eed, was a red-letter
one--an omen, he hoped, that fate was preparing to pour down upon him
good fortune in the future. In one brief day he had been hailed as the
most distinguished scholar in the Empire, and he had also been
acknowledged as the son-in-law of the Empire's greatest official, who
had the power of placing him in high positions where he could secure
not only honours but also wealth sufficient to drive poverty away for
ever from his home.

As there was no reason for delay, the hand of the beautiful daughter
who had thrown the embroidered ball, and who was delighted that Heaven
had chosen for her such a brilliant husband, was bestowed upon him by
her parents. Times of great rejoicing succeeded, and when Kwang-Jui
thought of the quiet and uninteresting days when he was still unknown
to fame, and contrasted them with his present life, it seemed to him as
though he were living in fairy-land. His wildest dreams in the past
had never conjured up anything so grand as the life he was now leading.
In one bound he had leaped from comparative poverty to fame and riches.

After a time, through the influence of his father-in-law, and with the
hearty consent of the Emperor, who remembered what a brilliant student
he had been, Kwang-Jui was appointed to be Prefect of an important
district in the centre of China.

Taking his bride with him, he first of all proceeded to his old home,
where his mother was waiting with great anxiety to welcome her now
famous son. The old lady felt rather nervous at meeting her new
daughter-in-law, seeing that the latter came from a family which was
far higher in rank and far more distinguished than any in her own clan.
As it was very necessary that Kwang-Jui should take up his office as
Prefect without any undue delay, he and his mother and his bride set
out in the course of a few days on the long journey to the distant
Prefecture, where their lives were destined to be marred by sorrow and
disaster.

They had travelled the greater part of the way, and had reached a
country market-town that lay on their route, when Kwang-Jui's mother,
worn out with the toilsome journey, fell suddenly ill. The doctor who
was called in shook his head and pronounced that she was suffering from
a very serious complaint, which, whilst not necessarily fatal, would
necessitate a complete rest for at least two or three months. Any
further travelling must therefore be abandoned for the present, as it
might be