act within theprescribed time there would seem to be no definite need toprolong our agreeable intercourse," was his gratifying assurance."Present this thumb-signed script at any gong-stroke between thetenth and the fourth at the Sign of the Guileless Fleece, in thethoroughfare called the Crooked Way of Kien-fi, and the value ofthe most desirable buffalo that you can meanwhile obtain will beweighed out for your acceptance in fine silver."

"This is worthy of being set down in a book of the finest vellum,the characters inscribed by a master-hand with a brush dipped inliquid gold," was Wong Hi's pronouncement.

Being by this time at the open door Sam-tso did not deem itnecessary to assure Wong Hi that this was what he confidentlyexpected. Instead, he waved his staff in a parting salute andcalled back a felicitous expression. Nor, on their side, werenine capable throats less eager to respond and heartfelt cries of"Slowly, walk slowly!" "May your circumference increase!" and "Ahundred sons and ten thousand years!" accompanied him along thewayside path until he had passed out of hearing.

WHEN Kai Lung had reached this point in the story of Sam-tso, thefamily of Wong and the meritorious buffalo it was his custom torise and begin to roll up his weather-beaten mat but should thereensue any noticeable protest that the record was incompleteinasmuch as the minds of his hearers were still concerned withthe various fortunes of those who had been involved he would,willingly prolong the occasion.

"It may be claimed," he then proceeded to expound, "that thegratifying interest of even the least intellectual circle oflisteners is more to be esteemed than bars of pure gold forcedupon an unworthy and vainly-protesting reciter of second-ratetales if the bestowing hands have up till then been spread outbefore the open mouths of an assembly devoid of true refinementand literary discrimination. On that account nothing wouldrejoice this mentally-corroded purveyor of obsolete romances somuch as to spend the time freely recounting his entire storewhile the great bringer of warmth sinks behind the western ridgeand the lesser sky lantern appears to illuminate moreappropriately his feeble efforts."

"The trend of your argument is pretty plain, O verbose Kai Lung,"one would haply then exclaim, "but we who remain are here tolearn what happened to Sam-tso and those of the House of Wong andnot to listen to your full-throated persuasion. The more justice-loving among us have already generously contributed to yourinsatiable bowl and the less scrupulous are not likely to beenticed into doing so at this stage of the entertainment.However, here is an onion towards your evening rice and possiblyothers may be no less indulgent." Whereupon a second one wouldperchance add a dried fig or two, a third some outside salt andanother a small fish from the stagnant pools, while paste andoil, inferior trimmings off their stalls, a sprinkling of tea,snuff and spice, even a specific charm against the flying paperman or a proved cure for enlarged joints—from eachaccording to the nature of his trade—might be produced andthrown in for his acceptance. Whereupon Kai Lung would protestthat this wholly unexpected profusion of choice gifts was almostmore than he could reasonably permit—"that even one offive-score who go should linger to ask, 'Yet what befellthereafter?' is enough reward of itself"—and restore hisdilapidated mat to its ceremonial position.

ON the day following that when Sam-tso had made his appearance atthe wayside farm Wong Hi caused it to be announced that it washis intention to acquire the most desirable buffalo thatlavishness could procure and upon this becoming widely known itat once emerged that there were several exactly answering to thisdescription but all in the hands of very sincere men who wereloath to part from them but might be prevailed upon to do so. Thematter being at length amicably settled and the chosen one ledhome with appropriate rites Wong Hi duly called upon Sam-tso todischarge his agreed bond and found that his spoken word was allthat he had undertaken.

Thereafter the affairs of Wong Hi for a considerable timeprogressed so that he could look forward to the cold of winterand the heat of summer without misgivings. On Sam-tso also thehappening exercised a benevolent trend. He continued day by dayto range the countryside in pursuit of objects worthy ofcompassion and although it is not to be denied that hisimpressive outline eroded somewhat in the process in other wayshe gained, for it gradually appeared that his continual change ofscene was baffling to the malign Influence that had so longassailed his rest and it gradually relaxed its persecution. Onthe other side it could not be indefinitely ignored that themerchant's way of life was agreeable to the Ruling Powers for theyears continued to go by yet he was not called upon to PassUpwards. And although once or twice at a later stage Sam-tso,after emerging from an unusually deep oblivion in the middle air,conjectured from something dimly recalled that the idolisedmother of his cherished wife had been endeavouring to assert hervoice he was never again gladdened by a manifestation of herpresence.

Regarding the meeting with Wong Hi as the origin and mainspringof this propitious change Sam-tso continued to take a benevolentinterest in that one's welfare. Generous gifts of a befittingkind from time to time reached Wong Hi's door and in return hebegged Sam-tso's acceptance of such homely products of the landas were both seasonable and becoming. Fragrance and Delight weregenerally the bearers of these and as they no longer had anobject of affection to bedeck (for the new buffalo, though allthat had been claimed, did not readily conform to theirimagination) it became a custom for them to gather flowers andadd these on their own account, discovering in Sam-tso a certainmassive resemblance to Thoughtful Sage (though this was notdisclosed when they festooned his neck) that made the offeringdoubly appropriate.

It is truly said, "He who casts a stone into a deep well maybring down a soaring pheasant," and when it is recalled that YingPui who upheld the Righteous Cause was the seventeenth inunbroken descent from the fruit-seller Lam Shang, the remoteconsequence of Thoughtful Sage incurring a Being's virulencebecomes obvious. In journeying from the outer paths to reach Sam-tso's door it was the custom of Fragrance and Delight to pass LamShang's stall and from noticing the unstudied grace with whichthe former of the two had arranged the garlands that she broughthe came to take a deeper interest in her existence. After theirmarriage Fragrance did not scruple to express despair at theabsence of allurement shown in the displayal of his wares, andupon his replying that if she was a magician to increase the sizeof a pomegranate by a movement of the hand she had better takecharge of the stall, Fragrance presently discovered a method ofarranging fruit by which, without actually resorting to forbiddenarts, those who halted before their store were led to imaginethat what they purchased and saw placed in a bag was other thanwhat it ultimately appeared. By this profitable expedient she,laid the foundation of their considerable possessions.

Thus bereft of one with whom she had always taken part Delightfound it necessary to fall back on other interests. In thisemergency she applied herself with unquenchable tenacity to theart of extracting still louder sounds from hollow wooden tubes,and very soon she had attracted to her side a band of her ownsort, all sustained by a like ambition. Before very long, underthe style and description of the Kien-fi Throng of She-childHollow Wooden Tube Melodious Noise Producers, their services werewidely sought, until so great had become the repute that nopopular assembly, from a gathering of the most refined andexpensively attired who drank tea on the estate of a highofficial to a public execution in the chief Open Space, wasconsidered really successful without their presence. Delightherself grew to deprecate excessive popularity as a passing phasewhich was not in the best interest of their art's development:"Noise for the sake of noise" was the attainment of her all-absorbed vision.

It would have been pleasurable to chronicle that a like rewardattended the efforts of the five Wongs of the more important sortbut from some obscure cause a spirit of frustration marked theirpassage.

Valiant Arm, it is true, succeeded to the farm in due course buttoo often he had reason to explain that the weather had beencontrary to what was then required, the markets become refractoryfor his commodity, or that a passing swarm of wingedinsects—inspired by a malicious Force hostile towards hishopes—had settled and consumed the bulk of that year'ssubstance. Certainly it could never be assumed (despite aprevailing air of sufficiency) that Valiant Arm was-prospering.

Bright Hope had gone to adventure elsewhere afar, as his brotherhad foretold and for a time they had an infrequent word of hisheroic doings. Joining the banners of the State of Lu he rose tothe position of Leader of the Tiger Guard and in that responsiblepost he controlled the activities of five thousand intrepidwarriors. On the eve before the decisive Battle of the Spears anemissary from the opposing camp of Shen came secretly to his tentand in the course of a philosophical discussion on the duties ofconscientious statesmen he was able to convince Bright Hope thatShen had the more sterling claim and that it was therefore in theinterest of all true lovers of justice to support it. That nightthe Leader of the Tiger Guard unobtrusively transferred his forceto the investing ranks, assured that this move would decide thefortunes of the day and bring about the triumph of virtue and soestablish his own integrity. This would undoubtedly have come topass had not the Captain of the Shen Leopard Troop—amercenary individual of the most degradedtype—treacherously accepted a sordid bribe from a double-faced agent of the warlord of Lu, and perfidiously led his hostof ten thousand iron-clad braves into the enemy line a few gong-strokes before the battle. The result was disastrous for thecause of uprightness and merit and Bright Hope was not seen againthough Valiant Arm, from something that reached his ear, wasunderstood to wonder whether he might not be living as an eminentdevotional recluse in a distant alien territory.

Sturdy Vine never succeeded in actually obtaining a degree at theCompetitions although he willingly persevered so long as those ofhis own House would support him in the exertion. After the UpPassing of Wong Hi and Han this was no longer deemed necessaryand Sturdy Vine thereupon withdrew from the public tests and hungout a sign on which he declared himself prepared to instructothers. To those who in a somewhat contentious spirit enquiredhow he, who had himself failed more times than a monkey couldcount, should claim to be able to ensure success for others,Sturdy Vine would diffidently reply that he did not undertake toteach them the things necessary to obtain success but that hecould claim to be able to instruct them in what it was essentialto avoid if they would escape failure; and although some feltthat the paralogism involved a snare the reply was generallydeemed adequate.

The outcome in the case of Wei was even more regrettable thanwith any of these and he was rightly described as the discolouredgoat of the household. In some unexplained way he found thatcontinuous labour was injurious to his essential equipoise but atthe same time he discovered a baffling quickness in the movementof his hands that might be regarded as an ordained compensation.Had there been a suitable demand for one possessing thisacquirement it cannot be doubted that Wei would have risen to aposition of respected ease but after several undeserved rebuffshe was compelled to support life by a practice of stumblingagainst prosperous-looking strangers in the crowded public waysand steadying himself by holding their garments. This wasafterwards resented by some of the more ill-disposed and inconsequence of what was said Wei was condemned to wear a woodencollar on which were inscribed some details of his life andcharacter.

Very little was known of Chu after he had once gone hence. Heattached himself to a passing company of impersonators, beingcarried away by the glamour of the numerous paper lanterns withwhich their platform was lit up. One who had crossed his path ina distant place spoke not unhopefully of Chu's simulation offarmyard sounds but it was by his lifelike portrayal of the morebackward part of a buffalo that he was considered to have comeinto his rightful calling.

