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CORNELL UNIVERSITY
LIBRARIES
ITHACA, N. Y. 14853

 

 

Charles W. vy... ° “ollection
on China and the Chinese

Cornetl University Libra

il iii

 

 

 

 

 

 
THE TRIBULATIONS OF A
CHINAMAN.

, SEE sO &
BOOKS BY JULES VERNE.

3CELEBRATED TRAVELS and TRAVELLERS. 8 Vols. Demy
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f Same as (¢), except in cloth, 2 Vols., gilt edges, 2s, each.

 

 
In the course of ten minutes they were able to steer with perlect ease and
security (page 217). frontispiece.

 
THE TRIBULATIONS OF
A CHINAMAN.

BY

JULES VERNE.

TRANSLATED BY ELLEN E, FREWER.

 

AUTHOR’S ILLUSTRATED EDITION.

Lonvon : :
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET,
1883.

CAI viohte reserved
cote me meartates am

ix ards

CONTENTS.
igo:
—_—_—~———
CHAPTER I.
; . PAGE
THE First WATCH OF THE NIGHT . 7 . . . I

CHAPTER II.
ANTECEDENTS . .« «© «© « «© © «6 13

CHAPTER III.
SHANG-HAI . «ewe lt . 25

CHAPTER IV.
‘Kin-Fo at Home «ww tse wl 84

CHAPTER V.
‘UNWELCOME TIDINGS. . . 2. @ + 2
CHAPTER VI. —" .
HE CENTENARIAN 2. 6 ee ete SD

ov ep eae,
CHAPTER VII.
PREPARATION FOR DEATH: . . « « «© « « 68

CHAPTER VIII.
A SERIOUS CONTRACT. + + . ‘% «%© «6 « « 80

CHAPTER IX,

SUSPENSE © «© » ¢ ® © % =e wa «= «w 8
CHAPTER X.

A StRIcT WATCH 8 8 6 ee QB
vi CONTENTS,

 

CHAPTER XI.

PAGE
AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY -~ 6 2 «© «© « «106,
CHAPTER XII.
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES ~. . «2. « o« © 118
CHAPTER XIII.
AN EXCITING CHASE. . «© « «© © «© «2 +6 134
CHAPTER XIV.

PEKING- «6 «© «© «.o« «© « Z . .. - 146
: CHAPTER XV.
A CONTRETEMPS . 2. «© «© «© «© 6 © «© « 16%
CHAPTER XVI.

OFF AGAIN . 6 «© «6 © «© «© « «© © 0 174

CHAPTER XVII.
ON BOARD THE “SAM-YEP” «www gw gS «18S

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE CARGO . GMa 8 2) 8b & * oe e + 197

CHAPTER XIX.

AFLOAT os © © © © © ww «© © « BIO
CHAPTER XxX,
A TIGERSHARK . 2 s+ 4 6 ewww 223

CHAPTER XXI.
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE . . «© « « «6 © «236

CHAPTER XXII.
BACK TO SHANG-HAI. 6 we ww wl 249)
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

 

PAGE
In the course of ten minutes they were able to steer with perfect

easeandsecurity . . . . « » « Frontispiece.
The two friends sauntered leisurely along the quay. ‘ - 30
Then was to come the catafalque . P i : ‘ a » 73
Wang was seen brandishing the poignardintheair . . . 93 -
Kin-Fo’s resolution was soon taken . .« «© «© «© « 144.
Captain Yin was not laughing now . ., « +e © «+ I94

* There’s your stove,” said F ry A ee ae . 226

‘The pigtail came off bodily inthe man’shand . . . « 234
THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

CHAPTER I.

/ THE FIRST WATCH OF THE NIGHT.

“ THERE'S some good in life, after all!” exclaimed one of
a party of six, as he rested his elbow upon the arm of a
marble-backed seat, and nibbled a fragment of lotus-root.

“Yes, and evil too,” replied another, recovering from a
fit of coughing brought on by the pungency of-a piece of
shark’s fin,

Then be philosophers,” said a man of more advanced
years, who wore a pair of huge spectacles with wooden
rims ; “be philosophers, and take life as it comes ; to-day
you run the risk of being choked ; to-morrow discomfort
departs as easily as this wine. Such is life!”

And he swallowed a glass of lukewarm wine, drawn
from a vessel whence the steam arose in a cloud that was
scarcely perceptible.

“For my part,” observed a fourth, “I find existence very
B
2 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

comfortable as long as there is plenty to live on and
nothing to do.”

“On the contrary,” a fifth remarked, “true happiness
consists in labour and study ; to get happiness you must
get knowledge.” weg phe Bs phys

“Rid find out at last” ‘chat you Know nating? ,

“Well, and isn’t that the beginning of wisdom ?”

“ And what, then, is the end of it ?”

“Wisdom has no end,” said the gentleman in the
spectacles ; “but there will be no want of contentment if
only you possess common sense.” ‘

“ And our host, what has he to say upon the subject?
does he hold life to be a condition of good or a condition
of evil?” said the first speaker, addressing thé entertainer
of the party, who occupied, as of right, the séat at ‘the
head of the table.

The host had been sitting silent and abstracted, care-
lessly biting some melon-pips, and taking no part in the
discussion. Appealed to thus directly, he merely pouted
and uttered a contemptuous “Pooh!”

Common to all languages, ‘ ‘ pooh ” is a little mono-
syllable that may convey a large amount of meaning. It
was now the signal for a general outburst of argument
between the five guests; each more decidedly advanced
his own theory, whilst all were unanimous in wishing to
elicit their host's opinion on the matter,
THE FIRST WATCH OF THE NIGHT. 3

 

For some time he declined to make any further reply ;
but at length admitted that as far as he was concerned he
found life neither particularly pleasant nor particularly
unpleasant; that he looked upon it as rather an insig-
nificant institution, and that he hardly thought any very
intense enjoyment was to be got out of it.

A perfect volley of surprise broke from the whole audience.

“Only hear him!” cried one.

“Listen'to him, a man that had never a rose-leaf to
disturb his ease!” cried another.

“And so young too!”

“Yes, young and healthy

“ And rich to boot!”

“Ay, tich enough |”

“ Perhaps a little too rich!”

Animated as this cross-fire was, it failed to call up the

!”

faintest semblance of a smile upon the impassive coun-
tenance of the host ; he only shrugged his shoulders with
the air of a man who had scarcely glanced at the book .of
his experience, and who certainly was in no hurry to turn
over its pages.

He was thirty-one years of age, in the possession of
perfect health and an ample fortune: his mind had suffered
from no lack of culture, and in general intelligence he was
rather above the average. There seemed no reason why
he should not be the happiest of mortals. . -
a THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

Presently the-grave voice of the philosopher, like the
voice of the leader of an ancient chorus, was heard above
the tumult,—

“Young man, if you are not perfectly happy, it is because
your happiness has always been of a negative character.
In order to appreciate health and good fortune aright, it is
necessary at some time or other to have been deprived of
them. Now, you have never been ill; you have never
known a misfortune; I repeat, therefore, that you are not
capable of enjoying the blessings of which you are in pos-
session.”

He filled a glass with sparkling since of a costly
brand, and holding it up, continued,—

“My friends, let me propose a toast :—‘ May some mis-
fortune light upon our host—some little shadow settle on
the brightness of his life!’ ”

The glasses of the company were drained. The host
calmly made the least possible sign of acknowledgment,
and relapsed into his normal apathy.

And where, it may now be asked, did this conversation
take place? Was it in Paris, London, Vienna, or St.
Petersburg? Was it ina restaurant of the Old World or
the New that this little company was gathered, eating
and drinking, genial yet without excess. One thing was |
altogether certain: it was not a party of Frenchmen, for
not a word of politics had been spoken.
THE FIRST WATCH OF THE NIGHT. 5

 

The apartment was moderate in size, but richly deco-
rated. The rays of the setting sun glinted through panes
of blue and orange glass; beyond the bay-windows wreaths
of flowers, real and artificial, waved in the evening breeze,
while variegated lanterns mingled their pale light with the
departing beams of day. The tops of the windows were
ornamented with carved arabesques and varied sculpture
representing the fauna and flora of a fantastic world ;
hangings of silk and wide double-bevelled mirrors adorned
the walls, and suspended from the ceiling a punkah with
wings of painted muslin kept the air in motion and relieved
the oppressiveness of the temperature.

The table was oblong in shape, and made of black
lacquer ; its surface, uncovered by any table-cloth, reflected
each separate article of porcelain or of silver as perfectly as
if it had been a sheet of crystal.

As a substitute for table-napkins, every one was supplied
with a considerable number of squares of paper figured
over in various devices. The chairs arranged round the
table were made with marble backs, as being more suitable
to the climate than the padded lounges in general use
elsewhere.

Comely girls did the waiting; they wore lilies and
chrysanthemums in their raven locks, and had bracelets of
gold and jade coquettishly twisted on their arms. Sprightly
and full of smiles, they dexterously took the dishes on and
6 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

off with one hand, leaving the other free to wave a grace-
ful fan, in order to maintain the current of air that had
been set in motion by the punkah above.

Nothing could be more perfect or served in better style
than the entire banquet. The Bignon of the district, as if
aware that he was catering for connoisseurs, seemed to
have been anxious to surpass himself in the preparation
of the many dishes that crowded the menu. .

. For the first course were handed sugared cakes, caviare,
fried grasshoppers, dried fruits, and Ning-Po oysters. ‘Then
followed successively, at short intervals, ducks’, pigeohs’,
and peewits’ eggs poached, swallows’ nests with mashed
eggs, fricassees of ginseng, stewed sturgeons’ gills, whales’
sinews with sweet sauce, fresh-water tadpoles, fried crabs’
spawn, sparrows’ gizzards, sheeps’ eyes stuffed with garlic,
radishes in milk flavoured with apricot-kernels, matelotes
of holithurias, bamboo-sprouts in syrup, and sweet salads.
The last course consisted of pine-apples from Singapore,
earth-nuts, salted almonds, savoury ‘mangoes, the white
fleshy fruits of the “long-yen,” the pulpy fruits of the
“ lit-chee,” chestnuts, and preserved oranges from Canton,
For drinks, there were beer, wine from Chao-Chigne, and
an ample supply of champagne. After the dessert, rice
was served, which the guests raised to ‘their mouths with
little chop-sticks. 4 ; \

Three hours were spent over the banquet. When it was
‘THE FIRST WATCH ‘OF THE NIGHT. 7

 

ended, and at the time wv aeeneiines to European usage,
salvers of rose-water are frequently handed round, the
waiting-maids brought napkins steeped in warm water,
which all the company rubbed over their faces apparently
with great satisfaction.

‘The next stage of the entertainment was an hour's
lounge to be occupied in listening to. music. A group of
players and singers entered, all pretty young girls, neatly
and modestly attired. Their performance, however, could
scarcely have ‘been more inharmonious;'it was hardly
better than a series of yells, howls, and screeches, without
-thythm and without time. The instruments were a worthy

‘accompaniment to the chorus ; wretched violins, of which
the strings -kept entangling the bows; harsh guitars
covered with snake-skins ; shrill clarionets,:and harmo-
nicons all out of tune, like diminutive portable pianos. '

The girls had been conducted into the room by a man
who acted as leader of the Charivarii Having handed a
programme to the host, and received in return a permission
to perform what he chose, he made his orchestra strike up
“ The bouquet of ten flowers,” a piece at that time enjoying.
a vast popularity in the fashionable world. This was fol-
lowed by other pieces of similar character, and at the close
of the performances, the troop, already handsomely paid,
‘were enthusiastically applauded, and allowed to depart and
gain fresh laurels from other audiences.
8 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

After the concert was over, the party rose’from their
seats, and, having interchanged a few ceremonious sen-
tences, passed to another table. Here were laid six covered
cups, each embossed with a portrait of Bédhidharama, the
celebrated Buddhist monk, standing on his legendary wheel.
The cups were already full of boiling water, and each
member of the party was provided with a pinch of tea,
which he put into the cup, without sugar, and at once
drank off the infusion. And what tea it was! Direct
from the stores of Gibb, Gibb, and Co., there was no fear of
its having been adulterated by extraneous matter, nor of
its being coloured by turmeric or Prussian blue ; no sus-
picion of its having already been subject to a process of
decoction that left it only fit to lay upon the carpet of a
dusty room ; it was the Imperial tea, in all its purity, the
young leaf-buds allowed to be gathered only by children
with gloves on their hands, and that but rarely, as every
gathering kills a tree.

Europeans would have exclaimed in wonder at its
flavour, but these connoisseurs sipped it slowly, with the
air of men who duly appreciated its quality. They were
all men of the upper class, handsomely attired in “ hun-
chaols,” a kind of thin shirt, “ma-cooals,” or short tunics,
and “haols,” long coats buttoned at the side. On their
feet were yellow slippers and open-work socks, met by silk
breeches that were fastened round the waist by tasselled
THE FIRST WATCH OF THE NIGHT. 9

 

scarves; on their chests they wore a kind of stomacher
elaborately embroidered in silk. Elegant. fans dangled
from their girdles.

To this description it must be superiiiens to add that
they were natives of the land where the tea-tree annually
yields its fragrant harvest. To them the banquet, with its
‘strange menu of swallows’ nests, sharks’ fins, and whale-
‘sinew, had contained no novelty, much as they had been
aware of the skill and delicacy with which everything had
been served. But if there had been nothing-to surprise
them in the dishes of the entertainment, it was altogether
the reverse when their host informed them that he had a
communication that he wished to make.

The cups were all refilled, and, raising his own towards
his lips, resting his elbow on the table, and fixing his eyes
on vacancy, the host began to speak.

“Do not laugh at me, my friends, but I am going to
introduce a new element into my life. Whether it will be
for good or for evil, only the future can decide. This
dinner, at which you give me the pleasure of your company,
will be the last in which I shall entertain you as a bachelor.
In another fortnight I shall be married !”

“Married and happy ! the happiest of men!” _—e in
the voice of the one who seemed to be the optimist of the
party. “See,” he added, “the omens are all in your
favour,” and he pointed out how the lamps were shedding
10 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

a clear pale light, how the magpies were chattering cheerily
on the carved windows, and how the tea-leaves were all
floating perpendicularly in the cups.

' A volley of congratulations followed, but the host re-
ceived them all with the most imperturbable coolness. It
did not seem to occur to him that it was necessary to give
the name of the lady, and no one ventured to intrude upon
his reserve. ‘The philosophic gentleman alone did not join
in the genetal chorus of good wishes, but, sitting with his
arms folded, his eyes half closed, and an ironical smile upon
his lip, seemed as if he had some misgiving as to the pro-
priety of the compliments that were being so freely paid.

The host looked at him; rising from his seat and
approaching him, he said, with a voice that betrayed more
emotion than his previous manner indicated,—

“Do you think I am too old to get married ?”

“No.” i

“Too young, then ?”

“No.”

“Am I making a mistake ?”

“Very probably.”

“The lady, you know, possesses every quality to make

me happy.” a

a Very true.”

“Then where is the difficulty ?”

“ The difficulty is in yourself.”
THE FIRST°* WATCH OF THE NIGHT. tl

 

“ Shall I never bé happy ?” sg ite
“Never till you have known what it is to be unhappy,
“Tam out of the reach of misfortune.” .
“Then your case has no remedy.”

“Nonsense! all nonsense!” broke in the youngést man
in the room; “‘it is all idle trash listening to a theoretical
machine like this philosopher! He is full of theories, and
his theories are bosh! Get married, my friend ; get ‘mar-
ried as soon as youcan. I should get married myself, only
I have a vow which forbids me. “We will drink’ your
health. Happiness and'good luck’ be with you!”

“I can only repeat my hope,” rejoined the stoic, “that
happiness may come to him through some unhappiness.”

The toast was drunk; the. guests rose from their seats,
clenched their fists as if they were about to begin a boxing-
match, lifted them to their foreheads, bowed, and took
their leave.

From the description thus given of the apartment where
the entertainment was held, of the strange menu, and of
the attire and deportment of the company, it will be at
once comprehended that the Chinese here depicted were
not of that conventional type which might step out from
paper screens or from old oriental porcelain, but, on the
other hand, were examples of the modern inhabitants of
the Celestial Empire, who, by education, travel, and inter-
course with Europeans, have adopted not a few of the
12 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

habits of the civilized West. It was, in fact, in the saloon
of one of the pleasure-yachts on the Pearl River at Canton
that the wealthy Kin-Fo, with his inseparable companion,
Wang the philosopher, had just been entertaining four of
the earliest friends of his youth, Pao-shen, a mandarin of
the fourth class, as his dark blue ball denoted, Vin-Pang, a
rich silk merchant in Apothecary Street, Tim, a mere man
of pleasure, and Hooal, a man of letters.

Thus, on the twenty-seventh day of the fourth moon, had
been passed the first of the five watches into which the
Chinese romantically divide the night.
CHAPTER II,
ANTECEDENTS.

KiN-Fo had a special reason for giving a farewell dinner
at Canton. Having spent the greater part of his youth in
the capital of Quang-Tung, he had, as a rich and generous
young man, formed many friends there, and was anxious
to pay them a compliment on this occasion. But nearly
all of them had been dispersed on their various paths of
life, and only the four already mentioned remained to
accept the courteous invitation. Kin-Fo’s proper residence
was at Shang-Hai; he had merely come to Canton for a
few days’ change of air and scene, and was about, that
very evening, to take the steamboat that called at the
principal ports along the coasts, and to return to his
“yamen.”

Asa matter of course, Wang the philosopher had accom-
panied him ; he was a tutor who rarely quitted his pupil’s
side. Tim had not been very much beside the mark when
he irreverently called him “a theoretical machine,” for he’
14 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

" was never weary of propounding his sententious maxims,
although it must be owned that they ordinarily had as
little effect upon Kin-Fo as is proverbially represented by
water on a duck’s back.

Kin-Fo was a very fair type of the Chinese of the North,
who have never become allied with the Tartars. Neither
his father’s family nor his mother’s had a drop of Tartar
blood in their veins, and for purity of breed his match
could not be found anywhere in the southern provinces,
where both upper and lower classes have intermingled with
the Manchow race. He was tall and well-built ; his com-
plexion was fair rather than yellow ; his eyes and eyebrows
were set almost horizontally, although they turned up
slightly towards the temples; his nose was straight, and
altogether his physiognomy was so refined that he could
hardly have passed unnoticed even among the handsome
men of the well-favoured populations of the west. The
Chinese characteristic that. was most pronounced was his
closely shorn head and neck, with the magnificent pigtail
that descended from his poll like a serpent of. glossy jet.
A fine moustache grew in a graceful semicircle over his.
upper lip, distinct as the sign that in musical notation
denotes a pause. His nails were allowed to grow to the
length of half an inch, delivering their testimony to the
fact that he belonged to the class who never put their
hands to manual labour of any kind; but any how ‘hig
ANTECEDENTS, 1S

personal bearing was sufficient to show his independent
position in life. ao

He had been-born in Peking, a srelistiee in the north
of which the Chinese are ever proud, and to which they
refer by describing themselves as coming “ from above.”
Here he had lived until. he was six years old, when his
residence had been changed to Shang-Hai. . “4

His father, Chung-How, was a descendant of a good.
family in the north, and, like many of his countrymen,
possessed a remarkable faculty for business. In the early
part of his career there was hardly.a product of that rich
and populous territory that did not enter into his line of
traffic, and: paper from Swatow, silk from Soo-Choo, can-
died sugar from Formosa, tea from Han-Kow ‘and Foo-
Chow, iron from Honan, copper and brass from the pro-
vince of Yunnan—all were included in the items: of his:
commerce. His principal factory, or “kong,” was at
Shang-Hai, but he had other establishments at Nan-King,
Tien-Tsin, Macao, and Hong-Kong. English steamers
transported his merchandise, the electric cable kept him
informed of the market price of silk at. Lyons. and of
opium at Calcutta; for, unlike the generality of Chinese
dealers who were under the pressure of the government
or the influence of mandarins, he rose superior to prejudice,
and so far from scorning the aid .of steam and electricity,
he welcomed them readily as efficient agents of progress,
16 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

So successfully did Chung-How carry on his transac-
tions, not only within the empire itself but likewise with
the French, English, Portuguese and American firms at
Shang-Hai, Macao, and Hong-Kong, that at the time
when his son Kin-Fo was born, he had already amassed
the sum of 400,000 dollars (80,0007). But in subsequent
years this fortune was more than doubled by the opening
of a new line of business in the export of coolies to
America.

It is a fact established beyond dispute that the popula-
tion of China (variously designated by the poetical appella-
tions of the Celestial Empire, the Central Empire, and the
Land of Flowers), is quite disproportionate even to the
vast extent of territory it occupies, and cannot. be esti-
mated at less than 360,000,000 souls, or about a third of
the entire population of the world. Although the needs
of a poor Chinaman are marvellously small, yet he must
live; and China, notwithstanding its innumerable rice-
plantations and its boundless fields of corn and millet, is
incapable of growing sufficient produce to maintain him ;
there is a vast overplus of people; and for this overplus
a way of escape may be said to have been opened by the
breaches made by French and English cannon in the moral
no less than the material walls of the Celestial Empire.

It was towards North America, and especially towards

California, that the stream of emigration rapidly flowed
a
ANTECEDENTS, 17

=

 

forth; and so violent was the flood that Congress was
driven to take measures to restrict what was some-
what uncourteously designated as the invasion of the
“yellow plague ;” it was soon discovered that although
the exodus of 50,000,000 emigrants would not very sensi-
bly: affect the Chinese Empire, the settlement of so
large a contingent of Mongolians upon American soil
threatened only too seriously to result in the absorption
of the Anglo-Saxon element in the community.

Nevertheless, in defiance of all effort to establish restric-
tions, emigration continued to go on. The coolies, handy
at all trades, and contented with a handful of rice, a cup
of tea, and a little tobacco for their daily rations, did
thoroughly well in California, Oregon, Virginia, and at
Salt Lake, bringing with them everywhere a very con-
siderable reduction in the wages of handicraft. Companies
were started for their transport; five in various parts of
China for their conveyance to America, and another at
San Francisco to receive them on their arrival. A subor-
dinate agency was likewise established, called Ting-Tong,
which undertook to bring them back again.

The necessity for this Ting-Tong was imperative.
Although the Chinese were ready enough to go and seek
their fortune among the “ Mellicans,” as they called the
people of the United States, it was always upon the rigid
condition that die when they might, their bodies should

Cc
18 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

not fail to be brought back and buried in their native
land. Except under a special covenant to this effect, no

 

contract could ever be made between an emigrant and a
company; and this “ Death-agency” accordingly was set
on foot to provide the means of conveyance for corpses
from California to Shang-Hai, Hong-Kong or Tien-Tsin.

Among the first to foresee the lucrative character of this
new branch of business was the enterprising Chung-How.
He entered upon it with great zest, and when he died, in
1866, he was a director of the Quang-Tung, Company, in
the province of that name, besides being sub-director of
the Ting-Tong board at San Francisco.

So successful were Chung-How’s seebillationa. that
Kin-Fo at his father’s death found himself heir to a fortune
of 160,000/, nearly all invested in the Central Bank of
California, where he had the good sense to leave it. Only
nineteen years of age, without father and without mother,
he would have been alone in the world had it not been
for the society of his inseparable friend and mentor, Wang.
For seventeen years had Wang resided in the yamen at
Shang-Hai, the cherished companion alike of father and
son ; whither he had come and what were his antecedents
probably none but Chung-How and Kin-Fo could tell,
and even they would doubtless maintain a strict reserve
upon the subject. It may, however, be well: slightly to
lift the veil and just glance at his early history.
ANTECEDENTS.. ce bs 19

 

It is a recognized certainty that in China the spirit .
roused by an insurrection will live and linger for many
years in the hearts of many thousand men. In the seven-
teenth century, the celebrated Ming dynasty of Chinese
origin had exercised, its sway for three hundred years,
when, in 1644, the representative of the race, finding him~
self too weak to cope with the enemies that threatened
his capital, called i in the aid of a Tartar king.. The Tartar,
nothing loth, hastened to his assistance, subdued the in-
surrection, but immediately took. advantage of his position
to dethrone the suppliant, and caused his own son Chun-
chee. to be proclaimed Emperor of China,

Henceforward, the usurper held the power, and fg
Chinese throne was filled by Manchow Emperors. Little
by little, amongst the lower classes of the. population, the
two faces amalgamated, but amongst the .richer families
of the north the. distinction between Chinese and Tartars
was far more. strictly maintained, and in some, provinces,
even to the present day there are to be found those who
have remained steadfast in their oe to the fallen
dynasty,, Herr

Amongst ‘these was Kin-Fo’s father. . Faithful, to the
traditions of his family, he would at, any time have, wel-
eomed a revolt against the Tartar power, although. for.
three centuries, it had been dominant in the empire. His.
son, as might be expected, shared his , political sentiments,

Cc 2 q

%
20 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

The reigning emperor in 1860 was Tsien-Fong, who
declared war against France and England ; a war which
was concluded by the treaty of Peking on the 25th of
October, in the same year. But previously to that date
the ruling dynasty had been threatened by a formidable
insurrection. The Chang-Mow or Tai-Ping, the “long-
haired-rebels,” had captured Nanking in 1853, and two
years afterwards had taken Shang-Hai. After Tsien-
Fong’s death, his young son and successor had a hard
matter to hold his own against the Tai-Ping, and except
for the assistance of the Viceroy Li, Prince Kong, and
more especially of the English Colonel Gordon, the chances
are very great that he would not have retained his throne.
The object of the Tai-Ping, sworn enemies to the Tartars,
was to overthrow the reigning Tsing dynasty, and to re-
place it once more by that of Ming; their party was
strongly organized, divided into four distinct bands; the
first, under a black banner commissioned for slaughter ;
the second, under a red banner, set apart for incendiarism ;
the third, under a yellow banner, appointed for plunder ;
and the fourth, under a white banner, selected to super-
intend the commissariat of the other three.

Important military operations were carried on in the
province of Kiang-Su. Soo-Choo and Kia-Hing, a few
miles from Shang-Hai, fell into the hands of the in+
surgents, and were recaptured only after a severe struggle
ANTECEDENTS. 21

 

by the Imperial troops. Shang-Hai itself was attacked on
the 18th of August, 1860, at the very time when, further
north, the united French and English army, under Generals
Grant and Montauban respectively, was storming the
forts of the Pei-Ho river. Chung-How was then occupy-
ing a residence near Shang-Hai, close to the magnificent
bridge that had been constructed by Chinese engineers,
over the river of Soo-Chow, and, as may be supposed, was
watching the insurrection with no unfavourable eye.

On the evening of the 18th, just after the rebels had
been expelled from the town, the door of the merchant’s
house was suddenly burst open, and a fugitive flung him-
self at the master’s feet. He was entirely unarmed, and
if Chung-How had been inclined to surrender him to the
Imperial troops, his life would have been forfeited at once.
But Chung-How had no disposition to betray a Tai-Ping ;
he hastily closed the door and addressed the intruder,—

“T know nothing of you. I do not inquire whence you
have come, or what you have been doing. Here you may
consider yourself as my guest. Here you shall be safe.”

Well-nigh exhausted as he was, the fugitive in broken
sentences, began to pour forth his gratitude, but Chung-
How checked him by asking,—

“ What is your name?”

“ Wang!” was the answer.

“Enough! enough !” said Chung-How; “I ask no more.”
22) THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

: Thus Wang’s life was saved by an act which, had it
been known, would doubtless ‘have cost the blood of the
benefactor. ©

In the course of the next few years, the rebellion was
finally suppressed, and in 1864, the Tai-Ping Emperor,
besieged in Nanking, poisoned himself, to avoid falling
into the hands of the Imperialists.

From the hour of his rescue, Wang had remained under
his deliverer’s roof, no one ever venturing to question him
about his past deeds. The atrocities committed by the
rebels were said to have been very terrible, and perhaps
it was better to be ignorant as to which of the four banners
Wang had followed, or at least to cherish the belief that
he had only served in the corps that poet for the
victualling of the others.

But whatever the fact: sihihe be, it was anyhow certain
that Wang had been fortunate enough to find most com-
fortable quarters, and had done his best to repay the
generosity that had rescued him. So wise and so amiable
a friend had he shown himself, that Kin-Fo, upon ‘his
father’s death, had retained him as an inseparable com-
panion for himself.. In the staid moralist of fifty-five, the
philosopher in wooden spectacles, with the conventional
moustache, it would have been hard to recognize the Tai-
Ping of former days, given perhaps to robbery, to incen-
diarism, or to murder; with his long sober-coloured robe,
‘ANTECEDENTS. 23

 

with his figure slightly tending to embonpoint, and with
his professional skull-cap of fur decorated,. according to
Imperial regulation, with tufts of red, he might easily have
‘passed for a member of the confraternity versed in the
eighty thousand symbols of the Chinese caligraphy, or for
one of the first-class literates privileged to pass beneath
the great gate of Peking reserved excusively for “the sons
of heaven.” It is very likely that the rough nature of the
rebel had been softened down by perpetual contact , with
Chung-How’s frank and genial qualities, and ‘that he had
gradually subsided into the calm and gentle ways of
speculative philosophy.

On the evening on which this story opens, and imme-
diately after the farewell dinner was over, Kin-Fo and
Wang together proceeded towards the quay to meet the
steamer that was to convey them back to Shang-Hai.
Kin-Fo was silent and thoughtful; Wang looked up and
down, right and left ; now at the moon, now at the stars,
passing complacently through the gate of Perpetual Purity,
with equal composure through the gate of Perpetual Joy,
and underneath the shadow of the Pagoda -of the Five
Hundred Gods.

The “Perma” was just getting up her steam to start.
Kin-Fo and Wang went to the cabins that had been
reserved for them, and were soon traversing the waters of
the Pearl River, the rapid. stream which daily receives the
24 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

carcases of prisoners who have been executed. The
steamer shot past the breaches-that had been made by the
French ‘cannonade, past the Pagoda of Nine Stories and
past the Jardyne Point in the neighbourhood of Whampoa,
where larger ships are wont to anchor; wending her way
between the little islands and the stockaded banks, she
made a hundred miles during the night, and at sunrise was
passing “the Tiger’s Jaw,” and nearing the bars at the
mouth of the estuary, while through the morning mist the
Victoria peak of Hong-Kong, 1825 feet in height, was
faintly visible.

The voyage was prosperous all through, and in due time
Kin-Fo and his companion were safely landed at Shang-
Hai, on the coast of the province of Kiang-Nan.
CHAPTER III.
SHANG-HAI.

THERE is a Chinese proverb to the effect that “when
swords are rusty and spades bright, when prisons are empty
and granaries full, when temple-steps are worn by the foot-
prints of the faithful, and courts of justice are overgrown
with grass, when doctors go on foot, and bakers on horse-
back, then the Empire is justly governed.” However true
the proverb may ordinarily be, to no country in the world is it
less applicable than to China, for there, on the contrary,
swords are, bright, while spades are rusty, the prisons. are
full to overflowing, while the granaries are empty, bakers
rather than doctors starve, and though the pagodas may
attract the believers, the halls of justice never lack their
train of criminals.

An empire which extends over an area_of 1,300,000
square miles, which is more than 1400 miles in length, and
varies from goo to 1300 miles in breadth, and which con-
tains eighteen vast provinces, exclusive of the dependent

y
26 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

territories of Mongolia, Manchuria, Thibet, Tonquin, Corea,
and the Loo-Choo Islands, can scarcely fail to have a very
imperfect administration. The fact is quite evident to
‘foreigners, and the Chinese themselves are beginning to
have more than a suspicion of its truth. The emperor
alone, “the son of heaven,” the father of his people, who
rarely emerges from the august seclusion of his palace,
whose word is law, whose power over life and death is
absolute, to whom the imperial revenues are due by right
of birth, and before whom all foreheads are bowed low to
the dust—he, indeed, may believe that he rules over the
-happiest of lands, and any attempt to undeceive him would
be utterly vain; a “child of the skies” must be infallible,
and can make no mistake.

It would seem, however, that Kin-Fo had come to the
conclusion that it was preferable to live under European
rather than Chinese authority ; he had chosen to reside not
in, Shang-Hai itself, but in the portion of land that had
been assigned to the English, and in which they maintained
an independent autonomy.'

Shang-Hai‘ proper. is situated on the left-hand bank of
the little Wang-Poo River, which, meeting: the Woosung at
right-angles, joins the Yang-tse-Kiang, or Blue River, and
ultimately flows into the Yellow Sea. The town is oval in
shape, lying north and south, enclosed by high walls,
through which five outlets lead to the suburbs. The
SHANG-HAL 27

 

narrow dirty streets are little better than paved lanes; the
dingy ‘shops, without fronts or stocks to attract, are served
by shopmen often naked to their waists; not a carriage
nor palanquin, and very rarely even a horseman, passes by ;
here and there are scattered a few native temples and
chapels belonging to foreigners; the only places of recrea-
tion are a “tea-garden,” and a swampy parade-ground, the
dampness of which is accounted for by its being on the site
of former rice-fields. Such are the chief points of a town,
which, undesirable as it may seem as a place of residence,
yet numbers a population of 200,000, and is of considerable
commercial importance. .-'

It was, in fact, the first town, after the treaty of Nanking,
that was thrown open to European traffic, and in which
foreigners were permitted to form establishments. Outside
the town and suburbs, three portions of territory have been
granted, subject to an annual rent, to the French, English,
and Americans, who have settled there to the number ot
about two thousand.

Of the French grant of land, or “concession,” ds being
of the least importance, there is little to be said. It lies
almost entirely to the north of the town, and extends as
far as the small river Yong-King-Pang, which separates it
from the English allotment. It contains the churches of
the Lazarists and Jesuits, in connexion with which four
miles from the town is the College of Tsikavé, where
28 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

degrees are granted to the Chinese. The colony, however,
is so small that it can bear no comparison with its neigh-
bours; out of the ten houses of business established there
in 1861, only three now remain, and even the discount bank
has migrated to the English settlement.

The American territory lies nearer the Woo-Sung, and
is separated from the English concession by the Soo-Choo
Creek, spanned by a wooden bridge. Its chief buildings
are the Hotel Astor and the Mission Church. There are
also docks of some magnitude to which European as well.as
American vessels are brought for repairs.

But by far the most flourishing of the three settlements
is that appropriated to the English The handsome
residences on the quays with luxurious verandahs and
elegantly laid-out gardens, the abodes of merchant princes,
the Oriental Bank, the “ Kong” belonging to the celebrated
house of Dent, the offices of the Jardynes, Russells, and
other great firrns, the English club, the theatre, the tennis-
court, the race-course, the library, all unite to form what
has, with no inconsiderable amount of justice, been called
“the model colony,” and, under a liberal administration as
it is, it is not altogether surprising to find what M. Léon
’ Rousset has described as “une ville chinoise d’un caractére
tout particulier et qui n’a d’analogue nulle part d’ailleurs.”

The foregoing account explains howa stranger approach-
ing this corner of the world by the picturesque route of the
SHANG-HAI. 29

 

Blue River, would behold four flags floating in the same
breeze, the French tricolour, the Union Jack, the American
stars and stripes, and the yellow cross on the green eropne
of the Celestial Empire.

Around Shang-Hai, the environs are flat and void of
trees. Narrow stony roads and footpaths intersect each
other at right angles; reservoirs and “arroyos” provide
the vast rice plantations with water; numberless canals
convey the junks right into the middle of the fields, as in
Holland. Thewhole scene may be compared to a i
of a great green landscape without a frame.

It was getting on towards midday when the “Perma”
came alongside the quay of the eastern suburb of the
native port. Kin-Fo and Wang landed at once. The
bustle and the crowd were indescribable. On the river
were junks by hundreds, pleasure-boats, “sampans” re-
sembling gondolas, gigs, and craft of every size, a veritable
floating city, the home of a population that cannot be
estimated at less than 40,000 souls, all of the lower class,
of whom the most fortunate and well-to-do can never hope
to rise to the rank of literates or mandarins. The quay,
too, was as densely peopled as the water, for there swarmed
a motley multitude, merchants of all grades, vendors of
oranges, earth-nuts, and shaddocks, seamen of many a
nation, water-carriers, fortune-tellers, Buddhist priests,
Catholic priests, dressed in Chinese fashion, native soldiers,
30 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

”

“ti-paos,” or local. police, and “ compradores,” agents for
transacting the negotiations with European merchants.

