mother was
only strangled.

As for Erh-lang, his heart stayed faithful to the girl he had
so greatly loved. At every feast he went to the temple of the
Marshal-of-the-Five-Ways, and burned incense, so that the pleasant
smoke of it might ascend to the palace of the soul of little
Victorious-Immortal. His fidelity touched even the rough heart of Chou
and, when he came to die a few years later, his body was buried in the
same tomb with her whom his arms had known only in sleep.

_Nao fan lou to ch'ing sheng hsien (Chou Victorious-Immortal,
of abundant love, overthrows the Pavilion
of the Fan). Hsing shih heng yen
(1627), 14th Tale._

THE ERROR OF THE EMBROIDERED SLIPPER

The sun is in our eyes
And we think we are running out towards joy;
Our heart pulls us down
And we shall never know the way of the sky
Or the end of all things.

During the Hung-Chih period of our Dynasty there lived at Hang-chow
a young man who was called Chang Loyalty. After his parents died,
leaving him a great fortune, he no longer had anyone to guide him, and
therefore, throwing away his books, he spent his time with gallants of
the sort we name fou-lang-tzu, that is to say "floating-on-the-waves."
They do not know how to profit by opportunity. So Chang no longer
studied anything but various ball games, he abandoned himself to the
pleasures of the theatre, and took his delight in those gardens where
the breezes of love blow in the moonlight. In a word, he followed the
changing flowers of illusion; and, as he was himself seductive, as
impassioned as expert in pleasure, and rich and generous, he became
the favorite of all the women of the town. One day, when spring had
but just caused all the flowers to come out on the amiable banks of
the Lake of the West, Chang invited a company of singing girls and
idlers to spend the afternoon on the blue waters.

He put on a gauze bonnet with floating wings, after the fashion of the
time. His great transparent silk robe was of purple and silver, over
a second embroidered one of pure white. White gauze stockings and red
slippers completed the elegance of his appearance.

He went out, walking unhurriedly, gently waving a fan decorated with
paintings. Behind him walked his little slave, Clear-Lute, who carried
over his shoulder a mantle in case the weather should freshen, and a
long guitar with which to accompany the singing girls.

As they were approaching the gate of Ch'ien-t'ang, Cha