TUEN AND WANG
"A cry-baby," one of them muttered contemptuously, returning to her work.
"Poor child," the one called Wang murmured, perhaps remembering the day when she had been bought by the Viceroy; and she went over to the prostrate figure.
"O come, there's nothing to cry about," she said pleasantly. "You are in great good-fortune to have such an illustrious and wealthy gentleman as the Viceroy to buy you. It's not every girl has such a master."
"No indeed," replied the younger of the other two women. "Why he never beats us at all."
Encouraged by these cheerful remarks Tuen's sobs grew less, and shesurreptitiously dried her eyes on the skirt of her jacket.
"You look like a lazy thing," the woman who had called her a cry-baby, said spitefully. "Get up from there and draw me a bucket of water."
"You must not scold the child, Zau," Wang interposed. "She is only a bit homesick, now."
Zau muttered something to herself as Tuen took the bucket and went over to the middle of the court, where a stone with a small hole in the top covered the well.
While she was at her task the women whispered among themselves and nodded toward her, but when she returned Wang only said:
"Come with me and I will get you some better clothes. Then I will take you to see the wife of the Viceroy."
On the day that Tuen arrived at the yâmen, the wife of the Viceroy came out into the court to take her airing, and because her poor little feet were so small they would not bear her weight, a maid walked on each side to support her. Even then she tottered helplessly, and was glad to sit down in a chair beside the lily pool. She was low and plump, with a wealth of glossy black hair arranged high on her head, and adorned with many fancy pins, while across her forehead was a pointed band embroidered in gold and pearls, getting gradually narrower toward the back, where it was fastened with a jewelled brooch. Her sloping eyebrows, shaped like a crescent moon, were heavilypencilled, her olive complexion was lightened by a generous supply of powder, and her cheeks and lips and even her little round chin had been touched with vermilion. The costume she wore was not less striking than was her appearance, consisting of a long outer robe of pink crêpe, embroidered in blue and red flowers with golden centres, with here and there a spray of green leaves, and on her breast was the yellow lily, the same as the one the Viceroy wore. From beneath this robe came a plaited petticoat of pale green silk, and with every step the folds opened and closed, showing the pink lining. Her chubby feet were encased in diminutive shoes of red satin, heavily worked in gilt thread, from her ears hung two pairs of long, swinging ear-rings, and upon her arms were gold and silver bracelets, from one of which hung an amulet of jade to ward off evil spirits. The long sleeves of her tunic covered her hands,for in China it is immodest for a woman to expose her hands or wrists, or any part of her body.
Despite the gorgeousness of her apparel there was nothing haughty in the bearing of this great lady, and although her countenance was destitute of that intellectuality that brightens the faces of the women of the western world, her expression was one of extreme amiability.
"Can you tell me nothing that will interest me? Have you not some news of what goes on in the city?" she asked, turning to one of the maids; but hardly had she finished speaking when Wang appeared, followed by the timid Tuen.
"Ah, here is the little slave of whom I have heard!" she exclaimed, seeing their approach. "Bring her here, Wang."
Tuen made her salutations humbly, and waited with hands clasped in front of her for the verdict of her new mistress. Thanks to the kindly ministrations ofWang, her face was now clean, her hair neatly braided, and her old worn-out garments replaced by new ones.
The Viceroy's lady examined her critically, even approvingly, as she said: "I am glad she has such big feet. She can the better work. Only ladies of high rank should bind their feet—it is foolishness in servants."
Tuen looked from her own brown, shapely feet to the clumsy ones of her mistress, and was silent, though it must be confessed she thought the Viceroy's wife had the very loveliest feet she had ever seen.
"Can you do anything?" the lady next questioned; and Tuen managed to stammer that she knew how to embroider, and to cook some dishes that were esteemed dainties in the province of Hunan, from whence she came. But her new mistress seemed astonished at the enumeration of these accomplishments, and said coldly.
"We have those who are well trained to do such work for us. If you are quick to learn, Wang will teach you other things, and if you are stupid and bad,"—here she frowned and shook her head, "why, we will sell you again."
"Sell who again?" cried a shrill voice, and Tuen jumped and looked hastily behind her to see from whence it came.
The Viceroy's wife, with her maids supporting her, quickly rose to her feet, and with many low bows offered the vacant chair to an old, withered woman, most magnificently attired, who emerged from one of the corridors. This elderly female scorned the proffered seat, and glared irately around her.
"Who is this creature?" she screamed, pointing her long, bony finger at Tuen, who now became conscious of a wild desire to fly.
"It is a slave my husband has boughtto-day, mother," the Viceroy's lady said in a humble, almost pleading voice.
"Your husband has bought!" exclaimed the old lady in a tone of withering scorn. "You mean my son has bought, do you not? And how dare you speak of selling her? You! Umh! I will box your ears if I hear any more such saucy talk."
"Indeed, indeed I did not mean to be disrespectful to your worshipful highness," the wife of the Viceroy murmured. But the mother-in-law was not so readily appeased.
"You, who must worship me while I am alive, and when I am dead do homage before my tablet, to sit and tell me what you will do with mine and my son's possessions! The impudence of it! You need a good beating right now," and she glared fiercely at the trembling wife. "As for that girl," nodding toward Tuen, "I like her looks, and if it pleases me I will take her for my maid."
