Becoming aware that the celebrated play entitled “The Precious Lamp
of Spotted Butterfly Temple” was in process of being shown at the Tea
Garden of Rainbow Lights and Voices, he purchased an entrance, and after
passing several hours in this conscientious enjoyment, returned to
his chamber, and passed a night untroubled by any manifestations of an
unpleasant nature.

CHAPTER XII

Chang-ch’un, the brother of the one to whom Ling had applied in his
determination, was confidently stated to be one of the richest persons
in Canton. So great was the number of enterprises in which he had
possessions, that he himself was unable to keep an account of them,
and it was asserted that upon occasions he had run through the streets,
crying aloud that such an undertaking had been the subject of most
inferior and uninviting dreams and omens (a custom observed by those who
wish a venture ill), whereas upon returning and consulting his written
parchments, it became plain to him that he had indulged in a very
objectionable exhibition, as he himself was the person most interested
in the success of the matter. Far from discouraging him, however, such
incidents tended to his advantage, as he could consistently point to
them in proof of his unquestionable commercial honourableness, and in
this way many persons of all classes, not only in Canton, or in the
Province, but all over the Empire, would unhesitatingly entrust money
to be placed in undertakings which he had purchased and was willing to
describe as “of much good.” A certain class of printed leaves--those in
which Chang-ch’un did not insert purchased mentions of his forthcoming
ventures or verses recording his virtues (in return for buying many
examples of the printed leaf containing them)--took frequent occasion of
reminding persons that Chang-ch’un owed the beginning of his prosperity
to finding a written parchment connected with a Mandarin of exalted rank
and a low caste attendant at the Ti-i tea-house among the paper
heaps, which it was at that time his occupation to assort into various
departments according to their quality and commercial value. Such
printed leaves freely and unhesitatingly predicted that the day on which
he would publicly lose face was incomparably nearer than that on which
the Imperial army would receive its back pay, and in a quaint and
gravity-removing manner advised him to protect himself against an
obscure but inevitable poverty by learning the accomplishment of
chair-carrying--an occupation for which his talents and achievements
fitted him in a high degree, they remarked.

In spite of these evilly intentioned remarks, and of illustrations
representing him as being bowstrung for treacherous killing, being
seized in the action of secretly conveying money from passers-by to
himself and other similar annoying references to his private life,
Chang-ch’un did not fail to prosper, and his undertakings succeeded to
such an extent that without inquiry into the detail many persons were
content to describe as “gold-lined” anything to which he affixed his
sign, and to hazard their savings for staking upon the ventures. In all
other departments of life Chang was equally successful; his chief wife
was the daughter of one who stood high in the Emperor’s favour; his
repast table was never unsupplied with sea-snails, rats’ tongues,
or delicacies of an equally expensive nature, and it was confidently
maintained that there was no official in Canton, not even putting aside
the Taotai, who dare neglect to fondle Chang’s hand if he publicly
offered it to him for that purpose.

It was at the most illustrious point of his existence--at the time,
indeed, when after purchasing without money the renowned and proficient
charm-water Ho-Ko for a million taels, he had sold it again for
ten--that Chang was informed by his brother of the circumstances
connected with Ling. After becoming specially assured that the matter
was indeed such as it was represented to be, Chang at once discerned
that the venture was of too certain and profitable a nature to be put
before those who entrusted their money to him in ordinary and doubtful
cases. He accordingly called together certain persons whom he was
desirous of obliging, and informing them privately and apart
from business terms that the opportunity was one of exceptional
attractiveness, he placed the facts before them. After displaying a
number of diagrams bearing upon the matter, he proposed that they should
form an enterprise to be called “The Ling (After Death) Without Much
Risk Assembly.” The manner of conducting this undertaking he explained
to be as follows: The body of Ling, whenever the spirit left it, should
become as theirs to be used for profit. For this benefit they would pay
Ling fifty thousand taels when the understanding was definitely arrived
at, five thousand taels each year until the matter ended, and when that
period arrived another fifty thousand taels to persons depending upon
him during his life. Having stated the figure business, Chang-ch’un
put down his written papers, and causing his face to assume the look of
irrepressible but dignified satisfaction which it was his custom to wear
on most occasions, and especially when he had what appeared at first
sight to be evil news to communicate to public assemblages of those
who had entrusted money to his ventures, he proceeded to disclose the
advantages of such a system. At the extreme, he said, the amount which
they would be required to pay would be two hundred and fifty
thousand taels; but this was in reality a very misleading view of the
circumstance, as he would endeavour to show them. For one detail, he had
allotted to Ling thirty years of existence, which was the extreme amount
according to the calculations of those skilled in such prophecies; but,
as they were all undoubtedly aware, persons of very expert intellects
were known to enjoy a much shorter period of life than the gross and
ordinary, and as Ling was clearly one of the former, by the fact of his
contriving so ingenious a method of enriching himself, they might with
reasonable foresight rely upon his departing when half the period had
been attained; in that way seventy-five thousand taels would be restored
to them, for every year represented a saving of five thousand. Another
agreeable contemplation was that of the last sum, for by such a time
they would have arrived at the most pleasurable part of the enterprise:
a million taels’ worth of pure gold would be displayed before them, and
the question of the final fifty thousand could be disposed of by cutting
off an arm or half a leg. Whether they adopted that course, or decided
to increase their fortunes by exposing so exceptional and symmetrical a
wonder to the public gaze in all the principal cities of the Empire, was
a circumstance which would have to be examined within their minds when
the time approached. In such a way the detail of purchase stood
revealed as only fifty thousand taels in reality, a sum so despicably
insignificant that he had internal pains at mentioning it to so wealthy
a group of Mandarins, and he had not yet made clear to them that each
year they would receive gold to the amount of almost a thousand taels.
This would be the result of Ling making smooth his surfaces, and it
would enable them to know that the person in question actually existed,
and to keep the circumstances before their intellects.

When Chang-Ch’un had made the various facts clear to this extent, those
who were assembled expressed their feelings as favourably turned towards
the project, provided the tests to which Ling was to be put should prove
encouraging, and a secure and intelligent understanding of things to be
done and not to be done could be arrived at between them. To this end
Ling was brought into the chamber, and fixing his thoughts steadfastly
upon Mian, he permitted portions to be cut from various parts of his
body without betraying any signs of ignoble agitation. No sooner had
the pieces been separated and the virtue of Ling’s existence passed from
them than they changed colour and hardened, nor could the most delicate
and searching trials to which they were exposed by a skilful worker
in metals, who was obtained for the purpose, disclose any particular,
however minute, in which they differed from the finest gold. The hair,
the nails, and the teeth were similarly affected, and even Ling’s
blood dried into a fine gold powder. This detail of the trial being
successfully completed, Ling subjected himself to intricate questioning
on all matters connected with his religion and manner of conducting
himself, both in public and privately, the history and behaviour of his
ancestors, the various omens and remarkable sayings which had reference
to his life and destiny, and the intentions which he then possessed
regarding his future movements and habits of living. All the wise
sayings and written and printed leaves which made any allusion to the
existence of and possibility of discovery of the wonderful gold fluid
were closely examined, and found to be in agreement, whereupon those
present made no further delay in admitting that the facts were indeed
as they had been described, and indulged in a dignified stroking of
each other’s faces as an expression of pleasure and in proof of their
satisfaction at taking part in so entrancing and remunerative an affair.
At Chang’s command many rare and expensive wines were then brought
in, and partaken of without restraint by all persons, the repast being
lightened by numerous well-considered and gravity-removing jests having
reference to Ling and the unusual composition of his person. So amiably
were the hours occupied that it was past the time of no light when Chang
rose and read at full length the statement of things to be done and
things not to be done, which was to be sealed by Ling for his part and
the other persons who were present for theirs. It so happened, however,
that at that period Ling’s mind was filled with brilliant and versatile
thoughts and images of Mian, and many-hued visions of the manner in
which they would spend the entrancing future which was now before them,
and in this way it chanced that he did not give any portion of his
intellect to the reading, mistaking it, indeed, for a delicate and very
ably-composed set of verses which Chang-ch’un was reciting as a formal
blessing on parting. Nor was it until he was desired to affix his
sign that Ling discovered his mistake, and being of too respectful and
unobtrusive a disposition to require the matter to be repeated then, he
carried out the obligation without in any particular understanding the
written words to which he was agreeing.

As Ling walked through the streets to his chamber after leaving the
house and company of Chang-Ch’un, holding firmly among his garments the
thin printed papers to the amount of fifty thousand taels which he had
received, and repeatedly speaking to himself in terms of general and
specific encouragement at the fortunate events of the past few days, he
became aware that a person of mean and rapacious appearance, whom he
had some memory of having observed within the residence he had but
just left, was continually by his side. Not at first doubting that
the circumstance resulted from a benevolent desire on the part of
Chang-ch’un that he should be protected on his passage through the city,
Ling affected not to observe the incident; but upon reaching his own
door the person in question persistently endeavoured to pass in also.
Forming a fresh judgment about the matter, Ling, who was very powerfully
constructed, and whose natural instincts were enhanced in every degree
by the potent fluid of which he had lately partaken, repeatedly threw
him across the street until he became weary of the diversion. At
length, however, the thought arose that one who patiently submitted
to continually striking the opposite houses with his head must have
something of importance to communicate, whereupon he courteously invited
him to enter the apartment and unweigh his mind.

“The facts of the case appear to have been somewhat inadequately
represented,” said the stranger, bowing obsequiously, “for this
unornamental person was assured by the benignant Chang-ch’un that the
one whose shadow he was to become was of a mild and forbearing nature.”

“Such words are as the conversation of birds to me,” replied Ling, not
conjecturing how the matter had fallen about. “This person has just left
the presence of the elegant and successful Chang-ch’un, and no word that
he spoke gave indication of such a follower or such a service.”

“Then it is indeed certain that the various transactions have not been
fully understood,” exclaimed the other, “for the exact communication to
this unseemly one was, ‘The valuable and enlightened Ling has heard and
agreed to the different things to be done and not to be done, one
phrase of which arranges for your continual presence, so that he will
anticipate your attentions.’”

At these words the truth became as daylight before Ling’s eyes, and
he perceived that the written paper to which he had affixed his sign
contained the detail of such an office as that of the person before him.
When too late, more than ever did he regret that he had not formed some
pretext for causing the document to be read a second time, as in view of
his immediate intentions such an arrangement as the one to which he had
agreed had every appearance of becoming of an irksome and perplexing
nature. Desiring to know the length of the attendant’s commands, Ling
asked him for a clear statement of his duties, feigning that he had
missed that portion of the reading through a momentary attack of the
giddy sickness. To this request the stranger, who explained that his
name was Wang, instantly replied that his written and spoken orders
were: never to permit more than an arm’s length of space to separate
them; to prevent, by whatever force was necessary for the purpose, all
attempts at evading the things to be done and not to be done, and to
ignore as of no interest all other circumstances. It seemed to Ling,
in consequence, that little seclusion would be enjoyed unless an
arrangement could be effected between Wang and himself; so to this end,
after noticing the evident poverty and covetousness of the person in
question, he made him an honourable offer of frequent rewards, provided
a greater distance was allowed to come between them as soon as Si-chow
was reached. On his side, Ling undertook not to break through the
wording of the things to be done and not to be done, and to notify to
Wang any movements upon which he meditated. In this reputable manner
the obstacle was ingeniously removed, and the intelligent nature of the
device was clearly proved by the fact that not only Ling but Wang also
had in the future a much greater liberty of action than would have
been possible if it had been necessary to observe the short-sighted and
evidently hastily-thought-of condition which Chang-ch’un had endeavoured
to impose.

CHAPTER XIII

In spite of his natural desire to return to Mian as quickly as possible,
Ling judged it expedient to give several days to the occupation of
purchasing apparel of the richest kinds, weapons and armour in large
quantities, jewels and ornaments of worked metals and other objects to
indicate his changed position. Nor did he neglect actions of a pious
and charitable nature, for almost his first care was to arrange with the
chief ones at the Temple of Benevolent Intentions that each year, on the
day corresponding to that on which he drank the gold fluid, a sumptuous
and well-constructed coffin should be presented to the most deserving
poor and aged person within that quarter of the city in which he had
resided. When these preparations were completed, Ling set out with an
extensive train of attendants; but riding on before, accompanied only by
Wang, he quickly reached Si-chow without adventure.

