A Trt«£,ss ""■■ UU ! V!..\ ' THE LIBRARY OF THEMAY 3 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL Hia ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES LIBRARY ... SCHOOL J H PIERCY FA TIEN: A CHINESE LOVE STORY Took out pen and paper and wrote." (See page ;z ) FA TIEN A CHINESE LOVE STORY. ANNIE M. PIERCY, Late of Canton, |f otttrott : CHARLES H. KELLY, 2, Castle Street, City Road, E.C and 66, Paternoster Row, E.C. 1896. B2 ILLUSTRATIONS, NO. PAGE I. TOOK OUT PEN AND PAPER AND WROTE. Frontispiece II. THE SPEAKER STOOD IX THE DOORWAY . . Q III. CARRYING BABY OX HER BACK . . . -19 IY. CHANG AS HE WAS . . . . . ■ 2J Y. I THINK MR. POK A GOOD MAN . . . -39 YI. A LIGHT BREEZE REFRESHED THE PEDESTRIAN 47 VII. CHANG HAD BECOME AN INYETERATE SMOKER 55 VIII. SHE LIFTED HER YOICE IN PRAYER . . -59 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://archive.org/details/fatienchineselovOOpier fa Tien: Ji Chinese Love 5tory. CHAPTER I l|A TIEN, Fa Tien, come away, come in ! |K How well you know that you should not linger speaking with a man when you are alone ! " Little Fa Tien, blushing and embarrassed, ran towards the speaker, who stood in the door- way. She felt uneasy at her mother's remark, for this was only one out of many times that she had thus infringed the laws of Chinese etiquette and gone contrary to her youthful moral instincts. She was a strong, well-built 8 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. girl, with black, almond eyes, black, shining hair, and a mouth that showed some force of character. Her mother looked at her with new-born pride and admiration. " The child is really growing handsome," she murmured to herself. Had Fa Tien been the daughter of wealthy people, only feminine eyes would have met hers until after her marriage, except occasionally those of her father ; a nurse would have followed and directed her every footstep. But she was the eldest daughter of a hard-working labourer with six children ; to help the family purse her mother must go into the ricefields, leaving Fa Tien to take care of the home, nurse the baby, and play with the little ones. While thus occupied, she was not unobserved. No high zenana walls screened her from public gaze ; from the little cottage, scarce large enough for shelter, its inmates gladly escaped into the open, for space, as well as air. Pok A Yun was a greengrocer ; his father owned some acres of ground where he cultivated cabbage, lettuce, onions, sweet potatoes, and various herbs in which the Chinese delight. Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 9 A Yun had a conveyance, which he loaded with ^these vegetables, taking them round to a number of regular customers. Passing daily the house The speaker stood in the doorway. v See page 7.) where Fa Tien lived, he had long noticed her ; sometimes she bought vegetables from him. A Yun was twenty-three years of age ; hitherto, however, he had no wish to marry. When io Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. he was seventeen, his mother, like a true Chinese woman, felt the propriety of seeking a suitable girl as her son's betrothed. She had placed the matter before him, mentioning at least five well-to-do men who had daughters, from whom they might select a suitable wife. A Yun, without being undutiful enough to refuse to comply, yet showed himself undesirous of falling in with his mother's wishes. The days and months thus slipped by, till at twenty years of age he became motherless. A sudden illness took his mother from earth before having the satisfaction of arranging for and completing her youngest son's settlement in life. A Yun now commenced business, and, absorbed in the necessary labour and care involved, found the hours of the day all too short to fulfil its claims ; active work in the present crowded out plans or aspirations for the future, and constant employment and a measure of financial success supplied all the satisfaction he was conscious of desiring. He was in danger of becoming sordid and mechanical. One figure in his daily rounds arrested his mental lethargy, and aroused his otherwise Fa Tien: A Chinese Love Story. n dormant soul, until, at the age of twenty-three, of which we write, he became conscious of a strange influence affecting his thoughts and modifying his previous views of life. It is said that the Chinese, and especially Chinese men, know nothing of love as a senti- ment. When a boy arrives at a suitable age, a wife is found for him by his parents ; and he takes her, not to love, honour, and cherish, but to regard her in future as his especial property and slave, and to treat her with indulgence or harshness as impulse or fancy may lead him. The experience through which A Yun passed shows that there are exceptions to this rule. " Good morning, Fa Tien. You are looking well and happy." "Am I looking happy ? " " Yes ; and why should you not? You are always happy." " I used to be." " And are not now ? " " No ; I am not happy now." "What has happened to cause this change? Has your father been out of work and brought home no money ? " 12 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. "Ob, no! Father earns more money now; we have fish with