{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_78208/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_78208","id":"gutenberg_78208","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78208","summary":null,"tags":["Legends -- Korea","Mythology, Korean"],"text":"[Illustration: \u3181 \u314e \u3131 \u314b \u3141 \u3134 \u3139 \u3142 \u314d \u3145 \u3137 \u314a \u314c \u3148\n\n\uc544 \uc57c \u318d \uc5b4 \uc5ec \uc73c \uc774 \uc624 \uc694 \uc6b0 \uc720\n]\n\n\n\n\n  WINNING BUDDHA\u2019S\n  SMILE\n\n  _A Korean Legend_\n\n  ADAPTED AND TRANSLATED BY\n  CHARLES M. TAYLOR\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  BOSTON\n  RICHARD G. BADGER\n  THE GORHAM PRESS\n\n\n\n\n  COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY RICHARD G. BADGER\n\n  All Rights Reserved\n\n  Made in the United States of America\n\n  The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.\n\n\n\n\n  TO\n  MY MOTHER\n\n  WHOSE DESERVING FAR OUTSTRIPS\n  MY POWERS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\n\nMany of the best portions of Chinese literature are readily obtainable\nin an English dress. From time to time bits of Japanese literature pass\nbefore English-reading eyes. But Korean literature remains, as it has\nremained for years back, virtually a thing unknown and unappreciated.\n\n\u201cWinning Buddha\u2019s Smile\u201d is one of the oldest existing specimens of\nKorean literature. Both the author and date of its original composition\nare unknown, but it is reasonably certain that it was well known in a\ndramatic form about the close of the fourteenth century.\n\nAt one time when religious dissension was rife on the peninsula, many\nof the monuments of a rich and abundant literature, especially those\ntinged with Buddhistic doctrines and thought, were consigned to the\nbonfire. In some manner, our legend escaped this wholesale literary\ndestruction, and it is here presented to English readers with the hope\nthat it will meet with an indulgent reception by the ever-widening\ncircle of those who take an interest in the things of other peoples and\nother lands.\n\nThe translator is indebted to a French version of the original text,\nmade by the Korean scholar, Hong-Jong-Ou, which was published under the\nauspices of the Mus\u00e9e Guimet. He has attempted to preserve the simple,\nchild-like form of the narrative and has made few alterations in it,\nand these only when clearness and the English idiom required them.\n\n                                                                C. M. T.\n\n\n\n\nKOREANS WHOSE FOOTSTEPS CROSS THE PATHS OF OUR LEGEND\n\n\nSUN-YEN, the Benevolent, whose Virtue and Goodness lead him from\nProsperity through Adversity unto Prosperity again.\n\nCHENG-SI, the Fair, his daughter.\n\nSAN-HOUNI, a scholar and friend of Sun-Yen.\n\nYENG-SI, the scholar\u2019s wife.\n\nSAN-SYENG, the scholar\u2019s son, whose Merit findeth pleasure in the sight\nof Heaven and taketh him unto High Offices.\n\nJA-JO-MI, the Unscrupulous, Prime Minister of Korea.\n\nKI-SI, the young Prince of Korea.\n\nSU-RUNG, a murderer and thief.\n\nSU-YENG, the robber\u2019s brother, a goodly man by way of contrast.\n\nYENG-SO-YEI, a daughter of Korea.\n\nOU-PUNG, a Sister of Religion and a follower of the True Path.\n\nHONG-JUN, an innkeeper.\n\n\n\n\n  I\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nWINNING BUDDHA\u2019S SMILE\n\n\n\n\nI\n\n\nIn the far away days of the olden time when the earth was still in its\nchildhood and when the city of Hpyeng-Yang was the capital of Korea,\nthere was numbered among its inhabitants a high dignitary of the\nCourt, Sun-Yen by name, who owed his exalted position solely to his\nintelligence and capability.\n\nAlthough very rich, Sun-Yen looked down upon no one. On the contrary,\nhe sought diligently to help all those who came within his sphere of\ninfluence. His greatest happiness lay in alleviating the sorrows of\nothers. He was, therefore, beloved by the people who saw in Sun-Yen a\nmost disinterested protector in whom they had absolute confidence.\n\nNow one day, all things changed as all things sometimes do. Fortune, so\nlong favorable to Sun-Yen, forsook him. Formerly happy and influential,\nour friend (for call him such we will) was to become the most\nunfortunate and the most miserable of men. It was due to the following\ncircumstances.\n\nThe King of Korea was giving a grand and sumptuous banquet to the\nGovernors of the various provinces and the ladies of the Court.\nThe occasion was a very merry one. Shouts of joy and the chords of\nharmonious music were heard on all sides. When Sun-Yen was informed of\nthis, instead of rejoicing with the others, he became a prey to great\nsadness. To get away from his own thoughts, he resolved to go visit his\nfriend, San-Houni, one of the greatest scholars of Korea. So Sun-Yen,\nthe benevolent, set out accompanied by his servant--a faithful and\ntrusted fellow.\n\nWhile on his way thither, his attention was suddenly drawn to a great\ncrowd of people by the roadside. \u201cGo, see what is the matter,\u201d he said\nto his servant. The latter hastened--as all good servants do--to obey\nhis master\u2019s orders. He made a way through the crowd which had gathered\nand soon learned the reason for the gathering.\n\nThey were about to carry away several people who had died by the\nhighway. As soon as the servant saw this ghastly spectacle he returned\nto his master and told him what had taken place. Sun-Yen was profoundly\nmoved when he heard it but, losing no time in passive sympathy, he\nsummoned a police agent, of whom he demanded, \u201cDo you know what caused\nthe death of those unfortunates?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, they died of hunger.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not carry them away then instead of leaving them there on the\nroad?\u201d continued Sun, in a tone of reproach.\n\n\u201cI was about to do exactly as you suggest, sir,\u201d said the agent, who,\nwith a quickened step, went toward the group which by this time had\nincreased materially.\n\nSun did not continue on his way to see his friend, San-Houni. He went\ndirect to the Palace and was immediately ushered into the presence of\nthe King.\n\nThe monarch accorded Sun a hearty welcome, saying, \u201cIt has been a very\nlong time since I have had the pleasure of having you come to see me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d replied Sun-Yen, \u201cI rarely leave the comfort of my humble home.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is it that keeps you so close at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cSire, either my duties or sickness. The reason I have come to see you\nto-day is because I have a very important revelation to make to you.\nSeveral of your subjects have just died of starvation by the roadside.\nThe thing at first appeared incredible to me. I could not believe that,\nif my King knew the sad conditions in which so many of his people are\nliving, he would give himself up to pleasure as you are doing. However,\nI have secured the evidence. Just a few moments ago, I saw with my own\neyes three wretches who had died from want of food.\u201d\n\nThese words seemed deeply to impress the King who, with a trace of\nemotion in his voice, inquired of Sun, \u201cTell me, what should be done?\nI can scarcely believe that this misfortune took place while I was\nleading this life of idleness and pleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d continued Sun-Yen respectfully, \u201chere lies the source of the\nwhole trouble. Who pays the expenses of your amusements? Your people\nand no one else, and the Governors instead of doing their duty are also\nleading a frivolous and even vicious life. You can believe the words of\nyour old servant whose devotion to your interests you are well aware\nof.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you for this frankness,\u201d rejoined the King, \u201cbut candidly I\ncan hardly credit what you have just told me. I shall look more fully\ninto this affair.\u201d\n\nAt these words, Sun left his sovereign and went home and told his wife\nwhat he had done--the mark of a dutiful husband.\n\n\u201cYou acted nobly,\u201d she said, \u201cbut my intuition tells me that your\ndevotion to the King will cost you dearly.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d asked Sun.\n\n\u201cThe King will not follow your advice. This is the course things\nare going to take, mark my words. The Governors, forewarned by your\ncomplaint, will not allow themselves to be injured and their pleasures\ncurtailed, and upon you their anger will surely fall. Yes, I fear the\nconsequences of to-day\u2019s work.\u201d\n\n\u201cReassure yourself, my dear, the King took my words in a very good\nspirit and he has never yet made light of my advice.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hope with all my heart that you are right. Let us see what time will\nbring forth.\u201d\n\nThe King in reality did change his way of living. His conduct made him\na bit remorseful. He promptly followed up Sun\u2019s complaint and summoned\nhis Prime Minister.\n\nThis official, who was named Ja-Jo-Mi, came immediately. He was a man\nwhose severity of character and conduct had earned for him a terrible\nreputation. Although no one knew of it, he had conceived the scheme\nof usurping the throne but up to the present time had revealed his\nintentions to nobody.\n\nThe King demanded of his Minister, \u201cHave you nothing new to tell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cAbsolutely nothing, sire.\u201d\n\nAt these words, the King cried in an excited voice, \u201cWhat, you, the\nPrime Minister, and you do not know that several of my people have just\ndied by the roadside and that their death was caused from lack of food?\nIf there is any one who should be well informed about what is going on\nin my Kingdom, it should certainly be you.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire, from whom did you get this news?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom Sun-Yen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, I can scarcely understand how this can be. I have just received\nthe reports from the police and I did not see a single word on the\nsubject of this affair, therefore, I am quite astounded.\u201d\n\n\u201cHowever that may be,\u201d said the King, \u201cI command that this evening\u2019s\nfete shall not continue an instant longer.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour orders shall be executed. Sire, as soon as I have carried them\nout I shall return to my office and secure what testimony I can about\nthis matter. The guilty parties shall have their just deserts.\u201d\n\nBowing humbly before the monarch, Ja-Jo-Mi withdrew. A few minutes\nlater and the Palace, which formerly echoed to the shouts of\nmerrymaking, was in complete silence.\n\nThe Prime Minister, upon retiring to his office gave himself up to\nreflection upon the situation. He was greatly troubled because he\nfeared that he might be removed from his office by the revelations of\nSun-Yen. \u201cThat fellow is an infernal nuisance and might bring down the\nKing\u2019s wrath upon my head. To prevent a recurrence of such things there\nis but one thing to be done--to get rid of him by sending him into\nexile. With this dangerous fool out of the way, nothing, nor nobody,\ncan oppose me in the execution of my ambitious designs and I can easily\nsecure the throne.\u201d\n\nSuch in substance were the reflections of the Prime Minister, but\nit would be necessary to find a pretext for the exile of Sun and\nJa-Jo-Mi, the clever, was not long in devising a scheme.\n\nHe resolved to write a letter to San-Houni full of bitter criticisms\nand threats against the King. This letter he would sign with the name\nof Sun-Yen. Then he would place it in the King\u2019s hands with the story\nthat it had been found on the road by a police agent.\n\nNo sooner said than done. The letter was written. Ja-Jo-Mi, adopting\na disguise, left his home and, dropping the missive in the path of an\nagent of police, passed on in the darkness of the Korean night. When\nthe agent walked by he picked up the letter and naturally glanced\naround but there was no one in sight. He carried the note directly to\nhis chief so that the latter could look over the contents and restore\nit to its owner.\n\nThe Chief of Police read the letter through with great astonishment.\nDesiring to give a proof of his zeal, he ran to the palace and in a\nmysterious manner demanded an immediate audience with the King. The\nmonarch had the Chief of Police brought to him at once and was given\nthe forged letter. One can well imagine the surprise of the King.\nAnxious for light upon the amazing situation he again called his Prime\nMinister.\n\nJa-Jo-Mi, the clever, came with dispatch. The King passed over to him\nthe malicious letter, asking if he believed that Sun-Yen was really\nthe author. The Prime Minister pretended to read the communication. He\nsaw that the King was in a state of uncertainty and he determined to\ntake advantage of it in order to ruin Sun-Yen, once and for all time.\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d he said, \u201cit often happens that we are deceived by those whom\nwe deem most faithful. As far as Sun is concerned, I consider him\nperfectly capable of this infamous business. I have known for a long\nwhile that he has been thinking and dreaming of taking your place on\nthe throne. As for the annoyance which he caused you a short time ago,\nhe was the principal instigator of that himself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s enough, my faithful Ja-Jo-Mi. Have Sun thrown into prison. He\nwill be tried immediately.\u201d\n\nThe Prime Minister, rejoicing over his triumph, had Sun-Yen taken into\ncustody. When the King was informed of his arrest he went personally to\ninterview the prisoner.\n\n\u201cDo you recognize this?\u201d he shouted in rage, holding out the letter.\n\nWords fail to give an idea of Sun\u2019s astonishment. He realized that he\nwas the victim of a devilish plot but such was his stupefaction that he\ncould utter nothing in his own defense. He burst into tears.\n\nThe King continued: \u201cI would never have believed this of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire, I know nothing of this,\u201d wailed the wretched Sun.\n\nThese words irritated the King.\n\n\u201cAh, you understand nothing,\u201d he cried. \u201cTell me, then, who is the\nwriter of this letter?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn any case, it was not I, sire.\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course. Now just listen to me. You have heard the proverb about the\nsmoke?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sire.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you know where there is smoke there is fire. I mean by this\nthat if you had not been moved by evil intentions, you would not have\naddressed this letter to your friend.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire, I see whence comes this evil. The revelations which I recently\nmade to you have stirred up hatred in the hearts of certain personages\nwho desire to bring about my ruin. There\u2019s a black heart at work. I\nswear to you that I am innocent.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that\u2019s all you have to say for yourself? That\u2019s enough.\u201d\n\nThe King withdrew, leaving Sun in despair. He ordered the Prime\nMinister to banish Sun at once and designated his place of exile as\nKang-Sin. San-Houni, who was also compromised in the plot, was exiled\nto Ko-Kum-To.\n\nEscorted to his home by an agent of police, Sun told his wife what had\nhappened. The unfortunate woman was prostrated with grief.\n\n\u201cWhat did I tell you the other day,\u201d she said to her husband, but she\nsoon gained control of herself and regarded the misfortune which had\nfallen on both of them in a calm light.\n\n\u201cLet us be resigned, my dear. Doubtless it will be painful to live so\nfar from our King and our friends but at least we shall have peace in\nthe future.\u201d\n\nWithout delay, they busied themselves with preparations for the\ndeparture. Sun summoned a few poor families to whom he distributed the\nlittle money he possessed.\n\n\u2019Twas but a short while and the moment to leave was at hand. Sun-Yen\nand his wife found it hard to break away from the embraces of their\nrelatives and weeping friends.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here endeth the first step of our legend._\n\n\n\n\n  II\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nII\n\n\nThe journey of Sun-Yen and his wife to the Island of Kang-Sin was\nuneventful and they were soon alone in their new home. Their guards\nthen returned to the capital.\n\nWhat especially troubled Sun was the idea that his wife might be lonely\nand depressed in this isolated place. He spoke of this to her but she\nreplied with a great deal of cheerfulness, \u201cDo not trouble yourself\nabout me. I have decided to follow you wherever you may go and I shall\nnever find the time wearisome so long as I am with you\u201d--the mark of a\ndutiful wife.\n\nAs a matter of fact, the days passed for our two exiles just as quickly\nas if they had been living among their relatives and friends. Very soon\nsigns of Spring were to be seen. So Sun said to his wife one day:\n\n\u201cSpring time has come, it is a delightful day. Let us take advantage of\nit and go for a little outing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith pleasure, my dear.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood, let us climb the mountain if we can.\u201d\n\nThey set out gaily. On seeing them one would never have thought they\nwere the victims of Fate. They enjoyed to the fullness of their hearts\nthe charm of the landscape which lay about them, and happiness was in\ntheir souls. Madame Sun was overflowing with joy.\n\n\u201cHow peaceful everything is,\u201d said she to her husband. \u201cIt is a real\npleasure to be walking here alone with you. When we lived at the\nCapital I was never able to accompany you in your walks.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are right. I was forced to conform to the customs of the country.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow we are at the foot of the mountain,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhat a\nbeautiful panorama lies before us. Just look at it. I feel a poetic\ninstinct within me. Listen to these verses:\n\n    The day is beautiful; amid the shrubs\n    Are fragrant blossoms, clustered in sweet sleep,\n    The butterflies that seek them eagerly\n    Seem poised to count each rain-bow tinted leaf.