The meeting between Ling and Mian was affecting to such an extent
that the blind and deaf attendants wept openly without reproach,
notwithstanding the fact that neither could become possessed of more
than a half of the occurrence. Eagerly the two reunited ones examined
each other’s features to discover whether the separation had brought
about any change in the beloved and well-remembered lines. Ling
discovered upon Mian the shadow of an anxious care at his absence, while
the disappointments and trials which Ling had experienced in Canton had
left traces which were plainly visible to Mian’s penetrating gaze. In
such an entrancing occupation the time was to them without hours until
a feeling of hunger recalled them to lesser matters, when a variety
of very select foods and liquids was placed before them without delay.
After this elegant repast had been partaken of, Mian, supporting herself
upon Ling’s shoulder, made a request that he would disclose to her all
the matters which had come under his observation both within the city
and during his journey to and from that place. Upon this encouragement,
Ling proceeded to unfold his mind, not withholding anything which
appeared to be of interest, no matter how slight. When he had reached
Canton without any perilous adventure, Mian breathed more freely; as he
recorded the interview at the Office of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements,
she trembled at the insidious malignity of the evil person Li Keen. The
conversation with the wise reader of the future concerning the various
states of such as be officially dead almost threw her into the rigid
sickness, from which, however, the wonderful circumstance of the
discovered properties of the gold fluid quickly recalled her. But to
Ling’s great astonishment no sooner had he made plain the exceptional
advantages which he had derived from the circumstances, and the nature
of the undertaking at which he had arrived with Chang-ch’un, than she
became a prey to the most intolerable and unrestrained anguish.

“Oh, my devoted but excessively ill-advised lover,” she exclaimed
wildly, and in tones which clearly indicated that she was inspired by
every variety of affectionate emotion, “has the unendurable position
in which you and all your household will be placed by the degrading
commercial schemes and instincts of the mercenary-souled person
Chang-ch’un occupied no place in your generally well-regulated
intellect? Inevitably will those who drink our almond tea, in order
to have an opportunity of judging the value of the appointments of the
house, pass the jesting remark that while the Lings assuredly have ‘a
dead person’s bones in the secret chamber,’ at the present they will not
have one in the family graveyard by reason of the death of Ling himself.
Better to lose a thousand limbs during life than the entire person after
death; nor would your adoring Mian hesitate to clasp proudly to her
organ of affection the veriest trunk that had parted with all its
attributes in a noble and sacrificing endeavour to preserve at least
some dignified proportions to embellish the Ancestral Temple and to
receive the worship of posterity.”

“Alas!” replied Ling, with extravagant humiliation, “it is indeed true;
and this person is degraded beyond the common lot of those who break
images and commit thefts from sacred places. The side of the transaction
which is at present engaging our attention never occurred to this
superficial individual until now.”

“Wise and incomparable one,” said Mian, in no degree able to restrain
the fountains of bitter water which clouded her delicate and expressive
eyes, “in spite of this person’s biting and ungracious words do not, she
makes a formal petition, doubt the deathless strength of her affection.
Cheerfully, in order to avert the matter in question, or even to save
her lover the anguish of unavailing and soul-eating remorse, would she
consign herself to a badly-constructed and slow-consuming fire or expose
her body to various undignified tortures. Happy are those even to whom
is left a little ash to be placed in a precious urn and diligently
guarded, for it, in any event, truly represents all that is left of the
once living person, whereas after an honourable and spotless existence
my illustrious but unthinking lord will be blended with a variety of
baser substances and passed from hand to hand, his immaculate organs
serving to reward murderers for their deeds and to tempt the weak and
vicious to all manner of unmentionable crimes.”

So overcome was Ling by the distressing nature of the oversight he had
permitted that he could find no words with which to comfort Mian, who,
after some moments, continued:

“There are even worse visions of degradation which occur to this person.
By chance, that which was once the noble-minded Ling may be disposed of,
not to the Imperial Treasury for converting into pieces of exchange, but
to some undiscriminating worker in metals who will fashion out of his
beautiful and symmetrical stomach an elegant food-dish, so that from the
ultimate developments of the circumstance may arise the fact that his
own descendants, instead of worshipping him, use his internal organs
for this doubtful if not absolutely unclean purpose, and thereby suffer
numerous well-merited afflictions, to the end that the finally-despised
Ling and this discredited person, instead of founding a vigorous and
prolific generation, become the parents of a line of feeble-minded and
physically-depressed lepers.”

“Oh, my peacock-eyed one!” exclaimed Ling, in immeasurable distress, “so
proficient an exhibition of virtuous grief crushes this misguided person
completely to the ground. Rather would he uncomplainingly lose his
pigtail than--”

“Such a course,” said a discordant voice, as the unpresentable person
Wang stepped forth from behind a hanging curtain, where, indeed, he had
stood concealed during the entire conversation, “is especially forbidden
by the twenty-third detail of the things to be done and not to be done.”

“What new adversity is this?” cried Mian, pressing to Ling with a still
closer embrace. “Having disposed of your incomparable body after death,
surely an adequate amount of liberty and seclusion remains to us during
life.”

“Nevertheless,” interposed the dog-like Wang, “the refined person in
question must not attempt to lose or to dispose of his striking and
invaluable pigtail; for by such an action he would be breaking through
his spoken and written word whereby he undertook to be ruled by the
things to be done and not to be done; and he would also be robbing the
ingenious-minded Chang-ch’un.”

“Alas!” lamented the unhappy Ling, “that which appeared to be the end of
all this person’s troubles is obviously simply the commencement of a new
and more extensive variety. Understand, O conscientious but exceedingly
inopportune Wang, that the words which passed from this person’s mouth
did not indicate a fixed determination, but merely served to show the
unfeigned depth of his emotion. Be content that he has no intention of
evading the definite principles of the things to be done and not to
be done, and in the meantime honour this commonplace establishment by
retiring to the hot and ill-ventilated chamber, and there partaking of a
suitable repast which shall be prepared without delay.”

When Wang had departed, which he did with somewhat unseemly haste,
Ling made an end of recording his narrative, which Mian’s grief had
interrupted. In this way he explained to her the reason of Wang’s
presence, and assured her that by reason of the arrangement he had made
with that person, his near existence would not be so unsupportable to
them as might at first appear to be the case.

While they were still conversing together, and endeavouring to divert
their minds from the objectionable facts which had recently come within
their notice, an attendant entered and disclosed that the train of
servants and merchandise which Ling had preceded on the journey was
arriving. At this fresh example of her lover’s consistent thought
for her, Mian almost forgot her recent agitation, and eagerly lending
herself to the entrancing occupation of unfolding and displaying the
various objects, her brow finally lost the last trace of sadness.
Greatly beyond the imaginings of anticipation were the expensive
articles with which Ling proudly surrounded her; and in examining and
learning the cost of the set jewels and worked metals, the ornamental
garments for both persons, the wood and paper appointments for the
house--even incenses, perfumes, spices and rare viands had not been
forgotten--the day was quickly and profitably spent.

When the hour of sunset arrived, Ling, having learned that certain
preparations which he had commanded were fully carried out, took Mian by
the hand and led her into the chief apartment of the house, where were
assembled all the followers and attendants, even down to the illiterate
and superfluous Wang. In the centre of the room upon a table of the
finest ebony stood a vessel of burning incense, some dishes of the most
highly-esteemed fruit, and an abundance of old and very sweet wine.
Before these emblems Ling and Mian placed themselves in an attitude of
deep humiliation, and formally expressed their gratitude to the Chief
Deity for having called them into existence, to the cultivated earth
for supplying them with the means of sustaining life, to the Emperor for
providing the numerous safeguards by which their persons were protected
at all times, and to their parents for educating them. This adequate
ceremony being completed, Ling explicitly desired all those present to
observe the fact that the two persons in question were, by that fact and
from that time, made as one being, and the bond between them, incapable
of severance.

When the ruling night-lantern came out from among the clouds, Ling and
Mian became possessed of a great desire to go forth with pressed hands
and look again on the forest paths and glades in which they had spent
many hours of exceptional happiness before Ling’s journey to Canton.
Leaving the attendants to continue the feasting and drum-beating in a
completely unrestrained manner, they therefore passed out unperceived,
and wandering among the trees, presently stood on the banks of the
Heng-Kiang.

“Oh, my beloved!” exclaimed Mian, gazing at the brilliant and unruffled
water, “greatly would this person esteem a short river journey, such as
we often enjoyed together in the days when you were recovering.”

Ling, to whom the expressed desires of Mian were as the word of the
Emperor, instantly prepared the small and ornamental junk which was
fastened near for this purpose, and was about to step in, when a
presumptuous and highly objectionable hand restrained him.

“Behold,” remarked a voice which Ling had some difficulty in ascribing
to any known person, so greatly had it changed from its usual tone,
“behold how the immature and altogether too-inferior Ling observes his
spoken and written assertions!”

At this low-conditioned speech, Ling drew his well-tempered sword
without further thought, in spite of the restraining arms of Mian,
but at the sight of the utterly incapable person Wang, who stood near
smiling meaninglessly and waving his arms with a continuous and backward
motion, he again replaced it.

“Such remarks can be left to fall unheeded from the lips of one who
bears every indication of being steeped in rice spirit,” he said with
unprovoked dignity.

“It will be the plain duty of this expert and uncorruptible person
to furnish the unnecessary, but, nevertheless, very severe and
self-opinionated Chang-ch’un with a written account of how the
traitorous and deceptive Ling has endeavoured to break through the
thirty-fourth vessel of the liquids to be consumed and not to be
consumed,” continued Wang with increased deliberation and an entire
absence of attention to Ling’s action and speech, “and how by this
refined person’s unfailing civility and resourceful strategy he has been
frustrated.”

“Perchance,” said Ling, after examining his thoughts for a short space,
and reflecting that the list of things to be done and not to be done was
to him as a blank leaf, “there may even be some small portion of that
which is accurate in his statement. In what manner,” he continued,
addressing the really unendurable person, who was by this time preparing
to pass the night in the cool swamp by the river’s edge, “does this
one endanger any detail of the written and sealed parchment by such an
action?”

“Inasmuch,” replied Wang, pausing in the process of removing his
outer garments, “as the seventy-ninth--the intricate name given
to it escapes this person’s tongue at the moment--but the
ninety-seventh--experLingknowswhamean--provides that any person, with or
without, attempting or not avoiding to travel by sea, lake, or river,
or to place himself in such a position as he may reasonably and
intelligently be drowned in salt water, fresh water, or--or honourable
rice spirit, shall be guilty of, and suffer--complete loss of memory.”
 With these words the immoderate and contemptible person sank down in a
very profound slumber.

“Alas!” said Ling, turning to Mian, who stood near, unable to retire
even had she desired, by reason of the extreme agitation into which
the incident had thrown her delicate mind and body, “how intensely
aggravating a circumstance that we are compelled to entertain so
dissolute a one by reason of this person’s preoccupation when the matter
was read. Nevertheless, it is not unlikely that the detail he spoke of
was such as he insisted, to the extent of making it a thing not to be
done to journey in any manner by water. It shall be an early endeavour
of this person to get these restraining details equitably amended; but
in the meantime we will retrace our footsteps through the wood, and
the enraptured Ling will make a well-thought-out attempt to lighten the
passage by a recital of his recently-composed verses on the subject of
‘Exile from the Loved One; or, Farewell and Return.’”

CHAPTER XIV

“My beloved lord!” said Mian sadly, on a morning after many days had
passed since the return of Ling, “have you not every possession for
which the heart of a wise person searches? Yet the dark mark is scarcely
ever absent from your symmetrical brow. If she who stands before you,
and is henceforth an integral part of your organization, has failed you
in any particular, no matter how unimportant, explain the matter to her,
and the amendment will be a speedy and a joyful task.”

It was indeed true that Ling’s mind was troubled, but the fault did not
lie with Mian, as the person in question was fully aware, for before
her eyes as before those of Ling the unevadable compact which had been
entered into with Chang-ch’un was ever present, insidiously planting
bitterness within even the most select and accomplished delights. Nor
with increasing time did the obstinate and intrusive person Wang become
more dignified in his behaviour; on the contrary, he freely made use of
his position to indulge in every variety of abandonment, and almost each
day he prevented, by reason of his knowledge of the things to be done
and not to be done, some refined and permissible entertainment
upon which Ling and Mian had determined. Ling had despatched many
communications upon this subject to Chang-ch’un, praying also that
some expert way out of the annoyance of the lesser and more unimportant
things not to be done should be arrived at, but the time when he might
reasonably expect an answer to these written papers had not yet arrived.

It was about this period that intelligence was brought to Ling from the
villages on the road to Peking, how Li Keen, having secretly ascertained
that his Yamen was standing and his goods uninjured, had determined
to return, and was indeed at that hour within a hundred li of Si-chow.
Furthermore, he had repeatedly been understood to pronounce clearly
that he considered Ling to be the head and beginning of all his
inconveniences, and to declare that the first act of justice which
he should accomplish on his return would be to submit the person in
question to the most unbearable tortures, and then cause him to lose his
head publicly as an outrager of the settled state of things and an
enemy of those who loved tranquillity. Not doubting that Li Keen would
endeavour to gain an advantage by treachery if the chance presented
itself, Ling determined to go forth to meet him, and without delay
settle the entire disturbance in one well-chosen and fatally-destructive
encounter. To this end, rather than disturb the placid mind of Mian,
to whom the thought of the engagement would be weighted with many
disquieting fears, he gave out that he was going upon an expedition
to surprise and capture certain fish of a very delicate flavour, and
attended by only two persons, he set forth in the early part of the day.

