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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Eastern Shame Girl, by Charles Georges Souli
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Eastern Shame Girl
+       The Wedding of Ya-Nei; A Strange Destiny; The Error of the Embroidered
+       Slipper; The Counterfeit Old Woman; The Monastery of the
+       Esteemed-Lotus; A Complicated Marriage
+       
+
+Author: Charles Georges Souli
+
+Release Date: April 19, 2004 [EBook #12086]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EASTERN SHAME GIRL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, Alicia Williams, Sandra Brown and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Transcriber's Note: This book was published as Chinese Love Tales in
+  1935 (translated from the original of George Souile De Morant
+  --a variation in the spelling of the middle name) with numerous
+  illustrations by Valenti Angelo. It was attacked and acquitted in the
+  courts, winning judicial recognition of its exceptional literary merit.]
+
+
+
+
+_EASTERN SHAME GIRL_
+
+
+
+
+_Translated from the French of_
+GEORGE SOULIE DEMORANT
+
+
+
+
+_Illustrations by_
+MARCEL AVOND
+
+
+
+
+_New York
+Privately Printed 1929_
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+EASTERN SHAME GIRL
+
+THE WEDDING OF YA-NEI
+
+A STRANGE DESTINY
+
+THE ERROR OF THE EMBROIDERED SLIPPER
+
+THE COUNTERFEIT OLD WOMAN
+
+THE MONASTERY OF THE ESTEEMED-LOTUS
+
+A COMPLICATED MARRIAGE
+
+
+_Note:--The original source of the stories
+appearing in "Eastern Shame Girl" is the
+classic literature of China in the 17th Century._
+
+
+
+
+EASTERN SHAME GIRL
+
+
+  When there is a great peace
+  Under the gold cup of the sun
+  Joy reaches its flowering.
+
+In the twentieth year of the period Wan-li, there came, among the
+thousands of students who gathered at Peking for the examinations, a
+certain Li, whose first name was Chia and his surname Ch'ien-hsi, or
+"Purified-a-thousand times." His family were from Shao-hsing fu in
+Chekiang; his father was Judge of the province of Kang-su; and Li
+himself was the eldest of three brothers. He had studied in the
+village school from childhood and, not having yet attained to
+literary rank, had come, according to custom, to present himself for
+examination at Peking. While in that city, he consorted, before his
+springtide, with the young libertines, the "willow twigs" of his
+country; and, in order to gain experience, frequented the theatres
+and music-halls. Thus he became acquainted with a famous singing girl
+called Tu, whose first name was Mei, or "Elegance." As she was the
+tenth of her family, she was known at the theatre as Shih-niang, "The
+Tenth daughter." A delicate seduction diffused from her: her body was
+all grace and perfume. The twin arches of her brows held the black
+which is blue of distant mountains, and her eyes were as deep and
+bright as autumn lakes. Her face had the glory of the lotus, and her
+lips the glory of cherries. By what blunder of the gods had this piece
+of flawless jade fallen in the windy dust, among the flowers beneath
+the willow? When she was thirteen years old, Shih-niang had already
+"broken her claws." Now she was nineteen, and it would not be
+possible to enumerate the young Lords and Princes whose hearts she
+had besotted, whose thoughts she had set in a turmoil, whose family
+treasures she had swallowed without compunction. In the theatres, they
+had composed an epigram about her:
+
+  When Tu Shih-niang comes to a banquet
+  The guests drink a thousand great cups
+  Instead of a single small one.
+  When Tu Mei appears upon the stage
+  The actresses look like devils.
+
+It must be said that never, in the young passions of his life, had
+Li Chia experienced the pain of beauty; but, when he saw Shih-niang,
+emotion was awakened in him, and the feelings of a flowering willow
+filled his breast. He himself was gifted with rare beauty, and a sweet
+and gentle nature. He spent his money recklessly, with an unbridled
+zeal for bestowing gifts. For this reason he held a double attraction
+for Shih-niang, who considered that falsehood and avarice were opposed
+to rectitude, and had also by this time made up her mind to return to
+a life of honor. She appreciated Li Chia's gentleness and generosity,
+and was drawn toward him. But he was afraid of his father and did not
+dare to marry her at once, as she wished. Their love was not, on that
+account, any the less tender. In the joys of dawn and the pleasures of
+twilight they kept together as do husband and wife, and in their
+vows they compared their love with the Ocean or with the Mountain,
+recognizing no other vital motive. In truth:
+
+  Their tenderness was deeper than the sea
+  For it was past sounding,
+  Their love was as the mountains
+  But even higher.
+
+Also, since Chia had been admitted to her favor, rich Lords and
+powerful Ministers were no longer permitted to see the girl's beauty.
+At first Li used to give large sums of money, so that the matron to
+whom Shih-niang belonged, shrugged her shoulders and smiled. But the
+days went quickly, and the months too; and a year had passed. Chia's
+coffers had gradually become empty; and now his hand could no longer
+keep pace with his wishes. But the ancient ma-ma remained patient.
+
+In the meanwhile the Judge had learned that his son was frequenting
+the theatre, and sent him repeated orders to return home. But Chia,
+who was infatuated, kept on delaying his departure until, hearing that
+his father was truly furious, he no longer dared to return. It was
+well said by the ancients: "As long as harmony endures there is unity;
+when harmony ceases, there is separation."
+
+Shih-niang's love was sincere, and her heart only burned the more for
+him whose hands were empty. The ma-ma frequently ordered her to send
+her lover away; then, seeing that the young girl was indifferent to
+her commands, she tried to exasperate Chia with stinging words, hoping
+thus to compel him to depart. But her visitor's nature was so gentle
+that his anger could not be provoked, and the only result was to
+make him more amiable in his behavior to the old woman, who in her
+impotence ended in reproaching Shih-niang:
+
+"We who keep open doors must eat our visitors three times a day, and
+clothe ourselves with them. We lead out the departing guest by one
+door, but to receive a fresh one by another. When desire is excited
+under our roof, our silver and silks mount up like hills. But it is
+more than a year since this Li Chia began troubling your curtains, and
+now old patrons and new guests alike have discontinued their visiting.
+The spirit Chung-k'uci no longer comes to our door; nay, not the
+littlest devil. Therefore I am angry and humiliated. What will become
+of us, now that we have no trace of visitors?"
+
+Shih-niang restrained herself with difficulty under these reproaches,
+and answered calmly:
+
+"Young Lord Li did not come here with empty hands. He has paid us
+considerable sums of money."
+
+"It was so at one time; but it is now so no longer. Tell him to give
+me enough to pay for rice for the two of you.... Indeed, I have no
+luck! Most of the girls I buy claim all the silver, and hardly care
+whether their clients live or die. But now I have reared a white tiger
+who refuses riches, opens wide the door, and makes my old body bear
+the total burden. O miserable child! You wish to keep the poor for
+nothing. Where will you find clothes and food? Tell your beggar to be
+wise enough to give me a few ounces of silver. If you will not send
+him away, I shall sell you and look for another slave. That would be
+better for both of us."
+
+"Do you mean what you say?" asked the girl.
+
+"But you know that Li Chia has neither money nor clothes, and cannot
+procure any."
+
+"I am not jesting," answered the old woman.
+
+"Then how much must he give to take me away?"
+
+"If any one else were in question, I should demand several thousand
+ounces. Alas! This beggar cannot pay them! So I shall be satisfied
+with three hundred ounces, with which to buy another 'tinted face.' If
+he brings them within three days, I will take the silver with my left
+hand and give the girl with my right. But after three days, it matters
+not at all to me that three times seven are twenty-one; Lord or no
+Lord, I shall beat out this young spark with my broom, and you must
+bear no grudge for it."
+
+"In spite of all, he should be able to borrow three hundred ounces.
+But three days is too little; he will need ten."
+
+"Ten days!" cried the other. "A hundred would be more like! Yet so be
+it. I will wait ten days."
+
+"If he cannot get the money, he will not have the face to return. My
+only fear is that you will go back on your promise, if he does bring
+the three hundred ounces."
+
+"I am nearly fifty-one years old," answered the ma-ma. "Ten times I
+have offered the great sacrifices. How should I dare not to keep
+my word? If you mistrust me, let us strike the palms of our hands
+together to fix the agreement. Nay, if I break my word, may I be
+changed into a pig or dog!"
+
+That same evening, by the pillow-side, Shih-niang explained how her
+body might be re-bought, and Li Qua said:
+
+"That would delight me, but how can I pay so much? My purse is as
+empty as if it had been washed."
+
+"Your slave has arranged all with the ma-ma. She requires three
+hundred ounces within ten days. Even if you have spent all that your
+family gave you for your journey, you have still some friends or
+relations from whom you can borrow. Then you will have me entirely to
+yourself, and I shall never again have to endure that woman's anger."
+
+"Since I became obsessed by our love, my friends and relations have
+ceased to recognize me. But perhaps, if I asked them to help me to pay
+for my journey I might make up the sum."
+
+In the morning, when he had arranged his hair and, clothed himself,
+and was about to leave Shih-niang, she said to him:
+
+"Do your uttermost, and come back to me with good news."
+
+He went to all his relations and friends, pretending that he was
+taking leave of them before his departure. They all congratulated him;
+but when he spoke of the expenses of the journey and asked for a
+loan, all, without exception, told him that they could do nothing. His
+friends knew the weakness of his character, and that he was besotted
+with love for some "Flower-in-the-Mist" or other. He had remained in
+Peking, up to that time, they knew, not daring to face his father's
+anger. Was this departure genuine, now, or but pretended? If he spent
+the borrowed money on "tinted faces," would not his father bear a
+grudge against those who lent it? The most he could get together was
+from ten to twenty ounces.
+
+Ashamed of his failure after a full three days of endeavor, he did not
+dare to return to Shih-niang; yet, since he used to spend every night
+with his mistress, he had no other lodging. After the first evening,
+therefore, he went and asked shelter from his fellow-countryman, the
+very learned Liu Yu-ch'un. This man, seeing the growing sadness of the
+young man, at last ventured to question him and learned his story and
+of his plan of marriage. Liu shook his head: "That is hardly possible.
+She is the most famous of all the singing girls. Who would be content
+with three hundred ounces for such a beauty? The old woman has
+conceived this method of sending you away, and Shih-niang, knowing
+that your hands are empty, asks you for this sum because she does not
+dare to tell you to leave her. If you offered the silver, she would
+laugh at you. It is a common trick. Do not trouble yourself further,
+but resign yourself to the breaking off of your relations with the
+girl."
+
+Li Chia was speechless for a long time, shaken by his doubts, and Liu
+added:
+
+"Make no mistake about it. If you show that you really mean to take
+your departure, many will help you. But as for your plan, you would
+need not ten days, but ten months to find three hundred ounces."
+
+"Good Elder-Brother," answered Li, "your judgment is indeed profound."
+
+But none the less he continued his vain search for three further days.
+
+Shih-niang was most anxious when she did not see her lover come back
+to her. She sent a little servant to look for him, and the child met
+Li by chance, and said:
+
+"Lord, our Elder-Sister awaits you at the house."
+
+In his shame, Li answered:
+
+"I have no time to-day. To-morrow I will come to see her."
+
+But the boy had been commanded to bring him back, and to die sooner
+than lose him, so he replied:
+
+"It is the absolute wish of the Elder-Sister that you come with me."
+
+Li could not refuse, and followed the messenger.
+
+Once in Shih-niang's presence he stood still, sobbing mo-mo, mo-mo,
+without a word.
+
+"How is our plan going?" she asked.
+
+He only answered with a flood of tears; so she insisted:
+
+"Can people have been so hard as to refuse three hundred ounces?"
+
+Stifling his sobs, he answered with this verse:
+
+  It is easier to catch a tiger in the mountains
+  Than to move the world with speech alone.
+
+"I have gone about for these six days, and my hands are empty. Shame
+has kept me away from my perfumed companion, and it is only at her
+command that I have come back. I have tried my hardest. Alas! such is
+the spirit of the century."
+
+"We will say nothing to the ma-ma. Let my Lord stay here for the
+night: his slave will propose another plan to him."
+
+She served him with a meal and wine, and made him lie down. Then in
+the middle of the night she asked:
+
+"If you cannot find three hundred ounces to free me, what are we to
+do?"
+
+He wept without answering. Shih-niang waited until the fifth watch;
+then she drew from under her mattress a bag containing a hundred and
+fifty ounces in small silver, and said:
+
+"This is my secret reserve. Since you cannot find the whole sum, I
+will give you half of it. That should help you; but we have only four
+days more. Above all, do not come too late!"
+
+Astonished and overjoyed, he carried away the bag and went back to
+Liu, telling him what had happened and showing him the money. Liu
+exclaimed:
+
+"Surely this woman has a loyal heart! Since she acts so, she must not
+be allowed to suffer. I am going to act as mediator in your marriage."
+
+Leaving Li in his house, he went himself to ask for loans on all
+sides. In two days he had amassed a hundred and fifty ounces. He gave
+them to the young man, saying:
+
+"I have stood guarantor for you, for I am deeply touched by
+Shih-niang's sentiment."
+
+Li took the silver, as delighted as if the money had fallen from the
+sky, and ran to see his mistress. It was the ninth day. She asked
+him: "Has it been very difficult? Have you found the hundred and fifty
+ounces?"
+
+He then told her what Liu had done; and both, rejoicing, spent a night
+of pleasure. Next day she said to him:
+
+"When this money is paid, I must follow my Lord. But we have made
+no preparation for the boats and conveyances of our journey. I have
+borrowed twenty ounces from my friends. My Lord may take them for
+travelling expenses."
+
+In his uneasiness concerning these expenses, he had not dared to speak
+of them. He took the money, and was full of joy.
+
+At that moment there was a knock on the door, and the old woman
+entered, saying:
+
+"This is the tenth day."
+
+"I thank the ma-ma for recalling the fact to us," he answered. "I was
+on the point of paying her a visit."
+
+And, taking up the bag, he poured the three hundred ounces on to the
+table. The old woman had not supposed he could succeed.
+
+She changed color, and seemed on the point of gainsaying her word.
+So Shih-niang said; "I have stayed in your house for a long time, and
+have brought in several thousands of ounces. To-day I am marrying. If
+you do not keep your word, I shall commit suicide before you, and you
+will lose the money and the girl."
+
+The old woman could find no words to express her feeling. She took the
+money in silence, and finally muttered:
+
+"If you mean to go away, you go now. But you shall take none of your
+clothes or jewels with you."
+
+Hustling the two young people along, she led them through the door and
+shot the bolt.
+
+It was then the ninth moon, and the weather was cold. Shih-niang had
+but just risen from bed, and was not dressed; nor was her hair done.
+Yet she saluted the ma-ma with two genuflexions. La Chia shook his
+two hands joined together. Thus the married pair left that not too
+pleasant old woman:
+
+  Even as a carp escapes the metal hook,
+  Flirts its tail and shakes its head
+  And returns not.
+
+In front of the door La Chia said to his mistress:
+
+"Wait a moment! I will call a little palankeen to take you to the
+house of Liu."
+
+She answered:
+
+"In this very court are my friends, my sisters, who have always been
+in sympathy with me.
+
+"I must take leave of them; and I cannot neglect to thank them for the
+money they have lent me."
+
+Accompanied by her Lord, she went to each pavilion to greet her
+friends. Now, one of them, Yuch-lang, was a very close friend of
+Shih-niang, so, seeing that she had not done her hair, she led her to
+her own toilet-table, and ran to call another friend, Hsu Su-Su. Then
+she took from her coffers many ornaments of king-fisher leather
+and bracelets and jasper pins, even embroidered robes and girdles
+ornamented with phoenix. She gave them to Shih-niang, over-coming her
+with gratitude.
+
+She also ordered a feast of congratulation, to which all their friends
+were invited, and finally, at the end of day, offered the pair a bed
+for the night.
+
+When she was alone with Li Chia, Shih-niang asked:
+
+"Where shall we go when we have left the capital? Has my Lord made a
+decision on this point?"
+
+"My father," he answered, "is still angry with me. If, in addition, he
+learns that I have married my Little-Sister, and that I am coming back
+with her, he will doubtless be carried quite away by rage. I have not
+found a satisfactory plan."
+
+"Your father has feelings from Heaven. He could not break completely
+with you. Would it not be better for us to go to him, and to keep to
+our boat while you pray your friends to go and ask for a harmonious
+reconciliation? After that, leading your slave, you may re-enter your
+dwelling in peace."
+
+"That is an excellent plan," he answered.
+
+Next day they thanked Yuch-lang again, and went to the house of
+Liu. On seeing the learned man, Shih-niang knelt down to express her
+gratitude to him, saying:
+
+"Later we may both know how to return your kindness."
+
+Liu hastened to answer, according to the polite formality:
+
+"Your admirable sentiment far exceeds my most poor action. You are a
+heroine among women. Why, then, do you hang such words to your/teeth?"
+
+All day the three of them drank wine of joy. Then the pair chose a
+suitable day for their journey, and obtained horses and palankeens.
+When the time for their departure drew near, Yuch-lang, Hsu-Su, and
+all those friends came to bear the couple company. Yuch-lang sent her
+servants to bring a metal casket, furnished with a golden lock, and
+gave it to Shih-niang, who placed it in her palankeen without opening
+it.
+
+The porters and servants urged the travelers forward, and they
+started. Liu and the beautiful women escorted them as far as the other
+side of the Ch'ung-wen gate, and there they drank a last cup together.
+They separated with tears.
+
+When they reached the river Lu, Li Chia and Shih-niang abandoned
+the land way and hired a cabin in a large junk which was going to
+Kua-chow. After he had paid their passage in advance, there was only a
+single piece of bronze left in Li Chia's bag; the twenty ounces which
+Shih-niang had given him had vanished as if they had never been. The
+young man had not been able to avoid giving certain presents, and he
+had also bought blankets and other necessities for the journey. Sadly
+he asked himself what to be done, but she said to him:
+
+"My Lord may cease to disturb himself. Our friends have given yet more
+help."
+
+She opened her metal casket, while he looked on in shame. She took out
+a red silk bag and put it on the table, bidding him open it. He found
+the bag heavy; for, in fact, it contained fifty ounces of silver.
+Shih-niang had already shut the casket again, without saying what
+further was in it, now she said smilingly:
+
+"Have not our sisters the most desirable instinct? They did not wish
+us to have any difficulty on our journey, and in this way they enable
+us to cross mountains and rivers."
+
+Li Chia exclaimed in his delight and surprise:
+
+"If I had not met such generosity, I should have had no choice but
+to wander, and at last to die without burial. Even when my hair turns
+white, I shall not forget such virtue and such friendship."
+
+And he shed tears of emotion, until Shih-niang consoled him by,
+diverting his thoughts.
+
+Some days later they reached Kua-chow, where the big junk stopped. But
+Li Chia was now able to hire a smaller vessel for themselves alone,
+and in this he stowed their baggage. On the morrow they were to travel
+across the great river.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was then the second quarter of the second month of winter. The moon
+shone like water. The pair were sitting on the deck of the junk, and
+the boy said:
+
+"Since we left the capital we have not been able to talk freely,
+because we were in a cabin and our neighbors could hear us. Now we are
+alone on our own junk. Also, we have left the cold of the North and
+will to-morrow be on the south side of the river. Is it not a fitting
+time to drink and rejoice, so as to forget our former sorrows? You to
+whom I owe so much, what do you say?"
+
+"It is now long since your slave was deprived of little pleasantries
+and laughters, and she had the same sentiment as yourself. Your words
+prove that we have but one soul."
+
+They brought wine on deck; and, seated on a carpet beside his
+mistress, he offered her cups.
+
+So they drank joyously, until they were a little drunk; and at length
+he said:
+
+"O my benefactress, your voice of marvel used to trouble the six
+theatres. Every time I heard you then, my spirit took wing from me.
+It is long since you have overcome me in that way. The moon is bright
+over the shimmering river. The night is deep and solitary. Will you
+not consent to favor me with a song?"
+
+For a little, Shih-niang refused. Then she looked at the moon, and a
+song escaped her. It was an affecting melody, taken from one of the
+pieces of the Yuan dynasty, called "The Light Rose of the Peaches." In
+truth:
+
+  Her voice took flight to the Milky Way,
+  And the clouds stopped to listen.