. The two friends sauntered leisurely along the quay.
Kin-Fo, fan in hand, in careless indifference, hardly cast,a
look .at the noisy multitude that thronged around. For
him, owner as he was of a fortune that would go" some way
towards buying a good slice of the whole suburbs, the
chink of the Mexican piastres, silver. taels, and copper
sapecks,’ in their active circulation was a sound. that
excited no personal interest. Wang had opened his huge
yellow umbrella decorated with figures of black monsters,
and walked along, suffering very little to escape the keen
eye of his observation. _ As they passed the, East Gate, he
caught sight of about | a dozen bamboo-cages which con-
tained the heads of. a lot of criminals : who . had been
executed the day before. aca

“Better have filled those fellowes? tieadts with i iniepledee
than cut them | off,” he muttered to himself, ,. al

Kin-Fo did not happen to hear the remark, otherwise he
might have felt considerable. surprise at such a sentiment
uttered by one who formerly had been a Tai- Ping. ,

“Leaving | the quay, and passing round, the walls, they
came close upon ‘the | French. allotment, -and had their
attention directed to a man. dressed in a Jong plue robe,

1 The piastrejis. worth about 45..34¢.; the ~ about 69,7d. The
sapeck is only one-twentieth of a penny..
ae °° vet
 

The two friends sauntered leisurely along the quay. Page 30.
SHANG-HAI. ae 31

 

who was trying to. attract a crowd by beating a. hollow
buffalo’s horn with a stick.

* Ah, look!” cried Wang, “here is a sien-Cheng!”

“Well,” said Kin-Fo ; “what of that?”

“Oh! it’s just the time;-you are going to be married;
he must tell your fortune!” replied the philosopher.

Kin-Fo had no wish for his fortune to be told, and
was conscious of his reluctance; nevertheless, at Wang’s
suggestion he came to a standstill.

A “sien-Cheng” is a recognized itinerant ferhuneddtien
who for a few sapecks is ready to reveal all the secrets of
the future. His professional appliances are nothing more
than a pack of sixty-four cards, and a small bird in a cage
which he carries attached to his button-hole: the cards
are painted with pictures of gods, men, and. beasts. The
Chinese generally are very superstitious, but they. are
particularly prone to respect the prognostications of a
sien-Cheng.

At a sign from Wang, the man spread a eatieo sheet
upon the ground, and deposited his bird-cage upon it.
He then produced his pack of cards, shuffled them, and
dealt them out face downwards upon the sheet. Opening
the door of the cage, he retired for the bird to come out.
The bird hopped out, picked up a card, and hopped back
again. It was rewarded with a grain or two of rice. The
card was turned up. It was a picture of a man, and a
32 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

ee

 

motto was written under the picture in “kunan-runa,” the
official language of the north, which is understood by none
except the educated classes. The sien-Cheng took up the
card, and formally exhibiting it, began to tell the identical
story which is delivered by fortune-tellers all over the
worid—there should be first one grievous difficulty, and
afterwards bliss for ten thousand years.

“Not so bad!” blandly observed Kin-Fo; “one dif-
ficulty is not much;” and he flung a tael on the white
sheet. The fortune-teller clutched at the silver piece as a
hungry dog would clutch at a bone; it was rarely that a
guerdon so good fell to his lot.

They recommenced their way, and approached the

French colony; the tutor pondering how remarkably the
oracle they had just consulted coincided with his own
theories, the young man nursing the conviction that no
serious difficulty was likely to befall him. They passed
the French consulate, crossed the narrow bridge over the
Yang-King-Pang, and, entering the British quarter, kept on
their way until they reached the chief European quay.
. By this time the midday hour had struck, at which a
Chinaman’s commercial day comes to a close. Quickly
the stir of business began to lull, and, as if by magic, the
bustle of the English settlement subsided into a still and
noiseless calm.

Several ships had just entered the port, the majority of
SHANG-HAI. 33

 

them carrying the British flag. A proportion of nine out
of ten of them were probably freighted with opium, that
powerful narcotic with which England supplies China, it is
said, at a profit of 300 per cent. and at an advantage to her
revenue of nearly 10,000,000/ a year. In vain has the
Chinese Government expostulated and endeavoured to put
a stop to the importation; the war of 1841, and the Treaty
of Nanking alike have secured open rights to British
traders, and although the Government at Peking has pro-
nounced a penalty of death upon any Chinese subject who
directly or indirectly traffics in the drug, ways and means
are ever found to evade the enactment and to escape the
punishment. It is asserted that the mandarin governor of
Shang-Hai annually adds some thousands of pounds to the
emoluments of his post, merely by shutting his eyes to the
delinquencies of his subordinates.

It is only justice to record that neither Kin-Fo nor Wang
ever yielded to the seductions of opium-smoking; not an
ounce of the dangerous poison had ever found its way to the
interior of the handsome dwelling at which within another
hour the young man and his sage counsellor arrived.

“Better teach a nation than stupify them!” Wang
would repeatedly say, and ignoring the Tai-ping principles
of former days would add-—“ Commerce is all very well,
but philosophy is better!”
CHAPTER IV.
KIN-FO AT HOME,

_A YAMEN is a collection of various buildings arranged in
parallel lines, and crossed at right angles by a corresponding
series. Asa general rule, yamens are the property of the
emperor, and occupied only by mandarins of high rank,
but as they are not absolutely prohibited to men of very
large means, Kin-Fo was in possession : ‘of one of ithese
luxurious abodes. i

He and Wang stopped at the principal entrance A the
large enclosure that surrounded the entire structure and
comprehended: all the gardens and courtyards. If the
yamen had been the residence. of a mandarin magistrate
instead of that of a private person, the carved and painted
porch would have been furnished with a huge drum,'upon
which claimants for justice, by day or by night, might have
announced their arrival; in its place, however, were capa-
cious porcelain jars kept constantly replenished by the
house-steward with cold tea for the usc of passers-by—a
KIN-FO AT HOME. 35

 

considerate act of generosity which earned for Kin-Fo the
good will of all his neighbours.

Upon being apprised of their master’s return the whole
household came forward to receive him. Valets, footmen,
porters, coachmen, grooms, waitets, watchmen, and cooks,
were all drawn up under the presidency of the steward, and
some ten or twelve coolies, engaged by the month to do
the rougher work, were seen hanging about in the back-
ground,

The steward stepped forward to give his master welcome,
but Kin-Fo passed him with a careless wave of the hand, ~
and only said—

“ Where is Soon?”

Wang smiled and remarked—

“Just like him! Soon would not be himself if he were
found in his proper place at the proper time.”

Kin-Fo repeated the question.

The steward dnly said that he could not tell, nor did
he suppose any one else could, what had become of
Soon. ;

Soon was Kin-Fo’s valet de chambre, his own special
attendant, with whom no consideration would have induced
him to part. Yet Soon was by no means a model servant.
On the contrary, he was blundering and awkward, both
with his tongue and with his hands; extremely greedy,
and, withal, something of a coward; the very type, in fact

NA
36 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

of the conventional Chinaman, as depicted upon hand-
screens and tea-cups. On the whole, however, he was
faithful to his employer, and was especially serviceable in
one respect, inasmuch as he was the only being who
seemed able to arouse him to a condition of activity. A
dozen times a day would Kin-Fo work himself into a rage
with Soon, the whole benefit of the exertion being lost
upon the valet, but having the wholesome effect of occa-
sionally shaking off the master’s habitual apathy.

In a way not at all uncommon among Chinese servants,
Soon made a practice of coming and presenting himself
for chastisement whenever his conscience told him he
deserved it, and on these occasions his master never spared
him ; afew stripes on the man’s back did very little more
harm than a few drops of rain ; but the great punishment
which Soon dreaded was not a whipping, but one which
was invariably visited upon him for any grave offence,
the loss of an inch or so of his cherished pigtail.

Nothing could exceed the estimate which a Chinaman
puts upon the value of this appendage. To be deprived. of
it is a disgrace that only terminates with Jife, and is re-
served as a government punishment for criminals. When
Soon entered Kin-Fo’s service some four years back, he
had been proud of a tail that was not much less than four
feet in length; he had committed himself in misde-
meanours so often that his tail now hardly exceeded two
KIN-FO AT HOME. 37

 

fect ; he had only to go on transgressing at the same rate,
and very soon he would, be absolutely bald.

Followed respectfully by the entire household, Kin-Fo
entered, and crossed the garden. The trees for the most
part were planted in pots which were themselves elaborate
specimens of terra-cotta work, nearly every tree being cut
into some grotesque shape or other, generally that of an
animal. In the middle of the garden was a lake, liberally
stocked with “ gouramis” and gold fish, the surface of the
water being well-nigh concealed by the foliage and bright
red blossoms of the nelumbo, which is the finest of the
water-lilies of “the land of flowers.” A passing salute was
made to a hieroglyph, representing some mythical quadru-
ped, which was painted in brilliant colours upon the wall,
and in a few minutes the door of the main building was in
sight.

It consisted of a ground floor with an upper storey, built
upon a terrace approached by marble steps. Bamboo
screens were stretched out -above and before the windows
and doors, with the design of modifying the internal tem-
perature. The roof of the structure was quite flat, and
hardly seemed to harmonize with the embattled parapets,
the variegated tiles, and the enamelled bricks that gave so
fantastic a character to the surrounding buildings.

Inside, with the exception of a few rooms ordinarily
occupied by Kin-Fo and Wang, the apartments were all
38 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

spacious saloons furnished with a number of cabinets with
transparent panels, the panels being profusely deco-
rated at one place with carvings of fruit and flowers, at
another with sentences of the proverbial wisdom in which
the Celestials delight. Seats were everywhere in profusion,
the prevailing material being terra-cotta, porcelain, wood, or
marble, although the stuffed and softer couches of the west
were by no means wanting. Lamps of every design, and
lanterns of every hue, were suspended in all directions, all
decorated with fringes and tassels as variegated as the equi-
page of a Spaniard. An article of furniture that seemed
indispensable everywhete was the “cha-kis,” or little tea-
table, to be brought into requisition upon a moment’s notice.

Hour after hour might have been spent in examining
the many knick-knacks of ivory and mother-of-pearl, the
bronzes inlaid with niello, the burners for exhaling perfume,
the filagrees of gold and white and emerald green, the vases
of prismatic glass, historic with the memories of the
dynasty of Ming and Tsing, the still rarer porcelain of the
age of Yen, and all the enamels, wonderful in that pink
and yellow transparency of which the ‘secret of the pro-
duction seems now completely lost. Look around, and it
must be owned that here indeed is a dwelling of luxury ;
the West has conspired to assist the East, and together
they have wrought a concentration of ease, of beauty, and
of magnificence.. :
KIN-FO AT HOME. 39

 

Kin-Fo was really a man of liberal, advanced, and pro-
gressive views ; he would have been the very last to offer
opposition to the introduction of any modern invention,
and was the most unlikely of all men to entertain a preju-
dice against the civilization of the West. Science in any
form commended itself to his approval ; no sympathy had
he with the barbarians who cut the electric cable, laid down
to facilitate the working of the English and American mails;
neither was he a partisan of the antiquated mandarins who
refused to permit the submarine cable between Shang-Hai
and Hong Kong to be joined to the mainland, insisting
upon its being only attached to a boat in the ‘open river.
He had, on the other hand, associated himself avowedly
with the party that backed up the government in con-
structing docks and arsenals at Foo-Choo, under the direc-
tion of French engineers; he held shares in the Ghina
Steamship Company, that works the service between Tien-
Tsin and Shang-Hai ; and, moreover, had money invested
in the venture of anticipating the English mail by four
days, through the establishment of a line of fast ships-from
Singapore.

There was hardly a modern scientific appliance that had
not been adopted in his house; he had a telephone that
placed him in communication with every department of
the yamen; he had electric bells fitted to every chamber ;
during the winter he had fires which gave a genial warmth;
40 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

whilst nearly all his countrymen were shivering in blankets
over their empty grates; he burned gas, like the Inspector
of Customs at Peking, seeing no reason why he should be
outdone by Yang, the leading pawnbroker of the empire ;
and finally, he had ignored the ordinary habit of writing by
hand, and for his private correspondence, had purchased
one of the phonographs recently brought to great perfection
by Edison.

In spite of everything, however, and although he seemed

‘

to have all the resources which mortal man could ask for
enjoyment, Wang’s pupil had not acquired the philosophy
which made him truly happy ; Soon’s vagaries every now
and then might serve to awaken him from the drowsiness
of apathy ; but manifestly there was a missing element in
the conditions of genuine felicity.

He entered the vestibule, the spacious hall that opens
into the other chambers, but still the expected valet
did not make his appearance. The conjecture was only
too easy to make: Soon had evidently been guilty of some
misdemeanour, and was in no hurry to show himself; he
was keeping away to the last possible moment, aware that
to come into his master’s presence was to put his precious
pigtail into new peril.

Kin-Fo was impatient, and shouted—

“Soon ! Soon !”

Wang took up the cry, and called,—
a
KIN-FO AT HOME. 41

 

«Soon [”

But the valet, if he were within hearing, was not to be
moved.

“ He is quite incorrigible,” said Wang ; “no precepts of
philosophy do him any good.”

Kin-Fo stamped his foot and summoned the steward.

“Find Soon, and send him to me!”

The whole household was set in motion; the missing
valet had to be hunted out.

Finding himself and Kin-Fo alone, Wang took the
opportunity of saying,—

“The voice of wisdom admonishes the weary traveller
that he should take repose.” ;

“Ves; we may do worse than listen to the voice of
wisdom,” Kin-Fo replied.

Accordingly, each retired to his own apartment.

Flinging himself upon a luxurious couch, a piece of furni-
ture of European make, which no Chinese upholsterer could
have imagined, Kin-Fo began to muse. Where élse should
his thoughts so naturally turn, as to the beautiful and
accomplished lady he was about to make his own for life ?
Her home was at Peking. There Kin-Fo was about to
join her. He debated with himself whether or no he
should apprise her of his intended visit. It would, he
thought, undoubtedly be well to express some impatience
to see her again, and certainly he regarded her with sincere
s
42 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

affection. Wang had adduced many logical proofs that
there was no mistake about the matter, and might it not
really be that the step he was about to take, would really
introduce the elements of happiness which hitherto his
experience had somehow missed ?

He mused'on; he closed his eyes; his ponderings
became indistinct ; he was all but falling asleep, when he
felt a sudden tickling:in his right hand ; instinctively he
closed his fingers, and grasped a knotted cane. He knew
at once what had happened. The bamboo-rod had. been
slipped into his hand by his valet, who crouched by his
side and meekly said,—

“When master pleases!”
' Kin-Fo started up and’ brandished the cane. - Soon
crouched down to the carpet. Supporting himself with his
left hand, he held up a letter in his right,—

“For you,” he said, “this is for you.”

“ Rascal, where have you been ?” cried Kin-Fo.

“Ai ai ja,” groaned Soon; “I did not expect you till
the third watch. Beat me! beat me; I am ready, when
master pleases.”

The valet’s face turned several degrees paler as his
master flung the cane angrily on the ground.

“Tell me,” exclaimed Kin-Fo, “why is it you expect a
beating ? what have you done? tell me at once!”

“ This letter,” gasped Soon. nn ee
KIN-FO AT HOME. 43

 

“Well, what about that letter?” shouted Kin-Fo, and
he snatched it from his-hand.

“T forgot it; I forgot to give it you tietore you went to
Canton.”

“ A week ago, you vagabond ; come here.”

“Tam a crab without claws,” piteously bewailed Soon.

“Come here!” shrieked his master.

“ Ai ai ja!” moaned the servant.

This “ai ai ja,” was a wail of despair. Already Kin-
Fo had seized the unfortunate valet by his pigtail, and in
an instant had caught up a pair of scissors, and snipped
off its tip.

The crab soon found its claws again, and after scrupu-
lously picking up every morsel of the hair that was lying
on the carpet, made his escape from the room. Twenty-
three inches before, the tail was only twenty-two now.

Kin-Fo threw himself back upon the couch. He was
calm enough, when Soon was gone. It had been only his
valet’s negligence that had irritated him; he thought
nothing about the letter. Why should a letter give him
any concern ?

He dozed again, and opening his eyes gazed abstractedly -
upon the envelope he held in his hand. It was unusually
thick, the postage stamps were purple and chocolate, of the
value of two and six cents respectively ; plainly it had
come from the United States.
44 - THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

“Ah, yes: from my correspondent at San Francisco ;’
and he threw the letter to the far end of the sofa.

“May be the Central Bank shares in California have
gone up twenty per cent.; the dividends this year have
improved ; these things do not matter much to me.” But
though the current of his thoughts ran in this casual kind

 

y

of way, his hand after a few minutes instinctively laid
hold upon the letter again, and he opened it. He glanced
at the signature.

“Just so,” he muttered; “as I supposed; from my
American agent ; to-morrow will be time enough to attend
to that.”

He was on the point of flinging the letter aside for the
second time, when the word “liability” caught his eye.
It was written large and underlined at the top of the
second page. His curiosity was unusually aroused, and he
perused the entire document. For a moment, as he read
on, his eyebrows contracted, but before he had finished,
a contemptuaus smile curled round his lips.

Rising from his seat he moved a few steps to an acoustic
tube that communicated with Wang’s apartment, he placed
his lips to the mouthpiece, but suddenly altered his mind,
and went back to lie down again. ,

“Pooh!”, he said, with his usual characteristic expres-
sion. :

Presently he murmured to himself,—.
2 ner
KIN-FO AT HOME. 45

 

“To me it is nothing, but to her! to her it is a matter of
much greater concern.”

He rose again, and going to a little lacquered table on
which stood an oblong box richly carved, was about to
open it; but he paused, and said to himself—

“What did she say in her last letter?” ,

Instead of raising the lid of the box, he touched a spring
at its side, and immediately the soft accents of a female
voice were heard.

“My beloved elder brother! Am I not better to you
than the Mei-hooa flower in the first moon? Am I not
sweeter to you than the apricot bloom of the second moon,
or the peach bloom of the third? Ten thousand
greetings to my beloved!”

“Poor little thing!” sighed Kin-Fo, as he opened the
box, and removed the sheet of tinfoil covered with a series
of indented dots that it contained, and replaced it by
another.

The tender message had been conveyed by the phono-
graph, then recently discovered. :

Kin-Fo then applied his own lips to the mysterious
machine. For a few seconds she continued to speak with
clear and distinct utterance, betraying in its equanimity no
sign either of joy or sorrow. He had only a few sentences
to say. He stopped the action of the instrument, removed
the tinfoil on which the needle within had left its marks,
46 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

placed the document safely in an envelope, sealed it, and
writing from right to left, directed it to
tea Madam La-oo,
: Cha-Cooa Avenue,
Peking.

In answer to an electric bell a messenger promptly
appeared, and the letter forthwith was despatched to the
post.

An hour later and Kin-Foo had again sought repose.
He had rested his arms upon his “ Choo-foo-jen,” a:pillow
contrived for coolness out of plaited bamboo, and very
soon was fast asleep.
CHAPTER VW.
UNWELCOME TIDINGS.

“Ts there no letter for me yet, old mother?”

“No, madam, not yet.”

The same question had been asked and the same answer,
had been given at least ten times that day in the boudoir
of a house in the Cha-Cooa Avenue, Peking, where the
beautiful La-oo was sitting: with her crabby attendant, old
Nan, who, according to Chinese custom with’ ancient
domestics, was ordinarily addressed as “old mother.”

La-oo had been married at eighteen to a man twice her
own age, a literate of the first grade, engaged on the com-
pilation of the famous Se-Ko-Tswan-Choo.' He died
three years after his marriage, leaving his fascinating wife
a widow alone in the world. .

Not long afterwards Kin-Fo happened to be paying a
visit to Peking. Wang, who knew the one widow well,

“1 This Work, commenced in 1773 is to comprise 169,000 articles, ¢ of
which only 78,738 have as yet appeared,
48 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

introduced her to his pupil, and suggested the idea that he
should make her his wife. With the utmost complacency
Kin-Fo acquiesced ; it was soon found that the lady was
by no means indisposed to entertain the proposal, and
accordingly, to the philoscpher’s great satisfaction, it was
arranged that the wedding should take place as soon as
Kin-Fo, after his’ return from Peking, should be able to
make the necessary preparations at Shang-Hai.

It is quite an unusual occurrence in the Celestial Empire
for widows to marry again, not because they themselves
have no desire, but because the desire on their part would
very rarely be reciprocated. Kin-Fo, however, was quite
a law to himself,and did not hesitate to make an exception
to the general rule. La-oo was intelligent and well
educated ; she thoroughly understood the part she would
have to play with the singularly apathetic being who was
to become her husband, and it must be owned that she was
attracted towards him by the wish to prove that happiness
might form an element of his existence.

By remarrying she forfeited the privilege of passing under
the “pai-loos”—memorial arches—which the Emperors
from time to time had erected to the honour of women
renowned for fidelity to their deceased husbands. One of
these had been raised to the fame of Soong, who had never
quitted her husband’s tomb; another to Koong-Kiang,
who had cut off her arm asa token of her grief, and yet
UNWELCOME TIDINGS. 49

 

another to Yen-Tchiang, who had disfigured herself still
more severely. La-oo, however, thought that she could
well dispense with this widow's privilege, and was quite
prepared to lead the life of submission which the rule of
her country demanded, was ready to renounce all conver-
sation which did not concern the trivial affairs of domestic
life, and professed herself content to conform to the code
of the Li-num, which treats of the duties of home, and to
be obedient to the precepts of Nei-tse-pian, which enforces
the obligations of the marriage vow. Meanwhile she was
quite aware that she should enjoy the consideration always
granted to a wife, who, amongst the upper’ classes, is by
no means the slave which not unfrequently she is supposed
to be.

La-oo’s husband, at his decease, had left her not in
affluent but yet in easy circumstances. Her establishment
in the Cha-cooa Avenue was very modest, old Nan being
the only servant. The_ mistress was quite accustomed to
the maid’s contradictory habits, which are by no means
limited to the domestics in Chinese households,

The favourite apartment of the young widow was her
boudoir, the furniture of which had been of the simplest
character until within the last two months, during which
costly presents had been constantly arriving from Shang-
Hai. Among the recent gifts were some pictures that

adorned the walls, one of these being a chef-d’auvre of
E
50 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

the old painter, Wan-Tse-Nen,' which could not fail at
once to attract the eye of a connoisseur as it hung, a
contrast every'way to the water-colours of modern Chinese
artists, glaring with their striking anomalies of green
horses, violet dogs, and bright blue trees. On a lacquered
table, outspread. like the wings of giant butterflies, were

 

several fans from the great school of art at Swatow;
around a hanging vase of porcelain was grouped an elegant
festoon of artificial flowers, so exquisitely manufactured
from the pith of the Arabia papyrifera, that only by close
inspection. could they be distinguished from the real
nenuphars, chrysanthemums, and lilies of Japan, that
were tastefully arranged in carved wood-work stands in
various parts of the room; at the windows were hung
blinds of plaited bamboo, which by a process of sifting

1 The renown of the great masters is handed down to us in traditions
that are not unworthy of credit. An anecdote is told of a painter of
the third century, named Tsao-Poo-Ying, who having finished a screenf
for the Emperor, amused himself by putting in here and there a few
flies, which he had the satisfaction of seeing the Emperor try to flap
away with his handkerchief. No less celebrated was Wan-Tse-Nen,
who lived somewhere about the beginning of the eleventh century. It
is said that having been commissioned to execute some mural decora-
tions within the palace, he painted several pheasants, and that when
some foreign envoys, who brought some falcons as a present to the

’ Emperor, were introduced into the room, the birds of prey mistook the
painted pheasants for live ones, and made a dash at the wall, more to
the injury of their heads than to the satisfaction of their voracity.

Thompson's Travels in China.
UNWELCOME TIDINGS. 51

 

seemed to moderate the intensity of the solar heat.
Arranged in the form of a huge peony, the Chinese symbol
of beauty, was a magnificent screen composed of hawk’s
feathers ; two aviaries designed as miniature pagodas were
tenanted by Indian birds of gorgeous plumage; some
fEolian “tiemaols” vibrated: pleasantly in the air; and
these were only some out of many souvenirs that had been
contributed by the absent lover.

La-oo.herself was charming. Her beauty could not fail
to commend itself to the most criticalof Europeaneyes. Her
complexion was fair, escaping entirely the national charac-
teristic of being yellow ; her eyelids had scarcely. the least
inclination towards the temples; her hair, which was
rather dark, was set off by a little bunch of peach-blossoms,
fastened in by. bodkins of green jade; her teeth were
small and white ; her eyebrows stippled in most delicately
with Chinese ink. No mixture of honey and Spanish
white had been allowed to enamel her cheek ; no circle. of
carmine gave a false ruddiness to her lip; no line of
pencilling joined eye to eye; nor was there on her
countenance a tinge of the rouge upon which the
court annually expends ten million sapecks. La-oo
would have nothing to do with cosmetics. Rarely as
she left the retirement of her house, she knew well enough
that it mattered not to her, and that she was at
liberty to dispense with the. ordinary distinctions which

FR 2
52 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

Chinese ladies feel bound to exhibit when they appear
in public,

As simple as elegant was her dress. Over a pleated
skirt she wore a long robe, embroidered on the border, and
fastened at the waist by a stomacher embossed with gold
filagree; a pair of short trousers met her stockings of
nankeen silk, and she wore slippers studded with pearls.

Her hands were delicately-formed, her long rosy
nails being each protected by a little guard of chased
silver,

That her feet were small was to be attributed only to
nature ; it was not because they had been subjected to the
barbarous deformation which has been recognized as a
national usage in China for the last seven centuries, a
practice which probably originated with some lame prin-
cess, although it has been laid to the caution of some
jealous husbands. The operation is very simple; it con-
sists merely in bandaging the toes tight down under the
sole, leaving the heel perfectly untouched; but the effect
is in the last degree injurious, as it utterly destroys the
power of walking ; it is a practice, however, that is rapidly
dying out, so that nowadays scarcely three Chinese women
in ten are to be met with who have in infancy been mada
the victims of the trying ordeal.

“Go and look again, old mother,” again said La-oo.

“What's the use of looking ?” answered Nan,
UNWELCOME TIDINGS. eB

 

“Never mind, go and look; I am sure there will be a
letter for me to-day.”

Old Nan grumbled, and left the room.

La-oo took up a piece of needlework to amuse herself;
she was embroidering a pair of slippers for Kin-Fo. Em-
broidery is done by women of all classes,

The work soon dropped from her fingers. She rose and
went to a bon-bon box, and taking out a few melon-seeds,
crunched them between her little teeth. She took upa
book. It was the Nushun, the code of directions which
every married woman is bound to study. She glanced »
listlessly over its instructions :—

“The dawn, like the spring, is the proper ‘time to
work.”

“Rise betimes ; indulge not in slumber.”

“ Be careful alike of the mulberry and the hemp.”

“ Spare not to spin thy cotton and thy silk.”

“ A woman’s virtues are her industry and economy.”

But La-oo was not in a mood for reading; the precepts
caught her eye, but her thoughts were far away ; she flung
the book aside.

“Where is he now?” she said to herself. “He must
have returned from Canton; when will he come here?
Koanine! Koanine! watch over his voyage!”

Her glance rested for a moment, almost mechanically,
upon a patchwork tablecloth ; it was made of pieces as
54 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

minute as mosaic, and on it was pictured a mandarin-duck
and its brood; it was an emblem of fidelity.

Next, she went to a flower-stand and picked off a blossom
at random.

“Ah!” she exclaimed; “my fortune fails me! I ought
to have plucked a willow-bloom, the token of spring; and
see, here is a yellow chrysanthemum, the emblem of autumn
and decay.”

Not wanting to dwell upon the evil omen, she took up
her lute and played a few chords of “The Clasped Hands,”
but the song refused to come to her lips, and she laid down
the instrument without further effort to proceed. .

“It is not often,” she murmured to herself, “that his
letters are so long coming. And his letters, too, how sweet
they are; not merely the words he writes, but the words
he speaks ; you may hear them for yourself.”

And her gaze involuntarily rested upon the phonograph
with which he had supplied her. It was a carved box on
a lacquered stand, corresponding exactly with what Kin-Fo
had himself used at Shang-Hai. By means of it they had
listened to each others’ voices. For some days, however,
the apparatus had been silent and unused,

Old Nan re-entered the room.

“Here’s your letter!” she said, and left the boudoir as
abruptly as she had entered it.

‘The envelope bore the Shang-Hai postmark ; but with-
UNWELCOME TIDINGS. 55

 

Out waiting to examine the outside, the eager La-oo,
radiant with smiles, tore it open, and extracted, not an
ordinary letter, but a sheet of tinfoil marked. with some
indented dots that revealed nothing until they were sub-
mitted to the action of the phonograph, when she knew
they would produce the inflexions of his very voice.

“A letter!” she cried; “and more than a letter—I
shall hear him speak!”

Carefully she laid her treasure upon the surface of a
cylinder within; she put the mechanism in motion, and
distinctly recognized the tones of her lover’s voice :-—

“La-oo, dearest little sister !

“Ruin has carried off the last sapeck of my property.
My riches have gone like leaves in an autumn blast. I
cannot make you the partner of my penury. Forgéet,
forget for ever

“Your unfortunate and despairing
“ KIN-FO.”

What a death-blow was this to all her expectations!
Bitterness, she cried in her soul, bitterness more acrid
than gentian had filled her cup! Had Kin-Fo forsaken
her? What! did he think that she looked for her happi-
ness in riches ?

She was like a boy’s kite with a broken string; slowly,
slowly she sank downwards to the earth,
56 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

Nan was promptly summoned.

But Nan did not hurry herself. When she came, she
shrugged her shoulders and lifted her mistress up on to
her “hang.” The hang was a bed warmed by artificial
heat; but to the stricken La-oo the couch was cold as
stone, and sleepless were the five long watches of that

weary night.
CHAPTER VI.
THE CENTENARIAN.

THE following morning Kin-Fo, whose imperturbability ©
over the affairs of life remained unaltered, went out quite
alone, and with steady step took his way along the right-
hand shore of the creek. Having crossed the river by the
wooden bridge that connects the English colony with the
American, he went straight to a fine-looking house that
stood about midway between the mission-church and the
American consulate.

At the entrance of the house was a large brass plate,
inscribed in conspicuous characters with—

THE CENTENARIAN
Fire and Life Insurance Company.
Capital : 20,000,000 dollars,
Chief Agent: William J. Biddulph.

Without pausing Kin-Fo passed through the vestibule,
pushed open an inner swing-door and found himself in an
58 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

office divided into two compartments by a horizontal balus-
trade fixed about breast-high. A few boxes, a number
of account-books with massive metal clasps, an American
safe, two or three tables at which clerks were writing, and
an elaborate escritoire with compartments, appropriated to
William Biddulph himself, made up the furniture of an
apartment that seemed rather to belong to a house in the
Broadway of New York than to any establishment on the
Woo-sung. . ;
William Biddulph was the principal representative in
China for an important fire and life insurance company,
which had its head-quarters at Chicago. The Centenarian
had gained much of its popularity by its attractive title;
it had offices and agents in every quarter of the world, and
as its statutes were framed on a very liberal and enter-
prising scale, the business it did was continually extending.
Even the Chinese were being gradually induced to adopt
the modern system, by which so many of these companies
are supported; a large number of their houses were
already insured against loss by fire, and life-policies, with
their various contingent advantages, were being more and
more frequently taken up. The little escutcheon of the
Centenarian was perpetually to be seen affixed to the face
of buildings in all directions, and was not wanting on the
pilasters of the rich yamen where Kin-Fo resided. The
subject of fire-insurance had already been duly attended
THE CENTENARIAN, 59

 

to, so that it could not be that which led Kin-Fo to
present himself now at the office, and inquire for William
Biddulph.

Mr. Biddulph was within ; always, like a photographer,
at the service of the public. He was a man of about fifty
years of age, with a beard of unmistakably American
type; he was scrupulously dressed in black, and had a
white cravat.

“May I ask,” he said deferentially, “whom I have the
honour of addressing ?”

“Not altogether a'stranger,” was the reply ; “I am Kin-
Fo of Shang- Hai.”

“Ah! yes! certainly! Mr. Kin-Fo of Shang-Hai, a
client of ours; policy No. 27,200. Most happy, sir, I
assure you, if I can render you any further service.”

“Thank you,” answered Kin-Fo, adding, “I should wish
to say a word or two with you in private.”

“Tn private, by all means.”

Accordingly the client was conducted into an inner
room with double doors and hung with massive curtains,
where a plot might have been schemed for overthrowing
the reigning dynasty without the least fear of being over-
heard, even by the keenest “ti-pao.” As Kin-Fo under-
stood English and Biddulph equally well understood
Chinese, conversation between them was a matter of no
difficulty.
60 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

Kin-Fo took the seat which was pointed out to him in
a rocking-chair close to the gas-stove, and at once opened
his business,

“Tam desirous of at once making an assurance upon
my life in the Centenarian.”

“Very happy to assist you, sir; the preliminaries can
very soon be settled, and there will be nothing more
except that you and I must sign the policy. You are
actuated, I presume, by the natural desire to live to an
advanced age.” |

“ Advanced age! What do you mean?” said Kin-Fo
abruptly. “I should have taken it for granted that
insuring one’s life contemplated the probability of an early
death.”

“QO dear, no; quite the contrary. To insure in our
office, sir,is to take a new lease of life; our clients are
bound to live to a hundred. To insure in the Centenarian
is the best of guarantees for.a man becoming a centenarian
himself.” /

The client looked at the agent to satisfy himself whether
he was not joking, but he was as grave as a judge.

Perfectly satisfied with his scrutiny, Kin-Fo proceeded
to enter into further particulars.

“T should wish to effect the insurance for two hundred
thousand dollars.” ?

1 40,0004,
THE CENTENARIAN,. 61

 

Unprecedently large as the sum was, the agent exhibited
no symptom of surprise, but merely repeated the words
“two hundred thousand dollars,” and inserted the amount
in a memorandum book.

“The premium for this?” asked Kin-Fo.

Biddulph smiled, and after a moment’s hesitation said,—

“T presume, sir, you are aware that the policy is
forfeited and no portion of the premium is recoverable
if the person insured should die by the hands of the party
in whose favour the insurance is effected.”

“Yes, Iam quite aware of that.”

“ And may I ask,” continued Biddulph, “against what
class of risks you propose to insure ?”

“ Oh, against risks of any kind, of course,” replied Kin-Fo
promptly.

“Very good,” answered Biddulph deliberately; “we
insure against death either by land or by sea; either
within or without the limits of the Chinese empire; we
even insure against sentences of death by judicial verdict,
against death by duelling, or in military service ; but as
you may imagine, the premiums in these various risks
differ very much and in some cases are rather high.”

‘T must be prepared to pay whatever is necessary,” said
Kin-Fo ; “but you have not mentioned another risk which
might occur; you have not specified whether the Cen-
tenarian insures against stiicide.”
62 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

“ Oh, certainly, certainly,” said the agent, and he rubbed
his hands together with an air of extreme satisfaction ;
“you have alluded to one of our chief sources of profit ;
clients who insure against suicide are always those who,
of all people in the world, are most tenacious of life;
however, as you might imagine, it is one of the cases for
which the premium is exceptionally heavy.”

“The premium must be no obstacle. I have special
reasons for the step I propose to take, I must agree to
pay whatever is requisite.”

“Very well, sir,” answered Biddulph, and began to _..

make some further entry in his note-book.

“Tf I understand correctly, sir, you wish to insure
against drowning, against suicide, against— ”

“ Against everything, against anything!” cried Kin-Fo,
with as much energy as his nature would permit.

“Very good,” repeated Biddulph.

“Tell me the premium,” said Kin-Fo.

“Our premiums, my dear sir, are tabulated with
mathematical precision ; they are the pride and stronghold
of the company ; they are not, as formerly, based on the
tables of Deparcieux.” ;

“I know nothing about Deparcieux,” said Kin-Fo, with
impatience.

“Indeed,” answered Biddulph, with an expression of sur-
prise, “Deparcieux was a remarkable actuary, but antiquated,
THE CENTENARIAN. 63

 

now, in fact,dead. At the time he composed his elaborate

tables, which are still in use in most European offices, the
average duration of life was lower than it is now. Our
present calculations are reckoned on a higher average, of
which our clients reap the advantage; Mey not only live
longer, but they pay less.”

“May I trouble you to inform me what is the amount of
the premium I am to pay?” again asked Kin-Fo, as weary
of listening to the praises of the Centenarian as the loqua-
cious agent was desirous of repeating them.

“Before I can tell you the premium, sir, I must take the
liberty of inquiring your age.”

“ Thirty-one,” said Kin-Fo.

“Thirty-one,” repeated Biddulph, “at the age of thirty-
one in any other office the premium would be 2.83 per cent.,
in the Centenarian it is only 2.72. You see what you gain
by coming to us. Let us see; for 200,000 dollars the
yearly premium would be 5440 dollars.”

“ But that,” Kin-Fo observed, “is for ordinary risks.”

“Yes,” said Biddulph,

“But for al/ risks, for everything, for suicide ?” demanded
Kin-Fo. j

“True,” said Biddulph, “that is another considera-
tion.”

The agent turned to the last page of the ee
book that he held in his hand, and consulted:a printed »
64 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

list. After a little reflection, he looked up, and in a very
gentle and insinuating tone said,—

“T hardly think we can do it under twenty-five per cent.”

“You mean at the rate of 50,000 dollars a year,” said .
Kin-Fo.

“Just so,” asserted Biddulph.