our rice every day." "And your little brother, is he very trouble- some when mother is away all day ? " " Little Ping ! oh ! I don't mind the trouble I have with him. He often cries ; but then he loves me after, and laughs and plays so prettily." " What is there then that can trouble you ? I see you are becoming grave." " It is because you come and stay and talk with me so often." " So ! then I will not come." " That will not make me happier, if you do not come." "What then can I do? I- wish you to be happy." " Go away now, and come in two days. To- morrow you will pass the door ; but do not look at the house, you will not see me. The next day, if you will call, I will tell you something." A Yun walked slowly towards his load of vegetables ; his mind was so pre-occupied that he forgot to call upon the two next customers ; he was deep in thought. He now remembered Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 13 that little Fa Tien had changed much within the last month ; what was it made her so thoughtful ? She surely had some serious trouble. And why should he be so deeply con- cerned on her account ? He had known her for nearly three years ; at first as a little child to whom he was wont to give nuts or an orange ; but the last eight or nine months she had grown and developed an unusual grace and beauty, which the poverty of her garments could not affect. A small head beautifully poised ; long, silken, black hair, plaited — as is the custom among Chinese girls — in a queue behind ; a short fringe of hair over the forehead ; white, regular teeth, and a deep olive complexion. He had watched her with admiration the last few months, and sought on every convenient oppor- tunity to have a little chat with her, though so far he had no definite purpose in his mind. Six years ago he had renounced marriage, feeling a strong repugnance to the fashions of his country on this subject ; not that A Yun was highly educated, or knew anything of the customs of other countries in this matter. Instinctively he had turned from the only 14 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. customs he knew of, and as an apology to himself he said, " I am an unsociable being, and preferto be alone." But to-day his loneli- ness oppressed him. His success in trade was unsatisfying ; he counted up his takings for the day; they were as usual, far exceeding his needs. Each year, since commencing business, found him in an improved position. But he was restless and uneasy, curious to know the cause of the clouds on Fa Tien's usually bright face, and surprised at his own disturbed state of mind on her account. Without acknowledg- ing it to himself, without realising whither he was drifting, A Yun loved Fa Tien. Was he worthy of her ? Was he capable of loving and enduring, and overcoming such obstacles as must arise ? or, would he weakly succumb ? Time must reveal. CHAPTER II. pR. FOK had two sons. The elder, Chang, had only recently returned to his own village having been absent four years ; he was now on a visit to his paternal home. At the city where he went to seek his fortune he entered the service of an Englishman ; being a fine looking and clever man, he gained favour with his master, who promoted him from one position of trust to a higher, until at this time he had risen to be compradore, or steward, of the establishment. In this, to him, exalted position, with a high salary and many perquisites, with under-servants at his command, he soon became luxurious. Among other vices, he began to smoke opium ; it soothed his nerves, he thought, and in the of so management arge an establishment 1 6 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. mental exercise was continuous. Two or three grains of opium smoked in the evening pro- cured him not rest merely, but the introduction into a paradise of fancies ; instead of the bare walls of a meagrely furnished room, ten feet square, he wandered in a palace of marble, furnished in ebony, and enlivened with flowering shrubs, its walls covered with pictures. So it came to pass that Chang returned every evening from his busy world of figures and toildom to his palace of marble, never dreaming that the stone would early crumble, and the unreal sur- roundings exist no longer even as illusions. Fa Tien was of a cheerful, unselfish tempera- ment. From morning to night each hour found her serving. Europeans living in Great Cathay call these natures apathetic. It is a common state of mind among our Chinese sisters ; they have no time to spare from their ceaseless toil for others to sympathise with their own lot. These remarks apply more especially to the large-footed and lower class of women. The writer has seen one of these women toiling faithfully day by day, and ready at any hour of the night to rise and tend the little children Carrying baby on her back.'' (See page 19) Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. ig of the foreign lady, never complaining of weari- ness, but exhibiting a fortitude and moral graciousness that is but rarely found even in Europe ; and the testimony of the mistress lying on her sofa fanning herself is, "These Chinese have no sentiment, no imagination, so