+  Its echo fell into the deep water and the fishes hastened.
+
+Shih-niang sang. And in a near-by junk there was a young man called
+Sun; his first name was Fu, Rich, and his surname was Shan-lai,
+Excellent-in-Promise. His family was one of the wealthiest in Hsin-an
+of Hui-chow; his ancestors had owned the salt monopoly in Yang-chow.
+He was just twenty years old, and had moulded his character in
+accordance with his passion, being a regular visitor at the blue
+pavilions, where the smiles of painted roses are to be bought. He was
+making a journey, and had cast anchor for the night at Kua-chow. He
+was drinking in solitude, bemoaning the absence of companions.
+
+Suddenly in the night he heard a voice more sweet than the sighs of
+the bird of passion, or than the warbling phoenix. No words seemed
+adequate, he felt, to describe the beauty of this song. Walking out
+from his cabin, he found that the music came from a junk not very far
+distant from his own.
+
+In his eagerness to know who had enchanted him, he told his men to go
+and question the boatmen. But he learned no more than that the junk
+had been hired by Li Chia. He obtained no information concerning the
+singer. He reflected:
+
+"Such a perfect voice could not belong to a woman of good family. How
+can I manage to see this bird?"
+
+He could not sleep that night. In the morning, at about the fifth
+watch, he heard the wind roaring on the water. The light of day was
+strangely veiled by cloud, and flakes of snow were whirling madly. It
+has been said;
+
+  The clouds are swallowing
+  Countless thousands of trees upon the hill.
+  Footprints disappear on many footpaths.
+  The fisher in the bamboo hat
+  On the frail boat
+  Catches only snow and the frozen river.
+
+This snowstorm rendered it impossible to cross the river, and the
+boats could not be set in motion. Sun, therefore, told his rowers to
+leave his moorings and to make fast alongside Li Chia's junk. Then, in
+a sable bonnet and wrapped in his fox-skin robe, he opened his cabin
+window, pretending to look at the white snow as it fell. Shih-niang
+had just arranged her hair, and, with her tapering fingers, was
+pushing back the short curtains to throw out the dregs of tea in the
+bottom of her cup. The freshened splendor of her rouge shone softly.
+
+Sun saw that celestial beauty, that incantation; he scented that
+perfume; and his soul boiled over. For a long moment he gazed, and his
+spirit was as if submerged. But he recovered himself and, leaning out
+of the window, recited, nearly at full voice, the poem of the "Blossom
+of the Plum Tree":
+
+  Snow covers the mountain where the Sage abides,
+  Under the trees in the moonlight
+  Beauty advances.
+
+Li Chia heard the poem and came out of his cabin, curious to see who
+was reciting it. In this way he fell into the trap set by Sun, who
+hastened to salute him, asking:
+
+"Old-Elder-Brother, what is your honorable name? And what is your
+first name which one does not presume to repeat?"
+
+Having answered in accordance with the convention, Li Chia had to
+question Sun in his turn. They exchanged such words as are customary
+between educated men. Finally the libertine said:
+
+"This snowstorm was sent by Heaven to effect our meeting. It is a
+large piece of fortune for your little brother. I was lonely and
+without diversion in my cabin. Would it not be my venerable brother's
+pleasure that we should go to a riverside pavilion and divert
+ourselves by drinking wine?"
+
+Li Chia answered:
+
+"The water-chestnuts meet at the caprice of the current. How should I
+not be glad of this offer?"
+
+"Between the four seas all men are brothers."
+
+Then Sun ordered his servant to come with him, sheltering Li Chia
+under a large parasol. The two men saluted each other again, landed on
+the bank and, after walking a little distance, found a wine pavilion.
+
+Having entered, they chose seats by the window and sat down. The
+attendant brought them hot wine, Sun raised his cup to give the
+signal, and soon the two were conversing freely and had become
+friends. At length Sun leaned forward and said in a low voice:
+
+"Last night a song arose from your honorable ship. Whose was that
+voice?"
+
+Wishing to pose as a man of leisure making a journey, Li Chia at once
+told the truth:
+
+"It was Tu Shih-niang, the famous singing girl of Peking."
+
+"How comes a singing girl to belong to my brother?"
+
+Li Chia then ingeniously told his story, and the other said:
+
+"To marry such a beauty is exceptional good fortune. But will your
+honorable father be satisfied?"
+
+Li sighed and answered:
+
+"There is no lack of anxiety in my humble house. My father is of a
+very stern disposition, and as yet knows nothing."
+
+Sun, developing his hidden traps, continued:
+
+"If your honorable father is not placable, where will my Elder-Brother
+shelter the Beauty whom he has carried away? Have you come to some
+arrangement with her on this point?"
+
+With heavy brows, La answered:
+
+"My little wife and I have already discussed the matter."
+
+"Your Honorable Favor has doubtless some admirable plan?"
+
+"Her ideas," explained La, "is to remain for the time at a place in
+the country of Su and Hang, whilst I go forward to my family and ask
+my friends and relations to appease my father."
+
+The other gave a deep sigh and assumed a saddened air:
+
+"Our friendship is not yet deep enough. I fear that you may consider
+my words both strange and too outspoken."
+
+"When I have the good fortune to receive your learned and enlightening
+counsel, how could I fail to respect it?"
+
+"Your honorable and noble father, being of stern character,
+is certainly still angry at your conduct in Peking. And now my
+Elder-Brother marries in the face of convention. How could your
+prudent relatives and valuable friends fail to share the views of your
+honorable father? When you rashly ask them to act on your behalf, they
+will certainly refuse. Then will not the temporary residence of your
+Honorable Favor become a permanent one? In your position, it will be
+as difficult to advance as to retire."
+
+Li Chia knew that he had only fifty ounces in his purse, and that half
+this sum would very soon have vanished. He could not help hanging his
+head. His companion added:
+
+"I have yet another thing to say, and it comes from my heart. Will you
+hear it?"
+
+"Having already received your sympathetic advice, I shall be most
+happy to listen."
+
+"Since earliest time," said Sun, "the hearts of women have been as
+changeable as the waves of the sea. And among the Flowers-in-the-Mist
+especially there are few who are found faithful. Since the present
+case concerns a famous singing girl, who knows the whole earth, it
+is probable that she has some former associate in the regions of the
+South. She has consequently availed herself of your help to conduct
+her to the land where this other lives."
+
+"I beg to say that that is not certain," protested Li.
+
+"Even if it is not, the men of the South are very adroit and very
+active. You leave a beautiful woman to live there all alone: can you
+guarantee that none will climb her wall or penetrate her dwelling?
+After all, the relations between father and son are from Heaven and
+cannot be destroyed. If you abandon your family for the sake of a
+singing girl, you will wander until you become one of those incorrect
+Floating-on-the-Wave individuals. A woman is not Heaven. You must
+ponder this matter seriously."
+
+Hearing this, Li Chia felt as if he were swept away by a torrent. At
+last he answered: "What, in your enlightened opinion, ought I to do?"
+
+"Your servant has a plan which should be very profitable to you. But
+I fear lest, weakened by die soft pillow of your love, you will not
+be able to put it into execution, and that my words will therefore be
+wasted."
+
+"If you have a really good suggestion, I shall be forever your debtor.
+Why do you fear to speak?"
+
+"My Elder-Brother, for more than a year you have
+Fluttered-in-the-Rain, obsessed by your brothel. You have not been
+able to give your mind to the difficulties which will assail you when
+you no longer know where to sleep or to eat. Your father's anger is
+only due to your having become infatuated with Flowers, besotted by
+Willows, until you poured out gold as if it were simple sand. He tells
+himself that you will quickly consume the abundant wealth of
+your family, and not be assured of having children. By returning
+empty-handed you will justify his anger. If, O my Elder-Brother, you
+could cut the knot which binds you to your love, I would willingly
+make you a gift of a thousand ounces. With a thousand ounces of silver
+to show your father, you could say that, during your stay at the
+capital, you had rarely left your study chamber and that you had never
+Skimmed the Waves. He will have confidence in you, and the harmony of
+the house will be restored. Thus, without idle words, you change your
+sorrow to joy. Give the matter three thoughts. I do not covet the
+Beauty! I speak with no idea but of loyally helping a friend."
+
+La Chia was a man of naturally weak character; moreover, he was afraid
+of his father. Sun's fine words troubled his heart. He rose, made a
+deep bow, and said:
+
+"O Brother! Your noble counsel has cleared away the foolish and
+tangled obstruction of my understanding. But my little favorite has
+accompanied me for some thousands of li, and it would not be just for
+me to leave her in this way. I will return to deliberate with her,
+and to discover whether her mind is favorable to your project. I shall
+inform you shortly."
+
+"In our conversation," answered Sun, "we have abandoned the paths of
+strict politeness.
+
+"That was because my loyal heart could not endure to see the
+separation of a father and son, and wished to help you to return to
+your family."
+
+They both drank another cup of wine. The wind had dropped, and the
+snow had ceased to fall. The color of the sky proclaimed the evening.
+Sun caused his servant to pay for the drinks, and, taking Li Chia by
+the hand, accompanied him as far as the junk. It is very true that:
+
+  You meet a stranger and say three words
+  And tear off a piece of your heart.
+
+In the morning Shih-niang, on being left alone in her cabin, had
+prepared a little feast for her friend, wishing to spend the day with
+him in happiness; but the sun had set before Chia came back. She had
+lanterns lit to guide him and, when he at last appeared and entered
+the cabin, raised her eyes to his face and found the color of
+displeasure. She poured out a cup of hot wine and offered it to him;
+but he shook his head without a word, and refused to drink. Then he
+went and threw himself on the bed. Sad at heart, Shih-niang put the
+cups and dishes in order. She then undid her husband's clothes and,
+leaning on the pillow, gently asked him:
+
+"What news have you heard that has so upset you?"
+
+Li Chia sighed, but without answering. She questioned him again three
+or four times, but he was already asleep. Unable to be indifferent to
+such lack of regard, she remained for a long time sitting on the edge
+of the bed, incapable of sleep.
+
+In the middle of the night he awoke and gave another deep sigh; and
+she said to him:
+
+"What is this difficult matter with which my Lord is troubled? What
+are these sighings?"
+
+Li Chia threw off the blanket and seemed about to speak, but the words
+would not come from him. His lips trembled like leaves, and finally
+he burst out sobbing. She clasped his head with one arm and held it
+against her breast, trying to comfort him, and saying tenderly:
+
+"The love which unites us has lasted for many days, for very nearly
+two years. We have overcome a thousand hardships and bitter moments,
+but now we are far beyond all difficulty. Why do you show such grief
+to-day, when we are about to cross the river and to taste the joy of a
+hundred years? There must surely be a reason. All things are shared in
+common between husband and wife, in life and after death. If anything
+is the matter, we must discuss it Why do you hide your sorrow from
+me?"
+
+Thus urged, the young man mastered his tears and said:
+
+"I am crushed beneath the woe which Heaven heaps upon me. In the
+generosity of your soul, you have not cast me by. You have endured a
+thousand wrongs for me. That is no merit of mine. But I still think
+of my father, whose commands I am defying and that against every
+convention and all laws. He is of inflexible character, and I fear
+that his wrath will grow double at the sight of me. Where, then, shall
+we two, floating with the current, come to our anchorage? How shall
+I ensure our happiness, when my father has broken with me? To-day my
+friend Sun invited me to drink and spoke to me of my prospects, and
+what he said has pierced my heart."
+
+"What is my Lord's intention?" she asked in great surprise.
+
+"I was turning madly in the web of our affairs, when my friend Sun
+sketched out an excellent plan to me. But I fear that my benefactress
+will refuse to allow it."
+
+"Who is this friend, Sun? If his plan is good, why should I not agree
+to it?"
+
+"His first name is Fu, and his family had the salt monopoly at
+Hsin-an. He is a man who has Drifted-in-the-Wind and knows life. Last
+night he was charmed by your pure song. I told him where we came from,
+and confided the difficulties which beset our return. Then, under
+the impulsion of a generous thought, he offered to give me a thousand
+ounces if you will marry him. With these thousand ounces as testimony
+I shall be able to speak to my father. Also I shall know that you are
+not without shelter. But I cannot contain my feeling, and that is why
+I mourn."
+
+And his tears fell like a storm of rain. Ceasing to hold his head
+against her breast, Shih-niang gently pushed him aside. At last she
+smiled like ice and said to him:
+
+"This person must be a hero, a man of courage and virtue, to have
+conceived a project so advantageous to my Lord. Not only will my Lord
+have a thousand ounces to take back with him, not only will your slave
+gain shelter, but your baggage will be lighter also and more easily
+handled. As a plan it satisfies both convention and convenience. Where
+are the thousand ounces?"
+
+Struggling with his tears, Li Chia replied:
+
+"I have not got your consent, so the silver was not given me."
+
+"You must demand it first thing to-morrow morning. A thousand ounces
+is a considerable sum, and it must all be paid into your hand before
+I enter his cabin. For I am not merchandise which may be bought on
+credit."
+
+It was then the fourth watch of the night.
+
+Shih-niang prepared her toilet-table, saying: "To-day I must adorn
+myself to bid farewell to my former protector and to do honor to my
+new one. It is no commonplace event. I must therefore take great pains
+with paint and perfume, and put on my best jewels and embroidered
+robes."
+
+Thereafter, with perfume and paint and jewelry, she added to the
+splendor of her petalled seduction. The sun had already risen before
+she completed her preparations.
+
+Li Chia was disturbed, and yet seemed almost happy. Shih-niang urged
+him to insist upon the payment of the money, and he at once carried
+her answer to the other junk. Then Sun said:
+
+"It is easy for me to give the money; but I ought to have the fair
+one's jewelry as a proof of her consent."
+
+Li Chia told this to Shih-niang, who pointed to the casket with the
+golden lock, and caused it to be taken to Sun, who joyfully counted
+out a thousand ounces of silver and sent them to Li's ship. The young
+woman herself verified the weight and standard of the metal; and then,
+leaning over the bulwarks, half opened her scarlet lips and showed her
+white teeth saying to the dazzled Sun:
+
+"You can now, I think, give me back my casket for a time. The Lord
+Li's passports are in it, and I must return them to him."
+
+The other at once ordered the little chest to be brought back and
+placed on the bridge. Shih-niang opened it Inside there were several
+compartments, and she asked Li Chia to help her lift out each in turn.
+
+In the first there were jewels in the shape of king-fisher feathers,
+jasper pins, and precious earrings, to the value of many hundred
+ounces. Shih-niang took up these things in handfuls and threw them
+into the river. Li, Sun and the boatmen uttered exclamations of
+dismay.
+
+In the second compartment were a jade flute and a golden flageolet. In
+a third were antique jewels, gold furnishings and a hundred ornaments
+worth thousands of ounces each. She threw them all into the river. The
+stricken onlookers gave voice to their regret.
+
+Finally she drew out a box filled with pearls and rubies and emeralds
+and cats' eyes, whose number and value were beyond computation. The
+cries of the wondering bystanders beat in the air like thunder. She
+wanted to throw all these into the river also; but Li Chia held her in
+his arms, while Sun vehemently encouraged him.
+
+So, pushing Li away, she turned to the other and reviled him:
+
+"The Lord Li and I suffered many bitter moments before we came to
+yesterday. And you, to serve a detestable and criminal lust, have
+undone us and have caused me to hate the man I loved. After my death
+I meet the Spirit of Retribution, and I shall not forget your vile
+hypocrisy."
+
+Then, turning toward Li Chia, she continued:
+
+"During those many years when I lived in a disorder of the dust and
+breeze, I secretly amassed these treasures, that they might some day
+rescue my body. When I met my Lord, we vowed that our union should
+be higher than the mountain, deeper than the sea. We swore that, even
+when our hair was white, we should have our love. Before leaving the
+capital, I pretended to receive this casket as a gift from my friends.
+It contained a treasure of more than a myriad ounces. I intended to
+deposit it in your treasury, when I had seen your father and mother.
+Who would have thought your faith so shallow, that, on the strength
+of a chance conversation, you would consent to lose my loyal heart?
+To-day, before the eyes of all these people, I have shown you that
+your thousand ounces were a very little sum of money. These persons
+are my witness that it is my Lord who rejects his wife, that it is not
+I who am wanting in my duty."
+
+Hearing these sad words, those who were present wept, and called down
+curses upon Li, and reviled him as an ingrate. And he, being both
+ashamed and desolate, shed tears of bitter repentance. He knelt down
+to beg for her forgiveness. But Shih-niang, holding the jewels in each
+hand, leaped into the yellow water of the river.
+
+The onlookers uttered a cry and rushed to save her. But, under a
+sombre cloud, the waves in the heart of the river broke into boiling
+foam, and no further trace was seen of that desperate woman.
+
+Alas! she was an illustrious singing girl, as beautiful as flowers or
+jade. She had been swallowed in an instant by the water.
+
+The people, grinding their teeth, would have beaten Li and Sun; but
+these, in terror and dismay, made haste to push their boats out from
+the bank, and then went each his own way.
+
+Li Chia, seeing the thousand ounces of silver in his cabin,
+unceasingly wept for the death of Shih-niang. His remorse gave birth
+to a kind of madness in him, of which he could never be healed.
+
+Sun was so prostrated that he had to keep his bed. He thought he saw
+Shih-niang standing in front of him all day and every day. It was not
+long before he expiated his crime in death.
+
+We must now tell how Liu, having left the capital to return to his own
+village, also halted at Kua-chow. Leaning over the river to take up
+some water in a bronze basin, he let the thing slip, and therefore
+begged certain fishermen to drag their net for it.
+
+When they drew up, there was a little box in the net. Liu opened
+it, and it was full of pearls and precious stones. He rewarded the
+fishermen generously, and placed the box near his pillow.
+
+In the night he had a dream. A young woman rose from the troubled
+waters of the river, and he recognized Shih-niang. She drew near,
+wishing him ten thousand happinesses. Then she recounted the unworthy
+ingratitude of Li, and said:
+
+"Of your bounty you gave me a hundred and fifty ounces. I have
+not forgotten your generosity, and I put this little box in the
+fishermen's net as an offering of recognition."
+
+He awoke and, having learned thus of Shih-niang's death, sighed for a
+long time.
+
+Later, those who told me this story declared that Sun, since he
+thought he could acquire a beautiful woman for a thousand ounces,
+was evidently not a respectable man. Li Chia, they said, had not
+understood the sorrowful heart of Shih-niang, and was consequently
+stupid, without refinement, and not worthy of mention. Shih-niang
+alone was heroic. She was, in fact, unique since furtherest antiquity.
+Why could she not meet some charming companion, some phoenix worthy
+of her? Why did she make the mistake of loving Li Chia? An admirable
+piece of jade was thrown to him who did not deserve it; so that love
+turned to hate, and a thousand passionate impulses were drowned in the
+deep water. Alas!
+
+
+_Tu Shih-niang nu ch'en pai pao hsiang. (Tu Shih-niang,
+being put to shame drowns herself with
+her casket of a hundred treasures.)_
+_Chin ku chi'i kuan (17th Century.)_
+
+
+
+
+THE WEDDING OF YA-NEI
+
+
+In the reign of the emperor Shen Tsung there lived an official named
+Wu, who was at that time, Governor of Ch'ang-sha. His wife, Lin, had
+given him a son named Ya-nei, or "In-the-Palace," who had that year
+reached the age of sixteen. He was well endowed, although not without
+tendency to wantonness; yet he had from childhood diligently studied
+the classics and poetry. He had only one really extravagant failing;
+to satisfy his appetite he needed more than three bushels of rice
+every day, and over two pounds of meat. We will say nothing of his
+drinking. In spite of all this, he ever seemed half starved.
+
+About the third Moon of that year, Wu was appointed Governor of
+Yang-chow, and the equipages and boats of his new post came up to meet
+him. He packed his belongings, said good-bye to his friends and went
+on board, following the course of the river. On the second day he had
+to stop, because of a storm of wind which raised up the waters of the
+river in great waves.