“And how must that premium be paid ?” inquired the
client.

“Tt may be paid annually in one sum, or it may be paid
in monthly instalments, at your choice.”

“ And what then, do you say, would be the payment for
the first two months ?”

“For two months in advance, the premium would be!
8333 dollars; paid now, at the end of April, it would expire
on the 30th of June.”

Kin-Fo took a bundle of paper-dollars from his pocket,
and was about to pay the amount forthwith.

“Pardon me,” said the agent, “there is another little
formality to which we must ask you to submit before the
policy can be assigned.”

“Well, what is that?” asked Kin-Fo,

“You will have to receive a visit from our medical
correspondent ; he will examine you, and report whether
you have any organic disease which is likely to shorten your
life.”

“But what,” remonstrated Kin-Fo, “can be the object of
THE CENTENARIAN. 65

 

that, when I am not insuring my life against disease, but
against violent death, against suicide ?”

Biddulph smiled blandly.

“My dear sir,do you not see that the germs of a disease
may already be discerned, which would carry you off ina
month or two, and cost us 200,000 dollars right off?”

“Disease would not cost you more than suicide,’ Kin-Fo
insisted.

The agent took his client’s hand gently into his own, and
stroked it slowly, saying,—

“ Have I not had the pleasure of telling you already that
out of the applicants who come to us, none live so long as
those who insure against the risk of suicide? And I may
take the liberty of adding that we reserve to ourselves
a discretionary right of watching all their movements.
Besides, what shadow of probability could there be that
the wealthy Kin-Fo could ever contemplate self-destruc-
tion ?”

“ As much perhaps,” replied Kin-Fo, “as that he should
take the step of insuring his life at all.”

“ Ah, nothing of the sort,” rejoined Biddulph, “insuring
in the Centenarian means living to a good old age and
nothing less.”

Argument, it was evident, was not likely to induce the
agent to compromise his opinion. He continued his in-
quiries by asking,—

F
66 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“And in whose favour shall I have the honour of
making the reversion of the 200,000 dollars ?”

“Just what I want to explain,’ answered Kin-Fo; “1
want 50,000 dollars to be pledged to my faithful friend
Wang, and I want the residue, 150,000 dollars, to be the
inheritance of Madam La-oo, of Peking.” .

Biddulph noted all the instructions in his book, and then
inquired for Madam La-oo’s age.

“Madam La-oo is twenty-one,” said Kin-Fo.

“She will be of mature age before she comes in for
this windfall,” observed Biddulph, with a twinkle in his
eye.

“And your friend Wang’s age?” he added.

“He is fifty-five.”

“Not much chance of the good philosopher handling his
legacy at all.”

“We shall see,” sighed Kin-Fo.

“A man of fifty-five must be a fool to expect to get
anything out of you, if you are to live to a hundred.”

* “Ah, well, Mr. Biddulph, good morning.”

The wealthy client was bowed, with all formality, out of
the office,

Next day, Kin-Fo received the visit of the company’s
medical adviser. He sent in his report,—

“Constitution of iron, muscles of steel, lungs fit for organ-
bellows.”
THE CENTENARIAN. 67

 

No obstacle, therefore, stood in the way of the applica-
tion being accepted, and in due time the policy was
properly signed. La-oo and Wang were, of course, in
utter ignorance of the provision thus made for their benefit,
and only unforeseen events could reveal the circumstances
to their knowledge.

F 2
CHAPTER VII.
PREPARATION FOR DEATIL

HOWEVER much it might please William Biddulph to see
things in a rose-coloured light, there was no doubt that the
capital of the Centenarian was seriously threatened with
the loss of two hundred thousand dollars. There was no
mistake about Kin-Fo’s intention to put an end to himself;
he could not see the least good in prolonging in poverty an
existence which riches did not suffice to relieve of weariness
and ez.

The letter which had been so long delayed in its delivery
had announced that the Central Bank of California had
stopped payment. Here it was that the whole bulk of
Kin-Fo’s property had been invested; the intelligence
seemed authoritative, and would soon be confirmed by the
papers, and the fact of his ruin would quickly be known.
Beyond what property was locked up in the bank, he had
next to nothing in the world; he might sell his house at
Shang-Hai, but the proceeds would be utterly inadequate
PREPARATION FOR DEATH. GO

 

to maintain him. The money which he had in hand he had
now expended in the payment of the premium of his life-
policy, and although he had a few shares in the Tien-Tsin
Steamship Company, they would barely realize enough to
pay his outstanding liabilities.

Under similar circumstances a Frenchman or an English-
man would have resigned himself forthwith to the prospect
of a life of labour; a Celestial sees things in quite a dif-
ferent light, and almost as a matter of course resorts to a
voluntary death as the easiest mode of escaping his diffi-
culties. Kin-Fo was a true Chinaman in this respect.

The courage of the Chinese is merely passive, but such
as it is, it is developed ina remarkable way. Their in-
difference to death is quite extraordinary. In sickness
they are never unnerved ; and a criminal, as he passes
under the hands of the executioner, will exhibit no signs
of fear. The frequent public executions, and the horrible
tortures included in their penal code, have long familiarized
the subjects of the Celestial Empire with the idea of re-
nouncing life without regret.

Hence it is not surprising that the approach of death
should be an ordinary topic of conversation, mixing itself
up with the habitual transactions of life. The worship of
ancestors is universal, and in the meanest hovel, no less
than in the most spacious mansion, there is always a kind
of domestic sanctuary, wherein are deposited the relics of
7O THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

the departed, in whose honour a festival is duly observed
in the second month.

In the same store where infants’ cradles and wedding
outfits are displayed for sale a variety of coffins is always
to be found— births, marriages, and deaths” supplying
their demands at one common centre. Indeed, the pur-
chase and possession of a coffin may be described as a sine
qué non toa Chinese of the present day ; no house is con-
sidered to be furnished without its coffin, which is not
unfrequently presented by a son toa father as an appro-°
priate token of the sincerest filial affection ; it is-deposited
in the sanctuary, where it is periodically renovated and
adorned, and even after it has received its consignment of
mortal remains, it is often preserved for years with pious
care, Altogether, respect for the dead is a fundamental
element in the religious faith of the Chinese,and it must be
owned that it contributes largely to the maintenance of
family concord. :

Kin-Fo’s temperament, cool and averse to excitability,
especially predisposed him to face the thought of death
without. flinching. He.had made provision for the’ only
two individuals for whom-he was conscious of any’affection,
and now had nothing more to do but to carry out. the
intention he had formed ; and to this he proceeded with-
out any conception of committing a crime, but under the
most solid conviction that he was doing a perfectly legiti-
PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 71

mate act. His mind was fully made up ; no one, not even
Wang, with all his influence, would be able to shake his
determination ; not that Wang had any suspicion of his
pupil’s design, nor had Soon observed anything to make
him guess what was on his master’s mind, except that he
had noticed that a singular indulgence had been shown to
his blunders, and that, however much he might have
deserved chastisement, his pigtail had been left without
further mutilation.

 

A popular Chinese proverb says, “ To get true happiness
on earth you should live in Canton and die at Lai-Choo ;”
the simple explanation being that at Canton the appliances
of luxury are most readily obtained, while Lai-Choo does
a large trade in coffins. It was now long since Kin-Fo
had sent an order to Lai-Choo, and thence had procured
a coffin, which was quite a masterpiece of its kind. Its
arrival at Shang-Hai excited not the least surprise; it was
duly placed in the appointed chamber ; from time to time
it was polished with wax, and left to await the hour when
Kin-Fo’s demise should bring it into requisition. At the
same time that he bought the coffin, he bought a white
cock, which was to be incarnated with the evil spirits that
would otherwise hover around and obstruct the happy
passage of the seven elements of the soul.

The mere possession of the coffin, however, did not quite
satisfy Kin-Fo’s mind. He felt it his duty to draw out an
72 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

elaborate programme for his funeral obsequies, and it will
be seen that he by no means exhibited the same indiffe-
rence to the details which belonged to the affairs of death
as he affected towards the interests of life.

Taking a large sheet of what is generally known as “rice
paper,” although rice forms no ingredient in its manufacture,
he proceeded to write down his instructions,

After giving his house at Shang-Hai to the young
widow, and bequeathing to Wang a portrait of the Tai-
Ping Emperor, legacies which they were to enjoy in addi-
tion to the benefit accruing to them from the assurance in
the Centenarian, Kin-Fo went at once to the directions for
his interment.

At the head of the cortége, in the place of relatives, of
whom he had none, there was to be a number of friends,
all dressed in white, the Chinese emblem of mourning.
The streets, as far as the tomb, which was already erected
in the suburbs of the town, were to be lined by a double
row of attendants carrying either blue parasols, halberds,
or silk screens, some of them bearing placards on which
were inscribed the details of the ceremony ; these were all
to wear black tunics with white waistbands, and felt hats
with red aigrettes. Behind the first group of friends a
herald was to march dressed in red from head to foot, and
beating a gong ; he was to be followed by a portrait of the
deceased Kin-Fo himself, borne in a richly decorated
 

Then was to come the catafaique, Page 73.
PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 73

 

shrine. Next in order was another group of friends, whose
duty it would be to fall fainting at regular intervals upon
cushions carried ready to receive them; this group was to
be succeeded by another, consisting entirely of young
people, who would be protected by a blue and gold canopy,
and whose task it was to scatter fragments of white paper,
each perforated with a hole designed as an outlet by which
any evil spirit might escape that was likely otherwise to
join the procession.

Then was to come the catafalque. This was to be an
enormous palanquin hung with violet silk, embroidered all
over with gold dragons and supported by fifty bearers ; on
- either side were to be two rows of priests arrayed in grey,
red; and yellow chasubles ; the recitations of their prayers
were to alternate with the mingled roar of clarionets,
gongs, and huge trumpets. Finally, an array of mourning
coaches, draped in white, would bring up the rear.

Kin-Fo was quite aware that the directions he was
giving could only be carried out by the exhaustion of all
his little remnant of property, but he was doing nothing
that the Chinese would think in the least extraordinary ;
such spectacles are by no means unfrequent in the thorough.
fares of Canton, Shang-Hai, and Peking, where the people
regard them only as the natural homage due to the dead.

The day upon which Kin-Fo had ultimately settled to
take his farewell of life was the 1st of May. In the course

/
74 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

of the afternoon a letter arrived from La-oo. The young
widow placed at his disposal whatever little fortune she
possessed ; his wealth, she protested, was nothing to her ;
for him her affection was unchanged, unchangeable ; why
should they not be content with modest means? why
should they not still be happy?

But Kin-Fo saw nothing to shake his resolution. “She
will reap the benefit of my death,” he said.

He had yet to settle the precise means of his death. To
this point he began now to devote his attention, indulging
the hope that he might find in the circumstances of his
departure from the world an emotion that he had failed to
derive from his experiences in it,

Within the precincts of the yamen were four pretty little
kiosks, or pavilions, all decorated with that fantastic skill
that is so exclusive a gift of the Chinese artisan. Their
names were significant : there was the kiosk of Happiness,
into which Kin-Fo persistently refused to enter ; the kiosk
of Fortune, for which he avowed the supremest contempt ;
the kiosk of Pleasure, for which he had no taste ; the fourth
was the kiosk of Long Life.

Thus far did Kin-Fo resolve—he would go that night to
the pavilion of Long Life, and would be found there on
the following morning—happy in :the sleep of death.
There still remained the decision to be arrived at—by
what method should he die? Should he rip open his
PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 75

 

‘stomach like a Japanese? Should he strangle: himself with
a silk girdle like a mandarin? Should he open a vein as
he reclined in a perfumed bath, like the Roman epicure of
old? He reviewed these various devices only to reject
them all; to himself they all alike appeared brutal; to his
attendants they would be utterly revolting. A few grains
of opium, mixed with poison subtle but sure, would carry
him painlessly out of the world. The choice was soon
made.

As the sun began to sink towards the west, and Kin-Fo
realized that he had now only a few hours to live, he deter-
mined to go out, and to take a last walk upon the plain of
Shang-Hai, along the bank of the Wang-Pow, where he
had often sauntered listlessly in the seasons of his exnud.
He had not seen Wang all day, and did not catch sight of
him anywhere-as he left the yamen. ro

Very slowly he traversed the English territory, crossed

‘the bridge over the creek,,and, entering the French quarter,

kept on till he came to.the quay facing the native harbour.
Thence, following ‘the, city wall as far as the Roman
Catholic cathedral in the southern suburb, he turned to: the
right, and took the road leading to the pagoda of Loung-
Hoo, ..

Here he found himself jin the. epen country, on.an
extensive marshy plain that stretched far away to'the
wooded heights that bounded the valley of the Min. The
76 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

soil for the most part was given up to the cultivation of
rice, except where it was broken by canals direct from the
sea, or where some miserable reed-huts, with floors of
yellow mud, were surrounded by patches of corn just
raised above the level of the water. A number of dogs,
white goats, geese, and ducks rarely failed to start off in
alarm at the approach of a traveller along the narrow paths.

To the eye of a stranger the aspect of the country, highly
cultivated though it is, would be decidedly repulsive.
_All the plains around the cities of China are like a vast
cemetery, and on this plain there were coffins literally by
hundreds strewing the ground. As well as mounds of
earth showing where interments had been made, there
were whole pyramids rising one above another, like the
scaffolding in a dockyard. It is alleged that it is for-'
bidden to bury any of these while the existing dynasty’
occupies the throne, but whether or not this be so, there
they are, lying in tiers, some elaborately painted, some
altogether plain and unpretending ; some fresh and bright,
some crumbling to dust; but all awaiting apparently for
years the rites of sepulture.

Quite familiar with the strange spectacle, Kin-Fo did
not look much about him, otherwise his attention could
hardly have failed in being arrested by two men, dressed
as Europeans, who had been following him ever since he
left the yamen. They were apparently bent on keeping
PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 77

him in sight, walking a little distance behind him, and
regulating their pace precisely by his. Occasionally
they exchanged a few words, and were evidently spies
engaged to watch his proceedings, Both of them under
thirty years of age, they were strong and agile, firm of limb,
and keen of eye, and were careful not for a moment to Ict
him escape their observation. When, after walking nearly
three miles, Kin-Fo began to retrace his steps, they likewise
turned and followed like bloodhounds on a track.

Meeting several miserable-looking beggars, Kin-Fo gave
them some trifling alms, and a little farther on he came

 

across some of the native Christian women who had been
trained by the French sisters of charity, each of them
carrying a basket on her back in which to put any child
that might be found abandoned in the streets, and to
convey it to a foundling-home. These women have gained

>

for themselves the nickname of “rag-pickers ;” and, truly,
what they gather from the by-ways of the city are often
little to be distinguished from bundles of rags. Kin-Fo
emptied his purse into their hands. The spies glanced at
each other with a look of surprise at an act so entirely
contrary to the habits of the Chinese. Only an unusual
state of mind could result in go unusual an action on the
part of a Celestial. .

It was growing dusk when he reached the quay, but the

floating population had not gone to rest; shouts and songs
t

78 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

were resounding through the air, and he paused a few
moments ; it struck him that it would be curious to listen
to the last song he should ever hear on earth.

A young Tankadere who was taking her sampan across
the dark waters of the Wang-Pow began to sing,—

“J deck my boat with a thousand flowers,
Counting the hours ;
My prayers to the blue-god ever rise
Homeward to turn my lover’s eyes ;
My soul impassion’d ever cries,
Will he come to-morrow ?”

“ To-morrow !” thought Kin-Fo to himself; “where
shall I be to-morrow?” |

“T know not what land of cold or drought
His steps have sought ;
Roaming beyond old China’s wall
Heedless what perils may befall;
Ah ! could he hear my heart-sick call—
He would come to-morrow.

To seek for wealth, O, why didst thou stay
Far, far away ?
Why dost thou tarry? the months glide by,
Waiteth the priest the bands to tie,
Pheenix ' to pheenix ever nigh ;
Come, O come to-morrow !”

The voice died away in the distance, and Kin-Fo began
to reflect; although he acknowledged to himself that

1 Two pheenixes, a common emblem of marriage, in China,’
~

PREPARATION FOR DEATH, 79

 

‘riches are not everything in the world, he adhered to his
view that the world is not worth having without them.

In another half-hour he had reached his home, and the
spies were obliged to relinquish their watch over his move-
ments. He directed his way quietly and unobserved: to
the pavilion of Long Life ; opening the door quickly, he
closed it as quickly behind him, and found himself in a
little chamber entirely without light, until he put a match
to a lamp with a ground glass shade that stood ready for
use. Close at hand was a table formed of'a solid slab of
jade, and on this there was a box already provided with
opium, and with several of the deadliest poisons.

Taking a few grains of the opium, he put them into the
ordinary red clay pipe, and prepared to smoke.

“And now,” he said, “now for the sleep from which I
am never more to wake!”

Suddenly he dashed the pipe to the sound:

“ Confound it!” he cried; “I am not going to die in
this way without a sense of emotion. Emotion I want,
and I mean to have it! To die in this way! Out of the
question !”

He unlocked the door of the kiosk of Long Life, and
hurried off to Wang’s apartment. i
CHAPTER VIII.
A SERIOUS CONTRACT.

WANG had not yet retired to bed; he was lounging ona
couch, reading the latest number of the Peking Gazette,
and frowning very decidedly over the panegyrics that that
journal passed on the reigning dynasty.

Bursting into the room, Kin-Fo threw himself into an
armchair, and blurted out,—

“Wang, I have come to ask you a favour!”

“A thousand favours, if you will, my son!” said the
philosopher, as he deliberately laid down his newspaper.

“Well, for the present, one is enough. Grant me the
one I ask, and I will exonerate you from the nine hundred
and ninety-nine. However, I must warn you beforehand
you are not to expect any thanks from me afterwards,”

“T do not understand you,” replied Wang; “will you
explain yourself?”

“To begin with,” said Kin-Fo gravely; “I must tell you
I have lost all my property ; I am a ruined man.”
A SERIOUS CONTRACT, 81

 

“Indeed, is it so?” answered Wang in a tone that
implied that the intelligence did not give him any serious
concern, but rather the reverse.

“Yes; it is true. You remember the letter that Soon
ought to have given me; it announced the collapse of the
Californian Bank. To me, you know, that means the loss
of the last sapeck of my property. Except this yamen,
and a thousand dollars or so to pay my debts, I have no
means of living beyond another month or two.”

“Then,” said Wang, “it is no longer the wealthy Kin-Fo
I have the pleasure of addressing ?”

“No, it is Kin-Fo the impoverished, now; but it matters
not; poverty has no terrors for me.”

“Well said, my son;” and Wang raised himself as he
spoke, and repeated, “ Well said ; here is the glad reward of
all my teaching. Hitherto you have only vegetated, now
you are going to live. Recollect how Confucius says that
we always find fewer misfortunes than we look for; surely
you remember the passage in the Nun-Schunn, ‘ There are
ups and down in life; the wheel of fortune rests not, but
rolls on; the breezes of spring-time are fickle, but rich or
poor, do thy duty.’ My son, we must now be off and on
our way ; we have now to earn our daily bread !”

The philosopher made a movement as if he were pre-
pared to quit the sumptuous mansion without a moment’s
delay.

G
84 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,.

 

 

by day or by night, by open violence or by secret art, by
steel or by poison, that rests with you. By the date I
name to you I must die at your hands ; and the condition
which I insist on is that I am to have no intimation before-
hand. Thus shall every minute of the next fifty-five days
be the source of the emotion of expectation, the looking
out for the sudden termination of my life!”

All the time that Kin-Fo had been speaking, he had
exhibited an animation, strongly in contrast to his ordi-
nary lassitude; but his unusual impulsiveness had not,
betrayed him into any reprehensible lack of prudence.
He had fixed the latest limit of his death for a date five
days before the expiration of the policy, being quite alive
to the recollection that he had no available funds by which
he could renew it.

The philosopher sat and listened gravely, glancing
repeatedly, it might be in unconsciousness, at the picture
of the Tai-Ping monarch that hung before him, but having
no conception of how it had just been made a legacy to
himself. ‘

“You have heard what I have to say,” said Kin-Fo, after
ashort pause. “You are ready, I presume, to meet my
wishes? You undertake to kill me, do you not?”

Wang made a hasty gesture of assent. Perhaps he
was thinking how, when under an insurgent banner, he
had done worse deeds before. But instead of giving a de-
‘A SERIOUS CONTRACT. ° 85

 

finite answer to Kin-Fo’s question, he met it by another :—
“Are you sure that you are so ready to sacrifice your
chance of living on to a fine old age?”

“T tell you, Wang, my resolve is firm as adamant. To
be old and rich is bad enough; to be old and poor is
intolerable.”

“And what about the lovely young widow at Peking?
Have you forgotten her? Heed you not the proverb, ‘The
willow with the willow, the flower with the flower, two
hearts united make a century of spring ?’”

Kin-Fo shrugged his shoulders, saying, “A hundred years
of spring may be followed by a hundred more of winter.”

He reflected a moment, and continued :— :

“No; La-oo’s life with me would be a blighting disap-
pointment, miserable, drear. My death will secure her a
fortune. And you, too, Wang, I have not forgotten you ;
I have left you 50,000 dollars.”

“Your foresight seems complete,” replied the philo-
sopher; “you do not leave me scope to raise up one
single objection.”

”

“Yes, there is one obstacle,’ answered Kin-Fo; “and it
surprises me that you do not suggest it. You must know
that the deed to which you pledge yourself will cause you
to be hunted down as an assassin in cold blood.”

“ Cowards and fools are caught,” replied Wang signifi-

cantly. “Iam willing to undertake the risk.”
85 “ THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

“And I, for my part,” said Kin-Fo, “am resolved
beforehand to insure you safe protection, I give you an
indemnity.”

He went to the table, took up a sheet of pores and
calmly wrote, in clear bold characters :—

“Wearied and disgusted with my life, I have see
sought my death.—“ K1n-Fo.”
CHAPTER IX.
SUSPENSE.

AT the office of the Centenarian, on the following morning,
William Biddulph had an interview with the two detectives
whom he had commissioned to keep a watch over his new
client. © 2. bowhe 4 ef

“Last evening,” Craig was saying, “we followed him for
a long walk into the country.”

“ And certainly he had not the least appearance of being
likely to put an end to himself,” continued Fry.
' “We kept pace with him all the way back to his own
house,” said Craig.

“ But had no opportunity of. setting inside,” added Fry.

“ And how is he this morning ?” Biddulph asked. 7

“Well and strong as the bridge of Palikao,” they
answered. in a breath. ;

Craig and Fry were cousins, and genuine Americans.
Had they been the Siamese twins, their identity could
scarcely have been more complete; the same brains, the
88 “THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

same thoughts, the same motives, and even the samc
stomachs seemed to belong to them both; their very arms
and legs appeared to be at each other’s disposal, and in
speaking, one of them almost invariably completed the
sentence which the other had begun.

“No; I suppose you could not get into the house,” said
Biddulph.

The spies declared that they hardly thought that could
be managed.

“ And yet it ought to be done,” continued the agent ; “ it
will never answer for the company to lose two hundred
thousand dollars, You will have to keep a good look-out
upon this gentleman for a couple of months, and longer if
he should renew his policy.”

“There is a valet in the house,” said Fry.

“Who probably could give some information of what
goes on within,” said Craig.

“Ay, get hold of him,” replied Biddulph ; “make him
all the compliments that a Chinaman enjoys so well ; bribe
him with drink, or with money if necessary ; you shall lose
nothing by your pains.”

Accordingly, the two men put themselves as soon as
possible in communication with Soon, who was nothing
loth to accept either a glass of American drink or a present
of a few taels.

' By dint of inquiry a good many particulars were got out
SUSPENSE. 89

 

of him. Had his master lately exhibited any change in
his manner? No, except that he had been rather more
indulgent than usual to his valet. Hdd he any dangerous
weapons in his possession? No, he had fo arms whatever.
How did he live? On food of the most ordinary kind.
At what hour did he rise? In the fifth watch at daybreak.
At what hour did he go to bed? The second watch, ever
since Soon had been in his service, had been his hour for
retiring. Did he appear preoccupied, or distressed like one
weary of life? No, though he was never a man of exube-
rant spirits, he was never in the least gloomy ; in fact, for
the last day or two, he had been rather more cheerful than
usual. Had he any poison in his possession that he would
be likely to take? No; Soon thought it most unlikely;
that very morning, by his master’s orders, he had flung
away a lot of globules into the Wang-Poo simply because
they might be dangerous. |

The cross-examination did not elicit a single fact that
could in any way arouse the fears of Biddulph. Never had
the wealthy Kin-Fo appeared in a happier or more pros-
perouscondition. Still Craig and Fry felt their professional
reputation too much at stake to allow them to relax their
vigilance, and having come to the conclusion that Kin-Fo
was not likely to commit suicide in his own house, they
followed him more perseveringly than ever when he left
home ; they took care, besides, to cultivate a closer intimacy
90 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

with Soon, who was ready ‘to talk freely enough with
acquaintances at once so agreeable and so generous.

As for Kin-Fo himself, it would be too much to say that,

he had begun to have a real ‘clinging to life now that he
had determined to leave it, but the feeling of suspense had
intertwined itself into his existence, and given rise to emo-
tions to which he had hitherto been a stranger, and which
began to thrill in his breast... He had hung, as it were, the
sword of Damocles above his head, and it was in itself an
excitement for him to know that it might fall at any
moment. : ‘
Since the night on which they had entered into their
contract, Kin-Fo.and Wang had had no intercourse; per-
haps the philosopher had been out, or perhaps he was con-
fining himself to his own room, engaged in devising for
. fresh execution one of the various schemes of assassination
with which his early experience as a Tai-Ping had made
him familiar. Kin-Fo could only form his own conjecture
about the way in which Wang was employing his time, but
the result was that curiosity of a new and personal character
was being awakened in his mind, and to Kin-Fo curiosity
was a new sensation.

As hitherto, they both met at the same table at meals,
but their conversation on those occasions always turned
upon the most ordinary and indifferent topics. There
could be no doubt, however, that Wang had become some-
‘ SUSPENSE, | gI

 

what gloomy:and taciturn; there was an ‘abstracted: look:
in his.eye that. his spectacles, huge as they. were, could not
conceal ; his appetite, ‘ordinarily good, almost entirely
failed him, the most delicate dishes and the costliest wines
being of no avail to'give him a proper eines of his
meals.

- On the other hand, Kin-Fo seemed to relish every dish
that came to table. The consequence was that his appetite
wonderfully ‘revived, and every day he not only made a
good dinner, but digested it perfectly. It was, at least,
quite evident that the secret use of poison’ was not the
means by which Wang. was seeking to.‘ bring’ about’ -his
cide, «as, = * eB OBS A Ge? ee
-. Wang had every facility for accomplishing ‘the task he
had undertaken; the door of Kin-Fo’s bedroom was
always open; either by day or ‘by night he was free to
enter, and could choose his own time for striking his victim,
asleep or awake. In anticipation of being attacked:in this
way, Kin-Fo had so.far considered the matter as.to enter-
tain the hope that any blow that might be struck might go
straight to his heart.

So. quickly, however, did Kin-Fo get ‘accustomed to
anticipations of this character that after a very few nights
he slept quite soundly, ee each ee mee and
refreshed. . ar ag ae 2

After a time - it. -oconired. to him: that npeniee Wang
92 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

shrank from perpetrating the deed under a roof where he
had been so long and so hospitably entertained. To
obviate this difficulty and to afford every chance, Kin-Fo
would go long distances into the country, always choosing
the most deserted roads; he would linger as late as the
fourth watch in the most cut-throat quarters of the town,
where murder might be committed with the utmost im-
punity ; he would wander through the dark and narrow
streets, jostled by drunkards until the early hours of the
morning, when the bell of the muffin-man and his cry
“man-toou,” “ man-toou,” heralded the dawn of day; but
he ever returned from his peregrinations as safe and well
as he had set out, quite unconscious that however capricious
his movements, they had never ceased to be under the sur-
veillance of the indefatigable cousins Craig and Fry.

If things were to go on in this fashion, Kin-Fo began to
fear that he should grow so accustomed to the condition of
living a precarious existence that all his old exzuz must very
soon return; as it was, hours would repeatedly elapse with-
out the thought of his impending death ever crossing his
mind at all.

An incident, however, occurred on the 12th of May which
supplied a fresh excitement to his imagination. Happen-
ing to pass the doorway of Wang’s apartment, he caught
sight of the philosopher cautiously feeling the edge of a
poignard with his fingers; watching a moment longer, he
 

 

Wang was secn brandishing the poignard in the air., Page 93.
SUSPENSE. 93

 

saw him dip the weapon into a violet-coloured bottle of
very suspicious appearance; another instant, and Wang
-was seen brandishing the poignard in the air, his counte-
nance assuming an expression so ferocious that the blood
seemed to mount into his very eyes.

“Ah! that’s it, is it? very good!” said Kin-Fo, passing
on his way without having been observed.

For the whole of the day Kin-Fo made a point of not
leaving his own room, but Wang made no appearance.
Night came on, and he went to bed; morning came, and
he was still alive and well. Was it not provoking? Were
not all his emotions going to waste? Wang was a pro-
crastinator, why else did he suffer ten days to pass? What
could make him dilly-dally in this way? No doubt the
luxuries of Shang-Hai had enervated him ; he had lost his
nerve.

Wang, meanwhile, was becoming more gloomy and more
restless than ever; he began to be perpetually wandering
about the yamen, and it was noticed that he made repeated
visits to the chamber where the costly coffin from Lai-Choo
was deposited. Not long afterwards it was mentioned by
Soon to his master that orders had been given for the coffin
itself to be dusted, cleaned, and re-varnished.

“He is making it all clean and comfortable for you, you
see,” said Soon confidentially.

Three more days elapsed, and still nothing transpired,
94 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

Was it’ possible that Wang was contemplating that the
whole of the stipulated period should run out? Did he
intend. to postpone his action till the extreme limit of the
time? If it were so, the result would be that death at-last
must come as no surprise at all. :

On the 15th, another significant fact came to Kin-Fo’s
knowledge. He had. passed an unusually restléss night,
and at about six in the morning awoke from a distressing
dream in which he thought that Prince Ien, the potentate
of the infernal .regiotis, had condemned. him not to appear
before him until the twelve-hundreth moon should rise
upon the Celestial Empire. This was to allot -him a life of
another century.. Everything, surely, was conspiring to
thwart him. Itwas consequently in no good mood that he
rose that morning, and: decidedly. in a bad temper did Soon
find him when he euiesed: to give his accustonted services
at the toilet. : ee eae ae

* Out of the room, you rascal, before I kick’ you out !”»

The valet was somewhat taken: aback by a greeting
so different to what he had lately received from -his
master, but having-something to communicate he did not
retreat: 3 vt big

“ Out of the room, I say!” repeated Kin-Fo.

“Twas only going to say—” began. Soon. .

“ Off, you scoundrel !” said Kin-Fo. |

“That Wang-—” continued the.servant.
SUSPENSE. 95

 

“Wang ! well, what about Wang'?” cried Kin-Fo, and he
caught tight hold of Soon’s pigtail. :'

Soon wriggled about in his master’s grasp, in terror as to.
the fate that was to befall his tail, but in reply to the re-
peated demand, said,— <

“He has ordered your coffin to. be put into the Kiosk of
Long-Life !”

A sudden gleam of satisfaction spread itself over Kin-
Fo’s face.

“Ts it really so?” he asked.

“The order is given,” replied Soon. »

“ Here, my good fellow, are ten taels for’ you ; go and see
that the order is attended to.”

Nothing could exceed Soon’s astonishment ; he hurried
away, thinking to himself that if his master had gone mad,
it was not a bad thing that his moans had: taken a
generous turn.

Conviction now came upon Kin-Fo’s mind. Here. was
clear evidence that matters were coming to a crisis. No
doubt Wang had come to the conclusion that he would kill
him on the very spot where he had himself resolved to ‘die.
How long, how slow that day! the hands upon - the clock
scarce seemed to stir! but at last the shadows lengthened,
and night brooded upon the yamen.

Kin-Fo came to the determination that he would take
up his quarters in the pavilion of Long-Life. He entered
96 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

as expecting never: to come out alive. He flung himself
upon a soft sofa, and there he lay and waited. In the still
Silence of the solitude he began to reflect ; he thought of
the unprofitableness of his past existence; he pondered on
the weariness and exnuz of his old career ; poverty was no
better than wealth ; he thought upon La-oo ; his attach-
ment to her was a bright spot in his memory; even now
his heart beat at the recollection of her love; but, no; he
was never going to involve her in his misery.

Thus passed the fourth watch, when nature, animate
and inanimate, seems all at repose. Kin-Fo listened. His
eye sought to penetrate the darkness. More than once
he heard the creak of footsteps. More than once he was
sure that a gentle hand was laid upon the door. A kind
of longing mingled itself with a kind of dread. Why did
he not fall asleep and so await in unconsciousness the
approach of the Tai-Ping?

But the fourth watch passed, and the fifth watch dawned. °
Day was about to break, when suddenly the door of the
pavilion was opened roughly.

“The time has come!” cried Kin-Fo, starting up. His
life seemed concentrated in that single instant.

It was not Wang.

It was only Soon. He held a letter in his hand. The
letter was marked “ Urgent.”

“J have brought it at once,” said Soon,
SUSPENSE. 97

 

Kin-Fo seized the letter; it bore the San Francisco
postmark. One glance at the inside revealed its contents,
and Kin-Fo rushed impetuously from the pavilion, shout-
ing,—

“Wang, Wang !”

He darted into the philosopher’s apartment, but in a
moment was out again, still calling at the top of his voice :

'

“Wang, Wang, Wang!”

But Wang was not to be found. His bed had never
been slept in. The whole house was aroused ; search was
made in every quarter of the yamen; no trace of him
was to be seen. It was only certain that Wang had gone!
CHAPTER X.

i

A Suni WATCH,

se

s WALL f a ‘ttfele, Mr. «. Biddulph, all a trick ! ae ‘said Kin-Fo, in
an thheriew. which, as soon as -possible after the. receipt of
his. communication from, San Francisco, he took. care to
have with the manager of the Centenarian; “it was
nothing more than an American stroke of business.”

“But it was very clever,” replied William Biddulph,
complacently ; “ everybody believed it, and it succeeded.”

“My correspondent,” continued Kin-Fo, “was certainly
taken in; but he now writes me word that the stoppage
was alla stratagem. The shares fell eighty per cent. In
a week all was afloat again. The bank bought up all the
depreciated shares, and when the inquiry was made, the
answer was ready; the whole concern could pay 175
per cent. Till this letter came I had no doubt I was
ruined.”

“Yes ; and being a beggar, you thought you would lay
violent hands upon yourself?” said Biddulph,
jwA STRICT, WATCH. f° 99

 

Just, so; but no; not exactly that; I was. hourly in
expectation, of being assassinated,” 2. ws eee
“ Either catastrophe. would. have cost. Us two. . hundred
thousand dollars. Let, me congratulate you: upon. your
escape.” op vom ot takes
_And in, genuine, American; fashion: Biddulph nied
Kin-Fo’s hand ‘and shook it. ;with much energyy; -¢2.5 A.
The. client proceeded. fo. “confide, the, true state. -of .the
case to the manager’s:.ear 5 he told . him -how'he -had con-
tracted with a colleague to kill him within a, certain time,
and how he had given a written guarantee by which .the
maa be protected from the consequences.of ‘his
act. See. yak Ui? oh aa oes OAs. Eee med ee 3
«But thes serious "part ‘of it all is this,” continued! Kin-
Fo; “the contract, still stands ;. he, is. still bound to take
my, life ; and there, is-no doubt he will keep to: his bargain

and kill me within the stipulated time
* May I ask whether , ‘the hired - assassin. is, a friend of
yours? ae inquired Biddulph. leet > file,

“Yes ; and moreover, he comes into. 50,090, dollars by
my death.’ Ss : ; —

s “Ah! ‘yes; ; then a “understand ; “the: friend j is 1 the philo-
oa Wang, wlio interest is secured by the- policy.
But surely he is not a man who would perpetrate such’an
act as this ?” “ ro

* Kin- -Fo was on the point of explaining | ee Wass aan

H 2
100 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

in sober truth, a Tai-Ping, and how he had probably done
dark deeds enough to make the whole Centenarian esta-
blishment bankrupt if his victims had happened to be their
clients; but he was not disposed in any way to com-
promise Wang’s life.

‘Eighteen years indeed had passed since Wang had
_ taken any part in the bloody proceedings of the Tai-Ping
confederacy, but’ perhaps any revelation concerning him
even now might result in his being denounced as a revolu-
tionist, and bring him under the suspicion of the govern-
ment,

Accordingly, Kin-Fo forbore from saying more than
that he believed that Wang would hold himself bound to
fulfil his contract.

Biddulph considered for a moment, and then said—

“Obviously, there is only one thing to be done; you
must see Wang; you must make him understand that the
contract is cancelled, and he will have to restore you the
indemnity.”

