n he too fell into the snare of her engaging
personality, and putting aside all thoughts of prudent restraint, made
her more remunerative offers of marriage than Tung Fel could by any
possible chance overbid. In such a manner--for after the nature of
her kind riches were exceptionally attractive to her degraded
imagination--she became this person's wife, and the mother of his only
son. In spite of these great honours, however, the undoubted perversity
of her nature made her an easy accomplice to the duplicity of Tung
Fel, who, by means of various disguises, found frequent opportunity of
uttering in her presence numerous well-thought-out suggestions specially
designed to lead her imagination towards an existence in which this
person had no adequate representation. Becoming at length terrified at
the possibility of these unworthy emotions, obtruding themselves upon
this person's notice, the two in question fled together, taking with
them the one who without any doubt is now before me. Despite the most
assiduous search and very tempting and profitable offers of reward, no
information of a reliable nature could be obtained, and at length
this dispirited and completely changed person gave up the pursuit as
unavailing. With his son and heir, upon whose future he had greatly
hoped, all emotions of a generous and high-minded nature left him, and
in a very short space of time he became the avaricious and deservedly
unpopular individual against whose extortions the amiable and
long-suffering ones of Ching-fow have for so many years protested
mildly. The sudden and not altogether unexpected fate which is now
on the point of reaching him is altogether too lenient to be entirely
adequate."

"Oh, my distinguished and really immaculate sire!" cried Yang Hu, in a
voice which expressed the deepest feelings of contrition. "No oaths or
vows, however sacred, can induce this person to stretch forth his hand
against the one who stands before him."

"Nevertheless," replied Ping Siang, speaking of the matter as though it
were one which did not closely concern his own existence, "to neglect
the Unutterable Oath would inevitably involve not only the two persons
who are now conversing together, but also those before and those who are
to come after in direct line, in a much worse condition of affairs. That
is a fate which this person would by no means permit to exist, for one
of his chief desires has ever been to establish a strong and vigorous