enchanting and virtuous grace, but who was, nevertheless, as the
unrolling of future events irresistibly discovered, a person of
irregular character and undignified habits. On the eve of the marriage
ceremony this person was made known to her by the undoubtedly
enraptured Tung Fel, whereupon 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."