uninter- esting, so stolid." But another eye looks and notes, for the faithful discharge of daily duty will be testified to in another tone somewhere. Fa Tien was a large-footed girl ; that is, her feet were what nature had made them, they had not been bound, cramped, and disfigured in acquiescence with the prevailing fashion which reigns in China. Poverty had saved her from this infliction ; her parents had been too poor to bind her feet and make " a lady " of her. To-day found her unusually grave ; unlike her real self, she gave way to sad thoughts. She had risen early as was her custom, helped her mother with household duties, and tended the children, carrying the baby on her back. It was mid-day when her mother entered the house from the ricefields. " Fa Tien, my daughter, I wish to speak with you. Send the little ones out to play." C2 20 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. The children gone, mother and daughter sat down on the floor, the former taking up a pipe to smoke while talking ; through the girl's dark skin the colour could be seen rising in her cheeks. "You have been a good girl, my daughter. I hoped to have had your help at home awhile longer ; but I see it cannot be, you are growing so pretty, I am forced to arrange for you to be married, and a far better opportunity has come than I could have expected. Mr. Fu, the lead- smelter near by, asks for you as his son's wife, and I am about to give my consent. They are well to do, and you will not have to work hard as you have at home. True, you must say farewell to us all, and become almost a stranger to your old home ; but that is the common lot of women." Her voice trembled, but she silenced the weakness she was ashamed of. " I had not hoped that we could do so well for you. A Kim, your future husband, might have had a small-footed woman, ' a lady ' for his wife ; they have money." Fa Tien made no reply; humble though her station, she had been well trained in the virtues Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 21 expected in a Chinese girl ; disobedience to a parent's wishes she knew well was a cardinal vice. The choice of a husband was no business of hers; her duty was to be submissive and obedient in their home until her parents thought fit to give her to another home, where she must do her husband's bidding, and in his absence be the slave and attendant of his mother. So she listened to the words as to a mandate finally fixed. Her mother felt no surprise ; she expected no expressions of approval or disapproval. That her daughter should feel some unhappiness at the thought of breaking away from all old associa- tions and ties was to be expected, but that these feelings should be modified by so unexpected a change for the better was a certainty in the mind of the mature woman. She loved her child, as all good Chinese women love their children ; she had hoped to avert this separation for a year or two longer, yet even to herself it was robbed of much of its pain by the exceeding good fortune that had come in its train. She returned to her work in the ricefields full of happy thoughts — joyous that her daughter was about 22 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. to be lifted into the position of a lady, that she would seldom soil her hands, and never tire her feet, that she would wear good clothes, and have her rice cooked by other hands than her own. These were luxuries the poor toiler had never hoped for ; that they should come to Fa Tien was a greater joy than if they had come to herself; so she forgot her own loss in her daughter's gain. As to Fa Tien, we will leave her to her own reflections. This news had not come upon her without some premonition, though only formally made known to her to- day. After her mother left the house, the children still remained playing outside ; thus alone, she sat thinking of the new prospect now opening out to her and — of A Yun, who would call to-morrow. A Yun on his return home the night before had formed a strange resolution. He must marry Fa Tien, and with her consent. Strange inno- vation for a Chinaman. He would not seek one of the " go-between " old women and send her to the parents of Fa Tien. He would ask the girl herself to love him, tell her he loved her, and if she evinced no responsive affection then Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 23 he would leave his own heart's desire ungratified. The evening meal being over, his father ex- pressed a wish to speak to him on important business. " To-day," said his father, " I received a letter from the Port of S . It is from your brother Chang's master. He says he does not wish to employ Chang any longer, and has enclosed a month's wages. He tells me that some months ago he discovered Chang had become an opium- smoker, and that the foreigners do not employ opium-smokers, any more than do the Chinese, in positions of trust. I will read from his letter. 