\n    And stupid with the heat the serpent lies\n    Stretched lazily along the languid boughs.\n    Among the reeds that tremble in the wind,\n    Deliberate leaps the frog, while swallows pass\n    Bearing the insect-prisoners to their nests.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you know,\u201d she mused, \u201cthese animals are happier than we.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat makes you say that?\u201d queried Sun.\n\n\u201cBecause they have little ones to care for while we have no children.\u201d\n\n\u201cConsole yourself, my dear, we are not yet so old that Heaven may not\nsmile upon us. Have confidence in the future. But I think it is time to\nreturn. The sun is going down and you must be tired.\u201d\n\nThe two returned slowly to their home, lost in thought.\n\nNow it came to pass one night that Sun\u2019s wife had a dream. She saw\nan angel from Heaven bending over her. She awoke, startled by the\nvividness of this vision, and immediately told her husband about it.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the latter, \u201cthat is very queer but I shouldn\u2019t worry about\nit. Fatigue has caused this nightmare.\u201d\n\nThe truth was that this noble lady was soon to become a mother. In\nfact, it was not long before she gave birth to a daughter to whom they\ngave the name of Cheng-Si. Sun, the benevolent, was overwhelmed with\njoy--as one should be when Heaven smiles.\n\nUnfortunately, his wife lay seriously ill. It was soon evident that\nthere was no hope of saving her. Scarcely three days had passed after\nthe birth of little Cheng-Si when her mother died. She sensed the\napproach of death and whispered weakly to her husband:\n\n\u201cMy dear, I am going to leave you. I know that your grief will be very\ngreat but do not give yourself up to it. You must look after our\nlittle one. Get a nurse for her if you can.\u201d\n\nWith a supreme effort the dying woman clasped her baby to her breast.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d she said with a deep sigh, \u201cthis is the last time I shall have\nyou so near me.\u201d\n\nSun, in tones of deepest sorrow, said to his wife:\n\n\u201cDearest wife, can it be true that you are going to leave me? We have\nalways protected and shared with the unfortunate and yet the gods\npermit us to be parted. It is an injustice.\u201d\n\nHis wife did not hear his final words. Death had already touched her\nbrow and called her to her ancestors. Sun saw but did not wish at first\nto believe.\n\nHe called to his wife, tears streaming down his cheeks, but, alas, his\nwords were unanswered.\n\n\u201cNow, I am all alone,\u201d he cried in despair. \u201cWhat will become of me and\nthis child!\u201d\n\nHe gazed fondly at his daughter who was still clasped to her mother\u2019s\nbreast. This sad sight increased Sun\u2019s grief. He took the little baby\nand turned it over to the care of a nurse whom he managed to secure.\nThen, beside himself with grief, he busied himself with his wife\u2019s\nburial.\n\nAll this happened so quickly that Sun-Yen thought it had happened in\na dream, but the sad evidence was there before his eyes. Each day he\ncould be seen walking to the spot where his wife was sleeping. These\nfrequent visits merely aggravated his anguish and it was impossible for\nhim to control himself.\n\nOur friend was always in tears; he could get no rest nor sleep and\nshortly more ill fortune came to him. From having shed so many tears,\nSun became blind.\n\nThis terrible blow almost prostrated him but he continued to drag out\nthe same wretched existence. His greatest regret was in not being able\nto look upon the face of his little daughter. So passed several years.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nMeanwhile, Cheng-Si was growing up. She was now in her thirteenth\nyear and was obliged to help support her poor father who was without\nresources of any kind. She had but one way to keep Sun from starving\nand that was by begging. She went about this sad task without any false\nmodesty. Her wits, however, were not asleep and one day she said to her\nfather:\n\n\u201cThere is something which I do not understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that, my child?\u201d\n\n\u201cFather, how is it that so many other people can live with their\nrelatives and friends while we are here all alone?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, my daughter, it is very true that we must live by ourselves. But\nthings were not always thus. There was a time when I lived at the\nCapital of Korea with your poor mother and we were surrounded by many\nfriends. I occupied a high position. Our family belonged to the highest\nnobility and was always in good standing at the Court of the King. But,\none day, because of a malicious slander, of which the King thought me\nguilty, I was exiled here. My friend, San-Houni, was trapped in the\nsame affair and was sent to Ko-Kum-To. He shares our downfall for he\nalso comes from an excellent family. I am very sorry that since my\narrival at this island I have had no news of my old friend.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps it is not possible for him to communicate with you,\u201d said the\nchild in order to console the old man. \u201cExcuse me, father,\u201d she added,\n\u201cit is time for me to go to work.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo, my child, and come home early.\u201d\n\nLittle Cheng-Si, the fair, walked at a rapid gait. She went first to\nthe cemetery to pray a moment beside her mother\u2019s grave. Cheng-Si was\njust as industrious as she was intelligent. She gave up her nights to\nstudy, while during the day she went from door to door asking alms.\n\nOne day, she went as usual to pray by her mother\u2019s resting place.\nShe remained there longer than usual and did not return home at the\ncustomary hour.\n\nSun, missing his daughter, was sorely troubled. At last, he resolved\nto go search for her. Leaning on his cane, he started out slowly and\nfeebly. Unfortunately, when he came to the edge of a pond close by\nhis home, he made a false step and fell into the water. He groaned to\nhimself, \u201cThis is certain death for me, and my poor little girl will\nhunt for me everywhere.\u201d And he began to shout lustily at the top of\nhis voice.\n\nHappily Sun-Yen\u2019s cries were heard by the disciple of an anchorite who\nlived in a cave on the mountain slope, a short distance from the lake.\nHe came running and soon had Sun out of the water.\n\nHe demanded of him:\n\n\u201cWhere do you live?\u201d\n\n\u201cRight close by.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how is it that you, a blind man, go out alone? Don\u2019t you know that\nyou are running a great risk in doing this?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I know it. I never do go out alone. To-day, however, I ventured\naway from my home to hunt for my little girl. She did not return at\nher usual time so I went to look for her. That is how I came to fall\ninto the lake from which I would never have come out alive without your\nassistance. You have saved my life.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have only done my duty,\u201d replied the disciple, humbly.\n\nHe took Sun by the arm and led him to his little dwelling. On the way,\nhe asked of him:\n\n\u201cWill you have faith in what I am going to tell you?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I predict, indeed I can read in your face, that your evil\ndays will not last forever. Within three years you shall recover\nyour sight and you shall become Prime Minister. Your fortune also\nshall be unsurpassed. To attain this goal you must pray diligently to\nChen-Houang (the Emperor of Heaven).\u201d\n\n\u201cHave I heard you aright?\u201d cried Sun, beside himself with astonishment\nand joy.\n\n\u201cNothing can be nearer the truth,\u201d gravely replied the disciple.\n\n\u201cBut what must I do? Tell me, tell me!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must give me three hundred bags of rice and I will pray in your\nstead.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, I cannot give what you require of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make any difference. I do not ask for the immediate\ndelivery of the three hundred bags of rice. It will be sufficient if\nyou bind yourself in writing to pay me when you have the means to do\nso.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll accept on those conditions,\u201d replied Sun.\n\nThe disciple passed over to him a paper on which the poor blind man\nplaced his signature.\n\n\u201cI am obliged to leave you, now,\u201d said the disciple.\n\n\u201cThen, good-bye, until we meet again.\u201d\n\nWhen he was alone, Sun reflected upon what the disciple had told him.\nThe idea of seeing the sunlight again and of acquiring honor and wealth\nfilled his very being with ecstasy. On the other hand, the obligation\nof furnishing three hundred sacks of rice considerably diminished\nhis joy. A man, whose daughter was obliged to beg to keep him from\nstarving, would never be able to fulfill the promise which he had\nsigned. He regretted having given a promise which he could never hope\nto keep.\n\nSun was drawn from his reveries by the arrival of his daughter.\n\n\u201cWhy so melancholy, father?\u201d inquired the child. \u201cIs it because I am\nlate to-day that you seem sad? I must ask your pardon. I went to the\ncemetery and from there to gather some alms. They gave me some things\nto eat, as your hands can tell. Don\u2019t you forgive me?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear child, it is not you who makes me so sad. Listen, and I will\ntell you what happened to me. When you did not come home I was a little\nworried and wanted to go and meet you. On the way, I fell into the lake\nand gave myself up for lost when I was rescued by a disciple of an\nanchorite. This man led me home and said to me, while we were walking\nalong, \u2018I predict to you that you will no longer be blind and that some\nday you will become the King\u2019s Prime Minister.\u2019 But I have to pay him\nthree hundred sacks of rice and I can never do it. That is why I am\nsad.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not worry too much about that, father. We shall find a way that\nwill enable you to keep your promise.\u201d\n\nAfter they had shared their meagre meal the young girl went to her room\nwhere she began to reflect upon her father\u2019s story. Not succeeding in\ngoing to sleep, she went out to take a bath in the lake, after which\nshe began to prepare the sacrifice table in the garden. She placed in\nthe centre a vase filled with water, lighted the incense burner and\ntwo candles, one at each end, and began to pray to Heaven. Her prayers\ncontinued almost until daybreak.\n\nNot until then did Cheng-Si go to her room. Exhausted with fatigue, she\nfell asleep almost immediately. She dreamed that an old man was saying\nto her, \u201cVery shortly something is going to happen to you. Some one\nwill cross your path who will make you an attractive proposal. Do not\nhesitate to accept, for it is an exceptional opportunity.\u201d\n\nOn awakening, the child recalled her dream and was pensive and\nthoughtful for a long while. In reality her dream was soon to come\ntrue. Some dreams do.\n\nIn the days of our story, Korean merchants in search of business were\naccustomed to make one trip a year across the Yellow Sea, which lies\nbetween China and Korea. The crossing was very difficult and dangerous\nbecause of the rapidity of the current in certain spots. After each\ntrip they were always sure to report the loss of some boat. Thinking\nto avoid this danger, the merchants had recourse to a very ancient\nand very barbarous practice. In each village where they traded they\npurchased a young girl. These victims were thrown into the sea and the\nperils of the voyage were thought to be in this way forestalled.\n\nNow, this day, Cheng-Si, the fair, had scarcely left her home when she\nmet one of these traders in search of a human victim. The merchant\nasked the young girl if she knew where he could find what he wanted. To\nthis request Cheng-Si replied:\n\n\u201cYou need not look any farther. If you want to take me, I will go, but\nwhat will you give me in exchange for my life?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnything that you want.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuppose I ask for three hundred bags of rice?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll accept the offer, but I have some partners and must consult with\nthem, so I will not be able to give you a positive answer for a few\ndays.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll wait, then.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood-bye,\u201d said the merchant.\n\nHappy at having concluded this bargain which was to result so seriously\nfor her, the young girl impatiently awaited the merchant\u2019s return. One\nbeautiful morning she saw him coming toward the house and immediately\nwent to meet him.\n\n\u201cHas the affair been settled?\u201d she asked him, without manifesting the\nleast emotion.\n\n\u201cYes, you shall have your three hundred bags of rice. Do you want them\nright away?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed, if I may. Please wait a moment, I must tell my father.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si went into the house. She did not know how to tell her father\nabout her fatal decision.\n\n\u201cTo tell him the truth,\u201d she said to herself \u201cis to condemn him to a\ndeath from grief. I can remember his anxiety that day when I was a\nlittle late in coming home. Now suppose I should never come back--but\nit must be done.\u201d\n\nThe young girl threw her arms about her father\u2019s neck and cried in a\njoyful voice:\n\n\u201cFather, I have found a way to get you the three hundred bags of rice\nthat you owe the disciple. Send for him at once.\u201d\n\nWhen the disciple had come, Cheng-Si took him to the merchant\u2019s place\nof business and turned over to him the three hundred bags of rice. She\nthen demanded, in exchange, the paper bearing her father\u2019s signature,\nthanked him for having saved Sun-Yen\u2019s life, and asked him to continue\nhis prayers for the blind man. The disciple promised to do so and left\nthe young girl.\n\nVery happy because of her sacrifice, she hastened to her father and\nhanded him the paper which he had signed.\n\n\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d demanded the surprised Sun.\n\n\u201cFrom the disciple, to whom I gave the three hundred sacks of rice.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, how in the world did you get all that rice, my daughter?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a very simple way. I sold myself the other day.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you saying! Ah, unhappy girl, do you want to kill me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNow do not worry about this, father. Let me finish what I have to tell\nyou. It is true that I have sold myself but I am not going very far\naway and perhaps I shall see you every day. There isn\u2019t anything to be\ntroubled about. I am sacrificing my liberty with the best of good will\nso as to insure your happiness. When we have saved up enough money I\nwill pay back the price of the rice and then, once I am free, nothing\ncan prevent me from remaining with you forever.\u201d\n\nThe young girl, having calmed somewhat her father\u2019s fears, went to the\nmerchant\u2019s to learn the date of her departure.\n\nThe merchant told her that they were not going to set sail for three\nmonths. Meanwhile, Cheng-Si was thinking constantly of the solitude in\nwhich her father would be after she had gone. What would become of the\npoor blind man, alone and without resources? This thought haunted her\nday and night. She sought to accumulate a little money and some food\nwhich would be enough for him to live on decently for some little time.\n\nThe three months soon came to an end and the merchant returned to\nremind her of her promise. She asked permission to speak to her father\nfor the last time. She had not yet revealed to him the entire truth.\nThe merchant, of course, consented and even went into the house with\nher.\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d she said, \u201cI must leave you.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy daughter, leave me? And where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cFather, I deceived you the other day. It was not my liberty but my\nlife which I gave in exchange for the three hundred sacks of rice which\nyou promised the disciple. Yes, I was purchased, body and soul. I have\nto plunge to the bottom of the Yellow Sea to pray for a favorable\npassage for our sailors.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si had tenderly placed her arms about her father to support him\nwhile she was making this fatal confession. Nevertheless, the blind\nman could not bear the shock and he fell into a swoon.\n\nWhen he regained consciousness, he said in a voice that was scarcely\naudible, \u201cUnhappy child, is it indeed true that you are going to\nabandon me in this way? After having seen your mother die, must I see\nyou, too, leave the world before me? Oh, tell me that it is a dream!\nConsider your poor blind father and think what will become of him when\nhe no longer has you with him. No, it cannot be, you are not going to\ndie.\u201d\n\nSun-Yen burst into tears. His daughter tried vainly to keep from\nweeping herself for she felt that her heart was broken. The merchant, a\nwitness of the scene, was very much moved, too. He beckoned the girl to\nhim and said:\n\n\u201cI will give you another hundred bags of rice and we will not set sail\nfor three days. Would you like that?\u201d\n\nCheng-Si thanked the man profusely and went with him to the door.\nThe following day, after she had obtained the hundred sacks of rice,\nshe sought an audience with the leading magistrate of the town. He\nconsented to take charge of the maintenance of the old gentleman in\nconsideration of the one hundred bags of rice which he took as a sort\nof deposit.\n\nThe young girl did not leave her father until the merchant came for\nher. She endeavored to console the old gentleman as best she could.