“As the sun mounted higher in the heavens I had dozed off, but was suddenly aroused by the honourable Hop Li himself. He seemed annoyed that I was still alive, and after delivering me a neat and carefully-worded oration on my disgraceful insubordination in still living after the punishment I had undergone, he proceeded to the booths outside where food of all kinds could be purchased. He there bought everything eatable and returned to the theatre, where he announced from the stage that there would be an interval of seven minutes, during which time free meals would be served at the stalls outside, and at the resumption of the performance he would repeat his drunken scene, undertaking to make it last four hours, and that in that time he would get genuinely drunk as a special compliment to the audience.
“The sympathies of the audience were undoubtedly with me, but the prospect of a free meal and the spectacle of their tao-tai intoxicated were so alluring that the finer feelings of my fellow-townsmen were for the moment blunted. Out they came helter-skelter. It was no time for apologies, food was at the other end, so over my poor body rushed the entire audience. It seemed only a few seconds since the last feet pounded my unfortunate body, when a gong sounded, and back rushed everyone, their mouths stuffed with roast duck, stewed pork, rice, melon seeds, fish, ginger, prunes, hardbake, macaroni—in fact, every eatable imaginable.
“I fainted. When I recovered it was getting dusk, the theatre was still full, but I ceased to take much interest. My guards again gave me food, and at the conclusion of the performance again the people passed over my bruised body, but on this occasion they did it quietly and without much discomfort to the miserable being pegged down in their pathway.
“Then came the tao-tai. He wished to walk on me himself, but he was so drunk that he was unable to do so, and I was taken back to my prison in the Yamen bruised and exhausted. I slept till late the next day, and the tao-tai, who had made himself a martyr to art in order to personate a drunken man to perfection, slept late too.
“He woke about noon feeling very ill, but still burning with rage against my insignificant self. His first act was to issue an order that everyone should attend the theatre at four o’clock that afternoon, and the proclamation also stated that the most honourable and universally-loved tao-tai would occupy the stage for four hours, that, in addition to mounting horses, he would attempt to bestride a camel after drinking sixteen bottles of samshu, besides many diverting attempts to enter a sedan-chair and a Pekin cart. In addition to this he ordered a deep pit to be dug in the narrow passage leading to the theatre, free drinks to be dispensed during the performance, and two of his most lusty Yamen runners were stationed by the pit with whips to assist the nervous in jumping it. This miserable person was then led out, and again pegged down just beyond the pit, so that all who jumped across must of necessity land on some portion of his miserable body.
“All was ready, the actors were waiting to appear, the audience stood on the far side of the pit, and I, poor miserable man, remained pegged down for all to jump on me. The runners had their whips ready to assist the nervous jumpers when the tao-tai appeared. As principal actor everything depended on him, but his hatred for me determined him to take one violent jump on my chest across the pit to encourage the others. He was by that time full of good wine, but he cautioned the lictors not to use their whips in his case, as he felt confident of clearing the pit, and landing on my chest without any stimulus. Waving back the common herd, he made a generous run but misjudged the distance, and taking a stupendous jump, he fell in the pit, where he lay unconscious.
“His attendants quickly dragged him out, and he was found to be unconscious and also with a broken leg. Everyone at once showed the deepest concern, and the tao-tai was carried in a chair to his Yamen. The consternation at this catastrophe was so great that some of my friends were able to release me, and so I left Chin Wen for ever.”
“I suppose you then became pylong?” said Master Jack.
Hong looked suggestively at the big hoop-iron sword in the gate-house, and Jack, feeling that he was treading on holy ground, was silent.
“My tankee you velly much,” said Dorothy; “that no belong hollible stoly, Hong.”