VII. — THE STORY OF SHO CHI, THE NO-LONGER
MERCHANT NG HON, AND THE DOCILE LINNETS.

THE story of Sho Chi concerns one who by the exercise of virtueand a steady adherence to the Immortal Principles at allconvenient times rose from a condition of indigence to that ofassured respect. It is thus suitable for recital on any occasionwhen a circle of ordinary persons has been enticed round by apersuasively-raised voice or the melodious note obtained bybeating a hollow wooden duck but if there should happen to bepresent an element of those who ask for nothing more than that atale should be garnished with aggressive feats of arms andfounded on a record of violence, or, what is even more to bedeplored, if it should include one whose contentious voice israised against the assumption that in so happily endowered anEmpire as our Flowery Land integrity must always be successful inthe end and the cause of those who observe the Rites ultimatelyflourish, it is better to bow obsequiously, tender theacquiescent smile as of one who privately agrees, and substitutefor it a narrative more suited to the degraded type ofintelligence that is too concave to find any satisfaction in thetemperate portrayal of deserving though unpretentious merit.

DURING the long and troubled reign of the Emperor Ti-sung (whosememory has been preserved in the historical scroll as that of onewho was well-meaning but inert) an industrious though in no wayaffluent wood-cutter, Sho Ching by name, performed hisinoffensive task outside the walled city of Wu-tang in the remoteprovince of Chuen.

In seasons of good harvest and propitious rains Sho Ching foundthat by the exercise of unremitting toil it was possible topreserve all his family intact, perform the Rites, and offer up areasonable sufficiency of transmitted supplies before theAncestral Tablets. Should a time of unusual abundance favour theland it might even be practicable to add something to his buriedhoard perchance, but if the Ruling Forces were for any reasondisposed to vent their spite, so that storms assailed thoseparts, watercourses overflowed their banks, and the naturalproductiveness of the earth withheld, Sho Ching's scanty reservemelted away like the means of a needy suppliant who attempts tomake his way past the throng of scrupulous officials guarding theintegrity of a Hall of Justice. More than once in times ofunusual stress he had been compelled to barter away a cherishedoffspring to provide a bare subsistence for the others and thoughthis attrition, so to speak, of his numerous brood materiallydiminished the number of those who might be relied upon toconsign the necessities of life to him when in turn he hadreached the Upper Air the self-denying sacrifice served topreserve the lives of all—in one way or another. Of latethe glutinous-thumbed cupidity of those who maintained the lawhad added to the burden imposed by nature, for an influentialmandarin, on the pretext that Sho Ching's hereditary privilege ofcutting wood in the open spaces around was based on an obsoleteclause, ordered that henceforth the one involved should only layhis hands on dead or discarded growth so as to preserve asuitable parallelism. It thus devolved on Sho Ching to arrangefor an absence of vitality in such trees as he required for hisaxe and in this unreasonable way the injunction undoubtedly addedto his labour.

IT was during one of these periods of exceptional hardship thatChi must be brought into the foreground of this confessedlyunpromising narrative although at that stage nothing could so farbe said of him to justify even the charitable attention of atolerant and generous-hearted circle of well-wishers. The eldestof Sho Ching's wide-spreading band he was also the leastresourceful, so that while the others who thronged round theboard were devising ways by which they might contribute, nomatter how slightly, to the general store, Chi, though invariablyof a gentle and complaisant trend, seemed incapable of arranginghis feet in any profitable direction. Shang, the next in line,bargained his services to a more prosperous neighbour for aninsignificant equivalent of what his toil produced and was thusable to bring back a frequent measure of rice, fruit oroil—even now and then a small piece of pork that had ceasedto be attractive; but when Chi, to whom this had been pointedout, readily undertook to become no less industrious he lent hissupport to the assistance of a needy widow who was not only toopoor to bestow anything in return but even by frequent allusionsto the hardship of an empty bowl and the humiliation of aninadequate robe influenced Chi to divide with her his scantyportion of rice and divest himself of his meagre outer garment.Thereafter he was enjoined not to traffic his labour in theirgeneral cause but it was not thought that any loss could beincurred through encouraging him to profit by the example of Shinand Nung who, though too puny to engage in any undertaking thatimplied sinew, were able by the exercise of unwearying tact tobring home an occasional spiny fish from the stagnant pools thatnourished the reedy marsh or a few small birds or burrowingcreatures of the earth—quarries not sufficiently alert asto avoid even their crudely-fashioned springes. Nothing couldexceed Chi's willingness to comply but so diffuse were thepromptings of his affectionate nature that whatever living thingcame within his hand at once engaged his sympathies, to the endthat he not only stubbornly resisted any tendency to convert itinto food but thereafter protected its life and being from allhazards and no matter how insufficient his own apportionmentmight be, a generous sprinkling never failed to reach theawaiting throats of an ever-growing band of dependents. In thisway Chi gradually came to be known and trusted by every kind ofhabitant of the woods and spaces around so that birds alightedfearlessly on his outstretched hand, small furred things tookrefuge within his protective sleeve, reptiles forbore to lookaskance as he approached while fish frequently leapt upwards fromtheir natural element to take suitable particles of food fromChi's unsuspected fingers.

"IT is better," runs the assurance of the verse, "to be bornunder an auspicious star than to be distantly related to a highofficial," and the case of Sho Chi fittingly justifies thesaying. Up to this point he had been regarded by his family asone having a moderate claim on their esteem but intellectuallynot entirely in the place which he seemed to be occupying, whileneighbours, when referring to his habitual state, were prone toconvey the more delicate shades of their implication by means ofguarded signs and abrupt changes of expression. This inevitablyleads to Chi's meeting with Ng Hon and what ensued thereafter.

Ng Hon was a well-to-do retired vendor of gelatinised sea-slugswho now having no direct business cares to engage a naturallyfertile mind profitably occupied his leisure by—as hehimself indulgently expressed it—"inserting a prehensilethumb in any promising commercial hazard that offered." At aboutthat time he had thought it well to seek the advice of a verynoted remover of pain and averter of consequences on account ofan unsettled inward qualm which he experienced at stated periodsthough for no specific reason. The gifted diagnoser of impendingills, after inspecting Ng Hon's excrement for intrinsic portents,recommended him to harmonise his constituents by taking fivethousand paces in an outward direction each day before the middlerice, in order to avert a clearly-marked infliction which theexperienced prognosticator saw tentatively looming. He alsocounselled the avoidance of certain classes of food, both solidand that contained in a jar, as provocative of the hostility ofmischievous Beings, recommended the cultivation of an unruffledpoise of mind whatever transpired, together with the acquisitionof praiseworthiness as the result of charitable actions, andafter predicting that Ng Hon by a strict adherence to thesesimple rules might reasonably hope to live a thousand years andbeget a hundred lusty he-children—if not actually in thislife certainly in some of the many that would succeed it—heaffably withdrew, leaving Ng Hon already greatly reassured by thecheerful confidence and buoyant couchside bearing of so far-seeing an augur.

It was while engaged on one of his daily progressions among theouter paths that Ng Hon encountered Chi for the first time, andhad some dealing with him. The latter person, according to hiswont, was accompanied by a drift of small singing birds perchedon convenient portions of his form, but the greater part ofthese, seeing so gross-looking a stranger approach, flewaway—though not without a leave-taking note ofaffection—while Ng Hon was still at a distance. Beingunwilling to lose the companionship of all his friends Chiplayfully closed his hands gently on such of the flock as hadbeen seated on them and they, feeling secure in his integrity andstrength, nestled contentedly there though they continued to lookout on what was taking place from between the imprisonment of hisrestraining fingers.

Up to that point Ng Hon had been proceeding in a mechanical wayfor the task of achieving neither one more nor one less of thefive thousand steps (which to his somewhat credulous mindconstituted the nucleus of the exorcism) imposed a perpetual taxon his attention. Seeing Chi holding the birds, however, hestopped—though he continued at intervals to repeat thenumber he had reached—for it was unusual to encounteranother on those remote tracks and the occurrence had recalled tohim a further detail of the prescient counsellor's injunction.

"Among the several ways of acquiring merit practised by thedevout, that of purchasing the ownership of captive slaves andthereupon setting them free, has always been regarded withexceptional favour," he observed, encouraged by Chi's respectfulpoise and also by the consideration that one so meanly garbed wasscarcely likely to be inordinate in his expectations. "Positionedas he before you is, such a course would be shallow in theextreme for not only would the cost of a succession of liberatedcaptives be beyond the reasonable outlay of one who formerlyachieved a bare livelihood by marketing seasonable delicacies ofthe reliable "Ng Hon" Brand but the condition of the releasedserfs, bereft of the rough protection of their former lords andexposed to the vicissitudes of an exacting clime, would beimpaired rather than lightened, while, to insert a final cog,owing to the benevolent administration of our uniquely favouredland, there are no slaves or bonded captives on whom to exercisecompassion."

Seeing that the wayfarer who had thus accosted him paused at thisstage—partly because the effort of continuous speech wasrepugnant to one of his ample girth while engaged in unaccustomedexercise, and also to afford the other an opportunity ofmaintaining his own views in what was being said—Chi'sinnate amenity would have impelled him to agree had it not beenthat Ng Hon's remarks had left no impression whatever on hissenses. This was partly the result of a naturally slow butessentially thorough mental process, though it should not beoverlooked that the one who spoke had thoughtlessly retainedbeneath his tongue the smooth pebble which he had been advised tognaw as a specific against the pangs of thirst and also that fromtime to time he repeated the words "two score hundred and sevenhand-counts less three," irrespective of the context involvedlest he should lose the tale of his progression. From thesevarious causes Chi was not in a position to contribute anydefinite argument to what had been advanced and though he openedhis mouth when Ng Hon began to speak this was more in accordancewith a set habit that he had formed than with any intention ofusing it as a means of communication. It therefore devolved uponNg Hon to fill in, as it were, some further detail of theproposal by which he hoped to establish his case to have been ofa charitable disposition in life, nor did the appearance of Chi'sstill open mouth convey, on that one's part, an irreconcilablebarrier.

"Laying aside therefore the claims—two score hundred andseven hand-counts less three—of fettered slaves orprisoners taken in war as suitable mediums whereby an ordinaryperson of stunted means may conveniently amass virtue, there mustbe a variety—two score hundred—of less expensivemethods for displaying compassion which it is only reasonable toassume will be taken into proper account when on reaching TheAbove the necessary balance—seven hand-counts lessthree—is computed. If helots from alien states, those whohave forfeited their liberty in pursuit of aggressive arms andthe dusky inhabitants of distant Out Lands—all admittedlyof more or less human mould though inevitably on a lower range ofmentality than our own—if these, let us say, count to thegood, why not the—two score—patient toilers in fieldsand—hundred—ways, condemned to a—seven hand-counts—life of drudgery, and thus successively on adescending scale—less three—to innocuous denizens ofth? wild, snared for their fur or food, and feathered creaturesof the air whose existence is a general source of pleasure?"