Some hours later, owing to an ill-considered remark on the part of the
deaf attendant, to whom the matter had been explained in an imperfect
light, Mian became possessed of the true facts of the case, and
immediately all the pleasure of existence went from her. She despaired
of ever again beholding Ling in an ordinary state, and mournfully
reproached herself for the bitter words which had risen to her lips when
the circumstance of his condition and the arrangement with Chang-ch’un
first became known to her. After spending an interval in a polished
lament at the manner in which things were inevitably tending, the
thought occurred to Mian whether by any means in her power she could
influence the course and settled method of affairs. In this situation
the memory of the person Wang, and the fact that on several occasions he
had made himself objectionable when Ling had proposed to place himself
in such a position that he incurred some very remote chance of death
by drowning or by fire, recurred to her. Subduing the natural and
pure-minded repulsion which she invariably experienced at the mere
thought of so debased an individual, she sought for him, and discovering
him in the act of constructing cardboard figures of men and animals,
which it was his custom to dispose skilfully in little-frequented paths
for the purpose of enjoying the sudden terror of those who passed by,
she quickly put the matter before him, urging him, by some means, to
prevent the encounter, which must assuredly cost the life of the one
whom he had so often previously obstructed from incurring the slightest
risk.

“By no means,” exclaimed Wang, when he at length understood the full
meaning of the project; “it would be a most unpresentable action for
this commonplace person to interfere in so honourable an undertaking.
Had the priceless body of the intrepid Ling been in any danger of
disappearing, as, for example, by drowning or being consumed in fire,
the nature of the circumstance would have been different. As the
matter exists, however, there is every appearance that the far-seeing
Chang-ch’un will soon reap the deserved reward of his somewhat
speculative enterprise, and to that end this person will immediately
procure a wooden barrier and the services of four robust carriers, and
proceed to the scene of the conflict.”

Deprived of even this hope of preventing the encounter, Mian betook
herself in extreme dejection to the secret room of the magician, which
had been unopened since the day when the two attendants had searched for
substances to apply to their master, and there she diligently examined
every object in the remote chance of discovering something which might
prove of value in averting the matter in question.

Not anticipating that the true reason of his journey would become known
to Mian, Ling continued on his way without haste, and passing through
Si-chow before the sun had risen, entered upon the great road to Peking.
At a convenient distance from the town he came to a favourable piece of
ground where he decided to await the arrival of Li Keen, spending the
time profitably in polishing his already brilliant sword, and making
observations upon the nature of the spot and the condition of the
surrounding omens, on which the success of his expedition would largely
depend.

As the sun reached the highest point in the open sky the sound of an
approaching company could be plainly heard; but at the moment when the
chair of the Mandarin appeared within the sight of those who waited, the
great luminary, upon which all portents depend directly or indirectly,
changed to the colour of new-drawn blood and began to sink towards
the earth. Without any misgivings, therefore, Ling disposed his two
attendants in the wood, with instructions to step forth and aid him if
he should be attacked by overwhelming numbers, while he himself remained
in the way. As the chair approached, the Mandarin observed a person
standing alone, and thinking that it was one who, hearing of his return,
had come out of the town to honour him, he commanded the bearers to
pause. Thereupon, stepping up to the opening, Ling struck the deceptive
and incapable Li Keen on the cheek, at the same time crying in a full
voice, “Come forth, O traitorous and two-stomached Mandarin! for this
person is very desirous of assisting you in the fulfilment of your
boastful words. Here is a most irreproachable sword which will serve
excellently to cut off this person’s undignified head; here is a
waistcord which can be tightened around his breast, thereby producing
excruciating pains over the entire body.”

At the knowledge of who the one before him was, and when he heard the
words which unhesitatingly announced Ling’s fixed purpose, Li Keen first
urged the carriers to fall upon Ling and slay him, and then, perceiving
that such a course was exceedingly distasteful to their natural
tendencies, to take up the chair and save him by flight. But Ling in
the meantime engaged their attention, and fully explained to them the
treacherous and unworthy conduct of Li Keen, showing them how his death
would be a just retribution for his ill-spent life, and promising them
each a considerable reward in addition to their arranged payment when
the matter in question had been accomplished. Becoming convinced of the
justice of Ling’s cause, they turned upon Li Keen, insisting that he
should at once attempt to carry out the ill-judged threats against Ling,
of which they were consistent witnesses, and announcing that, if he
failed to do so, they would certainly bear him themselves to a not far
distant well of stagnant water, and there gain the approbation of the
good spirits by freeing the land of so unnatural a monster.

Seeing only a dishonourable death on either side, Li Keen drew his
sword, and made use of every artifice of which he had knowledge in
order to disarm Ling or to take him at a disadvantage. In this he was
unsuccessful, for Ling, who was by nature a very expert sword-user,
struck him repeatedly, until he at length fell in an expiring condition,
remarking with his last words that he had indeed been a narrow-minded
and extortionate person during his life, and that his death was an
enlightened act of celestial accuracy.

Directing Wang and his four hired persons, who had in the meantime
arrived, to give the body of the Mandarin an honourable burial in the
deep of the wood, Ling rewarded and dismissed the chairbearers, and
without delay proceeded to Si-chow, where he charitably distributed the
goods and possessions of Li Keen among the poor of the town. Having
in this able and conscientious manner completely proved the misleading
nature of the disgraceful statements which the Mandarin had spread
abroad concerning him, Ling turned his footsteps towards Mian, whose
entrancing joy at his safe return was judged by both persons to be a
sufficient reward for the mental distress with which their separation
had been accompanied.

CHAPTER XV

After the departure of Ling from Canton, the commercial affairs of
Chang-ch’un began, from a secret and undetectable cause, to assume an
ill-regulated condition. No venture which he undertook maintained a
profitable attitude, so that many persons who in former times had been
content to display the printed papers setting forth his name and
virtues in an easily-seen position in their receiving-rooms, now placed
themselves daily before his house in order to accuse him of using their
taels in ways which they themselves had not sufficiently understood, and
for the purpose of warning passers-by against his inducements. It was
in vain that Chang proposed new undertakings, each of an infallibly
more prosperous nature than those before; the persons who had hitherto
supported him were all entrusting their money to one named Pung Soo, who
required millions where Chang had been content with thousands, and who
persistently insisted on greeting the sacred Emperor as an equal.

In this unenviable state Chang’s mind continually returned to thoughts
of Ling, whose lifeless body would so opportunely serve to dispel the
embarrassing perplexities of existence which were settling thickly about
him. Urged forward by a variety of circumstances which placed him in
an entirely different spirit from the honourable bearing which he had
formerly maintained, he now closely examined all the papers connected
with the matter, to discover whether he might not be able to effect his
purpose with an outward exhibition of law forms. While engaged in this
degrading occupation, a detail came to his notice which caused him to
become very amiably disposed and confident of success. Proceeding with
the matter, he caused a well-supported report to be spread about that
Ling was suffering from a wasting sickness, which, without in any
measure shortening his life, would cause him to return to the size and
weight of a newly-born child, and being by these means enabled to secure
the entire matter of “The Ling (After Death) Without Much Risk Assembly”
 at a very small outlay, he did so, and then, calling together a company
of those who hire themselves out for purposes of violence, journeyed to
Si-chow.

Ling and Mian were seated together at a table in the great room,
examining a vessel of some clear liquid, when Chang-ch’un entered with
his armed ones, in direct opposition to the general laws of ordinary
conduct and the rulings of hospitality. At the sight, which plainly
indicated a threatened display of violence, Ling seized his renowned
sword, which was never far distant from him, and prepared to carry out
his spoken vow, that any person overstepping a certain mark on the floor
would assuredly fall.

“Put away your undoubtedly competent weapon, O Ling,” said Chang, who
was desirous that the matter should be arranged if possible without any
loss to himself, “for such a course can be honourably adopted when it
is taken into consideration that we are as twenty to one, and have,
moreover, the appearance of being inspired by law forms.”

“There are certain matters of allowed justice which over-rule all
other law forms,” replied Ling, taking a surer hold of his sword-grasp.
“Explain, for your part, O obviously double-dealing Chang-ch’un, from
whom this person only recently parted on terms of equality and courtesy,
why you come not with an agreeable face and a peaceful following,
but with a countenance which indicates both violence and terror, and
accompanied by many whom this person recognizes as the most outcast and
degraded from the narrow and evil-smelling ways of Canton?”

“In spite of your blustering words,” said Chang, with some attempt at an
exhibition of dignity, “this person is endowed by every right, and
comes only for the obtaining, by the help of this expert and proficient
gathering, should such a length become necessary, of his just claims.
Understand that in the time since the venture was arranged this person
has become possessed of all the property of ‘The Ling (After Death)
Without Much Risk Assembly,’ and thereby he is competent to act fully
in the matter. It has now come within his attention that the one Ling
to whom the particulars refer is officially dead, and as the written
and sealed document clearly undertook that the person’s body was to be
delivered up for whatever use the Assembly decided whenever death should
possess it, this person has now come for the honourable carrying out of
the undertaking.”

At these words the true nature of the hidden contrivance into which he
had fallen descended upon Ling like a heavy and unavoidable thunderbolt.
Nevertheless, being by nature and by reason of his late exploits
fearless of death, except for the sake of the loved one by his side, he
betrayed no sign of discreditable emotion at the discovery.

“In such a case,” he replied, with an appearance of entirely
disregarding the danger of the position, “the complete parchment must be
of necessity overthrown; for if this person is now officially dead, he
was equally so at the time of sealing, and arrangements entered into by
dead persons have no actual existence.”

“That is a matter which has never been efficiently decided,” admitted
Chang-ch’un, with no appearance of being thrown into a state of
confusion at the suggestion, “and doubtless the case in question can by
various means be brought in the end before the Court of Final Settlement
at Peking, where it may indeed be judged in the manner you assert. But
as such a process must infallibly consume the wealth of a province and
the years of an ordinary lifetime, and as it is this person’s unmoved
intention to carry out his own view of the undertaking without delay,
such speculations are not matters of profound interest.”

Upon this Chang gave certain instructions to his followers, who
thereupon prepared to advance. Perceiving that the last detail of the
affair had been arrived at, Ling threw back his hanging garment, and
was on the point of rushing forward to meet them, when Mian, who had
maintained a possessed and reliant attitude throughout, pushed towards
him the vessel of pure and sparkling liquid with which they had been
engaged when so presumptuously broken in upon, at the same time speaking
to him certain words in an outside language. A new and Heaven-sent
confidence immediately took possession of Ling, and striking his sword
against the wall with such irresistible force that the entire chamber
trembled and the feeble-minded assassins shrank back in unrestrained
terror, he leapt upon the table, grasping in one hand the open vessel.

“Behold the end, O most uninventive and slow-witted Chang-ch’un!” he
cried in a dreadful and awe-compelling voice. “As a reward for your
faithless and traitorous behaviour, learn how such avaricious-minded
incompetence turns and fastens itself upon the vitals of those who beget
it. In spite of many things which were not of a graceful nature
towards him, this person has unassumingly maintained his part of the
undertaking, and would have followed such a course conscientiously to
the last. As it is, when he has made an end of speaking, the body
which you are already covetously estimating in taels will in no way
be distinguishable from that of the meanest and most ordinary maker of
commercial ventures in Canton. For, behold! the fluid which he holds in
his hand, and which it is his fixed intention to drain to the last drop,
is in truth nothing but a secret and exceedingly powerful counteractor
against the virtues of the gold drug; and though but a single particle
passed his lips, and the swords of your brilliant and versatile
murderers met the next moment in his breast, the body which fell at your
feet would be meet for worms rather than for the melting-pot.”

It was indeed such a substance as Ling represented it to be, Mian
having discovered it during her very systematic examination of the dead
magician’s inner room. Its composition and distillation had involved
that self-opinionated person in many years of arduous toil, for with a
somewhat unintelligent lack of foresight he had obstinately determined
to perfect the antidote before he turned his attention to the drug
itself. Had the matter been more ingeniously arranged, he would
undoubtedly have enjoyed an earlier triumph and an affluent and
respected old age.

At Ling’s earnest words and prepared attitude an instant conviction of
the truth of his assertions took possession of Chang. Therefore, seeing
nothing but immediate and unevadable ruin at the next step, he called
out in a loud and imploring voice that he should desist, and no harm
would come upon him. To this Ling consented, first insisting that the
followers should be dismissed without delay, and Chang alone remain to
have conversation on the matter. By this just act the lower parts of
Canton were greatly purified, for the persons in question being driven
forth into the woods, mostly perished by encounters with wild animals,
or at the hands of the enraged villagers, to whom Ling had by this time
become greatly endeared.