“ Easier said than done,” answered Kin-Fo; “the diffi-
culty is that Wang has disappeared, no one knows whither.”

“Oh, oh!” cried Biddulph ; “that’s bad,” and he looked
perplexed.

There was a mutual silence for some time.

“T presume, sir,” said Biddulph presently, “you do not
want to be assassinated now ?”

'

Se i
“A STRICT WATCH. IOI

 

“Quite the reverse. Why should I?. The temporary
collapse of the bank has doubled my fortune, and I have
doubled my inducement to live. I want to get married.”

“Of course,” said Biddulph, with the blandest of smiles.

“But you see I am not safe until Wang is found; or
certainly not so long as this policy is in force.”

“Neither is the office safe,’ observed Biddulph in an
undertone.

“Until the 25th of June,” continued Kin-Fo, “my very
existence will be in peril.”

“Yes, until the 25th of June,” said Biddulph, “the Cen-
tenarian will be responsible,” and the manager paced the
room, deliberating, with his hands behind him.

“T tell you what it is, sir,” he said, after a few moments’
pondering; “we must find your friend, the philosopher,
even if he has hidden himself in the bowels of the earth.”

“T hope you may,” answered Kin-Fo.

“Meanwhile, we must take measures for protecting you
from assassination, in the same way as we have guarded
you from suicide.”

“In the name of mercy, what do you' mean ?” ejaculated
Kin-Fo. ;

“Why, ever since the day you signed’ the policy with
us, two of my people have been assiduously keeping a
watch upon all ‘your doings ; they have been everywhere
as faithful to you as your shadow.”
102 THE Pte EU EONS 4 OF .A CHINAMAN.

: “And T not ane it}* dangly” bat ttind) Pe
«You might have known it-had. your look-out been as
sharp as theirs; but they are cautious folks.: I have not
the least doubt. they have followed you here.» They have
seen'you in-; they are waiting to.see you'out.”-

“Is it possible?” said Kin-Fo, speaking to himself. .

“Craig! Fry!” called Biddulph, without raising his
voice very much,

‘The two men entered, 22 “ov”

“ By your leave, sir, I will now entrust’ these employés of
mine with a- fresh commission. | Hitherto. they have been
protecting you from yourself; they have kept: guard’ over
you that you:should' not commit suicide; they will “hence-
forthprotecf: you from mischief from without ; they. will
guard you so-'that you receive no injury. from Wang.” i:5.;

“KinsBo; bad no: alternative but: to submit, and .the
detectives ae their ‘altered | ices ones
comment.: HOS SPRUE Poy pau A ot abet tarts

ha The next dee was to pdeids upon the -line of action to
ie taken. As Biddulph remarked, two courses were open
to: them ; either they might keep Kin-Fo constantly con-
fined to his house under the surveillance of Craig and
Fry, and,take'care that Wang- did ‘not. enter unobserved,
or-they might. pursue Wang till. they discovered him, and

‘make. him ‘surrender the document in his Possession.
as By all means hunt out Wang,” said Kin-Fo, “he
_.A STRICT WATCH. we 103

knows my yamen so well that whenever he pleases, he
can find his way in without being seen.”

“Yes; we will find’ Wang if possible,” assented Bid-
dulph ; “but we must not lose sight of you.”

“You will do no harm to Wang,” Kin-Fo pleaded.

“He should be'brought.dead or. alive,” said Craig.

“ He should be found alive or dead,” repeated. Fry:.

“Oh, alive, or not at all,” said Kin-Fo. earnestly.

The plan of proceeding settled, Biddulph and Kin-Fo
took | leave: of each other, and the wealthy. Chinanian,
escorted zolens volens by, his body-guard, went home.

Very sincere was the regret. with which Soon discovered
that Craig and Fry had taken up their abode under ‘his
master’s roof. Having no more questions ‘to answer, he
would have no more taels to receive. And what made
matters worse, Kin-Fo had again commenced to censure
and chastise him bitterly for his) blunders and his idleness.
Poor Soon! he, little knew what the. future had. in store
for him. « ee

The first care of Kin-Fo was sto send a “ phonogram” to
Peking. He was anxious not to lose an hour in an-
nouncing the recovery of his wealth, and La-oo was) en-
raptured, independently of the tenor of the communication,
at hearing once, more. the _woice . that ‘she had feared: was
‘silenced for ever. ‘The seventh moon, said the lover,
should not wane before he would be at her side, never
104. THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,.

 

more to leave her; but before that time he could not
see her, lest he should leave her the second time a
widow.

La-oo could not understand the meaning of the last
words of the letter; but she knew that the lover promised
to come, and to quit her no more, and this made her, that
day, the happiest of women in Peking,

Very complete was the reaction that had set in upon all
Kin-Fo’s ideas and feelings. With the access of fortune
had come an entire revolution in his view of life, and the
friends that he had entertained at dinner so recently in
Canton would scarcely have recognized their unimpas-
sioned, apathetic host’; while Wang himself could a
have believed his senses,

No trace of Wang was yet to be discovered. The
foreign quarters, the bazaars, the streets, the suburbs were
searched ; every corner of Shang-Hai was explored ; the
keenest of the “ti-paos” were put upon the scent, but all
in vain; there was no clue, no vestige, no sign.

Craig and Fry grew more uneasy. More and more tena-
ciously they adhered close to Kin-Fo’s side, they ate at his
table, they slept in his room, they tried to make him wear
a shirt of mail, and did their best to persuade him to eat
nothing but boiled eggs, which, they said, could not be
poisoned. Against these restrictions the wealthy house-
holder naturally rebelled; just as well, he said, for the next
A STRICT WATCH. 105

 

two months, might he be locked up in the iron safe at the
office of the Centenarian.

Looking at the matter from an official point of view,
William Biddulph made the practical suggestion that the
premium should be returned, and the policy destroyed.
Kin-Fo, however, would not listen to the prosposal ; the
bargain was made, and he would abide by the conse-

_. quences. Finding him thus resolute, Biddulph acquiesced,
only assuring him that he was fortunate in being in such
good keeping as that of the office he had himself the honour
to represent.
CHAPTER XI.

ER OE ee are

AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY:

SEVERAL days passed, and ay no efforts succeeded in dis-
covering the whereabouts of Wang, Kin-Fo began to chafe
at the confinement and inaction that were being imposed
on him. Biddulph himself became somewhat uneasy.
Although at first he had thought it unlikely that Wang
would carry the covenanted deed into execution, he felt
bewildered, and began now to realize that in China stranger
' things might happen even than in America; and at last
he entered into Kin-Fo’s opinion, that the mysterious
disappearance of Wang was only the prelude to a re-
appearance when he would suddenly descend like a
thunderbolt, and perpetrate the final act. The fatal
blow once given, the philosopher would present himself
at the office of the Centenarian, and claim his allotted
portion.

Directly, indirectly, by all means, by any means, thought
Biddulph, such a scheme must be frustrated. He resolved
* AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY. | - {07

 

to advertise; and, accordingly, not only had notices
repeatedly inserted in the Peking Gazette, the T: ching- Pao,
and other Chinese Newspapers . published in Hong-Kong
and Shang-Hai, but sent them by telegraph to alt the
leading journals of Europe and America. © e Geta ena

It was first announced : Be gis ae :

“WANG, of ‘Shang-Hai, is hereby inne that the
contract made on the 2nd of May, ‘between ‘himself and
Kin-Fo, also of Shang-Hai, i is null and void, the said Kin-
Fo having determined to die a centenarian.” oe

This advertisement was almost immediately followed by
another :—

““ REWARD:—Notice is hereby given that a reward’ of

thirteen: hundred taels, or two‘thousand dollars, is' offered
to any one giving information a8 to the present residence
of WANG, of Shang-Hai. Apply to ‘William J. Bidexlph,
Centenarian Insurance Company, Shang- Hai.”
- It was ‘not in the least likely that Wang was traversing
any distant quarter of the world; during the few weeks that
had ‘beén left ¢ open to him for the fulfilment of his compact;
it was far more probable that he was only concealing hitn-
self ‘somewhere’'in the immediate neighbourhood, ready
to avail’ himself of a favotirable opportunity : but Biddulph
was not inclined to leave any stone unturned to bring
whol gy Palahwpody gertnemD creed |

about his discovery.

t

The advertisements he jue were made more and more
108 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

sensational. One morning a paragraph would appear
headed in large capitals :—

“Wane! Wanc! Wana!”
on the next a similar paragraph, beginning :—
“KIn-Fo! Kin-Fo! Kuin-Fo!” \

Inevitably the result was that Wang and Kin-Fo became
notorious names throughout the empire.

“ Where is Wang?”

“What has Wang been up to?”

“ Have you caught Wang ?”

Ridiculous inquiries of this kind were in everybody’s
mouths, until even the children caught the infection, and ran
about the streets crying out,— .

“Who has found Wang ?”

Scarcely less notorious became the name of Kin-Fo,
Thus publicly announced as desiring to live to a hundred,
he became the butt of perpetual jokes. The Emperor’s
elephant just completing its twentieth lustre in the royal
stables, it was said, had found a new rival; the imperial ~
yellow robe,' it was observed, had found a new claimant;
jests without number were bandied about by mandarins,

1 Every Chinaman who attains his eightieth year enjoys the privi-
lege of wearing a yellow robe. Yellow is the Imperial colour, and per-
mission for its use is only granted as an honour to old age.
AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY. 109

 

civil and military, by merchants on the exchange, by
loungers in the streets, and by the watermen in their boats.
One comic song, set to the tune of Man-tchiang-houng,
“the wind that whistles through the willows,” was composed
upon the subject, and was succeeded by another called
“The Centenarian’s five watches,” which had a prodigious
sale at three sapecks a copy. .

The Chinese delight in fun, and, ever ready for a joke,
they are apt to allow their love of caricature to intrude almost
too much into the reserve of private life; but the recent
advertisements, it must be owned, opened up to them a fair
topic for entertainment.

To Biddulph the sensation that was created was of course
highly satisfactory ; it answered his purpose in every way.
What effect it had upon Wang no one could tell, as he
succeeded in evading the most vigorous search that was
set on foot to discover him; but to poor Kin-Fo the
notoriety which he had attracted was the very reverse of
pleasant. It soon became impossible for him to walk along
the streets or quays without being thronged by a set of

-idlers; nor did he escape the nuisance when he went out
into the country ; while he could never return to his yamen
withqut finding a regular mob assembled at the door.
Every morning he was vociferously summoned to the
balcony, that the populace might see for themselves that
he had not been consigned to his coffin; and bulletins
Ilo THE, TRIBULATIONS ° ‘OF A CHINAMAN,

 

were published regularly: in the: daily Samia ie! the
fashion of the Imperial Court Circular, ‘to record ‘his: state
of health, and report all his movements. ° <P Se

_ To endure ;such a condition of things was out of the
question, Existence-on such terms was intolerable. On
the morning of the 21st he ‘hurried off to Biddulph, and
acquainted him with his intention. eee quitting anang-Hal
forthwith. ag ‘ .

.. The . agent, really acter oe the Company's in-
fanenids pointed out to him the great: risk he ue ‘be
TUNING: 6,48 yun ud va dS Rep talt

“Never mind!” 2 Kin- Fo, «L wall pace my chatee
and you must use greater precautions.” ij ate

“But consider,” pleaded Biddulph. ybsebdere
_ “Tam going,” aa Kin-Fo.0 6) ot geans |

“Going where?” -. . | «, Z ao GROEN

 

_ “Anywhere ; straight ne PO pg. widae ge ke Aya < phe
“ Where shall you. ee 2 Pgh wih Glass” ae: aaa Weletges
p Nowhere.” was ee ee
“And when shall you come back: -

“Never.”
“But if we find Wang? 2 le

“A plague upon Wang!’ a
; “But remember your bargain.” ;

"Yes, I was a fool.” re ene

_ “We may catch Wang. yet." pigtet ned ae

pony ef
AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY. IIl

 

“Let him go to the devil.”

It must be confessed, however, that. in his heart Kin-Fo
had the most intense anxiety. for Wang to. be found. The
knowledge that his life was gratuitously placed in the
hands of another was riow a perpetual tarment to him ; it
was worse 'than living in a. state of siege, and the. prospect
of going through, more than another month of.such suspense
was beyond endurance, . omy

“ And you really mean to go?”. Heaiiied Biddulph. . .

“T have told you once,” said: Kin-Fo. >). gays

“You are aware, I presume, that Gale and Fry will have
to go with you?” ay

‘As you please; I only warn you that they will have to
travel pretty fast:”...

“Go they must,” repeated Bidautp, “ thy shall be ready
when you please.” wey ae a

Returning to the yamen, Kin-Fo feetniys set ane
the necessary preparations for departure. His announce-
ment to Soon that he would -have to accompany him‘ was
a grievous: annoyance to the valet, who ‘hated nothing so
much. as being hurried and bustled about: but he had
too, much regard for his pigtail to venture either upon re-
monstrance or objection. ai “WS hth as G

In a very short time Craig and Fry, \ with bse: American
promptness, presented themselves, and announced that they
were ready to start,

Tee NG Se ae
112 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“In what direction—” began Craig.

“ Are we to go?” continued Fry.

“To Nanking first, and then to the deuce,” said Kin-Fo
sharply.

The spies exchanged a smile, and having satisfied them-
selves that Kin-Fo would not start until towards evening,
they went away to say a few words to Biddulph, and to
change their clothes for Chinese costumes, which would
attract less attention. In good.time, with bags at their
sides, and revolvers in their waistbands, they returned to
the yamen.

It was getting dusk when, under as little observation as
possible, they proceeded to the harbour in the American
quarter, and embarked on board one of the steamers that
run between Shang-Hai and Nanking, a voyage that
with a favourable tide rarely takes more than twelve
hours.

But short as was the passage, Craig and Fry were
cautious not to overlook any detail that might ensure the
safety of the life they had under their care. They made
it their first concern to scrutinize all the other passengers ;
they had lived long enough in the locality of Shang-Hai
to be familiar with the bland and benevolent features of
Wang, and did not rest until they had made certain that
he had neither preceded them nor followed them on board.
But when all these external matters had been attended to,
AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY. 113

 

they devoted all their watchfulness to the personal welfare of
their charge. They ascertained the strength of every rail-
ing on which he leant ; they tested the stability of every
plank on which he trod; they kept him at a prudent dis-
tance from the engines, in case they should burst; they
remonstrated with him when he exposed himself to the
chill night air; they looked to the port-holes of his cabin
to ascertain that they were properly closed ; they carried
him his tea and his cake, not omitting meanwhile to reprove
Soon most sternly for his neglect of his master; and
finally, they lay down, still undressed, at the door of the
cabin, not without having provided themselves with life-
belts, so that the proper resources should. all be ready in
case of collision, explosion, or other disaster by which the
vessel might be liable to founder. |
Everything, however, went well; nothing occurred. to
put their alacrity to the test. Rapidly: the. steamer
descended the Woo-Sung ; it turned into the mouth of the
Yang-tse-kiang (the Blue River); and having. passed the
Island of Tsong-Ming, it left the lights of Oo-song and
Lang-Chan far behind, and in good time next morning~
landed all its passengers on the quay of the ancient city.
It was with a definite motive that Kin-Fo on leaving
Shang-Hai had, in the first instance, made his way to
Nanking. He entertained an idea that former associations
connected with the ancient place, once the stronghold of
I
114 THE .TRIBULATIONS. OF A CHINAMAN.

 

the Tchang-Mao rebellion, might’ already ‘have attracted
Wang thither...‘ Its~history'was. full of stirring memories,
Here had Rong-Sieou-Tsin,; once a modest’ schoo}master,
but: subsequently the Emperor. ‘of. the Tai-Ping, held’ the
Manchow authority long time in’ check ; here: in, 1864 .-he
hdd pbisoned hitnself, thatyhe might not fall into the hands
of-his foes; here had. been ‘proclaimed the new era of(the.
great peace ;* hence had fled the son of the Emperor, only
to be captured and beheaded by the Imperialists in:power.
‘And -had> not. his” bones been torn’ from: the :tomb: and.
scattered. as refuse amongst the brutes.of the field,’ in
short; was not Nanking the scene; where, amidst: burning
ruin, a~hundred thousand,:of: ‘Wang's -confederates, within
three days, had been’massacred in.cold blood?”

Surely, argued Kin-Fo, it is of all things most natural
that-hithersshould Wang: return; -that, seized'ds it wére
with.a'kind’‘of home-sickness, he should'come back and
sniff.afresh the .oncé-familiar scent, and, nerved_ ‘by: the
ancient “memories, he, should ‘be inspired at the proper
moment to:go, back to. Shang-Hai, and fulfil the covenant
‘of bload to which ‘he was pledged... |

But, anyhow, it was as, well to. cee Nanking as: any
place beside for a first stage, If Wang.,should be dis-
covered there, all well and good; at once there would be
an.end of every difficulty ;:but-if not, -Kin-Fo would travel

:.# The interpretation of Tai-Ping is “great peace”.
i
. AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY. =. : It5

 

on.and:on, until the time should have passed: away: in
which there was anything to fear. ;

On landing, Kin-Fo led his party to an ‘ote! in one
of the half-deserted quarters of the town, where. the ruins'
of the ancient capital lay’ scattered round them as a
wilderness,

“J have a word to say to you,” a said to his. satellites’ :
- “you must' remember that [ am travelling now under a
fictitious name. Upon no pretext am I to be cated Kin-
Fo; for the present I am Ki-Nan.”

“ All right!” answered Soon. :

_“ Ki-Nan,” replied Craig and Fry, one the ane
between them.

It was not to be wondered at that Kin-Fo. took every
pains he could to avoid being pestered by any repetition
of the annoyances to which he had ‘been lately subjected.
He ‘took good care not to breathe a suspicion of the
expectation he entertained of meeting Wang in Nanking ;
he was well: aware. that the hint of such a probability
would only throw over him a fresh t1etwork of precautions
and aggravate his grievances. In the ‘eyes: of Craig and
his colleague he was nothing more than a parcel of specie
that had to be convoyed, safely ei the perils of a
hostile country... '

The day was spent in séslotad the a Hon Aorth
to south, from east to west, the decayed city was carefully

12
116 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

i

surveyed ; its ‘ancient splendour everywhere ‘was gone.
Kin-Fo walked rapidly; he said little, but observed much,
not only the features of the city, but the countenances of
the passers-by. ° |

; But the familiar face for which he looked was not to be
seen. Neither on the canals, where the population chiefly
throngs, nor in the streets, desolate and overgrown, was
there trace of the fugitive anywhere. Kin-Fo seemed
proof against all fatigue: Poor Soon crawled on behind
with lagging and unwilling steps; the men entrusted with
the oversight of the wanderer, found their energies suffi-
ciently taxed, but onwards, onwards they went. They
passed the ruined marble porticos and half-burnt walls
that mark the site of the Imperial Palace; they passed
the yamen of the Catholic missionaries who narrowly
escaped being massacred amidst the horrors of the insur-
rection in 1870; they passed the gun-factory built recently
with the indestructible bricks of the old Porcelain Tower ;
they passed, after many wanderings, out of the east gate,
and found themselves in an open country.

Kin-Fo paused to look about him. As he left the city
he found himself in a long avenue bordered on either side
by colossal granite figures of animals. Proceeding along
the avenue, he reached a small temple at its extremity,
behind which was a mound so high that it might almost
be called a hill, The mound was a tomb; beneath it lay
AN UNPLEASANT NOTORIETY. * 117

 

Rong-oo, the Emperor-Priest, who five centuries back had
contested the burden of a foreign yoke. The idea could
not be repressed. Had not Wang, before he dipped his
hand once more in human blood, been moved to make a
pilgrimage to this very sepulchre? Kin-Fo felt that he
was about to encounter him in the very midst of the
associations of the fallen dynasty.

Yet, no; the place was all deserted; the temple was
empty. There was no guardian now but the line of figures
that made the avenue ; no living form in sight.

Kin-Fo was retiring. Suddenly upon the temple door
he caught sight of. the letters, obviously quite freshly
carved :

W., K. F.

No mistaking these’; they meant Wang and Kin-Fo, or
they meant nothing.

“Wang has been here, perhaps is here now,” said Kin-
Fo to himself. He searched, searched anxiously and
earnestly, but searched in vain.

There was no alternative but to retire at last. Soon
could scarce drag his weary limbs. The Americans were
glad enough to be once more at the hotel and at rest.

Next morning they all left Nanking.
CHAPTER XII.
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

THE Celestials might: well be puzzied’ by the stranger who
now for a time pursued a hurried-way among them. He
was a traveller knowing not to-day where to-morrow would
find him. He went to Hotels, but tarried only for a few
hours, ‘He made his way. to restaurants, but only to take
the hastiest of meals. He was lavish with his money, but
he spent it only to expedite his progress.

Manifestly he was not a merchant ‘on a business tour ;
as clearly he was not a mandarin charged with some urgent
mission ; he was not-an artist in search of the beauties of
nature ; neither was he a savant hunting out ancient docu-
ments from the religious houses ; he was not a student on
his way to the pagoda of examiners to'get a degree; not
a Buddhist priest on his round of inspection of the altars
consecrated at the roots of the holy banyan; and nota
pilgrim making his way to pay his vows upon one of the
LOCOMOTION UNDER’ DIFFICULTIES. 119:

 

five sacred mountains. Ki- Naty ‘the: traveller,. ‘remaitied
everywhere a mystery, ©. tlag to Furs.
The client of the Centenarian seemed’ to have ‘no dusting’
but to:keep up a perpetual locomotion. Accompanied by
Craig and Fry, who were ever on’ the alert, aridfollowed '
by Soon, who was ever disgusted at the exertion ‘he was:
called upon to’ make, he pushed rapidly onwards. with the:
double object of escaping, and’ yet of seeking’. the ‘iidis-
coverable Wang. On thé one hand he was endéavouting
to find a distraction from his own perplexities, on-the-other™
he was trying to evade the danger that threatenéd-him, by
keeping’ incessantly in motion, on’ the principle that ‘a lee
on the wing is harder to hit: ‘than’a bitd on a bushe |) ~ 5
- From ° Nanking’ they proceeded by one of the fast!
American steamboats, that, like floating hotels, convey
passengers-up the Blue River,-and, after’a run of sixty
hours, landed at Han-Kow, at the corifivence ofthe Yang-
tse-Kiang and its impoftant affluent the’ Han-Kiang}:
They had scarcely noticed,‘far less’ admired, the fantastic
rock, “the little orphan,” which - stands solitary -in .the:
middle of the stream, and is ctownhed by a hai éon-
stantly served by Buddhist priests. -
At Han-Kow Kin-Fo ‘consented to rest for: half‘a day.
Ruins, ‘utterly irreparable, in many places, were the tokens

1 In the south of China rivers are distinguished by the termination
“ Kiang ;” in the north by “Ho.” 3° °° : j Pee
120 ‘THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

of the violence of the old Tai-ping, but neither in the

commercial town itself, which is a mere annex to the pre-

fecture of Han-Yang-Foo on the right bank, nor in Woo-

Chang-Foo, the capital of the province of Hou-Pe, on the
left, was there tobe found any trace of Wang. Nor was

there anywhere a repetition of the mysterious letters that
had: caught Kin-Fo’s eye on the tomb at Nanking.

If Craig and Fry had been men anxious to turn their
expedition to account and to gain much intimate acquaint-
ance either with Chinese ‘places or Chinese customs, they
would have been very grievously disappointed, as the
celerity of all their proceedings barely allowed the oppor-
tunity for making the briefest note. It must be owned,
however, that as they were not garrulous, so they were not
curious. It probably did not matter much that they very
rarely spoke to each other. Their thoughts were so pre-
cisely alike that any conversation between them would
have been little otherwise than a monologue. They had
no interest to devote to the architectural peculiarities of
the place ; ‘they admired neither the broad straight streets,
nor the handsome houses, nor the shady promenades of the
European quarter ; still less had they the discrimination to
observe that double aspect of character common to the
majority of Chinese cities which appear as it were dead in
the centre, but alive in all their surroundings,

As dhe steam-boat was about to proceed up the Han-
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 121

 

Kiang, navigable as far as Lao-Ho-Kow, another hundred
miles, he determined to take his passage on board for the
rest of the way. The two men in charge were very glad
of the decision, chiefly because the dangers of the river
were less than those of the road, and it was a mode of
travelling that secured them greater facilities for keeping
an effectual watch. Soon was still better satisfied. ‘The
steam-boat life suited him exactly. He had no walking,
and no exertion in the way of work, for Craig and Fry
still persisted in undertaking all personal attendance upon
his master ; he slept all day long in a snug corner of the
ship, taking, however, the most conscientious care to awake
punctually at luncheon, dinner, tea, and supper, the good
cooking of which he thoroughly appreciated.

In a day or so afterwards, an observable change in the
ordinary food betokened that they had entered a more
northerly latitude. In the place of rice, corn was served
up in the form of unleavened bread, which, eaten fresh
from the oven, is cxtremely palatable. Soon, a true
southerner, was the first to miss his accustomed diet, and
deplored the absence of the rice which he enjoyed, tossing
it, by means of chop-sticks, into his capacious mouth.
Give him his tea and his rice, and he was satisfied; after
all, he cared more for them than for the fine cookery of
the hotel-ship.

‘They had, in fact, entered’the corn district, the character
122 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

of the country being more undulated, and hills: were to. be
seen--on the horizon: crested -with : fortifications» erected
under,-the dynasty of Ming. The river ceased to be
bounded by artificial banks, but flowed ‘between its. natural
shores, allowing the stream to be wider, but rendering it
more shallow. ee ae Sushi el el

At the prefecture of VuewLn-iee the steamer: lay to: for
a few hours, ‘close to the-customi-house, :to ‘take. in fuel.
Kin-Fo would not ge-on}shore. Why’ should he?. there
was nothing. in;the place that -he cared to see; his single
aim now was.to bury himself in the heart. of China, where,
if ‘he did not come across Wang, Wang.would. not. come
across him; - ' a =

Beyond Yuen-Lo-Foo lay two towns, facing each » ethers
on opposite sides of the river; one being Fan-Tchéng with
a large and. bustling ‘population, the:other the prefecture of
Siang-Yang-Foo, the residence of the authorities, but a
place much more dead than'alive. The river here took an
abrupt turn to the north, in the direction of Lao-Ho-Kow,
where it ceased to be navigable. aot:

From this. point onwards, travelling became altogether a
different matter. The “smooth rolling road?” of the river
was henceforth to be exchanged for the rough .and ill-kept
highways of the land, and the gentle gliding of the steam-
boat had to be surrendered for the bumping and jolting
of the primitive vehicles which still seem to Satisfy the
. LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES, 123

 

requirements of the Celestials.. Poor Soon:! what a pro-
spect for him! the change was to him little short of a
calamity! He would have to trudge along, and had
nothing to expect but fatigue for himself. and chastisement
from. his, master !

To own the truth, it was indeed no elvis post for any
one to have to follow Kin-Fo in the wild peregrination on
which he had set out. He had made up his mind: to keep
moving on ; the mode of conveyance was not fora moment
to be a consideration. From, town to: town he hurried,
from province to province he, made his way ; at one time
in a sort of chest nailed on to an axle, with the wheels
attached most: questionably to its ends, drawn. by a couple:
of stubborn mules, and covered by a tilting that was proof.
neither against sun-nor rain; at another time in a mule-
chair,a kind of hammock suspended between two bamboo
poles, in which he.had to lie at full length, and submit to
be pitched and tossed about with as‘much violence as if he
were exposed to the fury of a boisterous sea.

Craig and Fry, mounted on wretched donkeys, the
motion of which was scarcely less torturing than that of
the mule-chair, rode one on each side, a duly constituted.
body-guard. Grumbling and growling, obliged to follow:
on foot, Soon came on behind, consoling himself, whenever
he considered the pace immoderately rapid, by surreptitious
sips of brandy, a refreshment that had the effect.of giving
124 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

a peculiarity to his gait that was not altogether to be
attributed to the unevenness of the road.

At a later stage the mules and donkeys were dismissed,
and it was mounted on horses, albeit of the sorriest order,
that Kin-Fo and his party entered Si-Ngan-Foo, the
ancient capital of the Central Empire, and the residence of
the Emperor of the Tang dynasty. Many and bare, how-
ever, were the plains they had to cross; long and severe
the fatigue they had to endure before they reached this
remote province of Shen-See.

The heat had been scarcely endurable. It was the
month of May, and the latitude was about the same as that
of southern Spain. A fine yellow dust rose in clouds from
the unballasted highways, at once tainting the atmosphere
with an unwholesome fog and covering the travellers from
head to foot. It was the “loess” district, which presents a
geological formation peculiar to the north of China, and
which has been described by Léon Rousset as “neither
earth nor rock, but rather stone in that transitional state in
which it has not yet had time to get solid.”

Nor was the personal risk they ran by any means insig-
nificant ; the police themselves are in perpetual dread of
the assassin’s knife ; and in a region where the people are
afraid to walk by night in the towns, because the ti-paos
give every rascal free field for action, it may well be under-
stood that there was no security in the open country.
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES, 125

 

Several times in the narrow defiles formed by the lcess
strata some suspicious-looking stragglers met them ; but,
if they had any evil designs, the sight of the revolvers in
the waistbands of Craig and Fry was probably enough to
warn them off. Still it could not be concealed that the
two men in charge were very anxious; they were quite
aware that the consequences to the Centenarian, in the
service of which they were engaged, would be just the same
whether Kin-Fo should be killed by Wang or by any
chance highwayman they might encounter on the way.
Nor was it to be denied that Kin-Fo was in no small
degree alarmed on his own account. He was really soli-
citous for his own safety ; he had taken a new view of life
and clung to it more than ever; so that, as Craig and Fry,
without much regard to logic, expressed their opinion, “he
would have died to save it.”

Nothing could be more improbable than that any trace
of Wang should be discovered at Si-Ngan-Foo. It was
precisely the spot to which no Tai-Ping would be likely to
resort. At the time of the revolution the rebels had never
succeeded in scaling its substantial wall, and a strong gar-
rison of the Man-chows had always occupied it. If it
could be supposed that the philosopher was in search of
archeological curiosities, or was interested in the mys-
terious epigraphs, the number of which in the museum has
caused it to be designated “ the forest of tablets,” he might
126 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

have been looked for in the locality ; otherwise there was
every reason:why he'should avoid it.

.. The town is an important centre of business. between
Central Asia, Thibet and Mongolia;:and China. It might
well ‘detain a traveller for a’ time; but Kin-Fo took his
departure immediately after his: arrival. Continuing his
route northwards, he followed the valley of the Hoey-Ho, a
stream of which the waters are tinged. with yellow, com-
municated. by the loess through which it makes its way.
He passed, Kao-Lin-Sien and Sing-Tong-Sien and reached
Hoa-Choo, the scene of a terrible Mussulman insurrection
in 1860. .-Thence afterwards by an arduous journey, some-
times by carriage, sometimes by. boat, he arrived at the
fortress of Tong-Konan, at the confluence of the Hoey-Ho
and Hoang-Ho.

The Hoang-Ho is the renowned Yellow River. Rising
in the north, it flows through the eastern provinces into the
Yellow Sea, which, however, is no more yellow than the
Black Sea iis black or the Red Sea red. Honoured with
the name of the imperial colour) it is no doubt credited
with a celestial origin, but its merits are somewhat qualified
by the additional appellation ‘which it bears of“ the vexa-
tion of China,” a titlé which’has been bestowed upon it on
account jof. the destructive inundations , that have. even
affected the Imperial Canal.

. As Tong-Konan was not a commercial city, but a mili-
-LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 127

 

tary station, ordinarily occupied by a detachment of the
Manchow Tartars, a not unimportant part of the ‘Chinese
army, Kin-Fo’s companions indulged a hope that he might
wait there for a few days, provided: he could find a com-
fortable hotel; and it probably would have been so had it
not been for .an unlucky .blunder om the. part of Soon.
Entirely off his guard, the stupid fellow gave his master’s
real name. at the custom-house, forgetting, altogether the
assumed.name of Ki-Nan, -It was an act of carelessness
that. cost him a good, piece of his pigtail, but the news he
had communicated. flew like wildfire; Kin-Fo' had come;
the-man who was going to live to a hundred was actually
in.the town. A crowd. was quickly, gathered round the
traveller, who forthwith took to his ‘heels, and, followed by
the inseparables, never: paused in. his flight until he. sank
exhausted :in an. obscure little village, nearly twenty. miles
from. Fong-Konan, and. in which. he. mene at sae: to
secure his incognito. | i sgh ®
The discomfiture which Bonn chad brought upon himself
by his unwary slip. was very considerable; his master had
been. so .annoyed by ,his. servant’s mistake that.he had
snipped. off a very much larger piece of the: pigtail-than
he. had intended, and the fragment .that remained to
the culprit . ‘made him an .object of. ridicule to every-
body in the place; the- very boys in the. streets
pursued and hooted him. It may well be, imagined
128 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

that poor Soon longed heartily for an end. to such a
journey !

But where could the end be looked for? Was not Kin-
Fo resolved to carry out the purpose he had announced to
Mr, Biddulph, and to keep going “straight ahead” ?

In the retired little place in which refuge had been found
there were neither horses, donkeys, carriages, nor mule-
chairs ; and yet it was necessary at once to proceed. The
prospect before them seemed to allow no alternative but to -
walk. This was not at all according to Kin-Fo’s taste, for
however determined he might be to go forward, it had
never entered into his calculation to go far on foot. It is
not to be denied that he displayed very little philosophy
on the occasion; he fretted, he fumed, he blamed those
about him ; he blamed the world, although he might have
known that he had only himself to blame ; he sighed after
the past, in which he had nothing to disturb him; he
declared that, if troubles and annoyances were necessary to
make a man appreciate comforts, he had surely had trou-
bles and annoyances enough for a lifetime. And what had
he not witnessed ? Had he not seen men without a sapeck
in the world going on their way perfectly happy? Had
he not seen labourers toiling on merry and gay over their
furrows in the fields? Had he not seen the artisans plying
their tools and singing the merriest of songs? Perhaps,
after all, it was work that was wanted to give genuine
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 129

 

happiness to existence. At any rate, he came to the
conclusion that his own was a hard and bitter lot.

Meanwhile Craig and Fry had ransacked the village
for a conveyance. They had been reduced to the very
extremity of despair, when at last they managed to secure |
a vehicle that would just convey a single passenger ; but
though they found the vehicle, they were not fortunate
enough to get the means for moving it.

The carriage in question was neither more nor less than
an ordinary wheelbarrow of the country—the wheelbarrow
of Pascal, probably invented long before his time by the
discoverers of gunpowder and of the mariner’s compass. In
these barrows the wheel is not placed at the extremity of
the shafts, but in the middle of them, working under-
neath the body. The truck part is thus divided into
two compartments, one of which may be assigned to
a passenger, the other to his luggage. The driver
pushes in the ordinary way ‘from behind, and like the
driver of a Hansom cab, does not impede the front
view of his fare. As an appliance that is frequently
found of great service, a square sail can be hoisted on
a mast, and when the wind is in a favourable quarter,
the impulse thus given to locomotion is occasionally con-
siderably. greater than the most impatient traveller could
desire. ,

Not to be hired, the. wheelbarrow with all its appur-

K
130 THE TRIBULATIONS: OF A. CHINAMAN.

tenances.had to.be purchased; .and all arrangements heing
duly made, Kin-Fo took: his place inside.:. . =. : ieghlOth..
“Now then, Soon!” hesaid/. 2 vee. ‘eel

1)

a “Quite ready, sir!” answered Soon, calor mianai ees for

stowing himself in the vacant compartment of-the barrow.

»f No, no; the luggage goes there !”. shouted Kin-Fo.
-“And.I >”: asked the astounded valet. -

“ To the shafts, man, to the shafts!” cried: his master.

“ How ?-what ?.:where ?” stammered out the-poor fellow,
utterly bewildered, his legs “already tottering under nim
like a worn-out race-horse. aces ey

“Do you hear me?” said Kin-Fo, making his fest two
fingers gape out and-shut like a pair of scissors, s gesture
which Soon understood only too well. pe A

‘Without ‘another word the servant passed the barrow-
yoke. over his shoulders, and grasped the handles ‘at the
shaft-ends.. The wind was in ‘the right direction, and
the sail was accordingly hoisted; Craig and Fry took
their places on either’ side, and a start was made at a brisk
trot.

At first Soon’s rage and mor tification were unbounded
at finding himself thus summarily reduced: ‘to the level of
a cab-horse, and he flinched at the. atdtious: ‘task ‘before
him ; but? his humiliation was qualified when he. found
Craig and Fry willing to take their turn at pushing, and

the actual toil was‘so" materially ‘lightened by: the’ seein of
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 131

 

the eae wind, that the work of the man in’the shafts
was really little more than that: of a helmsman.

