"Truly, the story of Chow is as miserable as his own mean person. I am from Tun-Hien, in Ching-Foo, in the province of Tche-Kiang. My father was a mandarin of the fifth rank, who having taken a good degree, held office under the governor of the fort, till one moon since, when the terrible rebel, Li-Kong, took possession of the city in defiance of the Son of Heaven himself, and massacred all who would not submit; my father being one of the first to acknowledge the traitor, became the first to be punished for his disloyalty to our holy Emperor, which happened as thy servant will relate.
"One day, my mother, who was accounted very handsome, so far forgot the social regulations laid down for women, as to stand gazing from a window while a body of soldiers passed through the street. For that unbecoming act, both my venerable father and myself suffered, for the officer clattered at the door, when the servants not daring to refuse so powerful a personage, admitted him to the house, when he ran into the inner apartment of my mother, who was so alarmed at such barbarian behavior, that she rose to leave, when the villain would have carried her away but for thy insignificant servant, who clutched his throat and so gashed his cheek that the waters even of the yellow stream will never wash them out.
"Hearing the struggle, the soldiers came to the rogue's help, and would have killed poor Chow, but for my father, who, returning at the moment, compelled the officer, bad and bold as he was, to make his escape; but, alas! no sooner had the rogue left, than instead of being grateful, my father burst into loud lamentations, crying, 'Alas, alas! that ever so mean a person was born, for thou hast insulted the chief favorite of the prince, who will assuredly be revenged;' and so it proved, for the next day we were all taken before the prince, who ordered the whole family to be exterminated, and our house burnt to the ground; but what was worse, alas! my father was not even strangled, but disgraced by being sent to the yellow stream incomplete, for he was beheaded on the spot, and the villain officer begged his wife as a slave, to which, in her misery, my mother offered to consent if they would but spare the life of thy miserable servant, her son. To this the prince consented, but the officer was so enraged at the wound in his cheek, that he ordered me to be dressed in beggar's rags, and beaten out of the town toward the sea. Accordingly the wretches beat me till I could not stand, and left me to starve and die on the sea-shore.
"For days and days I wandered in the hope that some fisherman would take compassion upon me; but alas! none dared to encourage so treasonous a youth for fear of suffering similar punishment; then, but for the hope that retaining my miserable existence would some fortunate day enable me to punish the villain, I should have thrown myself into the sea, although even that consolation I could not seek without impiously forgetting my duty to my father, for has it not been wisely said that we should not live beneath the same heaven with the destroyer of our parents?"
"It is a pagan doctrine, Chow; but how came you upon yonder perch?" said Nicholas.
"Without hope, tired, and sad, I wandered along the coast till the great storm sent the terrified wild animals in all directions; to escape from them I climbed a tree upon the very verge of the sea, when shortly afterward the wind-demon blew one great gust which carried it into the sea, where its great spreading root and the earth around kept it floating till the benevolent stranger came to my rescue."
"Thou shalt be revenged upon this villain officer, my poor Chow, and upon the greater rogue, Li-Kong," said Nicholas.
"How,—what words are these? surely the benevolent stranger cannot be in his senses to speak thus of men so powerful," replied the astonished Chow.
"What would Chow do to obtain the punishment of his enemies? Would he faithfully serve the stranger who has saved his life?"
"If these are the words of truth,—and who is thy mean servant that he should doubt?—O wonderful stranger, Chow will be thy slave till he goes to meet his ancestors."