+
+At the point on the river bank where the boat lay moored, there was
+already another official junk, before the cabin of which stood a
+middle-aged matron and a charming girl, surrounded by several women
+slaves. Ya-nei perceived the youthful beauty, and thought her so
+seductive that he immediately composed the following poem:
+
+  Her soul has the tenderness of Autumn rivers
+  And her pure bones are made of jade.
+  The rose of the hibiscus lightens her,
+  Her eyebrows have the curve of willow leaves.
+  Is she not an Immortal from the Jasper Lake
+  Or from the Moon Palace?
+
+He looked at her so ardently that his troubled soul took flight
+and alighted upon the maiden's breast. But his intelligence at once
+conceived a plan, and he said to his father:
+
+"Tieh-tieh, why would you not tell the sailors to anchor our junk by
+the side of that one? Would it not be safer?"
+
+Wu was also of this opinion and accordingly gave orders to his men.
+When the vessel was alongside, he sent to inquire the name of the
+voyagers, and was informed that they were a certain Ho Chang, the new
+Governor of Kien-K'ang, going to his post with his wife Ho tsin, and
+his daughter Elegant, who was just fifteen.
+
+Wu had known the excellent man formerly, so he had his name carried to
+him. Then, clothed in his official robes, he stepped from one ship
+to the other. His colleague was awaiting him before his cabin, and,
+having exchanged formal greetings, they sat and talked together,
+drinking a cup of tea. Wu returned to his boat where, after a few
+moments, Ho Chang returned his visit. And Ya-nei was present at
+the meeting. Ho Chang had no son, and took pleasure in seeing this
+beautiful young man. He questioned him upon certain ancient and modern
+books, and was satisfied with the ready answers which he obtained. He
+praised him unreservedly for them, thinking:
+
+"This is just the son-in-law that I should like. He would make an
+unprecedented match with my daughter. But he is going to live at
+Pien-liang, and I will be at Kien-K'ang which is more than fifteen
+days' journey to the south of that place."
+
+Wu asked him:
+
+"How many sons have you, O Old-Man-Born-Before-Me?"
+
+"I will not conceal from you the fact that I have only a daughter."
+
+Wu considered:
+
+"That charming child was his daughter then. She would be an
+unprecedented wife for my son. But she is his only child, and he
+certainly would not be willing to marry her at any great distance from
+himself."
+
+He added aloud:
+
+"But if you have no son, you have only to take concubines."
+
+"I thank you for your suggestion. It had occurred to me."
+
+After having talked for some time, Ho Chang withdrew to his cabin,
+where his wife and daughter were awaiting him. Being a little elated
+by his cups of wine, he kept speaking of Ya-nei's merit, and of his
+intention to invite the father and son for the next day. His words
+sank deeply into his daughter's mind.
+
+On the following day the river was still churned by waves, and the
+storm sent up spray to a height of more than thirty feet. The crash of
+water was heard on all sides.
+
+Early in the morning Ho Chang sent his invitation, and, when the two
+men arrived, the feast began. Elegant, in the next cabin, could see
+Ya-nei through the cracks in the bulkhead, and her heart was secretly
+moved.
+
+"If I could have him for my husband, my desire would be satisfied. But
+I shall not persuade him into a proposal by merely looking at him. How
+shall I set about making known my thought to him?"
+
+Ya-nei, for his part, looked in vain for some means of speaking to his
+neighbor. When the meal was finished, he returned to his ship and lay
+down on his bed.
+
+But Elegant was so much occupied in thinking of the young man that she
+could not touch her dinner. Leaving her mother alone, she retired to
+rest and was on the point of going to sleep, when the sound of a song
+came to her. It was the voice of Ya-nei, singing:
+
+  A dream has come to me from the Blue Bowl,
+  But I was not able to speak.
+  I could not tell her of my delight
+  Or appoint an endless alliance.
+
+She rose softly, opened her cabin door without sound and went up on
+to the bridge. Ya-nei was standing on the other ship, and immediately
+leaped to her side, and boldly took her in his arms. Between joy and
+alarm, she did not dare to resist. He drew her into her cabin and
+embraced her.
+
+At that moment one of the slaves passed before the cabin and, seeing
+the door open, cried out:
+
+"The door is open! O thieves!"
+
+Elegant at once covered her lover with the blanket, but one of the
+slaves saw the invader's feet. Ho Chang and his wife snatched away the
+blanket.
+
+"How does this wretch dare to dishonor my family?" cried the Governor
+in a rage. "Ah, throw him into the river!"
+
+In spite of the prayers of the culprit and the girl two men seized the
+former, dragged him away and threw him into the water. She followed
+him in despair, crying:
+
+"I have ruined him! I wish to follow!"
+
+And she too threw herself into the water. She woke with a start. It
+was only a dream.
+
+Till morning she lay and thought, wondering if this dream were perhaps
+an omen that her destiny ought not to be bound up with that of Ya-nei.
+
+He also had complicated dreams that night. He rose in the morning and
+opened the port-hole of his cabin. Ho Chang's ship was touching his
+own, and the port-hole opposite to him was open. Elegant appeared
+there, and their eyes met. Surprised, delighted and embarrassed, they
+smiled, as if they had known each other for a long time. They would
+gladly have spoken, but were afraid of being heard. Then she made a
+small sign to him, retired quickly into her cabin, and rapidly wrote
+some words on a piece of paper ornamented with sprays of rose peach.
+She rolled it in a silk handkerchief and cleverly threw it to Ya-nei,
+who caught it in both hands. They saluted each other, and reclosed
+their port-holes.
+
+He unfolded the handkerchief and smoothed out the crinkled leaf. It
+bore this poem:
+
+  Brocade characters are on this paper of flowers,
+  And the bowels of my sorris in this embroidery,
+  I have dreamed of a prince
+  And, carried upon a cloud, I come to him.
+
+But there was also a little word or two added:
+
+"This evening your submissive mistress will await you near the lamp.
+The noise of my scissors will be the signal for our happiness, and of
+our meeting."
+
+Beyond himself with joy, the lad hastened to take a leaf of golden
+paper and wrote out a poem on it. Then he took off his embroidered
+silken girdle, rolled it all together, and opened his port-hole.
+Elegant had also opened hers; she received the small packet and at
+once concealed it in her sleeve, for she heard the slaves approaching.
+These were followed by her mother. At last the time came for her
+father to cross to the other ship for the return feast given by Wu.
+
+Full of cunning, the maiden took a vessel brimming with liquor and
+gave it to her slaves, who eyed the gift as a thirsty dragon looks
+upon water. They were half-drunk when Ho Chang came back from the
+feast, and Elegant told them to go to bed, and that she would do some
+needle-work. As their faces were red, their ears burning and their
+legs unsteady, they were only too glad to retire; and soon their
+snores were heard over the ship. Little by little all other sounds
+died away in both the junks. Then she gently knocked on her port-hole
+with her scissors.
+
+Naturally Ya-nei was waiting for the signal; as soon as he heard it,
+his body was as if it had been shaken to pieces. However, he softly
+opened his shutter, stepped from one ship to the other, and glided
+into the cabin where the maiden awaited him. She gave him formal
+greeting, which he returned; but they looked at each other under the
+lamp, and their passion already raged like fire. They could hardly
+exchange a word, and Ya-nei's trembling hands were undoing. She
+offered but very feeble resistance. He ardently embraced her, and with
+his arms joined himself to the fresh breast that lighted him.
+
+At last they were able to speak. She told him of her dream, and of
+her astonishment on recognizing, in his poem, the verses which she had
+heard him sing in dream. He turned pale and sat down:
+
+"My dream was exactly yours. Before these omens are fulfilled, I shall
+speak to my father to arrange our marriage."
+
+But, even as they talked, they silently fell asleep arm in arm.
+
+Now about the middle of the night, the wind fell and the river became
+calmer. At the fifth watch the sailors untied their moorings and began
+to haul their anchors, singing at their work. The noise awakened the
+lovers, who heard the men say:
+
+"The ship catches the wind rarely. We shall not be long in getting to
+Ch'i-Chow."
+
+They looked at each other in dismay:
+
+"What are we going to do now?"
+
+"Hush!" said she. You must remain hidden for the moment. We will at
+last find a plan."
+
+"It is our dream come true."
+
+Remembering that the slaves had seen her lover's feet in her dream,
+Elegant leaned forward and covered them carefully with an ample
+blanket. At last she said:
+
+"I have a plan. During the day you must hide under the couch, and I
+shall pretend to be ill, and keep in bed, or in the cabin. When we
+reach Ch'i-Chow, I will give you a little money, and you must escape
+in the confusion of the disembarkation. You shall rejoin your parents,
+and we will arrange for our marriage. If, by any chance, my parents
+were to refuse, we should tell the truth. My family has always loved
+me excessively; they will certainly accede."
+
+As soon as they had determined on their course, Ya-nei slid under the
+bed, and made himself a place among the baggages. The curtain fell
+into place in front of him, and the young girl was still in bed when
+her mother came in, saying:
+
+"Aya! Why are you resting like this?"
+
+"I do not feel very well. I must have taken cold."
+
+"Cover yourself well, my daughter, if that be so."
+
+At this moment a slave entered, asking if she should bring breakfast.
+
+"My child," said her mother, "if you are not well, you would do
+better not to take any solid nourishment. I am going to make you an
+occasional small rice broth until you are recovered."
+
+"I am not very fond of broth. Give me some rice. Let them bring it to
+me here. I shall eat it by and by."
+
+"I will keep you company."
+
+"Aya! If you do not go and look after this rabble of women, they will
+do their work most incontestably wrong."
+
+Without understanding, the mother did indeed go to the next cabin
+at that moment when the breakfast was brought in. As soon as she had
+turned her back, Elegant told the slave to set down the dish on the
+table.
+
+"You may go away. I shall call you when I have finished."
+
+Ya-nei was watching, and came out from his hiding. On the dish there
+were only two small bowls of vegetables mixed with meat, a bowl of
+cooked green-stuff, and a little rice. Naturally, the young girl
+was not in the habit of taking large quantities of food; but for her
+lover, with his three bushels of rice a day, the matter was otherwise.
+After their meal, he again glided under the bed, nearly as hungry as
+before. She called the slave, and told her to bring in two more bowls
+of rice.
+
+Her mother heard this, and entered, saying:
+
+"My child! You are not well. How is it that you want to eat all that?"
+
+"The reason is not far to seek," she answered.
+
+"I am hungry, that is all."
+
+And her father, who had come to see the invalid, said:
+
+"Let her be. She is growing, and needs nourishment."
+
+When night came, and the evening meal was finished, she shut the door
+and told her lover he could get into the bed again. But the poor young
+man was suffering cruelly from hunger.
+
+"Our stratagem," said he, "is admirable. But it is in one respect also
+grievous. I cannot conceal from you that my appetite is considerable.
+The three meals which I have had to-day seem scarcely a mouthful. On
+such a diet, I shall starve before we come to Ch'i-Chow."
+
+"Why did you not say so? I shall make them bring me more to-morrow."
+
+"But are you not afraid of rousing suspicion?"
+
+"That is nothing. I shall see to it. But how much would you need?"
+
+"We shall never be able to obtain quite that. Ten bowls of rice at
+each meal would not be enough."
+
+Next day, when her parents came to see her, Elegant complained.
+
+"I do not know what is the matter with me," she said. "I am dying of
+hunger."
+
+But her mother began to laugh:
+
+"That is not a very serious affair. I will have more rice brought to
+you."
+
+But when the young girl said that she needed about ten bowls, the good
+woman was startled. She again wished to remain near her daughter.
+
+"If you stay here, mama, I shall not be able to take anything. Leave
+me alone, and I shall eat more comfortably."
+
+Everybody indulged her caprice. When the cabin was empty, she shut
+the door and Ya-nei came out. Hungry as he was, he made the ten bowls
+vanish like a shooting star, and did not leave a single grain. Elegant
+watched him with astonishment, and asked him in a low voice:
+
+"Is that still too little?"
+
+"It will suffice," answered the other, drinking a cup of tea.
+
+He hastened back to his hiding-place, while the young girl ate some
+vegetables. Then she called the slaves, who came running up, wondering
+whether she had been able to eat all that food. They looked at the
+empty bowls and at their mistress's slim figure, and murmured as they
+went away:
+
+"What a terrible illness!"
+
+One of them, in her anxiety, went to the father and showed him the
+dish, suggesting that he should call a doctor as soon as possible.
+And he, for his part, forbade them to give her so much another time,
+fearing that she would burst.
+
+At mid-day he went himself to speak to her.
+
+She began to weep: her mother took her part; and they gave way to her.
+The evening meal was just as large.
+
+They were approaching Ch'i-Chow, and Ho Chang, who was really alarmed,
+ordered his boatmen to cast anchor near the town. Early in the morning
+he sent his steward to find the best doctor, and when the man arrived,
+brought him on board and explained the case to him. They then went to
+examine the invalid and to try her pulse. The doctor at length came
+back with the father into the central cabin.
+
+"Well? What is the illness?"
+
+The other coughed, and at last said:
+
+"Your daughter is suffering from lack of nourishment."
+
+Her father was staggered:
+
+"But I have told you that she ate thirty bowls of rice yesterday."
+
+"Yet, but your daughter is still a child. She is apparently fifteen
+years old, but that is equivalent to fourteen in reality, or even to
+thirteen and some months. Her food accumulates in her stomach, but
+is not assimilated. From this cause arises the fever which burns her
+stomach and makes her imagine herself to be always hungry. The more
+she eats, therefore, the more her stomach burns. In one month it will
+be too late to cure her, and she will die of hunger."
+
+"But how is she to be cured?"
+
+"First, I shall make her digest what she eats. Of course, she must eat
+very little indeed."
+
+He wrote his prescription and went away. The servant went to get the
+drugs, which were dissolved and boiled according to direction, and
+finally presented to the young girl.
+
+She said that she would take them, and as soon as she was alone threw
+them out of the port-hole. Thereafter she continued to ask for ten
+bowls of rice for every meal.
+
+Every one on the ship was now discussing this extraordinary case.
+Some said that they ought to call in sorcerers. Others thought that
+religious men would do better, seeing that she had certainly been
+possessed by one of those starving spirits which wander without
+purpose in punishment for their sins, with a needle's eye for a mouth,
+seeking in vain for food.
+
+At the next town, Ho Chang summoned another doctor. After his
+examination, mention was made of the former diagnosis, and he burst
+out laughing.
+
+"Nothing of the sort. It is an internal consumption."
+
+"But what, then, is the reason for this hunger?"
+
+"The hot and the cold principles are at variance in her, and
+the resultant fire gives her continual opsomania. It is easy to
+understand."
+
+"But she has no fever."
+
+"Outside she is cool, but she burns within. The malady is inside the
+bones; and that is why it is not visible. If she had continued to take
+the drugs which you have been giving her, it would have been difficult
+to save her. I shall give her something to soothe her bowels. She will
+then, of her own accord, refuse all food."
+
+It need not be said that it was the same in this case as in the other.
+All the medicines went down the river.
+
+Meanwhile the two lovers continued to profit by the silence of the
+night. Naturally, the young girl was at first, so to speak, passive
+in the arms of the young man, who was himself bashful. But little by
+little, penetrating further into the domain of pleasure, their amorous
+intelligence redoubled with their rapture, and they forgot entirely
+where they were.
+
+One night a slave woke up, and heard a "tsi-tsi-nung-nung" and a
+"tsia-tsia" coming from within, and then quick breathing. Inwardly
+surprised, she next day told her mistress, and the mother, seeing that
+her daughter was always of a brilliantly healthy complexion, began to
+think this unknown malady a very strange one. She did not inform her
+husband, however, but ran herself to see her daughter. The child's
+face seemed to her to be more beautiful and animated even than
+usual. She went out, without seeing anything which might confirm her
+suspicion, and, coming back again after breakfast, began gently to
+question her daughter on her ideas of marriage.
+
+As they were talking, there suddenly came a snore from under the bed.
+Ya-nei, after his efforts in the night and his morning meal, had gone
+to sleep in his hiding-place.
+
+Elegant's mother at once shut the door and, quickly stooping to look
+under the bed, saw the young man asleep.
+
+"Alas, how could you do this thing? And then frighten us with your
+illness? Now everybody will know of it. Where does he come from? May
+Heaven strike him dead!"
+
+Elegant's face was purple with shame.
+
+"It is all your child's fault. He is the son of the Lord Wu."
+
+"Ya-nei? But you have never seen him! Besides, he was at the dinner
+with your father, and we came away at midnight. How can he be here?"
+
+Trusting in her mother's indulgence, the young girl confessed
+everything, and added:
+
+"Your unworthy daughter has dishonored our name and lost her
+innocence. My crime is unpardonable. But it was the will of Heaven.
+There had to be that storm to make us meet, and then destiny prevented
+our betrothal. Our strength was too small for the struggle, and we
+have sworn to love each other until death. I implore you to speak to
+my father and appease him; for if he makes an uproar; there is nothing
+left for me but to die."
+
+Her tears fell like rain. And, while they were talking, Ya-nei's
+snores sounded like thunder.
+
+"At least make him keep quiet," cried the mother in a fury. "We can no
+longer hear ourselves speak."
+
+And she went out, slamming the door, while Elegant hastened to awaken
+the sleeper.
+
+"Really you might snore less loudly!" she said with impatience. "All
+is discovered now."
+
+When he heard this, Ya-nei's body was frozen with terror as if he had
+received a drenching in cold water. His teeth chattered.
+
+"Do not be afraid. I have asked my mother to speak for us. If my
+father is angry, there will be time enough for us to die then."
+
+The woman meanwhile had hurried to her husband, but there was a slave
+with him, putting the cabin in order. So she waited, and the tears
+rolled from her eyes. Ho Chang thought she was anxious about her
+daughter's health, and reassured her:
+
+"She will be better in a few days. The doctor said so. Do not disturb
+yourself."
+
+But she sneered at him:
+
+"You have been listening to the flower words of old Wise-Wand. Better
+in a few days! She would have to be ill first!"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+Since the servant was no longer there, she told him in a low voice
+what she had seen and heard. Ho Chang's anger was such that his sight
+was troubled. She begged him to calm himself.
+
+"Enough! Enough!" he thundered. "This worthless daughter fouls the
+very air upon our threshold. We must kill them both in the night, so
+that none may know."
+
+The woman's face became as the earth.
+
+"We have already reached a ripe age, and this is the only flesh and
+bone we have. If you kill her, what will be left to us? As for
+Ya-nei, he is of a good family, he is intelligent, and well-built. Our
+stations are identical and our houses equal. His only fault is that he
+did not make a proposal, but rather forced everything in secret.
+Yet so the matter is. Would it not be better to send him back with
+a letter to Wu, requiring gifts of betrothal? We would lose all by
+making a scandal."
+
+Ho Chang's rage was already half spent, and he now let himself be
+persuaded by degrees. He went out and asked the boatmen where they
+were.
+
+"We are approaching Wu-ch'ang."
+
+"You will anchor there."
+
+He then called his confidential steward and, explaining all to him,
+gave him a letter. After this he went to see his daughter, who hid
+herself under the blanket when she beheld him. He spoke no word
+to her; but in a stern tone called out Ya-nei, who crept from his
+hiding-place, saluted the older man, and said:
+
+"My crime deserves death."
+
+"How could a young man of your education commit such an act? My wife
+has prevailed upon me to spare your life; but, if you would redeem
+your fault, you must take my unworthy daughter as your wife. If this
+is not your intention, do not count upon my pardon."
+
+Ya-nei abased himself in ritual prostration.
+
+"The honor which you do me is a reward which my conduct does not
+deserve," he said. "I shall speak to my parents as soon as I return."
+
+Ho Chang hurried him away, without leaving him time to speak to the
+young girl again. She was clinging to her mother, and whispered:
+
+"I do not know my father's intention. Could I not have a letter from
+Ya-nei on his arrival?"
+
+Her truly indulgent mother went and spoke to the steward.
+
+The latter had already hired a boat, and, as it was night, the
+intruder would be able to pass from one junk to the other without
+being observed. They set out, while Elegant wept incessantly for
+sorrow and uneasiness. We must now return to the family of Wu.
+
+After the night of Ya-nei's departure, their boat had proceeded for
+several leagues before the young man's absence was noticed. But when
+they called for him, and his cabin was found empty, the souls of his
+parents left their bodies. They howled their despair, supposing that
+their child had fallen unobserved into the water.