\nWhen the time for the separation came, it was heart-rending. Sun-Yen\nthrew his arms about his daughter\u2019s neck while his frame was shaken\nwith sobs.\n\n\u201cI want to die with you. I will not let you go alone.\u201d\n\nThe cries of the poor blind man attracted a number of the neighbors,\nwho were also moved to tears at the pathetic sight. Finally the trader\ngrasped the girl by the arm and said in a trembling, gentle voice, \u201cWe\nmust go now.\u201d\n\nParalyzed by grief, Sun fainted and his arms slipped from about his\ndaughter\u2019s form.\n\n\u201cGood-bye, father,\u201d she called back as she walked away. \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\nwe shall meet again in a better place where we shall be happy forever.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si renewed her requests to the magistrate, who, shortly after,\nvisited the unfortunate father and tried to console him a bit, without\nsucceeding to the slightest extent.\n\nFor Cheng-Si had gone.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here cometh to a close the second step of our legend._\n\n\n\n\n  III\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\n\nSan-Houni, the scholar and intimate friend of Sun-Yen, was likewise\ncondemned to exile on account of his friendship for the disgraced.\nHe was obliged to leave the Korean Capital, a circumstance which he\nregretted exceedingly just at this time because his wife, Yeng-Si, who\nwas soon to become a mother, would not have the comforts and advantages\nof the city. But of what avail are innocence and regret when a Prime\nMinister has rendered one undesirable in the eyes of the Monarch? It\nwas decreed that San-Houni be banished and that he be forced to live\non the island of Ko-Kum-To, a desolate, sparsely populated rock in the\nYellow Sea.\n\nIt was a long journey. The trip would consume several days. San-Houni\u2019s\nfew servants took care of the details of the packing but he himself\nwent in quest of a boatman who would agree to take him and his wife\nacross the waters to the island. His choice was not a happy one but he\nwas unaware of it.\n\nThe most violent contrast existed between the characters of Su-Rung and\nSu-Yeng, the two brothers, whom San-Houni engaged for the trip. From\nthis difference in temperament great misfortunes were to come.\n\nAs long as they were in sight of the coast, things went well, but when\nthe party was on the open sea, Su-Rung the wicked, revealed his designs.\n\n\u201cI am somewhat taken with the wife of our passenger,\u201d he whispered to\nhis brother, \u201cI want her and I\u2019m going to get her. Her husband grates\non my nerves. I must get him out of the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are mad,\u201d replied Su-Yeng. \u201cDo you think for a minute that I will\never allow you to do anything like that?\u201d\n\n\u201cBah! You are jealous of me,\u201d cried Su-Rung, in a fury.\n\n\u201cNot at all, but your intentions disgust me.\u201d\n\nSu-Rung said nothing further but it could readily be seen that he had\nnot given up his project.\n\nThe terrible thing about all this was that San-Houni and his wife had\noverheard the brothers. Their anxiety grew and soon merged into real\nfear. They discussed in low tones the peril which threatened them and\nhow it would be possible to escape.\n\nThere was not much time left to them for reflection. Su-Rung called\nthe oarsmen and whispered aside to them, \u201cMen, I want you to grab that\nfellow and his servant. Take and keep what money they have on them and\nkill them. The woman alone must live. Make a good job of it.\u201d\n\nSu-Yeng here interposed, \u201cI think you should be content with taking\ntheir money, but at least spare their lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cMind your own business,\u201d shouted Su-Rung in a rage. \u201cI am master here.\nGet out of my way and let me alone!\u201d\n\nSu-Yeng was forced to obey his brother\u2019s injunction. As soon as he\nhad turned his back, San-Houni and his servant were put to death. The\nmurder was committed under the very eyes of the scholar\u2019s wife. She was\ndazed with anger and sorrow. Having no desire to survive her husband,\nshe plunged into the sea, crying, \u201cIn spite of you, I shall die with my\nhusband.\u201d\n\nSu-Rung, however, ordered his sailors to turn about and rescue the\nunhappy woman. A few minutes more and Yeng-Si was pulled into the boat\nalive and safe.\n\nThen the assassin, judging it indiscreet to continue in the direction\nof Ko-Kum-To, changed the course of his vessel to a spot he was well\nacquainted with. The boat made a landing shortly after. Su-Rung jumped\nashore and approached an old woman on the beach, to whom he said:\n\n\u201cGo aboard my boat, you will find a woman there. I want you to take\nher home with you. Be very gentle and kind to her, encourage her, and\nconsole her, for she has been deeply afflicted.\u201d\n\nThe old lady at once set about doing what Su-Rung had requested.\n\nMeanwhile, Su-Rung had anchored his boat and as a sign of\nself-satisfaction he invited his men to a feast, where they made merry\nand drank freely. Shortly all the guests were drunk except Su-Yeng.\nHe was broken up at the turn of events and his inability to avert\nSu-Rung\u2019s crime. Therefore, he resolved to profit by the present\nsituation by assisting, if it were possible, his brother\u2019s unfortunate\ncaptive. He left the revelers without being noticed and, setting out at\na rapid gait, soon reached the home of the old lady. He paused before\nentering at the sound of voices and in the midst of the lamentations of\nYeng-Si, he could make out these words:\n\n\u201cWhere do you come from?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Capital.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that so? I lived at Yeng-Yang.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen how is it that you are in these parts?\u201d\n\nThe old lady, for it was she who was talking with Yeng-Si, uttered a\ndeep sigh.\n\n\u201cAlas, I have lived here for ten years, much against my will. Like you,\nI am a victim of Su-Rung, who murdered my husband. I am awaiting the\nhour of vengeance, but it is slow in coming. Will this monster remain\nunpunished forever?\u201d\n\nTouched by her story, Yeng-Si forgot for the time her own misfortunes\nto sympathize with her companion. It was just at this moment that\nSu-Yeng entered the room where the two women were and said in a\ntroubled voice:\n\n\u201cDo not take things too hard. Perhaps you will be rescued very soon.\nThere is some one who is looking out for you. I have a profound horror\nof my brother\u2019s evil deeds. Listen, if you wish to escape you will\nnever have an easier time than now.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow so, your brother....\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid. For the time being, he is not capable of following\nyou for he is asleep and dead drunk, but there is not a minute to be\nlost. You know the country for you have lived here a long while. You\nmust show the way to this lady who is a stranger. Here, take this\nmoney, it will not do to wait any longer.\u201d\n\nThe two women, weeping and sobbing, threw themselves at the feet of\ntheir rescuer in gratitude.\n\nSu-Yeng helped them to their feet and urged them again to leave. It\nwould be advisable, he insisted, to make haste for the rage of Su-Rung,\nif he captured them, would be terrible.\n\nYielding to the entreaties of Su-Yeng, the two women set out. Their\nfriend accompanied them for a short distance. When they were alone,\nthey walked as rapidly as their strength would permit. At the end of\ntwo hours Yeng-Si, thoroughly fatigued, requested that they rest for\na few moments. Her companion consented quite willingly. So the two\nfugitives sat down to rest their weary bodies. Suddenly the elder of\nthe two said to the other:\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to ask you something.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I would consider it a great favor if you would let me have your\nsandals in exchange for mine.\u201d\n\nThis request puzzled Yeng-Si a great deal as she did not understand the\npurpose of the elder woman\u2019s intentions. However, the old lady gave her\nlittle time for reflection.\n\n\u201cYou are,\u201d she said, \u201clike me, very tired, but you are still young,\nconsequently you are capable of enduring greater hardships than I. I\nam very old. You go on. If Su-Rung catches up--and he will not wait\nlong--I will tell him that I do not know in what direction you went.\nNow, hurry on, but leave your sandals here with me if you wish to be\nreal kind.\u201d\n\nYeng-Si arose at once. She thanked her friend for her excellent advice\nand handed her sandals to her without understanding in the least what\nmotive she had in this request. As she was leaving, the old lady\ncontinued:\n\n\u201cJust a moment. I am going to show you the road which you should take\nto escape from Su-Rung. Keep straight ahead until you come to a grove\nof bamboo where you might rest a few moments if you like, then keep on\nwalking in the same direction until you come upon the temple of Buddha.\nWhen you arrive at this spot, you will be out of danger but be careful\nto follow my directions explicitly.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do so, thank you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood, now, good-bye.\u201d\n\nWhen Yeng-Si had gone a short way, the old woman arose, and taking the\nsandals, she turned toward a lake which was a short distance away.\nPlacing them at the water\u2019s edge, she uttered a brief prayer and jumped\ninto the water.\n\nYeng-Si, however, heard her cries. She immediately retraced her steps,\nhastening to the lake where she noticed the sandals beside the water\nand the body of the old lady floating on the surface. This sight almost\noverbore her.\n\n\u201cWhy did this poor woman drown herself?\u201d she muttered. \u201cCan it be--yes,\nI imagine--her persistency in asking for my sandals--oh, blessed one!\nShe had the idea of dying before saying good-bye. She did not wish her\ndeath to be fruitless, so she placed my sandals on the shore, that it\nwould appear as if I had committed suicide. Poor woman, how devoted she\nwas! May she have her reward in the Hereafter.\u201d\n\nIf she had listened to the promptings of her heart, Yeng-Si would have\nremained there mourning for her unfortunate companion. Remembering\nthe entreaties of the latter, however, she hurried her steps and\nshortly came to the forest of bamboo. Suddenly she experienced the\nmost agonizing pains. She trembled, shivered, broke out into a cold\nperspiration and suffered terribly. She understood that she was about\nto become a mother. What a terrible situation she was in! Here alone,\naway from everybody, what was to become of her?\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nYes, it was a little boy. She seized the poor, little being and covered\nit with tears and kisses.\n\n\u201cPoor child,\u201d she said, \u201cwhat can I do with you? You have no father and\nyour mother does not know what is going to become of you.\u201d\n\nFortunately for Yeng-Si, some one had heard her shrieks and cries. It\nwas a nun from the temple that the old lady had told her about. This\nnun ran to the spot whence the cries came and was somewhat surprised to\nfind there the mother and child.\n\nAfter rendering what assistance she could, she asked her how it came\nabout that she gave birth to the child in that place.\n\nYeng-Si told briefly her sad story. The nun was deeply touched at the\ntale--so fraught with sorrow.\n\n\u201cWhat do you count upon doing?\u201d she asked her.\n\n\u201cAlas, I do not know. Here I am alone and without resources. How can\nI bring up my little one? I shall have to abandon him, but I shall not\nlive long anyway, I am sure of that, so perhaps I shall make way with\nmyself.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat would not be doing exactly right. Suppose you try to follow my\nadvice. Give your child to some charitable person and come live with\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cI could not ask for anything better, but why can\u2019t I take my little\none along with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause it is against the rules of our order to receive children.\nI know it is hard for you to give up your little one, but since you\nscarcely have any choice in the matter, you must resign yourself.\nIf you were to continue on your way with your little son you would\nunquestionably fall into the hands of the brigands. Besides, it is\npossible that you may be able to reclaim your child some day in the\nfuture. When he becomes a man he will aid you in getting retribution\nfor his father\u2019s death.\u201d\n\nYeng-Si followed the advice of the nun. She wrapped the little fellow\nas well as she could, tearing bandages from her own clothes. Since\nshe wished to have some sign which would enable her to recognize her\nson, she took his arm and with a needle traced on the pink flesh the\ncharacters forming the name of San-Syeng. Then she went over these\nletters with India ink which the nun gave her. Finally, slipping off\nthe ring which she wore, she placed it in the wrappings of the child.\nThis finished, she started out accompanied by the nun. They were going\nto the neighboring village to place the child at a street corner and\nthen return to the temple.\n\nVery soon, Yeng-Si could sight the roofs of the little village where\nshe was to say \u201cgood-bye\u201d to her son. Alas, the child, whom she and\nher husband had been looking forward to with such great joy, would be\nabandoned just as if she were an unnatural mother. Her cup was filled\nto the brim with sorrow, for her husband had been murdered before her\neyes and now her son was to be left on a street corner. More dead than\nalive, she gently placed the child on the ground after giving him a\nlast fond kiss. With a supreme effort she regained her courage and\nwalked slowly away, shedding tears of sorrow, while the hunger-cries of\nthe baby grew louder and louder.\n\nShe tottered along very, very feebly, she was so torn with emotion and\nanguish. The nun, familiar with sad scenes, was nevertheless deeply\nmoved.\n\n\u201cPray, pray to Heaven,\u201d she said to Yeng-Si, \u201csome day you will find\nyour son. He will come to you when he grows up. Something within me\ngives me confidence in what I am telling you, but prepare yourself for\na long separation--take courage.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here endeth our third chapter._\n\n\n\n\n  IV\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\n\nWhen the vapors of intoxication had cleared from Su-Rung\u2019s brain, his\nfirst thought was of his captive. He ran to the old woman\u2019s hut where\nthe widow of San-Houni was confined. Great was his astonishment on\nfinding the house empty. In vain did he burst into anger, and shout. No\none answered. Breathless from rage, he went to his brother.\n\n\u201cHave you seen these two women?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. I have not seen them since I was here last.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey have disappeared, but I know how to find them.\u201d\n\nSu-Rung set out in pursuit accompanied by his brother. The latter\nfeared that Su-Rung in his fury would do harm if he succeeded in coming\nupon the fugitives and Su-Yeng wished to be present to protect them\nshould the worst come to the worst.\n\nTraveling speedily, the two brothers very soon reached the shores of\nthe lake, of which we have spoken before. Here they saw Yeng-Si\u2019s\nsandals by the water\u2019s edge and a body floating in the middle of the\nlake.\n\nEven Su-Rung was moved by the sight and cried:\n\n\u201cThe poor woman is drowned.\u201d\n\n\u201cBrother,\u201d replied Su-Yeng, \u201cyou would not listen to me and you have\nbeen punished. You wished to make this woman your slave and she has\nescaped from your clutches in spite of your efforts. What a great\nmisfortune for us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou mean to say that it is my fault,\u201d took up Su-Rung, angrily, \u201cYou\nare to blame yourself. Why did you let my prisoner escape?\u201d\n\nThe dispute between the two brothers lasted in this manner until\nSu-Rung\u2019s rage had cooled. Instead of retracing their steps at once\nthey continued on their way to the neighboring village and were the\nfirst ones to find the baby which Yeng-Si had left there a half hour\nor so before. Quite pleased at his unusual discovery Su-Rung took the\nlittle being and carried it home with him where he confided it to a\nnurse, instructing her to take the greatest care of the little boy.\n\nSeveral times Su-Rung questioned his brother concerning the escape of\nthe two women. Not being successful, however, in learning anything\nabout the matter he dismissed the entire subject from his mind.\n\nThe murderer of San-Houni gave all his time to the education of the\nchild he had adopted. He treated him as if he were his own son. It\nmust be said that the little fellow gave him abundant cause for\nsatisfaction. He was good to look upon, extremely intelligent and grew\nup rapidly. One day he asked Su-Rung:\n\n\u201cFather, where is my mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour mother,\u201d replied Su-Rung, very much embarrassed by the question,\n\u201cyour mother died a short time after you were born.\u201d\n\nSu-Rung was in the habit of accompanying his adopted son to school. The\nyoung scholar was not long in distinguishing himself among his comrades\nwho could not witness his success without a show of jealousy and hate.\nTo obtain revenge they could find nothing better to do than to taunt\nhim about having no parents.\n\n\u201cNo parents,\u201d shouted the indignant boy. \u201cWhy, I have a father and it\nis not my fault if I lost my mother before I was able to know her. I do\nnot see why I deserve your reproaches.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat shows that you really do not know anything about yourself.\nSu-Rung is not your father. He is only a thief and a robber. He found\nyou on a street corner and brought you up.\u201d\n\nThis revelation troubled the child very much and he made it known to\nSu-Rung.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be troubled about that, my child,\u201d replied the latter. \u201cThese\nboys are jealous of you and they invent these stories to anger you.\nThey are not worth bothering about at all.