When the usual state had been restored, Ling made clear to Chang the
altered nature of the conditions to which he would alone agree. “It is
a noble-minded and magnanimous proposal on your part, and one to which
this misguided person had no claim,” admitted Chang, as he affixed his
seal to the written undertaking and committed the former parchment to
be consumed by fire. By this arrangement it was agreed that Ling should
receive only one-half of the yearly payment which had formerly been
promised, and that no sum of taels should become due to those depending
on him at his death. In return for these valuable allowances, there were
to exist no details of things to be done and not to be done, Ling merely
giving an honourable promise to observe the matter in a just spirit,
while--most esteemed of all--only a portion of his body was to pass to
Chang when the end arrived, the upper part remaining to embellish the
family altar and receive the veneration of posterity.

As the great sky-lantern rose above the trees and the time of no-noise
fell upon the woods, a flower-laden pleasure-junk moved away from its
restraining cords, and, without any sense of motion, gently bore Ling
and Mian between the sweet-smelling banks of the Heng-Kiang. Presently
Mian drew from beneath her flowing garment an instrument of stringed
wood, and touching it with a quick but delicate stroke, like the flight
and pausing of a butterfly, told in well-balanced words a refined
narrative of two illustrious and noble-looking persons, and how, after
many disagreeable evils and unendurable separations, they entered upon a
destined state of earthly prosperity and celestial favour. When she made
an end of the verses, Ling turned the junk’s head by one well-directed
stroke of the paddle, and prepared by using similar means to return to
the place of mooring.

“Indeed,” he remarked, ceasing for a moment to continue this skilful
occupation, “the words which you have just spoken might, without
injustice, be applied to the two persons who are now conversing
together. For after suffering misfortunes and wrongs beyond an
appropriate portion, they have now reached that period of existence when
a tranquil and contemplative future is assured to them. In this manner
is the sage and matured utterance of the inspired philosopher Nien-tsu
again proved: that the life of every person is largely composed of two
varieties of circumstances which together build up his existence--the
Good and the Evil.”

                     THE END OF THE STORY OF LING

CHAPTER XVI

When Kai Lung, the story-teller, made an end of speaking, he was
immediately greeted with a variety of delicate and pleasing remarks, all
persons who had witnessed the matter, down even to the lowest type of
Miaotze, who by reason of their obscure circumstances had been unable to
understand the meaning of a word that had been spoken, maintaining
that Kai Lung’s accomplishment of continuing for upwards of three hours
without a pause had afforded an entertainment of a very high and refined
order. While these polished sayings were being composed, together with
many others of a similar nature, Lin Yi suddenly leapt to his feet with
a variety of highly objectionable remarks concerning the ancestors of
all those who were present, and declaring that the story of Ling
was merely a well-considered stratagem to cause them to forget the
expedition which they had determined upon, for by that time it should
have been completely carried out. It was undoubtedly a fact that the
hour spoken of for the undertaking had long passed, Lin Yi having
completely overlooked the speed of time in his benevolent anxiety that
the polite and valorous Ling should in the end attain to a high and
remunerative destiny.

In spite of Kai Lung’s consistent denials of any treachery, he could not
but be aware that the incident tended greatly to his disadvantage in
the eyes of those whom he had fixed a desire to conciliate, nor did
his well-intentioned offer that he would without hesitation repeat the
display for a like number of hours effect his amiable purpose. How the
complication would finally have been determined without interruption is
a matter merely of imagination, for at that moment an outpost, who had
been engaged in guarding the secrecy of the expedition, threw himself
into the enclosure in a torn and breathless condition, having run
through the forest many li in a winding direction for the explicit
purpose of warning Lin Yi that his intentions had become known, and that
he and his followers would undoubtedly be surprised and overcome if they
left the camp.

At this intimation of the eminent service which Kai Lung had rendered
them, the nature of their faces towards him at once changed completely,
those who only a moment before had been demanding his death particularly
hailing him as their inspired and unobtrusive protector, and in all
probability, indeed, a virtuous and benignant spirit in disguise.

Bending under the weight of offerings which Lin Yi and his followers
pressed upon him, together with many clearly set out desires for his
future prosperity, and assured of their unalterable protection on all
future occasions, Kai Lung again turned his face towards the lanterns
of Knei Yang. Far down the side of the mountain they followed his
footsteps, now by a rolling stone, now by a snapping branch of yellow
pine. Once again they heard his voice, cheerfully repeating to himself;
“Among the highest virtues of a pure existence--” But beyond that point
the gentle forest breath bore him away.

II.
THE STORY OF YUNG CHANG

  Narrated by Kai Lung, in the open space of the tea-shop of The
  Celestial Principles, at Wu-whei.

“Ho, illustrious passers-by!” said Kai Lung, the story-teller, as he
spread out his embroidered mat under the mulberry-tree. “It is indeed
unlikely that you would condescend to stop and listen to the foolish
words of such an insignificant and altogether deformed person as myself.
Nevertheless, if you will but retard your elegant footsteps for a few
moments, this exceedingly unprepossessing individual will endeavour
to entertain you with the recital of the adventures of the noble Yung
Chang, as recorded by the celebrated Pe-ku-hi.”

Thus adjured, the more leisurely-minded drew near to hear the history
of Yung Chang. There was Sing You the fruit-seller, and Li Ton-ti the
wood-carver; Hi Seng left his clients to cry in vain for water; and Wang
Yu, the idle pipe-maker, closed his shop of “The Fountain of Beauty,”
 and hung on the shutter the gilt dragon to keep away customers in his
absence. These, together with a few more shopkeepers and a dozen or so
loafers, constituted a respectable audience by the time Kai Lung was
ready.

“It would be more seemly if this ill-conditioned person who is now
addressing such a distinguished assembly were to reward his fine and
noble-looking hearers for their trouble,” apologized the story-teller.
“But, as the Book of Verses says, ‘The meaner the slave, the greater the
lord’; and it is, therefore, not unlikely that this majestic concourse
will reward the despicable efforts of their servant by handfuls of coins
till the air appears as though filled with swarms of locusts in the
season of much heat. In particular, there is among this august crowd
of Mandarins one Wang Yu, who has departed on three previous occasions
without bestowing the reward of a single cash. If the feeble and
covetous-minded Wang Yu will place within this very ordinary bowl the
price of one of his exceedingly ill-made pipes, this unworthy person
will proceed.”

“Vast chasms can be filled, but the heart of man never,” quoted the
pipe-maker in retort. “Oh, most incapable of story-tellers, have you
not on two separate occasions slept beneath my utterly inadequate roof
without payment?”

But he, nevertheless, deposited three cash in the bowl, and drew nearer
among the front row of the listeners.

“It was during the reign of the enlightened Emperor Tsing Nung,” began
Kai Lung, without further introduction, “that there lived at a village
near Honan a wealthy and avaricious maker of idols, named Ti Hung. So
skilful had he become in the making of clay idols that his fame had
spread for many li round, and idol-sellers from all the neighbouring
villages, and even from the towns, came to him for their stock. No other
idol-maker between Honan and Nanking employed so many clay-gatherers or
so many modellers; yet, with all his riches, his avarice increased till
at length he employed men whom he called ‘agents’ and ‘travellers,’ who
went from house to house selling his idols and extolling his virtues in
verses composed by the most illustrious poets of the day. He did this
in order that he might turn into his own pocket the full price of the
idols, grudging those who would otherwise have sold them the few cash
which they would make. Owing to this he had many enemies, and his army
of travellers made him still more; for they were more rapacious than
the scorpion, and more obstinate than the ox. Indeed, there is still the
proverb, ‘With honey it is possible to soften the heart of the he-goat;
but a blow from an iron cleaver is taken as a mark of welcome by an
agent of Ti Hung.’ So that people barred the doors at their approach,
and even hung out signs of death and mourning.

“Now, among all his travellers there was none more successful, more
abandoned, and more valuable to Ti Hung than Li Ting. So depraved was
Li Ting that he was never known to visit the tombs of his ancestors;
indeed, it was said that he had been heard to mock their venerable
memories, and that he had jestingly offered to sell them to anyone who
should chance to be without ancestors of his own. This objectionable
person would call at the houses of the most illustrious Mandarins, and
would command the slaves to carry to their masters his tablets, on which
were inscribed his name and his virtues. Reaching their presence, he
would salute them with the greeting of an equal, ‘How is your stomach?’
and then proceed to exhibit samples of his wares, greatly overrating
their value. ‘Behold!’ he would exclaim, ‘is not this elegantly-moulded
idol worthy of the place of honour in this sumptuous mansion which my
presence defiles to such an extent that twelve basins of rose-water
will not remove the stain? Are not its eyes more delicate than the most
select of almonds? and is not its stomach rounder than the cupolas upon
the high temple at Peking? Yet, in spite of its perfections, it is not
worthy of the acceptance of so distinguished a Mandarin, and therefore
I will accept in return the quarter-tael, which, indeed, is less than my
illustrious master gives for the clay alone.’

“In this manner Li Ting disposed of many idols at high rates, and
thereby endeared himself so much to the avaricious heart of Ti Hung that
he promised him his beautiful daughter Ning in marriage.

“Ning was indeed very lovely. Her eyelashes were like the finest willow
twigs that grow in the marshes by the Yang-tse-Kiang; her cheeks were
fairer than poppies; and when she bathed in the Hoang Ho, her body
seemed transparent. Her brow was finer than the most polished jade;
while she seemed to walk, like a winged bird, without weight, her hair
floating in a cloud. Indeed, she was the most beautiful creature that
has ever existed.”

“Now may you grow thin and shrivel up like a fallen lemon; but it is
false!” cried Wang Yu, starting up suddenly and unexpectedly. “At
Chee Chou, at the shop of ‘The Heaven-sent Sugar-cane,’ there lives a
beautiful and virtuous girl who is more than all that. Her eyes are like
the inside circles on the peacock’s feathers; her teeth are finer than
the scales on the Sacred Dragon; her--”

“If it is the wish of this illustriously-endowed gathering that this
exceedingly illiterate paper tiger should occupy their august moments
with a description of the deformities of the very ordinary young person
at Chee Chou,” said Kai Lung imperturbably, “then the remainder of the
history of the noble-minded Yung Chang can remain until an evil fate has
overtaken Wang Yu, as it assuredly will shortly.”

“A fair wind raises no storm,” said Wang Yu sulkily; and Kai Lung
continued:

“Such loveliness could not escape the evil eye of Li Ting, and
accordingly, as he grew in favour with Ti Hung, he obtained his consent
to the drawing up of the marriage contracts. More than this, he had
already sent to Ning two bracelets of the finest gold, tied together
with a scarlet thread, as a betrothal present. But, as the proverb
says, ‘The good bee will not touch the faded flower,’ and Ning, although
compelled by the second of the Five Great Principles to respect her
father, was unable to regard the marriage with anything but abhorrence.
Perhaps this was not altogether the fault of Li Ting, for on the evening
of the day on which she had received his present, she walked in the
rice fields, and sitting down at the foot of a funereal cypress, whose
highest branches pierced the Middle Air, she cried aloud:

“‘I cannot control my bitterness. Of what use is it that I should be
called the “White Pigeon among Golden Lilies,” if my beauty is but for
the hog-like eyes of the exceedingly objectionable Li Ting? Ah, Yung
Chang, my unfortunate lover! what evil spirit pursues you that you
cannot pass your examination for the second degree? My noble-minded but
ambitious boy, why were you not content with an agricultural or even a
manufacturing career and happiness? By aspiring to a literary degree,
you have placed a barrier wider than the Whang Hai between us.’

“‘As the earth seems small to the soaring swallow, so shall insuperable
obstacles be overcome by the heart worn smooth with a fixed purpose,’
said a voice beside her, and Yung Chang stepped from behind the cypress
tree, where he had been waiting for Ning. ‘O one more symmetrical than
the chrysanthemum,’ he continued, ‘I shall yet, with the aid of my
ancestors, pass the second degree, and even obtain a position of high
trust in the public office at Peking.’

“‘And in the meantime,’ pouted Ning, ‘I shall have partaken of the
wedding-cake of the utterly unpresentable Li Ting.’ And she exhibited
the bracelets which she had that day received.

“‘Alas!’ said Yung Chang, ‘there are times when one is tempted to doubt
even the most efficacious and violent means. I had hoped that by this
time Li Ting would have come to a sudden and most unseemly end; for I
have drawn up and affixed in the most conspicuous places notifications
of his character, similar to the one here.’

“Ning turned, and beheld fastened to the trunk of the cypress an
exceedingly elegantly written and composed notice, which Yung read to
her as follows:

             “‘BEWARE OF INCURRING DEATH FROM STARVATION

  “‘Let the distinguished inhabitants of this district observe the
  exceedingly ungraceful walk and bearing of the low person who
  calls himself Li Ting. Truthfully, it is that of a dog in the act
  of being dragged to the river because his sores and diseases
  render him objectionable in the house of his master. So will this
  hunchbacked person be dragged to the place of execution, and be
  bowstrung, to the great relief of all who respect the five senses;
  A Respectful Physiognomy, Passionless Reflexion, Soft Speech,
  Acute Hearing, Piercing Sight.

  “‘He hopes to attain to the Red Button and the Peacock’s Feather;
  but the right hand of the Deity itches, and Li Ting will assuredly
  be removed suddenly.’

