er child, for in China a woman is always under
great disadvantages in the way of earning her own living. As a man,
she knew that she could hold her own in any of the unskilled
employments which she was capable of taking up. And so it turned out.
She could carry as heavy a load as any of the men with whom she had to
compete, and she was so civil and so well-behaved and so free from the
use of profane language, that employers unaware of her sex used to pick
her out in preference to others who offered themselves.

The years went by, and her little son was growing up to be a fine young
man. The mother had determined that he should be a scholar. This was
the one ambition of her life, and for this she slaved and toiled and
denied herself almost the very necessaries of life.

Twenty years had passed since that stormy night. In the neighbouring
city, the triennial examinations were just finished and the excitement
was intense amongst the thousands of students who gathered round the
Examination Hall to learn the names of the successful candidates.

By-and-by the son came home with a light step and with his eyes
flashing with delight. His excitement was so great that he could
hardly utter distinctly the words which rushed from his lips.

"Father," he cried, "the great desire of your heart and of mine has
been granted to us to-day. I have passed, and that too with honours,
for my name stands at the very top of the list of those who have been
adjudged successful. And now, my beloved father, there will be no more
hard work for you. My name will soon be flashed throughout the
Province and will be posted in every Confucian guild, and scholars
everywhere will speak with admiration of the great success I have won.
My fortune has indeed been made, and it is due entirely to your
self-denial, and to the sufferings and hardships you have consented to
endure, during the long years of the past, that I have at length come
into my kingdom, and that I need not be a labouring man, earning but a
few cash a day, as you, my dear father, have been willing to do for the
love of me."

All the time her son was talking, the mother's face shone with delight,
for the hopes and wishes of a lifetime had come to her with a rush that
almost overpowered her.

"Ah! if only my husband could have been with us now," she thought, "to
share with us the supreme joy of this moment!" And her memory wandered
back to that dreadful night, the blackest she h