ery sign of profound emotion. Always full of tenderness and
compassion, Chung was profoundly moved by the tears and sobs of
Lo-yung, and hastened to assure him that he need be under no concern
with regard to his future. "You have lost all your relatives, it is
true, but from to-day I shall recognize you as my son. I adopt you
into my family and I give you my name."

Six months after this important matter had been settled, the city was
placarded with proclamations from its Chief Mandarin. In these he
informed the people that he had received a most urgent Edict from the
Emperor stating that an official seal, which was in constant use in
high transactions of the State, had in a most mysterious manner
disappeared and could not be found. He was therefore directed to
inform the people that whoever informed His Majesty where the seal was,
so that it could be recovered, would receive a considerable reward and
would also be made a high mandarin in the palace of the Emperor.

That very night, whilst Chung was sleeping, a fairy appeared to him in
a dream. "The gods have sent me," he said, "to give you one more proof
of the high regard in which they hold you for your devotion to your
fellow-men. The Emperor has lost a valuable seal which he is most
anxious to recover, and he has promised large and liberal rewards to
the man who shows him where it may be found. I want to tell you where
the seal is. It lies at the bottom of the crystal well in the grounds
behind the palace. It was accidentally dropped in there by the
Empress-Dowager, who has forgotten all about the circumstance, but who
will recollect it the moment she is reminded of it. I want you to send
your own son to the capital to claim the reward by telling where the
seal is."

When Chung awoke in the morning, he told his wife the wonderful news of
what had happened to him during the night, and began to make
preparations for his son to start for the capital without delay, in
order to secure the honours promised by the Emperor. His wife,
however, was by no means reconciled to the idea of parting with her
son, and strongly opposed his going.

"Why are you so set upon the honours of this life that you are willing
to be separated from your only child, whom perhaps you may never be
able to see again?" she asked her husband, with tears in her eyes.
"You are a rich man, you are beloved of the gods, you have everything
that money can buy in this flowery kingdom. Why