1 Opium smoking destroys the will power, so that a man can no longer have the firm purpose that is required to walk uprightly, and to act conscientiously. I am sorry to lose from my service a useful, clever man such as your son has been, but Chang no longer possesses the sterling qualities I speak of.' Such is the sad purport of his letter. This is a great calamity to come upon me now. I am old ; my eldest son, who should have been the support of the family in my declining years, has returned home to bring down my hairs with sorrow to the grave. Did 24 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. you know that he had become addicted to this odious vice ? " " I knew nothing about it, father," said A Yun, who was almost too overwhelmed to make reply. " I only saw that he was not so cheerful, nor so healthful as heretofore." " Well, I must look to you to take the place of my eldest son. I will gather my documents together, and hand over to you the management of my affairs ; they have not gone well lately, and much money is lost; you will find plenty to do. It is well, after all, that you did not marry ; your brother's wife and children will need your help. Chang has started on a down- ward course, the end of which, as every China- man knows, is ruin — ruin to his wife and to his children, disgrace to his father and to his home. But no need to say more. I will leave you for the present, my son. I go to my room ; to- morrow I shall require, your services. Your own little business is prospering, you can easily spare a day from it. Your customers know too well the quality of the food you supply to forsake you because you take a holiday. Good night." Wtt : CHAPTER III. HAT a turn for affairs to take at this iP^fC juncture! A Yun's mind oscillated between two emotions, anger and pity. He was angry with his brother, that just when to him life had begun to have a meaning and a worth, Chang should have brought this great misfortune upon the home, and this extra weight of care and respon- sibility upon him ; but mingling with this anger came a remembrance of all the certain results that must follow in the train of the opium craving. First, a picture rose up in his mind of what his brother was when he last left home for the city — tall, upright, broad, and well-formed, bright eyes, out of which beamed genuine good nature ; clever and thoughtful was Chang. Then followed 26 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. a vision of what he would certainly become in the future — perhaps in the near future — a shrivelled, emaciated, sallow-faced, haggard being. Can you wonder that anger readily gave place to pity towards this elder brother, to whom the younger had so often in days past looked with reverence and pride ? But among all this havoc and heart-rending, Fa Tien was present in A Yun's thoughts and mixed with his plans. She had asked him to call to-morrow, and he had promised to do so ; how could he keep this promise now that his father required his services, his father's will being law to him ? He resolved to write her a letter, but it must be in the simplest style and characters, or she would not be able to decipher it. Then it opportunity occurred, he would take it himself; if not, well, it must be conveyed to her some- how. He began to write — My Dear Child, You are many years younger than I am ; you will therefore excuse me addressing you thus. I promised you I would call at your house to-morrow; if I do not come you must not think I have forgotten, nor that I am not anxious to hear what you have to tell me, and still more to see your face. Great trouble has come upon my father, TT7-3-T— — ■ ~ ™ __- - Chang as he was. (See page 25.): Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Siory. 29 and he has told me that he will require my services to- morrow ; of course I must attend to my father's wishes. My dear Fa Tien, I want to ask you to love me. I know I am not worthy of you, but I shall never love any other. When I see you I am happy in looking at you, and in hearing your voice ; when I am away from vou, I think only of vou. If you say vou cannot love me, then I will not marry. I will have no one else for my wife but you, for I love you. Perhaps you will say that I ought to have asked your parents about this, and not spoken to you on such a subject ; but I cannot follow the customs of my country. I want to ask you myself if you will love me, and if you have the will to come to me gladly, to be with me always. I do not want vou to come and be my wife because your parents give you to me ; I want your heart's love. If you will not give that to me, then I will not ask your parents for you ; but I shall love you, and I shall always long to have you to be mine. I am your faithful friend, Pok A Yun. After finishing this letter, A Yun went out for a walk. He pondered over what he had written ; how would Fa Tien receive it? She had already shown some independence of feeling in talking with him and allowing him to talk with her, and his presence had seemed to give her pleasure ; yet, being some years older, she may have looked up to him as a superior in age and experience merely. Well, he must wait. At that word wait another train of thought jo Fa Tim : A Chinese Love Story. suggested itself. Wait ! yes, in any case he must wait ; the new trouble just come upon his father would necessitate this. So weary and over-burdened, he turned his steps homeward and retired to rest. On the