JNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEG 
 
 3 1822 00152 5435 

 
 - 
 
 s~ 
 
 LIBRARY
 
 3 1822 00152 5435
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 POLITICAL 
 
 MANCHU AND MUSCOVITE 
 THE RE-SHAPING OF THE I**AR EAST (2 Vols.) 
 THE TRUCE IN THE EAST AND ITS AFTERMATH 
 THE COMING STRUGGLE IN EASTERN ASIA 
 THE CONFLICT OF COLOUR 
 
 ROMANTIC 
 
 INDISCREET LETTERS FROM PEKING 
 THE FORBIDDEN BOUNDARY 
 THE HUMAN COBWEB 
 THE UNKNOWN GOD 
 THE REVOLT 
 THE ROMANCE OF A FEW DAYS
 
 THE 
 ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 A NOVEL OF CHINA MANNERS 
 
 BY 
 
 PUTNAM WEALE 
 
 / ^ 
 ') 
 
 METHUEN & GO. LTD. 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET W.G. 
 
 LONDON
 
 First Published in 1914
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 NONE of the people living in these pages have any 
 existence in flesh and blood. They are real only in as 
 far as they are essential parts of a picture painted to portray 
 facts that is, the impact of East upon West, the disarray which 
 collisions bring, and the ensuing irony. 
 
 This book is, therefore, a synthesis not a theorem or a 
 caricature. It is too serious to be either of the latter. It should 
 be read only by people with a sense of humour. 
 
 CHINA, 1914
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS
 
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 " Tse Kung said to Confucius : ' If you had a lovely jewel, would 
 you hide it away in a casket, or would you try to sell it for a good 
 price ? ' 
 
 " The Master replied : ' Oh, certainly I would sell it, but I would 
 wait until a price was offered.' " "THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 BELLE LAWSON'S voice broke on the hot, damp air 
 sharply and unexpectedly : 
 
 " Lizzie, Lizzie, what's the time, Lizzie ? " 
 
 There was a brief pause. Then the reply, prefaced by 
 a chuckle of amusement, came lazily and sleepily through 
 the half-open door in a curious drawl reminiscent of very 
 different climes : 
 
 " Half -past kissing-time, time to kiss again ! " 
 
 Belle Lawson jumped up from her sofa with an exclama- 
 tion of panic, showing that the aphorism was both familiar 
 and urgent in its local application. With one hand pressed 
 against her face to moderate a yawn, and the other searching 
 behind her in a hurried effort to gather up her hair, she 
 tried to collect herself. Presently the words raced from 
 her mouth in an odd medley indicative of her thoughts : 
 
 " Half -past four already, and callers may catch us before 
 we can get out ? It's impossible I must have slept. Now, 
 Lizzie, we haven't a minute to spare, or else the tender will 
 be in hours before we can get down to the wharf. My ! how 
 hot I am, and sleepy too ! Lizzie, don't be foolish and laugh 
 
 like that. We've got to, you promised " 
 
 I
 
 2 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 She paused to take breath, listening the while anxiously. 
 In spite of her emphatic manner it was clear that she was 
 still doubtful of having carried her point. In the other room 
 the musical laughter continued like the laughter of a child, 
 but at length came another drawling comment : 
 
 " Belle, don't fly off the handle so almighty fast ! I was 
 only fooling you now don't- be angry if I tell ! It's just a 
 little after three, and mighty hot for moving, don't you 
 think ? " 
 
 There was a moment's ominous silence ; then Belle 
 Lawson called back sharply : 
 
 " I am coming in to pinch you, Lizzie, for being so real 
 mean. I shall pinch you hard too ! Here I am sitting up, 
 feeling like a half-drowned rat, and much more miserable, 
 I'm sure, with nearly an hour to spare and nothing to do ! 
 Lizzie, you're a pig, a p-i-g, do you hear ! " 
 
 Soft laughter continued to be the only consolation vouch- 
 safed her, but already her thoughts had fled elsewhere and she 
 hardly noticed it. Fishing lazily with her feet under the 
 sofa for her Canton bamboo slippers, she at last made a suc- 
 cessful thrust and pushed in her toes. Now, pulling her pink 
 kimono about her, she stood up, paused a second or two as if 
 in doubt, then instinctively turned and glanced into the 
 cheval-glass opposite the sofa. 
 
 In the dim light the reflection which was thrown back 
 to her was so pleasing after her languorous dreams that she 
 smiled at it encouragingly. Lifting her arms above her head, 
 she ran her fingers through the dark brown hair which hung 
 in tumbled masses down her back, poising her tall, handsome 
 body the while as if to remind herself that she was at woman's 
 perfect physical age twenty-six when all the world can be 
 embraced or shouldered aside. 
 
 She was of the puzzling type which used to be known as 
 fausse maigre in those days when woman's dress was relatively 
 rational. Sinuous yet strong ; thin and yet not thin ; robust 
 and yet not robust ; full of subtle contradictions in details 
 both important and unimportant, there was about gher a
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 3 
 
 curious attraction. Her hands appeared at the first shock 
 larger than they should have been owing to the big bone of 
 her frame ; you could picture those hands grasping even a 
 strong man by the throat and shaking him like a rat. Yet 
 the eye, carefully measuring them and comparing them with 
 the rest, at length perceived that they were so well-shaped 
 and fitted in so well with the character of the woman that 
 their apparent exaggeration was a fiction. For her arms, 
 long and thin, instinctively moved in languorous movements 
 in odd contrast to what might have been normally expected 
 of them : they seemed provoking in different sense from her 
 hands. Her eyes were remarkable jet-black and very 
 steady, indeed too steady, for there is scorn in most steady 
 eyes. Her nose, straight and with very open nostrils, was 
 well-modelled ; but her mouth, though equally good, was too 
 mobile to be convincing. Now as she gazed at herself, 
 half quizzically, half seriously, the red lips twitched with 
 conflicting feelings, showing all the multiform expression 
 which should have belonged to the eyes. How many had not 
 told her about the eloquence of her lips ! They surveyed 
 life openly in a pagan spirit, knowing that nothing is what 
 it seems, and that we trifle with words in order to screen our 
 natures. Just now her lips fascinated her ; she could not 
 take her eyes off them ; they seemed the very epitome of 
 life especially of her life, which was a succession of induce- 
 ments rather than of events, a chain of emotions rather than 
 a tale of decisions, a string of inconsequences, destined perhaps 
 to form the strands of a rope of disaster. . . . 
 
 At last with the texture of her thoughts woven tighter 
 by this silent contemplation, which had given a harder glint 
 to her eyes, she turned and made a leisurely passage to the 
 shuttered window. Very cautiously almost as if she were 
 afraid that the light might strike back she pushed open the 
 heavy wooden shutters until the dazzling sun-bathed outer 
 world became visible. Then, leaning her elbows on the sill 
 and shading her eyes with her hands, she remained there 
 quite motionless because the familiar Eastern scene always 
 
 f
 
 4 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 entranced her after the dreamland of an afternoon 
 siesta. 
 
 The prospect, viewed through the narrow gap which 
 she had opened between the green shutters, was in point 
 of fact rather entrancing, much as are opium dreams, or the 
 hot fancies which crowd the brain when fever rises high. 
 Only fifty yards away across a street lined with trees of an 
 impudent green and embellished by a broad and beautifully 
 kept grass lawn flowed a slow, ochre-coloured stream which 
 after one big bend emptied its waters into the distant mother 
 river. On the yellow bosom of this large creek, moving idly 
 to and fro as if in doubt what their movements should really 
 be, were numbers of wasp-waisted junks, beetle-shaped cargo- 
 boats, and quaint little sampans, these last painted a brilliant 
 red-and-white as if to lure passengers aboard by their daring 
 colouring. All these craft floated to and fro in an odd lacka- 
 daisical manner which was in tune with the wilting sunbeams, 
 and the pale turquoise of the heavens, and the damp vapours 
 filling the atmosphere. The sensuality of laziness seemed to 
 lie like a pall over everything. Standing at that window it 
 was possible to imagine that an afternoon could be filled full 
 to overflowing in doing nothing at all, save perhaps moving 
 slowly to and fro just as these curious junks and cargo-boats 
 and sampans were doing. 
 
 Curious craft indeed. . . . 
 
 Yet sometimes a strange animation seized even this silent 
 concourse. Then, for no reason that could be discovered, 
 to a great and senseless shouting, cargo-boats that lay 
 anchored in long tiers, and junks that had long lowered 
 their mud-coloured sails and shipped their clumsy yulohs, 
 would all decide to move, pushing quickly out into mid- 
 stream with a suddenness that was disconcerting. Brown 
 figures, naked to the waist and crowned with stiff-brimmed 
 conical straw hats, would spring from nowhere, and pole in 
 hand would commence yelling for dear life as if noise was 
 the elixir destined to awaken their dormant craft and magic- 
 ally propel them upstream or downstream, just as a
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 5 
 
 preliminary stroke or two of the poles might decide. Then 
 the innumerable red-and-white sampans, menaced by this 
 press of heavy brethren, swinging to the tide in solid phalanxes, 
 their chains clanking ominously, would wriggle frantically 
 away, darting in and out of the throng with a skill belonging 
 to a race of watermen who have no compeers. Quickly and 
 frantically they now fled, whilst the din rose higher and higher, 
 their bows twisting this way and that way from the fast 
 yulohing, finally seeking shelter behind the massive timbers 
 of the white wooden bridges which spanned the creek at regular 
 intervals. The sampans were fascinating ; they were for 
 all the world like tadpoles. In the dazzling sunlight their 
 gyrations and perturbations were hardly less than the anxiety 
 of living creatures. One wished that they might go on like 
 this for ever wriggling, swinging, darting. Yet it could 
 not be. For just as the confusion had so suddenly and 
 strangely commenced, so would it suddenly and strangely 
 cease. Then once more silence, somnolescence, sleep. . . . 
 
 Downstream the creek broadened into such a respectable 
 body of yellow water that the last of the bridges the main 
 bridge stood up clear-cut against the dazzling sky-line, 
 a. great massive structure of steel and concrete, an ostensibly 
 Western thing, an insolent intruder, if you will, yet withal 
 locked so strongly on to this dreamy willowy world that it 
 could defy time, tide, and man indefinitely. 
 
 From this bridge came a continuous rumble, a dull thunder. 
 Hundreds of handcarts and wheelbarrows and jinrickshas 
 were slowly and laboriously breasting the steep upwards of 
 the great pontinal thoroughfare by sheer force of human 
 muscle ; then, when the summit was reached, these vehicles 
 thundered loosely down the incline, the wheels gathering 
 speed in proportion to the dead weight carried, until some of 
 the heavy handcarts, with mountainous loads of cargo stacked 
 upon them, gained the solid roadway with their teams of 
 sweating coolies racing madly beside them all control lost, 
 with nothing but raucous cries to ward off the imminent 
 disaster of collision. This unending movement, with its
 
 6 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 confused noise and its great numbers of ant-like men, pre- 
 sented the appearance of the baggage-train of a mediaeval 
 army moving madly in a rapid and disorderly retreat, a living 
 picture in the style, let us say, of that forgotten genius Gustave 
 Dore. The multitude, indeed, seemed to be escaping quickly 
 from something tremendous, something dangerous, some- 
 thing pregnant with ominous meaning ; the men seemed 
 to be running away with all discipline cast to the winds. . . . 
 In such an atmosphere it was rude and hurtful that such vast 
 energy should be put forth. There was irritation for the eyes 
 and nerves in the spectacle centering round the great main 
 bridge. 
 
 This animation, however, did not extend elsewhere. Up- 
 stream, where the tall Shot-Tower marked the beginning 
 of the factory district, there was indeed hardly a soul moving. 
 The tide of traffic the business bustle which went on just 
 as briskly during the long blistering afternoons as in the pale 
 hours of dawn was indeed far from here. Around the Shot- 
 Tower, where the shot dropped from aloft night and day into 
 the cooling mud, there was almost a Sabbath peace. Nothing 
 moved nothing or next to nothing. Even the few boats 
 anchored in those upper reaches were never overcome by the 
 fits of mad animation that possessed the fleets lying nearer 
 the creek-mouth. They lay quiet and deserted derelicts 
 abandoned by their owners ; forgotten things, unremembered, 
 undesired. Only round a great forest of scaffolding, which 
 marked the site of a new factory, was there any life at all. 
 Here gangs of men, harnessed to mighty native pestles of 
 timber and iron, were beating in the foundations to a perpetual 
 chorus-singing. The head-man of each gang, leading off in a 
 high-pitched voice which trembled in the air like the note 
 of a quavering violin, gave the signal ; then in a chanty, 
 which echoed plaintively far and wide, the gang grasping 
 their frayed and tattered ropes tightly in their hands, lazily 
 swung the great weight up, and thump, with sudden release, 
 had flung it down again. 
 
 These choruses, floating musically in the air, and punctu-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 7 
 
 ated by the dull shock of the pestles, were curiously redolent 
 of the people and of the land. They fitted in with the blinding 
 sunlight, the luxuriant growth of the trees and flowers, the 
 little whisking red-and-white sampans, the conical hats of 
 straw, the naked brown backs, the somnolescence, the buzz 
 of flies. The choruses rose and fell rhythmically and yet not 
 rhythmically, plaintively and yet not plaintively irregularly 
 regular in their pattern of cries, their import, their com- 
 mand. . . . Soon to the listening ear they seemed the very 
 spirit of that hot afternoon, something which had meaning 
 where spoken words were meaningless. They were entrancing, 
 fit to listen to and to understand the spirit of the East. . . . 
 
 Below the singing gangs, masons in blue clothing, sitting 
 along broken masses of granite in long lines as straight as a 
 ruler rules, worked on as if hypnotized by the rude music 
 echoing above them. With never a change of attitude or 
 a pause, with heads bent down and eyes motionless, they plied 
 chisel and hammer, working, working, working through the 
 long afternoon. The fiery sun, now travelling down towards 
 the west by rapid inches, cast their shadows longer and longer 
 as they sat and laboured on, the chips ceaselessly flying, the 
 broken masses slowly assuming mathematical shapes. There 
 was something in that, too, to heed and understand. These 
 men's fathers had been masons before them, just as their 
 sons would be masons after them ; their work was not 
 bounded by generations it was everlasting. They 
 creatures of flesh and blood were the incidentals ; the 
 essentials were the inanimate blocks of stone. . . . 
 
 A dog asleep on the pavement immediately below the 
 window suddenly awakened from some dream with an 
 almost human cry. Disturbed in her reverie, Belle Lawson 
 glanced down at the creature, and by so doing snapped the 
 thread of her thoughts. With an involuntary sigh she slowly 
 closed the shutters, and shut out the scene. The spell had 
 been broken, and time was speeding on. 
 
 " Heigh-ho ! " she exclaimed, suppressing a yawn and 
 pushing open the door leading into the next room. " Here I
 
 8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 am, Lizzie, coming to annoy you just because you were so 
 mean to me. Mercy, what have you been doing, child ? You 
 look as if you had been through an earthquake in your room, 
 when everything is so peaceful and sleepy out of doors that 
 I felt I was just Rip Van Winkle." 
 
 Saying which she dropped into a wicker-chair beside 
 the sofa, and, stretching out a hand, commenced smoothing 
 the disarray of blond hair which had so surprised her. 
 
 Lizzie Gotham was as different from Belle Lawson as 
 a woman could be. Small of stature, plump, blond, with 
 quick blue eyes, she seemed to express satisfaction with 
 life to find life everything it could possibly be. In truth 
 she was a child moved by childish things, such as a man 
 kissing her or a pretty roll of silk sent with a flattering little 
 note telling her that she was adorable. Not given to intro- 
 spection or reflection, she was satisfied with things as she 
 found them, believing that everything comes right in the 
 long run if it is only left alone. Now as she felt Belle Lawson 
 smoothing her hair she stretched out much as a cat stretches 
 itself when stroked. For a full minute she remained like 
 that, silent, motionless. Then, suddenly, she dropped her 
 arms and began speaking : 
 
 " Isn't it funny I should toss and turn so ? You know 
 I used to lie so quiet that I could put a flower in my hair 
 when I went to sleep and find it in exactly the same place 
 when I woke up. But now " she made a little gesture 
 of disgust and then laughed " well, let's put it down to the 
 heat as we always do ! " 
 
 The other woman did not answer : she merely went on 
 stroking the girl's hair. So Lizzie, after a considerable 
 pause, began again : 
 
 " Yet I know it isn't the heat so why should I say 
 it is ? We're like that afraid of saying things out, that 
 is excepting you, Belle, and you frighten everybody." 
 
 " Lizzie, don't " 
 
 As she said that Belle Lawson drew back sharply. Then 
 she bit her under-lip, confessedly annoyed at such a betrayal
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 9 
 
 of her secret thoughts. Now she sat stiff and almost stern, 
 as if something had taken the spring and elasticity out of 
 her sinuous body. Even her strong hands hung limply. 
 But slowly a defiant expression crossed her features, and she 
 tossed her head. Then, after a few more seconds she fell 
 back in her seat with something of her old indifferent pose. 
 
 " Why did you stop, Lizzie ? " she asked a little bitterly. 
 " I did not mean to stop you, you know. I'm cranky this 
 afternoon, that's all the same good old complaint nerves ! '* 
 
 Lizzie understood her friend so well that she went on easily 
 as if there had been no interruption at all. Some spirit moved 
 her to speak, and nothing could have stopped her. 
 
 " When I was first married, you know, Belle, I used 
 to think it such fun to go to sleep in the afternoon. Down 
 in Connecticut where I come from it's considered quite im- 
 moral, horribly immoral, to do it. But just because I was 
 married I determined to do just as I pleased. Whenever 
 I talked about it everybody frowned and thought a deal of 
 bad things, I'm sure ; but mother didn't dare to tutor me as 
 she would have done if I had still been her little girl. Well, 
 one day when I was lying drowsy on the sofa with my face to 
 the wall, a friend of Tom's came in, but Tom was out, and so 
 Jack sat down to wait. Jack in those days used to seem to 
 me the funniest fellow in the world he always sat very still 
 in a corner, never speaking, so that we had christened him 
 Jack Horner. Nobody minded him any more than a tame old 
 cat he was so simple, you know. Well, as I was saying, 
 that day he came in and just sat down as he always did, never 
 saying a word. He told me afterwards that I was as pretty 
 as a kitten and he couldn't help it. After a long while he 
 came up on tiptoe and kissed me as I lay there, and kept on 
 kissing me until I finally woke up completely. Of course, 
 I thought it was Tom, or pretended to, and put out my arms 
 with my eyes still closed, and kissed back. Mercy, what a 
 shock that gave me! Jack Horner had a long moustache, 
 and Tom hadn't any ! I had never kissed a man with a 
 moustache before not hard like that, I mean. For a bit
 
 io THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 I didn't know what had happened. Then I commenced to 
 cry, and Jack tried to comfort me. He told me that silent 
 men cared most about women, and that he had been afraid to 
 speak before. Well, of course, that was the beginning, and 
 it went on like that, and presently he said he could not live 
 without me, and persuaded me to go away. And when 
 poor Jack died out there in California there was nothing 
 for me to do but to leave the country. I have never told 
 you before, Belle, because I hate to think of it all. But 
 somehow to-day I've been thinking of it all the time, and 
 turning and tossing until my hair has got in such a tangle 
 I can't even imagine how I'm going to get it out straight 
 again. And I hate myself so, I just don't know what to do. 
 Funny, isn't it ? " 
 
 Lizzie Gotham's blue eyes had suddenly filled with tears 
 as she finished this curious, disjointed, and rather irrelevant 
 narrative. Now she lay looking at something in the far 
 distance which revived in her feelings that had long been 
 dormant. Her plump arms, stretched above her head, made 
 her look even more than ever like a pretty fluffy doll to be 
 fondled for a while and then cruelly forgotten. Belle Lawson, 
 studying her intently, with her lips still curling, wondered 
 to herself what had come over this apparently thoughtless 
 woman. 
 
 The study gave her no satisfaction. Perhaps it was 
 because she herself hated reminiscences of any sort, par- 
 ticularly those of a sentimental kind, which according 
 to her view should never be indulged in. As her mobile 
 upper lip curled a little farther back, she suddenly put a 
 question : 
 
 " And would you like to get married again ? " 
 
 Lizzie Gotham, with one quick movement, almost jumped 
 to her feet : 
 
 " Would I like to get married again ? Why, Belle, what 
 are women made for ? Of course I want to get married 
 just as much as you do." 
 
 " Me" Belle Lawson shot out the word ungrammatically,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS n 
 
 but defiantly, and her black eyes became so hard that Lizzie 
 quailed. 
 
 " Well," she answered a little sulkily, " I suppose you 
 would like to I suppose, seeing how things are " 
 
 " Don't suppose anything," interrupted Belle Lawson 
 angrily. " Leave me alone leave me out of all calculations, 
 do you see ? " 
 
 " Why, Belle," stammered the younger woman, " you 
 needn't eat me up like that when I was only talking to amuse 
 you." 
 
 Conscious that words could not explain certain subtleties 
 which had crept across her immature mind, Lizzie Gotham 
 lapsed into silence once more, and stared at a clock which 
 adorned an angle of her elaborate dressing-table the gift 
 of a new admirer. Presently, with almost ominous deepness 
 for such a pretty trifle, it struck four strokes on a gong. 
 
 " Thank Heaven ! " exclaimed Belle Lawson, rising from 
 her chair with evident relief, and gathering her kimono 
 round her, " there's four o'clock at last, and we've got to 
 dress sharp. Now, Lizzie ! " 
 
 She shook a threatening finger and walked quickly into 
 her own room. Swiftly she pushed open the green Venetians 
 in sudden indifference to the sun ; then came back and 
 busied herself with her toilet, with the rapid, decisive move- 
 ments of those who are always dressing and undressing. 
 Only once did she pause when she was successfully corseted 
 and ready for her muslin dress, which had been brought up 
 freshly ironed in response to her bell. Then she reflectively 
 picked up the photograph of a man with strong, resolute 
 features, and a heavy moustache, and stood with it in her hand 
 lost in contemplation. 
 
 Somehow there was an exceptional quality about that 
 photograph ; it seemed fraught with particular significance. 
 The way the man looked, the way he held his head, the 
 expression in his eyes all were arresting. And then across 
 the bottom of the likeness ran the curious legend, in bold, 
 strong handwriting : " Christmas Day on the river for
 
 12 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 better or for worse " ; and below, in still heavier lettering, 
 the signature, " Ian Mortiboy." 
 
 For a long time the woman looked at it intently, never 
 faltering in her stare. 
 
 Half an hour later, when the two friends, dressed in 
 spotless white, emerged from the house, they were gaily 
 talking together, and appeared to have forgotten all about 
 their previous moods. At the door stood a high black 
 dogcart with a big black horse fretting ceaselessly in spite 
 of the caressing of the native groom. 
 
 Belle Lawson climbed up as lightly as a boy would have 
 done and seized the reins ; Lizzie Gotham showed herself 
 less agile. 
 
 " Mercy, how high it is!" she exclaimed a little breath- 
 lessly, as they started off. " I shall never get used to this 
 new dogcart of yours " 
 
 " Nonsense," rejoined Belle Lawson laconically, touching 
 the satin coat of the mare with her whip. She was a born 
 horsewoman, and afraid of nothing. They went down the 
 road swiftly and easily, and at length took the steep incline 
 of the main bridge at a rattling pace, the Chinese groom 
 leaning far out from the back seat and shouting at the traffic. 
 Then, when they had breasted the slope, Belle Lawson held 
 back the mare to a half -trot, sober, careful. 
 
 Round them seethed the two rival streams, battalions 
 of sweating men hauling their loads up the incline, and other 
 battalions making human brakes of themselves as their heavy 
 handcarts lumbered downhill. The movement was ex- 
 ceptional to-day, the noise of wheels incessant, and even 
 Belle Lawson glanced round once or twice with a frown as the 
 mare began dancing. 
 
 Then, without any warning, a horrid thing happened. 
 They had almost gained the solid roadway, when a heavy 
 wheelbarrow just ahead of them upset with a crash, and a 
 great load of fruit was scattered far and wide. The mare, 
 badly frightened, plunged sideways across the road. Belle 
 Lawson, who had iron wrists, put forth all her strength and
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 13 
 
 tried to control her. She heard the thunder behind ; she 
 knew what was inevitable, unless she quickly succeeded. 
 Heavy handcarts were racing down it was almost im- 
 possible to check them. 
 
 " Mafuf" she suddenly called in desperation to the native 
 groom as she felt that she was losing control. 
 
 But it was too late. With roars of warning the sweating 
 teams of men behind had done their utmost, but their loaded 
 wagons had passed beyond the strength of their muscles and 
 were racing madly forward. Suddenly one struck a wheel of 
 the dogcart then another cannoned into that ; and the 
 wheel, as if it had been matchwood, fell to pieces. 
 
 " Belle! " screamed Lizzie Gotham just once as she clutched 
 at her wildly. 
 
 Then there was a great roar as the horse, with the remains 
 of the dogcart, plunged madly away, leaving behind on the 
 roadway two prostrate figures.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 "... The inhabitants of Hu-hsiang were unconversable people, 
 and when a young man from those parts came to see Confucius, the 
 disciples hesitated to let him in. But the Master said : ' When a man 
 comes to me, I accept him at his best, not at his worst. Why make 
 so much ado ? When a man washes his hand before paying a visit, 
 and you receive him in that clean state, you do not thereby stand 
 surety for his always having been clean in the past.' " " THE 
 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 r I ""HE old gatekeeper, clad in a sober long-coat of blue, 
 
 with a curious cup-shaped hat adorned with a long 
 
 tassel on his head, stood motionless by the green wooden 
 
 gates peering into the night, a diffident enigmatic figure, such 
 
 as is painted on numberless porcelain bowls, a figure that has 
 
 changed but little throughout the ages, though many dynasties 
 
 have come and gone. 
 
 He had been standing there for a full half an hour, almost 
 unseen, yet carefully counting the guests and then watching 
 the empty vehicles depart, as had been his custom for thirty 
 years. In his left hand he held a number of little wooden 
 pegs ; these had been carefully and methodically transferred 
 from his right hand as carriages and rickshaws had rushed 
 through the gateway. But now for a full quarter of an hour 
 he had been standing idly enough with just one solitary peg 
 unaccounted for. 
 
 One person had not yet arrived one and one only. His 
 little grandson, who was employed in the kitchen, had already 
 slipped through the garden to tell him that the whole house- 
 hold was becoming upset at the prospect of having to face 
 the mistress's bad temper because of this contretemps. Too
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 15 
 
 perturbed to wait quietly any longer, the old man shuffled 
 forward out of the compound and gazed fixedly down the 
 street in the direction of the great, city, which cast such a glare 
 of light into the dark skies. It was from there that all of 
 them came flying to their food with eagerness of ravens 
 rushing in one after another as if it were a race, corrupting 
 all manners by their foolish exhibition of speed. 
 
 The roadway, lit by gas, and shaded by many trees, stood 
 quite silent and deserted. It was long past the dinner-hour ; 
 nobody was coming ; the trees and the bushes had the scented 
 night entirely to themselves. With sudden discontent the 
 old man came in ; shut one half of the gate as he had always 
 done as a signal that his duties were for the time being ended ; 
 then, muttering to himself, he went down the carriage-drive 
 towards the light streaming from the house. 
 
 On the veranda-steps two other anxious servants were 
 waiting for his appearance. Their calculations were the 
 same as his one guest was missing. As they saw the old 
 man approach they glanced at each other ironically, and 
 swore at his ancestors under their breath because he moved 
 so slowly. 
 
 " Nineteen," grunted the gatekeeper laconically in the 
 vernacular, without so much as looking at them, throwing 
 all the wooden pegs save one into an empty flower-pot, long 
 appropriated for this particular use. He balanced the re- 
 maining peg for a second or two between his fingers ; then, 
 suddenly making up his mind, he tossed it after the others. 
 '' One has forgotten ; there will be trouble. I go to close the 
 gates." 
 
 And with that he turned and walked back inscrutable 
 as the night. 
 
 The house servants, in their long white grasscloth coats, 
 disappeared into the house. But they were spared the trouble 
 of speaking, for their mistress had just gone up to the master 
 of the house, and they could see that she was asking him the 
 fateful question. 
 
 " Who are we waiting for, Richard ? We have been
 
 16 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 waiting for hours. It is so inconvenient with all these Chinese 
 here to-night." 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen, who was short and massively built, and 
 had a roguish face, looked up with real anxiety at her husband, 
 who was tall and thin, and had his hands in his pockets and 
 an eyeglass in his right eye. He answered indifferently : 
 
 " That's all right. The Chinese don't mind waiting all 
 night, so don't worry about them. It's old Steinhein again. 
 That's the worst of asking these medicos you never know 
 whether they are really coming." 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen, somewhat relieved, glanced round the 
 room. 
 
 " Of course old Steinhein well, that won't break any- 
 body's heart ! In any case they have enough to amuse them- 
 selves not to mind five minutes more. I have never seen such 
 a collection. It's a regular circus. Now I must go and 
 introduce some more of them to one another." And with that 
 she moved off. 
 
 The reunion in all truth was something of an innovation. 
 There was a medley of types, a contrast in costumes and 
 complexions sufficiently bizarre to justify almost any term. 
 Quite close to where the host and hostess had been engaged in 
 conversation, Mr. Banner] ee Sannerjee, the millionaire from 
 Bombay, his face almost coal-black above his dazzling white 
 shirt-front, stood buttonholing Sir John Weeger, a thin, 
 sun-dried, white-haired Englishman. Next to this pair, 
 Mr. Chu Ta Ming, a Chinese gentleman, clothed in his national 
 costume of rich silks, with a most carefully plaited queue 
 falling down his back, was lackadaisically smelling a flower 
 he had taken from a silver vase. Beside him, silent yet alert, 
 in a correct dress-suit, his coal-black hair shining as brightly 
 as if it had been bathed in oil, was Mr. Willy Chang, who had 
 forsaken the land of his forefathers for so long that to-night 
 he felt almost a foreigner inclined to sneer at Mr. Chu Ta Ming's 
 beautiful queue rather than to take pleasure in Mr. Chu 
 Ta Ming's conversation, which was brilliant in four languages. 
 But the piece de resistance of the evening was none of these :
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 17 
 
 it was His Excellency Yao Pu Yao, a colossal grey-haired 
 Chinaman, late Ambassador at Vienna, who had made a 
 sensation in Europe by his extravagances. Now so enfeebled 
 through the excessive use of opium that he could only walk 
 supporting himself on the shoulder of a servant, he stood 
 leaning against the wall, gazing blandly at nothing at all. 
 In deference to European taste, instead of his usual factotum 
 he had brought with him to-night a diminutive page ; and 
 in imitation of what he had grown accustomed to abroad 
 his master had furnished him with yellow silk knee-breeches, 
 a yellow silk coat, black silk stockings, and beautiful lady's 
 shoes with silver buckles. The little native boy stood there 
 stiffly, without the trace of a smile, his natty little queue 
 and his beady black eyes adding piquancy to his dress, calmly 
 taking all the astonished attention of the Europeans present 
 as a purely personal triumph. 
 
 That was not all. For ranged round their father and 
 dressed in the very height of Paris fashions, were his three 
 daughters, Miss Minnie Yao, Miss Jenny Yao, and Miss 
 Polly Yao, three doll-like little things, made almost pre- 
 cisely after the manner of those wooden toys which the 
 lamented artist, Caran d'Ache, once made celebrated. Their 
 almond-shaped eyes were drinking in every detail around 
 them with interest, and had already commenced sundry 
 flirtations ; their ivory-tinted cheeks, heavily powdered with 
 pink powder, threw into bold relief the unwieldy masses 
 of black hair piled up on their heads in the most outre of 
 fashions, a multitude of curls, being held in place by another 
 multitude of jewelled combs. Their tiny hands were liter- 
 ally stiff with rings, on which sparkled admirable stones 
 that had already attracted the open-eyed attention of Mr. 
 Bannerjee Sannerjee, who knew something about diamonds. 
 Standing together closely round the old man, more because 
 it was necessary to feign modesty in his presence than 
 of any desire to take advantage of the parental wing, 
 the Misses Yao represented a marvellous breaking-away 
 from the restraints of the East a note of interrogation 
 2
 
 i8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 regarding the future meriting particular and especial atten- 
 tion. 
 
 So thought the Vicomte de Crebillon a sallow French- 
 man with a charming moustache, who was young and yet 
 old, and who had the taste of an epicure and the manner 
 of a courtier. He had been vainly trying to induce Mr. 
 Willy Chang to muster up sufficient courage to introduce 
 him to these Three Graces, as he had termed them ; but Mr. 
 Willy Chang had for some reason twice declined the honour. 
 So now, seeing that Mrs. Macniversen was free he lost no time 
 in going up to her. 
 
 " But I thought you knew them everybody does ! " she 
 exclaimed in surprise. " Come along, there is just time for 
 one word then we must really go in." 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon, being quick and subtle, 
 was conscious that during the formality of presenting him 
 to this bevy of Chinese maidens, Mrs. Macniversen was 
 watching something over her shoulder. Major Malwa, an 
 athletic-looking Englishman, with a very sunburnt face, had 
 just gone up to a lady in a yellow dress who was a stranger 
 in the town. As she looked, Mrs. Macniversen stopped in the 
 middle of a sentence and went up to the two. 
 
 "Where is your husband, Mrs. Jerrins?" she asked in 
 her brisk way. " You know, after you wrote me that you 
 would have to come alone I never even troubled to ask you 
 what had happened." 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins, the lady in yellow, swung round on her heels 
 with the ease of a boy. 
 
 "My husband?" she echoed lightly. "I am almost 
 ashamed to tell. It was some nasty scheme connected with 
 eggs eggs of all things in the world ! You know, some- 
 body has just discovered something which preserves them 
 indefinitely, and I believe on the strength of it my husband 
 has floated a company. China has millions of superfluous 
 eggs England millions of superfluous people. The new 
 company is to adjust the balance and make our fortunes into 
 the bargain. So my husband has disappeared somewhere up-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 19 
 
 river in the most abrupt way." She laughed a little as she 
 said that and turned. " Major Malwa, when you were in 
 India were you ever interested in the possibilities of poultry ? " 
 Mrs. Macniversen did not give him time to answer. 
 "My dear," she said hurriedly, "we really can't wait any 
 longer for that wretched Dr. Steinhein, who is always 
 disappointing me. We must go in. My dear, I have given 
 you the two most interesting people here to-night, and you 
 must make conquests ! You will have the great Mortiboy 
 on one side and our equally great Confucian philosopher, 
 Mr. Chu Ta Ming, on the other. Now, are you ready ? There 
 is Mr. Mortiboy coming for you." 
 
 When they were seated Mrs. Jerrins turned very deliber- 
 ately : 
 
 " Mr. Mortiboy, I want you to tell me what is the mean- 
 ing of this remarkable assembly. I have been dying with 
 curiosity all the time I have been in the drawing-room. 
 Why are all these Chinese here ? You know, I come from a 
 miserable outport and know nothing at all. I am like a 
 starved person tell me what it means." 
 
 Mr. Mortiboy, who had just begun his dinner, paused 
 before he answered. He had already noticed Mrs. Jerrins' 
 eyes, which were remarkable and never failed to attract 
 attention. Now that her manner of talking pleased him 
 equally the shadow of a smile passed over his face. Then 
 he said abruptly : 
 
 " Robbery the exploitation of China and the Chinese." 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins did not look surprised ; the smile of ex- 
 pectation on her face only deepened. 
 
 " I like that," she returned easily. "It is unusually 
 frank and makes us intimate at once." She threw a glance 
 round the table as if to take a bird's-eye view of everybody 
 in this new light. Then she added : " And who is the chief 
 robber ? " 
 
 This time Mr. Mortiboy did not even pause ; he spoke 
 at once.
 
 20 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " I am," he announced in his deep voice. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins, about to swallow a mouthful, deliberately 
 set down her fork and leaned back in her chair, the better to 
 observe this remarkable person who threw discretion to the 
 winds in such a novel fashion. 
 
 " What ! " she exclaimed; " you are not afraid to confide 
 that to me ? Do you know, I think we shall be friends ? " 
 
 Mr. Mortiboy nodded his dark head reflectively, but 
 apparently had nothing further to say. He was a man of 
 perhaps forty, above the medium height, very strongly 
 built, and exuding a certain feeling of strength. Now, 
 without troubling himself in the least about the lady 
 at his side, he finished what he was eating with curious 
 method. 
 
 " I am going to surprise you again," he said at length 
 very nonchalantly. " I have not eaten anything since six 
 o'clock this morning and that must be my apology for my 
 attention to the dinner. In fact, I have been so busy to-day 
 that this is the first idle minute I have had for fourteen 
 hours." 
 
 " The robbery ? " she inquired, not wishing to say too 
 much. 
 
 He nodded in his unconventional way. 
 
 " Yes, the robbery. That is the trouble with the game. 
 If you want to be good at it you must give yourself up to 
 it heart and soul, to the exclusion of everything else abso- 
 lutely everything." He drew a deep breath and went on 
 with his dinner. 
 
 " Tell me more," she said impulsively, leaning one arm 
 on the table and beginning to fan herself, for the evening was 
 warm. " I am sure you are not one of those men who stop 
 short just when they are becoming interesting." 
 
 Mortiboy. thus pressed, thought a minute. He did so 
 in an unusual way, as though the lady addressing him was 
 somebody in the far distance trying to attract his attention 
 and not altogether succeeding. His manner was certainly 
 curious.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 21 
 
 " No," he said very decidedly, after a good deal of thought. 
 " I have told you enough for the time being I mean as much 
 as I feel like saying. You see I am rather curious I hate 
 being questioned or pushed about anything. Either I speak 
 of my own accord or I don't speak at all." 
 
 A smile still hovered round Mrs. Jerrins' lips, but she 
 had raised her eyebrows a little. Mr. Mortiboy, in spite 
 of his frankness or was it because of it ? was evidently a 
 boor. She had rushed to too rapid conclusions and she was 
 already half-sorry she had given so much approval. There 
 was time, however, to repair her mistake, so now, with a 
 slight shrug, she turned away. But almost immediately 
 she was made aware that Mr. Mortiboy was not a person who 
 cared about what people thought of him or his manners. He 
 had commenced talking again, this time in a somewhat 
 remarkable autobiographical vein. 
 
 " I suppose there is nobody at this table who has had the 
 experience I have had," he said reflectively. " When I was 
 fifteen I ran away from home, you know, but I did not 
 run away to sea, as every other boy of that age does. I 
 simply went to the biggest shipbuilding yard in England, 
 and became a boilermaker's apprentice. That was a good 
 beginning though it sounds unromantic enough. Any man 
 who has worked on the inside of a boiler is not likely to 
 be deluded by outside appearances. I wanted to know all 
 about boilers how to rivet, how to use hammer and chisel, 
 and I tell you I soon learnt ! Perhaps it was my home life 
 that gave me such queer tastes doesn't Macaulay say that 
 Lady Jane Grey became a wonderful Greek and Latin scholar 
 when she was a child simply because her parents were such 
 beasts ? Mine were not exactly that but they were weak 
 very and I hate weakness. Also I had worthless fellows for 
 brothers. The eldest was an idiot who thought that a good 
 shot summed up everything. The second liked cards. The 
 third ran away with a barmaid. I was the fourth boy, and I 
 decided that I would concentrate on boilers until I became as 
 hard as nails mentally as well as physically. Twenty-five
 
 22 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 years haven't straightened out my fingers entirely, but I 
 know my own mind, and nothing turns me aside." 
 
 Then he went on with his dinner as if he had been talking 
 of the most commonplace things in the world. Perhaps it 
 was because she was piqued by his manner that Mrs. Jerrins, 
 in spite of his warning, answered his soliloquy with yet 
 another question : 
 
 " And after the interesting boiler period, what happened 
 to you ? " she remarked, not entirely without irony. " After 
 such a beginning nothing could have been too much or too 
 little." 
 
 Mortiboy was not offended. Instead, he laughed gently, 
 showing that he understood her point of view and was willing 
 to humour it for the time being at least. 
 
 " South America," he returned without delay. " There 
 was originality in that in those days. Everybody was 
 going North therefore I went South. And that finally 
 brought me across the Andes to the Pacific almost as bad 
 then as trying for the North Pole. The hardships I suffered ! 
 You would not believe some of my stories. But in spite of 
 that I finally came to China in my own ship a wretched little 
 tub that I bought and patched up, and which is still working 
 the Yangtze with her Spanish name on her bows." 
 
 " Do you mean the ' Esmeralda ' ? " inquired his listener, 
 who knew the lore of the great river from end to 
 end. 
 
 "The same," returned Mortiboy; "but I sold her years 
 ago. There is nothing more in shipping out here. In ten 
 years it will be all Japanese, and they are welcome to it. 
 By that time we will own all the mines and all the railways, 
 which will be much more profitable. The Japanese don't 
 understand these things yet it gives us a generation to do 
 what we please." 
 
 " You are very confident. And the Chinese what will 
 they have to say to your little plan ? " she questioned again 
 in spite of herself. 
 
 This time Mr. Mortiboy laid dowri his knife and fork
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 23 
 
 and crossed his hands. It was plain that he was going to 
 make a speech of some importance : 
 
 " Hum, the Chinese that is a good remark. When it 
 comes to business they know everything from beginning to 
 end by instinct. The cleverest company-promoter can 
 teach them nothing, nor yet the sharpest accountant. They 
 learn instinctively, without any effort at all for instance, 
 with machinery they are marvels. There is a man here who 
 commenced by being a gasfitter and who is now building 
 excellent motor-launches without having had any technical 
 education whatsoever. The only problem is to make them 
 work for us not against us. You have put your finger 
 on the one weak point." 
 
 Now he sat very still, full of reflection. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins had noticed, out of the corner of one eye, 
 that her neighbour, Mr. Chu Ta Ming, to whom she had so 
 far not addressed a word, had suddenly pricked up his ears. 
 As Mr. Mortiboy concluded the Chinese gentleman leaned 
 forward and allowed his gaze to travel slowly over the 
 Englishman's face as if trying to read him. 
 
 " You are unusually complimentary to us to-night, 
 Mr. Mortiboy," he said finally, in the purest English, folding 
 his delicate hands, an ironical smile floating round the comers 
 of his mouth. " Madam, you would not believe how cruel Mr. 
 Mortiboy can be when you hear him speak like this. He has 
 been really oppressive at times to us in various affairs in spite 
 of my remonstrances. 
 
 " Really," remarked Mrs. Jerrins a little vaguely. 
 
 " Yes, really," repeated Mr. Chu Ta Ming civilly enough, 
 though there was increasing irony in his voice. Something 
 in the lady's manner had caught him : she was holding him 
 far away and he resented it. He thought a little and then 
 added : " Perhaps, Madam, you belong to the old school who 
 believe in the gunboat policy who think that we deserve 
 no consideration at all, not even in our own country." 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins turned and looked at the speaker with sur- 
 prise. She was conscious that Mortiboy was observing her
 
 24 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 closely with a smile trembling on his lips ; it was necessary 
 to show at once that she resented the form in which this 
 Chinese had cast his interrogation, even more than she 
 resented his intrusion into their tete-a-tete. 
 
 " Since you ask me the question so frankly," she replied, 
 
 " I feel I must answer you in the same way, Mr. " She 
 
 paused, as if to show that she had forgotten who he was. 
 
 " My name is Chu Ta Ming," put in the man imperturb- 
 ably, with an instinctive bow over his plate though his 
 eyes twinkled. " The Chu family, you must know, are the 
 Stuarts of China : Chu is the family name of the Mings, 
 the dynasty that disappeared in 1644. We lost the Throne 
 when the Manchus came in. I am a cousin of the Pretender, 
 who is a hereditary Marquess and so very poor that he has 
 been reduced to selling his library. One of his nephews 
 keeps a sweetmeat shop in Peking underneath the Drum 
 Tower ; another is a public letter-writer in Canton. We 
 are quite a ruined family for the time being, believe me. 
 But I am interrupting you : you were about to say why you 
 hated us." 
 
 " I did not say that," she answered, colouring in spite 
 of herself. " But what I do say is that I believe a strong 
 policy is necessary in a country where there is so much 
 ignorance." 
 
 Mr. Chu Ta Ming suddenly laughed, with the ease and 
 polish of a courtier. 
 
 " The policy, then, of the booted foot," he suggested with 
 complete detachment, as if he were talking of some abstrac- 
 tion. " It has paid, of course, in the past, but will it pay 
 in the future ? To my mind it is precisely like Voltaire's 
 old-fashioned ' Ecrasez I'infdme ' his constant attack on the 
 Roman Catholic Church, which has suffered so much from 
 the lapse of time that it is now looked upon as a peevish 
 old man's prejudice. Have you ever thought of that ? " 
 He looked at the lady keenly. 
 
 " No why should I ? " she returned quickly. She 
 was angry now with the insistence he was displaying, and
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 25 
 
 did not trouble to hide it. " I think the bulk of the people 
 in this country terribly ignorant, and that is enough for me." 
 
 She turned away as if to show that she did not propose 
 to pursue a conversation which was distasteful to her, but 
 Mr. Chu Ta Ming was not so easily denied. 
 
 " I do not think you are right, Madam, in your estimate," 
 lie began once more in his florid way. " Allow me to try 
 justify our national existence. I have often discussed the 
 question with the head of our family. The Marquis Chu, 
 who may one day regain the Throne, is good enough to believe 
 that my experience may be of assistance to him in forming 
 a really impartial opinion concerning the foreign factor in 
 this country, and it may surprise you to learn that I always 
 maintain that it is the foreigner who is ignorant and not we 
 Chinese. I am quite serious, believe me. We are backward, 
 it is true, in certain things, mechanical inventions, sanitation, 
 doctors, general conveniences, and such-like, but then look 
 at our art. It is slowly being acknowledged supreme even in 
 the West. And art is the true test of a nation's worth. It 
 is the reason why the Japanese have become great. If you 
 will allow me to say so, it is racial antipathy that makes you 
 feel the way you do. Have you read ' Havelock Ellis ' ? No 
 well, it is a pity. It would open a new world for you. Prince 
 Bismarck was good enough to discuss this whole matter with 
 me in the eighties when I was an attache at our Legation in 
 Berlin, and curiously enough, for such an emphatic man, he 
 agreed with me thoroughly. Foreigners in China are so full 
 of prejudice that they will not listen to the voice of reason." 
 
 And with that Mr. Chu Ta Ming, still smiling and im- 
 perturbable, having asserted himself in the manner which 
 always gratified him, politely inclined his head and relapsed 
 into the silence which he had carefully preserved from the 
 beginning of dinner. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins, with her lips tightly compressed, had listened 
 attentively in spite of herself to this unexpected lecture. 
 Now that it was over her black eyes sparkled with anger and 
 her cheeks became pink.
 
 26 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " What do you think of that ! " she exclaimed under her 
 breath, turning to Mr. Mortiboy. " Ten years ago such a 
 thing would have been impossible. Now these Chinese think 
 they have only to pick up a certain amount of book-knowledge 
 to become absolutely disdainful to us. I think that you 
 might have at least come to the rescue." 
 
 In spite of her appeal Mortiboy only appeared more amused 
 than ever. He looked at her again and again, smiling broadly, 
 as if this was the best thing he had heard for a long time : she 
 appeared angry, so angry ! Yet could she have known it he 
 was equally attracted by the way emotion had transformed 
 her. She was a different woman, quite different. And then 
 she had withstood the assault in a way that pleased him. 
 
 Presently he shook his dark head and said reflectively : 
 
 " Moral don't get involved in any discussion with the 
 redoubtable Chu Ta Ming. He can talk the hind-legs off 
 a donkey in four languages, so they say. I am much too 
 ignorant to cross swords with him, particularly on that ques- 
 tion. You know there's a reason for his irony. There has 
 just been a fierce controversy in the newspapers, in which 
 he has taken part, over the notices put up in the public 
 gardens here. Some fool in the municipality had signboards 
 printed with ' Dogs and Chinese not admitted.' Rather 
 rough, I call it. If I were one of them I should kill some 
 foreign devil just to equalize matters. I can quite under- 
 stand Chu Ta Ming's feelings." 
 
 Across the table, placed almost strategically opposite 
 Mrs. Jerrins and her two remarkable companions, the Vicomte 
 de Crebillon, his watery-blue eyes unusually bright, his 
 sallow cheeks flushed both from the heat and the number of 
 emotions the evening had already furnished him, was keenly 
 alive to everything that was passing throughout the dining- 
 room. On one side he had Miss Minnie Yao, on the other 
 Miss Jenny Yao ; and at the angle of the table nearest him 
 was the gorgeous personality of their father, His Excellency 
 Yao Pu Yao, whose peculiar efforts as a trencher-knight had
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 27 
 
 acutely amused him whilst he was flirting with the daugh- 
 ters, who he had quickly discovered were extraordinary 
 coquettes. 
 
 He was conscious, too, as he trifled with these powdered 
 dolls, that Mr. Willy Chang was observing him closely from 
 far down the table with a curious mixture of jealousy and 
 unwilling admiration in his face, as if he resented, in spite 
 of his European education and ways, this intimacy between 
 the daughters of an Asiatic race and a rude Westerner, and 
 yet could not help applauding the detachment and the 
 finesse which he saw displayed. The Vicomte de Crebillon, 
 always alive to subtle influences and delighting in spurs to a 
 jaded appetite, had thereupon redoubled his efforts to make 
 himself captivating to the two girls involving them in 
 analyses of modern tendencies and making all sorts of risky 
 suggestions which were only half-apprehended by their 
 sophisticated little brains. He had the art of this sort of 
 thing to perfection ; he had practised it so long that it came 
 naturally to him ; and though he sailed very close to the 
 wind, the address with which he recovered himself darting 
 off on a new course before it was too late saved him from 
 the charge of being either ill-bred or impertinent. 
 
 Yet as he talked and flirted and pretended to be amused, 
 he was really thinking of other things, watching other things, 
 interested only in other things. The Vicomte de Crebillon, 
 in spite of appearances, was no shallow man in fact, he was 
 very deep and very much in earnest. We are apt to assume, 
 in our amazing ignorance of human nature, that dullness and 
 singleness of purpose go together ; that, in brief, the Sunday- 
 school virtues, which are believed to make for success in the 
 world, can only be found in people of a certain prosy type, 
 and that without those virtues even the prosy people are lost. 
 What heresy for a scientific age ! There is no such thing 
 as a standard ; patterns of human beings are as different 
 as the patterns on our perishable walls or on our equally 
 perishable waistcoats. Everything and anything is possible 
 with anything and anybody death and taxation, as has
 
 28 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 been written, being the only absolutes. Your roue" may be 
 the very best man in the world to manage a charity-bazaar 
 and as for sound common sense and the power of patient 
 application, that can often be found more plentifully among 
 the fine flower that sits up all night than in the pews of a 
 crowded church. 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon had taken a great deal of 
 trouble to be invited to this particular dinner. He had 
 heard about it almost as soon as the first invitations were 
 out, and he had asked Mrs. Macniversen so pointedly to 
 be allowed to meet the celebrated Ambassador from Vienna 
 that there had been nothing for it but to invite him. As 
 a matter of fact he did not care a button about this monstrous 
 Chinaman, who had such impossible table manners and yet 
 wore a diamond on his little finger worth a king's ransom. 
 It was only the business part which interested him. His 
 suspicions had been confirmed the very moment he had 
 entered the drawing-room ; it had been made plain that 
 something portentous was in progress. Otherwise how was 
 it possible to account for this extraordinary collection of 
 people ? He looked round the table again in amusement 
 and mentally indexed the principal men. Sir John Weeger, 
 company director and lawyer ; Jacks, stockbroker ; Spratt, 
 lawyer ; Banner] ee Sannerjee, millions in rupees ; Willy 
 Chang, private secretary to the Ambassador ; Chu Ta Ming, 
 special commissioner and secret man of affairs of the Central 
 Government of China ; then three other Chinese sitting 
 together and never saying a word, and last of all Mortiboy, 
 the great Mortiboy, whose capacity for organizing specula- 
 tions was notorious in this particular region of the world. 
 
 Mortiboy of course he was the central figure. Cre- 
 billon, rubbing his hands gently, felt a wave of satisfaction 
 pass over him at his intuition. It was something more than 
 good luck which had placed him so that he could study this 
 singular character who cared not a button for anybody else. 
 He had noted that Mortiboy had not once lifted his eyes to 
 look across the table ; he had been absorbed in eating his
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 29 
 
 dinner, and in making some remarks to the woman in the 
 yellow dress with the extraordinary eyes who seemed to 
 have won his attention just as she had aroused Mrs. Mac- 
 niversen's anxiety by teasing Major Malwa. . . . 
 
 Anxious to find out who she was he suddenly changed 
 his attitude and asked one of the sisters in a serious voice if 
 she knew. 
 
 The Chinese girl whispered something with a blush show- 
 ing through her powdered cheeks, for she was already accur- 
 ately posted in all the gossip of the town. 
 
 " Really ! " exclaimed the Frenchman in real surprise, 
 though what he had been told was not really accurate ; " that 
 accounts for the eyes it is like belladonna, you know, in its 
 after-effects." 
 
 Now, deeply interested in what he called, in his peculiar 
 phraseology, a psychological manifestation, he sat staring 
 across the table, wondering whither this would lead. 

 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 " Those who dream of the banquet wake to lamentation and sorrow. 
 Those who dream of lamentation and sorrow wake to join the hunt. 
 While they dream, they do not know what they dream. Some will 
 even interpret the very dream they are dreaming ; and only when they 
 awake do they know it was a dream. By and by comes the Great 
 Awakening, and then we find out that this life is really a great illusion.' 
 Fools think they are awake now, and flatter themselves they know 
 if they are really princes or peasants. Confucius and you are both 
 dreams ; and I who say you are dreams I am but a dream myself. 
 This is a paradox. To-morrow a sage may arise to explain it ; but 
 that to-morrow will not be until ten thousand generations have gone. " 
 " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 RELEASED from the formality of the table, the women 
 of the party, full of that sprightliness which so often 
 characterizes the feminine after-dinner mood, quickly 
 scattered through the house, and then out on to the verandas 
 to enjoy the cool of the night. 
 
 The Yao girls, having found a willing cicerone in Mabel 
 Willing, a blond, sensual-looking girl with a collapsed air, 
 who had sat silent and absorbed through dinner, but now 
 appeared reanimated, had at once darted off with shrill little 
 cries as if they were being pursued. Within five minutes 
 they had made a complete circuit of the lower floor, not only 
 going into every room, but scouring the entire veranda, 
 including the portion immediately off the dining-room 
 where they had stood spellbound for a few brief seconds 
 gazing in at the men they had just left, and deliciously amused 
 by the fact that they could see and not be seen. Then, led 
 by their companion, they rushed with one accord upstairs 
 and went into all the bedrooms. They sat, entirely without 
 
 JO
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 31 
 
 ceremony, on the edge of Mrs. Macniversen's bed, to see the 
 kind of mattress she favoured. They picked up the silver on 
 her dressing-table, and examined it carefully to see just where 
 she had bought it. They plumped themselves down with sup- 
 pressed laughter on the extraordinarily soft and large Turkish 
 divan in her boudoir, loudly admiring the taste which had 
 furnished such a convenience and wondering whether it was 
 much used. At last they finished up, much exhausted and 
 out of breath, in a sitting-room, where they providentially 
 discovered Russian cigarettes. Now grouping themselves 
 informally, all three began puffing lustily at these little rolls 
 of tobacco as if much suction was the essential part of the 
 game. But quickly tiring of this, they looked at one another 
 inquiringly and then at the English girl. The hour of con- 
 fidences had plainly arrived. 
 
 " Oh, dear," exclaimed Minnie Yao, who was the eldest 
 of the three, tossing her head, " I do hate China so ! " 
 
 Mabel Willing, busily examining them, and wondering what 
 they thought about, and what they talked about, and how 
 they amused themselves when they were alone, gave an ex- 
 clamation of real surprise. There was no doubt about the 
 genuineness of the girl's remark ; she had spoken from the 
 bottom of her heart. 
 
 " You hate China ? " she echoed, a little blankly, turning 
 her sleepy eyes on the speaker. " But you are Chinese, my 
 dear, in spite of your foreign clothes, and your foreign ways, 
 and the wonderful way you speak English and French and 
 German. I wish I were half so clever ! You should love to 
 be back again after so many years spent abroad. Fancy 
 saying you hate it all ! " 
 
 " We don't like being back," reiterated Minnie Yao with a 
 pout. " We all three hate China, one just as much as the other. 
 We want to go back to Vienna and Paris, where we had a 
 beautiful time and did as we pleased. You have no idea how 
 much we did ; we simply went everywhere. Can you wonder 
 we don't like this place ? This is the first dinner-party we 
 have been to for months, and we wouldn't have come here if
 
 32 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 father hadn't had business to attend to with Mr. Macniversen 
 and the other gentlemen. We hate dining at home night 
 after night alone without any men. What is the use of 
 having clothes if we don't put them on ? I have seven trunks 
 of Paris dresses all new, and lots of other ones I wore in Vienna. 
 Do you like this dress ? It is from Paquin and cost a thousand 
 francs. Dear, dear, you have no idea how angry we are 
 about it all, and what fights we have at home." 
 
 At this outburst Mabel Willing, who was poor, laughed 
 amiably, and leaning forward carefully examined the jewels 
 on Minnie Yao's hands. There was a marquise ring that 
 made her mouth water. 
 
 " But you will get into it after a little time," she sug- 
 gested consolingly. " Money is the only important thing 
 that matters here as elsewhere. You see you are rich 
 and can do as you please. I'm sure you will all be married 
 in six months. You will have offers showered upon you by 
 all the dandies of the Loochow Road when they get to know 
 who you are." 
 
 This time it was the second girl, Jenny, who answered. 
 
 " We hate Chinamen ! " she exclaimed, just as fervently as 
 her sister had spoken. " None of us will ever marry a Chinese 
 if we can help it. We are not going to be treated as if we were 
 children and shut up and not allowed to have friends we 
 only like men. You know one of the first things we were asked 
 by some Chinese women when we got back here was whether 
 they had the same moon in Europe ! Fancy having that sort 
 of talk all the time." 
 
 " What are you going to do, then ? " inquired the English 
 girl in still greater surprise. 
 
 " We are going to marry foreigners Englishmen, Ameri- 
 cans, Frenchmen, Germans anything so long as it's not a 
 Chinaman. That's how we feel." 
 
 Mabel Willing, herself long in search of a husband, laughed 
 a little scornfully : 
 
 " Well, if that's the way you feel, then you won't any of 
 you be married in six months, you can make sure of that !
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 33 
 
 The men out here, the foreigners I mean, are not on the marry, 
 when they can possibly avoid it. They will do anything 
 anything but that, believe me." 
 
 She finished with a gesture that was oddly emphatic. 
 It was as if she were trying to convince herself as well as 
 the others as if the matter must be decided once for all. 
 Then, leaning back, she suddenly relaxed herself, and half- 
 closing her eyes delivered herself over to her secret thoughts 
 just as she had done all dinner. 
 
 Now one hand wandered up to her throat, where it lay 
 almost caressingly. Her lips, stirred by some strange idea, 
 had curled slightly away from her teeth, which were small and 
 white and sharp, and seemed an index to her character. The 
 halo of abundant blond hair, crowning the pale exotic face, 
 was more wonderfully yellow than ever to-night, perhaps 
 because it was placed in such close juxtaposition with these 
 brown maidens, who somehow exuded the East in every 
 gesture and in every mannerism, costumed though the}' were 
 in expensive garments of the West. There was something 
 sensual in merely being so close to them in being quite alone 
 with them in being with them, dressed up as they were, when 
 their souls and natures were so different. There was a strange 
 remarkable feeling in that which had never struck her before 
 something like a blow that ends in a caress. . . . 
 
 In the long silence which ensued she knew without looking 
 that three pairs of black almond eyes were busy gazing at 
 her, conscious that she had meant more than she had said. 
 Those black almond eyes were trying to fathom her meaning, 
 before asking further questions ; strange little almond eyes, 
 full of that Eastern curiosity which is both wonder and fear, 
 mixed with a third quality which has not yet been denned by 
 the cleverest psychologists. 
 
 " Why do you say that the men will do anything but 
 marry ? " asked Polly Yao at last, a little breathlessly. Her 
 sisters were plainly hanging on her words. 
 
 Mabel Willing, conscious that she had won an amount 
 of deference which had been previously lacking, gave a 
 3
 
 34 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 short laugh. Her hand remained where it had fallen 
 across her throat her eyes were still half-closed. In this 
 attitude she began talking, apparently to the ceiling. 
 
 " What do I mean ? " she murmured in a reflective voice. 
 " Simply this that for very good reasons the men do not 
 find it necessary or satisfactory to marry. Most of them 
 come out here when they are very young, and know nothing 
 of the world. So you see they come to maturity in sur- 
 roundings quite different from those they have been accus- 
 tomed to. Then they have more money than is good for 
 them ; their mothers and fathers, their brothers and sisters, 
 their uncles and aunts, are quite ten thousand miles away. 
 That gives them an amount of liberty and independence which 
 makes them look on women from a different point of view ; 
 they soon find that they can be quite happy without 
 
 marriage " She paused, and her eyes fell for an instant 
 
 and swept the eager little powdered faces. Then she added 
 a trifle maliciously : " Perhaps you will find out all that 
 for yourselves in less than six months if you have luck." 
 
 An electric ceiling-fan, whirling more rapidly than the 
 screw of a ship, monopolized the situation for a minute and 
 more. Round and round went the marvellous invention, 
 bringing a sense of coolness and comfort almost equal to that 
 given by a morning breeze. It was providential that there 
 should have been such a neutral object, for its sympathetic 
 hum filled in the gap. But at last, one of the little seekers 
 after truth, taking courage, turned and inquired somewhat 
 timidly : 
 
 " Is the French gentleman, the Vicomte de Crebillon, 
 like that ? He was sitting between my sister and me, and 
 he was so sympathetic to both of us. We are quite mad 
 about him." 
 
 Mabel Willing glanced at the girl with open amusement : 
 
 " What a question ! Why, my dear, the wicked Vicomte 
 is like a character out of a French novel marriage is to him 
 what Holy Water is supposed to be to the Devil. You 
 cannot possibly think he would want to marry anybody."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 35 
 
 " Not for money ? " inquired the eldest sister quite 
 innocently, opening her eyes very wide " not for lots of 
 money ? " 
 
 Mabel Willing slowly shook her head, but she no longer 
 smiled. 
 
 " I don't even believe for money not for lots of money," 
 she rejoined pensively. " You see he has been all over the 
 world and has a title and has met all sorts of people. If he 
 had really wanted to marry he would have done so long ago. 
 He must be forty if he's a day." 
 
 " I thought Major Malwa very nice," put in Polly the 
 youngest of the three leaning her head on one side and 
 examining the points of her satin shoes, which were so wonder- 
 fully diminutive as to suggest that her feet must once have 
 been bound in the native fashion. " He has such a beautiful 
 white skin, though he is so tanned by the sun. I told him 
 he was as dark as an Italian, which made him laugh and push 
 back the sleeve of his coat and show me the whiteness of his 
 arm. I quite fell in love with his arms, they were so white, 
 white, white. . . . He said he wanted to know me better he 
 said he had never known a Chinese girl properly before, 
 though he has been in China years and years. He is in the 
 Indian army, he told me, and his real place is Simla. He kept 
 on asking me ever so many questions ; how we lived, and 
 how large our house was, and if we were allowed to go out 
 alone like European girls. And in the end he offered to teach 
 me how to ride. The early morning, he said, was the best 
 time, when nobody was about " 
 
 " Major Malwa said that ! " exclaimed Mabel Willing, 
 her eyes wide open now, an amused expression on her face. 
 "My dear, Major Malwa " 
 
 She stopped abruptly and listened. As the sound of 
 footsteps came nearer, she made as if she would spring from 
 the sofa ; then, changing her mind, she relaxed herself again 
 in her curious cat-like manner, and patiently waited. 
 
 " Mabel, Mabel, where have you got to ? " 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen, still flushed from the effects of the
 
 36 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 excellent dinner she had provided in honour of the occasion, 
 had suddenly pulled aside the curtain, and stood framed 
 in the doorway with the light shining full on her. 
 
 She was too short to be called handsome that was 
 abundantly clear ; but she had a bold, good-looking face. 
 Indeed, her features were so good that it seemed a sin on 
 the part of Providence to have been so very careless in the 
 essential matter of her frame and limbs. Everybody said 
 that Mrs. Macniversen, who looked really well sitting down, 
 always provided a sharp shock of disappointment when she 
 stood up. The result was that she had passed so much of her 
 time in the one attitude that became her that her embonpoint 
 had become unconquerable. Standing there like that, a little 
 breathless from the ascent of the staircase, her quick, bold eyes 
 had immediately noted the intimate grouping of the four 
 girls ; and this, coupled with Mabel Willing's careless abandon, 
 told her that her interruption was unwelcome. 
 
 "All the girls off together in a corner!" she exclaimed 
 with assumed gaiety, coming forward after she had made up 
 her mind. " But I want you to come into the other rooms 
 and not to remain hidden upstairs all the evening. And, my 
 dears, that fan is simply blowing your hair all to pieces ! 
 What have you been talking about ? " 
 
 " Men," replied Mabel Willing laconically. 
 
 She did not move an inch, but watched her hostess very 
 steadily with her sleepy eyes. The Yao girls, their Eastern 
 minds inflamed by the previous sans gene, giggled a trifle 
 nervously as they exchanged furtive looks. 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen hesitated a minute then laughed in a 
 high-pitched voice as if she were amused. 
 
 " What a dangerous subject after dinner ! " she exclaimed, 
 not without humour. " Mabel, you must not teach my young 
 friends to think that that is the only subject worth talking 
 about. There are heaps of other things which would interest 
 them just as much." 
 
 " Do you really think so ? " rejoined Mabel Willing, 
 still not moving. Her half-closed eyes, fixed on Mrs. Mac-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 37 
 
 niversen's cheeks, seemed almost insolent in their stare ; 
 it was as if some latent jealousy between the two women 
 exaggerated every incident into a duel. 
 
 This time Mrs. Macniversen totally ignored the challenge. 
 Going up to Minnie Yao, who had risen with her sisters as she 
 approached, she took her by the hand. 
 
 " My dear," she said laughingly, " that little page of 
 your father's has been making us all die of laughter in the 
 drawing-room by showing us how he offers His Excellency 
 his pipe, his cup of tea, his cigarettes ; and how, when he 
 falls asleep, it is his business to adjust the august head in such 
 a way that the gentleman does not choke from his snoring. 
 You really must come down and explain what he is saying 
 we are all so ignorant of the language that we do not 
 understand a word of his remarks, though his pantomime is 
 wonderful." 
 
 Still keeping Minnie Yao carefully by her, and closely 
 followed by the other sisters, she hastened away. As she 
 entered the drawing-room a big burly man, with a thick beard 
 and mighty spectacles, who had been standing there a little 
 helplessly, came towards her, holding out his two hands as if 
 in pathetic appeal. 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen instantly stopped. 
 
 " Dr. Steinhein," she exclaimed half laughingly, half 
 seriously, shaking a finger at him " Dr. Steinhein, I shall 
 never forgive you never, never, never ! Not even a tele- 
 phone message this time, not even a coolie ! We waited 
 hours and hours until I thought I should go mad and the 
 dinner be spoilt even beyond the ingenuity of a Chinese 
 cook. And meanwhile everybody stood and looked as if 
 they had been brought to my house on false pretences and 
 were thinking up means to revenge themselves on me. And 
 it was all because of you ! " 
 
 " Mrs. Macniversen," said the doctor solemnly, speaking 
 with a strong German accent, " this time a real tragedy kept 
 me a question of life and death. I only left the hospital 
 twenty minutes ago to change my clothes. A very bad
 
 38 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 accident, I assure you concussion of the brain, with com- 
 pound fractures of the left arm " 
 
 At that Mrs. Macniversen's manner underwent a change. 
 
 " Concussion of the brain, with compound fractures of 
 the arm ! Who is it ? You must tell. I shall only be 
 appeased by hearing all the details. Just one minute " 
 
 She settled the Yao girls among the other women and came 
 quickly back. For a long time she stood with the doctor, 
 who was talking in an undertone punctuated by her exclama- 
 tions of astonishment. The doctor's account had not been 
 done with when there was the sound of many voices ; and 
 preceded by the Chinese dignitary, who was leaning on the 
 absurd little yellow-clad page, the men of the party invaded 
 the room loudly talking. 
 
 In the momentary confusion Mrs. Macniversen found time 
 to go across and whisper to Mrs. Jerrins : 
 
 " Lizzie Gotham the one with yellow hair, pitched out of 
 a dogcart on the garden-bridge. Not yet properly conscious 
 head trepanned. Belle Lawson was with her, but almost 
 by a miracle escaped with a few scratches. I'm going to tell 
 my husband if he isn't too interested talking business. I 
 wonder what Mortiboy will say. I suppose you've heard 
 about Mortiboy ? " She turned and looked across the room. 
 " They seem very excited, don't they ? " 
 
 All the men were talking eagerly, showing that something 
 important had occurred. His Excellency Yao Pu Yao had, 
 in point of fact, just appended his important signature to an 
 important document, and the object of this reunion had been 
 virtually attained. Mortiboy, with new interest in his manner, 
 was saying to Chu Ta Ming and Willy Chang : 
 
 " It's time to drop all this talk in the Chinese press about 
 China's sovereign rights being jeopardized just because a 
 few mines are opened and a few hundred miles of railways 
 are built. You must see for yourselves how utterly stupid 
 all that is at this stage of the game when you must become 
 properly modernized if you are going to take your place in 
 the world. I ask both you gentlemen to use your influence
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 39 
 
 in that sense. His Excellency, now that he has that Imperial 
 Decree in his pocket and that the main contract is complete, 
 can do as he pleases and really help his country. I am sure 
 you will see that, Mr. Chu, in spite of what you were saying 
 at the table." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming smiled his cynical smile, then glanced swiftly 
 past Mortiboy to see the expression on his young compatriot's 
 face. Willy Chang was apparently paying no attention, so 
 the elder man replied : 
 
 " I see the force of what you say, Mr. Mortiboy, but I see 
 the weakness as well, the weak links in the chain. Of course, 
 we all wish to have our country strong and self-reliant, but 
 will that result be secured, I ask, by promoting huge foreign 
 enterprises which are in the nature of monopolies designed 
 to exploit the country ? " 
 
 " What is the difference between exploitation and normal 
 development ? " inquired Mortiboy gruffly. 
 
 " You ask that ! " exclaimed the Chinese gentleman, 
 waving his hands in his agitation. "It is the difference 
 between amputation and the application of simple house- 
 hold remedies, the difference between jumping on a man 
 who is down and assisting that man to his feet. Listen ! 
 You come with your vast companies representing the capital- 
 ism of the West and say to us : ' Grant us a concession and 
 we will make you rich beyond the dreams of avarice. Give 
 us the sole right for fifty years over fifty thousand square 
 miles of territory to dig up coal and iron, copper and silver, 
 and we will not only pay you royalties on any scale you may 
 lay down, but enough hard cash to satisfy every hungry 
 official who thinks he has a claim. Your peasants and your 
 coolies will find employment from us we will use them 
 by the ten thousand, perhaps by the hundred thousand, and 
 create new towns. Our mines will necessitate railways, the 
 railways will create industries and from this energized 
 industrialism you, the Chinese nation, will reap endless 
 benefits, and poverty will be destroyed.' That is what you 
 all say calmly and coldly tempting us ! And what do I
 
 40 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 answer, I, the representative of Eastern culture, and of the 
 Eastern co-operative state, which is founded on mutual 
 benefits and the smooth working of the patriarchal system ? " 
 He stopped and emphasized his words with the beat of his 
 forefinger, his sharp eyes sparkling, his yellow parchment -like 
 skin pulled taut from emotion " I say you will break up all 
 this : you will give us perhaps a few hundred millions in 
 coined gold and silver, and you will think you have done us 
 good. Good indeed ! Have you read Ruskin ? He says of 
 money, of coined pieces, that they are merely the promise of 
 the State for so much labour. Well, we have labour without 
 that ; we do not need the coined money save in foreign 
 marts such as this town. Work with us is no hardship, but 
 the constant desire of all. Therefore we do not want your 
 gold and your silver. They will ruin us break us up into 
 little pieces, and when they have done that the end will 
 have come." 
 
 Mortiboy was not annoyed by this long tirade ; on the 
 contrary, he smiled as if he were very much satisfied. Per- 
 haps he had feared something more dangerous than rhetoric. 
 
 " Admitting that in theory Western capitalism is the 
 enemy, tell me how in practice you are going to escape from 
 your present position of weakness from the pressure of 
 Europe and the rest of the world ? " 
 
 " By other methods than those you favour," returned 
 the Chinese vehemently. " By education, for instance ; by 
 the gradual adoption on the part of the State of such methods 
 and such an organization as will enable us to oppose you 
 armies, navies, universities. We must energize ourselves 
 from within ; it is vain to suppose that your foreign activities 
 can even be a fit substitute for a self-imposed renaissance. 
 They can never be that ; the impulse must come from within. 
 We must find out just how much we can afford to borrow 
 from you, and how much we must find ourselves from our 
 own native resources. We do not really want your gold 
 and your silver in the way you propose to give them to us. 
 Your precious metals are base metals to us in our present
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 41 
 
 condition. They will not only destroy us, but the authority 
 of the Emperors will disappear " 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Willy Chang, the very much angli- 
 cized young man, his eyes shining brightly. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, as much absorbed in the production of a 
 monologue which should have literary distinction as in 
 fanning the fire of his own convictions, turned sharply at 
 that sound. 
 
 He had really forgotten his fellow-countryman on the 
 other side of Mortiboy. He had been carried away by the 
 exuberance of his own verbosity, by the desire to convince 
 this Englishman of the soundness of his standpoint and the 
 necessity of giving due weight to his views. Now, with that 
 remarkable capacity of the Orient for making volte-faces, he 
 blotted out his emotion as a cloth wipes water from a surface. 
 
 " You said ' Ah,' " he remarked coldly and suspiciously, 
 looking at his compatriot and still speaking English out of 
 politeness, though sharp words in the vernacular trembled 
 on his lips. " Why did you say ' Ah ' ? " 
 
 Willy Chang, thus interrogated, toyed with his white 
 cravat and hesitated. It was plain that he was thinking 
 carefully what he should say, balancing certain pros and 
 cons with detachment and not at ah 1 impressed by Chu Ta 
 Ming. 
 
 At last he gave a smooth laugh, which showed very white 
 teeth. 
 
 " I said that because you finished so eloquently it was a 
 beautiful period the work of a literary artist. Ah, Mr. 
 Chu, though I have been to Oxford I feel jealous of your 
 command of English." 
 
 His eyes somehow gave the direct lie to his words, and 
 the older man, still watching him carefully, muttered some- 
 thing under his breath. 
 
 Mortiboy was at a loss to know what had occurred. He had 
 known Chu Ta Ming for a number of years, and had come 
 to believe that his bark was worse than his bite. But this 
 younger man, with the civilization of the West disguising
 
 42 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 him so completely that it was difficult to realize that he was 
 Chinese at all, was something different a new problem 
 which would require ability to cope with. He did not stand 
 like Chu Ta Ming, bestriding Eastern and Western civilization 
 like a Colossus : his real attitude was unknown. 
 
 " I don't wonder Mr. Chang exclaimed at you," he said 
 in his bluff way to Chu Ta Ming, purposely filling in the 
 breach. " He must be unused to such tremendous enthusi- 
 asms, and doesn't quite know what to make of them, especi- 
 ally as this matter is settled. You are really a funny fellow to 
 go on like that, Mr. Chu. You would have made a splendid 
 missionary ! " 
 
 At that there was laughter, and the incident was forgotten 
 for the time being at least. Macniversen came up and 
 pulled Mortiboy aside to whisper something, and across the 
 room Willy Chang saw the lady in yellow, to whom he had 
 been introduced, watching them in an interested manner. 
 
 Something made him saunter forward as if he would 
 like to speak to her, but did not dare. But to his surprise 
 she made a sign to him with her fan which he quickly obeyed. 
 
 " Can you tell me," she asked, " why that extraordinary 
 fellow-countryman of yours, Mr. Chu Ta Ming, is so much on 
 the war-path to-night ? He attacked us all at the dinner- 
 table, particularly Mr. Mortiboy and myself. Is it a fact 
 that he is a cousin of the Ming pretender ? " 
 
 No longer embarrassed as he had been before dinner, the 
 young Chinese answered glibly enough, though with great 
 civility : 
 
 " I do not know what is the matter with him, Madam, 
 but he has also just been very angry with me. I believe it 
 is a fact that he is a relative of the Chu family, but that is 
 of no great importance, for the dynasty has never been very 
 legitimate even from the beginning." 
 
 " Why ? " asked Mrs. Jerrins, leaning back in her chair 
 and smiling at him. " I am afraid I am dreadfully ignorant 
 on that subject. Won't you enlighten me properly ? " 
 
 The young man, seeing that it was expected, made a
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 43 
 
 long reply. He had already grasped what a good impression 
 speeches produce on people who are not in the habit of making 
 them ; and though he had pretended to be impressed with 
 Ctui Ta Ming's fluency, he himself had a still more wonderful 
 knowledge of English. Now he said : 
 
 " The history of the Mings began with an unfrocked 
 monk who seized the Throne of China everybody knows that. 
 The sequel, however, is not generally known. In 1398 the 
 founder of the dynasty died and was succeeded at Nanking 
 by his grandson. But his uncle in Peking, the unprincipled 
 Prince of Yen, contrived to frighten him away, and usurped 
 the Throne. The line was therefore broken at the start a 
 bad augury. The mysterious disappearance of the youthful 
 emperor, who is supposed to have disguised himself for many 
 years as a mendicant priest and even to have li ved quietly in 
 Western China, is said to be the origin of China's extraordinary 
 maritime activity throughout the fifteenth century. Eunuch 
 after eunuch from the Palace, familiar with the features of 
 the phantom fugitive, and pledged to oust the false usurper, 
 sailed in command of fleets and military expeditions to Java, 
 India, Ceylon, Arabia, and even to Africa, in order to secure 
 his person. But he was never found, and the only things 
 these explorers brought back were wondrous tales of other 
 lands. The example of the treacherous uncle was followed 
 throughout the entire life of the dynasty, and their illegiti- 
 macy was perpetuated. When the Mings were finally driven 
 out of Peking by the Manchus the country had been in a 
 terrible uproar for generations, and ruin was everywhere. 
 That shows how much administrative ability they had ! 
 And yet there are some like Mr. Chu Ta Ming who speak 
 of them as our greatest dynasty." He smiled and showed 
 his white, even teeth. 
 
 " Tell me more !" exclaimed Mrs. Jerrins, looking across 
 the room and watching Mortiboy say good night to his 
 hostess. 
 
 " There is nothing more of particular interest that I can 
 think of just now," answered the young man, turning ever so
 
 44 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 slightly to see what was attracting the lady's attention. 
 " I am only interested in the beginning and end of things 
 I hate middles. My professors in England always told me 
 that that was my vice. But the end of the Mings was par- 
 ticularly nasty. The last claimant, the heir to the Emperor 
 who hanged himself in Peking when the Manchus burst into 
 the city, kept up a desultory warfare for twenty years, being 
 slowly pushed farther and farther south until he was driven 
 into the sea with his followers near Canton, dying miserably. 
 They have recently discovered on the seashore near my 
 father's estates thousands of earthen pots which are sup- 
 posed to have been cast into the sea by this last Ming army. 
 It is almost like the Israelites and the Red Sea, is it not ? " 
 
 Again he smiled as he watched the room. 
 
 " And is there any chance of their ever coming back ? " 
 inquired Mrs. Jerrins, sitting up abruptly in her seat. 
 
 At that he commenced laughing gaily. 
 
 " The only person who thinks so is Mr. Chu Ta Ming, 
 and he is quite mad on the subject. He believes that in 
 some wonderful way his illustrious family, as he calls it, will 
 come to its own one fine day. He is an idle dreamer. The 
 Manchus, though they are only in origin uncultured nomads, 
 know enough to keep that from happening ; they will not 
 be ejected in any such way. Indeed, they have long paid a 
 small annual subsidy to the Ming descendants to allow them 
 to make the necessary sacrifices at the Imperial Tomb near 
 Peking and Nanking. The Manchus were told that Chinese 
 society expected them to do this, and they did it." He looked 
 round to see that nobody could overhear. Then, as Mrs. 
 Jerrins appeared to be giving him her undivided attention, 
 he added in a low voice, " I am not a very ardent Imperialist, 
 Madam. I do not like the cult. Our famous old Empress 
 Dowager, whom foreigners appear to admire so much, is 
 nothing but an old Mongol woman directly descended from 
 savages who lived in tents. It is clearly recorded in the 
 annals that the Yeho tribe of Manchus were Turned Mongols 
 who conquered the Nala tribe and took that name. You see
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 45 
 
 Yehonala, the name of the Empress is a pure Mongol word 
 compounded from the names of those two tribes. She is a 
 savage old lady who belongs to the age of Elizabeth an 
 anachronism." 
 
 " Who knows how to rule nevertheless. You had better 
 take care ! " 
 
 The young Cantonese smiled, showing his teeth, again 
 this time almost in the way a dog does. 
 
 " I am not afraid," he returned, " not a little bit. I am 
 just discussing history, you know, the beginnings and ends of 
 dynasties in China." 
 
 " But you have not told us what this end is going to be," 
 she cried. " What is going to be the end of the Manchus ? " 
 
 He opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly stopped. 
 
 The Yao girls had come up all speaking together, much 
 excited by the good time they had been having. 
 
 " Father is going home, Mr. Chang, and wants you to 
 thank Mr. and Mrs. Macniversen in his name for their great 
 hospitality. Father is very, very pleased, please say. And 
 also say that he will come again, any time he is asked." 
 
 Willy Chang, formal and stiff again, inclined his head. 
 
 " I shall do as His Excellency bids," he replied 
 punctiliously. 
 
 Then with a different manner he turned and bowed deeply 
 to the English lady in the way he had seen the Vicomte de 
 Crebillon do all through the evening. Now carefully and 
 slowly he made his way across the room. 
 
 " That young man will go far," remarked Mrs. Jerrins as 
 every one began saying good night. " He is as quick as 
 lightning and has oceans of money, they tell me. ... I am 
 certain he will go far."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 " The Master said : ' I have never met anyone whose love of virtue 
 was equal to his love of sensual beauty.' " " THE CONFUCIAN ANA- 
 LECTS." 
 
 " ~T~y EATEN by a short head ! " shouted Jacks boister- 
 
 jously half an hour later to Crebillon, who had pulled 
 
 up his dogcart just behind after a long, strenuous 
 
 attempt to pass ever since they had left the Macniversens' 
 
 house. " Beaten, my boy, what price the French ! " Jacks 
 
 called still louder, exploding with laughter as Crebillon began 
 
 swearing he would get rid of his horse. Sir John Weeger, 
 
 who had come with Jacks, made vain attempts to stop this 
 
 rude midnight duel of tongues. 
 
 " Shut up, Jacks, for Heaven's sake," he begged, " or 
 half the town will know we are here." 
 
 " What do I care ! " replied Jacks recklessly, getting out 
 and ringing the door-bell. " My dear old fellow, if I felt as 
 badly as you, I wouldn't come at all." 
 
 " But if my wife knew," protested Weeger, instinctively 
 turning up his coat-collar and glancing anxiously down the 
 well-lit street. "It is all very well for you to laugh. My 
 wife can be a terror if she likes, and this would be about the 
 limit." 
 
 Jacks pushed his straw hat on the back of his head, faced 
 round, and laughed again as he saw the precautions Weeger 
 had taken. Jacks was in particular good spirits to-night, for 
 the prospect of a gamble always keyed him up, and he ex- 
 pected brokerages beyond his wildest dreams. 
 
 " Poor old Weeger," he said mockingly, biting the end 
 
 46
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 47 
 
 off a fresh cigar and lighting it. " You should get your 
 wife in better training than that. I shall never forget that 
 time she saw you driving with me to the Point when you 
 were expected to be at that company-meeting. Do you 
 remember ? You gave yourself away properly. And you a 
 lawyer, too ! And now, just when we are going to have a 
 pleasant time and a last bottle of the best, you act as if we were 
 indulging in house-breaking." 
 
 He winked as he thought of what he had told his own 
 wife that he was driving to the club with Mortiboy in 
 order to settle some final details about this new business, 
 which was not even a decent excuse since Mortiboy had 
 gone away far in advance of everybody else. Jacks had told 
 his wife much the same thing a hundred times before. He 
 did not in the least know whether she believed him or not, 
 and he did not in the least care. It was his own business, after 
 all ; he never bothered his wife about her business, as he put it. 
 
 Meanwhile the door had been opened noiselessly and the 
 sound of a piano being softly played was wafted out. Taking 
 off his straw hat and tossing it to the Chinese servant, Jacks 
 strode without ceremony, cigar in hand, into the drawing- 
 room. 
 
 " Hallo, Belle, is that you ? " he exclaimed in real surprise, 
 seeing her sitting there so casually on the piano-stool. " I 
 am awfully sorry about the accident old Steinhein has just 
 told us. I knew that damned mare the German gave you 
 would land you one fine day. He knows as much about a 
 horse as he knows about I beg your pardon " 
 
 Jacks had stopped in great embarrassment as he realized 
 that a third person was in the room a person who, leaning 
 back in her chair, was listening to what he was saying with a 
 queer manner. Feeling that he had somehow made a fool 
 of himself, Jacks coloured to the roots of his hair and remained 
 with his mouth open. Another impulse made him quietly 
 drop the cigar he had just lighted into a vase. After which 
 he commenced rubbing his hands together as if they Were 
 itching.
 
 48 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Belle Lawson had swung round at the sound of his voice. 
 Rising from the piano-stool she came forward, not noticing 
 Jacks in particular. 
 
 " Hallo, people ! " she cried gaily. " I wondered where 
 you all were, not coming to see me after my spill. Then I 
 remembered there was that big dinner-party. Thanks for 
 all the sympathy, but poor Lizzie needs it much more than 
 I do. She'll be in hospital for ever so long, and it was my 
 fault, going across the garden-bridge like that at that time 
 of day. But I am forgetting let me introduce you to our new 
 friend whom we were going to meet when we had our smash- 
 up. Polly, this is Sir John Weeger. Vicomte, make your 
 prettiest bow to Miss PoUy Morgan. Jacks, don't be so 
 tongue-tied; come over here. Polly has just come over 
 from the States and doesn't know the first little thing about 
 China. She's ever so ignorant, aren't you, Polly ? You'll 
 all have to take care of her." 
 
 One by one the men bowed and shook hands with the 
 stranger, their manner somehow restrained under the cold 
 grey eyes. They had come to have a good time, to eat, 
 drink, and be very merry, but that prospect seemed dimmed. 
 
 Yet not one of them could exactly say why. Polly 
 Morgan curiously resembled Belle Lawson in her figure and 
 in her colouring, and in the way she spoke and almost in 
 what she said, but, in spite of this general resemblance, which 
 was largely a matter of race, there were certain other differ- 
 ences which the men were half -unconsciously trying to account 
 for. Perhaps it was that when she spoke her voice was not 
 impetuous like the voice of the other woman ; that when she 
 smiled her eyes remained cold as if her heart were frigid ; 
 that when she turned from one to the other she did so almost 
 with a start. Now, as she stood talking to Sir John Weeger, 
 who had been all eyes and ears since he had come in, Crebillon 
 followed Belle Lawson across the room as if he had something 
 very particular to say to her. 
 
 " So this is the lady you have been warning us about 
 for so many days ! " he exclaimed in his eager whisper. ' ' Well,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 49 
 
 ma Belle, you are not yet dethroned ! What cold eyes and 
 what a cold voice I And notice the hands without move- 
 ment, without life, and you told me that my heart would be 
 lost ! And her name is Polly ? I have met another Polly 
 to-night '-a Chinese Polly, if you please ! But look our 
 friend Weeger appears absolutely captivated after the first 
 shock of surprise ; perhaps it is the pure Anglo-Saxon type 
 which engrosses him. Who is she ? What is her history ? " 
 
 Belle Lawson, smiling at him, shook her head. 
 
 "No history to-night, dear student of human nature; 
 you ought to pay more attention to me. Just because I am 
 not lying on the flat of my back, just because I talk to you 
 as if nothing had happened, you do not appear to realize that 
 I am a most interesting invalid. Look at my cuts ! " 
 
 She turned round and, lifting her hair, showed him various 
 diminutive pieces of black plaster artistically disposed on her 
 neck. The Frenchman purred sympathy at her as if he had 
 been a cat. 
 
 " But that's nothing compared with what Lizzie has to bear 
 she has concussion, though not as badly as they thought at 
 first. Really, she is a perfect fright, with nothing but bandages, 
 and when I think that it was my fault I don't know what to do. 
 I only got back from the hospital a quarter of an hour ago. 
 She was half-conscious for ever so long, then light-headed, 
 bat now she has gone to sleep." 
 
 " I am not a little bit interested in Lizzie, she is always so 
 sharp with me," cried the Vicomte. " It is you who cause me 
 concern. When I see these terrible wounds, these deep 
 lacerations under the plaster, I tremble." He made an 
 extravagant gesture and laughed at his own absurdity. 
 " What are you going to do with that wretched black mare ? 
 Sell her, shoot her, eat her ? I tell you what exchange her 
 for my grey ? Yes, yes, let us do that ! We will cause as 
 much scandal as possible in this dear little town. I will tell 
 everybody about it, particularly the ladies. Exchange, ex- 
 change, that is the solution !" 
 
 "Done!" she cried, joining in his laughter. "You know, 
 4
 
 50 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 a grey mare brings luck coming this way it maybe means 
 my fortune. I will send round my big black devil to you 
 to-morrow morning. Don't forget." 
 
 " Who's talking about fortune ? " said Jacks, coming across 
 the room and interrupting them almost roughly. He looked 
 so savage that the Frenchman grinned. 
 
 " Why, we are all talking millions to-night," answered 
 Crebillon. " Have we not dined in the company of His 
 Excellency Yao Pu Yao and the great Mortiboy, and is not 
 a marvellous enterprise to be the result ? " 
 
 " Who told you that ? " said Jacks sharply. 
 
 Crebillon shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " Told me ? " he echoed. " Nobody. But when I am in 
 front of a fire I can see the flames." 
 
 He laughed loudly at the other's discomfiture. Jacks, 
 always helpless in the face of a counter-attack, gnawed his 
 moustaches in silence, whilst he meditated on various forms 
 of revenge he would like to practise on his rival. 
 
 " There's the door-bell ! " exclaimed Belle Lawson. " I'm 
 sure it's Mortiboy. Vicomte, please go and see." 
 
 Crebillon went to the window and peered out through the 
 slats of the Venetians. He did so, delicately holding a hand- 
 kerchief to his chin so that no dust should disfigure his spotless 
 shirt, and shading his eyes with his free hand. 
 
 " You are wrong," he called back when he had finally 
 succeeded in focusing the figure outside. "It is a young 
 friend, exceedingly rich, I promised to bring, but who must 
 have missed me at the last moment. I will bring him in." 
 
 As he went out into the hall, Jacks seized his opportunity. 
 
 " I say, Belle," he began, " I wonder you can stand 
 that poisonous little Frenchman. He is always jumping 
 round like a pea on a hot shovel, making rude remarks and 
 acting as if he owned everything he saw. You used to say 
 he got on your nerves, but now you go swapping horses with 
 him. You ain't serious, are you ? " 
 
 He looked at her with such concern that she was greatly 
 amused.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 51 
 
 " I rather like Crebillon now," she rejoined. " You see he 
 is so entertaining, and then he knows such a lot about clothes. 
 The other day he taught me some of the very latest ideas from 
 Paris, and he has given me all sorts of addresses to write to 
 for things. That's the sort of man a woman likes. Poor 
 old Jacks ! Fancy you talking clothes or taking the fag to 
 get addresses ! " 
 
 The Englishman's face fell. 
 
