IX
On entering Canton, which he successfully accomplished without anyunpleasant adventure, the marked absence of any dignified ostentationwhich had been accountable for many of Ling's misfortunes in the past,impelled him again to reside in the same insignificant apartment thathe had occupied when he first visited the city as an unknownand unimportant candidate. In consequence of this, when Ling wascommunicating to any person the signs by which messengers mightfind him, he was compelled to add, "the neighbourhood in which thiscontemptible person resides is that officially known as 'the meanquarter favoured by the lower class of those who murder by treachery,'"and for this reason he was not always treated with the regard to whichhis attainments entitled him, or which he would have unquestionablyreceived had he been able to describe himself as of "the partly-drainedand uninfected area reserved to Mandarins and their friends."
It was with an ignoble feeling of mental distress that Ling exhibitedhimself at the Chief Office of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements on thefollowing day; for the many disadvantageous incidents of his past lifehad repeated themselves before his eyes while he slept, and the notunhopeful emotions which he had felt when in the inspiring presence ofMian were now altogether absent. In spite of the fact that he reachedthe office during the early gong strokes of the morning, it was notuntil the withdrawal of light that he reached any person who was in aposition to speak with him on the matter, so numerous were the lesserones through whose chambers he had to pass in the process. At length hefound himself in the presence of an upper one who had the appearanceof being acquainted with the circumstances, and who received him withdignity, though not with any embarrassing exhibition of respect orservility.
"'The hero of the illustrious encounter beyond the walls of Si-chow,'"exclaimed that official, reading the words from the tablet ofintroduction which Ling had caused to be carried into him, and at thesame time examining the person in question closely. "Indeed, no such oneis known to those within this office, unless the words chance to pointto the courteous and unassuming Mandarin Li Keen, who, however, is atthis moment recovering his health at Peking, as set forth in the amiableand impartial report which we have lately received from him."
At these words Ling plainly understood that there was little hope of thelast events becoming profitable on his account.
"Did not the report to which allusion has been made bear reference toone Ling, Commander of the Archers, who thrice led on the fighting men,and who was finally successful in causing the rebels to disperse towardsthe mountains?" he asked, in a voice which somewhat trembled.
"There is certainly reference to one of the name you mention," saidthe other; "but regarding the terms--perhaps this person would betterprotect his own estimable time by displaying the report within yoursight."
With these words the upper one struck a gong several times, and afterreceiving from an inner chamber the parchment in question, he placedit before Ling, at the same time directing a lesser one to interposebetween it and the one who read it a large sheet of transparentsubstance, so that destruction might not come to it, no matter inwhat way its contents affected the reader. Thereon Ling perceived thefollowing facts, very skilfully inscribed with the evident purpose ofinducing persons to believe, without question, that words so elegantlytraced must of necessity be truthful also.
A Benevolent Example of the Intelligent Arrangement by which the most Worthy Persons outlive those who are Incapable.
The circumstances connected with the office of the valuable and accomplished Mandarin of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements at Si-chow have, in recent times, been of anything but a prepossessing order. Owing to the very inadequate methods adopted by those who earn a livelihood by conveying necessities from the more enlightened portions of the Empire to that place, it so came about that for a period of five days the Yamen was entirely unsupplied with the fins of sharks or even with goats' eyes. To add to the polished Mandarin's distress of mind the barbarous and slow-witted rebels who infest those parts took this opportunity to destroy the town and most of its inhabitants, the matter coming about as follows:
The feeble and commonplace person named Ling who commands the bowmen had but recently been elevated to that distinguished position from a menial and degraded occupation (for which, indeed, his stunted intellect more aptly fitted him); and being in consequence very greatly puffed out in self-gratification, he became an easy prey to the cunning of the rebels, and allowed himself to be beguiled into a trap, paying for this contemptible stupidity with his life. The town of Si-chow was then attacked, and being in this manner left defenceless through the weakness--or treachery--of the person Ling, who had contrived to encompass the entire destruction of his unyielding company, it fell after a determined and irreproachable resistance; the Mandarin Li Keen being told, as, covered with the blood of the foemen, he was dragged away from the thickest part of the unequal conflict by his followers, that he was the last person to leave the town. On his way to Peking with news of this valiant defence, the Mandarin was joined by the Chief of Bowmen, who had understood and avoided the very obvious snare into which the stagnant-minded Commander had led his followers, in spite of disinterested advice to the contrary. For this intelligent perception, and for general nobility of conduct when in battle, the versatile Chief of Bowmen is by this written paper strongly recommended to the dignity of receiving the small metal Embellishment of Valour.
It has been suggested to the Mandarin Li Keen that the bestowal of the Crystal Button would only be a fit and graceful reward for his indefatigable efforts to uphold the dignity of the sublime Emperor; but to all such persons the Mandarin has sternly replied that such a proposal would more fitly originate from the renowned and valuable Office of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements, he well knowing that the wise and engaging persons who conduct that indispensable and well-regulated department are gracefully voracious in their efforts to reward merit, even when it is displayed, as in the case in question, by one who from his position will inevitably soon be urgently petitioning in a like manner on their behalf.
When Ling had finished reading this elegantly arranged but exceedinglymisleading parchment, he looked up with eyes from which he vainlyendeavoured to restrain the signs of undignified emotion, and said tothe upper one:
"It is difficult employment for a person to refrain from unendurablethoughts when his unassuming and really conscientious efforts arerepresented in a spirit of no satisfaction, yet in this matter the veryexpert Li Keen appears to have gone beyond himself; the Commander Ling,who is herein represented as being slain by the enemy, is, indeed, theperson who is standing before you, and all the other statements are in alike exactness."