This prospect was far from pleasing to the unhappy little slave girl, but having delivered this threat the autocrat of the household hobbled away, still scolding beneath her breath. No wonder that the wife of the Viceroy drew a long sigh of relief as she saw the figure of her mother-in-law disappear, and she quite complacently settled herself in her chair and smoothed out the folds of her robe as if nothing had happened. Such scenes as these were of frequent occurrence in this aristocratic yâmen, for by the laws of the land the son's wife must be subject to his parents, and yield them obedience in all things. If she failed in this, her life became a burden dreadful to be borne, for a Chinese mother-in-law is often a thing of terror, and besides it was a satisfactory ground for divorce for the husband to say that his wife was not obedient to his mother. The reign of the mother-in-law thus became a thing not curable, andtherefore to be endured with all the patience possible under the circumstances. The wife of the Viceroy possessed a large supply of this valuable article,—patience—and bore in silence the many taunts of her mother-in-law; and now with her serenity unruffled she again addressed Tuen.
"You spoke of the province of Hunan. That must be a long way from here, as I never heard of it before."
"Itisvery far," Tuen answered, thinking of the weary weeks they had journeyed through the country. Then she added proudly:
"My father is even now returning there, but I shall never go back."
"Of course not," her mistress replied. "Why should you, when you have food and clothes here? Is not that enough?"
Tuen was saved the necessity of a reply, for the Viceroy now appeared on the scene fanning himself violently with a great gauze fan. For a moment he didnot recognize Tuen, so marked was the change in her appearance, and he inquired abruptly, not noticing the others:
"What is your name?"
"Tuen, oh great and honored sir," she replied in a trembling voice, bowing to the ground, for she stood in deep awe of this powerful magistrate.
"She is the slave you bought this morning," Wang interposed, and at this the Viceroy pursed up his lips in astonishment. Again he looked at Tuen closely, then turning to his wife said:
"She is young, and has an intelligent look. I am glad I bought her, for there is something in her manner I like, and I am sure she will be useful."
"Her face belies her," his lady put in, "for she seems very stupid."
"At any rate she isn't ugly," he rejoined, and at this remark his wife threw back her head quickly, and darted an angry glance at Tuen.
"I don't see any beauty," she replied coldly. "Ugh, how scrawny she is!" with a satisfied glance at her own plump person.
"Take her away," he said shortly to Wang, then addressed his wife in the same tones of displeasure.
"As for you, come with me to the Hall of my Ancestors to worship," and he led the way to a small building, shaped like a summer-house, standing at the far end of the court. The floor of this little edifice was of tiling, and the wood-work was fancifully carved and decorated, while many lanterns hung within. At the rear was an altar of costly jade, before which incense was now burning, and upon it stood five wooden tablets about twelve inches long and three broad, bearing the name and the date of death of his ancestors. The Viceroy and his wife prostrated themselves before this altar, knocking their heads nine times upon the floor, as their lips moved in prayer.These rites finished, he burned a quantity of gilt paper in the bowl placed before the tablets for that purpose, and returned with his wife to the court, where tea was served. As he sipped this invigorating beverage, the Viceroy dismissed the servants, and when alone with his wife returned to the former topic of conversation.
"The girl I have bought is no common creature," he informed her, "but of good parentage. I desire peace in my family, and for that reason I shall take no other wives, but see to it that this Tuen is treated well. She might be taught to wait upon you."
"I have maids enough," she answered, "and I do not need this one. Let her work with the other kitchen slaves; that is the place for her." For she had not yet forgiven him for saying that Tuen was not ugly.
"Very well," he replied indifferently. "But she looked like a smart girl."
"She is but a stupid child yet," his wife said, now somewhat conciliated. "She may improve when she has lived with us awhile, but she has much to learn."
The next morning Tuen commenced her simple round of duties, in which she was instructed by the women of the inner court. At first her work was only to draw water, help with the washing and do the drudgery, and her lot was often hard, but it did not escape the watchful Wang that she was quick and willing, so one day she said to her:
"Tuen, there is much spinning to be done, and if your fingers are very nimble I will teach you to manage the wheel. But mind you, if you are all thumbs you will have to stay where you are."
So that was the way it came about that Tuen was soon seated at the little spinning-wheel, with its three spindles, pullingout interminable lengths of cotton thread from the fleecy rolls in her hand, and above the soft, insistent buzzing of the wheel she could hear the voices of the others as they talked among themselves. She listened attentively to all they said, as she worked, with both feet, the treadle of her singing wheel, and her face was flushed with pride at the importance of her new position. She sat silent, never once raising her eyes from her work, but in all the Flowery Kingdom there was not that day a prouder girl, and she felt so grateful to Wang that when dark came, and she had to put up her work, she could not help from giving her a good hug.
"I like this so much better than the kitchen labor," she whispered, "and I intend to work harder than I ever did in all my life. Only let me stay here, dear Wang."
And when Wang promised, she went to sleep so happy.
Thus the weeks went by, and Tuen's face grew full, and her arms round and plump, and she forgot all about what it was to be hungry, and was quite satisfied. She still often thought about her dear ones, but she no longer wept to see them as she had once done, and in place of crying because she would never live with them again, she commenced to think of them as so rich and fine in their own home, and all because of her.
Once as they all sat spinning, a young woman said dolefully:
"Oh how I wish I had little feet! Every one knows that I am but a common laborer as soon as they see me coming."
"The Viceroy's wife has such pretty ones," Wang answered. "They are not more than two inches long."
"Such feet are not for the poor like us," sighed the first speaker. "Why, mine must be over ten inches long. I don't suppose any one will ever marry me."
"Just look what long ones Tuen has and be consoled," another said laughingly. "Surely, the child's growth has been in one direction only."
"She had better bind a piece of cloth tight around them every night, so they wont grow while she is asleep," someone suggested.
"I don't want little feet," Tuen answered, for the first time taking part in the conversation. "I am a Tartar, and they never bind their feet. My mother told me so."
"What stupidity!" said the woman nearest Tuen contemptuously.
