ckly as possible and see what has happened. I will come on
later."

The young man set out on foot for Mrs. Li's house. When he got there he
found the gate firmly bolted, locked and sealed. Astounded, he
questioned the neighbors, who told him that the house had only been let
to Mrs. Li and that, the lease having expired, the landlord had now
resumed possession. The old lady, they said, had gone to live elsewhere.
They did not know her new address.

At first he thought of hurrying back to Hsuuan-yang and questioning the
aunt; but he found it was too late for him to get there. So he pawned
some of his clothes, and, with the proceeds, bought himself supper and
hired a bed. But he was too angry and distressed to sleep, and did not
once close his eyes from dusk till dawn. Early in the morning he dragged
himself away and went to the "aunt's house." He knocked on the door
repeatedly, but it was breakfast-time and no one answered. At last, when
he had shouted several times at the top of his voice, a footman walked
majestically to the door. The young man nervously mentioned the aunt's
name and asked whether she was at home. The footman replied: "No one of
that name here." "But she lived here yesterday evening," the young man
protested; "why are you trying to deceive me? If she does not live here,
who _does_ the house belong to?" The footman answered: "This is the
residence of His Excellency Mr. Ts`ui. I believe that yesterday some
persons hired a corner of the grounds. I understand that they wished to
entertain a cousin who was coming from a distance. But they were gone
before nightfall."

The young man, perplexed and puzzled to the point of madness, was
absolutely at a loss what to do next. The best he could think of was to
go to the quarters in Pu-cheng1, where he had installed himself when
he first arrived at Ch`ang-an. The landlord was sympathetic and offered
to feed him. But the young man was too much upset to eat, and having
fasted for three days fell seriously ill. He rapidly grew worse, and the
landlord, fearing he would not recover, had him moved straight to the
undertaker's shop. In a short time the whole of the undertaker's staff
was collected round him, offering sympathy and bringing him food.
Gradually he got better and was able to walk with a stick.

The undertaker now hired him by the day to hold up the curtains of fine
cloth, by which he earned just enough to support himself. In a few
months he grew quite stro