"The short-sighted individual who for some hidden desire of his own isendeavouring to present himself as the corrupt and degraded creatureLing, has overlooked one important circumstance," said the upper one,smiling in a very intolerable manner, at the same time causing his headto move slightly from side to side in the fashion of one who rebukeswith assumed geniality; and, turning over the written paper, hedisplayed upon the under side the Imperial vermilion Sign. "Perhaps,"he continued, "the omniscient person will still continue in his remarks,even with the evidence of the Emperor's unerring pencil to refute him."
At these words and the undoubted testimony of the red mark, whichplainly declared the whole of the written matter to be composed oftruth, no matter what might afterwards transpire, Ling understood thatvery little prosperity remained with him.
"But the town of Si-chow," he suggested, after examining his mind; "ifany person in authority visited the place, he would inevitably find itstanding and its inhabitants in agreeable health."
"The persistent person who is so assiduously occupying my intellectualmoments with empty words seems to be unaccountably deficient in hisknowledge of the customs of refined society and of the meaning of theImperial Signet," said the other, with an entire absence of benevolentconsideration. "That Si-chow has fallen and that Ling
is dead are twoutterly uncontroversial matters truthfully recorded. If a person visitedSi-chow, he might find it rebuilt or even inhabited by those from theneighbouring villages or by evil spirits taking the forms of the oneswho formerly lived there; as in a like manner, Ling might be restoredto existence by magic, or his body might be found and possessed byan outcast demon who desired to revisit the earth for a period. Suchcircumstances do not in any way disturb the announcement that Si-chowhas without question fallen, and that Ling has officially ceased tolive, of which events notifications have been sent to all who areconcerned in the matters."
As the upper one ceased speaking, four strokes sounded upon the gong,and Ling immediately found himself carried into the street by thecurrent of both lesser and upper ones who poured forth at the signal.The termination of this conversation left Ling in a more unenviablestate of dejection than any of the many preceding misfortunes haddone, for with enlarged inducements to possess himself of a competentappointment he seemed to be even further removed from this attainmentthan he had been at any time in his life. He might, indeed, presenthimself again for the public examinations; but in order to do even thatit would be necessary for him to wait almost a year, nor could he assurehimself that his efforts would again be likely to result in an equalsuccess. Doubts also arose within his mind of the course which he shouldfollow in such a case; whether to adopt a new name, involving as itwould certain humiliation and perhaps disgrace if detection overtookhis footsteps, or still to possess the title of one who was in a measuredead, and hazard the likelihood of having any prosperity which he mightobtain reduced to nothing if the fact should become public.
As Ling reflected upon such details he found himself without intentionbefore the house of a wise person who had become very wealthy byadvising others on all matters, but chiefly on those connected withstrange occurrences and such events as could not be settled definitelyeither one way or the other until a remote period had been reached.Becoming assailed by a curious desire to know what manner of evilsparticularly attached themselves to such as were officially dead but whonevertheless had an ordinary existence, Ling placed himself before thisperson, and after arranging the manner of reward related to him so manyof the circumstances as were necessary to enable a full understanding tobe reached, but at the same time in no way betraying his own interest inthe matter.
"Such inflictions are to no degree frequent," said the wise person afterhe had consulted a polished sphere of the finest red jade for sometime; "and this is in a measure to be regretted, as the hair of thesepersons--provided they die a violent death, which is invariably thecase--constitutes a certain protection against being struck by fallingstars, or becoming involved in unsuccessful law cases. The persons inquestion can be recognized with certainty in the public ways by theunnatural pallor of their faces and by the general repulsiveness oftheir appearance, but as they soon take refuge in suicide, unlessthey have the fortune to be removed previously by accident, it is aninfrequent matter that one is gratified by the sight. During theirexistence they are subject to many disorders from which the generalityof human beings are benevolently preserved; they possess no rightsof any kind, and if by any chance they are detected in an act of aseemingly depraved nature, they are liable to judgment at the hands ofthe passers-by without any form whatever, and to punishment of a moresevere order than that administered to commonplace criminals. Thereare many other disadvantages affecting such persons when they reach theMiddle Air, of which the chief--"
"This person is immeasurably indebted for such a clear explanation ofthe position," interrupted Ling, who had a feeling of not desiringto penetrate further into the detail; "but as he perceives a lineof anxious ones eagerly waiting at the door to obtain advice andconsolation from so expert and amiable a wizard, he will not makehimself uncongenial any longer with his very feeble topics ofconversation."
By this time Ling plainly comprehended that he had been marked outfrom the beginning--perhaps for all the knowledge which he had to theopposite effect, from a period in the life of a far-removed ancestor--tobe an object of marked derision and the victim of all manner ofmalevolent demons in whatever actions he undertook. In this conditionof understanding his mind turned gratefully to the parting gift of Mianwhom he had now no hope of possessing; for the intolerable thoughtof uniting her to so objectionable a being as himself would have beendismissed as utterly inelegant even had he been in a manner of livingto provide for her adequately, which itself seemed clearly impossible.Disregarding all similar emotions, therefore, he walked without pausingto his abode, and stretching his body upon the rushes, drank the entireliquid unhesitatingly, and prepared to pass beyond with a tranquil mindentirely given up to thoughts and images of Mian.