-In‘this fashion, walking when he wanted to stretch his
legs, and riding when’ he was tired, ‘Kin-Fo pushed on
towards the north. Avoiding Honan-Foo and Cafong; he
followed the course of the Imperial Canal, which, until
twenty years ago, when the Yellow River resumed’ its
ancient bed, formed a'highway many hundred miles in
length between the tea-district and the capital. . Passing
‘through Tsinan and ‘Ho-Kien, he entered the province of
. Pe-Chi-Li, and proceeded towards Peking.

On his way he passed through Tien-Tsin, a large place
of some four hundred thousand inhabitants, defended by
an entrenched wall and two forts. The wide harbour of
this city is formed by the junction of the Pei-Ho and the
Imperial Canal, and accommodates ships that bring busi-
ness to the amount of’some millions annually, the exports
being jujubes, nenuphar-leaves, and tobacco from Tartary,
with other oriental products; the imports being ofa very
miscellaneous character, sandal-wood, minerals, wool, and
notably calico from Lancashire.

Interesting, however, as was the place, Kin-Fo had ‘no
intention of stopping there ; he neither spared time to visit
the. renowned Pagoda of Infernal ‘Punishment, nor did
he take a single stroll along the animated “Street: of
Lanterns ;.” he did not take a meal at the celebrated

K 2
132 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

restaurant of “ Harmony and Friendship,” kept by the
Mussulman Leon-Lao-Ki, whose wines, in spite of Mussul-
man law, are in high repute ; and he declined the ceremony
of presenting his red card at the palace of Li-Tchong-
Tang, since 1870 Viceroy of the Province, member of the
Privy Council, and of the High Council of the Empire, and
who wears the yellow robe, and bears the title of Fei-Tze-
Chao-Pao. '

None of these things had any attraction for Kin-Fo,
who hurried on without pausing. He passed along the
quays, where salt was piled up high, sack over:sack ; he
crossed the’ suburbs, the English and American quarters,
the race-course ; he made his way onwards through vine-
yards and market-gardens, rich in their supplies of fruit
and vegetables ; again he reached the open country with
its fields of sorghum, barley, and sesame, traversing the
open plains where hares, partridges, quails in thousands
fell victims to the sparrow-hawk and falcon.

There was now before them a long paved road of nearly
sixty miles, bordered on one side by many varieties of
trees, fringed on the other by the tall rushes that over-
hang the river. It would bring them straight to Peking;
but they halted on the way at Tong-Choo, Kin-Fo
none the worse for his undignified journey, Craig and
Fry fresh as when they started, Soon limping and
dusty, but most of all concerned at the diminution
LOCOMOTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 133

 

of his pigtail, reduced to the measurement of but a few
inches.

It was now the 19th of June. There were yet six days
of suspense. Hitherto, however, there was no trace of
Wang. Where could he be?
CHAPTER XIII.
AN EXCITING CHASE.

WHEN Kin-Fo in his wheelbarrow reached Tong-Choo,
about ten miles short of Peking, he announced his intention
of staying there until after the period of his contract with
Wang had expired.

“In a town of four hundred thousand people,” he said,
“T ought to be safe ; but Soon must také care to remember
that he is in the service of Ki-Nan,a merchant from the
province of Shen-See.”

Soon protested that he was not very likely to forget his
instructions a second time ; his former blunder had entailed
too much labour on him for him to repeat it, and he hoped
Kin-Fo (“Ki-Nan,” interposed Craig and Fry with one
accord) would reinstate him in his proper position, and not
compel him any more to work like a horse; he was, he
declared, “dead beat,” and he trusted that Kin-Fo (“ Ki-
Nan,” again exclaimed Craig and Fry, as if they had
only one tongue between them) would give him a good
- AN EXCITING CHASE: .:; 135

 

eight-and- forty hours. to go. to sleep and recover his
strength, —

“Go to bed for aweek, if you will,” answered his. master ;
e for the more you sleep, the less. you will chatter.” Sage

. There are plenty of hotels in the place, and Kin-Fo’s
next concern was to select the one which would serve his
purpose, best.,. The town is, in fact, an immense suburb of
Peking, the paved road which joins the two places being
bordered with an almost unbroken line of villas, farms, and
paddocks, thesintercourse between which is so. frequent:'as
to occasion a traffic of vehicles, horsemen, and passengers
quite. i incessant. . os

- Not ‘uosequainted: with: the place, Kin- Fo -made tis wey
to the Tai-Wang-Mia, or, “ temple ofthe reigning princes,”
formerly a religious establishment, but recently converted
into a hotel, and offering very desirable quarters to strangers.
He engaged apartments. for himself and a room for Craig
and Fry close adjoining. (Suitable accommodation was
found. ; for oan, Swie,, nee took possession. and

"Alten an n hour’ s rest ae a substantial luncheon, ds three
felt. quite, refreshed, cand started off,to look about them.
It was suggested that they should get a, local newspaper,
just to see whether it contained any information that con-
cerned themselves ;, accordingly, with Kin-Fo in the middle,
carefully, guarded: as usual; they passed along the nartow.
136 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

streets, allowing no one to come unnecessarily near them.
The paper, the Official Gazette, was duly obtained at the
office down by the harbour, but beyond the advertisement
still offering the reward of two thousand dollars for the
discovery of Wang, it contained nothing of any personal

. interest.

“Not found yet,” said Kin-Fo ; “ where can he be?”

“Do you really suppose he has any intention of abiding
by the terms of his contract ?” asked Craig and Fry. ©

“Why should I question it?” replied Kin-Fo; “he
knows nothing whatever of my change of circumstances,
and consequently does not suspect any change of ‘mind on
my part; for the next six days there is no reason why my
life should be in less danger than ever.”

“You must exercise special caution,” they said.

“How so?” inquired Kin-Fo.

Craig and Fry united in representing that there were
three distinct lines of action open to him; he might shut
himself up and decline on any pretext to leave the private
room in the hotel; he might get himself arrested, and so
secure the safest of quarters inside a gaol; or thirdly, he
might give out that he was dead, and not return to life
again until the danger was overpast.

Neither. of the proposals commended itself at all to
Kin-Fo ; without a moment’s hesitation he rejected them
all, knowing well enough that Wang, if he were destined
AN EXCITING CHASE. 137

 

to fulfil his undertaking, would with equal ease penetrate
the hotel, the prison, or the tomb.

“No,” said he ; “I shall enjoy my liberty.”

Craig and Fry looked doubtful, and were about to
remonstrate.

“J shall do as I choose, gentlemen,” he added in the
most decided tone; “the two hundred thousand dollars
which you are sent to protect must remain at stake.”

“We must do our duty by the office,” they said.

“And I shall do my duty to myself in my own way.
Don’t forget that my interest is many times larger than
yours. However, take my advice, and keep your eyes
open; do your best to protect me, and trust me to do
what I can to protect myself.”

There was no more to be said or done ; they could only
resolve to use all possible vigilance, quite aware that for
the next few days the task assigned them was at its crisis.

As Tong-Choo is one of the most ancient cities of the
Celestial Empire, so it has grown into being one of the |
most populous. Situated upon an arm of the Pei-Ho that
has been converted into a canal, close to its junction with
another canal connecting it with Peking, it forms the
centre of a large traffic. The travellers could not fail to
be struck, not only with the bustling crowds upon the
quay, but with the immense number of sampans and
trading-junks lying in the harbour.
138. THE TRIBULATIONS OF A. CHINAMAN.

 

The very presence. of.a crowd gave Craig, and Fry. a
certain feeling of security... According to their conjectures,
Wang would perpetrate -his deed, if. he could, in solitude,
and leaving the: document on, the body he had slain, would
' provide that there should be every appearance of the victim:
haying committed suicide. Coming, therefore, to. the con-
clusion, that there. was nothing to fear. in the public’
thoroughfares, of a crowded city, they merely scrutinized.
the faces of the passers-by, expecting nothing of importance
to occur. , ial } Per a ,

All at once: Kin- Fo ,came,to a standstill. : He listened
and listened again. . He was not.mistaken. A lot of boys.
were playing antics.in the streets, and'were. shouting out
his own name. The sound startled him; :he-looked con-:
fused ; his guardians. pressed closer to. his side. Was it
possible; he -had been ,recognized? There was no. ap-
pearance; of:that. It was clear at :once:that vhe was not
himself an object of. attraction. But the name was: re-
‘peated again and again, “Kin-Fo!:Kin-Fo!” ¢ 5 |

He waited. quietly, curious to. know the meaning of ‘the:
commotion. es. oo bs ,

A crowd of men, women, and. children: was collecting
routid an itinerant singer, arid applauding him er
even before he commenced. his performance. . a ae

As soon as he found himself surrounded . an audience’
sufficiently large to satisfy:him,.he drew from his pocket a
AN. EXCITING CHASE.: I 39

 

packet of gaily painted ee and oo maguae: in a
stentodrian voice,—

“The five watches of a centenarian! The five watches
of a centenarian !” ad

Here then was the explanation of the concourse. The
stroliing singer was hawking about - the popular song
of the day of which Kin-Fo was: ‘himself the burden.
Craig and Fry. tried to draw him out of the way, but he
was not to be moved from the spot ; he had never heard
the song, and made up his mind to hear it now ; ; nobody
knew him, he argued, and stay. he would.

After a few preliminary. grimaces: ‘the vocalist com-

t

menced,— ° d isimeae wate Aa a eh

“ Dawneth the first watch; o’er Shang-Hai »
The pale young moon sheds soften’d ray ;
A willow-sprout,

Just budding out,

Kin-Fo is twenty now!

“ Dawneth the second ; clear and fair, ©
The moon lights up the yamen, there ;,
. Rolling in wealth, .
With friends, with health,
Kin-Fo is forty now!. ‘°

The singer altered his expression, making himself
look older: after each stanza. The crowd applauded
rapturously. ,

5h
140 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“ Dawneth the third watch ; beaming bright
The moon displays her fullest light ;
But autumn sere
Must soon appear :
Kin-Fo is sixty now!

“ Dawneth the fourth watch ; in the west
The waning moon proceeds to rest ;
A shrivell’d shrimp,
Pucker’d and limp,
Kin-Fo is eighty now !

“ Dawneth the fifth watch ; chill and drear, ;
The moon is dark, no stars appear,
Ready to die,
Without a sigh,
Kin-Fo’s a hundred now!

“ Breaketh the morn; King Jen complains,
Kin-Fo’s too old for his domains ;
From heaven shut out,
Still roams about
For ever poor Kin-Fo !”

The song over, the applause grew perfectly deafening,
and the audience proceeded to show their satisfaction by
purchasing scores of copies at three sapecks apiece.

Kin-Fo saw no reason why he too should not buy a
copy. Taking several smali coins from his pocket, he was
about handing them to the singer, when the sight of a
face in the crowd startled him, and he gave a loud exclama-
tion of surprise. The two men by his side grasped him
AN EXCITING CHASE. 141

 

securely, and seemed to suspect he had received the fatal
blow. .

“Wang!” cried Kin-Fo.

“Wang! where?” asked Craig.

“Where?” repeated Fry.

Kin-Fo was not mistaken. Wang was not only there,
but had recognized Kin-Fo. Instead, however, of rushing
towards him to do a deed of violence, he turned round
abruptly, dashed through the crowd, and started off with
all his speed. Evidently the surprise was mutual.

Not an instant did Kin-Fo hesitate, but set off in pursuit,
the two attendants keeping close behind.

Again and again he shouted, but in vain.

“Wang! Wang!” he called out, “I am all right now;
my property is all safe. Wang! Wang, I want you!”

Craig and Fry tried hard to make him hear, but he was
much too far ahead to understand their meaning.

Rushing off the quay, and along the side of the canal,
he went at such a pace that those who were giving chase
failed to gain upon him in the least.

Some five or six Chinese and two tipaos at first began
running behind, evidently supposing that they were after
a thief trying to escape; but they quickly swelled into a
crowd ; the name of Wang soon caught the ear of the
multitude ; the very man for whom the large reward had
so long been offered ; the excitement at once grew intense;
142 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

and howling, screaming, shouting, an enormous. throng:
took up the chase. :

They ran hard ; they were spurred on to run each by
his own incitement. Was not Kin-Fo running ‘at least
for a fortune of 800,000 dollars, if not’ for his very life ?
Had not Craig and Fry the ‘responsibility of 200,000
dollars upon their hands? And did not every individual
of the teeming crowd expect to win the 2000 dollars
advertised for the reward ?

“Wang! Wang!” was the a. rising ever louder and
louder. i

“Wang! I am rich now!” gasped Kin-Fo.

“Richer than ever !” cried Craig and Fry.

“Stop him ! stop him!” bawled the mob.

But Wang either heard or would hear nothing. With
his elbows tightly pressed into his sides, he kept on his
way, not even turning his head. Getting free of the
suburb, he found himself upon an open way, with nothing
to impede him. ‘ Accordingly he redoubled his efforts, and
the crowd in pursuit had to exert themselves in’ ‘propor-
tion.

With unabated eT the chase was maintained for
more than a quafter of an hour,‘but the fugitive at length
became aware of symptoms: of exhaustion, and knew that
the-distance between himself and his pursuers was sensibly
diminishing. To out-distance:them by speed he felt was
}AN EXCITING: CHASE,. "343

a vain hope ;. hé. must have recourse to. stratagem ; seizing
his first chance; he suddenly made a dart to the right,
and. disappeared bebind the green enclosure of a small
pagoda. bs eee Se
“Ten thousand taels to o the first’ man that catches’ ‘him! »
cried. Kin-Fo, - Aa i

- © Ten thousand ‘taels!” eit Craig and 1 Fry.’

“Va, ya, ya!” roared the foremost of the mob as they
turned the corner of the pagoda wall.

Wang for the moment was out of sight. ‘The ctowd
hesitated, but in another second the shout rose high.

:“ There he is!”

He was ‘making: for a narrow cross-path by the’ ‘side of
one of the little canals that serve’for irrigation suddenly
he took ‘another turn, but it only brought’ him back’ to’ the
open road, where once again it was a mere trial of spéed.
Manifestly he was aware of his own failing powers;'and
repeatedly turned his head. as if to measure the ‘interval
that separated him from ‘those ‘behind. --It was dear
enough that the race could not. last long now. ‘The
younger men were certain to get the best of it‘ in “the
end. 7" hpi pay UR Ee as Sa

Just a little way ahead was the spot where the river is
crossed by the famous’ bridge of Palikao, ‘a’ magnificent
‘work of art with marble balustrades, decorated with a
doublé row ‘of gigantic lions. Eighteen’ years ‘befote, it
144 ~ THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

would not have been possible for them thus. to enter the
province of Pe-Chi-Li; the road was blocked by fugitives
of another character. It. was hére, on the 21st of. Sep-
tember, 1860, that, repulsed by the French forces, the army
of San-Ko-Li-Tsin, uncle of the Emperor, made a stand,
and the Manchow Tartars, in spite of the daring engen-
dered by their fatalism, were hewn down by ‘European
artillery.

But the bridge, although its statues still bore traces of
the war, was free for passage now. Wang, only too con-
scious that his footsteps were faltering, and that his strength
was failing, cast another rapid glance at his pursuers; the
interval, a moment ago some twenty paces, was now not
more than ten. He, for his part, could almost feel their
grasp upon him; they, for their part, need not waste their
breath in shouting; they should make him their captive
in another minute. The chase was over.

Not .at all. Never was expectation more bitterly dis-
appointed. , The next moment Wang was on the parapet
of the bridge; the next, he was under the waters of the
Pei-Ho.

Staggered for the instant, Kin-Fo’s resolution was soon

taken.

“We must. have him yet!” he cried, and flung himself
down into the stream.

“Two hundred thousand dollars in the water!” ex-
 

Page 1444

Kin-Fo’s resolution was soon taken,
AN EXCITING CHASE. 145

 

claimed Craig and Fry, and threw themselves down in
sheer desperation.

And in the strange excitement there were several of the
volunteers, who could not restrain themselves from follow-
ing the example.

Yet quite in vain. They searched and searched ; but
to no purpose. What conclusion could be formed except
that the poor philosopher had been carried down the flood,
and so had perished? But the mystery still remained
which none could solve, why should he put an end to his
existence thus?

Weary, bewildered, vexed, disheartened, Kin-Fo, with
Craig and Fry, returned to the hotel. They, dried their
clothes, procured some refreshment, and summoned Soon,
to whose intense annoyance they announced that in
another hour they were to start for Peking.
CHAPTER XIV.

PEKING.

ay

PE-CHI- Lk the most northerly. ‘of Ge apiieen provinces
of China, is divided into nine departments, The capital of
Otie: of thesé departments is Chum-Kin-Fo, a “Celestial
town” of the first rank, the city of Peking,

Ifthe fragments of a Chinese puzzle could be sigan
to be arranged so as to form a. perfect rectangle, covering
a surface of more than 135,000 acres, some idea might be
gained of the mysterious Kambaloo, of which Marco Polo
gave such a remarkable description towards the end of the
thirteenth century, and which is the present capital of the
Celestial Empire.

Peking really contains two distinct towns, separated by
a wide rampart and fortified wall; one, the Chinese section,
is a rectangular parallelogram ; the other, the Tartar, is
almost a perfect square, and is again subdivided into
Hoang-Tching, the yellow town, and Tsen-Kin-Tching, the
red or forbidden town.
PEKING.: s+ - 147

‘Formerly the city had a population in the aggregate of
more than two millions, but the emigration that ensued
in’:consequence ‘of the éxtréme misery, has reduced. that
number to little: more than a million; these are chiefly
Tartars and Chinese, with whom must. be reckoned about
10,000 Mussulmans, and a considerable sprinkling of
Mongols and Thibetians, who form’: the floating Rae
tion. > ma ibe

-' The Tartar city is enclosed with-a fortified wall, forty to
fifty feet wide, and the same in height, and faced with .
brick: At intervals of'every two hundred yards, there is a
projecting tower, and- at. each corner an:enormous bastion;
which forms ‘a. guard-room, the whole affording’ a .mag-
fiificent promenade, fifteen. miles in length. Such is the
defence within which the Brapener, the son of. heaven,”
resmles, “OEE eR ne ve
. Within. the Tartar. city tes the Yellow town, covering an’
area of 1500 acres, and entered by eight. gateways. Its
chief points of interest -ate: an’ enormous. pyramid of coal,
three. hundred. feet” high ; -4 handsome canal, called the
“Central Sea,” spanned by a marble bridge ; two convents
for boitdes ;!-a -pagoda-for examiiatioh9}: the-Pei-tha-se, a
religious “establishtHene built upon’ a peninsula that ovér-
hangs ‘the-cléar' watérs~of ‘thé eanal!; the ‘Pch-Tanig, the
quarters ‘ofthe Catholic ‘Missidnaties; the! Tmperial
pagoda; with its sonorous bells’‘and bright’ blue tiles; the

L2
148 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

great temple dedicated'to the ancestors of the reigning
dynasty ; the temple of Spirits; the temple of the Genius
of the Winds ; the temple of the Genius of the Thunder-
bolt ; the temple of the Discoverer of Silk; the temple of
the Ruler of Heaven; the five pavilions of the dragons;
and the monastery of Eternal Rest.

In the heart of the Yellow town lies what is known as the
Forbidden town. This covers an area of 180 acres, and
is surrounded by a moat, crossed by seven marble
bridges.

It is almost needless to say, that as the reigning dynasty
is of Manchow origin, the whole of this quarter of Peking
is mainly inhabited by people of the same race, the Chinese
being confined to their own town on the other side of the
ramparts,

The Forbidden city is surrounded by red brick walls
crowned with yellow tiles. It is entered by-the Gate of
Great Purity, which is only opened for an Emperor or
Empress. Within are the temple of the ancestors of the
Tartar dynasty, with a double roof of variegated tiles ;
Che and Tsi, the temples consecrated to spirits celestial
and terrestrial ; the Palace of Sovereign Concord, reserved
for state ceremonies and official banquets; the Palace of
Intermediate Concord, where may be seen the genealogical
tables of the “Son of Heaven;”- and:the Palace of Pro-
tecting Concord, of which the central hall is occupied by
PEKING. "149

 

the Imperial throne. Then there is the pavilion of Nei-ko,
where the great council of the Empire is held, under
the presidency of Prince Kong, the minister of foreign
affairs, and uncle to the late sovereign ;* the pavilion of
the Flowers of Literature, whither the Emperor repairs
once a year to interpret the sacred books; the pavilion of
Tchooan-Sin-Tien, where sacrifices are offered in honour
of Confucius ; the Imperial library ; the offices of historians ;
the Voo-Igne-Tien, where the wooden and copper plates
used for printing are carefully: preserved; and the work-
shops where the court garments are concocted. Then
might be seen the Palace of Celestial Purity, used for the
discussion of family affairs; the Palace of the Terrestrial
Element, where the young Empress was installed; the
Palace of Meditation, to which the sovereign retires when
he is ill; the three palaces where the Emperor’s children
-are brought up; the four palaces reserved for the widow

1 An anecdote of Prince Kong, related by M. T. Choutzé in his
work-entitled “ Peking and the North of China,” is worth repeating :—
“In 1870, the year when France was being ravaged by a bloody war,

‘Prince Kong had occasion to visit all the foreign diplomatic repre-
sentatives in China. By the Comte de Rochechouart, the French
ambassador, he was informed of the disaster of Sedan, the news of
which had just been received. Calling one of the officers of his suite,
Prince Kong told him to take his card to the Prussian Embassy, and
to say that he would not call until the following day ; then, turning to
the Comte de Rochechouart, he said, ‘I cannot congratulate the
representative of Prussia on the same day that I am offering my
condolences to the representative of France.’ ”
‘150 °* THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

and-court-ladies of “Hien-Fong, who died in: 1861; the |
Tchoo-Sicou;Kong, the residence of the Emperor's wives. ;
the--Palace- of ;Proffered Favours, where the: court-ladies
hold their. official, receptions ; « the Palace. of General. Tran-
quillity,, a; strange name to be applied to a-school.for the
children,of-the superior: officers ;' the Palace. of Purification
-and.Fasting ; and the,Palace of the Purity of Jade, occupied
-by the princes of the blood-royal. There were the temples
-dedicated- to departed ancestors, to the. presiding deity of
.the-town, and. another of Thibetian architecture ; there were
‘the; Imperial stores and..offices; the Lao-Kong-Choo, the
residence of the eunuchs, of which there are no less: than
5000. in‘the Red town; and-many other palaces besides,
making a-total of forty-eight within the Imperial enclosure,
-not,including the Tzen-Kooang-Ko, the Pavilion of. Purple
,Light,.on, the borders of, the lake of the Yellow town,
.where on June roth, 1873,.the Ambassadors of England,
Russia, Prussia, Holland, . and - the United. States, -were
~admitted into ‘the, presence” of the Emperor. The Wan-
‘Cheoo- Chan, too, should not be omitted from the | summary.
This is the Summer Palace; and is situated about five, miles
‘from Peking. It was destroyed in 1860, ‘and. among: ‘its
“ruins the garden of Calm and Perfect ‘Light, ‘the mound, of
the: Source:of Jade, and. the ou of ett Thousand aoe can
hardly. be discerned.
Never did an ancient town ‘exhibit an agglomerate of

i. 3° ere
PEKING. ; Ter

 

buildings with forms so varied, and contents so rare; never
has any European capital been able to-boast a‘nomenclature
so strangely fantastic. ©

In the Tartar city around the Yellow: town are the
English, French, and. Russian Embassies, the- Hospital -of
the London Mission, the Catholic Mission-houses, and ‘the
old stables for the elephants, the sole surviving representa-
tive of which is'a Hundred years old, arid blind with one
eye. Besides these ‘there is the clock-toweér, its red roof
edged with green tiles; the temple of Confucius; the con-
vent of the Thousand: Lamas « ‘the temple of Fa-qua ;"the
ald Observatory with its great square tower; the yamen of
the Jesnits, and that: of the- Literates, where the. examina-
tions ate’ held.: :Qn the east’ and .west: are. triumphal
arches, and! two canals,.called the Sea of the North and the
Sea, of ‘Reeds,) carpeted with blue: water-lilies, flow down
from;,the Summer Palace,.and join the great canal in. the
town. -.Here, too, are. more. palaces. appropriated to the
ministers of finance, ceremonies, war, public, works, ard
foreign affairs; and there is also a court of accounts, an
astronomical tribunal, and an academy of medicine. The
place ig.a strange!mediey of poverty and grandeur. On
either hand of-the narrow streets. are lines.of houses of the
‘most..meagre. and.-miserable. deseription, ‘broken. here ‘and
there by the stately. mansion ‘of some: high dignitary,
shaded: by tall and handsome trees.. The streets: them-
‘

152 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

selves are intolerably dusty in the summer, whilst in the
winter they are little better than running streams. The
thoroughfares are constantly crowded with stray dogs,
Mongolian camels laden with coals, palanquins with four or
eight bearers, according to the rank of the occupant, chairs,
mule-carts, and carriages. The beggars are estimated by
M. Choutzé as over 70,000 in number, and M. P. Aréne
has given his testimony that in parts of the foul and muddy
streets the puddles are so deep, that it is not at all a rare
occurrence for a blind vagrant to be drowned in them.

The, Chinese town, or Vai-Cheng, as it is called, in some
respects resembles the Tartar-portion of Peking. The two
most famous temples are those dedicated to heaven and to
agriculture, which occupy the southern district of the town,
and to these may be added the temples of the Goddess
Koanine, of the Genius of the World, of Purification,
. of the Black Dragon, and of the Spirits of Heaven and
Earth, Other points of interest are the ponds of the. Gold
Fish, the monastery of Fayooan-Se, and the markets and
theatres.

One great artery, called the Grand Avenue, runs through
the town from north to south, from the Tien gateway to
that of Hoong-Ting. Crossing it at right angles is another
still longer street, running from the Cha-Cooa gateway on
the east, to the Cooan-Tsu gateway on the west. This
is the Cha-Cooa Avenue, and about a hundred yards from
PEKING. 153

 

its intersection with the Grand Avenue, was the resi-
dence of the lady whom Kin-Fo hoped to make his
wife,

It will be remembered that a few days after the arrival
of the letter announcing his first reverse of fortune, the
young widow had received another informing her that
affairs had changed, and that the seventh moon would not
pass away before her “ beloved elder brother ” should have
returned to her. Since that date, the 17th of May, she
had never received another word. Several times she had
written to Shang-Hai, but Kin-Fo was absent on his mad-
cap journey, and of course her letter remained unanswered.
Her uneasiness may be more easily imagined than de-
scribed when the roth of June arrived, and still no news.
All through those long weary days La-oo had never left
her house; her anxiety became more and more intense,
and old mother Nan, who seemed to grow, if possible,
more disagreeable than ever, was not at all a cheering
companion for her solitude.

Although the religion of Lao-Tse is the oldest religion
in China (having been promulgated 500 years before the
Christian era), and, although that of Confucius, almost
contemporary with it, is professed by the Emperor, the
literates, and the chief mandarins, yet Buddhism, or the
religion of Fo, attracts the largest number of believers.
Its votaries, in China and elsewhere, form the largest
154 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

religious: body in the world, and number as many as
300,000,000 people.

The Buddhists are divided into two distinct eee the
one served by bonzes, who wear grey robes and red caps,
the other by lamas, who are clad from head- to foot in
yellow.

La-oo was a Buddhist -of the former sect, | atid conse-
quently a-frequent visitor to the temple of Koan-Ti-Miao,
dedicated ‘to the goddess Koanine. There, prostrate on
the temple floor, she would burn her offerings of little
perfumed atieks; and pour forth her ‘supplications for her
fower’s' welfare... bi VWoeoe ane mo

 Wosdiay ‘she hath: ‘a “kind of nicseneiuers that some danger
was ‘pending over him, and: accordingly determined, to go
and-intercéde with the goddess in his behalf, Summoning
moter Nan, she. ordered her to call a, sedan-chair ‘from
the' corner‘of the Grand: Avenue. The old’ woman made
no reply, but with a. contemptuous shrug of her shoulders,
shuffled away to obey her mistress’s' commands. ,

‘While she was ‘gone, the young widow cast a melancholy
‘glancelat the. phonograph, now for so’ many days silent
and unused. ~~ <. ‘

““ At any. rate,” she said-to hersall | “he shall know that I
have:never forgotten him ; my thoughts shall.be registered
to repeat to him on his return.”

And setting. the cylinder in motion, La-oo uttered aloud
-- PEKING, Bi ona 155

 

the most-tender and loving phrases: that her. heart.could
dictate. ‘Her monologue was interrupted by Nan, who,
entering abruptly, announced that the chair ‘was. at the
door, at the same‘time. taking occasion to add that she
should have thought that her mistress would have ‘been
better at home.. : Pg Po Sek wae
Her remonstrance ‘had: no effect; La-oo..left het. to
grumble: by herself, and taking her: seat. in.the. sedan,
ordered the bearers-to take her to the Koan-Ti-Miao.
~~ “Phe way to.the temple was direct enough, being only
straight up the Grand Avenue as ‘far as‘the Tien gateway,
but.the- progress thither was-a:matter of no small:difficulty.
It was the most populous. part of -the capital, and this was
just ‘the busiest time of.the day. The noise and bustle
were immense, and the booths ‘of’ the itinerant dealers who
lined the road. gave ‘the avenue: the! aspect of ‘being. one
great fair. Public orators, readers, fortune-tellers,.photo-
graphers, and caricaturists, who ridiculed the mandarins, all
joined their voices to the general hubbub... At one time:a
pompous funeral sorely impeded’ the! traffic; at another a-
wedding procession, not ‘so: gay .as::the funeral. perhaps,
but causing a-similar block in’ the street. ‘A crowd woild
be assembled: before some magistrate’s yamen, where. a
-sitppliant was beating the drum’ as the. signal that.he was
demanding. the. intervention of-:justice. :On.the “ Leo-
Ping” stone: a- criminal- was:i-kneeling ready. for’ the
156 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

bastonade, closely guarded by policemen with their
Manchow caps with red tassels, carrying their short pike
and a couple of sabres all in the same sheath. Farther on
might be seen some refractory Chinamen on their way to
chastisement tied together by their pigtails. Farther on
again, a poor wretch was hobbling along with his left hand
and right foot thrust through two holes bored in a plank ;
then was seen a thief, confined in a wooden box, from
which only his head protruded, an object for public charity,
and after him would come some other criminals yoked
together by the cangue like so many oxen.

All these resorted to the more crowded thoroughfares in
the hope of gaining a harvest from the passers-by, to the
disadvantage of the regular mendicants of all sorts,
‘maimed, lame, paralytic, and blind, or with a thousand
other infirmities either real or pretended, who infest the
cities of the Empire of. Flowers.

The sedan-chair advanced but slowly, the tinh rather
increasing than. diminishing as it approached the outer
‘-rampart. At last.the bearers stopped within a bastion

that defended the gateway close to the temple of Koanine.
.La-oo alighted and entered the temple. She first knelt,
- and then prostrated herself before the statue of the goddess,
Then rising she made her way to an apparatus that was
known as a “ praying-mill.” It was a kind of windlass with
eight branches, each bearing a scroll inscribed with sacred
PEKING, 157

 

sentences, A bonze was in attendance, ready to superin-
tend the devotions and receive the offerings of believers.
La-oo handed the minister- of Buddha several taels, and
placing her left hand on her heart, began to turn the
handle of the machine gently with her right. Probably
she did not work: hard enough for her prayers to be suc-
cessful, for the bonze with an encouraging look said,
“Faster! faster!”

La-oo wound on for nearly a quarter of an hour, at the
end of which time the bonze informed her that her suppli-
cations had been favourably received. After prostrating:
herself again before the image of the goddess, she left
the temple, and, re-entering her chair, prepared to return
home.

But just-as she turned into. the Grand Avenue, her
bearers-were roughly pushed aside. The soldiers were
clearing the streets with brutal violence, the shops were all
being closed’ by order, and the side streets were being
barricaded with blue hangings under the superintendence
of tipaos.

A procession had already entered the Avenue. The
Emperor Koang-Sin, or as his name signifies, the “ Con-
tinuation of glory,” was on his way back to his-Tartar
city, and the central gate was to be opened to admit him.
Two mounted police headed the cortége, followed in the.
first place by a troop of pioneers, then by a troop of pike.
158 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

bearers with’staves in their shoulder-belts. Next came a
group. of officersof high rank carrying a ‘great yellow
umbrella, ornamented with the figure of a dragon, which is
the emperor’s emblem,: the. phcenix being’ that of ‘the
Empress. These were ‘immediately followed by the
palanquin ‘borne? by: sixteen bearers’ in red robes em-
broidered with white roses, and. waistcoats of: twilled silk.
The princes of the blood and other dignitaries formed fan
escort to the Imperial carriage, all of them being mounted
on horses with trappings of yellow silk as the sign of their
exalted rank...'The hangings’ of the palanquin, also of
yellow. silk, were slightly raised, exhibiting,-in a half
recumbent posture, the'“Son of'-Heéaven’” himself, the
cousin of the late Emperor Tong-Tche, the nephew of
Prince'Kong. A number of extra grooms and béarers
brought up the réar of the procession, which soon 'disap-
peared: through the: Tien gateway, much to the relief of
the various merchants, beggars, ‘and others, whose busi-
ness had been so. unceremoniously interrupted- by its
passage.

.La-oo’s chair’ was now. able. to proceed, and ulti-
mately <depésited:iher safely - at? the’-door. ‘of Her own
. hotwe} fedth Which “‘sh& Kad ‘been absent about two-hours,
Witidt?ianburpiise ‘the gwudess Koaifine” had prépared : for

Hert ot Sorel we 30 72 “Saher smlleg T+ A, an ¢

-oJugtias;she alightedja:carriage covered-in dust,iand
PEKING, a es 159

 

drawn by two mules, drew up atthe door, and: Kin- Fo,
followed by Craig, Fry, and Soon, stepped out.

“You, Kin-Fo! is it you? Can I believe my eyes?”
exclaimed La-oo. o eect.

“It is I, my beloved little sister: did you think I-was
never coming!” Kin-Fo replied. -

La-oo said nothing, but taking him by the hand, led him
alone into her boudoir, up to the little phonograph, which
had been the secret receptacle of all her troubles.

“Listen,” she said, “and you shall hear that I have never
ceased to think of you.” |

As she spoke, she touched the spring, and set the
cylinder in motion. Kin-Fo heard the sound of a gentle
voice repeating the words which La-oo had uttered a short.
time previously.

“Come back, beloved brother, come back to me! Let
our hearts be united as the twin stars of the Shepherd
and the Lyre. My thoughts are ever fixed on thy

For an instant the instrument was silent, but only for an
instant. Almost immediately its sounds were heard again,
this time in shrill and quavering tones :—

“Asif a mistress were not bad enough in a house, I
am to have a master too. Prince Ien strangle them
both !”

The explanation was easy to find, Old Nan had
160 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

continued her grumbling after La-oo’s departure, little
dreaming that the instrument, still in motion, was register-
ing her unwary words.

Men-servants and maid-servants, beware of phonographs!
That very day Nan received notice to quit, nor was the
seventh moon allowed to expire before she was forced to

turn her back upon the house.
CHAPTER XV.
A CONTRETEMPS.

EVERY obstacle to Kin-Fo’s marriage with La-oo was now,
removed. It was true that the time allowed for Wang to
fulfil his pledge had not yet ‘expired ;»but the unfortunate:
philosopher had fallen a victim.as the result of his myste-:
rious flight, and further danger was not to be feared ‘from
him. The 25th of June, the very day on which at one
time Kin-Fo had wished to end his existence, was fixed’
for the wedding. :

La-oo had of course been informed of the variousi
vicissitudes which her lover had experienced since her
had sent her his refusal either to make her the pars!
ticipator of his poverty, or to run the risk of leaving her’
a widow, and she was well aware of ‘the alteréd cir-:
cumstances that had led him once more to come and.
claim her as his bride. She could not restrain her tears:
when she heard of Wang’s death. She had known the.

M
.
a

162 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

philosopher and esteemed him, and he had moreover
been her first confidant of her sentiments towards
Kin-Fo,

“Poor Wang,” she said, “we shall miss him at our
wedding.”

“Yes, poor Wang,” repeated Kin-Fo; “but you must
remember,” he added, “that he had sworn to kill me.”

La-oo shook her prétty little head.

“No, no,” she said, “ “he would never have done that. I
believe he drowned dameelf in the Pei- Ho, for the very
pucpose ofvevading his promise.” 9 it) al oo ted PAL
oKinsF6 scould.not -but' own that.-hér-hypothesis:.was
probable.’ He, too;iregretted the faithful. companion: of his
youth. his: memory would.be: Hose in fading from either of
theifihearts! oous to. ct Ft ee TN,
odt TENE sige oak to. ay shat after ah catastnghe on

in sie newspapers were erence: and: the name of
Kin:Fo sank into -oblivion ialmost as-speedily as it. had
risen: into notoriety. .. The services of Craig ‘and Fry:were
na.longér in such urgent requisition. It.is true that they:
were: bound ‘to defend the interests of the Centenarian
until ‘the 30th, ithe date:.of the expiration of: the policy,
but.ithere was now no-demand fot the same measure. of
unremittdd: vigilance. Fear of attack from:Wanr had
passed: away;. and there: was no -probability that Kin-Fo

as
.. A CONTRETEMPS. , 163

 

would lay violent hands‘on himself; his desire now. was to
live as long as possible, ' .