 " You aren't a bit nice to-night, Belle. You Yankees are 
 always like that, lifting a fellow up one moment, and throwing 
 him down the next. I am beginning to believe Macniversen 
 is right when he says you're all heartless." 
 
 Belle Lawson's eyes flashed. 
 
 " Macniversen said that, did he ? Well, I know a thing 
 or two about Macniversen that would astonish you, and 
 teach you something about his heart." She paused, trying 
 to see through the doorway and listening to the voices talking 
 in the hall. Gradually a curious expression came over her 
 face and she raised her eyebrows. 
 
 " Who has come in ? I don't know those voices, I'm 
 sure," she said quickly. 
 
 Jacks had already left her side. But almost at once he 
 came back slowly as if he had seen ghosts. 
 
 " Well, I am damned," he said blankly. " Of all the 
 cheek I have ever seen, of all the cool things that take place 
 in this town ! I knew things were going wrong to-night. 
 . . . That black man, Bannerjee Sannerjee, and a young 
 Chinaman, Willy Chang, are out there. We can't stand 
 this." 
 
 He went across the room with a heavy frown on his face 
 towards Sir John Weeger, determined to enlist his sympathy 
 in dealing with this emergency. 
 
 But all was in vain. Belle Lawson had deliberately 
 gone forward, as if nothing in the world had happened, and 
 was now shaking hands with the utmost cordiality with Mr. 
 Bannerjee Sannerjee of Bombay. With the contented look 
 his millions had brought him, the Indian sauntered across
 
 52 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 the room, calmly ignoring the two Englishmen who stood 
 together like two thunder-clouds. 
 
 Behind the Indian Willy Chang had entered the room, 
 walking with the perfect deportment of the East. Knowing 
 that everybody was watching her, Belle Lawson's gaze was 
 bent on him in her most charming way, and it seemed to the 
 young man the most alluring thing he had ever seen. As 
 he looked he caught his breath with an audible gasp of 
 astonishment and delight. The colour faintly stained his 
 face, making it look like old ivory lighted by a sunset. More 
 and more slowly he walked, as if delaying to the last the 
 breaking of the spell. 
 
 " I must apologize for coming like this," he said at last 
 in his soft, polished voice, bowing before her. " My friend, 
 the Vicomte, was kind enough to say that he would bring me 
 here, and that you would raise no objection. But Mr. Morti- 
 boy asked me to stop a moment at his house on my way into 
 town, as he had something private to say to me which was 
 urgent, and therefore I am a little late." He paused and 
 smilingly disclosed his perfect teeth. " I should not be at 
 all surprised," he continued in a very intimate way, " if 
 Mr. Mortiboy had some very good reasons for wishing to push 
 through his business without a moment's delay. A great deal 
 of significance is already being attached to our new venture, 
 and immediately the details are known there are likely to be 
 complications." 
 
 As he said that his exquisitely shaped and girl-like hands 
 fidgeted for a moment with his tie, but his eyes remained 
 wide open as if in alarm. 
 
 " And Mr. Mortiboy is he coming here to-night ? " 
 
 At that the eyes narrowed rapidly as if something had 
 pricked him ; very rapidly, by some strange process, they 
 had become oriental and inscrutable. Measuring each word 
 before he let it drop from his lips, as if speech had become as 
 precious as pearls, he now said smoothly : 
 
 " It may be that he will find time, but when I left him 
 he was still very busy. There is much to do."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 53 
 
 " Ha, ha, here are the others at last, and we can get 
 some supper ! " cried Crebillon from the doorway. " But of 
 all the funny things ! " 
 
 He burst out laughing so madly that everybody crowded 
 forward to see what it was. 
 
 " Major Malwa ! Major Malwa, of all men ! and how did 
 you manage to break away ? " cried Belle Lawson amidst the 
 half -suppressed cheers. 
 
 " I'm having a holiday to-night," he explained, shaking 
 himself free from his friends. " I simply had to have a 
 holiday. You know how one feels sometimes. So I 
 arranged to have this very much bored young man, Tommy 
 (iibbon, telephone me urgently at half-past eleven. I must 
 say Tommy did it deuced well ; said if I didn't come 
 inside half an hour the cricket team wouldn't be elected, 
 or some rot like that. Cricket ? We'll play cricket to- 
 night." He looked round, and for the first time noted the 
 incongruous elements gathered in the room. " Hallo," he 
 remarked in a changed voice, " what's on here ? " 
 
 " Nothing at all excepting supper," said Belle Lawson 
 sharply. " I may as well tell you that Jacks has already got 
 himself in hot water by trying to be funny." She turned. 
 " Where's old Wong ? Wong, Wong, get supper ! " 
 
 Now folding-doors were pushed apart, disclosing a long 
 supper-table. 
 
 There were a few moments of confusion whilst the men 
 tried hard to avoid each other and seat themselves so as to 
 have a good time. The new arrivals included two girls in 
 short skirts worn on the little Variety stage of the town which 
 they had just left ; and a mock battle went on to secure the 
 privilege of sitting next to them. Tommy Gibbon, the very 
 much bored young man, however, took no part in this. He 
 sat down beside Belle Lawson with a sigh of relief and began 
 grinning openly at Bannerjee Sannerjee and Willy Chang, 
 both of whom showed embarrassment. 
 
 " Damned funny I call it, Belle," he said, hardly taking 
 the trouble to lower his voice. " Is this your idea to have a
 
 54 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 little variety in pigmentation ? I bet it is, and a deuced 
 amusing one, too, it is. When you boil it down what is there 
 really in race ? we were all hairy baboons once upon a time, 
 and all this talk of a colour-line leaves me cold. Jacks needn't 
 be so proud, I know how he makes his money. If you are 
 willing to make money out of a man why can't you feed 
 with him too ? And Jacks takes most of his brokerages from 
 Chinese. This doesn't worry me." 
 
 " Nor me," returned Belle Lawson. " If Jacks doesn't 
 like it he can go." 
 
 " Hear that, Jacks ? " called Tommy Gibbon. " You can 
 go if you want to, chum. Throw us over the bill of lading and 
 don't look so sour. What oysters ? I bet they came in 
 tins. Where's that fat old fellow who runs this monkey- 
 house? Come here, ancient Wong, city father, capitalist, 
 and master pawnbroker, though you do wait at table " 
 
 The ponderous Chinese butler approached with the 
 tread of an elephant, smiling at the young man who was 
 always kind to him behind his chaff. Then followed this 
 dialogue : 
 
 " What about these oysters ? Belong tin ? " 
 
 " Tin," returned the man unmoved. 
 
 " Can chow ? " queried the young man again. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Suppose chow no wanchee die ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Belong number one chop ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Have pay cash-money, suppose buy ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " On tick, then, if you please ! Gentlemen, this house is 
 run on tick. Go away, Wong, it breaks my heart " 
 
 " I like your cheek," put in Belle Lawson, laughing in 
 spite of herself. " Whose house is this ? " 
 
 " I give it up it looks like nobody's to-night." 
 
 " Tommy," said Belle Lawson threateningly. 
 
 " Belle," said the young man mockingly.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 55 
 
 After that in a rather unaccountable way they began 
 talking together in undertones, as if they had much to 
 say. 
 
 Jacks, having been chaffed to impotency, was now busy 
 eating sullenly, as if that was the only thing left to do in 
 such a world. Weeger had apparently forgotten everything 
 excepting the existence of the new arrival, Miss Polly Morgan, 
 over whom he leaned intimately. The others were carrying 
 on a general conversation, dominated by the shrill voices of 
 the two girls in short skirts, who were describing how the 
 electric lighting had gone wrong at a critical moment, entirely 
 spoiling one of their best effects, which was the fault of the 
 wretched municipality supplying the power. Everybody 
 said there ought to be a row made, a very big, over- 
 powering row, which would bring the erring municipality to 
 book. 
 
 " No more appetite, Jacks ? " said Belle Lawson presently, 
 when a lull in this discussion came. 
 
 " Not even thirsty to-night," he replied, with a disgusted 
 shake of the head. 
 
 " Too much dinner-party, then ? " 
 
 " Yes," he answered dryly, looking round the table, 
 " too much dinner-party you never saw such a dinner in 
 your life. It will take me a long time to get over it." He 
 began giving some details, saying at last : " One woman I 
 didn't know. Fine eyes, yellow dress, good talker ; by Jove, 
 she had fine eyes." 
 
 " I know whom you mean ! " exclaimed Crebillon, who had 
 been listening. " I know," he repeated slyly. " She was 
 sitting next to Mortiboy, and her name is Mrs. Jerrins." 
 
 Jacks unwillingly nodded his head. 
 
 " Did you think as much of her as Jacks appears to have 
 done, Vicomte ? " inquired Belle Lawson quickly. 
 
 " Did I think as much of her ? " echoed the Frenchman. 
 " Yes, I did, particularly when I heard a most interesting 
 thing about her." 
 
 " A most interesting thing a most interesting thing,"
 
 56 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 repeated Belle Lawson, leaning over towards him as if inviting 
 his confidence. 
 
 But Crebillon only shook his head. 
 
 " I can't possibly tell it out before every one." 
 
 " Will you tell it to me afterwards ? " 
 
 " I don't know that depends." 
 
 " What nuisances you all are to-night," said Belle Lawson 
 pettishly. " There's nobody excepting Tommy who has a 
 laugh in him. Look what Jacks has come to ! " 
 
 Jacks, finding nothing else to amuse him, had swung 
 round in his seat and was examining the fat old butler's 
 queue as if it were a curio, whilst he held the old man firmly 
 by the arm so that he could not escape him. Time and 
 increasing baldness had reduced the queue to the absurdest 
 wisp of a pigtail, and Jacks began saying that it would be 
 very much better to have done with it and boldly cut it off, 
 the way young Chinese were doing. 
 
 Half frightened, half amused, the old man tried to loosen 
 the hold, but without avail. Jacks, feeling that every eye was 
 on him, had what he called an inspiration. 
 
 " Look here, Wong," he called loudly, " I'll give you 
 fifty dollars for it, if you let me cut it off and keep it as a 
 souvenir of to-night." He felt in a pocket and produced a 
 bank-note. " Fifty dollars, see ? " He tendered the note. 
 
 " No can," returned the man obstinately in his mutilated 
 English. He had become pale as he realized that the threat 
 might be carried out, and was pulling away with all his 
 strength, which was not great. 
 
 Jacks had now placed the bank-note on the table and 
 had picked up a table-knife, which he was nourishing. 
 
 " Well, I'll make it a hundred here you are." 
 
 He produced another note. 
 
 " Wait a minute," called Crebillon from the other side. 
 " I will raise you ; one hundred and fifty dollars for the 
 queue." 
 
 Jacks turned to make a furious interjection, but already 
 the table had caught the spirit of the game and voices cried
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 57 
 
 rapidly, as in an auction : " One hundred and sixty, seventy, 
 eighty we all want to bid ! " 
 
 At this Jacks hesitated. Then, doggedly reaching down 
 to his pocket, he drew out more money. 
 
 " I don't know what business it is of you fellows chipping 
 in," he grumbled. " But I'm not going to be bluffed out 
 this time just because you think it's funny. Two hundred 
 dollars to you ! " 
 
 " Two hundred and fifty," replied Crebillon, lighting a 
 cigarette. 
 
 " You silly little Frenchman ! " exclaimed Jacks rudely. 
 Then he added glumly : " Three hundred hard cash." 
 
 The others had apparently had enough. Crebillon puffed 
 hard at his cigarette as he looked round. Then, as there was 
 continued silence, he cried : " Three hundred and fifty." 
 
 " Four hundred," returned Jacks. 
 
 " Four-fifty," said the Frenchman, but he no longer smiled. 
 
 Jacks had released the captive butler and sat staring as 
 if he did not quite know how this extraordinary contest 
 had commenced. But at last he reached for his pocket, and 
 to everybody's surprise produced a cheque-book. 
 
 " Five hundred to you cash on the table. I tell you I 
 won't let you beat me if I sit here and bid all night." 
 
 Crebillon shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " If you want to buy a pigtail for five hundred dollars 
 you can, my poor Jacks ; I will not interfere any longer. 
 You need a luxury, evidently. . . . Remember the figure 
 five hundred dollars. Write your cheque ; then cut it off." 
 
 " Oh, oh ! " roared the table, openly disappointed at the 
 Frenchman's collapse. 
 
 " Wait a minute," said the young Chinese, Willy Chang, 
 who had not spoken a word since he had sat down. " I believe 
 I want to bid and perhaps relieve Mr. Jacks of paying such a 
 large sum. Now let me see " 
 
 Smiling, as if he were amused, he had taken out a heavy 
 pocket-book and was counting out notes. The women of the 
 party applauded madly.
 
 58 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " My, this is exciting ! " exclaimed one of them. 
 " Beats poker-hands all hollow. Say, how much will you 
 give ? " 
 
 The young Chinese, fully absorbed, only shook his head. 
 But when he had completed his counting he looked up 
 sharply. 
 
 " I have just enough money," he said politely. " I say 
 one thousand dollars for the queue. There you are." 
 
 He threw the notes down. 
 
 " One thousand dollars! " cried Belle Lawson. " Is this 
 serious ? " Then she turned. " Wong, for one thousand 
 dollars will you let that blessed pigtail go ? " 
 
 The man was eyeing Willy Chang as if hypnotized. He 
 had seen something in his compatriot's face that no one else 
 could read. 
 
 " Can do," he said in his broken English, with an effort 
 to be calm. 
 
 " Jacks, it's up to you," shouted every one, but Jacks, 
 looking more sullen than ever, made no reply. 
 
 " It's yours, it's yours ! " cried every one to Willy 
 Chang. 
 
 The young Chinese beckoned and pushed the notes into 
 the hands of the old servant when he had come round. But 
 the table-knife which he had picked up in imitation of Jacks 
 was never used. 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen," he said very politely, " I pro- 
 pose to leave my property on the servant Wong's head until 
 it pleases me to claim it, as it might hurt the old man's heart 
 if I removed it in public. Is my proposal permissible ? " 
 As he said that the ivory of his face was once more coloured 
 a glowing pink. 
 
 " Gad, you're a gentleman ! " cried Tommy Gibbon im- 
 pulsively. " Of course you can do as you please. Now. 
 Jacks, you just eat humble pie. Hurrah, hurrah !" And the 
 table made the room ring with their cheers. 
 
 After that surprising climax there was a lull. But pre-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 59 
 
 sently there was a general move into the drawing-room, and 
 t he men began looking at their watches. 
 
 " I know what we'll do next ! " cried Tommy Gibbon. 
 "Let's take our young hero to play roulette at Anna's! 
 Let's go and break the bank ! What ? " 
 
 That proposal was carried so rapidly that the room was 
 emptied of every one save Belle Lawson and Crebillon. 
 
 The Frenchman threw a quick glance round, then ap- 
 proaching quietly he said something to her in a whisper. 
 
 " No," she replied in a low voice, looking at him without 
 seeing him. " No," she repeated pettishly. 
 
 He hesitated a minute to see if she was serious. Then, 
 making up his mind, he suddenly shrugged his shoulders, 
 nodded, and silently rejoined Willy Chang, who was waiting 
 in the hall. " Were you getting jealous ? " he remarked 
 loudly on purpose. 
 
 When the hall-door was shut Belle Lawson switched off 
 the lights and threw open the shutters as if she needed air. 
 Holding on to a curtain with her strong white hands, she 
 watched the gay party drive away in carriage after carriage 
 to the sound of laughter. Then, when all was quite quiet, she 
 suddenly dropped the curtain and looked round helplessly. 
 Now her shoulders heaved as if she were sobbing, and very 
 slowly she made her way upstairs alone.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 " ' Only the truly intelligent understand this principle of the identity 
 of all things. They do not view things as apprehended by themselves, 
 subjectively ; but transfer themselves into the position of the things 
 viewed. And viewing them thus they are able to comprehend them, 
 nay, to master them ; and he who can master them is near. So it is 
 that to place oneself in subjective relation with externals, without 
 consciousness of their objectivity this is Tao. But to wear out one's 
 intellect in an obstinate adherence to the individuality of things, 
 not recognizing the fact that all things are one this is called Three in 
 the Morning.' 
 
 " ' What is Three in the Morning f ' asked Tzu Yu. 
 
 " ' A keeper of monkeys,' replied Tzu Chi, ' said with regard to 
 their rations of chestnuts, that each monkey was to have three in the 
 morning and four at night. But at this the monkeys were very angry, 
 so the keeper said they might have four in the morning, and three at 
 night, with which arrangement they were all well pleased. The actual 
 number of the chestnuts remained the same, but there was an adapta- 
 tion to the likes and dislikes of those concerned.' " " THE PHILO- 
 SOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 LIFE awoke just as day awoke. From the East the 
 darkness had paled away to greys mixed with pinks 
 and yellows ; then tongues of fire shot up, and night 
 had vanished. Almost at once a giant conflagration filled 
 the heavens, and the burning sun, like a vengeful enemy, 
 dominated the scene. There was no true dawn here, just as 
 there was no real twilight it was either day or night, plainly 
 and brutally. And the brightness of the light . . . 
 
 Dragging themselves reluctantly from their short slumbers, 
 much as if they were tearing themselves free from restraining 
 bonds, the native world had already fallen to work, as is only 
 possible among those who live so close to nature that they 
 
 (to
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 61 
 
 seem to be lying half -naked upon her very bosom. Boatmen, 
 their eyes still half closed from sleep, stood up and seized their 
 great yulohs, resuming the task they had abandoned because 
 of the darkness. Carriers rising from their rude couches, 
 and shaking their clothing, marched off in raucous bands, 
 without a minute wasted, to the wharves to begin anew their 
 sweating labours. A peculiar silence was still in the air as 
 if day had come too suddenly ; but these loud, untuneful 
 voices, passing quickly everywhere, fast shattered it. Thin 
 smoke curled up from ten thousand cooking-places ; tea was 
 hawked and drunk in greedy gulps by tattered groups sprung 
 from the ground fully armed for the struggle of existence 
 merely because they stood defiantly on their feet ; in an ever- 
 widening circle the noisy Eastern world greeted the risen day. 
 It was still night, however, for the dominant caste that 
 had planned and built this great emporium of track and 
 stone, this mighty demonstration of Western force that lined 
 the river-banks in impressive buildings for miles and miles and 
 miles. The helots were hard at work not so the masters. 
 For though their brains were strong, their bodies had become 
 weak from the onslaught of the vengeful enemy who attacked 
 them from a quarter they could not dominate, the empyrean. 
 So they slept heavily, broken by the heat, not caring that day 
 had come, only bent on gathering strength for the sickening 
 increase of temperature which each hour must bring. At the 
 rarest intervals an early riser might be seen, capped in a 
 heavy sun-helmet and appearing on the scene like the vedette 
 of an unseen army which was mustering somewhere in the 
 distance. From the native crowds came wondering com- 
 ments, as if it were difficult to understand the foolishness 
 which made those who could lie asleep abandon their beds. 
 
 Then, suddenly that changed. The invasion had com- 
 menced in earnest. 
 
 Little carriages, each occupied by a single man with a 
 preoccupied look, had commenced flying round at breakneck 
 speed before even the shops had taken down their shutters. 
 It was as a strange enough race, recalling the horse contests
 
 62 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 of ancient Rome, a race which would keep on not until glory 
 was won but until there was no money left to earn. The 
 little carriages only pulled up sufficiently long to allow their 
 occupants to get out, dash through doorways, and then back 
 again, and their frantic driving had aroused the curiosity 
 of every stranger who had ever visited the town. These 
 were the brokers the men who periodically enriched and 
 ruined the others who came later in the day and sat in offices, 
 and in the intervals between buying and selling what was 
 legitimate foolishly speculated and lost what they had 
 honestly won. 
 
 The brokers were very happy that morning ; it was 
 the official launching of the great company which Mortiboy's 
 genius had mapped out. So the brokers spoke to one another 
 quite affectionately, almost as if they were friends, instead 
 of nodding abruptly and driving on sullenly, a custom, let us 
 assume, due to the climate, injudiciously mixed with cocktails. 
 One of them, with a historical turn of mind, remarked that 
 they had not been out so early since the year when the closing 
 of the Indian Mints had smashed every firm in the East 
 excepting the German firms, which had so mysteriously, as 
 everybody remembered, got through advance information 
 from Hamburg. Driving round fast in their rattling traps 
 and talking in broken gulps, the brokers were oddly symbolic 
 of what, was really a city built upon sand. For the sand was 
 the shifting myriads of the native population the immense 
 native population which by merely refusing to work and 
 marching away could bring down all these massive buildings, 
 all these factories, all these vast warehouses, as completely 
 to ruin as if they had sunk into the earth. It was almost 
 as if, in pursuance of some such thought, that one man, 
 greeting another with a pile of prospectuses in his hands, 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " This will either make or break the place you take my 
 word. It's too much capital to take out of people's pockets 
 unless there are dividends pretty quickly." 
 
 The other man laughed and wiped the perspiration from
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 63 
 
 Ids forehead with a bandana handkerchief and then looked 
 up from a contemplation of his yellow boots. 
 
 " Trust Mortiboy to know our capacity," he said fervently, 
 " just tnist Mortiboy. The native market that's the key. 
 When the native market hears that we have an Imperial 
 Commissioner here, to look after things, they will rush in like 
 drunken men. I have seen that happen before." 
 
 Then the two jumped into their traps again and joined 
 the whirling throng which was now fast invading the streets 
 in endless strings of jinrickshas and carriages. 
 
 There was excitement in the air, which grew as the day 
 advanced and the knowledge of what was coming became 
 general. The figure of the capitalization had been kept 
 a dead secret, though other details had leaked out, and when 
 that figure was known it brought exclamations of astonish- 
 ment from everybody's lips. But soon other considerations 
 became dominant, and the smiling faces of the brokers saw 
 their clients smile knowingly back. What mattered it whether 
 later the bubble burst ? The pressing consideration was to 
 subscribe at once to rise with rising prices ; the Chinese 
 would pay the differences, as they always did when things went 
 wrong. So the brokers, dashing nimbly round, booked orders 
 as they never had done before. Rich men and poor men 
 particularly the poor threw discretion to the winds, and 
 when they could not subscribe at all in terms of cash, 
 bought " futures " as if monthly settlements were irrelevant 
 details. 
 
 There never had been a morning like that within the 
 memory of the oldest resident, and the club at the cocktail 
 hour was beyond belief. Packed tight together along its 
 huge bars, men busily explained to one another, as other 
 generations had done, that the magic of China's unrivalled 
 natural resources was at last asserting itself, and that they 
 were glad that they had lived to see that day. America, 
 India, Africa what were these countries compared with 
 China ? China, the land of four hundred million souls, the 
 home of Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp and of a good many other
 
 64 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 wonderful things that have no existence outside the pages 
 of wonderful books. 
 
 " You go up like a rocket and come down like a stick," 
 grinned the only American broker who shook his head and 
 listened sceptically, because he was a chronic bear. " Ever 
 heard of the Wild and Woolly West ? " 
 
 Such voices, however, were in the minority. What 
 would life be out here without a gamble, what was the use of 
 rose-coloured spectacles if not to delude oneself pleasantly ? 
 that was the undercurrent which a discerning ear might have 
 picked out of the confused murmur. The future could take 
 care of itself, as it had always done and always would. 
 
 " The only part I don't like," said Jacks, the centre of the 
 largest ring of ah 1 , " is that the races come so soon. Here's 
 Friday, and there's only to-morrow left to fix up things. 
 I've no time to think of anything but ponies, and in this place 
 it is so easy to take the edge off people's appetites. Do you 
 remember that oil fizzle ? " 
 
 But that was where he was wrong. It had been a masterly 
 move on Mortiboy's part to choose that particular date. 
 Instead of the edge being taken off people's appetites, appetites 
 were whetted by the enforced lull , and the native market had 
 time to catch up. The native market that was the essential 
 thing: Mortiboy, wise in his generation, knew that. To 
 infect the myriads with the virus ; to let them know that if 
 they brought the dollars they had often painfully earned in 
 units infinitely smaller than the widow's mite, and cast them 
 into that great sink, they could draw out silver in those great 
 coveted lumps which are called shoes of sycee that was the 
 essential thing. There was genius in the man who had 
 thought of this and prepared everything to that end, so that 
 the helots might take note of what was coming whilst their 
 masters were at play. 
 
 Monday proved a glorious day, with all the gay world of 
 exiles wearing their gayest colours and decorated with rosettes 
 belonging to their friends, when they had no ponies of their
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 65 
 
 own. The grand stands of the old race-course were packed 
 with a gathering in which all the nations of the earth were 
 fitly represented, whilst the sweep of the green course was 
 ringed round with countless thousands of the toilers. Stand- 
 ing patiently hour after hour, so densely packed that only 
 Oriental lungs could have found sufficient air and only Oriental 
 heads have withstood the sun, these countless thousands 
 followed the sport with the curiosity of those whose interest 
 is vested in their eyes. Whenever the bright jackets of the 
 jockeys flashed by in a cloud of dust a great roar went up from 
 this circular wall of yellow faces, drowning the thunder of 
 the hoofs and stirring the riders and the ponies like musketry- 
 fire directed at their frantic passage. From the grand stands 
 it seemed indeed as if this was an immense amphitheatre in 
 which gladiators were doing or dying racing past the thunder- 
 ing firing and racing home. That strange Eastern roaring 
 has something about it which is like nothing else in the world. 
 
 "I have never seen A sight like this!" exclaimed Mrs. 
 Jerrins, who was standing on a bench beside Mrs. Macniversen. 
 " The town has grown bej'ond recognition." 
 
 " There is a bigger crowd every year," replied the latter, 
 busily plying her lorgnette, and nodding to countless acquaint- 
 ances. " You know, we are quite a metropolis with about a 
 million people. Not such a bad little village to live in, is it ? 
 Look at that Chinese stand over there ; they are worse 
 than the proverbial sardines. They would swamp us if they 
 ever got in. And that is what they are always trying to do. 
 They think nothing of buying tickets at fabulous prices." 
 
 She suddenly ceased plying her lorgnette in every direction 
 as if she were a sailor on a mast looking for unknown dangers, 
 and now stared fixedly at a group on the lawn immediately 
 beneath them. 
 
 " What do you think ! " she exclaimed. " I thought I 
 wasn't mistaken, though I am so short-sighted. The Yao 
 girls have managed to get in dressed up much more than 
 usual. Look at them, look at them go on ! I wonder who 
 got them tickets it's a disgrace." She tapped Major 
 5
 
 66 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Malwa, who was standing just below, on the shoulder. " Major 
 Malwa, I give you just five minutes' leave to find out about 
 the odious little things. Go quickly. No, wait, don't go 
 now. What a splendid finish. Go on, go on " 
 
 A storm of shouts proclaimed the swift approach of 
 a knot of brightly coloured jackets that seemed pinned to- 
 gether. The illusion that the riders were being madly pro- 
 pelled by some mysterious force was made complete because 
 the small bodies of the ponies were almost entirely hidden 
 by the mass of people hanging over the rails. As the jockeys 
 flashed past the judge's box there was a last roar ; then people 
 broke from their rapt attention and began rushing about. 
 
 " Jacks, that lucky dog the second win to-day," called 
 many voices. " Where's Jacks ? " 
 
 Laughing and protesting, Jacks was found and pushed 
 forward, holding in one hand the remains of his straw hat 
 smashed to pieces in pursuance of that immemorial custom 
 which decrees that winning owners should offer some sacrifice 
 to the gods. When he had met his grinning jockeys he took 
 hold of the bridle and looked round for his wife. 
 
 " Come on, Mary ! " he called, waving to her. And then, 
 in accordance with another immemorial local custom, the 
 sweating little China pony, still dancing from excitement, was 
 led in by his wife past the grand stands to another roar 
 of applause. 
 
 " Bravo, Mary! " called Mrs. Macniversen madly enough 
 with the rest, clapping as hard as she could. " Bravo, 
 bravo, bravo, I am so pleased ! " She turned " Jacks 
 always plunges like a madman, and when he loses, poor Mary 
 has such a miserable time. But look, my dear, how terribly 
 that dress fits. And her feet, her feet ! If Mary's heart is 
 on the same scale some day she will have a great passion which 
 nothing will appease." 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins laughed very happily. Mortiboy had been 
 kind to her from the moment she had arrived ; now he 
 suddenly appeared at the bottom of the steps and was holding 
 out a ticket to her and trying to assure her by his pantomime
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 67 
 
 that he had bought it for her and was going to cash in her 
 winnings. Presently, with a roll of banknotes in his hand, he 
 pushed his way through. 
 
 " A splendid dividend this time," he explained. " Now 
 you really must," he added, as Mrs. Jerrins refused to 
 believe it was her ticket which had won. 
 
 " How absurd she is ! " exclaimed Mrs. Macniversen ; "make 
 her take them, Mr. Mortiboy. If she doesn't, I will quickly 
 enough ! Now in which pocket have you got the tickets for 
 the Champions ? " She looked him straight in the face with 
 her bold eyes. 
 
 At that he laughed, and promptly drew out more tickets. 
 
 " Here you are," he said in his easy way. " Take your 
 choice of all the winning numbers." 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen selected one, eagerly talking the while : 
 
 " How much is the first prize this year ? Fifty thousand 
 dollars! I wish I could win that. I know I am detestable 
 to beg, Mr. Mortiboy, but my passion for gambling is in- 
 satiable, and it is so convenient having a man like you who 
 does things properly and doesn't trouble to ask one to pay. 
 Now where has that wretched Major Malwa got to ? I am 
 so short-sighted that all men look alike to me." 
 
 Major Malwa was approaching in the middle of a group 
 composed of the Yao girls, Mabel Willing, Macniversen, 
 two young men who looked like Italians just arrived from 
 Italy, and Sir John Weeger, who was laughing in a high-pitched 
 voice as he told a story. The two young men, being strangers, 
 exchanged puzzled glances as if they could not quite under- 
 stand what was causing this cacophony and half -feared that 
 it might be directed against them. 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen adjusted her lorgnette with great care 
 as the party began slowly ascending the broad steps in Indian 
 file forcing a pathway through the crowd. Soon her lips 
 resumed their chatter : 
 
 "Of all the odious colours commend me the cerise Mabel 
 is wearing. Don't you think that with her hair it is simply 
 madness ? I am sure that is Richard's taste ; he is so good
 
 68 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 to dear Mabel about her clothes." She paused and took 
 breath. " But I really do think it is a disgrace allowing those 
 Yao girls in here. I shall have to speak seriously to my 
 husband. He is actually going to bring them up here to my 
 own particular nook which I have kept so carefully for years." 
 She gazed attentively. " My dear, look at the way their 
 waists are squeezed in there's absolutely ' nothing inside 
 their dresses below their busts ! " 
 
 Further confidences were stopped by the arrival of the 
 party. There was some little time consumed in the exchange 
 of stiff greetings ; then the three Chinese girls, oblivious to 
 the impression they were making, commenced chattering 
 much faster than even Mrs. Macniversen could talk. 
 
 " Of course it is not half as nice as Longchamps or any 
 of those places in the Bois de Boulogne," announced the 
 eldest girl as her restless eyes passed from face to face, never 
 remaining for a moment still ; " but for China it isn't so 
 bad, although having the race-course in the middle of the 
 town makes it look like that place in London for cricket 
 Lord's. It seems such a funny idea not to have moved 
 farther out in the country ; this place could be turned into 
 public gardens or something like that, although I hate 
 parks and wonder why people have them. Mrs. Macniversen, 
 you have such exquisite taste, do you like our dresses ? 
 They are all by different places Polly's comes from a place 
 in Vienna they say is more expensive than Paris, but mine 
 and Jenny's are French. The clothes here are quite different, 
 sort of half-English, half-American. They look so funny to 
 us. Really, we don't think much of the dressing here." 
 
 And so they went on whilst people stared and whispered. 
 Mrs. Jerrins held her sides from suppressed laughter because 
 Mrs. Macniversen was so angry, and it was not hard to see 
 that a formidable storm was brewing. 
 
 Presently the latter succeeded in getting Mabel Willing 
 a little to one side ; she told her without mincing words that 
 if the Chinese girls were brought to her tiffin-table she would 
 get up and leave.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 69 
 
 " I didn't get them tickets, so don't blame me," answered 
 the yellow- haired girl indignantly. " Why I should have to 
 hear all this, I don't know. Still, I do know who did get them 
 tickets, but I've promised not to tell you. I think you are a 
 little cruel, you know. Major Malwa finds them so interesting. 
 He thinks the youngest one, Polly, quite pretty, though he 
 doesn't understand her clothes. He has never known any 
 Chinese girls before, he says, and rather wants to." 
 
 " Come along, Mabel," said Macniversen, who had been 
 watching his wife apprehensively, " I'm getting thirsty. 
 Let's have a small bottle and then bet on everything." 
 
 He took hold of her familiarly by the arm and led her off, 
 never looking round once to see what was happening behind, 
 or how his better half escaped from the catastrophe that had 
 overwhelmed her. 
 
 That was the part concerning the socially elect. The 
 other side of the picture was round the totalizator and the 
 pari-mutual and sweepstakes tents as well as round the 
 giant marquees which every club had erected. There the 
 fun was faster and more furious than it had ever been 
 before. Every one was engaged in betting, and drinking, and 
 then varying the formula by drinking first and betting after- 
 wards. From undersized, starved - looking, yellow -faced 
 Portuguese clerks on a hundred dollars a month hailing from 
 Macao to big prosperous fleshy Englishmen in tropical tweeds, 
 the game went on ceaselessly as if it were the only thing worth 
 doing. It was in the air ; you could not resist it ; it 
 was the way of the masters, and every one attempted to imi 
 tate it. The Chinese best of all the world's gamblers 
 though prohibited from entering, sent their money in. It 
 flowed through in mysterious ways in wads of bank-notes 
 thrown from hand to hand ; in silver dollars done up in 
 paper ; in verbal promises to pay which were as good as 
 bonds. Every one who wished to could gamble away the 
 proceeds of months of work on a few little stupid pieces of 
 paper concerned with the frantic galloping of diminutive
 
 70 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 horse-flesh. It was a little more intelligent than the three- 
 card trick or the Hamburg State Lottery, yet not very much 
 so. It served to illustrate that the bond uniting the hetero- 
 geneous elements of this cosmopolitan Eastern mob was at 
 once the feeblest and the strongest bond in the world, the cash- 
 nexus. It went to prove the accuracy of that fundamental 
 dictum, that labour is distasteful to all, and that to command 
 the labour of others is the thing we are all secretly struggling for. 
 
 In this manner the first day was worked through, and 
 then the second day, almost as if pleasure had become a 
 business. When the third and last day came each person 
 had got into their own swing and established a definite 
 relationship with the human swarm gathered here. Now it 
 had become a question of making up losses or doubling them, 
 and the game was even keener. The Vicomte de Crebillon, 
 who had absented himself previously, disliking crowds, and 
 disliking the sun yet more, had at last surrendered and come 
 with the rest, a little curious to see the reality. He passed in 
 his usual tired way from group to group, instinctively moving to 
 where there were ladies because these always amused him more 
 than the men. Their ceaseless questions, their desire for talk 
 about things that were really side-issues, their constant search 
 for the human equation in every mortal thing, gratified some 
 subtle sense which the Latin race alone possesses, and which is 
 quasi-feminine in its appreciations. He was careful, however, 
 never to remain too long with anyone ; he liked to pass from 
 flower to flower sipping what honey he could in a few brief 
 moments. 
 
 " Has green and gold won much ? " he asked Mrs. Jerrins, 
 studying her curiously as he leaned against the iron railing 
 of the members' enclosure. She was wearing a dress that 
 matched the rosette pinned to her bosom to perfection, and he 
 wondered how much thought she had devoted to that. 
 
 " Only once," she answered gaily enough, not noticing his 
 looks, " but I have had wonderful luck all the same. Look 
 at this ! "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 71 
 
 She showed him a bag so full of bank-notes that he raised 
 his eyebrows. 
 
 " Wealth beyond the dreams of avarice," he murmured. 
 " I wish I were clever enough to do that. Go on, good lady, 
 win more and more ! " Then he moved off as Mortiboy came 
 up, turning round, however, instinctively to observe the two 
 when he had got to a safe distance. 
 
 He had not finished wondering about what this friendship 
 might lead to, when he came upon two Yao girls, who were 
 standing disconsolately together pretending to be interested 
 in their leather-covered race-books, but really bored almost to 
 tears. 
 
 " Mais vous voild / " he exclaimed, greeting them in French, 
 but changing almost at once into English. "What catas- 
 trophe has reduced your numbers to such an alarming 
 extent ? " 
 
 At that the two girls laughed, and answered together : 
 
 " Polly has a headache and won't come until the very 
 end. She found it too triste : yesterday, and the day before, 
 we stood hours and hours quite alone. But she will be here 
 with the carriage before it is over. We can do nothing with 
 Polly." 
 
 " Will you have some tea ? " he inquired, seeing that 
 they had no one to look after them. Then he led them to 
 a tent, quite indifferent as to what people might say, for 
 the French do not greatly value public opinion and are not 
 afraid of Mrs. Grundy, no matter what other shortcomings 
 they may have. 
 
 When they were seated at a little table, the two girls 
 lifted their veils and drank tea and chattered to him as if 
 he had been the very first man they had come in contact with 
 during the whole day. Crebillon sat back listening to them 
 idly, and watching them eat cake and chocolates. He was 
 not amused, but this was less fatiguing than walking about, 
 and that was all he thought about their talk. 
 
 " What a lot of people come in here," said Minnie, looking 
 round when she could eat no more chocolates or cakes.
 
 72 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " There's old Sir John Weeger. Please, Vicomte, can 
 tell us why he's called ' Sir ' ? " 
 
 Crebillon smiled his sad smile. 
 
 " Nobody knows ; they say it was a mistake. It was in 
 the Jubilee year you know when the Queen of England 
 had reigned sixty years. Weeger went home that year, and 
 he was charged with presenting some address from the English 
 people here. They put everybody wqo does that sort of 
 thing on a list they mark you for an honour. A Government 
 clerk is supposed to have made a mistake, and so Weeger got a 
 knighthood instead of a C.M.G." 
 
 " What's a C.M.G. ? " inquired both girls simultaneously, 
 opening their almond eyes very wide as if they had been 
 surprised. 
 
 "A colonial mercantile gentleman," replied Crebillon, 
 who had recently heard that ancient jest, not cracking a 
 smile. " It's an abbreviation, you know." 
 
 " Is it hard to become a colonial mercantile gentleman ? " 
 
 Crebillon made a little gesture which might have meant 
 anything or nothing at all. 
 
 " I should say not there must be immense numbers in 
 the world to-day millions," he remarked. 
 
 They were curious and inquisitive about everything, just 
 like children ; and they had no more capacity for dis- 
 criminating between the absurd and the true than have 
 children. 
 
 Presently one of them nudged the other. 
 
 " There's Mabel Willing with Mr. Macniversen. Why 
 does Mr. Macniversen give Miss Willing her clothes, 
 Vicomte ? " 
 
 " I suppose he wants to," replied the Frenchman. " He is 
 seized with the desire to give he gives ! " 
 
 " I think he must like her," said one of the two almost 
 wistfully. " It must be nice to have somebody who wants to 
 give one clothes." 
 
 Outside on the lawns they had not taken more than 
 one turn before the sisters waved their hands excitedly.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 73 
 
 " There's Polly, there's Polly, at last ! " they cried, as if 
 that meant a great deal to them. "She's much earlier 
 than she said she would be ! She doesn't see us ! Walk 
 quicker, Vicomte, oh " 
 
 The two had stopped short and said something in 
 Chinese. Crebillon, pricking up his ears, stared hard ahead, 
 but a press of people and of parasols prevented him from 
 seeing. 
 
 " What has happened ? " he inquired. 
 
 " Nothing, nothing at all," said Minnie, talking rapidly, 
 as she always did when excited. " Polly has met some friends. 
 I think we had better leave her with them. Don't you, 
 Vicomte ? " 
 
 The use of the plural had been a prevarication Polly 
 had met, not some friends, but Major Malwa. Standing 
 under cover of the pari-mutual tent, he had picked her out 
 as she tripped along, and had stopped her with an abrupt 
 signal. 
 
 " Is that you, Major Malwa ! " she exclaimed in faithful 
 imitation of the Englishwomen around. "I didn't see you 
 at all. Why are you standing there ? " 
 
 " Waiting my turn to cash some tickets. Don't go 
 on ; stop and talk. There's nobody to interrupt us 
 here." 
 
 He looked round with assurance. The seething crowd, 
 busy only about profits and losses, cared nothing for other 
 things, and for the first time during their brief acquaintance 
 the two were free to do as they pleased. 
 
 The Chinese girl, thus tempted, fell to the seduction as 
 easily as Adam is said to have fallen before Eve. She put 
 down her parasol and pressed so close that the Englishman 
 was almost embarrassed. 
 
 " Do you like me still ? " she asked, opening her almond 
 eyes very wide as if in wonder. 
 
 He looked round quickly as he answered : 
 
 " Of course I like you Polly. I'm going to call you
 
 74 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Polly ; you know I want to. Hang it all, you're so deuced 
 small. I could pick you up like a baby in my arms if I 
 wanted to." 
 
 " Would you want to ? " said the Chinese girl, her black 
 eyes fixed unblinkingly on his blue eyes. 
 
 Malwa coloured slightly. 
 
 " I say, Polly, you mustn't go on like that out here it's 
 more than a fellow can stand. And you're no bigger than a 
 child ! " 
 
 Polly pouted. 
 
 " You're very nice to me off here in a corner like this," 
 she said, " but you weren't nice to me yesterday or the day 
 before. You left me alone all the time you always do you 
 seem so occupied " 
 
 " You mustn't think anything of that," interrupted the 
 man rather hastily. " Fact is, Polly, this is rather a difficult 
 place very difficult country, you know, full of ditches and 
 fences and nasty obstacles. ... I do my best, I assure you. 
 You'll get into it all right before you've finished. Look 
 here, I'll come soon to your house to see you and fix up 
 our riding together. Do you want to ride with me 
 much ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered the girl almost tearfully. Then as he 
 squeezed her hand she turned quickly and exclaimed under 
 her breath : " My sisters, look out " 
 
 Crebillon, freed of the incubus of piloting these girls, 
 resumed his idle sauntering and showed little interest even in 
 the grand climax the Champions. When that was over he 
 went away at once, convinced that he had been quite right 
 in what he had thought there was nothing in all this for a 
 man such as he was. 
 
 At the gates, as he stood waiting a minute, a group 
 who had been heavy gamblers during the three days 
 began talking and comparing the state of their pocket- 
 books. 
 
 " I haven't come out so badly," said one of them, lighting
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 75 
 
 a cigar. " A few hundred dollars gone, but what of that ? 
 Now for the next excitement to-morrow morning, nine 
 o'clock sharp, Development Shares. I hear the market is 
 ready to jump sky-high." 
 
 The others laughed, and began talking confidentially as 
 they left the grounds.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 " The eccentric Chieh Yu of the Ch'u state passed Confucius's 
 carriage, singing : ' O phoenix ! O phoenix ! How has thy virtue 
 fallen ! The past need no longer be a subject of reproof, but against 
 the future it is still possible to provide. Desist ! Great is the danger 
 of those who now engage in government ' " 
 
 " Confucius alighted, wishing to speak with him, but Chieh Yu 
 hastened rapidly away, and he was unable to get speech of him." 
 " THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 WILLY CHANG'S victoria, drawn by a pair of high- 
 stepping chestnut walers, rolled along to the ad- 
 miration of the gaping afternoon crowds that blocked 
 the principal thoroughfare. The evening was exceptionally 
 warm, heralding the swift approach of the dreaded dog-days 
 when life was hardly worth living. Even to-day everybody 
 who could afford to do so was out driving in order to get a 
 breath of fresh air, and the procession of carriages was un- 
 ending. 
 
 All the celestial world had begun to show itself after 
 its wont during that hour or two before dark, and the mixture 
 of types was remarkable. The usual flow of wayfarers, 
 idling along and filling in their time by stopping and staring 
 on every possible excuse, had been reinforced by thousands 
 of clerks and shop-assistants who poured out from the narrow 
 side-streets where they had been engaged all day in stifling 
 rooms, and took their stand in long lines on the broad pave- 
 ments of the great main artery precisely as if the driving- 
 way were a theatre provided for their special delectation. 
 Standing quite motionless, they drank in the swiftly changing 
 scene, noting everything that passed or moved, a great con-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 77 
 
 course of males obeying that injunction of China's greatest 
 sage which bids the sexes segregate themselves against one 
 another. 
 
 Yet though these multitudes of men stood so correctly, 
 their eyes were very far from being so obedient. Hundreds 
 of small-footed women were still passing in and out of the 
 gaudy shops, completing their purchases for the day, and these 
 little creatures served to illustrate the inherent weakness of 
 doctrines which proclaim the impossible. For ere they were 
 whisked off in elaborate carriages or smooth-running rick- 
 shaws there was time to scan them closely and comment on 
 their carmine cheeks and the arching of their eyebrows, and 
 the richness of their surcoats and the smallness of their feet 
 all details of engrossing interest which merited much 
 discussion. And it is not indiscreet to write that some of 
 these little women even paused coquettishly (just as the 
 ladies of Europe sometimes do) in order to allow this feast of 
 the eyes to be enjoyed to the full. Then it sometimes hap- 
 pened that a youth, bolder than the rest, would go beyond 
 the bounds of discretion and declare aloud that here was a 
 Golden Lily indeed. And amidst a murmur of laughter, the 
 Lily in question would turn as she tottered away, and utter 
 some sharp words as if she were incensed. But all knew 
 better than that ! She was secretly charmed, intoxicated ; 
 for great is the vanity of Eastern women in spite of all their 
 virtue. 
 
 In the midst of these scenes the victoria and the chestnut 
 walers went proudly ahead much as a magnificent ocean- 
 steamer steams up a river surrounded by diminutive tugs. 
 Willy Chang, knowing well that he was the cynosure of 
 countless almond eyes, conscious that his appearance called 
 forth many envious comments, acted precisely as if he saw 
 nothing at all. Clad in a London-made suit of pearl grey, 
 with an expensive Panama hat on his head and a gold-mounted 
 cane in his hand, he represented in the most eloquent language 
 the palpable ideal of this great Street of Eyes Wealth, great 
 wealth. By the simple process of repeating precisely the
 
 78 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 same operations in silk during half a century or so, and not 
 spending a hundredth part of what he earned, his father had 
 become the owner not only of countless acres, but of countless 
 villages as well. Chang, the elder, paterfamilias and head 
 of a great clan, all bearing the name of Chang, had but to clap 
 his hands in his Canton country-house to have his every wish 
 obeyed. Fat, moon-faced, and philosophic (with the philo- 
 sophy that comes with wealth), he commanded the very lives 
 and souls of all the people in all the countless villages round 
 about him. Everything was his from the very beginning 
 to the very end the millions of mulberry-trees, the cocoons 
 which sprang therefrom, the endless rice-fields, the rich 
 surplus of labour, the steam filatures, the mills, the very women 
 and children. Some gentlemen in the West have lately 
 imagined that the bondage of modern industrialism is a new 
 system, forgetting that it is as old as the Flood and that the 
 East has always practised it, though in a less precise and op- 
 pressive form. Chang, the elder, in amassing a vast fortune 
 after the method of capitalists, and in hoping that his son 
 would husband and increase his investments, was simply 
 doing what a hundred generations had done before him with 
 precisely the same success. He was not conscious of being 
 exceptional in any way : he had only followed a line of 
 least resistance. 
 
 Willy Chang, as he drove along, was not thinking of these 
 things, or what they entailed on millions of his fellow-country- 
 men. Why should he ? It seemed as natural to him that 
 there should be myriads of beggars in the country dying of 
 starvation, and other myriads labouring for starvation-wages, 
 as it was for the same things to exist elsewhere. To be precise, 
 he was engaged at the present moment in doing what every 
 one of his countrymen love to do thinking of two entirely 
 dissimilar matters at one and the same time ; playing with 
 both ideas as a juggler plays with a pair of balls, tossing first 
 one up in the air, then the other, sometimes fast and sometimes 
 slow, and sometimes mixing the two in such an ecstasy of 
 rapid play that instinctively he clenched his Malacca cane
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 79 
 
 tight in his hand, whilst his black eyes glistened. There are 
 some Chinese who are so very clever that they are able to 
 manage four and even five lines of different thoughts simultane- 
 ously without mixing them, just as there are some bank-clerks 
 who can add up several columns of figures at the same time. 
 
 Truth to say, however, this young man was more inter- 
 ested in one particular thought than in any other. From 
 the beginning he had only assumed the very honorary position 
 of English secretary to His Excellency Yao Pu Yao because his 
 father had insisted that he should secure some fit introduc- 
 tion to official life after his long absence in Europe. Being 
 the eyes and mouth and ears of an important official is always 
 profitable in China, both socially and financially, and the 
 financial part already bulked large to many in his own circle 
 of acquaintances. But it was not that which so greatly 
 interested him ; he was already prepared to laugh if things 
 went wrong and everybody lost their money ; it was a side- 
 issue which engaged him. 
 
 Other elements, quite apart from dollar-making or dollar- 
 losing, had already entered into the matter and complicated 
 it, namely, the questions raised by the verbose and persuasive 
 Chu Ta Ming, who had only been temporarily coerced into 
 co-operation because the dignitary Yao Pu Yao, being armed 
 with a far-reaching Imperial Decree, was in a position to de- 
 nounce and destroy him. Being absolutely in the hands of 
 his subordinates, as are all Oriental officials, the Imperial 
 Commissioner was destined to become a tool for whoever was 
 clever enough to use him. This Willy Chang had already 
 learnt he was very busy making up his mind how far he 
 dared to go alone, for he was young and inexperienced. 
 The powers he could assume were practically unlimited, if 
 he were clever enough always to act meekly and humbly. 
 Motives which were in that inchoate state which precedes 
 definite birth hovered through his mind and returned again 
 and again. He had been given an instrument which could be 
 wielded like a hammer Chu Ta Ming had said so, and he 
 believed him. His hand might wield that hammer if he were
 
 8o THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 clever enough ; that is to say, if he did not actually wield it he 
 could at least direct its destructive energies and prepare for 
 the reconstruction which must follow. Yes, that was the 
 problem. It might take years. No, not years months, at 
 most months. 
 
 All the time that he ran over such points, he steadily 
 thought of something else, something that had appeared to 
 him like a revelation. He was thinking of the beautiful, 
 tall, intelligent being who had shown that she could under- 
 stand from a broken sentence the meaning of a web of facts. 
 
 That was the principal thought which just now inflamed 
 his fancy and arrested his concern. He liked to trifle with 
 it as his carriage rolled triumphantly along, swinging gently 
 on its perfect springs and eyed by the envious crowd ; he 
 liked to play with that thought it was delicious. How could 
 he forget the way she had smiled on him, the way she had 
 taken his part in the face of all the covert hostility of those who 
 were secretly disdainful, the way she had madly applauded 
 him when he had succeeded in turning the tables on that rough 
 man Jacks. That applause of hers had come at a psychologi- 
 cal moment, and could not be easily forgotten. For though 
 his assurance was great, though he had the wherewithal to 
 command respect, he began to feel a growing timidity in the 
 face of the subtle disdain which flourished in this town to- 
 wards his race, and which was like the ill-famed upas tree, 
 blighting all that came under its influence. At the bottom 
 that was why Chu Ta Ming was so caustic and so cynical. 
 That attitude had been forced upon him ; he was one of the 
 veterans in the eternal Eur-Asian struggle, and he knew 
 precisely what it entailed. And just because of that swift 
 irony he, Willy Chang, must always be in one sense the ally 
 and not the enemy of one he might openly oppose. Even the 
 Vicomte de Crebillon had his subtle reservations ; even to the 
 Vicomte, he, rich young man though he might be, was a 
 person, if not actually beyond the pale, at least only with 
 his head and shoulders looking over that formidable barrier. 
 Of all the people he had so far met, there was only one who had
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 81 
 
 treated him with entire frankness and candour. He remem- 
 bered how he had caught a glimpse of her once or twice before 
 driving as he was doing now ; he remembered how he had 
 wished then that he might know her. And that had actually 
 come about ! And he had managed to attract her attention 
 and crown himself with glory on their very first meeting 
 for he had entered into that mad competition with Jacks 
 entirely because of her. His heart went out to her in a flame 
 which scorched him. 
 
 Suddenly he sat up stiffly. Following the stream of 
 traffic returning from the country, the Yao girls had just 
 driven up in a barouche, and now they bowed to him with as 
 much ceremony as he showed to them. Dressed in white 
 muslins, they seemed almost like European girls, though 
 they were small, so small. Instinctively he contrasted 
 them with the image in his mind and found fresh shades of 
 satisfaction. There was something about the West which 
 the East could only imitate but never really attain : the 
 decision, the strength, the largeness could not be properly 
 copied. The thing had never struck him abroad the way 
 it struck him here, but now the scales fell from his eyes and 
 he understood something of things which can never be ade- 
 quately put into print. 
 
 He became vaguely conscious, as he drove on, thinking 
 in this way, that the daylight was rapidly fading and that 
 soon it would be quite dark. He pulled out his watch and 
 noted the hour in sudden surprise. Greatly concerned, he 
 called sharply to the driver. 
 
 The chestnuts, obeying the light hands that controlled 
 them, swung round, and without a second's pause, though 
 they had done their five miles and more, commenced trotting 
 back, with their high-stepping action, towards the town. 
 Willy Chang, his mind more at ease as he saw how easily 
 distances were annihilated, tilted his hat a shade farther back 
 on his head, and began attentively studying the lines of hand- 
 some villas that so swiftly denied before him. Yes the 
 European world made itself comfortable during this exile 
 6
 
 82 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 in his own land remarkably comfortable. Roomy houses, 
 spacious gardens, many servants, what more could the heart 
 desire ? 
 
 A flutter of pink caught his wandering eyes on a veranda 
 half hidden by luxuriant bushes, and as he turned the echo 
 of shrill laughter reached him. It was some Chinese girls, 
 dressed in their own native clothes, playing at battledore and 
 shuttlecock. His own people were beginning to invade this 
 exclusive European quarter, buying up the best properties 
 and living in a foreign way. He must see about buying a 
 good house himself a house where he could live precisely 
 as he had lived in London. 
 
 His mind seized on the new idea and rapidly developed it. 
 He would get a place with plenty of room, so that he could 
 make a private polo-ground and invite local notabilities 
 to play. Yes that was good. He would name it Rane- 
 lagh, import ponies, and show people his true mettle. Filled 
 with sudden enthusiasm, he twirled his stick and called to the 
 driver to drive faster still. As the horses swung out into the 
 middle of the roadway to pass the stream of home-going 
 traffic he once again raised his hat. Then, as he caught the 
 cold stares of surprise, he was conscious of a sharp stab of 
 annoyance. It was Mrs. Macniversen and Major Malwa, in 
 an old-fashioned victoria, sitting still and not talking. Yet 
 neither had paid the slightest attention to his salutation in 
 spite of the fact that he had dined in their company. 
 
 His mood was more sombre when he reached town again. 
 The main thoroughfare now flashed with a myriad lights, 
 but the gay crowds had disappeared, and their place had 
 been taken by humbler folk. Just now the centre of 
 attraction was elsewhere. 
 
 " South ! " he commanded sharply, using the native 
 manner instinctively because he had been so annoyed by 
 what had just happened. 
 
 Now the carriage swept along the handsome river-front, 
 where the roadway was practically deserted owing to the 
 lateness of the hour ; and as he sat back lazily on his luxurious
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 83 
 
 seat, he watched the mast-head lights of the shipping of the 
 world twinkling in midair as if they had been stars. There 
 were vessels from every part of the world ; vessels which 
 came here as strangers to secure the boundless wealth of an 
 unexploited land which was still spoken of in fabulous terms ; 
 vessels which went away with their holds choked with mer- 
 chandise, and promised to come back as fast as they could 
 hasten. 
 
 It was an alluring vision, this dimly-seen river, after the 
 gay. crowded streets, the peaceful country roads ; somehow 
 it completed and rounded off his abstraction. He listened 
 to the rattle of the chains of a three-decked river steamer, 
 just in from the Yangtze, which was putting down her 
 anchors in midstream until the tide turned, and then he 
 watched the jumble of sampan lights dancing round her. 
 Presently his attention strayed to a great four-masted sail- 
 ing-ship, towed by a diminutive tug and floating ghost-like 
 downstream with all sails set so as to be ready at the first 
 streak of dawn for the long voyage home round the Horn. 
 He knew exactly what her route would be ; how she would be 
 battered and almost twisted to pieces by contrary winds in 
 her long beat home, and how the crew would almost go mad 
 from the monotony arid the bad rations. He had read books 
 about that and he knew. 
 
 " West ! " he commanded again, turning round with a 
 jump. He had almost missed the turning owing to his 
 contemplation. 
 
 From the river-side the entry into the famous Street of 
 Lanterns is not impressive. Decayed European buildings 
 line each side of the roadway, proclaiming themselves the 
 last survivors of those distant days when European commerce 
 forced its way in and settled here in defiance of local senti- 
 ment. Square, solid, ugly, there was yet stamped on them 
 the tradition of the early navigators who had built forts for 
 warehouses and traded musket in hand. As Willy Chang 
 looked at these old landmarks, his mind still filled with the 
 vision of the river, he remembered how, as a child, he used to
 
 84 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 play in what had once been an American sailing-ship the 
 " Brandy Wine" of Salem. His father had bought her for a 
 mere song because he had admired her stout timbers, and he 
 had broken her up and partially rebuilt her on terra firma 
 as a godown (warehouse), using the companion-ladders and 
 the port-holes as if the ship had been still afloat. What 
 an imperishable delight that building had been to the child ! 
 It had given Willy Chang his first desire to go out into the 
 world ; he used to dream all sorts of things as he played 
 there, taught by an old half-caste Malay from Singapore the 
 manner and meaning of what he played with. Now he real- 
 ized that those gentle traceries had faded so much that he 
 could scarcely believe in them. 
 
 A great glare of lights swung him out of his abstraction. 
 The street had narrowed until it was like a tunnel not much 
 broader than the famous flagged alley-ways of Soochow. 
 Theatre-like restaurants, three and four stories high, now 
 quickly succeeded one another. Far up the sides of these 
 houses, to the very roofs, lights blazed, electricity, gas, and 
 oil-lamps sharing their favours with gaudily painted paper 
 lanterns, lit with native candles that perpetually smoked 
 and stenched, that had not changed since the days long 
 before the Roman Empire. Every landlord vied with his 
 neighbours in such lighting effects, and in the riot of contrasts 
 it was not rare to find the most powerful and most modern 
 electric lights, coloured in pink or sky-blue to suit their 
 native owners, shining tranquilly beside horn lanterns older 
 than the oldest historical records. 
 
 Yet how gay it all was ! It was a Street of Lights, just 
 as in the afternoon the main thoroughfare had been a Street 
 of Eyes. It was a street purposely created to proclaim that 
 men and women are merely moths, irresistibly drawn by the 
 attraction of light and forced to lose themselves in the 
 pleasures thrown at their feet. . . . 
 
 A great press of people had grown up as magically, and 
 the carriage, blocked by these crowds, was now proceeding 
 at a slow walk. Then even that became impossible. An
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 85 
 
 Indian policeman, with a huge red turban crowning his 
 khaki uniform, had imperatively signalled that the carriage 
 must drive down a side-road, and to his gestures he had 
 added shrill words in Hindustani. Willy Chang, accepting 
 the inevitable, jumped nimbly to the ground, threw his cane 
 to his servant, and now, with his hands in his pockets and a 
 cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, proceeded to 
 his destination alone and on foot, a quasi-foreigner in the 
 bosom of his own people. 
 
 Yet he felt exhilarated. Perhaps it was the smells that 
 tickled him, those undefmable smells which spring from 
 the cook-shops, and the sweetmeat -shops, and the pleasure- 
 houses that cinnamon odour which can only mix properly 
 with the acrid fumes of the opium-divans. With a curious 
 expression on his face he sniffed and sniffed, like a sailor, long 
 ashore, who gets his first whiff of the briny ocean again. 
 
 It was quite dark now, and from every side-street and 
 alley-way idlers and pleasure-seekers were pouring in ever 
 faster. These joyous crowds bumped and jostled him as 
 they sauntered along, yet he did not mind at all, for his 
 attention was fixed on other things. 
 
 From tea-houses came the shrill songs of singing-girls, 
 and the clash of cymbals, and the rippling notes of reed-pipes, 
 and the twanging and clank of guttural-toned guitars, and 
 the lighter incessant Paganini-like deviltry of the three- 
 stringed fiddles. How different this was from the other 
 world he had just left, though it was secretly divided from 
 it. ... More and more slowly he sauntered until his pace 
 had fallen to the slow loitering of the crowd. 
 
 Little sedan-chairs, beautifully finished in silks and as 
 light as feathers on the shoulders of their sturdy bearers, 
 passed him continually, each containing a Precious Flower 
 whose presence had been hastily requisitioned by some 
 admirer, and who for an extravagant price would shrilly sing 
 just one song and then depart to another appointment. 
 Smaller girls, mere children, in fact, sometimes dressed as 
 boys, but always with an ear-ring to show their sex, by order
 
 86 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 of the law, were borne along sitting demurely on the shoulders 
 of man-servants who went at a jog-trot and answered the 
 coarse comments of the crowd with angry words. All the 
 time, droning their cries in every possible way, sellers of 
 sweetmeats passed up and down, thriving on the crowd as 
 hawks do among sparrows, emptying their trays so swiftly 
 that they were ever going off for fresh supplies. On the 
 pavements cheap] acks, standing in knots, held up em- 
 broidered waistcoats and watches and fans, to be admired 
 and bought, and volleyed cries, interlarded with comic re- 
 marks, when people hesitated before them. Everybody was 
 happy and quite at ease there was a deep hum of con- 
 tentment such as comes from a beehive full of honey with all 
 the workers happy because the day's toil is over. 
 
 Willy Chang looked at it all with his eyes wide open 
 and a light in them that had not been there before. With- 
 out a pause, as he sauntered along, he studied the black sign- 
 boards of the tea-houses with their mighty gilt characters. 
 He was looking for the Inn of Righteous Contentment, 
 famous for its Canton cooks. How many turnings from the 
 river was it ? As a party of Europeans marched down the 
 very centre of the street and elbowed people out of their 
 way, whilst they loudly commented on the sights they had 
 come to see, instinctively he shrank aside. He did not wish 
 to be seen by them he wished he had a fan which he could 
 hold up to his face in the way his fellow-countrymen often did 
 to escape notice. Then when these invaders had disappeared 
 he began hunting again, and now his eyes suddenly lighted 
 upon three characters majestically standing one upon the 
 other, which were repeated times without number on the 
 lamps and on the lanterns, on the pillars and on the posts, 
 so that there could be no mistake whatsoever. 
 
 It was the Inn of Righteous Contentment staring him in 
 the face.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 " The Grand Augur, in his ceremonial robes, approached the 
 shambles and thus addressed the pigs : ' How can you object to die ? 
 I shall fatten you for three months. I shall discipline myself for ten 
 days and fast for three, I shall strew fine grass, and place you bodily 
 upon a carved sacrificial dish. Does not this satisfy you ? ' 
 
 " Then, speaking from the pigs' point of view, he continued : 
 ' It is better, perhaps, after all, to live on bran and escape the 
 shambles. . . .' 
 
 " ' But then,' added he, speaking from his own point of view, ' to 
 enjoy honour when alive one would readily die on a war-shield or in 
 the head-man's basket. 1 
 
 "So he rejected the pigs' point of view, and adopted his own 
 point of view. In what sense, then, was he different from the pigs ? " 
 " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 FOR an instant he paused on the threshold, a little con- 
 fused by the noise and the gaiety, a little repelled by 
 the roughness of it all, yet amused in spite of himself. 
 As is usual in establishments of this sort, a public 
 restaurant, with the cooking being done in full view, occupied 
 the whole extent of the ground floor. Crowds of men, dis- 
 posed round square tables, were variously engaged there, some 
 rapidly devouring food as if time had suddenly acquired 
 superlative value, others merely sipping tea or heated wine in 
 little metal cups and exchanging the gossip of the day. Rough 
 gestures and rude laughs punctuated the conversation; 
 clenched fists came down on the tables ; many sat with their 
 coats open and their brown chests bared, and, leaning forward, 
 talked with their arms, their hands, their eyes, their very eye- 
 brows, so as to assist the language of their mouths. 
 
 With an English view of things still vividly impressed on 
 
 87
 
 88 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 the tablets of his mind, it suddenly seemed to this young 
 man like the age of " The Cloister and the Hearth " come to 
 life under a different sky and among a different people. Here 
 were the same loutish figures, the same coarseness, the same 
 greasy smells, almost the very same dress. The felt caps, 
 under which queues were securely rolled up, the short, loose 
 jackets, the baggy breeches, the sandalled feet, all suddenly 
 acquired in his eyes an ancient, mediaeval look. Yet these 
 were his fellow-countrymen, the very same flesh and blood, 
 though centuries seemed to separate them. Was it a sort 
 of delusion, he wondered, or were there really as great gulfs 
 as the outer comparison proclaimed ? In the clouds of steam 
 which poured up from the ovens everything became as indis- 
 tinct as though he were looking through a mist. 
 
 The drawers, seeing him pause as if in doubt, now came 
 forward. He was of the gentry ; his place was not here. 
 So they politely invited him, with words and bows, to march 
 up the staircase, which, ladder-like, descended straight into the 
 middle of the vast common eating-room. Still a little absent- 
 minded, he nodded indifferently ; then, with a movement 
 of resolution, he ran up the stairs as lightly as a schoolboy. 
 To the man who had breathlessly followed he spoke a word 
 of explanation ; instantly he was led down a long, winding 
 corridor, past many rooms resounding with laughter and the 
 twanging of guitars, to the very back of the building. To the 
 man's request for his card he only shook his head and whispered 
 a word of explanation. Thus, quite unannounced, he lifted 
 noiselessly the curtain covering the doorway, and peered in. 
 Just in time he caught his breath and stifled his laughter. 
 
 The sight was sufficiently amusing to one who, though 
 to the manner born, had lost touch with such sans gene. 
 This is what he saw. First, in the middle of the room, loaded 
 with delicacies, stood a square, clothless table. Sitting at 
 this table, idly cracking dried melon-seeds between his teeth, 
 was a middle-aged man dressed soberly hi native costume, the 
 possessor of a small, black, wiry moustache, which, comically 
 enough, he brushed every now and again with a tiny little
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 89 
 
 brush such as is sold on the streets. A little to one side, with 
 their faces flushed from drinking, were two young men in 
 foreign clothes and very high white collars, seated on stools 
 and playing " fists " (morra) so rapturously and so fast that 
 they had fairly bewitched themselves and lost count of every- 
 thing else. On a bench disposed at their feet was the little 
 forfeit-cup which the loser must empty after each round ; 
 and kneeling beside them, with his eyes keenly following the 
 play, a servant monotonously filled and refilled the cup from a 
 big stone wine- jug resting on the floor. The voices of these 
 young men rose sharply in the challenges as their fists clenched 
 and unclenched; the guessing of the numbers of fingers 
 was couched in the poetic language of a literary people. The 
 young men called: "Pa hsien shou ! Pa hsien shou! (the 
 eight eternal disciples) eight, eight ! Wu-tzu teng-ku ! Wu- 
 tzu teng-ku! (the five sons who passed their examinations) 
 five, five ! Ch'uan chia fo ! ch'uan chia fo ! ( happiness to 
 the whole family) ten, ten ! " Then suddenly one surprised 
 the other and the forfeit-cup was lifted and drained. 
 
 But this was the least part of the picture ; the central 
 figures were elsewhere. In one corner of the room, with his 
 back against the wall, nursing one foot with the shoe off, 
 was no other person than the host Chu Ta Ming. Beautifully 
 dressed in plum-coloured silks, and lackadaisically smelling a 
 flower, he was at the same time listening attentively to a girl 
 in pink satin who was singing shrilly and accompanying 
 herself on a guitar. In another corner the Vicomte de 
 Crebillon, in a dinner-jacket, his straw hat still on the back of 
 his head, was playing with two painted little things no bigger 
 than children, and trying to speak to them in the language 
 of signs, to their infinite amusement. On the wall, as if in 
 ironical benediction of these scenes, hung a single giant red 
 scroll, inscribed with four flowing black characters announcing 
 that " virtuous enjoyment brings contentment." 
 
 Willy Chang held his breath and did not move the tenth 
 part of an inch, for he was amused beyond words. 
 
 The voice of the singing-girl echoed shrilly as she began
 
 90 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 the famous Soochow love-song in the dialect of Soochow, and 
 he listened greedily to the words, which ran something like 
 this: 
 
 " First drum, the first watch ; the Moon is just alight . . . 
 The visitors are coming, 
 The visitors have come. 
 
 A hand gives each the melon-seeds, asking his surname, 
 Where is his residence ? 
 
 Oh, the great Esquire will take what kind of Tea ? 
 Would you like a bowl of water-lily ? 
 
 Second drum, the second watch ; the Moon is just above . . . 
 The feast has been prepared, 
 The feast is ready. 
 
 You write some sheets of calling-papers, 
 Calling many love-girls. 
 The love-girls have to attend to many, 
 Talking to them is so lovely. 
 
 Third drum, the third watch ; the Moon is bright . . . 
 Why are you so urgent ? 
 Why are you so urgent ? 
 Do you feel lonely ? Then play at cards, 
 Yes, you can play. 
 Write some sheets of invitations, 
 
 Inviting your personal friends 
 
 To play with you and me." 
 
 Willy Chang, having gazed his fill, suddenly let drop 
 the heavy, quilted door-cover. At that sharp sound the 
 singing stopped abruptly and everybody jumped up. 
 
 " What a nice family picture ! " he exclaimed laughingly, 
 walking into the room. 
 
 " Ho-ho, Mr. Chang ! " called Chu Ta Ming in English, 
 thrusting his foot into the missing shoe, swinging his queue 
 straight, dropping his flower, and standing up all seemingly 
 in one action. " Do you know you are one whole hour late ? " 
 He shook a threatening finger. 
 
 " One hour your note said seven o'clock now you 
 see ? " The young Cantonese showed his elaborate watch,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 91 
 
 and then pressing the lever made it strike so that everybody 
 could hear. It was exactly eight o'clock, in eight golden notes. 
 
 At that Chu Ta Ming began laughing, in a curiously 
 sympathetic way, as if he liked the assumption that despite 
 all temptations to belong to other nations the young Cantonese 
 was at heart a Chinaman. 
 
 " Ah, my poor friend ! " he cried. " We finished with all 
 that years ago ; you no longer know your own country ! 
 Fancy claiming one whole hour of grace here ! Only in 
 unregenerate Peking do they keep that up where the 
 Manchus come when they feel like coming, which is very often 
 not at all. Here we mean what we say : ask the very noble 
 Vicomte de Crebillon if that is not so if he can find time to 
 speak." 
 
 " Yes," affirmed Crebillon from the other side of the room, 
 still holding the little girls by the hands as he looked round 
 at the new-comer. " We all mean what we say, as I have been 
 vainly trying to persuade these dear little dolls, though they 
 do not understand me. My good friend Willy, had it not been 
 for them you would have found me very angry." 
 
 " Dear, dear! " exclaimed the young man, genuinely dis- 
 tressed. " I must apologize for keeping you all waiting. I 
 will first speak to you, kinsman, Mr. Chu." 
 
 Very formally in the vernacular he greeted the gentleman 
 lately engaged in cracking dried melon-seeds, who was no 
 other than the official deputy of the Provincial Treasurer of 
 Szechuan. The two young men who had been playing morra, 
 now immensely flushed from penalty of the forfeit-cup, had 
 pushed aside their stools and were waiting awkwardly for 
 this other young man, who was already the envy of the town, 
 to give them his attention. Willy Chang having at last 
 finished all the customary honorifics with the provincial 
 official, turned to them with a different manner. 
 
 " Well, how are you, Mr. Euripides P'eng, Mr. Sophocles 
 P'eng ? " he said in English, holding out his hands in the easy 
 intimacy affected as fashionable by those returned home 
 from study abroad.
 
 92 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 The two youths, both speaking with strong American 
 accents, responded suitably. Then, one of them, unable to 
 restrain himself, exclaimed : 
 
 " We were admiring your horses this afternoon, Mr. 
 Chang. My word, they are fine trotters ! " 
 
 " Yes," agreed the other. " Everybody is talking about 
 them and wondering what you paid for them. They are 
 better than anything any foreigner has here." 
 
 " Not so dusty, eh ? " returned Willy Chang nonchalantly 
 in as English a manner as he could affect. " I am getting 
 together several teams like that. Perhaps I'll start a four- 
 in-hand." 
 
 " A four-in-hand gee ! " exclaimed the two youths in- 
 voluntarily together, looking at him with still greater respect. 
 Here was a man who took their fancy. 
 
 But Chu Ta Ming had come forward and clapped his hands 
 with a show of humour, after looking Willy Chang quizzically 
 up and down as if to measure how many more surprises he 
 was going to spring. 
 
 " K'ai-fan, k'ai-fan!" he called to the attendants; "let 
 us eat, let us eat ! If we are going to try and catalogue Mr. 
 Chang's manifold virtues we won't be home by morning. 
 Come, Vicomte." 
 
 Still holding the two little giggling girls by the hand, 
 Crebillon advanced towards the table on the points of his toes, 
 as if he were dancing, and then suddenly planted himself 
 with a big bump on the nearest square wooden stool. Now, 
 to the immense amusement of the little girls, he picked up two 
 chop-sticks, and after some preliminary antics began tickling 
 their noses. The assistant to the Provincial Treasurer ob- 
 served this by-play in some astonishment ; but having had it 
 carefully explained to him in advance by his kinsman that it 
 was not necessary to apply to foreigners the ordinary rules 
 of etiquette, he made no comment. Willy Chang, who was 
 already swallowing some shark's fin soup, was not so restrained. 
 
 "You seem to have lost your heart in two places, Vicomte ! " 
 he exclaimed laughingly. " Do you remember the song in
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 93 
 
 that musical comedy about the man with six little wives ? 
 I think I shall nickname you Yen How. But try this soup ; 
 it is really admirable. Ah, Mr. Chu, you are indeed a con- 
 noisseur of good things. A man who keeps two Canton 
 cooks is a Sybarite. Go on, Vicomte. Don't let it get 
 cold." 
 
 " Certainly I am going to try it," answered the Frenchman. 
 He disengaged his hands and tasted the contents of the hand- 
 some porcelain bowl before him. 
 
 "Admirable," he murmured in genuine surprise; "a 
 delicate flavour, soft, insinuating." 
 
 He stopped an instant to contemplate with his delicate 
 smile his neighbour. The assistant to the Provincial 
 Treasurer, as hungry as if he had not eaten since he left his 
 native Szechuan, was swallowing the dregs of his own bowl 
 with a menacing gurgle resembling the noise made by water 
 rushing down a waste pipe. Every drop being now finished, 
 he set down the bowl with a loud exclamation of satisfaction 
 and seized his pair of ivory chop-sticks. From the various 
 messes on the table he quickly heaped himself a bowlful 
 and began gluttonously eating. 
 
 " Ha-ha, no time is lost, I see ! " exclaimed the Frenchman, 
 looking round and entering into the spirit of the game. 
 
 He picked up his own chop-sticks, and with a preliminary 
 flourish, as if he were directing an orchestra, tried to annex a 
 frog's leg and failed. The little dolls at his side exploded 
 in almost hysterical giggles, and pointed at him mockingly 
 with their fingers. 
 
 " ' If at first you do not succeed, try, try again,' " he quoted, 
 valiantly making another attempt. 
 
 This time the frog's leg travelled without falling to his 
 mouth, but almost instantly he made a wry face. 
 
 " SapristiJ" he muttered in acute concern. "No longer 
 according to the delicate method of Brillat-Savarin 
 after that delicious soup this is an insult ! The wretched 
 creature is cooked in cod-liver oil, I believe ! What ? You 
 say this is the famous bean oil of China ? Well it has a
 
 94 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 disgustingly rank flavour. I cannot possibly taste it again ! 
 Wine, wine, I thirst for wine ! " 
 
 He held out a tiny porcelain cup, which he found beside 
 him, and a noiseless servant quickly filled it with a warm 
 fluid, almost colourless but sweet-tasting. 
 
 Everybody observed him laughingly. 
 
 " Ah, that is better I breathe again ! " he exclaimed after 
 drinking several rapid cupfuls. " Now that I have recovered 
 somewhat, my little dears, you shall eat the frog, if you are 
 very, very good. But what droll little insides you must have ! " 
 
 Exploding with laughter, he picked up the chop-sticks, 
 made a successful dive, and triumphantly fed first one little 
 creature, then the other. At that their eyes shone brightly ; 
 they nodded their heads in warm approval and gurgled 
 words, showing that they were delighted. Had they not 
 been brought up from tenderest childhood with the idea 
 that they were nothing but the toys of men ? And though 
 this was a coarse foreigner his sex was nevertheless unmistak- 
 able. The Frenchman, increasingly amused by this feeding 
 fantasy, treated them just as he would have done his lap- 
 dogs, and forgot all about the rest of the company. 
 
 Meanwhile the feast proceeded with a certain practical 
 rapidity unusual at such functions. The assistant to the 
 Provincial Treasurer, having satisfied the delicate part of 
 his appetite, held out his bowl brusquely behind him, without 
 so much as turning his head. An attentive servitor at once 
 filled it with beautiful snow-white rice, so skilfully cooked 
 that each grain stood out separately. The assistant to the 
 Provincial Treasurer, without a minute's pause, carried the 
 bowl near his mouth, then, holding his two chop-sticks 
 rigidly together, he commenced shovelling down the grain 
 at a tremendous pace. In twenty seconds he had finished 
 and given a sigh of pleasure. 
 
 " Bravo, what an accomplishment ! " exclaimed the 
 Vicomte, under his breath, looking at him open-mouthed. 
 " If I could eat like that, how much would I not devour 
 when I was really hungry ? Alas ! I have not even the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 95 
 
 semblance of an appetite : the bean oil has killed it beyond 
 resuscitation. Therefore, my dear friends, I must busy 
 myself with some other of the interesting things which this 
 world provides." He turned and began playing with the 
 little girls again, but without enthusiasm, as if he were already 
 tired of such a bizarre pastime. 
 
 There was a pause whilst the servants removed the 
 tremendous accumulation of side-dishes which had been 
 brought in on tray after tray until there had appeared no 
 end to them. Now freshly heated wine appeared in delicate 
 vase-like vessels which every one seemed anxious to try. 
 
 " You say some of the other interesting things what 
 are the interesting things ? " put in Willy Chang, nibbling 
 the sugar off some walnuts and picking up the conversation 
 where it had been left off. 
 
 " There are dozens love, for instance," suggested the 
 Vicomte, with the muscles of his face set hard as he looked 
 at his interlocutor, though he still held by the hands the two 
 little dolls. 
 
 The two young men who had studied in America, thinking 
 that this was a joke, exploded as spontaneously as if an electric 
 button had been pressed; then, lolling back in their seats, 
 they looked, embarrassed, at each other over their high white 
 cellars. Willy Chang, however, went on nibbling the sugar 
 off his walnuts in the same deliberate calm as if nothing had 
 happened. Chu Ta Ming and his kinsman were still exchanging 
 words in low voices, whilst the two little girls, with their eyes 
 wide open, remained rigid beside the Vicomte. In a way 
 Willy Chang and the Frenchman had the conversation as 
 much to themselves as if they had been alone in the room. 
 
 " And apart from that ? " questioned the Cantonese, 
 continuing to eat walnuts and waving aside an attendant 
 who was pressing on him the new wine. 
 
 " Business," said the Vicomte, now folding his hands 
 and looking across the table still more fixedly. 
 
 " Business ? " echoed the other in some surprise. " It 
 is strange that you should couple such things together."
 
 96 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " No," said the Frenchman almost insolently, con- 
 tradicting him, " it is not strange at all. It was not strange 
 the other night, neither is it strange here. Look at this 
 room ! Everybody combines the two it is so convenient, 
 is it not ? " 
 
 " I do not know," replied Willy Chang coldly; " I have 
 perhaps forgotten my East, as Mr. Chu Ta Ming suggested at 
 the beginning of the evening. You see I have only been 
 back a month, so perhaps you know more than I know." 
 
 The Vicomte's mouth smiled but his eyes remained hard. 
 
 " Only a month ? " he repeated ; " but you have done a 
 good deal in that time." And as the other looked at him 
 in real surprise, he added : " I mean Mortiboy's great Develop- 
 ment Company that represents a good deal of work on 
 your part, I am sure." 
 
 The young Chinese parried the thrust with such ease 
 that the Frenchman was plainly nonplussed, for he had 
 said very deliberately and calmly : 
 
 " I have done nothing at all in the matter except to go 
 over the contracts ; do not imagine that because I happen to 
 be a barrister-at-law and secretary to His Excellency Yao 
 Pu Yao that I have done anything else. Sir John Weeger 
 was officially responsible ; he was handsomely paid by us 
 to do the work before he joined the Board of Directors, and 
 I only scanned the completed documents in order to satisfy 
 the Imperial Commissioner, who, of course, had to rely entirely 
 on translations." 
 
 " Ah, that is very interesting." 
 
 The Vicomte began playing with the ear of one of the 
 little girls and then gave her a sweet. She murmured some 
 words to him which he vainly tried to understand, expressing 
 his sorrow by an eloquent pantomime. Then presently he 
 said very softly, as if it were a trifle, like the morsel he had 
 given to the child : 
 
 " Could one get a copy of the contracts I mean as 
 between friends, so that it would be possible to understand 
 on what basis the concessions have been granted ? "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 97 
 
 "They are confidential documents," returned Willy 
 Chang very deliberately. " There can be no question of 
 their being shown around as if they were curiosities." 
 
 He frowned as he pondered over the question. It was as 
 if something deeper than mere annoyance now possessed him. 
 Then as the new thought took definite shape he resumed : 
 
 " But will you not tell us, Vicomte, why you are so inter- 
 ested in this commercial undertaking ? You do nothing but 
 ask question after question, and you are contented with none 
 of my replies." 
 
 " Commercial you say commercial why not be frank 
 and call it political ? " 
 
 There was a moment of silence. Then Willy Chang was 
 suddenly aware that Chu Ta Ming had not only ceased his 
 tete-d-tete with his kinsman, but had turned and opened his 
 mouth to speak. Very deliberately the young Cantonese 
 upset the plate of walnuts in front of him, pretended to be 
 clumsy, and added to this clatter by pushing all the little 
 dishes near him away. 
 
 " Tong-hsing I " (Be careful) he exclaimed under his breath 
 in the vernacular, turning round and talking rapidly in the 
 same tongue to the servants. " Tong-hsing I " he repeated, 
 using the Soochow vernacular so that everybody could under- 
 stand. Yet it appeared from his gestures that he was telling 
 the servants to clear away the mess as speedily as possible. 
 
 The assistant to the Provincial Treasurer had suddenly 
 stiffened as a terrier does who scents quarry. He was look- 
 ing round the table in the keenest possible way, trying to 
 detect from every trifle what had actually passed. Those 
 two words had spoken volumes to him. In the silence which 
 had come over this little company the noise in the street 
 below resounded with redoubled violence. 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon folded bis hands on the table. 
 Something told him that something momentous had occurred. 
 But it had all been done so swiftly and so deftly that it had 
 eluded even his keen senses. In spite of every desire not to 
 acknowledge himself beaten^hejelt he was surrounded by a 
 7
 
 98 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 subtle antagonism, shared by every one present, which he 
 could not even unmask and attack. 
 
 He had courage, however, and persistence as well. It 
 was essential that he should not acknowledge himself check- 
 mated in the game that was proceeding under his very eyes. 
 He did not know precisely why these men were gathered 
 together here to-night, but it was quite plain to him that 
 before they had all parted things would have moved forward 
 a little farther, new developments would have been set in 
 motion, and this dangerous thing be just so much the harder 
 to arrest. And he was still in the dark, absolutely in the 
 dark, regarding every essential. . . . 
 
 He bit his lips in chagrin. Then he remembered that it 
 was necessary to his plans that no coldness should grow up 
 between him and Willy Chang. So, suddenly with quite 
 transparent and charming frankness he laughed. 
 
 " My remark seems to have been a bombshell since no- 
 body replies," he began in the easiest manner possible. To 
 show his perfect calm he allowed a few seconds to pass whilst 
 he curled his moustaches. " Yet I do not see why that 
 should be so. I said this enterprise might be political instead 
 of commercial ; that is all, and not one word more. Surely 
 there was nothing surprising in that, though my frankness 
 may have sounded brusque. You all know what foreigners 
 are in China for ; how so-called commercial enterprises, 
 carried out in the heart of a country which is militarily weak, 
 are apt to assume a strictly political complexion in the event 
 of disagreements occurring. Mr. Chu, you have told me so 
 often yourself. I cannot be accused of uttering novel views." 
 
 " That is true," returned Chu Ta Ming very shortly. 
 
 His great conversational powers had apparently deserted 
 him. But it was not really because of Willy Chang's warn- 
 ing words that he sat so stupidly quiet ; it was because his 
 kinsman from Szechuan had just raised certain financial 
 points which had not pleased him at all, and he was thinking 
 hard how he should outwit him. He looked meaningly at 
 Willy Chang, however, as if throwing on him the burden of
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 99 
 
 making any reply he thought necessary in the circumstances ; 
 but the confidential secretary pretended not to see the look, 
 and continued to gaze in a brown study at the wall. 
 
 Why was this Frenchman so inquisitive ? that was what 
 was troubling him. If the reasons were only personal he did 
 not mind, but might not there be something else something 
 big ? As he turned the problem over, he wondered how he 
 could have been so careless as not to have made proper 
 inquiries. He would telegraph to Paris the very first thing 
 next morning, and find out precisely who the Vicomte really 
 was and what his past had been. 
 
 " Well," said Crebillon genially as he watched him think. 
 " Come, answer my soliloquy, since Mr. Chu will not do so." 
 
 " There is nothing much to answer," suggested Willy 
 Chang, mentally framing his telegram as he spoke. " You 
 see you have argued that this concession may ultimately 
 turn from being a purely commercial concern into a political 
 business. Well, I do not say that it may not ; I only answer 
 that all reasonable precautions in fact, every possible pre- 
 caution is being taken to prevent such a dire calamity. I 
 hope that will set your mind at rest, and that you will try 
 your luck with the rest of us in the shares. They are rising, 
 rising ; there has been a regular boom since the races were 
 finished. One of the wise things in China is never to attempt 
 to look too far ahead. Vicomte, your very good health ! " 
 
 Champagne had just been passed in European glasses. 
 Willy Chang, standing up on a nod from Chu Ta Ming, very 
 ceremoniously and flatteringly toasted the Frenchman as 
 the honoured guest in a strange land. Then, stepping away 
 from the table, he carried a glass of this wine to the painted 
 singer, who, guitar in hand, had been sitting quite motionless 
 and silent throughout this long scene. He remained in con- 
 versation with her smiling and polite, purposely showing the 
 Vicomte that though he did not mean to be rude he had no 
 wish to discuss matters any further with him. 
 
 Servants now entered the room in formidable numbers. 
 They removed the entire table, carrying it out through a
 
 ioo THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 folding-door at one end of the room to the sound of much 
 talking. Then, coming back equally noisily, they placed 
 wine of all sorts on teapoys which they disposed round the 
 room. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, much flushed, his queue swinging in an 
 almost disorderly manner over one shoulder, rose and gave a 
 whispered order. Then he walked, humming to himself, 
 to one of the couches. His kinsman made an effort to follow, 
 but the glasses of champagne on top of copious draughts of 
 native wine had been too much for him, and destroyed his 
 mobility. With a half -suppressed groan, like a man who has 
 been stabbed, he suddenly fell back on his seat. 
 
 The two young men educated in America, laughing more 
 madly than ever, were translating the absurdities which 
 Crebillon was purposely inventing more to amuse himself 
 than the little girls. These, with all their timidity com- 
 pletely gone, answered impudently as they puffed at cigarettes. 
 The atmosphere became more and more heavy ; the voices 
 sounded in the Frenchman's ears more and more like the buzz 
 of flies ; and he was wondering what excuse he should invent 
 to escape. Just then the quilted door-cover was lifted, and 
 two youths in beautiful silks entered noiselessly, bowing and 
 smiling to the whole company. 
 
 The effect they produced was curious. The painted 
 singer drew herself up in disdain, and pulled away from 
 Willy Chang, who was still talking to her ; then with an 
 angry gesture she dropped her guitar on the settee as if 
 to go. Even the little girls murmured to one another. 
 
 " I say ! " exclaimed the two Americanized young men, 
 with knowing winks, as the newcomers walked up to Chu Ta 
 Ming and greeted him familiarly as if he was a well-known 
 patron. 
 
 " What is this ? " inquired Crebillon, somewhat puzzled. 
 " Are these young fellows your friends ? " 
 
 At that Chu Ta Ming burst out laughing and laid a hand 
 on the shoulder of one of the youths almost affectionately, 
 showing that he was infinitely satisfied. Not only had he
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 101 
 
 dined well, but he had outwitted his kinsman in the matter of 
 money. 
 
 " These are not songsters," he proclaimed with something 
 of his old manner, though his voice sounded heavy and colour- 
 less. " These are birds of another feather. They can take 
 you into realms where fancy is king ; they can destroy the 
 commonplaces of life, exalt you far above this dull plane, 
 with its eating and drinking, its noises and disappointments, 
 its grossnesses and tyrannies. These are the companions of 
 epicureans, the delightful companions, the makers of tales, 
 the weavers of romances. Ah, Vicomte, there is much that 
 you have not yet learnt." 
 
 He offered the youths wine and delicacies. 
 
 " I am always willing," replied the Frenchman, staring 
 across at the trio. " Instruct me ; tell me something that I 
 do not know." 
 
 " Tell you something you do not know ! " echoed the 
 Chinese mockingly, waving his lean arms. Then his pride 
 took possession of him and carried him away in a high-flown 
 apostrophe. " I have not breath or strength enough to do 
 that ! I cannot talk all to-night and all to-morrow and then 
 far into the next night. . . . Even that would scarce suffice 
 me to catalogue your stupid virtues and your less than 
 stupid vices. Tell you something you do not know ; was there 
 ever such a text for a sermon ! Dear sir, you must be mad 
 or worse ! Tell you something you do not know ! I have 
 never heard such a remark ! For though you are French 
 quick and clever up to a certain point, even you can never 
 move beyond. Your shallow remarks to Mr. Willy Chang 
 bear witness against you. What else am I to say ? " 
 
 He flung the hard native bolster behind him on the floor, 
 and, grasping a cushion fashioned after the sort displayed in 
 European shops, placed it carefully behind his head, dropping 
 at the same time an embroidered shoe from his foot. 
 
 " You have taught me nothing so far excepting the 
 richness of the English language. It is a gift of the East 
 the gift of the gab, as the English say," retorted Crebillon.
 
 102 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " If I could find my words as easily as you, I would make just 
 as eloquent a reply. What is it you want to teach the art of 
 enjoyment ? Bah ! What is all this talk that we cannot 
 enjoy that you Easterners alone possess the secret ! It is 
 ridiculous, an invention of children, a sophistry. If there 
 were really any secret, it would be told. But though I have 
 inquired far and wide I have learnt nothing not a word." 
 He blew a cloud of cigarette smoke disdainfully across the room. 
 