"No it is not stupidity," the girl replied firmly. "My father was a very learned man—he belonged to the literati—" looking proudly around her to see the effect of this announcement, "and he said the custom of binding the feet became the fashion because an Empress was once born with club feet, and then all theofficers of the court wrapped up their daughters so that the poor Empress would not feel bad when she looked at her own.
"Your father must be very smart to tell you such a likely tale as that," one of her companions retorted sarcastically. "It's a wonder he did not become a story-teller upon the street, for surely all would have flocked to listen to him."
"I once heard the Viceroy tell the mistress that the men of the country originated the idea of binding the women's feet, so they would not go gadding about," Wang interposed. "It truly is a good way to keep them at home."
"I bound the feet of my little girl," said one of the women, "and oh, how she did cry. But I didn't mind that, for I was determined that when she grew up she should have a husband, and no man wants a woman with big feet. And it's better never to be born than to be born a girl, any way, and it's also better to havenever been born than not to have a husband. She would not sleep at night, but lay sobbing that they hurt her so, and begging me to take the bandage off. Of course I did not listen to her, and had she lived her feet would have been as small perhaps as those of the Viceroy's wife; but when she died every one said I ought to be glad to get rid of a girl, and that there would be one mouth less to feed."
"Were you glad?" asked Tuen.
The woman shook her head.
"No," she said. "I loved her if she was a girl."
"My father and my mother both loved me," Tuen told them with a sigh, "and they would not have sold me if they had not been hungry. Then they did not want to do it, but I made them."
"And you are a lot better off," Wang said.
"I would have rather been poor all mylife and stayed with them," was Tuen's answer.
"She is a strange child," one of them whispered to her neighbor. "She says such very stupid things."
"Talking of story-tellers," cried one of them, "reminds me that once on the Festival of the Dead as I went to the hills to worship at the grave of my husband's ancestors, I heard a man tell such a wonderful story. If I had had any cash I would have given it to him. It was all about a great lady whose husband pretended to be dead and afterwards came back to life and cut her head off. He said he knew a great many delightful tales that he had read in books, and I would have loved to listen to him all day, but my husband said a woman could not understand such things."
"Oh I would love to read," Tuen breathed eagerly, and the women laughed at this speech and said she was trulyfoolish. Tuen blushed and hung her head, and after this she was silent.
* * * * * * *
A year had passed since Tuen came to live at the Viceroy's yâmen, and in that time she had grown taller, fairer, and now was budding into womanhood, or at least so it was considered in that land, where girls of twelve years old are thought mature enough to marry. She had become a great favorite with every one in the palace on account of her amiable disposition and kindness to every one, and even the Viceroy's wife had forgotten her former prejudice and took a kindly interest in her. Wang, seeing that her fingers were nimble and her hand steady, had long ago promoted her to a place before the embroidery frame, and was delighted to see how skilful the girl was with the needle. She taught Tuen to embroider on delicate silks and crêpes the most beautiful flowers in nature's garden,and many strange creeping things that were said to live at the bottom of the sea and turn yellow if the sun shone on them, so they must always be worked in glittering gilt thread, bright as the sunshine. And such charming colors as she day by day painted in with her needle! No wonder that finally she made many garments for little Tung-li, the only child of the proud Viceroy, and gorgeous robes they were to behold. At last Wang's pride in her pupil caused her to suggest that Tuen should make a tunic for the Viceroy as a present on the coming New Year, for it is the Chinese custom to exchange gifts at that season. So Tuen went to work on a piece of lustrous purple satin, and scattered over it half-open pink buds, and crimson blossoms, and yellow flowers strung together with gold thread, and upon the breast of it she worked the golden lily. Very proud was she of her handiwork when the last stitch had beentaken and she held it up before Wang's admiring gaze, and truly it was a robe fit to be worn by the Emperor himself.
"How can I ever repay you, dear Wang," Tuen cried, "for teaching me to do this? If it only brings me favor with the Viceroy I shall be so happy!"
And Wang, not understanding the secret Tuen had locked within her heart, answered half laughing, but perhaps with a grain of seriousness under the jest:
"By having me for your maid, little one, when you become a great lady."
"Indeed, indeed I will," the girl answered heartily, "and for even more than my maid. You shall be my friend, my mother."
And this promise she did not forget.
One who has never been in China on New Year's Day cannot understand the indescribable joy with which the teeming population of this vast Empire lays aside its never-finished work, and clad in new garments, goes out to welcome the incoming year. Deprived of the seventh day of rest, with no holidays, feast days, or fast days, to take them away from the monotony of toil for a little breathing space, it is not to be wondered at that, when this festive season comes, and for the first and last time during the year all shops are closed, all business stopped, the whole country seems mad with delight. Weeks before the arrival of this great day the streets are filledwith little stands where bright colored papers, flowers, incense, candles, and all the various articles suitable to the occasion, are sold. Then, too, this is the time for the universal washing of persons and things, and although the land is not noted for cleanliness, during this festival dirt is in disfavor.
At the residence of the Viceroy everything presented a gala appearance. After cleaning and scrubbing in every available place, the house had been purified by prayers and ceremonies and incense, and when New Year's eve came nothing was lacking save the final decorations. Without the populace thronged the streets, and their loud shouts and beating of gongs and drums, and the popping of innumerable fire-crackers made a deafening din. People stood at their gateways busily employed in pasting strips of red paper entreating the five blessings, or bearing congratulatory mottoes, upon thelintels of their doors, and from every conceivable place fluttered narrow papers bearing the wordFuh(happiness).
Tuen was in a state of pleasurable excitement as she ran about the yâmen giving a touch here and there to the preparations, for on New Year's night no one could think of sleeping. The shrine of the household gods had been decorated with great porcelain vases filled with the dainty blossoms of the narcissus, and enormous red candles, gaily painted, burned there; in the corridors hung scrolls of silk and satin upon which were inscribed maxims and propitiatory sentences, and all the various apartments were garnished with fruits and flowers, while upon the walls were garlands ofkin hwa, or golden flowers, made of tinselled brass and looped with long streamers of red and gold paper.
