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.
When they came to the tribunal they found it crowded with people, who
were standing upon either side of the hall, so as to form a lane by
which to approach the mandarin, who was sitting at a table, upon which
stood a box of bamboo reeds, tipped with yellow; upon his left side sat
the secretary, and upon his right stood three men with ominous-looking
bamboo canes in their hands. The first case heard was that of a youth
whose propensity for gaming had led him to squander a large sum of
money lent to him by his father for the purpose of commencing business.
I must tell you however, that before bringing the boy before a tribunal,
the father had fruitlessly tried every method of kindness. Having
listened patiently, the mandarin severly reprimanded the youth, then
taking fifty of the yellow-tipped reeds threw them on the ground as a
signal for the men with canes to give him fifty blows. Before, however,
they could obey, his mother, with tears in her eyes, threw herself at
the mandarin's feet, begging of him to pardon her son. Being a
kind-hearted man the magistrate complied, but ordering to be brought to
him a volume written by one of the emperors for the instruction of his
subjects, and opening it at a particular part, said, "Promise O youth,
to renounce gambling and to listen to your father's directions, and I
will pardon you this time; but that you may not forget, go and kneel in
the gallery of the hall of audience and learn by heart this chapter on
filial obedience, which till you repeat and solemnly promise to observe
obedience, you shall not depart from this tribunal."
The youth being delighted at this lenient sentence bowed his forehead to
the earth, and, moreover, I must tell you, kept his promise, although he
was three days learning the task. Such being the spirit of the laws, and
the paternal mildness with which they are for the most part carried out,
excepting only in cases of high treason, we need not wonder that this
great population has submitted to their rule for four thousand years.
When this case was over the chief of the yah-yu bowed to the ground and
charged his prisoners generally with rioting to the disturbance of the
public peace.
"What has the priest of Fo to say to this disgraceful charge? let him
open his lips," said the mandarin. Whereupon the bonze fell upon his
knees and accused the innkeeper of attacking the idol and leading a mob
to destroy the monastery.
"What sayest the innkeeper? for surely the offence is serious," said the
mandarin.
Then, bowing to the ground, the innkeeper related the morning's
adventure, stating that but for the assistance of Nicholas and Chow, the
bonze would have killed him, adding, "Truly, O jewel of justice, thy
mean servant demands the punishment of this rascal bonze and his
trumpery god, who, notwithstanding the sums paid to them, have permitted
his only child to be carried from this life."
Having listened patiently to both sides, the mandarin said, "It is true
that two offences have been committed, the one against the public peace,
and the other against a private person. The former, being the most
heinous, must be first dealt with; and, as without the bonze and the
innkeeper, there could have been no such disturbance, let both be
corrected with twenty blows. As for the two youths, who were drawn into
this disturbance, let them pay half a tael each to some poor person to
receive ten blows for them."
The sentence having gone forth, the men with the bamboos caught hold of
the culprits, threw them upon the floor, and they received a similar
punishment to that dealt out by a schoolmaster upon a refractory pupil;
after which, the delinquents, smarting with pain, humbly returned thanks
for this benevolent and fatherly correction.
"As for the second offence," said the mandarin, "it is clear that the
bonze is either a rogue or no good judge of the powers of the different
gods, and knew not to which to apply for this particular favor, an
ignorance that has caused the innkeeper to lose his goods; and, in
either case, is unfit for his office; therefore, if he is found within
the city walls after this night, he shall be placed in the cangue for
three moons. As for the god himself, who is the principal party
concerned, let him be plucked down from his seat as a useless and
malicious deity."
Thus compelled, by custom, to recognize the foolish superstition of Fo,
although he no more believed in it than you do, the mandarin humorously
punished the bonze.
The wily priest, however, had not quite played out his game, so,
dissembling his rage at the result of the trial, he fell upon his knees,
saying, "Pardon, O ever-flowing stream of justice, but the meanest and
most insignificant servant of Fo, dares claim a reward for a great act."
"What words are these, thou dog of a bonze?' said the angry official.
"If the eyeballs of thy contemptible servant are straight in their
sockets, he has seen placards bearing the character of the illustrious
tsong-tou (viceroy) of the province promising twenty taels for any
follower of the Christian priests, whose houses of prayer have been so
wisely destroyed.