 " I will tell it ! " exclaimed Chu Ta Ming, first waving a 
 hand as if to stop him, and then sitting up. " The secret is 
 intensity. . . . You continue to look scornful you refuse 
 to believe you think what I say is a deception and a snare 
 ah! sentimental Vandal, or should I say vandalistic senti- 
 mentalist ? For I have given you the secret and you have 
 ears that will not hear. Intensity is the beginning and end 
 of all things intensity is everything ; it is Heaven itself. I tell 
 you so plainly. What you have simply to discover is how to 
 attain the maximum suited to your particular nature. Mark 
 well, I do not dogmatize. I do not say you must do this, I 
 do not say that you must do that I simply tell you the great 
 secret. Concentration is not the same. It is a conscious 
 act, an act of the will, of the intellect. True intensity comes 
 from a proper arousing of the senses which in their normal 
 condition are independent of the will. Do you understand ? 
 A day and a night should be given over to the attainment 
 of one single idea. It is the principle of saturation. The 
 note must be held long and continuously to give the deepest 
 results. I have talked enough ! If I continue I shall exhaust 
 myself in a fruitless task." 
 
 Now he dropped back lazily on his cushion, and picking up 
 a silk fan, shaped like a full moon and painted in exquisite 
 colours, fanned himself slowly. The graceful youths beside 
 him stood silent, as if in the presence of a master, and of 
 the others none seemed to have anything to say. 
 
 "If I could only talk like that," murmured Willy 
 Chang at last, looking round at Crebillon, " I would argue, 
 too I would tell you things "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 103 
 
 But the Frenchman was not so impressed. He watched 
 his host with irony still lingering at the corners of his mouth ; 
 he seemed to be debating whether it would be wise to pursue 
 the subject further and speak as he felt. 
 
 " Perhaps you are right," he said presently ; "perhaps there 
 is an insuperable barrier which I cannot cross. I confess I do 
 not understand your definition. For me a symphony means 
 everything something harmonious which will overcome 
 one gently but irresistibly ; that is my idol. I would like to 
 see an artist arrange some delicious combination of perfumes 
 which would intoxicate one which would make one think 
 tremendous thoughts, inspire one to the conception of great 
 actions, and yet mystify still further the mystery of life. 
 That is what would be a great revelation." 
 
 The Chinese, still fanning himself as he reclined on his 
 comfortable cushion, shook his head : 
 
 " Brutal, brutal, at bottom brutal like the rest. You 
 stupid fellows from the West with your contradictions of 
 terms, your misapprehensions ! Listen ! I do not speak of 
 bewildering the mind and imagining that that happy half- 
 state is Nirvana as the Indians believe. No, no. The blessed 
 drug gives that after a few little pipes. What I speak of must 
 come alone and unaided entirely from within. It must be 
 l)orn in the heart ; it must be followed obediently by all the 
 senses which should crowd round like little children ; it must 
 be patiently endured for hours and hours. It is a purely 
 sensual thing ; it does not ask for any consequences, any 
 reward, such as you demand of your dreams, that they inspire 
 you to something great. But what is the good of talking ! 
 The art will never be understood by the West. You are 
 saturated with the fear that the senses are bad, that sex is 
 an unclean thing your moral conscience still believes that 
 the body is the prison of the soul." He laughed derisively. 
 
 " But you are talking of the English not of the French ! " 
 cried the Vicomte. " Who ever heard of such theories now- 
 adays ! My poor friend, you live in the false atmosphere 
 of old-fashioned books ; you should read something new."
 
 104 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 He gave a snort of contempt and inhaled the smoke of his 
 cigarette. " Poor old Asia .behind the times as usual ! Even 
 when you are supposed to be catching up hand over hand, 
 you are really ignorant, so frightfully ignorant that it is 
 unbelievable. You have been very frank with me ; let me 
 return the compliment." He screwed up his eyes as if the 
 smoke was making them smart. Then he concluded in a 
 cutting voice : " Do you know what it is that makes you 
 the way you are, do you know what has given birth in the 
 past to all your theories and fancies ? I will tell you. In 
 spite of all your brains, in spite of your tenacity, your ingenuity, 
 you Chinese are physical weaklings absolutely and un- 
 deniably. Do you think I do not know many curious things, 
 the true secret of the bound feet of the women, for instance ? 
 If I were to publish that in Europe there would be a great 
 explosion among the scientists. And it is perhaps time we 
 exploded your myths, it is time we showed that your know- 
 ledge is a false knowledge suited only to those who are what 
 you are physically weak. Bah, friend Chu Ta Ming, that 
 for your knowledge, that for your culture, that for your 
 superiority ! " He snapped his fingers once, twice, thrice. 
 
 He was made conscious by the silence which reigned in 
 the room that he had overstepped the mark. In spite of 
 his sang-froid he coloured slightly as he picked up his straw 
 hat preparatory to going. But with an effort he managed a 
 gay laugh. 
 
 " Ah, good friends, I am afraid I am indeed a barbarian 
 in my manners, indeed a stupid fellow from the West ! But 
 forget my ill-natured criticism, forget every one of my words 
 which have no importance at all. Has not our host said that 
 I am at bottom brutal, brutal like the rest ? " He looked 
 round laughingly. " But you have given me a wonderful 
 evening, and even the memory of that wretched bean oil has 
 fled. What ! A song from one of the delightful companions 
 well, I must hear that " 
 
 One of the youths on a signal from Chu Ta Ming had picked 
 up the guitar which the painted singer had cast aside, and was
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 105 
 
 now gently strumming it. The other with a roguish glance 
 suddenly threw back his head, and commenced singing in 
 a feverish falsetto that famous ballad from "The Three 
 Kingdoms" which describes the artfulness of a popular hero. 
 The text ran something like this : 
 
 THE TRICK OF THE EMPTY CITY 
 
 I stand on the city-wall looking towards the scene unrolled from the 
 
 mountains, 
 
 My ears hear the noisy sound of men and horses. 
 Banners, flags, and swords almost cover the earth, 
 It is the unexpected arrival of the infantry and cavalry led by Sze 
 
 Ma Yen. 
 
 There was no engagement between you and me since your arrival 
 
 here, 
 Did you feel peace and happiness after leaving those conquered 
 
 places ? 
 
 I declare Ma Su has no military strategy, 
 And that there has been disagreement between your generals. 
 
 Your occupation of my two cities seems to me very lucky, 
 
 Why do you lead your troops hither ? 
 
 Here I have only two guitar-boys, 
 
 My hands have no swords and there is not a soldier with us. 
 
 1 have prepared sheep and wine to reward your troops, 
 
 Wine and sheep to present to your three armies. 
 
 You should immediately enter the city since you have arrived, 
 
 Why do you stand without the city your minds wholly undetermined ? 
 
 You must not take counsel again and again, 
 You should come, come, come. . . . 
 Pray come right up on the city-wall, 
 To hear my playing on the guitar. . . . 
 
 " Hao, hao!" (Admirable) called every one with almost 
 childish delight as the song ended, and Crebillon applauded 
 too. Then, as he saw that they were all occupied and were 
 paying no more attention to him, he slipped out of the door- 
 way and hastened down the narrow staircase, delicately 
 holding his handkerchief to his nose. He went through the
 
 io6 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 noisy eating-room on the ground-floor as if he saw nothing, 
 and was only anxious to get out ; he went on quickly, as if 
 his departure was actually a flight. But on the threshold 
 of this exotic establishment he paused, much as Willy Chang 
 had done when he had first arrived though for very different 
 reasons and looked back full of thoughtfulness. 
 
 " Weaknesses in the armour great weaknesses des 
 grandes faiblesses," he murmured to himself in French. 
 " Very clever, if you will, but weaknesses, great weaknesses." 
 
 Then he disappeared into the crowded street.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 " Tzu Kung said : ' What, Sir, is your opinion of me ? ' 
 ' ' I would liken you, Tzu,' replied the Master, ' to a vessel limited 
 in its function ' 
 
 " ' What sort of vessel ? ' asked Tzu Kung. 
 
 " ' A richly ornamented sacrificial vessel,' was the reply." " THE 
 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 MRS. JERRINS, having completed her toilette with 
 singular satisfaction, stepped back very slowly until 
 she could see herself full-length in the looking-glass. 
 The Pompadour costume, with its handsome powdered 
 wig, which had travelled all the way from Paris, suited her 
 wonderfully, and what pleased her even more was that her 
 big black eyes, staring over her rouge, were to-night so 
 startlingly beautiful that even the blindest of men could not 
 help noticing them. She made that remark to herself as she 
 remembered what the little Italian hairdresser who had 
 arranged the wig half an hour before had murmured : he had 
 said that she was unbelievable incredibile ! Now, throwing 
 a last glance round the room to see that she had forgotten 
 nothing, she picked up her tall gilt cane and rang. It was 
 only a quarter past nine ; unless she drove very slowly she 
 would be among the first arrivals. Not often had clocks 
 lagged so much. 
 
 The native coachman listened to her order to drive as 
 slowly as possible without a sign of interest. The strange 
 costume, his face seemed to say, accounted for this phantasy 
 which was at such odd variance with everyday rules. So 
 instead of lashing up his ponies and driving as Jehu drove, 
 which most people were glad to let him do, he allowed the
 
 io8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 two diminutive white steeds to crawl down the side-street, 
 and then into the main thoroughfare as if the carriage were 
 empty , and returning home with the driver half asleep a 
 pace which precisely suited the slow tide of jinricksha traffic 
 that rolled forward ceaselessly under the great glare of 
 shop-lights. 
 
 To the woman, leaning back in the brougham in an un- 
 wonted fever of excitement, that slow and measured progress 
 appeared as something eventful, something to be long re- 
 membered. Clad as she was in the costume of a forgotten 
 age, and absorbed in thinking of something very far removed 
 from what she beheld, this Eastern world, which she had 
 known so intimately and so long, suddenly seemed by a trick 
 of the mind strange and unfamiliar. She looked around her 
 with wondering eyes, wondering at the strange manner in 
 which her forgotten first impressions of these scenes returned 
 to her. It was eighteen years since she had come out to 
 China as a girl, but she had forgotten nothing, and now the 
 mystery with which her girlish imagination had invested 
 commonplaces momentarily returned. Under the fantastic 
 signboards, painted beauties nicknamed "pheasants" 
 with the tiniest feet in the world, were staggering along, 
 audaciously ogling passers-by. Their tight -fitting silk panta- 
 loons, their gay surcoats of pink or sky-blue, made striking 
 spots of colour on the drab-coloured pavement, and native 
 dandies, clad in equally beautiful clothes, hovered round them 
 as moths flutter round a flame. The West had taught the 
 East that sort of thing, she thought to herself ; that was one 
 of the best learnt lessons of the West love-making on the 
 streets. . . . The immense oil-paper lanterns, adorned with 
 their fantastic characters, and swinging gently in the evening 
 breeze these oil-paper lanterns had come down from the 
 remotest times in order to shed their discreet light on such 
 contorted vanities. How ridiculous it all was ; what a jumble 
 of values ; what a mass of contradictions, induced by alien 
 example. . . . 
 
 Thrown into an ever deeper brown study by the gentle
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 109 
 
 movement of the carriage, her mind full of the prospect which 
 the evening held out to her, she now surveyed it all with the 
 indifference of a stranger. There was nothing questionable 
 or bad or reprehensible or strange about it all. Let others do 
 as they pleased and she herself would follow the bent of her 
 own mind. She knew now how to act, and she was determined 
 not to falter. Somehow she would make her own fortune ; 
 she was determined to lay the foundations that very night. 
 
 How wonderful that sounded ! To turn her back on that 
 universal currency of the East credit ; to do something she 
 had never been able to do before, to feel independent, to be 
 no longer tied to one who had never succeeded that was what 
 she ardently desired. She hated ill-success, she loathed the 
 failure she saw embodied in her husband ; it was the most 
 detestable thing the world had ever invented, and it had been 
 her fate to be tied to such a thing. Already she had received 
 letters from her husband hinting to her that there was some- 
 thing wrong with his new scheme, though it was barely more 
 than a month old ; already she foresaw the day when he 
 would return, tearful and limp, as had happened half a dozen 
 times before, saying that there was nothing to do but to save 
 the wreckage and go back to the old life in the tiny outport 
 where they had lived so long. 
 
 Well she would see about that. Meanwhile the carriage 
 had come to an abrupt halt, and she thrust her head out of 
 the window to see what was delaying them. 
 
 " Dear me," she murmured aloud in real surprise, taken 
 from her introspection by the actuality before her. 
 
 An endless line of carriages, kept in order by mounted 
 Indian police who rode up and down the road, menacing 
 ?the drivers in an unintelligible medley of Hindustani and 
 Chinese, stretched as far as she could see. The twinkling 
 carriage lights seemed indeed innumerable that night. Ranged 
 beside them, and constantly attempting to run forward 
 only to be driven back just as often by the chanting voices 
 of the Indian police, were other myriads of jinrickshas. 
 It was plain to see that the Charity Ball was to be a memorable
 
 no THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 affair, and that every mortal soul in the place was coming. 
 Only after long minutes did her carriage move forward at a 
 funereal pace, checked again and again. But at last a great 
 illuminated gateway was reached, and they entered gardens 
 made gay with coloured Chinese lanterns. Numbers of 
 people, impatient because of the long delay, now began getting 
 out of their conveyances in order to arrive sooner, and the 
 grounds were filled with fantastic figures. Mrs. Jerrins, 
 determined to make her entry in state, sat patiently waiting, 
 until she reached the very doors of the club-house. 
 
 Dismounted Indian troopers, lance in hand and motionless 
 as bronze images, lined either side of the staircase of the club- 
 house, which had been transformed into a fairyland by endless 
 archways of Heavenly Bamboo. Little murmurs, which 
 sounded delicious in her ears, greeted her solitary progress. 
 Using her tall cane with graceful effect, she moved onward 
 with assurance, looking for her friends. The unwonted feeling 
 which had possessed her as she had stood in front of her look- 
 ing-glass came back to her with redoubled effect, and now she 
 took all the admiration she overheard as her due. As she 
 came to an involuntary halt owing to the great, press of people, 
 somebody clasped her firmly by the hand. She turned in 
 surprise ; it was Mrs. Macniversen, there much earlier than 
 she had said she would be. 
 
 "How perfectly splendid you are to-night, my dear!" 
 exclaimed that lady, eagerly scanning her from head to foot. 
 " I have never seen you look half so well. I caught sight 
 of you at the bottom_of the stairs, and you should hear what 
 the men have been saying. Now I know why you have been 
 so mysterious about what you were going to wear. My dear, 
 I believe you are the only woman in the place whose wig is 
 properly fitted. Do look at some of the atrocities ! And 
 do you think I am all right ? I have to wear dark colours 
 
 which I detest. Now if I had your figure " She stopped, 
 
 pushed to one side by a new wave of arrivals. Then she 
 added a little breathlessly, as if it were really becoming too 
 much for her : " What a fearful crush, and what numbers
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS in 
 
 of odious people. They push into you so ! If it were not for 
 the hospital, I would never have come. But after buying 
 five tickets and a costume I simply had to. You know the 
 feeling ? Come here, Major Malwa, and don't make yourself 
 absurd." 
 
 Major Malwa, clad as a Stuart Cavalier, had suddenly 
 displayed an increasing tendency to dash in among a group 
 of laughing Milkmaids, who were flirting outrageously. Duti- 
 fully returning, he began forcing a way for Mrs. Macniversen, 
 who ceaselessly talked about everything and everybody. 
 But as they finally reached the ball-room even she broke into 
 exclamations of pleasure and forgot her chatter. 
 
 It was as if Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp had been rubbed 
 and willing genii had done the rest. That plant, graceful 
 and tender beyond words, the Heavenly Bamboo, had made 
 endless bowers of the walls, which seemed no longer to exist. 
 Wonderful ropes of flowers, which baiefooted gardeners 
 had gathered at dawn, banners of delicate native silks, glitter- 
 ing steel arms, everything that ingenuity could think of was 
 there. It was indeed as if Asia had been laid under tribute. 
 The floor, invaded by a delighted crowd, was soon as bewilder- 
 ing as the decorations, for there was every possible costume 
 from every possible age, copied as faithfully as Chinese tailors 
 with Chinese ingenuity could manage. 
 
 "How beautiful!" exclaimed Mrs. Jerrins, forgetting 
 everything in her pleasure " There is enough to occupy 
 one in looking at it all for hours and hours." 
 
 With Mrs. Macniversen and her friends she began slowly 
 walking to where the ladies of the committee had begun to 
 collect. Almost at once she saw Mortiboy, standing waiting 
 for her. 
 
 " Is it really you ! " she exclaimed, with a blush. " I was 
 wondering whether you would remember the right corner." 
 Do you know, I hardly recognized you in the distance ? " 
 
 He was certainly changed by his dress in a manner that 
 conveyed its own meaning. No laughing Cavalier was he ; no 
 fantastic Turk in bulging breeches ; no Sir Galahad. Mortiboy
 
 H2 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 was simply clad in a claret-coloured suit, with knee-breeches 
 and a severe wig which made his face look even more deter- 
 mined than usual ; and in his hand he carried a roll of papers. 
 
 " 1789 or thereabouts," he explained laughingly. " Not 
 the 1789 of Paris, but of London that is as near as an un- 
 regenerate Chinaman could get it from a coloured print which 
 I happened to have. I am a sort of notary-public, I believe. 
 They have been chaffing me to death about this roll of papers 
 they have been telling me that I am afraid to leave my 
 documents at home ! " Then after a pause he added, as if he 
 had forgotten to do his duty : " But I must congratulate 
 you you are beyond comparison." 
 
 A fantastic fellow, dressed as a buffoon, who was presently 
 revealed as Tommy Gibbon, stopped them by insisting 
 that they must inspect a row of men he had placed against 
 the wall. " Ladies and gentlemen," he called, in the midst 
 of uproarious laughter, when he had a sufficiently large 
 audience, " at great expense I have provided all the characters 
 of a Spanish bull-fight, with strict attention to local colour. 
 Here, in order, you have : Toreador, Matador, Picador, 
 
 Compradore, Stevedore " And so on, with even greater 
 
 absurdities. 
 
 " I shall have to leave you, I am afraid," said Mortiboy 
 presently. " I am at the head of the committees, and I 
 must see that everything is right. Can I see your pro- 
 gramme ? " He studied the bit of pasteboard and wrote 
 rapidly. " Do you like dancing ? I am sure you do. I 
 
 wonder what Mrs. Jacks wants ; she is beckoning to us " 
 
 Then he exclaimed under his breath as they drew near : " I 
 know what it is I was pretty sure it would come." 
 
 Mrs. Jacks was in point of fact very angry ; she talked 
 so rapidly that it was almost impossible to understand her 
 above the orchestra,, which had commenced playing noisily. 
 But the three Yao girls, costumed as Watteau shepherdesses, 
 standing beside her on the verge of tears, supplied the key. 
 
 "There is always some contretemps like this," Mrs. Jacks 
 insisted. " The Yao girls went everywhere in Vienna and
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 113 
 
 Paris, but just because they are Chinese and in their own 
 country complaints have been made. Mr. Mortiboy, my 
 husband has already gone to the committee-room and they 
 are looking for you. I am sure you will see that this sort 
 of thing is stopped this is the second time in a fortnight. 
 Minnie, go on dancing and don't pay the slightest attention 
 to anybody. We will see that it is all right ; won't we, Mrs. 
 Jerrins ? " She looked appealingly at her. 
 
 " Of course," agreed the latter, though she was thinking 
 of something else. " Tell me who complained ? I am not 
 going to dance just now." Then Mrs. Jacks poured out her 
 story as if it were something that gave her pleasure, though 
 it seemed to have aroused her wrath. There are many 
 women like that who energize themselves from other people's 
 worries. 
 
 It was the Vicomte de Crebillon, clad as a Mousquetaire 
 du roi, who finally interrupted them. He had come up with 
 the youngest Yao girl on his arm, laughing and joking in his 
 usual way, having restored her spirits by his chaff. Crebillon 
 had not allowed the grass to grow under his feet ; he was 
 already counted a bosom friend by all three sisters, and when- 
 ever everybody else failed they looked to him. But now his 
 attentiveness appeared to have vanished. 
 
 " Ah, Madame," he said to Mrs. Jerrins with his best bow 
 and his most absurd manner, " you have quite captured the 
 heart of this poor Mousquetaire du roi. I have been observ- 
 ing you from the very beginning, lost in admiration at your 
 creation and delighted with the manner you wear it. But the 
 crowd round you has been so immense that I could not force 
 my way through. May I hope for a dance one little dance 
 unless it is too late ? " 
 
 She laughed gaily at his manner, which was always amus- 
 ing to women. 
 
 " You will not find much difficulty with that card !" she 
 exclaimed, handing it to him. " I am far too lazy to get to 
 know many people." 
 
 "What an adjective!" he murmured, rapidly scrawling 
 8
 
 ii 4 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 his initials, and trying to make out a name he saw with a big 
 bracket round it. " But it will not be a question of what you 
 wish ; it will be the inevitable which will happen as soon as 
 people discover what they have in their midst. But let us 
 begin quickly now before the music stops." 
 
 He danced with her just once round the room, then, stop- 
 ping abruptly, he remarked : 
 
 "The heat is already maddening, is it not ? Shall we 
 seek some more congenial place ? Allow me to guide you 
 I have already discovered the very best place. Then we can 
 talk, which is by far the most interesting thing in the world, 
 is it not ? " 
 
 He led her quickly through a bamboo maze, and presently 
 they emerged on a dimly lighted veranda which overlooked 
 a quiet street. Mrs. Jerrins, as she sank back in a wicker- 
 chair, gave an exclamation of relief. 
 
 " How deliciously cool after that hot room," she admitted 
 gratefully, beginning to fan herself. " Are you always so 
 clever as a finder of the good things of life ? " 
 
 " Always," answered the Frenchman without hesitation. 
 " The good things are the only things worth finding. Why 
 should I hunt for others ? " 
 
 " Why, indeed ! And yet we do not always find what we 
 look for." 
 
 " That is true," he agreed ; " but you must remember 
 that if we fail it is because we lack something, perhaps per- 
 sistence, perhaps the necessary talent. That is another way 
 of saying that we are not worthy of anything better than 
 that which we actually achieve." 
 
 " Bravo ! You are an epigrammatist," returned Mrs. 
 Jerrins, toying with her fan. 
 
 " No, dear Madame, not an epigrammatist, but an observer. 
 I have the eyes of a cat I observe everything." 
 He looked at her thoughtfully. 
 
 " Indeed ! " she exclaimed, wondering if he were talking 
 at random ; " that must make you a little uncomfortable 
 at times.'*
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 115 
 
 " But useful, very useful," he replied, with great serious- 
 ness. " The number of persons who really observe is strictly 
 limited : it is undoubtedly convenient to have somebody to 
 refer to, somebody who, when his eyes are open, always sees 
 what is passing in front of them. Don't you think that is 
 true ? " He made a little noise in his throat to attract her 
 attention to two shadows. A man and a woman had come 
 in at the far, unlighted end of the veranda, and had swiftly 
 passed behind an impenetrable arrangement of screens and 
 palms. 
 
 Presently Mrs. Jerrins resumed in a fit of audacity : 
 
 " That gives us something to go on with. Do you believe 
 in love ? " 
 
 The Mousquetaire du roi held up his hands in mock horror 
 at such a question. 
 
 " Do I believe in love ? " he repeated ruefully, with his eyes 
 raised towards heaven. " But if not for that, why did we 
 come into this world ? " 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins leaned back and laughed. 
 
 " Well, show me a little of the quality." 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " No," he said very decidedly. " No. Being, as I have 
 already said, a close observer, I refuse to be so stupid. You 
 are not made for such a man as me between you and me 
 there can only be seriousness, or something even harder. 
 You see I am very, very frank. I tell you the ugly truth, for 
 is not the truth always ugly ? I am not your type. You 
 
 require " He paused, almost embarrassed by her steady 
 
 eyes in spite of his assurance. 
 
 " Yes," she said encouragingly. 
 
 He made a gesture as if to assist his words. 
 
 " Well how shall I put it ? Something more massive, 
 more dominating than a feeble little man like myself. I have 
 brains, perhaps, but certainly no muscles. You are the sort 
 of woman who adores muscles. You could really love a 
 man who would beat you as easily as his dog, or at least 
 threaten to do so."
 
 n6 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 The Englishwoman laughed a little uneasily. 
 
 " Quellefolie," she murmured, using his idiom to strengthen 
 her position, which she felt was being sapped by subtle 
 means. 
 
 " Quelle verite," he returned, with increasing assurance. 
 " But let us talk of something more interesting, of something 
 which will not make you hate me for being so frank. Are you 
 going to make untold millions, like everybody else, over this 
 great scheme of Mortiboy's ? " 
 
 She turned quietly towards him, noting whither his train 
 of thought had carried him, and then remarked : " I do not 
 believe anybody thinks that, do they ? Surely it is too soon 
 to be sure even of thousands ? " 
 
 He shook his head, and then said rapidly, as if he were 
 making a set speech : 
 
 " I know nothing ; I have only read the newspapers and 
 the prospectuses, and all seems couleur de rose. I can honestly 
 say I have never read such a glorious prospect so beautifully 
 described. A giant English syndicate to exploit the resources 
 of five provinces which possess a population said to number 
 at least one hundred and fifty million people; iron, oil, coal, 
 tin, lead, and copper in abundance; railways to be built, 
 steamers to be launched on waters that have never known 
 other craft than antediluvian junks; the myriads of China 
 crowding forward to invest their savings in this fabulous 
 venture; England extending her benevolent protection and 
 remembering that Burma lies on the frontier of these lands ! 
 It is marvellous and fantastic, worthy of a Rothschild or 
 Rockefeller. What more could you expect ? We may live 
 to see our friend Mortiboy one of the great ones of the world, 
 that is, if he succeeds. And, of course, he will do so, since that 
 has become a habit with him." 
 
 He paused as if out of breath, and threw a look at his 
 companion. She was gazing steadily in front of her, plunged 
 in thought. The Frenchman smiled to himself so swiftly 
 and adroitly that even had she looked up she would have 
 noticed nothing at all. He had seen how she had borne
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 117 
 
 herself towards Mortiboy the night of the dinner-party, and 
 at the races, and at yet other dinners. He had been carefully 
 observing her ever since the very first night he had met her, 
 because some instinct bade him do that. She believed it 
 was very plain to see that, allied to Mortiboy, she would do 
 great things. 
 
 Well, so be it ! That was a very excellent project for a 
 woman to form. Why should she not do so if she wanted to ? 
 Crebillon looked down and studied his handsome musketeer's 
 boots, thinking it all over and quickly planning questions in 
 his head. 
 
 The problem interested him immensely, so much so 
 indeed that he could hardly sit still and talk normally about 
 nothing in particular, for making pretty speeches to enlist 
 her sympathy seemed to him just then worse than futile. 
 Definite details had reached him regarding this enterprise 
 since the evening he had so vainly questioned his Chinese 
 friends at the native restaurant, and he was quite sure now 
 that, provided he kept his wits, he would do something to 
 justify his mission. 
 
 Armed with nothing but excellent letters of introduction 
 from Paris, Crebillon had been in residence in this interesting 
 cosmopolitan town for close upon a year, puzzling people 
 a good deal by his stay, since no business seemed to detain 
 him, always ready to do anything anyone suggested in the 
 way of amusement, but never betraying any interest in any- 
 thing serious. Talkative to an exceptional degree, even for 
 a Frenchman, he nevertheless consistently exhibited reticence 
 regarding himself. His plans were very vague his indecision 
 regarding the future remarkable. Yet he was a thorough 
 man of the world, the sort of man who knows his own mind, 
 though he may pretend to have no mind at all. Crebillon 
 had been everywhere and seen everything indeed, the general 
 consensus of opinion was that he had been to too many places 
 and seen too much. A graceless suspicion had even been put 
 abroad by people who disliked him that, for certain very 
 definite reasons, he found distant countries more congenial
 
 u8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 than his own dear France, of which he spoke so warmly. 
 These whispers, brought back to him by kind friends, did not 
 annoy him at all. On the contrary, they seemed to enliven 
 him. He always smiled with easy satisfaction when he 
 heard such tales, and invariably retorted that if he were really 
 guilty of terrible crimes, that should make him all the more 
 interesting. From which it may be gathered that the Vicomte 
 was a deep man, masking himself in the greatest disguise in 
 the world much talk and a careless manner. Just now he was 
 inclined to think that not many people could display his 
 persistence of purpose, his great variety of method, and that 
 he was rather to be admired, particularly in his costume of a 
 Mousquetaire du roi. 
 
 He would have been far less satisfied could he have known 
 the thoughts of the lady at his side. She was engaged in 
 reading him much as a scholar reads a book of old print ; 
 smoothing out the twisted lettering with a turn of the eye, 
 absorbing the meaning partly by the aid of experience, partly 
 by sustained effort, but mainly by intuition. Mrs. Jerrins had 
 laboured for a number of years under the disadvantage of 
 having brains without having the opportunity of using them ; 
 but now her opportunity had come. She was determined, 
 as we have already said, not to let that evening pass without 
 important results ; everything that had just been said 
 deepened in her her resolve. Now, as she reached the end 
 of the twisted text beside her, she stood up suddenly. 
 
 " My dear Vicomte," she said lightly, " I believe it 
 must be half-way through the next dance, or even the one 
 after ; we have stayed here ever so long, and I believe we 
 could do it all over again without feeling bored. But before 
 I forget it, let me say that I think you make too much of 
 things out here you talk as if we lived in an El Dorado. 
 We are in China, dear, dirty, sordid, teeming China, where 
 nothing really succeeds, not even success ! Don't you see 
 that ? The odds are too great it is always four hundred 
 millions against a few score at most, and the immense dead- 
 weight the vis inertia finally crushes down everything to
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 119 
 
 a level which is very low. I know that to be true I have 
 been here more years than I care to count. Do not build too 
 many castles in the air, do not believe too much in other 
 people's castles ! You see, I am frank as well as you." 
 
 He laughed and made a bow. 
 
 " I believe you I am prepared to believe everything 
 you say, dear Madame. But it has been most interesting to 
 me to talk to you ; it is rare to find people out here who have 
 anything to say. Let us go out the other way through the 
 lower end of the veranda." 
 
 Placing her hand lightly on the arm he offered her, she 
 followed him quickly. Their feet made no sound on the 
 soft carpet, and neither of them spoke. She never knew 
 to the end of her days whether chance or design had made 
 him take that way. But as they reached the end of the 
 veranda and were turning towards the ball-room, a stifled 
 exclamation on his part made her turn, and then he impudently 
 held her tight so that she had to see. 
 
 She always remembered that vignette the vignette he 
 forced her to look upon. 
 
 In the gloom behind a screen she saw two forms, two 
 forms which appeared to be glued to one another because 
 they were sitting so close. Though their faces were hidden 
 she recognized them instantly. It was Major Malwa with 
 one of the Watteau shepherdesses the youngest shepherdess 
 with the longest bows on her skirt which Mrs. Jacks had 
 pointed out to her as stupid exaggerations.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 " If you adopt, as absolute, a standard of evenness which is so 
 only relatively, your results will not be absolutely even. If you adopt, 
 as absolute, a criterion of right which is so only relatively, your results 
 will not be absolutely right. Those who trust to their senses become 
 slaves to objective existence. Those alone who are guided by their 
 intuitions find the true standard. So far are the senses less reliable 
 than the intuitions. Yet fools trust to their senses to know what is 
 good for mankind, with, alas ! but external results." " THE PHILO- 
 SOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 FOR some time she remained motionless in the ball-room 
 behind a clump of bamboos, where, despite his protests, 
 she had asked the Vicomte to leave her. Pretending to 
 be absorbed by the shifting kaleidoscope of the ball-room 
 she stood as rigidly as an image, glad to be alone. 
 
 There was nobody to observe her. The hundreds of 
 picturesque couples were now busy dancing, crowding in to 
 the great hall and filling it with noise and laughter ; the 
 onlookers stood massed round the doorways and seemed 
 determined to avoid being left in spots where they could not 
 congregate in herds. The orchestra, rattling out a gay air, 
 was oddly stimulating to her, and made her realize that the 
 realities of life are hidden under delusive appearances. It was 
 gay of course it was very gay, but how many of this great 
 gathering really felt all they tried to express ? 
 
 She looked at the immense clock which had been put up 
 just beneath the gallery in which the orchestra was seated, 
 then at the number of the dance beneath it, and made a 
 swift calculation. Roughly she had ten or twelve minutes to 
 decide a crucial turning-point, not one minute more. It had 
 been suddenly made manifest to her by the way the little
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 121 
 
 Frenchman had pointed his conversation at her, that a matter 
 which she had hitherto considered in a rather light-hearted 
 way would inevitably acquire a much wider significance. 
 There would be no question of half -measures with a man like 
 Mortiboy ; if she identified herself in any way with him she 
 realized that it would lead her step by step far beyond any- 
 thing she had hitherto contemplated. This little person, 
 with whom she had more than a nodding acquaintance, had 
 not only implied as much, but he had had the effrontery to 
 give her a foretaste of how the matter would appear to other 
 people. Perhaps that was the moral of the screen as it 
 appeared to him. . . . She bit her lip and flushed under the 
 rouge with which she had decorated her cheeks as she reflected 
 how that sardonic little man had dared to place things in an 
 odious light ; and then she remembered all the stories Mrs. 
 Macniversen had told her. 
 
 In her annoyance she felt the mood she had come in slipping 
 from her as though it were an unsuitable garment ; and she 
 began fidgeting with her tall gilt cane. She reflected that 
 not only was Crebillon a gossip, but that if he appeared to 
 be hugely interested in everything concerning Mortiboy and 
 his plans it was for some very good reason. What did it all 
 mean ? 
 
 She became aware, from the quickened measure of the music, 
 that the time was almost up. Yet she was no nearer a decision 
 than she had been a quarter of an hour before. Should she 
 ask Mortiboy what she had intended to, or should she give 
 the matter up ? Across the room she could see the brilliant 
 French costume of the Mousquetaire du roi quickly approach- 
 ing her ; Crebillon was deliberately steering his partner through 
 the maze so that he should finish his dance beside her. With 
 an exclamation of annoyance at his strange persistence she 
 moved away with rapid steps, pretending to be avoiding the 
 attentions of a group of clowns who were indulging in horse- 
 play. Not a dozen yards away she almost collided with 
 Mortiboy, who was standing against the wall, his arms crossed 
 and his eyes fixed on the crowd in front of him.
 
 122 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Hallo ! " he exclaimed in genuine surprise. " I was 
 wondering where you had got to. I have been standing 
 here watching for at least ten minutes without being able to 
 find you, and then you appear from nowhere and run right 
 into my arms ! " 
 
 She made some light reply, and they began moving away, 
 trying to avoid the attentions of the clowns, who appeared to 
 have singled them out for their mischief. Mortiboy, holding 
 up an arm, warded them off until they desisted ; then almost 
 before she realized it they were at a doorway leading to the 
 self -same veranda she had so recently left. 
 
 " No," she said, with an amount of decision which sur- 
 prised her " no, not there anywhere but there ! " 
 
 Mortiboy wheeled round and looked at her. 
 
 " All right," he said good-humouredly, as if it were some- 
 thing he did not understand. " We will go somewhere 
 else, if you like. There are dozens of places for instance, 
 behind the orchestra there is an avenue of palms which is 
 really cool. I think it is the coolest place of all, as there is a 
 draught through from the gardens. But we must hurry the 
 rush is beginning." 
 
 In silence they threaded their way through groups of 
 dancers, breathless from their exertions. An absurd man, 
 dressed as a policeman, was scrawling numbers on their 
 backs with a piece of chalk to show them where they should 
 go, and the throng of people, delighted with the way things 
 were going, surrounded him and pretended to mob him. 
 
 " Now tell me," said Mortiboy when they were finally 
 seated, " why you wouldn't go out on that veranda. For 
 once in my life I am curious. You spoke exactly as if you 
 had seen ghosts, though I shouldn't have thought that you 
 were exactly a nervous person." He leaned back and smiled 
 as he looked at her. 
 
 She hesitated a moment, frowned a little, laughed, and 
 then frowned again. The problem had somehow once again 
 assumed a changed aspect perhaps because she was in his 
 company and she was already inclined to look back on her
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 123 
 
 recent thoughts as children do on their fright when they 
 have successfully escaped from some dark room. 
 
 " I know you will find the reason absurd. You insist ? 
 Well, it was merely a foolish association of ideas. You know 
 how curious we women are and how we hate to have to explain 
 what we only feel. . . ." She looked almost appealingly at 
 him. " It was Major Malwa and one of those Chinese girls. 
 It must take a strong constitution to kiss one of them, but I 
 really believe he was doing it." She made an involuntary 
 gesture of disgust. 
 
 " Malwa ! " exclaimed Mortiboy. " Wicked Malwa ! 
 One would not have thought that of him. These soldier 
 men ! " He laughed, much amused by some thought which 
 overcame him, but presently added, in his blunt way : " But 
 what has that got to do with you and me ? It would be a 
 pretty awkward world if everybody were as impressionable 
 as that." 
 
 " Impressionable ? " she repeated, looking at him thought- 
 fully. " I don't think I am very impressionable. But the 
 Vicomte de Crebillon was with me, you know, and that 
 annoyed me, because I have always a sort of feeling that 
 one should not let men like that tell such stories round the 
 town." 
 
 " Hum," said Mortiboy very reflectively, " I see what you 
 mean." 
 
 He took her tall gilt stick from her and began examining 
 it attentively. It was evidently a source of inspiration for 
 him, since he continued looking at it for a long time, even going 
 so far as to hold it up to the light and rub the gilt with a finger 
 to see if it came off. But at last he shook his head as if the 
 problem were beyond him. 
 
 " Women are mighty curious beings, though I admit 
 that that is not a very original observation. They always 
 begin with the middle when they cannot commence with 
 the end and having duly insisted on that warped aspect, 
 as an afterthought they suddenly get back to the essential 
 beginning."
 
 124 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Do you know so much about us ? " she inquired. 
 
 He saw the quickened interest reflected in her looks, 
 but he appeared to ignore that studiously. 
 
 " Do I know much about you ? " he repeated cheerfully ; 
 " very little, I should say. You know my theory of con- 
 centrating on one thing, and not attempting to dabble in all 
 sorts of enterprises." 
 
 " Is woman an enterprise ? " she inquired. 
 
 " Yes and a very serious one." 
 
 " You must have some one in your mind when you say 
 that," she suggested, looking at him. 
 
 She saw that he coloured ever so slightly. 
 
 " Somebody in my mind ? No," he said sturdily. 
 
 But now she went on as if unconvinced : 
 
 " People always hang their generalizations on particular 
 pegs, it is no use pretending that it is not so. I thought it 
 was generally admitted that though our natures may be 
 different our mental processes are always the same. Mr. 
 Mortiboy, I no longer believe you are the cold, calm, iron-like 
 thing I once pictured to myself." 
 
 He looked up smilingly, yet with his underlying seriousness 
 very apparent. 
 
 " Why do you say that ? " 
 
 " I am only telling you my thoughts." 
 
 " Not all," he suggested, this time without a smile. 
 
 " Not all," she admitted. 
 
 He fell back in his seat and stared at the red heels on her 
 shoes as if they had just caught his attention. The heels 
 appeared to afford him as much food for reflection as the gilt 
 cane had done, but at length his eyes travelled up, inch by inch, 
 to her hands, which were crossed idly on her lap. 
 
 " What are you thinking about now ? " he inquired, with 
 a sort of gruff bonhomie. " I am beginning to be cautious 
 with you." 
 
 " A man ! " she answered laughingly. "To be precise, 
 the very noble Vicomte de Crebillon. I was going over all he 
 said to me half an hour ago, because I have the feeling that we
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 125 
 
 shall hear more about him very shortly. He was ever so 
 talkative about your affairs and seemed to know a lot about 
 them. Do you know he compared you to the great captains 
 of industry, and ended by saying that your success was 
 inevitable." 
 
 " Very flattering of him," said Mortiboy, looking pleased, 
 as he always did when he heard complimentary things. 
 " He's an amusing little fellow to talk to ; he always appears 
 to have something to say, probably because he is a visitor and 
 doesn't know us as well as our friends do." 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins shook her head, as if that were not profound. 
 
 " Don't you think," she suggested, looking across the 
 avenue at some people who were talking loudly, "that he 
 may be acting in a more important capacity than that of 
 an intelligent visitor, in spite of appearances ? It would cer- 
 tainly make him more interesting." 
 
 " You mean that he may be some sort of a confidential 
 agent ? " said Mortiboy, throwing a quick glance at her and 
 sitting up. "I had not thought of that." 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " That is the only thing he can reasonably be. If he 
 were really an idler he would go to Peking or to Japan to see 
 the sights. Yet he tells me he has not been away for a single 
 day since he arrived. If I had important business I should 
 be careful about him." 
 
 " It would be a useful thing to know," admitted Mortiboy. 
 " Thank you for the warning. I shall make inquiries. My 
 great trouble is that nobody protects my interests beyond the 
 point they are strictly paid to deal with. You will be amused 
 to hear that I am not so confident as I was, that night when 
 I first met you." 
 
 " Surely you are not losing your iron nerve ? " she sug- 
 gested half jestingly. 
 
 " No only a portion of my optimism. And when you 
 lose your optimism people cease to believe in you." 
 
 " I believe in you I " she exclaimed. 
 
 " You ? " He looked at her unconvinced. " I have a
 
 126 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 feeling you are always laughing and wondering how long it 
 will take me to collapse." 
 
 At that she became serious. 
 
 " How you misjudge ! I am going to prove that in the 
 most convincing way. Mr. Mortiboy, I am going to tell you 
 my secret. A few days ago I sold the few small investments 
 I had, and now I have every penny I have got in the world 
 safely banked here. I want you to gamble my money for 
 me will you ? " 
 
 She looked at him eagerly, but to her surprise, though he 
 had listened carefully, he shook his head. 
 
 " To disturb well-invested capital is the worst thing 
 in the world. As for gambling, it is a stupid game. Tell 
 your bankers that you repent and want your investments 
 back." 
 
 " It is no use trying to discourage me," she rejoined 
 doggedly. " I want to do on a small scale what other people 
 are doing. I am determined to do so. I am tired of well- 
 invested capital." She put out a hand and touched him 
 appealingly on the arm. " Mr. Mortiboy, don't refuse you 
 can't refuse ! I am going to send you my cheque to-morrow 
 morning without fail may I ? " 
 
 He had commenced laughing at the odd manner in which 
 she mixed decision and entreaty, but, just as had happened the 
 first evening he had met her, something in her method attracted 
 him. 
 
 " You have caught the dreadful local germ which leads to 
 disaster ! " he exclaimed. " Be warned in time. Suppose I 
 lose your money in the long run, suppose you find you have 
 nothing left, not even a single dollar, what then ? " 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " It will be the fortune of war you will not find me a 
 bad loser. It is the one thing I can do gracefully. You see 
 I am used to it ; I married a man who has been unlucky 
 all his life, and who will probably continue unlucky to the end 
 of the chapter. You will never know what that means to a 
 woman."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 127 
 
 It was the first mention she had ever made of her husband 
 it struck Mortiboy with a force that surprised him. 
 
 " All right," he said suddenly, looking at her in a new way, 
 " all right, I will do what I can, though I think you are making 
 a mistake. But keep it to yourself, absolutely secret, you 
 know. It would never do if it got out." 
 
 " Thank you," she said simply ; " I feel happier now. You 
 don't mind, do you ? Shall we go out and show ourselves ? 
 I feel I would like to dance." 
 
 That was the precise way they changed their relationship 
 to one another.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 " A man who plays for counters will play well. If he stakes his 
 girdle, he will be nervous ; if yellow gold, he will lose his wits. His 
 skill is the same in each case, but he is distracted by the value of 
 his stake. Thus every one who attaches importance to the external 
 becomes internally without resource." " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG 
 Tzu." 
 
 THE long slanting rays of the four o'clock sun, striking 
 down almost as fiercely as if it were noon, inconvenienced 
 the Vicomte de Crebillon exceedingly. He went so far 
 as to suppress an ungraceful yawn in order to swear at the 
 glare and the general discomfort he felt. Then, irritably 
 putting up both his hands in a collapsed manner, he turned 
 down the brim of his big Panama hat until there was nothing 
 to be seen of his face except his mouth, from which pro- 
 traded a limp cigarette. 
 
 The truth was as he had put it to himself with a mirthless 
 laugh that he was as lazy and as bad-tempered as a cat 
 that has spent the night on the roofs. He had only returned 
 home from the Charity Ball at five o'clock in the morning, and 
 before going to bed he had spent at least an hour in making 
 certain notes. His brain had consequently been too tired and 
 too stored with impressions for any real rest ; so he had tossed 
 endlessly and spent weary hours in viewing the strange 
 phantasmagoria which haunts the brains of the sleepless. 
 Now, as his carriage lumbered along, he wondered morosely 
 what had tempted him to come out so early to face these 
 scorching rays. 
 
 " I ask myself that 1 " he muttered to himself angrily 
 in French " I, who am on the track of a great affair ! " 
 
 128
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 129 
 
 He stiffened up and struck the floor of the carriage fiercely 
 with his stick. But almost at once his enthusiasm evaporated, 
 and he cast a scornful eye on the tall, ugly Shot-Tower which 
 monopolized such a conspicuous position in the town. 
 
 " Only the English would permit such an abomination 
 in the very centre of a town," he commented caustically. 
 
 He followed with his half-closed eyes the numbers on the 
 doors of the houses, and at the same time glanced from time 
 to time at the growing animation on the creek as the river was 
 approached. A puffing steam-launch, towing half a do/en 
 native house-boats packed with sweating humanity, had just 
 whistled long and mournfully ; and now, manfully tugging 
 its satellites, it passed under a white bridge, whilst half- 
 stripped men armed with poles stood on the bows of the 
 house-boats ready to fend them off the massive wooden piles 
 round which the chocolate stream eddied and curled so 
 viciously. Momentarily distracted by the sight of this 
 novelty in navigation, Crebillon twisted himself in his seat to 
 observe the long train of boats disappear in such a strange 
 wormlike fashion ; then, collecting his wandering thoughts, 
 quickly he jerked himself back again to a scrutiny of the house 
 numbers. 
 
 " 19, 17, 15, 13, u, 9 stop, idiot, stop ! " he called to the 
 driver. " Can you not see number 9 as big as a man's head ! " 
 
 The servant who opened the door seemed surprised at 
 his appearance, for the hour of the afternoon siesta was not yet 
 over. But quietly pocketing the silver dollar which was 
 insidiously handed to him with the visiting-card, he did not 
 utter the stereotyped excuse, but invited the caller to enter 
 the drawing-room whilst he went upstairs. Since there was 
 nothing else to do, Crebillon planted himself with his legs wide 
 apart, gazing out of the window and watching the busy creek 
 in profound silence. 
 
 How long he stood there he did not know. But at length 
 
 a hand placed lightly on his shoulder brought him to with a 
 
 start. It was Belle Lawson, her hair hanging in long plaits 
 
 down her back, making her look like a character off the stage. 
 
 9
 
 I 3 o THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " What are you dreaming about ? " she inquired, observing 
 him curiously. It was evident that in obedience to the 
 few words he had pencilled on his card she had hastily cast 
 on the first thing she could find and come down. 
 
 " Ah, is that you, ma Belle ! " he exclaimed, kissing her 
 hand in his foreign way a little absent-mindedly. " How long 
 you have taken I mean how quickly you have come." 
 At that she burst out laughing. 
 
 " You seem a little undecided to-day, Vicomte. What 
 is the matter, and why is it that you want to see me ? Have 
 you lost money, or are you in love ? " 
 
 " Neither," he said morosely, studying the brim of his 
 hat, and then turning it over and looking inside as if he 
 expected to find something there. " I am just bad-tempered, 
 so bad-tempered that I do not know what to do." 
 
 Belle Lawson suppressed a yawn and looked round the 
 room as if she were appealing to an imaginary audience 
 against the stupidity of this conversation. 
 
 " Did you only come here to tell me that ? " she remarked 
 at length. 
 
 He shook his head disconsolately, and then exclaimed : 
 
 " Why do people give balls ? fancy-dress balls of all 
 things, which greatly excite the imagination and the whole 
 nervous system and make one stay up until five o'clock in 
 the morning ! " 
 
 " Oh, then you are just sleepy from that ball ? " she re- 
 joined, plainly disappointed. 
 
 Again he shook his head. 
 
 " No," he said ; " I assure you, I have been sleepy before 
 to-day, but I have not been so bad-tempered for a long time." 
 He looked at her and suddenly saw that in that neglige, and 
 in that dim light, she looked oddly provoking. 
 
 He stretched out his hands towards her, murmuring : 
 
 " This wretched town ! Come away with me to the ends 
 of the earth and let us be happy for ever afterwards." 
 
 She laughed a little both at his manner and the sentiments 
 he expressed, but shook her head.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 131 
 
 " You would be tired of me after twenty-four hours 
 and wonder why you had been such a fool. You are no 
 longer a boy. Let us be serious. Was it very gay last 
 night ? " 
 
 " Ah, that ball ! " he exclaimed, as if they had been talking 
 of something very far removed from this earth. " It was 
 fine there is no question about that a dream of colour. The 
 decorations were really extraordinary also the supper. One 
 wonders where these people get their taste, after being im- 
 mersed in unpoetic commerce all day long." He made a 
 grimace. 
 
 " And the costumes ? Were the women good ? " 
 
 Crebillon looked up suddenly from the contemplation 
 of the interior of his hat, which he had resumed, and almost 
 started. He had never seen that expression in Belle Lawson's 
 eyes before. Somebody must have been here before him. 
 Well, now was the time. 
 
 " The costumes," he said reflectively and very deliberately, 
 " were even finer than the decorations. I was superb as a 
 Mousquetaire du roi you know, one of the guards of the old 
 French Court. Jacks was an English Cavalier, very good 
 indeed; so was Malwa. Weeger was Richelieu, the great 
 cardinal, a perfect Richelieu. Mortiboy was something out 
 of Dickens, so he said, and as for the women, I wish you 
 could have seen Mrs. Jerrins as Madame de Pompadour." 
 
 He did it so naturally that it was almost impossible to 
 believe that his whole speech had been carefully planned 
 in advance. Belle Lawson had followed every word closely 
 without moving a muscle. 
 
 " Why does this Mrs. Jerrins figure so much with you ? 
 You are always telling me things about her. Who is she 
 anyway ? " she exclaimed in a colourless voice. 
 
 " You haven't heard all about Mrs. Jerrins yet ? I can 
 hardly believe that ! Well, I myself don't know who she is 
 in fact, I don't know anything save that she has been 
 here a few weeks, and that she comes from one of those miser- 
 able little places up the river which they call outports.
 
 132 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Meanwhile she is amusing herself trying hard to catch Mortiboy, 
 and perhaps she has caught him for all I know." 
 
 Almost before he had finished Belle Lawson got up from 
 the arm of the chair on which she had been sitting. She 
 walked very slowly to the chimney-piece, found a box of 
 cigarettes, lit one, gazed for a moment in the mirror, and 
 adjusted a few stray hairs ; then came back in the same 
 slow fashion and took her seat. 
 
 " Damn you," she said in a low, clear voice, speaking with 
 curious deliberation, " why do you come here telling me tales 
 like that ? Damn you, do you hear ? " 
 
 The Vicomte turned a shade more pallid than he had 
 been before under the reiterated insult indeed, for a moment 
 he was livid. He was so extraordinarily angry that he quite 
 forgot the reason that had brought him hither. Rapidly 
 crossing and uncrossing his arms, he sought vainly to find calm. 
 
 " I would have you keep civil if you wish to talk to me," 
 he said at last in a haughty manner which was not unworthy 
 of an old nobility. " You cannot damn me as you do your 
 servants. Do you understand ? " 
 
 " I'll swear at anyone I choose," she retorted in the 
 same deliberate way, looking at him just as steadily. " An- 
 swer my question, or you can go. You know the way out, 
 since you came in quickly enough, unasked " 
 
 For want of something better, the Frenchman gave a 
 mirthless laugh. Then, bending down, he studied the floor 
 intently. 
 
 He was reasoning more coherently now. He would have 
 dearly loved to throw something at this insolent woman, to 
 use violence towards her, to be brutal but it was necessary 
 to be calm, to dissimulate, unless his plans were to be sent to 
 the devil. At all costs he must master his rage, he said to 
 himself again and again, struggling with the emotion which 
 choked him. The whole business was at best a dirty one ; 
 if he mixed himself up in it he must be prepared to be defiled. 
 Besides, what did he care so long as nobody witnessed his 
 discomfiture ? The important thing was to carry out what
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 133 
 
 he had come to carry out. He had wasted time enough 
 already in beating about the bush ; he must push on more 
 quickly since he had other fish to fry. 
 
 Thinking in this wise, at last he cleared his throat, showing 
 that the wave of passion had spent itself. 
 
 " Well, well," he remarked conversationally, " I suppose 
 you were angry and didn't know exactly what you were saying. 
 That is the way with you women jealousy spoils your 
 reasoning powers and weakens your superior strength. Why 
 do I come here telling you these things ? Parbleu, because 
 I want to warn you in time ! Is that a good reason ? I tell 
 you frankly it will not suit me any more than you to have 
 Mortiboy mixed up in the way I have hinted." 
 
 " Why ? " she inquired suspiciously and sullenly. She 
 was not sure whether he was lying still, but she, too, had her 
 plans and must find out more. 
 
 " Why ? " echoed Crebillon, becoming theatrical and em- 
 bracing the world in a comprehensive gesture. " Because 
 if Mortiboy takes the bit between his teeth and not only 
 launches his great company successfully, but sends us ah 1 to 
 the devil marries perhaps I shall be heartbroken." 
 
 " You heartbroken ! " she interjected. " You haven't 
 got a heart. There's some other reason." 
 
 The Frenchman looked at her critically, and then made 
 up his mind that it had become essential to tell her a little 
 }>ortion of the truth. 
 
 " Listen to me and believe me if you can," he said, bending 
 towards her and emphasizing his words by the beat of his 
 forefinger. " It is politically necessary for me that this great 
 enterprise, about which everybody is talking, should not 
 be too successful. There are men already interested in the 
 game who will carry it far beyond Mortiboy's plans. He 
 has privately arranged, I know for certain, for people in Eng- 
 land to acquire a large interest when it had passed the experi- 
 mental stage so as to strengthen his position vis-d-vis the 
 Government of this country. But these people, when the time 
 is ripe, will nevertheless take matters out of his hands and
 
 134 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 assume complete control because they possess a hundred times 
 his financial powers and are masters of all sorts of things about 
 which these firms out here know nothing. You understand 
 me these powerful people at home, with the support of their 
 Government, will take control and play the devil. Their 
 action will endanger French interests in Szechuan, Yunnan, 
 Kueichow, Kwangsi, and Kwangtung, everywhere in fact, 
 and will lead to international complications of a grave nature. 
 We cannot allow such possibility to become realities without 
 a struggle. See, I have placed myself entirely in your hands. 
 From now on we must be allies. My quarrel is not with our 
 good friend, but with those who will infallibly make him their 
 instrument. It is a question of politics. You and I ought to 
 be allies." 
 
 With engaging frankness, as if he had forgotten the recent 
 contretemps, he held out his delicate fingers and clasped her 
 hand. 
 
 " A little while ago you were damning me," he murmured, 
 the tears almost starting to his eyes because he was such a 
 consummate actor. " You see how unjust you were that 
 is the way of the world." 
 
 " What do you want me to do ? " the woman answered. 
 Had he been less confident he would have become suspicious 
 of her sudden calmness. 
 
 " Nothing," he replied reassuringly, " nothing at all 
 at least not at present. That is the beauty of our confederacy 
 we will not bother each other in the slightest, you under- 
 stand, we are sleeping partners." He repressed the flicker of a 
 smile at the manner he had phrased it. " I only wish you to 
 be on your guard and to tell me when you are really unhappy. 
 Then I shall know how to act." He looked at his watch and 
 started to his feet. " Heavens, it is nearly five o'clock ; I 
 must run." 
 
 " Wait a minute ! " she exclaimed, restraining him im- 
 patiently. " I want to ask you a question or two." 
 
 " Very good, very good." He looked bored, but prepared 
 to listen attentively as he always did.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 135 
 
 " I want to find out more about this Mrs. Jerrins," con- 
 tinued Belle Lawson. " I want to find out all about her, in 
 fact, and I rely upon you to do that for me." Crebillon 
 nodded. " For instance, what about her husband ? who is 
 her husband ? " 
 
 " I have heard that he is nobody at all a failure who does 
 not count," he returned, raising his eyebrows at the question. 
 
 " Then what do you think is going to happen ? " 
 
 " I do not know ; how is it possible for me to know ? " 
 He thought a minute and then began rapidly improvising 
 in a strain which he knew would carry weight. " But I can 
 make a suggestion. For instance, do you know that English 
 divorce, although nominally the hardest in the world, in 
 practice is as easy as ordering your dinner, provided all 
 parties are agreed and that there is plenty of money money 
 in bags-full ? At this distance from England, desertion with 
 cruelty can be technically established at a cost of one thousand 
 pounds Weeger has said so. It is money, you see, that is 
 the principal thing of course. The husband might prove 
 expensive he might ask for a fortune but it is only a ques- 
 tion of money ! " 
 
 " Ah," she commented, biting her lips behind her hand- 
 kerchief. " I begin to understand it better. And now tell 
 me what do you think of her ? " 
 
 " Of Mrs. Jerrins ? " Crebillon made a grimace. " Well, 
 you know the English type, statuesque, calm, good talker, 
 deliberate. Eyes black, not unlike yours, a handsome woman 
 why do you not take the opportunity of having a look at 
 her ? You can see her on the streets, walking, driving. . . . 
 Ah ! I was forgetting here is something interesting the 
 thing I refused to tell you last time I saw you. They say she 
 took morphia for five years and only cured herself by a 
 miracle. She fell sick, it appears, from Yangtze fever, 
 became delirious almost died. Then the doctor played 
 the usual trick of injecting salt and water instead of her 
 beloved drug. They kept up the farce for weeks, and only 
 told her about it when she was quite well. Would you believe
 
 136 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 it instead of becoming furious like any other sensible person, 
 she fell on her knees and prayed ! The English are highly 
 original when you least expect it." He rubbed his chin as if 
 that rendered him reflective. " There is no question that she 
 is cured ; she is as strong as a horse. When I danced with 
 her last night she steered me as if I were a piece of cork. 
 Dieu, I can still feel her arm a redoubtable woman. Now 
 I really must go." 
 
 He walked out of the house as he had come in indiffer- 
 ently, believing that he held all the cards he needed in his 
 own hands. But no sooner was the street-door shut than 
 Belle Lawson rushed across the room, and tearing aside a 
 Japanese screen that hid the entrance into the next room, 
 disclosed Lizzie Gotham, her head still bandaged from her 
 recent accident, and one arm in a sling, sitting open-mouthed 
 on a sofa. 
 
 " Did you hear every word, Lizzie ? " she exclaimed. 
 " Isn't he a little brute, a little beast, a little plotter ? Well, 
 I'm glad I've got you as a witness. And you see he said 
 much the same as Weeger told you at tiffin-time. But wait 
 a minute. I am going to catch up with him before he plays 
 the next trick." 
 
 She ran out into the hall and called again and again until 
 a small Chinese boy, clad in a diminutive servant's long-coat, 
 appeared. Him she seized by the arm and pulled along to 
 a window. 
 
 " Quick, Chang, get into a rickshaw and follow that 
 carriage see where that master goes. Savvy, you little 
 varmint, you ? Here's a dollar, and there's one more if 
 you tell everything properly when you get back. Now, 
 quick ! " 
 
 She pushed him away to the door, and, kindled by the 
 promise of money, the boy flew into the street, his long pigtail 
 streaming out behind like a black startled note of interroga- 
 tion. 
 
 Satisfied with her handiwork, Belle Lawson came back 
 and closeted herself with her friend.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 137 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon, having given fresh instructions 
 to the driver, had sank back in his seat, deep in thought. 
 
 He no longer felt the heat as he had done before ; he had 
 become fully alert. The problem he was attacking was no 
 mean one, and into the general question of the difficulties 
 surrounding him had been projected this great and embarrass- 
 ing interrogation : whether Mortiboy was capable of playing 
 with these two at one and the same time without jeopardizing 
 his success. Belle Lawson and Mrs. Jerrins that was 
 enough to shake the nerve of any man, he exclaimed to him- 
 self, thinking of his experience with the two during the last 
 twenty-four hours. 
 
 But he was not thinking of the direct consequences ; 
 the indirect ones alone engaged him. One or the other, he 
 argued with Latin intuition, in the given circumstances, must 
 sooner or later play dominant roles ; it depended on his. acute- 
 ness to utilize their actions properly. Diable, it was an 
 interesting problem. He whirled his stick and then fell back 
 loosely in his seat. He wondered if his flair had been correct ; 
 had he selected the right course of action ? He had done what 
 he had done on the spur of the moment because there was no 
 time to lose ; and though he had been crude in his methods 
 he believed they had been the only possible ones to bring 
 him into the game. Jealousy what a weapon when artistic* 
 ally used ! 
 
 Yet in spite of his wave of exultation he realized that he 
 felt depressed again in a manner which had lately often 
 overcome him. There was latent within him, he muttered to 
 himself, a growing dislike for this English-speaking world ; 
 he determined to pitch out of the window as soon as he got 
 home a volume entitled, "A quoi tient la supdriorite" des 
 Anglo-Saxons," which he had recently purchased and which he 
 had been perusing that very morning as he lay in bed. 
 Superiority forsooth ! Inferior in wit, morals, manners, 
 wisdom, good taste. . . . Yet there must be something in it. 
 A half a dozen " affairs " had been engineered under his 
 very nose without his becoming aware of them until it was
 
 138 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 too late to act. The English were tricky, in their own dull 
 way perfidious : there must be some foundation for the old 
 accusation. Thanks to this political virtue, they were fast 
 acquiring a grip on the fat portions of this empire destined 
 so soon to dissolve there could be no doubt about that. It 
 would be the affair of Egypt over again with France left out 
 in the cold except for a few mountains and deserts which 
 nobody else coveted. Still, if energy and persistence were 
 quickly displayed, these stupid little English companies which 
 estimated their capital in dollars and cents could be nobbled 
 by the haute finance of his own countrymen. He stabbed 
 the floor of the carriage with his expensive gold-mounted 
 cane at the thought. He must do something heroic soon 
 very soon. That was why he had just been so vulgar. 
 
 He was now passing the club, and on the tall flight of 
 steps which ascended to its spacious halls he could see 
 groups of brokers and clients deep in mysterious con- 
 sultation buyers and sellers in this new grand lottery which 
 he had set himself to break. He followed every gesture, 
 every movement, as if to understand, despite the distances, 
 what they were talking about. Then, as his carriage, driven 
 by a sullen automaton, rolled noiselessly away, he turned and 
 began gloomily studying the swarms of native wheelbarrows 
 and rickshaws that screeched and rattled around him. The 
 English had a great numerical superiority that combined 
 with their trickiness was why they managed so many success- 
 ful enterprises in this country. They had almost a monopoly. 
 He was practically alone, a David against a Goliath. He must 
 have allies absolutely at once. Good allies not women. 
 Absorbed by this aspect of the case he sat quite motionless. 
 
 At length the volume of traffic abated, and they passed 
 through a mediaeval gateway which gave entrance to the 
 walled native city. His carriage now advanced at a walk 
 down a very narrow thoroughfare, with the driver, come to 
 life again, raucously calling for a passage. At last they drew 
 up at a residence enclosed by such a high wall that it was 
 impossible to see anything inside. The driver turned round,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 139 
 
 and commenced sullenly speaking in a string of unknown 
 words. 
 
 Carefully comparing the description written on a small 
 slip of paper with this snug retreat, so that there should 
 be no possibility of a mistake, Crebillon, without attempting 
 to understand what the driver was saying, got out and 
 violently pulled the clumsy door-bell which he found by the 
 high door. 
 
 A long interval elapsed before there was any response ; 
 and had it not been for the amusement he obtained from 
 ogling two native girls hanging out of a window across the 
 street, he would have found the time interminable. But 
 finally the grateful sound of unbolting reached him, and the 
 door was cautiously opened by a tall, white-haired Chinaman 
 who regarded him suspiciously. 
 
 " Monsieur Chu Ta Ming ? " inquired the Vicomte politely 
 enough, though he was enraged at this leisurely reception. 
 
 The Chinaman smiled mysteriously ; then put out his 
 hand to receive the card which was tendered him. 
 
 He studied it upside down with calm effrontery doubtless 
 to impress the driver and one or two other people who were 
 idly watching him, including a small boy in a servant's coat 
 who had just dismounted from a jinkricksha. At last, 
 tired of the game, he gave a nod, inviting the visitor within ; 
 then, closing and locking the door behind his guest, he led the 
 way through a narrow garden which was almost entirely 
 filled by a great rockery arranged in the fantastic shapes 
 demanded by Chinese landscape gardening. 
 
 As he entered the house, Crebillon was conscious that 
 various pairs of eyes distributed strategically behind cur- 
 tained windows were studying him closely ; he wondered 
 if this secluded dwelling sheltered many beings devoted to 
 the task of wiling away tedious hours. Then, before he 
 had realized it, the servant had lifted a discoloured curtain 
 over a doorway, and he was in the presence of the master of 
 the house, reclining on a Canton black-wood settee. 
 
 A pungent smell bit the Frenchman's nostrils, and the
 
 140 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 words of greeting which had almost passed his lips remained 
 unspoken. For he became aware that his host was still under 
 the effects of opium, and that the servant was shaking him 
 gently by the shoulder and speaking to him in quick mono- 
 syllables. 
 
 Slowly the glassy eyes took on a more definite look ; 
 a palpable effort of will was apparent in the contraction of 
 the facial muscles. Then, releasing himself, the man suddenly 
 trembled and mechanically swallowed in a single thirsty gulp 
 the cup of tea tendered him by his impassive servitor. Now, 
 much as an actor does who flings away a simulated mood, he 
 sat up, threw down his coiled queue with a shake of the head, 
 and extended both hands. The dreamer's sleep was ended. 
 
 " Good day, good day ! " he exclaimed in a voice which 
 was still weak, but which gained strength with every breath. 
 " Pardon me, Vicomte, pardon me ! I did not forget our 
 appointment, but merely overslept myself. Sleep, sleep, what 
 a great thing is sleep ! It is an old failing of mine which 
 is very marked in this warm weather. I gave orders to be 
 called much earlier, but you must know it is the custom 
 in Chinese houses never to disturb the master." 
 
 He looked at his watch, which was lying, entangled in 
 its chain, on the divan ; palpably irritated at the late hour, 
 he thrust it roughly aside. 
 
 " I, too, have overslept when the world has not seemed 
 good to me," said Crebillon in a conciliatory voice. " But 
 as you taught me the other night, there is much I have not 
 yet acquired, for instance, the taste for the great dream- 
 giver " 
 
 With that he smelt his perfumed handkerchief and looked 
 longingly at the garden. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming saw the look and motioned. When the 
 servant had thrown open a window, he remarked : 
 
 " Do you see those two admirable vases over there ? 
 A man has been here since noon, waiting for me to look 
 at them. Are they not perfect ? And I have slept ! What a 
 wretched person I am, without any virtue at all."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 141 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon got up, and went across to the 
 low black-wood stand on which the porcelain had been cere- 
 moniously placed. Should he take the bull by the horns 
 and terminate the state of suspense in which he had been for 
 days trust himself to the tender mercies of this man ? He 
 would have to decide the point almost immediately, and yet 
 he had nothing to guide him. He would have given a goodly 
 sum just then for a clearer brain. 
 
 Behind the Chinese watched him silently, drinking tea 
 in scalding gulps, quite oblivious as to what was passing in 
 the other's mind. 
 
 " Well, what is the news ? " he inquired finally, as his visitor 
 came back to his seat without a word. 
 
 " Bad," said Crebillon. 
 
 " Bad what do you mean ? " 
 
 The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders : 
 
 " I mean what I say China is going to the dogs." 
 
 " Only that ! She has been going there for four thousand 
 years if the admirable Emperor Yao and Shun of our Classical 
 Period are to be believed. My dear fellow, tell me something 
 new." 
 
 " You are a cynic," said Crebillon reproachfully. 
 
 "I am a philosopher," returned the Chinese gentleman 
 imperturbably. 
 
 " Is there any difference ? " 
 
 " Possibly not, but there is a distinction." . 
 
 The Vicomte smiled. 
 
 " Enlighten me," he begged. 
 
 " A cynic is a morose man, a dog on the other hand, a 
 philosopher is a lover of wisdom. You see you can love 
 wisdom and be morose, but you cannot love moroseness and be 
 really wise. In fact, one is a mood, the other an attitude of 
 mind. 
 
 "That is clever!" exclaimed Crebillon. "Did you say 
 it suddenly, or is it an old argument ? Ah ! my dear fellow, 
 ii you only turned your wits to politics I believe you could 
 become a Chinese Bismarck."
 
 142 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Chu Ta Ming held up his hands in simulated horror and 
 became more animated. 
 
 " Bismarck, ach du lieber gott \ You will make me talk 
 German if you go on like that, Vicomte ! That is a threat 
 which should enrage you unless you belong to the new school 
 of Pacifists who have no feelings at all." He paused to 
 light a cigarette. " Let me see. What were we talking 
 about ? " 
 
 " Nothing," rejoined the Vicomte. 
 
 " That means that we both have a great deal to say. 
 Won't you begin ? " 
 
 Crebillon laughed loudly, amused in spite of himself at 
 the Oriental's fantastic methods. 
 
 " Very good," he assented, " but in an abominable way. 
 I shall tell you the truth ! Listen carefully I am heart- 
 broken, heartbroken, heartbroken." 
 
 Soothed by the peaceful, lackadaisical air which pervaded 
 these rooms, in contrast to the latent feverishness of that 
 other house, he had spoken so feelingly that his host sat up 
 sharply recognizing truth much as one recognizes a mountain 
 in a landscape of molehills. For several seconds he surveyed 
 his visitor intently, noting the unusual pallor of his face and 
 the nervousness of his hands. He studied the man with that 
 Oriental phlegm which has something arresting about it 
 that phlegm which appears so heartless because it seems so 
 far removed from ordinary human concern. 
 
 At length, satisfied with his study, he inhaled his cigarette 
 smoke deeply. 
 
 " Is that why you wrote for this appointment ? " he 
 inquired in another voice, as if he were talking to another 
 person. 
 
 Crebillon shook his head dolefully. 
 
 " Oh dear, no ! I wrote that yesterday. I have only 
 been heartbroken since to-day ! " 
 
 " Then perhaps the breakage is not beyond repair," 
 returned the Chinese, recovering his earlier manner. " Tell 
 me whom have you been to see ? "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 143 
 
 The Frenchman burst out laughing almost gaily this 
 time. 
 
 " And they say your race only loves finessing ! " he ex- 
 claimed. " What blunt Anglo-Saxon methods you have fallen 
 to, Mr. Chu ! Yet there is something engaging about it. 
 Dear, dear I believe that soon you will expect me to tell 
 you everything as if you were my elder brother." He paused 
 and became more serious. " It is not a lady, but the Develop- 
 ment Company that is worrying me. I am becoming afraid 
 it is going to be successful." 
 
 " You dare to say that to one of the leading spirits to one 
 of the promoters ! " almost shouted Chu Ta Ming. Then 
 he chuckled to himself for a full minute, turning the thought 
 over and over again, examining it in every light. What a 
 thing to happen at such an early stage of the game what a 
 thing, what a thing. . . . 
 
 " Well, suppose it is successful what will that matter to 
 you ? " he inquired in a pensive way. 
 
 Crebillon lifted up both his arms and then let them drop 
 as if he were physically completely exhausted. 
 
 " Must I go over all the old ground again ? " he murmured. 
 " Must I tell you all the worn-out things about international 
 jealousy recite to you my political ABC? No, good 
 friend let us take all that for granted and get down to 
 business. You are too clever for me to talk nonsense to. I 
 simply say Mortiboy must not be successful even if it costs 
 me a million francs. Do you understand? a million 
 francs." 
 
 He brought down his fist violently on the fragile teapoy 
 at his side and almost wrecked it but, though the Chinese 
 started nervously at the sound, he was too buried in thought 
 to do more than that. 
 
 " A million francs," he returned reflectively, " is a lot of 
 money. A million francs is forty thousand pounds. Forty 
 thousand pounds is four hundred thousand Mexican dollars 
 and rather more than a quarter million taels. It is the price 
 not only of destruction, 4 but of construction. I will be frank.
 
 144 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 What do you want ? " Having said which, he gazed dreamily 
 out of the window. 
 
 " How admirably you understand everything ! " cried the 
 Frenchman. " I admit that that sum must include reconstruc- 
 tion in terms satisfactory to French interests. It should 
 establish international equipoise where there is only a brutal 
 lop-sided pressure from the English. It means attention 
 being paid to the interests of the Tongking frontier." 
 
 "Yunnan ?" said Chu Ta Ming interrogatively, continuing 
 to gaze out of the window. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Szechuan ? " he asked again. 
 
 " Yes and you must not forget Kueichow and Kwangsi 
 as well as the conterminous portion of Kwangtung," added the 
 Frenchman reproachfully. 
 
 " Greedy, always greedy, the curse of the Gallic race," 
 muttered Chu Ta Ming, twisting the cigarette between his 
 fingers to pieces, "Ma ta-men yi pei-tzu" (May their generation 
 be accursed). 
 
 " You remarked ? " inquired Crebillon. 
 
 " That there was a lot to do, a very great deal. You have 
 given me much to think about. It is too soon to speak. A 
 million francs ! " He wagged his head up and down like 
 some mechanical toy. 
 
 They sat for quite a long time talking on neutral subjects, 
 for obviously there was nothing more to say. When the 
 Frenchman made his adieux, he did so with these words : 
 
 " My heart is lighter since I have talked to you. I trust 
 myself entirely to your brains, to your cleverness. I will come 
 again and make arrangements about paying over certain 
 preliminary sums. Here is what I want in that dreadful 
 German language an ausgleich" 
 
 He paused reflectively, remembering that he was repeating 
 himself and wondering whether the climate was making him 
 stupid. Then he concluded in this way. 
 
 " Remember," he said impressively, " as a last word, 
 that if you fail to take advantage of the offer which I make
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 145 
 
 frankly and freely you will be surrendering the independence 
 of a great block of territory several entire provinces to a 
 perfidious Power." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming watched him make his exit without moving, 
 though that was quite contrary to etiquette. He watched 
 the dapper little figure go through the hall, then he watched 
 it disappear through the garden. When finally the street 
 door had been shut and locked by the white-haired servant, 
 he bent down and drew a paper covered with a scrawl of 
 Chinese writing from his boot. It was a letter from his 
 relative of the Szechuan Administration, whom he had enter- 
 tained so lavishly during his stay in this commercial metro- 
 polis. It was a singularly curious letter, full of half-tones and 
 half-shades which spoke volumes in a subtle language. He 
 had been ruminating over it ever since he had received it 
 that morning ; now, at last, he saw light. The communica- 
 tion ran : 
 
 " RESPECTED ELDER BROTHER : I returned to the city 
 of Chengtu three days ago after a quick but troublesome 
 voyage. The navigation of the rapids has yearly become 
 more difficult, until to-day it is encompassed with many perils. 
 Our kuatzu (boat), though amply provided with expert sailors 
 in obedience to official instructions, was twice only saved by 
 a miracle from wreckage, and I, being made nervous by ad- 
 vancing years and excessive responsibilities, forgetting my 
 calm, called wildly to Heaven. During this voyage I knew 
 but little sleep. Such are the punishments awarded to the 
 sinful. . . . 
 
 " . . .The great commander (ceremonial name of viceroy) 
 was anxiously awaiting my arrival in view of the many 
 rumours concerning the new company which have found their 
 way to Szechuan, both through the newspapers and by com- 
 mercial letters. He greeted me in an unfriendly manner, 
 believing that the arrangements which have been made at 
 Hai-Shang could have been frustrated had I shown more 
 energy and refused to accept the dictation of the Imperial 
 10
 
 146 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Commissioner. It required many hours of explanation, even 
 after I had handed him the transfer-orders covering the quota 
 allotted to the expenses of the city, to soothe his suspicions ; 
 and it was not until I had detailed to him all the preliminary 
 arrangements long made by the English in Peking, and the 
 brutal manner in which their Minister had threatened our 
 Government, that he was somewhat calmed. . . . 
 
 H^ark . I then explained to him the proposed working of 
 the double-company system, and the manner in which the 
 foreign company would lease from our local company only 
 such lands as the foreign engineers decided were suitable 
 for exploitation. Steps have been taken to meet the needs 
 of the case. We have already sold to Germans who are in our 
 power all the petroleum grounds, so that the English, if they 
 claim these, will have to deal with a powerful country. Re- 
 garding the copper-mines, after much thought as to the 
 best method, I am forming a Belgian company, making the 
 charter two years old, so that prior rights can be safely proved 
 in the Law Courts. The coal and ironstone deposits are 
 unimportant ; for our nephew who studied in America at 
 Pi-tzu-po (Pittsburg) declares that without a complete railway 
 to the deep water of the Yangtze money would be only lost 
 in opening them. Four years at least would be consumed in 
 building such a line. Finally an agrarian agitation is already 
 rising, thanks to the careful measures taken in concert, with 
 the Kolaohui. The people are much angered at the imminent 
 menace of foreigners taking away their lands, and our yamen- 
 runners bring back conclusive reports concerning approaching 
 risings in many districts. . . . 
 
 "... All is therefore well prepared, respected elder 
 brother. There is nothing to fear save the scantiness of 
 money. When the agents of the foreign company arrive, 
 the great commander may be induced to take a greater 
 interest and a different view of the situation should nothing 
 more have come from you. I beg you to think well how 
 difficult is my position and how necessary it is for you not 
 to rest content with what has been already done. . . ,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 147 
 
 " . . . By the next post I will send you further 
 news. . . . 
 
 " I pray for your welfare. ..." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming read these pregnant remarks over twice 
 then thrust the letter back securely into his boot. Now gazing 
 almost rapturously at the beautiful Kanghsi vases, he com- 
 menced working out in his head certain things, in which a 
 small portion of the million francs bulked large. 
 
 At last he had made up his mind. Seizing brush and 
 pen he wrote with the astonishing rapidity of the expert 
 native penman string after string of zigzagging characters 
 that ran down the thin rice-paper as if by magic. You could 
 see, by the queer shapes he made, that from Chinese caligraphy 
 comes all Chinese art, and that it is that which makes its 
 language so unique and so subtle. When he had finished he 
 read over the paper once and no more, then, dropping his 
 hand on a rusty, foreign hand-bell, he gave the sheet to the 
 white-haired man who was always lurking in his neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 "To be transmitted telegraphically at once," he com- 
 manded curtly. 
 
 He stood up and rubbed his hands, which felt cold, then 
 something struck him and he picked up a well-fingered volume, 
 filled with stiff characters, and turned the pages until he found 
 what he wanted a passage which every Chinese schoolboy 
 knows. It ran quaintly enough : 
 
 "... The Master said : A man may know the three 
 hundred Odes by heart, but if he proves himself incapable 
 when given a post in the Government, or cannot make a speech 
 unaided when sent on a foreign mission, of what use to him 
 is all his learning ? . . ." 
 
 He stood for a long time looking at these lines, then he 
 threw down the book and decided to go out for a breath 
 of air in the garden before complete darkness had fallen, 
 though he should have attended to the purchase of the 
 vases.
 
 148 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 In the courtyard behind, the man who had brought 
 the porcelain at noon sat waiting, indifferent to the hour, 
 indifferent perhaps to everything, gazing calmly at the 
 new moon that seemed pinned to the blue sky and yet was 
 travelling swiftly and majestically towards eternity.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 " Lieh Yu K'ou instructed Po Hun Wu Jen in archery. Drawing 
 the bow to its full, he placed a cup of water on his elbow and began 
 to let fly. Hardly was one arrow out of sight ere another was on the 
 string, the archer standing all the time like a statue. 
 
 " ' But this is shooting under ordinary conditions 1 ' cried Po Hun 
 Wu Jen ; ' it is not shooting under extraordinary conditions. Now I 
 will ascend a high mountain a thousand feet in height, and see how you 
 can shoot then.' 
 
 " Thereupon Wu Jen went with Lieh Tzu up a high mountain and 
 stood on the edge of a precipice a thousand feet in height, approaching 
 it backwards until one-fifth of his feet overhung the chasm, when he 
 beckoned to Lieh Tzu to come on. But the latter had fallen prostrate 
 on the ground, with the sweat pouring down to his heels. 
 
 " ' The perfect man,' said Wu Jen, ' soars up to the blue sky, or 
 dives down to the yellow springs, or flies to some extreme point of the 
 compass, without change of countenance. But you are terrified, and 
 your eyes are dazed. Your internal economy is defective.' " " THE 
 PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 " T T 7HO would have thought you such a devotee of the 
 V V game ! ' ' exclaimed Mrs. J errins, looking up laughingly. 
 For the best part of an hour she had been watching 
 Mortiboy engaged in a game of tennis, secretly admiring 
 the strength and activity he displayed and wondering how 
 long he would continue. Now that he had finished and come 
 to her in the natural course of events some instinct told her 
 that their recent passages-at-arms, with their queer touches 
 of sentiment, would end in a normal and philosophic way, 
 perhaps with their weapons sheathed in each other's bodies. 
 
 Mortiboy, having pulled on a white sweater, and carefully 
 screwed his racket into a press, dropped into the vacant chair 
 at her side. Lighting a cigarette, he gave an involuntary
 
 150 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 sigh, as if the pleasures of repose had just been made patent 
 to him. 
 
 " What needless exertions, what fatiguing perspiration 
 is that what you think ? " he answered back in his easy way. 
 " I look upon myself with amazement, I confess, when it is 
 over. No wonder the Chinese think us arrant fools. How 
 cool you look in your white duck. Won't you try one of the 
 club cocktails ? They are worth drinking at this hour." 
 
 She murmured her thanks and then they sat silently 
 watching the progress of a fierce struggle between two young 
 men on the court just vacated. There had been a note of 
 approval in his voice which had not escaped her, and a look 
 in his eyes which had meant more than his words. The cries 
 of the two young men, as they struggled good-naturedly 
 through long rallies, imparted a sense of zest to their com- 
 panionship, and she felt that their hour together was more 
 pleasurable than it had ever been before. 
 
 " How delightful it is in these grounds," she said at last, 
 making a little movement with her closed parasol. " I could 
 sit here for hours and hours for ever so long. It is so shady 
 and the green is so grateful to the eye after the glare of the 
 horrid Settlement streets. Those trees look as if they were 
 centuries old." 
 
 " Thirty years," answered Mortiboy practically, looking 
 round with approval. " The lawns and the trees are all 
 exactly thirty years old and no more. But the club has taken 
 care of them, and what with our long summers and our tropical 
 rainfall we have done in that time what it takes at least a 
 hundred years to do in England. You must walk round with 
 me by and by and see the hot-houses. We have the Victoria 
 Regia and all sorts of other rare plants brought from all over 
 the world." 
 
 " How interesting," she murmured. 
 
 The neighbourhood was certainly delightful at that 
 hour. The sun had travelled sufficiently low to leave almost 
 all the players on the green sward in a deep shade, through 
 which arrows of sunlight occasionally gleamed. As she sat
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 151 
 
 with her eyes half closed, drinking it all in, at times it seemed 
 as if a green limelight was being thrown on them, making 
 them seem distant beings of mysterious import. The rich 
 foliage and the great masses of flowers, arranged in beds of 
 geometrical design, indeed formed a setting which enlivened 
 the fancy and banished the memory of the midday heat 
 and glare and the endless noise and dust and the sharp cries 
 of the native swarms who lived as flies live from hour to 
 hour. On the broad verandas of the club-houses numbers of 
 people were seated in wicker-chairs enjoying the cool of the 
 fast-falling evening. Club servants, in spotless white grass- 
 cloth, moved noiselessly about, ghosts amiably waiting on 
 the wants of the living. Ice clinked in the tall tumblers 
 busily carried to and fro, and presently, as a servant approached 
 with a well-loaded tray, Mortiboy gave a sigh of relief. 
 
 " The supreme moment ! " he exclaimed. " You can 
 only understand how wonderful is the game of tennis in 
 China at this stage when the iced drinks appear ! Do not 
 think me a barbarian, but that running about in this climate 
 makes me as thirsty as a desert camel, and I am going to drink 
 two tall tumblers to your one little glass." 
 
 Now, as they amused themselves with their iced drinks, 
 they only talked broken snatches, but when that was over 
 she turned to him with a different manner. 
 
 " So many thanks for what you wrote me yesterday," 
 she said in an intimate way, " but really I didn't intend to 
 be as covetous as that ! Fancy your letting me have some 
 of your own shares and then only making me pay the first 
 instalment. And you really think the boom will continue ? 
 I simply tear open the newspapers now both morning and 
 evening to read quotations ! " She laughed gaily. " You 
 see, if it turns out trumps it will be the first time in my life 
 that I will have had anything worth calling by the name of 
 money." 
 
 " I know the feeling," he replied seriously. " I have gone 
 through the mill. So far as I can see, I shall be able to redeem 
 my promise. There has been a rise of 20 points since this
 
 152 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 afternoon, and there are no sellers not a single one. I 
 believe that will go on for weeks and months, and when the 
 shares become top-heavy we shall split them and give people 
 more counters to play with. Nobody has ever had anything 
 resembling the concessions. Even the newspapers in Europe 
 have begun talking about it all. Six months hence people 
 will be still scrambling to buy. You cannot possibly smash 
 the Imperial Decree which guarantees our rights." 
 
 " How easy it all sounds ! " she exclaimed, flushing at the 
 prospect he held out to her. " Why, oh why, are there so 
 many unsuccessful people in the world ? " 
 
 He looked round at her, amused by the way she juxtaposed 
 her ideas. 
 
 " If there were not so many drones there would not be 
 so many failures," he suggested. " The thing is largely a 
 question of work and yet more work and more work after 
 that." 
 
 " But there must be the element of luck! " she cried, un- 
 convinced by his assurance. " You may have all the brains, 
 working-power, and resolution in the world and yet end in 
 failure. Look how many examples of that there are even out 
 here ! " 
 
 " I do not believe it," he said slowly, shaking his head. 
 " It is something else that pulls successful men down not 
 merely their mistakes, which can always be corrected, but 
 their weaknesses, their follies. People generally do not hear 
 that side of the question, and gladly accept the popular 
 theory of luck being behind every success, because they are 
 too lazy to inquire." 
 
 " Have you then no weaknesses, no follies ? are you so 
 certain that something may not occur which will set your 
 calculations at naught ? " She looked at him eagerly to see 
 if he would hesitate. 
 
 But again he shook his head even more resolutely than 
 before. 
 
 " I have come through twenty years of the life out here 
 without discovering any. I have met everything with the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 153 
 
 same method. It is a question of method, believe me, and 
 working-power above all working-power the power to go 
 on just where others become tired and stop." 
 
 Now he sat quite still, with his hands folded and a serious 
 look on his strong face. He had apparently forgotten her 
 existence, for he looked steadily in front of him, as if absorbed 
 by his thoughts, as if he could only be really interested in 
 them. Even when a cigarette which was smouldering in his 
 hand burnt out he threw it away without so much as looking 
 down. As the sun fell lower and lower people began stopping 
 their games, calling to one another that the light was too bad 
 to see. Now she awoke to the fact that the afternoon had 
 almost vanished. 
 
 " When are you coming to dinner with me ? When will you 
 let me try and repay your kindness ? " she said impulsively, 
 touching him on the arm. " Yesterday you told me it would 
 be some days before you could find time to take things easy, 
 and that you were refusing every single invitation, as you 
 had to work even after dinner. But you said much the 
 same thing a week ago. Frankly I do not believe you 
 are as busy as you might be. You have a relaxed air 
 which cannot be entirely deceptive. Tell me, have I 
 guessed correctly, and is the majestic period of concentration, 
 about which you are always lecturing me, coming to an 
 end ? " 
 
 He laughed, as he always did, when she talked like that, 
 as if he relished her chaff and found it stimulating. 
 
 " Have you guessed right ? " he echoed, looking into her 
 eyes. " I believe you have ! Enough of concentration let 
 us forget the word. I will come, shall we say to-night ? 
 There, I have been so quick that I have surprised you. 
 You will hardly have much time to prepare the banquet it 
 is past seven already." 
 
 " To-night ! " she exclaimed, turning in her chair and colour- 
 ing ever so slightly. " Do you really mean it ? You see, 
 you could easily telephone me as soon as you got home that 
 you are unavoidably detained. You might look upon dinner
 
 154 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 with me as a weakness ! And after what you have just de- 
 clared I have not overmuch faith in such lapses." 
 
 " That is hardly gallant to yourself." 
 
 She laughed gaily, reassured. 
 
 " Never try to disconcert a woman by a definition her 
 heart is always set on more tangible objects." 
 
 " For instance ? " 
 
 " Oh, that is not for me to say. It may be money 
 you know how mercenary I am by now or just a jewel 
 sparkling in some window. Sometimes it is considerably 
 less than either of these. Some may even think that the 
 important thing is to play tennis and run after balls. Look 
 at Mrs. Macniversen struggling into a heavy coat because 
 she has played six sets without stopping, believing that 
 exercise is the salvation of one's figure ! " 
 
 She laughed again. 
 
 " I shall have to strike back in self-defence if you con- 
 tinue like that," he remarked. 
 
 " Then your armour is not as perfect as you would have 
 one believe," she murmured. " Underneath there must be so 
 much of the common clay that it is quite possible to believe 
 that you are a very vulnerable person." 
 
 He made an involuntary gesture of dissent and accident- 
 ally his hand touched her arm. In the gathering dusk his 
 eyes looked boldly into hers as if he would like her to go 
 on. 
 
 He was disappointed, however, for at that touch she 
 sat up and drew her folded parasol sharply towards 
 her. 
 
 " The important thing just now is to remember that the 
 hour advances ! " she exclaimed. She glanced at the watch 
 on her bracelet and rose to her feet. " Quarter-past seven 
 o'clock ! The light is rapidly fading they have begun 
 striking the nets." 
 
 " No, no ! " he protested, trying to force her to remain ; 
 " do not go yet. It is the witching hour and our dinner can 
 wait. You have not yet seen the Victoria Regia."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 155 
 
 There was something in his voice which had not been there 
 before. 
 
 For a moment she hestitated, then her woman's instinct 
 corrected her doubt and guided her unerringly back to what 
 seemed a circuitous route, but which led very direct to the 
 real goal. 
 
 So she shook her head and moved a step or two to show 
 that she was adamant. 
 
 "It is too dark to look at plants, and those hot-houses are 
 so hot ! I must go, now or never, else your dinner will be 
 so bad that your temper will be shocking. Shall I invite some- 
 body else ? " She laughed as if amused by the suggestion 
 coming from her own lips. " Don't see me to my carriage. 
 There is my patron saint, Mrs. Macniversen. I must catch 
 her before she escapes ; we have something to settle. Half- 
 past eight." 
 
 He stood watching her go across the lawns so intently 
 that the sound of men's voices behind him gave him a sharp 
 shock of surprise. 
 
 He wheeled on his heels and picked up his coat and his hat 
 with an involuntary exclamation as he recognized the voices. 
 It was Willy Chang in this sacrosanct enclosure where none 
 of his race had been admitted before. With him were Jacks, 
 Sir John Weeger, Crebillon, and two or three younger men all 
 walking in a band. 
 
 " Hallo, Mortiboy ! " called Jacks in a manner which 
 advertised that he had been taking more cocktails than was 
 good for him. " Just the man we need to complete the 
 party. We walked in here particularly to find someone 
 nice. Can't come ? Deuced sorry. This young fellow, 
 Willy Chang, is giving a house-warming to-night. Bought 
 Mardoon's place this morning for fourteen lacs with every 
 damned thing in it, including servants. Moved in already 
 sleeps there to-night. Have you seen the Arab ponies landed 
 yesterday by the P. & O. from Bombay ? sixteen, if you 
 please, with sixteen niggers as black as your hat to mother 
 them. That's .Willy's little string of polo-ponies, four
 
 156 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 thousand pounds, c.i.f. Going to invite his friends to 
 play on his private polo -ground and give 'em mounts. Willy, 
 you're a great boy and will be greater still before you've 
 finished." 
 
