surely visit us
with some great sorrow if we endeavour to act in a way contrary to
their laws."

The piteous appeals of Water-Lily had no effect upon her father, who
hurried on the arrangements for his daughter's wedding to the new
suitor, anxious to marry her off in order to prevent the unfortunate
Chin from appearing again to claim her as his wife.

She, however, was just as determined as her father, and when she
realized that all her entreaties and prayers had produced not the
slightest effect upon him, and that in the course of a few days the
crimson bridal chair would appear at the door to carry her away to the
home of her new husband, she determined to adopt heroic methods to
prevent the accomplishment of such a tragedy.

Next morning, as dawn began to break, the side-gate of the rich man's
house was stealthily opened, and a degraded-looking beggar-woman
stepped out into the dull grey streets, and proceeded rapidly towards
the open country beyond.

She was as miserable a specimen of the whining, cringing beggar as
could have been met with in any of the beggar-camps where these unhappy
outcasts of society live. She was dressed in rags which seemed to be
held together only by some invisible force. Her hair was tied up in
disjointed knots, and looked as if no comb had ever tried to bring it
into order. Her face was black with grime, and a large, dirty patch
was plastered over one of her ears in such a way that its shape was
completely hidden from the gaze of those who took the trouble to cast a
passing glance upon her.

Altogether she was a most unattractive object; and yet she was the most
lovely woman in all that region, for she was none other than
Water-Lily, the acknowledged beauty of the town, who had adopted this
disguise in order to escape from the fate which her father had planned
for her.

For several weary months she travelled on, suffering the greatest
hardships, and passing through adventures, which, if some gifted writer
had collected them into a volume, would have thrilled many a reader
with admiration for this brave young maiden. Though reared and
nurtured in a home where every luxury was supplied her, yet she endured
the degradation and privations of a beggar's life rather than be forced
to be untrue to the man whom she believed Heaven had given her as a
mate.

One evening, as the shadows were falling thickly on the outer courtyard
of the desolate house where Chin lived, a pitiful-lookin