+
+They turned the ship about, hoping at least to recover the body;
+but all searching was in vain, and they had perforce to resume their
+journey in despair.
+
+They had been at their destination for two days when Ya-nei arrived;
+you may suppose that their surprise was only equalled by their joy.
+They read Ho Chang's letter, and understood everything. They scolded
+their son, and made a feast for Ho Chang's envoy. When the betrothal
+gifts were ready, they sent them in charge of their steward, to whom
+Ya-nei entrusted a secret letter for his Elegant.
+
+Soon the time came for Ya-nei's examination at the capital, and he was
+accepted. His father asked for a holiday, and the whole family went to
+Kien-K'ang, where the marriage was celebrated. The fame of Elegant's
+wisdom and beauty grew with the years, and the happiness of these two
+was never dimmed.
+
+_Hsing shih heng yen (1627),
+28th Tale._
+
+
+
+
+A STRANGE DESTINY
+
+
+  In epochs of deep peace
+  When days are lengthening,
+  The flute sounds and songs are heard
+  Among the drunken villages.
+  The Phoenix Car is said to be approaching
+  With the Emperor,
+  And each one turns his eye
+  To the splendor of that procession.
+
+In the reign of Hui Tsung of the Sung dynasty, near the capital of
+the East, on the borders of the Lake of Clearness of Gold, a new wine
+pavilion had just been opened, under the sign of The Quick Hedge. Fan,
+the landlord, and his brother Erh-lang, were the proprietors. Neither
+of them was married; and their business prospered.
+
+It was the week when Spring melts into Summer, and men walk abroad in
+number to enjoy the freshness and beauty of nature.
+
+One day Erh-lang roamed the lakeside, delighting in the soft air, and
+saw, in front of a teahouse, a ravishing girl of about eighteen, in
+whose face, which was as dreamful as the Night Star, flowered all the
+blossoms of the time. He stopped, fixed to the ground with admiration
+and already riotous with love. He could not take his eyes from the
+rose radiance of this face, peach blossom against flawless jade; from
+this slender body, from the rare golden lotus of these delicate feet.
+A scarlet hibiscus in flower framed this phoenix against stirring
+landscape of the great lake.
+
+Alas! our emotions do not depend upon our will. The young girl
+felt herself looked upon, and raised her eyes; her soul was at once
+troubled, her child's heart secretly rejoiced. She thought:
+
+"If I could marry this beautiful man, I should know many happy
+moments. But, though he is there now, where will he be tomorrow? How
+can I tell him how to find me again?"
+
+Just then a seller of refreshments came by with his small vessels on
+his shoulder. She called him:
+
+"Have you a little honey-water?"
+
+The merchant set down a bronze vase on the ground to serve her; but
+she, with pretended clumsiness, upset the vase, and said to him:
+"Never mind! Come to my house and I will pay for all. I will give you
+my name and address."
+
+Erh-lang pricked his ears, as she continued: "I am the daughter
+of Lord Chou, who lives near the Ts'ao Gate. My little name is
+Victorious-Immortal. And I pray you do not charge too much, for I am
+not yet betrothed or married."
+
+The young lover trembled with joy, saying to himself:
+
+"These words are meant for me, I am sure of that."
+
+The merchant was meanwhile protesting, and the young girl added:
+
+"My father is not at home just now. But he is terrible, and you will
+undoubtedly be prosecuted if you try to rob us."
+
+Erh-lang earnestly desired to make himself known in his turn, and
+being unable to think of any other expedient, he did as the girl had
+done: asked for a bowl of cool water, and pretended clumsily to upset
+the full jar. He then said: "Aya! Here is another misfortune! But it
+does not matter. Come to my house, and you shall be well recompensed.
+I am Erh-lang, brother of Fan. We are proprietors of THE PAVILION OF
+THE QUICK HEDGE. I am nineteen, and no one has yet cheated me in my
+business, I can draw a bow, and am not yet betrothed."
+
+"Are you not a little mad?" asked the merchant, looking at him in
+astonishment. "Why do you tell me all that? Do you wish me to act as
+the go-between for your marriage? I am an honest man, and have never
+cheated anybody."
+
+Hearing her admirer's words, the girl rejoiced in her heart. She
+suggested to her mother, who was sitting by her, that they should
+go away; and rising to her feet, said to the merchant: "If you will
+follow us, we will pay you at once."
+
+But her eyes spoke in reality to the young man; who walked slowly
+behind her, admiring the poise of her gait. In this manner they
+proceeded until the two women entered their house. But the young girl
+came back almost at once to draw aside the big door-curtain and to
+look out at him as he passed. He went on walking to and fro, as if he
+had lost his senses, and did not return to his house till evening.
+
+From that particular day Victorious-Immortal remained so strangely
+affected that she was quite unable to swallow a grain of rice, or even
+to touch a cake. At last, one morning, she was too weak to rise. Her
+mother ran to her bed.
+
+"My poor child," she asked, "what is the matter with you?"
+
+"I ache all over my body. I have pains in my head and cough a little."
+
+Her mother at once thought of calling in a doctor; but, in the absence
+of the master of the house and his servant, there was no man to go
+on the errand. But an old female attendant, named Kind-Welcome, was
+present and observed:
+
+"The ancient woman Wang lives, as you know, quite close at hand. She
+has helped more than a hundred children into the world. She can sew,
+and she can act as go-between; but she can also feel a pulse and
+diagnose an illness. Everybody calls her as soon as there is anything
+the matter."
+
+"That is true. Go and fetch her quickly."
+
+Some few moments later the healer came and the mother began a long
+explanation. But the woman interrupted her:
+
+"I shall know all about it when I have examined the patient."
+
+The sick girl put out a wasted hand, and the woman felt her pulse for
+a long time. At last she said:
+
+"You have pains in the head, and all your body aches. You are in
+continual agony, and the earth is hateful to you."
+
+"That is exactly the case," she answered from her bed. "Also I cough a
+little."
+
+"But what has caused this illness?"
+
+As the girl did not answer, this wise old visitor turned to the mother
+and the attendant, and signed them to go away. They dared not refuse,
+and left the room.
+
+"Now we are going to cure you. The illness lies in your heart, and
+nowhere else."
+
+"In my heart?" questioned the sick girl.
+
+"You have seen a handsome young man, and he pleases you. Your
+suffering rises from that; is it not so?"
+
+"There is nothing of the sort," denied the other.
+
+"Come, come! Tell me the truth, and I will soon find a means to save
+your life."
+
+Seeing a chance to reach to her desire, little Victorious-Immortal
+decided to tell everything. When she had finished, the very old woman
+said:
+
+"Do not be troubled. I know one of his relations who has spoken to
+me of him. He is intelligent and level-headed. I shall go and see his
+brother, to make arrangements for your marriage, if you finally wish
+to marry him."
+
+"You know very well that I do," said the sick child with a smile. "But
+will my mother consent?"
+
+"Do not be uneasy. I have my methods."
+
+She was already out of the room, and saying to the mother:
+
+"I know what is the matter with your daughter. If you would like me to
+make it clear to you, have two cups of wine brought in."
+
+Kind-Welcome made haste to arrange all on the table. The healer drank
+a draught of burning wine and, turning to the mother, repeated word
+for word what the girl had confessed to her, adding:
+
+"And now there is nothing for it but to marry her to Erh-lang, for
+otherwise her death is certain."
+
+"My husband will be away for a long time yet. I cannot decide without
+him."
+
+"You have only to make the arrangements. You need not celebrate the
+marriage until after my Lord's return. She must be given her desire;
+there is no other way of saving her."
+
+"If the young man is as desirable as all that ..." the mother murmured
+uneasily. "But how shall we bring the thing about?"
+
+"I am going to speak to his elder brother. I will keep you informed."
+
+Without further delay, the venerable go-between went straight to The
+Pavilion of the Quick Hedge, where she found Fan behind his counter,
+and saluted him:
+
+"Ten thousand happinesses!"
+
+"You come at the right time," he answered with a bow. "I was about to
+send to beg you to do so. For some days, I assure you, my brother has
+not been able to take a morsel of food. He says that his whole body is
+aching, and now he stays in bed. Will you, please, feel his pulse?"
+
+"I will see him. But it is better for me to be alone with him."
+
+"Then I shall not come with you."
+
+So the old woman went up into the sick man's room, and he said to her
+feebly:
+
+"Mother Wang, it is very long since I saw you. Alas! You come too
+late! My life is finished!"
+
+"In what special way are you so seriously ill?" she asked, sitting
+near the bed and touching his wrist.
+
+After a moment she continued:
+
+"Shall I tell you the name of your illness? It is called
+Victorious-Immortal, little daughter of Chou, and her house is near
+the Ts'ao Gate."
+
+The sick man was startled and sat up:
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Her family has commissioned me to come and arrange your marriage."
+
+Immediate happiness revived the young man.
+
+He rose and came down with the wise visitor to his astonished brother.
+
+"I am cured," he announced, "And all goes very well."
+
+Meanwhile the old woman was saying: "The family of Chou has sent me
+especially to talk to you about a marriage."
+
+All was soon settled, the first gifts were exchanged, and the
+comforted hearts of the two young people were filled with joy.
+But they had to wait Lord Chou's return before proceeding with the
+ceremony.
+
+Chou did not come back until eight months later. It is needless to say
+that, when he did so, all his relations and friends came to drink cups
+of wine with him to "wash down the dust of the journey." At last his
+wife told him what had happened, affirming that all was decided. But
+the eyes of the master of the house became round and white, and he
+bellowed:
+
+"O filthy imbecile, who gave you the right to betroth our daughter to
+a wine merchant? Is there no son of decent family who would marry her?
+Do you wish to make us a laughing-stock?"
+
+While he was thus cursing his wife, the servant came up to them,
+crying:
+
+"Come quickly and save the child! She was behind the door, and heard
+your cries. She fell down and is no longer breathing."
+
+Stumbling in her haste, the mother ran out. She saw her daughter lying
+on the ground and was about to raise her, but her husband prevented
+her, saying:
+
+"Leave her! She was bringing dishonor on us! If she is to die, then
+let her die!"
+
+Seeing her mistress held back, Kind-Welcome bent over the girl. But
+Chou, with a blow that made the air whistle between his fingers sent
+her against the wall. In his rage, he seized his wife and shook her
+roughly, and she howled like a dog. The neighbors heard her and ran
+in, fearing that there was disaster. Soon the room was filled with
+women, all talking at the same time. But the master of it roughly bade
+them be silent:
+
+"I do not allow any spying upon my private affairs."
+
+The neighbors retired in discomfort, and the mother threw herself upon
+her daughter's body, whose ends were already cold. She sobbed:
+
+"You would not have died if I had come to you. O murderer, you have
+let her die of set purpose. You did not want to give her the four or
+five thousand ounces which her grandfather left her."
+
+He went out, panting like a boar with anger. The mother did not cease
+to lament her loss: her daughter had been so gentle and so clever. At
+length the time came to shut down the coffin, and Chou angrily said to
+his wife:
+
+"You pretend that I let her die so as not to lose four thousand
+ounces? I order you to put all her jewels in the tomb with her. That
+is more than five thousand ounces, one would think."
+
+They brought in the wu-tso, the Inspector of Corpses, and also his
+assistant, to verify the death and to help in hearsing her. The keeper
+of the family graveyard and his brother, the two Chang, were also
+there to assist in the mournful work.
+
+The time came for the funeral, and the procession went forth from the
+town. The coffin was placed in a brick tomb, and the first shovels of
+earth were thrown upon it. Then all returned home. Three feet of cold
+insensitive earth covered the body of this young beauty, and it had
+been full of love.
+
+Now the Inspector of Corpses had a worthless fellow named Feng for his
+assistant. This miserable boy, on coming back from the cemetery in
+the evening, said to his mother: "An excellent day's work! Tomorrow we
+shall be rich."
+
+"And what successful stroke of business have you concluded?"
+
+"Today we buried the daughter of Chou, and all her jewels were put
+in the coffin with her. Instead of leaving them to enrich the earth,
+would it not be better to take them?"
+
+"Think before you do such a terrible thing!" his mother begged. "This
+is no matter of a mere whipping. Your father wanted to do the same
+thing twenty years ago. He opened a coffin, and the corpse began to
+smile at him. Your father died of that in four or five days. My son,
+do not do it. It is no easy matter."
+
+"Mother," he answered simply, "my mind is made up. Do not waste your
+breath on me, for that is useless."
+
+He bent over his bed, and took out of it a heavy iron tool.
+
+"O mother, not each person's destiny is the same. I have consulted
+soothsayers, and they have told me that I shall become rich this
+year."
+
+He took also an axe, a leather sack, and a dark lantern, which he
+placed in readiness. Finally he wrapped himself in a great mantle of
+reeds, for it was the eleventh moon and the snow had begun to fall.
+He made a sort of hurdle with about ten inter-crossed bamboos, and
+fastened it behind his mantle, so that it should drag along the ground
+and efface his foot-prints.
+
+The second watch was sounding when he went out, and all was still
+bustle and gaiety in the town. But beyond the walls both silence and
+solitude reigned in the growing cold. The snow was already thick. Who
+would have ventured out there?
+
+From time to time he turned his head, but no one followed him. At last
+he reached the wall of the family graveyard and climbed in. Suddenly
+a dog ran through the tall grass and leaped at him, barking. The thief
+had prepared a portion of poisoned meat, and threw it to the dog. The
+beast, being badly fed, smelt it and swallowed it. He still barked
+a little, but the venom was potent, and he very soon writhed on the
+ground.
+
+In the keeper's hut, young Chang said to his elder brother:
+
+"The dog has started barking, and then has stopped. Is that not
+strange? Perhaps it is a thief. You ought to go and see."
+
+The elder brother rose from his hot bed and took up a weapon,
+grumbling. Then he opened the door and went out. But he was seized
+by a whirl of cold snow, and called to the dog: "What are you barking
+for, O animal of the Gods?"
+
+Then he came back and glided under his blankets.
+
+"There is nothing at all. But it is very cold."
+
+From the distant town came the far sound of the gongs and drums of the
+third watch. Taking heart, Feng went forward in a snow which deadened
+his steps. He quickly shovelled the fresh earth from the grave, and
+then lighted his lantern. Its yellow light lit up but a single point.
+Forcing two long crowbars between the joints, he loosened one brick,
+and then another. At last the coffin was uncovered. He inserted his
+pick under the lid, and pried it off and laid it on one side. The
+corpse was brought to view.
+
+"Small sister," he murmured. "I am only going to borrow a little of
+your useless wealth. Do not you grudge it me!"
+
+He took the veil from that charming face. The head was covered with
+ornaments of gold, and also with pearls. He took them all. He was
+tempted by the fine and silken garments of the corpse. He stripped it.
+
+But suddenly, the body shook itself and pushed the thief away with
+violence. He uttered a cry of imbecile terror and shrank back. The
+corpse had sat up and, in that little light, looked at the open tomb,
+the scattered tools, and her own unclothed body. The wretched lad,
+obeying instinctive habit, trembled and lied:
+
+"Little sister, I have come to save you."
+
+Naturally, when little Victorious-Immortal had heard the foul Chou's
+violent words, her despair had made her lose all sign of life. It was
+for this reason that she had been put in her coffin while still
+alive. Aroused now by the cold, her first thought was to remember her
+father's anger. Her only refuge then was the house of her betrothed,
+and she said: "If you will take me to The Pavilion of the Quick Hedge,
+you may have a heavy reward."
+
+"That is easy," answered Feng, seeking in vain for how he should
+escape.
+
+Ought he to kill her? He hardly had the courage after such a shock.
+He decided to give her back a few clothes. He put the jewels and his
+implements in the sack, together with the extinguished lantern, and
+quickly covered the grave with earth again. Then, because the girl
+was too weak to walk, he took her on his back and went away from that
+place. But instead of going to Fan's house, he went to his own. His
+mother opened the door to him, and cried in terror:
+
+"Have you stolen the corpse also?"
+
+"Do not speak so loud," he answered, setting down his burdens.
+
+He went to his bed, and there put little Victorious-Immortal. He drew
+a knife from his girdle and showed it to the girl:
+
+"Little one, I have some business to settle with you. If we come to
+an agreement, I will take you to Fan's house. If not, you very well
+behold this knife, and I shall cut you in two pieces."
+
+"What do you want with me?" she asked.
+
+"You are going to stay here without making a noise and without trying
+to escape, until I take you to Fan. As for the rest, we will speak of
+it another time."
+
+"I will do so! I will indeed do so!"
+
+Then the nasty youth led his mother into the next room to calm her a
+little.
+
+"But what are you going to do?" she asked.
+
+"Do you think we can be safe when she has gone to Fan?"
+
+"I am not going to take her to Fan."
+
+"What are you going to do, then?"
+
+He gave a country laugh, full of suggestion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Matters so continued until the fifteenth day of the first Moon,
+the evening of the Feast of Lanterns. Feng went out to see the
+illuminations, and also to profit by the opportunities for theft which
+are always afforded in a crowd. The evening wore on, and he had not
+yet returned, when a shout arose among the neighbors. Feng's mother
+opened the door to see what was the matter. A fire had broken out near
+there. In terror, the old woman made haste to carry her furniture into
+the yard. Profiting by this confusion, the girl slipped through the
+door; but in the street she did not know which way to turn. At
+last she found the road to the Ts'ao Gate, and was running in that
+direction when she lost herself again. However, when at length she
+asked where The Pavilion of the Quick Hedge might be, she was shown a
+near way to it.
+
+The attendant was before the door, and she asked him very politely:
+
+"Ten thousand happinesses! Is not this the house of Fan and Erh-lang?"
+
+"Certainly it is, small lady."
+
+"Could you not lead me to him?"
+
+"Assuredly," he answered.
+
+He showed her the way, calling from the door to his masters; but when
+Erh-lang, in the pale light of the paper lanterns, recognized the
+white face of his betrothed, he cried out in dismay: "Ghost! Ghost!"
+
+Confident in her love, she advanced toward him piteously repeating:
+
+"Elder brother! Elder brother! I am alive!"
+
+But he kept recoiling in terror, and crying: "Help! Help!"
+
+How could he fail to believe himself in the presence of a ghost, when
+he had witnessed the funeral, and had, that very evening, encountered
+the wife of Chou in mourning garments?
+
+As she was about to touch him and, cringing against the wall, he could
+retreat no further, his terror redoubled. Not knowing what he did, he
+picked up a heavy stool and struck his dear visitor on the head with
+it. She fell back, and her head sounded dully on the stone flags.
+
+Fan ran up at the noise of this. He saw the woman on the ground, and
+his brother holding the stool.
+
+"What have you done?" he cried. "What is the matter? Was it you who
+killed her?"
+
+"She is a ghost," the other said.
+
+"If she were a ghost, she would not bleed. What have you done?"
+
+Already some ten persons had come up to see what was the matter. The
+street guard came in to them and seized Erh-lang, who kept on saying:
+"She is the ghost of Chou's daughter. I have killed her."
+
+Hearing this name, a neighbor ran to inform Chou, who would not at
+first believe him. At length he decided to go to the wine pavilion,
+where he was compelled to recognize her, though he kept on saying:
+
+"I buried her long since!"
+
+Nevertheless, the guard insisted upon leading Erh-lang to prison.
+Fan had the doors shut then, and stayed with Chou by the corpse till
+morning.
+
+Early next day the Governor inquired into the matter. The coffin was
+opened. It was found empty, and the keepers told how their dog had
+been found dead in the snow on the day after the funeral. In the
+absence of any completer explanation, they proceeded with their
+inquiry.
+
+Erh-lang, in his prison, was overcome with sorrowful remorse.
+Sometimes he said that she could not have survived her burial;
+sometimes he was rent with horror at the thought that she had been
+alive when he struck her. He recalled her beauty and grace in Spring
+by the lake side, and bitter tears rolled from him. While he was
+musing in this way, he saw his cell door open, and the girl appeared.
+In his emotion and fear, he cried:
+
+"Are you not dead, my darling?"
+
+"Your blow caused me more grief than harm. Now I have wakened, and
+have come to see you."