But Kin-Fo. didnot. care to give eth an, abrupt dis-
missal. If their. services had not been!disinterested, they’
had at least been conscientious, and he therefore begged
them to stay over:his marriage ‘festivities, an invitation
which they were very pleased to accept.

“Marriage is.a kind of. pL auigiae was Fry’s jesting pemirl
to Craig. a bee

“Tt is a surrender of one’s 5 life, at all events,” was. i Calas
reply. ;

(Old Nan was soon edie: in we -00'S honeahelas by
a domestic of more agreeable disposition. Loo-ta-loo,
an aunt-of La-oo’s, of mature age, had.:come’ to: stay
with .her, and. act a mother’s part at the time of. her
marriage. She was,the. wife of a second-class mandarin
of the fourth rank, with the. blue button (formerly an
Imperial reader, and member of the: Academy, of the Han-
lin), apparently possessing every! quality for performing
her. office in a manner. worthy, of;the-occasion, ...

It was Kin-Fo’ 's,intention to leave Peking immediately
fen his. marriage, as besides ‘his: objection. to residing in
the vicinity of the: Imperial,Court, he felt anxious. to see
his young wife properly installed, as. mistress of the sump-
tuous.yamen at,Shang-Hai. Meantime he took temporary
apartments in the Tien-Foo-Tang, or temple of celestial

M 2
164 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

happiness, a very comfortable hotel and restaurant near the

' Tien-Men rampart, between the Chinese and Tartar towns.
Craig and Fry were lodged in the same quarters. Soon
had returned to his duties, but although he was always
grumbling, he took care first of all to assure himself that
there was no phonograph at hand. The fate of old mother
Nan was a warning to him to be cautious.

Kin-Fo had the’ pleasure of meeting two of his Canton
friends in Peking—the merchant Vin-Pang, and Hooal, the
literate. They of course were invited to attend the
approaching ceremony, as well as several of the dignitaries
and merchants with whom Kin-Fo was acquainted in the
capital. |

Wang’s apathetic, indifferent pupil seemed at last to
have become truly happy; two months’ trouble and
botheration seemed at last to have made him appreciate
his fortunate lot; the philosopher had been right, and it
was a matter for regret that he was not present to witness
the truth of the theory that he had advanced.

All the time that was at his disposal was spent by Kin-
Fo with the young widow. She was never so happy as
when he was by her side. She cared little for the presents
which he lavished upon her from the richest stores in the
city. Her thoughts were of him and him alone, and over
and over again she would repeat to herself the wise
maxims of the famous Pan-Hoei-Pan :—
A CONTRETEMPS. 165

 

“Tf a woman has a husband after her own heart, she has
him for all her life.”

“A woman should have an unbounded respect for the
man whose name she bears.” :

“A woman should be like a shadow and an echo in the
house.”

“ The husband is the wife’s heaven.”

Meantime the preparations for the wedding, which Kin-
Fo wished to be very handsome, were advancing rapidly.
Already the thirty pairs of embroidered slippers that
are necessary for a Chinese lady’s trousseau had arrived at
La-oo’s house, and her boudoir was crammed with con-
fectionery, dried fruits, burnt almonds, barley sugar, syrup
of aloes, oranges, ginger, and shaddocks, all in confusion
with rich silks, jewels of wrought gold and precious stones,
rings, bracelets, cases for the nails, bodkins for the hair,
and all the charming knick-knacks that Peking jewellers
so cunningly devise.

In this strange country, a young girl when she marries
never has a dowry. She is literally purchased either by
the husband himself, or by his relations. Although she
may have no brothers, she cannot inherit any portion of
her paternal fortune, unless her father makes an express
declaration in her favour. Such arrangements are always
completed before the marriage, and are usually negotiated,
by agents called “ Mei-jin.”
166 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

‘The: young fiancée’ is next presented to her husbarid’s

parents. The husband himself she never sees until the
wedding-day, when she ‘is carried in a‘closed chair to his
house. The key of the chair is handed to the bridegroom,
who opens the door, and if the lady within pleases his
taste, he holds out his hand to her; if not, he slams the
door, and the engagement is all at an end, the girl’s parents
having the right to retain the purchase-money: —
‘No preliminaries of this kind were necessary in Kin-Fo’s
case ; he and his. future wife were both free agents, and
had ‘no one‘to consult besides themselves. There were,
however, other formalities which might not be neglected.

For three days before the wedding the inside of La-oo’s
house was kept brilliantly lighted throughout, and for three
whole ‘nights Loo-ta-loo, as the representative of the bride’s
family, had to abstain from sleep, to indicate the grief felt
at parting from the fiancée. Had Kin-Fo’s parents been
living, his house would have been illuminated too, as a
sign “of ‘mourning, for’ according to’ the Hao-Khieou-
Chooen, “the marriage of a son ought to be repatdled as
an emblem of the death of the father.” ’

Theré were moreover various astrological calculations
not. to be overlooked. The horoscopes were taken with
due form; and foretold a perfect compatibility of: temper
between the'affianced’ couple. Thé season of the year
and the age of the moon were’ alike favourable, and it
,: A. CONTRETRMPS, .. : E167

 

_seemed. as though no marriage could. possibly ,take:pilace
under more propitious auspices, ‘j)5 vie: _ Storey TOA
The appointed day arrived, and everything’ was ready
for the great event. In.China theréris no formal-contract
made in the presence’of a bonze or lama, nor even }before
a civil magistrate, and it was: arranged that,-the bride
should ‘be conducted with: great -pomp:to the'rhotel:’ of
Celestial Happiness at eight o’clock in the evening.: socdt
At seven o’clock Kin-Fo, attended: by Craig .and' dfry,
waited to ‘receive his friends at the door:of his apartment.
“The invitations dispensed to thefn had beerainsatibedvin
microscopic characters on red paper, and ran thus:—9:i
“Kin-Fo of Shang-Hai presents his humble respeots
to , and humbly .begs: him‘ to -assist.ab:thevImimble
ceremony of his marriage.” vodT  vothoinths ba,
The guests thus invited all-arrived... They had!€ome. to
do! honour to the bridegroom, and’ to. take part/incthe
‘magnificent banquet. prepared’: for'the »men, whilst othe
ladies would feast apart at a ‘table! specially reserved:-for
them. Yin-Pang and Hooal ‘the: literate. duly: atrived
-amongst’.the rest. There were’. several. mandarins:who
wore red balls as latgé as pigeon’s eg¢s’on the top of their
official caps, indicating that they belonged’ to ,one-of ‘the
three superior orders. Others wore only bluei‘or.:white
balls, marking them as of inferior ranks. The’ majority
were civil officers of Chinese origin, as might be: expected

 
i
168 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

.of the friends of a man who was hostile to the Tartar race,
All were gorgeously attired in brilliant robes, and formed
a most striking assemblage,

As soon as they arrived, Kin-Fo conducted them to the
“teception-room, stopping twice on the way at doors which
were opened ‘by servants in gorgeous livery, and begging
‘his guests to pass before him. His mode of addressing
them was in the politest strain. He called them by their
“noble names,” inquired after their “noble health,” and
asked for information about their “noble families.” Not
even the most scrupulous observer of etiquette could
have -found the slightest’ flaw in his manners or deport-
ment. :

Craig and Fry watched his demeanour with surprise
and admiration. They watched him also for another rea-
‘son. The same idea had occurred to them both; namely,
that Wang might not have perished, as they imagined, in
the river. Were there not yet several hours to expire?
Perhaps, even now, he might mingle with the wedding-
guests and strike the fatal blow. Improbable as this was,
it was not impossible, and Craig and Fry carefully scru-
tinized every one who entered. But the face they sought
did not appear.

Meantime the bride was leaving her house in the Cha-
Cooa Avenue, and was taking her place in a closed
palanquin. Although Kin-Fo had not chosen to adopt
A CONTRETEMPS. 169

 

the mandarin costume, as according to ancient legislation
he had the right of doing on the occasion of his marriage,
La-oo’s attire was in perfect conformity with the regulations
of the highest society. Her robe was of crimson brocaded
silk of the richest texture; over her face hung a transparent
veil formed of the most minute pearls, which seemed to
flow from the rich gold diadem that encircled her fore-
head ; whilst her long black hair was adorned with jewels
and artificial flowers most tastefully arranged. There was
no fear that Kin-Fo would not find her charming enough
for his taste when he should open the palanquin door.

The procession started. No. doubt had the ceremony
been that of a funeral, the spectacle would have been still
more elaborate, but as it was, it was sufficiently imposing
to attract the attention of the bystanders as it passed
down the Grand Avenue on its way to the Tien-Men
rampart. lLa-oo’s friends and companions followed the
palanquin, carrying with great ceremony the numerous
articles of the trousseau. In front was a band of musicians
playing on copper instruments and gongs, and close round
the palanquin marched a troop of attendants bearing
torches and lanterns of every hue. The bride was carefully
concealed from all inquiring eyes; etiquette compelled
that the first view should be reserved for her husband-
elect.

' Surrounded by a noisy concourse of the populace, the
170 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,.

 

corteze made its way shortly before eight o'clock to-the
hotel of Celestial Happiness,” Kin-Fo-was waiting at the
decorated entrance,ready to open the door of the palanquin.
He would then assist ‘his bride to alight, and conduct her
toa special apartment, where both together “they would
make their salutations to the four quarters of the heavens.
Then they would proceed to the nuptial banquet, the
bride first making four genuflexions before her husband,
he in his‘turn making two to her. This done, they would
spill two or three drops of wine as a libation, and‘ would
offer an oblation of food to the interceding spirits, and as
a final consecration to'their union, a goblet of wine’would
be handed to each; they would severally drink half the
contents, and pouting what remained into one uD: would
proceed to empty: it by drinking in turns, |

The bride had arrived. , Kin-Fo stepped forward. The
master of the cerémonies handed him a key; with which
he tinlocked the door of the palanquin. He held’ out his
hand; La-0o, trembling and beautiful, descended lightly,
and ‘passed. through’ the’ assembled visitors, who saluted
her respectfully by raising their hands to’ their breasts.
As the bride’ entered the hotel a signal was given, and
instantly a number of illuminated kites in ‘the form of
dragons, phoenixes, and other emblems of marriage, ‘rose
into the air; flying pigeons, with a little musical ap-
‘paratus attached to their tails, filled the space ovethead
A CONTRETEMPS. » , 171

 

‘with harmonious sounds, whilst hundreds of sky-rockets
shot up and descended in a golden shower:

Suddenly a distant noise was heard upon the ramparts.
Mingled with the murmur of voices were ‘heard the tones
of a trumpet’s blast. The noise ceased, then began again.
This time the sounds were, nearer; it was evident they
were approaching the very street. where the bridal cortége
had arfived.: Kin-Fo paused and listened; his friends
stood waiting to receive the bride. Gradually the commo-
tion reached the street; the trumpets were being blown
more vigorously than ever. i Ben 4,

“What can.it be?” Kin-Fo. pee Giied.

La-oo turned pale; a presentiment of the cause of the
uproar made her heart: beat fast. All. at once the mob
rushed down the street. In the midst was a herald wearing
the Imperial, uniform, and escorted by a detachment of
ti-paos. “Silence fell upon the multitude, as he proclaimed
in sonorous tones,—

“The Empress dowager.is dead !”

“ An interdiction ! an interdiction !”

‘Kin-Fo uttered an exclamation of rage and disappoint-
ment. Only too well he knew what an interdiction meant.
It meant’ that during the court-mourning,, which com-
mencing from that moment would last for a period ‘to be
fixed by law, no subject. would be allowed to. have his
head shaved, no public festivities might be held; no
172 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

theatrical representations might be given, no courts of
justice might be open, and worst of all—no marriages
might be celebrated !”

La-oo, though downcast, was not disconcerted. Taking
Kin-Fo’s hand, she pressed it gently, and in a voice that
strove to conceal her emotion, she said bravely, —

“We must wait a little longer !”

And so the palanquin departed, bearing the fair young
bride back to her home in the Cha-Cooa Avenue. The
festivities were suspended; the tables cleared; the or-
chestra dismissed, and the guests, after hearty con-
dolences with the disconsolate bridegroom, took their
departure.

Kin-Fo, with only Craig and Fry, was left in the
deserted apartment of the hotel of Celestial Happiness, a
name of bitter sarcasm to him now. An evil fate seemed
still to be pursuing him. He dared not run the risk of
infringing the Imperial edict, and the interdiction might
be prolonged at the Emperor’s pleasure to an indefinite
period. Here indeed was an occasion when he had need
of all the precepts of philosophy instilled into him in his
early days.

An hour later, a servant entered bearing a letter, which
he said had just been’ delivered by a messenger. Kin-Fo
exclaimed with surprise. He recognized the handwriting;
it was Wang’s own.
A CONTRETEMPS. 173

 

“My DEAR FRIEND,—

“Tam yet alive, but by the time you receive this I
shall be dead. I die because I have not courage to
perform my contract; but be content, I have provided
for your wishes to be carried out. Lao-Shen, a Tai-ping,
and a former comrade of my own, has your letter. He
has hands and heart that will not flinch. He will do the
deed. To him I have bequeathed the sum of money which
would fall to me at your death.

“ Farewell, dear friend ; my death will not long precede
your own! Again farewell!
“ Yours ever,
“WANG.”
CHAPTER XVI.

OFF AGAIN.
HERE was a dilemma! It left, Kin-Fo,in a more critical
position than ever. Wang’s courage, it was true, had failed.
him at the last, and nothing was to be apprehended from
him. But had-:he not deputed his commission to an
avowed Tai-ping who would murder him without the
least scruple ? And was not that Tai-ping in possession
of a document that would protect him from punishment?
Moreover, had he not 50,000 dollars to gain by the trans-
action ?

Kin-Fo stamped his foot in vexation, and muttered, —+

“ Enough of this business ! it must be settled somehow !”

Handing Wang’s letter to Craig and Fry, he asked
them whether they had anything to suggest. .

They inquired whether the paper he had given to Wang
specified the 25th as being the limit provided for the
execution of the contract.

“No; I left Wang to fill up the document with the

‘
OFF AGAIN. 175

 

date at his discretion. This rascal, Lao-Shen is free ‘to
act just when he’ pleases; he has no ese about
time to bind him.” __;

“But the policy,” said Craig a — “expires on the
3oth.. He is sure to know enough.to make him understand
that he has nothing to gain if-he delays. the act.an hour
beyond that. No; he will. finish his business before that
day, or he will eye it alone.”

There was. not much to be said in. answer to this, ‘but:
Kin-Fo paced up and down the room uneasily.

“We must .find this Lao-Shen; be. he where he may,
we must get at, him.: The letter I gave Wang must be
redeemed ; at all hazards, at any cost, it must be redeemed:
even if I pay the 50,000. dollars for it, 1 must have it”...

“ Of course, if you can,” assented Craig. .1¢ | L

“IfIcan? Imust, I will!” cried Kin-Fo, getting more
and more excited; “am I.to suffer disappointment after
disappointment?”

And again he paced the room rapidly. ...; 2).

“T am off again !” he said, after a few minutes.;

“ At your service, sir,” réplied the men.

_“I.am off! You, gentlemen, do as. you ee but . I
start at once.” i

“We attend -you, of course,’ aad it Craig ond
By with one breath. us... ;
oc As you like,” KinsKo repeated,
176 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“We should be failing entirely in our duty to our em-
ployers if we were to permit you to travel alone.”

“Well, then,” said Kin-Fo, “no time to lose.”

It was not very likely that it would prove at all a diffi-
cult matter to discover Lao-Shen. He was a notorious
character, and very few inquiries were enough to elicit the
information that after the suppression of the rebellion in.
which he had taken an active part, he had retired beyond
the Great Wall to the north, into the district around the
gulf of Leao-Tong, an inlet of the gulf of Pe-Chi-Li.
The government had not made terms with him in the
same way as it had with many others of the insurgent
leaders, but had winked at his retreating beyond the Im-
perial frontier, when he found himself at liberty to adopt
the congenial profession of a highwayman. Altogether, he
was a man whose qualifications for the office for which
Wang had engaged him could not be disputed.

A little closer investigation soon brought it further to
light that Lao-Shen had quite recently been seen in the
neighbourhood of Foo-Ning, a small port on the Gulf of
Leao-Tong, and thither Kin-Fo made up his mind to
hasten without delay. At least he would be on tHe track
of the man he sought.

First of all, however, he must go to La-oo and inform
her of his decision. Her grief was pitiable. With tears
streaming from her eyes, she besought him to keep far as
OFF AGAIN. 177

 

_ possible out of the reach of a man hired to be his assassin.
Let him leave China altogether. Madness to go. near
Lao-Shen ; better go to the remotest corner of the earth.

As well as he could, Kin-Fo consoled her ; he explained
that there was no quarter of the world’ where he could
endure to feel that his life was at the disposal of a mer-
cenary rascal; it was his determination to follow the
fellow up, and to find him out ; he was going to put a stop
to the bargain; he was going to get back that unlucky
paper, and he should succeed ; he would soon be back
again in Peking; he would be back before the day ap-
pointed for the Court mourning came to an end. And he
finished by exclaiming,—

“How fortunate for us that our marriage has been
delayed this little while! How dreadful for you, while
my life hangs thus in the balance, to be my wife!”

“No, no, indeed,” answered La-oo sadly; “if only I
had been your wife, I could have claimed the right of
going where you go, and being with you in every hour of
danger.”

“ Far better otherwise,” said Kin-Fo ; “I had rather face
a thousand perils, and die a thousand deaths, than bring
you into jeopardy.”

La-oo wept still more bitterly. A tear rose to the eye
of Kin-Fo himself, and saying “ farewell,” he tore himself

from her embrace.
N
178 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

The same morning saw the party back again at Tong-_
Choo. Soon repined very sorrowfully at being. again dis-
turbed in the rest he was ever seeking ; he thought him-
self the unluckiest of mortals: But there was no help for it.
What now should be the line of action ?. This was the
next question to be‘ decided. There was the choice of
going: by land or by water. To go by land would take
them ‘through a country ‘which under the circumstantes
_ was especially perilous, although had they been going no
farther than the Great Wall, they would have been tempted
to tun the risk. But the port.of Foo-Ning, whither .they
were on their way, was far to the east, and if only a vessel
could be found to convey them, they would really save
time by going by sea. The passage ought only to take a
few days.” Kin-Fo set about inquiring, and had ‘the satis-
faction of learning that a ship on its way to Foo-Ning was
at that very time lying at the mouth of the Pei-Ho, and
which, if he took one of the fast'river-boats down the stream,
there was no doubt he would be able to catch."’ He would
be sure to find accommodation for his party on board. ©

Craig and Fry begged for an hour’s grace ; they obtained
the permission, which was granted with some reluctance,
and made use of the time in purchasing a great variety of
apparatus for saving life in case of shipwreck; they bought
old-fashioned life-belts, and unwilling to let their charge
incur the slightest risk that precaution ‘could anticipate,
OFF AGAIN, “179

 

they bought the. oe -invented <Hleating coetaree of
‘Captain Boyton: = ys
Every preparation was hurried on, and it was still quite
early in the afternoon of the 26th, whén they all went on
board: the “ Pei-tang,” one of the little tiver. steamers that
ply along the Pei-Ho. The river winds so much that the
distance between Tong-Chio ‘ard thé tiver-mouth is “as

nearly as possible double the’length of a straight line
drawn from point to point ; its banks are artificial and the
channel is consequently déép™enough’ to accommodate
vessels of considerable’ burden, so: ‘that the traffic is more
important than that of the other liné, which lies at a. Tittle
distance almost parallel. :

The swift little craft glided between the sameiet
marked out the channel, beating up the'yellow waters with
her paddles, and filling the irrigation-canals with a gentle
swell. The lofty pagoda on the otitskirts of the town was
soon. passed, and owing to a sbarp curve in the stream
soon out of sight. Although subject to tide, the river ‘had
no great width; along its shores sandy downs alternated
with woody thickets; the villages of Matao, He-Si-Vo,
Nan-Tsai, and Yang-Tsoon had “grown up upon ‘its
banks, ee which pleasant hamlets | nestled in prolific
erate 6 eS MRR ge OE SOS

Ere ae Tien-Tsin came insight. Some ditty ocdurred
in consequence of the east bridge having to be- opened for

N 2
180 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

their passage, and because it was a matter of some diffi-
culty for the steamer to thread her way through the crowd
of ships that filled the harbour. The captain seemed not
‘to have the slightest compunction in cutting deliberately
through the moorings of some of the small craft that were
.lying at anchor, and letting them go adrift ; contributing
-to aggravate the confusion which, had there been a harbour-
.master in the place, must have fairly driven him out of his
senses.
. Craig and his colleague made a point throughout the
passage of never stirring an inch from the place of duty.
‘They felt a heavier responsibility now brought upon them
by the change of circumstances. It was no longer from
Wang, whom they knew well enough to recognize at a
glance, that they had to defend their charge ; it was from
Lao-Shen, a desperate Tai-ping, a man they had never.
seen, who might be in disguise among the passengers,
ready at any moment to perpetrate his murderous act.
Could they be too vigilant? . They scarcely allowed them-
selves time to eat; when should they be able to find time
to sleep?

Soon was all in a flutter, but his disquietude arose from
altogether a different cause ; the prospect of a sea-voyage
thoroughly upset him, and, although the water in the river
was perfectly smooth, the nearer the steamboat approached
the gulf, the more livid did his countenance become
OFF AGAIN. 181

 

“Then you have never been on the sea?” said Craig to;
him. 1

“ Never,” he replied.

“You don’t seem to think you will like it,” added Fry.

“T don’t like it at all.”

“You must keep your head up,” said Craig. .

“And your mouth shut,” continued Fry.

The poor fellow looked as if he had not the least objec-
tion to keep his mouth shut, but he cast one of those lugu-
brious glances at the widening waters which often betray
beforehand the dread of sea-sickness.. He made no reply,
but found a place as near the middle of the boat as he
could.

By this time the character of the river-scenery had some-
what changed. The right-hand .bank was considerably
higher than the left, which was low and beaten by a
light surf. Beyond it lay extensive. fields of sorghum,
maize, wheat, and millet, bearing. witness to the travellers
that China, with her millions to feed, cannot afford to leave
an acre of her soil untilled. The land everywhere was
intersected by canals for irrigation, and machines made of
bamboos, resembling norias, were erected to pump.up the
water, and diffuse it in all directions. Here and there,
close to yellow-clay cottages, were some orchards that
could boast of apples which would be no disgrace to the
plains of Normandy. Along the shore, too, might be seen
182 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

numbers of men fishing with cormorants, the birds plung-
ing into the water at asign from their owner, and reappear-
ing with a fish, which a ring round the neck prevented
them from. swallowing. Ducks, crows, magpiés, and spar-
row-hawks, startled by the snorting ‘of the steam-boats, rose
very frequently: fromthe lanky. grass...

But, although the shores were singularly quiet, the traffic
on‘the fiver was enormous. : Vessels of all kinds were ever
running up.and:down the channel. There were war-junks,
with their. batteries covered by.a concave roof, some, worked:
byia double row. of oars, and some by paddle-wheels moved’
by: hand; there were excise-junks, with two masts, deco-
rated at the prow and stern respectively with the heads
and.‘tails ‘of fantastic animals; merchant-junks of. large
tonnage, which, laden with the richest products ‘of. the
country, brave the typhoons of the neighbouring seas ;
passenger-junks, rowed or towed according to the tide,
used. by suchas needed not tb hurry; and pleasure-
junks, used as yachts, by’ mandarins, with little boats in
tow. eae ae ae i ;

‘Besides these, there were sampans of every kind, with
sails of :plaited' rushes,. literally, as. their name signifies,
composed of “three planks,” the smallest of them being
worked by women, who often had infants on their backs ;
occasionally, too,.there were: the huge wood-rafts, the pro-
duce of the wood-cutters of Manchuria, veritable floating
‘OFF AGAIN, 183

 

villages, with huts erected and ‘gardens laid out upon their
upper surface.

The villages on'the banks were not numerous; there
could hardly be twenty-altogether between Tien-Tsin and
Takoo, at the mouth of the river. Occasionally, the smoke
issuing from great brick-kilns would mingle; with the
vapour from the Pei-tang, and for a few moments obscure
the atmosphere, and towards evening some tall white
masses, arranged very symmetrically, loomed through the
twilight, which proved to be salt from the neighbouring
mines,

In this arid and melancholy district, described by
M. de Beauvoir as “all sand and salt, dust and ashes,” lies
the estuary of the Pei-Ho.

Before sunrise the little steamer had reached Takoo.
Here were the ruins of the northern and southern forts
that were taken in 1860 by the allied army, of England and
France, when General Collineau on the 24th of August
made his grand attack, the gun-boats forcing the entrance
of the river. A narrow strip, now scarcely occupied at all,
was conceded to the French, and there may still be seen
the monument erected over the bodies of the officers and
men who fell upon that occasion.

Unable to ctoss the bar of the river, the Pei-tang had to
land her passengers at Ta-koo. It was a town of con-
siderable importance, and would be found capable of a
184 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

large development, if only the mandarins would permit a
railway to be laid down.

The ship bound for Foo-Ning was to sail that day, so
that no time would be lost. The vessel was named the
“Sam-Yep ;” and Kin-Fo, finding nothing to detain him
on shore, hailed a sampan, and went on board at once,
CHAPTER XVII.
ON BOARD THE “SAM-YEP.”

A WEEX previously an American ship, chartered by one of,
the Chino-Californian companies, had cast anchor in the
harbour of Takoo. She was freighted at the expense of
the Ting-Tong agency that had its head-quarters at the
Laurel Hill Cemetery, San Francisco, where the bodies
of the celestials who had died in the United States awaited
their transit to their native land, where -their religion:
ordains that they shall be interred. The vessel, which was
bound for Canton, conveyed as many as. 250 coffins,
seventy-five. of which had been disembarked at Takoo,
and transferred that morning to the vessel on which
Kin-Fo and his party had taken passage, to be despatched
to the northern provinces. The voyage, it is true, at that
season of the year, would not last more than two or three
days,.and no other vessel was at present going in the
direction of Leao-Tong; otherwise it was not exactly
the one they would have been disposed to select.

Mey
186 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

The “Sam-Yep” was a sea-junk of about 300 tons
burden. Some junks of over 1000 tons draw only six
feet of water, enabling them to cross the bars of rivers.
Too wide for their length, their beam measuring a quarter
of their keel, they sail badly unless close to the wind, but
have the advantage of being able to put about, as it were
on their own pivot, as easily as a top. Their enormous
helms are pierced with holes, a system very much ap-
plauded in China, but the effect of which is open to
controversy. Be that as it may, however, these ponderous
_junks no doubt do brave the sea around the mouths of:
rivers, and it has been recorded that one of them, chartered
by a Canton firm and commanded by an American, con-
veyed a cargo of tea and porcelain to San Francisco, an
instance. which proves that it is not impossible. for them
to'stand the open sea. It has. also been asserted, by com-
petent judges that the Chinese make excellent seamen.

The “Sam-Yep’’ was of modern construction, her hull
being. somewhat after the European . model.: She was
built entirely of bamboo sewn together and caulked with
tow and resin from Cambodga, and was so water-tight
that it was considered unnecessary for her to carry a pump
in her hold. She. floated as light as a cork; her anchor
was made of wood of a most durable character; her
rigging. was of palm-fibre, and remarkably flexible; and
she had two masts, a mainmast and foremast, like a
ON BOARD THE “ SAM-YEP.” 187

 

lugger. In every respect, she Seemed perfectly fitted for
short cruises.

. In looking at her, no one would have imagined that she
had temporarily been converted into an enormous hearse,
and that so melancholy a cargo had replaced the ordinary
chests of tea, bales of silks, and packets of Chinese per-
fumery. She had laid aside none of her usual decorations;
fore. and aft waved_pennants: and streamers ; on the prow
was painted a great red eye, like that of some huge sea-
monster; from. the mast-head floated the Chinese flag ;
and two pieces of ordnance glittered brightly in the
sunlight. The whole appearance of the vessel was fresh
and festive.. After all, was she not performing the. pleasant
duty of restoring to their native land the corpses of those
who-had expressed their wish to lie there? To Kin-Fo
and Soon there was nothing repugnant in the idea of such
acargo. The two Americans doubtless would ‘have pre-
ferred- something different,. but they had. no_ alternative
than:to perform their office of following Kin-Fo.:.

A captain and a crew of six men were all that were
required to work the junk. It has been said that: the
mariner’s compass was invented in China; whether that
is ‘true or not, the Chinese cruisers never use it;.; and
Captain Yin, the commander of the “Sam-Yep,” as he
did not expect to go out of sight of land, was no exception
to the general rule,
188 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

‘Captain Yin was a bright, loquacious little man, nearly
always smiling, and a living illustration of the theory of
perpetual motion. He was never still: eyes, arms, and
hands seemed here, there, and everywhere, and moved. as
fast as his tongue. He rated and scolded his crew, but
on the whole.he was a capital seaman, had his vessel
perfectly under his control, and was well acquainted with
the coasts. The handsome sum that Kin-Fo had paid as
passage-money had by no means a tendency to lower.his
spirits; a hundred and fifty taels' for a trip.of sixty hours
was a windfall that did not often fall to his lot.

Kin-Fo and his guardians found quarters, such as they
were, in the stern of ‘the vessel. Soon was accommodated
near the bow.

After a most careful scrutiny of both captain and crew,
Craig and Fry came to the conclusion that.there was nothing
at all suspicious in the appearance of any of them. . It was
quite unlikely that they were in collusion with Lao-Shen,
as it was the merest chance that had brought Kin-Fo. upon
the junk at all. Beyond the ordinary perils of a sea voyage,
there was no special danger pending over their charge, and
they felt justified in relaxing a little of their vigilance.

Kin-Fo felt the relief of being left more to himself. He
retired to his cabin, and. began to.“ philosophize,” as he
expressed it. Here was. he, a man who when he was

1 About 5o/.
ON BOARD THE “ SAM-YEP.” 189

 

exempt from care amid the luxuries of his yamen, never
knew what. happiness was. ‘Trouble and anxiety had
wrought a -transformation in his mind, and now, when
once he should gain possession of the fatal letter, he
thought he should know true happiness at last.’ That the
letter would be restored to him he had n6 doubt whatever.
It was only a question of money with Lao-Shen; he
would as soon receive 50,000 dollars from Kin-Fo during
his iifetime as after his death ; perhaps sooner, as it would
save him the trouble of going to Shang-Hai and present-
ing himself at the Centenarian Office, a proceeding which,
however great might be the clemency of the Government,
could not be without a certain amount of risk to a former
rebel. The difficulty was lest the Taiping should attack
him unawares. He knew nothing of Lao-Shen’s move-
ments, whilst Lao-Shen might -be perfectly conversant
with his, and the danger would become even more immi-
nent when he landed in the very province where he
resided. Nevertheless, Kin-Fo was hopeful, and went on
to make brilliant plans for the future, in which of course
the young widow at Peking played no unimportant part.
Soon’s meditations, meantime, were of a very different
nature. Lying prostrate in his cabin, he was paying his
tribute to the malevolent deities of the Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li.
He could scarcely collect his thoughts sufficiently to curse
his master, or Wang, or the robber Lao-Shen. Ai ai ya!
190 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

His heart was stupid, his brain was stupid, his ideas’ were
stupid !. He could think no more about ‘his tea nor his
rice. Ai ai ya! what a fool he had been to enter the
service of a man who watited to come to sea! “He would
give up his pigtail, he would shave his ‘head, ‘he would
become a bonze, if only he could get back to dry land. A
yellow dog—yes, a yellow dog—was devouring his liver
and his stomach. Ai ai ya!

. With a good south breeze, the “Sam-Yep” ran by the
three or four miles of sandy shore that here lay from east
to west. She passed Peh:Tang, at the mouth of the river
of the same name, not far from the spot where the Euro-
pean army landed; and in due course, Shan-Tung,
Tchiang-Ho at the mouth of the’ Tau, and Hai-Ve-Tse.
This part of the gulf was almost deserted ; important
shipping traffic did not extend beyond a radius of twenty
miles from the estuary of the Pei-Ho, and a few merchant
junks on short cruises, and about a dozen fishing-boats
were all that could be seen near the shore, whilst out to séa
the line of the horizon was quite unbroken.

Observing that all the fishing-boats, even those of only
five or six. tons’ burden, carried one or two small cafinon,
Craig and Fry asked Captain Yin the ‘reason, ae ‘were

‘told that it was for protection against pirates.

“ Pirates!” exclaimed Craig. -“ Surely there are no

pirates in the Gulf of’ Pe-Chi-Li?? ee
ON BOARD THE “SAM-YEP.” ‘IQ!

 

“Why not in the Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li-as much as in all
the seas of China ?.” rejoined the captain.

And he gave a-merry laugh that. eae his: two rows
of fine white teeth. ae

“You don’t seem to be much afraid of them,” said
Fry. , |

“Haven’t I two guns to keep them at a distance?” said
Yin.
“ Are the guns loaded ?” Craig inquired.

“Generally ; not now.”

“Why not now?” asked Fry.

“ Because I have no powder on board,” calmly responded
the captain, .

“Then ‘what good will your guns do you?” the Ameri-
cans exclaimed simultaneously.

The captain laughed again.

“Tf my junk were loaded. to the hatchways with opium
or tea,” he said, “then it. would be worth defending; but
with its present cargo—”

He shrugged his shoulders with an expressive gesture.

“ You gentlemen seem to have rather a dread of pirates,”
he said presently, “and yet you have no property of any
value on board.” ,

Craig and Fry informed him that they had special
reasons for wishing to avoid an attack, and asked how the
pirates’ could be aware beforehand of the nature of'his
192 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

freight. Captain Yin pointed to a white flag that was
fluttering half-mast high above their heads.

“Pirates know what that means,” he said; “they will
not take the trouble to rob a vessel laden with coffins.”

“But perhaps,” insisted Craig, “they may think the
white flag is only a ruse, and will come on board to see for
themselves.” ee

“Let them come, then,” said Yin jauntily ; “ they, will
soon have to go back the same way as they came.”

Craig and Fry said no more, but they could not alto-
gether share the captain’s equanimity. A junk: of three
hundred tons burden, even though carrying nothing but
ballast, would be no mean prize for freebooters. They
could, however, do no more than quietly await the chapter
of accidents, and hope for the best.

‘The captain, for his part, had neglected nothing that
could insure a favourable voyage. Before setting sail he
had sacrificed a cock to the presiding deities of the sea,
and its feathers were still suspended from the foremast; a
few drops of its blood had been sprinkled on the deck, and
a small cup of wine thrown overboard had completed the
propitiatory offering.

But whether it was that the cock had not been suffi-
ciently plump, or the wine had not been of the choicest
vintage, somehow or other the capricious deities seemed
not to have been satisfied. In the course of the day, quite
ON BOARD THE “SAM-YEP.” 193

unexpectedly, for the weather was bright and clear, the
junk was overtaken by a tremendous gale, an event which
the keenest of mariners could not have foreseen.

 

It was about eight o’clock in the evening, and the “ Sam-
Yep” was preparing to double the promontory beyond
which the coast-line extended in a north-easterly direction ;
that done, she might run straight before the wind, and
Captain Yin had every reason to think that in less than
twenty-four hours she would be at Foo-Ning.

As the time for arriving drew near, Kin-Fo’s impatience
to gain possession of the letter increased considerably.
With Soon the yearning to get on shore amounted almost
to frenzy. Craig and Fry remembered that in three days
more their responsibilities concerning the client of the
Centenarian would be at an end; at midnight on the 30th
of June his policy would expire, the premium had not
been renewed, and all anxiety would cease.

Just as the “Sam-Yep” reached the entrance of the Gulf
of Leao-Tong the wind veered suddenly to the north-east ;
it subsequently changed to the north, and two hours later
was blowing from the north-west. If Captain Yin had
had a barometer on board, he would have noticed that the
mercury had: made a sudden fall, a rapid rarefaction of the
air that betokened an approaching typhoon,’ the motion of

1 Revolving storms are called tornadoes on the east coast of Africa,
and typhoons in Chinese waters. Their scientific name is cyclone.

: Oo
" 194 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

which was lightening the atmospheric strata. Had he
been acquaintéd with the observations of Paddington and
Maury, forewarned, he would have endeavoured to alter his
tack and steer to the north- east, in the hope of getting
beyond the attraction of the tempest.

But he did not understand the use of the barometer, and
was ignorant of the law of cyclones. He had sacrificed a
cock, and therefore was he not insured against every
calamity ? Nevertheless, superstitious Chinaman though
he was, he proved an excellent seaman on the occasion,
and his instinct seemed to serve him as well as the science
of a European captain.