Had Chi by this time pierced the essential trend of Ng Hon'scautiously framed advance—which was largely designed toimply that no great amount was to be expected—he would nodoubt have freely acquiesced to what the other proposed since itwould not have occurred to his simple-hearted mind that anyonemight be willing to open his sleeve in return for something thatwould have cost the one who was acquiescing nothing. But to NgHon's logical and commercially-trained outlook Chi's continuedsilence could only imply that in spite of an artless guise he hadseen through the obvious device and was prepared to hold out fora substantial consideration.

"No doubt to one of your grasping and parsimonious kind the openmarket of an important centre like Wu-tang would provide a moreprofitable outlet for the birds you have to vend than the offerof a chance wayfarer," he accordingly contended. "Do not losesight of the contingency, however, that by accepting the seventy-five authentic brass cash which constitute the limit of thisone's charitable impulse to-day you avoid a long and toilsomejourney hence, the transaction is on a strictly forthcoming moneybase, while it is only reasonable to assume that a certainproportion of worthiness will adhere to you as one taking part ina benevolent action."

Whatever ambiguity had up to this point involved Chi it waswholly dispelled when the profuse-stomached benefactor who had sounexpectedly crossed his path produced a string of money from hiswell-filled sleeve and measured off the amount indicated. Inreturn for this Chi readily undertook to set free all the captivebirds, which he immediately proceeded to do and though he had amomentary difficulty in persuading them to escape to the wildthey ultimately consented to fly into an adjacent tree where theyremained with the evident intention of learning about what shouldfollow.

Their affairs having reached this climax Ng Hon and Chi,exchanging an appropriate text, resumed their several ways. Foran indefinite space of time the latter person, who was giftedwith an exceptionally acute sense of hearing, could distinguishthe voice of the retired sea-snail merchant telling off the everincreased steps of his progression....

UNBOUNDED was the astonishment that spread through the wood-cutter's impoverished hut when Chi, negligently observing thateach one should exert his pressure in those times of abnormalstress, cast down before them a handful of negotiable cash andimmediately enhanced it with another. Even Shang for his mostindustrious effort had never yet acquired a reckoning in actualcoin, but to their united voice regarding his method of procuringgain Chi's only reply was to the effect that on a distant path hehad encountered a mentally-deficient but benevolent stranger, oneof protuberant build and undoubted wealth, who had been sofavourably disposed by what he who was explaining thecirc*mstance had had to say that it required nothing more thanthat he should extend his open hands for the other spontaneouslyto fill them with money.

Upon Sho Ching claiming that to him this "made neither beams,stakes, nor honest brushwood" Chi replied that existence wasfrequently positioned thus, adding, to set the matter definitelyat rest: "Whereunto, is it not luminously affirmed, 'Anyastronomer can accurately foretell the return of an errant cometseveral cycles ahead, but not even a College of Sages can predictthe ultimate outcome of a beggar stepping upon a ripe banana'?"

AT about the same gong-stroke on the following day Chi chanced tobe again at the crossing of the ways where he had encountered NgHon and presently the sustained breathing of one who resolutelyprogressed, interspersed with an occasional count of the distanceachieved, betrayed that the one who had formerly trafficked insalt-water mollusks was approaching. At this Chi blew guardedlybetween his teeth in a particular way and a cluster of smallsinging birds, leaving the trees around, settled upon hisoutstretched hands and permitted themselves to be imprisoned.

Ng Hon expressed some surprise when he recognised who wasloitering there but on Chi propounding it as a philosophicaltheme he was compelled to agree to the syllogism that given anassumed time and a postulated spot there was nothing moreremarkable in the one being there when the other approached thanin the other approaching while the one was thus positioned. Afterthis, without either actually introducing the matter, the birdsthat Chi displayed were referred to as deprived of their naturalfreedom and Ng Hon undertook to purchase liberty for them and byso doing improve his standing with those in the Upper Air, thoughon this occasion he was unwilling to exceed three-score and fiveunbroken cash as the limit of his compassion.

When this transaction had been honourably performed and thecaptive birds released Chi ventured to profess a general interestin Ng Hon's well-being. In reply to this the one concerned didnot deny that he had found his constituents to becomeincreasingly harmonised as he performed his treatment; indeed, onthe preceding night he had floated in the middle space morequiescently than had been his wont for a lengthy span and hefreely admitted that this might be ascribed to a tranquillity ofhis fundamental balance as the result of his previous day'sbenefaction.

Eventually, under the flattering solicitude that Chi maintainedin the other's continuous progress, added to a not unnaturaldesire on Ng Hon's own part for this to be accomplished, it wasagreed that on each day throughout the existing moon they shouldmeet there at about the same point of time, the one bringing withhim a specified number of captive birds in order to afford theother a suitable occasion for exercising benevolence. In hisconscientious zeal that nothing should jeopardise the return to anormal equilibrium of one whom he had now come to regard asworthy of esteem Chi would have set no limits to the duration ofthis plan but Ng Hon contended that the period he had fixedallowed the Deciding Beings a liberal scope of leisure in whichto make up their minds what effect such compassion should have onthe course of his disorder. One scruple alone assailed Chi'spunctilious breast, this arising from a chance remark on theother's part concerning the number of innocent lives that would"in the aggregate" be preserved as the result of his generousaction. Without being entirely assured what the alien word Ng Honhad used might imply Chi could not disguise from himself theremote improbability of more than the original band beinginvolved since they had now entered wholeheartedly into thespirit of the novel game and would undoubtedly present themselvestime after time for the entertainment of taking part in sogravity-removing a performance, but as Ng Hon had somewhatmisguidedly stipulated for a reduction to fifty-five legal casheach transaction on the ground that this was, he declared, astable requirement, Chi did not find it incumbent on himself todisclose the fallacy.

IT has been aptly said that although Destiny is blind it can seethrough a marble wall, immovable it will outstrip the swiftesthorse, and however often a man may turn to avoid pursuit he willin the end walk unheedingly into what has been arranged for hisreception. Speaking in a general sense nothing would have seemedmore improbable than that two so dissimilar in every way as NgHon and Sho Chi should have entered into what has come—fromthe ambiguity of its exact terms and the difficulty of bindingeither party to it—to be described as a "high-mindedperson's compact" from which has sprung a thriving industrywhereby a variety of nature-loving toilers, who might otherwisebe forced to lead an idle, profligate, or even criminal life areable to earn a modest sufficiency of taels to this day, while atthe same time charitably-disposed but frugal-minded persons areafforded a cheap and convenient means of performing a virtuousact and thereby acquiring merit in every walled city and manystockaded towns and villages of our decorative yet rationally-conducted Empire.

THEREAFTER, at about the same gong-stroke of measured time, Chidaily bent his footsteps in the direction of the intersectingways where he was to find Ng Hon and so reliable were theactivities of the latter that if he was not already there Chi hadno difficulty in tracing his approach by the sonorous note ofstress that accompanied his effort. On arriving at the spot itwas the erewhile marine gasteropod vendor's habit to cast himselfbodily down upon a suitable expanse of inviting sward anddiscovering a paper fan from the depth of his voluminous sleeveproceed to assuage his discomfort.

On these occasions Chi would stand respectfully at a shortdistance away and endeavour to divert Ng Hon's mind from hisimmediate case by conversation of a varied and improving nature.It may now be fittingly explained that Chi's lethargic air andusually preoccupied mien were occasioned more by the absence ofthose in their restricted community with whom he could suitablyconverse than by any inadequacy of his own intellectual process.At first these desultory exchanges between the two moved on aremote and philosophical plane, as concerned with the nature ofthe undefinable, the ultimate limit of immeasurable space, thestability of fundamental equilibrium and the like but graduallyas each explored the other's mind a more concrete and practicalaim emerged upon the surface.

THE actual occasion when Sho Chi and Ng Hon arrived at a definiteif unspecified accord did not take place until a few days beforethe close of the indicated moon, the latter person having by thattime so improved in the state of his normal balance that thosewho had sympathised with him but a short span of time before nowstopped to greet him with expressions of felicitation. Nor did NgHon for his part, in the case of those who neglected thiscourteous form, omit to recount in detail the numerousindications of the malignancy that had until then possessed himnor to point to his recovered powers. In all this Chi freelyconcurred but when the other spoke of the approaching divergenceof their paths—seeing that henceforth there would be noespecial need of obtaining any particular excess of celestialcredit—he could not forbear diffidently pointing out thatthere might be another facet of the happening.

"As by the exercise of wise restraint, a settled rule of healthyactivity and—above all—resort to a particular line ofvirtue, you have driven the ill-disposed Forces away, no doubt itwill be your benevolent purpose henceforth to disclose to othersin like strait the means by which you obtained this freedom?"

"Doubtless," replied Ng Hon, who now seated upon a fallen treewas refreshing himself from a jar of his own badge of sea-food,"but it might not lie within the circ*mstances of all to availthemselves of a similar course of treatment."

"As to that," suggested Chi, "much might depend on the exactterms in which the recommendation was conveyed to theirimagination. It would be almost profane to dispute that the chiefingredient, so to speak, of your happily re-established vigour isto be found in the succour proceeding from important Beings whoseclemency has been aroused by your touching display ofcompassion."

"Be that how it will," conceded Ng Hon, to whom the attractiveoutlook of a really profitable blend of benevolence andcommercial enterprise had not yet unfolded its far-reachingvista, "it is scarcely to be thought that aged or infirm personsof either sort would penetrate these wilds in the chanceexpectation of here encountering one like yourself whose ruralactivities would enable them to acquire reputation."

"In the cases to which you sympathetically refer, so arduous acourse might be tactfully rendered unnecessary....It has forsome time past occurred to a small body of those in a position tooperate the supply that for the charitably-disposed section of acommunity so important as that of Wu-tang to be deprived of anobvious means of exercising compassion whenever it felt the needapproaches the magnitude of a public dishonour."

Without faintly appearing to exhibit any personal concern in thehumane sentiment professed, Ng Hon moved his positionsomewhat—on the pretext of avoiding an inauspiciousbranch—so that he was able to observe the expression of theone with whom he conversed more directly. He also pressed on Chia few of the smaller sea-slugs that the interior, or unseen,portion of the jar contained—a mark of attention which hadhitherto been lacking.