\u201d\n\nYeng-Si\u2019s son was somewhat reassured by this. But other circumstances\naroused his suspicions. He accidentally discovered the name of\nSan-Syeng tattooed on his arm. Additional evidence was furnished him\nwhen he found a ring one day while rummaging among some old books and\npapers. He hid this precious object in his pocket, saying to himself:\n\n\u201cI believe what the fellows told me was true after all.\u201d\n\nFrom this day on, San-Syeng was constantly preoccupied with thoughts as\nto who his parents might be. In order to more easily solve this problem\nhe determined to travel through the country, thinking that some day he\nwould be able to discover those to whom he owed his birth.\n\nWhen he had reached his seventeenth year, San-Syeng asked Su-Rung\nfor permission to make a trip through Korea in order to finish his\neducation. Su-Rung made no opposition, although he preferred that his\nadopted son take a traveling companion. Nevertheless, he did not insist\nbut gave his consent for San-Syeng to travel alone on a journey that\nwould consume perhaps two years.\n\nSan-Syeng had been gone several weeks when he came to a beautiful\nlittle village where he counted upon remaining but a short while. Until\nnow, his voyage had been uneventful. But the time for adventure was\nat hand. The first incident was somewhat distasteful. San-Syeng had\nstopped for a moment in the street where some children were playing. He\nwas watching their antics with pleasure when he received a shock. He\nhad just heard one of the gamins ask one of his comrades.\n\n\u201cDo you know that robber, Su-Rung?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy name, yes, but I have never seen him. Why do you ask me that? He\u2019s\na wicked man.\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause they tell a remarkable story about that fellow. One of my\nfriends was at school with the son, or rather the adopted son, of this\nthief. It seems, in fact, that Su-Rung found the child abandoned by the\nroadside and took him home and raised him. Thanks to his robberies, the\nman is very rich. He has just sent his son on a long trip. That\u2019s what\nmy friend told me.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng had not missed a word of this conversation. His curiosity was\naroused to the highest pitch, so he approached the youngster who had\nspoken, and asked,\n\n\u201cPardon me, friend, would you tell me your name? Do you know Su-Rung?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir, I know this man only through having heard tales of him.\u201d\n\nThis reply hardly satisfied San-Syeng, but, believing that the child\nhad been frightened, he did not pursue his questioning further but\nwalked on.\n\nShortly afterward, San-Syeng came to the village of Yen-Yu, where he\ndecided to tarry for a few days to recover from the fatigue of his\ntravels.\n\nBefore seeking a lodging he took a stroll through the village to see\nthe sights. His attention was drawn to a great mansion surrounded by a\nvast garden, so he turned in this direction to view it more closely.\nHe came to a pause when he saw in the garden a young girl of marvelous\nbeauty. It was impossible to approach her as the garden was surrounded\nby a continuous wall. He walked on for a few paces and then, yielding\nto some indescribable impulse, he retraced his steps. The young girl\nwas still there. She turned a candid look toward the walker, giving\nthe young man a subtle thrill of pleasure. It is true that his eyes\nhad never met such a sight--a bright oval face as fresh as a half\nripened peach, eyes that rivaled the stars in their brilliancy. Her\nhair, which fell down over her shoulders, was as fine and golden as\nthe clouds which disappear behind the mountain peaks in the rays of\nthe setting sun. Add to these attractions a very small hand and a gait\nas graceful as the flight of a bird. The admiration of San-Syeng could\nnot be restrained. He could not take his eyes away from the vision of\nloveliness. The girl, walking up and down the garden, now and then cast\nfurtive glances at the youth who was watching her.\n\nSan-Syeng was in a veritable daze. For a considerable time he remained\nin the one spot, even after the beautiful unknown had disappeared.\nFinally, he decided to find a lodging, hoping also to obtain some\ninformation concerning the beautiful girl whose charms still held him.\nHis first action, therefore, on arriving at the village inn, was to\ninquire:\n\n\u201cTo whom does yonder mansion belong that is surrounded by such\na beautiful garden? Its owner is doubtless a personage of some\nimportance?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, it is the estate of a very rich family, the head of which,\nYeng-Yen-Sa, is dead. The only people who live in that large house are\nhis wife and his daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs the daughter married?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, sir, she is scarcely seventeen years old.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng\u2019s curiosity was satisfied for the moment. When alone, he\ngave himself up to reflection. First, he determined to lengthen his\nstay in Yen-Yu. He was burning with desire to see the unknown beauty\nagain. Each day for hours at a time he would walk in the neighborhood\nof the garden where he had first seen the young girl who was constantly\noccupying his thoughts. Alas! his beautiful stroller of the garden\nremained indoors. He was sad unto death. One evening, when his sorrow,\nrevived again by the memory of his parents, was more acute than ever,\nhe sought distraction in music. He took his flute, and, stationing\nhimself near the garden, improvised the following verses:\n\n  \u201cHomeless am I--I know neither Heaven nor Earth.\n\n  I am walking in despair, seeking in vain for those who gave me birth.\n\n  In a garden there is a flower of marvelous beauty.\n\n  I would like to pluck this blossom, but the branches which bear it\n  are so high I cannot reach them.\n\n  My most ardent desire would be to die and become a butterfly so that\n  I could hover about this adorable flower.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng then cleverly composed a sweet melody, to serve as an\naccompaniment to this poetry, which he played upon his instrument with\nmuch feeling.\n\nThe young girl had heard everything. Deeply perplexed, she asked\nherself what could be the meaning of the charming words which had come\nto her ears.\n\n\u201cIf this young man,\u201d she mused, \u201cdoes not know Heaven nor Earth, it\nmeans he has lost his parents. If he wants to be transformed into a\nbutterfly to flit around a flower, it means he loves a young girl.\u201d\n\nVery much puzzled, she sent her servant to inquire who could be the\nauthor of the verses she had just heard. She wondered if it were\nnot the young man whom she had seen a few days before walking near\nthe garden. Still impressed by what she had heard, she took her own\ninstrument and in turn improvised the following verses:\n\n  \u201cThe spider spins her web from flower-stem to flower-stem, but the\n  butterfly does not come.\n\n  I have dug a lake in my garden to attract the swans, but in vain are\n  my labors.\n\n  I have planted a tree to serve as a refuge for the swallow, but the\n  bird remains mute to my call while displeasing birds come a-flocking.\n\n  To-day, however, I heard the song of the blue bird. He has at last\n  arrived and very soon he will be close and dear to me.\n\n  The age of sixteen is the fair Springtime of life. If I want to be\n  happy, I should not wait much longer.\u201d\n\nThese words filled San-Syeng with a deep joy for they seemed to be a\nreply to his own verses and he felt overwhelmed with emotion. He went\nhome, but it was in vain that he tried to sleep.\n\nOn her part, the young girl slept with difficulty, as her mind was\nagitated by what had just taken place. Now it came to pass that her\nfather appeared before her in a dream and said, \u201cMy daughter, there is\nstopping at the inn nearest our home a traveler whose merits I bring\nto your attention. It is the son of San-Houni, the scholar, one of my\nbest friends. I would like you to marry this young man.\u201d\n\nShe objected that she was not even acquainted with the youth.\n\n\u201cYes, my daughter,\u201d replied her father, \u201cyou have already seen him. He\ncomes of a very noble family. Good-bye, my daughter.\u201d\n\nThe young girl wished to detain her father, but to her sorrow her\nefforts were of no avail; the vision faded and she awoke in tears.\n\n\u201cHow can I obey my father\u2019s command,\u201d she complained. \u201cI must devise\nsome way to meet this young man. I will go into the garden again this\nevening and perhaps I shall see the man whom my father has ordered me\nto marry.\u201d\n\nShe was not disappointed in her hopes. When night had lowered its\ncurtain of darkness she went down into the garden and caught sight of\nSan-Syeng. But instead of going to meet him, she turned and rushed into\nthe house like a frightened kitten.\n\nSan-Syeng was stupefied and broken up by her sudden disappearance.\nDespairing of being able to talk with the girl he loved, he resolved\nto write to her. So the next evening he returned to the garden with a\nletter. Again the young girl appeared for a few minutes. He walked in\nfront of her, tossed the letter over the garden wall, and left.\n\nThe young girl ran to pick it up, hurried with it to her room, where\nshe read the neat characters:\n\n  \u201cMademoiselle, excuse my boldness. I have but a few words to say.\n  Do you know what the butterfly is? It is an insect that is fond of\n  flowers. Nights when attracted by the light of the lamps which it\n  takes for flowers, it throws itself into the flame and perishes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a comparison that applies to me closely,\u201d thought the young\ngirl. \u201cI shall have my answer for this young man to-morrow.\u201d\n\nThe next evening when San-Syeng returned to his post by the garden wall\nhe saw the girl raise both hands and point to the moon.\n\nAfter this graceful and significant gesture she ran into the house.\n\nSan-Syeng went home, much perplexed. \u201cShe made a sign to me,\u201d he\npondered, \u201cbut what meaning does this sign have?\u201d He reflected for a\nlong time, conjuring up hypothesis after hypothesis. Finally, he struck\nhis forehead with an exclamation of joy, crying: \u201cI believe I have it.\nThe girl raised both of her hands, she must have meant the number ten.\nThen she pointed to the moon, that surely means at night. She wanted to\ntell me that she would meet me to-morrow evening at ten o\u2019clock. That\u2019s\nit beyond a doubt.\u201d\n\nHe awaited with impatience the following evening. Long before the\nappointed time he was in the garden, worried and anxious as to whether\nhe had not given an erroneous interpretation to the young girl\u2019s\ngesture. At ten o\u2019clock she came daintily along the garden path,\nadvancing gaily and smiling. She paused to pick a flower which she\nplaced between her lips. One might have thought she was playing the\nflute, so sweet were the soft, low sounds of song which came from her\nthroat. Picking up a dead branch she amused herself by whipping the\nleaves which strewed the ground. San-Syeng contemplated the vision\nwith an admiration that held him spellbound. One might have said it\nwas like a cat entrapping a mouse. When she arrived within a few paces\nof him she stopped as if frightened and seemed about to draw back.\nThen San-Syeng advanced toward her. \u201cHow beautiful she is,\u201d was his\nthought. So great was his admiration that he could not find a single\nword to say. The young girl too remained silent. San-Syeng thought, \u201cMy\nfirst words must express all the love I feel, but my tongue is weak and\nincapable of it. What is her feeling toward me? Does she have a tender\nand loving heart, or has wickedness already penetrated this beautiful\nyoung soul? Let\u2019s try a little trick.\u201d\n\nThe girl saw San-Syeng drop suddenly to the ground. Without an\ninstant\u2019s hesitation she ran to his help. Supporting his head in her\nhands, and after dusting off his clothes which had been soiled by the\nfall, she assisted him to arise and led him to a nearby bench.\n\nThen San-Syeng said wearily, as if he were just regaining\nconsciousness, \u201cPardon me, mademoiselle, I am confused with all the\ntrouble I am giving you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot at all, sir,\u201d replied the young girl. \u201cI am happy to have been\nable to render you assistance. I only ask for permission to put one\nquestion to you. Where do you live?\u201d\n\n\u201cI live at Nam-Hai and my name is San-Syeng.\u201d\n\n\u201cHas it been very long since you left that town?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlmost six months.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd have you seen many interesting things on your journey?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, many.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour parents are still alive, I suppose?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, mademoiselle, I lost my parents a long time ago. And are your\nfather and mother still alive?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father is dead and I live with my mother. Wasn\u2019t it you who came\nhere playing the flute the other evening?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was I, mademoiselle. And tell me, didn\u2019t you reply on your\ninstrument?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am very grateful. You have condescended to listen, you have not\nrepulsed me, and this evening you have given me the greatest of\npleasures by talking with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, sir, were you ill just a while ago?\u201d\n\n\u201cMademoiselle, I lost my head through love of you. May I in turn ask\nwhy you did not reply to my note? You made a sign to me and I imagined\nthat you were inviting me to return this evening at ten o\u2019clock. Was I\nright?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, you divined my thoughts exactly. Do you know you have\ngiven evidence of great intelligence. You have captured my heart\nwithout the slightest effort, like the fisherman who catches a fish\nthat is surprised to see itself so easily taken. Now you may call me\nYeng-So-Yei, for that is my name.\u201d\n\nAt these words, San-Syeng seized the hand of the girl and covered it\nwith kisses.\n\n\u201cI have not sought to ensnare you. It was merely my love, my boundless\nlove, which impelled me to act thus. But it is late. Your mother\nwill notice your absence and will become worried. Let us meet again\nto-morrow at the same hour.\u201d\n\nThe young girl nodded her head as a sign of acquiescence and withdrew\ninto the house. In the solitude of her room she thought for a long time\nof the events of the evening. \u201cI love this young man,\u201d she said, \u201che\nis so intelligent and has such a splendid appearance. In giving him my\nheart I have done nothing but obey my father\u2019s counsel. Therefore, I\nshould have no remorse about my conduct. I shall marry the man I love\nand accomplish my father\u2019s wish.\u201d\n\nSimilar reflections agitated San-Syeng\u2019s mind. \u201cHow beautiful and good\nshe is!\u201d he would repeat to himself. \u201cI love her to distraction. I can\nnever wait until to-morrow evening to see her. How long this night and\nday are going to be!\u201d\n\nThe hours rolled around, however, and the time came for San-Syeng\nto visit the girl once more. She came running to meet him, her face\nradiant with joy and happiness. After they had exchanged a few words of\ngreeting she said to San-Syeng:\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s go into the house. We can talk better. You can come to my room\nwhere no one will disturb us.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut don\u2019t you fear that your mother will notice something?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy mother is very old and feeble, we have nothing to fear from her.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng followed the young girl. He was much impressed to see with\nwhat skill she had arranged her room. He complimented her on her taste\nand good judgment and added: \u201cHow happy you must be!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd aren\u2019t you happy, too?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, I have lost my parents, and I am alone in the world. Life is no\nlonger attractive to me. You have given me the first pleasure in my\nlife and I am obliged to resume my travels within a few days.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why must you leave? Haven\u2019t you told me that you loved me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I love you with all my heart and soul. But it is only another\nmisfortune for me because I can never marry you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can never marry you because you are rich, while I am penniless.\u201d\n\n\u201cFie, foolish,\u201d teased the girl, drawing him to her. \u201cDon\u2019t you know\nthat I love you and that nothing can prevent me from being your\nwife and companion? We shall marry. Do not leave me. Remain with me\nto-night, my mother will not know.\u201d\n\nTheir lips were united in one long kiss. At daybreak San-Syeng\ndeparted. He regarded himself as the happiest of mortals and promised\nto spare no effort to make life happy for the girl who had chosen him\nfor her husband.\n\nEvery evening the young man went to visit his wife. Now it came to\npass one night, that her mother, unable to sleep, arose from her couch\nand went walking through the house. Passing before the door of her\ndaughter\u2019s room she heard, above the sound of mingled kisses, her\ndaughter speaking with some one. Immediately she fell into a great\nfury. She tried to open the door, but was unsuccessful. Calling a\nservant, she said:\n\n\u201cTake a sabre, and place yourself before this door. You are to kill the\nfirst person who leaves that room.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng and his wife had not heard these words for they were asleep.\nThe girl had another dream in which she saw her father. \u201cMy daughter,\u201d\nhe said, \u201cyou are in great danger. Your husband\u2019s life is threatened.