+
+She approached the bench where he sat, and he took her hand:
+
+"How can I have been so foolish as to fear you?"
+
+They were talking thus, and already, in their deep love, they were in
+each other's arms. His joy was so keen that suddenly he woke. It was a
+dream.
+
+On the second night the same thing happened, and on the third, and his
+passion grew stronger for her. As she was going away the third time,
+she said:
+
+"My life on earth had come to an end, but my love was so great and
+so potently called me to you, that the Marshal-of-the-Five-Ways, the
+Keeper-of-the-Frontier-of-the-Shadows, allowed me to come back to
+you, for these three nights. I must leave you now. But, if you do not
+forget, there will yet be something of me bound to your soul."
+
+Then she disappeared, and the young man sobbed most bitterly.
+
+In the end the matter was cleared up by chance. Feng's mother, having
+filched a golden trifle from her son's bag, went to sell it to the
+same jeweler who had made it for Chou. On being denounced before the
+Governor, mother and son were apprehended, and all the jewels were
+discovered in their house. Torture found them words, and the whole
+matter became clear. Erh-lang had actually believed that he saw a
+ghost, and was released. Feng was sentenced to slow death, and strips
+were torn one by one from his body by the executioner. His mother was
+only strangled.
+
+As for Erh-lang, his heart stayed faithful to the girl he had
+so greatly loved. At every feast he went to the temple of the
+Marshal-of-the-Five-Ways, and burned incense, so that the pleasant
+smoke of it might ascend to the palace of the soul of little
+Victorious-Immortal. His fidelity touched even the rough heart of Chou
+and, when he came to die a few years later, his body was buried in the
+same tomb with her whom his arms had known only in sleep.
+
+_Nao fan lou to ch'ing sheng hsien (Chou Victorious-Immortal,
+of abundant love, overthrows the Pavilion
+of the Fan). Hsing shih heng yen
+(1627), 14th Tale._
+
+
+
+
+THE ERROR OF THE EMBROIDERED SLIPPER
+
+
+  The sun is in our eyes
+  And we think we are running out towards joy;
+  Our heart pulls us down
+  And we shall never know the way of the sky
+  Or the end of all things.
+
+During the Hung-Chih period of our Dynasty there lived at Hang-chow
+a young man who was called Chang Loyalty. After his parents died,
+leaving him a great fortune, he no longer had anyone to guide him, and
+therefore, throwing away his books, he spent his time with gallants of
+the sort we name fou-lang-tzu, that is to say "floating-on-the-waves."
+They do not know how to profit by opportunity. So Chang no longer
+studied anything but various ball games, he abandoned himself to the
+pleasures of the theatre, and took his delight in those gardens where
+the breezes of love blow in the moonlight. In a word, he followed the
+changing flowers of illusion; and, as he was himself seductive, as
+impassioned as expert in pleasure, and rich and generous, he became
+the favorite of all the women of the town. One day, when spring had
+but just caused all the flowers to come out on the amiable banks of
+the Lake of the West, Chang invited a company of singing girls and
+idlers to spend the afternoon on the blue waters.
+
+He put on a gauze bonnet with floating wings, after the fashion of the
+time. His great transparent silk robe was of purple and silver, over
+a second embroidered one of pure white. White gauze stockings and red
+slippers completed the elegance of his appearance.
+
+He went out, walking unhurriedly, gently waving a fan decorated with
+paintings. Behind him walked his little slave, Clear-Lute, who carried
+over his shoulder a mantle in case the weather should freshen, and a
+long guitar with which to accompany the singing girls.
+
+As they were approaching the gate of Ch'ien-t'ang, Chang looked up,
+for no particular reason. On the first story of a house a maiden
+held back her window curtain and looked at him. From her whole person
+emanated so troubling a charm that he stopped in his walk, and felt
+a tremor in his body. For a long time they remained gazing at each
+other, until she slowly broke into a smile, and he felt his soul fly
+from him.
+
+At this moment the door of the house opened below, and a man came
+forth; so Chang hastened to resume his walk, and returned in a few
+moments. The curtain was drawn back over the window. He waited, but
+there was no sign. At length he drew away, turning his head, and
+walking as slowly as if he had already gone a hundred leagues on the
+mountains.
+
+Yet eventually he passed the town gate and rejoined his friends on the
+boat, which was at once steered to the middle of the lake. The banks
+were smiling with peach blossom: the willow leaves were a mist of gold
+and green. Little boats, with brightly-dressed passengers, crossed and
+re-crossed like ants. In very truth:
+
+  Hills are heaped upon hills
+  And the pavilions on the pavilions.
+  The songs and dances are never ceasing
+  On the West Lake.
+  The warm breeze fans the drunkenness
+  Of the pleasure walkers.
+  Heaven is above,
+  But here we have Hang-chow and Su-chow Lakes.
+
+But Chang carried the picture of that young girl in his soul, and had
+no heart for pleasure.
+
+His companions offered him cups of wine, wondering at his melancholy;
+but he was far from them.
+
+At twilight they returned, and Chang re-entered by the Ch'ien-t'ang
+gate, passing before the girl's house. The window was shut. He
+stopped, and forced a cough; but there was no sign. He went to the end
+of the street, and came back again, but all was silent. Therefore he
+had no choice but to go away.
+
+He returned next morning, and stayed at a shop near by to learn what
+he could. He was told:
+
+"They are people called P'an. Their only daughter is sixteen years of
+age, and is named Eternal Life. The father has some connection with
+a certain powerful family which affords him protection. He lives by
+swindling, and everyone fears him. He is a veritable skin-pinker and
+bravo."
+
+This news made Chang a little thoughtful, but he walked on by the
+house nevertheless. The young girl was again at her window. They
+looked at each other; but there were people about, and he had to go
+away.
+
+That evening, as soon as night fell, he went back. The moon was
+shining as brightly as the sun, and the street was empty. The youthful
+beauty leaned at her window, wrapped in thought and bathed in the
+white light. She smiled at him, and he drew from his sleeve his
+scarlet muslin handkerchief. He made the knot known as "union of
+hearts gives victory." Rolling it in a ball, he threw it, and she
+adroitly caught it in two hands. Then she stooped and took off one of
+her little embroidered slippers. She dropped it into Chang's waiting
+fingers. Enraptured with this gift, which was a pledge of love and
+faith, he carried it to his lips and said softly:
+
+"Thank you; Thank you, with all my heart!"
+
+In tones of maddening sweetness, she replied:
+
+"Ten thousand happinesses!"
+
+Just then a rough voice was heard within the house. She made another
+sign to him and closed the window. And he went home drunk through
+silent streets made silver by the moon. Once in his library, he
+examined the slipper. It was a golden lotus, so small and so light
+that a thousand thoughts troubled the lover. He said:
+
+"I must find someone to arrange our meeting, or else die from an
+over-stressing of desire."
+
+Early in the morning, he put some pieces of silver in his sleeve and
+hastened to a little wine booth, not far from the house of P'an.
+He knew that he would find an old woman there, whom he often met in
+pleasurable places. In fact, he saw her and called to her. She at once
+saluted him, saying:
+
+"Aya! My uncle, what brings you?"
+
+"I happened to be passing," he answered carelessly.
+
+"But I should like you to walk a little way with me."
+
+"In what can I serve you?" she hastened to ask.
+
+Without speaking, he took her into a quiet little tavern. When they
+were seated, and the attendant had brought them fruit and dishes of
+food, he poured out a full cup of hot wine and offered it to her,
+saying:
+
+"I have something to ask of you, ma-ma Lu. But I am afraid that you
+cannot accomplish it."
+
+"Without boasting," she answered with a wide smile, "there are few
+enterprises, however difficult, in which I do not succeed. What is it
+you desire?"
+
+"I want you to arrange a meeting for me with the daughter of P'an,
+who lives in the Street of the Ten Officials. Here are five ounces
+of silver to begin with. If you succeed, you shall have quite as much
+more."
+
+"The small Eternal Life? The little witch! I thought her so demure!
+I should never have imagined she was a wild flower. But the matter is
+difficult. There are only the parents and the daughter in that house,
+and the father is dangerous. He keeps a damnably suspicious watch over
+his door. How could you get in? I dare not promise any success."
+
+"You have just boasted that you always succeed. Here are two ounces
+more."
+
+The old woman's eyes gleamed like fire at the sight of the
+snow-colored metal, and she said:
+
+"I will take the risk. If all goes well, it will be your fortune.
+If not, I shall at least have done my best. But give me a proof, for
+otherwise she would not listen to me."
+
+Not without regret, Chang took from his bosom the little slipper, and
+gave it to her, wrapped in his handkerchief. The old woman at once
+slipped it into her sleeve with the pieces of money. As she was
+leaving him, she said again:
+
+"The affair is delicate. You must have patience and not hurry me. That
+would be dangerous."
+
+"I only ask you to do your best. Come and tell me as soon as you have
+an answer."
+
+Eternal Life was profoundly agitated. Since that moonlit night she had
+had no more taste for food, but had said:
+
+"If I married him I would not have lived in vain. But I know neither
+his name nor where he lives. When I saw him beneath the moon, why
+had I not wings to fly to him? ... As it is, I had only this red
+handkerchief."
+
+Yet she had to live and speak as usual. But as soon as she was alone
+she fell again into her musing.
+
+Two days later, old Lu entered their house. The father had gone out.
+The visitor said to mother and daughter:
+
+"I received certain artificial flowers yesterday, and have come to
+show them to you."
+
+She took a bunch of a thousand shades out of her basket.
+
+"Would you not say they were real?"
+
+"When I was young," said the mother, "we only wore ordinary flowers,
+and did not dream of marvels like these."
+
+"Yet these are only considered mediocre. But the price of the finest
+is so high."
+
+"If we cannot buy them, we can at least admire them," the young girl
+answered dryly.
+
+With gathering smiles, the old woman took from the basket a bunch
+which was indeed incomparable.
+
+"And what is the price of that?" questioned the mother.
+
+"How should I dare to fix a price? I leave it to you. But if you have
+a little tea, I would willingly drink of it."
+
+"In the admiration caused by your flowers, we have forgotten our
+manners. Wait for one moment, while I fetch some boiling water."
+
+As soon as the mother had left the room, the woman took a slight
+parcel from her sleeve.
+
+"What have you there?" asked Eternal Life.
+
+"Something important which you must not see."
+
+"Oh, but I must see it then."
+
+"I shall not give it to you," said the cunning old woman. "Aya! You
+have taken it from me by force!" she added, letting the parcel into
+the girl's hand.
+
+Impatiently the child untied the handkerchief, and recognized her
+slipper. Her face flushed into scarlet, and she said with difficulty:
+"A single one of these objects is of no use, ma-ma. Why did you show
+it me?"
+
+"I know a certain Lord who would give his life to have the pair. Will
+you not consent to help me?"
+
+Trembling all over, Eternal Life said to her softly:
+
+"Since you know all, tell me his name and where he lives."
+
+"He is called Chang, and he owns a hundred myriads of ounces. He is
+very gentle; his love is as deep as the sea. He has lost his soul
+through thinking of you, and has bidden me arrange a means for his
+entry."
+
+"How can it be done? My father is terrible. When I have blown out
+my lamp, he often comes to look into the rooms. What is your plan,
+ma-ma?"
+
+The old woman thought for a minute, and then said:
+
+"It is not very difficult. You must go to bed early and, as soon as
+your father has come up and gone down again, you must rise quietly and
+open the window. You must wait for a signal, and let down a long piece
+of cloth. He will climb up with the help of this rope, and, if he is
+careful to go away before the fifth watch, no one will surprise you."
+
+"Admirable!" cried the delighted child. "When will he come?"
+
+"It is too late to-day. But I will go to him to-morrow morning. Give
+me a pledge of re-assurance for him."
+
+"Assuredly! Take the other slipper. He will give it back to me
+to-morrow."
+
+The old woman hid it in her sleeve, for the mother came in by this
+time with the tea. Soon after, she took up her basket and went away,
+accompanied to the door by the two women.
+
+She went straight to the house of Chang, but he was out. She offered
+her flowers to the women of the house, waiting for some part of the
+day in vain.
+
+Next morning she went again to find the young man, but he had not
+returned. She went away thoughtful.
+
+The truth is that Chang had remained three days in the house of a
+Flower-in-the-Mist. When he returned and heard of the old woman's two
+visits, he hastened to find her. She said to him:
+
+"The pledge of love which you entrusted to me is in her hand. She bade
+me tell you that her father is dangerous, but that he is to be away
+for a long time shortly. She will inform us." On his return journey
+the young man passed by P'an's house. Eternal Life was at her window,
+and they smiled tenderly at one another.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three months had passed. Chang was sitting one morning in his library,
+when his servants told him that four police officers had come with a
+summons. He asked himself fearfully whether he had been mixed up in
+any scandal at a pleasure house; but he had to obey. He questioned the
+officers.
+
+"It is a matter of taxes and duties," they answered.
+
+Reassured, he changed his clothes and went with them, followed by
+several of his servants. He was taken at once to the hall where
+the Court sat, and, standing before the red table, he saluted the
+magistrate. The latter looked at him intently, and harshly asked:
+
+"How did you enter into an intrigue with P'an's daughter? How did you
+kill her father and her mother?"
+
+Chang was a libertine. That is to say he had neither strength nor
+energy. Hearing himself thus unexpectedly accused of a double crime,
+he shook from head to foot, as if a bolt had fallen on him from a calm
+sky. He stammered:
+
+"Although I had the intention of establishing a connection with her,
+I have not yet succeeded in doing so. As yet I have not known her
+house."
+
+The Governor thundered:
+
+"She has just confessed that her relation with you has lasted several
+months. How dare you deny it?"
+
+Just then Chang perceived that the young girl was kneeling close to
+him. Bewildered and not knowing what to do, he turned to Eternal Life
+and asked:
+
+"How can you say that I have been intimate with you? With what object
+are you trying to encompass my ruin?"
+
+She sobbed without answering. Meanwhile the Governor called upon the
+officers to apply the buskin of torture to the young man. And they
+swarmed about him like ants.
+
+Unhappily for him, Chang Loyalty had been brought up in muslin and
+gauze, and had grown to manhood in a brocade. How could he endure
+such torture? Hardly had he felt the pressure of the buskin before he
+cried:
+
+"I confess everything!"
+
+The Governor had a brush and paper given to the accused, that he might
+himself write out his confession. The unhappy man wept, saying:
+
+"What must I write? I know nothing of the matter!" Then he turned to
+the young girl and added: "Do you at least tell me what you have done,
+so that I may write my confession."
+
+Eternal Life answered in irritation: "Did you not look at me with
+lecherous eyes under my window? Did you not throw your handkerchief?
+Did you not match the pair of my embroidered slippers?"
+
+"All that is true. But about the rest?"
+
+The Governor here interrupted:
+
+"If one thing is true, the rest is also. What is the use of arguing
+it? Since he refuses to write, let him be given thirty strokes of
+the heavy bamboo, let him be cast into the cell for those who are
+condemned to death."
+
+Happily for Chang, his gaolers knew that he was very rich. They but
+touched him with their blows, and led him to prison with as much care
+as they would a butterfly. Each of them cried:
+
+"Uncle, how could you do such a thing?"
+
+"O my elder brothers," he lamented, "if it is true that I desired
+this girl, yet have I never met her. Do you believe that I could be a
+murderer? I know nothing about the murder. Tell me of it."
+
+So he learned that, this very morning, Eternal Life on waking up had
+been surprised by the silence of the house. From the ground-floor room
+where she had passed the night, she had gone up to the story where her
+parents slept, and had opened the door of their room. In front of the
+bed, under the half-drawn curtains, the floor was a tarn of blood.
+
+She was so frightened that she tumbled down the stairs and fell upon
+the street door, sobbing and crying out. Neighbors heard her and ran
+up, and she said to them:
+
+"Yesterday, my parents went up to their room. I do not know who has
+killed them both."
+
+The bolder ones went up the stairs to see. They opened the
+bed-curtains, and there were the man and his wife, stiff and with
+their throats cut across. They looked to right and left. The window
+was shut, and nothing was disturbed.
+
+"It is a serious matter," they muttered. "Let us not act hastily."
+
+One of them went at once to warn the district chief of police, who
+came and examined the scene of the crime. He shut and sealed the
+house, and led Eternal Life to the Governor's Court. The girl knelt
+down and told all that she knew, and the Governor said:
+
+"If the door and windows were closed, and nothing has been stolen, the
+matter is dubious. Had your father an enemy?"
+
+"Not to my knowledge."
+
+"That is strange!" murmured the Governor, and thought for a moment.
+
+Suddenly he told the officers to take off the silken veil with which
+the young girl had half-covered her head. He could then see her
+exceptional beauty.
+
+"How old are you? Are you not betrothed?"
+
+"I am seventeen, and I am still free."
+
+"And you sleep on the ground-floor, while your parents have their room
+above? That is very curious."
+
+"Until quite recently your slave slept above. But fifteen days ago
+they made a change. I do not know why."
+
+The judge again reflected. Then he struck the table violently, crying
+out:
+
+"It is you who have killed your father and mother. Or, rather, it is
+your lover. Tell me his name."
+
+"Your slave never leaves the house. How could she have a forbidden
+love? Would not the neighbors know it?"
+
+The judge made a salacious grimace:
+
+"In a case of murder the neighbors know nothing. It is clear that you
+have had relations with a man. Your parents knew of it, and that is
+why they changed their room. Your lover killed them in a rage."
+
+Hearing these words, she became scarlet and then pale. At a sign from
+the Governor, the gaolers threw themselves like tigers upon the
+little girl, closing a cruel pair of iron nippers on her pellucid
+and delicate jade hand. As the jaws began to crush her fingers, she
+uttered loud cries:
+
+"Mercy, my lord. I have a lover."
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+"Chang Loyalty."
+
+And then she fainted. The Governor knew enough. He summoned the young
+man and, being convinced of his guilt, had him put in prison, while
+awaiting further information. It is well said in a certain proverb:
+"Even while you are sitting in your house with the doors shut,
+misfortune falls from heaven."
+
+In prison, Chang reflected upon this sudden accusation. Could he have
+committed this double crime in his sleep? In the end he offered his
+gaolers ten ounces if they would take him to Eternal Life. When they
+bargained, he promised twenty ounces. Then they led him as far as
+the grill of the women's prison. The girl was there, weeping without
+stint. As soon as she saw him, she reviled him between her sobs:
+
+"Ungrateful and dishonorable! You made me mad with love for you. Why
+should you cut my parents' throats, and cause my death?"
+
+"Do not make unnecessary noise," he interrupted.
+
+"Let us rather try to clear up this mystery. It is certain that I sent
+the old woman Lu to you with your little slipper. Did you see her?"
+
+"Naturally, wretch," she answered disdainfully.
+
+Again he interrupted:
+
+"She told me that you had kept your pledge, that your father was
+terrible, and that you were awaiting his departure in order to arrange
+a meeting. But since then I have known nothing of you, save a few rare
+smiles."
+
+"Forgetful murderer," she groaned, "again you deny it. Did you not
+confess all before the judge? Why do you come to torment me."
+
+"My unfortunate body could not endure the torture. By confessing I
+gained some days of life. Do not fly into a rage, but answer me: what
+happened after ma-ma Lu had visited you?"
+
+"We arranged everything for the next night. You came and gave me back
+my slipper. Since then you have climbed up to my room each night. Dare
+you say it is not true?"
+
+Chang thought deeply. The bystanders wondered whether he were guilty
+and seeking a clever explanation to save himself, or whether he were
+really innocent. At last he said: "Then if we have met often, you
+should be very certain of my voice and body. Look at me well, and
+think."
+
+The gaolers exclaimed:
+
+"What he says is just. If there were a mistake, would you leave him to
+die?"
+
+Eternal Life was puzzled, and looked at him earnestly. He repeated:
+
+"Is it I? Dear heart, speak quickly!"
+
+"He who came," she said at last, "was perhaps bigger. But it was
+always dark, and how can I be sure? But I remember that on your left
+shoulder you have a scar as big as a copper piece."
+
+The bystanders at once exclaimed:
+
+"That is easy to verify. There can be no further mistake. Uncle,
+unclothe yourself quickly. If there is nothing there, we shall inform
+the Governor."