"Perchance," he negligently remarked, pausing from time to timeas he spoke in order to maintain apathy by making casual attemptsto secure a passing winged insect, "perchance the scheme of yourliberal-minded friends has reached a sufficiently concrete formfor you to indicate its nucleus?"

"The germ, as it might be expressed, would necessarily enshrinethe benevolent esteem with which you, and doubtless a few otherinfluential leaders of thought, would regard thehaz—philanthropic effort," was Chi's gratifying assurance."Provided a really substantial backing—as it would appearto be sometimes termed—could be secured from those whowould speak in set terms of having benefited by such a charitableact (or if not actually themselves, of having encountered thosewho knew others who had) the group referred to would beemboldened to feel justified in erecting one or more stalls inthe public ways and marts, hanging out signs and banners settingforth their claims, making-it-known in the local printed leaves,and establishing their cause by a variety of novel and attractivedevices."

"The suggestion cannot but be a flattering one, inferring as itdoes that the person who now expounds his commonplace views,together with a select gang of those in whom he confides, wouldautomatically range themselves on the side of benevolence andvirtue," responded Ng Hon, now offering with both hands the jaritself, in which one or two of the larger delicacies stilllingered. "It would naturally be the aim of those of us who areendeavouring to foster a more exalted standard of merit-acquiringamong the too-often apathetic and frivolous passers-by of Wu-tang, to encourage in an unostentatious and discreet way yourfar-seeing friends' praiseworthy effort....At the same time,there might be technical though possibly not unsurmountabledifficulties in the cases of others whose voices it might bethought desirable to sway—this one himself, it should berigidly understood, standing entirely apart from any materialconsideration."

"To dream otherwise would be to pollute the clear well ofdiscrimination at its source," warmly declared Chi, venturing inan access of loyalty to shake hands with himself respectfully."As regards more ordinary persons, whose motives thoughhonourable in the extreme are not perhaps distended by such aplethora of refinement, those who are taking the initiative inthis enterprise have been heard to suggest that something on thelines of—if this inexperienced earth-tramper has correctlygrasped the idiom—'a two-and-a-half-score two-and-a-half-score basis.' Should your disinterested group of friends deemthis satisfactory——"

"Speaking wholly as one who surveys these sordid but no doubtnecessary details from a remotely distant cloister, a steadfastundertaking on the two-and-a-half-score two-and-a-half-scorescale should be effective in melting any lingering qualms as tothe high moral integrity of the project among the bountifully-inspired ring in question. Conceivably one or other of the morecommercial-hearted sympathisers might voice an enquiry touchingthe precise method of computing the gains on which the harmony ofthe compact is grounded, but such a misgiving would never, on hisown initiative, have sullied the mind of the one now offering youthe last of these undoubtedly succulent mollusks."

"The distinction of sharing even the outside of the jar with sonotable an eater as the large-stomached Ng Hon is sufficient toappease the appetite of any ordinary person," politely repliedChi, resolutely pressing back the morsel. "As regards the trivialfinancial issue it cannot but be regarded as a coincidence of themost assuring portent that those who are interesting themselvesin the scheme chanced to remark as this one happened to bepassing near that an exact record of all transactions would bekept by means of knotted cords and that these evidences oftrustworthiness would at all suitable times be available for yourpublic-spirited body of confederates—or their signet-bearing envoy—to probe in every particular."

Had Ng Hon been of a covetous-minded blend, with little thoughtbeyond material gain, he might not unreasonably have pursued Chiwith further doubts and sought to disparage the prospects of sucha venture. It should be a sufficient reply to those enviousdetractors who have schemed from time to time to assail the highrepute of one who devoted the greater part of a proverbiallywell-spent life to taking an interest in the affairs of othersthat Ng Hon did not again allude to this design but went on todraw Chi's attention to the harmonious effect of the varioustints presented by a diversity of growth in the scene spreadabout them. From this, by a natural sequence of thought, thegifted conversationalist went on to compare the opposing stylesof some of the most illustrious picture-makers of remote times,instancing the disastrous results of a too consummate perfectionof art, as in the case of Lao Han who depicted dragon flies sofaithfully that all his best canvases are marred by blank spaceswhere individual insects have taken to flight at a subsequentperiod, and the then almost unknown Liu Sun who died in a stateof regrettable want through stubbornly refusing to paint anythingbut his unsurpassable lotus buds, which, however, invariablypassed to maturity and faded before Liu Sun could find apurchaser.

In this agreeable manner the time sped imperceptibly away untilNg Hon was reminded that it was necessary to resume hisinterrupted paces. It might have been thought that Chiexperienced some regret since nothing would appear to have beendefinitely settled, but when he afterwards blew through his teethand began to instruct the assembled birds in their simple partshe had no appearance of being unduly devoid of satisfaction.

NOBODY has ever yet succeeded in explaining how or exactly wherethe rumour began to spread throughout Wu-tang that in view ofimpending events of a calamitous trend (which in the imaginationof some took the form of a swarm of migratory dragons and withothers was represented by a depreciation of the currency) thosewho were at all undecided about the nature of their standing inthe Upper World would do well to establish further merit. In thisconnection it was freely stated that bounteousness towards allkinds of creatures on an inferior plane would be taken intoaccount and the cases of several leading personages of goodrepute (as well as one or two minor officials) who hadexperienced a definite assuagement of distressing symptoms as theresult of slight acts of benevolence towards creatures of thewild were passed from mouth to mouth with expanding details. Sogreat became the press to succour and befriend neglected andimperilled things of every sort that a multitude of sore anddiscarded dogs and other outcast scavengers of the town that hadhitherto led a blissful and carefree life about the public waysfled to the hills for safety.

It was at this period, when consideration towards the mostinsignificant forms of life was rife that Chi took his stand atan angle of the two chief routes with a stall supporting a cagein which were imprisoned a variety of forest birds adaptable tothe sleeve of every grade of bystander. It was understood thatthese were suitable for food—either after being stewed inajar or roasted on a skewer—as companions of an agreeablesort when attached to the wrist by a flexible cord, or to producenotes of a rich and well-sustained range if blinded by. means ofa red-hot wire and confined in a narrow compass. To those whoserequirements were for any of these needs Chi would courteouslyreply that at that particular beat of time he was whollydestitute of birds conforming to this description, earliercustomers having bought and set free much of his stock in orderto preserve them from so pitiable a fate and thereby to registercompassion. At this, one passing would haply break in withtestimony of the efficiency of such an act and if he who had comeon a quest did not remain to perform a similar rite he would beregarded with sombre looks by those around as a very hardenedwrong-doer.

Chi himself offered the best testimony of the value of such acourse by spontaneously halving the price of any bird to beliberated then and there, whereby, as he readily explained,sharing in the act of clemency on what he had heard (he said) wasknown among the profound as "a two-and-a-half-score two-and-a-half-score basis." By these and similar means his entire store ofbirds had been released before the time of middle rice so that hewas able to return to the woods and taking up his willingco-adjutors at the appointed spot again be back at the meeting ofthe ways in time for the leisured-class traffic.

So firmly established in public esteem did this simple andpractical form of praiseworthiness become that Chi soon found itunnecessary to describe his wares as suitable for the bowl, thewrist, or of being imprisoned to provide melody and thisdissolved his last remaining vestige of concern since hitherto,in spite of the excessive care he took, there had always been theshadowy chance that some clay-souled nigg*rd might actuallysubmit what he had bought to one of these disagreeable uses.Henceforth his stall left no room for doubt concerning thecharitable object of the display, an attractively-embroideredsign, which bore a representation of fire-breathing demonsdevouring those who had neglected to perform good actions, beinginscribed as follows:

SHO CHI

The Original Benevolent-Opportunity Provider

Acquire merit with the least possible outlay atSho Chi's commodious mart where a unique assortment of humanebargains are always at the service of the shallow-sleeved orthrifty-minded.

Slight acts of virtue may be performed for aslittle as 99 cash (down); notable feats of benevolence up to 10taels 50,

A generous reduction on really importantpropitiations.

"A quiet conscience is more to be esteemed thanthe sound of many pieces of silver jingling together."

Hiang Tsu.

AS the fame of Sho Chi's extremely acceptable method of accruinglustre on such reasonable terms was noised about, the oneconcerned soon found it expedient to enlarge his stall andpresently to erect others in suitable positions. Under his rulingthumb Shang, Shin and Nung were pressed into the enterprise andtaught the correct manner. These, together with Sho Chinghimself, though now eager to conform to all that Chi required andwilling to share his prosperity, could never entirely divestthemselves of a sense of injury that the one among themselveswhom they had held in such slight account should be in a positionto supply their deficiencies.

At about this period Chi almost entirely laid aside the iron drumand copper bell by which he had been accustomed to attract thecompassionate* in order to devote himself wholly to the supplyside of the undertaking. So proficient in their willing task didsome of his flock become that several of the most highly giftedbirds were disposed of to the credit-seeking, humanely releasedand observed to fly away to their native haunts with everyindication of delight at the unexpected liberation, met by Chi attheir appointed tryst and returned to the cage again to bring aglow of self-satisfaction to yet another bent on gooddeeds—no less than four times during the span of anordinary working period. Is it to be wondered at that theoccasional competitor who, attracted by Chi's fame, sought torepeat that one's progress should presently throw up his hands indespair, exclaiming, "How is it achievable for one who mustensnare his stock by patient and exacting toil to withstandagainst another who has only to blow through his concave teethfor a surfeit of commodity to throng his bankrupt standing?"

[* Sho Chi is spoken of in contemporarybamboo slips as one of the earliest exponents of successfuldisposalment. In the course of an after-rice address before theWu-tang Assembly of Self-Proclaimers his testimony is outlinedthus: "Noise, by whatever means produced, is an indication ofactivity. To the correctly-poised passer-by the rebound, so tospeak, of something going on is a healthful impulse to divert hisfeet in order to find out what the turmoil may be about and, iffeasible, to take part in it. Now for a brief beat of timewithdraw your distinguished thoughts to a consideration of thebehaviour of a cloud of winged insects in the presence of anewly-baited fly-parchment. Of the hundred that draw near only ascore may alight but of these a hand-count become inextricablyentangled in the attraction...."]