The typhoon was not of a large extent, consequently its
velocity was very great, the rotatory motion being little

less than sixty miles an hour. Fortunately it carried the
“Sam-+Vep” to the east, otherwise she would have been

driven on to a coast where she must inevitably have
perished.

At eleven o'clock the tempest reached its height. Cap-
tain Yin was not laughing now, but he had lost none of his
_presence of mind. With his hand constantly on the helm,
he skilfully steered the light vessel, which rose easily upon
the waves, and in all his orders he was ably seconded by
his crew.

Kin-Fo had left his cabin, and, clinging to the bulwarks,
was contemplating the sea and sky. The clouds, torn to

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ON BOARD THE “SAM-YEP.” 195

 

shreds by'the hurricane, were hurrying in masses over the
surface of the water, whilst the waves, all white in the
blackness of the night, seemed to be sucked up by the
typhoon far above ‘their ordinary level. He was neither
surprised nor alarmed. This storm was only one of the
series of misfortunes that his ill-luck had prepared for him.
In this summer season other people might have made a
short passage of sixty hours under favourable circum-
stances ; but such luck was not to be his.

Craig and Fry were much more uneasy, not for them-
selves, but for the interests of the Centenarian. Only let
their lives be preserved until midnight on the 30th of June,
and the conscientious agents cared not what became of
themselves or their charge afterwards.

As for Soon, to his mind the junk was in no greater
danger now than she had been ever since he came on
board. Stormy or calm, it was all alike tohim. Aiai ya!
The passengers down in the hold had the best of it; they
felt neither rolling nor pitching; he wished he were among
them. Aiai ya!

For the space of three hours the junk really was in a
critical position. A false turn of the helm, and she would
have been lost, for the sea would have dashed over her
deck; and, although, like a pail, she could not capsize,
there was every chance that she might fill and founder.
Tossed as she was by the waves, it was impossible to keep

O 2
196 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

her in any constant direction, nor could any estimate be
made as to the course she was taking.

By some happy chance, however, she ultimately gained
without serious damage the centre of the great atmo-
spheric disturbance that extended over an area of sixty
miles. Here, like a placid lake in the midst of an angry
ocean, was a tract of smooth water, two or three miles in
area, where the wind was scarcely perceptible.

The junk, which had been driven thither under bare
poles, was now in safety. Towards three o'clock in the ©
morning the fury of the cyclone ceased almost as if by
magic, and the angry waters round the little lake subsided
into calmness. But when daylight dawned, no land was
in sight. The “Sam-Yep” was the centre of a barren waste
of sea and sky.
CHAPTER XVIIL
THE CARGO.

“WHERE are we, Captain Yin?” Kin-Fo asked after the
danger was all over.

“T hardly know,” replied the captain, who had - quite
recovered his jovial looks.

“ Are we in the Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li?”

“Not unlikely.”

“Or do you think we have been driven into the Gulf of
Leao-Tong ?”

“Very probably.”

“ Where, then, are we going to land >?”

“ Just where the wind takes us.”

“When ?”

“That’s more than I can tell you.”

Kin-Fo was beginning to lose his temper.

“A true Chinaman always knows his whereabouts,” he
said, quoting a Chinese proverb.

“ Ah! that means on land, not at sea!” answered the

captain, grinning from ear to ear.
198 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“TI don’t see anything to laugh at,’ said Kin-Fo im-
patiently.

“Nor do I see anything to cry at,” retorted Yin.

It might be true that there was nothing really alarming
in the situation, but it was quite obvious that the captain
did not know where he was ; without a compass he had no
means of judging in what direction his ship had been driven
by the tempest, during which the wind had been blowing
from such different quarters, and while, with her sails furled.
and her helm useless, she had been the mere plaything of
the hurricane.

But whether the junk had been. carried into one gulf or
the other, there could be no hesitation now about the
necessity of putting her head to the west; ultimately, land
must be sighted in that direction. Had it been in his
power, the captain would forthwith have hoisted, sail and
followed the sun, which was once more shining, though only
faintly ; but there was not a breath of wind; the typhoon
had been succeeded by a dead calm; not a ripple played
upon the smooth undulations that just lifted up the vessel
and allowed her to sink again without moving her a foot
forward. A heavy vapour hung over the sea, and the
general aspect was in striking contrast to the commotion
of the previous night. It was one of those calms locally
known as “ white calms.”

“ And how long is this going to last?” said Kin-Fo,

‘
THE CARGO. 199

 

“No telling,” replied the captain with perfect composure ;
“at this season of the year calms sometimes continue:for
weeks,” ee

a Weeks!” repeated Kin-Fo; “ ae you suppose I am to
Bay here for weeks ?” a.

“No help for it, my dear sir, unless by good luck we can
manage to get taken in tow.”

“ Confound, the junk! what a fool I was to be caught
coming on board !”

“ Will you allow me'to offer you two little bits of advice ?
Be like other folks, and don’t grumble at: the weather which
you can’t alter; and, secondly, do as I am going. to do;.go
to bed and get some comfortable sleep.”

And with:a philosophy that was worthy of Wang him-
self, the captain retired to his cabin, leaving only a few men
on deck,

For the next quarter of an hour Kin-Fo paced:backwards
and forwards, drumming his fingers upon his folded arms ;
then, casting a glance at the desolate scene around, he
made up his mind to go to his cabin, and left the deck
without saying a word to Craig and Fry, who had been
lounging meanwhile against the taffrail, not speaking a word
to each other, but no doubt holding mutual intercourse
by silent sympathy. They had heard all that passed between
Kin-Fo and the captain, but to say the truth, they really .
were not concerned at the delay which was giving so much
200 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

annoyance to the young man ; if they were losing anything
in time, they were gaining in security, for as long as Kin-Fo
was on board the “Sam-Yep,” was he not free from any
chance of being attacked by Lao-Shen? moreover, the
period of their engagement and consequently of their
responsibility was close at hand; two days more and a
whole band of Tai-pings might assail him, and it would not
be their duty to risk a hair of their heads to protect him.
Practical Yankees as they were, they were devoted to the
client of the Centenarian so long as he represented the sum
of 200,000 dollars; they would be-utterly indifferent when
that interest lapsed.

Under these circumstances there was nothing to prevent
them from sitting down to their luncheon with a capital
appetite. The food was excellent ;° they partook of the
same dishes, consumed the same quantities of bread and
the same number of slices of meat ; they drank Biddulph’s
health in the same number of glasses of wine, and after-
wards smoked precisely the same number of cigarettes.
If not by birth, they were Siamese twins in taste and
habit.

The day passed on without incident or accident; there
was still the “woolly” sky;. still the smooth sea; and
nothing to disturb the general monotony.

Towards four o’clock in the afternoon, poor Soon made
his appearance on deck. He reeled, he staggered as if he
THE CARGO. . 201

 

were drunk, though probably he had never in all his life
been so abstemious before.

His complexion was blue and green, verging to yellow;
probably when he got on shore again it would be-as usual,
orange ; when he was angry he would flush into crimson,
. and thus in avery short period his countenance would have
exhibited all the colours of the rainbow.

Keeping his eyes half-closed, and not daring to look
beyond the bulwarks, he stumbled up to Craig and Fry,
and said,—

“ Are we nearly there ?”

“No,” they answered, »

f

“Not nearly 2”

“No.” $

“ Ai ai ya!” he moaned, and flung himself down at the
foot of the mast, wriggling as if in convulsions, which made
his miserable little guewe shake like a puppy’s tail.

Earlier in the day Captain Yin had given orders, very
prudently, for the hatchways to be opened: that the sun
might dry up the water that during the typhoon had been
shipped into the hold. Craig and Fry had been promenad-
ing the deck, repeatedly pausing and looking down through
the middle hatchway, until at last, prompted by curiosity,
they agreed to go below..

Except just where the light was admitted from above,
the hold was very dark ; but after a short time the eye
202 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

grew accustomed to the obscurity, and it was quite possible
to distinguish the way in which the singular cargo had been
stowed. oe ;

The hold was not divided, as in most junks, into parti-
tions, but was open from end to end, and the whole of it
appropriated to this strange consignment, the crew
having to find their berths forward. Piled up one upon
‘another, and arrayed on both sides, were the seventy-five
coffins bound. for Foo-Ning, all fastened quite securely so
as to prevent any oscillation that might imperil the ship,
a passage being left along the middle, the end of which,
remote from the hatchway, was sunk in gloom,

Craig and Fry walked silently and softly, as though they
were treading the floor of a mausoleum. There was some-
thing of awe mingling with their curiosity. The coffins
were of all sizes, a small proportion of them being costly
and elaborate, the. generality perfectly plain. Of the
emigrants whom necessity drives across the Pacific, it is
very few that make a fortune or realize a competency in the
diggings of California, or in the mines of Nevada and
Colorado ; nearly all die as impoverished as they went out ;
but all, whatever their wealth or poverty, are without
exception and with equal care brought back to their native
land.

About ten of the coffins were made of valuable wood
adorned with all the richness that Chinese fancy could
THE CARGO. 203

 

devise ; but the rest were merely four planks with ends, put
together in the roughest manner and painted yellow ; every
one of them bore the name and address of its tenant, and
as Craig and Fry passed along they kept on reading such
names as Lien-Foo of Yun-Ping-Fu, Nan-Loon of Foo-
Ning, Shen-Kin of Kin-Kia, Loo-ang of Ku-Li-Koa, and
remarked that there seemed no confusion ; every corpse
could be conveyed to its destination to await in field, in
orchard, or in plain, its ultimate interment in Chinese soil.

“Well packed!” whispered Craig.

“Well packed!” whispered Fry.

They spoke, calmly as they would about a consignment

of ordinary goods. from San Francisco or New York. »

Having proceeded to the farther end of the’ passage
where it was most gloomy, they turned and looked along
the avenue of that temporary cemetery towards the light ;
they were on the point of | returning, when a slight sound
attracted their attention.

“A rat!” they said,

“T should think a rat would prefer a cargo of rice,” said
Craig.

“Or of maize,” added Fry.

The noise continued. It was like a scratching with nails
or claws. It was on the starboard side, and came from
about the level of their heads; consequently from the
upper tier of coffins,
204. THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

The men hissed as they would to scare away a rat.

Still the scratching went on.

They listened with bated breath.

Evidently the sound came from inside one of the coffins.

“Some Chinaman buried before he was dead,” said
Craig.

“ And just come to life again,” continued Fry.

They went close up to the coffin, and laid their hands
upon it; it did not admit of a-doubt that there was move-
ment within.

“This means mischief!” they muttered.

The same idea had simultaneously occurred to them
both, that a new danger was threatening the client in their
charge.

Raising their hands, they could feel that the lid of the
coffin was being gently lifted up. With the most perfect
composure they waited to see what would follow next.
They did not make a movement. It was too dark for
them to distinguish anything plainly, ,but they were not
mistaken in thinking they saw a coffin lid slowly opening
on the larboard side.

A whisper was next heard.

A whisper followed in reply.

“Ts that you, Cono?”

“Ts that you, Fa-Kien ?”

“Ts it to be to-night?”
THE CARGO, 205

 

“Yes, to-night.”

“ Before the moon rises ? ”

“Yes, in the second watch.”

“Do the others know?”

“ They have all been told.”

“T shall be glad to get out of this.”

“ Ay, so shall we all.”

e Thirty-six hours in a coffin is no joke!”

“You are right.”

“But Lao-Shen ordered it.”

“Hush, hush! what’s that ?”

The last exclamation was caused by Craig and Fry
making an involuntary movement at the mention of
Lao-Shen’s name; but they did not speak nor move
again.

There was a slight pause, after which the coffin-lids
gently closed themselves again, and there was complete
silence.

Stealthily on hands and knees, Craig and Fry made
their way back through the hatchway on to the deck, and in
a moment were locked in their own cabin, where they could
converse without risk of being overheard. .

“ Dead men who talk—” began Craig.

“ Are not dead yet,” concluded Fry. §

The mere mentioning of Lao-Shen’s name under these
somewhat ghastly circumstances had been enough to

=
206 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

reveal the whole truth. It was evident that the Tai-ping
had employed some agents who had found their way on
board, and it did not admit of much doubt that they had
only succeeded by the connivance of the captain. The
coffins had been disembarked from the American ships,
and had had to remain for a day or two to await the arrival
of the “Sam-Yep,” and during that time a number of them
had been broken open, the corpses removed, and their
places supplied by the confederates of Lao-Shen. How
it had transpired that Kin-Fo was among the passengers
of the “Sam-Yep” was a mystery they could not explain ;
but they -recollected that they had noticed suspicious
characters on board from the time of embarkation, and
acknowledged that it would be a thing discreditable to
themselves if, after all, the office they represented should
lose the two hundred thousand dollars at stake.

They were not the men to lose their presence of mind ;
they were facing a grave and unexpected emergency ;
there was not much time in which to form their plans ;
the deed was to be done before the second watch ; there
was not much scope for deliberation; there was only one
conclusion to be arrived at—before the second watch
Kin-Fo must be away from the junk.

How the escape was to be made was a question more
easy to ask than to answer. The only boat belonging to
the ship was a cumbrous craft that it would take the
TIE CARGO. 207

 

whole crew to lower to the water, and if the captain were
an accomplice in the plot, the crew could not be enlisted
to lend a helping hand. The proleet of using the boat
had to be abandoned.

Seven o’clock, and the captain was still in his cabin.
Was it not likely he was only waiting in- solitude
until the appointed time had passed, and the deed was
done. The junk was floating adrift; there was no watch,
why should there be? Ai sailor, all alone, was slumbering
in the bows. If only the appliances were at hand, the
opportunity for escape was complete. Had they been
anxious to get away from a fire-ship, they scarcely could
have been more excited. A thought struck them ; there
was not a moment to spare to anes it; it must be Bat
into execution now, at once.

Opening the door of Kin- Fo’s cabin, they touched him
gently ; he was fast asleep ; they touched him again.

“What do you want with me?” he said.

They told him as concisely as they could all the facts ;
he did not seem at all alarmed ; he pondered a moment,
and asked,—

“Why not throw the rascals overboard ?”

“ That is quite out of the question,” they replied.

“Then are we to do nothing?” said Kin-Fo.

“Do as we tell you,” answered Craig; “we have made
our plans.”
208 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“Let me hear,” said Kin-Fo, in some surprise.

“Take this dress; ask no questions; put it on, and be
ready !”

‘The men opened a parcel they had brought with them.
It contained four sets of the swimming apparatus just in-
vented by Captain Boyton. They gave a set to Kin-Fo,
saying,— —

“We have more for ourselves, and one for Soon.”

“Go and fetch Soon,” he bade them.

And Soon was brought in, looking as if he were suffering
from an attack of paralysis.

“You are to put this on,” said his master.

But Soon was incapable of helping himself, and while he
kept on moaning, “ Ai ai ya,” the others contrived to drag
him into the waterproof attire.

Eight o’clock, and they were all equipped; they looked
like four great seals just going to plunge into the frozen
waters, although it must be owned that Soon was almost
too flabby in his condition to be compared to so lithe a
creature.

The junk continued to float in absolute stillness upon
the unruffled sea ; Craig and Fry opened one of the port-
holes of the cabin, and quietly dropped Soon down without
more ado. Kin-Fo cautiously followed; Craig and Fry
only stayed to make sure that they had provided them-
THE CARGO. 209

——

 

selves with all the necessary appurtenances, and plunged in
after them.

So quiet were all their movements that no one on board
was aware that four of the passengers had quitted the
“ Sam-Yep.”
CHAPTER. XIX.
AFLOAT.

CAPTAIN BoYTOoN’s apparatus is a gutta-percha suit, con.
sisting of leggings, tunic, and cap. But though impervious
to water, the material would not be impervious to cold,
were it not that the garments are made with an outer and
an inner layer between which may be admitted a certain
quantity of air. This air serves the double purpose of
maintaining the apparatus upon the surface of the water
and preventing the chill that would otherwise ensue from
long exposure.

The joints of the separate pieces of the costume are
perfectly water-tight. The leggings terminate beneath
the feet with heavy soles, and are clasped at the waist with
a metal belt, which is made wide enough, to allow free
movement to the body. The jacket is fixed into the belt,
and has a solid collar, to which in its turn is attached the
cap, which is drawn tightly over the forehead, cheeks and
chin by means of an elastic border, leaving only the eyes,
mouth, and nose exposed,
AFLOAT. 211

 

Several gutta-percha tubes are attached to the jacket, to
admit’ the air, which can be regulated to any density, so
that a traveller may float upright with the water up to his
neck or only to his waist, or may lie horizontally pon its
surface, all the time in perfect saiety and with complete
liberty of action. an

The practical utility of the apparatus has alieady been
proved in a way that does much credit ‘to its ‘inventor.
To make it complete there are several other appurtenances:
a waterproof bag that is slung over’ ‘the shoulder, and
‘contains various useful articles; a ‘small pole which can be
attached to the foot by a socket, and carries a small sail, <
and a light paddle, which may ‘be used either as an oar or
a rudder, as circumstances may require, oye

Thus equipped, Kin- Fo, Craig, Fry, and Soon floated
off, dnd a very few strokes of their paddles ‘carried ‘them
a considerable distance ‘from’ the junk. The ‘night’ was
very dark, and even if Captain "Vin or any of ‘his men had
been on deck, they would not have perceived ths fugitives,
and no one could have the slightest suspicion that they
were escaping. ;

‘The second watch, the time meitioned by the" prt
tended corpse, would ‘be about the middle of the night,
corisequently Kin-Fo and his‘ companions had several
hours’ grace during which they hoped to get a good mile
to leeward of the “Sam- Yep.” A very slight breeze was

P2
212 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

beginning to ruffle the surface of the water, but not enough
to make them depend on any other means except their
paddles for their progress.

In a very few minutes Kin-Fo, Craig, and Fry, grew
accustomed to their strange equipment, and were able to
manceuvre so well, that they could, without a moment’s
hesitation, assume any attitude or make any movement
they desired, Soon for a time had to be taken in tow, but
he very quickly recovered his energies, and felt far more
at his ease than he had been on board the junk. All
sensation of sea-sickness had left him, and the relief of
finding himself floating up to his waist in the sea, instead
of being subject to the pitching, tossing, and heaving of a
ship, was very great.

But although he was no longer ill, he was in considerable
alarm. Nothing possessed him but that he should be
devoured by sharks, and he was continually drawing up
his legs, as though he felt them already being snapped at.
His fears, it must be owned, were not altogether without
foundation.

It was a strange vicissitude to which fortune had now
called Kin-Fo and his companions. On and on they went,
lying almost flat upon their backs to paddle, and rising to
the perpendicular when they required a rest. An hour
after leaving the junk the party found themselves about
half a mile distant. They came to a standstill, resting
AFLOAT. 213

 

on their paddles, and began to hold a whispered consulta-
tion.

“ That rascal of a captain !” said Craig, in order to broach
the subject that was of course uppermost in his mind,

“ And that scoundrel Lao-Shen!” added Fry.

“Are you surprised?” said Kin-Fo; “I am never sur-
prised at anything now.”

“T cannot understand how those fellows found out that
you were going to take passage on board that junk,”
replied Craig.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much now that we are egal
said Kin-Fo composedly.

“Safe!” exclaimed Craig; “ we are not safe as long as
the ‘Sam-Yep’ is in sight.”

“ What is to be done, then ?” inquired Kin-Fo.

“We must take some refreshment and go on again, so
that we may be out of sight at daybreak.”

Admitting a little more air into his apparatus, Fry
allowed himself to rise till the water was about level with
his waist, and then opening his bag, took out a bottle and
a glass. He filled the glass with brandy, and handed it
to Kin-Fo, who, without requiring any pressing, drained
it to the bottom. Craig and Fry helped themselves, and
Soon was not forgotten.

“Tow are you now?” asked Craig, when Soon had
emptied his glass.
214 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

“Much better, thank you,” said Soon; “but I should
tike something to eat.” .

“We will have our breakfast at daybreak, and then you
shall have some tea.”

Soon made a wry face.

“Cold?” he asked.

“No; hot, ” said Craig,

Soon’s countenance. brightened.

“ But how will you manage that ?” he inquired,

“T shall make a fire.”

“Then why wait till the morning?” urged Soon.

“Why, you stupid fellow, you don’t want Captain Yin
and his accomplices to see our light, do you ?”

«“ No, O no.”

“Then have patience, and wait till the proper time.”

The appearance of the party during this colloquy was
irresistibly comical; the slight undulation of the water
kept them bobbing up and down like so many corks, or
Jike the hammers of a pianoforte when the keys are
touched. Kin-Fo presently remarked that the wind was
beginning to freshen.

«Let us set our sails, then,” said Craig and Fry.

But just as they were preparing to erect their little
masts, Soon uttered aloud cry of terror.

“Be quiet, you fool!” angrily whispered his master, “do
you want us to be discovered ?”
AFLOAT. 215

 

“I thought,” muttered Soon, “I saw a monster—a
shark—quite close to me; I thought I felt it too.”

Craig carefully examined. the surface of the water, and
said that it was quite a mistake on Soon’s part ; no shark
was there at all.

Kin-Fo laid his hand on his servant’s shoulder.

“Understand, Soon, that you are not to be a coward,”
he said. ‘ You are not to cry out, mind, even if your leg
is snapped off.” |

“Tf you make any outcry,” added Fry, “we will cut a
slit in your jacket, and send you to the bottom of the sea,
where you may bellow to your heart’s content.”

Thus adjured, the unfortunate Soon, though by no means
consoled, dared not utter another word. It seemed as
though his troubles were never to have an end, and he
began to think that the miseries of sea-sickness were
scarcely worse than the tortures of terror.

Kin-Fo had been right when he said that the wind was
freshening. Even if it were only one of the slight breezes.
that subside at sunrise, it must be utilized to increase the
distance between them and the “Sam-Yep.” When Lao-
Shen’s people discovered that Kin-Fo was no longer in his
cabin, they would assuredly begin to look about for him,
and if any of them were in sight, the ship’s boat would
greatly facilitate their capture ; consequently it was of the
utmost importance to be far away before dawn,
216 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

The wind fortunately was blowing from the east.
Whether they had been carried by the hurricane into the
Gulf of Leao-Tong, the Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li, or even into
the Yellow Sea, a westerly course must in any case take
them towards the coast, where they had every chance
of being picked up by some merchant vessel on its way to
the mouth of the Pei-Ho, or by one of the fishing-boats
plying day and night about the shore. If, on the contrary,
the wind had come from the west, and the “Sam-Yep”
had been driven south of Corea, Kin-Fo and his com-
panions would have had no chance of rescue; they must
either have been borne away on to the open sea, or floated
ultimately on to the shores of Japan as lifeless corpses,
which the dress they wore would not allow to sink.

It was now about ten o’clock. The moon would rise
shortly before midnight, and there was no time to be lost.
According to Craig and Fry’s directions, preparations
were made for hoisting sail. The process was very simple.
Each gutta-percha suit had a socket attached to the sole
of the right foot, which was intended to hold the short pole
that served for a mast. The party first of all stretched
themselves on their backs, brought their foot within reach
of their hands by bending the knee, and fixed the mast in
its place, having previously attached the halyard of the
little sail to its extremity. At a signal from Fry and
Craig, each man simultaneously pulled at his halyard, and
AFLOAT, 217

 

hoisted the upper corner of his triangular sail to the top
of the mast. The halyards were then made fast to the
metal waistbands, the sheets were, held in thé hand, and
they all sailed off like a flotilla of “scaphandres,” an
appellation to which they had more right than the
submarine workmen to whom it is often improperly
applied.

In the course of ten minutes they were able to steer
with perfect ease and security ; they kept equal pace with
one another, and glided easily along the water like so
many sea-gulls with their wings extended to the breeze.
Their progress was greatly facilitated by the condition
of the sea; not a wave disturbed the long quiet undulation
of its surface, so that there was no splash or surf to incon-
venience them.

Two or three times, Soon, forgetting Craig and Fry’s
instructions, was foolish enough to turn his head, and in
so doing swallowed several mouthfuls of salt water. Ex-
perience, however, soon taught him better. Still he could
not overcome his dread of sharks. It was explained to
him that he ran less risk in a horizontal than in a vertical
position, since the formation of a shark’s jaw obliges it to
turn over on to its back before seizing its prey, and con-
sequently it is difficult for it to grasp a floating object ; it
was furthermore pointed out to him that these voracious
brutes prefer inanimate bodies to those with any power of
218 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

motion. Soon accordingly made up his mind not to keep
still for a moment, and was all the happier for his efforts.

For about an hour the “scaphandres” sailed on. A
shorter time would not have sufficed to carry them out
of reach of the junk, a longer would have exhausted them ;
already their arms were getting weary with the strain put
upon them by the tension of the sails.

Craig and Fry gave the signal for stopping. Instantly
the sheets were loosened, and all, with the exception of
Soon, who preferred remaining on the cautious side,
resumed a perpendicular position. .

“Five minutes’ rest, sir,” said Craig to Kin-Fo.

“ And another glass of brandy,” said Fry.

Kin-Fo assented willingly to both propositions. A little -
stimulant was all they required at present; having dined
shortly before leaving the junk, they could well afford to
wait for food until the morning. Neither did they suffer
at all from cold; the layer of air between their bodies and
the water protected them from any chill, and their tem-
perature had not abated a degree since they made their
start.

Was the “Sam-Yep” still in sight ? Fry carefully swept
the eastern horizon with a night-glass that he drew from
his bag, but no sign of her was visible against the dim
background of the sky. The night was rather foggy ;
there were very few stars, and the planets looked almost
AFLOAT. 219

 

like nebule in the firmament. The waning moon, however,
would not be long in rising, and would probably disperse
the mist. : ’

“The rascals are still asleep,” said Fry. .

“ They haven’t taken advantage of the breeze,” said ~
Craig.

Kin-Fo, tightening his sheet, and spreading his sail to
the wind, now professed himself ready to make another
start, and accordingly they all resumed their course, the
wind being not quite so strong as before.

As they were proceeding towards the west, they would
be unable to observe the moon as she rose in the east ; her
light, however, would necessarily illuminate the opposite
horizon, of which it was important for them to make a
careful observation. If instead of a clearly defined circle
between sea and sky, the line should. be broken and
refract the lunar rays, they might be certain that the shore
was in sight; and as the coast was everywhere open and
unbeaten by surf, a landing could be effected without
danger in almost any part. |

About twelve o’clock.a faint light began to play upon
the vapours overhead, a sign that the moon was rising
above the water. Neither Kin-Fo nor his companions
turned their heads, Again the breeze had freshened, and
while it helped to disperse the fog, was carrying them
along with considerable rapidity, so that quite a furrow
220 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

of foam followed in their wake. The atmosphere became
clearer and clearer; the constellations shone out more
brightly, and the moon, changing from a coppery red to
a silvery white, soon illumined the whole of the sur&
rounding space.

All at once Craig uttered a loud oath.

“The junk!” he cried.

“ Down with the sails!” exclaimed Fry.

In an instant the four sails were lowered, and the masts
removed from their sockets. All the party resumed an
upright position, and looked behind them. There, too
truly, was the outline of the junk, with all sails spread,
about a mile away.

Captain Yin, they did not doubt, had become aware of
Kin-Fo’s escape, and had at once set out in pursuit. Un-
less the fugitives could contrive to avoid discovery on the
bright surface of the water, in another quarter of an hour
they would be in the hands of the captain and his
accomplices.

“Heads down!” said Craig.

His order was understood. A little more air was ejected
from the apparatus, and all four men sank until only their
heads emerged from the waves. There they waited without
a sound or a motion.

The junk was advancing rapidly, its upper sails casting
great shadows on the sea. In five minutes’ time it was

i
AFLOAT. 221

 

within haif a mile of them, and they could see the sailors
moving to and fro, and the captain at the helm. All at
once a great shout was heard ; a crowd of men had rushed
upon the deck, and were apparently attacking the crew.
The uproar was terrible; yells of rage and execration
alternated with shrieks of agony and despair.. Then all
was still; the clamour was hushed; nothing was heard
but a constant splash, splash, at the side of the junk,
indicating that bodies were being thrown overboard.

After all, then, Captain Yin and his crew had not been
in league with Lao-Shen and his troop; the poor fellows,
on the contrary, had themselves been the victims of the
Band of rascals who had smuggled themselves on board
with no other design than that of gaining possession of the
junk, The pirates had had no idea that Kin-Fo was a
fellow-passenger, and were he discovered now, it was certain
that neither he nor any of his companions could expect to
find mercy at their hands.

The “Sam-Yep” continued her course. She was close
upon them now, but by the happiest chance she cast upon
them the shadow of her sails. For an instant they dived
beneath the waves. When they rose again, the junk had
passed, and they were safe.

A corpse that was floating by they recognized as that
of Captain Yin, with a poignard in his side. For a time
the ample folds of his garments sustained him upon the
222 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

surface of the water, Then he sank, never to rise
again,
’ Thus by a foul massacre had perished the genial, light-
hearted commander of the “ Sam-Yep.”

Ten minutes later the junk had disappeared in the west,
and Kin-Fo, Craig, Fry, and Soon were all alone in the
waste of water,
CHAPTER XX.
A TIGER-SHARK.

In the course of three hours day began to break, and
before it was quite light the junk was out of sight.
Though sailing in the same direction, the “scaphandres ”
had of course been unable to keep pace with her, and she
was already nine or ten miles away. .

All danger from that quarter was therefore at an end;
nevertheless the situation was not altogether satisfactory.
Far as the eye could reach there was no indication of land,
nor was there a single vessel of any kind in sight ; whether
they were in the Gulf of Pe-Chi-Li or in the Yellow Sea
was still uncertain.

The direction taken by the junk, however, demonstrated
that sooner or later land would be found towards the west,
and, as a slight breeze still ruffled the waters, it was
advisable to continue sailing that way.

Tt was now necessary to satisfy the cravings of hunger,
which, after 4 ten hours’ fast, were very keen.
224 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

“We will make a good breakfast,” said Craig and Fry.

Kin-Fo gladly assented. Soon smacked his lips with
delight, and for a time quite forgot his fear of being
devoured.

The waterproof bag was again in requisition. Fry pro-
duced some bread and some excellent preserved meat, and
the meal, though not as elaborate in its men as an or-
dinary Chinese repast, was nevertheless most heartily
enjoyed. .

The bag contained provisions enough for one more day,
by which time Craig and Fry said they might all hope to
be on shore. Kin-Fo asked them what ground they had
for such a hope? They replied that their good luck
seemed to be returning to them; they were free of the
dangerous junk, and never since they had had the honour
of attending Kin-Fo had they been in so secure a position
as now. ‘

« All the Tai-pings in the world, sir, could not reach you
here,” said Craig.

“And considering that you are equivalent to two
hundred thousand dollars, you float excellently well,” said
Fry.

Kin-Fo smiled.

“It is all owing to you, gentlemen,” he said, “that I am
afloat at all, Had it not been for you, I should have had
the fate of poor Captain Yin.”
A TIGER-SHARK. 225

 

“And so should I,” echoed Soon, gulping down a huge
mouthful of bread.

“You will not be the losers for your attention,” Kin-
Fo continued; “I shall never forget how much I owe
you.”

“¥ou owe us nothing,” said Craig ; “we are the servants
of the Centenarian.”

“ And our great hope is,” said ea “that the Centenarian
will never owe anything to you.”

Whatever might be their motive, Kin-Fo could not be
otherwise than touched by their zealous devotion.

“We will talk about this again,” said he, “ when Lao-
Shen has restored that unfortunate letter.”

Craig and Fry smiled significantly, but made no reply.

Presently, in fun, Kin-Fo asked Soon to bring him some
tea.

“ All right,” said Fry, before Soon had time to reply to
his master’s joke.

Again opening his bag, he produced a little appliance
which may well be reckoned an-indispensable accompani-
ment to the Boyton apparatus, and which serves the double
purpose of a lamp and a stove. It consisted simply of a
tube five or six inches. in length, furnished with a tap top
and bottom, the whole being inserted into a sheet of cork,
like the floating thermometers used in public baths.

After placing it upon the surface of the water, Fry turned

Q
226 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

on the taps, one with each hand, and in an instant a flame
started from the extremity of the funnel, sufficiently large
to ‘di ffuse a perceptible heat.
ue There's s your stove,” said Fry.

_Soon could not believe his eyes.
~ “Why, you made fire out of water!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, he. made it of water and phosphuret of calcium,”
said Craig. 1

The instrument, in fact, was constructed so as to utilize
a ‘singular property of” phosphuret of calcium, which in
contact with’ water produces phosphuretted hydrogen. The
gas “burns spontaneously, and cannot be extinguished by,
either wind or rain, It is “consequently employed now for
lighting all the improved life-buoys, which immediately
they touch the water, eject a long flame, by means of which.
any one who has fallen overboard by night is at once able
to see the méaiis thrown out for his rescue.!

Whilst the hydrogen was burning, Craig held over it a
little saucepan, containing some fresh water which he’ had
drawn’ from a little keg, also carried in the bag. As soon
as the water was boiling, he poured it into a teapot, in
which a few pinches of tea had already been placed. The
oe party then Bestaee of the decoction, and even Kin-

2 These life-binoys, which are now in use on all men-of-war, were

invented by M, Seyferth and M. Silas, recorder to the French embassy
at Vienna,
 

 

‘« There’s your stove,” said Fry. Page 226,
A TIGER-SHARK. 227

 

Fo and Soon, although it was not brewed in Chinese
fashion, had no fault to find with it, If formed, in fact, a
most acceptable addition to the breakfast. All that they
required. now was some knowledge of their whereabouts.
At no distant day a sextant and chronometer will unques-
tionably be added to the Boyton apparatus, and then ship-
wrecked mariners will no longer be at a loss to ascertain
their position upon the ocean.

Thus refreshed the little party once again set sail. For
hours the wind blew steadily, and they rarely had to use
their paddles as rudders. The gentle gliding movement in
a horizontal position hada tendency to make them sleepy ;
but under the circumstances sleep must riot be thought of,
and in order to resist it, Craig and Fry smoked cigars,
after the fashion of dandies in a swimming bath.

Several times the “scaphandres” were startled by the
gambols of some marine animals that put Soon into a great
state of alarm; these were nothing more, however, than
harmless porpoises, probably astonished at the strange
beings whom they now saw for the first time invading their
native element. In great herds, they darted along with the
speed of arrows, their huge slimy bodies glistening like
emeralds beneath the water; now and then leaping up
some five or six feet into the air, and turning a somersault
that displayed the remarkable suppleness of their muscles,
So great was their speed, far surpassing that of the fleetest

Q2
228 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

ships, that Kin-Fo, in spite of the jerks and plunges, would
fain have been taken in tow by one of them.

Towards noon the wind lulled into short puffs, and
finally dropped altogether. The little sails fell idly against
the masts; no longer was there any tension upon the
sheets, nor any furrow of foam left behind in the wake.

“This is bad,” said Craig.

“Very unfortunate,” assented Fry.

They all came to a standstill. The masts were taken
from the sockets, the sails struck, and each member of the
party, having placed himself in an upright position,
examined the horizon. :

It was still deserted. Not a sail nor a trail of smoke
was in sight. A scorching sun had absorbed all vapour
and rarefied the air. The water would not have been cold
for the travellers, even had they not been protected by
their double covering of gutta-percha.

Sanguine-as Craig and Fry might be as to the final issue
of events, they could scarcely fail to be somewhat uneasy
now. They had no means of judging how far they had
sailed in the course of the last sixteen hours, and the non-
appearance of any coast or passing vessel became more
and more inexplicable. Still, neithér they nor Kin-Fo
were the men to despair as long as hope remained, and as
they had provisions enough for another day, and the wea-
ther showed no symptoms of growing stormy, they deter-
A TIGER-SHARK. 229

 

mined to make good use of their paddles, and to push on.
The signal for starting was given, and now on their backs,
now on their faces, they persevered in their westerly
course.

Progress was far from rapid. To arms unaccustomed to
the work, the manipulation of the paddles was very
fatiguing. Poor Soon was full of complaints; and he
lagged so much behind the others that they frequently had
to wait until he caught them up. His master scolded,
abused, and threatened him, but all in vain ;' Soon knew
that his pigtail was safe in his gutta-percha cap; still, the
fear of being left behind suificed to prevent him from
falling very far into the rear.

Towards two o’clock some sea-gulls were observed, and
although these birds are often seen far out at sea, their
appearance could not but be taken as an indication that
land was most probably within an accessible distance.

An hour later they all got entangled in a bed of seaweed,
from which they had considerable trouble to extricate
themselves ; they floundered about like fish in a drag-net,
and were obliged to use knives to set themselves free. The
result was a delay of about half an hour, and an outlay of
strength which could ill be spared.

At four o’clock, greatly exhausted, they made another
halt. A fresh breeze had sprung up, but unfortunately it
was from the south, As they could not trim their sails,
230 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

they were afraid to use them at all, lest they should be
carried northwards.and lose the headway they had made
towards the west.