 Jacks linked his arm through that of the slender Cantonese 
 as though he was already his dearest friend. The young man, 
 a little embarrassed by all this attention, allowed his quick 
 black eyes to pass swiftly from face to face whilst he politely 
 waited for Mortiboy to make some comment. 
 
 " See they do not eat you out of house and home, Mr. 
 Chang. I had not heard about that purchase. It's a fine 
 property," said Mortiboy quietly. 
 
 " That's all right," broke in Jacks. " Willy only cares 
 for having a good time ; don't you, Willy ? To-night will be 
 the first time Hai-Shang has the wine done in the proper 
 way five vintages of champagne to select from, from '89 
 onwards. Come on, come on we must find an eighth man 
 somewhere." 
 
 The group passed along, instinctively avoiding the club- 
 house and going straight to a long queue of carriages, amidst a 
 brisk exchange of remarks. 
 
 " Pity Mortiboy couldn't come," reiterated Jacks with 
 the dull persistence of those who have wined too much. 
 "I like Mortiboy he's a man, and not a stuffed 
 figure." .*.o; 
 
 Crebillon looked past those who were between him and 
 Jacks and exclaimed : 
 
 " You are what I would call a simple nature, you know, my 
 good friend Jacks. You say Mortiboy couldn't come : my 
 way of putting it would be he wouldn't dream of coming. 
 He has a very delicate taste, you know : he doesn't like 
 jamborees. I am sure he's going to do something nice, 
 probably spend a quiet evening with Belle Lawson." 
 
 There was a burst of laughter. Willy Chang, about to 
 climb the steps of a tall dogcart, stopped dead short. For 
 the fraction of a second something like a tremulous wave 
 passed over him electrical in its rapidity, yet not fast
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 157 
 
 enough to elude the vigilance of the Frenchman, whose eyes 
 saw what had occurred and expected some sequel. 
 
 In that he was disappointed, for with an effort of will 
 the young Cantonese suddenly controlled himself, and as 
 lightly and as gracefully as a cat sprang up to the driver's 
 seat and took the reins.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 " With coarse food to eat, water to drink, and the bended arm as 
 pillow, happiness may still exist. Wealth and rank unrighteously 
 obtained seem to me as insubstantial as floating clouds."--" THE 
 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 ON the road to the new house the string of carriages 
 picked up the needed eighth man. They came upon 
 no other person than Mr. Banner] ee Sannerjee calmly 
 taking the air in the philosophic manner common to all the 
 East. He was sauntering happily along in no other com- 
 pany than that of the trees and flowering bushes which made 
 the roadway so sweet with their fragrance ; and in his hand he 
 held his fine Panama hat so that the evening air might fan his 
 brow. His mind was full of contemplation, and as he beheld 
 the band of joyous men swinging past him in the dusk he 
 diffidently waved to them and bowed, as if he did not wish 
 to intrude himself upon their notice. 
 
 Something in the gesture instantly attracted Willy Chang 
 perhaps it was the gentleness of it. Yielding to an impulse 
 he reined in abruptly and called to the Indian gentleman. 
 
 " Mr. Sannerjee," he said, " if you do not mind such 
 short notice will you not eat your dinner with me to-night ? 
 just pot-luck, you know. This morning I bought a big new 
 house " he laughed and coloured slightly " this evening 
 my friends declare that since I am sleeping there I must 
 give a house-warming or inherit ill-luck. There is room 
 in the carriage behind if you will be so good." He waved 
 his whip to the pair of chestnuts harnessed to his victoria. 
 Mr. Bannerj ee Sannerjee, on the point of refusing politely, 
 
 suddenly changed his mind. The young Cantonese evidently 
 
 158
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 159 
 
 wished him to come, and there were certain things which 
 needed his attention. So, with another deprecating move- 
 ment of the hands, he accepted and mounted the victoria. 
 Then the procession moved on. 
 
 " Gad, why did you do that, Willy?" protested Jacks, 
 who was seated beside him, as soon as they had started again. 
 " You know, he isn't a Parsee, but a Hindu high caste too, 
 though his own people have disowned him because he lived 
 six years in England. Still, he can't touch anything at all ; 
 
 didn't you know that ? Can't drink, can't eat, can't " 
 
 He stopped and adorned his incomplete sentence with a laugh. 
 But that merriment did not last long, for, reverting to the 
 prospect immediately confronting them, he concluded with 
 increased irritation : " He'll be a proper damper, a proper 
 damper, I tell you." 
 
 " I don't think so," rejoined the young man, using his 
 whip. " He is a philosopher, you know. He can sit still 
 and watch us get drunk without speaking. Besides, I want to 
 buy some diamonds from him he has beauties." 
 
 The frown on Jacks' face vanished. and a new expression 
 half envy, half wonder appeared. 
 
 " Gad, Willy, I wish I had your money instead of my 
 half per cent, from buyer and seller alike. I tell you, shares 
 are getting played out here ; there are too many people with 
 no money at all who sign contracts and then default. It's 
 become a game on a lower scale than the roulette houses, that's 
 my opinion. If it weren't for Mortiboy's new gamble we'd all 
 be starving. Made a thousand taels, however, this morning, 
 by a bit of jobbing which is against the rules not so bad, 
 eh ? " He chuckled and settled his straw hat more rakishly 
 than ever on the side of his head, then he exclaimed : " Oh, 
 but think of Sannerjee's black face all the evening ! " 
 
 " Never mind about that," said Willy Chang cheerfully. 
 " I'll get him to talk to the syces later on. That will be 
 funny." 
 
 " Splendid ! " cried Jacks, with the tippler's characteristic 
 changeableness. " That's the game ! Get all the sixteen in,
 
 160 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 and make 'em go down on their marrow-bones before Sanner- 
 jee, for he's almost a holy man, you know . . . that is, if 
 he hadn't gone to Old England and got defiled. Make him ask 
 them all sorts of things, and you'll see them salaam and salaam. 
 We did that with some Sikh policemen one night with Malwa, 
 who talks like a native, and it was as good as a play. Gad, 
 I believe it's going to turn out a good idea after all. Sixteen 
 black men all in a row it's like a nursery rhyme ! " He 
 exploded with laughter. 
 
 " Here we are," said Willy Chang, driving through the 
 gateway at a great pace. " You can't see it all properly at 
 this hour, but just look at that grass ! " 
 
 The house, which had been so summarily acquired, was 
 certainly provided with noble grounds, in which the sixteen 
 Arabs could gallop their legs off. A long line of trees, planted 
 along the boundary, stretched sheer away from near the 
 gatehouse into the distance until they became lost to the view. 
 There were hundreds of acres of well-turfed ground, half a 
 country-side with baby creeks for jumps if you wanted 
 them. . . . Jacks, breathing deeply, leaned back and studied 
 the prospect with the air of a man who at last sees heaven 
 but realizes that his place is not within. 
 
 He did not speak a word until they had swept up the long 
 drive and reached the handsome red-brick residence. Then 
 he exclaimed : 
 
 " Fourteen lacs, fourteen lacs ! why, Willy, if I had all 
 this I wouldn't speak to a single soul in the town. No fear 
 wouldn't catch me driving round for business. I'd just sit 
 here and laugh all day long. ... It's a palace fit for a 
 prince. Call it Liberty Hall, and keep open house, and you'll 
 have everybody down on their knees before you." And with 
 that dictum he climbed down from the dogcart and ran up 
 the broad flight of steps. 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon had beaten all the others with 
 the high-stepping black mare he had obtained in exchange 
 for his grey horse, and was standing on the broad tiled veranda 
 staring into the hall.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 161 
 
 " Look at that noble staircase ! " he cried, as the others 
 joined him. " I ask why was such a house built ? Surely 
 this estimable person, Margoon or Gargoon or whatever is his 
 name, did not foresee that all the wealth of China was coming 
 finally to this town, and that even this folly would be snapped 
 up!" 
 
 " My father jumped at the idea when I wrote him about 
 the place being on the market. He telegraphed me to com- 
 plete the purchase without delay," explained Willy Chang. 
 " The investment will one day yield a great profit. It is 
 sound business. Of course, the house is a worthless encum- 
 brance ; it is only the land that has meaning to us Chinese. 
 Put your money into mud under the foreign flag that is what 
 my countrymen say, not because they are unpatriotic, but 
 
 because the Government " He stopped abruptly, and 
 
 looked round. " Boy, boy," he called like a European, " bring 
 us something to drink ! " 
 
 By the time they had taken their seats at the festive 
 board all embarrassment was banished. Jacks, with his arm 
 round Crebillon's shoulders, had forced him to occupy the 
 next chair to his. Sir John Weeger, though carefully keeping 
 away from Banner jee Sannerjee, whom he cordially disliked, 
 found to his disgust that Willy Chang placed him on his right, 
 with the Indian gentleman next to him. The others, picked 
 up casually at the club by Jacks and Crebillon, because they 
 were, in that extraordinary phrase, " good fellows," dropped 
 into the vacant chairs without a word. 
 
 For a few moments the party was occupied almost solely 
 in devouring hors-d'oeuvres to the pleasant accompaniment 
 of the whirring of overhead electric fans. Everybody agreed 
 that smoked salmon bellies and black caviare from Vladivo- 
 stock were better than talk. But as a formidable popping 
 of corks fell on his ears, Jacks could restrain himself no 
 longer. 
 
 " Gad, this is great ! " he cried. " I haven't felt so happy 
 for a long time ! A bumper to our host before we proceed 
 one mouthful farther I Do you know, this is good old '89, one 
 ii
 
 162 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 of ' the excellent years ' ? " He seized his glass in an unsteady 
 hand, and, raising it with grotesque solemnity, proclaimed : 
 
 " To Mr. Willy Chang, the best of good fellows ! May 
 this stuff never give out ! " 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried Crebillon. " I shall never be serious again 
 in my life ! Hurrah ! hurrah ! " 
 
 " That's right, little Frenchy ! " returned Jacks, becoming 
 more and more familiar as his intoxication increased ; " you 
 know, I thought you a regular little frog-eater, as we say at 
 school, until you gave me that buying order yesterday ! But 
 money speaks, you know money speaks ! " He laughed 
 uproariously at himself and the sentiments he expressed. 
 
 " What's the Vicomte been buying Development 
 shares ? " inquired Willy Chang, pouring soda-water into his 
 champagne, with a quick look to see that he was not being 
 observed. 
 
 " Buyer speaks," returned Jacks, nudging his neighbour. 
 
 Everybody looked up, interested. And most interested of 
 all was the young Cantonese, judging by his looks. 
 
 " Yes ; I bought a few shares," confessed Crebillon. " The 
 concern has such a magnificent future that I could not resist." 
 
 " You have actually been buying ! I thought you were 
 against us ! " exclaimed Willy Chang in real surprise. 
 
 " That's what we all thought," put in Weeger, as he 
 dipped his grizzled moustaches into the bubbling wine. 
 
 " I but you must be mad ! " returned Crebillon im- 
 perturbably. " Jacks, do you hear ? buy me another five 
 hundred to-morrow morning ! " 
 
 " Right-o, Puttee Book! " exclaimed Jacks in the Anglo- 
 Chinese of the market-place. He fumbled for his notebook, 
 but almost at once gave up the attempt. Now, looking round 
 slyly to see whether his condition was being observed, he 
 came full on Mr. Banner jee Sannerjee, whose eyes were fixed 
 mournfully upon him as upon a great sin. 
 
 " Can't eat, can't drink, can't do a thing, eh, Sannerjee, 
 except find big diamonds in India for your friends ? " 
 he remarked. " Well, we want you to understand that Willy
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 163 
 
 must have the very best. Remember that Koh-i-noors are his 
 style ' Mountains of Light ' great big stones that cost a 
 fortune. You know the sort, Crebillon ? " 
 
 The Frenchman turned abruptly. 
 
 " Our host buying diamonds, is he ? Well, it depends 
 for whom he wants them. Is it for a lady ? " 
 
 He laughed loudly as he said that, but his eyes remained 
 hard. 
 
 " Certainly I need them for ladies," answered the young 
 Cantonese in his usual polite manner. " You know in China 
 it is customary for sons to give their parents rich presents 
 when they return from distant lands. I brought my mother 
 and sisters very little from England when I came back. I 
 must make good the deficiency." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed the Vicomte sharply. He lifted his 
 glass and drained it of its contents ; then he added in a 
 malicious voice : " Filial piety is certainly the greatest 
 of virtues in China." 
 
 Willy Chang's eyes narrowed as if something had pricked 
 him, but his only comment was to murmur to the servants 
 to replenish the glasses. The Indian gentleman, sitting back 
 in his chair with wonder in his gazelle-like eyes, drew a deep 
 breath and remarked in his soft woman's voice : 
 
 "It is not only in China that such a virtue exists it is 
 common to all Asia. India, Siam, China, and Japan all 
 preach the same creed, not to speak of the smaller countries. 
 It is the basis of our Eastern religions." 
 
 " Oh, Lord ! " murmured Jacks audibly. " I told you he'd 
 be a damper. If you wait long enough this will become a 
 regular prayer-meeting, with everybody down on their 
 marrow-bones. It's your fault, Crebillon, dragging in that 
 rot about filial piety. You ain't got good sense to-night for 
 a Frenchman." 
 
 " I can return the compliment ! " exclaimed Crebillon 
 in anger. 
 
 " Gentlemen, gentlemen," intervened Sir John Weeger, 
 " order, order ! We've all got our faults ! "
 
 164 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " You bet we have ! " returned Jacks viciously. " Some 
 of us are afraid to go home when we stay out so very late 
 at night ! " 
 
 The young men at the other end of the table exploded 
 into such fits of laughter at Weeger's discomfiture that Jacks 
 was somewhat appeased. But his satisfaction was short- 
 lived. For presently, somebody, seeing how matters fared 
 with him, had commenced whispering to Crebillon, and the 
 latter, with a nod as he understood what was required, turned 
 very politely : 
 
 " I wager you a Frenchman can drink a bottle of champagne 
 faster than any Englishman at this table ! I am willing to 
 wager you any stakes you like ! " 
 
 " Done ! " cried Jacks excitedly, falling into the trap. 
 " I'll bet you a hundred dollars you can't. And this time 
 I'm not going to lose my bet, you'll see. There are five 
 Englishmen at this table. Now let's see who's the best man 
 to put up." He looked round inquiringly. 
 
 " Jacks ! " shouted every one madly. " Jacks, you're our 
 champion ! " 
 
 A laugh ran round the table and grew in volume as Jacks 
 sat there silently. 
 
 " What me ? " he answered finally, trying to thrust the 
 suggestion aside, and rubbing his head with one hand. " It 
 isn't fair. I've always got to bear the brunt. Last time it 
 was Willy who beat me remember that supper-party ? 
 Crebillon's been holding back on purpose, and had only one 
 glass to my two." 
 
 " Jacks," shouted every one again, " you've got to do it 
 or forfeit your money ! You've put up your money, you 
 know ! " 
 
 Jacks looked round with his head lowered, like a cornered 
 bull. He glared at the company as if they had all become his 
 enemies, fixing on each one in turn his bloodshot eyes ; then, 
 with a muttered oath, he exclaimed : 
 
 " All right, I'll do it just to show him there's stuff in me 
 yet 1 Bring the bottles and the glasses and I'll drink fair ! "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 165 
 
 The voice rose in a tumult of confused remarks. This was 
 something which all could appreciate. In obedience to Willy 
 Chang's orders, numbers of glasses were produced and set 
 in front of each of the rivals. Then two corks popped. 
 
 Sir John Weeger rose to his feet in mock solemnity, glad 
 of his revenge. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I shall be judge in this great contest which 
 our good friend the Vicomte de Crebillon has so amiably 
 provided for us on this eventful occasion. I shall do my best 
 to show no partiality, but in the sad event of a dispute, our 
 host, Mr. Willy Chang, will be sole referee. Do you all agree ? " 
 
 There was a shout of approval, and Weeger, placing his 
 hand upon his heart, called out above the din of voices : 
 
 " There is nothing more for me to do than to allow Jacks 
 to hasten along the sad road which he is so wilfully traversing ! 
 Pour out, boy ! " 
 
 Silence fell as, very carefully, the head boy filled the glasses 
 with the hand of an adept. When he had finished, all were 
 placed together, and turn and turn about the two rivals 
 selected their goblets. Presently Sir John Weeger rose again 
 to his feet. Every one was bubbling over with excitement 
 now ; even the servants had gathered in a discreet knot in 
 the background, and commenced whispering audibly together 
 over the ever-recurring eccentricities of white men. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen, there are no rules to lay down, excepting 
 that you must drink fair. Each glass must be emptied 
 completely and must be replaced on the table. Any com- 
 petitor throwing down his glass will be disqualified. Are 
 you ready ? " 
 
 Jacks, with his eyes gleaming, sat watching him eagerly. 
 Crebillon, though he was unusually pale, betrayed no such 
 excitement. As Weeger called the word, like a flash his small 
 hand grasped a glass, and, throwing back his head, he poured 
 the contents down his throat with extraordinary rapidity. 
 But, though he was fast, Jacks was faster. Opening his mouth 
 and never apparently swallowing, he emptied the first glass, 
 set it down, seized the second, did as much again, and was
 
 166 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 already swallowing the contents of the third before Crebillon 
 had half finished with the second. It was a remarkable 
 exhibition. 
 
 "Go it, Jacks!" shouted everybody madly, turning in 
 his favour because he looked like winning ; " go it, man ! " 
 
 The Englishman, as he raised the fourth glass to his lips, 
 paused and winked ponderously at his little adversary ; then, 
 throwing back his head and opening his mouth wide, he 
 poured the contents of the fourth glass as he had poured the 
 other three. 
 
 " Go it, Jacks ! " cheered everybody again. 
 
 With the same air of bravado he swallowed the fifth 
 glass ; now only one more remained. 
 
 " The last one the last one ! Crebillon's hopelessly 
 beaten ! " the others shouted. 
 
 But they stopped shouting as suddenly as they had com- 
 menced. For a strange paralysis seemed to overcome their 
 champion just as he was on the point of winning. Jacks, 
 indeed, had stopped drinking, and was looking round the 
 table as if he were in a daze. He tried to speak ; he tried 
 to bring his rebellious hand to his mouth again. But even 
 speech failed him, just as his hand no longer obeyed him. 
 Now some hidden force seemed to be dragging his hand lower 
 and lower. It sank, with the half-emptied glass tilted down 
 and the golden bubbling liquor spilling gently over the rim, 
 until it lay on the tablecloth. 
 
 Jacks gazed at this strange demonstration in a solemn 
 amazement which had something uncanny about it. Even 
 now if he could have made a last effort he might have won, 
 for his companion was in grave difficulties. A feeling that 
 the blood surging to his head would make him burst made 
 Crebillon drink more and more slowly until he only swallowed 
 in sips, almost hoping that Jacks would relieve him of his fatal 
 necessity. But at last with his eyes screwed round he saw 
 the unbelievable thing which had happened, and with victory 
 in his grasp, with a jerk he tossed down the last drops, and 
 slammed his last glass on the table.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 167 
 
 " Crebillon wins ! Well done ! " cried the table. " Jacks, 
 you're no use. You're hopelessly beaten. What's the 
 matter, man ? " 
 
 " What's the matter ? " muttered Jacks. " Tanked, 
 that's all had more than I can hold. Machinery jammed 
 won't work. Tanked. Never seen that before ? Go and 
 watch the dredgers on the river then. . . . Damn the whole 
 lot of you ! " 
 
 He pushed back his chair, staggered to his feet, and walked 
 unsteadily to the veranda. 
 
 At the long French window he paused irresolutely, holding 
 on tightly to the woodwork. He looked straight in front of 
 him into the dark garden, and suddenly started laughing 
 hilariously. 
 
 " Thought I was seeing ghosts ; thought I was worse than 
 I am," he hiccoughed back in explanation, " but it's only 
 Willy's black men in the garden watching proceedings from 
 afar. Come out, everybody, and get some fresh air. Now, 
 you there, trot up and show yourselves to the sahibs. You 
 know I began in Bombay, and I can speak a bit of Hindustani 
 still, I am hard-pleased." 
 
 With much laughter the company trooped out. Deft- 
 handed servants switched on electric lights ; and now Jacks, 
 with his head of blond hair in disarray and his hands tightly 
 clutching hold of one of the wooden pillars, called monotonously 
 and insistently : 
 
 " The sixteen all in a row. The sixteen all in a row. 
 Where's Sannerjee ? Tell him to talk to them." 
 
 Like a line of idols the sixteen men disposed themselves 
 on the veranda floor, their black faces shining, their white 
 teeth glistening. Jacks listened to Bannerjee Sannerjee utter 
 some short, sharp questions, which the head-man answered 
 with grave deference. Willy Chang, standing near Sir John 
 Weeger, heard him hammering the palm of his hand and 
 trying to explain something about human anatomy and the 
 connection of the spinal column with the brain, which nobody 
 paid the slightest attention to. The other men, wearied from
 
 168 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 the pleasures of the table, had sunk into long chairs. Alone 
 Crebillon, carefully watching Jacks, remained fully awake, 
 though he, too, had taken one of the long chairs which were 
 arranged along the veranda as on the deck of a passenger- 
 ship. 
 
 " Gros cochon anglais," he murmured to himself from 
 time to time still unaccountably exasperated. 
 
 " Good night ! " exclaimed the beaten hero, suddenly 
 wearying of the spectacle. " Good night, everybody ! Go to 
 bed, black men ; we've seen enough of you." 
 
 With that he, too, sank down beside Crebillon and closed 
 his eyes. Willy Chang approached the Indian gentleman, 
 who had finished talking to the syces. 
 
 " I shall come to-morrow to see your diamonds," he said 
 quietly. 
 
 The Indian gentleman shrugged his shoulders : 
 
 "It is of no importance ; you have only to send me a 
 
 messenger and I will tell my servant to bring you the best " 
 
 He glanced round cautiously. Sir John Weeger with a great 
 sigh had dropped at last, and was already almost asleep. 
 The two were alone just as much as if there had been nobody 
 there. " And this is the civilization of the West which they 
 offer to us ! " he exclaimed in his woman's contralto. " Look 
 at the spectacle, Mr. Chang ; look, I say ! " 
 
 The young Chinese, more materialistic than his brother 
 from the middle East, smiled that mysterious Chinese smile 
 which no one will ever understand. Then he said pregnantly : 
 
 " But that is only one phase in the morning they will be 
 different and do many things." 
 
 The other was plainly unconvinced. 
 
 " You have religion ? " he queried. 
 
 " Religion," echoed the Chinese agnostically " what is 
 religion ? " 
 
 " The greatest thing in the world," replied the Indian, 
 his dark eyes flashing because these scenes had greatly excited 
 him. " It saves you from this and other things and yet other 
 things. Ah, if I could but teach you something true .' "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 169 
 
 Willy Chang looked at him, still smiling gently, allured 
 by the warm, soft voice, but not by the words. " Tell me what 
 you have on your mind," he said. 
 
 The Indian came nearer and held his hands : 
 
 " I am unhappy because of the thought that you are 
 destined to travel the same road as all these others unless you 
 separate yourself from them you, who have within you 
 the seed of great things. You spoke this evening of filial piety 
 in a way which told me that your heart beats warm that 
 you are fit for knowledge. I would like to teach you the 
 Hindu doctrine of the Brahmin to show you the true road. 
 Have you ever heard this ? In the Bhafavat-gita the holy 
 Krishna, speaking for the One, says : 
 
 " ' I am the immolation. I am the Sacrificial rite. I am 
 the libation offered to ancestors. I am the drug. I am the 
 fire. I am the incense. I am the father, the mother, the 
 sustainer, the grandfather of the universe the mystic doctrine, 
 the purification, the syllable " Om "... the path, the sup- 
 porter, the master, the witness, the habitation, the refuge, 
 the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the place, the receptacle, 
 the inexhaustible seed. I heat the world, I withhold and 
 pour out the rain. I am ambrosia and death, the ex- 
 isting and the non-existing. I am the same to all beings. 
 I have neither foe nor friend. . . . Place thy heart on me, 
 worshipping me, sacrificing me, saluting me. . . .' ' 
 
 His voice had dropped to a hot whisper like the voice of 
 a conspirator who is proposing a plan and the last words 
 floated away in the night as if they had been sighs. Now he 
 stood watching this slender youth as a surgeon does a patient 
 whom he has probed watching to see the effect of this mystic 
 phrasing almost as if his life depended upon it. 
 
 It was plain that Willy Chang had remained untouched 
 by anything save curiosity. 
 
 " The language is beautiful," he said. " What a beautiful 
 and impressive thing is language when spoken properly." 
 
 The Indian, disappointed, let drop one hand, but retained 
 the other.
 
 170 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Some day," he said earnestly, " in trouble or in disaster, 
 you may be willing to hear me out to allow me to explain. 
 Remember, I am always ready to speak. Remember, you are 
 fit for such things. . . . Good night! Good-bye!" 
 
 He went without another word on the points of his toes 
 through the French window as men go from a church when 
 something calls them before the service is concluded. He 
 went slowly and gently because that was his way. But 
 accidentally, in his anxiety to be quiet, he bumped heavily 
 against a chair. Roused by the sharp sound, Jacks, who had 
 been dozing, sat up sharply and glanced blinkingly around. 
 His eyes fell on Crebillon Crebillon asleep Crebillon with 
 his arms folded defiantly across his narrow chest and his 
 waxed moustache drooping over his mouth Crebillon gently 
 snoring. 
 
 Jacks studied him fixedly. 
 
 " You damned little Frenchman ! " he muttered at length. 
 " Take you on again any day, do you hear ? Take you on 
 two bottles a man if you like never did think much of the 
 French. Do you hear ? " 
 
 But Crebillon slept peacefully on.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 " Tzu Kung asked for a definition of good government. The Master 
 replied : ' It consists in providing enough food to eat, in keeping 
 enough soldiers to guard the State, and in winning the confidence of 
 the people.' 'And if one of these three things has to be sacrificed, 
 which should go first ? ' The Master replied : ' Sacrifice the soldiers.' 
 ' And if of the two remaining things one has to be sacrificed, which should 
 it be ? ' The Master said : ' Let it be the food. From the beginning 
 men have had to die. But without the confidence of the people no 
 government can exist.' " " THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 WILLY CHANG, fully assured of the comatose 
 condition of his company, had slipped quietly up- 
 stairs. 
 
 He was^full of a new excitement. The strange peroration 
 he had just listened to, coming on top of the riotous scenes 
 of the evening, had oddly moved him, and he crushed in his 
 pocket the letter he had been fingering and thinking about 
 ever since he had received it that morning. With the 
 Easterner's love of seeing in coincidence the finger of Fate, he 
 believed that the Indian's burning words were in the nature 
 of a real message, and that they would form the prologue 
 to something new. 
 
 And why should they not be that ? To do something, to 
 break the ignoble chain, to become great ! That was worth 
 striving for ; that was different from this. Already he was 
 tired of the stupid pastime of spending money which he had 
 never had the satisfaction of earning ; he needed a task which 
 would engage his energies and make calls upon his imagina- 
 tion. That alone could bring fullness to a life which suddenly 
 appeared to him wholly empty. Here was his great country
 
 172 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 languishing in the toils of a despotic mediaeval system, 
 laughed at by every foreigner no matter how insignificant, 
 treated with amused contempt, used like a milch-cow so long 
 as there was any milk, after which it would be killed and carved 
 up into eatable pieces. On the veranda he had just left, 
 there had been an object-lesson afforded him by his dear 
 friends. 
 
 His dear friends indeed ! They drank his wine only to 
 fall asleep on his furniture ; they admired his taste only to 
 forget his existence as soon as they had satisfied their desires. 
 He was utilized that was all ; he was a convenience toler- 
 ated because he had a great supply of money, and because he 
 knew enough not to press himself too much forward when- 
 ever such action was calculated to embarrass his acquaint- 
 ances. He, who had been treated with courtesy and gracious- 
 ness abroad, came back to the land of his fathers to find 
 this ! He could no longer deny it ; it had been made too 
 clear. After all, Chu Ta Ming had been right it was im- 
 possible for a Chinese to belong to any nation save his own. 
 Then he remembered that he had so Europeanized himself 
 that he had become the worst of all things, a hybrid unfit 
 in a great measure for either of the two civilizations which 
 should find themselves united in him. United what a 
 word to use ! He was only able to take a sip from each and 
 pass on much as a bee exacts tribute from each flower. 
 But the bee was a useful creature ; it fertilized whatever it 
 touched ; and he was of no use at all. Now almost angrily 
 he thrust open his bedroom door. 
 
 His private body-servant whom he carried about after 
 the manner of Asia as if he were a change of clothing or 
 something equally portable was dozing in the bedroom. 
 Squatting on his haunches with his back against the wall, 
 the man would have looked grotesque had it not been that 
 the tired arms and the bent torso gave the figure a dim 
 suggestion of tragedy. As he heard the door open, the man 
 started to his feet with an exclamation of fear. 
 
 " Hasten ! " commanded his young master in Cantonese,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 173 
 
 not so much as looking at him. " Give me the clothes I told 
 you to have ready. The hour is late." 
 
 Even as he spoke his slender brown hands had commenced 
 unknotting his somewhat complicated tie the product of 
 Bond Street ; then, in a trice, he had tossed off his coat, 
 his collar, and his shirt almost as a European would have 
 done, yet not quite the same, there being more smoothness 
 and care and less strength and decision in the swift, supple, 
 gliding movements. Now, hastening up to the large dressing- 
 table, he put out his hand behind to the servant who had 
 closely followed him with a small parcel ; then in a flash, 
 showing that he was already accustomed to the act, he had 
 made the change, and the pseudo-European had vanished. 
 A false queue, which fitted him with the precision of a glove, 
 hung down his back, and the smooth black hair which covered 
 his head was such a masterpiece of the wigmaker's art that 
 beneath it even the face seemed to have changed. The 
 colour and texture of the skin, the look and purpose of the 
 eyes all were different. He had never noticed it so much 
 before to-night as he stared in silent surprise. Presently he 
 gave a soft laugh, which ended as unexpectedly as it had com- 
 menced. It was marvellous to think of what those drunken 
 fellows below would say could they have seen this meta- 
 morphosis. It would have done more than awaken their 
 curiosity ; it might have raised their suspicions, made them 
 look askance at him and think. Yes think, think the 
 beginning and end of everything . . . the disturber and the 
 tranquillizer, the enemy and the friend. . . . 
 
 Now, seizing some hardened pomade, he rapidly smoothed 
 down a few stray hairs which in his absorbed contemplation he 
 had not noticed. He became quite enchanted with his appear- 
 ance. He believed he was really more attractive in the dress 
 of his forefathers than in the garb of a European. It was 
 a point worth remembering when he had time for gallantries ; 
 then, remembering once more that he had not a minute to 
 lose, he sprang away from the mirror and continued his 
 toilet.
 
 174 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Now he assumed baggy native trousers, handsome em- 
 broidered shoes, a long, loose, white silk coat, a rakish plum- 
 coloured outer waistcoat, a small, round, hard, black cap of silk, 
 with a pearl decorating the forehead. Picking up an ivory 
 fan, and settling a heavy sky-blue embroidered purse on his 
 belt, he took out the letter which he had so often thought 
 about, and hid it away again ; then he turned to give his 
 last order. He had made himself ready in less than five 
 minutes. 
 
 " Remember, silence!" he commanded; " and when the 
 foreigners awake tell them that I sleep and cannot be dis- 
 turbed, and let them go home." 
 
 That was all. For his other arrangements were long 
 complete as complete as everything with him had a way 
 of being. Hardly had he finished speaking than he ran 
 out of the room and down a little back staircase, pushed 
 open a door, took a dozen steps into the garden, and hissed 
 in the dark as a snake hisses. 
 
 "Hail" 
 
 The sound came back to him, long-drawn-out, plaintive, 
 poetic; then it was repeated once more, as if the second 
 response were only an echo. A match scratched, irresolutely 
 and unsuccessfully at first, but finally rewarded with a spurt of 
 flame. Now a lantern swung forward and disclosed a jinrick- 
 sha half -hidden behind some bushes. Two sturdy runners, 
 their queues coiled up and their brown legs bare to the thighs, 
 ran it out and took their allotted places. They were ready 
 to speed forward instantly. 
 
 He mounted the conveyance. 
 
 " Run ! " he commanded. 
 
 Even as he spoke, as smoothly and as steadily as if they 
 were running their vehicles along rails, the men fled with the 
 jinricksha from under the dark shadow of the house, which 
 sank into blackness and was recognizable no more. 
 
 Fled, we say, for that is the only word to characterize 
 their admirable speed. Running in long, well-balanced strides, 
 taken from the hips, round which were tucked their loose
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 175 
 
 trouserlets, one man between the shafts pulled whilst the 
 other pushed, making their light burden seem lighter still. 
 Down the winding pathway they fled through the night as 
 though they had been cats, able to see all obstacles. 
 
 They were noiseless, too, quite noiseless, which was 
 the particular reason why they had been chosen. No heavy 
 hoofs beating on the pathway advertised this midnight 
 adventure ; no sudden scrunch of heavy wheels on the 
 gravelled roadways was to be heard ; for all the noise the 
 jinricksha made they might have been a thousand miles from 
 the house with its besotted guests, its battery of servants, 
 its stables crowded with men and horses. Out through a 
 small gateway, purposely left open, the men ran, and then at 
 last on to a lighted high road which they gained far away from 
 the gate-keeper's lodge. Now, bending their faces to the 
 ground, they fled more swiftly still, with the perfect ease of 
 picked runners who know their pace to the last effort. 
 
 On and on they ran one mile, two miles, three miles, 
 four miles, and perhaps even five. Willy Chang had com- 
 menced to shiver at the chill night air through which he was 
 being rushed when the leader gave a sharp grunt and swerved 
 aside. Instantly the young man sat up, peering ahead. 
 The jinricksha no longer ran so smoothly the rubber tyres 
 bumped and even skidded. They were on a soft unmetalled 
 road a mud road in fact, caked dry in spots, wet and greasy 
 in others from recent rains. A luxuriant growth of grass and 
 weeds made the night air full of sweet odours ; and presently 
 great clumps of willow trees pressed down on them like grim 
 spectres, throwing the roadway in a yet deeper shadow. All 
 street lighting had long been left behind, and the ruts grew 
 worse and worse. Handicapped by these various factors, the 
 runners at last showed signs of discouragement. 
 
 The young man busy dreaming of the future mechanically 
 noted the change. His hand travelled to his belt. 
 
 " A dollar for each if you hasten ! " he exclaimed, ringing 
 one thick coin against the other in the native manner. " See 
 there are lights ! It is over forward "
 
 176 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 The men, bathed in sweat, bent anew to their task. 
 Summoning up their last energy, they toiled doggedly on. 
 
 It was their master who stopped them shortly and 
 sharply. He had seen a figure grow up on the roadside 
 then others and yet others. It was time to have his wits 
 ready. 
 
 Shan " 
 
 The word was shot at him like a projectile, and something 
 bright suddenly gleamed in the flickering light of the jinrick- 
 sha lamp. 
 
 " Shut!" he answered instantly. 
 
 " Lai!" came a second word. 
 
 " Hm!" he answered still more quickly. 
 
 Then he smiled in relief. For the double watchword had 
 been answered in the correct way, and all danger was past. 
 He was surrounded by men who requested him to dismount. 
 Now they led him forward to a mass of buildings ; glancing 
 back, he saw that others were escorting his runners in another 
 direction to be watched carefully until he departed. In 
 growing excitement he hastened forward. 
 
 They were certainly taking no risks to-night ; that was 
 amply borne on him. For no sooner had he passed through 
 a heavy gateway than bolts were let fall, and he was in a 
 sanctuary safe against all intrusion. 
 
 He looked round eagerly. Lights were coming and going 
 without a second's repose. Other people were arriving by 
 different roads, ushered in through different gates of this 
 Temple so discreetly hidden in the country far beyond the 
 foreign settlements, yet close enough to be ready of access to 
 all who lived in that political Alsatia. 
 
 His guides had left him without a word. So, holding his 
 loose sleeve discreetly to his mouth as many others were doing 
 imitating caution instinctively as all his race will do he 
 went forward with the rest through long dank corridors until 
 they finally gained a dimly-lighted hall which was already 
 crowded. He looked this and that way for his two young 
 friends who had sent him the letter, and who had told him
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 177 
 
 the watchwords, but in that crowd it was impossible to 
 recognize them. Every face was already fixed on a platform 
 which stood in the very centre of the hall, and he realized that 
 he was late. 
 
 A speaker had commenced speaking at that very moment, 
 but the man was using the Soochow dialect for the benefit 
 of fellow-provincials, and only half-understanding the soft 
 sibilants and the woman's rhythm, the young Cantonese paid 
 little attention. But almost immediately the man stepped 
 down from the platform, and a very different person, with an 
 old, wizened face, began an address in Cantonese, and there 
 were loud murmurs of approval. 
 
 Willy Chang pressed forward with the rest ; it was plain 
 that the intensely patriotic men of Canton were in the major- 
 ity here. Now he was all ears. But this speaker stopped 
 abruptly, as the other had done, before his few sentences, 
 stating why the meeting had been called, had been properly 
 digested. He disappeared indeed so quickly that the audience 
 gazed in blank astonishment at the platform, which remained 
 empty for some minutes. Then, at last, almost like a figure 
 rising from the grave, a person dressed in unbroken black 
 grew up at the back of the stage, took three steps forward, 
 with his head cast down until he was on the very brink, when 
 he looked up and stood stockstill, his hands folded in front 
 of him, his hard face a perfect mask. 
 
 A murmur broke over the crowd and rippled to and fro ; 
 there was a great pushing movement which every one un- 
 consciously assisted. Then somebody with an incredulous 
 gasp called the name, and now many shouted it in mad 
 hysteria. 
 
 " Sun Wen, Sun Wen ! " they called, and the rafters of the 
 great hall flung back the echo of that name in a growing 
 tempest. 
 
 Willy Chang gazed open-mouthed. 
 
 It was indeed the famous person ; the man on whose head 
 a great price was set ; the man who had been hunted over 
 half the civilized globe ; the man who had been trapped once 
 
 12
 
 I 7 8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 into an embassy in a foreign land, and by means of a message 
 cast down from a window had been snatched by the merest 
 chance from his enemies and death by the slicing process. 
 
 As he realized this the young Cantonese began to call 
 madly too. His father had often told him of this man in 
 years gone by ; how he himself had once concealed him for 
 many weeks, passing him backwards and forwards between 
 his innumerable villages, so that he should not be caught, 
 and at length hiding him in a cask and spiriting him away 
 to Hong-Kong. And now this legendary person was here 
 before him his head almost in the Dragon's mouth and 
 about to speak. 
 
 The figure on the staging never moved and never smiled. 
 Silent, watchful, the man stood, the embodiment of concen- 
 trated energy knowing what he wanted and knowing exactly 
 how his end was to be gained. 
 
 At last, when silence had fallen, the lips moved and the 
 voice was heard, more as if an interrupted conversation was 
 being resumed than any new set harangue being made. 
 
 " My brothers," had remarked the speaker quietly in 
 Cantonese, " through various friends I requested your attend- 
 ance here to-night because the time is fast approaching when 
 your purses and your arms will be needed to forward our 
 cause. During long years our country has been labouring 
 under a double misfortune the yoke of a cruel Tartar dynasty 
 and the shame which the gradual surrender of our rights to 
 foreigners has brought to us. We must always remember 
 this that our misfortune is double, not single, and that 
 though we might bear the first part as a perpetual punishment 
 for our unrighteousness, such a course, because of the second 
 element, would infallibly bring the dissolution of our country. 
 We must strike, then, whether we wish it or not we who have 
 intelligence and understanding must sacrifice ourselves for 
 the good of our nation." 
 
 " You all of you know the attempts that have been made 
 by me and my friends in the past to cast off the Manchu yoke 
 notably in our home city of Canton. But each time we
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 179 
 
 have failed and have been crushed, and many patriots have 
 lost their lives. Though we grieve for these, and will sacrifice 
 to their spirits when success comes, such failures have only 
 hardened in us our resolve, and taught us that to prove 
 victorious we must act simultaneously in many places, so 
 that the enemy will be confused. We can no longer trust to 
 the resolution of the few, as has been the case in the past, but 
 must have the support of the millions. Plans are now being 
 perfected whereby all our political societies will be united 
 into one sworn brotherhood. Certain localities will serve as 
 rallying-spots when the signal is given, and so swift and 
 mighty will be the conflagration that no skill can extinguish it. 
 You who live in this rich city can lend valuable aid by 
 supporting us with money contributions, thus seconding the 
 efforts of our brothers overseas who have been ever foremost 
 in making sacrifices. In America, in Australia, in Singapore, 
 in Java, thousands are daily contributing, so that the purchase 
 of arms and the winning of allies may proceed rapidly and 
 smoothly. Already so much progress has been made that 
 the army of China is accepting our views, and many high 
 officers, including generals, believe in our tenets. Our secret 
 lists, opened now in many cities, contain powerful names 
 which would fill you with surprise. But secrecy is the watch- 
 word which we must all adopt and understand. To talk 
 too confidently, to make mention of things before the harvest 
 is ripe, is merely to parade weakness. I therefore ask you 
 all to trust in us as others do will you, my friends ? " 
 
 A confused shout answered him, only to deepen into 
 hysterical cries of " Sun Wen ! " The sound echoed to the 
 rafters and was flung back as if it had been the name of a god 
 come down to this yellow temple to ask the people to sacrifice 
 themselves and finding all willing to obey. . . . The speaker, 
 comforted by these cries, smiled grimly as a resolute man 
 struggling in a sea smiles when many ropes are cast to him. 
 Then he proceeded more quickly : 
 
 " It is not my purpose to-night to do more than give you 
 friendly greeting, and bid you be confident and hopeful. I
 
 i8o THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 am passing on to-night elsewhere I paused in my flight 
 through the country to bid you welcome and ask you to trust. 
 The future, though it may seem dark to our cause, will speedily 
 clear when ten million strong arms rise in the air like a thick 
 forest and proclaim the miraculous growth of our might. 
 Then all who are opposed to us will tremble and seek safety 
 in flight, and the ancient Chinese people, as innumerable as 
 the sands on the seashore this ancient people, industrious, 
 faithful, prolific, will reassert their former sway, and the 
 disasters of recent years will be blotted out as clouds are 
 chased away by sunshine. My friends, be confident and 
 faithful. Talk not overmuch plan and prepare. Be 
 cautious, for the Manchu has many sycophants who batten 
 on the land, and these will be willing to sacrifice everything 
 to maintain their lustful hold. Be temperate, for over- 
 indulgence weakens men and prepares them for the dominion 
 of others. Be careful with one another, never speaking 
 needlessly of coming days, for many ears are always listening. 
 Distrust the offers which the enemy may make you ; trust 
 only in yourselves. Friends, 1 take my parting. . . ." 
 
 With a ceremonious bow, repeated once, twice, thrice, the 
 figure in black remained only sufficiently long for every eye 
 to note the wave of emotion on the hard face. Then it had 
 disappeared and the tumult of shouts that was flung up and 
 down the hall did not serve to disguise the fact that the magic 
 had ceased. 
 
 Willy Chang, his heart aflame with emotion, tried to press 
 forward. But attendants were already pressing in among the 
 throng, repeating monotonously in the native phrasing : " It 
 is not allowed to stop and discuss ; it is not allowed to stop 
 and discuss." 
 
 Some one had the place in an iron, unaccustomed discipline. 
 Thwarted in his desire the young man stood irresolutely 
 until hands clasped him and voices greeted him. His two 
 young friends the self-same young men who had been so 
 absorbed in their game of morra at the dinner in the native 
 restaurant the P'eng boys, stood before him. They, too, were
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 181 
 
 now dressed like him, in native dress, with false queues and 
 little black caps, and they, too, seemed different. 
 
 " Ai, was it not great ! " they babbled, their obsequious- 
 ness gone now that their emotions were aroused. " That man 
 can do anything, anything. . . . Are you not glad you came, 
 and will you not register your name ? Join the Brotherhood ! 
 Will you not join ? The lists are open come, come ! many 
 are doing so all who have studied abroad adhere to the 
 cause." 
 
 When later he mounted the humble vehicle he had pur- 
 posely come in so as to remain unrecognized, Willy Chang 
 sank back in the seat, curiously inert, looking at the starry 
 heaven without seeing it. This was the religion revealed to 
 him the religion of revolt. . . .
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 " At fifteen, my mind was bent on learning. At thirty, I stood 
 firm. At forty, I was free from delusions. At sixty, my ears were 
 attentive to the truth. At seventy, I could follow the promptings 
 of my heart, without overstepping the Mean." " THE CONFUCIAN 
 ANALECTS." 
 
 IT remained a beautiful night. The waning moon, rid- 
 ing low in the heavens, threw a soft silver glory over 
 
 the sleeping country, and the stars, shining with that 
 effulgence peculiar to- Eastern climes, proclaimed a peace 
 that seemed almost unreal after the fierce wrath of the sun. 
 Mortiboy, who had just come home, was standing motionless 
 on the doorstep of his house, gazing at the delicate tracery 
 of the trees and marvelling at the whiteness of the beds of 
 marguerites in the moonlight quite unwilling to go indoors, 
 though the small hours had come. He followed with his 
 eyes, as he had done countless times before, the pathways 
 which twisted and curled so mysteriously into the shadows 
 as if they led to secret places which nobody had ever pene- 
 trated ; then, unable to resist the inclination, he went down 
 the steps again and began slowly walking. 
 
 He delighted in this old garden, once the pride of some 
 forgotten mandarin who had lavished upon it the care and 
 artistry which spring as much from the canons of Chinese 
 art as from a love of nature. There were fantastic rockeries 
 disposed in odd corners which dated back to days when the 
 presence of the white man had not been dreamed of, and 
 which had been left wholly undisturbed by successive foreign 
 owners, because it had seemed to each one of them that even 
 to restore their dilapidation would have been a sin. They 
 
 i8a
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 183 
 
 stood for mystery and elemental things ; they were not 
 pagan relics, but portentous symbolisms explaining the very 
 origins of native beliefs. Often on hot nights, when it was 
 impossible to sleep, it had been Mortiboy's custom to steal 
 down on to the grass and wait for the freshness which, no 
 matter how hot it might be, would inevitably come, inch by 
 inch, as dawn approached. Then, in that undisturbed calm, 
 great schemes would revolve in his head, and difficulties, which 
 had seemed immense in the light of day, would become by 
 some natural process mere rungs on the ladder of the success 
 up which he saw himself climbing. Sometimes, it is true, a 
 strange crisis would suddenly break all these unrealities into 
 pieces ; they became like the flotsam and jetsam floating in 
 a harbour after a hurricane, and there seemed very little 
 use trying to set them together again. Yet he would never 
 lose courage ; he would remain under the fantastic tracery 
 of the trees until clarity had returned. It was thus in 
 the middle of long nights that he had hatched the great 
 Development Company, perfecting every detail until there 
 was no flaw. If there were difficulties still unsolved, if there 
 were things which might still defeat him, it was because they 
 had not yet taken sufficiently definite shape. Used to facing 
 heavy odds, and confident in himself, he crossed his arms and 
 stood stockstill in a deep brown study. 
 
 The echoes of watchmen's rattles struck sharply in the 
 native manner sounded suddenly far and wide through the 
 sleeping country in rhythmical waves as if all the watchmen had 
 waked up suddenly at precisely the same moment to do their 
 duty. Mortiboy, torn from his dreams by this warning of the 
 lateness of the hour, turned on his heels and entered the 
 house. 
 
 " Hallo ! " he exclaimed in surprise. The house was 
 lighted up as if it had been full of guests, and now, as he went 
 up to a table and began rapidly scrutinizing a pile of letters, 
 he muttered angrily to himself about the stupidity of the race. 
 But the sleepy old servant, who appeared in answer to the
 
 184 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 bell, instead of standing at a distance and listening to his 
 tirade, immediately came up to him and murmured 
 something. 
 
 The effect was magical Mortiboy stood absolutely motion- 
 less. It was something he had not provided for. 
 
 Now his hand went down again to the table, and rapidly 
 he turned over all the letters. A familiar handwriting met 
 his eyes, and on the back he saw marked in pencil the hour it 
 had been delivered. Eight o'clock ! the precise moment he 
 had left the house to dine out. 
 
 He put the envelope into his pocket unread ; then, changing 
 his mind, he pulled it out again and tore it open. Frowning 
 heavily, he glanced at the few lines scrawled on a sheet of 
 note-paper. Now, without a word, he motioned to the servant 
 to turn out the lights, and watched him do so ; then he slowly 
 mounted the stairs preparing his part. 
 
 " Hallo, Ian ! what is the matter ? " came Belle Lawson's 
 voice softly from over the banisters as his head and shoulders 
 appeared. " I heard you come in, and I thought you must 
 
 have gone out again you were so quiet " She stopped 
 
 and watched him come nearer. " You missed my note ? 
 The careless creatures probably never sent it on to you, 
 although I told them to do so. I have been waiting here for 
 an eternity " 
 
 Again she stopped and watched him. 
 
 " Yes," he said abruptly, " I missed your note." 
 
 He paused and looked at her with a curious feeling. She 
 was in evening dress in black, too just as his hostess had 
 been. In ordinary circumstances he would never have 
 noticed the coincidence. 
 
 " I was reading in the hall," he went on in the same level 
 voice, carefully avoiding every other issue. " I receive shoals 
 of letters every day from all sorts of people asking me for advice 
 and help. There must have been ten or fifteen your note 
 was underneath them all." 
 
 He had come level with her now, and as she took his 
 hands he winced slightly,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 185 
 
 " What is it ? " she exclaimed. " Is it that you are really 
 angry at finding me here after what you wrote me ? Ian, 
 you cannot be so cruel ! There I will go at once if you tell 
 me! But I have something to say, something important. 
 I think you had better hear " 
 
 He made a gesture which stopped in the middle; then 
 he took a cigar from his pocket, only to put it back again. 
 
 " I am tired," he said. " What is it you wish to say ? " 
 
 He shut the door of the room they had entered and turned 
 up more lights. She saw that his manner was strangely 
 repressed ; now her lips parted as if she wished to find more 
 air. Impulsively, as she looked round, she held out a hand 
 towards some glasses laid out on a tray. 
 
 " Give me a whisky and soda," she murmured ; " I am so 
 thirsty I was out in the sun in the middle of the day, and I 
 feel so feverish I don't know what to do." 
 
 He filled and handed her a foaming glass and took a second 
 one for himself. His confidence was returning, and now, with 
 studied deliberation, he took out his watch. 
 
 " Two o'clock ! " he exclaimed. " A tranquil hour for 
 confidences. Look here, Belle, I've got none too much 
 time that I can call my own. Tell me what it is that has 
 brought you here ? " 
 
 At that her dark eyes suddenly flashed, and she moved her 
 sinuous body in a curious movement suggestive of many 
 tilings. 
 
 " You are very cool ! " she retorted. " You take every- 
 tliing for granted, including the way I've got always to suit 
 your convenience! I came here because I couldn't stay 
 away because I have something to tell you which you have 
 got to hear. It was just like that time when I went to your 
 office a year ago. Do you remember ? " 
 
 The expression on Mortiboy's face had suddenly changed, 
 and he looked at her ominously. 
 
 " Look here, Belle," he said slowly, " what are you 
 playing at to-night ? I didn't like finding you here, and 
 I like it less and less. I thought that when I last wrote you
 
 186 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 I explained matters in such a way that there was no room 
 for doubt." 
 
 For a moment they stared at each other; then, as if 
 unable to tolerate silence any longer, the woman broke out 
 sharply : 
 
 " What am I playing at ? Why, I'm playing the game 
 agreed upon long ago, which is what you ought to be doing 
 too if you hadn't gone back on what you once promised 
 if you hadn't written me that letter, if you hadn't broken your 
 word ! " 
 
 " I broke no word ! " he answered angrily. " If you only 
 came here to tell me that, there is no need to remain." 
 
 She looked at him as if she were going to make a sharp 
 retort once more; then, as if that were useless, she slowly 
 shook her head and stretched her long arms. 
 
 "Heigh-ho," she remarked, " I suppose a woman's meant to 
 give way, a woman's no use for anything at all, except when a 
 man needs her what, Ian ? Do you think that still ? Well, 
 I can tell you something you don't know, something that will 
 help you a lot if you want to be helped." She saw that she 
 had at last caught his attention, and now almost eagerly 
 she resumed: "A few days ago that Frenchman Crebillon 
 came to see me. I knew something was up the very moment 
 his card appeared ; I got Lizzie to come downstairs and go into 
 the next room, as I didn't want to have him swear afterwards 
 that something quite different had occurred. He began by 
 telling me a long story about how his interests clashed with 
 yours, and how, if you were successful, it would mean ruina- 
 tion to him. I can't remember everything he said, excepting 
 that he wanted me to be his ally, and watch you and do things 
 against you. He told me that I must not think that a woman 
 in my position had more uses than one, unless I made, an effort 
 to be something out of the common. He told me that all my 
 efforts at being charming would be very speedily forgotten, that 
 women never counted in the way that I thought they did 
 and he insulted me ! he insulted me ! the little cad ! until I 
 told him something in return. . . . Then he became furious,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 187 
 
 and left. But I had him followed, and I know where he went 
 to, and I know what he is plotting at. That is my secret, and 
 I'm not going to tell unless " 
 
 She stopped and looked at him with her eyes big with 
 emotion. But Mortiboy's face was like iron. 
 
 For a moment she hesitated as if in dread ; then it 
 escaped her : 
 
 " Mrs. Jerrins ! " she cried in a passionate voice as if the 
 name burnt her " oh, Ian, he told me about Mrs. Jerrins ! 
 and swore that it was true. I could have killed him ! 
 caught him by his measly throat and choked him to death 
 as if he had been a rat ! . . ." She gave an involuntary sob, 
 and pressed her hands against her face. "Then I got your 
 letter, in which you said that that stupid paragraph which had 
 appeared in the papers weeks ago, hinting at your possible 
 marriage with me, had made your position impossible that it 
 was necessary for you to break off with me at once, and that 
 nothing I could say would change your decision. I knew then 
 that it was true that you didn't care any more Ian ! " 
 
 She ended with a cry like that of a frightened animal ; 
 then she sat dead-still, hardly breathing, watching him in 
 open dread. 
 
 For a brief second or two a dull brick-red had stained 
 Mortiboy's face like the mark left by exposure to the sun. 
 But that soon disappeared, leaving him dull and preoccupied. 
 He sat there heavily, leaning forward and mechanically 
 opening and shutting his hands almost as if he had forgotten 
 the woman's existence and was occupied with some unique 
 problem which could only be solved by sheer hard thinking. 
 He had placed on a table beside him the cigar he had finally 
 lighted, and to her excited eyes the thin spirals of smoke that 
 floated above his head made him appear like a smouldering 
 volcano still at peace with the world, yet ready to over- 
 whelm it. She was afraid of Mortiboy ; she had always 
 been afraid of him ; she had never understood him. The 
 suspense became dreadful ; she felt that she could not wait. 
 She wished the full measure of his wrath to fall without delay.
 
 i88 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Yet he made her wait. 
 
 He turned the thing which had come to him over in his 
 mind slowly and methodically, studying every aspect carefully. 
 He knew that his position was intolerable that he could 
 only appear in an unenviable light, no matter what he did. 
 Yet as his thoughts burned deeper and deeper into his mind 
 his jaws hardened and tenderness vanished. This woman had 
 meant much to him once ; she had served to light in him much 
 that had not yet been kindled, but that fire had smouldered 
 out, and already he could taste the ashes. He knew that he 
 was guilty ; yet he had made reparation in material ways 
 given her much money. And he had told her all that was 
 necessary ; he was determined to say no more. 
 
 " Now that you have told me all that you had to say," he 
 said at last, " what are you waiting for ? " 
 
 At that she stretched out her long arms towards him in a 
 way which he had once thought endearing. 
 
 " What am I waiting for ? " she cried. " Do you think I 
 came here to-night just to warn you about Crebillon, to implore 
 your mercy, to ask you vainly to be kind to me, and then 
 to go away ? Am I your slave ? " 
 
 He answered steadily : 
 
 " When you and I came to an understanding it was not 
 a basis of affection. It was understood from the beginning 
 that you were to remain your own mistress " 
 
 " And yours too ! " she broke in passionately. " Who cares 
 what the beginning was it is the end that matters ! I have 
 been faithful to you I swear ! I have not done what I might 
 have done, and the result is that you cast me off ! " 
 
 After that outburst she fell back listlessly in her chair. 
 But soon a new impulse came over her, and she straightened up, 
 with hot tears in her eyes. 
 
 " I know what you think ! You think that I am the same 
 as the rest that I ran away with another man, and that when 
 he was tired of me there was nothing for me to do but to earn 
 my own living. You told me once that you did not want to 
 hear my story that you would stop your ears if I began telling
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 189 
 
 it, but all the same I am going to tell it to you now to-night, 
 whether you want to hear or not. My real name is Corran. 
 Corran was a journalist and I was eighteen. My father told 
 me from the very first, when he began coming round, that he 
 was an Irishman and a drinker, and that if I persisted in en- 
 couraging him he would do all sorts of terrible things. That 
 probably decided me ; I walked out of the house one day 
 and married the man." She stopped and waved her arms 
 as Mortiboy stirred. " I am not going to tire you with a 
 long story it will be over soon enough. . . . Corran was 
 everything my father had said and a little more it was 
 hell almost from the beginning. Do you understand ? hell ! 
 It lasted about two years, and then he disappeared, leaving me 
 no money at all. When I had starved as long as I could bear 
 it. I crept home and asked father to take me back. He slammed 
 the door in my face. A friend gave me a little money, and 
 I went to New York and began working at a milliner's there. 
 But I could not stand it and they told me to go. America 
 is the hardest place of all for a woman who is down. Being 
 desperate, I went back to Philadelphia and waited for my 
 father one evening outside his office. I swear this is all true. 
 When he came out it was dreadfully late, and raining, and I 
 was so cold. ... I tried to stop him, but he walked past me 
 with his hands behind his back, saying that he did not know me, 
 and would give me up to the police if I persisted in begging 
 from him. That was my father an American ! What 
 could I do ? I was in the last stage. ... I surrendered and 
 telegraphed to that Frenchwoman, Alice, who was in New 
 York recruiting, as she called it, for China. She had offered 
 me first-class all the way out and a bagful of money. That's 
 all. I hadn't been here a month when I saw you, and I knew 
 then you were the only man who could give me what I wanted. 
 Do you understand, Ian ? do you understand . . . ? " 
 
 She rose as she concluded, trying to find in his face some- 
 tiling which would give her hope, something which would 
 change the whole hideous outlook of the night. She came 
 more and more and more slowly until she stood almost
 
 IQO THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 over him ; then, with tragic suddenness, she dropped on 
 her knees. 
 
 " Ian, don't keep up," she pleaded in a hot whisper. 
 " Do anything you like, trample on me hit me. Corran 
 used to hit me I know how it feels he hit like a brute. 
 I'd sooner have that than be cast aside. Everybody will say 
 that I am a worthless creature quite worthless Ian Morti- 
 boy's cast-off girl. . . ." 
 
 He felt her hot breath in his face ; he knew that her lips 
 were seeking his. He felt old and tired and worn. There 
 was no passion of any sort in him neither anger nor desire 
 nothing but repugnance and fatigue. Perspiration formed 
 on his forehead ; he held her two shoulders in his hands, 
 but even with that it was only with a great effort that he kept 
 her back as she pressed upon him. 
 
 "No!" he said dully, holding to his point doggedly. 
 " No, don't try that 1" 
 
 She had seized him by the hands which held her. ' 
 
 " You don't want to kiss me, you don't want to touch 
 me, you don't want anything to do with me ? You are 
 
 cold, quite cold, so cold " Then she gave a sudden 
 
 gasp- and flung his hands down. Now she looked at him 
 with her mouth open and her red lips pale, as if he had 
 done some dreadful deed. " Oh," she wailed, " I am a fool 
 to the very end ! . . . That I should not have suspected 
 that I should have been so simple ! . . . You have been with 
 her . . . to-night. It's finished ... all over . . . nothing 
 left " 
 
 She rose from her knees with her face distorted with 
 passion and grief ; then, suddenly, without any warning, 
 she flung herself back on him, with mad words bubbling 
 from her lips. Her strong hands no longer sought to caress 
 him ; they gripped at his face, at his throat anywhere so 
 long as she could revenge herself. As he understood what 
 she was trying to do he gave a short, sharp cry of wonder and, 
 exerting his strength, flung her back. 
 
 For a brief second she stood looking at him, still panting
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 191 
 
 from her effort, still dazed. Then she walked unsteadily to 
 the door and opened it without looking back. 
 
 " Good-bye," she said faintly ; " good-bye, Ian, for good." 
 
 He had started up too and quickly followed her. 
 
 " Belle " he began, ashamed of it all, yet not knowing 
 
 what to say" Belle " 
 
 "Don't touch me!" she answered fiercely, turning on 
 him as he approached. " Don't touch me ! Don't come 
 near ! Do you understand ? I've lost, and it's over leave 
 it like that." 
 
 Carefully, as if she were no longer sure of her feet, she 
 went down the stairs, step by step, never turning to look 
 back, never speaking another word. In the hall she only 
 paused sufficiently long to pick up a black lace mantilla she 
 had left there. This she wound carefully round her head 
 and shoulders until she was unrecognizable ; then, opening 
 the door, she stepped out. 
 
 He still followed her, though at a distance, as if to respect 
 her last wishes, as if not daring to do more. Down the 
 carriage-drive he followed her until they had passed on to 
 the public roadway. 
 
 " You can't walk home like that ! " he protested for the 
 last time. 
 
 She did not answer, neither did she turn ; she only 
 quickened her pace. A dog in the far distance had commenced 
 barking mournfully, and towards that sound she walked as 
 if attracted by the clamour. Onwards she moved away, a 
 tall shadow, whilst behind her he stood motionless, watching 
 her until she had disappeared into this Chinese night which 
 had been the sole witness of this great irony.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 " A disciple said to Lu Chu : ' Master, I have attained to your 
 Tao. I can do without fire in winter. I can make ice in summer.' 
 
 " ' You merely avail yourself of latent heat and latent cold/ 
 replied Lu Chu. ' That is not what I call Tao. I will demonstrate 
 to you what my Tao is.' 
 
 " Thereupon he turned two lutes, and placed one in the hall and 
 the other in the adjoining room. And when he struck the Kung note 
 on one, the Kung note on the other sounded ; when he struck the Chio 
 note on one, the Chio note on the other sounded. This was because 
 they were both tuned to the same pitch. 
 
 " But if he changed the interval of one string, so that it no longer 
 kept its place in the octave, and then struck it, the result was that 
 all the twenty-five strings jangled together. There was sound as 
 before, but the influence of the key-note was gone." " THE PHILOSOPHY 
 OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 SOME time after these events the Yao girls, having 
 previously made many unsuccessful attempts to that 
 end, finally induced Mabel Willing to surrender to the 
 inevitable. 
 
 " There ! " triumphantly exclaimed Minnie, the eldest girl, 
 rushing into the room where the other two were sitting idly, 
 and brandishing a paper in their faces. " She is coming 
 at last ! Here it is written plainly on my chit-paper : ' Many 
 thanks ; will come to-day at the hour you suggest.' I said 
 four o'clock, so we have the whole day to arrange the house. 
 I am going to telephone for a lot of things cakes, chocolates, 
 flowers, ice-cream. I tell you what, we'll have champagne 
 too. I'm sure Miss Willing will like that. It will be 
 splendid." 
 
 She was on the point of rushing from the room, when 
 
 192
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 193 
 
 suddenly she paused irresolutely. Another great thought 
 had struck her, and it grew in her brain with the lightning 
 speed of the magic mango tree, which Eastern conjurers 
 produce almost instantaneously from a seed. 
 
 " Do you think we can give her presents ? " she inquired 
 presently, with the manner of a little child, her sophistication 
 slipping from her like a loosened garment. " Do you think 
 we can give her presents ? " she repeated, opening her almond 
 eyes as wide as possible. " I mean silver things. Every- 
 body seems crazy about this nasty Chinese silver, which is not 
 half as good as what they make in Europe " 
 
 " Yes ! " screamed the other two in delight at the sug- 
 gestion. " Let's give her lots of things ; then she can't help 
 being our friend ! She'll probably tell us all sorts of good 
 stories ! " 
 
 At that. Minnie clapped her hands excitedly : 
 
 " I've got it ! There's all that stuff Willy Chang sent 
 us you remember the Canton silverware from Hop Sing's 
 on the Maloo ? We've hardly opened it. If we make her 
 swear she won't tell, don't you think we can give 
 it?" 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " cried the other two again. " Besides, Willy 
 Chang wouldn't care. He's forgotten all about it it's a 
 month since he's been in his new house, and he bought those 
 things before he moved." 
 
 They were so busy thinking up all sorts of notions, and 
 talking endlessly to one another, that the hours spent them- 
 selves with marvellous rapidity. Four o'clock had arrived 
 long before it was due, and the sound of carriage- wheels broke 
 on their ears whilst they were still discussing what they 
 should talk about first. 
 
 " How good of you to come ! " they cried spontaneously, 
 as Mabel Willing came in. " You know, it is so lonely for 
 us in this big house, for we hate Chinese, and only like 
 foreigners, and so we sit all day long alone, just talking of the 
 beautiful times we used to have in Vienna and Paris, and 
 longing for them to come back. ' ' Then they threw themselves 
 13
 
 I 9 4 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 on their guest and fought among themselves for the pleasure 
 of relieving her of her parasol, her gloves, her hat. . . . 
 
 The English girl accepted this friendliness smilingly, 
 having come fully prepared to be amused until dinner-time. 
 
 " How nice you have made it," she said after the manner 
 of women, not wincing at the strange medley of greens and 
 reds and yellows which filled the three enormous reception- 
 rooms through which they were showing her. "I see you like 
 colours." 
 
 " We have colours of all sorts ! " they cried. " Do you 
 see all those yellow embroideries ? They almost match your 
 beautiful hair, Miss Willing. They're from the Palace, you 
 know " 
 
 " From Peking ? " echoed the English girl, going up and 
 fingering the rich stuffs which were quite different from the 
 European furniture, and would have made the eyes of a Bond 
 Street dealer turn green from envy. 
 
 Minnie Yao nodded. 
 
 " Yes ; from Peking. Our father's a noble, you know. 
 He can get anything he likes through the eunuchs, if he pays 
 them. These things were all made at the Imperial factories, 
 and nobody can get them except princes. We have boxes 
 upon boxes full of all sorts of things." 
 
 " Boxes of them ! " exclaimed Mabel Willing. " You are 
 lucky ! And have you seen the Palace eunuchs too ? What 
 do they look like ? " 
 
 " Just like anybody else, but rather sick-looking and tall 
 generally very tall, you know. It makes them like that." 
 
 " I can tell a eunuch almost at any distance," proudly re- 
 marked Polly Yao, who was seated on the arm of a chair 
 munching chocolates. 
 
 " How on earth do you do that ? " inquired Mabel Willing, 
 open-eyed, pinching her hands hard so as not to laugh. 
 
 " Oh, Polly, you're telling a lie ! " protested the other two 
 sisters, looking at her jealously because she was doing so much 
 of the talking. " You know you're telling a lie ! " 
 
 " I'm not ! " insisted the youngest girl in spite of their
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 195 
 
 opposition. " I can tell them at any distance either from 
 behind or in front. I could do that long before I ever got 
 into the Palace and saw them close. I always did it in the 
 Forbidden City, and our carter used to tell me I was right 
 every time." 
 
 At this Mabel Willing, hardly able any longer to contain 
 herself, burst out : 
 
 " But how for mercy's sake, how ? " 
 
 " By the way they walk ! " announced Polly triumphantly. 
 " They're just like women, you know, in men's clothes, and 
 they're so silly, they walk exactly the same way. I'll show 
 you how." She made a dive across the room, seized a fluffy 
 sleeve-dog that was wandering about idly nosing everything, 
 tied a piece of string to its collar, and then with masterly 
 mimicry pretended to be a Palace servant sauntering out in 
 the evening with a princess's pet at his heels. 
 
 When she had finished she turned and ran back, clapping 
 her hands. 
 
 " You see, isn't that good ? You can frighten them 
 easily too. I think they're so silly. I wouldn't be a 
 eunuch if I were a man " 
 
 " She's telling stories," protested the other two. " Some 
 of the eunuchs aren't silly at all ; some of them are clever 
 just like other people. They can turn the old Empress round 
 their little fingers and get Edicts issued. That isn't silly, is 
 it ? And in the Palace, you know, they do all the work, just 
 like women, only much better. They dress the hair and dress 
 the princesses, and every one has to have two eunuchs sleep 
 in the same room to make sure that they are there." 
 
 " Those embroideries are simply wonderful ! " exclaimed 
 their visitor again, picking up one and holding it to the 
 light, as the subject of eunuchs seemed to be exhausted. 
 " The needlework is exquisite, and look at the size if 
 you please 1 " She spread out on the floor an immense 
 piece of embroidery, twenty feet long, and looked at it 
 amazed. 
 
 The three Chinese girls glanced at one another. There was
 
 196 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 a world of meaning in their almond eyes which now looked 
 almost frightened. Then Minnie Yao, faithful to her plan, 
 taking her courage in both hands, said hurriedly : 
 
 " Miss Willing, we will give you one if you promise to 
 hide it on going out of the house if you swear to tell no 
 one about it ! " 
 
 " Give me one ! " exclaimed the English girl, overwhelmed. 
 " Oh, you can't do that ! I'm sure it's worth hundreds of 
 dollars thousands, perhaps. I've never seen anything so 
 fine in my life. Mrs. Macniversen has some small pieces 
 which cost fifty dollars each, but they look miserable after 
 this. I really didn't mean to beg." 
 
 " I know you didn't don't mind about that. We've 
 got boxes full of them, and can get more. Which one do 
 you like ? This one with the dragons is the best, the Chinese 
 say." She pulled a magnificent piece off a chair as if it had 
 been a rag, jerked it about, and rolled it up unceremoniously. 
 " All right I'll get some brown paper and make it up in a 
 parcel but, remember, it's a secret. Our mother would be 
 terribly angry. She hates giving things, excepting to officials, 
 who have to have presents for political reasons. Now if you 
 were only a Consul's daughter." She busied herself putting 
 the embroidery carefully away. Then, unable to contain her 
 emotion, now that that crisis was over, she came back with 
 her hands outstretched. " Oh dear, it is so nice having you 
 here, Miss Willing. It seems ages since we have spoken to 
 anyone civilized. Don't you think girls have to speak to 
 other girls if they want to be really happy ? This place is the 
 nastiest town we have ever lived in, and the people are odious. 
 We're going to ask father to let us go back to Europe next 
 spring. That complaint at the ball, after the way we were 
 treated at the races, finished us. Fancy complaining about 
 girls who have been invited by a committee." 
 
 The English girl patted her sympathetically on the hand. 
 The embroidery was an acquisition such as she had never 
 dreamed of possessing, and she felt rather sorry for these 
 lonely girls.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 197 
 
 " You must not condemn us all before we have been 
 proved guilty, my dear. Why don't you call on people who 
 have been kind to you ? " she suggested. 
 
 " We have we have called everywhere we possibly can ! " 
 replied the eldest girl, talking as rapidly as she could speak. 
 " But it is no use ! Only you and Mrs. Jacks will have any- 
 thing to do with us I mean of the nice people. I am sure if 
 we told our father he would be furious, and would have nothing 
 more to do with the place or with helping that company he 
 started. We can't understand it. There is Mrs. Macniversen, 
 for instance, who prides herself on being the creme de la 
 creme. She at least should be polite to us, since we have 
 dined at her house and her husband is associated with our 
 father in the company. But no she is always out when 
 our cards go in ! One day we did manage to get into the 
 house through a mistake, I believe, on the part of a boy who 
 used to be one of our servants and wanted to be nice. We 
 were shown into the big drawing-room, and left there for quite 
 a time alone. Peals of laughter came from somewhere near 
 by, and then a sound of talking. We stood it as long as we 
 could, and at last had to ring the bell. Fancy leaving us like 
 that ! Even the boy, when he came back, seemed astonished 
 to find us alone, and went out slowly, which showed that he 
 was afraid of what was going to happen later. After a while 
 the laughter ceased, and there was a lot of whispering. Pre- 
 sently Mrs. Macniversen came in. She was very red in the 
 face you know the way she gets after dinner and was quite 
 rude to us. Polly almost began to cry, and kept on saying 
 in Chinese that she was going by herself if we wouldn't come. 
 And what do you think ! We all plainly caught a glimpse 
 of Major Malwa through the door opening into the hall ; 
 it was Major Malwa who had been making Mrs. Mac- 
 niversen laugh so. All the while she was with us she kept on 
 glancing through the windows into the garden as though she 
 were afraid that he would get out before we had gone away. 
 She can't really have much of a hold if she feels like that. 
 It was a horrid visit, and we felt so embarrassed. Poor Major
 
 198 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Malwa ! He always seems so tired ; it must be the sound 
 of her voice her nasty voice ! " 
 
 " Her voice ! " exclaimed Mabel Willing, choking. 
 
 Minnie Yao gave a wink after the fashion of the young 
 ladies on the Vaudeville stages of Europe, which she had 
 always thought very alluring. 
 
 " Well, that is a good way of putting it," she rejoined 
 unblushingly. " Direct remarks aren't favoured here ; you 
 are so different from the Viennese. In Vienna you can say 
 anything and nobody is ever astonished. But here ! dear 
 me, just because I made a remark the other day at the 
 hotel during one of the musical dinners about something that 
 everybody thinks, you should have seen how I was treated. 
 I was told that Chinese women have no morals which is 
 proved by the way girls are willing to become concubines 
 even to old men with several other wives so long as they have 
 enough money to keep them. Fancy saying that to us when 
 we won't even look at Chinese millionaires ! But that 
 doesn't seem to matter we are judged just as if we were 
 those Shot-Tower persons ! " 
 
 Minnie Yao tossed her head scornfully, and then adjusted 
 a stray curl to show what handsome rings she owned. Her 
 two sisters, fascinated by the able way in which she was 
 laying their secret views before this sympathetic listener, 
 watched her intently, trusting that she would not lose 
 courage. 
 
 " Tell me more about Mrs. Macniversen," said Mabel 
 Willing, who was enjoying her visit beyond anything she 
 had imagined. 
 
 " We don't know any more, do we ? " said Minnie interro- 
 gatively, turning to the other two girls. " Oh yes ! There 
 is the story of our carriage-race. We must tell you that. . . . 
 She is so suspicious, you know, particularly about Major 
 Malwa ; and this meeting was rather unfortunate, I admit. 
 I must first tell you that we often drive out into the country 
 along the new roads, because the scenery is so pretty, with 
 the junks sailing up the creeks in every direction and the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 199 
 
 sails sometimes almost touching the carriage and frightening 
 our horses so that they rear and jump, silly things. One 
 day Major Malwa happened to be riding in the same direction ; 
 it was just chance, you know, because he was so surprised to 
 see us out there quite alone with him that he let his pony shy 
 and almost fell off. We had a beautiful time. He rode along- 
 side our carriage telling us ah 1 sorts of things about India 
 and the adventures he had had there. He rides so well, 
 doesn't he ? and has such beautiful straight legs with his 
 gaiters on. Well, it was just our beastly luck ! Who should 
 we meet but that nasty Mrs. Macniversen, miles beyond the 
 last houses, driving slowly and lying back in her carriage, 
 because she thought she was alone, in such an ugly way. 
 When she saw us I have never seen anyone quite so angry 
 she looked as if she would burst from rage a turkey-hen, 
 you know ! Poor Major Malwa became quite pale. We went 
 off at once as we did not wish a scene. In spite of that, she 
 ordered her mafu to drive behind us, as if she suspected some- 
 thing. That made us angry, and so we ordered our man to 
 whip up. Our horses are French and very fast she has 
 nasty Chinese ponies that look like rats scrambling along the 
 ground with their heads down, and in the end she had to 
 make them gallop to keep up. It was funny. Major Malwa 
 pretended not to know what was happening, and went across 
 fields and ditches to keep out of the way. He said afterwards 
 that he was breaking in a griffin for the paperchases, and that 
 he had a very rough time. He admitted that he came off 
 twice, having to jump on boggy ground full of cottonstalks. 
 We were so sorry for him that we stopped several times to 
 see how he was getting on, and that allowed Mrs. Macniversen 
 to catch up. But we paid her out at last. For just as we 
 were reaching town and trotting round a corner very fast, 
 a mounted Sikh policeman stopped her for furious driving 
 her ponies were really galloping, and she simply shrieked with 
 rage as he rode at them and caught the bridle. It was lovely. 
 Major Malwa wrote us a beautiful letter afterwards. He said 
 English soldiers always bore their defeats in silence. Wasn't
 
 200 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 that well put ? Now, of course, Mrs. Macniversen never 
 even sees us. Don't you think she is horrid ? " 
 
 Mabel Willing was laughing as if she would never stop. 
 
 " But I warned you about such things ! " she gasped at 
 length. " It is absurd for you to be surprised. You mustn't 
 poach on other people's preserves. Major Malwa is a 
 monopoly." 
 
 " That isn't what he thinks," interjected Polly, the 
 youngest girl, indignantly. " Major Malwa isn't that sort 
 at all." She tossed her head. 
 
 " How do you know ? " inquired the English girl bluntly. 
 " I thought you had only seen him so little." 
 
 The eyes of the young Chinese girl narrowed suspiciously ; 
 then with swift decision she shifted her ground. 
 
 " You see, we have so little to do, Miss Willing, that we 
 have time to study things what do you call it ? to analyse. 
 That is why we can tell things from trifles even the children 
 can do it out here. I can tell you things about people that 
 nobody else knows." 
 
 " You are very clever," commented the English girl, not 
 without irony, staring at this latter-day phenomenon, an 
 emancipated Chinese girl, who applies Eastern methods to 
 Western phenomena. " I am sure Major Malwa would be 
 flattered. The next time I see him I shall tell him " 
 
 " Oh, please don't, Miss Willing ! " cried the others. " You 
 mustn't listen to anything Polly says. We none of us do 
 she is always getting us into trouble by being stupid." 
 
 " Thanks ! " replied Polly indignantly. " After that I 
 shall let you do all the talking ! " 
 
 She went and stared out of the window, a doll-like little 
 thing in her white muslin dress, able to keep quiet, however, 
 and hide her secrets whilst the others talked and laughed. 
 But at length she gave such a loud exclamation that her 
 sisters asked her what she saw. 
 
 " It's Willy Chang," she remarked, " talking to somebody ! 
 Oh, it's those awful Wong girls, and they are coming here ! 
 Quick, quick, let me tell the boy we are out ! Their father
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 201 
 
 is compradore in the French bank, you know, and worth a 
 lot of money, and he has had them educated at the Convent. 
 They keep on coming here talking French to us such French, 
 too, they don't know any slang and they stay for hours 
 until every tune on the gramophone has been played over 
 four times. I don't think I can stand the Wong girls this 
 afternoon. I'm going to say we're out " 
 
 " We can't do it, Polly ! " cried the other two. rushing to 
 stop her. " It's the second time they've come this week. 
 I'm sure Miss Willing doesn't mind." 
 
 " Of course not," agreed the English girl. 
 
 " Now you'll see some fun ! " exclaimed Polly satirically as 
 the door-bell rang. " Willy Chang hates them just as much 
 as I do, and he'll not speak a word. I'm going to try and 
 make them drink champagne, and then I'm sure they will fall 
 down when they go home. Oh, Minnie, how about that other 
 parcel for Miss Willing ? Quick ! before Willy Chang gets 
 in ! We've forgotten it ! " 
 
 " The silver the silver ! " exclaimed the other two, rushing 
 across the room and pulling out a small wooden box from 
 behind the sofa. " Miss Willing, here are a few little things 
 we thought you would like Canton silver. Don't say a word, 
 don't thank us, don't open it, but remember to take it when 
 you go. See, we'll put it near the door on this chair under 
 the other parcel." Then they ran out into the hall to meet 
 the new-comers. 
 
 A long interval elapsed during which the sound of much 
 whispering reached Mabel Willing's ears. Leaning back in 
 her luxurious chair, with her parcels of presents waiting for 
 her ready near the door, she was happy in being left alone. 
 Her good fortune had thrown her into a contemplative mood 
 and made her inclined to think that this side of the life of 
 the great Eurasian city might well repay further courting. 
 These little dolls had thoughts, ideas, wishes, desires, hates, 
 inclinations, and money above all, money. She had been 
 dying to ask them about their real lives, but she had held 
 back, knowing well that to ask in the East is to get no answer
 
 202 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 worth hearing. Now, though she had not questioned them, 
 she had heard everything. Major Malwa it was almost 
 beyond belief. . . . He was evidently trifling dangerously 
 here. . . . She sat up in expectation as the voices drew nearer. 
 The Wong girls, four in number, had entered the room 
 in Indian file, treading the ground with shy, mincing steps. 
 Their little bound feet, no bigger than a man's clenched hand, 
 represented the acme of fashionable life ; for in spite of 
 their quasi-foreign education they had been carefully pre- 
 pared for the native marriage market. Their skirts, their 
 trousers, their surcoats, were all of the finest and most ex- 
 quisite silks, the products of the famed looms of Hangchow ; 
 their smooth black hair was held in place by chaplets of 
 velvet studded with seed pearls, which gave to their profiles 
 an almost Egyptian look. Their little faces, enamelled to the 
 whiteness of ivory, save for the cheeks, which were tinged a 
 deep carmine, were as small and as dainty as the faces of 
 European children ; whilst their eyebrows, darkened with 
 kohl, were shaved in the approved " knife-blade " fashion so as 
 to intensify the obliqueness of the eyes. Ear-rings of jade, 
 rings of amber and amethyst, thick bracelets of gold every 
 detail was complete as in the pictures of famed artists. Hold- 
 ing their arms stiffly beside them, they steadily advanced 
 as if on stilts. 
 
 " Bonjour, Mademoiselle!" said the first one, timidly 
 drawing nearer to the English girl. 
 
 Mabel Willing shook the tiny hand, feeling the gentleness 
 and weakness of it as she pressed it between her strong 
 English fingers. 
 
 " Bonjour, Mademoiselle ! " repeated the second girl. 
 
 In this way, carefully and methodically, just as if they 
 had been taught by the Convent Sisters, each one made the 
 stereotyped greeting and tottered to a chair. The three 
 Yao girls, talking fast in the vernacular and laughing shrilly 
 as they winked at Mabel Willing, tried to make them feel at 
 ease. It was plain, however, that a certain mechanical 
 ceremoniousness would endure during the whole of their
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 203 
 
 visit. And behind stood Willy Chang, as reserved as if he 
 were at an official reception. 
 
 " Mr. Chang, you are quite a stranger," said Minnie at 
 last, trying to make general conversation. " I suppose that 
 grand house of yours takes up all your time ? " 
 
 The young man had been looking into space. The unex- 
 pected question brought him to with a start. 
 
 " My house ! " he exclaimed. " Oh no, I have not done a 
 thing to it since I have been in it. Everything was ready, you 
 know, down to the electric fans." 
 
 "Is it that enormous red-brick place far out in the 
 country ? " asked Mabel Willing, leaning back and looking 
 at him in a more interested way. 
 
 He bowed politely, 
 
 " Yes ; but I am hardly ever in it. I have another house 
 which is more convenient." 
 
 " Nearer the gay Loochow road," suggested the English 
 girl. 
 
 The Yao girls suddenly tittered, and the beady eyes 
 of the other four maidens were fixed in an unblinking stare 
 on the young man as if to unmask the delights which he must 
 have experienced in the famed epicurean district. Surrounded 
 by this overt feminine curiosity eight girls watching him 
 silently Willy Chang only looked thoughtful and breathed 
 deeply through his nostrils. 
 
 " I never go there," he said quietly at last " that is, 
 unless I am invited, when, of course, it is different. Does that 
 street amuse you, . Miss Willing, as it appears to do most 
 foreigners ? It is far too noisy for me. The theatres are intoler- 
 able in this hot weather. They are hot enough to melt one." 
 
 " I thought you Chinese never minded the heat," said the 
 English girl, wondering how much silverware was in the case 
 she had not yet opened, and little suspecting that it had 
 originally been a present from this selfsame young man whom 
 she had attempted to tease. 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed the Yao girls in a chorus, "we all 
 hate the heat ! " And the Wong maidens, on being informed
 
 204 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 in the vernacular of the issue, vigorously agreed. Indeed, it 
 seemed plain that the hot summers had only been mutinously 
 accepted by the Chinese race during the four thousand odd 
 years it is supposed they have sojourned in the Far East. 
 
 " Mr. Chang, won't you play something on the piano ? " 
 now suggested one of the Yao girls, trying to play her part 
 of hostess in the European way. " Please, please, don't 
 say no ! Give us a cake-walk, and Polly will dance it for 
 Miss Willing." 
 
 " Not me," said Polly indignantly ; " you know I can't 
 do it in such company." 
 
 A heated discussion ensued in which manners were thrown 
 to the winds. But Willy Chang was not listening. Silently 
 he had gone to the gramophone as if the secret of keeping 
 women quiet is to make a noise greater than that of their 
 mouths. Almost at once the discordant blare of a brass band 
 playing "The Washington Post " echoed through the room. 
 
 " That makes you feel different, doesn't it ? " cried the 
 irrepressible Polly, dancing up to the machine. " I feel like 
 a good republican already a Chinese republican ! " 
 
 Willy Chang threw her a swift glance. 
 
 " Have you been reading the revolutionary literature you 
 asked me for ? " he inquired in an undertone, seeing that the 
 others were engaged. 
 
 " Yes," she replied in the same voice ; " but you mustn't 
 say that aloud, for if our father heard about it he would kill 
 me." 
 
 The young Cantonese nodded reflectively ; then in the 
 same undertone : 
 
 " Is your father taking any interest in what the news- 
 papers say ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered the girl, with an intelligent look ; " he is 
 watching them very closely." 
 
 " Has he made any remarks about what he may do to 
 them if they continue to attack the Government ? " 
 
 " No ; but he is watching and waiting." 
 
 Then, the music having come to an end, Willy Chang
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 205 
 
 went silently and fitted in another record, as if this were a 
 well-known duty of his. 
 
 " I must be going," said Mabel Willing, rising at last. 
 " I have had a beautiful time. I promise I'll come again 
 soon." 
 
 " Just one more glass of champagne ! " cried the Yao girls 
 in a chorus, for all this time they had been chattering madly. 
 
 When that had been drunk, Minnie, the eldest, took her 
 into a back-room, so that she could put on her hat and arrange 
 her parcels in peace. They remained there for quite a long 
 time talking of clothes and dressmakers. When finally they 
 were just going out of the room there came the sound of a 
 man's footsteps firm, resolute in the hall. 
 
 " Hallo, Polly ! " called an English voice which sounded 
 oddly familiar. " Sorry I didn't let you know I was coming, 
 but " 
 
 The sentence, broken in the middle, was accompanied by 
 the scuffle of a rapid exit. Minnie Yao talked as if possessed. 
 She said it was really impossible to get anything decent in 
 the place excepting tailor-made clothes, and if anyone supposed 
 that even the French dressmakers who were beginning to 
 invade the town knew how to fit a dress, they would be rudely 
 disappointed, for the people, after all, who sewed the things 
 were Chinese, and there was not a man among them who 
 didn't drop half the pins out every time, and of course if you 
 dropped the pins how could you possibly get the fit right, 
 particularly across the bust, which was so different with 
 different people except by pure chance, which had happened 
 twice with Polly and once with Jenny, but never with her, 
 which was a shame, wasn't it, for a person as careful as she 
 was, and as able to take care of herself ? . . . And so on in 
 immense unending sentences. 
 
 But her masterly strategy was in vain. For a few minutes 
 later in the hall Mabel Willing saw placed unobtrusively on a 
 chair the selfsame solar topee and the small Malacca cane she 
 had so often noticed in Mrs. Macniversen's house.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 " Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu had strolled on to the bridge over the 
 Hao, when the former observed : ' See how the minnows are darting 
 about ! That is the pleasure of fishes I ' nw.ll 
 
 ' ' You not being a fish yourself/ said Hui Tzu, ' how can you possibly 
 know in what consists the pleasure of fishes ? ' 
 
 ' ' And you not being I,' retorted Chuang Tzu, ' how can you know 
 what I do not know ? ' 
 
 ' ' If I, not being you, cannot know what you know,' urged Hui 
 Tzu, ' it follows that you, not being a fish, cannot know in what consists 
 the pleasure of fishes.' 
 
 " 'Let us go back,' said Chuang Tzu, 'to your original question. 
 You asked me how I knew in what consists the pleasure of fishes. 
 Your very question shows that you knew I knew. I knew it from my 
 own feelings on this bridge.'" " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 r T "'HE reason Willy Chang had been so absent-minded 
 
 whilst in the company of the vivacious daughters of his 
 
 chief, the Imperial Commissioner Yao Pu Yao, was 
 
 because he had so much in his head, serious thoughts about 
 
 serious problems being mixed with red-hot passion. 
 
 It was the last part that obsessed him. If it be true that 
 your Anglo-Saxon takes his pleasures sadly, it is equally 
 necessary to observe that the Oriental attacks the problem 
 of his personal enjoyment with a singleness of purpose amazing 
 as it is disconcerting. Allowing his mind to brood unendingly 
 over what he desires ; concentrating on the particular bliss 
 which for the moment seems to him to be the consummation 
 of all his dreams ; tasting that bliss continually in advance, 
 somewhat after the famed manner of the Barmecides who 
 offered their guests imaginary banquets, this man of men 
 
 slowly acquires a fixity of purpose and an aching resolve rare 
 
 206
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 207 
 
 among races of cooler blood. Then is it that crimes become 
 meaningless to him save as short-cuts leading more swiftly 
 to the desired goal. Friendships can be broken, everlasting 
 enmities made, a fortune lost, so long as the mirage dancing 
 before his eyes which he already tastes is made real. It 
 is only inevitable that such over-concentration should pro- 
 duce the amok in one environment, Boxerism in another, and 
 seppuku in a third, though these are the harsher aspects of 
 what is nothing less than the natural history of one type of 
 human soul. 
 
 Willy Chang was in love, just as much as he could be, 
 if a frankly sensual attitude can be dignified by a term culled 
 from the dictionary of idealists. This Westernized youth, 
 with the passage of time, had acquired such an aching desire 
 for Belle Lawson, merely from the casual sight of her on 
 the streets, that only the resolve to court no irrevocable 
 defeat had prevented him from going to her and incontinently 
 offering everything he possessed if only she would surrender 
 herself to his embraces. 
 
 That was the position, brutally and frankly ; that was the 
 thing imprisoned within him, the angel and the enemy, the 
 monster devouring his vitals and making him queer. That he 
 should nevertheless remain outwardly cool and collected, 
 and go about his business as if nothing was the matter, was 
 a tribute to his powers of repression, to his capacity for master- 
 ing himself, such as is not often witnessed out of Asia, where 
 silence and secrecy have altars raised to them in every heart 
 just as Carlyle once proposed should be done in stone. 
 
 No one knew anything about his secret ; perhaps that had 
 aided him to bear what was a perpetual torment. Often his 
 state of mind had been so uncontrollable that the slightest 
 incentive from without might have forced him to something 
 rash and calamitous. But success had become so essential 
 to him that, held fast as he was by the spell of his secret 
 thoughts, he had been able to resist every impulse. His plan 
 of campaign was simple ; he would strike once and win. 
 