Scrupulously on the first day of each new moon Chi sought thedignified residence of Ng Hon and after the exchange of a fewseasonable compliments the one who had come produced his tale ofknotted cords and pressed on the other the acceptance of a bag ofsilver. The no-longer merchant never attempted to conceal hisembarrassed surprise at this and protested that he had donenothing to deserve so unlooked-for an offering but it did notescape Chi's well-arranged eyes that in handing back the bunch ofknotted cords Ng Hon took the opportunity to appraise themclosely, nor could he divest himself of a well-founded beliefthat if he neglected the formality his occupation wouldautomatically cease to prosper.

Towards those of his immediate circle who in the seclusion of aninner room might speak in a vein not absolutely enthusiastictouching his methods, Chi never found it necessary to extend anyconcurrence. Seeing that he himself had advanced to a position ofreposeful ease, the wants of ancestral shades for severalgenerations back handsomely supplied and his existing kin allprovided with a lucrative choice of not unattractive callings,one (whom he did not further describe) allotted an agreed shareof the divisible excess, the local and imperial dues loyallydischarged in full (or else a mutually satisfactory arrangementmade with the collecting officials), an ever-increasing throng ofsympathetically-disposed persons incited to acquire merit and acheap and convenient means put within their grasp by which thiscould be assured regularly, the recording deities gratified by anunprecedented flood of entries for their tablets from a place nothitherto prominent for munificence, and, to indent a final notch,a thoroughly deserving and laborious staff of birds (ever Chi'schief concern) cared for in their present need and secure againstthe vicissitudes of old age and nature's failings—wherein,on the face of this attainment, could it be rationally maintainedthat anything had been done which was not worthy of acclamation?

VIII. — THE STORY OF THE POET LAO PING,
CHUN SHIN'S DAUGHTER FA,
AND THE FIGHTING CRICKETS.

WHEN Chun Shin, the lottery promoter, incurred the enmity ofcertain powerful subterranean Beings by diverting a watercoursein order to nourish the soil of his afflicted orchard hisinterests ceased to prosper. It was doubtless owing to thisindiscretion that he dwindled in the esteem of many to whom hehad sold tickets for the attractive ventures by which he soughtto benefit those of the community who blended an occasional spiceof enterprise with their usual painstaking thrift; for, as he wasaccustomed to point out very reasonably, how else could oneaccount for the persistence with which those who had purchasedwinning numbers proved to be strangers living in remote andinaccessible provinces? When, however, an influential mandarinwho had been induced to bestir himself about these activities bythe volume of complaint, privately secured all the chances in thedisposal of a richly-embroidered coffin cloth and still failed toobtain the prize, Chun Shin recognised that the malignant Forcesarrayed against him were too formidable for an ordinary person towithstand. Only by immediate flight would it be possible to shakeoff the discreditable persecution and baffle their insatiablevenom. With this resolve Chun Shin melted inconspicuously out ofthe town where he had suffered so unworthy a rebuff only a shortgong-stroke before the spear-men of the mandarin concernedassailed his outer gate. It was inevitable that in thesecirc*mstances he should leave behind a variety of unsettledmatters, which under a more leisurely process he would have beenable to arrange to the satisfaction of most of those concerned,but he took with him all that he conveniently could and chiefamong these possessions must be esteemed his daughter, Fa, who onaccount of the natural grace of all her attitudes has been justlycalled the Dusky Dragon-fly among Water Lilies.

Let it be said that the drastic course which Chun Shin adoptedwas justified up to the sword-guard. In a distant city, thereproclaiming himself to be Shun Chin, he again hung out a sign andembarked upon new undertakings, equally benevolent in scope butsomewhat differently-arranged from those of his previous venture.That these precautions were successful in, so to speak,deflecting any pursuing demons from the betraying perfume, wasplainly shown by the fact that thereafter Shun Chin's prospectsflourished, though it is not denied that at a later date asomewhat similar imprudence attracted the hostility of a secondband of evil Forces, necessitating yet another flight to a stillfurther place and the renewed modification of his harmonious namein order to be able to carry on his sympathetic calling.

Fa was indeed very beautiful, but who would attempt to describein spoken words the combined effect of the full sky lanternrising upon a glade of majestic cypress trees, the simultaneousdischarge of a practically inexhaustible supply of colouredfireworks and the sustained interest of an evenly balancedwrestling conflict? All these impressions the one alluded tocould—and frequently did—convey in a single glance:let it suffice that ill-disposed persons who encountered Fa whileinvading her father's place of commerce with threats of vengeancefor something which they regarded as not altogether honourablyarranged, invariably left bowing profusely and carrying awayseveral complete sets of tickets in any forthcoming lotteries. Faherself, as unassuming as she was symmetrical, specificallydenied any particular merit in bringing this about. All that shehad done, she was wont to say, was to display uprightness in anappropriate setting.

Prominent among those who were attracted to Fa's side when theywere now established in Yuen-yang was Sze Chang, an elderlymagician. On account of his wealth and admitted powers Shun Chinfound no difficulty in receiving Sze Chang with effusion but inspite of her unbounded sense of filial duty it was with atincture of revolt that Fa one day learned from her reveredfather's lips of his intention to accept betrothing gifts on heraccount from the one whom, in the emotionalism of the instant,she referred to as "this physically obsolete and mentally bald-headed necromancer."

"In the length and breadth of a populous city, computed by thelatest official guess to enclose seven-score thousandpersons—one half presumably of the other sort—couldno more agreeable partner than an effete but at the same timelibidinous wizard be found for one who has never yet failed inher devotion?" lamented Fa with morose resentment.

"Sze Chang is both rich and influential, nor in the circ*mstancesshould the probability of his early Up Passing tinge your outlookwith despair," replied Shun Chin, falling back on his not toohighly refined stock of cunning. "As his lesser one you would beable to eat to repletion every day and who among the mostexclusive tea-givers of Yuen-yang would forbear to extend thehand of equality to one who could have them transformed intovenerable she-goats or furnished with humiliating tails if herclaims were slighted?"

"There are other things beyond a continual surfeit of roast porkwhen a certain stage of intellectual development has beenattained, nor to a person of advanced literary views are the tea-tables of Yuen-yang particularly enticing," was Fa's loftycontention. "As was so applicably set forth at the heading of oneof your most successful lottery announcements, esteemed sire: 'Hewho stands a chance of drawing a winning number is already halfway on the road to affluence'."

"The analogy is a little strained," maintained Shun Chin, "andmore to the point is the sage precept, 'A wise man knows what hewants from the outset but an ill-balanced woman only after shehas obtained something quite different.' Since this subject has,as it were, risen to an apex between us, who is the by no meansunpicturesque young man that for the greater part of the lastmoon has contributed to our deplorably scanty means by repeatedlyhazarding small sums of money upon invariably losing ventures?"

"The one you probably have in mind may perhaps be Lao Ping, amuch esteemed poet among those who appreciate the finer shades ofcontemporary literature," suggested Fa, after conscientiouslyruffling her usually jade-like brow in sustained effort. "Withoutactually observing his presence here this person has beencasually aware for some time past that he has occasionallyaffected your not really attractive Hall of a Thousand LuckyChances—doubtless in the hope of there encountering afavourable inspiration."

"Doubtless," repeated Shun Chin in courteous assent, "and thecirc*mstance that what might be regarded as a favourableinspiration has invariably been waiting for him on the mat of theouter door need not complicate our outlook. The fundamental issuehinges on whether the individual concerned is in a position tosupport at least one wife—not omitting, perchance, anoccasional helpful gesture in the direction of a momentarilyembarrassed legal parent."

"As to that," replied Fa, with broad-minded confidence in onewhom she accounted, "Lao Ping's immortal lines entitled, 'FallingPetals of a Prematurely Blooming Cherry Tree, seen through theOpalescent Drizzle of an Unseasonable Snow Storm,' have onlyrecently been crowned with a laurel wreath by the Yuen-yangAdvanced Circle of Stop-short Verse Makers. So successfully isthe underlying principle of projected action maintained in thispulse-stirring epic of stop-short measure that for several beatsof time after the actual words have ceased it is impossible notto feel continuous snow flakes melting on one's cheek and to seefurther drifts of petals being whirled——"

"Assuredly," agreed Shun Chin, regarding the dial of a gong-stroke indicator with scarcely politely-disguised concern, "andit cannot be too widely known that the choicer varieties of earlyfruit should be protected against such happenings. But as to thepractical results of our agreeable conversation, we havedisclosed nothing more substantial than a wreath of somedecorative foliage. The occasion would no doubt be a gratifyingone but the actual sustenance afforded by a handful of aromaticleaves—except to creatures of a lower racial order thaneither of the two chiefly involved—must be regarded asnegligible."

"The reference to species of a lower part is not unapt, for thatdescription might well be applied to some who keep their eyessteadfastly fixed on the material ground to the exclusion of allloftier ambitions," was Fa's high-spirited reply, for the trendof Shun Chin's no-enthusiasm towards Lao Ping was beginning tocorrode the polished surface of her refinement. "Of those who arenot earthbound by sordid considerations of unclean gain it iswell said: 'Better a dish of husks to the accompaniment of amuted lute than to be satiated with stewed shark's fin and richspiced wine of which the cost is frequently mentioned by theprovider'."

"More appropriate in the circ*mstances is the equally concisemaxim, 'The face of a husband changes according to each passingmood but the weight of a piece of gold is the same both night andmorning'," cast back Shun Chin unpleasantly. "Let this suffice, Ocontumacious Fa: If Pao Ling——"

"Lao Ping! omniscient head," besought Fa in well-arrangeddistress. "Contort as you will your own unsightly name but leaveunsullied in its flowing rhythm one that is destined to beinscribed in characters of gold in Fame's imperishable Temple."

"If Ping Ling," continued the really outrageous Shun, nowthrowing off all pretence of polite restraint towards one whoseliterary manner of life was offensive to his own gross nature;"if Ling Ping aspires to ally himself with a Line that has neverbeen backward in coming forward when a speculative issue wasinvolved he must evince his metal. Let him table the winninginsect in the great annual fighting cricket display to be heldhere a moon hence and no barrier will be raised against yourmutual hopes. Should he fail in this, or (as the prudent onlayerwould unhesitatingly predict) decline the proffered test, anunostentatious but strictly binding ceremony will unite you withthe infatuated Sze Chang on the following morning. In themeanwhile it would be well to assemble the usual sufficiency ofrobes with that event in view for on this occasion your precisebut ever-indulgent father assuredly has spoken."

With these forbidding words Shun Chin passed on to arrange thehidden mechanism of his gaming tables for the day, leaving Fainvolved in a very complicated state of virtuous despair towardsthe outcome of this abrupt arisem*nt.