morrow, Fa Tien's first thought was, " A Yun will come to-day, and at least I can tell him what has happened." She worked briskly ; the idea of communicating to another what weighed so heavily on her mind, seemed, for the moment, to lift the load entirely from her — so craves the human heart for sympathy. She played with the children, cooked the rice, and gathered sticks; no one noticed that she ate but little at the morning meal. At eleven o'clock she felt perturbed ; soon the well-known conveyance would appear on its rounds. At last it came. A Yun was not with it, only the boy who usually accompanied him. He came forward and stopped at her door ; he was a young boy, only eleven years old. He had in his hand a small parcel ; it contained the letter we saw A Yun writing last night, but it was so wrapped as not to give the bearer a suspicion of a private correspondence. Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 3T " My master told me to leave this parcel with you," said the boy. Fa Tien was amazed ; what could it be ? She preserved self-possession and reticence, and concealing her surprise, said to the boy, " Very well ; put it down there. We do not require any vegetables to-day. Good morning." " Good day," replied the boy, and passed on to his next customer. Fa Tien took up the parcel and opened it ; she was not altogether surprised to find it con- tained a letter, as she had in the few moments since the boy appeared come to the conclusion there must be a message in the parcel, as the boy brought none by word of mouth. With anxious feelings she opened the missive, won- dering what could have occurred to prevent A Yun from coming his usual round, and es- pecially to-day, when he had promised her he would call. Was he ill ? What other reason could prevent him ? But she gave up surmising and read, first with pleasure, then surprise, then fear : pleasure that he should address her so kindly ; surprise that he confessed so deep an affection for her ; fear at his setting at naught 32 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. time-honoured customs so entirely as to appea} to her, passing by parental authority in the matter, and declaring that to her consent he looked, and by her consent would he be guided. But had not she herself been setting these cus- toms at naught? In her own mind, silently, she had been protesting against becoming the pro- perty of A Kim. She folded up the letter and placed it carefully away, feeling much disap- pointment that A Yun had not come himself, and wondering what this trouble of his father's could be. In the evening when quiet came, she took out pen and paper, and wrote : — My Dear Friexd — I have read your letter. You will be surprised that it was very easy for me to read it ; I have learned to read and write from some ladies who come in a boat from a distant town. They come to try and teach us a new religion ; but they are very kind, and will teach anyone to read who is willing to learn. They say girls ought to know how to read and write as well as boys. I am glad now that I tried very hard to learn. I was able to read your letter, and I can write an answer, which I intend giving to you. Yesterday my mother told me what 1 already partly knew. Mr. Fu, the copper- smith, who lives in Tai Ping Street, has asked her to give me to be his son's wife ; she told me she was very pleased at this, and intends to make an engagement with him next week, and formally promise him that I shall go and be A Kim's wife. I was unhappy about this, as I would much Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 33 rather stay at home, where thev all love me and I love them ; but I said nothing, as I have been taught it is the duty of a girl to obey, and not to choose. Now I have read vour letter there is something within me that tells me this teaching is not always right, and I have deter- mined to tell my mother that I cannot marry A Kim, but that if she will let me stay at home I will work very hard much harder than I have done, and try to be very useful to her, so that she will not wish me to be married to A Kim. I do not want the rich clothes he would give me, and I do not wish to be waited on. This is what I shall tell my mother. She will perhaps be surprised and angry; but I must tell her before she promises, as when the pro- mise is made it cannot be broken. How can I say what I felt as I read that you (who are so much above me) should care so much for me, the daughter of a poor man? I cannot tell you how happv you have made me in the midst of so much that is miserable. I shall be happy always in the remembrance of this great joy. But for vour letter I should have acquiesced in my mother's earnest wish, and gone to that large, lonely house, away from all I love. How I should have longed to get out of my prison-house ! But that would have been impossible. Xow I shall try very hard to please my parents. They will be very disappointed and very sorrv, perhaps thev will be angry with me every day, but I will bear it, for the days can never be so dull and leaden now that I have once known such a great happiness as vour letter has brought me. But, my dear, dear friend, I must tell you that you