\nArise and see what is on the other side of your door. Find a way for\nyour husband to escape. Give him my favorite horse so that he can take\nflight. You may also give him my sword. You will be separated for some\ntime, but you will be united in the days to come.\u201d\n\nStartled by the warning, the young girl softly opened the door where\nshe saw the servant with drawn sabre.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing here--and with a weapon, too?\u201d she demanded.\n\n\u201cI am standing guard at your mother\u2019s orders and I am to kill the first\nperson who leaves your room.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, my mother is mad. There is no one with me. I was just about to\ncall you anyway and send you on an errand. I would like to write and I\nhaven\u2019t a single bit of paper. Will you get me some?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot leave this post, mademoiselle.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not? If you are afraid that my mother\u2019s prisoner will escape, let\nme have your sabre. I will take your place while you get me what I\nwant.\u201d\n\nThe servant was persuaded with little difficulty. Scarcely had he left\nthan the young lady ran to her husband and cried: \u201cUp at once or you\nare lost. My mother has learned that there is some one with me and has\nstationed a servant at the door with orders to kill any one who leaves\nmy room. Wait for me in the garden.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng arose hurriedly and descended cautiously and quietly into the\ngarden. The servant returned and received the assurance that no one had\nleft the room which he had been guarding.\n\n\u201cI think I shall take a walk in the garden,\u201d the girl suggested. \u201cThis\nroom is too warm for me.\u201d\n\nShe went direct to the stables where she led out the horse which her\nfather had mentioned and brought him to San-Syeng. The two lovers\nembraced and wept bitterly at being forced to part in so abrupt a\nfashion. The girl had gathered together her jewels and what silver\nshe had at hand and turned them over to San-Syeng together with her\nfather\u2019s favorite sword. San-Syeng, despite his protest, was forced to\naccept them. He slipped from his finger the ring which he had found\namong the books long years before and the significance of which he did\nnot even guess.\n\n\u201cTake this keepsake,\u201d he said to his wife. \u201cIt is a token of my undying\nlove. As long as I live I shall think only of you and I hope soon\nto come back for you. I will go to the Capital and shall soon have\nmatters fixed so that I may rejoin you. Good-bye.\u201d\n\nHe went away, his head bowed in sadness, while the young girl, tears\nrolling down her cheeks, followed him with her eyes until she saw him\ndisappear in the black depths of the wood.\n\n\u201cI wish I could burn that forest and then my San-Syeng would have to\ntake the mountain road, and I wish the plagued mountains were at the\nbottom of the sea,\u201d cried the unhappy girl--\u201cfor I would be able to see\nmy husband again.\u201d\n\nShe remained for a long time in the one spot motionless as a statue. At\nlast, she decided to go to her room, following in spirit San-Syeng who\nwas galloping briskly toward the Capital. He arrived there when there\nwas great excitement among the people of the city because of the death\nof the King and the exile of the young Prince to the Isle of Cho-To,\nevents upon which we shall comment in the coming stage of our story.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here the fourth stage of our legend cometh to a close._\n\n\n\n\n  V\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nV\n\n\nIt was Ja-Jo-Mi, the Prime Minister, who had been the chief cause of\nall the evils which had come to Sun-Yen and San-Houni. This dignitary,\nno longer having any one to fear, enjoyed absolute power. The King had\nentire confidence in him and placed in his hands the administration\nof the government. Ja-Jo-Mi had taken advantage of this to give all\nthe important and lucrative offices to his followers. For example, he\ndischarged in disgrace a general whom he disliked and replaced him\nwith one of his most zealous but incompetent partisans. Even with all\nthis power the ambitious Minister was not satisfied. Why should he not\npush things to the limit and place himself upon the throne? For the\npresent, it was only a dream which Ja-Jo-Mi hoped to realize some day.\nBut he was only awaiting a favorable occasion and this was not long in\npresenting itself.\n\nThe King fell suddenly ill. His condition became so grave that the\nleading physicians of the Kingdom were obliged to confess their\ninability to cure him. He was well aware of his serious condition and\ncherished no illusions about it. He sensed the flutter of the wings of\nDeath--wings drenched with the tears of weeping humanity. He sent for\nthe Prime Minister, to whom he spoke after the following fashion:\n\n\u201cI am going to die. My great regret is in leaving a son too young\nefficiently to govern the country. Factions will take advantage of the\nsituation to disturb the peace of the Kingdom. Yet I want my son to\nsucceed me on the throne. Consequently I am requiring of you a further\nproof of your devotion. Promise me to give this child the guidance of\nyour counsel and wisdom. Teach him to govern kindly and finish his\neducation.\u201d\n\nJa-Jo-Mi, the unscrupulous, swore solemnly that he would faithfully\nobserve the last commands of his master. The monarch desired to see his\nson, so the latter was brought to his bedside. The King tenderly took\nthe youth in his arms. He seemed to wish, through him, to cling longer\nto the life he was leaving. But the fatal hour had come; he drew his\nlast breath in a sob.\n\nHis son, overcome by grief, uttered wild cries--\u201cOh, my father, my only\nrefuge, why do you forsake me? Why must you leave me?\u201d Finally he fell\ninto a swoon.\n\nThe Prime Minister, who was present at this scene, tried to calm the\nyoung Prince with profuse and hypocritical condolences. His words were\nfar from being in accord with his inner thoughts. The King\u2019s death\nfilled his soul with joy, for it rendered easier the project he had\nbeen dreaming about for so long.\n\nWhen the funeral ceremonies were over, the Governors of the provinces\nheld a conference upon the question of choosing a new King. The\nGovernors\u2019 choice naturally fell upon the shoulders of the deceased\nKing\u2019s son. This decision exasperated Ja-Jo-Mi; he protested furiously\nagainst it, saying that the Prince was too young to attend to affairs\nof state and he painted a very black picture of the conditions of the\ncountry if the government were placed in his hands.\n\n\u201cMoreover, the dying King appointed me to rule until his son should be\ncapable of taking the throne.\u201d\n\nThe Prime Minister expected favorable results from this announcement.\nThe Governors, however, contented themselves with exchanging\nsignificant glances, but they did not utter a word in support of the\nMinister\u2019s proposal.\n\nThis cold reception did not leave Ja-Jo-Mi any delusions as to the\nattitude of the Governors on the subject. Renouncing the powers of\npeaceful persuasion, he resolved to employ force. He summoned the\nGeneral whose support he was assured of and said to him:\n\n\u201cYou will throw into prison any official who is hostile to me.\u201d\n\nThe General bowed in a sign of obedience and withdrew. Although very\nmuch terrified, the Governors did not submit peacefully to this new\nmeans of intimidation and Ja-Jo-Mi condemned several of the most\ninfluential of them to banishment. No one was in a position now to\noppose the execution of his designs.\n\nHaving thus overridden the opposition of the Governors, Ja-Jo-Mi went\nto the young King.\n\n\u201cAll powerful Prince,\u201d he said, kneeling respectfully, \u201cforgive me if\nI disturb you in your grief. The welfare of the people compels me to\ndiscuss with you certain things which I fain would defer to a more\nopportune moment.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpeak,\u201d bade the young King.\n\n\u201cYou are doubtless well aware that, according to the precepts laid down\nby the venerable philosopher, Kong-Ji, no one can reign in Korea before\nattaining a certain age. In spite of your exceptional intelligence and\nremarkable ability I fear that you are too young to rule alone. Your\nfather, my regretted master, on his death bed, requested me to look\nafter the interests of the State while you were preparing to assume\nthem yourself. It is with great regret that I remind you of this last\nwish of the deceased King, for I am aggravating your sorrow, I know.\nBut I hope that you will conform to your father\u2019s desires and the\nphilosopher\u2019s wisdom.\u201d\n\nJa-Jo-Mi had hoped to convince the Prince with these arguments. Great\nthen was his astonishment when the youth replied:\n\n\u201cYou are interpreting the last words of my dear father for your own\nends and in your own interests. He asked you to guide and advise me\nbut did not intimate that you should take my place at the head of the\nKoreans. Know then, that it is my intention to govern in person. I have\nnothing more to add.\u201d\n\nIt was a summary dismissal. Ja-Jo-Mi, feigning to acquiesce in the\ndesires of his sovereign, withdrew backwards, saying:\n\n\u201cSire, it shall be as you wish.\u201d\n\nThus the ambitious Minister had encountered, in the energy of the young\nKing, a formidable obstruction in the path of his plans. But it did not\ndiscourage him. Since the Prince would not relinquish his post with a\ngood grace, he would commandeer it by force. It would be very easy.\nAll the office-holders at the Capital were devoted to Ja-Jo-Mi, for it\nwas through him that they held their places. The people were not to\nbe feared for they lacked leaders. One bright and beautiful day, the\nKing found himself under arrest and transported to Cho-To. The Prime\nMinister had ordered the prisoner to be guarded by the troops day and\nnight and the deposed Prince was kept under the strictest surveillance\nall the time.\n\nJa-Jo-Mi, the unscrupulous, for the time being, was master of the land.\nHe hoped soon to be completely rid of the legitimate King and to finish\nhis days tranquilly on the throne that he had so treacherously usurped.\n\nThese events had caused a growing unrest throughout the length and\nbreadth of Korea. The people were talking and grumbling, but they\ndid not dare openly to manifest their disapproval. The conduct of\nthe Prime Minister became an every-day topic of conversation. On the\nstreet corners, bolder groups were wont to gather and discuss matters\nvigorously.\n\nOne day, when San-Syeng was out walking he noticed one of these crowds;\nhe hurried back to his lodgings and inquired of Hong-Jun, his landlord,\nwho had formerly held an important commission in the army,\n\n\u201cWhat has happened? I see that the inhabitants of this city, ordinarily\nso calm and peaceful, laboring under unusual excitement. What\u2019s the\ncause of it?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat, don\u2019t you know?\u201d replied Hong-Jun. \u201cIt is rumored that the Prime\nMinister, who always did have a detestable reputation, has just crowned\nhis infamy by exiling the King\u2019s son. Instead of occupying the throne,\nour young ruler is in prison.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng was thunder-struck. Heeding only the impulses of his noble\nheart, he resolved to discover some means to help the unfortunate young\nruler.\n\nHe had a dream that night which served to strengthen his resolution. He\nsaw in his dream a person whom he had already met in the course of his\ntravels and who asked his name.\n\n\u201cMy name is San-Syeng.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood, I belong to the same family as you. My name is San-Houni. I was\nbanished from the Capital by Ja-Jo-Mi. While on my way to the island\nof Ko-Kum-To I was murdered by the robber Su-Rung. Listen, for I have\nsomething to ask of you. At this very moment, the deceased King\u2019s son\nis in exile at Cho-To. He is also a victim of Ja-Jo-Mi. Go, help him.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng told his questioner that he had fully made up his mind to\nassist the young ruler. \u201cCan you not,\u201d he added subsequently, \u201cgive me\nsome information about my family?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is impossible for me to grant your wish for the present,\u201d was the\nrejoinder, and the vision disappeared. When San-Syeng awoke he recalled\nhis dream in all its minute details.\n\nWhat could this mystery be which surrounded Su-Rung? San-Syeng had\nheard the man whom he regarded as a father spoken of as a thief and now\nhe was pictured as an assassin. All this gave the young man food for\nserious reflection. However, the most urgent matter now was to go to\nthe succour of the young exile and San-Syeng took immediate steps to\nleave for Cho-To.\n\nIt was an island that was easily accessible but by the orders of\nJa-Jo-Mi no one was permitted to land there without a permit from the\nPrime Minister. In vain did San-Syeng try to evade the vigilance of the\nsoldiers who were guarding the shore. He was forced to confess that it\nwas impossible to land on the island. Not disheartened by his failure,\nhowever, he resolved to await more auspicious circumstances for the\ncarrying out of his project.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here endeth the fifth stage of our legend._\n\n\n\n\n  VI\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\n\nLet us retrace our steps. The reader will recall how the adorable\nCheng-Si, daughter of the unfortunate Sun-Yen, had agreed, in order\nto procure help for her father, to become the victim that the Korean\nmerchants were to offer the hungry monsters of the Yellow Sea.\n\nWhen the vessel that bore the young girl had reached the open sea and\nthe merchants had finished a session of prayer, they summoned Cheng-Si\nbefore them.\n\n\u201cThe time for the sacrifice has come,\u201d they told her. \u201cNow you may\nretire, purify your body, put on your most beautiful gown. We will wait\nfor you here.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si obeyed their commands with resignation. She soon appeared on\nthe deck, fresh as a new rose. One might have thought that she was\ngoing to her wedding instead of her death.\n\nThe traders had prepared a magnificent altar covered with white and\nbearing curiously carved incense burners. From the midst of the incense\narose fragrant blue clouds of myrrh. At each end of the table burned\nan immense candle, the flames from which flickered to and fro in the\nbreeze.\n\nThe girl was stationed between the two candles, in front of the incense\nburners. The merchants knelt and began to pray. Cheng-Si, the fair,\nconsigned her soul to Heaven. Not that she experienced regret at\nleaving this life, but her last thoughts were of the blind father whom\nshe had forsaken.\n\nHer prayers concluded, the girl, without showing a trace of emotion,\nthrew herself resolutely into the sea while the vessel continued on\nits way. Cheng-Si, who fully expected to drown in a few minutes,\nperceived with astonishment that she was resting on the surface of the\nwater. In her plunge she had struck an obstacle and this obstacle was\nnothing else than a gigantic sea turtle. The animal kept on swimming,\nwithout seeming to be incommoded by his unusual burden. The young girl\nnaturally seized this unlooked for chance of salvation. She allowed\nherself to be borne by the turtle and soon she enjoyed such a feeling\nof security that she fell asleep and a vision came to her. Her mother\nappeared before her, borne on the fleecy sheets of a cloud, and left\nwith her these words:\n\n\u201cMy daughter, be not afraid. Heed what I have to say to you and, above\nall things, follow my advice. Do not forsake the turtle who has saved\nyour life until he has carried you safely to the shore.\u201d With this\nmessage, the vision vanished.\n\nUpon awakening, Cheng-Si glanced about her in all directions and\nnoticed an island in the near distance. \u201cDoubtless that is to be my\nfuture home,\u201d she said to herself. \u201cMy dream is already beginning to\ncome true. I shall follow my dear mother\u2019s advice.\u201d\n\nThe turtle, arriving close to the shore, turned aside into a deep\nsubterranean passage and kept on swimming for several hours until\nit reached a point where the channel was very narrow. The innocent\nCheng-Si jumped ashore crying:\n\n\u201cThank you, good turtle, for saving my life.\u201d\n\nWhile the large animal turned and swam back toward the sea the girl\ntried to comprehend the situation in which she found herself. Amidst\nthe deep darkness she was seized with a great fear. \u201cAlas!\u201d she cried,\n\u201cpoor me! I have escaped death only for a little while. How can I get\nout of this cave?\u201d Suddenly she saw a ray of sunlight that filtered\nthrough the rocky vault above her head. She turned in this direction\nand saw two small polished stone flasks which shone in the sunlight.\nLying conspicuously close by was a letter addressed to Cheng-Si\nherself. The young girl had had so many adventures in so short a time\nthat this strange coincidence did not cause her any surprise. Breaking\nthe seal on the letter, she read the following:\n\n\u201cDrink the contents of these two bottles. One of them will wash away\nthe fatigue of your long voyage. The other will clarify your ideas\nabout the strange events which no doubt have troubled you.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si drank the two beverages and she immediately felt a renewed\nenergy flowing through her veins. Her head was as clear as a bell. She\npicked her way carefully along the sides of the cavern in the direction\nwhence the sunlight came. Her way was soon blocked by a pile of dirt\nwhich she painfully dug aside with her own hands. Presently she had\nmade an opening large enough to admit her slender body. Drawing herself\nup through the hole she found that she was in the hollow trunk of an\nimmense tree whose roots reached way down into the floor of the cave.\n\nCheng-Si enjoyed to the fullest measure the dazzling bright daylight.\nShe was in an enchanted garden. Not only were there trees of luxuriant\ngreen foliage, spreading gorgeous blossoms caressed by the soft, sweet\nbreath of variegated butterflies, and bees and birds, but the air\nitself was laden with an intoxicating perfume. A huge wall served to\nclose the garden from outside view. In the centre arose a magnificent\ndwelling which harmonized nicely with its surroundings.