IN order to make it clear to an assembly whose martial spiritwould disdain such second-hand joys as looking on while hireddeputies or even irrational beasts contend for supremacy, let itbe freely admitted that among the leisurely of Yuen-yang tedium-dispelling had at this epoch fallen to a very distressing level.

The year before the one in which the events of this lamentablyill-told and extremely commonplace narrative took place, theoccupation of laboriously adjusting interescting words to conformto a series of admittedly ambiguous signs had been what in aconfessedly harsh and inexpressive tongue was described as "thecomplete frenzy." Preceding that had been a season when thecomponent parts of irregularly-severed depictions of actualscenes had to be pieced together to restore their despoiledeffect.

There had also been periods when domestic guardians of the home,trained to pursue a fictitious prey, had achieved this "frenzy;"when to stand one on either side an arranged board and there tostrike an insignificant sphere of resilient pith by successiveblows until one or the other wearied of the contest, enticed thethrong; when amassing defaced fragments of adhesive paper thathad achieved their legitimate end was held to be worthy ofpursuit, or inducing a responsive spool to mount a dependentcord, or the task of inserting promiscuous words among sentencesdeprived of their inherent drift, those judged successful beingrewarded by a charge imposed on all the others—these and athousand other trivial beguilements (which could more fittinglyhave been delegated to attending slaves) had passed in breathlesssuccession. Now, as Shun Chin's assertive challenge sufficientlydisclosed, contests between fighting crickets had for some timebeen the entire delirium.

In a simple and unsophisticated age such a trial would haveinvolved no particular injustice. Lao Ping would doubtless havecollected a suitable team of insects from about his own domestichearth and having invoked the assistance of every availableancestral spirit (each no less concerned in the outcome thanhimself) would have entered into the contest on an equality withall the others. Admittedly there must exist among the normaltribe of these creatures exceptional crickets, even as in acommunity of average persons strong men occur to whom the liftingof unwieldy loads or the bursting if incredible chains present nohardship, but who is to say that Lao Ping's fireside should nothave harboured its just share of prodigies? So commercialised,however, had become this once primitive and guileless sport,since its adoption as a popular frenzy, that no ordinary insect,fresh from its innocent native hearth, would have stood the mostshadowy chance of conquering. The art and practice of trainingpromising crickets for the circle (as the enclosed space in whichthey strove was familiarly termed) had become the profession andthe livelihood of a community of wily experts who not only soughtto impart strength and endurance to their docile band but evenwent so far as to initiate them into every variety of delusiveguile and questionable stratagem. Famous crickets of proved skilland authentic strain were esteemed not by their weight in goldbut against their cubic capacity of rubies. Even those, of eithersort, who by age or disablement were no longer fit to competestill lent their activities to the strife, for in every issue ofThe Fighting Cricket's Makeknown and Wrestling Locust'sProclaimer—the official printed leaf of the controllingBoard—there might be seen, side by side with claims ofmiraculous unguents to strengthen failing limbs, infalliblecharms to ward off defeat, and predictions ("direct from thecricket's antennae") for impending events, announcements statingthat for a reasonable amount former champions would consort witha limited number of suitable insects of the other sort in theexpectation of, as it were, engendering future winners.

It was into this dubious beneath-world of sport that Shun Chinwas craftily enticing Lao Ping for what, divested of itsextraneous gloss, constituted an encounter between theuninformed, sincere-hearted poet and an insidious magician, withthe now distracted hand of the Dusky Dragon-fly among WaterLilies suspended in the balance.

The outcome in any case could scarcely be in doubt but an addeddetail reveals Shun Chin's duplicity in even more sombre colours.For some time past Sze Chang had been deeply immersed in a systemof profiting by his unique ability to foresee results and inpursuit of extended gains he had now secretly acquired a halfinterest in a much-famed cage of fighting crickets. Thus, aspart-owner of that champion cup-lifter Valiant Tiger of Yuen-yangthe Eleventh he could command the services of a hitherto unbeateninsect.

AS the opening day of the great annual fighting cricket contestdrew near there was less disposition among the casual andinactive of Yuen-yang to engage in settled toil than to assembleat convenient angles of the ways and there exchange rumours from-the various leading insect pens and discuss what they referredto as "the unevens." In more reputable quarters of the city asimilar scene was being enacted behind closed doors for whileevery prominent owner spoke explicitly of his own success andcontemptuously of rivals, each one secretly feared some untowardsurprise and the dramatic appearance at the circle-side of whatin their cryptic idiom they called a "sombre cricket." Thus maybe described one pair of the four persons with whose activitiesit is being sought to beguile an over-indulgent throng of over-tolerant listeners—Shun Chin and the magician Sze Chang.The other, Lao Ping and Fa herself, though no less deeplyconcerned, maintained a more dignified exterior.

"Yet by what unforeseen stroke of destiny will it be possible toelude the clay-souled Sze Chang in the end, seeing that he is nowknown to be the owner of Valiant Tiger the Eleventh, while you, Omy romantic but fatally impractical one! have neglected toprovide yourself with even a remote outsider?" lamented Fa, whenthey were come together on the eve of the opening day of thetrials. "Admittedly, to maintain an inflexible upper lip is inthe best traditions of our unemotional race, but to betray nointerest whatever in a contest of which she herself is, so tospeak, the core, does not fill this one's heart with a suffusionof rapture."

"Yet is it not said, 'Whatever else, a voice raised in themarket-place is not disclosing where gold is stored, but the dogthat would retain his bone shuns observation?' Surrounded as weare by the eyes and ears of jealous competitors at every turn itwould have been indiscreet to risk even a hint up to now, but thetime has come when you at least may share the knowledge." Withthese auspicious words Lao Ping withdrew from the inner recessesof his sleeve an insignificant box of thin wood, such as iscarried by habitual users of opium pipes to contain their tinder,and opening it displayed to Fa's bewildered eyes a considerablymore than average size cricket but one showing no particularlines of form and of incredibly venerable aspect.

"Behold the destined vanquisher of the yet unconquerable ValiantTiger of Yuen-yang!" he declared with inoffensive pride. "Justlycalled 'Spirit of Bygone Mettle'."

In a restricted sense the name is not inept since a definite airof antiquity is the insect's most prominent feature," declared Fawhen she was able to control her emotions. "Alas, my idealisticbut utterly preposterous lover, what revengeful shade is luringyou on to a climax that can only involve us both in unseemlyderision?—for when once this elderly survival is seen inthe circle it will be freely said that this time the inspired LaoPing has produced a stop-short line that will assuredly go nofurther."

"Had it been an ordinary cricket——"

"The word is well chosen," interposed Fa, not to be denied thefull expression of her inner feelings, "for without claiming tobe an adept this person has not been thrust into the society ofthose who frequent her venerated father's ambiguously-conductedgambling den without acquiring some knowledge of the variouspoints essential to a successful cricket—of which thistruly remarkable example is the pronounced antithesis. Devoid ofboth agility and strength how should he for a single beat of timeresist the onslaught of Valiant Tiger of Yuen-yang theEleventh—whose opening stroke is to leap on to anunprepared antagonist's back and bite off both his hind legs witha single movement?"

"Beasts have what constitutes their value outside their frames,men theirs within, and the quality of an insect that is of otherthan mere earthly mould cannot be assessed by materialstandards," replied Lao Ping with some aloofness.

"Other than of earthly mould!" wonderingly exclaimed Fa, to whomsupernatural occurrences were, of course, by no means unknownthough so far none had actually come under her own observation."Can it be possible——"

"Let it suffice that the cunningly assumed shape now in yourlotus hand disguises the identity of this person's remoteancestor Lao Lo-wing, a very celebrated minstrel of the SecondDynasty to whose tutelary shade the one who is explaining thefacts had addressed an admonitory ode of considerable vigour.Therein it was pointed out how serious the consequences would be,both to himself and to all of our ancient race in The Above if,as the outcome of this unworthy test, out attenuated Line becameextinct leaving none to transmit offerings."

"Why should that of necessity arise?" persuasively enquired Fa,at the same time affectionately straightening out the unevenextremity of Lao Ping's artistically-looped pig-tail, after shehad somewhat hastily returned the lethargic form of thetransmigrated Lao Lo-wing to his receptacle, "for surely amongthe inner chambers of a congested centre like Yuen-yang theremust be many other maidens far more ornamentally-outlined thanthe deformed object now before you. Any one of these woulddoubtless leap forward at the chance——"

"This is not the time to pursue a line of arguable hypothesis toan indeterminate conclusion, for, as a distinguished lyrist of abygone age has reasonably maintained, a person is eitherapprehensive of the eventual outcome or else his claims torecognition are below the normal if he is reluctant to submit theissue to an unqualified decision. Inspired by a yearning thattranscends adequate expression except in the form of a sonnetthis one has closed with your honourable father's extremelyoffensive challenge, but should the result leave him bereft ofyou, adorable Fa, he will unhesitatingly choose some picturesquemethod of self-ending rather than exist merely for the sordidpurpose of providing a largely self-seeking group of over-indulgent ancestors with a continuous line of succession."

As the conversation seemed to be tending towards a specificdevelopment that was incongruous to a nature so delicatelyrefined as hers, Fa suitably indicated that the moment had nowarrived when her retiring feet must turn in a homeward direction.Nor to this did Lao Ping raise any dissent for, as he pointedout, there was still much he ought to do towards influencing afavourable decision. Joss sticks could be usefully burned beforethe shrines of any Beings amenable to the attraction of asporting hazard; imprecatory fireworks might have some effects onthe nerves of rivals crickets, while suitably composedmaledictions deriding the pretensions and exposing the unworthyaims of other competitors must surely carry weight. Regarded fromany angle an industrious night was before Lao Ping: the onedisturbing thought being that everyone else concerned wasemployed in precisely the same manner.

THE earlier days of the ever-popular Yuen-yang Annual Assemblingwere devoted to contests of inferior rank wherein ambitious butunknown insects could, as it were, work their way up bysuccessive tiers to the position of being matched againstrecognised fighters. Certain of the latter, indeed, were notrequired to take part in the initial series of contests at all,it being automatically assumed that they must necessarily havetriumphed. Thus Valiant Tiger of Yuen-yang the Eleventh would notbe called upon to enter the circle before the last two days,though to retain again the coveted Porcelain Badge he would thenhave to defend his claim against every surviving cricket.