+
+Chang immediately uncovered his shoulder, and the white flesh was as
+smooth as marble. Eternal Life could not believe her eyes. When the
+young man had gone back, filled full of hope, to his prison, the
+gaolers made their report to the Governor, who had already summoned
+ma-ma Lu.
+
+In the audience chamber the old woman knelt down and was quite
+overcome. The judge began by ordering her forty strokes for having
+acted as an abettor of corruption. The flesh of her thighs was nothing
+but a bloody paste. She told the whole story.
+
+After coming back from Chang's house without having seen him, old Lu
+had found her son Wu-han in their little food shop. He had said to
+her:
+
+"You come at the right time. I must kill a pig this morning, and our
+assistant has gone out for the day."
+
+The old woman did not like this work. But she was very much afraid of
+her son, and did not dare to refuse.
+
+"Wait till I have changed my clothes!" was all she said.
+
+While she was taking off her outer garment, a parcel fell from the
+sleeve of it. Thinking that it was money, Wu-han quickly picked it up
+and opened it. It was the pair of embroidered slippers. He said:
+
+"Oh! Oh! Who is the little girl who has such feet? She must be of a
+very loving nature. If I could hold her to my heart for a whole night,
+I should not have lived in vain. But how do these slippers come here,
+for they have already been worn?"
+
+"Give them back to me!" she cried. "There is much money in them,
+which I will hand to you." And she told him the whole matter. But he
+objected:
+
+"It has been a common saying from the earliest times that acts not
+committed can alone remain unknown. This P'an is a bravo. If he learns
+of the matter, all the silver which you receive will be too little to
+buy his silence. Our whole shop would fall into his hands."
+
+In dismay the old woman replied:
+
+"Your words are full of reason. I am going to give back the silver
+and the slippers. I am going to let it be understood that I refuse to
+embroil myself with curtain affairs."
+
+"Where is the silver?" he asked.
+
+The old woman took it from her sleeve, and he put it into his, saying:
+
+"Leave all to me. If they should happen to come and seek a quarrel
+with us, we shall have proofs against them. And, if nothing comes of
+it, no one will dare to reclaim the money."
+
+"But what shall I say if he asks me for news?"
+
+"That you have not had time enough. Or even that the matter cannot be
+arranged."
+
+What could she do, she who was thus deprived of the money and the
+pledge of love? She was surely obliged to lie.
+
+As for Wu-han, he at once went out and spent the money on rich clothes
+and a fine gauze bonnet.
+
+In the evening, when his mother was asleep, he put on his pretty
+clothes and set the slippers in his sleeve. As the great clock sounded
+the first watch, he went out softly and made straight for the house of
+P'an. Light clouds were hiding the moon. It was only half full.
+
+He coughed before the house. The window opened, and Eternal Life
+appeared. She tied a piece of silk to the frame, and let the other end
+fall. He caught it and climbed up, making use of the projections of
+the wall with his two feet. Then, with a thousand precautions, he
+stepped over the sill. Trembling, the girl hastened to draw back the
+piece of silk and to shut the window.
+
+Then he took the child in his arms, and passion leaped up in their two
+hearts. In the darkness, and in such emotion, how could that mistake
+be known? The usurper drew her towards him.
+
+Even so is the precious scented flower of the nutmeg embraced by the
+bind-weed. Even so is the plum blossom torn by the hail. Even so is
+the sparrow's nest most outraged by the cuckoo.
+
+When the first clouds of their desire were dissipated by the rain of
+caresses, Wu-han took from his sleeve the pledges of love. She gave
+them back to him:
+
+"Now that I am happy, I no more wish to go out."
+
+About the fourth watch, before daylight, Wu-han arose and climbed
+stealthily down to the street.
+
+Since that time there had to be a storm of rain, or the moon had to
+be very clear, to prevent Wu-han from hurrying to the small woman. The
+days, and then the months, passed in this way.
+
+One night the deceiver accidentally made some noise as he went away.
+P'an immediately came up to them, but saw nothing; for Eternal Life
+succeeded in not betraying herself. Next night she warned her lover,
+saying to him in her sense:
+
+"Do not come for a few days. That will be safer. Let us give them time
+to forget about it."
+
+But her father had his ears on the alert; he heard the window creak,
+and he ran up, though again too late. In the morning he said to his
+wife:
+
+"This baby is certainly about some villainy. She keeps her mouth as
+tight as a trap."
+
+"I also have a suspicion," replied her mother.
+
+"Yet the room opens on to the stairs, which come down into our room."
+
+"I am going to give her a good taste of the rod to make her speak."
+
+"That is a bad plan, a very bad plan," said her mother. "It is a true
+proverb that you must not show family blemishes. If you beat her,
+all the neighbors will know, and who would wish to marry her? Let us
+rather make her sleep in our room, which has no way out except the
+door. We will spend the night up the stairs, and see what happens."
+
+On being told of this proposal, Eternal Life dared not say anything.
+And on the higher floor husband and wife slept in peace.
+
+One evening Wu-ban felt his heart seething with passion. Fearing that
+he might be attacked by P'an, he armed himself with a knife, which
+he used to cut pigs' throats. Under Eternal Life's window, he coughed
+softly. Nothing stirred. He coughed more loudly, thinking she was
+asleep. But everything remained quiet. He was going back to his house,
+in a thoughtful mood, when he saw a ladder left near to a house which
+was being built. He seized upon it, carried it away, and put it up
+against Eternal Life's window. The catch was not locked. He pushed it
+open, climbed over the sill, and silently went toward the bed.
+
+Drunken with joy, Wu-ban was already disrobing himself of his clothes,
+when, in the stillness of the night, his ears caught the sound of two
+people breathing, instead of one. He listened with controlled breath.
+Unmistakably the rough breathing of a man was mingled with the softer
+murmur of a woman.
+
+He was suddenly blinded with violent anger:
+
+"This is why she did not answer my signal. The vile child has another
+man within. It was to get rid of me that she told me of her father's
+suspicion!"
+
+In his jealous madness he drew his knife and gently felt for the man's
+throat. With a clean blow he drove the weapon into the flesh, and
+before the woman could move, he cut her throat also, almost beheading
+her.
+
+He wiped the knife and his hands on the blanket, opened the window,
+and descended. He had closed the catches. Once outside, he ran to
+replace the ladder, and went back to his house. Denounced by his
+mother and brought before the Court, Wu-ban tried to deny the
+accusation. But the officers, on uncovering his shoulder, brought
+a scar to view. Eternal Life recognized his voice and his body. The
+first tortures overcame his obstinacy, and he confessed all.
+
+The murderer was condemned to slow death.
+
+Eternal Life was strangled, as was old Lu.
+
+Chang, whose lecherous intentions had been the cause of all, was
+sentenced to a heavy fine. In dismay, and half ruined, he no more
+left his study chamber. Not long afterwards, he was carried off by a
+lassitude and a languor.
+
+_Lu Wu-han yin liu ho chin hsieh (Lu Wi-han keeps
+an Embroidered Slipper to his scathe) Hsing
+Shih heng yen (1627), 16th Tale._
+
+
+
+
+THE COUNTERFEIT OLD WOMAN
+
+
+During the Ch'eng-Hua period of our dynasty, there lived at Shantung
+a young man named Flowering Mulberry, whose parents possessed a
+sufficient fortune. He had just bound up his hair beneath his man's
+bonnet; his fresh and rosy complexion added to the delicate charm of
+his features.
+
+One day, as he was going to visit an uncle in a neighboring village,
+he was overtaken on the way by a heavy storm of rain, and ran for
+shelter into a disused temple; and there, seated on the ground waiting
+for the rain to stop, was an old woman. Flowering Mulberry sat down
+and, since the storm grew more violent, resigned himself to wait.
+
+Finding him beautiful, the old woman began to converse and ingratiate
+herself with him, until at length she came across to him, and finally
+her hands wandered gently over his body.
+
+He found this an agreeable manner of passing the time, but said after
+a little while: "How is it that, although you are a woman, you have
+the voice of a man?"
+
+"My son, I will tell you the truth, but you must not reveal it to
+anybody. I am not really a woman, but a man. When I was little, I used
+often to disguise myself and mimic the shrill tones of young girls;
+and I even learned to sew just as well as they. I used often to go to
+the neighboring market towns, pretending that I was a young girl and
+offering to do needlework; and my skill was soon much admired by all
+the dwellers in the houses where I worked.
+
+"I used to mingle with the women, and by degrees, according to the
+licentiousness of their thought, we would enjoy our pleasure. Soon
+the women found that they had no more occasion to go out for their
+dalliance; and even the sober-minded girls among them became involved.
+They did not dare to say anything, for fear of the scandal; and also I
+had a drug which I applied during the night to their faces, stupefying
+them so that they allowed me to do as I liked. When they recovered
+their senses it was too late, and they dared not protest. On the
+contrary, they used to bribe me with gold and silken stuffs to keep
+silence and to leave their house. Ever since then--and I am now
+forty-seven years of age--I have never again put on a man's garments.
+I have traveled throughout the two capitals and the nine provinces,
+and always when I see a beautiful woman I contrive to go to her house.
+In this way I accumulate riches with but little labor; and I have
+never been found out."
+
+"What an astonishing tale!" cried the fascinated Flowering Mulberry.
+"I wonder whether I could do the like."
+
+"One as beautiful as you are," answered the other, "will be taken for
+a woman by everyone. If you wish me to be your instructor you have
+only to come with me. I will bind up your feet, and teach you to sew;
+and we will go into every house together. You shall be my niece. If we
+find a good opportunity I shall give you a little of my drug, and you
+will then have no difficulty in achieving your purpose."
+
+The young man's heart was devoured by a desire to put this adventure
+to the proof. Without further hesitation he prostrated himself four
+times, and adopted the old woman as his master, taking not a moment's
+thought for his parents or for his honor. Such an intoxicating thing
+is vice.
+
+When it had stopped raining, he set out with the old woman; and as
+soon as they were beyond the boundaries of Shantung they purchased
+hair-pins and feminine dresses. The disguise was perfect, and anyone
+would have sworn that Flowering Mulberry was an authentic woman. He
+changed his first name for that of Niang "the little girl," though for
+a few days he was so embarrassed that he did not dare to speak.
+
+But his master seemed no longer wishful to look for fresh victims.
+Every evening he insisted upon his niece sharing his bed; and up to a
+very late hour would proceed with his instruction and that even to the
+furthest detail.
+
+It was not for this that Flowering Mulberry had disguised himself. One
+day he declared that thenceforward each should go his own way, and the
+other was bound to agree; but before leaving him, he gave the boy some
+further advice:
+
+"Two highly important rules are to be observed in our profession. The
+first is not to stop too long in the same house. If you stayed in the
+one place more than half a month, you would certainly be discovered.
+Therefore often change your district, so that from month to month
+there may be no time for the traces of your passage to become
+noticeable. The second rule is not to let a man come near you. You
+are beautiful, young and alone in life, and they will all wish to
+interfere with you. Therefore always surround yourself with women. One
+last word: have nothing to do with little girls; for they cry out and
+weep."
+
+So then the two parted.
+
+In the first village he came to, Flowering Mulberry perceived through
+a door the silhouette of a most graceful young woman, and struck upon
+the door by its copper knocker. The girl opened, and looked at him
+through eyes filled with fire. A needle-woman was just what they
+required.
+
+But in the evening the boy was disappointed by the arrival of a
+husband, whose lusty appearance left him small hope for the night.
+
+He was forced to wait until the young woman was left alone in the
+house by day, and came to work in the chamber where he sat. Then he
+ventured an observation upon the appearance of the countryside, and
+afterwards congratulated her on her husband. She blushed, and their
+conversation became more intimate. It was not until the next day,
+however, that he dared to make an advance. This met with immediate
+success. Two days afterwards he was forced into a hurried departure;
+for the husband had taken notice of him, and profited by his wife's
+momentary absence to suggest caresses.
+
+Thenceforward he followed his trade. At the age of thirty-two he had
+travelled over more than half the empire, and had beguiled several
+thousand women. Often, he was so bold as to attack more than eight
+persons at a time, in a single house, and not even the little slaves
+escaped his attention. The happiness of which he was thus the cause
+remained unsuspected, and no one suffered by it, since none could
+dream of its existence. He always remembered his master's rule, and
+never risked staying for more than a few days in the same place.
+
+At last he came to the province West-of-the-River, and was received
+into an important house, where there were more than fifteen women, all
+beautiful and young. His feeling toward each of these was of so lively
+a nature that twenty days had passed before he could make up his mind
+to go away. Now the husband of one of these girls perceived him and,
+at once falling in love with him, arranged that his wife should
+cause him to come to their house. Flowering Mulberry went, suspecting
+nothing, and hardly had he entered before the man came into the room,
+took him by the waist and embraced him. Naturally he protested and
+began to cry out; but the husband took not the slightest notice
+of that. He pushed him on to the next room and searched him with
+shameless hands. It was his turn to cry out: the slaves ran in, bound
+Flowering Mulberry, and led him to the court of justice. In front of
+the judge he tried to plead that he had adopted his disguise in order
+to gain his living. But torture drew from him his real name and the
+true motive of his behavior, together with an account of his latest
+exploits.
+
+The Governor sent a report to the higher authorities, for he had no
+precedent and knew not to what punishment to condemn him. The Viceroy
+decided that the case must come under the law of adultery, and also
+under that which dealt with the propagation of immorality. The penalty
+was a slow death. No extenuating circumstances were admitted. So ended
+this story.
+
+
+_Hsing shih heng yen (1627),
+10th Tale._
+
+
+
+
+THE MONASTERY OF THE ESTEEMED-LOTUS
+
+
+In the town of Eternal Purity there was once a large monastery
+dedicated to the Esteemed-Lotus. It contained hundreds of rooms, and
+its grounds covered several thousand acres. Its wealth and prosperity
+were due to the possession of a famous relic.
+
+The bonzes, who numbered about a hundred, lived in luxury; and
+visitors were sure to be received by one of them from the moment of
+entry, and to be invited to take tea and cakes. Now in the temple
+there was a "Babies' Chapel," which was reputed to possess miraculous
+virtue. By passing the night in it and burning incense, women who
+wished to have a son obtained a son: those who wished for a daughter
+obtained a daughter.
+
+Round the main hall were set several cells. Women who wished for
+children had to be of vigorous age and free from malady. They used
+to fast for seven days, and then go into the temple to prostrate
+themselves before Fo, and to consult the wands of divination.
+
+If the omens were favorable, they passed a night locked up alone
+in one of the cells, for the purpose of prayer. If the omens were
+unfavorable, it was because their prayers had not been sufficiently
+sincere. The bonzes made this fault known to them; and they began
+their seven days' fast anew, before returning to make their devotions.
+
+The cells had no sort of opening in their walls, and when a penitent
+entered one of them, her family and attendants used to come and
+install her. As soon as night came, she was locked in the cell, and
+the bonzes insisted that a member of her family must pass the night
+before her door, so that none might entertain the least suspicion of
+an entry to her. When the woman returned to her home, the child was
+already formed. It was born fat and beautiful always, and without any
+blemish.
+
+There was, moreover, no household, either of public officials or the
+common people, which did not send one or even two of its members
+to pray in the Babies' Chapel. And women came to it even from the
+provinces.
+
+Every day the crowd in the monastery was comparable with mountains
+or the sea, and the place was filled with the gayest hubbub. They no
+longer kept any reckoning of the offerings of every kind which flowed
+in upon them. When the women were asked how, during the night, the
+P'u-sa had made his answer intelligible, some answered simply that Fo
+had told them in a dream that they would have a son. Others said that
+they had dreamed that a lo-han had come and lain beside them. Others
+asserted that they had had no dream. Others again blushed and declined
+to answer. Some women never repeated this kind of prayer a second
+time: others, on the contrary, went to the temple as often as
+possible.
+
+You will tell me that this story of a Fo or of a P'u-sa coming every
+night to the monastery is in no way short of preposterous. But it must
+be borne in mind that the people of that district had a greater faith
+in sorcerers than in doctors, and could not distinguish the true from
+the false. Consequently they continued to send their wives to the
+temple.
+
+As a matter of course these bonzes, whose outward behavior was so
+laudable and correct, were wholly and unreservedly gluttons within,
+both for luxury and debauch.
+
+Although the cells were apparently quite close, each really had a
+secret door. When the women were sound asleep, the bonzes came softly
+into the cell, and to such purpose that, when their victims were
+aroused, it was already almost too late. Those who would have wished
+to protest kept silence for the sake of their reputations.
+
+Now the women were young and sound: the bonzes were strong and
+vigorous. They had, moreover, taken the precaution to cause certain
+special pills to be administered to their visitors. Consequently it
+but rarely happened that these prayers were not heard. Sober-minded
+wives would have died with shame sooner than confess the matter to
+their husbands; and, as for the others, they kept quiet so that they
+might be able to do it again.
+
+Matters were in this case when a new Governor was appointed to the
+district, the Lord Wang. Soon after he entered upon his office, he
+heard tell of the Monastery of the Esteemed-Lotus, and could not help
+thinking:
+
+"Since it is Fo and P'u-sa who are involved, it should be enough
+simply to pray. Why, then, must the women also go and pass the night
+in the temple? There must be some questionable artifice in that."
+
+But he could do nothing without proof; so he waited until the ninth
+Sun of the ninth Moon, which was a great festival, and then mixed with
+the crowd of the faithful who went to the holy place.
+
+Passing through the main gate, he found himself beneath great acacias
+and hundred-year-old pines. Before him stood the temple, brightly
+painted with vermilion and decorated by a tablet on which was
+inscribed in gold letters: "Monastery of the Esteemed-Lotus, for
+Retirement." To right and left was a succession of pavilions, and
+innumerable visitors were going out and coming in.
+
+The first bonze who saw the Governor wished to run and warn his
+companions. The Lord Wang attempted to stop him, but he broke
+loose, and soon the drums and bells were sounding to do honor to
+the magistrate, while the bonzes formed in two ranks and bowed as he
+passed along.
+
+He entered the temple and burned some joss-sticks; after which the
+Superior made him a low obeisance and begged him to come and rest
+himself for a moment in the reception hall. Tea was served. Then,
+concealing his true design, the Governor said:
+
+"I have learned of the great reputation of this Holy Retreat, and I
+intend to ask the Emperor to grant you a tablet of honor inscribed
+with the names and particulars of all the bonzes of the district."
+
+Naturally the delighted Superior wished to prostrate himself in
+thanks; but the Governor continued:
+
+"They have spoken to me also of a miraculous chapel. Is the matter so
+in truth? And in what manner are these prayers made?"
+
+The Superior answered without misgiving that the period of fasting was
+seven days; but that by reason of the greatness of their desire and
+the sincerity of their prayers it most frequently happened that the
+petitions of the suppliants were granted in a dream during the night
+which they passed at the monastery.
+
+The Governor asked carelessly what measures were taken to ensure the
+preservation of the proprieties; and the other explained that the
+cells had no other entrance than the door, before which a member of
+the family had to pass the night.
+
+"Since that is the case," said the visitor, "I shall send my wife
+here."
+
+"If you wish for a son, it is only necessary for both of you to pray
+sincerely in your palace, and the miracle will be accomplished," the
+Superior assured him hastily; for he was greatly afraid to see the
+local authorities concerning themselves in this affair.
+
+"But why must the wives of the people come here, if my wife need not
+disturb herself to do so?"
+
+"Are you not the protector of our doctrine, and is it not natural that
+the spirits should pay special attention to your prayers?" answered
+the astute bonze.
+
+"So be it," agreed Wang. "But allow me to visit this miraculous
+chapel."
+
+The hall was filled with women, who fled to right and left. The statue
+of Kwan-yin was covered with necklaces and pieces of embroidery. She
+was represented holding a child in her arms, while four or five babies
+clung to her robe. The altar and the walls were covered with votive
+offerings, chiefly consisting of embroidered slippers. Candles beyond
+number were held in branches of candlesticks. The hall was filled with
+the smoke of incense. To the left was the immortal Chang who gives
+us children. To the right was the "Officer of the Star of Extended
+Longevity."