\n\nAfter a few minutes rest, Cheng-Si picked her way carefully through the\nbriars and brambles covering the trunk of the tree and began to stroll\nabout the garden.\n\nNow it so happened that the beautiful house and this fairy garden were\nthe residence and place of recreation for the young King whom Ja-Jo-Mi,\nthe unscrupulous, in his wickedness, had exiled, as we have previously\nseen. His captivity had already lasted for several months. The young\nPrince, giving himself up to a bitter melancholy, could not take his\nthoughts from the memory of his parents. Ceaselessly he thought of\nhis father and his mother, both of whom had shown him such tender\naffection. At times he would ponder over the future where he could see\nno issue from the plight in which he found himself but death.\n\n\u201cWhy should I cling to life any longer? This everlasting loneliness,\nis it not the most cruel of punishments? Yes, it is better to die,\u201d\nmourned the young Prince so sadly that at his approach even the birds\nstopped singing.\n\nThis very day he was determined to carry out his dismal plans. He\ncarefully made all his preparations. A rope tightly attached to the\nbough of a tree at one end with the other end passed around his neck\nwould be his instrument of deliverance. The poor victim of Ja-Jo-Mi\nsaid his last prayers. In a few minutes his body would be swinging\ninto space. But the Prince hesitated. He had just seen a young girl,\na beautiful vision in white, strolling along the shady paths of his\ngarden.\n\n\u201cWho in the world can that be?\u201d queried the Prince. \u201cIt seems that I am\nnot here all alone, after all. I must solve this mystery.\u201d\n\nHe forgot his plans of suicide; his melancholy mood disappeared. A\nsingle glimpse of a woman had had this potent effect on him--believe it\nor not. He untied the cord from about his neck and started in headlong\npursuit after the charming apparition. \u2019Twas effort wasted! The girl\nturned around a tree and vanished as if by magic.\n\nThe young Prince was sorely perplexed. He questioned whether he was not\ndreaming. But no, his eyes had clearly seen. Later on, when the curtain\nof twilight began to lower its darkness the prisoner entered his house\nto seek slumber but all night long he was haunted by the memory of the\ngirl he had seen in his garden and he could not sleep.\n\nAlmost before daybreak, he dressed in great haste and left the house. A\nbutterfly hovered about his head. He tried to catch it but could not.\nHe stubbornly gave chase, following it in its many turns and wanderings\nabout the garden. Suddenly the insect disappeared in the hollow trunk\nof a tree. The young man had closely watched the insect\u2019s flight, and\nfeeling certain now of capturing his prey, he advanced with open hands.\nHe expected to find a butterfly, and, behold, he discovered a beautiful\nyoung girl before him. So great was his surprise that he recoiled for\na moment, but quickly suppressing this instinctive impulse, he went\ntoward her, saying:\n\n\u201cExcuse me, for having disturbed you in your retreat. I stumbled upon\nit purely by accident. I was chasing a butterfly that took refuge in\nthe trunk of this tree, and in trying to catch it I came upon you.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si needed these words to reassure her. At the sight of the young\nman she was seized with an unusual fear. Her agitation prevented her\nfrom speaking, but the young King continued:\n\n\u201cI am very sorry to have troubled you. Calm yourself. May I ask where\nyou live?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no parents, or home, sir. I was walking by the seashore when I\nfell into the water. A turtle caught me on his back and carried me to\nthis island where I have been for several days.\u201d\n\n\u201cLike you, I am an orphan,\u201d the Prince went on. \u201cI am a son of the late\nKing of Korea. After my father\u2019s death I was banished to this island\nby the Prime Minister, Ja-Jo-Mi. Both of us have been unfortunate it\nseems. But, wouldn\u2019t you like to come and rest yourself for awhile in\nmy house?\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you very much. But as you are a prisoner you are not free to\nallow this, are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cBe at ease about that. It is quite true that I am a prisoner, but no\none disturbs my lonely life. They think that behind these high thick\nwalls, outside of which they have stationed a number of soldiers, it\nwould be useless to inflict upon me other guards or restrictions. You\ncan follow me fearlessly. Come, it will rest you a bit.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si followed the young man. Hand in hand they went toward the\nexile\u2019s home, exchanging very few words.\n\n\u201cHere, this will be your room,\u201d said the young King. \u201cI will leave you\nto make yourself at home.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si, once alone, reflected upon what had happened to her. \u201cThis\nyoung man is charming and very likable,\u201d was her thought. \u201cLike me, he\nhas undergone great hardships.\u201d\n\nAs for Ki-Si, he had totally forgotten that only a short time before\nhe had planned to take his own life. He could think of nothing but his\nbeautiful guest. He was drawn from his meditation by the arrival of the\nservant who came each day to bring his food.\n\n\u201cGood,\u201d said the young King. \u201cPlace it on that table and leave me. I\nshall serve myself to-day.\u201d\n\nWhen the servant had gone, Ki-Si went for the girl.\n\n\u201cWill you share my meagre dinner?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cGladly, sir.\u201d\n\nThey seated themselves and began to eat.\n\n\u201cHow happy I am to take my repast in your company,\u201d said the young\nPrince.\n\n\u201cWhy, sir, how is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I have been here alone for so long.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I should think it must be very dreary for you.\u201d\n\nWhen the meal was over they went for a walk in the garden, the King\nmeanwhile relating all his troubles to Cheng-Si, who was greatly moved\nthereby, and said:\n\n\u201cDo not take things too hardly, my friend. Have patience. Later, when\nyou regain the throne, you will forget these unhappy days.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the young man. \u201cThere will be no throne for me. Ja-Jo-Mi\nwill have me killed.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si gave him a little pat on the cheek and said,\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be sad, my friend. Cheer up. The future will smile upon you.\u201d\n\nSeveral weeks passed. One afternoon, the two went to sit down upon a\nbench in the garden, as was their custom. The young Prince laughed\nscornfully, as he pointed out to Cheng-Si the graves scattered here and\nthere in the sun-kissed grass.\n\n\u201cWhy are you laughing like that?\u201d she questioned.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d he replied absently, and as if speaking in a trance. \u201cI am\nlaughing when I think that life is nothing more than a long mockery of\nbitterness and sorrow and lasts so briefly after all. Like the flies\nthat spend their lifetime in a single sun\u2019s ray, we live but a moment.\nWe strive for honors and glory and what not. And to what purpose, since\ndeath gathers all of us under a common shroud and places us on an\nequality. Friendship and love alone can bind mankind to one another.\u201d\n\nThen he was silent. The contrast between his own sentiments and the\naspect of Nature was striking. The most profound sadness filled his\nheart. Everything out-of-doors on the contrary seemed to be dancing in\na delightful frolic of love.\n\nKi-Si, his head close to the pearly shell-like ear of Cheng-Si,\ncontinued:\n\n\u201cSee that butterfly yonder! He is robbing that little white flower.\nPerhaps he is intoxicated with its perfume; perhaps he is leaving a\nkiss on its rosy lips? Ah, these insects are happier than we mortals.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si was pensive. She was thinking of the many troubles that had\nmade the young Prince esteem life so lightly. But she said to herself\nthat if he could so easily detect love and the loveable in Nature, his\nsoul could not be entirely immune to the sentiment itself. Possibly she\nwas beloved by her companion.\n\nShe said to him merrily, \u201cChase away your sorrow. You will not always\nbe unhappy. As the Spring-time follows Winter, so laughter follows\ntears. Soon the moon will be shining, for the moon loves the sun and\nwill pursue it into the darkness of night. When it rains the earth is\nrefreshed and gladdened.\u201d\n\nThe sun was sinking below the horizon in a blaze of gold and glory.\nEverything marked the hour of rest and peace. The birds were flying to\ntheir nests, shaking the branches in their flight. A great silence lay\nover all Nature. The young Prince took Cheng-Si\u2019s delicate little hand\nin his and murmured,\n\n\u201cI love you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI love you,\u201d was the girl\u2019s answer.\n\nAfter this tender confession, the two remained for a long time without\nsaying a word, buried in a deep reverie, happy in their mutual love.\n\nWhen they had gone home and had finished their evening repast, Ki-Si\nsaid to the young girl:\n\n\u201cIt is customary in our country for parents to give their children in\nmarriage, but we are orphans, so what shall we do to get married?\u201d\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s marry ourselves,\u201d replied Cheng-Si, naively.\n\n\u201cGood, let\u2019s get ready for the ceremony.\u201d\n\nThey drew up a large table and covered it with a red cloth. Two\ncandles--signifying youth; a needle and thread--signifying union; and\nincense burners, were placed on this improvised altar before which the\nbetrothed pair knelt to pray to Heaven, after which they drank the\nsacramental wine from the same cup.\n\nThe ceremony was over. Love soon invited them to its wedding joys and\nthe following days were filled with an ineffable happiness and delight.\n\nNow it came to pass one night that the Prince had a dream. He saw in\nhis dream a large bottle the upper portion of which had been broken,\nwhence a crimson stream was slowly flowing. Ki-Si awoke with a start\nand aroused his companion. \u201cJa-Jo-Mi is going to kill me,\u201d he cried\nwith a sob. \u201cI shall be forced to desert you, soul of my soul. Listen\nto my dream.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si, too, fell a victim to despair. \u201cLet\u2019s save ourselves while we\ncan,\u201d she cried. \u201cWe will set fire to our house and try to reach the\nseacoast. Ja-Jo-Mi will believe that you are dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d vetoed the King. \u201cIt will be futile. I have had a dream which\ntells me of misfortune which I shall try in vain to escape.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, I think,\u201d rejoined Cheng-Si, who had regained her composure,\n\u201cthat you are wrong to be so alarmed at this dream. It does not have\nthe meaning which you attribute to it. When one breaks the neck of\na bottle one holds it carefully by the bottom. This means that your\npeople are determined to convey to you their good wishes, and the\nblood which trickles from the bottle signifies the royal purple with\nwhich you will be vested.\u201d\n\nThis explanation assuaged Ki-Si\u2019s griefs but imperfectly. Nevertheless\nhe said to Cheng-Si:\n\n\u201cWell, suppose we leave. Let the fire burn up this place. I have spent\ntoo many sad days here.\u201d\n\nPlacing burning brands in various parts of the house they hurried into\nthe garden. They made their way to the hollow tree where Ki-Si had\ndiscovered his treasure and through it descended into the cave. Shortly\nthey were by the seaside.\n\nHow could they go any farther? They had no boat. The young King, rather\nthan fall alive into the hands of Ja-Jo-Mi, determined to kill himself.\nHe ran toward the water but Cheng-Si like a flash seized her husband by\nhis gown and showered upon him gentle reproaches:\n\n\u201cWhy would you desert me? Is it not my duty to follow you wherever you\nmay go, even to the bottom of the sea? If you are bound to die, let us\ndie together.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, my dear, you are young. I met you by chance. It is not fitting\nthat your fate should be thus linked to mine. Life for you may yet be a\nhappy one. Let me go. Let me die alone.\u201d\n\nBut Cheng-Si clung desperately to her lover. She wanted to follow him\ninto the Valley of the Shadows; in fact, she would have preferred to\nhave preceded him into the Darkness.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here endeth the sixth stage of our legend._\n\n\n\n\n  VII\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\n\nSan-Syeng had been waiting impatiently for several months for an\nopportunity to penetrate the defenses of the island of Cho-To where the\nyoung King was exiled. He was beginning to feel discouraged when he had\nanother dream. San-Houni appeared before him saying, \u201cYou should take a\nboat and go to the southern cape of the island. There you will find the\nKing and his Queen. But make haste, if you are too late you will find\nthat the Prince has gone to abide with his ancestors.\u201d\n\nOn the strength of his dream, San-Syeng immediately began preparations\nfor his journey to the spot that had been indicated to him. While yet\nsome distance from the island, he could distinguish on the beach a man\nand woman, both apparently very young, talking and gesticulating with\ngreat earnestness. Soon he imagined he could catch a few words which\nwere carried to him on the light breeze, causing the impression that\na disagreement had arisen between the two young people. When he came\nwithin hailing distance he called politely: \u201cWhy are you quarreling in\nthis way when Spring-time is smiling upon you so sweetly?\u201d\n\nKi-Si replied: \u201cWe would like to cross the sea but having no boat and\ndeprived of all resources, we are contemplating suicide. But I do not\nwant my gentle companion to follow me to the grave, while she, on\nthe other hand, is bent upon dying with me. That is the cause of our\ndispute.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive up your melancholy ideas,\u201d remonstrated San-Syeng. \u201cYou are\nnot going to die. I will place my boat at your disposal and take you\nwherever you want to go.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany thanks, you have saved our lives,\u201d cried Ki-Si, joyfully.\n\nThe young King and Queen immediately clambered aboard the boat and\nSan-Syeng made a rapid trip over the arm of the sea which separated the\nisland of Cho-To from the city of Chang-Yang.\n\nWhen they were safely ashore, Ki-Si inquired of San-Syeng if he would\nkindly direct him to a place where he and his wife could pass the\nnight. San-Syeng suggested that they put up at the same inn where he\nwas staying--an invitation which they heartily accepted.\n\nSo far San-Syeng\u2019s dream had been realized. Nothing was left for him\nto do but to make sure that the young people were really those of whom\nSan-Houni had told him. But this was no easy thing. He did not dare\nquestion them too closely. There was too much at stake to reveal the\ntruth. San-Syeng resolved to wait until time and opportunity would\ndispel his doubt.\n\nMeantime, the house on the island where the young Prince had lived\nsince he had left the Capital had become food for the fire and flame.\nThe guard in charge of Ki-Si rushed to inform the General whom Ja-Jo-Mi\nhad appointed to watch the island of Cho-To. The General, greatly\nagitated and worried, gave orders to double the guards about the garden\nwall. Anyone who sought to leave was to be arrested on the spot. Other\nsoldiers were instructed to do their utmost in fighting the spread of\nthe flames. They were too late. The house was now like unto a gigantic\nfurnace.\n\n\u201cSearch everywhere for the King,\u201d ordered the General. \u201cIf he isn\u2019t\ndead he must be hidden somewhere in the garden. Look in all the corners\nand dark places.\u201d\n\nThis hunt was, as we well know, unsuccessful, and the General,\nconcluding that the royal prisoner had perished in the flames, sent\nword to that effect posthaste to Ja-Jo-Mi.\n\nUpon receipt of this news, the Prime Minister was elated. The death\nof the rightful King swept aside the last obstruction in the path of\nhis plans. He immediately summoned the General whom he had placed in\ncommand of the guards at Cho-To, and when the latter came Ja-Jo-Mi met\nhim with these words:\n\n\u201cHow lucky we are! Such an event deserves to be celebrated in proper\nstyle. Let\u2019s have a grand banquet to which we can invite all our\nfriends.\u201d\n\nJa-Jo-Mi\u2019s partisans were living in idleness and ease, wallowing in\nan era of merry-making and debauchery. Everywhere they went they\ncontinually sang the praises of Ja-Jo-Mi, \u201cthe coming King of Korea.\u201d\nThe people, however, were grumbling and commenting, but the fear of the\ntyrant kept them from expressing too openly their complaints.\n\nKi-Si, whom Ja-Jo-Mi believed to be dead, was keeping under cover\nat the little town of Chang-Yang. One day when he was chatting with\nSan-Syeng, the proprietor of the inn burst in upon them excitedly,\nsaying: \u201cThere is great excitement in the streets. Quite a number of\ntroops, who are on their way to the Capital, have just arrived in town.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s exciting about that?\u201d questioned San-Syeng.\n\n\u201cThese soldiers were ordered to guard our young exiled King at the\nisland of Cho-To. It seems that the poor Prince lost his life in a\nbig fire and the General, who had charge of this mission, is bringing\nback his men. The people, you know, fairly hate Ja-Jo-Mi, who holds\nthe support of the army and who has placed a heavy yoke about the neck\nof all Korea. Hence, at the sight of these soldiers, excitement has\nspread all over the town.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you hate Ja-Jo-Mi, too?\u201d asked San-Syeng of the inn-keeper.\n\n\u201cThe same as every one else, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it doesn\u2019t seem an easy matter to me to overthrow this Ja-Jo-Mi.