Tuen had taken a perfumed bath in in which had been steeped the leaves of the fragrant hoang py, and arrayedherself in her new apparel, the gift of the Viceroy to all his servants. As she listened to the never-ending popping of the fire-crackers, and the bursting of the Roman-candles and sky-rockets, her eyes fairly shone, and her heart fluttered joyously. Then she remembered the gift she had made for the Viceroy, and she fell to wondering what he would think of it. Already she had taken it to his wife to give to him, and she amused herself by trying to think of the words he would say when first he beheld it. He was going to the temple early in the morning to worship—that she knew. Would he wear it there? Would he be pleased? Would he speak to her? Or would he not appreciate the many weeks she had toiled over it, putting in the most exquisite touches, and the daintiest stitches, and blending shade in shade with perfect art, and merely consider it the work of a slave, who did it because she was ordered? Thisthought was bitter, for her work had been sweetened, it is true, by her grateful remembrance of his kindness to her, but still she had another plan in her active little brain, and if he did not marvel at the exceeding beauty of the garment, and speak to her in person of her skilful needle-work, she would never again have a chance to beg of him this one great favor. And she wanted it so very much that she could never rest satisfied until she had prayed him to grant it. She seemed doomed to disappointment, for in the early dawn of the new-born year the Viceroy, clad in gorgeous costume, and wearing, it is true, the tunic Tuen had made him, started to the temple, carrying with him the little Tung-li, whose fifth birthday he this day celebrated. Tuen heard from Wang that he had gone but he sent her no message, and hope died in her breast.
"He thought not of the slave girl whowrought it," she murmured sadly to Wang. "He knew that you gave me the material and told me to make it, and he don't think anything of it." And that worthy domestic was also greatly cast down, for she wanted to see Tuen advance in her master's favor, and had contrived many things for that very end.
Meanwhile the sedan containing the Viceroy was being rapidly borne through the street, while behind came another chair containing his little heir. It looked as if the weary, stolid, poorly clad people that usually thronged the thoroughfare, had in the past night been touched by the wand of a genius, and lo! what a wonderful transformation there was this morning. Each one now was clad in new garments, and the faces of all were wreathed in smiles, and every one was happy. The gate-ways, covered with red and gold paper, presented a most picturesque appearance, although alas! upon many wasthe fatal blue strip, telling the passers by that within the past year death had invaded that household. Upon stalls, and baskets, and barrels, and in every nook and corner prayers to the different gods were pasted; actors and jugglers entertained those who would stop to look at them, and reaped a plentiful harvest of coins; the brilliantly costumed crowd moved along in the soft morning light like the figures in a kaleidoscope, and when friend met friend what a struggle there was to see who should excel in politeness, and bow most humbly, while the cordial greeting: "Kungli! Kungli!" (I wish you joy! I wish you joy!) was heard on every side. Reaching the temple the Viceroy conducted his son within, and behind them came servants bearing gilt and silver paper, printed prayers, and bowls containing rice, fruits, meats, vegetables, and libations. The priests, arrayed in blue and yellow robes, stopped their prostrationswhen they saw this distinguished party approaching, and one, who was the leader, stepped forward, and commenced to chant a prayer consisting of frequent repetitions, in a high, nasal voice, the attendants joining in the chorus, and beating with much vehemence upon the drums and gongs. All now bowed before the great bronze image of the god they worshipped, the mother god, as she was called, the priests making many genuflections.
Tung-li looked gravely at these elaborate ceremonies, and quite forgot to say the prayer he had been taught, but perhaps that did not matter. Then the priests arose to their feet, and, still chanting, one of them went out at the side door of the temple and returned carrying a live cock in his hand, while behind him came another priest rolling a small barrel open at both ends. The voices of the priests who had remained now rose higher and higher, and amid the clash of gongs andcymbals, the rolling of drums, and the ringing of bells, the cock was several times passed through the open barrel. Thus did the priests entreat the gods that Tung-li might go through life and escape its dangers and trials, even as the cock had passed through the barrel and received no hurt. This done, amid the burning of prayers and papers and incense, the offering of the provisions brought, and the din of musical instruments, the Viceroy retired from the temple, well satisfied with his morning's devotions.
Poor Tung-li was so tired that he went fast asleep on the way home, and never even heard the fire-crackers that were popping all around him, nor the glad shouts of the boys who played on the streets, and pitied him because he was rich and must be shut up in a sedan.
"The Viceroy has sent for you," was the message that caused Tuen to leap to her feet with a cry of joy.
"He has returned from the temple and is in the audience hall, where he has been receiving calls from all the high authorities of the city. Now he is alone, and wishes to speak with you," the servant further volunteered. Tuen did not wait to hear more, but hastened to obey the summons, though she paused outside of the Viceroy's door for a few minutes in order to calm herself, for she was quite breathless. Then she slipped in, and saw him sitting before a table, wearing the superb tunic she had made, and clad in robes of more gorgeous splendor thanshe had ever seen him wear. "Kungli! Kungli!Oh, great and glorious one!" she murmured low, saluting him, and then with a proud flush upon her face she listened to his words of praise.
Now it so happened that on this auspicious occasion the Viceroy was in a most gracious mood. He had received many magnificent offerings from his people, a bevy of his friends had called to wish him happiness, and said many flattering things. On the table before him was a great heap of large red cards containing good wishes for his continued prosperity, and the Viceroy felt that he had just cause to feel satisfied, for surely he was favored by the gods. When he had complimented Tuen upon the beauty of her needle-work, not forgetting to praise her faithfulness and her industry, he added kindly:
"What would you like me to give you, as a reward for your work, Tuen?" Shemade no answer, for although she had expected this question, and had long ago decided upon the very words she would say in reply, now that the time had come her lips were dumb.
