did because his heart was bad, and the sight of Ten-teh
bearing a cheerful countenance under continual privation had become
offensive to him.

The story of this act of rapine Ten-teh at once carried to the
appointed head of the village communities, assuring him that he was
ignorant of the cause, but that no crime or wrong-doing had been
committed to call for so overwhelming an affliction in return, and
entreating him to compel a just restitution and liberty to pursue his
inoffensive calling peaceably in the future.

"Listen well, O unassuming Ten-teh, for you are a person of
discernment and one with a mature knowledge of the habits of all
swimming creatures," said the headman after attending patiently to
Ten-teh's words. "If two lean and insignificant carp encountered a
voracious pike and one at length fell into his jaws, by what means
would the other compel the assailant to release his prey?"

"So courageous an emotion would serve no useful purpose," replied
Ten-teh. "Being ill-equipped for such a conflict, it would inevitably
result in the second fish also falling a prey to the voracious pike,
and recognizing this, the more fortunate of the two would endeavour to
escape by lying unperceived among the reeds about."

"The answer is inspired and at the same time sufficiently concise to
lie within the hollow bowl of an opium pipe," replied the headman, and
turning to his bench he continued in his occupation of beating flax
with a wooden mallet.

"Yet," protested Ten-teh, when at length the other paused, "surely the
matter could be placed before those in authority in so convincing a
light by one possessing your admitted eloquence that Justice would
stumble over herself in her haste to liberate the oppressed and to
degrade the guilty."

"The phenomenon has occasionally been witnessed, but latterly it would
appear that the conscientious deity in question must have lost all
power of movement, or perhaps even fatally injured herself, as the
result of some such act of rash impulsiveness in the past," replied
the headman sympathetically.

"Alas, then," exclaimed Ten-teh, "is there, under the most enlightened
form of government in the world, no prescribed method of obtaining
redress?"

"Assuredly," replied the headman; "the prescribed method is the part
of the system that has received the most attention. As the one of whom
you complain is a mandarin of the fifth degree, you may fittingly
address yourself to his superi