herewith to
meet the demands of these greedy officials. Dark hints had simply to
be thrown out by some of these that Shung was in danger of his life,
and fresh sales would be made to bribe the mandarin to be lenient in
his judgment of him.

At length the property had all been disposed of, and when it was known
that no further money could be obtained, sentence was given that Shung
should be imprisoned for life. This was a cruel blow to his mother,
who had all along hoped that he might be released. Full of sorrow and
absolutely penniless in a few weeks she died of a broken heart, whilst
the son, seeing nothing but a hopeless imprisonment before him,
committed suicide and thus ended his worthless life.

This tragic extinction of a family, which only a short year before was
in the highest state of prosperity, was accepted by every one who heard
the story as a just and righteous punishment from Heaven. For Heaven
is so careful of human life that any one who destroys it comes under
the inevitable law that he too shall in his turn be crushed under the
wheels of avenging justice.

X

SAM-CHUNG AND THE WATER DEMON

Sam-chung was one of the most famous men in the history of the Buddhist
Church, and had distinguished himself by the earnestness and
self-denial with which he had entered on the pursuit of eternal life.
His mind had been greatly exercised and distressed at the pains and
sorrows which mankind were apparently doomed to endure. Even those,
however, terrible as they were, he could have managed to tolerate had
they not ended, in the case of every human being, in the crowning
calamity which comes upon all at the close of life.

Death was the great mystery which cast its shadow on every human being.
It invaded every home. The sage whose virtues and teachings were the
means of uplifting countless generations of men came under its great
law. Men of infamous and abandoned character seemed often to outlive
the more virtuous of their fellow-beings; but they too, when the gods
saw fit, were hurried off without any ceremony. Even the little ones,
who had never violated any of the laws of Heaven, came under this
universal scourge; and many of them, who had only just commenced to
live were driven out into the Land of Shadows by this mysterious force
which dominates all human life.

Accordingly Sam-Chung wanted to be freed from the power of death, so
that its shadow should never darken his life in the years to c