The appearance of Spirit of Bygone Mettle had been greeted withthe melted austerity and gravity removing jests that Fa hadpredicted for it, but these had gradually given way to distressedsurprise and, later, even a begrudging regard as the deridedoutsider sluggishly emerged victorious from each successiveencounter. For this result he relied not so much on any actualskill or physical superiority as upon a strict adherence to amethod of belligerency that was new and completely baffling toevery opponent. (Searching the ancient bamboo records at a laterperiod Fa realised that Lao Lo-wing's manner of combat had beenthe accepted style in the classic days of the SecondDynasty—the supine or shun-as-best-can system, since becomea lost art and forgotten.) This consisted of withdrawing as muchas possible into himself and presenting an inert bulk ofimpenetrable hide upon which the inexperienced vainly shatteredboth self-control and vigour. Nothing that the most craftyassailant might contrive would induce the patriarch to expose somuch as the fringe of a single eyelid until he was assured that acondition of exhaustion had been produced, whereat he rolledbodily upon the prostrate and demoralised antagonist and quicklystifled him beneath the obese mass that constituted his oneasset.

It was in vain that distracted trainers sought by word or sign todirect a change of strategy into their charge's methods. Thesight of that yielding and apparently helpless form was anirresistible magnet to their reckless undoing.

After each combat Lao Ping, under the directing hand of Fa,carefully anointed the apathetic champion's joints with a specialoil that was greatly esteemed among the discerning. Anxiouslythey examined his surface for any marks of stress or strain but"Ancient Bygone," as he was now familiarly greeted amongonlookers, seemed to possess an immunity from serious hurt thatnourished their expectation. Emerging from his seventeenth strifenothing beyond a few torn scales, the obscuration of one eye, andthe missing extremity of a single foot marked his victoriouspassage.

Thus may the position be divulged when the last and culminatingstage of the assembling arrived. Some trivial outside engagementsremained to be decided during the earlier gong-strokes of the daybut these had no influence on the great event—thedestination of the Porcelain Badge and the right to be styled"Unconquerable" that went with it. For this supreme honour theonly two unbeaten crickets would contend—Valiant Tiger ofYuen-yang the Eleventh and Spirit of Bygone Mettle—and thewhole period of no-light, if necessary, would be devoted to theencounter. Lao Ping professed to have no qualms whatever aboutthe outcome and he even ventured all hispossessions—including whatever he might receive for someyet unwritten sets of verses—upon the result but Fa, whohad observed the portents with a more experienced eye, counselledmoderation. She had watched Sze Chang closely whenever AncientBygone's winning number was proclaimed and had seen that themagician did not appear unduly crestfallen.

"The morally-tainted sorcerer is undoubtedly retaining somethingwithin his sleeve," she argued from this. "It would be well tokeep in mind the sage admonition: 'Though you bind a fallen enemyboth hand and foot yet he can still follow you with curses'."

THERE is another timely precept that exhorts caution—"Onthe end of the chop-stick is not in the mouth"—and thetruth of this simple apothegm revealed itself to Fa withbenumbing force a period later when she stood in the Hall of aThousand Lucky Chances directing arrangements for the middle-part-of-the-day gathering. Hearing her name spoken in a falteringvoice she turned to find Lao Ping by her side and the normalityof his hastily-assumed garb told her at once that something of ahighly distressing nature must have happened.

"Speak quickly and that to a sharply pointed end," she urged,"but control your expressive voice so that none may suspect itstenor. Spirit of——?"

"It is even as you have guessed," replied Lao Ping. "The AncientBygone has all but Passed Up. The limit of his capability is tolie inert and gasp; he could not even roll over upon an exhaustedadversary."

"Unclean work has been astir here," declared Fa with concentratedfeeling. "Nothing could exceed the high spirits in which theVenerable disposed of his last opponent. This undoubtedlyconcerns Sze Chang who was seated in one of the most expensiveretained benches by the circle side and may well have taken anopportunity to cast the Baleful Glance as he left the enclosure."

"To produce him as the challenger would be tocourt——"

"The situation calls for alert thinking of a highly concentratedtype, and you, adored one, would do well to return and endeavourto sustain the stricken patriarch at any hazard," was Fa'scapable decision. "Keep him, so to speak, going for the next fewgong-strokes and some expedient may yet emerge. Try thestimulating effect of reciting the Analectic Odes of the SecondDynasty, interspersed with minute portions of undiluted ricespirit given through a straw should he seem in danger of sinking.Do not altogether despair, beloved...the spot whereon westand contains the germ of a dimly-formed inspiration."

With these encouraging words Fa shook hands with herselfhurriedly and passed on, leaving Lao Ping far from settled amonghis private feelings.

"We are standing by the central table on the raised dais wherethe culminating issue will be fought, and beneath the hanginglantern of fifteen lights that will shed a revealing brillianceon the extinction of our hopes," considered Lao Ping morosely."It is very much to be feared that the blow has disturbed thebalance of Fa's essential equipoise if she can find anythinginspiring in the position."

MEANWHILE, however, Fa had reached a secluded glen of naturalgrowth, where, as she had chanced to learn, it was Sze Chang'sdaily wont to resort at about that time in order to disperse theheavier feelings of his midday rice by continuous gentle motion.Anxiously awaiting his approach, she did not fail to admiremeanwhile the harmonious result attained by the tempered light ofday filtering through an elaborate tracery of quietly flutteringleaves stirred by a perfumed breeze, while the varied notes ofunseen birds of the more melodious sorts heightened the sense ofrefinement. From this entrancing scene Fa was abruptly recalledby the methodical breathing of one as he drew near, and afterbeing satisfied that this was indeed the unscrupulous seer, shesuitably arranged herself on a convenient bank and shrouding herface beneath a fold of the cloak she wore, raised a voice ofgraceful bitterness.

"How unendurable is the position of a person who by thevicissitudes of fate is condemned to a detested lot! Why shouldthe one who is speaking, owing to an irrational father'sunbecoming whim, be on the point of an abhorrent alliance with apenurious and intellectually moth-eaten writer of third-rateverse when she had long in secret fixed her hopes on thecongenial image of a profound philosopher, who in addition tobeing in every way a more trustworthy guide would have been ableto satisfy her most fanciful ambitions? O unattainable Sze Chang,how should you have allowed yourself to becomeenticed——" but at this point an incautiousexclamation of senile delight warned Fa that she was not aloneand a moment later the one foreseen reached the edge of theclearing.

"Alas," she bewailed, looking vainly round for some way by whichit would not be possible to escape, "even in this sequesteredspot is it not feasible to give way to a high-minded despairwithout having one's most cherished confidences extorted? Whoeveryou may be who approach, graciously avert your magnanimous eyesand do not seek to resolve the identity of one——"

"Yet there is no occasion for distress and this moves to anauspicious end, for he whom you seek to shun is no other than theone who has admittedly gained your approval."

"Sze Chang himself!—can it be?" was wrung from Fa inenhanced confusion. "This transcends all possible varieties ofshame, that one of the other sort should hear his ownname——'

"Restrain your profuse display of becoming delicacy—atleast to a more convenient time—since the Sze Chang whomyou now perceive is equally disposed towards such a union."

"Yet the unsurmountable barrier of a venerated father's spokenword——?" lamented Fa, not indisposed to lay aside areally adequate portrayal of maidenly reserve as the moments spedon in which she must accomplish her despairing mission. "Surelyit cannot have escaped your profoundly well-informed ears that ifat the final test Lao Ping's entry should prevail——?Spirit of Bygone Mettle has hitherto proved unconquerable."

"Have no fear on that score either," replied Sze Chang with ill-disguised assurance; "the Ancient Bygone will never again enterthe prize-circle. Since matters are thus and thus between usthere is no harm in admitting now that this person also waspossessed by some uneasiness as to Valiant Tiger's ability tooutlast so unorthodox a strategist. To remedy this obviousinjustice he therefore took the opportunity last night to slipthe Baleful Glance across Lao Ping's resuscitated hope as it wasreclining at ease after the final encounter. To-day, Spirit ofBygone Mettle will be in no condition to meet an aggressivecaterpillar."

"The Baleful Glance!" exclaimed Fa, so distraught that she evenseized the magician's talismanic robe in the extremity of herwell-arranged emotion; "what contradiction of terms is here thatyou should thus describe the cause of a state of incrediblevivacity? Learn that since last night so intensified an animationhas possessed that torpid worm as to add to his natural tactics ahitherto unsuspected energy. Already he has eaten several of hispractising accomplices, bitten a hand that sought to caress, andnow the insufferable Lao Ping freely boasts that in the Bygone heowns the coming Middle Kingdom Agate Belt holder. If you doubtedfor Valiant Tiger before, now is the time to compose hisepitaph."

"What you say is very surprising in view of the unfailingefficacy of this one's Baleful Glance," muttered Sze Chang,palpably at a loss how next to proceed. "Never before has it beenknown to miss blighting a recipient."

"In that case it would be well to consider what sort of a glancewas actually bestowed," reasonably suggested Fa; "for chancing tolook up at about the time concerned this one surprised from yourexpressive eyes an ardent shaft that was the reverse of animprecation. If the, as it were, afterglow of this approvingmessage remained may it not be that instead of the Baleful Glanceyou really conferred on the offensive slug something in thenature of a Gladdening Welcome?"

"This comes of attempting to do two things at once and clearlyshows the inexpedience of mingling business and affection,"lamented Sze Chang with very little left of his usual assertivemanner. "In passing from one object to another this incapablewizard obviously forgot to change the expression of his face withthe deplorable result that Spirit of Bygone Mettle is now infusedwith new life and pugnacity. Valiant Tiger may henceforth beregarded as little better than so much cold insect."

"Unless," prompted Fa in a voice of significant import, "toValiant Tiger's admitted strength and thrust there should beunited a more than insectile restraint and cunning."

"You are informing this person!" was Sze Chang's not very choiceassent, for the disclosure of his ineptitude had shaken hisessential balance. "But that is wherein the Tiger notably fallsshort and no amount of guidance has ever yet been able to correcthis tendency to rush the issue. Could he be disciplined to play awaiting game he could still engage that one on equal ground andbeat him."

"And why should this not be?" demanded Fa with inspiring fervour."You, as a powerful magician, have admitted powers. Is it notwithin your scope to assume any form at will and conform to it?"

"To a certain extent that can readily be done," replied SzeChang. "In the case of the larger carnivora it is not always easyeither to get in, so to speak, or to get out, but apart fromthese——"

"No such difficulty confronts you here. Invest yourself for theshort time required with the outward semblance of Valiant Tigerand take his place, thereby uniting with his physical agilityyour own tempered resource and the outcome is certain."

Although in the progress of a long and well-spread life Sze Changhad played many unusual parts it was undeniable that for a fewbeats of time he wavered.