"What useless words are these, for where in this city is such a dog to
be found, since they were hunted down by the illustrious governor? may
he live a thousand years," replied the mandarin.
"This was a terrible surprise to Nicholas, for not only did it convince
him that the persecution of the Christians had commenced, but that his
own mission had somehow been discovered by the priest; nor was he
disappointed, when the latter said, 'Truly, O grand canal of justice,
that turbulent youth is even now on a treasonable errand to the
Christian priest, Adam, who has so traitorously fled the city.'"
"These are dog's words, thou rogue of a bonze," said the boy.
Not regarding the interruption, the priest added, as he placed a paper
in the hand of the mandarin, "The dragon vision of the lord of justice
will discover to him that his servant's words are pearls of truth."
Having glanced at the paper, the mandarin said sternly to Nicholas,
"Thou art young to be concerned in treason, and yet these characters
warn the priest, Adam, against the great Ching-Ti, whom the anonymous
writer tells him is about to arrive at Hang-tcheou, specially charged by
the Son of Heaven to root out the Christian priests."
"As this is the first time, O mandarin, that thy servant's ears drink
in this intelligence he must have been innocent of the contents of that
packet," replied Nicholas.
"The youth is young; but, like the body of a snake, his words are
twirling and slippery. It is true, those characters may not have reached
his eyes, but it is equally true that he was the bearer, for the cover
is even now in his girdle," said the priest.
"Thy servant, O mandarin, cannot deny that he bore the letter, but it
was in ignorance that it was a crime," said Nicholas, taking the
envelope from his vest, now fully convinced that the bonze had picked
his girdle.
"Although it is certain that the writer is a traitor, it is not equally
so that this youth is an accomplice," said the mandarin, after examining
the envelope.
"The dog is a Christian, O lord of justice; and in the name of the Son
of Heaven, I claim the twenty taels," said the bonze, forgetting the
submission due to a magistrate, in his rage and fear that Nicholas might
escape.
"Thy words are dirt, thou turbulent rogue, for it is not clear that the
youth is a Christian," said the angry mandarin, adding kindly to
Nicholas, "Let the youth deny this charge and he shall be believed, for
his words are straight as the flying arrow."
Here was a chance, for it was evident the mandarin was his friend.
Still, notwithstanding that imprisonment for life, if not speedy death,
stared him in the face, Nicholas was too brave to forswear his Saviour,
and he replied, "If to be a Christian, O mandarin, is to merit death,
then am I ready to die."
Then the good-natured, but disappointed magistrate said sorrowfully,
"The youth is as brave as he is honest, and deserves a better fate; yet
must the commands of the great tsong-tou be observed, therefore let the
youth be conveyed to the great prison to await his sentence." Without a
word or the movement of a muscle, the boy permitted the attendants to
bind his arms.
This was too much for Chow, who, with a leap like that of a wounded
hare, cried, "The priest, O great lord, is a midnight thief." But such a
demonstration being against the rules of decency, the officers seized
and silenced the boy by clapping a gag in his mouth. Then the mandarin
ordered twenty taels to be given to the bonze, and the latter having
made the customary bow was about to depart, when the magistrate said,
"Now priest, relate by what means that letter came into thy possession,
for it is a maxim that justice should be equally balanced."
Then the bonze related how he met the boys, and took them to the
monastery, adding that as they were passing through a passage the letter
having fallen from the youth's girdle, he picked it up, and divining
that its contents were treasonous, retained the document for
examination.
"These are dog's words," exclaimed Chow, from whose mouth the gag had
been taken by the mandarin's order; "the priest is a rogue and a rat,
for he stole the paper at night while my noble master slept, and
although for hours thy servant believed it was a dream, and mistook the
bonze for an enemy, he now remembers that after filching the letter from
the girdle, the rogue opened the envelope, stole the contents, and then
by some mysterious means of his own closed it again."
The bonze being about to reply, the mandarin interrupted him, saying,
"Truly has it been said that although eggs are close things, the chicks
will out, for the rogue forgot to explain how the letter could leave the
pocket of its owner without the envelope. The theft is clear, and it is
but justice to the state that the thief should receive fifty blows, and
pay twenty taels of silver." This sentence was speedily executed upon
the roaring coward, whose back was still sore with the first beating,
and so he left the tribunal considerably worse off than he had come
before it.