 Meanwhile he busied himself with business and affected
 
 208 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 indifference to everything else. There was much to puzzle 
 him and keep him engaged. One of those curious interludes 
 which so often come in the East rendered the affairs of the 
 Development Company over which he was supposed to watch 
 obscure and difficult to understand. After a period of un- 
 exampled activity even the mercurial shares of the company 
 had become dull, remaining stationary at the abnormally 
 high figure to which speculation had pushed them ; whilst 
 the actual work on the concessions, long delayed through a 
 variety of causes, was veiled in growing mystery. Shiploads 
 of expensive machinery had been sent at enormous cost up 
 to the very sources of the Yangtze River into the distant 
 province of Szechuan, but somehow the energy of the foreign 
 promoters appeared to be unable to do more than that, and 
 the reputed riches lying beneath the soil continued to remain 
 undisturbed. The Imperial Commissioner, vaguely concerned 
 about the success of a venture with which he was officially 
 identified, and over which he was supposed to watch in much 
 the same way that British officialdom once watched the affairs 
 of the old " John Bull Company," occasionally asked his 
 young secretary what was the matter, and why things did 
 not seem to move, but curiously enough he heard very little 
 in reply. 
 
 Yet the young Cantonese was not as badly informed as he 
 appeared to be. He had his suspicions grave suspicions 
 but his legal training had taught him to believe only in well- 
 substantiated facts. In any case the company was indirectly 
 playing an important role it was sowing the seeds of dis- 
 content. Measuring the situation with his acute mind and 
 apprised by gossip of what was being said, one morning he 
 suddenly decided that he was in honour bound to do some- 
 thing. So, in the spasmodic way that action comes in the 
 East, before he had finished his letter- writing he left his desk 
 and proceeded to the private residence of Chu Ta Ming, in 
 a jinricksha, knowing well that that gentleman would be 
 found where his real inclination lay, and not in his Yamen, 
 where a careless Government had placed him.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 209 
 
 True enough, he found him at home, seated among books 
 and newspapers and other amusing things and viewing the 
 world from a somewhat literary standpoint, which, of course, 
 is good for the future of prose but bad for the bellies of the 
 people. 
 
 " Ha, ha, young man, there you are ! " cried the official as 
 he greeted the young Cantonese in English. " Always busy, 
 always active ! How are those sixteen wonderful Arab polo- 
 ponies getting on ? Even our newspapers are writing about 
 them look at what the ' Eastern Hemisphere ' says about 
 your extravagance and your foolish pride. It has a rather 
 learned quotation from Chuang Tzu on the subject, but the 
 compositor has made a bad mistake with the last character, 
 perhaps on purpose, in order to be satirical. Do you see ? " 
 He threw a narrow native journal, with a long paragraph 
 marked in blue pencil, across to his visitor, whom he studied 
 quizzically. " Have you got the sentence your extrava- 
 gance and your foolish pride ! Well, none of that for me. 
 Will you not come and make poetry with me some day ? See 
 how I am enjoying myself ! I am writing eight character 
 couplets on the decadence which marked the last days of 
 the Mings ! " 
 
 Willy Chang, having read the paragraph, which was very 
 rude, threw his hat and stick down with the elaborate 
 attitudinizing of the modern Chinese dandy who is always 
 bent on making effects. Then, settling the flower in his 
 buttonhole, he fell into a chair with his legs sprawled far apart 
 in a manner that was purely Western and very ugly. 
 
 " The last days of the Mings ? " he echoed airily, gazing 
 at the ceiling ; " strange, passing strange ! You sit here 
 writing of the Mings ! Why not the last days of the 
 Manchus ? " 
 
 Instantly in spite of his assurance he was sorry he had 
 spoken. For, mirabile dictu, his host had changed almost 
 beyond recognition. He was no longer a debonair dilettante, 
 playing with prose, but an outraged official of the empire. 
 Uttering a sharp exclamation, he stared at his visitor long and 
 14
 
 2io THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 sternly, as if he were an insolent inferior, showing by this that 
 something had passed which would never be quite forgotten. 
 
 " Do you know the word for what you have said ? " he 
 finally inquired in a slow, biting voice. " Treason, my young 
 friend treason death by the slicing process." Then he 
 sat stockstill, watching his man intently, as if he had a great 
 deal more to say. 
 
 The young Cantonese attempted to pass it off with a 
 laugh, which was withal decidedly nervous. For the slicing 
 process is not pretty, even to be mentioned in jest, and the 
 Manchu Throne was still a mighty thing which brooked no 
 rivalry. 
 
 " Fancy your speaking like that, in the foreign settle- 
 ments at least within a stone's throw of them ! " he exclaimed 
 at length, wondering how much this man knew about the 
 secret political ferment beneath the surface. " Mr. Chu, I 
 insist you are not flattering to our new civilization, the 
 civilization you and I represent East and West artistically 
 blended. What you proclaim might have been all very well 
 in the unregenerate days of fifty years ago. To-day . . .!" 
 
 With his spirits sensibly revived by this apostrophe he 
 waved a hand derisively at the typewriter, which even this 
 Conservative of conservatives affected for his English corre- 
 spondents. The machine stood in a business-like way ready 
 for work ; its cover was off and a sheet of paper was on the 
 roller. In the presence of such a modern convenience the 
 word just used sounded ridiculous and rococo. 
 
 The older man did not answer at once ; he was turning 
 over in his mind certain stories he had heard about his young 
 friend's nocturnal visits, for Chinese gossip unmasks most 
 things, both those which are true and those which are lies. 
 And as he turned this gossip over and over he wondered 
 whether a little more precise information might not prove 
 valuable to him. Some day, he was sure, it would be his duty 
 to denounce this young man to his chief it might be a good 
 thing to denounce him on this very count without any delay. 
 The Cantonese were always too independent, too apt to take
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 211 
 
 startling views. They must be crushed. There was not the 
 slightest doubt that if they were not firmly handled they 
 would make the country intolerable. And because he was ex- 
 hilarated by these thoughts he amiably smiled on his visitor 
 after the manner of his countrymen, who love subtle flanking 
 movements rather than anything so rude and coarse and 
 stupidly costly as a direct frontal assault. 
 
 " You seem fascinated by that typewriter," he remarked, 
 following the young man's eyes and purposely forgetting 
 everything else for the time being. " Are you fast on the 
 machine ? " 
 
 " Am I fast ? " exclaimed Willy Chang, glad of an oppor- 
 tunity to show off. " Try me with a piece of dictation. I 
 can beat all the clerks in the town, I believe, although it is 
 only a pastime with me, you understand." 
 
 With that he whipped off his coat, pulled up his cuffs, 
 and seated himself before the machine with athletic vigour. 
 Chu Ta Ming, amused with the idea, and playing with him as 
 a spider plays with a fly, turned sideways on the great black- 
 wood settee on which he was sitting straddle-legged, with 
 his shoes off, and lazily upset a stack of books so that they fell 
 towards him. He selected a volume at random, and, opening 
 it in an equally haphazard fashion, asked the young man if he 
 was ready. Then he began to dictate at no slow speed this 
 pronouncement, which he mouthed as if he were declaiming it 
 before a fastidious audience : 
 
 "... Some of my readers will probably consider it 
 fanciful to attribute to theories of moral philosophy any 
 influence over political conduct. In England, speculative 
 opinion has not usually much weight in practical politics, 
 and English politicians are very apt to treat it with complete 
 disdain. Yet no one who has any real knowledge of history 
 can seriously doubt the influence over human affairs which 
 has been exercised by the speculations of Locke, of Rousseau, 
 of Montesquieu, of Adam Smith, or of Bentham. The force 
 and the intensity which the doctrine of nationalities has of 
 late years assumed throughout Europe is not unconnected
 
 212 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 with the new importance which speculative writers have 
 given to race affinities and characteristics, and something 
 of the current Radical notions about land is certainly due to 
 our increased knowledge of the wide diffusion, in the early 
 stages of society, of joint or communal ownership of the soil." 
 
 The sharp clatter of the keys, stamping these pregnant 
 thoughts on the white sheet of paper, ended almost as soon 
 as Chu Ta Ming's voice, and Willy Chang, throwing himself 
 back with a loud " Phew ! " of exhaustion, jerked off the 
 typewritten sheet with a satisfied look. 
 
 " Not so dusty, eh ? " he commented slangily, scanning his 
 work before handing it over. " Pretty long words some of 
 those, and plenty of punctuation, too but all the same I 
 averaged seventy a minute, I bet. I tell you I am good at 
 this sort of thing ! I have a new idea. In a moment, when 
 I have finished this cigarette, I bet you I will ran you off 
 something of my own composition at the rate of a hundred 
 words a minute. Ho ho, Mr. Chu, you needn't shake your 
 head so incredulously ! You can take out your watch and 
 time me. I am not such a fool as I look. I could earn my 
 living anywhere in the world typing." 
 
 With that proud boast he blew a defiant cloud of smoke 
 across the room, and gazed down at the paper in his hand. 
 Something in the text caught his attention, and now carefully 
 and painstakingly he read it through, thinking over the 
 sentences as he grasped their meaning. 
 
 " Ho ho, these are nice sentiments for you to dictate to 
 me ! " he commented softly at last. " You who called me 
 nasty names for saying something laughingly about the 
 Manchus ! What is the book ? " 
 
 " Lecky," answered Chu Ta Ming, handing him the 
 volume, and looking at him severely again " Mr. William 
 Edward Hartpole Lecky, an English gentleman, writing on 
 the immortal questions of Democracy and Liberty." 
 
 " Democracy and Liberty ? " echoed Willy Chang. Then 
 he waved his arms above his head and called in mock dread : 
 " Treason, treason ! . . ."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 213 
 
 " Not at all," returned Chu Ta Ming, increasingly annoyed 
 at the young man's sans gene. " You do not show yourself 
 very well read, in spite of your years at a university. Lecky 
 is a Conservative of conservatives, just as I am. He distrusts 
 very young men." 
 
 " Never mind," persisted the very young man, " the 
 book should be on the ' Index ' for you ; as a faithful official 
 of the empire you should ban such words as Democracy and 
 Liberty. Do you know that in Japan even ' Robinson Crusoe ' 
 is forbidden in the national schools ? It is said to contain 
 strongly socialistic ideas." 
 
 " I had not heard that," replied the other, who had taken 
 the typed page from his visitor. His face assumed a quizzical 
 expression as he read. "I see you have made several mis- 
 takes in spelling. Montesquieu is wrong, Bentham wrong 
 affinities has two f's " 
 
 " That's not fair," objected the young man, much nettled. 
 " Proper names should be excepted, and three mistakes a 
 page are permitted in speed-tests in Europe. Now I'm going 
 to do my sprint and show you what I can really do. You 
 start me as soon as I am ready." 
 
 With that, seating himself with the elaborate care a 
 maestro affects before his instrument, he prepared in every 
 possible way to give a good account of himself. When Chu 
 Ta Ming finally spoke the word the keys fell in an unending 
 roll, the carriage was tossed backwards with the hand of the 
 expert, and racing madly, with his head down and the per- 
 spiration forming on his face, Willy Chang was half-way down 
 the page and more before the timekeeper called peremptorily : 
 
 " Two minutes stop, stop ! Now let's count." 
 
 With that the young man took his work and went over 
 and sat alongside his host. Together the two counted noisily 
 and almost childishly. Twice their totals did not tally, but 
 on the third attempt they agreed. 
 
 " Bravo ! " commended Chu Ta Ming, looking at him with 
 real admiration. ' ' Two hundred and three words ! frankly, I 
 did not think you could do it. That beats the American who
 
 214 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 sold me the machine into a cocked hat, as you would say! 
 You have won ! Well done ! You can select what you want 
 over there for the forfeit." 
 
 " Thank you," said the young man modestly, resuming 
 his coat. " I think I have had all the typewriting I want 
 to-day. I believe I have wrenched my shoulder." 
 
 He squirmed a bit as if his arm really hurt him. Then, 
 with careful unconcern, he sauntered across the room to 
 some porcelain ceremoniously displayed on a delicious carved 
 black-wood table, which he examined with elaborate care. 
 There was a flambee vase which seemed to attract him par- 
 ticularly ; he leaned down and ran his nimble fingers across 
 its chaste surface, as if to discover flaws in the baking ; then 
 he turned it over to scrutinize the seal characters marking 
 the year of its making. It was evidently a very good piece, 
 which attracted him greatly ; he could not have enough of it. 
 Nevertheless, an observant person would have noticed that 
 all the while he appeared to be studying it so closely he was 
 fitfully watching Chu Ta Ming out of the tail of an eye which 
 gleamed in a peculiar way indeed, he was watching Chu Ta 
 Ming as if his life depended upon it. 
 
 For Chu Ta Ming, having finished with the counting, had 
 commenced reading the precious composition of the young 
 man the impromptu composition, as he had called it. A 
 heavy frown had settled on the reader's face, a frown which 
 twisted the eyebrows over the cunning eyes in an extra- 
 ordinary way, and made the lean skin seem like a distorted 
 mask. Hunched up on the settee the man presented a re- 
 markable figure so remarkable that Willy Chang was plainly 
 fascinated into breathless silence. The gaudy clocks, dis- 
 tributed round the room, as if to say the more the merrier, 
 ticked away noisily, oblivious of the tragi-comedy that was 
 eating up their fast seconds ; but even that sound in the dead 
 silence could not for an instant disturb the young man's almost 
 rapturous contemplation of the porcelain. 
 
 Yes, it was really amusing, he thought to himself for 
 the twentieth time ; quite hilarious, in fact, to get his revenge
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 215 
 
 in such a refined way. It had been an inspiration, a real 
 inspiration otherwise he could never have typed so fast, 
 not for a million dollars, in spite of his boast. It may be 
 pertinent to remark that he had written certain sentences he 
 had already set down that very morning in a communication 
 to a friend. Here was the remarkable text, beginning and 
 ending abruptly : 
 
 "... We are all of us highly interested to-day in a venture 
 termed the Development Company, brought into being by 
 the brains of an Englishman one Mortiboy. The success or 
 failure of this enterprise is the constant theme of our discus- 
 sions ; and if one were to believe half the stories that are 
 circulating freely in these Settlements quite as many people 
 are interested in its failure as in its success. The reasons are 
 not far to seek, though they are not so easy to believe. For 
 instance, it is actually said that a working alliance has been 
 formed between certain unprincipled foreigners and the 
 officials of Szechuan province, in order to secure at all costs 
 that there shall be tumult and riot, leading to international 
 intervention, sooner than permit a concern that is frankly 
 attempting to win for its promoters millions of money to be 
 brought to a successful conclusion. It is also said that in 
 the share speculations which such a large venture has neces- 
 sarily developed, even the promoters have yielded to tempta- 
 tion and sold to wealthy Chinese, for future delivery at enor- 
 mous profits, masses of scrip far beyond the actual number 
 issued. It is not difficult to foresee that a catastrophe " 
 
 Here the watch had stopped his indiscretions, and it 
 was precisely at this word that Chu Ta Ming had arrived in 
 his reading. 
 
 He sat with the paper in his hand as if he, too, had been 
 hypnotized. He was so much disconcerted that for once it 
 was impossible even for him an Oriental to hide it. 
 
 The cat was out of the bag the ca-t ! the cat ! That 
 was the great disconcerting, damning fact which he was 
 attempting to measure before speaking. . . . 
 
 Yet how had this leakage occurred, after he had taken
 
 216 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 so much trouble to secure that no word should transpire ? 
 He could not say, he could not guess. Written down casually, 
 as if it were nothing at all by a potential enemy was the 
 story of treachery in which he had been so largely involved. 
 And (worse thought) if it was committed to writing here, how 
 many times had it not already been communicated to others ? 
 . . . There was a certain facility of expression which did not 
 look like improvisation, even on the part of a very clever 
 young man ; perhaps the Imperial Commissioner had sent 
 his private secretary here deliberately to do this. . . . That 
 was a new and quaking thought. In China one can never be 
 sure of anything excepting the unexpected. . . . 
 
 At last he had recovered sufficiently to say in an indifferent 
 voice : 
 
 " I must congratulate you on your ability, Mr. Chang. 
 This time I have been unable to find a single mistake, even 
 in the commas ; and I have read it through again and again. 
 Somebody has indeed lost a good clerk in you. You could 
 
 undoubt edly make your way rapidly in business. As it is ' ' 
 
 Unable to control himself, he made a vicious movement with 
 his hands, almost suggestive of summary decapitation. 
 
 " What does that mean ? " inquired the young Cantonese, 
 still inwardly chuckling at the older man's discomfiture. 
 
 " It means anything or nothing it means that much 
 will depend upon chance and not upon your industry, particu- 
 larly as you have such pronounced political views." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, since the game was up, looked at him 
 angrily. 
 
 " Still harping upon that ! " laughed Willy Chang, more 
 than delighted with his morning's work and now in the 
 first good humour he had been for a long time, because he 
 had amply confirmed his suspicions by a masterly manoeuvre. 
 He took up his hat and stick. " Well, I must be going. I 
 shall tell His Excellency that everything is quiet and normal, 
 and that you are content with the way things are going. 
 I'll take that paper, if you don't mind. . . ." 
 
 He picked up the sheet before Chu Ta Ming could stop
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 217 
 
 him ; and, quickly saying good-bye, went forth with his 
 Panama hat turned down over his eyes and his cane casually 
 under his arm, wondering whether he ought not to go straight 
 to the Imperial Commissioner and tell him the truth. For 
 he was certain now that the information given him was 
 correct, and that Chu Ta Ming was among the plotters who 
 were bent on ruining Mortiboy and his friends. 
 
 But another climax the real climax had almost arrived, 
 and the dignitary Yao Pu Yao never learnt the truth. 
 
 For, coming out of the French club which was not a 
 thousand miles away he met the Vicomte de Crebillon the 
 very noble Vicomte de Crebillon in a pink mood, because he 
 had just won some money at cards, making him inclined to 
 treat everything with the levity of a very young man. On 
 spying the Cantonese he rushed up to him and shook him 
 vigorously by both hands. 
 
 " Ah, my dear Willy ! " he exclaimed, talking of many 
 things at the same time in his continental way, " where 
 have you been lately, and why are you walking around madly 
 like this in the sun and not showing your wealth to the envious 
 by driving about in a beautiful carriage ? And is the gossip 
 true that you are not going to have any more private polo, 
 because the English are so rude, and are turning your palatial 
 grounds over to a Chinese race-club which will make much 
 money, for you ? " Then, not waiting for an answer, he went 
 on : " You have been to the native city ? " He made a wry 
 face, expressive of the smells, only to add : " What a night 
 that was at your place ! The whole town talked of it. That 
 brute Jacks how he made me drink ! I have had a headache 
 ever since such a headache ! Still, I can say this it was the 
 very first time in my life that I had slept comfortably with 
 my clothes on in a long chair. When are you going to give us 
 another such eccentricity ? " 
 
 The young Cantonese, still thinking of what had just 
 happened, answered vaguely, as he twisted his cane in his 
 hands : 
 
 " Oh, I don't know. Some day when we are not so busy
 
 2i8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 over this Development Company." Then he had another 
 inspiration. " Tell me, what do you think of Chu Ta Ming ? " 
 
 " Hein ! " said the Frenchman sharply in a very different 
 voice, as if somebody had pinched him ; " so you have been 
 there ? . . . What for ? " 
 
 " What for ? " echoed Willy Chang in surprise at the 
 coolness of the question. " For no reason at all, save that I 
 had nothing to do for an hour or so. Indeed, we found so 
 little to talk about that I took to racing on his typewriter." 
 
 The Frenchman showed by his expression that he did not 
 understand, so the young man continued : 
 
 " I am rather good on the machine I was coached in 
 London by a man who could work like lightning, and I trained 
 under him for six months. Gave him fifty guineas you 
 know I am like that ; if a thing amuses me I always do it, 
 and we Chinese have nimble fingers." He held out his slim 
 hand in proof of his assertion. " Well, to make a long story 
 short, I bet Chu Ta Ming a piece of porcelain I could do a 
 hundred words in one minute. This is the result two hundred 
 and three in two minutes ! . . . Not bad, eh ? " 
 
 He drew out of his pocket the typewritten sheet as if 
 with conscious pride, and the Vicomte de Crebillon, always 
 amused at the vagaries of such a new thing as a fully Euro- 
 peanized Chinese millionaire squandering time and money, 
 yawned slightly as he took the document in his hand. 
 
 " Not bad at all, I should say ! " he exclaimed in com- 
 mendation, faithful to the Gallic principle of flattering when- 
 ever possible. " Two hundred and three words in two minutes ! 
 It is simply marvellous ! " Then, instinctively, he began 
 reading as he always read every document that came under 
 his hands, being cautious and ready to profit by such things 
 as came his way in life. Soon his expression changed, as 
 Chu Ta Ming's had changed ; he became absorbed read- 
 ing as if for dear life. Willy Chang silently observed him, 
 a mysterious smile hanging round the corners of his mobile 
 mouth. 
 
 " Well," he remarked encouragingly, as the Frenchman
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 219 
 
 seemed to have no comment to make when his reading was 
 over. 
 
 " Well what ? " answered Crebillon shortly, for he was 
 thinking hard. 
 
 " What do you think of it the typewriting ? " 
 
 " Good, devilish good ! ah, how many talents you have." 
 
 He lit an Algerian cigarette, which are much cheaper than 
 Egyptians and much stronger too. Now he gazed pensively 
 at the shipping, which was coming into view as they took 
 a turning leading down to the river-front. Long lines of 
 creaking native wheelbarrows, stacked high with cargo, 
 encumbered the roadway, the sweating coolies panting and 
 groaning as they laboured forward, straining their muscles 
 in anguish the livelong day for a mere pittance. Hawkers 
 of tea and cheap meals moved near them, tempting these 
 poor toilers with sharp cries which advertised their wares. 
 Now and again a man paused and quickly refreshed himself for 
 his unending toil under the doubtful shade of the fluffy willow 
 trees lining the roadway, and then pressed on. It was a busy 
 scene of brutalizing, enervating work. 
 
 " Rather dull these days I feel, and life seems stupid," 
 remarked Crebillon at length, as if this were a sudden con- 
 fession induced by his environment. " Look at the beautiful 
 river the cool water ! How different it is from this perspir- 
 ing population. I should like to take a trip, a house-boat trip, 
 up the Grand Canal with a beautiful lady, and get far away 
 from all this. That would be a change, a great change from 
 my stupid life of going daily to two or three clubs and yawn- 
 ing over newspapers six weeks old." He shook his head 
 dolefully, as if his penance was almost beyond his strength 
 to bear. 
 
 " Why don't you go ? You never have anything to do," 
 suggested Willy Chang. 
 
 The Frenchman laughed a little too transparently to 
 be quite convincing. But the young Cantonese was off his 
 guard and noticed nothing. 
 
 " The answer is sad, so sad ! Yet, I will tell you frankly.
 
 220 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Because the beautiful lady is missing, or rather, I should say, 
 because the beautiful lady refuses to go with me. You must 
 know that I am a poor man." 
 
 " Not judging by the way you gamble at cards. You 
 always want to double the stakes ! " laughed his companion. 
 
 " Ah, that is a vice," said the Frenchman, as if that ex- 
 plained everything. " It must not be taken as an index to the 
 condition of my pocket-book. Now, if I were as rich as you ! " 
 
 " Then what ? " 
 
 " I should not be walking here in the sun, risking to per- 
 petuate my bad headaches, I assure you ! " He adapted the 
 thought which had come to him with lightning rapidity. 
 " Why don't you amuse yourself, why don't you go a trip, 
 instead of bothering your head about this blessed, stupid, 
 impossible Development Company ? " 
 
 " With whom ? " smilingly inquired the other, falling into 
 the trap as easily as his interlocutor had fallen into his. 
 
 " Why, with the beautiful lady with Belle Lawson, for 
 instance," said Crebillon coolly. " You must have heard 
 the gossip Mortiboy has thrown her over. Somebody will 
 pick her up if you don't." 
 
 Instantly the colour stained the face of the young Can- 
 tonese as if he had been struck. He had been thinking of 
 other things, talking innocently for a few minutes whilst he 
 vaguely brooded over the extraordinary similarity between 
 the emotion of Chu Ta Ming and that of Crebillon on reading 
 his typewritten remarks. But now everything was forgotten ; 
 passion boiled through his eyes, which glittered ; the volcano 
 was alight ! He was not in the slightest angry at the shame- 
 ful association of ideas which Crebillon had been pleased to 
 make, as a European of his class would certainly have been. 
 There he showed certain ineradicable racial differences. 
 
 " Go away with Belle Lawson ? " he at last said in a thick 
 voice, as if he were drunk. " Do you think she would do it ? " 
 
 " Try her," said Crebillon roughly, in the tone of a night 
 bully. " Offer her a big sum and diamonds lots of them 
 those diamonds you have been buying from that black man
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 221 
 
 Banner jee Sannerjee. Play your cards properly you have 
 nothing but aces and kings and queens. And talk talk like 
 a poet . . . ! Look here, I must go. Good-bye." 
 
 He walked rapidly away, knowing well how any hint of 
 this infamy would be taken among men of his race. But 
 desperate measures had become necessary. Willy Chang 
 knew too much which is the excuse for most bad things 
 in this world. 
 
 And Willy Chang ? 
 
 He stood there looking after the retreating figure of the 
 Frenchman stupidly, as if the last few words had stripped 
 from him his power of volition : he was in a daze almost in 
 a swoon. For he desired Belle Lawson so greatly from the 
 mere action of his inner thoughts that to have the idea pro- 
 pelled brutally against him from without was like receiving a 
 sharp blow on the head. 
 
 He began to tremble as his resolve hardened, his face 
 became paler and more Oriental ; then, suddenly making up 
 his mind, he hailed and jumped into a rattletrap street-jin- 
 ricksha that had been hovering near him, hoping that he 
 would succumb to its doubtful attractions. He must act 
 quickly before his resolve left him. 
 
 He ate some food, he was sure he ate, though he had 
 no memory of it, because later he found crumbs of bread 
 on his pongee suit when he was pressing his arguments. He 
 bathed his face again and again (that he remembered) to 
 cool the fever that was burning him up. Then early in the 
 afternoon, when the sun was still piercing, he set out once 
 more for the house by the creek the house he passed so often 
 and dared not enter. 
 
 He rang the door-bell boldly now, and, after the Eastern 
 manner, pressed a munificent gift into the hands of the aston- 
 ished servant before he even spoke. As he told his wants 
 in the vernacular the man's eyes glittered, and he let him in. 
 It was going to be a question of money, entirely an affair of 
 money. If necessary he would spend all he possessed. 
 
 He sat down in the drawing-room in a daze, hoping against
 
 222 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 hope that fluent speech would come to him in this his hour of 
 need. He must be eloquent it was essential that he should 
 be eloquent. Yet he felt tongue-tied, dumb, struck silly. 
 
 Then, before he could collect himself, the door opened, and 
 Belle Lawson entered. A strange look of curiosity was on 
 her hard, handsome face ; he noted with a gleam of satisfac- 
 tion that a string of gold beads he had sent her, without any 
 clue, a few days before, was in her hands. 
 
 "Mr. Chang!" she exclaimed, "to what am I indebted 
 for this visit ? And, see, it must be you who sent me these ? 
 I found them laid on my dressing-table, after I had written 
 you that you must send nothing again ! " 
 
 She continued to eye him curiously. She had heard 
 many stories of his extravagance, his sumptuous house, and 
 she wondered what his coming meant. 
 
 The youth bent his hands together in desperation, fearing 
 from her voice that all would be in vain. Then he began to 
 speak, surprised at the sound of his own voice, surprised at 
 the ease with which he stated his thoughts. 
 
 " I would have come before to you," he said slowly and 
 carefully, enunciating his words with distinction, " only that 
 I have been afraid afraid of having my hopes eternally 
 mined. Ah, you must know from the first evening I saw 
 you how I became in spirit your humble servitor, your faithful 
 slave. The small presents you were good enough to accept 
 from me at first, although lately you forbade me to send more, 
 kept ah' ve in me a faint flame of hope, which has been fanned 
 to a great furnace by the mere sight of you driving in the 
 afternoon. I know that it is useless to dream impossible 
 things ; yet I believe that far away from here it might be 
 feasible for us to meet to see each other. Do not be angry. 
 . . . Speak but one word." 
 
 She had listened to him talking in this strange way with 
 open curiosity, her lips parted, her eyes fixed on his. But 
 now he saw that, mixed with her woman's pleasure at his 
 great adulation, there was repugnance plain and unmistak- 
 able. This was what he had come for this ! .
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 223 
 
 She resolutely shook her head. 
 
 " What you ask is impossible," she said in a cold, 
 hard voice " impossible, quite impossible. You must know 
 that." 
 
 Yet now he took courage and proclaimed valiantly in 
 imitation of something he had once read : 
 
 " Impossible ! that word is not found in the lexicon of 
 youth impossible is a word for failures ! My road is bright 
 and lighted. You have been made unhappy and tearful 
 I will make you happy and full of laughter. A little word 
 from you is all that I ask speak, speak ! " He stretched out 
 his slim hand as a woman might have done. 
 
 Again she shook her head, marvelling at his persistence 
 and the poetry of his manner, and asking herself whether it 
 was chance that brought him here at such a time as this. 
 
 " Yet why should you not come ? " he continued, as if 
 arguing impersonally. ' ' You are surely not too devoted to this 
 place " his hand swept round the room with a tinge of irony, 
 for the taste was of a peculiar world. " Here you are confined 
 as in a cage let me open the doors so that you may fly into 
 the free, happy world. It is a matter of a little resolution, of 
 refusing to act as if your liberty, your will-power, had been 
 taken from you, and you yourself doomed to gloom. Come, 
 I say, come ! " 
 
 Once more she shook her head, but that no longer abashed 
 him. For now he saw reluctance shining in her eyes. She 
 had understood what he had implied rather than said that 
 he was offering her a new life for her old life presenting her, 
 perhaps, with everything he owned. 
 
 Then he leaned forward, and his vibrating voice filled 
 the room as eloquence possessed him. 
 
 " Listen to me ! It will be wonderful if you consent, won- 
 derful, wonderful! You only know this odious town, this 
 Philistine's abode, which mocks our culture and all our race. 
 I have to go away soon for something important. Come with 
 me come, come, and I will show you the people and the land. 
 ... I will take you to rose-gardens where girls robed as
 
 224 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 boys play on lutes of jade, and painted women, hidden behind 
 lacquer screens, sing the antique songs of the Book of Odes. 
 We will lie on divans of precious black-wood and drink from 
 dainty porcelain the jasmine tea. Our eyes will rest on ponds 
 full of great lotus-flowers jewelled in dew, and gold fish will 
 dance beneath those placid waters until it seems as if the 
 riches of the world had been spilled within. Sandal- wood, 
 prepared in ways that old men know, will spread fragrance 
 and pleasure for you and me. . . . Bronze incense-bowls, 
 costlier than gold, silks and satins, paintings and ivories, 
 all shall be brought you, and what you desire you shall take. 
 All shall you have all, all, I swear ! . . . We will leave the 
 narrow world behind and travel into a world of dreams, made 
 real by the work of artists. Then, when we can dream no 
 more, we will wander, you and I, hand in hand, to the Temples 
 of Silence, set in the wooded hills behind the lakes, and listen 
 to the ringing of hidden bells, and watch peasants sacrifice 
 to the Splendour of God before great idols of clay " 
 
 He paused, breathless from his improvised rhapsody, his 
 rich medley of words. The madness that was in him had 
 talked through his willing mouth ; he was great, he was 
 inspiring ! His black almond eyes had narrowed as a cat's 
 eyes narrow from the fierceness of the light at the midday 
 hour ; his dark skin shone as satin shines with its curious 
 even sheen. At intervals his thin tongue moistened his dry 
 lips, disclosing beautifully even white teeth, whilst the long, 
 tapering fingers of his delicate hands were never for a moment 
 quiet. Yet though he was mad, though passion had swirled 
 through his brain and out of his mouth, he watched the woman 
 as a cat watches a mouse, never moving, never faltering in 
 his stare. The thing was before him at last within his 
 grasp subjugated his very own and he would never let 
 go so long as he had life ! 
 
 Belle Lawson captivated, almost hypnotized by these 
 burning eyes, this fervent voice had turned ever so slightly. 
 Now her gaze seemed to pass slowly and reluctantly from 
 his features to his feet. Up and down the youth her eyes
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 225 
 
 wandered ; she looked at him curiously- strangely, as if he 
 were a distant object a vapoury thing, something hard to 
 see, though he was, in fact, here beside her almost touching 
 her pleading. . . . 
 
 " You're a Chinaman," she said petulantly at last, as 
 if she could not dismiss the thought. " You're Chinese, you 
 know," she repeated morosely. 
 
 Even at that he did not flinch save that for one brief 
 moment the eyelids veiled the eyes. But almost before she 
 could note this signal of anger, he had commenced to speak 
 again, more softly than before, as if to a petulant child needing 
 much humouring and never the use of chiding words. 
 
 " There are many beautiful things in this country still. 
 My father is rich so rich ! You must love beautiful things 
 because you are beautiful yourself and tall and straight and 
 good. I know of many things that the foreigners have 
 never heard of, though they have been prowling the country 
 and seeking to rob us of all our treasures these many years. 
 There are things hidden away, buried wonderful things that 
 escaped the Mongol hordes eight hundred years ago, just as 
 they escaped the Manchu conquerors in the seventeenth 
 century. We who traded with the Romans before Chris- 
 tianity was known ; we who sold the silks that clothed the 
 Caesars and their wives we, I say, have priceless gems in 
 our secret storehouses, beautiful stones, pearls and rubies, 
 sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds like this ! " He swiftly took 
 a case from his pocket and showed her a magnificent gem. 
 
 " Diamonds ? " 
 
 As she uttered that word Belle Lawson sat up with a 
 feverish look in her eyes. Her hands, till then nervously 
 toying with his string of beads, were now stretched towards 
 him almost pleadingly, as if she tearfully solicited these 
 marvels of which he spoke. Her willowy body, following 
 this movement instinctively, inclined towards him too ; she 
 was ready willing to succumb. Yet, like the consummate 
 artist he was, he never moved : he sat stockstill, watching her 
 closely. 
 
 15
 
 226 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Yes, diamonds," he said finally, in his vibrating voice ; 
 " big diamonds, wonderful diamonds Koh-i-noors, Mountains 
 of Light. They shall be yours if you will become mine. . . ." 
 
 Her lips moved as if in soundless argument, then petulantly 
 she surrendered. 
 
 "For diamonds big diamonds I will do it," she said 
 abruptly. 
 
 For the first time he showed emotion. The colour shot 
 into his pale brown cheeks and remained there his eyes at 
 last opened boldly and defiantly. 
 
 He took her hand. 
 
 " I will come to-morrow with my first presents," he said, 
 " and tell you where we shall go. I will come in a closed 
 carriage and we can go away together." He mentioned the 
 hour, and rose. " Now I leave you to morrow we meet 
 again, not to part." 
 
 He went from the house in no hurry, neither did he go 
 leisurely ; his pace and manner were the same as they always 
 were, only, instead of entering his carriage, which was drawn 
 up a little distance away, its handsome horses pawing the 
 ground, he motioned to the driver that he did not need his 
 services, and turning in the opposite direction, he made his 
 way through the flower-beds towards one of the river bridges, 
 near which the new giant factory was fast rising. But ere 
 he reached the bridge he paused and picked a pretty flower, 
 and, lifting it to his nostrils, carefully smelt it as if he needed 
 its fragrance. . . . 
 
 She observing him from her window, hidden behind a lace 
 curtain, saw the action and wistfully smiled, though her 
 bosom still heaved with emotion. The thing was Eastern 
 and soft, almost womanish, tender to women ... Had he 
 only been of another race ! . . .
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 " Get rid of small wisdom, and great wisdom will shine upon you. 
 Put away goodness and you will be naturally good. A child does not 
 learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, but because 
 it lives among people who can themselves speak." " THE PHILOSOPHY 
 OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 " T AN, Ian, where have you got to ? " 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins, standing on the deck of the massive 
 house-boat, shaded her eyes with one hand and gazed 
 intently in the direction she had called. Tall reeds, fat with 
 summer's richness, hid both banks of the narrow feeder-canal 
 up which the boat was progressing. The towing-rope, pulled 
 by unseen trackers, made an unending, soft, swishing sound as 
 it broke over the reeds, sometimes becoming so entangled 
 that a bronzed figure of a man, standing motionless on the 
 bows with a long pole ready, sprang to life, and beat the 
 obstruction away. Occasionally, however, even that was 
 not enough. A clump of trees, growing low on the water's 
 edge, would make it impossible for the hidden trackers to keep 
 to the towing-path. Then, for a few brief moments, as they 
 shortened the rope, they became visible from the house-boat, 
 clean-limbed athletic men, naked as Adam before the Fall, 
 save for small open jackets scarcely reaching their waists. 
 Into the warm, tranquil water they plunged, wading round 
 the obstruction with much splashing and many laughing 
 comments, as if they were revived and exhilarated by this 
 spasmodic bathing ; then, scrambling up the greasy bank, 
 they hauled their rope taut again and disappeared. The 
 house-boat, swinging heavily after them, was their prisoner ; 
 they did with it what they willed. . > t . : 
 
 aaj
 
 228 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Ian, Ian, where have you got to ? " called Mrs. Jerrins 
 again. Now, as there was again no answer, she turned with 
 a sharp order. 
 
 At once the captain of the pleasure-craft gave a lusty 
 shout, and the hidden trackers abruptly stopped their hauling. 
 The man on the bow started coiling up the wet tow-rope as 
 it slackened and dragged in the water ; and presently the 
 lowdah, picking out a likely spot with the eye of an expert, 
 let the house-boat run her big square nose into the soft mud. 
 Now a gang-plank was run out, and the trackers, appearing 
 suddenly from behind the reeds like furtive savages, waded 
 knee-deep into the water and held the boarding firm, whilst 
 they gazed up and studied that ever-interesting phenomenon 
 of European woman with unblinking eyes. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins walked severely on shore. Making her 
 way through the paddy-fields, which closed in on the canal 
 from every direction, she at last came to some ancestral 
 grave-mounds marked off and preserved from the cultivated 
 land by clumps of weeping willows. With a knowledge born 
 of long experience of the country she scrambled up the largest 
 of these graves, and standing there she began calling anew and 
 waving her green parasol. 
 
 At last her persistence was rewarded. There was a distant 
 hallo which made her smile, and then a warning shout in a 
 high native treble. Almost immediately the sharp crack 
 of a fowling-piece once, twice. Another pause, two more 
 shots, and again silence. Mrs. Jerrins waited patiently. 
 She knew that the sportsman, still lost in the reeds, was work- 
 ing his way back to her, trying to keep to the line of the canal, 
 but in the excitement of the game his topography might get 
 mixed, and then she stood in danger of being peppered. 
 
 " Sorry to keep you waiting," suddenly came a voice 
 surprisingly near. 
 
 Now, only fifty yards away, Mortiboy scrambled out of 
 the heavy vegetation and shook himself like a big dog. He 
 was wet up to his waist ; green slime and broken reeds adhered 
 to him from his sun-helmet to his shooting-boots ; his face was
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 229 
 
 bathed in perspiration ; but he was as happy as men only are 
 when they are in close contact with nature killing things. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins began laughing. 
 
 " What a sight ! " she called, waving to him. 
 
 " Hot work," he replied, taking oft his helmet and mopping 
 his forehead as he drew near. " The snipe are quite mad this 
 morning. I have been running into great whisps all the time, 
 only to lose them in these infernal reeds. There are a lot of 
 duck too." He turned and called to the half -naked men 
 who were beginning to emerge in the middle distance. 
 " Finish, finish ! get those dogs in and stop 'em ! Savvy ? " 
 
 Heavy barking fell on their ears as the dogs, whistled 
 to and chided, scrambled in and out of the water, refusing 
 to give up the enthralling game. At last, however, they 
 were secured and chained, and Mortiboy turned to go. 
 
 " The stickiness of these clothes ! I must get them off 
 at once ! " 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins looked at her watch and gave an exclamation 
 at the lateness of the hour. 
 
 " We must hurry if we are going to reach the lake to- 
 night. It takes at least three hours from here, you said, to 
 the launch, and then another six along the Grand Canal. 
 We have got to hurry, Ian." 
 
 " Only ten minutes more, I promise you," he rejoined, 
 beginning to take things out of his pockets. " If you will 
 sit down for just ten minutes I will get in and out of this 
 muddy water." 
 
 He went off with strong, rapid strides. Mrs. Jerrins, 
 once again abandoned to her own resources, let herself 
 cautiously down on to a tumbled gravestone, looking all the 
 while for lizards and other crawling things. Now with her 
 green parasol over one shoulder, and her strong white hands 
 clasped together over the handle, she sank into a reverie. 
 Around her the cicadas were calling their endless summer 
 song, and the morning breeze, gently stirring the fast'ripen- 
 ing fields of rice, brought with it a sense of peace and 
 contentment.
 
 230 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 A week had gone by since she had done this audacious 
 thing flung discretion to the winds and come quietly up- 
 country with Mortiboy ; a weekwhich had gone by as smoothly 
 and as delightfully as do all things stripped of dull care. It 
 had been seven days of rising late and dallying much and 
 going to bed ; seven days of slow, gentle travel up these 
 silent canals which pierced the country in every direction, 
 and which lead to walled cities so many native Venices 
 still living and thriving from a water-borne commerce carried 
 on by craft that had not changed one little whit in the six 
 centuries since Ser Marco Polo first saw and described them. 
 It had been a beautiful time, an unbelievable time, one of those 
 experiences which are dreams come true, and which can only 
 happen once in a lifetime, unless, of course, one is a Fortunatus, 
 different from the hero of the Italian tale by Straparola and 
 therefore able to pick and choose from the good things the 
 world offers just as often as one pleases. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins was not a bad woman ; no one is bad who 
 does not seek to harm others. But she had been a lonely 
 woman for a number of years ; she had never really had 
 anything to please her ; and in her isolation she had therefore 
 not so very strangely once sought consolation in a habit 
 which was certainly a vice. But she had cast that from her 
 by a great effort, and because of that she felt that she owed 
 herself reparation that was her point of view. Human flesh 
 and blood acting upon our flesh and blood, hands clasping us, 
 arms embracing us, lips kissing us that was what she under- 
 stood by reparation, and she had sought and found it. This 
 is not any gospel of sensualism ; do not believe it ; it was 
 merely the doctrine of common sense paraded without clothes. 
 Self-abnegation as a monstrosity, religion as a pis alter, cold- 
 ness as a crime, when will these be understood ? Emotion, 
 enthusiasm, and candour, these are the three elements which 
 have created the world which make the world worth living 
 in, and which had been denied her. What consolation could 
 there be for her in her husband, a weak, collapsed man whom 
 she had married in her teens ? She might as well have sought
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 231 
 
 inspiration from a- grammar-book or beauty in a dustheap. 
 She was wilting under that influence, slowly dying a moral 
 death. She had left the miserable outport where she had 
 lived so long, determined to find a different life, somewhere 
 and somehow. Then Mortiboy had looked at her, and she 
 had embraced her opportunity. That was all the Alpha and 
 Omega the beginning and the end. 
 
 She dropped her parasol to the ground and began stirring 
 with the metal point the crumbling earth covering the dead 
 beneath her feet. 
 
 How near that it had once been for her near the dried-up 
 finality such as had overwhelmed these poor souls, covered 
 by little mounds of crumbling earth. She remembered 
 dreadful days in years gone by which seemed like evil dreams, 
 when she had been alone so absolutely alone that eternity 
 was explained to her as a cruel, everlasting silence. She 
 almost shivered in the warm voluptuous air as she remembered 
 what she had once borne, though happiness was now within 
 such easy call, busily splashing, in fact, in the little feeder- 
 canal to the sound of manly grunts of satisfaction. It is easy 
 enough for moralists to proclaim universal solutions, to say 
 that this was not right and indeed very wrong, but real 
 salvation has to be sought and found by very different 
 standards, as all who live in isolation, surrounded by alien 
 influences, well know. There was Mrs. Macniversen, of course, 
 who proceeded to the enjoyment of her fancies much as she 
 passed the hour a week with the Italian hairdresser whom she 
 employed to beautify her head. A little self-indulgence and 
 a little false hair, but not too much of either, for fear of what 
 others might say, that was the approved way. How cruel, 
 how truly false! Mrs. Jerrins hated it all. Yet she knew 
 that it was precisely by such people that she herself would 
 one day be judged, and no mercy shown her unless she proved 
 herself stronger than them. 
 
 She rose to her feet, frowning in sudden discontent, and 
 made her way in her deliberate manner towards the house-boat, 
 determined to reflect no more. As she appeared on the bank
 
 232 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 of the canal, Mortiboy, now dressed in spotless pongee, came 
 forward to assist her on board. The tow-rope, paid out by the 
 deck-hand, tightened as the trackers ran forward, and the 
 heavy house-boat, obeying the rudder, swung forward once 
 more into midstream. 
 
 " What have you been doing ? " he asked with curiosity, 
 after a pause. " It's nearer half an hour than ten minutes 
 since I left you." 
 
 " Thinking," she answered thoughtlessly. Then she sank 
 into a canvas deck-chair beside the breakfast spread on the 
 low table, and commenced pouring out coffee with an air of 
 abstraction. 
 
 He had stopped short in what he was doing and was now 
 looking at her doubtfully. 
 
 " Hum," he murmured at last, " I thought we agreed not 
 to indulge in foolishness when we started. I thought we 
 were going to take things just as they came, and let all 
 reflections go to where they belong." He fingered his 
 chin, as if it tingled from the effects of shaving, and then 
 gazed at the green reeds that were defiling so slowly and so 
 endlessly. 
 
 " That was a week ago," she rejoined. 
 
 He looked at her sharply as he took up a cup. 
 
 " Getting tired ? " he queried laconically. 
 
 " I don't think I should ever get that." 
 
 " Well, then, what ? " he asked, turning round to look at 
 the canal as he spoke. 
 
 The house-boat had entered a broad reach built in olden 
 times so as to allow big craft to anchor in tiers at night ; and 
 the trackers, obliged to slacken towing, had come back with 
 loud shouts of explanation and much waving of arms. 
 
 " I don't know what," she replied at length when the 
 captain of their craft had solved the problem. " In any 
 case, you should never ask a woman questions when she is 
 inclined to be sentimental. You should tell her things she 
 wants to hear." 
 
 At that he laughed, almost boyishly, and instantly her
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 233 
 
 eyes took on a new look. He always gave her a new sense of 
 confidence. 
 
 " I am too hungry to be eloquent," he rejoined. " Let 
 me eat ! I will be sentimental when the sun has gone down 
 and there is nothing more to see." 
 
 " Nothing more to see ? " she echoed reprovingly. " Did 
 you not tell me once that the night is more wonderful than 
 the day ? " 
 
 " But not more wonderful than this ; sometimes I think 
 it is sheer decadence to belittle the day." 
 
 He pointed down the canal, which wound away in delicious 
 curves of unbroken greenness. The azure sky and the blazing 
 sun were hidden by the white awning which pressed down close 
 on them ; there was nothing to be seen but the canal and the 
 reeds and the rice-fields, and the lazy black water-buffaloes 
 wallowing in the mud, and the little red shrines raised high 
 on brick-and-wood stagings so as to be protected from the 
 floods. Through this landscape they moved peacefully and 
 gently, with not a sound save the ripple of the water against 
 their boat and the swishing of the tow-rope. 
 
 " Not a soul in sight," she murmured ; " not a living soul 
 but our trackers ; we are quite alone, just you and me. 
 Look at the big brown fellow plunge into the water almost as 
 if he wanted to swim. I could go on like this for ever." She 
 sighed in her contentment. 
 
 " And yet," he began quizzically, " just now you seemed 
 a little tired." 
 
 " Only reflective," she answered, smiling at him and 
 putting out her hand ; " you are often that." 
 
 " Am I ? " he asked, gazing at her approvingly. 
 
 " Yes ; and when you are like that you are as gruff as a 
 bear." 
 
 " That is not very complimentary." 
 
 She smiled because he looked hurt. 
 
 " Isn't it ? Do you want me to be complimentary ? " 
 
 " Of course all men are vain ; you have told me so." 
 
 " That is true," she said.
 
 234 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 She let her hands drop and stared for a long time in silence 
 at the slowly changing scene. A great procession of mul- 
 berry trees, closely planted and very leafy, proclaimed their ap- 
 proach to a silk district, where a vast population had laboured 
 without a break since before the Christian era at the raising 
 of precious cocoons. 
 
 " Do you know that you talk in your sleep ? " she remarked 
 suddenly. 
 
 He had sat up and was watching her narrowly with some- 
 thing new in his manner. 
 
 " I talk in my sleep ? " he exclaimed at last. " I 
 have never heard that before." 
 She nodded. 
 
 " You began talking last night so loud that I thought 
 you had gone out on deck and were rating that stupid old 
 laodah about the way he runs the boat. I tried to get to sleep 
 and not to listen, but something woke me, and I listened against 
 my will. Then, what do you think it was ? Do not look 
 so alarmed. . . . Nothing surprising, no secrets of the tomb, 
 but just the same old, old problem, that mighty enterprise 
 of yours. You kept on saying again and again that you would 
 not give way, that compromise was not in your nature, and 
 that nothing would prevent you from carrying out your 
 original plans. You became so angry, oh, so angry ! I 
 almost believed that you were awake, except that you 
 mumbled so, and that every now and then you stopped and 
 groaned. Ian, it was the most uncanny performance. If I 
 had been a nervous woman I do not know what I might not 
 have done." She turned and looked at him, half laughing, 
 half serious. " What made you go on like that ? what is 
 worrying you ? " 
 
 " The Chinese," he said gloomily. " The Chinese 
 always the Chinese. Do you remember that first evening 
 when you put your finger on the one weak spot ? You can 
 go a certain distance here with such ease, with such pleasure, 
 with such a feeling of success that you are led to believe that 
 this is the country of all others in which to do great things.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 235 
 
 You are convinced that all the men before you have been great 
 fools, without any common sense at all, and that they have 
 mined their plans by not paying attention to prejudices and 
 old customs ; you firmly believe that you alone have dis- 
 covered the sure and simple key. Then, just when you have 
 made up your mind to that, comes the inevitable dead stop 
 the absolute impenetrable barrier composed of a hundred 
 conflicting interests and at least ten thousand subtleties. The 
 harder you push the tighter you lock the obstacles together, 
 until what might have been perhaps slowly disentangled, 
 had you possessed the patience of Job and the cunning of a 
 Hindu, is as solid and as indestructible as the Great Wall 
 itself." He gave a short, mirthless laugh. " Am I not eloquent 
 just like your friend Chu Ta Ming ! Well, I have done every- 
 thing possible to make my enterprise a success ; I believe it is 
 going to be a failure." 
 
 " A failure ? " she exclaimed, starting up in open alarm. 
 " A failure ? You say that ? Oh, how is that possible ? 
 You have made me rich beyond my utmost dreams when 
 you sold my little holding at such an immense profit. How, 
 after that, can things be so wrong ? I don't understand." 
 
 He only smiled, comforted perhaps by her confidence in 
 him, but not by her arguments. 
 
 " What a head you have for business ! " he rejoined. 
 " You would ruin the most flourishing concern as quickly 
 as any other woman, in spite of your common sense. I had 
 forgotten all about your few thousand pounds. There are 
 millions involved, and we make no progress no progress at 
 all!" 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Why ? " he repeated, thinking so hard that he frowned 
 and looked exactly as she had seen him the first time they 
 had met. " I don't know why that's the trouble. Isn't that a 
 convincing manner ? To be at the head of affairs, to control 
 everything, and not to know why ! There is a peculiar kind 
 of humiliation in that, the sort of thing one meets out here 
 all the time, but that one is not supposed to talk about. New
 
 236 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 difficulties arise at every turn. First it is the provincial 
 viceroys, then it is our own engineers, then the diplomats at 
 Peking always a new leak to be stopped, always something 
 wrong. China would take the heart out of a bull ! And I, 
 who could make a fortune worth having by quietly realizing 
 everything I hold, may possibly see it all melt away. ..." 
 
 "Realize!" she exclaimed, leaning forward eagerly and 
 seizing him by the arm. " Be advised in time and listen to 
 a fool of a woman." 
 
 He only shook his head, but this time he did not smile. 
 
 " If I were to do that no fate would be too bad for me. 
 Don't you see that in the long run it would be equivalent 
 to breaking my own concern, stultifying myself, showing 
 myself something worse than a coward ? " 
 
 She looked at him more anxiously than ever. 
 
 " I don't understand. Explain it to me, so that if I 
 were you and yet retained my present ideas I would know 
 what to do. Don't get angry and think that I am asking 
 stupid questions." 
 
 Then he leaned forward and gravely talked, telling her 
 things that had once seemed very intricate, but which were 
 now made simple and clear. He told her every detail, finding 
 relief and interest in answering her every question, and never 
 stopping until the subject was exhausted. 
 
 " You think, then," she said in conclusion, " that it would 
 really get out, even if you sold quietly, ever so quietly ? " 
 
 " Of course it would get out," he replied obstinately. 
 " It would get out, and not only ruin the company but my 
 reputation as well." 
 
 Then she gave up her arguments and sat very still until 
 Mortiboy dragged her from her brown study. 
 
 " Here we are at last ! " cried Mortiboy, his good humour 
 restored. " Here's the Grand Canal." 
 
 " I see, I see ! " she answered, standing close to him. 
 
 The Grand Canal ! Who shall sufficiently sing its praises, 
 who shall adequately tell what it has meant in the lifetime 
 of a nation that measures its past not in decades or in genera-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 237 
 
 tions but in cycles of sixty years ? The dynasties that have 
 come and gone during the building, the myriads of families 
 that have been sacrificed to secure its consummation, the 
 tributary nations that have been impoverished to find the 
 gold and silver for the endless purchase of stone and bricks, 
 all these things remain unwritten and unknown. Think of a 
 system not a few hundreds of miles in length, but thousands 
 of miles in length, with yet more thousands of miles of sub- 
 sidiary canals connecting and feeding one another, a canal 
 stretching from the heart of China to great Peking itself, a 
 canal connecting the Imperial capital directly with Canton, 
 a canal which seized and controlled rivers as if there was no 
 sea at all as if the emperors were mighty enough to ignore 
 the sea and provide no sea-drainage, thereby wrecking and 
 ruining their work in the course of centuries and yet leaving 
 enough of the ancient grandeur to make men even to-day 
 stand amazed ! Babylon in all its glory, the Pyramids and 
 the mysterious Sphinx, the Great Wall itself, all are small 
 works compared with this harnessing of fifty rivers, this 
 building of dykes as long as England itself, this wonderful 
 work of canalization. Mortiboy, plainly fascinated, gazed 
 without speaking a word as they swung into the main water- 
 way and were picked up by their waiting launch. 
 
 Silence had now disappeared : Commerce and Industry, 
 written with capital letters, ruled the way. Strings of 
 cargo-boats and passenger- boats, made up into regular 
 " trains," with puffing steam-launches preceding them, 
 were passing incessantly, crammed with bales of goods and 
 multitudes of men. Formidable river-junks, with their masts 
 unshipped, and their deck-houses unroofed, so as to allow 
 them to pass under the great half-moon stone bridges which 
 spanned the waterway at regular intervals, floated slowly by, 
 whole families harnessed to the clumsy sweeps, father and 
 mother, children and grandchildren straining together at the 
 common task. Sometimes, when the canal broadened out 
 into a lake-like expanse a reservoir built for flood-times 
 they came on numberless men in light canoes engaged in
 
 238 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 fishing with the aid of cormorants, vulture-like birds, labouring 
 with the diligence of slaves. Cast into the water at regular 
 intervals they dived deeply and suddenly, and brought up 
 endless little fish, which, being unable to swallow owing to 
 the iron rings round their necks, they delivered dutifully 
 to their masters. Into baskets filled with other wriggling 
 victims their prey was cast, then back the birds dived again 
 and again. 
 
 Cities there were, too, old-world walled cities living and 
 thriving precisely as they had done since the beginning of 
 China. The canal swept clean through these, and subsidiary 
 canals served as streets. Women, drawing water from the 
 stream which passed their very doorsteps, paused to gaze 
 their fill on the astonishing foreigners ; children, playing 
 on rafts or swimming madly about, screamed and waved as 
 they saw who it was even the dogs barked and the cocks 
 crew. 
 
 " What an experience ! " laughed Mrs. Jerrins. " We are 
 upsetting the life of a whole river-side ! " 
 
 Now they passed under a half-moon bridge which linked 
 together two tall tea-houses full of people idly drinking tea. 
 As their white house-boat, with its sumptuous appointments, 
 appeared on the other side, every fan stopped moving and 
 every head was craned over the balustrades. 
 
 " Not so polite as they used to be," murmured Mortiboy, 
 noting the attitude. " The spirit is growing I mean hatred 
 of the all-conquering aggressiveness they see embodied in 
 you and me. Look at those fists 1 " 
 
 Even as he spoke an old woman had advanced along the 
 stone-faced embankment as quickly as her bound feet would 
 allow her, until she came directly opposite them; then, 
 leaning over so far that she almost fell into the water, she 
 suddenly burst into a paroxysm of rage. Screaming taunts, 
 stamping her feet, shaking her fists until her sober blue clothing 
 was in disarray, she seemed the very embodiment of a Fury 
 uncontrollable, revolting. On and on she went, waving and 
 gesticulating madly until her unkempt hair fell about her
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 239 
 
 shoulders. Those that were about drew slowly nearer as if 
 they had been hypnotized ; on board the house-boat the crew 
 neither budged nor spoke. The shrill voice, cracking under 
 the strain, went on until they were almost out of sight ; and 
 the'very last they heard was a faint, frantic scream, like the 
 screech of a thwarted bird of prey. 
 
 Mrs. Jerrins, a little white in spite of herself, had not moved 
 an inch during the long ordeal. But now that it was over 
 she looked up anxiously. 
 
 " What does it mean ? what does it mean ? " she asked, 
 almost in a whisper. 
 
 Mortiboy shook his head ; his face was as hard as 
 stone. 
 
 " I don't know I haven't an idea. She was just cursing 
 us like the witches used to do centuries ago with us. ... The 
 country is sick it doesn't know what it wants everybody 
 is uneasy. Hundreds of miles from here where our en- 
 gineers are it is the same thing. Did you see our own men ? 
 It seemed to fascinate them in the way that a snake fascinates 
 birds, although in their heart of hearts I'm sure they don't 
 really approve. I hope it hasn't frightened you." He 
 looked at her anxiously. 
 
 She did not answer. She was not afraid, but she hated 
 it all. She hated the feeling of hostility, the sense of unrest, 
 the challenge in that shrieking voice that had not been 
 answered, the sullen passion. She had had experience in 
 the past of the strange, stupid rages that explode in riots 
 and rebellions ; and coming as this did, after their serious 
 talk, to mar her pleasure it gave her a presentiment of ill- 
 fortune. 
 
 It was only when the still mirror-like waters of the lake 
 opened out into vast vistas ahead that the ugly memory 
 partially faded. Wasp-shaped native gunboats, with gay parti- 
 coloured banners flaunting in the breeze, and old-fashioned 
 brass carronades ranged on their decks, were anchored in 
 numbers at the strategic point of the lake entrance, seemingly 
 dominating the situation and the great hosts of anchored
 
 240 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 junks, yet in reality only forming an interesting relic of the 
 picturesque past. As their boat, towed by the trim launch, 
 swept triumphantly by, these antique war-vessels became 
 packed with turbaned soldiery who eyed them eagerly, but 
 made no comments. A maze of native shipping grew up 
 about them, and they were forced to reduce their speed. 
 
 Now they came on a great native house-boat, covered 
 with beautiful hangings and bedizened with much gilt-work. 
 A gongman on the bow was beating a gong as a signal that 
 the vessel was departing, and to the sound of melodious 
 chanting the crew commenced hauling up the anchors on 
 enormous windlasses. 
 
 She had begun moving now, with the aid of the eight great 
 yulohs, each manned by eight men. Slowly and majestically 
 she forged ahead, a vessel strangely resembling the ships of 
 the ill-fated Spanish Armada. 
 
 "What a splendid boat!" Mrs. Jerrins exclaimed. "I 
 wonder where she is going to ? " 
 
 Mortiboy, still absorbed, shook his head. 
 
 " The pleasure- vessel of some great mandarin or of some 
 very rich man going up to Soochow to enjoy himself," he 
 suggested. 
 
 Two figures had appeared on the poop of the vessel, 
 only to disappear abruptly. But presently, through a window, 
 they saw a young man look out and talk to a companion who 
 remained hidden. 
 
 " He is in European clothes," murmured Mrs. Jerrins. 
 " Do you see ? do you see ? " 
 
 Mortiboy nodded, and together they stood silently watch- 
 ing the vessel growing smaller and smaller until she had dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 When Mrs. Jerrins had gone below to rest, Mortiboy re- 
 mained on the bows alone watching the still waters of the 
 lake. Far off, so very far that it seemed at times as if the eye 
 were playing a trick, a pencil-line showed where there was land, 
 but elsewhere there was now nothing but the yellow expanse 
 of the shallow lake. The clumsy bows of the house-boat,
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 241 
 
 plunging into the wash made by the trim launch, gave forth an 
 endless, soft, musical sound, like the rustling of leaves or the 
 murmur of women's voices coming from the distance. A rope 
 hanging from the mast, now stepped ready for the sails, 
 swung to and fro with a constant flapping, which was both 
 soothing and irritating. High up in the skies, almost touching 
 the powder-puffs of cloud, a sparrow-hawk sailed on its 
 powerful wings uttering every now and again a shrill cry of 
 exultation. In the stern a boatman, with the rudder between 
 his knees as he sat there half asleep, was droning a song to 
 himself so monotonously that it seemed to have no end at all. 
 
 In this atmosphere of restfulness the boat travelled on, 
 and he stood thinking. Now that he had openly declared 
 what he had never admitted to anyone before he felt both 
 relieved and encouraged. Something deep down in him told 
 him that though things must take their inevitable course, that 
 course would somehow be to his permanent advantage. He 
 began to believe he had done well to come away, to get a 
 change : he would go back reinvigorated and ready for every- 
 thing. Soon he no longer saw the world as a pack of people 
 pressing hard after one another and devouring every one 
 who dropped ; he became reconciled to a point of view differ- 
 ent from that which had been his central creed for many years 
 past. 
 
 " It is the last day," she said to him regretfully the very 
 first thing the next morning as they sat together on deck. 
 
 " And we are going to have a beautiful time and forget 
 everything," he replied smilingly. " Do you see those 
 flags ? That is where we land. From there we make our 
 way across country in chairs to the Emperor's lake, and you 
 will see what you have never seen before." 
 
 " I am sure it will be wonderful I have never seen a 
 finer day," she murmured, glad to see his spirits so entirely 
 restored. 
 
 Presently before they had even landed there was a 
 rush of chair-coolies to secure their custom. Into the very 
 waters of the lake the bearers plunged with their chairs, 
 x6
 
 242 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 fighting to secure the prize of a foreigner, who, in accordance 
 with some eternal law, pays double in every land. Soon they 
 were being carried down miles of narrow pathways which 
 plunged through the endless rice-fields, the bearers striding 
 out as if it were a walking-match, and never pausing to rest. 
 Now a vista of low hills grew up. Through these they had soon 
 passed, and then, as if a screen had been drawn aside, there 
 was the little bijou lake glistening in the sun, with tiny islands 
 and dainty temples and cunningly planned landscape effects 
 and charming woods of bamboo. 
 
 Boats were waiting on the shore of the Emperor's lake 
 to convey visitors to the island temples. They boarded one 
 and floated into the middle of these limpid waters which 
 were fed by mountain-streams carried hither by aqueducts 
 miles in length. A heavenly peace, such as is suited to 
 princes, reigned over it all. And they were very happy. 
 They ate their luncheon in the loggia of a temple containing 
 an immense beneficent-looking Buddha made of black marble, 
 who eternally surveyed these enchanted scenes from a high 
 stone platform. 
 
 " Who would not stay here ah 1 their lives if they could ? " 
 Mrs. Jerrins murmured. 
 
 " That is what the priests say," Mortiboy replied. " They 
 say if we rude Westerners only knew the joys of contemplation 
 all our energy would evanesce." 
 
 " Even yours ? " 
 
 " I dare say," he rejoined " I dare say. Do you see that 
 chain of little kiosks on the opposite shore ? We must go 
 over there when we get tired of this." 
 
 " But we shall never be tired ! " she cried. " How can 
 we find heart to leave this haven of rest ? " 
 
 " We must find heart," he said gravely. " The time 
 is nearly up." 
 
 " Are you resigned to that prospect ? " she inquired 
 quickly. 
 
 He shook his head. 
 " I don't know. Perhaps, in spite of myself, I am becoming
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 243 
 
 like Chu Ta Ming something of a philosopher taking 
 things as they come." 
 
 " That odious man," she rejoined. " The mention of 
 his name makes me hate him." 
 
 They spent the hours in exploring the shores and in entering 
 endless shrines and groves, talking of nothing at all save the 
 delights of the hour. 
 
 " To-morrow we are going back ; it is dreadful, is it not ? " 
 she said when they were on their house-boat and darkness had 
 fallen. But he only pressed her hand and did not speak. Near 
 them points of fire glistened and flashed like the sparkling of 
 diamonds, and they went forward and stood together silently 
 on the bows. Fishing sampans, with great flares of oakum 
 lighted to attract the fish, had become numerous, and as they 
 changed their course to avoid them an anchorage of junks 
 loomed up like a ghostly fleet. 
 
 When it was quite dark the laodah came forward, slowly 
 and somewhat doubtfully, wondering if the original instruc- 
 tions were to be kept to the letter. 
 
 " Anchor ? " he said laconically, his hand travelling to 
 his head in rude imitation of a Western salute, and in obedi- 
 ence to Mortiboy's abrupt nod they anchored for the last 
 time, ready to steam quickly back the next day. 
 
 Rain was falling and the shore-line was shrouded in mist 
 when morning came. Mortiboy, wakened by the sound 
 of voices talking in undertones, went up on deck. A glance 
 was sufficient to tell him that something unusual had occurred. 
 
 A miserable-looking man, dishevelled and almost unre* 
 cognizable, had come on board from a sampan yulohed by 
 several men, and was talking to the crew, who were grouped 
 round him plainly awestruck. The man broke away from 
 his audience as soon as he saw the Englishman. 
 
 " Master," he began in broken English, " you know me ? 
 Master, come soon, help " 
 
 Then it transpired that he was a servant in the employ of 
 Weeger, and that Weeger had come up country too with a 
 party of friends. There had been trouble between the crews
 
 244 
 
 of two house-boats occupied by Weeger's party and a flotilla 
 of junks belonging to salt dealers. Somebody had foolishly 
 fired a shot the salt boats had replied in earnest, and the 
 house-boat party had been forced to retreat and take refuge 
 in a house on the water's edge, where they had barricaded 
 themselves. They wanted help urgent help ; that was the 
 central fact. 
 
 Mortiboy did not delay ; at once he issued rapid instruc- 
 tions. Anchors were swung aboard, the sampan taken in 
 tow, and when Mrs. Jerrins came on deck she found to her 
 surprise that they were rapidly steaming in a new direction. 
 
 " What has happened ? " she exclaimed. Mortiboy was 
 seated in front of a large map with a frown on his face. 
 
 He told her unenthusiastically. 
 
 " We should never have come this way," he said. " I 
 have always met house-boats here. I shall have to go on 
 alone. I cannot possibly refuse to go if I did, this man 
 would say he met me. I shall drop the house-boat and go 
 on the steam-launch to see what I can do. Will you be 
 afraid to be left alone ? " 
 
 She looked at him with her eyes full of tears. 
 
 " No no. But it is that old woman, that dreadful old 
 woman who is taking you from me her curses have come 
 true. Yet you must go you must go." 
 
 When he was finally ready with his plans, he followed her 
 into the cabin. 
 
 " Good-bye, Ian," she whispered, holding him tight as he 
 kissed her. " Good-bye. I shall never forget."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 " Tzu Ch'i of Nan-po was travelling on the Shang mountain when 
 he saw a large tree which astonished him very much. A thousand 
 chariot teams could have found shelter under its shade. 
 
 " ' What tree is this ? ' he cried. ' Surely it must have unusually 
 fine timber.' Then, looking up, he saw that its branches were too 
 crooked for rafters ; while, as for the trunk, its irregular grain made 
 it valueless for coffins. He tasted a leaf, but it took the skin off his 
 lips ; and its odour was so strong that it could make a man as it were 
 drunk for three whole days. 
 
 " ' Ah,' commented Tzu Ch'i. ' This tree is good for nothing and 
 that is how it has attained this size. A wise man might well profit 
 by the example.' " " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 THE sounds, low and muffled at first, gradually grew in 
 volume. The measure, quickening ryhthmically as with 
 the spirit of unrest, became more and more imperative, 
 until at last; beaten in an ecstasy of emotion, the drums 
 rolled like thunder and filled the vast building with a tempest 
 of sound. Presently this rude music died down just as it 
 had commenced, and with a last simultaneous thump of the 
 sticks stopped. 
 
 Out of the silence, taking form with a vague suggestion 
 of mystery, came a deep, moving chant in a rolling of gutturals 
 as pregnant as the fierce music of the drums had been. Yet 
 these muttering voices, filling the great temple on which 
 frowned down hideous gods, had nothing in them of idolatry 
 or of cruelty. They were placid and contemplative ; far-away, 
 religious things ; awesome, but not menacing ; alien and 
 strange, and yet clearly bent on enclosing in patterns of sound 
 something infinite and intangible, something worthy of praise. 
 
 The great circle of priests, kneeling in their amber-coloured 
 
 345
 
 246 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 robes before the high altar, which was lighted by enormous 
 red candles and covered with rich offerings of food, were only 
 chanting an endless prayer from the book of one of the famed 
 disciples of Buddha ; and their intoning and their manner was 
 precisely that introduced in the sixth century into the Catholic 
 Church by Pope Gregory, who gave to Rome the teachings 
 of Nestorian priests. Their rosaries, their vestments, their 
 incense, and many other things were the same ; and had it 
 not been for the carved and painted gods and the sacred 
 texts in great gilt characters hanging on the walls a stranger 
 might have imagined himself in some old-world church in 
 South-Eastern Europe. 
 
 Through page after page of the sacred script the voices 
 chanted tirelessly, the great intercession d-mi-to-fd resounding 
 in an endless recapitulation. All the while, coming and going, 
 as if there was no irreverence in movement, acolytes attended 
 to the candles and fed the incense-bowls and arranged new 
 offerings and then stood gossiping in little groups. The 
 gloom in which this midnight service was proceeding, and 
 the absence of congregation, gave the great dark interior a 
 curious fascination. The immense teak pillars running up 
 to the massive roof seemed like prehistoric emblems of the 
 Creation bits of giant timber supporting the very canopy 
 of heaven. The hideous gods some so enormous that 
 they almost touched the roof became exaggerated replicas 
 of the heroes of Scandinavian mythology ; they represented 
 Thunder and Lightning and the conflict between elemental 
 things in the twilight of the gods. Yet though their massive- 
 ness conveyed the idea that they presided over the scene, 
 they were in reality nothing but survivals from an age which 
 knew not gentle Buddha, or the Jewel in the Lotus, and which, 
 because it was brutal and illiterate, had sought to terrorize 
 by raising fearful images. The priests cared no more for these 
 pagan gods than they did for the gods of the white man. . . . 
 
 The hall was not quite empty, in spite of its deserted
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 247 
 
 appearance. Far away from the animation round the altars, 
 where the drummers now sat motionless and the acolytes 
 idled and the priests chanted, were two persons who had 
 entered long before the service had commenced. One was 
 Willy Chang, the other the woman who had so strangely sur- 
 rendered herself to him. 
 
 The youth, as he stood there with one hand pressed against 
 his forehead as if it ached, and the other placed against a 
 pillar, was reflecting on all that had occurred to him in the 
 few brief months he had been back in the land of his fore- 
 fathers. In this tranquil atmosphere, which stimulated the 
 search after truth, he realized how much he had changed. 
 It was little more than marvellous, he thought, how all his 
 earlier ambitions were now dead and buried. Everything 
 had conspired to push him forward, along a new and strange 
 road. Little had he dreamt when he had been first approached 
 in Europe by smooth-tongued compatriots that the sympathy 
 lie had expressed for their reform propaganda would bear 
 such fruit. As he stood there, tired and full of introspection, 
 he knew that even his passion for this woman would be only 
 an interlude something outside his normal life something 
 passing. He had merely appeased what had been devouring 
 him, and to-night would make things different. After to- 
 night he could not turn back from what was being thrust 
 upon him. As he thought that, he turned and spoke. 
 
 " Have you seen enough ? " he inquired laconically. 
 
 Belle Lawson shook her head. 
 
 " No," she answered, not relaxing her rapt attention. 
 " I could sit here all night I could sit here for ever. It is 
 the first time I have ever been in a temple ; I think it all 
 wonderful stranger and more weird than anything I have 
 imagined. Those priests in their yellow robes how they 
 chant! And the drums. ... I thought when I heard the 
 drums that the priests would all jump up and do something 
 fearful. Do they ever make sacrifices to their gods ? " 
 
 At that a half-ironical smile passed over the young man's 
 face.
 
 248 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Do you still believe that the Chinese are at heart savages, 
 and that if they had their own way they would kill people 
 indiscriminately ? It is a wonderful delusion. The idols 
 have no more meaning for educated men than the pictures of 
 saints in Christian churches. They are for peasants and 
 women. But presently they will go when we are in power 
 and the temples be swept clean." 
 
 He took a deep breath, and leaned against the 
 pillar. 
 
 The woman sat listening in silence once more. She had 
 placed herself on an enormous wooden chest, with a slit like 
 a giant's mouth running across it, into which coins were thrown 
 by pious worshippers on crowded festival days. In the 
 Chinese dress she had put on that night she looked changed and 
 sobered. Her black hair, drawn down in tight bands that 
 encircled her ears, gave her almost an austere appearance ; 
 under her eyes were dark rings as if she had secretly wept. 
 Her neck looked thinner, so did her hands. Only her lips 
 remained the same. She sat listening to the chanting and 
 gazing on the dimly lighted scene much as if it were the 
 realization of some childhood's dream, some phantasy brought 
 to life by magic and played before her for her benefit. The 
 minutes melted away, the monotony of the repeated phrases 
 rocked her to oblivion. But at last with a sudden movement 
 she stood up. 
 
 " I am ready now, if you want me to go," she remarked. 
 " I will go behind to the priest's house; isn't that where you 
 said ? What time is the meeting ? " 
 
 But there was a noise at the big entrance, and then a 
 doleful creak of the doors as they swung back on their wooden 
 hinges. Then, as they were noisy voices, Willy Chang caught 
 her nervously by the arm. 
 
 " People have begun arriving ! " he exclaimed. " There is 
 not time for you to go out behind. You must hide over there. 
 If it were known that a foreign woman was here, there might 
 be trouble. You would have been perfectly safe in that big 
 house-boat with all my servants, but you wouldn't listen to
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 249 
 
 reason. Keep as quiet as you know how. When it is over 
 
 I will come. Go " 
 
 She went quickly on the points of her soft native shoes to 
 where he had pointed the bracelets with which she had 
 decked herself clashing in spite of her care. Past the endless 
 lines of pillars, past the great gods and their little shrines 
 she went, until she reached a recess where there were banners 
 and draperies used for festival times. Crouching down there, 
 she made herself as comfortable as possible, her interest 
 quickened by the element of danger, and by the knowledge 
 that she would look on things no white eyes had seen before. 
 
 The chant was still proceeding, but in a minor key, as if 
 the amber-robed priests were at last becoming exhausted. 
 Several, indeed, had already desisted, and rising to their 
 feet, disappeared into the background with sweeping genu- 
 flexions. The others, led by a new stentorian voice, broke 
 into a quicker measure, and the invocation d-mi-to-fo became 
 more and more insistent. Hail to Buddha, hail to the Jewel 
 in the Lotus ! Hail indeed ! Yes you shall praise him and 
 myriads after you and yet more myriads until the end of 
 time. . . . 
 
 Through the temple doors people continued to arrive 
 quickly with a constant exchange of low-voiced remarks. 
 But no worshippers were these, prepared to fall prostrate 
 before these gloomy altars and enjoy the intercession of the 
 priests. Other cares claimed them very different things. 
 Some were in native dress with the nondescript foreign head- 
 gear and the keen, alert look which residence in foreign 
 settlements gives ; but many more had on the quasi-European 
 garb donned by those who have been long abroad and who have 
 acquired alien ways. With these came women, with dark 
 handkerchiefs tied round their heads as if to protect them 
 from the night air, and pleated skirts, and surcoats of foreign 
 cloth fashions that were entirely new just then and which 
 carried their own meaning. Hand in hand the women came, 
 walking behind their men and gazing anxiously in front of them.
 
 250 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 "Drum, drum!" 
 
 The harsh music of the drums had suddenly commenced 
 anew as if, one act being almost over, it was necessary to 
 usher in the next with fitting ceremony. This unexpected 
 thunder of sound filling the temple made the new-comers 
 start in alarm and then nervously laugh at their own fears. 
 The chant now rose in a last wail, and then slurred down to an 
 abrupt finish. A bell rang slowly but imperatively in a rich 
 golden note from some hidden place ; and the priests, rising 
 in a body, shuffled out in a loose procession. The acolytes, 
 hastening forward, snuffed out the great red candles, and 
 began lighting numerous paper lanterns which they had soon 
 distributed round the great hall, giving the scene an altered 
 look. The prayers were over. 
 
 " Well, I declare here is Mr. Chang, ahead of us. ... 
 How do you do ? " 
 
 It was the P'eng boys, the two young men educated at 
 Yale, who had nervously greeted the young Cantonese as he 
 wandered about. Their American clothes, looking much the 
 worse for wear, hung on them loosely ; their linen was none 
 too fresh, and added the impression that not only were they 
 now ill at ease, but that they had virtually been in hiding. 
 
 " These old priests know how to tuck themselves away ! " 
 exclaimed one of them. " We have been staying in a village 
 about three miles from here, and we lost our way twice coming 
 up from the lake. We were afraid to ask anyone the right 
 road because we heard there had been some trouble to-day 
 and some shooting at foreigners. But most people here seem 
 to know their way about. I suppose they come to the temple 
 regularly. Are you a Christian, Mr. Chang ? " 
 The young man smiled sadly. 
 
 " I don't know," he rejoined. " I used to believe in Spencer 
 until I read Hackel. Then I thought I might be a Monist. 
 But I don't think I am anything just now." 
 
 " We are Baptists," returned the two P'eng boys almost 
 gleefully. " We were baptized together in the Hudson River 
 in 1907 that is, they claim it is Hudson River water that
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 251 
 
 flows right into the tank under the church we belong to. It 
 was very cold water. That was our first year at college. 
 But we haven't been to church since we got back to China. 
 Have all the preparations been made ? " 
 
 Willy Chang nodded. " Those drums and bells mean that 
 the last prayers are finishing." 
 
 The two youths listened awhile, and then one of them asked : 
 
 " What will be done first ? " 
 
 " The blood-oath nobody who is here to-night can go 
 out without taking the oath." 
 
 " Women too ? " 
 
 " Women too," assented the young Cantonese. " And 
 then Badges of the Brotherhood for everybody." 
 
 " No turning back after that even if one wanted to ! " 
 exclaimed the inseparable companions. "We won't forget 
 this night in a hurry." 
 
 Their eyes suddenly glistened in the way which shows 
 excitement among races that are quickly responsive ; their 
 hands opened and shut nervously. Now they drank in every 
 detail open-mouthed, as if they had only just realized what it 
 all meant. Emotionalism had them in its subtle grasp, and 
 their stupid clothes, their alien accents, no more masked them 
 than had they sought to conceal themselves behind glass. 
 In a few tumultuous heart-beats they, too, had returned to 
 the East which claimed them. . . . 
 
 Now talking in undertones, the three young men watched 
 the stream of arrivals which seemed to have no end. 
 
 All sorts and conditions of men were fast gathering. 
 Nobody came from curiosity ; all knew that their heads 
 would fall as swiftly as cabbages if they were discovered, 
 for vengeance in China is sudden and brutal, and based on 
 nothing higher than passing necessity. Soon the leaders 
 urged upon one another the necessity of hurrying on with the 
 ceremony, and not exposing their supporters to undue risks. 
 A table was pushed forward into the very centre of the hall, and 
 a big white porcelain bowl placed thereon ; then a short 
 ceremonial knife was unwrapped from its covering of white
 
 252 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 rice-paper ; big registers covered with blue cloth were taken 
 out, together with yellow badges of membership made of 
 tough parchment. The people began seating themselves on 
 the ground, watching every one of these preparations as if their 
 lives depended upon them. Gradually the bustle ceased, and 
 the leaders mostly young men with hard, merciless faces 
 grouped themselves round the table. There had been no 
 new arrivals for some time, and after a whispered consulta- 
 tion and a quick comparison of watches it was decided that all 
 who were coming had already arrived. 
 
 " Close the doors ! " they commanded in the ver- 
 nacular. 
 
 Two of their number went to see the doors securely pad- 
 locked. Apart from the entrance to the priests' quarters there 
 was no other means of getting in ; complete security from 
 intrusion had been won. 
 
 There was a short silence ; then the group round the table 
 moved away, leaving only a thick-set man standing alone. 
 He remained motionless for a few seconds ; then, with a swift, 
 unexpected movement, he opened his silken long-coat, and 
 throwing it to the ground, disclosed the uniform of an army 
 officer. 
 
 " Friends," he began in the local dialect, " all of you have 
 long signified your adhesion to the cause of driving the Manchu 
 dogs from the country. To-night there is nothing more to 
 explain. To-night we take the blood-oath and become 
 blood-brothers and blood-sisters of the San Tien Hui (the 
 Three Drops Association), devoted to sacrificing our lives 
 in order to attain our end. All of you know the duties and 
 the regulations I begin " 
 
 He seized the knife on the table and, flashing it in the light 
 so that all could see it, with a single movement fleshed it 
 home on his left hand. Holding the wounded member high 
 above the porcelain bowl, with callous unconcern he let the 
 blood run down as he repeated aloud the oath. When he had 
 done that, he dipped a finger of his right hand into the bowl 
 and stamped it on to a document containing his name ; then
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 253 
 
 he allowed three drops of blood to fall on to the paper just 
 below where his finger had marked. 
 
 That was all that was the blood-oath. But it was 
 enough. For as the man with the register called out names, 
 the people advanced in order, stabbed themselves, and per- 
 formed the ceremony, each receiving a yellow certificate 
 containing the passwords which entitled them to safe conduct 
 wherever they might go. When Willy Chang's turn came, he 
 advanced quickly, experiencing a sickly wave of emotion as he 
 stood over the bowl half-filled with the blood of his com- 
 patriots. Averting his eyes as much as possible, he slit him- 
 self quickly and deftly, and, holding his hand aloft, repeated 
 the words in a monotonous voice which sounded strange to 
 him; then he stamped his ringer down on the book and 
 dropped the three drops of blood, and, thrusting his wounded 
 hand into a handkerchief, as he had seen the others do, slowly 
 retreated. 
 
 The ceremony progressed quickly, although it seemed slow. 
 A few seconds were all that was needed for each man to 
 finish, and then another took his place. Now the women were 
 being marshalled, though much time would elapse before 
 their turn came. Willy Chang watched them being pushed 
 forward, watched them asking questions with pale lips as 
 though they feared the ceremony of the knife, and wondered 
 whether they would be able to bear it. He looked at it all 
 incredulously, as if it were a dream, something in which he was 
 not an actor, but merely a spectator. He almost believed, 
 as he wiped away the perspiration on his forehead, that by an 
 effort of will it would be possible to shake it all from him 
 to wake, and have done with it. He realized now what it 
 meant, this submission on his part to the orders of a secret 
 organization which would not stop short of murder, and 
 indeed might welcome such a method of acquiring power. 
 He had been caught up by a machine, and any attempt to 
 break loose would cost him his life. . . . 
 
 His life ? What was that scuffling ? He saw people 
 turn and begin to rush back without realizing what it meant
 
 254 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 he thought some altercation had broken out. But a piercing 
 cry for help brought him to with a frightful shock. He rushed 
 back too, past the tall teak pillars, past the hideous gods, to 
 where Belle Lawson had gone. 
 
 "Willy, Willy!" she was screaming hysterically. "The 
 priests have got me ! Save me save me ! " 
 
 He saw her surrounded, pulled, beaten, being dragged 
 along the ground. 
 
 " Sa-shou\" (Release her) he shrieked. "Did I not 
 tell you ? did I not tell you and pay you ? Dogs' droppings, 
 release her ! " 
 
 Now he flung himself on the priests and beat them aside, 
 and raised her up and chafed her trembling hands and mur- 
 mured words to her and told her not to fear. 
 But behind was a boiling cauldron of passions. 
 
 " Waikuojen/" (foreigner) every one had called. 
 
 The word flew round as if it had been the name of a dread 
 disease ; every one called that it was a foreign woman dressed 
 in native clothes, for you cannot disguise foreign bone and 
 sinew by mere clothes. Men and women crowded round the 
 couple as round adulterers caught in flagrante delicto in some 
 remote village where justice is administered summarily by a 
 common law as ancient as the people themselves, and the 
 two are drowned together in a cage. Hot threats were 
 breathed ; they two were stifled by the press ; there was 
 madness in that fear. 
 
 The man, however, fought for elbow-room, as he had seen 
 foreigners fight in a crowd his education asserted itself in 
 spite of his heredity. He fought so that he and the woman 
 would not be trampled under foot. Now that he was openly 
 at bay he was full of resolution his weakness was gone. 
 But his eyes, rolling round the sea of faces, found nothing 
 but angry eyes and flashing teeth; it was animalism un- 
 changed. They were the only two persons who could possibly 
 save him he looked for the two youths whom he had often 
 befriended. 
 
 " Come here you two, force your way through ! " he cried
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 255 
 
 in English. " Where are Euripides P'eng Sophocles P'eng ? 
 This lady came with me to-night. I could not leave her 
 alone. I have subscribed a fortune to this cause. They 
 are fools to talk of traitors tell them this speak quickly ! " 
 
 He saw the two together, pale, gesticulating. He saw 
 them appealing above the uproar to the officer in uniform, 
 as the crowd pushed and thrashed around. 
 
 At last the officer forced his way through, beating the 
 others aside. 
 
 " Is this foreign woman your wife ? " he inquired in the 
 vernacular, for the evil custom of mixed marriages was already 
 common in those days. 
 
 For a moment the young Cantonese hesitated. Then 
 he told the truth. 
 
 " No," he said. 
 
 " She cannot leave this temple, do you hear ? she cannot 
 ever leave this temple ! " shouted the officer, who had been 
 told by the other two that this was his wife. " They have 
 lied to me she cannot leave ! " 
 
 At that threat there was silence very suddenly just as 
 the drums stopped. Beads of perspiration gathered on the fore- 
 head of the young Cantonese and ran down his face. His voice 
 became feeble ; he could not find an answer. But his two friends 
 had taken courage, and were pleading and insisting and telling 
 the long story. At first the officer would not listen, and only 
 shook his head, but after a long while he was prevailed upon. 
 
 " Mr. Chang," called one of the young fellows, " there 
 is only one means one means! You must be married on 
 the spot according to Chinese rites and the oath administered 
 to the lady ! Explain it to her, quickly, quickly, or that man 
 will shoot at her 1 " 
 
 In a few whispered words it was arranged. Red paper 
 was found. On one strip was written the date of birth and 
 the name of the man ; on the other those of the woman, and 
 such other description as could be quickly improvised. Then 
 tablets were made by writing on bits of wood. The two 
 youths, acting as witnesses, exchanged the papers and pro-
 
 256 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 nounced the required formula ; then the tablets were placed 
 on the table and the woman was shown how to kneel to them 
 and kotow, for these are the signs of ancestral respect and 
 the main part of the native marriage, which is an affair of 
 witnesses coupled with public acknowledgment of parental 
 authority. Holding her, Willy Chang now took her behind the 
 table, and, half swooning, she stabbed at her hand and repeated 
 the words he told her; then, overcome by the strain, she 
 gladly crept away. 
 
 The women in their scores now took the oath and wounded 
 themselves with fanaticism, being inflamed by these curious 
 scenes. There were so many of them that the night seemed 
 to have no end, though daylight was coming. And yet Willy 
 Chang's cup was not yet full. For with daylight priests began 
 running in with warning cries, though nobody listened. But 
 presently the great chained doors were violently shaken, and 
 the temple was full of cries of alarm. 
 
 " Open, open ! " came a medley of voices and a thunder 
 of blows. 
 
 In the distance shots sounded, lazily at first, then in quick 
 succession, as if men were running near. 
 
 " The soldiers, the soldiers ! " wailed the crowd, being ripe 
 for panic. 
 
 The officer had thrust on his long-coat of silk and drawn 
 a revolver from some hiding-place. Gesticulating, he ran 
 forward, calling to the other leaders to follow. 
 
 " I shoot unless you say what it is !" he menaced through 
 the doors. 
 
 " Foreigners, foreigners ! " came a tumult of voices in the 
 vernacular. " Open quickly. There are women too " 
 
 " Foreigners again ! Cursed race ! " roared the officer. 
 " Bring me that fellow ! " He pointed back at Willy Chang. 
 
 But through the door came a new volley of words. 
 
 " We are pursued. Open quickly, otherwise they will 
 burn you down ! The foreigners have guns ! " 
 
 Then as the firing came nearer, there were English voices 
 and some English oaths. ,arfli
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 257 
 
 " Won't open the door ? What ? We'll see about that. 
 Here's a bit of timber once inside we're safe. They are only 
 firing to frighten us. Macniversen, Johnson, help me break 
 it down ! one, two, three, let go ! " 
 
 A dull thud and the chain, shattered by the heavy shock, 
 fell to the ground. Now a knot of Europeans, men and 
 women mixed together, accompanied by servants, pressed 
 through. Mortiboy led them, Mortiboy armed with a fowling- 
 piece and covered with mud, looking every inch his nickname, 
 Iron Mortiboy. 
 
 " Here you " he began menacingly to the officer, 
 
 who was still waving his Browning revolver and shouting 
 like a man possessed. 
 
 But his sentence was never completed, for as his eyes 
 took in the strange scene the mass of frightened people 
 huddled near the hideous gods, the scattered paper-lanterns 
 hanging everywhere as for a ceremony, the great knot of 
 priests in their amber robes advancing in a body to protect 
 their sanctuary he suddenly realized that the dishevelled 
 youth pulling away from those who held him firmly pinioned 
 was the figure they had seen on the great bedizened native 
 house-boat Willy Chang, and that the wild-eyed woman in 
 Chinese clothes beside him was no other than the woman who 
 had once been so much to him !
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 " Chin Tse asked Yang Chu : 
 
 " ' If by pulling out a hair of your body you could aid mankind, 
 would you do it ? ' 
 
 " Yang Chu answered : 
 
 " ' Mankind is surely not to be helped by a single hair.' 
 
 " Chin Tse persisted and asked again : 
 
 " ' But supposing it possible would you do it ? ' 
 
 " Yang Chu gave no answer." "YANGCHu's GARDEN OF PLEASURE." 
 
 " TV /T Y dear Willy ! my dear Willy ! " exclaimed Crebillon, 
 |Y/ 1 seizing the young Chinese by both hands and shaking 
 them with an enthusiasm which was wholly genuine. 
 " Am I glad to see you ? Well, I should say so delighted 
 beyond words ! Do not draw away from me ; do not show 
 embarrassment. Let me examine you like a mother does her 
 child after an absence of years ! Yes you have stood the 
 campaign well. A little thin, a little severe, perhaps, but 
 nothing worth troubling about. And what wonderful 
 adventures you have been through if half what the news- 
 papers say is true ! One declares that you were besieged in a 
 temple and beaten into a jelly by an infuriated mob because 
 you interfered with some pagan rites. Another paper insists 
 it was you who made the jelly, and that your personal heroism 
 was remarkable. Then that house-boat party how did it 
 happen that they became involved ? I confess I have not 
 yet understood that part of the story, though it has been 
 stated that all foreigners in the vicinity took refuge in the 
 temple simply because it was the most convenient place in 
 which to escape the popular rage. In any case the hash made 
 
 of all names was beyond praise every one was carefully 
 
 358
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 259 
 
 protected. It has been really a very pretty exhibition of 
 discretion." 
 