"Speak! What is it?" he insisted, but still she hesitated.
He looked at her half-impatiently, and then he saw her round, rosy face, her lustrous, pleading eyes, and her trembling little mouth, and, his humor changing, he smiled encouragingly.
Tuen, seeing this, threw herself at his feet and cried out impetuously:
"O wisest and best among men, I would like to learn to read."
I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN TO READ
"What?" he ejaculated so sharply that her new-found courage instantly deserted her, and she hid her face, and wondered at her own audacity.
In truth the Viceroy was not so much displeased as he was astonished, for he had never dreamed of such a strangerequest, and could hardly believe his ears.
"You, a girl, learn to read!" he finally exclaimed contemptuously. "What nonsense! You couldn't learn if you tried. You haven't sense enough."
"Indeed, I think I have," she said in a tearful voice, "and I do so want to know about things."
"There is no one to teach you," he answered shortly. "Go back to your sewing, your gossip among the women, and know that it was for that you were made, else had you been born a man."
"I can't help what I was born," she sobbed. "The gods made me a woman, and I just have to make the best of it."
"Umph!" the magistrate grunted, watching her keenly from beneath his drooping lids, and something told Tuen that her reply had pleased him, so now she arose to her feet, and entreated softly:
"Be not angry with Tuen. Rememberyou told her to make her wish known to you, and this was the one, the only desire of her heart. Everything else that she could want you have given her."
"Your request has been most strange," he replied, somewhat mollified; and noticing this difference in his tone she persisted.
"If the master is great the servant should also aspire, that he may be worthy to serve such a master. (For this was a speech she had heard her father make, and had remembered.) Is not that true, O Wise ruler of the province of Kiangsi?"
"Truly for a woman she has some wit," he told himself; and after considering a moment he said to her:
"Answer me three questions, and if your words are wise your request shall be granted."
"I will try," she replied quietly, but she grew very pale.
"Well, first, why do you wish to learnto read?" he inquired, assuming a judicial air, and Tuen felt that he was laughing at her, but that knowledge only made her the more determined to gain her point.
"That I may be wise, and therefore good, and being both of these the better able to serve the Viceroy," she answered with a low bow.
He nodded his head approvingly.
"I would let all of my servants learn if they would make that use of it," he said. "For one that knows nothing your answer is not altogether foolish. Now tell me what gods are the most to be feared?"
"It would seem to me—perhaps because I am a woman—that it is the household gods who are the most to be dreaded," she said hesitatingly.
"Why?" he questioned.
"Because both man and woman must needs live in the house, and if peace and prosperity reign there they will havehappiness. If not, all is confusion and terror."
But as she spoke she watched him fearfully, as if half afraid he would be offended.
But he answered: "Your reason is good, for peace in the house is indeed the greatest blessing. Now one more question and I am done. Of all living creatures which would you like to be?"
"A man, Oh, learned sir," she said promptly, "since he alone of all creatures has been given wisdom. And if further choice were given me I would like to be the Viceroy of Kiangsi, since he is the wisest and best of men."
"Well said, well said," he exclaimed; for, like some other great ones of whom we have heard, he was not averse to flattery. And thus on him did Tuen use some of that diplomacy for which she one day would be celebrated.
"You have spoken wisely," hecontinued, "and if there can be found in Lu Chang one who will teach you, by the gods you shall learn to read. I, the Viceroy, have said it."
Uttering many profuse thanks Tuen prostrated herself before him, for in this land where females were ofttimes drowned like kittens at their birth, or if allowed to live, despised and beaten, sold as mere chattels, or even killed if disobedient to the husband's parents, the patience of the Viceroy was indeed marvellous, and the permission she had wrested from him was much to be wondered at.
As soon as she had left his presence she ran to find Wang, and throwing herself in the arms of this faithful friend she sobbed:
"Oh, Wang, Wang, I am to be taught to read. The Viceroy has said it."
"Taught to read?" Wang repeated blankly.
"Yes, to read," Tuen cried. "I beggedit of him, and at first he would not, and then he finally consented, and oh, Wang, I feel as if I should die for joy."
"I am sure I don't know what you want to read for," said the puzzled Wang, "but I do know that there is not another master in all China who would have granted such a favor to a slave. You are a lucky girl to have been bought by him, for he is the kindest man in the land. Any one else would have beaten you for asking such a thing. You had better pray to the gods every day that you shall always belong to him."
By the time the festival of Pai-shan came—the day when all go to worship at the graves of their ancestors—Tuen had already commenced to struggle with the queer, sprawling hieroglyphics that fill the Chinese books, and she was so proud and happy that she could think of nothing else. The Viceroy was going in state to honor his forefathers, riding in his sedan, and followed by a long retinue of servants, and Tuen, Wang and Ta-ta had been allowed, as a special favor, to join this procession. As they left the yâmen Tuen was telling them of the wonderful characters she was trying to understand, and of the delight of learning about them, and Ta-ta laughed good-naturedly.
"It was very silly of you to beg such a favor of the Viceroy," she said. "Who ever heard of a woman who could read, or who even wanted to? Why did you not ask him for a silk dress, or for a pair of gold ear-rings? That would have been much more sensible."
"I didn't want anything in the world but to be learned like a man," Tuen announced, "and I will be too, even if I am a woman"; and she set her lips firmly together.
"I never knew of a girl being allowed to study before," Wang said. "The Viceroy is truly a wonderful man."