\nHe has the army with him and they haven\u2019t much love for the common\npeople.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s where you are wrong, sir. The only troops really devoted to the\nPrime Minister\u2019s cause are those at the Capital; in fact, the others\nare hostile to him. Why, the garrison of our town and the Mandarin\nhimself are opposed to Ja-Jo-Mi. If our Mandarin were to appeal to the\nsoldiers who are here and if his example were followed by the other\nMandarins, Ja-Jo-Mi and his satellites could easily be put down.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut once Ja-Jo-Mi is deposed, whom can they place upon the throne?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat, sir, is a difficult question. Unhappily, the King\u2019s son is dead.\nPerhaps, however, a member of the Royal Family might be found who would\naccept the trust.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd suppose, for the sake of argument, that it were not true that the\nKing\u2019s son were dead?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe simplest thing would be to confer upon him the succession to his\nfather.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour reasoning is good,\u201d continued San-Syeng. \u201cYou stand well in the\neyes of the people and you are a friend of the Mandarin. Would you\nconsent for us to undertake the enterprise?\u201d\n\n\u201cWillingly,\u201d replied the innkeeper. \u201cWe should get together on this. I\nmust, however, leave you now for a while. I\u2019ll see you presently.\u201d\n\nWhen he was alone with Ki-Si, San-Syeng asked: \u201cWould you like to join\nus in our fight against Ja-Jo-Mi?\u201d At the question the Prince, who had\nseemed afflicted with great uneasiness and a sort of illness during\nthe preceding conversation, fell to the floor in a faint. San-Syeng\nturned his attention at once to the prostrate form of his friend who\nlay as rigid as a log and seemed to be unable to utter the least\nsound. San-Syeng called Cheng-Si and she came running in terror to her\nhusband. San-Houni\u2019s son told her what had taken place. The young woman\nthrew herself on her husband\u2019s breast and drenched him with her tears.\nSan-Syeng, profoundly moved by this sight, cried to Cheng-Si: \u201cIn\nHeaven\u2019s name, madame, tell me who you are!\u201d\n\n\u201cI have great confidence in you, sir. You have saved our lives and I\nwill tell you the truth. My husband is Ja-Jo-Mi\u2019s victim, the King\u2019s\nson. I met him by chance. I fell into the sea and was carried by a\nturtle to the island where the Prince was held captive. I became his\nwife and we fled from our prison together and you met us, rescued us,\nand brought us here. That\u2019s our story. And, now you understand, sir,\ndo you not?\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the young King had regained consciousness. When San-Syeng\nobserved this he began to withdraw toward the door saying: \u201cSire,\nforgive my imprudence--excuse my impatience--.\u201d\n\nKi-Si tried to stop him.\n\n\u201cNo, sire, first of all you must pardon the familiarity with which\nI treated you. My excuse is that I did not know with what august\npersonages I was speaking. Now that I do know, it is hardly fitting\nthat I remain in the same room as yourselves.\u201d\n\nIt happened that the owner of the inn was passing before the door of\nthe room where Ki-Si and his wife were and San-Syeng promptly told him\nthe story. The innkeeper prostrated himself and, with his face to the\nfloor, cried: \u201cIt is a supreme honor to be permitted to house Your\nMajesties.\u201d\n\nHe lost no time in telling the Mandarin, who was thunderstruck with\namazement and who could scarcely suppress his joy at hearing the news.\nSummoning an escort of troops, he marched to the inn where the King\nlodged. The soldiers surrounded the house, while the Mandarin, in\nall the glory of his gorgeous robes, went to pay his respects to the\nSovereign.\n\nThe Prince gave him a hearty welcome. By his side stood San-Syeng,\nwho, after bowing to the King, turned to the Mandarin and said: \u201cWe\nmust take our Sovereign to the To-Wan (the Mandarin\u2019s palace, or town\nhall) so that he may be sheltered by a roof worthy of his rank.\u201d\n\nThe Mandarin approved this suggestion, and at once the party set out\nfor the To-Wan.\n\nHardly was he there before the King turned to San-Syeng, saying: \u201cI\nwish to bring about a complete re-organization of the Government.\u201d\n\n\u201cSire, all my ability, all my strength, are at your disposal,\u201d was\nSan-Syeng\u2019s respectful reply.\n\n\u201cGood, then you become my General!\u201d replied the Prince.\n\nSan-Syeng was confused, but had to obey the wishes of the Prince and he\nknew the latter would confer offices only upon those whom he deemed the\nmost worthy among his followers. Orders were issued for the preparation\nof a great banquet and for the dispatch of couriers to all corners of\nthe Kingdom to announce to the people the coming of their King.\n\nThis welcome news put joy and happiness into the hearts of the Koreans,\nand shouts of joy were heard throughout the length and breadth of the\nland.\n\n\u201cO Beloved King! Night has vanished to give place to the day. The times\nof wretchedness and evil are gone and the era of happiness is at hand.\nClouds were hiding the face of the Sun, and the flowers, deprived of\nlight, were wasting away; but the wind has swept away the clouds and\nthe light comes to us again. Everything will flourish in the gentle,\nhealthful rays of the wonderful Sun. Hail, son, hail brother--hail to\nour King! Forward! Hold back--not for fire, nor for the waters, nor for\nthe mountains. Sweep aside all obstacles. If the wicked-hearted seek\nto restrain you, kill them. But look ever to the Sun; its warmth will\ngive you strength and courage. We want you--beloved King! And we will\nserve you and keep you always. Now--away with tender things and soft\nthings--we\u2019re off to war!\u201d\n\nWhile the populace was manifesting its delight in talk and other\nharmless ways, the King was busy with his preparations for the\noverthrowing of the usurper. He questioned San-Syeng as to the distance\nto the Capital. This distance was considerable and, at the advice of\nhis General, he decided that he would put his forces on the march as\nsoon as possible.\n\nSan-Syeng took an active interest in the training of the army. To\ntoughen his men, he made them attach small, but heavy, bags of sand\nto their legs. For an entire day they were obliged to march with this\nequipment.\n\nThe following day, the army broke camp and took the field. The soldiers\nnow having only their weapons to carry, made rapid progress. At\nthe end of two days they were before the Capital City. San-Syeng\nstationed his troops in a cordon about the city with orders to let\nno one--no matter who it might be--leave or enter the town. Then he\nwrote an ultimatum, which he ordered to be copied many times on strips\nof bamboo, and distributed widely in all parts of the city. This\nproclamation announced the arrival of the legitimate King at the head\nof his army and that His Majesty came to give battle to the unfaithful\nMinister, Ja-Jo-Mi, the unscrupulous. The latter was living in an\natmosphere of absolute security. Entertainment followed entertainment;\nfeast followed feast. Suddenly it was announced to Ja-Jo-Mi that the\nKing\u2019s son was at the gates of the Capital with an army and that there\nwas a great disturbance among the people.\n\nJa-Jo-Mi, astounded by the news, summoned his General, at whom he cast\nthe most violent reproaches and profane oaths (some of these we dare\nnot print as the transcriber of this legend is a pious man). \u201cHow is\nit that you told me that the King\u2019s son was dead and now they say that\nthe city is in a state of siege? Who is it that is at the head of the\ntroops who are attacking us?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt cannot possibly be the King\u2019s son,\u201d replied the General, humbly. \u201cI\nam positive that he died in that fire--his body is ashes. Doubtless\nit is some daring adventurer who has brought this horde of rogues and\nrobbers upon us.\u201d\n\nThere was no time for further discussion. The populace, having read\nthe bamboo messages, arose in revolt. They were already advancing\ntoward the Prime Minister\u2019s palace. They burst down the doors and swept\nthrough the palace like the demon waves of the Yellow Sea. Ja-Jo-Mi and\nhis General were seized--the palace set on fire. Simultaneously the\nKing made a peaceful entry into the city at the head of his troops and\nthe people turned over to him the usurping Minister and his General.\n\nKi-Si called his Commander-in-Chief, San-Syeng.\n\n\u201cNo one shall be put to death. It will be sufficient, for the time\nbeing, to throw the guilty wretches into prison.\u201d Subsequently, he\nissued orders to the effect that only Ja-Jo-Mi, his General, and their\nprincipal adherents, be held as prisoners.\n\nThe new King had barely taken possession of the palace of his fathers\nthan he ordered a reduction in the taxes which were oppressing his\npeople. These measures were approved by his Queen who desired that they\nbe even carried further.\n\n\u201cWho knows,\u201d she said, \u201cif the Mandarins will carry out the orders;\nperhaps they will continue to persecute the people to their profit?\nYou must be assured that everything is going as you wish and dispatch\ndeputies who are charged with seeing that your decrees are observed.\u201d\n\nThe King recognized the wisdom of this idea and ordered San-Syeng to\nsend out in all directions honest and devoted men on this errand. This\ndone, the new General left the Capital, wearing the modest clothes he\nhad worn when the King had placed the command of the troops in his\nhands.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here cometh to a close the seventh stage of our legend._\n\n\n\n\n  VIII\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\n\nSan-Syeng had been a very powerful factor in establishing the\nlegitimate sovereign of Korea on the throne but he did not by any\nmeans consider his life work as finished. His primary duty was to find\nhis parents and to return to the lovely girl to whom he had given his\nheart. Despite the many adventures through which he had passed, he had\nnever ceased thinking of Yeng-So-Yei. He did not suspect that serious\nevents were also taking place in her own little sphere.\n\nNow it came to pass one morning after San-Syeng\u2019s departure that\nYeng-So-Yei found her mother dead in her room. The poor young woman was\nprostrated with grief. She refused to be consoled and the solitude in\nwhich she lived merely aggravated her anguish. And yet a new calamity\nlay right in her path. The populace, rising in revolt against the\nnobility and tax collectors, were burning and pillaging throughout the\nvillage and Yeng-So-Yei just had time enough to dash through a secret\ngate in the city wall and make her escape into the open country.\n\nIn a short space of time she had lost her mother, her fortune and\nher home. She did not, however, feel entirely cast down. \u201cAt least\nSan-Syeng is left to me,\u201d was her thought.\n\n\u201cI shall go to the Capital and hunt for him.\u201d In order to carry out her\nproject more easily, she assumed masculine attire and, thus disguised,\nset out on her journey.\n\nNow it came to pass that having no notion of the road she should\nfollow, she completely lost her way. Moreover, an intense fog settled\ndown upon the fields and earth to make her situation more unpleasant.\nShe walked and walked, but to her great despair she met no one, nor\ncould she find the slightest shelter wherein she might escape the\ndampness. Tired, almost unto death, she threw herself down beside a\nclump of tall bamboo, intending to rest but a few moments, but in spite\nof her well-meaning resolutions, she was soon fast asleep.\n\nThe grove of bamboo toward which Fate had turned the steps of\nYeng-So-Yei was the very one where so many long years before Yeng-Si\nhad given birth to San-Syeng. The unfortunate woman who was obliged to\nabandon her child and to become a nun would often visit the spot which\nbrought back such painful memories; indeed, she seemed to take a keen\npleasure in seeing the spot where she had become a mother. And the\nsight thereof would cause her to weep.\n\nIt so happened that one day the nun, returning from her sad\npilgrimage, saw a young man, sound asleep, stretched across the\nnarrow footpath. At first she was a bit startled and frightened but,\nconquering her distrust, she gazed curiously at the sleeper. \u201cMy son\nwould have been about the same age,\u201d she reflected. \u201cI will wait until\nthis young man awakes and speak with him.\u201d She stood by his prostrate\nform and it seemed as if she were unable to take her eyes from his\nface. Finally, unable to be patient any longer, and after satisfying\nherself that no one was watching her, she decided to wake the strange\ntraveler.\n\n\u201cPardon my curiosity, sir--but this situation is a strange one.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat situation?\u201d demanded Yeng-So-Yei.\n\n\u201cHow comes it that you are sleeping here on this road?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt comes--because I was very tired.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere do you live?\u201d\n\n\u201cAt Yen-Yu, but I am on my way to the Capital.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the Capital? But you are not on the right road.\u201d\n\n\u201cAm I lost? Oh, what shall I do?\u201d\n\nTears came into the poor girl\u2019s eyes. Yeng-Si was moved also.\n\n\u201cHow,\u201d she asked again, \u201cdoes it happen that you are traveling alone in\nthis way? It is hardly safe for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know that, but I am forced to do so for I am an orphan.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you like to come with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but I can accept your hospitality for a short time only. I must\nbe on my way.\u201d\n\nAt these words, they walked together toward the temple of Ro-Ja.\n\nOu-Pung, the sister, consented to take the young traveler in, but made\nit very plain that it was impossible for her to keep a man about the\nhouse for more than two or three days.\n\nYeng-So-Yei asked no more than that. After she was installed in her\nroom, she went to seek Yeng-Si. The latter related the tale of her sad\nlife and this pitiful story so touched the young woman that she wept\nwith her new friend in sympathy.\n\nThe next morning Yeng-Si stopped at the traveler\u2019s room. Picking up\na ring which she saw lying on the table, she examined it closely and\ndemanded, sharply:\n\n\u201cPerhaps, I may be a bit inquisitive, but I would be very much obliged\nto you if you would tell me where you obtained this ring?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a keepsake from my best friend.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is your best friend?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe has gone to the Capital. I want to join him as soon as I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow old is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are almost the same age--both of us. But why do you ask these\nquestions?\u201d\n\nYeng-Si did not reply, at once. Her eyes filled with tears, and\nsuddenly she broke out, sobbing:\n\n\u201cMy son! My poor son! Where are you?\u201d\n\nThese words made a vivid impression on Yeng-So-Yei. \u201cCan it be that\nthis poor woman is my husband\u2019s mother?\u201d she thought to herself.\n\nShe tenderly took her tearful companion in her arms and asked gently,\n\n\u201cWas your son called San-Syeng?\u201d\n\nAt the sound of this name, Yeng-Si, more agitated than before, cried:\n\n\u201cYes, that was the name I gave him and I personally inscribed the name\nof San-Syeng on my baby\u2019s arm in characters that could not be removed.\nThis ring, which I hold in my hand, I placed in his clothes when I was\nobliged to abandon him.\u201d\n\n\u201cMother, my dear mother,\u201d cried Yeng-So-Yei, throwing herself in\nYeng-Si\u2019s arms. \u201cYour son is my husband and I am on my way to find him.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo my ears hear aright?\u201d cried Yeng-Si. \u201cBut, what in the world does\nthis costume mean?\u201d\n\n\u201cI put it on so as to be able to travel with more security.\u201d\n\nThe two women embraced each other tenderly, mingling their warm tears.\nOu-Pung, the sister, who was passing outside, hearing the sound of\nsobs, entered the room.\n\n\u201cWhat are you crying about?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cGood friend, we have been showing hospitality not to a young man, but\nto the wife of my own lost son,\u201d replied Yeng-Si.\n\n\u201cHow happy I am for your sakes!\u201d\n\nYeng-So-Yei then explained to the nun why she had assumed the garb of a\nman.\n\n\u201cYou were right,\u201d rejoined the sister, \u201cbut what motive impelled you to\nleave the town where you were living?\u201d\n\nThe young wife briefly told the story of her misfortune. She was now\nmore anxious than ever to find her husband and she wasted few words in\nher recital.\n\n\u201cI shall find him easily,\u201d she added, \u201cno matter how changed he may be.\nHe has probably kept the horse which I gave him when he left me and if\nI cannot recognize the husband, I will know my father\u2019s horse.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the nun to Yeng-Si, \u201cthe end of all your sorrows is at\nhand. Follow your daughter and together you will find San-Syeng.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, it will not be our fault if we do not find him.\u201d\n\nAccustomed to having lived together for so long, Yeng-Si and the\nsister experienced keen regret at parting from each other. But Ou-Pung\nwas the first to suggest that Yeng-Si leave with her daughter-in-law\nfor she was happy at the good fortune which had come to her deserving\ncompanion.\n\nSo it came to pass that Yeng-Si and Yeng-So-Yei set out together for\nthe Capital. When they came close to the grove of bamboo, San-Syeng\u2019s\nmother could not suppress her tears.\n\n\u201cWhy are you crying so, mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was here, my child, that seventeen years ago I gave birth to him\nwho is now your husband. A short distance from here I abandoned him to\ngo with Ou-Pung, the nun. These recollections pain me greatly.