id his plans; but
they did not include the presence of Confucius at the altar as
Master or the Ceremonies on the side of Lu. There he was,
however; and after all, it could hardly make much difference.
The preliminary rites went forward. Suddenly, a roll of drums;
a rush of 'savages' out of ambush;--there were savage tribes in
those parts;--confusion; the Marquis's guard, as the Duke's, is
at some little distance; and clearly it is for the Marquis that
these 'savages' are making. But Confucius is there. He steps
between the kidnappers and his master, "with elbows spread like
wings" hustles the latter off into safety; takes hold of the
situation; issues sharp orders to the savages--who are of course
Ts'i troops in disquise: _Attention! About face!--Double
march!_--snaps out the words of command in right military style,
right in the presence of their own duke, who stands by amazed and
helpless;--and off they go. Then spaciously clears the matter
up. Finds, no doubt, that it is all a mistake; supplies, very
likely, an easy and acceptable explanation to save Ching's face;
shortly has all things peaceably _in status quo._ Then brings
back his marquis, and goes forward with the treaty; but now as
Master of the Ceremonies and something more. There had been a
land question between Lu and Ts'i: Lu territory seized some time
since by her strong neighbor, and the cause of much soreness on
the one hand and exultation on the other. By the time that
treaty had been signed Duke Ching of Ts'i had ceded back the land
to Marquis Ting of Lu,--a thing assuredly he had never dreamed of
doing; and an alliance had been established between the two
states. Since the Duke of Chow's time, Lu had never stood
so high.

Was our man a prig at all? Was he a pedant? have those who have
sedulously spread that report of him in the West told the truth
about him? Or--hath a pleasant little lie or twain served
their turn?

Duke Ching went home and thought things over. He had learned his
lesson: that ting was but a camouflage lion, and by no means the
one to strike at, if business was to be done. He devised a plan,
sweet in it simplicity, marvelous in its knowledge of what we are
pleased to call 'human' nature. He ransacked his realm for
beautiful singing and dancing girls, and sent the best eighty he
could find to his dear friend and ally of Lu. Not to make the
thing too pointed, he added a hundred and twenty fine horses--
with the