by word, in a slow and measured tone suited to the
solemnity of the occasion. He then lighted the paper at the lamp, and
both men gazed at it until nothing was left but ashes, when each of
them knew that the Goddess had received the document and had placed it
in her archives in the far-off Western Heaven as a record of the vows
made in her presence in those early hours of the morning.

When they sat down again, Shih-Kung looked with a strong and masterful
gaze at his newly-created brother and said to him:--"You and I are now
sworn brothers, and of course we must be frank with each other. I do
not wish to deceive you any longer, so I must tell you that I am
neither a peddler of cloth, nor a benevolent thief in the sense in
which you understood the term. I am in fact Shih-Kung, the Viceroy of
this Province."

No sooner did the man hear the name of this great mandarin, who was a
profound source of terror to the criminals and evil-doers within his
jurisdiction, than he fell on his knees before him in the most abject
fright, and repeatedly knocking his head on the ground, besought him to
have mercy on him.

Raising him up gently with his hand, Shih-Kung told him to lay aside
all his fears. "You are my brother now," he said, "and we have just
sworn in the presence of the Goddess to defend each other with our
lives. I shall certainly perform my part of the oath. From this
moment your fortune is made; and as for your mother, who received me
with such gracious courtesy, it shall be my privilege to provide for
her as long as she lives."

Emboldened by these words of the great statesman, the young man
appeared at the second inquest, which Shih-Kung ordered to be held, and
gave such testimony that the guilt of the wretched wife was clearly
established, and due punishment meted out to her.

II

KWANG-JUI AND THE GOD OF THE RIVER

China is a land where the great masses of the people have to toil and
struggle incessantly in order to obtain even the bare necessities of
daily existence. Unnumbered multitudes never enjoy a sufficiency of
food, but have to be contented with whatever Heaven may send them; and
profoundly thankful they are when they can be sure of two meals a day
to stave off the pangs of hunger from themselves and their children.

How many there are who cannot by the severest toil obtain even these
two meals is evident from the organized beggar communities, which are
to be found in connection with eve