omens, forces and influences, both good and
bad, as our own unapproachably favoured Empire is, cannot be evaded
from one end of life to the other. How much greater is the difficulty
when the prescribed forms for baffling the ill-disposed among the
unseen appear to have been wrongly angled by those framing the Rites!"

Wang Ho made a gesture of despair. It conveyed to Lin's mind the wise
reminder of N'sy-hing: "When one is inquiring for a way to escape from
an advancing tiger, flowers of speech assume the form of noisome
bird-weed." He therefore continued:

"Hitherto it has been assumed that for a funeral robe to exercise its
most beneficial force it should be the work of a maiden of immature
years, the assumption being that, having a prolonged period of
existence before her, the influence of longevity would pass through
her fingers into the garment and in turn fortify the wearer."

"Assuredly," agreed Wang Ho anxiously. "Thus was the analogy outlined
to me by one skilled in the devices, and the logic of it seems
unassailable."

"Yet," objected Lin, with sympathetic concern in his voice, "how
unfortunate must be the position of a person involved in a robe that
has been embroidered by one who, instead of a long life, has been
marked out by the Destinies for premature decay and an untimely death!
For in that case the influence--"

"Such instances," interrupted Wang Ho, helping himself profusely to
rice-spirit from a jar near at hand, "must providentially be of rare
occurrence?"

"Esteemed head," replied Lin, helping Wang Ho to yet another
superfluity of rice-spirit, "there are moments when it behoves each of
us to maintain an unflaccid outline. Suspecting the true cause of your
declining radiance, I have, at an involved expenditure of seven taels
and three hand counts of brash cash, pursued this matter to its
ultimate source. The robe in question owes its attainment to one Min,
of the obscure house of Hsi, who recently ceased to have an existence
while her years yet numbered short of a score. Not only was it the last
work upon which she was engaged, but so closely were the two
identified that her abrupt Passing Beyond must certainly exercise a
corresponding effect upon any subsequent wearer."

"Alas!" exclaimed Wang Ho, feeling many of the symptoms of contagion
already manifesting themselves about his body. "Was the infliction of
a painless nature?"

"As to whether it was leprosy, the spotted plague, or acute dem