“‘Li Ting must certainly be in league with the evil forces if he can
withstand so powerful a weapon,’ said Ning admiringly, when her lover
had finished reading. ‘Even now he is starting on a journey, nor will he
return till the first day of the month when the sparrows go to the sea
and are changed into oysters. Perhaps the fate will overtake him while
he is away. If not--’

“‘If not,’ said Yung, taking up her words as she paused, ‘then I have
yet another hope. A moment ago you were regretting my choice of a
literary career. Learn, then, the value of knowledge. By its aid
(assisted, indeed, by the spirits of my ancestors) I have discovered a
new and strange thing, for which I can find no word. By using this new
system of reckoning, your illustrious but exceedingly narrow-minded and
miserly father would be able to make five taels where he now makes one.
Would he not, in consideration for this, consent to receive me as a
son-in-law, and dismiss the inelegant and unworthy Li Ting?’

“‘In the unlikely event of your being able to convince my illustrious
parent of what you say, it would assuredly be so,’ replied Ning. ‘But
in what way could you do so? My sublime and charitable father already
employs all the means in his power to reap the full reward of his sacred
industry. His “solid house-hold gods” are in reality mere shells of
clay; higher-priced images are correspondingly constructed, and his clay
gatherers and modellers are all paid on a “profit-sharing system.”
 Nay, further, it is beyond likelihood that he should wish for more
purchasers, for so great is his fame that those who come to buy have
sometimes to wait for days in consequence of those before them; for my
exceedingly methodical sire entrusts none with the receiving of money,
and the exchanges are therefore made slowly. Frequently an unnaturally
devout person will require as many as a hundred idols, and so the
greater part of the day will be passed.’

“‘In what way?’ inquired Yung tremulously.

“‘Why, in order that the countings may not get mixed, of course; it is
necessary that when he has paid for one idol he should carry it to a
place aside, and then return and pay for the second, carrying it to the
first, and in such a manner to the end. In this way the sun sinks behind
the mountains.’

“‘But,’ said Yung, his voice thick with his great discovery, ‘if he
could pay for the entire quantity at once, then it would take but a
hundredth part of the time, and so more idols could be sold.’

“‘How could this be done?’ inquired Ning wonderingly. ‘Surely it is
impossible to conjecture the value of so many idols.’

“‘To the unlearned it would indeed be impossible,’ replied Yung proudly,
‘but by the aid of my literary researches I have been enabled to
discover a process by which such results would be not a matter of
conjecture, but of certainty. These figures I have committed to tablets,
which I am prepared to give to your mercenary and slow-witted father
in return for your incomparable hand, a share of the profits, and the
dismissal of the uninventive and morally threadbare Li Ting.’

“‘When the earth-worm boasts of his elegant wings, the eagle can afford
to be silent,’ said a harsh voice behind them; and turning hastily they
beheld Li Ting, who had come upon them unawares. ‘Oh, most insignificant
of table-spoilers,’ he continued, ‘it is very evident that much
over-study has softened your usually well-educated brains. Were it
not that you are obviously mentally afflicted, I should unhesitatingly
persuade my beautiful and refined sword to introduce you to the spirits
of your ignoble ancestors. As it is, I will merely cut off your nose and
your left ear, so that people may not say that the Dragon of the Earth
sleeps and wickedness goes unpunished.’

“Both had already drawn their swords, and very soon the blows were so
hard and swift that, in the dusk of the evening, it seemed as though the
air were filled with innumerable and many-coloured fireworks. Each was
a practised swordsman, and there was no advantage gained on either side,
when Ning, who had fled on the appearance of Li Ting, reappeared, urging
on her father, whose usually leisurely footsteps were quickened by
the dread that the duel must surely result in certain loss to himself,
either of a valuable servant, or of the discovery which Ning had briefly
explained to him, and of which he at once saw the value.

“‘Oh, most distinguished and expert persons,’ he exclaimed breathlessly,
as soon as he was within hearing distance, ‘do not trouble to give so
marvellous an exhibition for the benefit of this unworthy individual,
who is the only observer of your illustrious dexterity! Indeed, your
honourable condescension so fills this illiterate person with shame that
his hearing is thereby preternaturally sharpened, and he can plainly
distinguish many voices from beyond the Hoang Ho, crying for the
Heaven-sent representative of the degraded Ti Hung to bring them more
idols. Bend, therefore, your refined footsteps in the direction of
Poo Chow, O Li Ting, and leave me to make myself objectionable to this
exceptional young man with my intolerable commonplaces.’

“‘The shadow falls in such a direction as the sun wills,’ said Li Ting,
as he replaced his sword and departed.

“‘Yung Chang,’ said the merchant, ‘I am informed that you have made a
discovery that would be of great value to me, as it undoubtedly would if
it is all that you say. Let us discuss the matter without ceremony. Can
you prove to me that your system possesses the merit you claim for it?
If so, then the matter of arrangement will be easy.’

“‘I am convinced of the absolute certainty and accuracy of the
discovery,’ replied Yung Chang. ‘It is not as though it were an ordinary
matter of human intelligence, for this was discovered to me as I was
worshipping at the tomb of my ancestors. The method is regulated by
a system of squares, triangles, and cubes. But as the practical proof
might be long, and as I hesitate to keep your adorable daughter out in
the damp night air, may I not call at your inimitable dwelling in the
morning, when we can go into the matter thoroughly?’

“I will not weary this intelligent gathering, each member of which
doubtless knows all the books on mathematics off by heart, with a
recital of the means by which Yung Chang proved to Ti Hung the accuracy
of his tables and the value of his discovery of the multiplication
table, which till then had been undreamt of,” continued the
story-teller. “It is sufficient to know that he did so, and that Ti Hung
agreed to his terms, only stipulating that Li Ting should not be made
aware of his dismissal until he had returned and given in his accounts.
The share of the profits that Yung was to receive was cut down very low
by Ti Hung, but the young man did not mind that, as he would live with
his father-in-law for the future.

“With the introduction of this new system, the business increased like
a river at flood-time. All rivals were left far behind, and Ti Hung put
out this sign:

                          “NO WAITING HERE!

  “Good-morning! Have you worshipped one of Ti Hung’s refined
  ninety-nine cash idols?

  “Let the purchasers of ill-constructed idols at other
  establishments, where they have grown old and venerable while
  waiting for the all-thumb proprietors to count up to ten, come to
  the shop of Ti Hung and regain their lost youth. Our ninety-nine
  cash idols are worth a tael a set. We do not, however, claim that
  they will do everything. The ninety-nine cash idols of Ti Hung
  will not, for example, purify linen, but even the most contented
  and frozen-brained person cannot be happy until he possesses one.
  What is happiness? The exceedingly well-educated Philosopher
  defines it as the accomplishment of all our desires. Everyone
  desires one of the Ti Hung’s ninety-nine cash idols, therefore get
  one; but be sure that it is Ti Hung’s.

  “Have you a bad idol? If so, dismiss it, and get one of Ti Hung’s
  ninety-nine cash specimens.

  “Why does your idol look old sooner than your neighbours? Because
  yours is not one of Ti Hung’s ninety-nine cash marvels.

    “They bring all delights to the old and the young,
    The elegant idols supplied by Ti Hung.

  “N.B.--The ‘Great Sacrifice’ idol, forty-five cash; delivered,
  carriage free, in quantities of not less than twelve, at any
  temple, on the evening before the sacrifice.

“It was about this time that Li Ting returned. His journey had been more
than usually successful, and he was well satisfied in consequence. It
was not until he had made out his accounts and handed in his money that
Ti Hung informed him of his agreement with Yung Chang.

“‘Oh, most treacherous and excessively unpopular Ti Hung,’ exclaimed
Li Ting, in a terrible voice, ‘this is the return you make for all my
entrancing efforts in your services, then? It is in this way that you
reward my exceedingly unconscientious recommendations of your very
inferior and unendurable clay idols, with their goggle eyes and concave
stomachs! Before I go, however, I request to be inspired to make the
following remark--that I confidently predict your ruin. And now this
low and undignified person will finally shake the elegant dust of your
distinguished house from his thoroughly inadequate feet, and proceed to
offer his incapable services to the rival establishment over the way.’

“‘The machinations of such an evilly-disposed person as Li Ting will
certainly be exceedingly subtle,’ said Ti Hung to his son-in-law when
the traveller had departed. ‘I must counteract his omens. Herewith I
wish to prophecy that henceforth I shall enjoy an unbroken run of good
fortune. I have spoken, and assuredly I shall not eat my words.’

“As the time went on, it seemed as though Ti Hung had indeed spoken
truly. The ease and celerity with which he transacted his business
brought him customers and dealers from more remote regions than ever,
for they could spend days on the journey and still save time. The
army of clay-gatherers and modellers grew larger and larger, and the
work-sheds stretched almost down to the river’s edge. Only one thing
troubled Ti Hung, and that was the uncongenial disposition of his
son-in-law, for Yung took no further interest in the industry to which
his discovery had given so great an impetus, but resolutely set to work
again to pass his examination for the second degree.

“‘It is an exceedingly distinguished and honourable thing to have failed
thirty-five times, and still to be undiscouraged,’ admitted Ti Hung;
‘but I cannot cleanse my throat from bitterness when I consider that
my noble and lucrative business must pass into the hands of strangers,
perhaps even into the possession of the unendurable Li Ting.’

“But it had been appointed that this degrading thing should not happen,
however, and it was indeed fortunate that Yung did not abandon his
literary pursuits; for after some time it became very apparent to Ti
Hung that there was something radically wrong with his business. It was
not that his custom was falling off in any way; indeed, it had lately
increased in a manner that was phenomenal, and when the merchant came to
look into the matter, he found to his astonishment that the least order
he had received in the past week had been for a hundred idols. All the
sales had been large, and yet Ti Hung found himself most unaccountably
deficient in taels. He was puzzled and alarmed, and for the next few
days he looked into the business closely. Then it was that the reason
was revealed, both for the falling off in the receipts and for the
increase in the orders. The calculations of the unfortunate Yung Chang
were correct up to a hundred, but at that number he had made a gigantic
error--which, however, he was never able to detect and rectify--with
the result that all transactions above that point worked out at a
considerable loss to the seller. It was in vain that the panic-stricken
Ti Hung goaded his miserable son-in-law to correct the mistake; it
was equally in vain that he tried to stem the current of his enormous
commercial popularity. He had competed for public favour, and he had won
it, and every day his business increased till ruin grasped him by the
pigtail. Then came an order from one firm at Peking for five millions of
the ninety-nine cash idols, and at that Ti Hung put up his shutters, and
sat down in the dust.

“‘Behold!’ he exclaimed, ‘in the course of a lifetime there are many
very disagreeable evils that may overtake a person. He may offend the
Sacred Dragon, and be in consequence reduced to a fine dry powder; or he
may incur the displeasure of the benevolent and pure-minded Emperor, and
be condemned to death by roasting; he may also be troubled by demons or
by the disturbed spirits of his ancestors, or be struck by thunderbolts.
Indeed, there are numerous annoyances, but they become as Heaven-sent
blessings in comparison to a self-opinionated and more than ordinarily
weak-minded son-in-law. Of what avail is it that I have habitually
sold one idol for the value of a hundred? The very objectionable man in
possession sits in my delectable summer-house, and the unavoidable
legal documents settle around me like a flock of pigeons. It is indeed
necessary that I should declare myself to be in voluntary liquidation,
and make an assignment of my book debts for the benefit of my creditors.
Having accomplished this, I will proceed to the well-constructed tomb
of my illustrious ancestors, and having kow-towed at their incomparable
shrines, I will put an end to my distinguished troubles with this
exceedingly well-polished sword.’

“‘The wise man can adapt himself to circumstances as water takes the
shape of the vase that contains it,’ said the well-known voice of
Li Ting. ‘Let not the lion and the tiger fight at the bidding of the
jackal. By combining our forces all may be well with you yet. Assist
me to dispose of the entirely superfluous Yung Chang and to marry
the elegant and symmetrical Ning, and in return I will allot to you a
portion of my not inconsiderable income.’

“‘However high the tree, the leaves fall to the ground, and your hour
has come at last, O detestable Li Ting!’ said Yung, who had heard the
speakers and crept upon them unperceived. ‘As for my distinguished
and immaculate father-in-law, doubtless the heat has affected his
indefatigable brains, or he would not have listened to your contemptible
suggestion. For yourself, draw!’

“Both swords flashed, but before a blow could be struck the spirits
of his ancestors hurled Li Ting lifeless to the ground, to avenge the
memories that their unworthy descendant had so often reviled.

“‘So perish all the enemies of Yung Chang,’ said the victor. ‘And now,
my venerated but exceedingly short-sighted father-in-law, learn how
narrowly you have escaped making yourself exceedingly objectionable
to yourself. I have just received intelligence from Peking that I have
passed the second degree, and have in consequence been appointed to a
remunerative position under the Government. This will enable us to live
in comfort, if not in affluence, and the rest of your engaging days can
be peacefully spent in flying kites.’”

