At that moment, Nicholas, who feared lest the artful bonzes should get the better of the dispute, came forward, and said, "Why should the worthy Sing waste words? surely he has been sufficiently injured; the measure of his grief is full, for he will leave no descendant to fulfil the necessary offices at his tomb."
"The words of the honorable youth are wise," said the fickle crowd; and Nicholas continued, "That there has been robbery, there can be no doubt, my friends; for, notwithstanding the god promised to cure the daughter of this worthy man, she has passed to the yellow stream, and, therefore, he is unworthy of his quality of godship, and should be punished; therefore, in justice to the worthy Sing, let this temple be pulled down, and the stupid idol pay the penalty in his own person."
To which the priest endeavored to reply, but the people would not listen to him, and acting upon the suggestion of Nicholas, threw a cord round the god's neck, pulled him to the ground, and belabored him with sticks and hammers.
During the proceeding the priests, who were too wise to lose their tempers, addressed a knot of lookers-on, vehemently threatening them with terrible misfortunes, but at the same time declaring, that if Sing would come to some agreement, the god, who was of a short temper, would do what was reasonable on his part and prevent future evils. This had the desired effect upon all but Sing and some of his friends, who continued to belabor the idol till the converts to the bonze's opinion drove them away, when, becoming broken into antagonistic parties, they threw aside their weapons and fought each other with their fists, till a body of yah-yu, or city police, entered upon the ground, and seizing Sing, the principal bonze, and the two boys, as the chief rioters, hurried them off to the police tribunal.
As for the mob, no sooner had the prisoners been removed, than mortified at the profanity into which they had been hurried, they gathered together the fragments of the deity, stuck them together as well as possible, washed him, and fell at his feet, exclaiming, "In truth we have been a little too hasty, but then your godship has been a little too slow in performing your promises, and thus brought the beating upon yourself. But still it is a good saying, that 'what has been done can't be undone.' Let us, therefore, think no more of this matter, and if you will forget what has passed we will repair thy temple and gild you over again."
For fear that my reader may think this episode exaggerated, I must assure him that similar scenes are even now of frequent occurrence—and why not? For although idolaters, the Chinese are neither enthusiasts nor fanatics. With the greater part, the worship of idols is an inheritance which it would be impossible to reject;—it is custom they worship. Moreover, like ourselves, they are a business-like people, and will have money's worth for money; therefore, if they pay an idol for a certain quantity of work, and he does not complete his contract, they give him a sound thrashing—and the principle is not a bad one after all.
CHAPTER VII.
TREACHERY OF THE BONZES.—NICHOLAS SENT TO PRISON AS A TRAITOR.
With the proverbial rudeness of most small officials, the yah-yu threw cords around the arms of the prisoners and dragged them along the streets, amid the jeers and laughter of the populace, who, enjoyed the prospect of the probable punishment of so serious an offence as rioting, namely, being led about the streets with the cangue, a wooden collar as large as a small table, around their necks; but in this the Chinese crowd was not worse than others in Europe, for, with shame be it said, a tendency to indulge in the minor miseries of their fellows is the cruel propensity of most masses.