"Women are not born to be happy any where," Ta-ta remarked. "Tuen will find that out some day."
"Well, the consolation is that we don't have to be women always," Wang said philosophically. "Buddha said that we who, while on earth, were obedient to our husband and his relatives, would someday come back to earth a man. That is something to look forward to. Yesterday I went to the temple and carried the money I had saved and gave it to the priest, that he might pay the toll for me at the bridge that leads to the spirit-land; and I also gave him the fee for the ferryman, and a lot of cash for that greedy one that rows the dragon-boat across the lake of blood. Now I have nothing to fear."
"No, you can kill yourself any day," Ta-ta whispered enviously.
While they talked they were making their way through the babbling throng that filled the streets, and as they were but seldom allowed to leave the Viceroy's residence they were looking about them with the keenest pleasure. Hanging from the low tiled roofs of the houses were branches of willow, the mourning tree of the dead, and a vast concourse of people in holiday attire were either going or returning fromthe "worship at the hills"; for on this day all the population steal a few hours from the daily routine of drudgery, and go to render homage to the spirits of their dead. Their gods were shadowy and unreal, perhaps had no existence save in the imagination of the priests, but their own dear ones they knew lived and went away. Why might not their souls, wandering in the unknown, look back to earth and listen to the prayers of mortals? So they reasoned, and this was why that on this sunny spring day the hills where the dead slept were thronged with the living. An endless procession passed in and out of the gates of the city, the square battlements and watch-towers were deserted, and upon the great stone bridge that spanned the water, the throng surged ever backward and forward. Little groups were gathered around many of the graves, busily sweeping and repairing them; the smoke of incense curled upward on everyside, and prayers arose, not for the repose of the dead, but for the welfare of the living; while strips of gay paper fluttering around some of the headstones told that here the usual rites had been performed and the family had gone home to enjoy the social feast with which the holiday closes. Before one of the tombs, far more pretentious than any of its neighbors, the Viceroy stopped and alighted from his sedan.
His forefather had evidently been some high mandarin, for a stone wall surrounded a large, horse-shoe shaped enclosure, and in this teeming land, where earth was so precious that only a little portion could be allotted to a few of the living, it was a sign of great wealth to have so much space for an ancestor. Standing at the entrance to this grave were two stone horses, saddled and bridled, ready to bear the spirit on its journey in the other world, and a littledistance away two rudely sculptured lions kept watch over the tomb. At the end of the enclosure and opposite the entrance, was the tablet bearing the name of the departed, and before this the Viceroy knelt down. First he offered the five-fold sacrifice, consisting of a fowl, a fish, a pig, a bird, and a goose, with many prostrations and petitions, then he placed before the tablet five plates filled with fruit, and five cups of wine. This done, he lit the incense sticks, and knocking his head nine times upon the ground, prayed for the three great blessings,—riches, honor, and long life. Rising, he fastened long streamers of red and white paper at the back of the wall, holding it in place by the customary three pieces of turf, and again entered his sedan. His servants meanwhile carefully packed the offerings of fruit, meats, and wine in the baskets to take home, for they were far too frugal to permit such things to go towaste, and that very night these same provisions would be served at the Viceroy's table.
As the high magistrate and his attendants wended their way home, Ta-ta who had been quiet for some time, turned to Tuen with a friendly piece of advice.
"You had better put all this nonsense about books, and being learned like a man, out of your little head, else no man will want to marry you, and you must remember that you are getting old enough now to think about having a mother-in-law."
"I don't want one ever," Tuen declared. "I would much rather just belong to the Viceroy always."
"How stupid you are," Ta-ta said impatiently. "Of course you must be sold to someone. I never knew a woman over fifteen who did not have a mother-in-law."
But Tuen cried pleadingly to Wang:
"Oh, don't let them sell me again. Indeed, indeed, I don't want to have any other master."
"I am afraid someone will see you and want to marry you, and if they offer him a good price the Viceroy will not be a fool and refuse it," Wang said sadly. "You are getting to be a woman now, and you are good to look at, and for that reason someone is sure to want you."
This prospect filled Tuen with dismay, and that night she cried herself to sleep.
But as months went by and she heard of no one having offered to purchase her, Tuen forgot her fears, and came to think that she would always live in the yâmen. It was now winter, and throughout the length and breadth of the vast Empire preparations were being made for the annual holiday. Before the festal day arrived, however, the home of the Viceroy became a house of mourning, for the little Tung-li lay dead. Despite prayers and amulets, the propitious words of the soothsayers, and the conjurations of the priests, "he had gone to wander among the genii," still wearing locked around his neck the string of coins it had been fondly hoped would lock him fast tolife. Clad in shimmering satin and embroidered crêpe, a fan in one hand and in the other a printed prayer, he lay all cold and calm upon the floor, and in the roof above him was a gaping hole made to allow the spirits inhabiting his body to escape, and through it had crept a wandering moonbeam that fell upon his placid face, and gave him the look of one who slept. Near him was a table filled with every delicacy to tempt the palate, that they who watched and mourned might also feast, and upon it burned incense and candles, filling the room with pungent smoke. In an adjoining room twelve priests bowed before an image made of brass, the god of the lower regions. This mocking thing they supplicated squatted solemnly upon a golden cloth strewn with rice, while the kneeling priests chanted prayers for the dead, and beat upon drums and cymbals, while above it all could be heard the shrill wailing of the womenwaiting in the corridors. The Viceroy, clothed in spotless white (for that is the mourning color of the country), sat beside the body of his son, his expression one of profound grief. He had been so proud of this boy, his son and heir, and he had fondly thought that when he went away to join his fathers, Tung-li would be left to tend his grave and worship his tablet. Now he was left alone in his old age.
