The Mirror of Kong Ho | Page 5

are led into the presence of
certain lesser mandarins who administer justice from a raised dais.

"Behold!" exclaims the chief of the captors, when the prisoners have
been placed in obsequious attitudes before the lesser mandarins, "thus
the matter chanced: The honourable Wang, although disguised under
the semblance of an applewoman, had discreetly concealed himself by
the roadside, all but his head being underneath a stream of stagnant
water, when, at the eighth hour of the morning, he beheld these
repulsive outcasts approaching in their chariot, carried forward by the
diabolical vigour of the unlawful demon. Although I had stationed
myself several li distant from the accomplished Wang, the chariot
reached me in less than a breathing space of time, those inside
assuming their fiercest and most aggressive attitudes, and as they came
repeatedly urging the demon to increased exertions. Their speed
exceeded that of the swallow in his hymeneal flight, all shrubs and
flowers by the wayside withered incapably at the demon's
contaminating glance, running water ceased to flow, and the road itself
was scorched at their passage, the earth emitting a dull bluish flame.
These facts, and the times and the distances, this person has further
inscribed in a book which thus disposes of all possible defence.
Therefore, O lesser mandarins, let justice be accomplished heavily and
without delay; for, as the proverb truly says, 'The fiercer the flame the
more useless the struggles of the victim.'"
At this point the prisoners frequently endeavour to make themselves
heard, protesting that in the distance between the concealed Wang and
the one who stands accusing them they had thrice stopped to repair
their innermost details, had leisurely partaken of food and wine, and
had also been overtaken, struck, and delayed by a funeral procession.
But so great is the execration in which these persons are held, that
although murderers by stealth, outlaws, snatchers from the body, and
companies of men who by strategy make a smaller sum of money
appear to be larger, can all freely testify their innocence, raisers of this
unlawful demon must not do so, and they are beaten on the head with
chains until they desist.
Then the lesser mandarins, raising their voices in unison, exclaim, `The
amiable Tsay-hi has reported the matter in a discreet and impartial
spirit. Hear our pronouncement: These raisers of illegal spirits shall

each contribute ten taels of gold, which shall be expended in joss-sticks,
in purifying the road which they have scorched, and in alleviating the
distress of the poor and virtuous of both sexes. The praiseworthy
Tsay-hi, moreover, shall embroider upon his sleeve an honourable sign
in remembrance of the event. Let drums now be beat, and our verdict
loudly proclaimed throughout the province."
These things, O my illustrious father (although on account of my
contemptible deficiencies of style much may seem improbable to your
all-knowing mind), these things I write with an unbending brush; for I
set down only that which I have myself seen, or read in their own
printed records. Doubtless it will occur to one of your preternatural
intelligence that our own system of administering justice, whereby the
person who can hire the greater number of witnesses is reasonably held
to be in the right, although perhaps not absolutely infallible, is in every
way more convenient; but, as it is well said, "To the blind, night is as
acceptable as day."
Henceforth you will have no hesitation in letting it be known
throughout Yuen-ping that these foreign barbarians do possess secret
demons, in spite of their denials. Doubtless I shall presently discover
others no less powerful.
With honourable distinction this person has at length grasped the
essential details of the spoken language here--not sufficiently well,
indeed, to make himself understood on most occasions, or even to
understand others, but enough to perceive clearly when he fails to
become intelligible or when they experience a like difficulty with him.
Upon an earlier occasion, before he had made so much progress, being
one day left to his own resources, and feeling an internal lack, he
entered what appeared to be a tea-shop of reputable demeanour, and,
seating himself at one of the little marble tables, he freely pronounced
the carefully-learned word "rice" to the attending nymph. To put aside
all details of preparation (into which, indeed, this person could not
enter) he waved his hand gracefully, at the same time smiling with an
expression of tolerant acquiescence, as of one who would say that what
was good enough to be cooked and offered by so entrancing a maiden

was good enough to be eaten by him. After remaining in unruffled
tranquillity for the full portion of an hour, and observing that no other
person around had to wait above half that period, this one began to
perceive that the enterprise