III.
THE PROBATION OF SEN HENG

  Related by Kai Lung, at Wu-whei, as a rebuke to Wang Yu and
  certain others who had questioned the practical value of his
  stories.

“It is an undoubted fact that this person has not realized the direct
remunerative advantage which he confidently anticipated,” remarked the
idle and discontented pipe-maker Wang Yu, as, with a few other persons
of similar inclination, he sat in the shade of the great mulberry tree
at Wu-whei, waiting for the evil influence of certain very mysterious
sounds, which had lately been heard, to pass away before he resumed
his occupation. “When the seemingly proficient and trustworthy Kai Lung
first made it his practice to journey to Wu-whei, and narrate to us the
doings of persons of all classes of life,” he continued, “it seemed to
this one that by closely following the recital of how Mandarins obtained
their high position, and exceptionally rich persons their wealth, he
must, in the end, inevitably be rendered competent to follow in their
illustrious footsteps. Yet in how entirely contrary a direction has
the whole course of events tended! In spite of the honourable intention
which involved a frequent absence from his place of commerce, those
who journeyed thither with the set purpose of possessing one of his
justly-famed opium pipes so perversely regarded the matter that, after
two or three fruitless visits, they deliberately turned their footsteps
towards the workshop of the inelegant Ming-yo, whose pipes are
confessedly greatly inferior to those produced by the person who is now
speaking. Nevertheless, the rapacious Kai Lung, to whose influence
the falling off in custom was thus directly attributable, persistently
declined to bear any share whatever in the loss which his profession
caused, and, indeed, regarded the circumstance from so grasping and
narrow-minded a point of observation that he would not even go to the
length of suffering this much-persecuted one to join the circle of his
hearers without on every occasion making the customary offering. In this
manner a well-intentioned pursuit of riches has insidiously led this
person within measurable distance of the bolted dungeon for those who do
not meet their just debts, while the only distinction likely to result
from his assiduous study of the customs and methods of those high
in power is that of being publicly bowstrung as a warning to others.
Manifestedly the pointed finger of the unreliable Kai Lung is a very
treacherous guide.”

“It is related,” said a dispassionate voice behind them, “that a person
of limited intelligence, on being assured that he would certainly one
day enjoy an adequate competence if he closely followed the industrious
habits of the thrifty bee, spent the greater part of his life in
anointing his thighs with the yellow powder which he laboriously
collected from the flowers of the field. It is not so recorded; but
doubtless the nameless one in question was by profession a maker of
opium pipes, for this person has observed from time to time how that
occupation, above all others, tends to degrade the mental faculties, and
to debase its followers to a lower position than that of the beasts of
labour. Learn therefrom, O superficial Wang Yu, that wisdom lies in
an intelligent perception of great principles, and not in a slavish
imitation of details which are, for the most part, beyond your simple
and insufficient understanding.”

“Such may, indeed, be the case, Kai Lung,” replied Wang Yu sullenly--for
it was the story-teller in question who had approached unperceived, and
who now stood before them--“but it is none the less a fact that, on the
last occasion when this misguided person joined the attending circle
at your uplifted voice, a Mandarin of the third degree chanced to
pass through Wu-whei, and halted at the door-step of ‘The Fountain of
Beauty,’ fully intending to entrust this one with the designing and
fashioning of a pipe of exceptional elaborateness. This matter, by his
absence, has now passed from him, and to-day, through listening to the
narrative of how the accomplished Yuin-Pel doubled his fortune, he is
the poorer by many taels.”

“Yet to-morrow, when the name of the Mandarin of the third degree
appears in the list of persons who have transferred their entire
property to those who are nearly related to them in order to avoid it
being seized to satisfy the just claims made against them,” replied Kai
Lung, “you will be able to regard yourself the richer by so many taels.”

At these words, which recalled to the minds of all who were present the
not uncommon manner of behaving observed by those of exalted rank, who
freely engaged persons to supply them with costly articles without in
any way regarding the price to be paid, Wang Yu was silent.

“Nevertheless,” exclaimed a thin voice from the edge of the group which
surrounded Kai Lung, “it in nowise follows that the stories are in
themselves excellent, or of such a nature that the hearing of their
recital will profit a person. Wang Yu may be satisfied with empty words,
but there are others present who were studying deep matters when Wang
Yu was learning the art of walking. If Kai Lung’s stories are of such
remunerative benefit as the person in question claims, how does it
chance that Kai Lung himself who is assuredly the best acquainted with
them, stands before us in mean apparel, and on all occasions confessing
an unassuming poverty?”

“It is Yan-hi Pung,” went from mouth to mouth among the
bystanders--“Yan-hi Pung, who traces on paper the words of chants and
historical tales, and sells them to such as can afford to buy. And
although his motive in exposing the emptiness of Kai Lung’s stories may
not be Heaven-sent--inasmuch as Kai Lung provides us with such matter
as he himself purveys, only at a much more moderate price--yet his words
are well considered, and must therefore be regarded.”

“O Yan-hi Pung,” replied Kai Lung, hearing the name from those who
stood about him, and moving towards the aged person, who stood meanwhile
leaning upon his staff, and looking from side to side with quickly
moving eyelids in a manner very offensive towards the story-teller,
“your just remark shows you to be a person of exceptional wisdom, even
as your well-bowed legs prove you to be one of great bodily strength;
for justice is ever obvious and wisdom hidden, and they who build
structures for endurance discard the straight and upright and insist
upon such an arch as you so symmetrically exemplify.”

Speaking in this conciliatory manner, Kai Lung came up to Yan-hi Pung,
and taking between his fingers a disc of thick polished crystal,
which the aged and short-sighted chant-writer used for the purpose of
magnifying and bringing nearer the letters upon which he was engaged,
and which hung around his neck by an embroidered cord, the story-teller
held it aloft, crying aloud:

“Observe closely, and presently it will be revealed and made clear how
the apparently very conflicting words of the wise Yan-hi Pung, and those
of this unassuming but nevertheless conscientious person who is now
addressing you, are, in reality, as one great truth.”

With this assurance Kai Lung moved the crystal somewhat, so that it
engaged the sun’s rays, and concentrated them upon the uncovered crown
of the unsuspecting and still objectionably-engaged person before
him. Without a moment’s pause, Yan-hi Pung leapt high into the air,
repeatedly pressing his hand to the spot thus selected and crying aloud:

“Evil dragons and thunderbolts! but the touch was as hot as a scar left
by the uncut nail of the sublime Buddha!”

“Yet the crystal--” remarked Kai Lung composedly, passing it into the
hands of those who stood near.

“Is as cool as the innermost leaves of the riverside sycamore,” they
declared.

Kai Lung said nothing further, but raised both his hands above his head,
as if demanding their judgment. Thereupon a loud shout went up on his
behalf, for the greater part of them loved to see the manner in which
he brushed aside those who would oppose him; and the sight of the aged
person Yan-hi Pung leaping far into the air had caused them to become
exceptionally amused, and, in consequence, very amiably disposed towards
the one who had afforded them the entertainment.

“The story of Sen Heng,” began Kai Lung, when the discussion had
terminated in the manner already recorded, “concerns itself with one who
possessed an unsuspecting and ingenious nature, which ill-fitted him
to take an ordinary part in the everyday affairs of life, no matter how
engaging such a character rendered him among his friends and relations.
Having at an early age been entrusted with a burden of rice and other
produce from his father’s fields to dispose of in the best possible
manner at a neighbouring mart, and having completed the transaction in a
manner extremely advantageous to those with whom he trafficked but very
intolerable to the one who had sent him, it at once became apparent that
some other means of gaining a livelihood must be discovered for him.

“‘Beyond all doubt,’ said his father, after considering the matter for a
period, ‘it is a case in which one should be governed by the wise advice
and example of the Mandarin Poo-chow.’

“‘Illustrious sire,’ exclaimed Sen Heng, who chanced to be present, ‘the
illiterate person who stands before you is entirely unacquainted
with the one to whom you have referred; nevertheless, he will, as you
suggest, at once set forth, and journeying with all speed to the abode
of the estimable Poo-chow, solicit his experience and advice.’

“‘Unless a more serious loss should be occasioned,’ replied the father
coldly, ‘there is no necessity to adopt so extreme a course. The
benevolent Mandarin in question existed at a remote period of the Thang
dynasty, and the incident to which an allusion has been made arose in
the following way: To the public court of the enlightened Poo-chow there
came one day a youth of very inferior appearance and hesitating
manner, who besought his explicit advice, saying: “The degraded and
unprepossessing being before you, O select and venerable Mandarin, is by
nature and attainments a person of the utmost timidity and fearfulness.
From this cause life itself has become a detestable observance in his
eyes, for those who should be his companions of both sexes hold him in
undisguised contempt, making various unendurable allusions to the colour
and nature of his internal organs whenever he would endeavour to join
them. Instruct him, therefore, the manner in which this cowardice may be
removed, and no service in return will be esteemed too great.” “There
is a remedy,” replied the benevolent Mandarin, without any hesitation
whatever, “which if properly carried out is efficacious beyond the
possibility of failure. Certain component parts of your body are
lacking, and before the desired result can be obtained these must be
supplied from without. Of all courageous things the tiger is the most
fearless, and in consequence it combines all those ingredients which you
require; furthermore, as the teeth of the tiger are the instruments with
which it accomplishes its vengeful purpose, there reside the essential
principles of its inimitable courage. Let the person who seeks
instruction in the matter, therefore, do as follows: taking the teeth of
a full-grown tiger as soon as it is slain, and before the essences
have time to return into the body, he shall grind them to a powder, and
mixing the powder with a portion of rice, consume it. After seven days
he must repeat the observance, and yet again a third time, after another
similar lapse. Let him, then, return for further guidance; for the
present the matter interests this person no further.” At these words the
youth departed, filled with a new and inspired hope; for the wisdom of
the sagacious Poo-chow was a matter which did not admit of any doubt
whatever, and he had spoken with well-defined certainty of the success
of the experiment. Nevertheless, after several days industriously spent
in endeavouring to obtain by purchase the teeth of a newly-slain tiger,
the details of the undertaking began to assume a new and entirely
unforeseen aspect; for those whom he approached as being the most
likely to possess what he required either became very immoderately and
disagreeably amused at the nature of the request, or regarded it as a
new and ill-judged form of ridicule, which they prepared to avenge by
blows and by base remarks of the most personal variety. At length it
became unavoidably obvious to the youth that if he was to obtain the
articles in question it would first be necessary that he should become
adept in the art of slaying tigers, for in no other way were the
required conditions likely to be present. Although the prospect was one
which did not greatly tend to allure him, yet he did not regard it
with the utterly incapable emotions which would have been present on an
earlier occasion; for the habit of continually guarding himself from
the onslaughts of those who received his inquiry in an attitude of
narrow-minded distrust had inspired him with a new-found valour, while
his amiable and unrestrained manner of life increased his bodily vigour
in every degree. First perfecting himself in the use of the bow and
arrow, therefore, he betook himself to a wild and very extensive forest,
and there concealed himself among the upper foliage of a tall tree
standing by the side of a pool of water. On the second night of his
watch, the youth perceived a large but somewhat ill-conditioned tiger
approaching the pool for the purpose of quenching its thirst, whereupon
he tremblingly fitted an arrow to his bowstring, and profiting by the
instruction he had received, succeeded in piercing the creature to
the heart. After fulfilling the observance laid upon him by the
discriminating Poo-chow, the youth determined to remain in the forest,
and sustain himself upon such food as fell to his weapons, until the
time arrived when he should carry out the rite for the last time. At the
end of seven days, so subtle had he become in all kinds of hunting, and
so strengthened by the meat and herbs upon which he existed, that he
disdained to avail himself of the shelter of a tree, but standing openly
by the side of the water, he engaged the attention of the first tiger
which came to drink, and discharged arrow after arrow into its body with
unfailing power and precision. So entrancing, indeed, had the pursuit
become that the next seven days lengthened out into the apparent period
of as many moons, in such a leisurely manner did they rise and fall. On
the appointed day, without waiting for the evening to arrive, the youth
set out with the first appearance of light, and penetrated into the most
inaccessible jungles, crying aloud words of taunt-laden challenge to all
the beasts therein, and accusing the ancestors of their race of every
imaginable variety of evil behaviour. Yet so great had become the renown
of the one who stood forth, and so widely had the warning voice been
passed from tree to tree, preparing all who dwelt in the forest against
his anger, that not even the fiercest replied openly, though low growls
and mutterings proceeded from every cave within a bow-shot’s distance
around. Wearying quickly of such feeble and timorous demonstrations, the
youth rushed into the cave from which the loudest murmurs proceeded, and
there discovered a tiger of unnatural size, surrounded by the bones of
innumerable ones whom it had devoured; for from time to time its
ravages became so great and unbearable, that armies were raised in
the neighbouring villages and sent to destroy it, but more than a
few stragglers never returned. Plainly recognizing that a just and
inevitable vengeance had overtaken it, the tiger made only a very
inferior exhibition of resistance, and the youth, having first stunned
it with a blow of his closed hand, seized it by the middle, and
repeatedly dashed its head against the rocky sides of its retreat. He
then performed for the third time the ceremony enjoined by the Mandarin,
and having cast upon the cringing and despicable forms concealed in the
surrounding woods and caves a look of dignified and ineffable contempt,
set out upon his homeward journey, and in the space of three days’ time
reached the town of the versatile Poo-chow. “Behold,” exclaimed that
person, when, lifting up his eyes, he saw the youth approaching laden
with the skins of the tigers and other spoils, “now at least the youths
and maidens of your native village will no longer withdraw themselves
from the company of so undoubtedly heroic a person.” “Illustrious
Mandarin,” replied the other, casting both his weapons and his trophies
before his inspired adviser’s feet, “what has this person to do with the
little ones of either sex? Give him rather the foremost place in your
ever-victorious company of bowmen, so that he may repay in part the
undoubted debt under which he henceforth exists.” This proposal found
favour with the pure-minded Poo-chow, so that in course of time the
unassuming youth who had come supplicating his advice became the
valiant commander of his army, and the one eventually chosen to present
plighting gifts to his only daughter.’