So, amid the noise made by the priests, and the shrill cries of the women, and the silent grief of the Viceroy, the night passed, and in the time that intervened between this and the last funeral rites, geomancers were kept busy finding a suitable resting place for the body, lest it be buried in an unlucky spot.
Although it is not customary to have any elaborate ceremonies when children die, the Viceroy had determined that Tung-li should be buried with all the honors befitting his high rank, and forthat reason the funeral procession was a most imposing one.
The body was put in a coffin of thick wood, ornamented with many gilt figures, and then placed in a richly decked gilt pavilion, covered with a canopy of bright colored silk. Thus, as if going to a festival was Tung-li borne through the city and to the hills beyond. Before him went an attendant, scattering paper money along the way to buy the good will of the wicked spirits who are doomed to wander over the earth and make mischief wherever they go, and behind him came the bearers of gay standards, fluttering banners and gilded figures, and the sacrifices to be offered at the grave. These were in turn followed by a long line of priests, while close behind the coffin were the mourners, clothed in white, their cries of anguish rising above the clamorous discord of the gongs and cymbals, while every now and then could beheard the reverberating notes of the drum as three loud taps were sounded upon it.
Human nature is the same wherever you find it—in the East and in the West—and love for those who are near to us is strong in the breast of high and low, the ignorant and degraded and the wealthy aristocrat. No matter what the nationality of the Viceroy he was a father, and as he saw his only child given to the earth, amid the firing of crackers, the sound of music and the smoke of incense, bitter was his sorrow. Then libations were poured out, and clothes, houses, money, and horses, made of paper, were burned, that Tung-li might not be lacking in worldly goods in that strange land to which he had gone, for they believed that by a kind of miracle these paper articles would in the spirit world become in very truth the things they represented, and they wanted to supply Tung-li with manypossessions. Having thus started him on his long journey with all the wealth and pomp befitting the son of a great Viceroy, they left him.
That night Tuen carried tea to her master, and despite his sorrow he noticed how fair she was, and with what swiftness and grace she moved about. It did not escape him, either, that her eyes were red from weeping, for she had dearly loved the sedate little Tung-li, and of his dead son he now spoke to her. Her answers greatly surprised him, and after he had talked to her for several minutes an idea suddenly came to him, and he arose and went to find his wife.
"Dismiss your maids. I wish to speak to you," he said to that astonished lady, who sat weeping in helpless sorrow. Wondering at his manner, and at what she saw in his face, she complied, and as soon as they were alone he commenced to talk of Tuen.
"She is a remarkable girl," he announced decisively, "and I have come to tell you that I have resolved to adopt her."
She uttered a cry of amazement.
"Adopt Tuen?" she breathed.
"Yes, why not?" he answered. "She is beautiful and modest, and her apt replies are marvellous. We are childless, and she will be an ornament to any home. I will arrange a great marriage for her."
"Oh, very well," his wife said indifferently. "I never saw anything at all unusual about her, but I suppose she is as desirable as any other girl." Here she commenced to weep again, as she thought of the dead Tung-li, and even the Viceroy said with a sigh:
"Of course she can never take the place of a son, for she will soon marry and belong to her husband's parents, but still she is intelligent and pretty. We can take her now, and later I will look around for the son of a relative to adopt."
"I don't want any one but my own Tung-li," sobbed the poor lady of the Viceroy; and because he disliked to see a woman cry, and always tried to escape from any domestic unpleasantness, the Viceroy went back to his audience hall in haste, and sent for Tuen.
When he told her that she was henceforth to be his daughter, the little slave girl of Hunan could scarcely believe her ears, and stood staring at him as one stricken dumb. All at once she understood this great good fortune that had come to her, and with a cry of joy she threw herself at his feet, and embraced him ecstatically.
"Oh, I will try to be so good—Oh, I will try to be so good," she said over and over; and she sobbed for very gladness.
The Viceroy pulled himself away from her feeling distinctly aggrieved, for it seemed that he could not escape weepingfemales—the one thing he particularly detested.
But when Tuen stood up before him, her eyes shining all the brighter for her tears, and her face radiant with joy, he forgave her for her sobs, and said pompously:
"You must be worthy of me, Tuen. You have proved that even a female can by her own industry exalt herself, and now I shall expect much of you."
And Tuen told herself that he should not be disappointed.
Now followed the happiest time Tuen had ever known, and as the daughter of the Viceroy she became at once a person of importance. It was such a new, such a delightful sensation to be waited on and noticed and obeyed by the slaves that it took her a good many weeks to get used to it all. The Viceroy in turn, was well pleased with his new daughter, and although she was very fair, with tender, melting almond eyes, and midnight tresses, it was not her beauty so much as her wisdom that delighted him; and when he looked at her he recalled the words of Niu Tsang: "Although she is fair to look upon, and strong with the strength of youth, yet is her intellect, that lampthat so seldom illumes the head of woman, her greatest possession."
"He spoke truly," the Viceroy would murmur, "and only the son of a mandarin shall have her in marriage."
And then he would sigh to think that even now it was time to betroth her. But while he pondered over these things he received news from Peking that completely banished all thoughts of Tuen from his mind, and forever changed the current of her life. Now the Viceroy stood high in imperial favor on account of many valuable services, and for his zeal in checking the famous rebellion, and he had several times been advanced in rank by his sovereign. But he had just received tidings that a new and a higher decoration had been conferred upon him, and he sought for some costly gift to lay at the feet of that august and jealous ruler who calls himself the Son of Heaven. For every mark of favor received fromthe Emperor's hands the subject is expected to send some valuable present as a token of gratitude, and the Viceroy had already presented so many gifts that he was at loss what to send. He searched the province for some treasure that would be worthy the acceptance of a monarch, and had brought before him all the richest wares of the land, but he found nothing to satisfy his fastidious taste. Beset by these perplexities, he determined to give a great feast and invite all the learned and influential men of the city, with the hope that some of them would know of a curio or article of vertu that he might be able to procure. Accordingly crimson tickets were sent out to all the high officials of Lu Chang, requesting them to bestow "the illumination of their presence" on a given night the following week, and a theatrical troupe was engaged to give a performance on that occasion, for with the Chinese the theatre mayalmost be considered the national amusement, so great is the fondness of all classes for this form of diversion.