must forget me. Is it likely when I have refused to marry the man mother has chosen for me, she will let me marry one of my own choosing ? She will think it very wrong that I should D 34 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. dare to have a choice, so I must remain at home, and hope that my parents will forgive me for preferring to live in poverty with them to being rich as the wife of A Kim. Do not think me ungrateful. For many weeks the joy of my life has been that every day I should see you pass ; and often you would speak to me and be kind to the children. When you did not call, the day seemed much longer and the work harder to do. I hope your father's trouble is not a serious one, and that you will let me know what it is. I am always Your loving Fa Tien. CHAPTER IV. ly^.S soon as Fa Tien had finished this letter, ^§r£_ herpractical mind turned tothetaskof in- forming her mother of this new and final resolve. She knew no time must be lost. " Before many days elapse," she murmured, " mother will have entered into a bond with Mr. Fu which will be irrevocable. I must speak, and speak quickly and decisively, much as I dread the effort. Surely mother will not be very angry. She is kind, and loves me. How tenderly she nursed me during that illness I had two years ago ! how hard she works for us all ! how little she spends on herself ! Strange that she should be so anxious to settle an arrangement that will take me away from her forever. Poor dear mother ! when she is ill, I should not be near; when she is weary and toiling, I should be sitting in 36 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. ease, with new clothes on, but with such an aching, sorrowful heart. Now if such a change might come to her, if ease and brightness might come into her life — I would pay very dearly for that ; but not even for that great boon could I marry Fu A Kim. No ! not now." At this moment her mother entered. " Mother, I just want you." " Then I am come at the right moment. What have you to ask me about, have you not provided for to-morrow's food ? I gave you the cash." " Yes, I have arranged that, and the children are asleep. I have something else to speak of. You remember when I had the fever, mother." " Remember ! of course I do." " How gentle you were to me ! " " You were very weak, and needed gentleness and care." " How good you were, and how much you loved me then ! " " Don't I always love my own child, and my eldest born too ? " " And yet you are so glad to send me away from you." Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 37 " Oh, don't ! You know that has to be done. Don't speak of it. It is a great good fortune for you ; you will have many nice things to enjoy, beautiful clothes to wear, and very little work to do." " But I don't want these things. Mother," said Fa Tien, throwing her arms round the neck of the worn woman, " if you love me, don't send me away ; let me stay with you all for a long while yet." At this Fa Tien's mother broke down, poor toiler ! Beneath the hard surface formed by poverty, and a servile subjection to custom, she had a warm, loving heart ; and in its warmest place her children were enshrined. For a few minutes she wept aloud ; then she calmed her- self and began to reason out the inevitable. " My daughter, you are young, and do not look far into the future. I am old, and know what must come. To refuse to accept good fortune is to insult the gods, and they know how to avenge an insult. If we give up this opportunity for your well-being, and keep you at home, by-and-by there will be nothing left for vou but to be a Buddhist nun Yourbeauti- 38 Fa Tien ; A Chinese Love Story. ful hair would be shorn off, you would be attired in coarse uniform and go to live in a nunnery. Leaving us thus, the separation would be still more painful ; you would have to endure a much harder life than you have any knowledge of, while the one you shrink from is an easy and flowery path." " Mother, dear," said Fa Tien, " I have kept something back. I must tell you all that is in my heart now. If you are angry with me I must bear it ; but indeed I meant no evil to any one, least of all to you, my truest friend. When you told me of the arrangement you wished to make for my future, I was very sad. I have been so happy at home ; I dreaded leaving all I loved to go and be with people I do not love. But I said to myself, ' My mother's wishes must be followed ; it is the duty of a girl to obey, not to choose.' So though the indicated path was painful, I was preparing to enter it when a letter was brought to me. Since I have read that letter, I feel it is impossible for me to marry A Kim. I ask your forgiveness for presuming to object ; in everything else I will obey you, but this I cannot do. Let me read you the letter." Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 41 Fa Tien read on without waiting for per- mission ; at the conclusion she scanned her mother's face anxiously, wondering what it might reveal. Various and conflicting feelings were contending in the mother's heart ; but the one that overmastered all others was amazement that the orthodox rules of conventional life should be so completely set aside, that any man should address a young girl in a manner imply- ing that she had the right of disposing of herself. Yet in spite of her adhesion to the customs she had been trained to revere, she had sufficient clearness of mind to detect, in the words she had listened to, the upright spirit of the writer. After a few minutes' silence she said : " He is a good man ; I've often heard him spoken of as singular, but every one calls him a just man. \\ nat does my daughter say ? was she pleased with this strange letter ? I thought I was to hear all." " I think Mr. Pok a good man ; he has always been kind, and if it is not wrong — I like him very much/' " We will not talk more now ; it is late, and you are tired. Kiss me, my child. I am not 42 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. angry, but things are strangely out of order. Good night." While Fa Tien was writing her first letter to A Yun he was sitting alone in his room. He had passed a busy, trying day. The result of the investigation into his father's affairs showed that Chang had been wasting money, and con- stantly drawing from the family exchequer ; he was daily expending in opium what should have supported his family. A Yun felt his time would now be fully employed in extricating his father's affairs from impending ruin, in helping Chang's wife and children, and, if possible, in deterring Chang from increasing his daily dose of opium. He thought with regret of the step he had taken in writing to Fa Tien. " How can I think of marriage now ? I ought to have waited until my father had disclosed to me what had happened. And yet how could I break my promise to call without some explanation ? And half explanations were impossible in this case. To-morrow I shall be still engaged on the land, and must send the boy alone again on the round. It is well that it must be so. This is a great denial to me, but it is better so ; better Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 43 for her that I give her up, my little Fa Tien ; and indeed what hope is there for me ? If her own heart listen to my suit, her parents will still be an insuperable barrier ; is it likely they will be satisfied with such a match ? They know beauty like hers has its value, though of humble birth." So he mused. The next morning he loaded the conveyance, and sent the boy off with it. On its nearingthe little white house, Fa Tien ran out and made some purchases, then gave the boy her letter, neatly folded in a parcel, saying, " Give this to your master." On his return the boy delivered it as requested, saying, "The girl at Spring Cottage sent this ; she bought some onions and some dried lily flowers. A Yun put the parcel into his pocket; he did not hear the boy's last remark, and scarce gave due attention to the adding of the day's accounts, so eager was he to be alone and find what the parcel contained — if only a few ill-written sentences how precious they would be ! Judge of his surprise when he saw a long letter in well-formed Chinese charac- ters. After perusing it, he sat one whole hour perfectly still; at the end of this reverie, he rose 44 Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. like a man whose mind is made up. He had naturally a love of high moral principle ; this letter had stirred the depths of his nature. Finding pen and paper he wrote : — My Dear Fa Tien, — I have just finished reading your answer to my note. I cannot speak of feeling, except to say, my regard and affection for vou will never change nor decay. I am only beginning to realise the worth of the treasure I may have so soon to resign the hope of possess- ing ; but my mind is steadfast as to what I must do. If it has hesitated before it cannot now. I feel certain that in the course I am about to take I shall have your approval. To-morrow evening, when the hours oflabour end, I shall make my way to Spring Cottage, and ask for your mother. I will then confide to her what has transpired, the reasons for my unorthodox action, and all that is in my heart of affection for vou. Besides this there is much more to tell, of which you are in ignorance, but which she ought to know before her consent is asked to a union which may probably be long deferred by compelling circumstances. My brother Chang has brought much trouble into our family and entailed on me a responsibility for which I am ill prepared. My father is suffering from an attack of fever caused by this trouble, my future pecuniary position is at present very uncertain. You, my dear Fa Tien, will think all these references to business irrelevant to our affection for each other, but to your mother they may appear all- important. I say may ; at least she shall have full infor- mation, and I will abide by her decision. If she refuses my suit, I will not blame her; but I cannot see you again, she will not allow it, and indeed I could not bear it. Now, Fa Tien : A Chinese Love Story. 45 my dearest Fa Tien my heart tells me this is what you would desire me to do ; it is what my own conscience commands. May the gods preserve us, and prepare us for the prosperity or the woe that awaits us. P.S. — I send this bv my bov. Pok A Yux, Bf^^3§ wjjj^wiffi^g^m^ft^