er he had placed himself at his post, he
saw a naked man approach the trees near where he stood. He
called to him to stand still or he would kill him. The fellow,
frightened at this summons, made off with all speed; and the
master of the house, seeing him about to escape, threw his pike
at him, which killed him on the spot. He was much alarmed at
the accident; but recollecting himself, he promised his
servants a handsome present to keep the affair secret; and with
their assistance, threw the dead body over the wall, into his
neighbour's garden. This, too, was managed in so careful
manner, as to render it impossible to discover whence the body
came. His neighbour, who was a very rich tea-merchant, felt no
less alarmed than astonished, on the following morning, when
his servants informed him that a dead man had been found in the
garden, who to all appearance had been murdered. The story soon
reached the mandarin of the district, who proceeded, in all due
form, to execute the duties of his office, and examine the
body; not a little delighted to have to deal with such a man as
the rich tea-merchant. A corpse found in this way cannot be
touched or removed until the police-mandarin of the district
comes and inquires into the manner of the person's death; and
if there is any thing suspicious, he will not suffer the dead
man to be taken away, before he has had some satisfactory
proofs of the cause of his death. As none such could be
elicited from the merchant, who, conscious of his innocence,
thought the mandarin could do him no harm, the latter
commenced a regular process, and made him daily visits, besides
sending for him frequently, and thus perplexed him exceedingly.
All this time the dead man was left in the garden, which being
near the house, and the body beginning to putrefy, such an
odour was caused as became almost insupportable. At length, the
merchant, overpowered by the bad smell, and alarmed by the
measures the mandarin was preparing to prove him culpable, was
happy to compromise the affair, and have the dead body removed,
on paying the sum of four thousand five hundred Spanish
dollars!"

Nor was this the end of the adventure, which reminds one of the story of
the Little Hunch-back, in the Arabian Nights Entertainments:--

"A few years