"There are no practical obstacles in the way of such a course itis true;" he declared; "but for one who has always observed acertain standard of things which are and are not done there is anelement of reluctance. Where an honorary distinction such as thePorcelain Badge is at stake would it be quite——"

"Before the inviolable word is said," interposed Fa adroitly,"consider rather the authority of the prevalent text, 'In mattersof affection and military stress there is no such thing ascompunction'."

"It is well recalled," conceded Sze Chang, "and were itnot——"

" 'Were-it-not and If and But were three brothers who lost theirway in a wood, looking for a door to get out by'," retorted Fadisdainfully. "It is very plain how the matter stands. At thecost of a trifling personal inconvenience for a short gong-strokeor so a coveted honour and a camel-load of facile silver liewithin your grasp, but you fear that this one's by no meanseasily ignored father will profess a binding condition.Admittedly she who stands before you is of leprous skin,deficient in one eye, afflicted with a hump and, as you maysee"—at this point Fa enveloped Sze Chang in thecharacteristic glance to which reference has been made at anearlier period—"generally repulsive. Were this notso——"

To those who do not habitually frequent the Ways with both eyesclosed it will occasion no surprise that before another gong-stroke had passed Sze Chang should be assembling his theurgicoutfit in the seclusion of an inner chamber. "When an alluringwoman comes in at the door," warningly traced the austere Kien-fion the margin of his well-known essay, "discretion may be foundup the chimney." It is incredible that beneath this ever-timelyreminder an obscure disciple should have added the words: "Thewiser the sage, the more profound the folly."

WHILE Sze Chang bent his self-confident feet towards his secludedhome Fa was speeding along a backward path for although herpreparations thenceforward were not involved they entailed bothsecrecy and precision. In the Hall of a Thousand Lucky Chances asingle attendant was preparing for the time of no-light assemblywhich would close the series. Rightly judging from the hireling'sfunereal cast that he had recently failed to disclose a winner fa*generously bestowed a hand-count of copper cash and sending himout to consult an omen undertook his unfinished duties.

These did not entail any great burden as the matter stood for thecompany that had been collected there came of the better classand even when dissatisfied had refrained from expressing deepresentment. Stools and benches might require to be rearranged,nut-sheaths and melon seeds swept up, and dead insects removedfrom the scenes of their last encounter. Chiefest of all, thehanging lanterns must be—where the candles had burnedlow—replenished to last the night and it was to thisservice that Fa first gave her energies. With a conscientiousresolve that nothing should interrupt so imperative a task sheeven barred each door before engaging on this detail.

It may be recalled by those who have paid this ineffectual talean attention far beyond its meagre deserts that when Lao Ping andFa last met they had stood by the central table, at which theconcluding event would soon take place, beneath the main sourceof illumination. This weighty contrivance was dependent on asingle cord and, doubtless to ensure an equable light, Fa nowmoved the table a shade and firmly clamped it there, so that themetal base of the lamp hung exactly above the prescribed circlewherein the combatants must confine their action. Hitherto thesustaining cord had been perfunctorily held by a knot made at afixed eyelet in the base but this crude purchase was deemedunsuitable to Fa's ingenious mind and an alternative device hadalready suggested itself which she now proceeded to realise.Warming an iron skewer she pierced the great central candle atabout a finger-breadth below the top and passing the cord throughthe opening thus formed retained it securely in its place bymeans of an adequacy of soft wax well pressed among theinterstices. Had Lao Ping been privileged to observe Fa then hemight have written a fitting poem extolling her worth—andeven the remiss Sze Chang would perchance have found his tongueunloosed—for unlike those who must depend on fictitiousaccessories to display their charms, the lowly nature of Fa'sservile task lent an added glow to her complicated glamour. Andas she considered each deft touch to perfect her work she sang alittle chant that told of two hard-pressed but enduring loversand how at last, owing to the unassailable purity of their cause,and the affectionate foresight of one, they were wafted throughmany risks to a state of perpetual happiness.

WHEN it was seen by the expectant throng that Sze Chang was notthere in person to lead out his insect some slight surprise wasfelt but at the appointed stroke a trusty attendant who servedthe magician's hand responded to the note of defiance andproduced the Valiant Tiger. Lao Ping, as the contesting voice,had already "placed" the challenger. The Ancient Bygone's craftystyle was now well known to every onlooker there so that heshould remain inert when once placed on the board occasioned noremark but an appreciative murmur filled the hall as it wasrealised how the hitherto impetuous champion confronting him wasadopting the same deliberate tactics. From their respectivestations at different sides of the allowed space each combatantcontinued to maintain complete inaction.

"Valiant Tiger has assimilated his instruction at last," wasfreely confided. "This has every appearance of being a contest ofwits which it would be well worth going many far li to see," andknowing that they had, if necessary, the whole period of no-lightto go, the assemblage settled pleasurably down to await theonset, while the more venerable among them sought occasions torecount past instances of still doughtier contests.

What exactly would have been the final outcome of so evenly-balanced an exchange can only be written in terms of surmise forthe occasion was destined to become memorable by a very differenthappening. Even at the moment when the one who was there todecide any opposing claims, thinking that he detected a slightmovement in the Valiant Tiger's poise, had murmured, "Somethingshould ensue now," a noise, not unlike that occasioned bytreading on broken glass and at the same time tearing severalfolds of costly silk, spread general consternation. Before theactual nature of this mishap could be grasped an appreciablegloom obscured the scene and the middle part of the hall became acomplicated mixture of scattered shreds of various sorts,upturned seats, discordant cries and persons getting in eachother's way as they endeavoured to hasten elsewhere, above whichcould be heard the voices of distraught keepers of the doorsenjoining all to maintain self-composure. When the dust hadsettled down somewhat and the tumult begun to abate it could beseen that the great central appointment of fifteen lights hadfallen down and by its descent practically obliterated bothcombatants.

"After this truly regrettable event there is no alternative butto declare the encounter nothing and empty," announced Shun Chin,mounting a convenient height and indicating to his gatherers-inthat instead of money itself vouchers-of-return should be handedto those who clamoured. "In due course descriptive placards ofthe thus necessary re-fight will be widely exhibited. Meanwhilethe Porcelain Badge, together with the title 'Unconquerable,'remains, as it were, suspended."

"On the contrary," maintained a firm but, very melodious voice,and across the wreckage-strewn space Fa, stifling her naturaldiffidence, took up a similar position, "the Ordinance of theBoard of Contending Crickets Control, under which this assemblingis held, specifically foresees and provides against such adifficulty. By Clause 97, underdivision K, it is declared that inthe event of both belligerents from any cause Passing Upwards atthe same time together, the two claimers of the title concernedshall thereupon appear in person and decide by a throw of theinspired Flat and Round Sticks which shall be acclaimed victor."

"The statement is exact," agreed the one who was there to balanceright and wrong, "and the indicated course must be duly followed.Sze Chang not being yet arrived let him be quickly summoned."

"It is as good as achieved, O disperser of doubt," put in the onewho served the magician's hand. "At the outset of affairs thisone, stirred by some inward qualm, sent back a pressing message."

"The messenger who was despatched is all but here again,"reported one who stood by a door. "He hastens as though pursuedbut his feet are not urged on by gladness."

At that the voices and the shifting to and fro died down so thatwhen the messenger appeared the only sounds were his labouredbreath and the soft padding of his straw shoes as he ran forward.

"Affliction has entered the House of Sze and he whom I was sentto bring is beyond the message. How this happened none who arethere can say but when they sought him to hear the word I hadbrought they found Sze Chang lying crushed on a couch in his roomof secret doings, with one of the Ancestral Tablets, exceedingthe weight of three ordinary men, fallen down upon him. It cannotbe doubted that he had instantly Gone Hence to join ThoseOthers."

"The occasion will certainly call for suitable marks of grief,"sympathetically announced Fa, towards whom many eyes were nowdirected, "Sze Chang having been, as one might say, almost of ourown number. Meanwhile, the outcome having developed thus andthus, the Badge and the Title must be claimed for the insect-penof Lao Ping, the widely-extolled and phenomenally successfullocal verse-maker of Yuen-yang, of whom it has been trulysaid——"

"Forbear!" besought Lao Ping, plucking her sleeve, for apart fromthe exuberance of his garb the one concerned was neitherobtrusive nor unseemly.

"Yet consider what the future entails, beloved, and recall thatthe takers-down of spoken words are here in clusters," guardedlydropped Fa with a glance of reassurance. "—he whosesublimest effort—'Pearls Dripping from the Broken Spoutingof a Disused Fowl Pen in Autumn'—though worthy of Tou Fou,the Divine of Song himself, will be sent forth in printed leavesby Hong and Kong from the Sign of the Man Rolling Logs at thewholly inadequate cost of two taels, five hundred cash, to-morrow."

"The claim cannot be gainsaid," conceded the one who held thescales, "—that is to say as regards the official awardaffecting the contest. The other observations advanced do notcome within this person's province."

Little remains to be expressed of matters relating to the furtherdestinies of those concerned with the unfolding of this mediocrechronicle.

Shun Chin from time to time moved on to other distant parts wherehe engaged in a variety of kindred enterprises as the occasionoffered, diversifying his adaptable name now and again to suitany arising hazard. On all these occasions he was accompanied byFa and Lao Ping, the latter person not having been inundated withthe superfluity of taels that, in the opinion of those bestqualified to judge, his unapproachable efforts merited. At firstFa had not thought that her father would extend the open hand ofgladness towards Lao Ping's continual presence but Shun Chin tookan early opportunity to lead his daughter privately aside andthus expound his outlook:

"One does not attain six double hand-counts of years withoutgrasping certain fundamental principles of life and among thesemay be accepted the fact that even with the most desirable jointof meat there will be present a commensurate amount of gristle.In the furtherance of this person's enterprises—where theyhave not run counter to your own design—you have provedboth diligent and apt. In the circ*mstances your departingfootsteps would convey a hollow sound and for this reason, if itcan be suitably arranged, he who is speaking now is prepared toregard as a long yearned-for and henceforth cherished son one whohad better otherwise remain nameless."

"It shall be as a wise and ever-indulgent parent may decide,"dutifully replied Fa, since she saw no other prospect as thingswere positioned. "My father is all-knowing."

"Not perhaps to a literal degree," disclaimed Shun Chin withunnecessary modesty. "But," he added as an afterthought,"sufficiently observant to connect the charred state of adependent cord with the regrettable end of one who mightcertainly have proved helpful."

THE END