 Crebillon gave a short laugh and threw back his head 
 so that his pointed black moustaches stood straight up, 
 giving him a Machiavellian appearance. He rather admired 
 himself in that attitude ; he had often practised it in front 
 of a looking-glass, and he was quite sure that it was effective. 
 Just now he wished to be effective ; he had a lot to find out. 
 
 The young Cantonese, however, merely watched him with 
 his quick eyes as if he were being pursued by something 
 nasty something which required watchfulness. No com- 
 ment of any sort fell from his lips. He had listened that 
 was all. Plainly he was on his guard against everything and 
 everybody. 
 
 Disappointed, CrebUlon resumed more calmly, as if he 
 had only paused to take breath. 
 
 " All the same, the adventures of all you good adventurers 
 have made a fearful stir. People have been putting two and 
 two together and found in certain combinations an irresistible 
 cause for gossip. Your name has come up with that of 
 ahem ! There have even been letters to the papers carefully 
 edited. I have cut out all the items of interest, so that you 
 can read them at your leisure. Well, I see I am boring you 
 and I will stop. Things have been moving like lightning 
 since you went away. What shall I show you first in my great 
 accumulation of documents ? " 
 
 He went across the room to a small table loaded with 
 papers. For a few seconds he sorted through the litter 
 quickly and nervously as if unable to find something, though 
 what he sought was lying on the very top precisely where 
 he had placed it that very morning. But there were such 
 unmistakable storm-signals flying in the room that nobody 
 excepting a man forced to take great risks would have willingly 
 ventured further than Crebillon had already gone. 
 
 Willy Chang, with his lips pressed tightly together and 
 a great frown on his forehead, had indeed gone sullenly to a 
 window in a way which showed that he did not invite further 
 
 A
 
 26o THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 confidences, and might suddenly explode. He was still 
 under the influence of the great rage that had possessed 
 him during that dreadful night in the temple. Everything 
 that Crebillon had said had cut him to the quick. He had 
 come here as soon as possible in fact, before even changing 
 his clothes because the letter he had found awaiting him in 
 his house had been couched in such urgent language that a 
 sudden fear had gripped him. Like all Orientals his mind was 
 stronger than his stomach and his stomach had already 
 had more than enough of startling experiences. Courageous 
 in a passive way, his physique was not suited to sustain those 
 repeated shocks which Western races, owing to the stouter 
 framework of the body, bear without collapse. Without 
 being physically ill the youth was suffering from a severe 
 over-exhaustion of his neural centres. Even now his hands 
 felt as cold as ice, though the sun pouring in through the 
 window scorched his feet. 
 
 " Ah ! here I have it ! I am stupidly slow to-day ! " 
 exclaimed Crebillon, glancing round at him and at last making 
 up his mind. 
 
 He had in his hand a very broad, heavy, yellow pamphlet, 
 with two thick black bars across it, which produced a peculiar 
 optical effect when you waved it to and fro the way he was 
 doing, like those advertisements which were once the fashion 
 on the backs of books. Presently he exhibited the title- 
 page with a smile on his face ; then very slowly he turned 
 over the leaves, which, from their appearance, had already 
 been fingered by many eager hands. 
 
 The young Cantonese, however, did not move, neither did 
 he show any interest. So the Frenchman came up quite 
 close to him and said in an indifferent voice : 
 
 " As you have a quite admirable knowledge of French, 
 I am willing to leave this valuable document, which only 
 left Europe three weeks ago, in your hands until midnight 
 in order to show you how much I value your friendship. 
 Perhaps I ought to tell you that it is a French Government 
 report on the Chinese revolutionary movement. It gives some
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 261 
 
 remarkable details on the ramification of the so-called 
 Cantonese registers, about which our Catholic priests know 
 so much ; and I am sure you will thank me very sincerely as 
 soon as you have digested the contents. It is almost a matter 
 of life and death, I believe, for some people." He smiled 
 benignly, as if he had said something charming ; then he 
 concluded abruptly, in his soft voice : " In one of the lists 
 at the end you will find your own name, with some descrip- 
 tion of your origin and present position." 
 
 " My name ? " cried Willy Chang shrilly, as if he had been 
 struck, turning even paler than he had been. " My name ? 
 What the devil do you mean ? " 
 
 Crebillon, still smiling and imperturbable, shrugged his 
 shoulders : 
 
 " Obviously I mean what I say. Would you believe it, 
 there are no less than eighteen persons I know personally 
 inscribed here eighteen distinguished citizens of this town, 
 all from Canton, duly inscribed. You need not doubt my 
 word. I have taken the trouble to count them* over at least 
 a dozen times. Look ! " 
 
 Willy Chang seized the book and rapidly turned over 
 the pages, his trained mind grasping the contents like lightning. 
 It was a devilish production, full of data culled from many 
 sources, one of those monuments of Gallic ingenuity and 
 systematization which the world has grown accustomed to. 
 And at the very end of the column were the dread lists 
 skeletons of certain originals showing the way the names 
 were arranged in regular series, each with an index character ; 
 how men were secretly sworn, what their duties were, and 
 many other things carefully copied, Heaven knows how. 
 There was sufficient damning evidence in this one brochure 
 the production of a foreign Government always curiously 
 interested in the affairs of other nations to secure the 
 mysterious disappearance of many distinguished men. As the 
 young man realized this he suddenly flung the yellow-covered 
 report furiously across the room, and let himself drop limply 
 into a chair.
 
 262 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 A long interval elapsed. Neither of the two moved 
 neither made a sound. Yet there was a rage in that silence 
 more eloquent than a tempest of words. It might be believed 
 that every possible thought flew between the two, and was 
 hurled back with equal fury. 
 
 At last the younger man could stand it no longer. He 
 turned ever so slightly. 
 
 " Well ? " he said shortly and sullenly. 
 
 The Vicomte de Crebillon, being a careful man, first 
 meekly walked after his property, which had been so sum- 
 marily treated. Only when he had picked it up, smoothed 
 its ruffled pages, and placed it in a dispatch-box, which 
 he securely locked, did he remark, gazing reflectively out of 
 the window as if to emphasize the impartial nature of his 
 soliloquy : 
 
 " You are giving me a lot of trouble to-day with your 
 moods. What a very ungrateful young man you appear to 
 me to be ! I give you an inside view of what this dear town 
 thinks of the escapade in which you were so recently involved, 
 and you stand frowning and sulking as if you were in the 
 presence of an enemy. I show you a document of the highest 
 importance a document which gravely compromises your 
 personal safety and I tell you that I will lend it to you so 
 that you may take what steps you deem necessary, and for 
 answer you only fling my document across the room and tell 
 me to go to the devil. Now, my good young fellow, supposing 
 I were not so friendly ; supposing I were to show resentment ; 
 supposing I were to give this confidential work, of which only 
 one copy exists in China, let us say, to a territorial official 
 like Chu Ta Ming, and let him take action, what then ? " 
 
 The young Cantonese, his hands clasped tightly together 
 as if to help him to sustain this fresh strain, was staring 
 steadily at the floor. He did not even raise his eyes ; some 
 mysterious thought seemed to hypnotize him and render him 
 incapable of moving. The Frenchman, foiled for a second 
 time, studied him silently for a while ; then, realizing the 
 youth's mental turmoil, he proceeded with masterly uncon-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 263 
 
 cern, as if the conversation had become entirely to his 
 liking : 
 
 " Well, I will relieve you at once by telling you that I will 
 not cease to be friendly ; that I will not turn nasty ; that I 
 will not give this confidential work, of which only one copy 
 exists in China, to Chu Ta Ming, or to any other person. In 
 fact, I shall at once send it out of the country, as it is too 
 dangerous to keep here. But, all the same, I must call your 
 attention to the fact that you have been guilty of grave 
 impoliteness towards me in my own house, and that I cannot 
 tolerate the repetition of such incidents. Do you understand 
 me?" 
 
 Now, quite unexpectedly, he threw his bold Roman nose 
 up in the air, and, folding his arms, surveyed the young 
 Cantonese in a haughty manner, as if a serious crisis were 
 coming. Yet inwardly he was only amused by the extra- 
 ordinary resemblance between this scene and the one that 
 had occurred between him and Belle Lawson many weeks 
 ago, and by the further thought of the manner in which he 
 had shut her mouth properly by thrusting her into the arms 
 of tliis young person. . . . That had been a wonderful in- 
 spiration better than anything he had done in a twelve- 
 month. 
 
 Just then Willy Chang suddenly looked up, almost as 
 if something had reached him quite apart from the words 
 which had just been spoken. 
 
 " You say we must understand one another. Very good. 
 I want to ask you a question which has been long troubling 
 me, but which politeness forbade me mentioning." 
 
 " Certainly," assented the Frenchman, raising his eyebrows. 
 
 His visitor cleared his throat. 
 
 "Who are you and what are you doing out here in 
 China ? " he exclaimed violently, as if in a passion. " You 
 are always asking me questions, always interesting yourself 
 in my business ! I have known you now for several months, 
 and it is time I discovered if what is said is true that you 
 are nothing but a secret agent a Government spy ! "
 
 264 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Crebillon had not moved or flinched. Looking around 
 the room he replied slowly and indifferently : 
 
 " That concerns nobody but myself, as you will realize 
 when you are calmer. Reflect a little. Why should you ask 
 me questions ? I am in this country because I wish to be 
 here just like you, in fact. I have yet to know why you 
 came back so suddenly when you were still in the midst of 
 your studies in London. Is it perhaps possible that you 
 corresponded with the leaders whose names head these lists ? 
 If you come out to China, why should not I do so also ? Reflect 
 well it is a matter of importance." 
 
 The Cantonese gave a short laugh. 
 
 " That is hardly a clever argument for you to use. You 
 know I had been called to the Bar I had finished my law 
 studies before I returned here. This country is, after all, my 
 home. But with you the case is quite different. It makes 
 me believe that what is said is true. I will be frank. Some 
 months ago I took the trouble to telegraph to Europe about 
 you, and a young man who .is in charge of certain work in 
 Brussels went specially over to Paris and spent two weeks 
 there finding out things. I duly received by post a long account 
 of what you had done in Madagascar. There was also a great 
 deal about Brazil. And it appears that you have lived twelve 
 years in England, nominally in the service of a French bank. 
 You see I have some ammunition in reserve as well as 
 you." 
 
 But Crebillon only smiled in a wistful way. 
 
 " What of all that ? It is very natural that I should 
 make a living in the way that interests me. I am not rich, 
 you know, but I have imagination a great deal of imagina- 
 tion and you cannot expect me to remain a bank clerk or 
 something equally unimportant all my life. I do what I can. 
 When will people understand that there is nothing strange 
 at all about me, and that I am neither an assassin nor a burglar 
 though I do not happen to be English ! " 
 
 Once again the two men eyed each other, but this time in 
 no hostile manner, since no real enmity separated them, nor
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 265 
 
 yet with curiosity, since they really understood each other. 
 There was somehow now a flavour of satisfaction and relief 
 in their respective attitudes which made the silence a 
 period of rest rather than a duel. Presently a comprehen- 
 sion that nothing more was necessary caused a smile to break 
 across the face of the Frenchman, and for the first time since 
 the commencement of this remarkable interview he appeared 
 wholly at ease. 
 
 " Dear me," he exclaimed, taking out a pink-and-white 
 handkerchief and dabbing his forehead, " we have been on the 
 verge of fighting one another when I believe the problem is 
 quite simple ! Recent events have perhaps dulled my quick- 
 ness ; otherwise, in spite of some mental and physical fatigue, 
 my methods would have been less crude. Ah, Willy, do not 
 be too hard on a man who has the devil's own time because 
 he is amongst strangers who have no compassion for his 
 troubles." 
 
 Willy Chang's face softened at this appeal. 
 
 " I am sorry if I acted rudely," he said sincerely. " You 
 know I have my troubles as well as you, and I am much 
 younger, too. Do you need any other apology ? " 
 
 " Certainly not ! " cried Crebillon, with Gallic spontaneity. 
 " All is forgotten in the great reconciliation ! " 
 
 He shook hands, as if that act put the seal on everything, 
 and went on rapidly : 
 
 " Now that we understand one another let us get down 
 to business. I frankly require your assistance against the 
 rascality of Chu Ta Ming. Ah, that trick of yours with the 
 typewritten memorandum was well deserved ; had I only 
 taken the warning I could have doubled back in time. As 
 it is I have been swindled in a humiliating way, and if I turn 
 to you it is because I believe that in money matters you are 
 above suspicion. Listen ! " 
 
 Seating himself on the arm of a chair and crossing his legs, 
 he told the tale of the intrigue he had set in motion as if he 
 were a Boccaccio inventing a story to chase away a dull hour. 
 As he talked he warmed to his work and threw in little
 
 266 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 pictures of what he had intended to do if success had greeted 
 his initial efforts. He knew that to the Oriental mind 
 no .more odium attaches to giving money to ruin another's 
 business than in aiming a blow at a dog which suddenly runs 
 across one's path. The only person who can possibly suffer 
 is the receiver of the money ; he is apt to be laughed at ; he 
 may, in fact, be treated with contempt ; and though an in- 
 stance or two will do no great harm, to be permanently 
 associated with the taking of bribes wins much the same bad 
 name as a drunkard incurs in the society of the West. So, 
 with picturesque phrase, the Frenchman talked on. 
 
 " What do you expect me to do ? " inquired the young 
 Chinese when the story had come to an end and the other sat 
 waiting. 
 
 " I want my money back ! " cried Crebillon " every single 
 franc ! " 
 
 The Cantonese made a deprecating gesture as if that were 
 a stupidity. 
 
 " Was it much ? " 
 
 " Much ? A fortune for me 100,000 francs ! I promised 
 that it would be worth a million if all my stipulations were 
 carried out and a concession resulted. But, fortunately, I 
 paid only a fraction in hard money." 
 
 " Have you got a receipt ? " 
 
 " A receipt ? " Crebillon held up his hands in holy horror 
 at such a question. " Not a single scrap of anything in 
 writing ! Chu Ta Ming is much too clever for that." 
 
 Willy Chang sat thinking. 
 
 " I have got a sort of solution ! " he exclaimed at length. 
 " If you are prepared to give me a written statement, duly 
 signed, I think I can bring pressure " 
 
 " A dozen ! " interrupted the other, getting up and going 
 to his desk. " Dictate to me what you like, and I will sign. 
 I have been pestered with telegrams from my principals at 
 home about this matter since you have been away. I must 
 get my money back or some value for it otherwise it will 
 be serious for me. If you want the document properly
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 267 
 
 witnessed I will take it round to the Consulate and get it 
 stamped." 
 
 " All right," assented Willy Chang absently. He had 
 taken a notebook from his pocket and was drafting a declara- 
 tion in legal language. When he had got it to his satisfaction 
 he read it out to Crebillon, who rapidly wrote it down and then 
 translated it. 
 
 " As soon as you have gone I will go and get my signa- 
 ture properly witnessed," he remarked, folding up the paper 
 and placing it in a big official envelope. " Where shall I find 
 you ? " 
 
 " Come this afternoon to my new house," said the young 
 man, speaking listlessly again now that this momentary 
 distraction had been done with. " I shall not go out to-day, 
 nor yet to-morrow, nor for many days. I am tired of the 
 world!" 
 
 " Tired of the world ? you are worrying about politics ! " 
 cried his host. " Do not concern yourself about such things. 
 Politics are not for honest men ; if you touch them they will 
 only put you in bad odour." Then, noting the downcast 
 expression on the young man's face, he added : " Anyway 
 you are always quite safe in the foreign settlements. I 
 guarantee to find Consular protection for you if you come 
 to me and claim it." 
 
 " Thank you, but I am not afraid. I am just tired of 
 everything," repeated the Chinese monotonously, as if that 
 alone interested him. " I wish to go to some place where 
 I will be alone quite alone and able to think. I can tell you 
 another method of indemnifying yourself for your losses with 
 Chu Ta Ming. I advise you to sell Development shares 
 all you can sell ' short ' ; do you understand ? There is a 
 crisis coming in the affairs of that company, I have just 
 heard. Sell and sell and sell very quietly, of course. That 
 will bring your money back." 
 
 When he had gone, Crebillon took up his own hat and 
 stick and prepared to go out too. But he changed his
 
 268 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 mind and began to write in his notebook, for he was a careful 
 man, with the French love of having his data systematically 
 arranged. 
 
 All the while he wrote he could not get the memory 
 of the young man out of his head. He was developing in a 
 manner which no one could have possibly anticipated, and 
 he wondered where it would all end. Being in love certainly 
 no longer obsessed him that much was clear. Then what 
 was it ? He could not say, for he did not know how delicate 
 are Chinese susceptibilities ; nor did he suspect the nature of 
 the subtle humiliation the young man had lately experienced. 
 But, as he suddenly looked up, his eyes lighted on a Chinese 
 scroll he had bought that morning, on which was painted an 
 old man and a lotus-flower a copy of a very favourite Chinese 
 theme and he began gently laughing. 
 
 " The sage who retired from the world to contemplate 
 the lotus the traditional type is reasserting itself," he 
 murmured derisively in French as he locked away his note- 
 book. 
 
 In the end he did not go to the Consulate with the declara- 
 tion which would ruin Chu Ta Ming. That could wait ; he 
 was more anxious about other business, so, walking round 
 to the livery-stable which kept his carriage, he hastily re- 
 quisitioned it, though he had only dismissed the driver an 
 hour before. Crebillon was always very careful about appear- 
 ances ; he would not have dreamed going calling in such 
 a democratic vehicle as a street -jinricksha, as some people 
 did not hesitate doing ; he wished his importance to be 
 realized. 
 
 He drove down the great main thoroughfare, which seemed 
 more crowded than ever, his quick eyes missing not a thing 
 in that great Eastern Vanity Fair. Half-way down the 
 street he was passed by the two elder Yao girls driving a high 
 dogcart at a great pace, in imitation of the smart European 
 ladies they knew by sight, and followed closely by a gig con- 
 taining three fashionably attired native dandies who seemed
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 269 
 
 very much amused with their chase. Crebillon smiled sar- 
 donically after he had saluted the daughters of the Imperial 
 Commissioner, for he had already heard how, disappointed 
 in finding European admirers, they were consoling themselves 
 by flirting outrageously with gay sparks belonging to the 
 country, and thus becoming the talk of the town. Farther 
 on he passed Sir John Weeger walking rapidly, after his wont, 
 his eyes bent to the ground, the usual stump of a cigar between 
 liis teeth, unable to afford himself a carriage because he wasted 
 so much money in other directions. Crebillon was about to 
 offer him a lift when he remembered that he was a close 
 friend of Mortiboy's, and that in all the circumstances it would 
 be better to leave him severely alone. 
 
 When he drew up in front of Mrs. Macniversen's house the 
 number of carriages assembled there bore witness to the fact 
 that that lady was not only at home but had visitors, and he 
 was doubly glad, for he wished to hear everything he possibly 
 could. 
 
 He found her in the cool of her garden presiding over a 
 great ring of chairs which overlooked tennis-courts, on which 
 some people were playing in a listless fashion and arguing 
 about almost every stroke. 
 
 " Vicomte," she exclaimed, greeting him cordially, " you 
 are just the man I want to see ! You always know the latest 
 scandal. We all feel so dull to-day." 
 
 He fell back in pretended astonishment. 
 
 " I know all the latest ? what a thought ! Dear lady, 
 you credit me with too much intelligence. To be quite 
 precise I came here because it is only at your hospitable 
 house that I ever learn anything new ! " He laughed 
 gaily. 
 
 " What have you been doing with yourself that one sees 
 you so little ? " she inquired presently, beginning to walk with 
 him slowly away from the others. 
 
 " Nothing nothing at all. I believe I am the laziest 
 man in the world, and I am not a bit ashamed. But what 
 can you expect in such a climate ! Would you believe it, you
 
 270 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 are the very first person I have spoken to to-day ? I confess 
 it gives me a delicious sensation." 
 
 She looked at him amused. 
 
 " Do you, too, believe that good humour is like Japanese 
 lacquering, and that too much use wears it speedily away ? " 
 
 " Excellent ! " he cried. " I shall remember that and 
 use it as if I had invented it. Now what is it you want to 
 tell me ? " 
 
 " What is this about Mrs. Jerrins ? " said Mrs. Macniversen, 
 turning and looking into his eyes. 
 
 He hesitated a moment, a little disconcerted by the sudden- 
 ness of her attack ; then he remarked, shrugging his shoulders 
 in his inimitable way : 
 
 " It is true. She felt the need of a change and has gone 
 to Japan without so much as saying good-bye to a single one 
 of her friends." 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen stopped in her walk. 
 
 " You fraud ! You are not going to get off as lightly 
 as that. What I want is the beginning and the middle as 
 well as the end in fact, all the details you can think of. I 
 am prepared for anything after being told that that woman 
 Belle Lawson has really gone off with a Chinaman. Have 
 you ever heard anything like that before ? " 
 
 Crebillon became suddenly grave ; then he said pro- 
 testingly, purposely paying no attention to the last part : 
 
 " You forget I am a friend of Mortiboy's. If he ever 
 heard that I had been busy behind his back there is no saying 
 what it might lead to. You know we French, in spite of the 
 extraordinary legends current, are not gossips in the sense you 
 English are. Really, we do not care in the slightest about 
 things which appear to arouse the worst passions of the 
 English. Forgive me if I am unusually frank. We French 
 talk to amuse ourselves, not to make trouble. Surely you can 
 find out everything you wish to from your husband ? " 
 
 She shook her head unabashed by his remarks because 
 she was a woman. 
 
 " That is where you make a mistake," she retorted.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 271 
 
 " Every member of Sir John Weeger's party refuses to speak 
 a word to me about Mortiboy including Mabel Willing. 
 They say that he behaved like a tramp in that attack, which 
 I don't believe was half as serious as they try to make out. 
 They say he went back just as he came alone and that they 
 know nothing at all. Isn't it absurd when we all know per- 
 fectly well that Mrs. Jerrins was away at the same time ? " 
 But as Crebillon remained adamant she added softly : "If 
 you promise to tell me the truth I will tell you something in 
 return, absolutely confidential, which is going to create the 
 biggest storm the town has ever known." 
 
 " The biggest storm the town has ever known ? " echoed 
 Crebillon incredulously. 
 
 " Yes," she replied, and there was conviction in the way 
 she spoke that one word. 
 
 He pretended to reflect. He hated to have a piece of 
 information pass beyond his control so, after a bit, the bait 
 caught him. 
 
 " All right tit for tat, as you English say," he mur- 
 mured, whirling his stick and then striking at the ground. 
 " Here is the truth. For eleven days Mortiboy and Mrs. 
 Jerrins were on a house-boat together. I have found out 
 exactly where they went to, and by what route they came 
 back. Nobody would ever have heard of it had not Chance, 
 that blind yet sapient goddess, made them foolishly venture 
 on to the Great Lake, where everybody goes. Mrs. Jerrins 
 hadn't seen it and wanted to that is the probable explana- 
 tion of that imprudence. There Weeger's messenger heard 
 about them, and Mortiboy, of course, went to the rescue. Mrs. 
 Jerrins was never actually seen, being left behind, but the 
 
 Chinese knew about it, and that is how it came to me " 
 
 He stopped and looked round as he saw Mabel Willing 
 and some others approaching. " Remember," he whispered, 
 " I have your word not to speak I do not want to get myself 
 into trouble serious trouble. ..." 
 
 " What do you think has happened ? " Mabel Willing 
 exclaimed. " The salt guilds have written a letter to Sir
 
 272 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 John, saying that, as they feel personally responsible for the 
 looting of our house-boats by the salt junks, and don't want 
 the good relations between foreigners and Chinese disturbed, 
 they will personally pay us indemnity without an official 
 investigation. I am going to put in a tremendous list of 
 things ! " 
 
 " Dear Mabel," exclaimed Mrs Macniversen, looking at 
 Crebillon, " you are always so provident ! " 
 
 It was not until the last people had gone that she found 
 an opportunity to redeem her promise. Then what she re- 
 lated was so astonishing that Crebillon went off with a serious 
 expression on his face. Instead of driving to the Consulate, as 
 he had really intended to do, he now ordered his carriage to 
 go home by a circuitous route along the country roads. When 
 he had reached a very quiet spot he took out the big official 
 envelope in his pocket, containing the declaration which would 
 ruin Chu Ta Ming, and bit by bit tore it to very small pieces, 
 which he allowed to blow away. He was glad to do that, 
 for he hated entrusting his cards to those who might play 
 them badly. 
 
 " What a lucky chance ! " he murmured thoughtfully. 
 " That young man can be of no further use to me this thing 
 will drive him crazy. Now let me see." 
 
 He began making mental calculations as to how much he 
 could risk in gambling in the way the young man he had so 
 suddenly condemned had suggested, and soon his face was 
 wreathed in smiles.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 " Any man will be secure in his position, however high it may be, 
 if he does not behave himself in a haughty manner ; and will be ever 
 able to keep his wealth if he is frugal and careful in his expenses. 
 
 " When he is able to secure himself in his high position, he can, of 
 course, remain unimpaired in his dignity ; and where he can keep his 
 wealth, he will always remain rich. Having placed himself in a 
 position of honour, and secured the possession of his wealth, he will 
 be able to protect his country and further the welfare of his people. 
 This is the filial duty of a feudal Prince. 
 
 " In the Shih Ching it is thus written : ' Be careful as though you 
 were standing upon the brink of a high precipice or treading on thin 
 ice.'" " THE BOOK OF FILIAL DUTY." 
 
 CHU TA MING was sitting on his black-wood settee 
 in his favourite attitude, with his shoes off and one 
 foot curled under him. Very leisurely he opened the 
 long native envelope which had just been handed to him 
 by the ever-appearing white-haired servitor, all the while 
 perusing the broad band of red running down the centre of 
 the envelope on which was written his name and rank in full 
 as if the communication were of a strictly official nature. He 
 toyed with the envelope some time after he had extracted the 
 thin sheets it contained as if this method of addressing him 
 was an object of suspicion. Every Chinese is like that in the 
 face of something new a rat outside a possible trap. 
 
 At length, settling his glasses on his nose, he eagerly per- 
 used the writing, which was from his relative in Szechuan. His 
 suspicions proved correct. The document was far less flowery 
 than usual indeed, it had a directness about its essential 
 portions associated with mercantile communications. It 
 ran : 
 
 18
 
 274 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " HONOURED ELDER BROTHER, A month has passed 
 since I sent my last communication. I have left your several 
 telegrams and letters unanswered for important reasons 
 which have been difficult to explain until now. 
 
 " It should first be noted that the Great Commander has 
 become suspicious of your wretched servant because of certain 
 reports circulated by those who have not secured benefits 
 from the operations of the foreign company. Though I duly 
 succeeded in quelling these malicious tongues, many complica- 
 tions were thereby introduced, rendering every action of mine 
 open to denouncement. Thus the project of the Belgian 
 Company, to secure the most valuable part of the English 
 Company's rights, has failed completely through lack of 
 funds. The Secretary in charge of the Foreign Affairs de- 
 partment refused to register your documents unless dated 
 according to due date, and as you had not granted the powers 
 asked for to negotiate drafts in your name, it was impossible 
 to arrange co-operation. The Germans are more satisfactory. 
 They have three merchants living quietly here, and they 
 stated to me only yesterday that in no circumstances will 
 they retire, and that they are willing to agree to any plan 
 which ousts the English from a commanding position. I 
 have therefore accepted an advance from them of a few 
 thousand taels, which does not yet cover my deficits. 
 
 " It is to be much regretted, Elder Brother, that the French 
 who form the Belgian Company are not more generous. 
 Money is essential. The agrarian agitation must be carefully 
 fostered, but without constant disbursements nothing more is 
 possible just now. Each leader comes to see me daily and 
 demands something. How can I reply ? The many plans 
 placed in my hands makes my position full of fears. I tremble 
 when I think of possible dangers, with enemies within the 
 state and the foreigners pressing eagerly from without. 
 However, the painful trials we are now experiencing may 
 serve as a stimulus to urge us on to better efforts, and there 
 is no doubt that if we set our minds to save the situation 
 we can do it. For when all is said the fact remains that our
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 275 
 
 nation possesses an immense territory and rich resources. 
 I pray that Heaven will bless us and give us peace and let 
 no strife or disturbance befall us, so that our people may 
 devote their energies uninterruptedly to the development 
 of those resources and the building up of industries. When we 
 steadily follow this course, I am sure that we will attain 
 great prosperity and place the country on an unshakable 
 foundation. Honoured Elder Brother, trusting that this 
 will find you in health and happiness, your humble ser- 
 vant, " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming stuffed the letter into his belt and destroyed 
 the envelope with a decision which showed that a person 
 of character lived beneath the languid exterior he exhibited 
 to the world. The meaning of this peculiar communication 
 was as clear to him as if it had been shouted into his ears : 
 his relative in Szechuan, having determined that no further 
 funds were obtainable from him, would henceforth act en- 
 tirely for himself. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming did not grit his teeth or swear or make 
 violent gestures as a European similarly placed might have 
 done. On the contrary he reserved all his energy all his 
 great irritation to feed his brain-cells, remaining outwardly 
 as lackadaisical and as deliberate as he always was, though a 
 double crisis had come that very day in his affairs. For by a 
 curious coincidence the Vicomte had been to see him only a 
 short while before, and the interview had been unpleasant. 
 Crebillon, whilst at first carefully confining himself to gener- 
 alities, had soon hinted that not only were suspicions every- 
 where abroad about his Chu Ta Ming's intrigues in the 
 matter of Mortiboy's concessions, but that the precise figure 
 of the bribes which had passed hands was now generally 
 known. After that Crebillon had demanded his money back 
 half at once, the other moiety within a reasonable delay. 
 In return for that he had imparted a piece of extraordinary 
 information under the seal of secrecy as if anything in 
 China were secret ! That alone had been such a surprise
 
 276 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 to Chu Ta Ming that he had demanded time to reflect. And 
 now on top of all this had come this disconcerting letter. 
 
 He decided on instant action. Having bathed his face 
 in water so hot that it would have scalded a white man, he 
 dressed himself with particular care in rich silks. Then, with 
 an exquisite fan in his hand on which was painted the famous 
 " Exile's Return " of the Sung Period, he drove in his victoria 
 to the Consulate of a Power never very distinguished for 
 political scrupulousness. He was at once shown in to the 
 Consul-General, a tired, sallow-faced man occupied with a 
 deskful of papers calculated to give him even darker rings 
 round his piercing black eyes than he already possessed. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Chu ! " exclaimed that official. " What brings 
 you here to-day ? You are surely not developing any love for 
 such disagreeable things as the Consulates ? " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming laughed easily, and then sat down, nursing 
 one knee in a characteristic mannerism. 
 
 " No ; I do not love Consulates any more to-day than 
 yesterday," he confessed. " What an odious principle the 
 word extra-territoriality embodies ! " 
 
 The Consul-General looked bored. 
 
 " You surely did not come to discuss that ? " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming shook his head. 
 
 " No ; frankly, I have not strength enough." Then he 
 promptly contradicted himself in the Chinese way. " Still, 
 it would interest me to know why the Capitulations in Turkey 
 are more favourable to the sovereign power than the Foreign 
 Treaties in this country." 
 
 " Hum ! " said the Consul-General, refusing to be drawn, 
 and looking at the ceiling. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming suddenly cleared his throat. 
 
 " About Szechuan." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the other. " You have some news from 
 Szechuan ? " 
 
 At this his caller affected great surprise, but as that did 
 not seem to produce any tangible result, he sighed and an- 
 nounced :
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 277 
 
 " Life is no longer worth living in China. In the old days, 
 which I am sure you remember, when we li ved together up the 
 Yangtze, we had some leisure, some time at our disposal in 
 which to pursue happiness. Now almost every day brings its 
 fresh complication." 
 
 " I should preferably say every hour!" exclaimed the Consul- 
 General, looking at his desk. " My pile never decreases." 
 
 " The extension of the telegraph and postal systems is one 
 of the curses of modern official life," pursued the Chinese, 
 playing with what he had in mind, " not to speak of the 
 manner in which international rivalries offer a fruitful source 
 of uneasiness to all classes of territorial officials. I try never 
 to go near my office, but business pursues me to my very bed, 
 and I can never even sleep quietly, safe from intrusions." 
 
 The Consul-Genera 1 remained wrapped in silence and 
 contemplated his boots. 
 
 "I have some news from Szechuan," said Chu Ta Ming, 
 fanning himself slowly with his silken fan, on which was so 
 exquisitely painted the " Exile's Return." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the other, looking up again. " It is a 
 curious thing how much patience is necessary in this country 
 even with men like yourself who are entirely Europeanized." 
 
 " Yes," continued Chu Ta Ming, prevaricating with de- 
 liberation and artistic excellence ; "I have good news for 
 you. This English Company is not only not making any 
 progress, but is in imminent danger of dissolution " 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed the foreign official, forgetting his 
 diplomacy in his excitement. " You mean to tell me that 
 Mortiboy has lost ? " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming nodded slowly and deliberately. His 
 manner was the manner of a man who is reluctantly frank. 
 
 "Yes lost and will be ruined for the following 
 reasons." He cleared his throat. " Let us understand 
 the question thoroughly. In the first place, Mortiboy 
 attempted too much ; had he been content with some reason- 
 able scheme, I have no doubt that his ability and his courage 
 would have made him win But he is a stubborn man, who
 
 278 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 will listen to no one least of all to me whom he thinks 
 mad. In launching at the very first blush a concern capital- 
 ized at an excessive figure he invited mad speculation, which 
 we all know is a bad thing for commercial companies at their 
 inception. By aspiring to the mineral wealth of several 
 provinces, one of which alone contains a population bigger 
 than that of decadent France " -the Consul-General, in 
 spite of himself, smiled at the side-thrust " he has deliber- 
 ately given a political flavour to the whole business which was 
 bound to ruin it. And, last of all, thinking that Chinese 
 can be bullied into acquiescence, whenever they cannot be 
 bribed, is a fallacy inviting ruin. Three grand errors, you 
 see. The position now is simply nearly this. Six months 
 have passed ; the nature, extent, and value of the concessions 
 have not been properly established ; no work worth speaking 
 of has been done ; there are indications of a panic on the local 
 stock exchange. The coming settlement will therefore see 
 the company a public bankrupt, and liquidation must com- 
 mence." He sank back as if tired from this long speech. 
 
 " But," exclaimed the Consul-General, greatly excited, 
 " where have you obtained ah 1 these facts ? Are you quite 
 sure that they are correct ? " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming smiled gently but ironically. 
 
 " I am not talking for your edification. It is a great 
 nuisance for me to pay calls." He began fanning himself 
 again slowly. " I came to tell you this because now is the time 
 to take action strike whilst the iron is hot ! I came to tell 
 you that if you do not seize your opportunity, France will. 
 I am inclined to help you that is all." 
 
 The Consul-General studied his visitor with his piercing 
 eyes as he sat there in his charming silks. The Consul - 
 General could not make up his mind ; his own telegraphic 
 information coincided up to a certain point with what had 
 just been said but it did not go nearly so far not nearly so 
 far. 
 
 " Why do you come telling me these things, Chu ta-jen ? " 
 he said, dropping into the vernacular, and altering his manner
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 279 
 
 instinctively to suit the genius of that sinuous and insinuating 
 tongue. " What profit do you wish to draw ? " 
 
 The Chinese made a gesture violent, dissatisfied. 
 
 "Nothing; I draw no profit at all yi-ko-ta-pu-chuan" 
 (I do not earn a penny) . Then, as if to bring things back to 
 where he had himself brought them, he shifted his speech into 
 English. "It is simply the old story the gospel which Li 
 Hung Chang preached. China's only salvation lies in pitting 
 the foreign powers against one another, in preserving the 
 balance. That is why I am determined to have you in 
 Szechuan. Will you come ? " 
 
 The Consul-General sprang completely out of his reserve. 
 
 " If you will secure for us absolutely secure the anti- 
 mony mines and the whole of the Black Hill region, I consent ! " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming got up and held out his hand. 
 
 " Very good. You can take it as settled." 
 
 The Consul-General was so pleased that not only did he 
 get up to say good-bye, but he accompanied his visitor to 
 the door which is the correct native custom. That gave 
 Chu Ta Ming the chance he wanted. 
 
 " I shall instruct them in Szechuan to arrange the whole 
 matter with your people on the spot. There is the matter 
 of the transfer and other fees payable here." 
 
 " How much do you want at once ? " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming mentioned the sum and hastened to his 
 victoria. Now, giving another order, he fell back into his 
 seat, thinking hard. In the language of military strategy 
 he was working on interior lines : he had therefore a permanent 
 strategical advantage if he handled his units correctly. It 
 was very necessary, however, to keep each part of his cam- 
 paign separate, and not to allow the various movements to 
 clash. 
 
 This time his carriage pulled up in front of the principal 
 bank. The tall flight of steps was thronged with a busy 
 multitude, coming and going, for the closing-hour was at hand. 
 Europeans and Chinese were mixed impartially, business 
 temporarily fusing the races as they burnt incense at the great
 
 28o THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 shrine of Mammon. Chu Ta Ming, well known to all the 
 town, nodded briskly right and left as he hastened into the 
 building. He did not stop, however, to speak to anyone 
 until he came to the doors of the manager's private office. 
 There he singled out a young man who had just come out with 
 a pile of papers, and to him he whispered something. The 
 young man nodded, and disappeared behind the folding 
 glass doors. Almost immediately he reappeared. 
 
 " The manager will see you," he said, with English brevity. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming hastened forward past bill brokers, with 
 contract-slips in their hands, who were anxiously waiting to 
 be seen, and fretting at this new delay. 
 
 "Hallo, Chu-ta-jen\" exclaimed the manager, greeting 
 him familiarly. " You don't want a loan, do you, that you 
 come like this ? " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming fell into the red-leather chair at the side of 
 the desk and shook his head. He had a beautiful manner, 
 soothing to everybody. 
 
 " No," he said emphatically ; " no loans for me. I believe 
 my account is in a fairly satisfactory condition." 
 
 At that the manager laughed in the way that bank 
 managers are pleased to do when customers with big balances 
 make jokes. For, like most patriotic officials, Chu Ta Ming 
 kept almost every penny he possessed far from possible 
 harm at the hands of his fellow-countrymen. His huge 
 balance at this establishment had been the subject of much 
 confidential comment as it grew from month to month by 
 mysterious transfers. 
 
 " Well, what is it, then ? " inquired the banker, looking at 
 the glass door. The brokers were becoming impatient, and 
 business might be lost, for the silver market was very jumpy 
 that afternoon. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming saw the look, and hurried for once. 
 
 " I come to give you a tip," he said nonchalantly. " I 
 have no doubt that you will remember it some day, if I need 
 your assistance." He leaned forward so that the young 
 man at a neighbouring desk, who was working out exchanges
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 281 
 
 on all the markets of the world at a frantic pace and throwing 
 slips at an office-boy as if he wished to hit and hurt him, should 
 not overhear. " Shut down on the Development Company. 
 No advances." 
 
 The manager gave a suppressed whistle. 
 
 " As bad as that ? " he remarked. " Then the reports are 
 true. Poor old Mortiboy. I am sorry." 
 
 Then he made a rapid note and again looked at the door. 
 Chu Ta Ming rose. 
 
 " That's all I have to say. If there is anything you need 
 in the matter of precise information you can send a clerk to 
 me in the usual way, after dark." 
 
 He hastened out. As he drove along the teeming river- 
 front he thought rapidly and intelligently. He realized that 
 he had at last burnt his boats that there was no retreat, 
 save in the form of a debacle. He had declared war right and 
 left and had boldly entered the enemy's country. 
 
 So be it. It was essential. In his obsession he saw the 
 world as an abode of liars and schemers who were bent on 
 openly and ferociously ruining China. He was a defender 
 a saviour, in fact, where the dyke had been breached. He 
 would hurl them all against one another by clever cross-play 
 and shatter them to bits. He would show them who played 
 best. Yet though satisfied with what he had already done, 
 he was too clever to be entirely at ease. The dangers he was 
 confronting were immense ; this he recognized. He began 
 to go over the list of his opponents slowly and carefully. 
 
 Mortiboy, Crebillon, his relative in Szechuan these had 
 been adequately handled. The Imperial Commissioner, Yao 
 Pu Yao, though he had not been directly dealt with, had been 
 kept so closely informed of the troubles in the great rural 
 districts which the Development Company proposed to ex- 
 ploit that, faithful to the traditions of the official class, he 
 had withdrawn more and more from any active role, a course 
 of action which absolved him to a certain degree from re- 
 sponsibility. There therefore only remained since the 
 others were all figure-heads one person.
 
 282 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Willy Chang he was the problem ! How was he to be 
 handled ? Supposing he threw discretion to the winds ? 
 
 Chu Ta Ming was so determined to find the solution that 
 suddenly he ordered his carriage in another direction, and, 
 coming to a quiet spot, got out and, with his arms crossed 
 behind his back, began slowly walking. He must turn it 
 over in his mind in every possible way and make quite 
 sure 
 
 Suddenly he gave an exclamation, and in his excitement 
 babbled to himself in the vernacular. Then, alarmed at his 
 indiscretion, he cast a swift look round him to see if anyone 
 was near. No. He could enjoy his discovery to the very 
 fullest extent ; he could slap his thighs and crack his finger- 
 joints childish mannerisms which he sometimes affected 
 through an excess of emotion. Now he had the reason why 
 Crebillon had come. He had expected him to act like this 
 there was no doubt ! What cunning devils the French ! 
 At last, master of himself again, he retraced his steps and 
 found his carriage. Though the hour was now so late that it 
 was becoming dark, he gave another order which took the 
 carriage still farther away from the heart of the town. 
 
 It was again a Consulate. This time he was ushered into 
 a room where a loud-voiced fleshy man greeted him as if he 
 had been a guest arriving at an hotel a guest who has 
 expressed a desire to be shown the very best rooms. The 
 two sat together for the best part of an hour. At the end, 
 Chu Ta Ming, mirabile dictu, signed a document which was 
 duly witnessed. 
 
 " You can rely upon me to act as we have agreed," said 
 the loud-voiced man. " My Government, as you know, is 
 devoted to purity. My great country is determined to re- 
 move the reproach which rests on its citizens in these parts 
 particularly with such an outrageous case as this. I hope you 
 will not fail to execute the arrest of that young man as soon 
 as we have taken action in open court." 
 
 After that, absolutely exhausted from this strenuous day, 
 the Chinese went home, stripped off his elegant silks, drank a
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 283 
 
 cup of soup, ate two mouthfuls of rice, and then lay down 
 to his drug, taking pipe after pipe as eagerly as a starved 
 baby sucks at his mother's breasts. Soon the earth became 
 a great multicoloured sphere that rocked beneath him, and 
 with rasping breathing he fell back and slept.
 
 " What makes an Empire great is its being like a down-flowing 
 river, the central point towards which all the smaller streams under 
 Heaven converge; or like the female throughout the world who by 
 quiescence always overcomes the male." " THE BOOK OF LAO Tzu." 
 
 MORTIBOY, his head of black hair shot with more 
 threads of grey than had been there a month before, sat 
 bent over his great office-desk. He was engaged in 
 scanning a shipping report, just in wet from the press, and he 
 ran his pencil down the columns of small print with the rapidity 
 and care born of long practice. Presently he came on what he 
 had hoped to find with an involuntary exclamation of satis- 
 faction. The Japanese mail-steamer, which had been expected 
 at daybreak, was actually in ; it would not be many minutes 
 before the letters she brought were distributed. He con- 
 sulted his watch. Yes, in less than an hour the letters should 
 come, that is if there were any for him. 
 
 For a few moments he sat in a brown study; then, 
 with new resolution in his manner, he threw the shipping list 
 into the waste-paper basket, and continued doing the same 
 with piles of other papers. He wished to get rid of this 
 accumulation, so that he would have nothing to think about ; 
 he had about him too many reminders that business means 
 no peace. He went on monotonously without a pause. Only 
 when he came to a number of share reports, neatly clipped 
 together, did he show signs of hesitation. For a long time 
 he held these documents bunched in his hand, proving that 
 he was of two minds regarding their disposal. Indeed, they 
 gave him so much food for reflection that, obeying a growing
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 285 
 
 impulse, he let himself fall back loosely in his red-leather 
 chair. Sitting like that, with the disturbing reports tightly 
 clenched in his hand, he stared out of the window wondering 
 what the future would really bring in this world of warring 
 values. 
 
 The prospect was admirably suited to stimulate reflection 
 of that sort. Before him lay the busy mud-coloured river, 
 teeming with life. Junks, with their great sails set to the 
 morning breeze, were coursing swiftly downstream on the 
 ebb-tide, in regular fleets like the merchantmen of old a 
 palpable danger to such steamers as were navigating the 
 anchorage. These every now and again blew roaring blasts 
 on their whistles, which echoed far up and down the river, 
 and sounded for all the world like the protests of enormous 
 giants angered by the menaces of puny enemies. Every tune 
 a steamer bellowed persistently like that the busy throng 
 along the water-front, attracted by the prospect of disaster, 
 turned and stared ; but though at times it seemed that the 
 reckless junks were sailing right into the forepeak of some 
 steel monster, at the very last second of the eleventh hour 
 they inevitably put over their helms and left the fairway 
 clear. . . . 
 
 Inshore directly opposite him a long line of clumsy 
 cargo-boats, loaded with American oil, were being towed 
 slowly upstream. Blinding flashes of light came endlessly 
 from the white-metal casings as the sun struck them, as if the 
 kerosene were a fearful explosive and the flashes meant ruin. 
 Yet the real explanation was prosaic. On each boat, squatting 
 on their haunches in little groups, like men who have suddenly 
 come upon something valuable and are very privately dis- 
 cussing what shall be done, native tinsmiths were at work. 
 Nominally they were soldering leaky tins ; in reality they were 
 pilfering, according to an immemorial custom, a tiny cup- 
 ful from each unit in the interest of their guild the lawful 
 percentage the consignee has been doomed to lose ever since 
 the beginning of this foreign trade. Everywhere there was 
 that same note : human nature attacking weak spots, and
 
 286 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 thriving thereby. Mortiboy knew it all he knew every trick, 
 and because he knew he watched these things with tired 
 indifference. 
 
 Out in the stream a foreign man-of-war that had come 
 in during the night swarmed with tiny figures clad in white, 
 every Jack man of the crew busily engaged in making things 
 shipshape for a prolonged stay. Numbers of the little white- 
 and-red passenger sampans hovered round her, just as fish 
 swarm round some prey. The sampan-men were waiting 
 patiently for the seamen to finish their labours, so that they 
 could convey them to haunts of pleasure, where they would 
 receive from brown damsels, with heavy lips and eyes black 
 as sloes, the allotted seignorage for bringing so much good 
 grist to their mills. Everything was so easy here ; every- 
 thing could be had by merely clapping the hands. That was 
 why there was this slow, uneasy, ceaseless movement, this 
 swarming population which, whether you willed it or not, 
 endlessly extracted from every conceivable thing a pittance 
 with the patience of ants and the eyes of hawks. All things 
 surrendered their toll ; it was impossible to avoid that per- 
 sistence and that mighty collective effort. On the river and 
 along the river and far from the river the process went on 
 endlessly and perennially, cunning eyes and cunning hands 
 corrupting everything. Only the old opium hulks, where the 
 rich opium was stored, were spared from this attack. Anchored 
 far from shore and yet not too far the opium hulks were 
 quite deserted, as if no one dared to approach them ; silent, 
 dreadful vessels, bursting with enough drug to ruin an ancient 
 civilization and yet not ashamed. . . . 
 
 Mortiboy looked at it all without seeing the details because 
 the scene was so familiar. He had known it during many 
 crowded years, and each portion represented a vivid experi- 
 ence. He remembered, when he had first arrived, how greatly 
 he had been struck by the endless bustle : the creaking of 
 the wheelbarrows crawling along the river-front, loaded with 
 cargo ; the cries of the sampan-men, the melodious choruses 
 of the junkmen as they worked their great sweeps, the staccato
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 287 
 
 calls of the street hawkers, the shrill falsetto voices disput- 
 ing together, the endless barking of dogs. Then, after some 
 years, other phases had mastered him and left their mark ; 
 for instance, the curious slackness which comes before noon 
 and only diminishes with the declension of the sun ; the 
 manner in which the native population retaliated by subtle 
 revenges ; the rudeness of the governing caste ; the lewdness 
 where women were concerned. Then had come other im- 
 pressions, each overcasting and obliterating the memory of 
 the former ones, like the changes which are wrought in a land- 
 scape by the rapid advance of a train. . . . Then at last, 
 when his material success had become pronounced, it had all 
 been fused into a vague general activity, a wrestling by masses 
 of men hungering for prosperity and caring nothing for the 
 method, men only desiring a quick piling-up of profits and 
 welcoming foreigners for that reason. ... At this stage, the 
 stage he had reached some years ago, the wise men from the 
 West (that is those who had been clever enough to acquire a 
 competence) threw down their pens, transferred their bank 
 balances to the other side of the globe, and went home for 
 good knowing instinctively that if they remained any longer 
 they would be fully assimilated and lose the power of being 
 different. . . . 
 
 The wise men of the West ! 
 
 How he used to laugh at them as weaklings going home 
 in the heyday of their success, their wives weeping furtively 
 as endless lines of little red Chinese crackers, festooned from 
 pole to pole, were fired as God-speed by their servants, their 
 babies crowing happily in the arms of their amahs, who were 
 carrying them home, with every one crowding round and 
 congratulating them as if they were escaping ! . . . He had 
 laughed at them, finding in their precipitate retreat something 
 which smacked of abandoning positions only partially captured 
 and needing every ounce of strength to be held against the 
 insidious counter-attacks so constantly delivered. He would 
 never do that, he had thought times without end ; he would 
 stay and be the last man home of his generation at least. . . .
 
 288 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Yet now he suddenly found that his zest for the game was 
 gone that he, too, suddenly felt different, as they always 
 said they felt, after too many years in China. He knew that 
 his singleness of purpose was not what it had once been. 
 
 Not what it had once been ? Why ? . . . 
 
 He clenched in his hand the bundle of market reports 
 which advertised the ceaseless cares of the changing hours. 
 Round and round went the great wheel, with myriads clinging 
 to it and many falling under. It always went round in the 
 same way in burning summer and in raw winter and in 
 spring and in autumn, and he must go round too, or fall. 
 Yet he did not want that : he wished something different 
 from what seemed inexorable ; he wished to be his own master 
 in things which no man can master save by flight. The spirit 
 of revolt burned in him so fiercely that, yielding to the flame, 
 he angrily cast the papers in his hand under the desk and 
 closed his eyes. 
 
 Why had this wave come over him so suddenly after she 
 had been gone so many days ? He became fascinated with 
 the question. He pursued it ardently. . . . 
 
 He tried to recover the impression of the first day alone, 
 after they had come back so hurriedly from that strange 
 ending to their adventure and she had so hurriedly gone on 
 board the first mail-steamer leaving for Japan. He re- 
 membered that that first day had not been so bad, perhaps 
 because so much urgently awaited his attention. Yes that 
 first day had not seemed so bad. 
 
 The second day what had happened on the second day ? 
 Ages seemed to have elapsed since then. What had happened? 
 Suddenly he remembered. There had been the endless inter- 
 view with the Imperial Commissioner Yao Pu Yao and Chu 
 Ta Ming and other Chinese dignitaries who kept on coming 
 and going all through the day, openly upset by the dangerous 
 deadlock in the company's affairs particularly by the ugly 
 reports in the native press yet eager to find out how much 
 more capital was immediately available, and what the policy 
 of the directors would be regarding its disposal. That inter-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 289 
 
 view had lasted far into the night and brought nothing but 
 negative results, which is inevitable when people fight vital 
 battles, studiously masking the main issue, because they fear 
 to approach it openly, and concentrating their energy on 
 superficial matters which they all despise. 
 
 After that interview he remembered that he had spent 
 much time with his colleagues, trying to reconcile the curious 
 conflict of statements made by these blind leaders of the 
 blind, who at one and the same time desired success and 
 failure, so that they might fill their pockets and yet save 
 their heads. Through all the web of intrigues in which this 
 great affair was now enmeshed one thing stood out clearly 
 enmity for what he represented ; a great, growing, remark- 
 able enmity ; an enmity fanned by the vituperations of native 
 leader-writers who violently proclaimed that the country 
 was being sold up by corrupt officials. The thought had so 
 greatly oppressed him that he had had scant time for other 
 thoughts. It had become plain to him that not only were 
 very intricate manoeuvres going on secretly, but that each 
 of the protagonists ranged against him was ignorant of 
 details known to the others. United up to a certain point by 
 their common enmity to something alien that is, Western and 
 foreign, and therefore disruptive they had divided again 
 and again during that long debate by imperceptible shades 
 as new points were attacked, always forming new combina- 
 tions, always defeating guesswork, always foiling all normal 
 solutions, just as the kaleidoscope, gently turned, presents 
 subtle changes which even the quickest mind cannot foresee. 
 It had been an astounding experience, a maddening display 
 of intellectual subtleties. Perhaps it was the thought that 
 he was doomed indefinitely to this problem of elucidation 
 that had slowly sickened him. His present mood, which 
 affected him as would ordinary home-sickness, was the child 
 of all that had gone before. 
 
 Why had he insisted that she should go away ? Why 
 had he not allowed matters to find their logical solution 
 without the intervention of his will ? She had said that 
 19
 
 290 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 she was ready to face things as they had almost involuntarily 
 made them for each other, and he should have believed her. 
 Yet something stronger than himself had forced him to insist 
 the fear, perhaps, that the breath of scandal, becoming like 
 a mighty wind with the strength of every woman's lungs 
 behind it, would sweep her perilously near perdition. For he 
 knew that there had been very much talk, oceans of talk. 
 
 As he sat there, with his eyes closed, everything came 
 back to him in a flash : that marvellous first evening he had 
 spent with her after his game of tennis, because he had so 
 needed womanly sympathy, his reluctant return home 
 when the night was half gone, his walk in the garden, and 
 then that deadly surprise Belle Lawson waiting for him 
 upstairs. When he had thought to flee it all for a few brief 
 days Fate had pursued in a still crueller mood, and in that 
 gloomy temple he had first realized that the consequences 
 of our actions can pursue us to the ends of the world. There 
 was something in that irony of events which made him feel 
 as nothing else had ever done. 
 
 A knock at the door, and the entry of his velvet-footed 
 office-boy momentarily distracted him, and he looked up 
 wearily. 
 
 " Tell him to come back again," he said monotonously, 
 hearing who it was. He would not move an inch or speak a 
 word just now. If only he could wait there must be letters 
 from her ! He felt that a real turning-point in his life had 
 arrived, and that after this it would be easier to win or 
 fail. 
 
 Letters, indeed, were coming all the time, but they were 
 not the ones he wanted. Again and again the velvet-footed 
 man appeared and deposited envelopes on a small table beside 
 the desk. Each time he did so he flicked his almond eyes 
 round slyly at his master as if to learn what secret kept him 
 sitting so still. And each time, as soon as the door was closed, 
 Mortiboy picked up what he had brought, only to be disap- 
 pointed. Yet there must be letters, he was sure of it ! 
 
 At last the man entered with a different air. He had a
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 291 
 
 canvas bag in his hand containing a foreign mail, which he 
 laid down carefully. 
 
 Waiting until he was gone Mortiboy opened the bag slowly. 
 
 He slowly reddened as he realized that there were three 
 letters in her handwriting three letters from her. . . . Very 
 carefully, by means of the postmarks, he arranged them in 
 their order of posting, glancing round the while almost as if 
 he were engaged in a nefarious undertaking. Behind him 
 were offices filled with clerks and accountants, men who 
 constantly needed to see him ; perhaps one might come in 
 now. He listened for a while. Complete silence reigned. 
 Everybody was busy. With quick decision he tore open the 
 first letter and commenced to read. 
 
 " DEAREST, I have wanted to write to you, but I miss 
 you too much. All that I can think of is that I want you, 
 that there is a terrible longing in my heart for you. Already I 
 feel that you have been swallowed up in the pitiless spaces 
 of the East, that I could not even find you in those endless 
 narrow streets which wind in and around that great noisome 
 city. ... I miss you so much that every step in the corridor 
 startles me. I find myself straining my ears at the slightest 
 sound ; and if the gay-faced Japanese who waits on me knocks 
 at my door at night with letters my heart almost stops beating. 
 I don't suppose there has been time for a letter of yours to 
 reach me yet, but already it seems ages since we went away 
 together, and greater ages still since we parted. ... I was 
 so happy with you, so happy that I used to laugh to myself 
 from sheer joy. Everything was beautiful, although I told 
 you so little. Every emotion was what I had been waiting 
 for for years : nothing was too much or too little. ... I 
 wanted you so greatly long before I had ever seen you. And 
 what I liked most of all was to feel your head in that little 
 niche the soft hollow of my neck. ... I could tell you all 
 sorts of things, but I don't dare. Somehow I feel already 
 as if you had slipped out of my life. Of course, if you were
 
 292 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 here, you would tell me not to be silly, and ask me how it was 
 possible to think such things after all that has passed ; but as 
 I write my throat is filled with sobs. . . . That is the pity of 
 caring so much. . . . 
 
 " It is no use I can't write to you. I am too wretched. 
 Perhaps to-morrow. . . ." 
 
 He read the letter over several times, moved in a manner 
 he had never known before. He could hardly understand 
 what he read. The broken sentences became wonderful 
 to him, things of joy, messages of hope, that made him 
 marvel. That was written to him by the woman he had 
 hardly talked love to, although he had loved her. ... As 
 the idea beat in upon him, and he considered it in its new 
 aspect, he was amazed beyond the power of expression. Now 
 he let one hand drop heavily on the desk as if he had lost the 
 power of controlling himself. He wanted to sit like that 
 for ever. Outside his office-door he could hear somebody 
 pacing quickly up and down, and muttering as he did so, 
 and then stopping to listen. Jacks had evidently come back 
 again Jacks wanted to see him Jacks wanted to see him 
 badly. It was something very urgent. 
 
 He balanced the thin sheet of hotel note-paper between 
 his fingers and picked out the words again and again : "I 
 was so happy with you, so happy that I used to laugh to my- 
 self from sheer joy." Sitting in his worn office-chair, which 
 had known so much stress and toil, this confession over- 
 whelmed him. 
 
 He pulled his hard chin in a characteristic gesture, wonder- 
 ing about it all. Those words would mean a lot to him in the 
 long run ; he had never thought of himself as a person possess- 
 ing the power of conferring happiness ; he had been too 
 occupied for that. Now all was changed in a queer, curious 
 way. 
 
 He fingered the other letters, unable to make up his mind 
 whether he should open them or wait. He was not troubled 
 by the thought that he was perhaps delaying crucial matters :
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 293 
 
 just now his supreme wish was not to diminish the effect of 
 this first message, this great, wonderful thing. . . . Somehow 
 he felt that he would like to sit all day long with that sheet 
 containing those words between his hands, basking in the 
 sunshine it cast. Then something in the quick step out- 
 side his office-door caught him. He controlled himself, and 
 sweeping everything under his blotter, he called sharply in 
 the voice of a man accustomed to command : 
 
 " Jacks ! " 
 
 Instantly the office door was flung open, and Jacks, his 
 straw hair in a disarray, his sun-helmet on the back of his 
 head, burst in. 
 
 " You keep a fellow waiting a long time, even for a blessed 
 taipan (partner)," he began in preliminary protest, frowning 
 angrily and moving his hands in a way that showed how his 
 patience had been taxed. 
 
 But Mortiboy only answered curtly : 
 
 " I'm in a hurry to-day myself. Be as brief as you 
 can." 
 
 At that, notebook in hand, talking in a curious voice, 
 almost as if he had been drinking, though he had not been 
 near a bar, Jacks began in a rambling way : 
 
 " There's no use hiding it, Mortiboy ; I've made up my 
 mind. The market is going to hell if you don't come out 
 openly and support it. I'm loaded up to my neck and cannot 
 possibly settle unless a change comes. The damned Chinese 
 are selling like madmen, and unless you stop 'em it will come 
 to a regular smash. All of them are forecasting a panic. 
 Listen to this morning's business." Now he began to read 
 from his notebook in the jargon of the market-place. 
 " Opened at 340 nominal no buyers ; 337^ two blocks 
 settled, only about 300 shares. Sellers at 335, 330-325 no 
 business. At eleven o'clock 500 shares at 315, by an outside 
 broker, and absolute collapse. Sellers at 300, 295, 290, 285. 
 At 280 buyers appeared, covering bare sales. Three thousand 
 shares done, market recovered to 285 nominal with a weak 
 tone. That means fifty-five points in a morning even
 
 294 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Hai-Shang can't stomach that. And the banks have been 
 calling in credits all the morning ; they've been scared too. 
 They want two lacs from me ! Two lacs ! " He made a 
 violent gesture as if to proclaim the absurdity. Then he 
 concluded : " Some fellows must have been in the know 
 that fellow Crebillon's just taken eight hundred shares from 
 me you can see what that means." 
 
 He closed his notebook with a snap and pushed it into his 
 pcoket ; then, changing his mind, he pulled it out again and 
 stood expectant. 
 
 " Well ? " said Mortiboy, after a long interval, during which 
 he had not moved. 
 
 " What are you going to do ? " asked Jacks sullenly, 
 holding to his original idea. 
 
 " Nothing," replied Mortiboy. He leaned back in his 
 chair and looked steadily out of the window. 
 
 Jacks, nonplussed, took a cigarette from his pocket, but 
 instead of lighting it began biting it savagely. The tobacco- 
 juice stained his lips and made a mess of his long blond 
 moustache, which looked as if it had been badly dyed. Yet 
 that sailor's habit appeared to bring him some relief, for his 
 expression slightly relented. 
 
 " You've got to do something, Mortiboy," he said at last 
 in a querulous voice, as if he were already half ashamed of 
 his panic, throwing the remains of the tobacco into the waste- 
 paper basket. " Everybody has backed you, you know ; 
 everybody expects it, and you can't leave people in the lurch. 
 Poor men's savings have been put in widows', orphans', 
 everybody's ! And the damned Chinese are trying to break 
 us. Are you sure you don't want to do anything ? " 
 
 Mortiboy appeared to be weighing the pros and cons very 
 carefully. He stared out of the window so fixedly that Jacks 
 did not dare interrupt thoughts which he pictured to himself 
 as being occupied with millions. 
 
 " What's Isaacs doing ? " inquired the maker of this 
 trouble unexpectedly. 
 
 " Selling like mad," growled the broker.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 295 
 
 " Moses ? " 
 
 " Madder still." 
 
 " Raphael ? " 
 
 " Same game." 
 
 At that Mortiboy laughed softly, and his eyes, which 
 had been hard and expressionless, suddenly lighted up with 
 amusement. 
 
 " Whole tribe as usual in the same boat, paddling like 
 fury after the sampans the same as with opium and exchange. 
 They don't understand anything about independent views, 
 in spite of the vaunted commercial instinct. Well, Jacks, 
 pluck up ! There are seventeen days to the settlement yet ; 
 we may contrive something before then. Now you must go ! 
 Spratt is out there standing swearing it's five minutes past 
 noon. We've got to settle a point of law regarding the 
 company. And when we've settled that we're going ahead. 
 Do you understand ? " He turned and looked at the broker, 
 who was looking at him fixedly, as if he expected more. It 
 was hard to understand why Jacks should stand like that. 
 " Wait let me think. Be mysterious devilish mysterious 1 
 That'll make the knowing ones smell a rat. Understand ? Very 
 mysterious and just wait." He wheeled his chair round with a 
 jerk. " Spratt ! that you ? Go into the directors' room and 
 get your clerk to begin reading out the notice. I'll be in when 
 you call. You've got to ransack the Treaties from the very 
 beginning to the very end to find out what that dispatch from 
 the viceroy means, and how we stand. The others can listen 
 they must be in there." 
 
 Spratt, a typical company-lawyer, close-shaven, rotund, 
 urbane, with two eyes keenly fixed on the main chance, passed 
 with a nod and a mechanical smile into the Board-room. 
 Jacks grunted unintelligibly, like a bear with a sore head 
 and vanished. The patter of his pony's hoofs and the rattle 
 of his broker's trap put into action by the native driver 
 the moment his foot touched the step, as if that had been a 
 spring distracted Mortiboy's attention for a second or two ; 
 then, in the room across the passage, above the whir of the
 
 296 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 overhead electric fan, he heard a few remarks exchanged 
 between the directors as they sat down. The clerk read 
 something in a quick mumble and immediately stopped. 
 The leaves of a ponderous volume were turned over audibly. 
 Now the clerk cleared his throat and commenced declaiming, 
 almost sonorously, as if impressed by the language, the 
 preamble to the first Treaty. 
 
 " Victoria by the Grace of God, Queen of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, 
 Defender of the Faith " 
 
 Mortiboy, satisfied that he would be left in peace, once more 
 drew the letters from under his blotter. He glanced at the 
 first one, which lie had already read so many times, and 
 replaced it methodically in its envelope. Now, with a quick 
 movement, he tore open the second. With his eyebrows pulled 
 down in the frown marking concentration with him, carefully 
 and slowly he began reading. 
 
 " DEAREST, I walked on air yesterday. I ran up and 
 down the temple-steps, skipped over all the puddles which 
 last night's rain had left, did all sorts of other mad things, 
 and finally, on my way up a hill, I noticed a woman in a cubby 
 little shop painting boots on plaster generals. Suddenly I 
 felt I had to paint those boots myself because of my great 
 need to do something to give vent to my feelings. . . . 
 
 " As soon as I began the woman slipped off the stool and 
 sat on the mat and watched me, hardly breathing, as if some- 
 thing had told her my secret necessity. I painted the boots 
 beautifully, making them very black and shiny, and I was so 
 careful of the trousers, not the tiniest speck to spoil them. 
 We laughed together, she and I I from the joy in my heart 
 and the process was slow. At last I handed back the general, 
 all complete, with a bit of money ; but she wouldn't take 
 that, and ran after me with another dry soldier carefully 
 wrapped up in beautiful white paper, which she said I must 
 accept. I couldn't take such a crumbly kind of general home, 
 in spite of what the painting of the boots had done for me, so
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 297 
 
 on my way back I picked out a little girl, who was sitting in a 
 window playing with her mother's hair, and gave it to her. 
 
 " Your letter came yesterday. All at once the world 
 had changed for me, and if I had been alone I should have 
 flung my arms over my head and madly laughed. I hadn't 
 posted my letter to you more than an hour before the boy 
 knocked at my door with the mail. I didn't glance at any- 
 thing but yours nothing else makes any difference. I was so 
 happy ! That is why I rushed out and behaved like a school- 
 girl. If I had been with you I should have made another 
 such scarecrow as the one we built that night we anchored 
 where mother, father, and the many children were gathered, 
 exhausted from their day's work of frightening the sparrows 
 away from their poor rice-fields. ... Do you remember ? 
 
 " I do not want to think of the other things you write 
 about. I do not care what people know or say or guess or 
 hint. What does it matter to me if all the crimes in the 
 calendar are attributed to us ? Only one thing matters to me 
 just now you. Can you understand that, or are you too 
 far away to know that every word I write drops burning from 
 my pen ? 
 
 " I have a thousand other things to say, but I am too 
 happy for that. I'm blowing a kiss to you now. 
 
 "Good-bye. . . ." 
 
 He sat with his second love-letter even longer than he 
 had with the first. He sat holding the sheets so that he 
 could survey all that was written in a single glance, as if in his 
 practical way he wished to have a panorama of this woman's 
 heart displayed to him in all its nakedness. . . . 
 
 Well, well ! 
 
 He rubbed his chin in perplexity and pondered over 
 it all, thinking himself a brute for the detachment with which 
 he faced the problem. For he was sane enough to under- 
 stand that these ardent confessions made things all the harder 
 for him ; redoubled his urgent difficulties ; increased the 
 parlousness of his position ; changed his whole future. He
 
 298 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 needed her oh yes, he needed her ! and yet if he gave way 
 again he knew that there would be no end. Whither would it 
 lead him into what complications, into what devious ways ? 
 Well, he still possessed his own free will ; if he were tempted 
 he would be his own tempter. 
 
 A cough in the next room brought him back to his sur- 
 roundings ; the lawyer's clerk, slightly fatigued, was still 
 reading in his best style, the words falling steadily from his 
 lips like the methodical defiling of an endless army, company 
 after company, through a narrow ravine. Mortiboy, holding 
 the letter clenched tightly in his hands, listened for a moment. 
 
 " His Majesty the Emperor of China agrees that British 
 subjects, with their families and establishments, shall be 
 allowed to reside, for the purpose of carrying on their mer- 
 cantile pursuits, without molestation or restraint at the Cities 
 and Towns named hereinafter. . . ." 
 
 Mortiboy muttered in sudden irritation at the ponderous 
 phraseology ; he almost despised the problem they were 
 attacking. How different was this matter which engrossed 
 him, how much more subtle, how full of contradictions and 
 allurements, how insoluble. . . . Then, as he realized that 
 they must have finished with all the earlier treaties and were 
 now getting near the end, quickly he tore open the third and 
 last letter. 
 
 An enclosure in a man's handwriting fell from it, and 
 a new and unaccustomed pang smote him. It was the first 
 sharp sensation of j ealousy he had ever had in his life. Frown- 
 ingly he pushed that aside and commenced reading what 
 she herself had written. Her letter began abruptly and in- 
 consequently, just as the others had done ; but this time 
 it contained different thoughts, betraying some mental pro- 
 gress. 
 
 " DEAREST, Did you ever see anything so amusing as the 
 note I enclose ? He was a big, blond, handsome German, 
 who was slightly marked with smallpox, and of course I 
 noticed him because he changed his seat so that he could
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 299 
 
 look at me. His letter came on my tea-tray this morning, 
 and I went into fits of laughter. The idea that I should even 
 get to know him as he suggests is so strangely ridiculous to 
 me now. . . . 
 
 " And what do you think happened to me yesterday ? 
 it is almost as if I had been specially marked in some peculiar 
 way ever since your letter came. I must tell you. I went 
 out into the park in the afternoon. It was a lovely day, 
 not too hot, and I couldn't resist an impulse to sit on the 
 grass. The jinricksha boy spread out a rug, and I took off 
 my hat and gloves and looked at a book I had brought. 
 The cherry trees, the warm sun, the reflection of the children 
 in the water of the ponds, their happy cries, were all entranc- 
 ing, and I lost myself in my thoughts. 
 
 " Presently, among the people coming and going, I 
 noticed a particularly nice-looking man and woman, both 
 middle-aged and dressed in soft silk crepes. He was carry- 
 ing a tiny pot of pink primroses in a string noose in the way 
 only Japanese know how. I thought how pretty the flowers 
 were against his grey kimono, and then turned to look at 
 something else. I can't tell exactly how it happened, but 
 suddenly the two came towards me ; then the man put the 
 flowers down right beside me and walked quickly away. 
 I stammered out something, but almost before I could speak 
 they had disappeared into the shadows of the trees among 
 the girls and boys playing there, and I saw them no more. 
 
 " Why did this strange man do that ? I can't tell. I 
 only know that a wave of happiness went over me ; it was 
 so sweet, like an unexpected caress. No one before has. 
 ever paid me so delicate a compliment ; I hugged my pot 
 all the way home. It is so easy to tell you these little things, 
 because there is such a longing in my heart for you. They 
 speak for me and relate what I do not know how to say 
 myself. 
 
 " I stay here another week and then go on to the mountains. 
 
 " Tell me you miss me ; nothing else will make me 
 happy."
 
 300 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 As he read the last sentence his hand strayed mechanically 
 to a drawer ; he took out a telegraph form and commenced 
 writing in his big, bold lettering, never pausing for words. 
 When he had finished he placed the telegram in an envelope, 
 securely closed it, and then locked the letters away. His 
 mind was made up ; he knew now what it was going to be, 
 for it had become inevitable. Serenely he waited. 
 
 At last came the expected medley of voices in the next 
 room they had got to the end. Then Spratt, clearing his 
 throat, opened the door and broke his trance. 
 
 "We've found it, Mortiboy!" he exclaimed genially, 
 as if he had been speaking of a million-pound bank-note 
 or something equally exhilarating. "It is undoubtedly 
 article forty-six. Look ! " He placed the ponderous volume 
 down on the desk and read : 
 
 " The Chinese authorities at each port shall adopt the 
 means they may judge most proper to prevent the Revenue 
 suffering from fraud." 
 
 Mortiboy looked at the book for five minutes without 
 seeing a word. It was difficult to be interested in this dull 
 business when the world was hurtling so madly through 
 space. . . . 
 
 " Hum," he said finally, " a pretty comprehensive clause 
 just the sort of thing to delight you lawyers." 
 
 With that the two joined the others at a long table adorned 
 with a green cloth. On the wall, facing the Board table, 
 was an immense map of China with the eighteen provinces 
 coloured artistically in greens and yellows and blues and reds 
 to make them quite clear so that foreign concessionnaires 
 should know how they stood ; and swooping down on it all 
 from the North, in an ominous thick black line stretching 
 all the way from Europe, was the great Siberian railway. . . . 
 
 " Well," said Sir John Weeger interrogatively, after 
 a few words had been exchanged, " what are we going 
 to do ? After all is said and done that remains the main 
 question." 
 
 "Fight," said Mortiboy briefly; "fight them for all we
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 301 
 
 are worth ! War to the knife ! That dispatch is a bluff 
 it is part of a game which we are going to defeat." 
 
 They embodied this in a discreet resolution, which the 
 clerk rapidly wrote out. Then when they had signed the 
 minutes all filed out quickly, glad that it was over. 
 
 Mortiboy returned to his own office, so as to let the 
 others get away. But after a short interval he picked up 
 his sun-helmet too, and going to the offices of the cable com- 
 panies dispatched his fateful telegram himself.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 " It was the time of autumn floods. Every stream poured into the 
 river, which swelled in its turbid course. The banks receded so far 
 from each other that it was impossible to tell a cow from a horse. 
 
 " The spirit of the River laughed for joy that all the beauty of the 
 earth was gathered to himself. Down with the stream he journeyed 
 east until he reached the ocean. There, looking eastwards and seeing 
 no limit to its waves, his countenance changed. And as he gazed over 
 the expanse, he sighed and said to the Spirit of the Ocean : ' A vulgar 
 proverb says that he who has heard but part of the truth thinks no one 
 equal to himself. And such a one am I. 
 
 " ' When formerly I heard people detracting from the learning of 
 Poh I, I did not believe it. But now that I have looked upon your 
 inexhaustibility alas for me ! had I not reached your abode I should 
 have been for ever a laughing-stock to those of comprehensive en- 
 lightenment 1 ' 
 
 " To which the Spirit of the Ocean replied : ' You cannot speak 
 of ocean to a well-frog the creature of a narrower sphere. You 
 cannot speak of ice to a summer insect the creature of a season. You 
 cannot speak of Tao to a pedagogue : his scope is too restricted. But 
 now that you have emerged from your narrow sphere, and have seen 
 the great ocean, you know your own insignificance, and I can speak to 
 you of great principles.' " " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 IN spite of his unshaken front, disaster seemed in the 
 air and about to overwhelm him. As is the case with 
 all places that live largely on their nerves, this hybrid 
 city was fickle and easily panic-stricken, and once confidence 
 had been shaken the rest was an affair of manipulations 
 carried on in unseen ways. In obedience to confidential 
 instructions, native middlemen, who had been the means of 
 inducing vast numbers of small investors to place their 
 savings in this foreign company, were now daily travelling 
 swiftly from counter to counter with a message of fear. It
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 303 
 
 was all done so quietly over cups of tea in badly lighted 
 back rooms, between men who sat and talked in broken 
 sentences, and who seemed to have so little interest in anything 
 in life, that it was difficult to believe that great energy and 
 persistence were being employed, or that a multiplication of 
 such tiny activities should have produced great results. 
 That is the trouble with the East ; people invariably apply 
 to it arguments only valid where a different system of weights 
 and measures is in force, forgetting, no doubt, that you cannot 
 weigh imponderables. 
 
 Mortiboy, in spite of everything he did to arrest this 
 dry-rot, was daily becoming more powerless. He still hoped 
 that the urgent messages he was daily sending to his engineers 
 at the front might produce something tangible and save the 
 situation before it was too late, but meanwhile Development 
 shares continued steadily to fall, as '. the native liquidation, 
 slow, small, but relentless, went on without a pause as in- 
 dustrious native middlemen gathered up the scrip in lots of 
 fives and tens, and even in twos and threes, and flung them on 
 the market. 
 
 It was maddening to Mortiboy. He felt that he was 
 in the grip of a behemoth as mysterious and as mighty as the 
 fabulous beast which enslaved the imagination of the author 
 of the Book of Job. Here was he, with nothing really altered 
 since the day he had launched his great scheme, with a vast 
 sum of capital lying almost untouched, and yet with the 
 ground steadily slipping from under his feet. He knew that 
 this was but a glaring illustration of one of the anomalies of 
 modern finance, that credit and goodwill constitute wealth and 
 power, and that gold and silver lie hidden in the background 
 sometimes without value at all, though the dictionaries would 
 never admit this. But then dictionaries are not financiers 
 they are compilations of words. So the nominal controller 
 of masses of money saw his shares daily sinking in value 
 and being acquired by new owners, of whose standing and 
 plans he was entirely ignorant. Three days after the first 
 panic had occurred, the stock had fallen to parity, and ominous
 
 304 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 rumours were now spreading that as soon as they had 
 been driven low enough a new and mysterious combination 
 would wind up the company and reallot the concessions in 
 such a way as to destroy the English influence. The harassed 
 man knew that his fellow-directors had all quietly made 
 hay whilst the sun was shining sold their holdings at huge 
 profits, excepting the bare amounts necessary for them to 
 continue in office as directors, but he could not help that. 
 Even Macniversen and Weeger, who were very old friends, 
 shrugged their shoulders at his complaints, and then quickly 
 agreed to every one of his suggestions without adding any of 
 their own. He had demanded at the very beginning, as a 
 sine qua non, that everything should be left in his hands ; 
 they would doubtless see that this remained so to the very 
 end. 
 
 The thing preyed increasingly on his mind ; he was being 
 beaten at the very game he himself excelled in. One day 
 matters looked so perilous that he stopped suddenly in the 
 middle of his work and walked round to his bankers. In 
 the office of the manager the selfsame person whom Chu Ta 
 Ming had called upon weeks before he suddenly realized the 
 extent of the catastrophe. 
 
 " Hallo, Mortiboy ! " said the latter cheerfully as he walked 
 in ; " trying days for us poor unfortunates who cannot get 
 away. Standing it all right ? been waiting for you to come 
 round." 
 
 Then he coloured slightly, for he had an unpleasant task 
 ahead. 
 
 " Been waiting for me ? " echoed Mortiboy, watching him 
 steadily. 
 
 The manager leaned forward ; then, changing his mind, 
 he swung himself out of his seat and ejaculated in an under- 
 tone : 
 
 " I say, come inside the spare room ! " 
 
 Mortiboy followed him into the room. There the two 
 stood opposite one another behind a glazed glass door in a 
 manner that only the English affect. It was like a duel not
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 305 
 
 of wits but of fists body-blows given without any request 
 for quarter. 
 
 " Look here, Mortiboy," began the manager, " I'm 
 deuced sorry, but business is business. There's been a good 
 deal of heart-burning at Home at the way wholesale specula- 
 tion has taken hold of this place, to the detriment of legitimate 
 business, and there's a feeling that unless the banks sound 
 a warning note it will end in a smash. We've received 
 cable instructions not only to curtail credits but to call in 
 all advances. I've been going into your figures. We shall 
 want about seventeen lacs from you at the end of the 
 month." 
 
 The manager scratched his chin, coloured a little, and 
 looked away for a brief second. He had struck some 
 hard blows. 
 
 Mortiboy was staring at him steadily. 
 
 " What's at the bottom of all this game ? that's what 
 I want to know. Any impartial person with a knowledge of 
 the facts would say that it is a deliberate attempt to break 
 me." 
 
 The manager, attacked from this quarter, parried by 
 adopting a familiar quotation to his pressing needs: 
 
 " Our's is not to reason why, our's is but to do and 
 die," he said easily. 
 
 Mortiboy remained unimpressed. He put his hands in 
 his pockets as if he at least had no longer any need for them : 
 
 " Very good. I have been allowed a clean overdraft 
 for years, and I have been a good customer of this bank. 
 There is a great deal of company money lying idle in your 
 books which, of course, I can't touch for my own uses. But 
 I can transfer it, juggle with it, and break up exchange like 
 the devil with German aid, and that is what I propose to do 
 within the next half-hour unless you withdraw your last 
 remarks." 
 
 "Oh!" ejaculated the manager. He stood silent for 
 quite fifteen seconds, which was a waste of time, for at 
 the end he remarked in that saving phrase : 
 20
 
 306 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " I wiU cable." 
 
 After that the two men nodded abruptly and parted 
 quite silently, which is not surprising, since the amount of 
 speech needed for any kind of work whether to decide the 
 fate of empires or the doctoring of dying babies is really 
 very limited. But it was significant that the manager, as he 
 went back to his desk, murmured so clearly that the young 
 man seated close to him, and still endlessly working out ex- 
 changes on all the markets of the world, overheard the remark : 
 
 "... The quantity x of every question, nerve always 
 nerve." 
 
 That was all very well, but it was only one stroke coun- 
 tered. For those who would force success temporary 
 expedients should only be sparingly used. 
 
 Back .in his office Mortiboy began immediately writing 
 to the last person in the world he would have addressed in 
 any but the most disastrous and compelling circumstances. 
 But he had made up his mind and pocketed his pride 
 and he did not flinch. As soon as his letter was ready he 
 called in a trusted messenger and told him to deliver the note, 
 regardless of everything but speed. The man, pocketing the 
 money given him with a sly smile, slipped swiftly on foot down 
 short-cut after short-cut until he finished in front of a secluded 
 office situated in a blind alley only half a mile away. Though 
 the foreign world was so ignorant, almost every Chinese knew 
 where Willy Chang spent his days in working. And though 
 this young man trembled a little as he opened the letter 
 for it was to him that Mortiboy had written he decided to 
 seize this opportunity of obliterating the past, and go, which 
 was possibly a thing only a Chinese would have dared to do. 
 
 Mortiboy was standing waiting for him when he arrived, 
 and he got down to business without a second's delay. 
 
 " How do you do, Mr. Chang ? It is very good of you 
 to have come so promptly. Though your resignation from 
 the post of private secretary to His Excellency Yao Pu Yao 
 does not allow me to ask your assistance officially, you can
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 307 
 
 help me privately in a way which may prove decisive. Will 
 you do so ? " 
 
 The young Cantonese hesitated and looked down. The 
 expression on his face was no longer languid like that of a 
 man who is absorbed in sweet thoughts and who only arouses 
 himself to the affairs of the workaday world with an effort. 
 There was more decision there the mark of experiences 
 lived through and conquered. He thought carefully before 
 committing himself, recalling to himself that this foreign 
 enterprise had played a considerable part in assisting his 
 plans. 
 
 " Yes," he answered at last. "If it is within my power I 
 will do what I can." 
 
 " Thank you," said the Englishman gravely. 
 
 He went across the room, opened a small box of white 
 pig-skin, such as is made by the million in a country of pig- 
 lovers, and is of inestimable value as a receptacle for papers 
 because of its lightness and strength. In it were a mass of 
 documents, many in Chinese. 
 
 " I don't suppose you have either the time or the inclina- 
 tion to go through such a long-winded tale of woe," said Morti- 
 boy. " But I would like you to take the Chinese documents 
 with you to see how far-reaching the game has been. It is 
 simply this : Chu Ta Ming, whom you will remember was 
 always bitter about our enterprise, is now evidently working 
 heart and soul to ruin the company, and it rather looks as if 
 he would succeed." 
 
 " I know it," replied the young man. 
 
 The Englishman nodded. 
 
 " I am not yet beaten," he resumed. " But if this sort 
 of thing continues a few weeks longer, it will mean some 
 sort of liquidation. I am not an Atlas ; I cannot carry such 
 a load alone." 
 
 At that the Cantonese looked round the room, at the in- 
 numerable files, at the books, at the ledgers, as if he were trying 
 to read how much this man could really carry. His wandering 
 gaze settled at length on the map of China that monstrous
 
 308 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 map which delineates not merely an empire but a world 
 a universe of its own, something mighty and strange ! Morti- 
 boy had brought that map in from the Board-room and hung 
 it up in front of him as if in defiance. 
 
 " It will not continue many weeks longer," said Willy 
 Chang slowly, as if he were thinking aloud. " I can guarantee 
 that it cannot possibly last so long. I cannot tell you why ; 
 you must trust me. As to Chu Ta Ming's intrigues, everybody 
 knows about them ; the man is a fool. He thinks he is making 
 up for acquiescing in a policy which he was forced to accept 
 because the Imperial Commissioner came from Peking armed 
 with an authority which exceeded his. That is the explana- 
 tion of all his manoeuvres. You could not have been openly 
 opposed without grave risk. Things have changed since then 
 a dozen times, of course, since nothing remains the same in 
 this country longer than a month. But still the man's atti- 
 tude of mind has not altered. At one time it would have 
 been possible to impeach him ; he might have been imprisoned 
 
 and possibly beheaded. Yes, I really believe that " He 
 
 stopped, as if to consider the point dispassionately, in the way 
 a lawyer does some nice point of law. " However, that is too 
 late now. What you require is immediate relief. I have a 
 suggestion may I have a pencil and paper ? " He began 
 writing Chinese characters rapidly. " Here are the names of 
 seven vernacular newspapers that belong to what may be 
 called the Radical Press, and here are some visiting-cards. 
 If you send my card to the editors they will publish whatever 
 you may wish inserted. I suggest that you begin by quoting 
 all the figures which deal with the assets of the company, that 
 is the money belonging to the shareholders which you have 
 in the various banks quite untouched. Then publish all the 
 documents granting the concessions including the Edict; 
 publish everything in full. Then " he rapidly turned over the 
 Chinese documents and found the ones he wanted " begin 
 a libel action against this newspaper. It says outrageous 
 things even about me, and I myself have thought of seeking 
 legal redress." His white teeth flashed and his ivory skin
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 309 
 
 became pink. " If the company claims big damages, some- 
 thing fantastic, a million taels, it will create a tremendous 
 sensation in Chinese society. You will find people beginning 
 to turn round before they know why. Europeans foolishly 
 ignore the power of the Chinese Press. It is very unreliable, 
 full of scandal and objectionable matter, but it is a weapon 
 that counts." 
 
 Mortiboy was making notes. 
 
 " And how about making a direct frontal attack ? " he 
 inquired presently. 
 
 The young Cantonese shook his head. 
 
 " No use, no use," he murmured. " That man is far too 
 cunning for that to be of any account. He would turn it 
 against you. By the by, if you ever hear anything in a very 
 private way, without a clue as to the sender, it would be 
 reasonable on your part to suspect that it is a warning sent 
 by me." 
 
 " Thank you," said Mortiboy, not asking any questions, 
 as ninety-nine men out of a hundred would have done, and 
 shaking the young man by the hand as he left. 
 
 The difference between this conversation and the preceding 
 one was so remarkable that it impressed Mortiboy for many 
 days whenever he thought of it. It was no longer a question 
 of facts brutally colliding, of monosyllabic thrusts and counter- 
 thrusts ; there was something about it all which had the 
 undefinable quality of a Whistler landscape. The two never 
 saw each other again at least not until the shock of events 
 had so altered them that it was as if they were different 
 persons ; but just as the Englishman was impressed so was 
 the Chinese, and he redeemed the promise he had made in a 
 curious way. 
 
 Within the space of twenty-four hours the native middle- 
 men journeying industriously from counting-house to counting- 
 house, smelt (there is no verb in the English language which 
 can express it so accurately) that a change had come. For 
 it is the sense of smell above all the other senses which is
 
 310 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 valuable in China ; everything in the last analysis is a 
 question of that which is feebly connoted in French by the 
 word flair. Long before a tendency becomes marked enough 
 for it to be perceived by any other means you may smell 
 it ; the coming typhoon, the infinitesimal shades of meaning 
 in conversation, looks, attitudes, and desires can be smelt. 
 China is ruled by the olfactory nerves ; everybody retreats 
 or advances, puts money into a bank or draws it out, writes 
 a billet-doux or destroys one just received, jumps on a man 
 or greets him warmly, according to the dictates of the nose. 
 The witch-doctors of Africa are children compared with the 
 Chinese in their capacity for smelling out things. It is im- 
 possible to deny it ; the powerful nose is the powerful ruler 
 in the countries of the East. 
 
 So, because of this peculiar odour forecasting a change, 
 the native middlemen stopped short in what they had been 
 saying as if by magic. They returned to their guild-houses 
 and tea-houses, and over tea and heated wine talked of other 
 things, only occasionally hinting at what was uppermost in 
 their minds, and then carefully laughing about something 
 else. 
 
 The time was coming when they might have to vault 
 swiftly back from the attitude they had taken up. 
 
 They would vault. . . .
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 " The moral law takes its rise in the relation between man and 
 woman ; but in its utmost reaches it reigns supreme over heaven and 
 earth."" THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 THAT morning the brokers' traps, careering so madly 
 after one another as if they were racing for dear life, 
 did not have the great river-side to themselves. From 
 an early hour numbers of ladies, distinguished by the jewellery 
 they wore, were engaged in driving too, their faces stern and 
 unsmiling, their male acquaintances totally unrecognized. 
 It was not long before this feminine animation attracted 
 universal attention. 
 
 " Hallo, Jacks," cried a fellow-broker, hailing and stopping 
 him. " You always know everything. What on earth are 
 all these tragedy queens driving about like this for ? They 
 aren't coming on to the market, are they ! " 
 
 " Haven't you heard ? " replied Jacks gloomily, not 
 even smiling at the pleasantry. " There's the devil to pay 
 a purity campaign which will knock things to pieces again 
 just when Mortiboy had pulled them almost straight. All 
 the consulates are acting in concert with the provincial 
 authorities, who have complained that immense sums have 
 been lost by rich Chinese at roulette and poker, and that 
 it's all due to women lovely women! A pretty state of 
 affairs for us foreigners in China ! But nowadays nobody 
 seems to think of that. Eighty-four warrants were issued 
 late yesterday evening. They're all driving around to get 
 their bail that's all. Proceedings begin to-morrow, or the 
 next day if they can make up their minds on the composi-
 
 312 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 tion of the court that is going to try them. There are 
 sorts of rumours that if things are pushed too far there may 
 be revelations. And if some of them start talking they can 
 ruin half the people in the place." 
 
 " The devil ! " said the other man, aghast. " Who's at the 
 bottom of this ? " 
 
 Jacks shook his head. 
 
 " I don't know, and I don't want to. But what I do know 
 is that they've been trying to do something like this for 
 months, but they couldn't move until all the consulates co- 
 operated, and our people were too sensible to act until they 
 were forced to. But now, with this third suicide, they've got 
 to go ahead." 
 
 " The third ? " 
 
 " Yes, Tommy Gibbon remember him ? Went up country 
 last week and put a charge into his silly head as soon as he 
 got to a quiet spot. They tried to make out that it was an 
 accident until they started going through his firm's books. 
 Then that bluff didn't work. Hadn't got a bean left, and 
 twenty-five thousand taels missing. Polly Morgan again. 
 She's a hard case, bleeds 'em white and then let's them go 
 and finish themselves. I am beginning to get tried of this 
 sort of racket." 
 
 Then he nodded quickly and drove on. 
 