The halt was rather long, for, besides resting their weary
‘limbs, they were glad to recruit themselves again with their
provisions ; but the dinner was not so festive a meal as the
breakfast had been. Matters did not look quite so pro-
mising now ; night was coming on; the wind was increas-
ing from the south, and no one knew precisely what to do,

Kin-Fo leaned in gloomy silence upon his paddle, his
brows knit, but more with vexation than alarm. Soon
kept on grumbling and whining, and began to sneeze as
though he were attacked with influenza. Craig and Fry
felt that something was expected of them, but were puzzled
how to act.

By a happy chance, a solution came to their bewilder-
ment. About five o'clock, pointing suddenly towards the
south, they both exclaimed,—

“A sail!”

Sure enough, about.three. miles to windward, a vessel
was bearing down towards them, and, if she held her pre-
sent course, would probably pass within a short distance of
the spot where they were. Not a moment was to be lost in
making their way towards her. The opportunity for deli-
verance must not be allowedto slip. Instantly the paddles
were brought into use, and nearer and nearer drew the
. A TIGER-SHARK, 231

 

vessel in the freshening breeze. It was only a fishing-
smack, but it indicated that the land could not be very | far
distant, for the Chinese fishermen rarely’ venture far out ‘to
sea.

Encouraging the others to follow, Kin- Fo paddled ‘with
all his might, darting over the surface of ‘the water like a
skiff ; and Soon, in his eagerness not to be left behind,
worked away so hard that he fairly outstripped his ‘master,

Half a mile more, and they would be within earshot of
the boat, even if they had not already been observed. “The
fear was, that. the fishermen, when they | saw such strange
creatures in the water, might take. to flight. “Nevertheless

oh ip t

the attempt to reach them must be made,

The distance to be accomplished was growing incon-
siderable, when Soon, who was still in advance, pave a
startling cry of terror :—

“A shark ! a shark !”"

And it was no false alarm. About twenty paces, ahead
could be seen the fins of a tiger-shark, a voracious, creature
peculiar to these waters, and truly worthy of its name, ,

“Out with your knives!” shouted Craig and Fry.

The weapons, such as they were, were quickly produced.
Soon, meantime, deeming prudence the’ better® part of

valour, had beat a hasty retreat behind the rest. The
shark was rapidly bearing down upon them, and ‘for an
instant his huge body, all streaked and spotted with green,
232 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.,

 

rose above the waters. It was at least sixteen fect in
length, a truly hideous monster !

Turning half over on to its back, it was preparing to
make a snap at Kin-Fo, who, quite calm and collected,
planted his paddle on its back, and, with a vigourous
thrust, sent himself flying far out of the way. Craig
and Fry drew yelose up, ready either for attack or
defence.

‘The shark dived fora second, and returned to the charge,
its hugé mouth bristling with four rows of cruel teeth.
Kin-Fo attempted to repeat his former manceuvre, but this
time the paddle came in contact with the creature’s jaw,
and was snapped off short. Half lying on its side, the
shark was just rushing once more upon its prey, when the
water became blood-red. Craig and Fry, with the long
blades of their American knives, had succeeded in pene-
trating the tough skin of the brute. The hideous jaw
opened and closed again with a terrible snap. The shark
seemed in agonies, and began to lash the water with its
formidable tail, one stroke catching Fry on his side, and
dashing him ten feet away. Craig uttered a cry of
pain, as if he had received the blow himself. But Fry
was not hurt; his gutta-percha covering had protected
him from injury, and he returned to the attack with
redoubled vigour.

The shark turned and turned again. Kin-Fo had con.
A TIGER-SHARK. 233

 

trived to lodge the end of his broken paddle in the socket
of its eye, and, at the risk of being cut in two, managed to
hold it firmly there, while Craig and Fry endeavoured to
pierce the creature’s heart. Their attempt was evidently
successful, for almost directly the shark, with one last
struggle, sank beneath the bloody waters.

“Hurrah! hurrah!” shouted Craig and Fry, brandishing
their knives in triumph.

“Thanks! thanks!” was all Kin-Fo could say.

“No thanks to us,” said Craig; “two hundred thousand
dollars was too good a mouthful for that brute!”

Fry cordially assented.

And where, meantime, was Soon? The coward, making
off as fast as his paddle would carry him, had got within
three cables’ length of the fishing-boat ; but his precaution
was almost the means of his coming to grief.

The fishermen, perceiving what they supposed to be a
strange animal in the water, prepared to catch it as they
would a seal or a dolphin, and a long rope with a hook
attached was thrown overboard. The hook caught Soon
by the waist-belt, and slipping upwards, made a rent in his
gutta-percha jacket the whole length of his back. Sustained
now only by his inflated leggings, he rolled right over with
his head in the water, and his heels in the air.

Kin-Fo, Craig, and Fry had by this time reached the
spot, and were calling out to the fishermen in good Chinese, _
234 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

Great was the alarm of the men on finding themselves

.accosted by. what they supposed to be “talking seals.”
Their first impulse was to set sail and make off, but Kin-Fo
at last convinced them that he was a Chinaman like
themselves, and he and- the two Americans were taken on
board. .

Soon was then bvned the right way up, by means of a
boat-hook, and one of the fishermen caught hold of his
pigtail for the purpose of hauling him on to the boat. The
pigtail came off bodily in the man’s hand, and down went
Soon again into the water. The fishermen, by throwing
arope round his waist, succeeded, with considerable, diffi-
culty, in getting him into the boat.

Almost before he could get rid of the quantities of salt
water that he had swallowed, Kin-Fo walked up to him, and
said,— ‘

“Then that pet of yours was false, after ail »

“Ah, yes, sir,” replied Soon, “knowing your ways, I
should never have ventured to enter your service with a
real one.”

The tone in which he spoke was so irresistibly comical,
that Kin-Fo burst into a fit of laughter, in which the others
joined, ie .

The fishermen were from Foo-Ning, and were now only
about five miles from the very port to which Kin-Fo wanted
to go.
The pigtail came off bodily in the man’s hand. Page 234.

 
A TIGER-SHARK. 235

 

Towards eight o’clock that evening, they were safely
landed at Foo-Ning, and divesting themselves of their

Boyton apparatus, once more resumed theirordinary appear-
ance,

.Y
CHAPTER XXI.
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE.

“Now for the Tai-ping!” were Kin-Fo’s first words on the
following morning, after he and his fellow-adventurers had
passed a night of well-earned repose. They were now upon
Lao-Shen’s field of action ; it was the 30th of June; matters
were at acrisis. Would Kin-Focome out conqueror in the
strife? Would he have the chance of negotiating for the
restoration of his letter, before Wang’s ruthless agent
should deal the fatal stab into his bosom ?

The Americans interchanged significant glances, and re-
echoed his words, “ Now for the Tai-ping!”

The arrival of the party on the previous evening in their
singular costume had caused a great commotion in the little
port of Foo-Ning. The objects of public curiosity, they
had been followed by a crowd to the door of the inn, where
the money that Craig and Fry had taken the precaution to
put in their bag, procured them clothes adapted for the
present circumstances. Had they not been numerously
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE, 237

 

surrounded, they could hardly have failed to notice’ one
Celestial in particular, who never left their track. Their
surprise would have been considerable had they known
that he was at watch all night at the inn-door, and
that in the morning he was still to’be found on the same
spot.

Consequently there were no suspicions in their mind,
when the man accosted them as they left the inn, and —
offered his services as a guide. He was about thirty years
of age, with nothing in his appearance to indicate that he
was otherwise than honest. Craig and Fry, however,
cautious to the last, inquired whither he wished to guide
them. :

“To the Great Wall, of course,” said he. “All visitors
to Foo-Ning go to see the Great Wall, and as I know the
country well, I thought you might accept my services to show
you the way.”

Kin-Fo interposed to inquire whether the country was
safe for travelling. The guide assured him that it was
perfectly secure.

“Do you know anything of a certain Lao-Shen here-
abouts?” inquired Kin-Fo. - ‘

“O yes, Lao-Shen the Taiping,” replied the guide, “but
there is nothing to fear from him this side of the Wall; he
will not venture to set foot on Imperial territory ; he and
his crew are only seen in the Mongolian Provinces,”

yy
238° THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

_ “Where was he seen last ?” asked Kin-Fo.

“In the neighbourhood of the Tchin-Tang-Ho, oniy a
few lis from the Wall.”

“And how far is it from Foo-Ning to the Tchin-Tang-
Ho?”

“ About fifty lis.’”?

“Very well; I engage you to conduct me to Lao-Shen’s
camp.”

The man started.

“You shall be well paid,” Kin-Fo added.

But the guide shook his head ; he evidently did not care
to pass the frontier.

“To the Great Wall,” he said, ‘no farther. It would be
at the risk of my life to go beyond.”

Kin-Fo offered to pay him any sum that he pleased to
demand, till at last he wrung from the man a reluctant
consent to undertake the business. .

Turning to the Americans, Kin-Fo told them that of
course they were free to go or not, as they liked,

“Wherever you go,” said Craig.

“We go also,” said Fry.

The client of the Centenarian had not yet absolutely
ceased to be of the value of 200,000 dollars.

The agents appeared to be perfectly well satisfied as to
the trustworthiness of their guide, and to have no appre-

§ About twenty-five miles,
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE. 239

 

hension of the danger which was likely to threaten beyond
the great barrier that the Chinese have erected to defend
themselves from the incursions of the Mongolian hordes.
Soon was not consulted as to whether he wished to accom-
pany the party or not; go he must.

Preparations were made for starting. Neither horses,
mules, nor carriages were to be procured in the little town,
but there were a considerable number of camels, used by
Mongolian merchants, These adventurous traders travel:
in caravans between Peking and Kiachta with their huge
flocks of long-tailed sheep, and thus keep up a communi-
cation between Asiatic Russia and the Celestial Empire,
never venturing, however, across the wide steppes, except
in large and well-armed troops. They are.described by:
M. de Beauvoir as “a fietce, proud people, who hold the
Chinese in much contempt.”

Five camels accordingly were purchased, together with
the small quantity of harness necessary for their equipment.
A stock of provisions and a supply of weapons were also
procured, and the party started under the direction of their
guide,

’ The preparations had consumed so much time, that it
was one o’clock in the afternoon before they were fairly on
their road. The guide, however, made sure of reaching
the Great Wall by midnight, where they would make a
temporary camp, and if Kin-Fo still persisted in his

fae
240 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

determination, they would cross the frontier on the
morrow.

The country about Foo-Ning was undulated, and the
road, upon which the yellow dust rose in clouds, wound
through richly-cultivated fields, a sign that the travellers
had not yet quitted the productive territory of the Chinese
Empire.

The camels marched with a slow, measured tread, each
carrying its rider comfortably ensconced between its two
great humps. Soon greatly approved of this mode of
travelling, and thought that in this way he should not object
to journey even to the world’s end. The heat, however,
was very great, the hot air being refracted from the soil
and producing strange mirages, like vast seas, which
vanished almost as suddenly as they appeared, much to the
satisfaction of Soon, to whom the prospect of another
sea voyage opened visions of unmitigated horror.

Though the province was situated at the extreme limit
of the empire, it was by no means deserted, the overflowing
population extending even to the boundaries of the Asiatic
desert. Numbers of men were working in the fields, and
Tartar women, distinguished by their red and blue gar-
ments, were engaged in various agricultural pursuits.
Flocks of yellow sheep, with long tails that might have
filled poor Soon with envy, were grazing here and there.
Black eagles hovered around, and woe to the unlucky
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE. 241

 

ruminant that should stray and fall into their clutches! for
these formidable birds of prey wage terrible war against all
sheep, moufflons, and young antelopes, and are even used
instead of hounds by the Kirghis of Central Asia.

Game started up from every quarter, and a gun need
hardly have had a moment’s rest; though a true sportsman
would scarcely have looked with a favourable eye at the
nets, snares, and other contrivances worthy only of a
poacher, with which the furrows between the wheat, millet,
and maize were strewn. ‘

On and on went Kin-Fo and his companions, through
the clouds of dust, stopping neither at shady spots, nor at
the isolated farms, nor at the villages which ever and anon
could be distinguished in the distance by their memorial
towers, erected to the memory of some hero of Buddhist
legend. The camels marched according to their wont, in
single file, their steps falling in regular cadence to the
sound of a little red bell attached to their neck.

No conversation was possible under the circumstances,
The guide, who seemed to be of a taciturn nature, always
took the foremost place, and although the dense masses of
dust materially narrowed his range of vision, he never
hesitated which way to follow, even at cross roads, where
there was no sign-post. Craig and Fry, quite satisfied as
to his honesty, were free to direct all their attention to
Kin-Fo, ‘ Naturally, as the time grew shorter, their anxiety
242 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

increased ; now or never was the time to bring them face
to face with the foe they dreaded.

Kin-Fo meanwhile was forgetting all the anxieties of
the present and future in making a retrospect of the past.
The unintermitted evil fortune of the last two months
made him feel seriously depressed. From the day that his
correspondent at San Francisco sent him the news of the
loss of all his fortune, had he not passed through a period
of ill-luck that was truly extraordinary ? What a contrast
between his existence of late, and the time when he
possessed advantages which he had not the sense to appre-
ciate! Would misfortune terminate with his regaining
possession of theletter? Should he at last have the tender
care of the sweet La-oo to compensate him for histroubles,
and make him forget the difficulties by which he had been
beset? His thoughts bewildered him, and Wang, the
philosopher and friend of his youth, was no longer present
to comfort and advise him.

His reverie was suddenly interrupted by his camel com-
ing so sharply in contact with that of the guide, that he was
nearly thrown to the ground.

“What are you stopping for?” he asked.

“It is eight o'clock, sir,” said the conductor, “and I pro-
pose that we halt and have our supper; we can continue
our journey afterwards.”

“ But it will be dark, will it not?” objected. Kin-Fo.

»
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE. 243

 

“There is no fear that I shall. lose my way ; the Great
Wall is not more than twenty lis ahead, and we had better
give our animals somé rest.” a

Kin-Fo assented to the proposal, and the whole party
came to a halt. There was a small deserted hut by the
side of the road, and a little stream where the. camels
might be watered. It was not dark, and Kin- Fo and his
companions could see to spread ‘their meal, which they
afterwards ate with an excellent appetite.

Conversation did not flow rapidly. Two or three times
Kin-Fo tried to get some information about Lao-Shen, but
the guide generally shook his head, evidently desiring to
avoid the subject. He merely repeated that Lao-Shen
himself never came on this side of the Great Wall, although
he added that some of his band occasionally made their
appearance, , Se

“Buddha Ateteck us Hoi the Tai- -ping,” he concluded.

Whilst the guide was speaking, Craig and Fry were
knitting their brows, looking at their watches, and, holding
a whispered consultation. .

“Why should we not wait here quietly until ton morrow
morning ?” they asked presently aloud, 3

“Tn this hut!” exclaimed the guide. “ Far better to be
in the open country ; we shall run much less risk of being
surprised.” a

“Tt was arranged that we were to be at the.Great Wall
R 2
244 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

to-night,” said Kin-Fo, “and at the Great Wall I mean to
be.”

His tone was such as to brook no contradiction, and the
Americans could not do otherwise than submit. Soon,

though half paralyzed with fear, dared not protest.

It was now nearly nine o'clock; the meal was over, and
the guide gave the signal to start. Kin-Fo prepared to
mount his camel ; Craig and Fry followed him.

“Are you quite determined, sir, to put yourself into
Lao-Shen’s hands?”

“Quite determined,” said Kin-Fo; “I will have my
letter at any price.”

“You are running a great risk,” they pleaded, “ in going
to the Tai-ping’s camp.”

“T have come too far to retreat now,” said Kin-Fo, with

. decision ; “as I told you before, you may do as you please

about following me.” \

The guide meantime had lighted a small pocket lantern,
The Americans drew near, and again looked at their
watches,

“It would be much more prudent to wait till to-morrow,”
they again persisted.

“Nonsense!” said Kin-Fo. “ Lao-Shen will be just as
dangerous to-morrow or the day after as he is to-day. My
decision is unalterable. Let us be off at once.”

The guide had overheard the latter part of the conversa~
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE. 245

 

tion. Once or twice previously, when Craig and Fry had
been trying to dissuade Kin-Fo from proceeding, an ex-
pression of dissatisfaction had passed over his countenance,
and now, when he found them persisting in their remon-
strance, he could not restrain a gesture of annoyance.

The motion did not escape Kin-Fo, and he was still
further surprised when the guide, as he was assisting him
to mount his camel, whispered in his ear,—

“ Beware of those two men.”

Kin-Fo was on the point of asking him to explain him-
self, but the man put his finger on his lips, gave the signal
for starting, and the little caravan set off on its night
journey across the country.

The guide’s mysterious speech had aroused an uneasy
suspicion in Kin-Fo’s mind ; and yet he could not believe
that, after two months’ devoted attention, his two pro-
tectors were. about to play him false. Yet why had they
tried to dissuade him from paying his visit to the Tai-ping’s
camp ? Was it not for that very purpose that they had
left Peking? Was it not to their interest that Kin-Fo
should regain possession of the letter that compromised his
life? Truly their conduct was inexplicable.

Kin-Fo kept to himself all the perplexity which was
agitating his mind. He had taken up his position behind
the guide ; Craig and Fry followed him closely, and fora
couple of hours the journey was continued in silence,
246 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

It was ales upon midnight when the’ guide stopped
and pointed to a long black line in the north that stood
out clearly against the lighter background of ‘the sky.
Behind the lineseveral hill- -tops had already caughtthe moon-
light, although. the moon herself was still below the horizon.

“ The Great Wall!” he said.

“ Shall we get. beyond it to-night 2” inquired Kin-Fo,

“ Certainly, if you wish it.”

“ By all means, yes!”

“I must first go and examine the passage,” said the
guide, « Wait here till I come back.”

The emels were brought to a standstill, and the guide
disappeared. Craig and Fry stepped up to Kin- Fo.

“ Have you been satisfied with our services, Sir, since we
have been commissioned to attend you?” ‘they inquired
ina breath,

" “ Quite satisfied.”

“Then will you. ie kind enough to sign this paper asa
testimonial to our good conduct during the time you have
been under our charge?” ,

Kin-Fo looked with some surprise at the leaf torn from
a note-book that Craig was holding out to him.

“Tt is a certificate which we hope to have the pleasure
of exhibiting to our principal,” added Fry. ,

“ Here is my back to serve you as a desk,” said Craig,
suiting the action to the word, and stooping down.
RESIGNATION OF OFFICE. , 247

 

“And here is a pen and ink with which to sign your
name,” added Fry.

Kin-Fo smiled, and did as he was requested.

“But what is the meaning of all this ceremony at this
time of night?” he asked.

“Because in a very few minutes your interest in the
Centenarian Assurance Office will have expired,” said
Craig.

“And you may kill yourself, or allow yourself to be
killed, just which you please,” said Fry.

Kin-Fo stared with astonishment; the Americans were
talking in the blandest of tones; but he did not at all
comprehend their meaning. Presently the moon began
to rise above the eastern horizon.

“There’s the moon!” exclaimed Fry.

“ To-day, the 30th of June, she rises at midnight,” said
Craig.

“Your policy has not been renewed,” said Fry.

“Therefore you are no longer the client of the Cen-
tenarian,” added Craig.

“ Good-night, sir,” said Fry politely.

“ Good-night,” echoed Craig, with equal courtesy.

And the two agents, turning their camels’ heads in the
opposite direction, disappeared from view, leaving Kin-Fo
in speechless amazement.

The sound of their camels’ hoofs had scarcely died away,
248 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

when a troop of men, led on by the guide, seized upon
Kin-Fo, helpless to defend himself, and captured Soon,
who was rushing away in the hope of making his escape.
An instant afterwards, both master and: man were
dragged into the low chamber of one of the deserted
bastions of the Great Wall, the door of which was at once
fastened behind them. |
CHAPTER XXII.
BACK TO SHANG-HAI.

THE Great Wall of China, constructed by the Emperor
Tin-Chi-Hooang-Ti in the third century, is nearly 1400
- miles long, and extends from its two jetties in the Gulf of
Leao-Tong to the province of Kan-Soo, where it degene-
rates into very insignificant dimensions. It is an uninter-
rupted succession of double ramparts, defended by bastions
fifty feet high and twenty wide; the lower part is of granite,
the upper of bricks, and it boldly follows the outline of the
mountain tops on the Russo-Chinese frontier. On the
Chinese side the wall is now in a very bad condition, but
on the side facing Manchuria it is still well preserved, and
its battlements maintained in formidable array.

Neither army nor artillery defends this line of fortifi-
cation; Russian, Tartar, Kirghis, as much as the China-
man, is free to pass its barrier; and the wall, moreover,
fails to protect the Empire from the visitation of the fine
Mongolian dust which the north wind brings down some.

times as far as the capital.
250 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

4

After passing a miserable night on a heap of straw,
Kin-Fo and Soon were next morning forced to take their
way beneath the postern of these deserted bastions. They
were escorted by a band of twelve men, who no doubt
* were in Lao-Shen’s service. The guide who had hitherto
conducted them had disappeared ; it became more and
more plain that it had been design and not chance that
had thrown him in their way; the rascal’s hesitation about
venturing beyond the Great Wall was a mere vwse to avert
suspicion ; and he too beyond a question had been acting
under the orders of the Tai-Ping.

“Of course you are taking me to Lao-Shen’s camp?”
Kin-Fo said to the leader of the escort.

“ We shall be there in little more than an hour,” answered
the man.

It was a confirmation to Kin-Fo’s conjecture, of which
he did not stand in much need; yet it satisfied him.
After all, was he not being conducted to the very place
for which he had set out? and was he not in the way to
get the chance of recovering the paper that kept his life
in jeopardy? He maintained his composure perfectly,
leaving all. outward exhibition of alarm to poor Soon,
whose teeth were chattering with the most abject fear.

Beyond the wall, the troop did not continue its journey
along the great Mongol road, but diverged at once into a
steep pathway to the right through the mountainous
 

BACK TO SHANG-HAI. 251

 

district of the province, the guard so carefully surrounding
their prisoners that any attempt to escape, even had they
been inclined to venture it, would have been out of the
question.

Their advance was as rapid as the steepness of the road
would allow, and in about an hour and a half, on’ turning
the corner of a projecting eminence, they came in sight of
a building in a half-ruined condition ; it was an old bonze-
house built | “upon the” brow of a hill, and a ‘curious monu-
ment of Buddhist architecture. It did not seem at all
likely that any worshippers would now be found to frequent
a temple in such a deserted part of the frontier; but it
was a Situation not badly suited for a highwayman, and if
Lao-Shen had settled there, he had made a judicious
selection for himself,

In reply toa question of Kin-Fo, the leader of the escort
told him that it was Lao-Shen’s residence.

“Take me to him at once,” said Kin-Fo.

“We have brought you on purpose,’ "answered the man.

Having been deprived of their fire-arms, Kin-Fo and
Soon were brought into a wide vestibule that had formed
the atrium of the ancient temple. Here were about twenty
fierce-looking men, all atmed‘and attired in the picturesque
costume of highwaymen. With the utmost calmness, Kin-
Fo passed through the double row they formed on his en-
trance ; ; Soon having to be pushed forcibly by his shoulders,
252 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

‘The farther end of the vestibule opened on to a staircase
cut in the solid wall, and leading into the heart of the
mountain to a crypt beneath the temple by windings so
complicated that no one unaccustomed to the place could
have found his way.

Lighted by torches carried by the escort, the prisoners
were conducted down thirty steps, then for about a
hundred yards along a narrow passage, until they found
themselves in a large hall, which the additional glare of
more torches still left very dim. Massive pillars carved
with grotesque heads of the monsters of Chinese mythology
supported the low arches of the roof, which sprang from
their keystones with spreading mouldings.

A low murmur that ran through the hall made Kin-Fo
aware that it was not deserted; so far from that, its
recesses were filled with men, as if the entire confra-

ternity of Tai-pings had been summoned to some special
ceremony.

At the extreme end of the crypt, on a wide stone
platform, stood a man of enormous stature; he bore all
the appearance of a president of some secret tribunal ;
three or four attendants stood close beside him, as if acting
the part of his assessors, and at a sign from him they gave
orders that the prisoners were to approach.

“Here is Lao-shen,” said the leader, pointing to the
gigantic figure on the platform.
BACK TO SHANG-HAI. 253

 

Stepping forward with firm step, Kin-Fo in the most
direct manner entered upon the business that was upper-
most in his mind.

“I am Kin-Fo,” he began. “Wang has been your old
comrade and confederate. I gave Wang a certain paper
with a certain contract. Wang has transferred that paper
to you. I come to tell you that that contract is not valid
now, and I demand the paper at your hands.”

The Tai-ping did not stir a muscle; had he been of
bronze he could not have been more rigid.

“You can demand your own price,” continued Kin-Fo,
and then waited for an answer,

But no answer came. ;

Kin-Fo went on,—

“T am ready to give you a draft on any bank you
choose. I am prepared to guarantee its payment to any
messenger you send. Name the sum for which you
surrender the contract.”

Still no answer.

Kin-Fo repeated his request more emphatically than
before.

No answer.

“Five thousand taels, shall I offer?”

Still silence.

“Ten thousand ?”

Lao-Shen and all around him were as mute as the statues.
254 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

Kin-Fo grew anxious and impatient.

“Do you not hear me?” .

Lao-Shen bowed his head gravely. an

“T will give you thirty thousand taels. I will give you
all you would get from the Centenarian. I must have the
paper. Name, only name the price.”

The Tai-Ping stood mute as before.

Wild with excitement Kin-Fo clenched his hands and:
_ dashed forwards to the platform. :

“What price will you take?”

“Money will not buy that paper,” at last said the Tai-
ping sternly ; “you have offended Buddha by despising
the life that Buddha gave you; and Buddha will be
avenged, Death alone can convince you of the worth of
the gift of life which you have esteemed so lightly.”

The voice with which this sentence of decision was
uttered prohibited any reply ; and even had. Kin-Fo been
anxious to.say a word in his own defence, the opportunity
was not afforded him. A signal was given, and’ he was
forthwith seized, carried out, and thrust into a cage, the
door of which was immediately locked. In spite of the
most pitiable howlings, Soon was subjected to the same
treatment. 3 i

“ Ah, well!” aula 2 Kin-Fo to himself, when, he was left
to his solitude, “I suppose those te despise life deserve
to. die!” a Pie oF :
BACK TO SHANG-HAI. 255

 

Yet death was not so near as he imagined. Hours
passed on and execution was delayed; he began to
speculate what terrible torture the Taiping might have
in store for him. After a while he was conscious that
his cage was being moved, and he felt that it was being
placed upon some vehicle. Evidently he was to be con-
veyed to a distance. For nearly eight hours, there was
the tramp of horses, and the clatter of weapons carried by
an escort, and he was tumbled and jolted about most
unmercifully. Then came a halt. Shortly afterwards the
cage was removed to another conveyance; it was not long
before it began rolling and pitching; there was the noise,

too, of a screw, and the ill-fated tenant was aware that he
was onboard a steamer.

“Are they going to throw me overboard?” he wondered ;

“well, it will be a mercy if they spare me any worse
torture!” :

Forty-eight hours elapsed. “Twice a day a little food
was introduced into the cage by a trap-door, but he never
could see the hand that brought it, and never could get a
reply to the questions that he asked. .

He had plenty of time to think now. He had been
years and years and felt no emotion ; surely he was not
destined to die without emotion ; he had had enough and
more than enough during the last few weeks ; he must die
now, but he had the intensest longing to die in the light
256 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN,

 

of day; he shuddered at the prospect of being cast
unawares into the deep sea; oh, that he could live, if it
were only to see once more his beloved La-oo! To see
her no more; the thought was terrible!

The voyage came to an end; he was yet alive ; but
surely his last moments must have come; here was the
crisis ; every minute was a year,—a hundred years!”

To his unbounded surprise, he felt his cage cartied
along and deposited upon ¢erra firma, he heard a com-
motion outside, and in a few minutes the door was opened ;
he was seized, and a bandage fastened tightly over his
eyes, and he was pushed violently along. F inding after a
time that the steps of the men who were driving him
along began to hesitate, he concluded that they had arrived
at the scene of his execution, and shouted out,—

“Hear my last petition. I have but one request; un-
bandage my eyes; let me see the daylight; let me die as
a man that can face death !”

“Grant the criminal the boon he asks,” said a solemn
voice, severely, in his ears; “let the bandage be untied.”

The bandage was removed.

Kin-Fo quivered with amazement. Was he dreaming?
What was the meaning of all this ?

Before him was a table sumptuously spread. Five
guests were smiling, as if they were expecting his arrival.
Two seats were still unoccupied.
BACK ‘TO SHANG-HAL. 257

 

“Friends, friends!” he cried in the bewilderment of his
excitement ; “tell me, am I mad ?”

A few moments restored him to composure, and he ipoed
around; there was no mistake; before his eyes were Wang
and the four friends of his early youth, Yin-Pang, Hooal,
Pao-Shen, and Tim, with whom just two months previously
he had feasted in the cabin of the yacht on the Pearl River
at Canton. Here he was in the dining-room of his own
yamen at Shang- Hai.

“ Speak, Wang, and tell me,” he cried, “ what means all
this? Is it you or your ghost?”

“It is Wang himself,” replied the philosopher, smiling.

Kin-Fo looked puzzled. Wang then went on,—

“You have come home again after a rough lesson. You
owe that lesson to me. It has been my doing that you.
have had so much to bear. But it has been for your good,
and you must forgive me.” ie

More perplexed than ever, Kin-Fo looked at him, a
said nothing.

“All,” proceeded Wang, “is soon explained. I under-
took, at your solicitation, the task of putting you to death,
just in order that the commission should: not be given to
other hands, I knew sooner than even you did, that the
report about your ruin and the loss of your property was
all false; and I knew, in consequence, that though you
then wanted to die, you would very soon want to live. ‘I

Ss
258 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

have made my former comrade, Lao-Shen, my confidant.
Lao-Shen is now one of the most faithful of the friends
of the government; he has long since submitted to estab-
lished rule ; but in this affair he has co-operated with me ;
and your own experience of the last few days tells you
how; he has brought you face to face with death, and
thus has taught you the lesson I determined you should
learn of the value of life. My heart bled for you at the
trouble and the suffering you had to endure; it was a
hard and bitter thing to me to abandon you to what you
would have to undergo; but I knew there was no other,
no easier way in which you could be made successful in
the pursuit of happiness.”

Wang could say no more. Kin-Fo had caught him in
his arms, and was pressing him to his heart.

“Poor Wang!” he said, “what pain you have suffered’
on my account! And besides, what risks. you have
run! I shall never forget that day at the Bridge of
Palikao.”

The philosopher laughed, almost merrily.

“Ves; it was a cold bath for any one; but for a man
of fifty-five, in a burning sweat after a long chase, it was
rather a trial both for his years and for his philosophy.
But never mind, no harm came of it. A man never
moves so quickly as when he is doing good for others.”

“For others,” repeated Kin-Fo; “yes, I do not doubt
BACK TO SHANG-HAT. ; 259

 

it; the true secret of happiness is to be working for the
good of others.” |

The conversation, which was becoming grave, was in-
terrupted by the introduction of Soon. The poor fellow
_ was lodking as miserable as might be’ expected after a
; sea-voyage of nearly two days; it would be difficult to
describe exactly the hue of his complexion, but he ex-
pressed himself unboundedly glad to find himself in his
master’s home again.

After releasing Wang from his embrace, Kin-Fo went
round and affectionately shook hands with each one of the
guests,

“What a fool I have been all my life!” he said.

“But you are going to be a perfect sage henceforth,”
replied Wang.

“My first act of wisdom, then,” Kin-Fo began, “ must
be to set my affairs in order. I shall not be content until
I have that little document again in my possession which
has been the cause of all my tribulations. If Lao-Shen is
in possession of it, he must give it up, in case it should fall
into unscrupulous hands.”

There was a general smile.

“Our friend’s adventures,” said. Wang, “have most un-
doubtedly wrought a change in his character; he is no
longer the indifferent mortal he was.”

“But you do not tell me,” persisted Kin-Fo, “ where

$2
260 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

 

that written contract is; nothing can satisfy me till
I have seen it burnt, and its ashes scattered to the
winds.” — ~

“You seem in earnest,” said Wang.

“Most seriously,” replied Kin-Fo; “but where is the
paper? Has Lao-Shen given it back ?”

“Lao-Shen never had it.”

“Then you have it yourself; you will not tefuse to
restore it to me? I suppose you do not want to retain it
asa guarantee against a repetition of ty folly.”

“Certainly not,” said Wang; “but it is not in my
possession ; still more, it is not at my disposal.”

“What!” cried Kin-Fo; “ you do not mean that you
have been imprudent enough to entrust it to other
hands?”

“I confess I have parted with it,” Wang replied.

“How? why? when? to whom ?” exclaimed Kin-Fo
in his impatience.

“T gave it up—” continued Wang calmly.

“To whom? tell me,” interrupted Kin-Fo.

“You do not give. me time to tell you; I gave it up
to one who is willing to restore it to you?”

‘And almost before he had finished speaking, La-oo
stood in front of him, holding the paper in her delicate
fingers. Concealed behind a curtain, she had heard all
that passed, and delayed no longer to come fotward.
BACK TO SHANG-HAI. 261

 

“ La-oo !” cried Kin-Fo, and was hastening to clasp her
to his bosom,

But she drew back, as if she were going to rétreat as
mysteriously as she had appeared.

“ Patience, patience!”

she said, “business before pleasure ;
does my brother know and acknowledge his own hand-
writing ?” '

“Too well,” he answered ; “there is not ‘the second fool
in the world who ever would have written it.”

“Is that your real opinion ?” she asked.

“ My real opinion,” said Kin-Fo.

“Then you may burn the paper,” said La-oo; “and
therewith annihilate the man who wrote it.”

With the most beaming of smiles she handed him the
paper which so long had been the torture of his life; he
held it to a candle, not removing his eyes from it until it
was consumed,

Then turning to his promised bride, he pressed her
lovingly to his bosom.

“ And now,” he said, “ you will come and preside at our
re-union here. I feel as if I can do justice to the feast,”

“ And so do we,” rejoined the guests.

A few days later and the term of the court-mourning
had expired. With even greater lavishness than before
the ceremony was arranged, and the marriage took place
immediately.
262 THE TRIBULATIONS OF A CHINAMAN.

Anos

 

The affection of the loving couple was unalterable ;
prosperity awaited them throughout their future life ; and
only by a visit to the yamen in Shang-Hai could the
measure of their mutual happiness be realized.

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A2
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List of Publications. 5

 

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See also BATLEY.

 

 

 
8 Sampson Low, Marston, & Co.'s

 

De Leon (£.) Egypt under its Khedives. With Map and
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““The book is admirable in every way. . .. . We wish it every success.”—Globe.
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Classified Catalogue. Second Edition, revised and corrected, 8vo,
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Emerson Birthday Book, Extracts from the Writings of R. W.

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English Philosophers. Edited by E. B. Ivan MULter, M.A.

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Francis Bacon, by Thomas Fowler. | *John Stuart Mill, by Miss Helen

Hamilton, by W. H. S. Monck. Taylor.
Hartley and James Mill, by G.S.| Shaftesbury and Hutcheson, by
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Adam Smith, by J. A. Farrer,
* Not yet published,
List of Publications. 9

 

Episodes in the Life of an Indian Chaplain. Crown 8vo,

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Episodes of French History. Edited, with Notes, Maps, and
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», LI. Francis I. and the Renaissance.
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10 Sampson Low, Marston, & Co.'s

 

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List of Publications. Ir-

 

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Guyon (Mde.) Life. By UpHam. 6th Edition, crown 8vo, 6s.

 

 

 

 

 

Hf4 LL (W. W.) How to Live Long; or, 1408 Health Maxims,
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Harper's Christmas No., 1882. Elephant folio, 2s. 6d.
List of Publications. 13

 

Harper's Monthly Magazine. Published Monthly. 160 pages,
fully Illustrated. 1».
Vol. I. December, 1880, to May, 1881,
3» II. June to November, 1881.
», III, December, 1881, to May, 1882
3, IV. June to November, 1882.
3, V. December, 1882, to May, 1883.
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Hatton (Joseph) Journalistic London: with Engravings and
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—— Three Recruits, and the Girls they left behind them.
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Heath (Francis George). Autumnal Leaves. New Edition,
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Fern Paradise. New Edition, with Plates and Photos,
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14 Sampson Low, Marston, & Co.'s

 

Heldmann (Bernard) Mutiny on Board the Ship “‘ Leander.”
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Liymnal Companion of Common Prayer. See BICKERSTETH.

 

 

 

 
List of Publications. 15

 

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.
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List of Publications. 17

 

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CP OND MKPWH A

cal
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Low's Standard Novels—continued.

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List of Publications. 19

 

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List of Publications. 21

 

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24 Sampson Low, Murston, & Co.'s

 

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—— Little Loo. 6s.
— My Watch Below; or, Yarns Spun when off Duty,

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