*

Now, this is the story of the great bell in the Ta-chung sz', as the
same is related in the _Pe-Hiao-Tou-Choue_, written by the learned
Yu-Pao-Tchen, of the City of Kwang-tchau-fu.

Nearly five hundred years ago the Celestially August, the Son of Heaven,
Yong-Lo, of the "Illustrious," or Ming, dynasty, commanded the worthy
official Kouan-Yu that he should have a bell made of such size that the
sound thereof might be heard for one hundred _li_. And he further
ordained that the voice of the bell should be strengthened with brass,
and deepened with gold, and sweetened with silver; and that the face and
the great lips of it should be graven with blessed sayings from the
sacred books, and that it should be suspended in the centre of the
imperial capital, to sound through all the many-colored ways of the City
of Pe-king.

Therefore the worthy mandarin Kouan-Yu assembled the master-moulders and
the renowned bellsmiths of the empire, and all men of great repute and
cunning in foundry work; and they measured the materials for the alloy,
and treated them skilfully, and prepared the moulds, the fires, the
instruments, and the monstrous melting-pot for fusing the metal. And
they labored exceedingly, like giants,--neglecting only rest and sleep
and the comforts of life; toiling both night and day in obedience to
Kouan-Yu, and striving in all things to do the behest of the Son of
Heaven.

But when the metal had been cast, and the earthen mould separated from
the glowing casting, it was discovered that, despite their great labor
and ceaseless care, the result was void of worth; for the metals had
rebelled one against the other,--the gold had scorned alliance with the
brass, the silver would not mingle with the molten iron. Therefore the
moulds had to be once more prepared, and the fires rekindled, and the
metal remelted, and all the work tediously and toilsomely repeated. The
Son of Heaven heard, and was angry, but spake nothing.

A second time the bell was cast, and the result was even worse. Still
the metals obstinately refused to blend one with the other; and there
was no uniformity in the bell, and the sides of it were cracked and
fissured, and the lips of it were slagged and split asunder; so that all
the labor had to be repeated even a third time, to the great dismay of
Kouan-Yu. And when the Son of Heaven heard these things, he was angrier
than before; and sent his messenger to Kouan-Yu with a letter, written
up