“When the father had completed the narrative of how the faint-hearted
youth became in the end a courageous and resourceful leader of bowmen,
Sen looked up, and not in any degree understanding the purpose of the
story, or why it had been set forth before him, exclaimed:

“‘Undoubtedly the counsel of the graceful and intelligent Mandarin
Poo-chow was of inestimable service in the case recorded, and this
person would gladly adopt it as his guide for the future, on the chance
of it leading to a similar honourable career; but alas! there are no
tigers to be found throughout this Province.’

“‘It is a loss which those who are engaged in commerce in the city of
Hankow strive to supply adequately,’ replied his father, who had an
assured feeling that it would be of no avail to endeavour to show
Sen that the story which he had just related was one setting forth a
definite precept rather than fixing an exact manner of behaviour. ‘For
that reason,’ he continued, ‘this person has concluded an arrangement by
which you will journey to that place, and there enter into the house of
commerce of an expert and conscientious vendor of moving contrivances.
Among so rapacious and keen-witted a class of persons as they of Hankow,
it is exceedingly unlikely that your amiable disposition will involve
any individual one in an unavoidably serious loss, and even should
such an unforeseen event come to pass, there will, at least, be the
undeniable satisfaction of the thought that the unfortunate occurrence
will in no way affect the prosperity of those to whom you are bound by
the natural ties of affection.’

“‘Benevolent and virtuous-minded father,’ replied Sen gently, but
speaking with an inspired conviction; ‘from his earliest infancy this
unassuming one has been instructed in an inviolable regard for the Five
General Principles of Fidelity to the Emperor, Respect for Parents,
Harmony between Husband and Wife, Agreement among Brothers, and
Constancy in Friendship. It will be entirely unnecessary to inform so
pious-minded a person as the one now being addressed that no evil can
attend the footsteps of an individual who courteously observes these
enactments.’

“‘Without doubt it is so arranged by the protecting Deities,’ replied
the father; ‘yet it is an exceedingly desirable thing for those who are
responsible in the matter that the footsteps to which reference has been
made should not linger in the neighbourhood of the village, but should,
with all possible speed, turn in the direction of Hankow.’

“In this manner it came to pass that Sen Heng set forth on the following
day, and coming without delay to the great and powerful city of Hankow,
sought out the house of commerce known as ‘The Pure Gilt Dragon of
Exceptional Symmetry,’ where the versatile King-y-Yang engaged in the
entrancing occupation of contriving moving figures, and other devices of
an ingenious and mirth-provoking character, which he entrusted into the
hands of numerous persons to sell throughout the Province. From this
cause, although enjoying a very agreeable recompense from the sale
of the objects, the greatly perturbed King-y-Yang suffered continual
internal misgivings; for the habit of behaving of those whom he
appointed to go forth in the manner described was such that he could not
entirely dismiss from his mind an assured conviction that the details
were not invariably as they were represented to be. Frequently would
one return in a very deficient and unpresentable condition of garment,
asserting that on his return, while passing through a lonely and
unprotected district, he had been assailed by an armed band of robbers,
and despoiled of all he possessed. Another would claim to have been made
the sport of evil spirits, who led him astray by means of false signs
in the forest, and finally destroyed his entire burden of commodities,
accompanying the unworthy act by loud cries of triumph and remarks of
an insulting nature concerning King-y-Yang; for the honourable character
and charitable actions of the person in question had made him very
objectionable to that class of beings. Others continually accounted
for the absence of the required number of taels by declaring that at
a certain point of their journey they were made the object of marks
of amiable condescension on the part of a high and dignified public
official, who, on learning in whose service they were, immediately
professed an intimate personal friendship with the estimable
King-y-Yang, and, out of a feeling of gratified respect for him, took
away all such contrivances as remained undisposed of, promising to
arrange the payment with the refined King-y-Yang himself when they
should next meet. For these reasons King-y-Yang was especially desirous
of obtaining one whose spoken word could be received, upon all points,
as an assured fact, and it was, therefore, with an emotion of internal
lightness that he confidently heard from those who were acquainted
with the person that Sen Heng was, by nature and endowments, utterly
incapable of representing matters of even the most insignificant degree
to be otherwise than what they really were.

Filled with an acute anxiety to discover what amount of success would
be accorded to his latest contrivance, King-y-Yang led Sen Heng to a
secluded chamber, and there instructed him in the method of selling
certain apparently very ingeniously constructed ducks, which would have
the appearance of swimming about on the surface of an open vessel of
water, at the same time uttering loud and ever-increasing cries, after
the manner of their kind. With ill-restrained admiration at the skilful
nature of the deception, King-y-Yang pointed out that the ducks which
were to be disposed of, and upon which a seemingly very low price was
fixed, did not, in reality, possess any of these accomplishments, but
would, on the contrary, if placed in water, at once sink to the bottom
in a most incapable manner; it being part of Sen’s duty to exhibit only
a specially prepared creature which was restrained upon the surface by
means of hidden cords, and, while bending over it, to simulate the cries
as agreed upon. After satisfying himself that Sen could perform these
movements competently, King-y-Yang sent him forth, particularly charging
him that he should not return without a sum of money which fully
represented the entire number of ducks entrusted to him, or an adequate
number of unsold ducks to compensate for the deficiency.

“At the end of seven days Sen returned to King-y-Yang, and although
entirely without money, even to the extent of being unable to provide
himself with the merest necessities of a frugal existence, he honourably
returned the full number of ducks with which he had set out. It then
became evident that although Sen had diligently perfected himself in the
sounds and movements which King-y-Yang had contrived, he had not
fully understood that they were to be executed stealthily, but had,
in consequence, manifested the accomplishment openly, not unreasonably
supposing that such an exhibition would be an additional inducement to
those who appeared to be well-disposed towards the purchase. From this
cause it came about that although large crowds were attracted by Sen’s
manner of conducting the enterprise, none actually engaged to purchase
even the least expensively-valued of the ducks, although several
publicly complimented Sen on his exceptional proficiency, and repeatedly
urged him to louder and more frequent cries, suggesting that by such
means possible buyers might be attracted to the spot from remote and
inaccessible villages in the neighbourhood.

“When King-y-Yang learned how the venture had been carried out, he
became most intolerably self-opinionated in his expressions towards
Sen’s mental attainments and the manner of his bringing up. It was
entirely in vain that the one referred to pointed out in a tone of
persuasive and courteous restraint that he had not, down to the most
minute particulars, transgressed either the general or the specific
obligations of the Five General Principles, and that, therefore, he was
blameless, and even worthy of commendation for the manner in which he
had acted. With an inelegant absence of all refined feeling, King-y-Yang
most incapably declined to discuss the various aspects of the
controversy in an amiable manner, asserting, indeed, that for the
consideration of as many brass cash as Sen had mentioned principles
he would cause him to be thrown into prison as a person of unnatural
ineptitude. Then, without rewarding Sen for the time spent in his
service, or even inviting him to partake of food and wine, the
insufferable deviser of very indifferent animated contrivances again
sent him out, this time into the streets of Hankow with a number of
delicately inlaid boxes, remarking in a tone of voice which plainly
indicated an exactly contrary desire that he would be filled with an
overwhelming satisfaction if Sen could discover any excuse for returning
a second time without disposing of anything. This remark Sen’s ingenuous
nature led him to regard as a definite fact, so that when a passer-by,
who tarried to examine the boxes chanced to remark that the colours
might have been arranged to greater advantage, in which case he would
certainly have purchased at least one of the articles, Sen hastened
back, although in a distant part of the city, to inform King-y-Yang of
the suggestion, adding that he himself had been favourably impressed
with the improvement which could be effected by such an alteration.

“The nature of King-y-Yang’s emotion when Sen again presented himself
before him--and when by repeatedly applied tests on various parts of his
body he understood that he was neither the victim of malicious demons,
nor wandering in an insensible condition in the Middle Air, but that the
cause of the return was such as had been plainly stated--was of so mixed
and benumbing a variety, that for a considerable space of time he was
quite unable to express himself in any way, either by words or by signs.
By the time these attributes returned there had formed itself within
King-y-Yang’s mind a design of most contemptible malignity, which seemed
to present to his enfeebled intellect a scheme by which Sen would be
adequately punished, and finally disposed of, without causing him any
further trouble in the matter. For this purpose he concealed the real
condition of his sentiments towards Sen, and warmly expressed himself in
terms of delicate flattery regarding that one’s sumptuous and unfailing
taste in the matter of the blending of the colours. Without doubt, he
continued, such an alteration as the one proposed would greatly increase
the attractiveness of the inlaid boxes, and the matter should be engaged
upon without delay. In the meantime, however, not to waste the immediate
services of so discriminating and persevering a servant, he would
entrust Sen with a mission of exceptional importance, which would
certainly tend greatly to his remunerative benefit. In the district
of Yun, in the north-western part of the Province, said the crafty
and treacherous King-y-Yang, a particular kind of insect was greatly
esteemed on account of the beneficent influence which it exercised over
the rice plants, causing them to mature earlier, and to attain a greater
size than ever happened in its absence. In recent years this creature
had rarely been seen in the neighbourhood of Yun, and, in consequence,
the earth-tillers throughout that country had been brought into a most
disconcerting state of poverty, and would, inevitably, be prepared to
exchange whatever they still possessed for even a few of the insects, in
order that they might liberate them to increase, and so entirely reverse
the objectionable state of things. Speaking in this manner, King-y-Yang
entrusted to Sen a carefully prepared box containing a score of the
insects, obtained at a great cost from a country beyond the Bitter
Water, and after giving him further directions concerning the journey,
and enjoining the utmost secrecy about the valuable contents of the box,
he sent him forth.

“The discreet and sagacious will already have understood the nature of
King-y-Yang’s intolerable artifice; but, for the benefit of the amiable
and unsuspecting, it is necessary to make it clear that the words which
he had spoken bore no sort of resemblance to affairs as they really
existed. The district around Yun was indeed involved in a most
unprepossessing destitution, but this had been caused, not by the
absence of any rare and auspicious insect, but by the presence of vast
hordes of locusts, which had overwhelmed and devoured the entire face
the country. It so chanced that among the recently constructed devices
at ‘The Pure Gilt Dragon of Exceptional Symmetry’ were a number of
elegant representations of rice fields and fruit gardens so skilfully
fashioned that they deceived even the creatures, and attracted, among
other living things, all the locusts in Hankow into that place of
commerce. It was a number of these insects that King-y-Yang vindictively
placed in the box which he instructed Sen to carry to Yun, well knowing
that the reception which would be accorded to anyone who appeared there
on such a mission would be of so fatally destructive a kind that the
consideration of his return need not engage a single conjecture.

“Entirely tranquil in intellect--for the possibility of King-y-Yang’s
intention being in any way other than what he had represented it to
be did not arise within Sen’s ingenuous mind--the person in question
cheerfully set forth on his long but unavoidable march towards the
region of Yun. As he journeyed along the way, the nature of his
meditation brought up before him the events which had taken place since
his arrival at Hankow; and, for the first time, it was brought within
his understanding that the story of the youth and the three tigers,
which his father had related to him, was in the likeness of a proverb,
by which counsel and warning is conveyed in a graceful and inoffensive
manner. Readily applying the fable to his own condition, he could not
doubt but that the first two animals to be overthrown were represented
by the two undertakings which he had already conscientiously performed
in the matter of the mechanical ducks and the inlaid boxes, and the
conviction that he was even then engaged on the third and last trial
filled him with an intelligent gladness so unobtrusive and refined that
he could express his entrancing emotions in no other way than by lifting
up his voice and uttering the far-reaching cries which he had used on
the first of the occasions just referred to.