 That was the way this surprising thing burst upon the 
 town and became the sole theme of conversation. Though 
 nobody could understand precisely why it should have come, 
 or what good would come from it, or who was really respon- 
 sible the impression became paramount that a grave crisis in 
 the life of the town had arrived, and that things would never 
 be quite the same after it was over. Crebillon, moving 
 quickly about in his bee-like fashion, levying toll from every- 
 body who came his way, soon had a rich store of honey. It 
 was quite clear to him that though darkness still prevailed 
 a flood of light would soon pour over the whole strange 
 imbroglio. He was so amused and interested that he could 
 not keep still for five seconds.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 313 
 
 " You are about the only man in the town who looks 
 cheerful," said Jacks sourly, accepting his offer to have a 
 drink at the club, and yet looking at him as if he were his 
 mortal enemy. 
 
 That speech amused Crebillon so much that he burst out 
 laughing. 
 
 "And why should I not be cheerful?" he replied. 
 " I do not care about trumpery local rows. I am not in 
 any way involved. Then I have managed to make some 
 money when most people were losing, and money cures every- 
 thing I think you used to say. Poor Jacks, you look very 
 fatigued ! " 
 
 " I wonder if they will collar Belle Lawson," said the 
 tow-haired broker, swallowing his cocktail in one gulp. " I've 
 always had a soft spot for her, even if she did go and do what 
 no woman out here has done before." 
 
 Crebillon made a grimace. 
 
 " It might be made very awkward for our friend Mortiboy," 
 he suggested. " His position is just a little delicate, it seems 
 to me." 
 
 Jacks frowned heavily, but refused to be drawn. Jacks 
 was a loyal man. 
 
 " I wish the next two days were over ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 So did everybody, from highest to lowest. The possibility 
 of startling revelations there was the enemy ! Everybody 
 asked everybody else whether they thought there was any- 
 thing in it, or whether it was pure bluff. The question became 
 an absorbing problem, one of those things which only occur 
 once in the course of decades, and fitly illustrate the pregnant 
 fact that there is such a thing as corporate life, and that you 
 cannot strike at a mass of people without endangering the 
 whole community. But through all that storm of comment 
 and speculation one thing stood out and became the chief 
 preoccupation What had happened so magically to Belle 
 Lawson, who had been seen up to the eleventh hour driving 
 Willy Chang's finest horses, and yet could not be found, 
 though they were searching for her high and low ?
 
 314 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 The explanation was very simple : the bread Willy Chang 
 had cast upon the waters had returned to him after many 
 days. 
 
 At ten o'clock the evening before the storm had burst, 
 a rickshaw, pulled by sweating coolies, had burst through the 
 gates of his European country-house. The fat Chinaman 
 seated in the vehicle was no other than the old butler whose 
 queue had once played such a dramatic role, and he urged the 
 runners up the long carriage-drive to the great red-brick 
 mansion with quickly repeated words. Arrived there, he 
 tumbled out and, panting for breath, wildly demanded the 
 master, as if the end of the world was at hand. The young 
 Cantonese had no sooner appeared than he babbled in the 
 vernacular : 
 
 " A bad business has commenced ; listen, master, and act 
 quickly. Half an hour ago the police, armed with papers, 
 came to the house numbered nine and demanded all the 
 inmates. When they had appeared each was given a paper, 
 and some wept and others laughed. She who is with you 
 could not be found. So, after questioning, they returned to 
 the consulates for other papers, and soon they will come 
 here. Pulled by three men I rushed hither to give you 
 warning. There is no time to be lost ! " 
 
 But Willy Chang showed no signs of alarm. He merely 
 asked : 
 
 " What is the charge ? Did you understand their talk ? " 
 
 " Nothing did I understand, but it is said that all will be 
 taken and sent away to foreign countries." 
 
 " Good no matter," returned the young man. " You 
 did well to come hither. I will know what to do, for I have 
 a revenge to make." 
 
 As he said that his hand travelled to his pocket, but the 
 old man waved to him beseechingly and stopped him. 
 
 "It is I who make repayment to-night. I have not 
 forgotten. Once you saved my virtue at great expense. 
 Such honour is not forgotten." 
 
 Then he went, just as he had come, and when later the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 315 
 
 constables arrived they found the house dark and deserted 
 and the bird they sought flown. 
 
 The next day the vast meandering grey-brick building of 
 the International Courts began to fill at an unusually early 
 hour. Officers of the court arrived and went to their private 
 rooms, and soon the Chinese ushers threw open the doors of 
 the central court-room, a great hall originally not designed 
 for such purpose, but which was requisitioned because of the 
 great number of protagonists who would to-day be assembled. 
 Absorbed as he was with his own problem, it seemed to Willy 
 Chang that the vast court filled by magic. There had been 
 only handfuls of people as he walked in ; then when he looked 
 round again there seemed to be hundreds all the well-known 
 faces in the town which he had noticed as he rode or drove 
 during the last few months, staring at the remarkable number 
 of chairs placed in a roped-off space in the very centre. There 
 was something in that array of empty chairs which made 
 him frown. His colourless face was shot with pink as if a 
 personal indignity had been offered him, and he muttered to 
 himself repeatedly. The ushers in red-tasselled hats were 
 at work at the back of the court, driving out all Chinese who 
 did not resist such summary treatment by proclaiming that 
 this was a foreign case only concerning foreigners, and that 
 Chinese who had not been specially summoned as witnesses 
 had no business there. But in spite of such efforts every 
 minute brought more people pressing forward, until beyond 
 the court-room doors, which were partially closed, a dense 
 native mob collected, gluttonously eager for details about 
 the rumoured expulsion of all these foreign women, who had 
 flaunted it so long, on the astonishing, unbelievable charges 
 of free gambling and free love. 
 
 Willy Chang, bending low in his seat, pressed his hands 
 together, resenting, as he had never resented before, this 
 indignity of Western civilization. There was a hard, brutal 
 flavour about it all which seemed to shatter all his ideas, 
 which showed him something he had not suspected before,
 
 316 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 and which made him feel as he had felt that night in the 
 temple. 
 
 " Heard of the joke about the defence ? " began a voice 
 behind his back, talking to a group of friends. " Old Weeger 
 is going to defend ! They tried to get other lawyers, but 
 nobody would help. All scared stiff at the publicity, every 
 Jack man. So Weeger, who hasn't taken a court case for at 
 least ten years, is going to make the effort of his life. I'm 
 told there's just a bare chance that he can upset the indict- 
 ments, which are based on the gambling and on nothing else ; 
 but then they'll fall back on the power of the consulates to 
 deport summarily anyone they please. They've brought the 
 matter into open court on purpose merely to satisfy theChinese, 
 who have been making a terrific rumpus. They say millions 
 have been fleeced by those midnight roulette places. Hallo, 
 here they come ! " 
 
 The doors leading into the magistrates' private rooms 
 had been opened, and in a purely informal way as doubtless 
 befits exterritorialized jurisdiction consuls and Chinese 
 magistrates and consular clerks filed in, the Chinese in 
 flowing official robes, the European officials in ordinary dress. 
 Then, to the sound of a great buzz of comment, the women 
 in the case poured in and took the empty chairs, and pro- 
 ceedings were rapidly opened by the reading of the indict- 
 ments. As the general nature of the charges with a strict 
 avoidance of all embarrassing issues was understood, the 
 sound of talking grew. 
 
 " Damned rot the whole business," said the same voice 
 behind Willy Chang. " Do you hear what they now say ? 
 At the last moment some of the consuls funked it and declared 
 they wouldn't come into court, but preferred each consulate 
 to deal with its nationals by deportation order. Then the 
 Chinese magistrates protested that that would be a violation 
 of the undertaking given. So at the last moment it was 
 patched up on the understanding that the whole matter was 
 to be pro forma, and that the case would be terminated to-day." 
 
 A consular clerk had come to the end of a long-winded
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 317 
 
 peroration which had mainly consisted of extracts from the 
 Treaties, coupled with generalizations based on an extra- 
 ordinary jumble of the law of eleven nations. Then, as the 
 lengthy list of the accused was read, every sound was stilled. 
 But soon, as one well-known name after another was pro- 
 nounced, the court was filled with half-suppressed comments ; 
 people became restless. 
 
 " Every blessed mother's daughter," murmured the voice 
 which had already made so many enlightening remarks. 
 " There you have it ! I told you Belle Lawson ! " 
 
 Then, before the dense crowd had realized exactly what 
 had occurred, a violent scene was in full progress. Livid with 
 rage, Willy Chang had sprung across to the narrow open 
 space behind the barristers' desks. Holding one arm stiffly 
 in front of him, as if he had lost control of it, he demanded by 
 what right the name of his wife his legal wife was mentioned 
 in defamatory proceedings, and whether the invasion of his 
 domicile yesterday night by foreign constables had been author- 
 ized by counter-signature of the Chinese magistrates. 
 
 " Sit down, sir ! " the senior Consul had thundered. But 
 at that the Cantonese only shifted his question into Chinese 
 and demanded of the Chinese magistrates an answer. Then 
 he continued in English, in the midst of breathless amazement : 
 
 " I have first a legal right to ask the Court these questions. 
 I have a legal right to take my stand here as a qualified 
 barrister registered on the rolls of this Court. I have a legal 
 right, under the Treaties, to demand that where there is mixed 
 jurisdiction the proceedings be conducted in the language 
 of the sovereign power in Chinese and I propose not to sit 
 down until I have been satisfied. And all the thundering at 
 me in the world will not stop me." 
 
 He repeated what he had said in the vernacular, and the 
 Chinese magistrates, pleased to assist him in this never- 
 ending conflict with foreign authority, ruled his questions in 
 order. Then, as the whole Bench was engaged in anxious 
 consultation to prevent a break-down of the proceedings before 
 they had hardly commenced, the excitement which had
 
 3i8 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 greeted this surprise threatened to boil over. But at last, 
 above the ceaseless murmur of voices, Willy Chang heard 
 a ruling from the Bench as if he were in a dream : that if 
 proof of marriage satisfactory to the Chinese magistrates were 
 produced the name would be erased. 
 
 He drew from his pocket many documents, for he had 
 completed in proper form what had been so strangely com- 
 menced. Limp and exhausted from his outburst, he stumbled 
 back to his seat, and saw Crebillon's pale face coming towards 
 him. 
 
 " Bravo, bravo ! " murmured the volatile Frenchman again 
 and again, as he forced his way right up to him. " Ah, 
 that was a surprise for the brutes ! This will be the nine 
 days' wonder a ninety-nine days' wonder ! Look how the 
 women are staring at you ! look at the women, my good 
 young friend ! Bravo, bravo ! I confess this has beaten 
 me silly. Listen to the wrangle going on between the Chinese 
 magistrates and the consuls ! That question of invasion of 
 domicile is a splendid point." 
 
 The case for the prosecution dragged on. A long, 
 unending procession of Chinese was now defiling to prove 
 the gambling charges, provoking angry comments from the 
 crowds of Europeans. The Chinese, imperturbable and very 
 polite, gave their testimony like men who expected that if 
 there was a full conviction their lost money might be re- 
 funded it was the money which alone interested them. 
 But new difficulties constantly arose ; questions which had 
 not been provided for cropped up and were left undecided, 
 and the morning was consumed in fruitless arguments. And 
 so it happened that when an adjournment was made at the 
 tiffin-hour all sorts of extraordinary rumours were current. 
 
 " This thing will go in local history as the biggest gaucherie 
 ever committed," announced Crebillon to the young Cantonese 
 as they began going out of the court with the great flood of 
 spectators ; but the young man had nothing to say until they 
 collided with Sir John Weeger and Chu Ta Ming, who were 
 standing buttonholed together. XUM
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 319 
 
 "Ha ha ! " exclaimed his compatriot, breaking off the 
 very moment he saw him. " Here comes Sir Galahad, if I 
 may say so ! Well, Mr. Chang, you have given the quidnuncs 
 something to talk about. That was a great surprise, I admit : 
 you have turned the tables in a masterly way on your enemies, 
 if you have any enemies." He smiled his ironical smile. 
 " Still, no doubt you feel relieved now that you have cleared up 
 your position, which was somewhat compromised." 
 
 The young Cantonese made no reply : he stood sullenly 
 aloof from every one. But Chu Ta Ming was not to be denied. 
 He scanned Willy Chang and Crebillon closely with his sharp 
 eyes, as if wondering what had brought them together at 
 such an hour as this. 
 
 Presently he exclaimed : 
 
 " You two must come with me. Sir John is good enough 
 to say he will tiffin at a quiet little place near here. It will 
 be a partie carree, Vicomte ; you can entertain us with your 
 persiflage I think that is the correct word. Sir John has 
 a heavy task ahead of him, and needs a lot of champagne 
 to fire his eloquence." 
 
 The Englishman and the Frenchman because they were 
 Europeans laughed, but the young Cantonese remained 
 taciturn. He, however, did not go away. 
 
 " Well, well, this morning has been a liberal education, 
 has it not, and this afternoon should contribute not a little 
 to the sum-total of our knowledge of the unimaginative 
 Western mind," remarked Chu Ta Ming whilst his guests were 
 satisfying their hunger and their thirst. 
 
 He looked round, hoping that somebody would take up 
 this challenge, but the Frenchman was gazing dreamily out of 
 a window, and Willy Chang was absorbed in his own thoughts. 
 Sir John Weeger only grunted, and puffed more violently at 
 the cigar which he had lighted after eating a few mouthfuls. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, disappointed by this silence, presently 
 began again : 
 
 " All this morning I have been oppressed by the fact 
 that of all the world's philosophers only the Chinese have
 
 320 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 understood properly that the most fundamental distinctions 
 of our thought are unreal and crumble away when exposed 
 to the light of nature. You know what Lao Tzu said ? ' The 
 recognition of beauty implies the idea of ugliness, and the 
 recognition of good implies the idea of evil.' This definition 
 leads to the so-called doctrine of relativity. Virtue implies 
 vice and therefore will be indirectly productive of it, for an 
 excess of one must lead to a falling over, and the ideal should 
 simply consist in following nature and taking the line of least 
 resistance. Any attempt to impose fixed standards of 
 morality must be condemned, because it leaves no room for 
 the spontaneous, which is the very salt of human action. 
 Do you follow me ? " 
 
 He turned round as if delighted with the manner in which 
 he had expressed himself, though most of what he had said 
 had been taken from books. 
 
 Willy Chang had closed his eyes as if he had been lulled to 
 sleep by this involved monologue. But suddenly, in a voice 
 not much above a whisper, he inquired : 
 
 " Is that the reason why you proceeded to the Ameri- 
 can Consulate and mixed yourself up in this affair ? must we 
 term that one of those spontaneous proceedings which are 
 the very salt of human action ? " 
 
 Weeger dropped his cigar and sat with his mouth 
 open. 
 
 " Is that true, Chu Ta Ming ? Are we at last getting at 
 some of the truth about this vile business ? " 
 
 But the other made no reply : his eyebrows had closed 
 down over his eyes and his lips were drawn tightly together. 
 He was trying to live down the shock of this surprise, seeking 
 to gain time, which is the first and last method of defence in 
 the East. 
 
 " Answer me I " called Weeger in a way which no one had 
 ever heard him do before, for he was a mild old man. But 
 now he had turned crimson, and his fingers twitched as if 
 he wanted to get to grips with some one. 
 
 " I did go to that consulate," rejoined Chu Ta Ming
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 321 
 
 sullenly. He was frightened by that shouted English inquiry, 
 but his wits did not desert him. 
 
 " Why did you go ? " exclaimed Willy Chang, livid now, 
 the saliva running down the corners of his mouth almost 
 as if he were a dog. At last he had the man at last ! 
 
 " You must answer that did you lay information ? " 
 insisted Weeger, backing him up. 
 
 " My friends, my friends," exclaimed Crebillon, with 
 pretended amusement, coming to the rescue because his 
 instinct made him do that, " do not let us have a row with our 
 host after he has given us a most delightful repast ! What 
 possesses you both to go on like this ? What is it, I ask ? 
 Are consulates important enough for that ? Sir John, 
 Willy, my friend " He stretched out both his hands. 
 
 But Willy Chang had thrown discretion to the winds. He 
 turned and looked at the man who had so often acted as his 
 guide and mentor as if he were his bitterest enemy. 
 
 " You have oddly changed your views," he said, almost 
 spitting his words out in his rage. " Not so many days ago 
 you had a higher opinion of consulates. You were anxious 
 to have documents witnessed by your own official representa- 
 tive, so that I might fight your battles and protect your in- 
 terests. I have not forgotten that it was I who dictated your 
 declaration you remember that declaration ? but why you 
 never sent it to me I have never learnt, unless it is that Mr. 
 Chu met you half-way." 
 
 " Silence ! " cried Crebillon, rising from the table ; 
 " silence ! or I, too, shall begin to speak ! I shall tell of things 
 I know of, and then we shall see what we shall see." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming leaned back in his seat, unveiled his eyes, 
 unlocked his mouth, and then laughed derisively. For silence 
 had come nobody appeared to have anything further to 
 say. 
 
 " Thank you,' Vicomte, for bringing the conversation back 
 to normal limits," he said, with something of his old manner. 
 " When will people learn that sometimes it is one thing 
 that ties one, sometimes another, and that the greatest man, 
 
 21
 
 322 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 just as much as the smallest man, is never really a free agent ? 
 The other day in a tea-house a detective saw a man bend over 
 another who had been talking too loudly, dip a finger into his 
 teacup, and make three drops on a piece of paper thus. 
 The man at once rose and followed him out without speaking. 
 Just three drops of tea were enough. It is curious how first 
 one influence then another proves supreme. Mr. Chang has 
 not yet learnt that not only does he who laughs last laugh 
 best, but that he who does not laugh at all is the wisest of 
 us!" 
 
 Weeger was gazing at his companions in innocent amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 " What does all this mean ? " he exclaimed ; " of all the 
 extraordinary conversations I have ever heard ! " 
 
 " Sir John Weeger," said Chu Ta Ming very formally, 
 " I will tell you. It means that we three understand each 
 other so well that it would be unseemly to expose to the 
 view of third parties matters which are strictly private. 
 It is time we were going." 
 
 They found the great court-room more crowded than 
 ever. Weeger, nodding abruptly, left the three, and went 
 through to his seat on tiptoe as if he were in church. Willy 
 Chang felt Crebillon nudge him as if nothing had happened 
 to mar their friendship, for the Frenchman was of a mercurial 
 temperament and never fought long. 
 
 " Look at the people who have come to the afternoon 
 stance ! " he exclaimed, pointing round to numbers of well- 
 known faces that had been absent in the morning. "It is 
 going to be even more interesting than the morning, I 
 believe." 
 
 The long line of officials on the Bench, in spite of the un- 
 abated public interest, were gazing wearily as if the undue 
 prolongation of the case was becoming intolerable to them. 
 But at last Weeger rose, and began to speak. The indifference 
 on the Bench evanesced, and, as silence fell, through the open 
 windows the ushers could be, heard threatening the Chinese
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 323 
 
 crowds outside with all sorts of penalties if they continued 
 to be so unruly. 
 
 Weeger's voice was calm and dispassionate. He carefully 
 reviewed the competency of the Court to assume jurisdiction 
 in matters which, in all the course of Treaty relations, had 
 never been touched upon before. This argument having 
 been terminated he passed from preliminaries to particulars, 
 taking exception to several rulings made that morning. That 
 having been done, he gathered up some papers with a change 
 of manner which had something curious about it. There was 
 an unending murmur as people asked one another what he 
 was going to do, whether he was going to make a fool of him- 
 self when the battle was not worth fighting ? Even on the 
 Bench it was seen that the consuls were putting their heads 
 together and whispering. 
 
 He had begun speaking again, more quickly and a little 
 nervously, nodding his head in a queer way, showing thereby 
 that he had not complete mastery over something in his mind, 
 and that he was seeking to gain confidence by delay. But 
 he finished with unexpected abruptness, and in three sentences 
 had sent an electrical thrill through the hot, crowded room. 
 He had admitted everything in the gambling charges, and was 
 boldly pleading mitigating circumstances ; and not only that, 
 but he was brushing the gambling charges almost contemptu- 
 ously to one side. In a slow, deliberate way, he insisted that 
 in their desire to conform to the international obligations of 
 the Treaties the Court had forgotten that there were certain 
 problems which existed in every community in the world, 
 and would continue to exist to the end of time. Their own 
 community was a peculiar community peculiarly situated. 
 They had turned upon it, to their lasting detriment, the fierce 
 searchlight of millions of alien eyes the eyes of the vast 
 native population dwelling in and around the city. Human 
 nature was not subject to anything save a great common law, 
 which he would expound in words which had long been 
 memorable. So long as men were men there was one fact 
 which they should all loyally and frankly admit. What
 
 324 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 did he mean ? Standing stiff and soldier-like, his watery eyes 
 half closed, he began reciting, as if in reproof of the Bench, 
 that remarkable and well-known apostrophe : 
 
 " Under these circumstances there had arisen in society 
 a figure which is certainly the most mournful, and in some 
 respects the most awful upon which the eyes of the moralist 
 can dwell. That unhappy being whose very name it is a shame 
 to speak ; who counterfeits with a cold heart the transports 
 of affection, and submits herself as the passive instrument of 
 lust ; who is scorned and insulted as the vilest of her sex, 
 and doomed, for the most part, to disease and abject wretched- 
 ness and an early death, appears in every age as the perpetual 
 symbol of the degradation and sinfulness of man. Herself 
 the supreme of vice, she is ultimately the most efficient 
 guardian of virtue. But for her the unchallenged purity of 
 countless happy homes would be polluted, and not a few 
 who, in the pride of their untempted chastity, think of her 
 with an indignant shudder, would have known the agony of 
 remorse and despair. On that one degraded and ignoble 
 form are concentrated the passions that might have killed 
 the world with shame. She remains, while creeds and civiliza- 
 tions rise and fall, the eternal priestess of humanity, blasted 
 for the sins of the people." 
 
 As he ended there was the sound of a woman's gasp, 
 and then great silence. Beads of perspiration stood on the 
 forehead of the young Cantonese, who had listened to the 
 rolling words as if hypnotized. He looked round that dense 
 assembly, wondering what would come next, wondering 
 whether the heavens would fall in, wondering how every one 
 could remain so still. But Weeger had already passed to 
 other things, and there was no longer drama in his speech. 
 Yet just as the discharge of a salvo of artillery into densely 
 packed ranks leaves behind an ineffaceable mark, so had this 
 apostrophe done its work. The Chinese witnesses, standing 
 massed together, and still dreaming of their money, knew by 
 instinct that sorcery had taken place strange and wicked 
 sorcery of words that they did not understand, and yet which
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 325 
 
 had irrevocably lost them their money. . . . They looked 
 at each other and whispered unceasingly in the vernacular, 
 wondering why this grey-haired man had destroyed their 
 hopes, wondering if he had been paid a fortune to do it. 
 
 The Court, after retiring, returned with unexpected 
 suddenness. The sentences surprised no one. Deportation 
 orders were to be made against those who had not been already 
 discharged, and the bail in each case was to be retained until 
 actual departure had been registered. That was all. 
 
 " Whitewashed ! " men murmured to one another. " Well 
 done, old Weeger ! " That was the one thing everybody 
 said again and again, and as the dense assembly slowly 
 filed out the grey-haired Englishman was almost suffocated 
 by those anxious to congratulate him. Only Willy Chang, 
 still looking at everybody with wondering eyes, repeated to 
 himself in a queer manner : 
 
 " Lecky Lecky again ! He tried to save them with 
 Lecky." 
 
 Outside, as the great throng dispersed, the carriages 
 seemed as endless as after a gala performance. In this line, 
 harnessed to well-known chestnuts, was a victoria in which 
 was seated a lady with a red sunshade, whom everybody 
 knew by sight and no one greeted. 
 
 " Well, Willy, how long you have kept me waiting ! Was 
 it very stupid ? " she remarked in a high-pitched voice so 
 that every one could hear.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 "... Tzu Lu once passed the night on Shih-men, where the gate- 
 keeper said to him : ' Where do yon come from ? ' Tzu Lu replied : 
 ' From the school of Confucius.' The gate-keeper exclaimed : ' Oh, is 
 he not the man who is trying to do what he knows to be impossible ? ' ' 
 " THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS." 
 
 MRS. JERRINS, fully dressed in spite of the earliness of 
 the hour, eagerly scanned the muddy waters of the great 
 estuaryfromthepromenade-deckofthebigmail-steamer. 
 The morning mist had cleared away sufficiently to reveal 
 the familiar low-lying country, the fleets of junks anchored 
 at every creek-mouth, the dumpy, ugly, utilitarian cargo- 
 boats being towed upriver by powerful tow-boats, the many 
 ocean steamers dotted about on the outer anchorage as if 
 they feared to go in closer, and finally the wreaths of smoke 
 on the very edge of the horizon showing where the foreign 
 settlements lay. She leaned over the taffrail, gazing at it 
 and wondering anxiously what this return would mean to 
 her. After those weary weeks of isolation, those strange days 
 passed in apathy and lif elessness, her heart beat quickly at the 
 nearness of it all. How were things faring with him ? Her 
 news was already a fortnight old ; and in this world which 
 moved by sharp spasms, whenever it moved at all, that was 
 sufficient time for the heavens to fall. 
 
 Presently she was surprised to see a big sea-going launch 
 take its place alongside the tender that had been awaiting 
 the mail-steamer long before its arrival. Then a steward, 
 searching the decks with a note in his hand, quickly approached 
 
 her and she gave an involuntary exclamation of alarm. But 
 
 326
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 327 
 
 a glance at the few quickly written words allayed her fears. 
 He had merely sent the launch specially for her, so that she 
 might not be delayed, so that she might come at once up- 
 river. So she ordered her trunks to be taken down, said 
 good-bye to the few acquaintances who were about, went 
 down the companion-way, and soon all trace left of the mail- 
 steamer on which she had travelled back was a speck on the 
 waters from which ascended much smoke. 
 
 The Chinese captain, indeed, ran his craft upriver at such 
 a pace that she saw the fagade of stately buildings rise up once 
 more long before the lumbering tender, fifteen miles away, 
 had ended the dreary task of loading endless mail-bags and 
 mountains of trunks on to its congested decks. But on the 
 settlement jetties a second surprise awaited her. Again he 
 was not there. Instead there was a second note which led 
 her to a waiting brougham, and now, as she took her seat, she 
 frowned, more than a little disappointed. She had expected 
 to be received with open arms, and he had merely said that 
 he could not spare a minute until the tiffin-hour. 
 
 Quieted by the gentle motion of the carriage her moment- 
 ary disappointment slowly evanesced, and she sat back 
 motionless thinking. Of all the steps she had ever taken 
 this was surely the most audacious. She was doing what 
 she had often dreamed of taking the bit between her teeth, 
 plunging away into an unknown country which was not 
 hedged around by conventions, an unknown unmapped 
 country like those mediaeval maps marked by single ominous 
 words, such as Lions or Cannibals, or, as Othello knew it, 
 the country of men whose heads do grow beneath their 
 shoulders. There was no longer any question of a precipitate 
 retreat ; this was the last consuming engagement. 
 
 As she thought on her mouth felt dry, and she measured 
 the unhealthiness pressing down on the earth from the wilted 
 look of things. Yet thank Fortune for the hot weather ! All 
 her women acquaintances must certainly have gone away, 
 and there would be no question of having to avoid them. 
 Through the white Venetians, fitted to the brougham in the
 
 328 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Eastern manner, she saw that the graveolent streets of the 
 town were indeed almost empty of their native population. 
 Nobody would certainly dream of her coming back at such a 
 time as this nobody would think of that ! 
 
 Soon they had come to the end of the streets, and now 
 she saw the willows and the locust trees and the plane trees 
 begin to defile endlessly as the brougham lumbered dreamily 
 into the country. The driver, nodding half asleep on the 
 box, amidst the buzz of the flies which hung on the flanks of 
 his tortured ponies, stirred himself occasionally to use the 
 whip, but after each spasmodic effort he let them fall back to 
 their slow crawl, as if it were folly to travel faster. A seller 
 of fruit, sitting half naked under the shadow of the trees, 
 suddenly attracted her attention by calling his wares in 
 short, sharp cries ; then she lazily noted how he got up and 
 slid away like a shadow as a turbaned Sikh policeman ap- 
 proached frowning and moving one arm like an automaton. 
 In this somnolescence that was the utmost excitement which 
 could be found. 
 
 At last the wheels scrunched along a gravelled drive and 
 came to rest under the square white portico she had seen so 
 often but never yet entered. An old servant was waiting 
 there as if the most natural thing in the world was occurring 
 a woman coming home to a man's house and he greeted her 
 with strange friendliness. 
 
 " Good day, mississee," he said in his quaint English, 
 ushering her in with easy ceremony. " Velly, velly hot to-day 
 storm soon big storm." 
 
 " Yes, it is very hot," she agreed ; "I think it must 
 storm." 
 
 She listened to the old man's prattle as he led her from room 
 to room, explaining what each one was used for, and telling 
 her that their future disposal was entirely for her to decide. 
 He did so in his broken English with such an absence of 
 anything in the way of self-consciousness that she realized 
 anew that the reason why life is pleasant in the East is 
 that all the inhabitants are natural artists. What matters
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 329 
 
 every passing incident when time infallibly sweeps all living 
 things away ; what matters anything save the procreation of 
 fresh life to take the place of that which must pass ? . . . 
 
 When he had left her she pulled a wicker arm-chair for- 
 ward and sat down on a veranda which looked out over a 
 shimmering lawn saturated with everlasting quiet. 
 
 Well, here she was at last at home in his house, where 
 they could do as they pleased. 
 
 She sat quite still, vaguely observing the play of emotions 
 which were coursing from her brain and thrilling the nerves 
 of her body. It was a delicious experience, this first moment 
 of home-coming, this feeling that she had taken possession of 
 what belonged to her by the right of something as powerful 
 as the right of eminent domain. She could not have enough 
 of it ; this intense satisfaction must last indefinitely ; how 
 wonderful it was ! She promised herself the pleasure of 
 wandering endlessly from room to room, of exploring every- 
 where and looking at everything, thus reconstituting his 
 daily life and learning to understand him ; so did she map out 
 the happy future. It was so tranquil and secluded ; it was just 
 what she had needed ; it was just what she had hungered for. 
 
 Her leather bag was still in her hands. At last something 
 made her open it and empty its contents on to a table. All 
 her important documents and her important possessions were 
 there his telegrams, his letters, his pieces of jewellery. 
 She took all these out and fingered them as she had often 
 fingered them during the long days which had now come to 
 an end : there was a satisfaction in this now which was hard 
 to put into words. It was like the supreme form of epicurean- 
 ism of a hungry person, who, furnished with more food than 
 he can possibly eat, delays the tickling of his palate until the 
 very last moment. . . . 
 
 Reluctantly she put all these things back again, beside 
 a big, blue, official-looking envelope, which was heavily 
 sealed. Then with curious method she commenced to tear 
 up a variety of papers which had accumulated in the course 
 of her travels, together with two short letters from her husband.
 
 330 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Taking all these in her hands she dropped them into a flower- 
 pot, lit a match, and in a little blaze they had irrevocably 
 vanished. 
 
 That phase was over and done with. 
 
 Now a sudden desire for movement overcame her and 
 she began to walk. The house was one of those immense 
 rambling structures with enormous rooms such as merchant- 
 princes built in the first days of Treaty intercourse houses 
 combining a practical realization of the comforts of spacious- 
 ness with a studied desire to be as magnificent as possible. 
 There were all sorts of nooks and corners she had not yet 
 explored, long passage-ways that led to suites of rooms that 
 had once been used as offices, or set apart for the old- 
 fashioned chaszees the tea-tasters of pious memory who were 
 once paid fabulous salaries to stand tasting tea all day long 
 in the forgotten times when China supplied every spot on the 
 habitable globe with that delectable beverage. She went 
 along slowly and quietly, looking at everything as if she had 
 discovered a Wonderland. Unexpectedly she came on a 
 multitude of white porcelain cups in clumsy cupboards ; these 
 were indeed the implements of trade of the chaszees ; they had 
 lain like that, perhaps for twenty or thirty years, unthought 
 of, untouched, relics of a forgotten past, which the servants 
 would leave there for ever unless some woman's hand swept 
 them away. 
 
 With a curious light in her eyes she went on from room 
 to room, through this wing that had certainly not been used 
 for a generation. The green blinds of split bamboo that 
 were lowered along the verandas were falling to pieces from 
 age ; and the chattering of the sparrows at her invasion of a 
 region long abandoned to their devices became so insistent 
 that at length she turned and retraced her footsteps, almost 
 alarmed. This, indeed, was a man's house a house that 
 had never known a woman's care. In the blinding sunlight 
 outside she caught a glimpse of a coolie furtively watching 
 her, as if he were inquisitive to know what was making her 
 wander like that.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 331 
 
 Back in the drawing-room she paused as if in doubt, 
 then something impelled her to go across the hall to a room 
 that was fitted up as a study. Piles of newspapers were 
 stacked on numerous tables and shelves, some neatly 
 arranged, as if for filing, others placed to one side as if reserved 
 for further perusal. Made curious by this evidence of method 
 she began absently fingering them, then suddenly her atten- 
 tion was attracted by some red-pencil marks. 
 
 She looked at the dates. The newspapers were all only 
 a few days old ! What did those red-pencil marks mean ? 
 Rapidly she opened them, her hands trembling. What 
 had happened during the five days she had been at 
 sea ? 
 
 At first she did not understand from the head-lines ; 
 she believed it was a piece of angry litigation such as was 
 constantly witnessed in this city of mixed jurisdictions. 
 Then she suddenly caught her breath as she partially under- 
 stood. She had come upon great staring type announcing 
 SENTENCES OF DEPORTATION : SIR JOHN WEEGER'S GREAT 
 SPEECH : REMARKABLE CASE OF A CHINESE MARRIAGE : 
 THE THREATENED REVELATIONS ! " 
 
 It was a scandal about women 
 
 And she read with her lips parted and her eyes chained 
 to the print, her cheeks turned scarlet. She did not grasp it 
 all at first, or see the sequence of events, or understand why 
 it had happened or what it had meant. But as she read 
 through the many columns packed with references and details, 
 one absorbing thought became dominant and all the rest 
 irrelevant. She did not care how many reputations had 
 been ruined, she did not care for remote causes or motives, 
 or for the morality or immorality of it all. There was only 
 one important thing for there is never but one important 
 thing for women who care. Had he been in any way involved ? 
 were all her hopes to be wrecked just as they were about to 
 be consummated ? 
 
 She gave a great sigh of relief. She had come to the 
 end of the prosecution now ; she knew that since a defence
 
 332 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 only concerns itself with issues already raised the dread 
 likelihood had vanished. 
 
 She was in the midst of Sir John Weeger's speech now, 
 and with woman's instinct she fell on the essential portion. 
 
 " In these circumstances there has arisen in society ..." 
 
 As the drumbeats of that noble phrasing caught her, 
 her eyes filled with tears and she was overcome. In that 
 insistent passage was to be found a penance something por- 
 tentous, and now she knew how much Providence had done 
 for her. Again and again she read the words, dimly aware 
 that the morning was being fast consumed, yet held chained 
 to the spot. 
 
 Then a quick step on the veranda. As she swiftly 
 turned he stood framed in the French window as if that had 
 been foreordained, his big solar topee almost covering his 
 face, his arms held stiffly beside him. 
 
 " Ian ! " she cried passionately, going towards him with 
 her arms outstretched. 
 
 " Is that you, Beatrice ? " he said gravely. " Is that 
 you ? " 
 
 Then he came slowly up to her, not saying another 
 word. 
 
 " Why did you come like that ? " she whispered, clasping 
 his hands, and fondling him, and crying as she talked 
 " without a word so quietly, so silently ? I have been 
 thinking ever since your first letter how we would meet, 
 how I would have to be careful not to say too much after 
 all I have written, not to look too much, not to take too 
 much for granted. ... I had made up my mind to use all 
 sorts of artifices, to do all sorts of things, to say all sorts of 
 things, so that you would not think me foolish, so that you 
 would not tire of my ways. ... I had prepared words to 
 meet everything so that you would not think badly of me, 
 so that you would love me a little and forgive all that I have 
 felt ought to be forgiven ! Oh, Ian, Ian ! . , . And then you 
 come like this without a word " 
 
 Two great tears had formed in his eyes and slowly rolled
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 333 
 
 down his cheeks, which were pale and thin. With a trembling 
 hand she wiped the tears away. 
 
 " What has happened, Ian ? " she whispered, holding 
 him with all her strength. " I do not care about this thing ! 
 I do not care about the past ! Do you understand ? I do 
 not care about anything but you. . . . Oh, do not think 
 because I have read that I care, that there is anything I did 
 not know ! . . . Tell me quickly what is the matter, so that 
 I shall not have to wait. Have they bothered you, worried 
 you, harried you, tried to bring you down ? And have you 
 resisted them, though you are like this so thin, so tired, so 
 silent, so pitiful ? Ian, Ian ! " 
 
 Then he kissed her, shaking his head as if there was nothing 
 to say, and as she kissed him back she knew that in that 
 silence all things were made clear. 
 
 Later, when the afternoon was advanced, he began to 
 talk, to explain. 
 
 " It is the end sooner or later," he said simply ; " their 
 deadweight is too much. You told me months ago that 
 nothing ever succeeds out here I am going to prove you 
 right." 
 
 " No, no ! " she cried ; " that was before I really believed in 
 you." 
 
 He smiled sadly. 
 
 " And that was before I was wise. Had I followed 
 your advice I believe I could still be victor and not van- 
 quished." 
 
 Without a word she had risen and gone from the room. 
 When she came back she had in her hand her travelling-bag. 
 
 " How much do you need ? " she asked abruptly. 
 
 " No, no ! " he exclaimed protestingly ; " that poor little 
 money of yours must be kept against some rainy day." 
 
 But she had handed him her blue sealed envelope, and as 
 he sat with it in his hand, looking at her blankly, she said : 
 
 " Please open my present from Japan." 
 
 " Your present from Japan ? " he repeated wonderingly.
 
 334 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 Slowly, almost as if he were afraid, he opened the envelope 
 and discovered therein a thick wad of pink papers. As he 
 smoothed them out he realized that they were very familiar 
 things things he had seen half his life, things he had learnt 
 to detest brokers' contract notes. 
 
 Brokers' contract notes from her ! . . . 
 
 Mechanically his eyes went to the bottom of each paper, 
 mechanically he noted the names, mechanically he noted 
 the amounts and prices boom-prices. ... It was quite un- 
 believable a piece of madness, something she had invented 
 to send him to Bedlam. 
 
 " But how did you do this ? " he exclaimed unbelievingly ; 
 " how did you get these men to accept your signature ? " 
 
 She laughed, almost hysterical in her excitement. 
 
 " Tell me you think it clever ? Do you remember 
 when we got back from the house-boat how I told you that 
 I had urgent matters to attend to, that I had not a minute 
 to lose ? I spent all that day and the next arranging this 
 nothing could have stopped me. Perhaps they thought I 
 was authorized by somebody very high and mighty, for they 
 accepted my signature without demur. The only difficult thing 
 was to keep the thing secret, to prevent it from being known, 
 and I used all sorts of artifices. I am afraid I prevaricated, 
 but it was necessary, so necessary. . . . That is all." 
 
 Mortiboy had risen. 
 
 " That is all ! " he exclaimed, beginning to pace the room. 
 " That is all, you say ! But it is everything, everything ! 
 You have a fortune in your hands." Then he paused, struck 
 by something new. " Now I know what Jacks meant 
 now I know ! He must have heard whispers he must have 
 
 believed " He looked at her for a long time, sunk in 
 
 thought, then he tried to hand the envelope back. 
 
 " No," she said, drawing away ; " you must use them 
 those contracts were made for you. You cannot refuse. 
 Ian, I will burn them unless you use them. Do you under- 
 stand ? burn them ! "
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 335 
 
 He tried to resist, he tried to argue, but it was all in vain. 
 Then, beaten, he stood looking at her, repeating again and again : 
 
 " There are some things a man cannot say properly to a 
 woman there are some things a man cannot say properly to 
 a woman." 
 
 That was the first day that was the strange thing that 
 happened. 
 
 On the second day he came back suddenly in the middle 
 of the afternoon, though he had said he would not be back 
 until nighttime. 
 
 " I have arranged everything," he said. " There has 
 been much excitement and talk, but it is all arranged. Then 
 I felt so dizzy in the office that I thought I must have a little 
 rest." 
 
 She anxiously felt his hands and his forehead, long residence 
 in feverish places having taught her what to fear. 
 
 " Fever," she announced immediately " high fever." 
 
 " It is only the heat and the excitement," he protested. 
 " You have no idea of the excitement I am safe now for 
 another six months, no matter what happens." 
 
 " Lie down ! " she commanded, not listening to him. " I 
 am going to send for old Dr. Steinhein. Steinhein is the 
 person you need and quiet absolute quiet." 
 
 When the German doctor, who was always busy, found 
 time to step in, he shook hands with Mrs. Jerrins without 
 a word. He was the repository of many curious secrets, and 
 he never talked. 
 
 " Mein freund, I have been noticing you for several days 
 at the Club," he remarked to Mortiboy as he sat down beside 
 him. " I am not surprised. Too much summer, too much 
 work, too much worry very, very old complaints. Bed 
 no food, and the medicine I shall send. See you to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 In the hall he was waylaid by her. 
 
 " Well ? " she said interrogatively. " You will have to 
 tell me, because I am in charge."
 
 336 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " One hundred and four degrees," he grunted ; " nothing 
 much for China, but we must wait. To-morrow will show. 
 I am sorry I cannot have him in the hospital. If you 
 have nothing to do drive to my place to-morrow, and I 
 can give you some special instructions." 
 
 Then he hurried off, pretending not to see that she 
 was weeping. Upstairs Mortiboy was dozing and restlessly 
 turning and tossing and muttering to himself. But immedi- 
 ately she entered he became wide awake. 
 
 " Do you think it will be for long ? " he asked in a husky 
 voice. " A long bed of sickness and a slow collapse that is 
 the horrible thing." 
 
 He kissed her hand and tried to draw her near to him, 
 but gently she exerted her strength and made him lie back. 
 
 " Ian," she said firmly, " you are sick, but not very sick. 
 Quiet is what you want, and sleep, plenty of sleep. To- 
 morrow you will be better." 
 
 Quieted by her voice, he sank back and obediently closed 
 his eyes. 
 
 He was, however, about the same next day, very feverish 
 and restless. He talked unceasingly about his engagements 
 and how he was breaking them, and how this could not go 
 on ; and in spite of every attempt to keep him quiet he dis- 
 played unceasing restlessness, alarming her more and more. 
 
 It had been agreed to keep his illness strictly private, but 
 for all the good that did it might as well have been agreed 
 to stop the sun from shining or the rivers from flowing. 
 Europeans may propose ; it is the Chinese who invariably 
 dispose. So the knowledge that he was seriously ill myste- 
 riously passed everywhere, and was variously received. 
 Macniversen, entering the offices of the company to fulfil 
 his duties of director (by signing as fast as he could write 
 documents which he did not read), heard the facts from the 
 smooth, pigtailed person who waited on him, and who invented 
 as many exaggerations as he could improvise, since that was a 
 pleasure.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 337 
 
 So, when he went home, Macniversen, feeling that the 
 ship might really be sinking, told his wife that Mortiboy 
 appeared at last to be down and out. 
 
 " Do you mean that he is seriously ill ? " she exclaimed. 
 " Is he still in his own house, or has he gone to the hospital ? 
 He was going to dine with us to-night, you know. It is all 
 very strange." 
 
 As her husband talked she tried to imagine why Mortiboy 
 should have written her the strange note in a shaking hand- 
 writing she had received an hour or two before, in which he 
 had adjured her to say nothing to anybody. The fact that 
 he was ill made it all the more curious. As soon as her 
 husband had settled down to something, without saying a 
 word to him she ordered her carriage and drove in silent 
 concentration until Mortiboy's house loomed up, when her 
 sharp voice told the coachman to drive in. 
 
 At the front door, more puzzled than ever, she got out 
 and rang the door-bell again and again, but only after a long 
 interval did she get any response. Then a coolie, furtively 
 appearing in the background, after looking at her askance, 
 attempted to escape, and was only brought back by the sound 
 of her angry voice. From his halting account it appeared 
 that all the house servants the boys had gone out on 
 errands, and that there was nobody in the house. It seemed 
 to her unbelievable, but it was half-past six, and she knew 
 that it was possible to enter most European houses at that 
 hour in China and find the premises practically deserted. She 
 began to believe that Mortiboy had really been sent to the 
 hospital that was the only possible explanation. 
 
 For a moment she hesitated the position was certainly 
 curious and unprecedented. There was no use in attempting 
 to question the coolie any further, for he was plainly panic- 
 stricken at the sound of her imperious voice, being a raw 
 upriver fellow : either she must go away after scribbling a 
 few words of sympathy on a piece of paper, or go upstairs 
 unannounced and find out for herself. Her curiosity won 
 the day, and dismissing the coolie with a wave of the 
 22
 
 338 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 hand, which sent him scuttling back, she boldly marched 
 upstairs. 
 
 On the landing she paused, wondering how it would be 
 taken if she were found here alone. Then once again her 
 curiosity drove her forward. 
 
 " May I come in ? " she called outside his bedroom, which 
 she knew perfectly, as she had often dined with him, and had 
 rambled all over the house, as people do in the East. " May 
 I come in ? " she repeated, listening intently as she heard the 
 sound of laboured breathing. He was here. . . . 
 
 " Hallo," came his voice, somewhat muffled. " I have 
 been waiting an awful time. I am so tired of waiting " 
 
 She passed the door. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Mortiboy," she began, " I am so sorry to hear 
 that you have this attack. I had no idea that you were 
 really so sick until the servants told me, for I did not under- 
 stand your note. I thought that it was one of those chills 
 which are so common here in summer." 
 
 " Eh ? " he replied sharply. 
 
 He was sitting up in bed now, with his eyes fixed on her, 
 intently staring, yet looking through her. 
 
 " Where have you been ? " he said peevishly at last. 
 
 " Where have I been ? " she echoed, suddenly alive to 
 the fact that this was going to be quite different from what 
 she had expected. " Why, I have been nowhere, Mr. Mortiboy 
 excepting in my own house. I came just to see how you 
 were. I did not understand your note. I will go away if you 
 want me to." 
 
 " No, no ! " he commanded, pointing an accusing hand at 
 her. " You cannot go unless I allow you to it cannot 
 happen again as it happened before. There are some things 
 which must not repeat themselves, which cannot slip out of 
 my grasp." Then he went on in a mutter : " Was the water 
 shallow, do you think? tell me or was it all a bit of 
 bluff? . . ." 
 
 He had broken off suddenly, as if puzzled by the sound 
 of his own voice and by the open-mouthed silence of the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 339 
 
 woman before him. Grasping the sheet in both hands, he 
 bent his head sheer over on one side, as wild animals do when 
 they are completely dumbstruck by some phenomenon they 
 have never seen before. In that attitude he stared at her as 
 if trying to get a different view of a hidden obstacle. 
 
 " Damn it, it eludes me ! " he muttered in a collapsed 
 way as he allowed his head to fall back on the pillow. " It 
 eludes me it eludes me ! Everything does slips clean out of 
 my grasp. And yet I am not beaten. Don't you know that ? " 
 
 With electrical suddenness he had flung himself up to a 
 sitting position again and pointed his accusing finger at her 
 again. 
 
 " No, you are not beaten," whimpered Mrs. Macniversen, 
 now frightened to death, her heart beating so that it choked 
 her, yet chained to the spot by something stronger than her 
 will. She knew now that he had written the note whilst he 
 was light-headed. " Oh, but try and calm yourself ; do not 
 talk, Mr. Mortiboy. It is the fever that makes you do it, and 
 you mustn't say things you may regret." 
 
 He had placed his hands over his eyes, not heeding her at 
 all, showing that he heard nothing, showing that he was not 
 with her, though his body was there. 
 
 " What's the use of driving them away ? we've got to have 
 them. It is as plain as a pikestaff. No use arguing, no use 
 repining, no use crying, no use . . . Beatrice, come here and 
 be sensible ! Beatrice, give me your hand ! Beatrice, let me 
 put my head down, quickly, before it is too late ! " 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen, with a half-hysterical cry of alarm as 
 she understood that he had taken her for another woman, 
 had retreated step by step, watching him spellbound as 
 though she feared some homicidal attempt. He was clean 
 mad from the fever, delirious, that was clear, and they had left 
 him alone. ... It was the cruellest thing she had ever seen ; 
 she must go for help. But when she reached the doorsill 
 his muttering had risen louder now, and in spite of herself she 
 had to listen. 
 
 " It was just the same I tell you just the same, even
 
 340 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 when I was younger ! . . . I always had myself under con- 
 trol. I was ' Iron Mortiboy,' as they used to call me, save that 
 once when I caught out like a griffin. ... It was on the 
 river, you know, in a house-boat just like our trip. . . . She 
 hadn't come with me, that was the devilish part she was 
 with another man Brown, a languid fellow with a drooping 
 moustache, who was always saying China wasn't a fit place 
 to die in, let alone live in. Remember Brown ? Their boat 
 had stuck in the mud couldn't float her off for love or money, 
 though half a village had been hired to strip and plunge into 
 the water and tug and haul. . . . What a mob of men and 
 boys they had hauling and splashing in the mud ! . . . Brown, 
 who had lost his head and his temper, had gone off to get more 
 assistance ; when my boat came round the bend of the river 
 she was standing alone on the bows and she waved to me. 
 It was just like you at the door ... a figure rising out of 
 the blank. That was what captured me. . . . She was 
 in white. . . . The sun was setting and the light made her 
 look like an angel surrounded by a mob of muddy devils 
 digging and pulling at the boat for dear life. ' We've stuck 
 fast,' she cried, ' and I'm clean scared, alone with all these 
 native men ! ' ' That's all right,' I said ; ' I'll take you off 
 and see that you aren't hurt.' Then I ran my boat up to 
 her boat and threw out a gang-plank, and because she looked 
 like an angel and said she was afraid, the devil got in me, 
 and I picked her up and carried her on board. That was 
 the trouble . . . that was the trouble. . . . Never touch 
 them, never let them get into your arms !...-! was as hard 
 as nails from three weeks upcountry, and she felt as soft as 
 feathers. . . . ' Push off,' she said, and I pushed off whilst 
 she looked at me. Then she said she was thirsty, and we 
 sat sipping cocktails waiting for Brown, and night fell, with 
 no stars and no moon. ' Brown's not coming, I believe,' she 
 said. ' I'll get my things and come with you, if you like. 
 What's your name ? ' She went and got her things before I 
 could stop her, and then we went back round the bend of the 
 river the way I had come. There was not another woman
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 341 
 
 like Belle Lawson in these parts then. . . . That is why I 
 gave her the photograph which made all the trouble it 
 was Christmas, and she said she must have a present. She 
 took to showing it as a proof that I was going to marry her 
 and the goody-goody women did the rest, though the water 
 wasn't really shallow, not so shallow. . . . That's all, I 
 swear that's all ! Why are you trying to hide from me ? " 
 
 A flash of sanity had lighted up the murky clouds of thought 
 massing on the sick man's brain ; he had seen the woman on 
 the doorsill shrinking back and peering at him in a queer, 
 peculiar way. Holding his body partially raised from the 
 bed, as if it were something belonging to somebody else, he 
 looked at her without understanding. 
 
 <( What do you mean ? Tell me what you mean ? " he re- 
 peated doggedly. " I only left you because the others sent 
 an urgent message that they were surrounded that they 
 couldn't hold out " 
 
 " Mr. Mortiboy," Mrs. Macniversen faltered, regarding 
 him with increasing terror, and seeking to humour him, 
 " of course you only obeyed a call for help everybody knows 
 that ! " 
 
 She watched intently, ready to turn and ran madly, if he 
 should attempt to lay hands upon her. But already he had 
 forgotten her existence. . . . 
 
 " The goody-goody women did it," he resumed, falling 
 back and stretching out his arms and rolling his body to 
 and fro as if the fire which was burning him up could be ex- 
 tinguished by crashing it under him. " I knew they were 
 maturing it for weeks and months, writing letters to all the 
 Foreign Offices about the abuse of extra-territoriality and 
 working on our foolish consuls to take action about some- 
 thing which did not regard them in the slightest. It was all 
 because the other women were better looking and dressed 
 better and had more men and more money above all, more 
 men. . . . Human nature, if you like, but a great mean stroke 
 all the same. They spread the lie that I threw over Belle 
 Lawson because I had heard something about it, and was
 
 342 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 afraid of being mixed up. . . . And then she went and took 
 a Chinaman ! Dear Lord, forgive me. . . . The goody-goody 
 women who pretended they were goody-goody. ... I know 
 all their names and so do others. And the first one of all who'll 
 get her reckoning will be that Mrs. Macniversen. . . . God, 
 what is that! . . ." 
 
 The listening woman had given an involuntary cry, and as 
 she turned her parasol had fallen on the bare floor with a loud, 
 resounding blow. 
 
 For a while the man stared steadily. " I had forgotten 
 you," he said very quietly, rubbing an eye with one hand ; 
 " don't mind my ways. Forgive me; just a little forgiveness 
 goes a long way out here. Forgive me, won't you ? " 
 
 " Yes," she whispered, " yes." 
 
 " Come a little nearer, then just a little nearer," he 
 pleaded tearfully. 
 
 Against her will, drawn by some strange power which she 
 did not dare to resist, she approached on the tip of her toes 
 until she stood, hardly breathing, beside him. 
 
 " What is it, Mr. Mortiboy ? " 
 
 He sat up. 
 
 "Beatrice!" he began; "Beatrice!" Then, through 
 some instinct, he recognized her with a movement of horror. 
 " You ! " he cried ; " you ! " covering his face and falling back. 
 
 Like one possessed she rushed out into the hall and down- 
 stairs and away. 
 
 " Drive, drive o-so \ " (quickly) she called to the servants 
 on her carriage, who had almost fallen asleep, " Oh, oh ! " 
 she wailed to herself. " What a terrible experience ! " 
 
 Carried impetuously down the roadway by her scampering 
 ponies, she could think of nothing ; everything was obliterated 
 by the memory of the succession of horrors that had happened. 
 But soon the thought which became uppermost was this : 
 Was the last thing he had said only a delirious fancy ? 
 
 Half-way to town a brougham passed with the white 
 Venetians tight shut save for one window. Fate willed that 
 Mrs. Jerrins should put her head to that window as the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 343 
 
 carriages passed, and the two women recognized each other 
 in a mutual gasp of surprise. But one never dreamed that 
 the other had unwittingly impersonated her and heard a 
 confession which could never be repeated. Such is the irony 
 of our little lives. 
 
 The house servants were still absent when Mrs. Jerrins, 
 who had been greatly alarmed all day, hastened upstairs 
 with Dr. Steinhein's express permission to put the sick man 
 to sleep with medicines. Mortiboy had fallen back and was 
 lying with his chest bared, breathing heavily in a semi- 
 comatose condition. The delirious outburst had done him 
 good to this extent, that he had commenced perspiring. 
 Mrs. Jerrins, noting the change, thankfully ascribed it to 
 Providence, which was no doubt a very proper thing to do. 
 She arranged the pillows, bathed his forehead with eau-de- 
 Cologne, opened various parcels, and at last rang the bell 
 insistently. The servants, who had just come back from an 
 adjoining tea-house (having abandoned their master because 
 they had not been allowed to move for twenty-four hours), 
 never breathed a word concerning any visitor, since that 
 would have betrayed their absence. They did what they 
 were told to do with Chinese phlegm, and when they had gone 
 she took out a little bottle and began adjusting a little needle- 
 syringe in a business-like way. Unknown to her the man 
 had opened his eyes and was watching her inject the fluid 
 into his arm. 
 
 " What is that ? " he inquired. 
 
 " Morphia," she answered. 
 
 He made a strange movement, then whispered : 
 
 " Beatrice, is it true that you used once " 
 
 " Yes," she said, " it is true ; but it was years ago." 
 Then his eyelids closed down and he slept.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 " In such degree did the virtues of the Chow dynasty illumine the 
 world, that foreign tribes sent articles of tribute to the court, among 
 which was a large hound, four cubits high, which had been trained to 
 bring down human quarry. This uncommon occurrence caused unrest 
 in the mind of Shih, the Duke of Shaou. He therefore wrote an ad- 
 monitory essay to the King, in which he said : 
 
 " ' Trifling with men is loss of virtue ; trifling with things is puerile 
 play. Let your desires be guided by moderation in all things, and 
 neglect not those that are worthy. Thus you will perfect your merit. 
 Do not set a value on rare things nor belittle such as are useful. Thus 
 you will prosper the people. Except in their own countries, dogs and 
 horses should not be reared. By not setting a value on rare things 
 the stranger is admonished. Esteeming worthiness alone, you may 
 abide in peace with your neighbours.' " " THE CLASSICS OF CON- 
 FUCIUS." 
 
 '""T S HE voices of the street- venders rose in short staccato 
 cries as the men pushed through the great throng 
 of loiterers or stood in little groups, protecting their 
 trays of basket-ware as best they could from thieving hands. 
 
 " Yu-sa-kmi, yu-sa-kuei ! " (Pastry, pastry) they cried 
 again and again. 
 
 " Tong-yu-nang, Tong-yu-nang ! " (Spiced potatoes). 
 
 " Ung-hsiang-tou, Ung-hsiang-tou!" (Fine-flavoured beans). 
 
 " Come on, Polly," protested Minnie Yao, " and do stop 
 trying to make everybody think that you want to be spoken 
 to. You have kept us here for ten minutes already. Isn't 
 she awful, Jenny, the way she goes on ! " 
 
 Minnie Yao tossed her head in indignation. And yet 
 her restless eyes travelled round the crowd of jeunesse doree, 
 fluttering in close proximity, just as insistently as those of 
 
 344
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 345 
 
 the youngest girl. It was night, and the three sisters were 
 standing at the doors of the theatre named " Bounteous 
 Plenteousness," a huge box-like structure that attempted 
 to unite the conveniences of the West with the traditions 
 of the East. Possessing three separate entrances on three 
 different streets, not to speak of a great frontage on that 
 resort of dandies, the Loochow Road, the playhouse fitly 
 named " Bounteous Plenteousness " was unanimously con- 
 sidered as the ne plus ultra of fashionable native life. Round 
 the three girls a ceaseless stream of men, dressed in delight- 
 ful silks, full of salmon-pinks and chasseur -blues and other 
 delicious shades, eddied backwards and forwards and came 
 to frequent halts, making open comments over their fans 
 on the appearance of the trio and smiling at their self- 
 possession. To-night, in obedience to a whim, the Yao 
 girls had entirely abandoned their Paris dresses, their 
 Viennese hairdressing, their foreign jewels, and all other 
 exotic things : they appeared dressed as three demure 
 Chinese girls of a very marriageable age, busy advertising 
 the new note being given to Chinese society through Western 
 example, in spite of Confucius and all the sages that is, 
 Personal Liberty, in capital letters. 
 
 No wonder the crowd of men stared and the air was 
 heavy with their comments, for there was something strangely 
 alluring about the three girls as they stood there grouped 
 together. Their pale faces, heavily powdered, were thrown 
 into bold relief by the hard, straight lines of their hairdress- 
 ing ; their narrow eyes literally glittered with excitement 
 in the heat and noise of the theatre entrance ; their flounced 
 black skirts and their tight surcoats of lemon-coloured silk 
 accentuated an aspect which was strangely like the sculptured 
 figures of the ancient Egyptians. 
 
 " Come on ! " repeated Minnie. " Really, Polly, if you 
 don't follow, I'm going right up to our box alone, and I'll 
 send one of the amahs down to look after you ! " 
 
 " Oh, Minnie, what a bore you are ! " sighed the youngest 
 girl, preparing to follow. " We haven't seen a soul we
 
 346 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 know yet, excepting those P'eng boys, with their beastly 
 American accents and their awful names Sophocles and 
 Euripides ! We can't invite them to come with us. It 
 will be nice, three of us sitting alone in a box with room 
 for six " 
 
 " I know who you want ! " replied Jenny, the second girl, 
 flashing her eyes at a group of men as they went upstairs. 
 " I know ! " 
 
 " What if I do ! " retorted Polly. " Major Malwa said he 
 had never seen a proper Chinese theatre, and so I wrote him 
 we were coming here to-night. It's past nine now, and even 
 if he has been dining out he won't be much longer. So you 
 can expect him ! " 
 
 " That will cause a nice lot of talk with him in the box 
 alone with us ! " exclaimed Minnie, quite unconvinced. " If 
 our father hears of it you will catch it properly." 
 
 " He rides with me ! " rejoined Polly sulkily. 
 
 " Yes, but that is in the very early morning," said 
 Minnie. 
 
 " And you are dressed in foreign clothes," said Jenny. 
 
 " And there are not hundreds of Chinese staring at you," 
 added Minnie. 
 
 " It will get into the beastly Chinese papers," concluded 
 Jenny, " and they will probably make a picture of a Chinese 
 girl and a foreign man doing something nasty. Their cartoons 
 are always awful. I advise you to look out." 
 
 Polly did not trouble to answer ; she only closed her lips 
 very tight, showing that she had a will of her own and a good 
 deal of temper as well. When they reached the door of their 
 box one of the girls told the amahs who were waiting there 
 that they didn't want any tea, and that they didn't want 
 to smoke. The amahs, meek country-women who had been 
 bought when they were children, and who were children still, 
 so far as the world was concerned, went off quickly and 
 obediently. After that the three girls, diving through the 
 narrow doorway as if they were taking a plunge into water, 
 sat down with exclamations of satisfaction.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 347 
 
 A play had just come to an end, and the brilliantly lighted 
 house resounded with the cries of men selling tea and sweet- 
 meats and fruit and cigarettes and even iced drinks, in 
 imitation of the foreigner ; whilst other attendants carried 
 hot, steaming cloths about in baskets and handed them to 
 those who wished to refresh themselves by rubbing their 
 faces violently in this unconventional way. From six 
 o'clock play after play had been given, and half the audience 
 had not only been there from that hour, but would remain 
 until long past midnight. 
 
 The three girls, with an eye to effect, began plying their 
 tortoise-shell opera-glasses as if they had been in a European 
 theatre. Their pantomime soon grew more pronounced as 
 they saw how they were being observed. In the adjoining 
 box was an old-fashioned family from the country, consisting 
 of mother, father, grandmother, daughters, sons, and even 
 a baby or two, with servants in attendance, who continually 
 passed tea and pastry with anxious looks, as if the slightest 
 relaxation of their activities might precipitate a number of 
 disastrous deaths from hunger and thirst. Without com- 
 ment or movement the country family surveyed the three 
 up-to-date girls in an unblinking, unchangeable, unfathomable 
 stare, as if they had been brought face to face with the most 
 awe-inspiring phenomenon of the age. 
 
 " What do you think ? " presently exclaimed Polly, who 
 had the quickest eyes. " What do you think I have found ? 
 There's Willy Chang over there sitting as far back as he can 
 in his box ! " She gave a little scream of amusement. " Oh, 
 Minnie, do look at her in Chinese clothes, do look at his 
 Eternal Priestess ! I have never seen anything so funny. 
 She looks exactly like a half-caste ! " 
 
 " Where, where ! " cried the other two, becoming excited. 
 " Oh yes ! " 
 
 The occupants of the adjoining box, apprised by these 
 startled exclamations that something unusual had been dis- 
 covered, stared too and then babbled amongst themselves as 
 they discovered a foreign woman dressed as a Chinese sitting
 
 348 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 in the company of a son of the soil. This set the cap on 
 their previous experiences ; the evening was indeed without 
 parallel. 
 
 " Do you know what I heard yesterday ? " continued 
 Polly, her almond eyes screwed up to the merest slits because 
 of her amusement. " I don't know if it's true, but if it is 
 won't there be a row ! " She bent forward and whispered 
 something. 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed the other two girls. Then Minnie, after 
 some reflection, remarked in a wise little way : 
 
 " Still, his father authorized the marriage, you know 
 that came out at the trial and he'll probably be pleased if 
 it's a son." 
 
 " But such a son ! They couldn't let him worship the 
 ancestral tablets how could they possibly let him worship ? 
 A foreigner has no ancestors, that's always the trouble," 
 remarked Jenny as if she had never been in Europe at all. 
 
 Polly made a grimace and then stuck out her tongue 
 rudely : 
 
 " Hsiang-pu-tao-te-shih" she said in vernacular (quite an 
 unbelievable occurrence). " They say Willy Chang wrote 
 that translation of the play we saw the last time we were 
 here the ' Lute.' Do you remember the speech the heroine 
 made when she first appeared in the garden ? Here's how he 
 translated it probably just to amuse his Eternal Priestess." 
 Now she began reciting in a little sing-song voice which never- 
 theless could not destroy the tenderness of the passage : 
 
 " ' . . . I am called H sin-Chun, that is to say Springtime. 
 This morning, when I opened the casement, I found the roof oj 
 the pavilion strewn with the leaves of the willow, whilst a fine rain 
 had sullied the blossoms on the pear trees. Before dusk I heard 
 the bird Hoang-li sing ; but its trills were plaintive. Spring is 
 about to die, and that is why I weep.' 
 
 " I wish I could write like that," sighed the girl when she 
 had finished. " They say Willy Chang is much better at 
 English than Chu Ta Ming, though that nasty, cross old man 
 talks so well. Willy is supposed to be writing those leading
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 349 
 
 articles in the English papers here that have made such a lot 
 of talk' The Present Discontents.' " 
 
 Minnie and Jenny, who were dull girls, were not impressed 
 by Polly's talk. One of them ejaculated : 
 
 " Oh, Polly, don't show off and pretend you understand 
 politics ! You always bring up things like that when there 
 is nothing else to say. You don't understand them any 
 better than we do." 
 
 " But I do, I do ! " cried the youngest girl. " I know lots 
 of things that would surprise you, only I'm not going to tell. 
 Look there ! look over there ! " she ended suddenly and 
 rapidly, almost under her breath, as if she had become afraid. 
 
 She had seen no other person than the redoubtable Chu Ta 
 Ming, who was staring up at the three with a sardonic expres- 
 sion on his face, as if he were infinitely amused by their 
 appearance to-night. As he saw that they had caught sight 
 of him, however, he pretended to be looking elsewhere, since 
 no self-respecting man recognizes other people's women-folk 
 in public. 
 
 " The Taotai is with him," continued Polly as soon as he 
 had turned his head. " He's that fat man sitting fast asleep. 
 Father says he's the worst squeezer who has held office here ; 
 he's made three million taels illegally in three years, and ought 
 to be sent up to Peking for trial. They've probably come 
 specially to see ' The Blood of Canton.' Everybody says 
 it's going to be stopped, and the manager and all the actors 
 imprisoned." 
 
 " What fun ! " cried the other two girls. " I wonder if they 
 will execute them ? Why, Polly, you do know a lot to- 
 night ! There's the music." 
 
 A preliminary clash of cymbals had heralded the fluttering 
 music of flutes and drums, and the crowded theatre, until now 
 indifferent, was roused to the highest pitch of expectation. 
 " The Blood of Canton," the famous forerunner of a host of 
 similar plays, was patriotic to the highest degree, and had 
 already excited the greatest magisterial wrath by reason of its 
 amazing coolness in holding up the Manchus to scorn and
 
 350 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 contempt. Based on recent grim happenings in the city of 
 Canton, it gave eloquent voice to a vague craving now filling 
 every mind. While it pretended to be merely an imaginary 
 thing, it frankly forecasted in the speeches of its heroes the 
 end of a system of government based entirely on the blind 
 subordination of the countless millions of the land to stupid 
 mandarins. As the drums rolled and the flutes shrieked in 
 an ecstasy of emotion, the four great triangular flags red, 
 yellow, black, and white which served as drop-curtain swung 
 aside and disclosed two men, disguised with false beards, 
 sitting together in a darkened room and conferring closely. 
 Polly, who knew the play by heart, rapidly explained the plot. 
 The two were Chao Sheng and the redoubtable Huang Hsing, 
 already famous throughout China. Their plan was armed 
 sedition and the capture of Canton. 
 
 " Hao, hao ! " shouted the gallery in frantic delight as the 
 music died down and the dialogue became clear. 
 
 The plans of the two conspirators were developed swiftly 
 and determinedly, to the sound of sharp notes on the flutes 
 and an occasional drumbeat : Chao Sheng, the leader of the 
 vanguard, was to proceed at once to Canton, Huang Hsing 
 was to supply him with arms. The date of the rising was to 
 be the first night of the fourth moon, when the sky is as dark 
 as Erebus. Having determined the details the two swore to 
 each other to preserve faith, even at the cost of ten thousand 
 lives. The next scene, introduced hot on the heels of the 
 first, so as not to allow enthusiasm to cool, showed the dispatch 
 of great quantities of bombs and revolvers packed in coffins 
 alleged to be carrying home the bones of deceased emigrants. 
 The bearers of these grim packages defiled swiftly across the 
 stage, showing the urgency of the business in their pantomime, 
 and their undying resolution in their knotted muscles. Then 
 the four great triangular flags drooped across the stage again, 
 whilst some swift changes were made in the scenery by atten- 
 dants whose movements could be seen by the audience a 
 quaint, procedure which is fully in accord with the art canons 
 of the East.
 
 351 
 
 When the flags went up again they unmasked the interior 
 of a house in gala dress, and the audience was told in shrill 
 language the coming story, to the accompaniment of a native 
 violin that followed the speaking voice, and was itself assisted 
 by the rhythmic beat of castanets. Chao Sheng, the leader of 
 the vanguard of the great revolutionary army, had cunningly 
 engaged a fine residence near the viceroy's yamen in Canton ; 
 it was the twenty-ninth day of the third moon the day 
 before the great date and a marriage-feast was about to 
 be celebrated. To allay suspicions, servants placed the 
 na PPY signs on the doorposts, and presently many guests 
 would arrive to offer Chao Sheng their warmest congratula- 
 tions and to partake of his hospitality on the occasion of the 
 marriage of his son. 
 
 Numbers of bearers dressed in official clothes now filed 
 on with boxes filled with presents. They laid these boxes 
 down with elaborate ceremony, the better to show how 
 precious was their contents. Then, as they take out trays of 
 food and wine, hey presto ! the bombs and revolvers that 
 have arrived from Hong-Kong by coffin emerge. The guests 
 pour in ; they and the bearers suddenly cast their gala 
 clothing to the ground, they strip to the waist and arm 
 themselves ; they form the vanguard of the great revolu- 
 tionary army, and after twenty-four hours' rest they will 
 make the attack. 
 
 But treachery is abroad. In the midst of these pre- 
 parations a messenger, with clothing and hair in disarray, 
 enters wildly and announces that secret informers the 
 delators of the Roman Empire, who flourish abundantly in the 
 Manchu Empire as well have somehow acquired knowledge 
 of what has been planned, and that the arrest of suspected 
 persons has already commenced. 
 
 Wild excitement ensues. Chao Sheng, the imperturbable 
 commander of the vanguard, however, soon quiets that. 
 Quickly the plans are changed. The attack, instead of 
 being made on the first night of the fourth moon, must take 
 place at once that very day. It will be a Forlorn Hope,
 
 352 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 but better to die in the breach than be caught and tortured 
 as a rebel and a destroyer of the Dragon Throne. This 
 decision is no sooner made than the mock guests and servants 
 take a fresh blood-oath, swearing to win or die, and once more 
 the triangular flags swing picturesquely forward. 
 
 " Hao, hao ! " shouted the gallery in short staccato cries, 
 to show their appreciation, and as the lights flashed up the 
 sea of faces which had watched so intently seemed to be all 
 eyes and teeth, a multitude fairly bewitched by the spectacle 
 provided. 
 
 " Isn't it splendid ? " cried Polly, clapping her hands as 
 the drums and pipes and flutes and cymbals began a ponderous 
 melody which beat on the ears like the sound of tempest. 
 
 But the other two girls merely fanned themselves and 
 exclaimed at the heat and said they wanted tea. So they 
 went to call their amahs. As they opened the door of their 
 box they came face to face with Major Malwa, who was trying 
 to explain in imperfect Chinese to a theatre-attendant that 
 he wanted to go in, and who seemed very angry at being 
 stopped. 
 
 " Oh, Major Malwa, you're just in time for the fighting ! " 
 cried the two girls, telling the astonished attendant in the 
 vernacular to let him pass. " This is a real revolutionary 
 play, and they say it's going to be stopped and everybody 
 arrested and executed. Isn't it exciting ? " 
 
 " Very," said the Englishman, shaking hands and going 
 into the box. " Hallo, Polly, this is the first time I've seen 
 you in Chinese dress ! You look ever so much bigger." 
 He studied her intently. 
 
 " Do you like it ? " she asked. " Do you like the way 
 my hair is done ? " Then, as her sisters remained at the 
 door, she whispered rapidly : " Why are you so late ? How 
 cruel to make me wait always ! It must be nearly eleven, 
 and you said ten." 
 
 " I couldn't help it. There was a stupid dinner-party, 
 and I had to lie worse than usual to get away. You know 
 the sort of thing. Awfully sorry I am, Polly, so don't cut up."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 353 
 
 " Was it Mrs. Macniversen ? " 
 
 He nodded and looked a bit grave, as if he did not appre- 
 ciate that question. 
 
 The Chinese girl had turned her eyes round slyly in their 
 sockets without moving her head just as if her eyes were 
 floated on quicksilver, which is a purely native trick to see 
 whether she could still talk without fear of being overheard. 
 Her sisters were sharply rating their amahs because they had 
 not come immediately the curtain had fallen ; so now, with 
 a swift gesture, in spite of the neighbours in the adjoining 
 boxes, who were watching her gluttonously, Polly touched the 
 Englishman's hand. 
 
 " You're always there I don't believe you really love 
 me ! " she protested in a sharp whisper. " You wouldn't 
 go there so often if you did. Harry " 
 
 " Oh, Polly," replied the man wearily, " don't begin 
 that again! What is can't be helped you know that as 
 well as me." 
 
 " Harry," she said again protestingly, her eyes now 
 glittering with uncontrollable Eastern jealousy, " there is 
 only oneway." 
 
 He sat up sharply. 
 
 " There is only one way ? " he repeated blankly. " You 
 don't mean it ! When I said it once laughingly you wouldn't 
 listen even." 
 
 She leaned towards him. 
 
 " We must go away to some place where people do not 
 know us go anywhere, I do not care where it is ! Here it 
 is becoming impossible impossible, I tell you. I am already 
 suspected ; in another month my sisters will become afraid 
 and denounce me to our father." She touched his knee. . . . 
 " Do you see, Harry ? " she said in her infinitely gentle voice. 
 
 Then magically her attitude changed, and she laughed 
 almost shrilly, as if they had been joking together about 
 something very funny, for Chinese women are very sly. Her 
 sisters were coming in, and two young Chinese men dressed 
 in foreign clothes were at the door. 
 23
 
 354 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Do you want some tea, Polly ? " inquired the sisters. 
 Then they said in a whisper : " Here are the P'eng boys 
 they are going to stay too." 
 
 " Thanks," said Polly indifferently as she received a tiny 
 cup of tea and drank it slowly, but her eyes still glittered 
 like the eyes of a cat that has been disturbed in the night. . . . 
 Then presently she joined in the animated conversation 
 initiated by one of the P'eng boys, who was asking Major 
 Malwa eagerly if playing baseball really spoilt you for cricket. 
 
 Before they had decided that knotty matter the second 
 part of the drama had opened with an interlude in lighter 
 vein, one of those salacious little side-plays which Shakespeare 
 himself had to provide to please his groundlings, and which 
 are the very heart and soul of Chinese comedies. 
 
 The scene had shifted to the viceroy's yamen. Sentries 
 stood at the doors armed with rifles and swords ; presently, 
 as if to show the manner in which they viewed their duties, 
 one by one they dropped their arms, and, gathering together, 
 made up little parties to engage in gambling. 
 
 Soon, however, a noise at the main gate distracts their 
 attention ; rising from their seats they crowd forward. It 
 is a young woman, very much painted, with ultra-fashionable 
 small feet and a curved shape of the kind known as Tottering 
 Lily, who imperatively demands admittance. The soldiers 
 say it is impossible ; the viceroy is asleep, and cannot be 
 disturbed. A sort of motif of ' hey nonny, nonny-nonny, 
 nonnino ' a meaningless refrain such as occurs in old English 
 ballads was now chanted from the wings, and the audience, 
 in fits of laughter, watched the young woman declare that 
 if the viceroy will not admit her to his women's apartments 
 she will remain in his courtyards and be delivered of his 
 child there. . . . The soldiers, shocked, fall back step by 
 step as she advances threateningly. Then, when she has 
 them a safe distance from their weapons, suddenly she draws 
 a pistol and discharges it into the air. . . . 
 
 Instantly Chao Sheng, disguised in a red beard, with 
 eleven trusty companions at his side, rushes^in, and to the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 355 
 
 sound of much firing the guards ignominiously flee. The 
 viceroy is seen escaping over a wall in the distant back- 
 ground ; reinforcements arrive to help the valiant vanguard, 
 and now quickly they fortify themselves to try and retain 
 what they have won by their gallant coup de main. 
 
 Troops, however, approach from the admiral's yamen, 
 where they have long been concentrated in anticipation of 
 this attack. Soon a fierce battle ensues, to the waving of 
 many banners and to the sound of a deafening roar of muskets 
 that fills the theatre with the choking fumes of black powder. 
 At last, in spite of much valour, the revolutionary vanguard 
 is entirely overcome. Seventy-two prisoners are captured, 
 the red-bearded leader, Chao Sheng, alone escaping by swarm- 
 ing up a tree with marvellous agility and dropping into a 
 neighbouring street to the sound of a wild outburst of ap- 
 plause from the galleries. 
 
 " Phew, hot work ! " commented Major Malwa, mopping 
 his forehead, for the temperature of the theatre beggared 
 description. " I wish I could climb a tree like that fellow ! " 
 He began fanning himself with his straw hat and looked 
 round longingly at the door of the box as if he wished to 
 escape. 
 
 " You must wait to the end," protested Polly, observing 
 him anxiously, " then we can drive home together. The 
 curtain goes up almost at once. This is what the programme 
 says. Huang Hsing arrives from Hong-Kong on the morning 
 of the first day of the fourth moon. He is too late, you 
 know, and then comes the great patriotic scene. There are 
 
 the drums and cymbals ; he's arriving " She beat her 
 
 hands in excitement. 
 
 This time the stage was almost in darkness and some 
 seconds elapsed before the audience could grasp what was 
 taking place. Then the lighting was cunningly turned on, 
 showed the coming of dawn, and Huang Hsing and the revolu- 
 tionary main body, just arrived, are seen kneeling outside 
 the city of Canton, which lies across a river in the distance. 
 As the darkness fades and daylight comes the city gates
 
 356 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 can be seen securely shut. Canton is barred against the 
 world ; no one may enter or leave. The patriots turn to 
 each other and mutter in awestruck accents that the plans 
 have failed ; their devoted companions within the city have 
 been sacrificed. A shrill voice, followed by a shriller violin, 
 tells all this and bids you prepare for what follows. 
 
 Huang Hsing, with the light of the risen sun now shining 
 full on him and transfiguring him, stands up like the Avatar 
 of Chinese regeneration, and accompanied by drum, cymbals, 
 gongs, and flutes the whole orchestra which stab out the 
 sentences rhythmically, he reiterates his devotion to the 
 principles he and his comrades have sworn to carry into execu- 
 tion. As he proceeds the shouts of the audience rise into a 
 storm of cries, sharp, high-pitched, discordant, full of fanati- 
 cism, so tumultuous that even the actor's loud phrasing can 
 scarcely be heard. As he reached the end Polly, who was 
 clapping her hands and calling with the rest, suddenly tugged 
 at Major Malwa's sleeve and exclaimed : 
 
 " Look at Willy Chang over there ! look at Willy Chang ! " 
 
 " Yes," echoed the Feng boys, standing up, " look at 
 Willy Chang ! " 
 
 The young Cantonese was leaning far out from his box, 
 and as the actor came to an end he hurled a silk purse, full 
 of dollars, on to the stage ; then, turning to his wife, he made 
 her stand up and throw one too. The audience, hearing the 
 clash and clink of the silver, and seeing what had hap- 
 pened, became as possessed, and money was rained on to 
 the stage even from the galleries, to an enormous outburst of 
 shrill cries. 
 
 When it all came to an end the Yao girls and their party 
 streamed out talking excitedly the girls now so excited 
 that they stood at the entrance reluctant to go home. 
 Presently who should appear before them but Chu Ta Ming, 
 Chu Ta Ming literally trembling with rage. To the Chinese 
 men and women he bowed very shortly, but to Major Malwa 
 he was forced to be more civil. 
 
 " Fine show, Mr. Chu," said the Englishman, who had not
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 357 
 
 noticed anything in the official manner, and who did not 
 dream of connecting a Chinese play with anything so fantastic 
 as Chinese politics. " I had no idea a Chinese theatre could 
 be so exciting. Plenty of gunpowder and executions ! " 
 
 " Fine show ? Plenty of gunpowder and executions ? " 
 repeated the Chinese gentleman in tense accents. " Do you 
 know, sir, that that play is the rankest sedition ever allowed 
 in this country for three hundred years ? The Taotai, who 
 was with me, has gone to his yamen straight from here. He 
 will apply for warrants from the municipality for the arrest 
 of everybody concerned. It is pure sedition under the aegis 
 of the foreign flag the rankest sedition, I say, for three 
 hundred years ! " 
 
 Then, as if unable to control himself, he nodded abruptly 
 and walked off down the crowded street, his arms behind his 
 back, his eyes bent on the ground.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 "Because the Duke of Chow, Wan-wang, set his face in silent dis- 
 pleasure against the iniquities of the tyrant Chow Sin, the Emperor 
 threw him into prison at Yiu-li. There did he diligently study the 
 plans and diagrams, establishing himself on the principles of good 
 government, making use of the pen for the writing of books and com- 
 mentaries. Nor did he languish. 
 
 " Now the good lord of Chow had two faithful servants, Hung- 
 Yao and San-i-sang, who distressed themselves about their lord's 
 captivity more than did he himself. These men sought out and found 
 a woman of great beauty in the country of Yiu-Sin. Taking also a 
 dappled horse from Li-jung and a team of four from Yiu-hiung, they 
 took them, with other rarities and strange things, to one named Pi- 
 Chung, a favoured minister of Yin, that he might present them to 
 Chow-Sin. And with them the Emperor was mightily pleased, and so 
 expressed himself, saying : ' This woman alone is enough to procure 
 the freedom of the western lord. Why trouble me with so many 
 things ? ' 
 
 " Thus it came about that Wan-wang, the Duke of Chow, regained 
 his liberty, whereupon he presented his territory west of the Lo River, 
 and beseeched the Emperor to abolish the penalty of the roasting-spit. 
 And this request was granted. Thereafter the Emperor conferred upon 
 the western lord a bow and arrow, together with a hatchet, in token that 
 he was empowered to punish offenders at his discretion." " THE 
 BOOK OF HISTORY." 
 
 CHU TA MING'S threats proved correct. Though great 
 native crowds gathered daily outside the theatre, and 
 threatened to tear it down unless their wishes were paid 
 attention to, " The Blood of Canton " was played no more. 
 The many arrests which had been made, as Chu Ta Ming had 
 announced would be done, only stimulated imitators to 
 celebrate in other dramas the growing national aspirations. 
 
 The masters of the foreign settlements, feeling the full force 
 
 358
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 359 
 
 of these developments, shook their heads and wondered what 
 China was coming to China, the placid, the milch cow which 
 had been only made to milk China, the land of stupid 
 millions. Yet the nation was certainly changing, that even 
 the most hidebound sceptics admitted. And it followed that 
 if China changed, the fortune of foreign cities might change too. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, more and more embittered as he foresaw 
 the march of events, nevertheless carefully kept his own 
 counsel. He had done the best he could ; now he could do 
 no better than wait. He believed greatly in a waiting policy : 
 it always allowed something to turn up, if you waited long 
 enough. 
 
 One morning, when he had nothing to do, he decided to 
 go out to make some purchases. He chose an hour when he 
 believed that he would not run into many people, for in common 
 with all native officials he hated to be seen abroad, invisibility 
 and inaccessibility being the two chief rocks on which Chinese 
 authority is built. At the very first shop he was going into 
 Fate willed that he should meet Mrs. Macniversen, whom he 
 generally only saw once or twice a year. He bowed to her 
 with exaggerated courtesy and prepared to pass on, but to his 
 surprise she stopped him with some casual remarks about 
 the weather, immediately adding : 
 
 " I suppose you have heard about poor Mr. Mortiboy ? 
 The poor man has that worst of all things, intermittent fever, 
 and he is more pulled down than anyone I have seen for a long 
 time. He declares, however, that he will not go away even 
 for a week ; he is too devoted to that child of his the wonder- 
 ful Development Company. My husband has been doing his 
 best to make him take even a short sea-trip, but Mr. Mortiboy 
 is inflexible." 
 
 The Chinese had listened to this with open eyes, but in 
 conformity with his usual plan he answered with great detach- 
 ment as if he were indulging in a literary exercise and only 
 very slightly interested in the meaning of what was said. 
 
 " It is curious how little one knows about one's neighbours, 
 is it not, Madam ? Some one was telling me only yesterday
 
 360 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 that he had been in Europe for two years, when I had not even 
 noticed his absence. This is the first I have heard about poor 
 Mr. Mortiboy. I trust it will be nothing really serious." 
 Then he smiled his thin smile. " Are you, perhaps, nursing 
 him, Madam ? Foreign ladies are always so kind in such 
 matters." 
 
 Mrs. Macniversen turned sharply ; it was almost as if 
 he had made that remark to give her the opening she 
 desired. 
 
 " Am I nursing him ? " she repeated. " Oh dear, no." 
 Then she looked at some patterns she had in her hand and 
 turned them over one by one. " Mrs. Jerrins is doing that, 
 you know. Mrs. Jerrins came specially all the way back from 
 Japan all that long way in the middle of the summer ! Was 
 it not kind of her ? " 
 
 The Chinese had screwed up his eyebrows, mystified. 
 
 " Mrs. Jerrins ? " he repeated ; " I do not think I have the 
 honour of knowing her." 
 
 At that Mrs. Macniversen laughed gaily. 
 
 " I shall begin to think you are like the rest of us, with no 
 memory at all ! At my dinner last spring, when the Chinese 
 Ambassador to Vienna was present, she was your neighbour 
 at table ; you must remember that ? After dinner we had 
 that fierce discussion about life in the interior of China. Mrs. 
 Jerrins said that life in prison was preferable to living in a 
 small isolated community. Mr. Mortiboy insisted that the 
 only thing he hated was the endless barking of dogs at night, 
 which prevented him from sleeping. I remember those re- 
 marks as if they had been made yesterday they seemed to 
 me so curious." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming struck his hands sharply together. 
 
 " Of course, of course ! It had really slipped my 
 memory. Mrs. Jerrins was so very anti-Chinese ; she told 
 me that the gunboat policy was the only one to adopt in 
 dealing with this country. Mr. Mortiboy was seated next 
 to her. I remember it all now. Well, well, that is curious ! " 
 
 He stood stockstill, thinking hard. Mrs. Macniversen
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 361 
 
 made as if she would pass on, since she had shot her bolt, 
 but Chu Ta Ming had become oddly conversational. 
 
 " I thought everybody had already gone away for the 
 summer," he remarked. " I cannot believe, Madam, that 
 you are going to stay here all through the dread dog- 
 days." 
 
 " I am," rejoined Mrs. Macniversen, trying to look amused, 
 though any mention of the heat made her apoplectic. " I 
 have got a new theory, you know, that it is much better to 
 stay comfortably at home, where one has plenty of electric 
 fans and ice, than to go to bad summer hotels." 
 
 " What an interesting theory," replied the Chinese politely 
 enough, though he did not believe her. She evidently had 
 some other reason. But as that was not his business he 
 bowed to her and went into the shop and stood as if captivated 
 by a great display of macintoshes. 
 
 A European salesman approached and took down several. 
 He knew how prodigally Chinese purchase when they are 
 properly tempted. 
 
 " Very nice coats these, sir. Very light, made specially 
 for the tropics. We are selling a great many to Chinese 
 gentlemen and ladies. They are as light as gossamer, one 
 might say, and very cool." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming fell into the trap. 
 
 " I will take one no, give me six of the same size. I will 
 present them to my friends. What else do I need ? Oh 
 yes, my children need some playthings. Will you select and 
 send a box of toys to my house ? " 
 
 "Fifty dollars' worth?" said the salesman, tentatively 
 fingering a pencil. 
 
 The Chinese nodded and went out. He had done all the 
 shopping he felt like doing, for the day was very relaxing. 
 It was drizzling slightly, but the moisture, instead of relieving 
 the heat, intensified it and made even half-naked coolies 
 stand in exhausted attitudes. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, as soon as he was seated in his brougham, 
 closed his eyes and attempted to think coherently. But
 
 362 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 somehow coherent thoughts were banished. The only thing 
 he could hear was the barking of dogs. 
 
 " He hated dogs and could not sleep when they barked at 
 night." 
 
 Mortiboy was still the great source of danger, the 
 capital obstruction, the thing that could not be overcome in 
 spite of every attempt to break him. His obstinacy was 
 unbelievable. Other matters, such as his countrymen who 
 were secretly preaching subversive doctrines, and the intrigues 
 of rival nationalities, were elements which had to be con- 
 sidered, but which were nevertheless all susceptible of some 
 known treatment. Mortiboy was the real enemy, the bull 
 in the china-shop, the man who charged with his head down, 
 like a true barbarian, and who therefore could not be handled 
 quietly and cunningly according to a well-understood treat- 
 ment. The complete failure to smash the Development 
 Company had shown that, and this casual conversation with 
 a lady on a street-corner had revived all the bitterness at the 
 back of Chu Ta Ming's mind, a passion greater than mere 
 detestation at being beaten at his own game. The thought 
 of the man lying sick, and yet as resolutely determined as 
 ever to win ; refusing to go away ; adamant in mind, though 
 he was physically as weak as water ; still contemptuous 
 these things were so intolerable to the Chinese that he could 
 scarcely bear to think of them. He became so angry as he 
 thought on, that a sense of sickness overcame him, and he 
 remembered how Mortiboy had once said that Orientals, in 
 spite of their tenacious minds, had no stomachs for fighting. 
 That was the man who opposed him. . . . Yet, strike Mortiboy 
 out of the problem, eliminate him, and the rest would be 
 plain sailing. There was not another man in the town who 
 would be so foolish as to risk purse and reputation in a struggle 
 against forces which from their very nature were invincible. 
 It was absolutely essential to eliminate Mortiboy Mortiboy 
 would be eliminated. He Chu Ta Ming had already been 
 so successful in dealing with every problem which had arisen 
 in these foreign settlements that he believed that the Central
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 363 
 
 Government (which had acted against his advice in this par- 
 ticular matter) would finally recognize his worth and reward 
 him with a high post if he destroyed the Development Company 
 and Mortiboy into the bargain. He would deal such a blow 
 to the policy of pacific penetration, which was going on under 
 the guise of concessions, that it might prove a turning-point 
 in Chinese history. Disgust foreign investors, frighten foreign 
 promoters that was the game. . . . 
 
 " He hated dogs and could not sleep when they barked at 
 night." 
 
 He recognized that in this sentence, picked up at a street 
 corner from a gossiping woman whom he despised, there was 
 the germ the kernel of a swift and absolute solution. He 
 knew, of course, that Mrs. Macniversen, in her stupid Euro- 
 pean way, had considered the important thing in her remarks 
 something which was utterly unimportant. She had wanted 
 to create a scandal about another woman ; she had wanted 
 to harm this other woman, and she had therefore set about 
 it the only way she dared with her tongue. The Chinese 
 gave a contemptuous laugh. These grotesque, strident, 
 emphatic, aggressive women of the West, who always did as 
 they pleased, and yet troubled their heads so greatly about 
 matters which hardly differed at all from what they all did 
 save perhaps in some irrelevant detail ! 
 