When the appointed evening arrived a distinguished assembly was gathered in the audience hall at the Viceroy's yâmen, at one end of which a stage had been erected. The Viceroy and his guest of the highest rank—the governor-general of a neighboring province—occupied a table placed on a slightly elevated platform, while the other guests were arranged in two rows on each side of the room, seated two at a table. When all had assembled, the Viceroy stood up and drank the health of his friends from a small gilt cup shaped like a Grecian urn, then amid the sound of gong and bell the first course was placed upon the tables, and the feast commenced. First, salted relishes were served in dainty porcelain saucers, and then came that greatest delicacy to Chinese epicures, bird-nest soup, accompanied by pigeons'eggs and soy, while hot wine was poured for all from silver tankards in the hands of obsequious servants. These were followed by fish, game, and poultry, cut fine and made into stews, which the company very dexterously managed by means of their silver-tipped ivory chopsticks.
In the meantime the players, clad in brilliant costumes, tell the story of a beautiful wife of a former Emperor, who was demanded as a tribute by the Tartar Khan. The Emperor is in despair, for his country is weak and not prepared to go to war with this formidable chieftain, and so dearly does he love his charming wife that he cannot consent to part with her. At last he is forced to yield. The music swells louder and louder as the moment arrives for the last farewell between the Emperor and his beloved. The guests look up from the bowls of shark-fins before them and nod approvingly,and even the Viceroy's countenance expresses his pleasure at the scene.
Now a savory dish composed of the sinews of deer was brought in, followed by bowls of rice. The music sinks to a low, reverberating wail as the Princess tragically exclaims:
"What place is this?"
For she is on her way to the home of the hostile Khan—the price of peace.
And when the Khan had answered her:
"It is the river of the Black Dragon, the frontier between the Tartar boundaries and those of China. This southern shore is the Emperor's—on the northern side commences our Tartar dominion," the Princess said calmly:
"Great King, I take a cup of wine and pour a libation towards the south, a final adieu to the Emperor."
And as she finishes this rite she adds:
"Sovereign of Han, this life is finished,—I await thee in the next."
With these words upon her lips she casts herself in the dark, turgid waters of the Black Dragon, and is never seen again by mortal eyes.
As this climax is reached the rice is removed and the tables strewn with flowers, and from amid this mass of loveliness peep out sweetmeats and confections of every kind, intermixed with the fragrant citron or Buddha's hand, of which, while growing, the skin is cut into strips, each forming an end like fingers, while golden oranges, grapes, and monstrous, yet unpalatable, pears strew the board. This course completed the banquet, and the servants came in bringing tea, while on the stage the Emperor wailed the loss of his beautiful love in agonizing strains.
As they chatted merrily and sipped their tea, the Viceroy broached the subject that lay nearest his heart, but he found to his dismay that none of his friends were able to help him. One and all they shooktheir heads after he had enumerated the choice articles he had already examined.
"There is nothing richer in the Empire," the governor-general said decisively.
"But it will be an insult to my Emperor to send him a gift that is excelled by something I have already presented," the Viceroy cried despairingly. "Can no one help me out of this unfortunate difficulty?"
All were for a time silent, then Wo Ting, a mandarin and a man of much wisdom, said sententiously:
"The Viceroy of Kiang-si is said to have lately found a lovely daughter. Let him draw his inspiration from the play we have just seen."
The Viceroy looked at him in puzzled wonder, and as the meaning of the strange words dawned upon him he exclaimed in amazement:
"Send Tuen to the Emperor!"
Wo Ting made a sign of assent, and someone else remarked:
"Why not? 'Tis no small honor to be the handmaid of the Son of Heaven, the greatest king upon earth. Find yourself a son, and let the girl go."
"I do not wish to part with her, not just yet," the Viceroy said slowly.
"She will go away sooner or later to the household of her husband," the governor-general told him. "After all it is the same thing, for in either case she is lost to you. It is only a son who is a joy forever."
"True! True!" cried a dozen voices. "What matters a girl?"
"I will consider the question, my friends," the Viceroy said. "She is indeed beautiful and wise and good—my dearest treasure—and a fitting recompense for any honor. She is worthy the acceptance of the greatest of monarchs."
So saying he turned again to the stageand listened to the lamentations of the grief-stricken Emperor, and the fate of Tuen was not further discussed that night.
But Wo Ting remarked in a low tone to his neighbor:
"I should very much like to see that girl. It is whispered that he bought her for a slave, but that she turned out to be so uncommonly wise that he found a teacher for her, and she has been learning to read. After he found what a wonder she was, since she was also pretty, he adopted her. He is a very rich man, and doubtless he would provide well for her if he gave her in marriage. I have a son about her age, and I had been thinking of sending one of the match-makers to arrange matters with him, and get her for my son. But of course if she goes to the Emperor that settles it. If he does not send her—and I think he is loath to start her on such a long journey—I may decide to take her for my daughter-in-law. Itwouldn't be a bad plan," and he scratched his chin reflectively.
But Tuen was sweetly sleeping, and dreaming of the day when she would be a wise woman who could read, and she did not know that her fate hung in the balance. And even if she had known she would have been powerless to change it.