“In this manner the first part of the journey passed away with engaging
celerity. Anxious as Sen undoubtedly was to complete the third task, and
approach the details which, in his own case, would correspond with the
command of the bowmen and the marriage with the Mandarin’s daughter of
the person in the story, the noontide heat compelled him to rest in the
shade by the wayside for a lengthy period each day. During one of
these pauses it occurred to his versatile mind that the time which was
otherwise uselessly expended might be well disposed of in endeavouring
to increase the value and condition of the creatures under his care by
instructing them in the performance of some simple accomplishments,
such as might not be too laborious for their feeble and immature
understanding. In this he was more successful than he had imagined could
possibly be the case, for the discriminating insects, from the first,
had every appearance of recognizing that Sen was inspired by a sincere
regard for their ultimate benefit, and was not merely using them for
his own advancement. So assiduously did they devote themselves to their
allotted tasks, that in a very short space of time there was no detail
in connexion with their own simple domestic arrangements that was not
understood and daily carried out by an appointed band. Entranced at this
intelligent manner of conducting themselves, Sen industriously applied
his time to the more congenial task of instructing them in the refined
arts, and presently he had the enchanting satisfaction of witnessing a
number of the most cultivated faultlessly and unhesitatingly perform a
portion of the well-known gravity-removing play entitled “The Benevolent
Omen of White Dragon Tea Garden; or, Three Times a Mandarin.” Not even
content with this elevating display, Sen ingeniously contrived, from
various objects which he discovered at different points by the wayside,
an effective and life-like representation of a war-junk, for which he
trained a crew, who, at an agreed signal, would take up their appointed
places and go through the required movements, both of sailing, and of
discharging the guns, in a reliable and efficient manner.

“As Sen was one day educating the least competent of the insects in the
simpler parts of banner-carriers, gong-beaters, and the like, to their
more graceful and versatile companions, he lifted up his eyes and
beheld, standing by his side, a person of very elaborately embroidered
apparel and commanding personality, who had all the appearance of one
who had been observing his movements for some space of time. Calling
up within his remembrance the warning which he had received from
King-y-Yang, Sen was preparing to restore the creatures to their closed
box, when the stranger, in a loud and dignified voice, commanded him to
refrain, adding:

“‘There is, resting at a spot within the immediate neighbourhood,
a person of illustrious name and ancestry, who would doubtless be
gratified to witness the diverting actions of which this one has
recently been a spectator. As the reward of a tael cannot be unwelcome
to a person of your inferior appearance and unpresentable garments, take
up your box without delay, and follow the one who is now before you.’

“With these words the richly-clad stranger led the way through a narrow
woodland path, closely followed by Sen, to whom the attraction of the
promised reward--a larger sum, indeed, than he had ever possessed--was
sufficiently alluring to make him determined that the other should not,
for the briefest possible moment, pass beyond his sight.

“Not to withhold that which Sen was entirely ignorant of until a later
period, it is now revealed that the person in question was the official
Provider of Diversions and Pleasurable Occupations to the sacred
and illimitable Emperor, who was then engaged in making an unusually
extensive march through the eight Provinces surrounding his Capital--for
the acute and well-educated will not need to be reminded that Nanking
occupied that position at the time now engaged with. Until his
providential discovery of Sen, the distinguished Provider had been
immersed in a most unenviable condition of despair, for his enlightened
but exceedingly perverse-minded master had, of late, declined to be
in any way amused, or even interested, by the simple and unpretentious
entertainment which could be obtained in so inaccessible a region. The
well-intentioned efforts of the followers of the Court, who engagingly
endeavoured to divert the Imperial mind by performing certain feats
which they remembered to have witnessed on previous occasions, but
which, until the necessity arose, they had never essayed, were entirely
without result of a beneficial order. Even the accomplished Provider’s
one attainment--that of striking together both the hands and the feet
thrice simultaneously, while leaping into the air, and at the same time
producing a sound not unlike that emitted by a large and vigorous bee
when held captive in the fold of a robe, an action which never failed
to throw the illustrious Emperor into a most uncontrollable state of
amusement when performed within the Imperial Palace--now only drew
from him the unsympathetic, if not actually offensive, remark that the
attitude and the noise bore a marked resemblance to those produced by a
person when being bowstrung, adding, with unprepossessing significance,
that of the two entertainments he had an unevadable conviction that the
bowstringing would be the more acceptable and gravity-removing.

“When Sen beheld the size and the silk-hung magnificence of the camp
into which his guide led him, he was filled with astonishment, and at
the same time recognized that he had acted in an injudicious and hasty
manner by so readily accepting the offer of a tael; whereas, if he had
been in possession of the true facts of the case, as they now appeared,
he would certainly have endeavoured to obtain double that amount before
consenting. As he was hesitating within himself whether the matter might
not even yet be arranged in a more advantageous manner, he was suddenly
led forward into the most striking and ornamental of the tents, and
commanded to engage the attention of the one in whose presence he found
himself, without delay.

“From the first moment when the inimitable creatures began, at Sen’s
spoken word, to go through the ordinary details of their domestic
affairs, there was no sort of doubt as to the nature of the success with
which their well-trained exertions would be received. The dark shadows
instantly forsook the enraptured Emperor’s select brow, and from time
to time he expressed himself in words of most unrestrained and intimate
encouragement. So exuberant became the overjoyed Provider’s emotion at
having at length succeeded in obtaining the services of one who was
able to recall his Imperial master’s unclouded countenance, that he came
forward in a most unpresentable state of haste, and rose into the air
uncommanded, for the display of his usually not unwelcome acquirement.
This he would doubtless have executed competently had not Sen, who stood
immediately behind him, suddenly and unexpectedly raised his voice in
a very vigorous and proficient duck cry, thereby causing the one before
him to endeavour to turn around in alarm, while yet in the air--an
intermingled state of movements of both the body and the mind that
caused him to abandon his original intention in a manner which removed
the gravity of the Emperor to an even more pronounced degree than had
been effected by the diverting attitudes of the insects.

“When the gratified Emperor had beheld every portion of the tasks
which Sen had instilled into the minds of the insects, down even to the
minutest detail, he called the well-satisfied Provider before him,
and addressing him in a voice which might be designed to betray either
sternness or an amiable indulgence, said:

“‘You, O Shan-se, are reported to be a person of no particular intellect
or discernment, and, for this reason, these ones who are speaking have a
desire to know how the matter will present itself in your eyes. Which
is it the more commendable and honourable for a person to train to
a condition of unfailing excellence, human beings of confessed
intelligence or insects of a low and degraded standard?’

“To this remark the discriminating Shan-se made no reply, being, indeed,
undecided in his mind whether such a course was expected of him. On
several previous occasions the somewhat introspective Emperor had
addressed himself to persons in what they judged to be the form of a
question, as one might say, ‘How blue is the unapproachable air canopy,
and how delicately imagined the colour of the clouds!’ yet when they had
expressed their deliberate opinion on the subjects referred to,
stating the exact degree of blueness, and the like, the nature of
their reception ever afterwards was such that, for the future, persons
endeavoured to determine exactly the intention of the Emperor’s mind
before declaring themselves in words. Being exceedingly doubtful on this
occasion, therefore, the very cautious Shan-se adopted the more prudent
and uncompromising attitude, and smiling acquiescently, he raised both
his hands with a self-deprecatory movement.

“‘Alas!’ exclaimed the Emperor, in a tone which plainly indicated that
the evasive Shan-se had adopted a course which did not commend itself,
‘how unendurable a condition of affairs is it for a person of acute
mental perception to be annoyed by the inopportune behaviour of one
who is only fit to mix on terms of equality with beggars, and low-caste
street cleaners--’

“‘Such a condition of affairs is indeed most offensively unbearable,
illustrious Being,’ remarked Shan-se, who clearly perceived that his
former silence had not been productive of a delicate state of feeling
towards himself.

“‘It has frequently been said,’ continued the courteous and pure-minded
Emperor, only signifying his refined displeasure at Shan-se’s really
ill-considered observation by so arranging his position that the person
in question on longer enjoyed the sublime distinction of gazing upon his
benevolent face, ‘that titles and offices have been accorded, from time
to time, without any regard for the fitting qualifications of those to
whom they were presented. The truth that such a state of things does
occasionally exist has been brought before our eyes during the past
few days by the abandoned and inefficient behaviour of one who will
henceforth be a marked official; yet it has always been our endeavour
to reward expert and unassuming merit, whenever it is discovered. As
we were setting forth, when we were interrupted in a most obstinate and
superfluous manner, the one who can guide and cultivate the minds of
unthinking, and not infrequently obstinate and rapacious, insects would
certainly enjoy an even greater measure of success if entrusted with the
discriminating intellects of human beings. For this reason it appears
that no more fitting person could be found to occupy the important and
well-rewarded position of Chief Arranger of the Competitive Examinations
than the one before us--provided his opinions and manner of expressing
himself are such as commend themselves to us. To satisfy us on this
point let Sen Heng now stand forth and declare his beliefs.’

“On this invitation Sen advanced the requisite number of paces, and not
in any degree understanding what was required of him, determined that
the occasion was one when he might fittingly declare the Five General
Principles which were ever present in his mind. ‘Unquestioning Fidelity
to the Sacred Emperor--’ he began, when the person in question signified
that the trial was over.

“‘After so competent and inspired an expression as that which has just
been uttered, which, if rightly considered, includes all lesser things,
it is unnecessary to say more,’ he declared affably. ‘The appointment
which has already been specified is now declared to be legally
conferred. The evening will be devoted to a repetition of the entrancing
manoeuvres performed by the insects, to be followed by a feast and music
in honour of the recognized worth and position of the accomplished Sen
Heng. There is really no necessity for the apparently over-fatigued
Shan-se to attend the festival.’

“In such a manner was the foundation of Sen’s ultimate prosperity
established, by which he came in the process of time to occupy a very
high place in public esteem. Yet, being a person of honourably-minded
conscientiousness, he did not hesitate, when questioned by those who
made pilgrimages to him for the purpose of learning by what means he
had risen to so remunerative a position, to ascribe his success, not
entirely to his own intelligent perception of persons and events, but,
in part, also to a never-failing regard for the dictates of the Five
General Principles, and a discriminating subservience to the inspired
wisdom of the venerable Poo-chow, as conveyed to him in the story of
the faint-hearted youth and the three tigers. This story Sen furthermore
caused to be inscribed in letters of gold, and displayed in a prominent
position in his native village, where it has since doubtless been the
means of instructing and advancing countless observant ones who have not
been too insufferable to be guided by the experience of those who have
gone before.”

IV.
THE EXPERIMENT OF THE MANDARIN CHAN HUNG

  Related by Kai Lung at Shan Tzu, on the occasion of his receiving
  a very unexpected reward.

“There are certainly many occasions when the principles of the Mandarin
Chan Hung appear to find practical favour in the eyes of those who form
this usually uncomplaining person’s audiences at Shan Tzu,” remarked Kai
Lung, with patient resignation, as he took up his collecting-bowl and
transferred the few brass coins which it held to a concealed place among
his garments. “Has the village lately suffered from a visit of one
of those persons who come armed with authority to remove by force or
stratagem such goods as bear names other than those possessed by their
holders? or is it, indeed--as they of Wu-whei confidently assert--that
when the Day of Vows arrives the people of Shan Tzu, with one accord,
undertake to deny themselves in the matter of gifts and free offerings,
in spite of every conflicting impulse?”

“They of Wu-whei!” exclaimed a self-opinionated bystander, who had
by some means obtained an inferior public office, and who was, in
consequence, enabled to be present on all occasions without contributing
any offering. “Well is that village named ‘The Refuge of Unworthiness,’
for its dwellers do little but rob and illtreat strangers, and spread
evil and lying reports concerning better endowed ones than themselves.”

“Such a condition of affairs may exist,” replied Kai Lung, without
any indication of concern either one way or the other; “yet it is an
undeniable fact that they reward this commonplace story-teller’s too
often underestimated efforts in a manner which betrays them either to
be of noble birth, or very desirous of putting to shame their less
prosperous neighbouring places.”

“Such exhibitions of uncalled-for lavishness are merely the signs of an
ill-regulated and inordinate vanity,” remarked a Mandarin of the eighth
grade, who chanced to be passing, and who stopped to listen to Kai
Lung’s words. “Nevertheless, it is not fitting that a collection of
decaying hovels, which Wu-whei assuredly is, should, in however small
a detail, appear to rise above Shan Tzu, so that if the versatile and
unassuming Kai Lung will again honour this assembly by allowing his
well-constructed bowl to pass freely to and fro, this obscure and
otherwise entirely superfluous individual will make it his especial care
that the brass of Wu-whei shall be answered with solid copper, and its
debased pewter with doubly refined silver.”

With these encouraging words the very opportune Mandarin of the eighth
grade himself followed the story-teller’s collecting-bowl, observing
closely what each person contributed, so that, although he gave nothing
from his own store, Kai Lung had never before received so honourable an
amount.

“O illustrious Kai Lung,” exclaimed a very industrious and ill-clad
herb-gatherer, who, in spite of his poverty, could not refrain from
mingling with listeners whenever the story-teller appeared in Shan Tzu,
“a single piece of brass money is to this person more than a block