 Now he meditated on the matter which preoccupied him 
 in the way that a general commanding numerous troops 
 thinks of a complicated stratagem. It would be the boldest 
 and best stroke he had ever planned ; he would carry it out 
 if Mortiboy did not die in the ordinary course of events. He 
 would have to be very careful about every detail. 
 
 Gradually calmed by the process of running his thoughts 
 along channels pleasant to him which is the real explanation 
 of most of the sloth and carelessness to be found in the East 
 he commenced swinging one foot and humming gently to 
 himself as if he were a youth dreaming of his sweetheart. 
 Presently he drew from an inner pocket a clean copy of his 
 memorial of resignation and commenced reading it over again
 
 364 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 to see if he could find any fault in its literary excellence, for 
 in accordance with the common practice of those who believe 
 they have been successful, he was about to tender his resigna- 
 tion to Peking, so that it might be refused and some better 
 post offered him. His resignation was a curious document, 
 full of one of the most transparent forms of conceit in the 
 world. Translated, it ran as follows : 
 
 " Unworthy and incapable, after many years passed 
 in vainly seeking knowledge, I was first given the defence of 
 a frontier and then invited to join the Central Government 
 as an officer specially charged with the surveillance of foreign 
 intercourse. The sincere and liberal treatment ought to have 
 prompted me to exert my energy as an expression of gratitude- 
 But an inferior pillar cannot support the weight of a huge 
 building, and an inferior horse will collapse when it is made 
 to traverse a long distance. If I do not make a frank state- 
 ment regarding my own capacity there will surely come a day 
 when I will find myself overpowered. I, Ta Ming, studied for 
 twenty years, but lacked the necessary insight for successful 
 administration, and while in the service for the past ten 
 years I have done but little for the good of the country. As 
 a junior official in the ministries and afterwards as a frontier 
 official, in spite of my exertions, my merits were more than 
 balanced by my defects. How can I, therefore, dare to retain 
 the high responsibilities with which I am now invested ? 
 
 " Since I have occupied my present post I have received 
 several tens of telegrams from Your Excellency eulogizing 
 me in very high terms and inviting me to name my wants. 
 Having thoroughly weighed the conditions and my own 
 abilities, I have come to the conclusion that I am not fit for 
 the important responsibilities which you have desired to 
 repose on me, and not desiring a high position without doing 
 good to the country and thus discrediting your credit for 
 the knowledge of men, I have humbly refused the honour. 
 My sentiments have been fully expressed in the reports I 
 have occasionally sent. But the condition of the country is
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 365 
 
 precarious, and national interests had to be placed before 
 private desire, and during the critical period of recent days 
 I actually forgot my shortcomings until a more capable 
 statesman could be found willing to take up the important 
 position I now occupy. 
 
 " I have now been in office here for a few short years, and 
 during that time I have spared no pains or energy for the 
 work which may tend to public good, though I have been sure 
 that nothing I could do would change the situation, for I lack 
 ability and statesmanship, and the burdens are heavy and 
 my energy is exhausted. I feel I cannot repay the liberal 
 treatment of Your Excellency nor answer the high expecta- 
 tions of the Central Government. If I drag on, my misdeeds 
 will increase and the administration of the country will 
 deteriorate. After mature consideration, I feel it incumbent 
 on me to ask Your Excellency to relieve me of my duties and 
 appoint a more capable and worthy man in my stead, so that 
 I, Ta Ming, may be allowed to retire. The question of my 
 resignation has been discussed by me with my colleagues, who, 
 understanding the true position, believe that my patriotism 
 is expressed in the sentiments I have announced above. 
 
 " Given this day, etc." 
 
 Having perused this artful composition twice or thrice 
 he thrust it back in his girdle and looked at his watch. It 
 was time he got home to see if there was anything urgent 
 waiting for him. Now, with a happy look in his eyes, he sat 
 back as far as possible in the brougham so that he should 
 not be seen by the busy multitudes thronging the majestic 
 water-front. 
 
 He was seen, however, by the very person he wished at 
 all costs to avoid Mr. Willy Chang. Ever since the latter 
 had learnt the methods Chu Ta Ming had resorted to in the 
 affair which had created such a nine days' wonder in the town, 
 he had detested him beyond words. Now, as he saw this 
 hated rival drive past, sunk back in his carriage, he smiled an
 
 3 66 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 ironical smile and stared after the disappearing carriage as if 
 he would have liked to follow it and give the owner a piece 
 of his mind. But just as he was about to step into his own 
 brougham a voice asked him what he was laughing at, though 
 he had really been scowling. 
 
 The young Cantonese turned with a start, but at once he 
 looked relieved. It was Mr. Banner] ee Sannerjee, his teeth 
 looking as pearly against his black face as the precious jewels 
 he received from the Gulf of Persia for his friends, his green- 
 lined umbrella giving him a peculiarly Oriental note. 
 
 " Was I laughing ? " inquired Willy Chang. " Then 
 perhaps I was thinking of the future, which it seems to me is 
 going to be very lively in this country. Will you get into my 
 carriage and drive with me a little way ? It is cooler than 
 standing still, and also a good deal more private. Do you 
 know, the only place in China where you can be absolutely 
 certain you won't be overheard is a carriage without rubber 
 tyres on the wheels. That is why I had these wheels changed, 
 for I suspected the mafus of listening." 
 
 When they were seated he bent down and picked up a 
 heavy square parcel, which he quickly untied with his deft 
 fingers. " I have had a busy time this morning. I have 
 been shopping at the German arms firms. You have no 
 idea how many arms houses there are here now, and how 
 obliging they are in the matter of credits. They are willing 
 to take any sort of promissory notes so long as you buy. 
 Which do you like best the Browning or the Mauser ? I 
 think the Browning is neater, though the Mauser is said to 
 be more formidable. Between you and me I have ordered 
 a trial lot of a thousand of each kind, for I think that both 
 will come in useful." 
 
 " A thousand of each ? " repeated the Indian in awestruck 
 tones as the young Cantonese clicked the automatic pistols 
 to and fro as if delighted with their smooth, shot-like working. 
 " Mr. Chang, what does that mean ? " 
 
 The Cantonese winked. 
 
 " Don't pretend to be so ignorant ! I have heard it said
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 367 
 
 that in India you were not so ignorant about such things as 
 revolvers." But his companion instantly interrupted him in 
 great agitation. 
 
 " I swear that that is not true, Mr. Chang ! It is an asper- 
 sion on my character! I left India because of financial 
 difficulties which have since been solved; there were no 
 politics involved. I know the man here who has been 
 circulating those stories ! I swear I will take him into court 
 if he does not cease ! " 
 
 " I didn't mention politics," laughed the young Cantonese. 
 " I do not care at all why you left India; that is obviously 
 your own business. But I can give you some valuable 
 advice to-day : if you have any big outstanding accounts 
 with any fellow-countrymen of mine who you know are not 
 as solid as they would wish to appear, begin to see how much 
 hard cash you can get from them. A surprise is coming, 
 something big and unbelievable, and I believe there will be 
 a market for revolvers. Do you undersand ? " He drew a 
 catalogue from his pocket. "These mountain-guns are neat, 
 eh ? look at that picture ; two men carrying one about like a 
 baby. I almost ordered a battery this morning. I am sure 
 that mountain batteries are going to be popular this winter." 
 
 The Indian in his agitation wiped his forehead with a 
 bandanna handkerchief ; to hear such reckless talk was like 
 being seated in the company of a madman. 
 
 " Mr. Chang, Mr. Chang," he protested, " you are becom- 
 ing reckless ; you are talking as if you were throwing common 
 sense and caution to the winds ! What does it mean ? " 
 
 Willy Chang drew a deep breath ; then he stiffened him- 
 self up. 
 
 " It means that I have become an independent man, 
 sure of myself, no longer afraid of anything or anybody." 
 He paused and then added laughingly : "I have paid you a 
 pretty sum these last few months, and you ought to feel satis- 
 fied with me, though I am going to buy no more diamonds ; 
 but if you said dynamite instead of diamonds I admit I might 
 be more relenting."
 
 368 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 The Indian laid his hand on the young man's arm and 
 looked into his excited eyes. 
 
 " Mr. Chang, who has led you into these paths of un- 
 righteousness ? I told you once of the religion I would be 
 happy to teach you in your hour of need ; do you remember ? 
 When your mind is agitated by wild thoughts and there is no 
 security to be found in your native faith, then is the time to 
 receive the precious seed." 
 
 The Chinese looked at him smilingly, but without mockery. 
 There is never mockery in Asia on such a subject as spiritual 
 faith, though there is sometimes anger. 
 
 " Religion ! what is religion ? First give a man not only 
 food but independence, then preach to him! China" 
 he waved a hand at the tall European buildings they were 
 endlessly passing " do you see what China is becoming ? 
 This will spread everywhere, every single portion of the 
 country will become the duplication of this, and in the end 
 we will all be helots, even those of us who are wealthy and 
 own much land, unless we rise now and show that we are 
 men ! Mr. Banner] ee, I cannot talk with you. There are 
 many secret matters about which you know nothing. Per- 
 haps I have already said too much. But you once said that 
 we were brothers, and now you will understand how to keep 
 silent. Here is my office. It is very convenient to have 
 such a place. It allows people to come and go very quietly. 
 No, no you need not go away ! Come in and see it first." 
 
 From the broad, stately European street this strangely 
 assorted couple went on foot down a long, narrow alley-way 
 which opened out into a regular rabbit-warren of native 
 houses, with tiny little verandas on which trousered women 
 were drying their washing, and with equally tiny courtyards 
 in which numberless half -naked children were playing noisily. 
 The children ran away in fright at the sight of a black man, 
 and the women stopped their work to call shrilly to them. 
 It was a very quiet place in which to have an office, as Willy 
 Chang had said. 
 
 At the door of the office a middle-aged Japanese of short
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 369 
 
 stature, dressed in foreign style, was standing waiting, talk- 
 ing to a woman in a kimono who might pass for his wife. He 
 carried in his left hand a package wrapped in a newspaper, 
 and the way he held his right hand conveyed the impression 
 that he was ready to attack anyone who should interfere with 
 him. As soon as he saw the young Cantonese he saluted him 
 very respectfully, taking off his hat and bowing low in the 
 Japanese style, with a sharp movement made from the base 
 of the spine. But at the Indian he looked askance, just as 
 the native women and children had done. The Middle East 
 is not yet welcomed in the Far East. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Saburo, everything all right ? " said Willy Chang 
 cheerfully. 
 
 " Ee-yes," returned the Japanese in a very Japanese way, 
 drawing in his breath with the sharp hiss which expresses 
 politeness, and bowing again. Then he and the woman fol- 
 lowed the pair indoors. 
 
 In the office, which was handsomely fitted up with roll- 
 top desks and filing cabinets, the two P'eng boys were seated, 
 reading Chinese newspapers, with their feet up on chairs in 
 the way they had seen done in America during the fruitful 
 period of their education. They jumped up at once, however, 
 as if a little embarrassed at being caught in such attitudes. 
 
 " Hallo, Sophocles ! hallo, Euripides ! " said the young 
 Cantonese. " Here's Mr. Saburo from Tokio, about whom I 
 have told you. You can take him to the laboratory at once. 
 I want to talk to Mr. Sannerjee." 
 
 Every one promptly disappeared, leaving the two alone. 
 
 " You see, Mr. Sannerjee," said Willy Chang, giving the 
 Indian a sheet of office paper with a printed heading, " this 
 is a mercantile establishment, import and export, dealing 
 principally in metals and manufactured goods from Essen, 
 Antwerp, Sheffield, Birmingham, and some other places not 
 so well known. It is remarkable how quickly one gets to 
 know the ropes. We have been in communication with two 
 foreign Governments already unofficially, of course. You 
 have no idea how eager they are in Europe to sell their anti- 
 24
 
 370 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 quated rifles and cannon to us Chinese, so that we may kill 
 one another. Now here's a letter from London Whitehall 
 marked strictly confidential. England is not so much 
 asleep as some people think. I tell you that is a wideawake 
 letter." 
 
 He went on gossiping, secure in the knowledge that the 
 Indian would never breathe a word. It is only where there 
 are intimate social relations that things get bruited abroad ; 
 Mr. Banner] ee Sannerjee was socially intimate with nobody. 
 When he finally left and walked home, his head protected 
 from the rays of the sun by the green-lined umbrella, precisely 
 as if he had been in Bombay, he had the feeling that he had 
 been assisting at a scene from the " Arabian Nights." It was 
 incredible that in the very heart of the richest city in China 
 rich young men should be plotting and planning as casually 
 as if they were expert criminals. Mr. Banner] ee Sannerjee 
 was very upset, for there is something in Chinese callousness 
 which frightens every one at times. The Sikh police at the 
 street corners, who greeted him with salaams, appeared to 
 him now like men in a mirage unreal men who were merely 
 reflections. Police, gunboats and cruisers on the river, 
 European volunteers with army officers to command them, 
 what did they all amount to ? Here, quite carelessly, in the 
 full light of day, the end of the world was being planned on 
 neatly printed invoices, specifying dynamite and small-arms 
 ammunition by the ton ! 
 
 Could it be possible that such things meant the correct 
 formula of success ?
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 " Chuang Tzu one day saw an empty skull, bleached, but still 
 preserving its shape. Striking it with his riding-whip, he said : ' Wert 
 thou once some ambitious citizen whose inordinate yearnings brought 
 him to this pass ? some statesman who plunged his country into 
 ruin and perished in the fray ? some wretch who left behind him a 
 legacy of shame ? some beggar who died in the pangs of hunger and 
 cold ? Or didst thou reach this state by the natural course of old 
 age ? ' 
 
 " When he had finished speaking he took the skull, and, placing it 
 under his head as a pillow, went to sleep. In the night he dreamt 
 that the skull appeared to him and said : ' You speak well, sir ; but all 
 you say has reference to the life of mortals, and to mortal troubles. 
 In death there is no sovereign above, and no subject below. The 
 workings of the four seasons are unknown. Our existences are bounded 
 onl y by eternity. The happiness of a king among men cannot exceed 
 that which we enjoy.' 
 
 "Chuang Tzu, however, was not convinced, and said: 'Were I 
 to prevail upon God to allow your body to be born again, and your 
 bones and flesh to be renewed, so that you could return to your parents, 
 to vour wife, and to the friends of your youth would you be willing ? ' 
 
 " At this the skull opened its eyes wide and knitted its brows and 
 said : ' How should I cast aside happiness greater than that of a king, 
 and mingle once again in the toils and troubles of mortality ? ' " 
 " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 MORTIBOY did not die. The month in which he lay so 
 ill was known as the funeral month because of the 
 number of funerals passing through the Settlement 
 streets, and yet he did not die. Instead, in fits and starts his 
 condition improved as if he were engaged in a fierce wrestling- 
 bout with a clever enemy who had no pity, and who took 
 advantage of every sign of hesitation. He would have re- 
 covered sooner had his mind been free from harassing thoughts,
 
 372 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 for it was his mind which was as sick as his body ; but the 
 devotion which was shown to him triumphed in the long 
 run, and he was at last out of all danger. For the woman the 
 memory of those long days became a willowy sort of heaven, 
 like a Chinese painting, with its mysterious allegories in the 
 trees and in the rushing waterfalls and in the dim backgrounds 
 which so few can understand. She spent her time, when she 
 was not with him, wandering about the leafy garden, oblivious 
 of the world that lay beyond the garden palings, thinking of 
 nothing, entirely engaged in waiting for his recovery. She 
 feared for nothing provided he recovered. 
 
 One day, when he was much better, she found him with 
 tears in his eyes. 
 
 " Isn't it amusing ?" he said, with an attempt at gaiety, 
 blinking rapidly. " I cannot understand why I should be 
 such a fool." 
 
 But she did not smile : she only anxiously felt his fore- 
 head and his hands and placed the thermometer under his 
 tongue, as if everything depended upon the heat in his body. 
 
 " Normal, quite normal ! . . . " she exclaimed when she had 
 satisfied herself ; "it is even better than yesterday. Ian, 
 you are going to continue to have the luck of a lucky man. 
 You will soon be able to go out. You must be tired of only 
 seeing me ! " 
 
 At that he only smiled and clasped her hand. A book 
 had fallen to the ground, and presently he turned and picked 
 it up. 
 
 " What have you been reading ? " she inquired. 
 
 "It is a book of yours ' The Portrait of a Lady,' " he 
 said, with some solemnity. " I have been thinking about a 
 passage which has taught me much I did not know before." 
 Then, as she stood there looking at him, a wondering light in 
 her eyes, he began to read aloud as if he could not help him- 
 self : 
 
 " When a man's virtues are depicted for us, they are 
 represented in the effort of action ; but those which are
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 373 
 
 admired in a woman always infer a model as motionless as 
 a beautiful statue in a marble gallery. She is an inconsistent 
 image, a tissue of vices quiescent, of inert qualities, of slumber- 
 ing epithets, of passive movements, of negative forces. She 
 is chaste because she has no senses, she is kind because she 
 does harm to none, she is just because she does not act, she is 
 patient and resigned because she is devoid of energy, she is 
 indulgent because none offends her, or forgiving because she 
 has not the courage to resist ; she is charitable because she 
 allows herself to be stripped, or because her charity deprives 
 her of nothing ; she is faithful, she is loyal, she is submissive, 
 she is devoted because all these virtues can live in emptiness 
 and blossom on a dead woman's body. But what shall happen 
 if the image takes life and comes forth from her retreat to 
 enter upon an existence in which all that does not take part 
 in the movement that surrounds it becomes a pitiful or 
 dangerous wreck ? Is it still a virtue to keep faithful to an 
 ill-chosen or morally extinguished love, or to remain subject 
 to an unintelligent or unjust master ? Is to refrain from 
 harming enough to make one kind ? to refrain from lying enough 
 to make one true ? There is the morality of those who keep 
 to the banks of the great river and the morality of those who 
 ascend the stream. There is the morality of sleep and that 
 of action, the morality of shadow and that of light ; and the 
 virtues of the first, which may be described as concave virtues, 
 must needs arise, stand up, and become virtues in relief if 
 they are to remain virtues in the second." 
 
 When he had come to an end they were silent for a long 
 while together, but at last she exclaimed : 
 
 " I wonder if it is true I wonder if one is right in accept- 
 ing as absolute the theory of concave virtues. It is such 
 a strange theory, is it not ? " 
 
 " Are you only thinking of the book ? " he asked. 
 
 " I don't know ! " she exclaimed, coming over and seating 
 herself on the arm of his chair and looking out on the flowers 
 in his garden. " All that seems so far away now. It
 
 374 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 meant a great deal once to me when I first read it. But now 
 there is just our problem and a crucial summer coming to an 
 end " 
 
 Then they stopped, because spoken words seemed to both of 
 them so inadequate and so superfluous. Bub that evening, 
 when he was sitting silent, she suddenly got up and went 
 indoors as if she were uneasy, leaving him for a long while to 
 his thoughts. 
 
 " I want to show you something," she said abruptly 
 when she came back. Now she picked up a matchbox, 
 and, striking a match, showed him a photograph. The flare 
 of light showed the face of a man still young, with curious 
 staring eyes and a flowing moustache which only partially 
 hid a weak mouth. 
 
 " That is my husband," she said in a low voice. 
 
 He did not make any comment, letting her go back and 
 lock up the portrait without moving. 
 
 But later, in the middle of something else, he suddenly 
 stopped short, and grasping her by the arm, so that he hurt 
 her, he asked : 
 
 " Why did you show me that ? " 
 
 " I don't know. I somehow felt I ought to that by doing 
 so I closed a chapter which I had to close. We have been so 
 curious with one another. We have never mentioned any- 
 thing or anybody save ourselves. Are you angry ? " 
 
 " No," he said presently, in his deliberate way. " No, I am 
 not angry, but I wanted to know why you did it. I had 
 almost forgotten that there was such a thing as another 
 man." 
 
 She nodded as if she understood his reason. Then she 
 added : 
 
 " Some day he may return, though I have written him 
 that I shall never live with him again. I wanted you to 
 understand how I felt." 
 
 One night, when she had fallen asleep, after sitting up with 
 him very late because he was so well, she commenced dreaming 
 in a wonderful way.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 375 
 
 She dreamed how she dreamed ! . . . 
 
 Wonderful dreams came to her dreams that had colours. 
 It seemed to her that some delightful Chinese artist who had 
 flourished in an age when all Europe was in darkness, and 
 who knew the secret of countless delicate shades, every one 
 obedient to his genius, was swiftly decorating every detail 
 just to suit her whims. With magical swiftness he followed 
 her changing fantasies so deftly that he seemed to be pre- 
 ceding her. From his palette came greys which have no name 
 in English, for they are unknown, subtle shades of heliotrope 
 stained with dark green and yet seeming red ; kingfisher 
 blues that made one think of the peacock ; curious blacks 
 that had whiteness lurking in them ; Manchu pinks, Mongol 
 browns, Tibetan reds, and all that strange galaxy which now 
 only live on priceless porcelains. . . . Sometimes just as the 
 silk merchants do when they fawn on you and show you their 
 best from camphor-wood chests infinitesimal differences 
 would appear and then be whisked away as if to tantalize 
 and confuse her, whilst over it all floated a faint smell of 
 incense such as clings to the peerless tapestry panels that are 
 hoarded in every temple, and are secretly sold to the foreigner 
 for gold. . . . 
 
 She dreamed as if dreams were beautiful butterflies that 
 have no souls, and only flutter gently about until their short 
 lives are ended. She would have liked her dreams to last 
 for ever, she was so enamoured of them. But even as she 
 thought that, fragrance and colour became confused ; she 
 murmured to herself in tearful protest ; her arms moved ; 
 she awoke. 
 
 As she lay with her eyes still closed she could hear the 
 noisy ticking of a clock, and in the silence the timepiece seemed 
 to be working its way rapidly and nervously to some un- 
 known goal. 
 
 Now she felt the night air, soft and cool, stealing gently 
 through the closed Venetians. There was a delicious sensa- 
 tion in lying still like that, after her dreams, with not so much 
 as a sheet touching her, and the gentle breeze playing on her ;
 
 376 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 it was experiencing the joy of animals when they spread 
 themselves on the ground in the shade of some tree and smell 
 the odour of the herbs crushed beneath their bodies. As she 
 lay there, vaguely thinking about such things, she kept her 
 eyes tight shut, so that she might not be tempted to move. 
 She wished to dream again, to return to her Elysian fields ; 
 then suddenly just as she thought that she stirred uneasily. 
 
 It was not so still. 
 
 Somewhere very far off it was not so still, something 
 apprised her of that in an ominous way. As she struggled 
 with her somnolescence the silver threads which bound her 
 to her fancies were twisted roughly together in a rapid 
 curious movement, making them ropes of disaster. Tears 
 flowed from her eyes in an unreasoning way, and her heart 
 ached. 
 
 She sat up before she knew she had done it, in an auto- 
 matic action that was the reflex of her thoughts. It was a 
 dog that was barking in the far distance, mournfully and dis- 
 turbingly. She had listened to such sounds by the hour in 
 years gone by, when she lived far up the great Yangtze in 
 the midst of native life that is dense and overwhelming, and 
 she knew the sound, no matter how faint it might be, as one 
 detects smells. 
 
 A dog was barking, that was all. Foolish dog. . . . 
 
 She found herself sitting on the edge of her bed, her feet 
 hunting for her slippers without knowing why. It was just 
 another automatic action due to a mysterious group of im- 
 pulses which seem to come directly from the heart, though 
 that is, of course, physically impossible. 
 
 Yet now a mysterious fear gripped her. Silently and 
 swiftly she went across her room to where a nightlight was 
 burning tranquilly. She took it in her hand, and as she did 
 so in her sudden agitation she upset it and she was in the pitch- 
 dark. She tried to switch on the electric light, but something 
 made her desist, and now, with her arms outstretched, she 
 moved forward in complete darkness. 
 
 " Ian, Ian!" she called quickly as she passed across the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 377 
 
 hall on her way to his bedroom. But there was no answer, 
 and in the deep silence she could only hear the ominous 
 ticking of clocks. She reached his bed, pulled the mosquito- 
 net violently aside, and felt for him. He was not there. 
 
 Now the blood rushed to her heart so violently that she 
 was overwhelmed with physical sickness. She tried to 
 reason with herself ; to say that nothing strange had hap- 
 pened that he might have gone from his room for some good 
 reason ; but all the while that she reasoned she knew that 
 she was deluding herself, and that she must find the right 
 solution or pay the price. . . . 
 
 A square of light caught her eyes as she stood overwhelmed 
 beside his empty bed. He must have thrown open the 
 shutters, for she knew that they had been shut ; he must 
 have gone out on the veranda but why ? Suddenly she 
 remembered the way the old German doctor had looked 
 askance a day or two before at a revolver lying on a chest of 
 drawers, and how he had quietly taken it away that thought 
 beat in on her as if it had been the hand of an enemy. 
 
 In her agitation she ran barefooted across the room to 
 the window, dropping her slippers deliberately from her bare 
 feet so as to move faster. On the veranda it was sufficiently 
 light for her to make out every object. A number of long 
 chairs remained arranged just as they had been left, but of 
 the master of the house there was no trace. She went quickly 
 along the whole length fronting the house, but as she re- 
 membered that the veranda ran all the way round she 
 paused helplessly, wondering if she had not better ring and 
 call for help. Yes she must ring quickly, too. . . . 
 
 Just as she turned to execute this determination a sound 
 caught her and she paused breathlessly. Holding her breath 
 she peered over the railing of the veranda, concentrating 
 every ounce of her strength in her eyes, and never moving, 
 never relenting. 
 
 Yes. ... 
 
 Below her in the garden she saw two shadows, so 
 faint that they were only vague suggestions. But presently
 
 378 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 some whispered words were wafted up to her as if they 
 had barely been breathed. Then just at that moment 
 the barking of the dog, which had died down, began furiously 
 in the distance. As she heard that sound the two shadows 
 detached themselves from under the house and enigmatically 
 melted away. 
 
 She had no time to do anything but improvise. She had 
 no knowledge as to whether these men were petty thieves or 
 the dreadful Eastern robbers who work stark naked, covered 
 with oil so that they are as slippery as eels and cannot be 
 caught ; men who always kill when they are disturbed. It 
 was another proof of her great courage that, not knowing 
 what had gone before, not knowing what this meant, she 
 decided that at all costs, alone and unaided, she must take 
 action, go down into the garden, where he must have 
 gone. . . . 
 
 No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she ran 
 along the veranda until she came to a small staircase made 
 for the convenience of water-coolies and outdoor servants. 
 The little wicket-gate was wide open he must have opened 
 it and gone down perhaps, without knowing that those two 
 men were there, perhaps to attack them. . . . Now, with 
 almost incautious haste, she ran down the steep steps and 
 at last was in the garden where the two shadows had 
 been. 
 
 The barking of the dog was still going on, but it sounded 
 more distant, as if many trees muffled the sound, or as if the 
 dog were running away. She could find her way, thank 
 Fortune, even though the night was dark ; and without a 
 second's delay she started off along a pathway that ran 
 towards the public roadway, where the two men had gone. 
 The carriage-drive, winding along to the other side of the 
 house, showed white and distinct as she crept forward, but 
 some instinct kept her from going near it. Her eyes, accus- 
 tomed to the pitch-black of the house, proved her salvation ; 
 she could see yards ahead of her, and now, as she moved along, 
 she crouched low, making her lithe body as small as possible.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 379 
 
 She came to a halt abruptly, as if something had stabbed 
 her. Very close to her she had heard soft sibilants; but 
 the shrubbery was so dense that she dared not move, and now 
 for the first time that dreadful feeling of panic, which even 
 the bravest of men know, began to overwhelm her. She was 
 on the point of surrendering, of turning and rushing back, 
 when, marvellously and miraculously, it seemed to her, she 
 heard his voice Mortiboy's voice swearing in a deep under- 
 tone at the elusiveness of the barking dog. Then, suddenly, 
 an inkling of the truth flashed across her mind. The barking 
 was a decoy ; he was in the middle of a dark garden, unarmed, 
 because his revolver had been taken away from him tracked 
 by two men who would take him for ever from her. 
 
 Take him for ever from her ! . . . kill him ! . . . her man ! 
 . . . She would die sooner! Madness surged through her. 
 Oblivious to everything save one idea she plunged through the 
 bushes, tearing her feet, hurting herself dreadfully, almost 
 falling. 
 
 " Ian, Ian ! " she shrieked ; " look out behind, Ian ! " 
 
 A rush of sandalled feet, giving forth a peculiar heavy 
 sound like bodies falling, the slash of a whip, a dreadful cry. 
 The shrill call of another voice, another blow, and the muttered 
 panting of a man at bay. As she ran forward in the darkness 
 she had a dim vision of two figures on the white carriage- 
 drive crouching low and springing repeatedly, like vicious, 
 cowardly dogs, at a third figure which was striking heavily 
 at them and falling back. . . . 
 
 In half-forgotten vernacular she shrieked : 
 
 " Kdi chiang, kdi chiang! " (I am going to fire). 
 
 At that the two figures sprang a last time, called a last 
 time in high-pitched falsetto voices, then disappeared like 
 hunted hares into the bushes. . . . 
 
 " Ian, Ian ! are you hurt, are you hurt ? " she panted out as 
 she reached him, and her hands sought to hold him up. But, 
 strangely enough, he repulsed her, gasping for breath and 
 moving his arms feebly like a man rescued from drowning. 
 Presently he whispered :
 
 380 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " Hitting out at them has collapsed me. I'm as weak as 
 water, and cut on the arms and hands. ... Do you see what 
 the devils played at ? It was the dog, the dog. ... I must 
 lie down." 
 
 He let himself drop to the ground, and as she chafed him 
 and felt his body and murmured to him, the watchmen (there 
 were four big men) ran down the white carriage-drive with 
 lanterns in their hands, rattling their rattles, and calling loudly 
 to catch the thieves. They knew that their fate was sealed, 
 they knew that they proclaimed themselves accomplices, 
 but in the East pretences must be kept up to the bitter end, 
 so that there may be good evidence for the Law Courts 
 if people are ever foolish enough to go to Law Courts. . . . 
 
 But neither the man nor the woman cared about them, 
 neither even noticed them. He was whispering to her. 
 
 " The second time, Beatrice ! . . . the second time ! It 
 is almost too much for a man to bear."
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 " A man does not seek to see himself in running water, but in still 
 water. For only what is itself still can instil stillness into others." 
 " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG Tzu." 
 
 WILLY CHANG had been writing rapidly, his head on 
 one side, his eyes glistening from emotion. Now that 
 the scratching of his pen had ceased he sat back to get 
 a bird's-eye view of the big double sheet of foolscap which he 
 had covered so quickly. 
 
 As he skimmed the text the profound silence reigning 
 in the room suddenly struck him and he looked up. He 
 had been engaged in writing the English draft of a noisy pro- 
 clamation calling on the people to rise and strike because they 
 were oppressed. He pondered over it all, wondering whether 
 what he had written was really true. Through the open 
 windows came the hum of bees seeking their treasure from 
 the wealth of flowers which filled his gardens ; and from 
 where he sat he could see the tall figure of the woman who had 
 become his wife dallying under the shade of some trees and 
 speaking to the gardeners. He thought how happy he 
 should esteem himself to be living thus, so peacefully, so 
 quietly, with everything he desired gathered within his four 
 walls ; yet every one told him that he was marked for greater 
 things and would soon forget all this. He must act as the 
 younger generation said he must act and become one of the 
 sa\iours of his country. With a sharp gesture he dropped 
 the sheet of foolscap on his desk and turned. 
 
 " Now I am ready," he said in the vernacular. " Every
 
 382 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 detail is necessary so that I may understand the nature of 
 things beneath the surface." 
 
 The old servant whose queue had played such a memorable 
 role so many months before, bowed to him and began : 
 
 " The reason why our districts are so powerful in these 
 foreign settlements is as follows : From the village upriver 
 whence I come is six hundred li. It happened that in the 
 second year of the previous reign drought devastated our 
 crops and there was general famine. Of seventeen youths 
 in our related families, fifteen who were strong were chosen 
 by our elders to go to the coast to relieve the pressure of 
 mouths. I, with two brothers, six cousins, and five minor 
 relatives came hither ; only one a distant kinsman took 
 ship for the southern seas and never returned. 
 
 " At first I carried water for a Cantonese family, there 
 being few opportunities for fair and honourable work. In 
 those early days, young master, the streets were no broader 
 than was necessary for men carrying chests of opium or 
 tea on poles to pass one another, and life was restricted. 
 Soon, however, I tired of this rough employment, disputes 
 being constant at the public wells, and I being of a peaceful 
 and forbearing nature. Understanding that foreigners paid 
 good wages I learnt some words of English. Having stated 
 that I was from Canton, which was the city known and 
 trusted by those from foreign countries, I soon found work. 
 I began in charge of cargo -workers, but presently I entered 
 the hong (business establishment) itself, for my service was 
 faithful, and I was placed in charge of warehouses. It was, 
 in effect, the house numbered nine, facing the creek, which thus 
 honoured me with service ; in those days it was a chief hong. 
 Thirty years ago much sycee was individually stored by each 
 house ; when my character was perfectly understood I was 
 requisitioned as keeper of the sycee-room, an important 
 post, since the melting of silver into shoes and the weighing 
 was habitually attended with fraud. I remained, without 
 change or break, always in charge of the silver-room, without 
 accusations, until the fifteenth year of the present reign, that
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 383 
 
 is, for nearly twenty years, when the proprietors, having 
 become rich, sold their business and departed for their own 
 country. A foreign agent was left behind, but this man drank 
 much. He selected me as permanently employed, because 
 from the beginning my character had no stain, and all the work 
 of finding tenants and receiving rent belonged to me. Foreign 
 families lived in the house, but they came and left, one after 
 the other. No embankments then restrained the river- 
 waters, and foolish foreign doctors said that there was ill- 
 health in the mud. At last, the house having remained empty 
 for many months, and the agent telling me to take what steps 
 I wished, I myself leased the property as a speculation, with 
 power to purchase at the end. Less than two years passed 
 when I found sufficient money to relieve the foreign agent 
 for ever of his care." 
 
 " That house is yours ? " exclaimed Willy Chang amazed. 
 The old servant bowed and smiled. 
 
 " Even so. In my contract there was the English pur- 
 chase-clause, as I have said, but since the territory was under 
 foreign law thereafter I employed the foreign agent to protect 
 my rights as my protector (trustee). It is a trick which 
 foreign lawyers invented and which is safe. 
 
 " At first I had difficulty in rinding tenants, but soon I 
 found that houses specially constructed were needed. That 
 was when great gambling with the wheel (roulette) com- 
 menced. I sublet on short terms, waiting my chance always 
 to raise my rent, and remaining as chief servant to oversee 
 my property. But there were troubles with the police, and 
 many fines, until I and others formed a guild and took special 
 steps. 
 
 " One day a woman from France came and said it was 
 difficult to conclude terms elsewhere in the town because of 
 prejudice, and she therefore offered me a large sum, which I 
 accepted. Ten years' rent she paid me in advance, which is 
 the custom of her trade. I, seeing how matters stood, began 
 to buy property along the street, until twenty houses became 
 mine. It was necessary, however, to guard against the
 
 384 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 rapacity of our officials, who, had they known that I had 
 become wealthy, would have levied money by threats. There- 
 fore I always remained as servant. Special steps regarding 
 the foreign authorities were also needed, but, as I will now 
 show you, there was little difficulty in this matter. 
 
 "... My brothers, after some preliminary experiences, 
 had entered the police. But they were too old to learn 
 their brains having become stiff one being twenty-five and 
 the other twenty-eight, and they rose only to be sergeants. 
 Their sons, however, were sent to foreign schools, and becoming 
 proficient in calculations, speaking, and writing, were accept- 
 able for higher employment. Entering as detectives, which 
 is most profitable, they were speedily promoted. One is now 
 Under- Inspector in charge of a section ; two have special 
 duties under foreign chiefs, whom they control ; a fourth is in 
 charge of enrolments ; six others, already sergeants, cannot fail 
 to attain higher posts. Four hundred and ninety constables 
 come from our country-side, and the northern boundaries 
 the old English Settlement fourteen districts in all are in the 
 power of our family. It is not hard, then, to protect my 
 interest." 
 
 For the second time Willy Chang stopped him in amaze- 
 ment. The nature of things below the surface was indeed 
 becoming clear as the old man had promised him it would. 
 
 "... Four hundred and ninety constables from your 
 country-side, and fourteen districts under the power of your 
 family ? " he repeated blankly, beginning to see this vast 
 Eurasian city in its true light. 
 
 " Even so," said the old servant humbly, since the only 
 grave faults in the East are men's conceit in intellectual 
 accomplishments and the childish vanity of the women. 
 " And not only are the districts under our control, but we 
 have knowledge in advance of everything that comes to pass." 
 
 " That is wealth ! " interjected the other, laughing at him. 
 
 " My children will not starve," returned the old man. 
 " My children will not starve," he repeated thoughtfully. 
 
 Then, with another bow, he resumed :
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 385 
 
 " Now the movements of the authorities in our native 
 city, which you wish to learn, are known particularly to us for 
 this reason. Excellency Chu Ta Ming, making pretence that 
 the funds granted to him are insufficient, leaves unfilled all 
 the lists of men who by order should be attached to his yamen. 
 He has reduced the writers and copyists by one-half ; he has 
 closed all the courtyards which are conterminous to the public 
 offices by building high walls ; he has permitted all such 
 courtyards to be occupied by trading establishments. Two 
 pawnshops, a cook-house, tailors, and coffin-sellers occupy 
 Government land, and the rent from these, flowing into 
 Excellency Chu's pockets, is not small. Two thousand taels 
 a month, it is said, is the total sum ; heavy, indeed, must be 
 his family expenditure. 
 
 " Having need of information garnered cheaply to per- 
 form the duties of his staff of runners who are not engaged 
 he, on assuming office, arranged with my brother's son, who 
 is Under- Inspector, to supply him with copies of documents, 
 informations, and denouncements, involving the city authori- 
 ties, against a monthly payment. Disliking worries of all 
 kinds, he also allows my brother's son to select nominees for 
 small appointments in the city, against regular fees, amounting 
 to three months' salary paid to his steward. Therefore, as 
 I have said, my nephew has special knowledge of what goes 
 on in all the yamens, which gives him power with the foreign 
 chiefs who know nothing. Having been warned by you that 
 you wished for information, my brother's son has caused 
 Excellency Chu to be specially watched. Now here is why I 
 came to-day. A week ago Excellency Chu began secret in- 
 quiries for two men, young and strong, wanted for dangerous 
 work. He had difficulty, for he was very careful. But four 
 days ago he sent into the country and found two who accepted 
 the trust. It became impossible for my brother's son to in- 
 terpose without betraying himself ; therefore he waited, not 
 taking action. Last night the two attempted their work. 
 Here is proof." 
 
 He had retained in his hand during this narrative a small, 
 
 25
 
 386 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 neat parcel. Now, with his deft native fingers, he untied the 
 string and took out with a satisfied smile two murderous- 
 looking knives. Then he stood waiting. 
 
 Willy Chang picked them up and examined them without 
 a word, a very strange expression on his ivory face, which 
 was a mixture of awe and wonder. That such murderous 
 methods should be casually used under the very nose of 
 foreign warships and foreign police ! 
 
 " Treachery ! " he murmured in the vernacular, using the 
 word that trembles on the lips of every Chinese. Then he 
 looked up and said inquiringly, with the native pronunciation : 
 " Ma-te-po ? " 
 
 " Even so," said the old servant. 
 
 " Tell me the method and why it failed," said the Can- 
 tonese in a low voice, for he knew that it must have failed, 
 since the old man had not spoken of death. That Mortiboy 
 should have been nearly assassinated! . . . Strange thrills 
 passed over him as if he were being tickled with feathers. 
 
 The old man looked and noted all he felt, for when he had 
 been young he had known such things himself. 
 
 " It was done by the barking of dogs . . . " he said mildly, 
 " perhaps because he was such a peaceful person. Knowing 
 well the irritation of foreigners at night, and how this one will 
 not remain asleep when noise is made, two dogs were taken. 
 The watchmen had been threatened, and because they were 
 afraid, pretended they slept. Ma-te-po, after much barking, 
 came out, first whistling and calling ; then, becoming angry, 
 he followed the sound of the barking dogs, who were led by 
 accomplices. The two hired men, when they were about to 
 dispatch him, were disturbed by footsteps. This later 
 they made their excuse for incomplete work. It was the 
 foreign woman who was following behind, and she called so 
 quickly that Ma-te-po was warned. They stabbed, but they 
 swore they heard the clicking of a revolver, and both fled, 
 fearing the watchmen and the police as well as the foreign 
 woman's pistol. One knife was dropped. My brother's son, 
 who was specially charged to investigate, received it from
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 387 
 
 the constables of that district. He concealed it in order to 
 trace the men. To-day, in a tea-shop, the second knife was 
 found, having been handed to a woman to be kept. Then, 
 as he knew I wished for such information, my brother's son 
 sought me out. He is now below." 
 
 The old servant went to the door and called. Almost 
 immediately his brother's son, who was the fly-wheel of one 
 of the most complicated pieces of mechanism in the world, 
 entered the room. 
 
 Neatly dressed in a khaki suit adorned with silver buttons, 
 with a little silver-mounted cane in his hand, and his carefully 
 plaited queue hanging down his back, the Sub-Inspector 
 represented something which no scientist could account for 
 save by a most ungraceful hypothesis. The man bowed 
 with instinctive ease, came a little nearer, drew from his 
 pocket a card-case, extracted a neatly engraved visiting-card, 
 and laid it on the table. The card said : 
 
 Lo FA-LI, 
 Chinese Sub-Inspector, International Police. 
 
 Telephone No. 8000. 
 
 There was no address. Mr. Lo Fa-li, wherever he lived, 
 could only be found indirectly by a ring on the telephone. 
 Polite, obedient, and clean, he was only bound to Europeanism 
 by a foreign suit of clothes, a silver-mounted cane, and a 
 telephone wire. His soul, his nature, his methods, his hopes, 
 his ambitions, his fears, were precisely the same as those that 
 have always existed in such latitudes. Great, indeed, is the 
 Confucianism of the Chinese ! 
 
 " He protected the name of our forefathers," said the 
 old uncle approvingly, in the dialect of their native village, 
 watching him standing there. 
 
 Thereupon a strange thing happened. Sub-Inspector 
 Lo Fa-li, controller of four hundred and ninety men, con- 
 fidential adviser (because he was so plausible and so smooth) 
 to two English ex-army captains, a major, and a brevet-
 
 388 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 colonel of the mixed police force, gravely and solemnly dropped 
 on his knees, and carefully and punctiliously performed on the 
 bare floor three times the ceremony of kotow, with the 
 double handsweep which scatters the dust of evil-speaking 
 and proclaims submission. Then, rising with that ease 
 which comes natural to supple Asiatic bodies, he stood again 
 to attention as if he had only done his duty. There was 
 now about him a new dignity, showing the existence of a 
 discipline of the spirit, peculiar to a sophisticated race and 
 unknown in the West. It was the sort of manner that may 
 be seen in a devout European who has just come out of church. 
 
 " You are too complimentary," said Willy Chang in a 
 deprecatory way, because he was secretly flattered. " Will 
 you drink tea ? " 
 
 " I have satisfied my thirst," replied the Sub-Inspector. 
 The young Cantonese turned and considered what he had 
 written before this long interlude had begun. The posting 
 of his proclamations at some later date was on his mind. 
 
 " Will any fresh attack be made on Ma-te-po ? " he in- 
 quired, touching first on an unessential matter, because that 
 is the method of the East. " Have you any knowledge ? " 
 
 " If it is forbidden nothing will occur," replied the police 
 officer. 
 
 Willy Chang rose to his feet. 
 
 " Listen it is necessary that it be forbidden. If a 
 foreigner of importance be killed it will create scandal and 
 enmity and may lead to general investigations. It is foolish 
 to kill in such a way the act of a fool of all things this 
 is what most arouses the enmity of foreigners. Just now 
 enmity is what we must avoid. Specially in these settlements 
 is it necessary to be careful." 
 
 " A warning will be conveyed to beware of Excellency 
 Chu's secret commissions," said the Sub-Inspector briefly. 
 
 " It is likewise necessary not to allow knowledge to come 
 that he has been suspected. How was he informed of the 
 outcome of this business ? " 
 
 " The men, on returning to claim payment from him, lied
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 389 
 
 that I have learnt from the woman with whom the second 
 knife was left. They stated that Ma-te-po was stabbed 
 twice before assistance came, and that he fell to the ground. 
 Excellency Chu believed them provisionally and paid them 
 as agreed, but he has since discovered the truth and is much 
 angered." 
 
 " He may therefore order another attempt ? " 
 
 " Even so." 
 
 " Good. Spread the report that Ma-te-po, warned from 
 many quarters, has discovered the trick of the barking dog 
 and now expects a new trick such as the trick of the cats, 
 or the cries for assistance ] that he has consequently engaged 
 four Mohammedans, who have instructions to kill. These 
 watch all night, replacing the native watchmen. Any who 
 venture inside his grounds will be surely killed. That is all. 
 No the knives may I take the knives ? " 
 
 The Sub-Inspector smiled a smile which showed the 
 beautiful white teeth of the rice-eater. 
 
 " One was reported to head-quarters as discovered in 
 the grounds ; unless, therefore, I invent a story it must be 
 returned. The second knife I have not yet reported. It 
 may remain." 
 
 They conversed for a few minutes longer about the pro- 
 clamations ; then Willy Chang stopped and looked out of 
 a window for a minute, which was quite polite of him. 
 
 " Must we separate ? Then I take it that you are pro- 
 ceeding," he said in the formal manner of terminating an 
 interview. 
 
 When he was alone with the old servant he remarked : 
 
 " All appears well arranged. See to it that from your 
 nephew the news spreads that at the appointed hour white 
 bands round the left arm, worn under the outer coat, secure 
 exemption from arrest, prevent molestation, and proclaim 
 affiliation to the societies which rule by signs. All you have 
 told me will be noted. You and yours will be specially 
 considered hereafter in your local districts." 
 
 1 This is the commonest form used in luring men at night.
 
 390 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 " I have listened to your voice," said the old man, bowing 
 deeply to him as he left. 
 
 That same evening as Mortiboy, greatly recovered from 
 the shock of the previous night, walked slowly across the 
 hall of his house, he came to a sudden halt before a brown- 
 paper parcel placed conspicuously on a chair. He had the 
 puzzled feeling that overcomes the observer of some quick 
 piece of legerdemain. A minute before the parcel had not 
 been there that he was prepared to swear and though no 
 living soul had come near there was the parcel. 
 
 He opened it without delay, wondering the while who 
 had so artfully played this trick on him. As he finished 
 unfolding the numerous paper-wrappings a knife fell out and 
 clattered to the ground. 
 
 He picked the weapon up without a word but with a queer 
 expression on his face. A tiny piece of paper was attached 
 to the handle. On this, the letters printed so that there 
 should be no open clue as to the writer, ran this legend : 
 
 " Beware of people with conflicting interest, the letters of 
 whose names number nine." 
 
 That was all. 
 
 He stood for a moment strangely confounded, counting 
 the letters in Chu Ta Ming's name over and over again, and 
 then finding to his amazement that Crebillon's name had the 
 same number. 
 
 That was subtle damnably subtle. 
 
 There was only one person who could have sent that 
 message ; but how had he got hold of the knife, and why had 
 he framed his thoughts in that peculiar way ? Then he gave 
 it up and put the knife into his pocket. This was the land 
 of silence and secrecy ; he would be silent and secret too. 
 
 No European ever heard of the mad attempt on his life.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 " Appeal to arms is the lowest form of virtue. Rewards and 
 punishments are the lowest form of education. Ceremonies and laws 
 are the lowest form of government." " THE PHILOSOPHY OF CHUANG 
 Tzu." 
 
 '"I "'HE autumn equinox came and went. The earth, 
 becoming cooler, allowed the breathless mass of 
 humanity to breathe more freely, and then September 
 passed away. The world of exiles, with tired smiles of 
 satisfaction, changed from their virgin white clothes into 
 light tweeds and wondered, as they wondered every year, if 
 it was really safe to give up those doubtful crowns to a lotus- 
 eating life, their much-used sun-helmets. In an unending 
 stream every incoming steamer disgorged its due quota of 
 women and children who had been lucky enough to escape 
 by flight the bondage of the sun, and were now joyously 
 returning home. 
 
 One morning the attention of those whose vision extended 
 beyond the limits of the local horizon was attracted by a 
 paragraph in a local paper, placed conspicuously at the head 
 of a column. It read briefly and unemotionally : 
 
 " A serious bomb explosion occurred in a house in the 
 International Settlement this morning and involved the 
 death of a Chinese known to sympathize with the Revolution- 
 aries. The body was found in the front room terribly 
 mangled. The room was wrecked. A number of chemical 
 bottles were also found, and it is believed that the man was 
 engaged in making bombs." 
 
 Beyond the exchange of a few remarks, however, nobody 
 
 39'
 
 392 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 paid any great attention to what this might postulate. China 
 was the land of dreadful things which never happened ; 
 every one who valued the esteem of his neighbours dis- 
 believed not only what he heard but the evidence of his eyes. 
 The disastrous explosion, if it were true, only meant one 
 Chinaman less, and there were reputed to be four hundred 
 millions in all. . . . 
 
 After an interval of two or three days the vernacular 
 press, always dilatory and inaccurate, seized upon the para- 
 graph and republished it with crude embellishments, in which 
 the shrieks of the unhappy victim bulked large. It was in 
 this form that the news reached Chu Ta Ming and arrested 
 his concern. For though Chinese gentlemen educated abroad 
 often read Herbert Spencer, Hackel, and even John Morley 
 early in the morning as a literary exercise, they seldom think 
 of scanning English papers published under their noses, which 
 is a rather significant reflection. Galvanized to action by 
 the fear of impending disaster, Chu Ta Ming roused himself 
 sufficiently to drive in person to the office of a Chinese paper, 
 determined to probe the matter to the bottom. It was only 
 after a great deal of exhausting work that the paragraph 
 was finally traced back to its source. Then Chu Ta Ming 
 suddenly remembered that he himself subscribed to the 
 English newspaper in question, and was doubly angry about 
 the whole affair. Had he only torn the wrapper off on the 
 first day of publication it might have proved something great 
 to him. But with him it was as with the Canton viceroy of 
 the early nineteenth century who, after making a treaty with 
 the English, locked the momentous document up in a trunk 
 and brought on a disastrous war which first disclosed 
 China's weakness to the world because he had failed to 
 remember it. 
 
 The editor of the English newspaper, who was tall, 
 cadaverous, and old, was smoking the stump of a cheroot 
 with seeming enjoyment when Chu Ta Ming burst in on him. 
 He re-read the paragraph in question as if it were something 
 which he had never seen before.
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 393 
 
 " Where's Muggins ? " he said finally, puffing at his stump 
 with renewed vigour. On the other side of the littered 
 desk a youth obediently rose and went out. Almost at once 
 he returned with another individual, who looked badly 
 startled. For the newspaper, although mild to despair, 
 had recently been the victim of libel actions, and the staff 
 were now almost afraid to report the daily temperature 
 lest some evil-minded person should find in the readings 
 of their thermometers an actionable offence. 
 
 " Where was this got ? " inquired the editor, dropping 
 his ash on the paragraph by way of indicating it, and then 
 he learnt that it had come from the Central Police Station. 
 
 Chu Ta Ming expressed his thanks and went thither. 
 There his quest proved even more unsatisfactory than the 
 rest had been, filling him with hatred for newspapers and 
 all they said about men and things. For now he learnt 
 that an explanation had been furnished to the police on the 
 very day the news had first seen the light of day. The bomb 
 theory had not only been entirely disproved, but the Chinese 
 detectives in charge of the case had reported that they had 
 made an extraordinary mistake, though, as a matter of fact, 
 it had been no other person than the unfortunate Sophocles 
 P'eng, with his monstrous name, who had been blown up 
 during his experiments. To make quite sure, the European 
 inspector, who made these explanatory statements in entire 
 good faith, got in a very smart-looking Chinese sub-inspector, 
 who stood stiffly to attention and all the while studied the 
 face of his fellow-countryman with a curious look in his eyes, 
 since he could not understand why this trouble should be 
 taken by a man who paid him to tell him all that was good 
 or necessary for him to hear. 
 
 After that Chu Ta Ming went home with a bitter smile 
 and tacitly surrendered. He appreciated now that he was 
 dealing with enemies who had money and imagination 
 desperate enemies who not only covered up their tracks, 
 swiitly and deftly, but who might strike at him if he were 
 not careful. So he determined to remain within the gates
 
 394 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 of his own Castle of Indolence, and to give not a single sign 
 of life, which is a very Chinese proceeding. As he had already 
 dispatched his letter of resignation to Peking it would be 
 assumed that he had ceased working. In this interval 
 he occupied himself writing letters to bank managers, which 
 he typed himself, transferring and manipulating his fat 
 balances in such a way as to cover up a vast number of 
 curious transactions. Eventually, in a fit of apprehension, 
 he ended by remitting every penny to London, where it was 
 split up into component parts and placed to the credit of his 
 various wives and children a course of action which many 
 months afterwards nearly ruined him. 
 
 Then he sat down, waiting fatalistically. He had done 
 everything that could be expected of a reasonable man, and 
 whatever happened would find him prepared. As somebody 
 with a taste for cumbrous phrases once wrote, the only 
 positive and observable fact about the Chinese governing 
 class is the constant protection of their private interests, 
 which they bring into line with the Confucian cosmogony 
 whenever the welfare and permanence of the Chinese state 
 can be secured without injury to themselves. 
 
 What a sermon in that sentence ! 
 
 So things dragged on. Crebillon, who dropped in one 
 morning to see Chu Ta Ming, found him become so dull and 
 preoccupied that, after very few words, he rose and said 
 good-bye, promising to himself that he would not come back 
 in a hurry. But within an hour of that solemn vow he met 
 a French official with whom he was on intimate terms, and all 
 that he previously declared was forgotten. For the official 
 was almost dancing on the points of his toes, though he tried 
 to remain still, and after some desultory talk he caught 
 Crebillon by the arm and exclaimed in the Gallic way : 
 
 " Swear that you will tell no one ! " 
 
 " Hein," said Crebillon sharply, scenting that he was about 
 to enter the region of startling facts. " I suspected something 
 from the very first ; it is not often that you have so much to 
 say. Now speak quickly."
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 395 
 
 Then the other showed him a telegram barely deciphered, 
 confused, yet sufficiently clear to be understandable. A 
 division of troops had revolted on the Yangtze the night 
 before and killed all their officers, an arsenal had been seized, 
 heavy fighting was proceeding ; all officials had fled. 
 
 " Revolution ! . . . " murmured the official. 
 
 " Is it true absolutely true ? " exclaimed Crebillon, 
 trying how this would affect him and his involved plans. 
 The great struggle had commenced while he had been sitting 
 idly talking to Chu Ta Ming ! . . . 
 
 " Do you think Government money is spent in urgent 
 telegrams as a joke, my poor friend ? " remarked the embryo 
 consul in disgust. " But I must be going. The chief sent 
 me out to see what confirmation I could get. Remember 
 you have sworn to tell no one ! I expect you to keep the 
 secret at least until to-night." 
 
 All morning, Crebillon, trembling with excitement, 
 walked about, not knowing what he was doing. To think of 
 this coming so suddenly ! And how would this affect the 
 stubborn, wilful Mortiboy ? Then he said that he could not 
 think, that it was useless to think. The time for thought had 
 come to an end. Acting on an inspiration, he went into a shop, 
 and begging for the use of the telephone, wildly rang up Willy 
 Chang. But the servants replied that their master was 
 absent that he had gone away four days ago, that they had 
 no idea when he would return. Four days ago ? that was just 
 sufficient to allow him to be on the spot ! . . . Instantly he 
 pictured the youth, revolver in hand, leading desperate bands, 
 doing mad things. . . . Then, unable to stand the suspense 
 any longer, he decided to break his word before night had 
 fallen. Hot-footed he returned to Chu Ta Ming's residence, 
 where he was duly admitted after the usual parley at the gate. 
 
 He found the man just as he had left him, sitting sphinx- 
 like and contemplating space. 
 
 " Have you heard ? " he cried, without any other intro- 
 duction, seizing him by the arm. 
 
 " What is the matter with you that you are so excited ? "
 
 396 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 returned the Chinese, his eyes suddenly gleaming. He knew, 
 of course, that the news must be out but what of that ? 
 
 " What is the matter with me ? " echoed Crebillon. 
 Then he called wildly, as if unnerved : " Revolution, revolution ! 
 My God, after all, what they have been whispering has been 
 true, and it has really commenced ! " 
 
 Even at that the Chinese did not move. He veiled his 
 eyes with his wrinkled eyelids and sat stone-still ; then, in a 
 low voice, he replied : 
 
 " I have known all that you know since five o'clock this 
 morning. I have known all that was coming for weeks and 
 weeks. I have known all that might come for many months." 
 
 That was all he said. 
 
 Crebillon stood blankly gazing at him ; then he cried 
 more wildly still : 
 
 "... And all the time I was here this morning you 
 talked to me about other things, let me gossip about Yao 
 Pu Yao's daughters, and gave me your opinions concerning 
 them, never touching upon vital matters, making all you 
 said a play within a play ! Well, I might have expected it. 
 It is always comedy masking tragedy or tragedy masking 
 comedy in this country ; it is always something acted up to 
 the last moment until disaster cuts short the theatricals." 
 He drew a deep breath and gave a short, bitter laugh, as if 
 the prospect was a personal offence to him as if he could not 
 tolerate it. " Do you remember our discussion that evening 
 in the Chinese restaurant, when you proclaimed that life was 
 simply a problem set by the senses ? But there must be 
 something else somewhere, even in this country, something 
 which defeats the cleverest cross-play, because it is the abso- 
 lute ! Where is Truth in all your wonderful cosmogony ? 
 Answer me that, philosopher, cynic, agnostic, sybarite 1 " 
 
 Chu Ta Ming rose and walked to his window, gazing out 
 on his pleasant rockeries as if he wished to take counsel of 
 them. 
 
 " You ask what is truth ? " he repeated, talking almost 
 like a man in a dream. " I will tell you. Truth means the
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 397 
 
 realization of our being. Do you understand ? " He turned 
 almost fiercely and looked at the Frenchman as though he 
 were an enemy, something malignant, something trying to 
 shatter a precious edifice, a dreadful thing. Then that fire 
 died down and he muttered in the undertones of a sleeper 
 half awake from his dreams : " I tell you, as I have told you 
 before, that it is useless talking to stupid fellows like you. 
 What is the use ? I go on and on and on and reach no 
 finality. The mind is the generator, tissue and function are 
 the servants only to those who have earned that right through 
 reflection." 
 
 He came back to his seat and sank into it as though he 
 were sinking below the surface of great waters, like a man 
 who voluntarily drowns himself because life is not worth 
 living. With his head bowed over his clasped hands he pre- 
 served unbroken silence. 
 
 Crebillon stared at him steadily, but he was no longer 
 angry or surprised. His feelings had deepened to real 
 hostility. 
 
 " Well," he said at last, as if a long discussion had filled 
 in the blank, " I am willing to accept your definitions, since 
 definitions never hurt anybody. But tell me I who am a 
 useless thing, a stupid fellow, unnerved by news about your 
 own country how is it that, with all your beautiful phrases, 
 your fine philosophies, your admirable art, everything in this 
 country is going to the dogs, to hell, I say, with revolt, and 
 revolution everywhere, whilst you, honourable sir, can be so 
 corrupt that it is impossible to play on equal terms with you ? 
 Answer me that, philosopher, cynic, agnostic, sybarite, 
 Sodomite 1 " 
 
 Even at that insult the Chinese did not stir ; he remained 
 precisely as he was. In a curious sepulchral voice, as though 
 he were really speaking from beneath some unseen covering 
 of waters, he replied : 
 
 "That is not hard to answer. The dreadful culture 
 of Europe has destroyed us, just as the wonderful Italy of 
 Petrarch was ruined by the inrush of the barbarian. You
 
 398 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 have wished to dress us up in the old clothes of Europe, to 
 give us half-caste souls, to make us good and wise according 
 to a hypocritical system, and you have killed us. That is 
 all it is very simple. We have struggled against it for a 
 hundred years no, for three hundred years and more, for 
 were not those insidious Jesuits, Verbiest and Schall, the 
 familiars of the very first sovereigns of the dynasty that is 
 even now collapsing ? Opium, the Taiping Rebellion, loud- 
 voiced, unchristian missionaries all these are the latest phases 
 which have merely accentuated the inevitable collapse, what 
 do you call it degringolade ? How could we fight against 
 it all tell me how ? The Boxers attempted it. Boxerism, 
 which many Chinese scholars have celebrated in secret odes, 
 was really the Swan-song of Chinese culture ; it was a mad 
 attempt to do with incantations and swords beaten out of 
 detested railway-steel what required above all the methodical 
 adoption and application of the dualistic culture of the West 
 that strange culture which, by separating the senses and the 
 intelligence, and condemning the former as evil-bringers, has 
 in the course of time abandoned the field entirely to the 
 trained employment of force. . . . Do you understand ? 
 How could we, with our adoption of a modicum of Western 
 weapons and Western methods, expect to win ? Our 
 measures were deliberately made half -measures because in 
 our inmost souls we disbelieved in them ; we knew that force, 
 even in its wildest hours of triumph, cannot contend with 
 reason ; we had always in view the ultimate goal, which was 
 hurling those accursed half-measures, once they had served 
 their purpose, on the foul dunghills where they belonged." 
 
 He stopped, raised his head, and looked at his companion 
 mournfully and deeply : 
 
 " And you consider me corrupt, you who handed me money 
 to scatter your rivals ! Do you remember what Baudelaire 
 says in ' Les Fleurs du Mai ' about certain human beings ? 
 I can lend you the book if you wish it is over there on that 
 shelf. Listen. You yourself have partially gained what you 
 had in view I have not only utterly failed but assisted to
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 399 
 
 promote what I was anxious to destroy. . . . And I am cor- 
 rupt. . . . And you are honest. . . . If I were like you a stupid 
 Westerner, I should now raise my voice. I could have you, 
 sir, who have insulted me, beaten to death if I wished here, 
 in this room by merely clapping my hands, and no one 
 would ever know it. But for me that is absurd, impossible, 
 unthinkable. . . . You are not worthy of death." He 
 paused, out of breath from the heat of his speech, then more 
 calmly he concluded : " There is no good or evil, there is no 
 moral or immoral there is only the realization of our being 
 which we always miss. ... In the private courts of my house 
 you will find roomfuls of children my children. You will 
 find them busy studying in an orderly way, learning what they 
 may, whilst my wives arrange the peaceful working of my 
 household. All is well arranged and pleasant. I, sitting here 
 talking to you, am but a symbol of something you do not 
 understand. Go, sir, before I make frank speech about things 
 which even you would like forgotten." 
 
 He rose and walked slowly from the room, as if refusing 
 the continuation of a duel which had fallen to a level beneath 
 him. Through a doorway, made circular in the shape of a 
 gourd in the quaint fantasy of Chinese architects, he went 
 into a little hall filled with shelves containing numberless 
 Chinese books in sober blue cases. Taking one of these down, 
 he opened it and began studiously turning the pages, as if 
 the existence of his visitor had passed from his mind. As 
 Crebillon, humiliated in spite of himself, went out through the 
 rockeries a loud and strangely familiar voice greeted him in 
 English. 
 
 " He's in, isn't he, Crebillon ? They've been lying to 
 me at the front door for a quarter of an hour, and when I 
 said I would go in they looked like turning nasty hitting 
 me. . . . Damn 'em. . . . The devil's into them all to-day 
 it seems. ..." 
 
 Chu Ta Ming, standing there among his books, heard 
 this tirade through the open window without a sign of interest 
 on his curious parchment-like face. But after an interval
 
 400 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 he called to his faithful white-haired servitor to go and admit 
 the clamorous barbarian the expression he used was pre- 
 cisely " clamorous barbarian," though he had studied in four 
 European universities. He knew, of course, that it was 
 Jacks Jacks even more upset than Crebillon had been ; but 
 he was indifferent now to any words which might pass, for 
 it would soon be all over. 
 
 " Ah, there you are ! " exclaimed Jacks, wasting no 
 time on ceremony and rushing in with his straw hat still 
 on his head. " There's more trouble nowadays getting into 
 a Chinaman's house than into a bank strong-room. Why 
 don't you teach your people manners ? One man nearly 
 grabbed me by the throat." 
 
 He made an angry gesture as if he would pay that back 
 when he had the chance. 
 
 "It is not a Chinese custom to force your way into a 
 neighbour's house. Perhaps my servants do not understand 
 your point of view," said Chu Ta Ming coldly and precisely. 
 
 The irony was lost on the angry Englishman, who was 
 fumbling in a pocket with an expression on his face such as 
 is only seen in men who have their backs against the wall. 
 
 " Is this true ? " he blurted out as he handed over a 
 telegram. It was once again the story of the unbelievable 
 outbreak in panic-stricken words. 
 
 " Yes," said the Chinese after he had read it in a swift 
 glance. " Yes, that and much more." 
 
 Jacks took one or two steps away from him before he 
 said : 
 
 " That and much more ? Well, I suppose I must learn 
 to stand it. I remember what happened when the Japanese 
 War broke out ; this will be worse. It's a knock-out blow for 
 me, the third in seventeen years " He broke off, un- 
 willing to speak of himself even in his distress. " I suppose 
 you know that everything is already unsaleable ; this time the 
 bankers will sell everybody up" He gave a grim laugh. 
 Then, as a wave of disbelief passed over him, he stepped forward 
 and seized Chu Ta Ming by the arm meaning to say some-
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 401 
 
 thing vehement, to beg for special information which might 
 help him. But with a half-suppressed exclamation he relaxed 
 his grasp, instinctively aware that his idea was futile. Under 
 the loose silk sleeve he had felt only a piece of bone very 
 thin unbelievable the shrivelled limb of the opium-smoker. 
 How could such a man help him when the guns had com- 
 menced to play ? 
 
 He stood for a moment quite still, squaring his jaw as if 
 unseen foes were raining blows on him blows which he was 
 now meeting silently, without resistance, because the time had 
 passed when energy could claim any reward. 
 
 Suddenly he made up his mind. 
 
 " Good-bye, and thank you," he said gruffly, masking 
 his emotion in laconic speech, after the manner of the English. 
 
 He walked away with uneven steps, almost as if he wished 
 to stay, to hear even insults, so long as it was the sound of a 
 familiar voice. But despite these half -inclinations the master- 
 impulse urged him out of this house, out of the native city, 
 out of this noisome world, back to things he clearly understood. 
 
 So down towards the river he walked, somewhat in the 
 way that a dog will mechanically return to half-forgotten 
 haunts. The shipping at least represented something tangible 
 to him ; the tall, ugly, utilitarian smokestacks, belching forth 
 smoke and soot, stood for undisputed power which not all the 
 sophistries and cunningness in the world could destroy. The 
 powerful hulls were of invincible steel the steel which had 
 often forced recalcitrant Eastern nations to their knees ; 
 beside them the wooden junks and sampans looked puny and 
 miserable. Yet he knew that these foreign things his 
 things in spite of all their fabled strength, were imprisoned 
 and confined at the edge of these limitless shores ; like himself 
 they were only able to touch the fringe and never penetrate 
 beyond. As Chu Ta Ming had often said, exterritoriality, the 
 ugliest and cruellest word in the world, kept everything foreign 
 enchained outside the real China. 
 
 He was on the water-front now, picking his way across 
 the endless lines of pontoons which, connected by little gang- 
 26
 
 402 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 ways, were littered with all sorts of cargo and busy with all 
 sorts of coming and going. River-steamers and ocean-going 
 steamers lay there impartially mixed, berthed just as they 
 happened to come in. White crews and brown crews, yellow 
 crews and black crews all the nations of the earth were 
 ranged along that amazing river-frontage in ships' com- 
 panies all the nations anxious for trade and profits, and gold 
 and silver, and silks and other rich things, and not concerned 
 with the sophistries or the whims or the caprices of the 
 inhabitants, not even greatly concerned about those First 
 Principles on which their own great power was based. Jacks, 
 though the sight had been familiar to him for twenty long 
 years, looked at it eagerly. He sniffed the curious, undefinable 
 odours coming from the ships' holds, wafted up in gusts as 
 bales of merchandise were slung out and carried swiftly past 
 him on stout bamboo poles by powerful coolies. These smells 
 seemed just now like heavenly perfumes to him. They stood 
 for well-known things, tangible things, things possessing 
 definite limits, definite functions, definite rewards. 
 
 He gazed at it all, his eyes dim with tears. 
 
 Everything was so peaceful. The good-natured bustle 
 was a soft pleasure to him, with nothing ominous or foreboding 
 about it. The coolie-choruses, rising rhythmically as the gangs 
 hauled on ropes, or lifted heavy weights, or closed down 
 holds, had a dreamy, soothing quality like the music of 
 cicadas singing their endless praises of the endless summers. 
 Not a single trace of the fever of great events ! Nothing but 
 calm work proceeding noisily. A Yankee mate, who had just 
 come down a gang-plank, surveying it all, suddenly lifted his 
 brawny arms above his head and exclaimed to the world with 
 a great yawn ^ ; > u .- 
 
 " Say, but this is a lonesome town nothing ever doin' 
 here. . ..-V.,,. 
 
 Jacks walked on. A coasting-steamer, which had been 
 moored to buoys in the stream, was now being carefully and 
 slowly warped alongside a wharf just vacated by a sister-ship. 
 He paused to watch that delicate manoeuvre. The chocolate- 
 coloured waters were swirling viciously to-day on a five-knot
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 403 
 
 ebb-tide, and the strain on the cables was tremendous. As 
 he stood there he heard a voice unexpectedly greet him, and 
 he turned with a start. 
 
 " Is that you, Mabel ? " he exclaimed. " What are you 
 doing here ? I thought you were away." 
 
 Mabel Willing pointed to the ship now coming alongside. 
 
 " I came back in that," she said in a monotonous voice. 
 " I got off in a sampan as soon as we were moored, as I was in 
 a hurry. I've come down to see about my boxes the Customs 
 make such trouble nowadays." Now her eyes were attracted 
 by Jacks' eyes : she saw that they were moist. " What's the 
 matter with you ? " she exclaimed. " You, too I " 
 
 "Haven't you heard?" he replied wearily. Then hetold her. 
 
 " I am sorry," she said when he had finished ; " but perhaps 
 it will turn out better than you think." Her hand was already 
 on a companion-ladder that had been run down when suddenly 
 she stopped with a little gasp. " It's no use," she moaned ; 
 ' ' I've got to tell some one my trouble, too. I can't keep it in, 
 though I gave my word I would." 
 
 She had caught hold of his arm. Now she whispered : 
 
 " Major Malwa and that Chinese girl, Polly Yao, they've 
 run together. . . . They telegraphed for me Dick, I mean 
 Mr. Macniversen, telegraphed me urgently to come back; 
 you should see how she has taken it. ... She is raving, 
 almost ! Mr. Macniversen dare not leave her for a minute. 
 When she saw me she jumped at me look at the marks on my 
 hands." She paused and sobbed. " We three will be left 
 together now always always just us three." 
 
 Jacks stood looking at her fixedly, understanding it all, 
 yet not daring to speak. He thought of many years ago of 
 his own tempestuous youth when he had embraced the 
 women of the country because there were no others. He 
 remembered how he had baptized them, giggling, wriggling 
 children who smelt vaguely of cinnamon and who merely 
 mimicked joy. He hated them as he hated everything now, 
 and he could not bear it. 
 
 " Don't cry," he said gruffly, patting her arm. " Don't 
 let the Chinese see you cry anything but that."
 
 404 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS 
 
 Then, as she thanked him and hurriedly left him, he walked 
 on, more quickly, as if he needed air and exercise, as if he 
 needed to get away. At last he came to a place beyond 
 which he could not go because the pontoons had ceased. 
 He must have walked miles. 
 
 A creek, one of the countless affluents to every Chinese 
 river, lay at his feet. It was filled with little native craft 
 which were moving uneasily to and fro as if some strange 
 spirit of unrest had suddenly come over them. A launch from 
 a Chinese gunboat was idly floating there, and an old bronzed 
 fellow in a white jumper, with a battered straw hat covering 
 his wisp of a pigtail, was holding forth to the boatmen in 
 broken sentences as if he had some strange story to unfold. 
 Jacks gazed at it all, trying to make out what it might be, 
 though he knew not a word of the language nor anything of 
 the real thoughts of the people. 
 
 Presently the launch moved on and the sampans floated 
 away with a few strokes of their little yulohs. The boatmen 
 were now talking to each other in awestruck undertones and 
 pointing due west up the great Yangtze. 
 
 They knew ! It was the presage of the coming storm. 
 They had smelt it before the old gunboat sailor had spoken, 
 and their nostrils had not played them false. So, just as 
 before the dread typhoon, they slowly rowed away, seeking 
 anchorage where they could lie hidden until the storm was 
 over, or the force and direction of the wind was accurately 
 known. 
 
 Printed by MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED, Edinburgh.
 
 AUTUMN, 1914 
 
 METHUEN'S POPULAR NOVELS 
 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. each 
 
 M 
 
 ESSRS. METHUEN have much pleasure in announcing 
 the publication of the following Novels. Notes are 
 given overleaf: 
 
 JULY 
 
 OLD ANDY DOROTHEA CONYERS 
 
 JANE'S CAREER HERBERT G. DK LISSER 
 
 THE JAM QUEEN NETTA SYRETT 
 
 THE UNCERTAIN GLORY MOLLY THYNNE 
 
 EVERY MAN HIS PRICE MAX RITTENBERG 
 
 THE WEDDING DAY (as. net) C. N. and A. M. WILLIAMSON 
 
 AUGUST 
 
 A GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER H. C. BAILEY 
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS PUTNAM WEALB 
 
 THE DOUBLE LIFE OP MR. ALFRED BURTON 
 
 E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM 
 
 THE HAPPY RECRUIT W. PETT RIDGE 
 
 CASSANDRA, BY MISTAKE MRS. S. R. SCHOFIELD 
 
 BELLAMY ELINOR MORDAUNT 
 
 PERCY AND OTHERS F. ANSTEY 
 
 BROKEN SHACKLES JOHN OXENHAM 
 
 SEPTEMBER 
 
 PRINCE AND HERETIC MARJORIE BOWEN 
 
 THE CHOICE OF LIFE GEORGETTE LEBLANC 
 
 WINGS OF WAX YELVA BURNETT 
 
 THE PRICE OF LOVE ARNOLD BENNETT 
 
 LANDMARKS E. V. LUCAS 
 
 ONCE A WEEK A. A. MILNE 
 
 PERHAPS : A Tale of To-Morrow NORMAN DAVEY 
 
 A MIXED PACK DOROTHEA CONYERS 
 
 WHOM GOD HATH JOINED ARNOLD BENNETT 
 
 ENTER AN AMERICAN E. CROSBY-HEATH 
 
 HUNGERHEART: The Story of a Soul 
 
 A SOLDIER OF THE LEGION C. N. and A. M. WILLIAMSON 
 
 FROM BEYOND THE PALE (as. net) 
 
 OLD ANDY. By DOROTHEA CONYERS, Author of 'Sandy 
 Married.' 
 No one knows rural Ireland and its humours better than Mrs. Conyers, 
 
 well as much fun and farce. 
 
 JANE'S CAREER. By HERBERT G. DE LISSER. 
 
 This is a story of West Indian working-class and lower middle-class life, 
 humorously told from beginning to end. The career of a Jamaican country 
 girl who goes to the city is sympathetically dealt with, and a vivid picture given 
 of certain aspects of life in a British tropical colony. It is also a story of love 
 and simple ambition. 
 
 P.T.O.
 
 THE JAM QUEEN. By NETTA SYRETT. 
 
 Mrs. Quilter, a lady of seventy summers and the Napoleon of the jam trade, is the 
 heroine of the story. By sheer force of character she has built up an enormous fortune. 
 She is also a sort of minor Providence holding the key to delicate situations, and at 
 the right moment opening doors of deliverance to prisoners caught in their own 
 toils. One of these prisoners is her socialist nephew, who has every reason to be 
 grateful to the eccentric aunt he has foolishly despised. The book, though humorous 
 and written in a light vein, not only contains a thread of seriousness, but is dramatic 
 and full of surprises. 
 
 THE UNCERTAIN GLORY. By MOLLY THYNNE. 
 
 Peter Dowling, a young artist of humble extraction, is finishing his studies in 
 Munich. There he meets two women; one, Saskia, the daughter of Lord Glazebrook, 
 on whose estate his father has worked in his capacity of village carpenter ; the other 
 the daughter of a ' vet ' in the same neighbourhood. Later he renews his acquaintance 
 with them in London and mistakes Saskia's sympathetic interest for a stronger feeling. 
 He meets with a rude awakening and, after a series of misunderstandings, is reconciled 
 to the woman he really loves. 
 
 EVERY MAN HIS PRICE. By MAX RITTENBERG, Author of 
 'Swirling Waters.' 
 
 A commercial romance, full of excitement, telling of the invention by an Englishman 
 of a wonderful system of wireless telephony, of the rivalry of a German firm, and of 
 the inventor's struggle between patriotism and personal advantage. 
 
 THE WEDDING DAY. By C. N. and A. M. WILLIAMSON. Crown 
 8vo, as. net. 
 
 One may always look for romance and adventure in a new book by the Williamsons', 
 and The Wedding Day is no exception. The scene is laid in the Island of Skye. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER. By H. C. BAILEY, Author of 
 'The Sea Captain.' 
 
 This is a romance of seafaring and adventure on the Spanish Main in the age of the 
 buccaneers. Its hero, Peter Hayle, though a pirate and a successful pirate, hoisted 
 the skull and crossbones much against his will, and chiefly distinguished himself by an 
 expedition to crush the most powerful pirate chief of his time, the King of the Main. 
 The scenes are set among the English slaves who in the seventeenth century were sold 
 to the planters of Jamaica, aboard the ships of the buccaneers, in a pirate city, and in 
 the London of William III and Queen Anne. Through much adventure, fighting by 
 land and sea, and the bizarre characters bred by the Spanish Main, an attempt is made 
 to show the queer, elaborate system which the pirates evolved for themselves. 
 
 THE ETERNAL PRIESTESS. By PUTNAM WEALE, Author of 
 'The Romance of a Few Days.' 
 
 In The Eternal Priestess Mr. Putnam Weale returns to China, . . . the field he 
 has made pre-eminently his own. He not only portrays society there, but carefully 
 describes the conditions which led to the outbreak of the Chinese Revolution in 1911. 
 A remarkable gallery of types is to be found jn these vivid pages. All the subject- 
 matter, having been gathered on the spot, is strictly accurate. 
 
 THE DOUBLE LIFE OF MR. ALFRED BURTON. By E. 
 
 PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM. 
 
 Alfred Burton, head clerk of a third-rate auctioneer and house agent, discovers in a 
 long-closed room in an empty house a plant with a peculiar brown fruit, the virtue of 
 which is that he who eats but one bean shall see, think, and say nothing but the truth. 
 Burton eats of the tree and so later does his employer. The results are wonderful and 
 the situations created are highly amusing. 
 
 THE HAPPY RECRUIT. By W. PETT RIDGE, Author of 'The 
 Remington Sentence.' 
 
 The recruit, in Mr. Pett Ridge's new novel, arrives from abroad at a youthful age, 
 and joins the London regiment at Bow Creek. From this point he makes his way, 
 with here a step in the service, and there a halt, encountering many friends, and 
 occasionally taking arms against foes. The early stages are in the various foreign 
 quarters of town, and the lad's experiences are described in the brisk and cheerful 
 manner known to those acquainted with the author's previous works. 
 
 CASSANDRA, BY MISTAKE. By Mrs. S. R. SCHOFIELD, Author 
 of ' I Don't Know.' 
 
 This novel deals with the amazing experiment attempted by an old professor of 
 psychology who becomes the sole guardian of a baby girl. Her up-bringing, in the 
 utmost seclusion, and the sudden dramatic change in her life, with its effect on her 
 and those around her, form the main theme of the story. In its scope it differs in many 
 ways from the usual novel, and illustrates the conflict between natural intuition, in the 
 person of the heroine, and the sophistication of Society.
 
 BELLAMY. By ELINOR MORDAVNT, Author of 'Simpson,' etc. 
 
 This book is occupied, as far as the main character of Bellamy himself goes, with 
 the intimate study as child, youth, and man, of a born poseur and charlatan ; who 
 starting life as a mill-hand, son of a half-French weaver and small general dealer, who 
 goes out charing makes from his early infancy a religion of the art of getting on. 
 The alluring part of this book is that, though one realizes the hero as a very complete 
 scamp, all one's sympathies are with him and his frank delight in his own cleverness. 
 In sharp contrast to Bellamy is Jane, his staunch and steadfast little sweetheart, with 
 her dignified adherence to all the ways of her own people. 
 
 PERCY AND OTHERS. By F. ANSTEY. 
 
 A collection of some of the best contributions to Punch over the familiar and 
 favourite initials ' F. A.' during the past few years. In Percy the readers of Punch 
 will renew acquaintance v/ith a very agreeable personality none the less interesting 
 for being only a bee. In other sketches, Mr. Anstey's satirical bent has full play. 
 
 BROKEN SHACKLES. By JOHN OXENHAM, Author of 'Mary All 
 Alone.' 
 
 The life-story of an officer of birth and position, aide-de-camp to Napoleon III 
 during and after Bourbaki's final disastrous effort against the Prussians in the Jura. 
 He is reported killed, and when the broken army passes into Switzerland, he strikes 
 away into the mountains, sick of life and the world in general, and begins life afresh 
 on simpler lines. In time he learns that his wife has married again. He marries a 
 Swiss girl and becomes a man of standing in the little community. Then, after years 
 of happiness, the past suddenly springs out at him. 
 
 PRINCE AND HERETIC. By MARJORIE BOWEN, Author of 
 ' The Governor of England.' 
 
 This is a fine historical novel of which the hero is William the Silent. The author 
 traces his career with its heroic achievements. It is a long book and will have the 
 success of / Will Maintain. 
 
 THE CHOICE OF LIFE. By GEORGETTE LEBLANC (Mme Maeter- 
 linck). Translated by ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS. 
 
 This, Mme Maeterlinck's first long novel, tells the story of a beautiful Norman 
 peasant girl taken from her natural surroundings and transplanted into the midst of 
 artistic life in Paris. The book is marked by extraordinary psychological insight and 
 by a very exquisite charm of style. It has a frontispiece reproducing a portrait at the 
 Louvre whose features bear a strong resemblance to the type of Mme Maeterlinck's 
 heroine. 
 
 WINGS OF WAX : A South African Novel. By YELVA BURNETT. 
 
 In a pale white kingdom of her own fashioning Laura Van Schaal, the beautiful 
 descendant of Huguenot emigrants, moves serenely. Totally ignorant of the great 
 forces of life, she nevertheless seeks to save men from the results of their indiscretions. 
 She marries a drunkard in order to redeem him, not realizing that redemption was 
 never consummated without a great love. In the storms which bend her soul her 
 wings are as useless as those of Icarus, and at length, in all humility of spirit, she cast 
 them aside and receives, in their place, womanhood's crown. 
 
 THE PRICE OF LOVE. By ARNOLD BENNETT, Author of 'Clay- 
 hanger.' 
 
 This is a novel of the Five Towns. Indeed, it is the only novel written by Mr. 
 Bennett of which the whole of the action passes in the Five Towns. Its chief quality 
 is that it is a story. The plot is important, and the effect of the plot is such that the 
 reader's interested anxiety for the heroine, roused in the first chapter, is not tran- 
 quillized until the end of the tale. But the novel has also a moral, and that moral is 
 connected with the subject of marriage for love. 
 
 LANDMARKS. By E. V. LUCAS, Author of ' Over Bemerton's.' 
 
 In this book, the most ambitious which he has yet attempted, Mr. Lucas chronicles 
 a series of episodes in the life of his hero, each one of which is the revelation of a 
 significant and moulding fact. Some of the discoveries are spiritual, some material, 
 but all are narrated with as much vivacity and directness as possible. 
 
 ONCE A WEEK. By A. A. MILNE, Author of 'The Day's Play.' 
 
 Mr. Milne's new book bears an intimate family resemblance to its popular pre- 
 decessors The Rabbits and The Day's Play. Again, with a light-heartedness of which 
 he alone seems to have the secret at the time, he describes the humours of a little com- 
 pany of young people, while to these sketches have been added others which have 
 given delight to thousands of the readers of Punch during the past two years.
 
 PERHAPS : A Tale of To-Morrow. By NORMAN DAVEY. 
 
 This tale is a forecast of what may ' perhaps ' happen in England a few years hence, 
 when the doctrine of Devolution has been more fully applied and the demand for 
 ' Home Rule ' has become general. An irresponsible journalist sets the ball rolling, 
 and, under a combined series of events, in which the Militant Suffrage Movement plays 
 a prominent part, the Government finds itself in a position of unparalleled difficulty. 
 The action moves with great rapidity, and the farcical situations inevitably brought 
 about are peculiarly entertaining. A dual love affair further complicates the political 
 situation. The final disclosure which releases the Prime Minister from an unenviable 
 dilemma is sufficiently unexpected. Behind the farcical treatment there is much 
 shrewd satire upon contemporary politics and public life. Through the medley of the 
 intrigues of the pressmen and the misadventures of the Premier, the logical working 
 out of the ' Home Rule ' policy is piquantly illustrated. 
 
 A MIXED PACK. By DOROTHEA CONYERS, Author of 'Sandy 
 Married.' 
 
 This is a collection of Irish sporting stories by the most distinguished sporting 
 novelist of the day. The book is full of comical or exciting adventure, and of the 
 delightful if inconsequent happenings which never fail to charm Mrs. Conytrs' readers. 
 
 WHOM GOD HATH JOINED. By ARNOLD BENNETT, Author of 
 1 Clayhanger.' A new edition. 
 
 This novel, originally published some years ago, is a study of the divorce problem 
 from the points of view of the father, the mother, and the children. Without unduly 
 straining probabilities, the author has contrived to weave into one plot the full history 
 of two marriages. Most of the story passes in the Five Towns. The issue is tragic, 
 but not unduljr so ; _and throughout the severity of the narrative is enlivened by 
 humour. In this, as in no other bookj Mr. Bennett makes use of his long experience 
 in the legal profession. And the novel is one of the very few if indeed any other exists 
 in which the subject of divorce has been imaginatively treated by a novelist who has 
 himself actually helped to conduct a divorce case and watched it with the impartiality 
 of a lawyer. 
 
 ENTER AN AMERICAN. BY E. CROSBY-HEATH, Author of 
 ' Henrietta taking Notes.' 
 
 The hero of this new novel is a self-made American, who comes to London and 
 enters a Home for Paying Guests. He is an optimistic philanthropist, and he contrives 
 to help all the English friends he makes. His own crudity is modified by his London 
 experiences, and the dull minds of his middle-class English friends are broadened by 
 contact with his untrammelled personality. A humorous love interest runs through 
 the book. 
 
 HUNGERHEART : The Story of a Soul. 
 
 The author of this book has tried to write a faithful history of a woman's soul. 
 This woman, to whom has been given the symbolic name of ' Hungerheart,' is of 
 mixed English and Polish blood. The story is psychological, but psychology can be 
 intensely dramatic, and the mortal love story of man and woman is here replaced by 
 the immortal love story of the soul and the ' tremendous lover ' of Francis Thompson's 
 poem. 
 
 A SOLDIER OF THE LEGION. By C. N. and A. M. WILLIAMSON, 
 Authors of ' The Lightning Conductor.' 
 
 This story tells of the adventures of a rich and popular young officer, who, in the 
 midst of a love scene with a beautiful actress at a garrison ball, receives news which 
 seems to shatter his career. He has to go to the north of Africa on a curious quest, 
 which results in his joining that strange regiment of men without a country the 
 Foreign Legion. Thinking he has lost all that makes life worth living, the Legion 
 gives him back not only to himself remade, but also the best thing in the world. The 
 study of the Foreign Legion in Algeria has been made on the spot by the authors, and 
 therefore this book presents a very different picture to any other novel on the subject. 
 
 FROM BEYOND THE PALE. Crown 8vo, 2s. net. 
 
 A little volume of letters from a woman who has left her husband and child and the 
 tranquil sheltered life of her English home for that other life ' beyond the pale' with 
 the man she loves. She writes from France to her deserted daughter in England, who 
 has grown out of her life and knowledge but not out of her heart and memory. 
 
 METHUEN & CO. LTD., 36 ESSEX STREET, LONDON, W.C.
 
 A SELECTION OF BOOKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY METHUEN 
 
 AND CO. LTD., LONDON 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET 
 
 W.C. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 General Literature . ..-.,,- 
 Ancient Cities . . .-:* T J' : ^,>": 
 Antiquary's Books . 
 Arden Shakespeare . 
 Classics of Art 
 'Complete* Series . 
 Connoisseur's Library 
 
 Handbooks of English Church 
 History 
 
 Handbooks of Theology . 
 'Home Life' Series. 
 Illustrated Pocket Library of 
 Plain and Coloured Books . 
 Leaders of Religion 
 Library of Devotion 
 Little Books on Art 
 Little Galleries 
 Little Guides .... 
 Little Library .... 
 
 Little Quarto Shakespeare 
 Miniature Library 
 
 New Library of Medicine . 31 
 
 3i 
 
 31 
 
 New Library of Music . 
 Oxford Biographies . 
 
 Four Plays 21 
 
 States of Italy .... ai 
 
 Westminster Commentaries . 33 
 
 ' Young ' Series .... 33 
 
 Shilling Library ... 33 
 
 Books for Travellers . . 33 
 
 Some Books on Art. . . 33 
 
 Some Books on Italy . . 24 
 
 Fiction 35 
 
 Books for Boys and Girls . 30 
 
 Shilling Novels .... 30 
 
 Sevenpenny Novels ... 31
 
 A SELECTION OF 
 
 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEJSTS 
 
 PUBLICATIONS 
 
 
 
 IN this Catalogue the order is according to authors. An asterisk denotes 
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 Colonial Editions are published of all Messrs. METHUEN'S Novels issued 
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 All books marked net are not subject to discount, and cannot be bought 
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 Messrs. METHUEN'S books are kept in stock by all good booksellers. If 
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 This Catalogue contains only a selection of the more important books 
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 Hichens. 
 
 Methuen's Sevenpenny Novels 
 
 Fcap. 8vo. yd. net 
 
 ANGEL. B. M. Croker. 
 
 BROOM SQUIRE, THE. S. Baring-Gould 
 
 BY ST::OKE OF SWORD. Andrew Balfour. 
 
 HOUSE OF WHISPERS, THE. William Le 
 Queux. 
 
 HUMAN BOY, THE. Eden Phillpotts. 
 I CROWN THEE KING. Max Pemberton. 
 LATE IN LIFE. Alice Perrin. 
 LONE PINE. R. B. Townshend. 
 MASTER OF MEN. E. Phillips Oppenheim. 
 MIXED MARRIAGE, A. Mr. F. E. Penny. 
 
 PETER, A PARASITE. E. Maria Albanesi. 
 
 POMP OF THE LAVILETTES, THE. Sir Gilbert 
 Parker. 
 
 PRINCE RUPERT THE BUCCANEER. C J. 
 Cutcliffe Hyne. 
 
 PRINCESS VIRGINIA, THE. C. N. & A. M. 
 Williamson. 
 
 PROFIT AND Loss. John Oxenham. 
 
 RED HOUSE, THE. E. Nesbit. 
 
 SIGN OF THE SPIDER, THE. Bertram Mitford. 
 
 SON OF THE STATE, A. W. Pett Ridge. 
 
 6/5/'4 
 
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