+
+Wang bowed before the goddess. Then he went to visit the penitents'
+cells. Each ceiling was painted over with flowers, a carpet covered
+each floor and the bed, the table and the chairs were spotlessly
+clean.
+
+He examined the cells carefully all over and found no crack. Not
+a mouse, not even an ant could have entered in. He went out in
+perplexity and, after the usual formalities, again stepped into his
+palankeen, which was accompanied to the gate by all the bonzes.
+
+Thinking to the right and musing to the left, as the proverb says,
+the Governor suddenly conceived a plan. As soon as he arrived at the
+palace, he summoned one of his secretaries, and said to him:
+
+"Go and find me two harlots, and clothe them as honest women. Give one
+of them a box of black ink and the other a box of vermilion paste, and
+send them to pass the night at the monastery. If any one approaches
+them, let them mark his head with the red and the black. I shall go
+myself to-morrow morning to examine the matter. Above all, let this
+thing be kept the closest secret."
+
+The secretary at once went to seek out two public women of his
+acquaintance. One was named Mei-chieh, and the other Wan-erh. He
+took them to his house, explained the Governor's orders to them, and
+clothed them as matrons of good family. He summoned two palankeens,
+which he caused the sham penitents to enter, and himself conducted
+the procession to the monastery. He left the women in their cells, and
+came back to inform the monk on duty.
+
+After his departure, a little novice brought tea to the present
+visitors, who were more than ten in number. Who would have thought of
+troubling to examine the two new arrivals?
+
+At the sounding of the first watch, all the cells were locked. The
+members of the various families took up their positions before the
+doors. The bonzes shut themselves into their own apartments.
+
+When Mei-chieh found herself alone, she put her little box of
+vermilion near the pillow, turned up the lamp, undressed herself,
+and lay upon the bed. But she was unable to sleep for thinking of her
+mission, and continually kept looking through the bed curtains.
+
+The second watch sounded. On every side the sounds of human life were
+silenced, and all things were still. Suddenly she heard, under the
+floor, this noise: Ko-Ko. She sat up, thinking it was a rat, and saw
+a part of the floor move to one side. A shaven head appeared, and
+was quickly followed by the whole body. It was a bonze. Mei-chieh was
+astounded, and thought:
+
+"So these rascally priests have been outraging honest women!"
+
+But she did not stir. The bonze quietly blew out the lamp, came
+towards the bed, let fall his robe, and slipped under the blankets.
+
+Mei-chieh pretended to be asleep. She felt him gently move her leg to
+one side, and then she made as though to wake saying:
+
+"Who are you who come in the night and insult me?" She pushed him
+away, but the bonze embraced her in his arms, and whispered: "I am a
+lo-han with a body of gold, and I have come to give you a son."
+
+While speaking, he busied himself in accordance with his salacity.
+It must be said that all bonzes have no mean talent in the matter of
+cloud and rain; and this one was full of vigorous manhood. Mei-chieh
+was a woman of great experience, but she was unable to resist him and
+had difficulty, at length, in repressing herself. However, she took
+advantage of his arriving at the supreme point of his emotion to dip
+her fingers in the box of vermilion and to mark his head without his
+perceiving it. After a certain time, the bonze glided from the bed,
+leaving the girl a little packet, and saying:
+
+"Here are some pills to assist your prayer. Take three-tenths of an
+ounce each day in hot water, and you will have a son."
+
+Weary in body, Mei-chieh was just dimly closing her eyes, when she
+was aroused by a fresh touch, and, thinking that the same bonze had
+returned, said in surprise:
+
+"What? Are you able to come back again, when even I am so tired?"
+
+But he answered without a pause:
+
+"You are making a mistake! I have but just come, and the saviour of my
+comforts is as yet unknown to you."
+
+"But, I am tired...."
+
+"In that case, take one of these pills...."
+
+And he handed her a packet. But she was afraid that it might be poison
+and placed it on the bed, contriving in the same movement to dip her
+fingers in the vermilion and to stroke the newcomer's head. He
+was even more terrible than the former, and did not cease before
+cock-crow.
+
+As the old song says:
+
+  In an old stone mortar
+  Where so many pestles have been worn away,
+  There is need of a heavy copper hammer,
+  Or the work is lost.
+
+At dawn, another bonze appeared and said to them in a low voice:
+
+"Perhaps you have had your fill. Is not my turn coming?"
+
+The first bonze gave a chuckle, but rose and went out. The other then
+got upon the bed, and very gently caressed Mei-chieh.
+
+She pretended to repulse him, but he kissed her upon the lips, and
+said in her ear:
+
+"If he has fatigued you, I have here some pills which will restore the
+Springtime of your thoughts."
+
+And he thrust a pill into her mouth, which she could not avoid
+swallowing. A perfume rose from her mouth into her nostrils, and
+caused her bones to melt, imbuing her body with delicious warmth.
+
+But, even while thinking of herself, Mei-chieh did not forget the
+Governor's orders. She marked the head of this new assailant also,
+saying:
+
+"What a nice sleek old pate!"
+
+The bonze burst out laughing:
+
+"I am full of tender and reliable emotions. I am not like the
+unmannerly people of our town. Come and see me often."
+
+And he retired.
+
+Meanwhile the Governor had left his yamen by the fifth watch, before
+the day had yet broken, accompanied by an escort of about a hundred
+resolute men, carrying chains and manacles.
+
+Arriving at the still closed gate of the monastery, he made the
+greater part of his train hide to the right and left, keeping only
+some ten men about him. The secretary knocked at the gate, crying that
+the Governor was there and wished to enter.
+
+The first bonzes who heard his shout made haste to arrange their
+garments and receive the visitor. But the Lord Wang, paying no
+attention to their salutations, went straight to the apartment of the
+Superior, who was already up and prepared to begin the ritual of his
+greeting. But the Governor dryly ordered him to summon all the bonzes,
+and to show him the Convent register.
+
+Somewhat alarmed, the Superior ordered bells and drums to be sounded,
+and the bonzes, snatched from their sleep, ran up in groups. When the
+names written on the register had been called, the Governor commanded
+the astonished monks to remove their skullcaps.
+
+In the full light of the morning sun three heads were seen to be
+marked with vermilion, but, Oh, prodigy, no less than eleven heads
+were covered with black ink!
+
+"It no longer surprises me that these prayers should be so
+successful," murmured the secretary. "Indeed these bonzes are very
+conscientious!"
+
+Lord Wang pointed out the guilty ones, and caused them to be put in
+chains, asking: "Whence come these marks of red and black upon you?"
+
+But the kneeling monks looked at each other and could not answer,
+while the whole assembly remained stricken with wonder at this strange
+event.
+
+Meanwhile the secretary had gone into the Babies' Chapel and, by dint
+of shouting, had roused the two harlots from a heavy sleep.
+
+They quickly put on their garments, and came to kneel before the
+Governor, who asked them:
+
+"What did you see during the night? Tell me the whole truth."
+
+Since they had agreed to the mission, the two women rendered a plain
+account of the events of that night, showing the pills which the
+bonzes had given them, and also their boxes of vermilion and black.
+
+The bonzes, seeing that their schemes were brought to light, felt
+their livers turn and their hearts put out of working. They groaned in
+their secret despair, while the fourteen culprits beat the earth with
+their brows and begged for mercy.
+
+"Miserable wretches, you dare to preach divine intervention, so that
+you may deceive the foolish and outrage the virtuous! What have you to
+say?"
+
+But the cunning Superior already had his plan. He ordered all the
+bonzes to kneel, and said:
+
+"These unhappy ones whom you have convicted are without excuse. But
+they were the only ones who dared to act so. All my other monks are
+pure. You have been able to discover the shame of the guilty, which I
+in my ignorance could not, and there is nothing for it but to put them
+to death."
+
+The Governor smiled:
+
+"Then it is only the cells which these two women occupied that have
+secret passages?"
+
+"There are only those two cells," answered the unblushing Superior.
+
+"We shall question all the other women, and then see."
+
+The female visitors, who had already been wakened by the noise, came
+in turns to give their evidence. They were all in agreement: no bonze
+had come to trouble them. But the Governor knew that shame would
+prevent them from speaking, and therefore had them searched. In the
+pocket of each was found a little packet of pills. He asked them
+whence these came; but the women, purple in the face and scarlet in
+the neck, answered no word.
+
+While this examination was taking place, the husbands of the penitents
+came up and took a part in it. And their anger made them tremble like
+the hemp-plant or leaves of a tree. When the Governor, who did not
+wish to push his questioning too far, had allowed the visitors to
+depart, their husbands swallowed their shame and indignation, and led
+them away.
+
+The Superior had not yet given up the fight. He asserted that the
+pills had been given to the women as they entered the monastery. But
+the two harlots again affirmed that they at least had received them
+during the visit of the bonzes.
+
+"The matter is quite clear," the Governor cried at length. "Put all of
+these adulterers in chains!"
+
+The bonzes had some thought of resisting; but they had no weapons and
+were outnumbered. The only ones left free were an old man who kindled
+the incense, and the two little novices still in childhood.
+
+The gate of the monastery was closed and guarded. On his return to the
+yamen, the Governor took his seat in the Hall of Justice, and had his
+prisoners questioned in the usual ways. Fear of pain loosened their
+tongues, and they were condemned to death. They were cast into prison
+to await the ratification of their sentence.
+
+As the Governor of the prison went his rounds to inspect their bonds,
+the Superior whispered to him:
+
+"We have brought nothing, neither clothes, nor blankets, nor food. If
+you will allow me to return for a moment to the monastery with three
+or four of my monks, I will willingly give you a hundred ounces of
+silver."
+
+The prison governor knew the wealth of the monastery. He smiled:
+
+"My price is a hundred ounces for myself, and two hundred for my men."
+
+The Superior made a grimace, but was compelled to promise this larger
+sum. The warders consulted with each other, and finally, when night
+came, led the Superior and three of his bonzes back to the monastery.
+From a secret place among their cells the monks took the promised
+three hundred ounces, and gave them at once to the warders. While
+these were weighing them and sharing them among themselves, they
+collected the rest of their treasure, and secretly laid hold of
+weapons, short swords and hatchets, which they rolled up in their
+blankets. Also they brought away wine. Thus heavily laden, warders
+and bonzes alike returned to the prison, and held a feast. The priests
+succeeded in making their warders drunk. In the middle of the night
+they drew forth their weapons and, having first set each other
+free, proceeded to force the gates. They might perhaps have escaped
+altogether; but in their rancour against the Governor they went first
+to attack the yamen. The troops of police were numerous and well
+armed, and the bonzes were quickly overcome. The Superior gave his
+men orders to return as quickly as possible to the prison, to lay down
+their arms and to say that only a few of them had revolted, since this
+might save the others. But the warders attacked them so hotly that
+they were all put back in chains.
+
+Their crime was grave, and doubly aggravated by rebellion. Next day,
+when the sun had well risen, the Governor gave his judgment. All the
+hundred and twelve monks were led straight to the market-place and
+beheaded. Groups of men provided with torches went to set fire to the
+monastery, and it was soon a smoking ruin. Joy flowered upon the faces
+of all the men of that town. But it is said that many of the women
+wept in secret.
+
+_Adapted from Hsing shih heng yen
+(1627), 39th Tale._
+
+
+
+
+A COMPLICATED MARRIAGE
+
+
+Marriages have from all time been arranged beforehand by Heaven. If
+such is the will of destiny, the most distantly separated persons
+come together, and the nearest neighbors never see each other. All is
+settled before birth, and every effort of mortals does but accomplish
+the decree of Fate. This is proved by the following story.
+
+During the Ching-yu period of the Sung dynasty, there lived at
+Hang-chow a doctor named Liu. His wife had given him a son and a
+daughter. The son, who was but sixteen years old, had been called
+Virgin Diamond, and was betrothed to young Pearl, of the family of
+Sun. He was brilliant in his studies, and gave every promise that
+he would one day attain to the highest literary standard, and to the
+greatest honor. The daughter was named Prudence. She was fifteen years
+old, and had just received marriage gifts from her betrothed, the son
+of P'ei, a neighboring druggist. Her eyebrows were like the feelers
+of a butterfly, and her eyes had the grace of those of a phoenix.
+Her hips, flexible as willow branches swayed by the wind, wakened the
+liveliest feeling. Her face was that of a flower; and the nimbleness
+of her light body brought to mind the flight of swallows.
+
+The go-between who had concluded Prudence's betrothal came one day
+at the instance of the P'ei family to ask that marriage might be
+hastened. But Liu had determined first to accomplish the ceremonies
+for his son, and accordingly took customary steps with this object in
+view, so that a day was at length fixed. But when the appointed time
+was drawing near, Virgin Diamond fell seriously ill. His father, Liu,
+wished to postpone the ceremony, but his mother argued that perhaps
+joy would cure him better than medicine.
+
+"But if, by mischance, our son should die?" he insisted.
+
+"We will send back the bride and all the gifts, and the family will
+have nothing to say."
+
+The doctor, like many men, was wax in the hands of his wife, and
+therefore her wish was fulfilled.
+
+But it chanced that one of their neighbors had been slightly affronted
+by them, and had never forgiven them. He heard of Virgin Diamond's
+illness, and spoke of it to the family of Sun.
+
+Sun had no intention of compromising his daughter's future; so he
+summoned and questioned the go-between who had arranged the betrothal.
+The poor woman was in a great quandary, fearing to offend either the
+one family or the other; yet she was compelled to admit the truth. In
+her anxiety she ran to the house of Liu to obtain a postponement of
+the marriage until Virgin Diamond's recovery, and hinted that, failing
+this, Sun would send his old nurse to see the sick bridegroom.
+
+Liu did not know what to do, and before he had come to a decision,
+the nurse arrived. He saluted her, not knowing what excuse to make.
+At last he said to the go-between: "Be so good as to entertain this
+venerable aunt for a moment, while I go and find my Old-Thornbush."
+
+He hurried into the interior of the house, and in a few words told his
+wife what was happening.
+
+"She is already here and wishes to see our son. I told you that it
+would have been better to change the day."
+
+"You really are a decayed piece of goods. Their daughter has received
+our gifts, and is already our daughter-in-law. You shall see."
+
+Then she said to Prudence:
+
+"Make haste and prepare our large room for a collation to the family
+of Sun."
+
+She herself went to the room where the nurse was, and asked:
+
+"Has our new daughter's mother something to say to us?"
+
+"She is uneasy about the health of your honorable son, and has sent me
+to see him, thinking that it would be better to postpone the marriage
+if he were seriously ill."
+
+"I am gratified to receive this proof of her consideration. My son
+has, in fact, taken cold, but it is not a serious indisposition.
+As for choosing another day, that is not to be thought of. Our
+preparations are made, and a delay would involve too great a loss.
+Furthermore, happiness drives away every ill. The invitations are sent
+out. We might imagine that your family had changed its intention...."
+
+"At least, can I see the invalid?"
+
+"He has just taken a drug and is asleep. Besides, I have told you that
+he has caught cold. Are you trying to insult me by expressing a wish
+to prove my words?"
+
+"If the matter stands thus," the nurse politely made haste to answer,
+"it only remains for me to withdraw."
+
+"You cannot go in this way. You have not even taken a cup of tea.
+If you please, let us go into the new room, for my house is all in
+disorder."
+
+On entering, the nurse observed the excellent arrangement of the young
+couple's apartment.
+
+"Everything is ready, as you see," said the wife of Liu. "And if my
+son is not quite recovered after the ceremony, I shall take care
+of him in my pavilion, until he is able to embark upon his conjugal
+life."
+
+Having taken tea, the nurse at last arose and went away. On her return
+she recounted to her master and mistress what had taken place, and Sun
+and his wife found themselves in a difficult dilemma. They could not
+think of allowing their daughter to ruin her life by entering of her
+betrothed, if he were going to die, and, if the young man were not
+seriously ill, they stood the risk of losing all their preparation,
+and of giving occasion for slander. Suddenly their son Yu-lang, who
+was present, said:
+
+"If they have not allowed him to be seen, it means that he is
+seriously ill. There is no way by which we can go back on our
+contract; and yet we cannot send my sister to her ruin in this
+fashion. I have a plan, and you must tell me what you think of it. Let
+us send the go-between to advise Liu that the marriage will take place
+on the appointed day, but that the bride's equipment will not be sent
+until after her husband's recovery. I am sure that they will reject
+this offer, and then we shall have a good excuse for throwing the
+blame on them."
+
+"But what if they should agree," objected his parents, after a
+moment's reflection.
+
+"They will certainly not agree, or else they would have postponed the
+marriage. Besides, it is impossible that they should be willing to
+have another mouth to feed, without any dowry or plenishing."
+
+His father said:
+
+"Very well, if by any chance they do agree, you shall disguise
+yourself as a woman and go in your sister's place. You could take a
+man's clothing with you, and put it on if the sick youth recovered, or
+matters seemed to take an unfortunate turn. They would not dare to say
+anything for fear of being ridiculed."
+
+"Oh! that is impossible!" cried the young man. "In the first place
+I would be discovered at once. And what would people say of me
+afterwards?"
+
+"They would say that you had played a trick on these people, and that
+is all. You are still in the freshness of youth. You are sufficiently
+like your sister to deceive those who do not know you very well,
+especially in a wedding garment. You must do it. That is decided. The
+nurse can go with you to arrange your hair.... And in this way, if our
+son-in-law dies, Liu will have neither my daughter nor her equipment."
+
+When the wife of Liu received Sun's proposal from the mouth of the
+go-between, she hesitated for a moment. But then she reflected on the
+false situation in which she would be placed by refusing. So, masking
+her thoughts beneath a smile, she agreed to the arrangement.
+
+On the day fixed for the marriage, Yu-lang was constrained to disguise
+himself. But two grave difficulties presented themselves. First
+with regard to his feet: how was it possible for him to imitate his
+sister's ravishing golden lotuses, so like to sphinx heads, and the
+balancing of her light steps, a swaying of flowers in the soft
+breeze? They gave him a petticoat which reached to the ground, and he
+practised his sister's gait, at which she laughed until she cried. The
+next question was his ear-rings. It so happened that his left lobe had
+been pierced; for in his childhood they had made him wear one ring,
+in order to persuade the evil spirits that he was a girl, whose
+death would be of no importance. Everybody knows that the Jinn always
+endeavor to rob us of that which is truly dear to us, and leave
+untouched that which is of no value.
+
+So Yu-lang hung a jewel in his left lobe, and stuck a small piece of
+plaster over his right ear, so that it might seem it had suffered a
+slight wound. His great pearl-decorated headdress concealed his head,
+brow and shoulders. His scarlet robes, embroidered with gold and
+silver, helped to disguise his figure, and the transformation was
+complete by rouge on his lips and cheeks.
+
+When evening at length drew near, drums and flutes were sounded,
+the flowered palankeen entered the courtyard, and the hoodwinked
+go-between, admiring the beauty of the bogus bride, herself opened
+the scarlet curtains. Not seeing Yu-lang; she remarked upon this
+circumstance, and they answered carelessly that he was indisposed and
+kept to his bed. Actually at that moment he was taking leave of his
+parents and imitating to the best of his ability the sobs which were
+fitting to the occasion.
+
+The procession at last set out and all the bride's equipment was
+a little leather trunk. At the house of Liu there was considerable
+discussion:
+
+"When the bride arrives, our son will be unable to cross the threshold
+as ritual demands, and the marriage will not be accomplished.
+The bride will be left alone to salute the ancestors, and this is
+impossible. What shall we do?"
+
+"It cannot be helped," answered the mother. "So much the worse! Our
+daughter must make it known that she will take her brother's place.
+She shall recite the poem of the threshold in his name, and the rites
+will be thus observed."
+
+And Prudence, in her graceful girl's garments, did in fact receive
+the false Pearl as she got out of the palankeen, pronounced the sacred
+formulas, and led the new bride before the tablets. The two seeming
+sisters-in-law knelt down, and several of the bystanders laughed
+inwardly to see two women perform the marriage ceremony, and then
+kneel for the purpose of the grand prostration.
+
+The wife of Liu led Yu-lang to the invalid's bed; but he had been
+excited and troubled by the music and noise, and had fainted. They
+had hastily to revive him by pouring some spoonfuls of hot soup in his
+mouth.
+
+At length the false bride was led to the prepared pavilion, and her
+great veil was taken off. Then her fresh beauty shone forth, and
+everybody uttered exclamations of joy: the wife of Liu was alone in
+feeling a certain compassion, for she thought of all that the new
+bride would have to lose, and deplored her son's misfortune in falling
+ill at the moment of tasting so great happiness.
+
+As for Yu-lang, the tedium of beholding the hideousness of all the
+guests was curiously diminished by the pleasure of seeing Prudence's
+delectable face. He thought:
+
+"What a misfortune that I am already betrothed! Here is she whom Fate
+should have given me."
+
+Prudence, on her part, felt herself drawn towards him in an
+irresistible manner, and said to her mother and the go-between:
+
+"Alas! surely my brother has no luck, and my sister-in-law will be
+very unhappy alone tonight! Is she not charming? If my future husband
+were like her, my life would be free from all regret."
+
+Meanwhile, the marriage feast came to an end, a present was sent to
+the musicians, and the guests withdrew. The disguised boy, after being
+conducted to his pavilion, had his nurse's assistance in unmaking
+the complicated structure of his nuptial adornment. At last he found
+himself alone, but with no wish for sleep. Now Liu and his wife said
+to each other:
+
+"It seems hard to leave the newly-wed bride alone for her first night
+under our roof. Would it not be better to tell Prudence to go and keep
+her company?"
+
+As always, the father made certain objections which were not listened
+to. Prudence insisted, and soon mother and daughter went together to
+the new pavilion, and approached the bed, the curtains of which were
+drawn shut.
+
+"Here is your sister-in-law come to spend the night with you...."
+
+Yu-lang did not know what to say. He was afraid of being discovered,
+and held the curtains very tightly under his chin, as he put his head
+through the opening.
+
+"I am accustomed to be alone," he stammered. But the mother said:
+
+"Aya! You are both of the same age, you are almost sisters. What are
+you afraid of? If you want to be particular, you have only to keep a
+blanket between you."
+
+During this time, Yu-lang was moved as much by fear as by delight. Was
+it not strangely fortunate that Prudence's mother should herself have
+come and let her in this manner to his bed? But if the young girl
+should call out? On the other hand he thought:
+
+"She is fifteen years old, therefore she has been ready for some time;
+the door of her emotions is ajar. If I take precaution and kindle her
+heart little by little, there is no need to fear that she will refuse
+to nibble at my hook."
+
+Now the wife of Liu had already retired, and Prudence had shot the
+bolt of the door. She was laughing all over the bright chrysanthemum
+of her face:
+
+"Sister-in-law, you have taken no refreshment. Are you not hungry? If
+you wish for anything, tell me, and I will go and fetch it for you."
+
+"I am deeply grateful to my sister-in-law for her gentle thought."
+
+Prudence noticed that the wick of the lamp had not been trimmed, and
+was burning long, straight and red. So she exclaimed:
+
+"That is for your happiness, sister-in-law!"
+
+The other could not restrain a burst of laughter.
+
+Prudence blushed and laughed also:
+
+"You know how to be merry."
+
+So they talked together. At length the maiden, taking the flowers out
+of her hair, got upon the bed and knelt down to undress herself. He
+asked her:
+
+"On which pillow would you like to sleep? The lower one?"
+
+"As my sister-in-law wishes."
+
+"Then, if you please, let us sleep on the same."
+
+"Very well."
+
+Prudence had slipped under the blankets to finish undressing, and the
+boy did likewise, removing his upper garment. The lamp, placed on a
+little table beside the bed, dimly lit up the recess through the thin
+curtains.
+
+His emotion began to rise, and he asked:
+
+"How many flowering Springtides have you known?"
+
+"Fifteen, this year."
+
+"Are you betrothed?"
+
+But she was seized with unaccountable shyness, and dared not answer.
+He brought his lips close to the delicate ear lying beside him, and
+whispered:
+
+"Why are you so bashful? We are only two women together."
+
+Very low, she answered him:
+
+"I am betrothed to the son of P'ei, the druggist, and already they
+are urging that the ceremony should take place. Happily nothing is yet
+decided."
+
+"You are not very eager, then?"
+
+She pushed his head gently away, saying:
+
+"It is not nice of you to take hold of my words in this way, and to
+make fun of me. If I am not eager, you do not seem to be any more so
+than I."
+
+"And how do you know that, maiden? In any case, how could I be so when
+we are two women."
+
+"You speak to me as if you were my mother," the other laughed.
+
+"Considering my age, I should rather be your husband," he
+thoughtlessly said.
+
+She burst out laughing:
+
+"It is I who am the husband, seeing that I took my brother's place at
+the wedding."
+
+"Well, let us not argue, but rather act as if we were husband and
+wife."
+
+Thus both of them spoke words of meaning. They grew more and more
+passionate.
+
+"Since we are husband and wife," he said impatiently, "why do we not
+sleep under the same blanket?"
+
+As he spoke, he pushed back the thick quilt, and began to observe the
+garment on the so sweet and smooth, so soft and graceful body. She
+had kept on an under garment, but her heart was filled with Springtime
+thoughts, and she offered no resistance to his eye.
+
+Then, trembling with desire, he came to her breasts that had so lately
+dawned, and were so firm. Their tender points were red as a cock's
+crest, and in all things lovable.
+
+Delighted with this game, Prudence put out her hands to return his
+caresses, and also found his breasts. But there was nothing but quite
+a little button. She was astonished, and said to herself:
+
+"She is as tall as I am. How comes it that she is not further
+developed?"
+
+But by this time Yu-lang was holding her right in his arms, and
+had his lips glued to her, wantonly thrusting out his tongue. She
+continued the game by giving it a little nibble, and then thrust out
+her own tongue. This he so tenderly caressed with his that the girl's
+body seemed all at once to melt, and she said languorously:
+
+"This is no longer a game. We are truly husband and wife!"
+
+The false bride, seeing that he had fully awakened the passion of his
+dupe, made answer:
+
+"Not yet. We must take off our under garments."
+
+"But I am afraid lest people should talk. It is not good to take them
+off."
+
+He gave a nervous laugh and, without paying attention to her words,
+undid her girdle and took off her garment. As he advanced toward her,
+she protected herself with her two hands, saying:
+
+"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, you must not!"
+
+But he kissed her again upon the lips.
+
+"There is nothing to forbid it, little sister. You may caress me
+also."
+
+In her agitation, and so as not to seem too stupid, she took off his
+vest, and her timid little hand suddenly stopped short. Her surprise
+was such that, for a moment, she could not speak. But at last she
+said: "What man are you who dare to take my sister-in-law's place?"
+
+"I am your husband," he answered hugging her to him.
+
+She pushed him off, and said seriously:
+
+"If you do not tell me in plain truth who you are, I shall cry and
+call out, and you will be sorry for that."
+
+"Do not be angry, little sister," he replied. "I will tell you
+everything. I am Yu-lang, your sister-in-law's elder brother. My
+parents heard that your brother was seriously ill, and did not wish my
+sister to leave our house; but since your parents would not alter the
+day of the marriage, I had to disguise myself and take my sister's
+place, until your brother should be healed. I never expected that
+Heaven would, in its bounty, allow me to become your husband. But we
+alone must know of our love. Let us not betray it to any."
+
+Pressing forward again, he tried to bind her in his arms. Although
+she had believed she was with a woman, Prudence had loved him from
+the first; the feeling which she had mistaken for friendship quickly
+changed to that of love, for it was kindled, as was all of her, by the
+young man's ardour. Nevertheless she was suffused with shame, and so
+wavered between one extremity and the other.
+
+As for him, in the freshness of his still maiden youth he spoke to
+her of everlasting vows, of a love higher than the mountain and vaster
+than the sea, and of a marriage shaped from a boundless happiness. Her
+betrothed, her parents and her shame were all forgotten. She covered
+her face with her hand and resisted no longer.
+
+When the cloud and the rain of their intoxication had been dispelled,
+they clasped each other close and went to sleep.
+
+Meanwhile, the nurse, being in the secret of this disguise, had been
+much disturbed at seeing Prudence share the young man's bed. From the
+adjoining room she had heard their laughter, and then their sighs,
+and had no further doubt of what had happened. And inwardly she cried:
+"Woe! Woe!"
+
+In the morning, after Prudence had returned to her parents' house to
+perform her toilet, the woman came in to wait upon Yu-lang, and said
+to him in a low voice:
+
+"O practitioner! You have done a fine thing! What will happen if
+people come to know of it?"
+
+"I did not search her out. Her mother led her to my bed. How could I
+have avoided this?"
+
+"You ought to have resisted with all your might."
+
+"With such an adorably beautiful girl? Even a man of iron and stone
+could not have resisted. Also, if you say nothing, who will know of
+it?"
+
+When the process of disguise was again completed, he went to salute
+the wife of Liu. Then all the women of the house and the cousins came
+to see him. Finally Prudence came in, and they two laughed together.
+For that day, as was the custom, Liu and his wife had invited their
+relations and friends, and there was a great feast, with music and
+a dinner lasting until the evening. Then, when the house was quiet
+again, the girl went, as on the previous night, to keep young
+Yu-lang company. That night, even more so than the preceding one,
+the butterflies beat their wings, and the passionate phoenixes were
+convulsed.
+
+In the morning, they kept together. Therefore the scandalized nurse
+ran out and told everything to Sun said his wife, and they reeled with
+surprise and emotion.
+
+"Alas, misfortune will certainly come of it! We must bring him back as
+soon as possible."
+
+They summoned the go-between and told her that, according to custom,
+on the third day after the marriage they wished to see their daughter
+at their house. She therefore went to the home of Liu, and the two
+lovers trembled when they heard of this request. But the wife of Liu
+had not forgotten the difficulties which Sun had made with regard to
+the marriage; and she was afraid of not seeing her daughter-in-law
+again. So she said:
+
+"But my son is still suffering, and the marriage has not been
+altogether accomplished. We will speak of this again at some later
+time."
+
+This answer had to be sufficient. The nurse was in terror, and watched
+the approaches of the room all night for fear lest anybody should hear
+the rapturous exclamation of the lovers.
+
+The days passed, and Virgin Diamond gradually grew better. Since he
+admired the beauty of his young wife, his desire to know her hastened
+his recovery, and the time came when he was able to get up. Still
+walking unsteadily, he went into the nuptial pavilion to see her who
+was his bride, and came before the door, supported by his attendants.
+The nurse was there, and cried out loud:
+
+"My Lord wishes to enter!"
+
+Yu-lang was, quite naturally, holding Prudence in his arms. He hastily
+released her, and went close to the door.
+
+"You have succeeded in rising, my elder brother?" said Prudence. "You
+will fatigue yourself."
+
+"That is no matter," he answered, making a deep obeisance before her
+whom he believed to be his wife.
+
+"Ten thousand happinesses be with you!" Yu-lang graciously replied.
+
+"What an exquisite pair!" cried the wife of Liu, proud of her son and
+happy at his fortune.
+
+The false bride's beauty was meanwhile strangely reviving the
+invalid's vitality. And the other lad thought:
+
+"He is a fine boy in spite of his illness: there is no need to pity my
+sister. But if he can get up, he will waste no time in coming to spend
+the night with me. I must depart as quickly as possible."
+
+When evening came, he explained his fears to Prudence.
+
+"It is quite necessary to persuade your mother to send me back to
+my home, that I may change places with my sister. Everything will be
+discovered if we delay."
+
+"You wish to go? But what will become of me alone?"
+
+"I have already thought of that. Alas. Alas! But we are both betrothed
+to another. What can we do?"
+
+"If you do not want me living, I must die so that my soul may follow
+you."
+
+And she sobbed and sobbed. He dried her eyes saying to her:
+
+"Do not meet trouble in this way, but leave me to find a plan."
+
+They clasped each other in their arms, shedding most bitter tears.
+
+Now it must be said that the wife of Liu was a little wearied of
+seeing her daughter night and day inseparable from her sister-in-law.
+However, she said nothing, because the marriage was not actually
+accomplished. But passing before the marriage pavilion on that day,
+she heard a sobbing. She drew near noiselessly and, through a hole in
+the window paper, saw them close in each other's arms and weeping.
+
+"This is very odd," she said.
+
+She wished to make an outcry, but remembered that her son was just
+getting better, and would fall ill again from any sorrow. She gently
+tried to push the door open, but it was locked. She called out:
+
+"It is strange that this door should be locked!"
+
+The lovers recognized her voice, and made haste to dry their tears and
+open the door. She came in.
+
+"Why do you lock yourselves in during full daylight, and groan and
+embrace each other?"
+
+They felt the blood flow to their faces, and answered nothing. The
+mother's hands and feet were trembling with rage. She seized hold of
+her daughter:
+
+"You are playing some pretty trick. Let me talk to you a little."
+
+And she dragged her into an empty room. The attendants who saw her
+asked each other why the girl was being dragged along like that. But
+by this time the mother had locked the door. When the attendants came
+and looked through the holes in the paper, they saw her lifting a
+stick, and heard her crying:
+
+"O wretch, tell me the truth, or I shall strike you! Why were you
+weeping?"
+
+At first Prudence thought of denial. Then she said to herself that
+it would be better to confess and to beg her parents to break off her
+betrothal with the family of P'ei, so that they might marry her to
+Yu-lang. If they refused, she would die. That was all. So she told the
+whole matter without evasion.
+
+"We are husband and wife. Our love is boundless, and our vows will
+endure for at least a hundred years. My brother is recovered, and
+we fear that we shall be separated. Yu-lang wishes to return to his
+parents, to send his sister in his place. It seemed, then, to your
+daughter that a woman cannot have two husbands, and that if Yu-lang
+cannot marry me, I must die."
+
+As she listened to her, her mother's breast opened with rage, and she
+stamped her feet: "This rotten carrion has sent his son here and
+has deceived me. And now my daughter is lost. I must beat him
+unmercifully!"
+
+She seized her stick, opened the door and ran forth. Her daughter,
+forgetting her shame, tried to prevent her; but the old woman pushed
+her away violently, so that she fell down. Prudence got up and ran
+after her. The attendants also ran.
+
+Now Yu-lang had very well understood that all was discovered when
+Liu's wife had dragged her daughter away. A moment later, the nurse
+hurried in.
+
+"O my Gods! And, ah unhappiness! All is well lost! Prudence is being
+questioned with the stick."
+
+It seemed to him that two knives were piercing his heart. He burst out
+into sobbing. But the nurse was already taking out his hair-pins and
+clothing him as a man. In a state of stupor he let himself be hurried
+to the main door and through the streets. A few moments later he was
+back at his parents' house.
+
+His father did not fail to say to him:
+
+"I told you to play the girl, not the man. Why have you committed acts
+of which Celestial Reason disapproves?"
+
+Yu-lang jostled thus by his father and his mother, no longer knew
+where he stood. Meanwhile the nurse objected:
+
+"But what can they say there? Our young Lord has only to keep himself
+hidden for a few days, and it will all pass over."
+
+But at Liu's house the nurse, as she went away, had unwittingly locked
+the door, and Liu's wife had come to it and was shaking it violently,
+stammering with rage and flourishing her stick.
+
+"Thief, whom may Heaven strike dead! O very vile rascal! For what did
+you take me? I am going to show you who I am! I will have your life!
+If you do not open the door, I shall break it open with a great case."
+
+But naturally no one answered. Prudence tried in vain to stay her
+mother, who loaded her with insults; but at last, in her rage, she
+succeeded in breaking the lock, and rushed into the room with her
+stick uplifted. The cage was empty and the bird had flown. She knelt
+on all fours to look under the bed and under the furniture, crying out
+all the time:
+
+"Thief, you shall die!"
+
+But, as she was compelled to admit, there was no trace of the
+ravisher. Then Prudence said to her, sobbing meanwhile:
+
+"And now, after this scandal, the P'ei family is let into the whole
+secret. I entreat you to have pity on me and let me marry Yu-lang.
+Otherwise, must I not die in order to redeem my shame?"
+
+She fell on her knees, weeping and groaning.
+
+"What you say is true," answered her mother resuming some measure of
+calm. "After this wonderful affair, no one will want you."
+
+However, a mother's love cannot be altogether restrained. She drew
+near to her daughter: "My poor child! All this is not your fault. It
+is that rotten carrion of a Sun who has caused it. But we cannot, of
+ourselves, break off the betrothal with P'ei."
+
+As Liu came up in the meantime, the matter had to be explained to him.
+He was nearly half a day without being able to speak, and it may be
+surmised that his first words were to throw the blame on his wife:
+
+"The whole fault is yours! By making me say I do not know what, you
+arranged all this. Instead of altering the date as you should have
+done! And to crown all, you insisted upon placing our daughter in his
+arms! She has very well kept him company, has she not?"
+
+His wife's anger was not quite dead, and these remarks rekindled it.
+Her voice rolled out like thunder:
+
+"You old tortoise!" she began....
+
+But on this occasion he also was furious. He advanced, threatening to
+strike her. Prudence tried to come between them, and all three were
+nothing but a rolling, striking, shouting and weeping congeries. The
+servants then ran to inform Virgin Diamond who rose from his bed and
+unsteadily ran. His mother was moved with pity to see him, and his
+father also stopped his vituperation. They both went out muttering.
+
+Virgin Diamond then asked his sister the cause of all this, and why
+his young wife was no longer there. She answered only with tears; but
+his mother, who had returned, told the whole story.
+
+Virgin Diamond's anger was so strong that his face became the color of
+the earth. However, he contained himself, saying:
+
+"Let us not publish this family shame abroad. If the news spreads,
+everybody will laugh at us."
+
+As a matter of course, their mischievous neighbor, Li, had heard their
+shouting and weeping. He had quickly climbed on to his wall, but had
+been unable to understand what was happening. Next morning he watched
+for the first of the women slaves who came out, and drew her into
+his house. Fifty pieces of copper decided the girl to speak, and the
+delighted Li, letting her depart, ran to the house of P'ei, to whom he
+told all that he knew.
+
+P'ei went straight to the house of Liu:
+
+"I know all," he cried. "Give back the gifts, and let no more be
+said."
+
+Liu's face became red and white by turns. He thought:
+
+"How does he already know what happened in my house but yesterday?"
+
+Then he denied the matter:
+
+"Kinsman, whence come these words with which you are trying to sully
+my family?"
+
+"Miserable cheat!" cried the other, "you are in very truth an old
+tortoise."
+
+And he struck him on the face with his hand.
+
+"Murderer!" cried Liu in a fury. "Do you dare to come to my house and
+insult me and strike me?"
+
+And he struck P'ei such a violent blow that the old man fell to the
+ground. Then they began to belabor each other. Virgin Diamond and
+his mother, hearing their cries, ran up and separated them. Afterward
+P'ei, pointing with his finger and trembling, cried:
+
+"You know how to strike, old tortoise! We shall see whether you are as
+clever in speaking before the judge."
+
+And he went out swearing. Liu exclaimed:
+
+"It is all Sun's fault. If I do not bring an action against them, they
+will even now escape entirely free."
+
+In spite of his son's curses, he hurriedly set about writing an
+accusation, and ran to the Governor s palace.
+
+The court was sitting, and Liu, holding his accusation, approached the
+judge. P'ei was already there, and reviled him as soon as he saw him.
+Liu retaliated, and the battle began anew.
+
+At this interruption, the magistrate sternly ordered the two to kneel
+and explain themselves. Both spoke confusedly at the same time, but
+the whole story was none the less made clear. All those who were
+implicated in the matter were summoned, and they came to fall upon
+their knees.
+
+At length the judge delivered sentence. All the former betrothals were
+annulled. Yu-lang became betrothed to her whom he had outraged. But
+the Sun family owed a compensation to the Liu family, which in its
+turn owed a bride to the P'ei family. So Pearl Sun was given to the
+son of P'ei, and Virgin Diamond was bestowed upon the former betrothed
+of Yu-lang. Having settled the affair, the Governor summoned three
+red palankeens and the three brides were conducted under escort to
+the homes of their new husbands. The town of Hang-chow talked of this
+affair for a long time, but in the end forgot it for some new scandal.
+
+
+_Hsing shih heng yen (1627),
+8th Tale._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Eastern Shame Girl, by Charles Georges Souli
+
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