\u201d\n\nThe two women continued on their way. After several hours\u2019 walking,\nthey came to the shores of a wide lake. Yeng-Si paused by the water\u2019s\nedge, and raising her eyes to Heaven, cried in a weak and trembling\nvoice:\n\n\u201cDear and unfortunate friend, what has become of you?\u201d\n\nShe told Yeng-So-Yei of the sublime devotion of the woman, who had\nenabled her to escape from the hands of Su-Rung.\n\nDuring the few following days their trip was without incident until\nthey came to the town of San-Jon. Here they resolved to remain for a\nday as they were fatigued by their journey and they entered the first\ninn which they stumbled upon.\n\nThe inn-keeper\u2019s son was at once smitten by Yeng-So-Yei who was, as we\nknow, a marvel of grace and beauty. Finding his attentions repulsed,\nhe resolved to obtain revenge--the mark of a small mind. One of the\nmaid-servants was ordered to place in the young wife\u2019s apartment some\njewels which belonged to the young man. The thing was done without\ndifficulty--and the servant swore under threats of punishment that she\nwould tell the plot to no one.\n\nNext morning the rejected suitor entered Yeng-So-Yei\u2019s room, saying:\n\n\u201cMadame, you will pardon me? Some one has stolen my jewels. I have\nsearched in all the other rooms of the house and I ask your permission\nto do the same in yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cWillingly, sir.\u201d\n\nIt can be readily imagined that the two women were greatly astonished\nto see the young man discover in their rooms, as if by magic, the\njewels which he claimed had been stolen from him. They asserted that\nthey were innocent, but it was useless. They were arrested in the name\nof the Mandarin and were taken before him for a preliminary examination.\n\nThey renewed vigorously their denials, the Mandarin meanwhile listening\nattentively. He had been impressed by the singular beauty of\nYeng-So-Yei, but gave no visible evidence of it, and committed the two\nwomen to prison. A few moments after, he had word brought to them that\nif Yeng-So-Yei would consent to marry him, no mention would ever be\nmade of the theft. In case of refusal--it was to be--death.\n\nThe young wife spurned the Mandarin\u2019s messenger with great indignation.\n\n\u201cTell your master that he is a villain. I am married and I will never\nbe unfaithful to my husband, not even to escape torture and death.\u201d\n\nThe Mandarin, very much irritated, gave orders that the execution\nof the prisoners should take place in three days. The keeper of\nthe prison, who was also the executioner, went about his sinister\npreparations. Keenly touched by the plight of the two women, he visited\nthem and said:\n\n\u201cI shall be very glad to render you any service that you ask. I am\nobliged to obey the commands of the Mandarin, but I do not hesitate to\nsay that he is one of the vilest of men.\u201d\n\nThe jailer\u2019s voice trembled as he spoke. Yeng-Si and her\ndaughter-in-law, torn with anguish, were wailing and sobbing. Was it\nthus that they were to leave the world--one without having seen her\nson--the other without embracing her husband?\n\n\u201cOh, my San-Syeng! Oh, my San-Syeng!\u201d they cried. Their grief was\nso poignant that it overmastered their strength and they lost\nconsciousness.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_Here the eighth stage of our legend cometh to a close._\n\n\n\n\n  IX\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\n\nOn leaving the Capital, San-Syeng had a three-fold mission in view: to\nmake certain of the faithful execution of the King\u2019s commands, to find\nhis parents, and to rejoin his wife. The young man did not make light\nof the difficulties that lay before him, but he resolved to bend all\nhis efforts toward accomplishing his heart\u2019s desires. He was optimistic\nand cherished the brightest hopes of having his wishes crowned with\nsuccess.\n\nHis adorable Yeng-So-Yei obviously had the first claim to his\nattention, and he set out with haste to see her. When but a short\ndistance from the town of Yen-Yu where his wife dwelt, the new General\nlearned that the place had been given over to revolt and pillage.\nSan-Syeng immediately mobilized the royal troops from the neighboring\ntowns and order was restored in a few days. The Mandarin, whose\nexactions had been the primary cause of the revolt, was arrested and\nsent to the Capital together with the ring-leaders in the disturbance.\n\nThis task accomplished, San-Syeng made pleasant preparations to\nsurprise Yeng-So-Yei by his home-coming. Alas the house where he\nexpected to find his beautiful little wife had been burned to the\nground, as if blasted by a dragon\u2019s fiery breath. He could not master\nhis sorrow and burst into sobs. His orderly, who accompanied him,\nendeavored to console him, but in vain, and was at last obliged to lead\nhis master away from the heap of charred embers and ashes. He learned\nthat Yeng-So-Yei\u2019s mother was dead and that the orphan, when the fire\nbroke out, had fled and no one could tell whither she had gone.\n\nSan-Syeng naturally determined to travel in search of his wife, but\nhis body was tired and weary and he resolved to indulge in the luxury\nof a short nap before leaving the town. During his slumbers, San-Houni\nappeared before him for the third time, saying:\n\n\u201cMy poor child! You are looking for your parents and you are unable to\nfind them. It is now time to tell you that I am your father. In the\nolden days I enjoyed a great deal of influence at the Court, but my\nenemy, Ja-Jo-Mi, had me sent into exile, with my best friend, Sun-Yen.\nI was murdered by Su-Rung whom I hired to take me to Ko-Kum-To. As\nfor your mother and your wife, you will find them at San-Jon. A cruel\nMandarin has condemned them to death. Hurry to their rescue; the\nslightest delay may be fatal.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng awoke with a start, shook himself and started on his\njourney. Presently he reached the town referred to in his dream. He was\nnot long in learning that his mother and his wife, unjustly accused of\ntheft, were in a prison cell and were to be put to death the very next\nmorning.\n\nThe young man ran to the prison where, of course, he found it\nimpossible to enter, so he had recourse to a wise little trick. He\nentered a merchant\u2019s shop near by, threw his robe over a random object\nand dashed out of the doorway. He was soon caught, arrested, and thrown\ninto prison.\n\nBefore employing this ruse, San-Syeng had ordered his servant to come\nearly the next day with his master\u2019s horse and take his place before\nthe prison gates.\n\nThe room into which the young man was thrust after his arrest was\nvery dark and small. Several persons were already occupying it but it\nwas too dark to distinguish any of them clearly. He joined one of the\ninmates in a loud protest for some light--the inevitable result of\nwhich would be to bring the jailer, who indeed did come running to see\nwhat their outcries portended. He stepped between the two men to quiet\nthem.\n\n\u201cI shall report you to the Mandarin,\u201d he declared, turning to\nSan-Houni\u2019s son. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name, anyway?\u201d\n\n\u201cSan-Syeng.\u201d\n\nYeng-So-Yei and Yeng-Si were naturally very much surprised at hearing\nthis name. They whispered to each other:\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s my son\u2019s name, sure enough,\u201d said Yeng-Si, \u201cbut it cannot\npossibly be he for he is no thief.\u201d\n\nThe night passed without San-Syeng being recognized by the two women.\nAt daybreak, they were startled by the loud neighing of a horse and\nYeng-So-Yei, who had gone to the narrow opening which served as a\nwindow to their cell, cried:\n\n\u201cMother, come here. That horse which has been neighing is the very one\nwhich I gave my husband, or at least it resembles it very much.\u201d\n\nYeng-Si, by way of reply, moaned:\n\n\u201cOh, where can my poor son be?\u201d\n\nThereupon, San-Syeng approached his mother and inquired the cause\nof her grief. Yeng-Si told him of the many sad experiences she had\nundergone since her departure into exile with San-Houni up to her\narrest and condemnation to death by the Mandarin of San-Jon.\n\nWhen she had finished, the young man in turn told his story. His\nconcluding words were--\u201cI have on my arm the name of San-Syeng, but I\ndo not know how it is that I bear these characters which I have tried\nin vain to remove.\u201d\n\nYeng-So-Yei who had been listening to the conversation could restrain\nherself no longer and cried:\n\n\u201cTell me, what was your wife\u2019s name and where did she live?\u201d\n\n\u201cYeng-So-Yei was my wife\u2019s name; she lived in the village of Yen-Yu,\nbut I found her home burned to the ground.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my dear San-Syeng,\u201d cried the young woman. \u201cHave I found you at\nlast,\u201d and turning to Yeng-Si, \u201cMother mine, here is your son!\u201d\n\nTheir greetings naturally consumed some time--their hearts were glad\nand they were not ashamed to display their emotion. And yet the two\nwomen felt bitter and sad to think that soon they were about to die\nafter having touched the threshold of that happiness which their\nreunion promised. San-Syeng ultimately succeeded in calming them. He\nenjoyed, he said, certain extraordinary powers of which he intended to\nmake instant use.\n\nPresently the young General\u2019s orderly visited his master\u2019s prison where\nhe received orders to announce to the village the arrival of San-Syeng,\na special envoy of the King, and to arrest the Mandarin at once.\n\n\u2019Twas but a brief while and the orderly came to report to his master\nthat his commands had been carried out. Meantime, the town officials\nhad rushed to the prison where they surrounded San-Syeng and paid him\ntheir homage. At their urging, San-Houni\u2019s son left the prison and\nbetook himself to the town-hall.\n\nYeng-So-Yei, catching sight of the horse she had given her husband, ran\nto the stately looking steed and imprinted a kiss on the end of its\nnose. The animal seemed to understand her message, for its eyes as they\nturned toward the young wife, seemed moist with tears.\n\n\u201cNo tears now, my good fellow,\u201d laughed Yeng-So-Yei. \u201cYou are happier\nthan I for you can continually accompany him whom I love, while I am to\nbe separated from him.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng, a witness of his wife\u2019s gentle act, tenderly drew her to his\nheart, and kissing her hair said:\n\n\u201cHenceforth we shall never part from each other.\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng, his cup overflowing with happiness at having found his\nmother and his wife at one and the same time, desired to be told about\nhis father, and, at his urgent request, Yeng-Si, with tears in her eyes\nand a faltering voice, related to him the misfortunes of San-Houni.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t worry, mother dear,\u201d pleaded San-Syeng. \u201cAfter so much\nsuffering, you are going to have happiness in abundance. I shall do\neverything I can to make life pleasant for you. Suppose that first we\ngo visit Ou-Pung, the sister, who was so kind to you.\u201d\n\nThis suggestion was very pleasing to Yeng-Si and they started on their\njourney to the temple of Ro-Ja. When they were passing by the lake\nwhich recalled so many bitter memories, Yeng-Si bade her son to pause.\nThe little party halted while she told the melancholy tale of the\ndevotion of the old lady who had sacrificed herself without hope of\nrecompense or reward.\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d declared San-Syeng, \u201cI am going to place a memorial in this\nspot to perpetuate the sublime sacrifice of your poor companion.\u201d The\nGeneral\u2019s orderly was at once commissioned to employ workmen who were\nto begin immediately to erect a suitable tribute to the old lady\u2019s\nmemory.\n\nBefore reaching the shrine of Ro-Ja, Yeng-Si related to her son,\nwhile they were passing by the grove of bamboo, which figures so\nconspicuously in our story, under what pitiful circumstances he had\nbeen born.\n\nOu-Pung, the sister, did not count upon seeing Yeng-Si and her\ndaughter-in-law so soon again. \u201cThis is my son,\u201d proudly declared the\nnun\u2019s former companion.\n\nSan-Syeng showered warm and profuse thanks upon the sister for all the\nattentions and kindnesses she had shown to Yeng-Si.\n\n\u201cDo not thank me, sir,\u201d replied the sister. \u201cI have only done my duty\nin sheltering an unfortunate woman. Buddha has taken pity upon her and\nhas rewarded her piety and her long suffering by permitting her to find\nyou.\u201d\n\nUnder the supervision of the orderly, a magnificent pagoda was rapidly\nbuilt by the water\u2019s edge. Upon it could be read this inscription:\n\n  WITH EVERLASTING GRATITUDE TO\n  THE BENEFACTOR OF MY MOTHER.\n\nOu-Pung consented to go with her visitors to see the temple that\nhad just been completed. San-Syeng had directed that an altar for\nsacrifices be placed before the pagoda and that Su-Rung be arrested and\nbrought to him. All of the thief\u2019s property was to be seized.\n\nThis very moment, strange to say, Su-Rung was telling his brother,\nSu-Yeng, of a peculiar dream he had had the preceding night. He had\nseen himself surrounded by tongues of flame and his head, severed from\nhis body, was boiling in a large copper kettle.\n\n\u201cIt signifies that your end is near and that you will die through the\nwill of man,\u201d asserted Su-Yeng. \u201cWhy must you continue to lead this\nsinful life? It would be more fitting that you experience remorse and\nfear for an envoy of the King is in the neighborhood.\u201d\n\nScarcely had Su-Yeng uttered these words, when there came a loud\nrapping at the door. After a brief struggle, Su-Rung was reduced to\nhelplessness and securely bound. All the stolen objects that could be\nfound were collected, thrown in a heap, and the party turned their\nsteps toward the pagoda.\n\nWhen the criminal was brought face to face with the young General, the\nlatter demanded:\n\n\u201cMy name is San-Syeng. You know me, don\u2019t you?\u201d\n\nSu-Rung, much surprised, could not imagine that his adopted son had\nbeen elevated to the dignity of a King\u2019s envoy, so he replied, coolly:\n\n\u201cYour name is not unfamiliar to me. My son was called San-Syeng.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have a son, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, he left me three years ago, to go to the Capital and since that\nday I have had no news of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you may know that I am the man of whom you boast being the\nfather. But I am not the son of a murderer. I have found my mother\nwho has told me about my birth and your infamous crimes. There, do\nyou recognize my mother?\u201d added San-Syeng, indicating Yeng-Si to the\nbrigand with a gesture of his hand.\n\nYeng-Si, who had been watching Su-Rung attentively for some time, burst\nout with:\n\n\u201cYou vile wretch, so you\u2019re still alive! Thank Heaven it is granted me\nto satisfy my thirst for vengeance. My son, there stands your father\u2019s\nmurderer. Kill him, strike him down, with your own hand! I could tear\nthe very eyes from his head!\u201d\n\nSan-Syeng\u2019s mother was beside herself and he sought to calm her,\nrepresenting that he had no authority to put any man to death without\nan order from the King. Yeng-Si did not insist; her mind was crowded\nwith other more charitable thoughts when, in company with her friends,\nshe knelt in the beautiful pagoda to pray for the soul of the martyred\nwoman to whom she owed her life.\n\nSu-Rung was immediately dispatched to the Capital under heavy guard.\nWhen the troops and their prisoner were about to depart, San-Syeng,\nturning to Su-Yeng, said:\n\n\u201cYou have always been an honest, loyal man. Take these things which\nyour brother has unlawfully appropriated. They are yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you so much, sir. But I no longer am in need of anything, for I\nam going to die with my brother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that? I do not comprehend your decision.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen a tree is brought to the ground by the woodsman, can the branches\ncontinue to live?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if your brother was a criminal, you have nothing to reproach\nyourself with.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat may be true, but nevertheless I am determined to leave this\nlife with the brother I have always loved and with whom I have always\nlived.\u201d And San-Syeng found it useless to endeavor to dissuade Su-Yeng\nfrom his fatal purpose.\n\nBefore returning to the Capital, San-Houni\u2019s son visited several more\nof the provinces, looking after the King\u2019s business. When his mission\nwas concluded, he sought audience with the King for the purpose of\nreporting what he had seen, heard, and done. The Queen was a patient\nand attentive listener while the young General was telling the story\nof his adventures. However, when San-Syeng had finished speaking,\nCheng-Si, with a sob in her voice, cried:\n\n\u201cOh, you are so much happier than I!\u201d\n\nHer strength failed her and she slipped from her seat to the floor.\nThose in the Royal Chamber crowded about the prostrate Queen--at\na respectful distance, however--who was not long in regaining her\nconsciousness. Thereupon San-Syeng asked her tenderly, as he bowed\nbefore her, what had been the cause of her sudden swoon.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d mourned Cheng-Si. \u201cIt has been three years since I have seen my\nfather, and in all that time I have had no word of him. That is why I\nam so sad and down-hearted.\u201d\n\nThe King and his General assured her that they would use all possible\nmeans within their power to find the Queen\u2019s father. The Queen\u2019s pretty\nand shapely head was bowed in deep meditation, when suddenly she cried:\n\n\u201cWell, let\u2019s collect all the blind men in the Kingdom; invite them to a\nbig feast. I\u2019m going to give every one of them a little token.\u201d\n\n\u201cMajesty,\u201d replied San-Syeng, \u201cit shall happen as you have wished.\u201d\n\nNo time was lost; orders were issued to every Mandarin to send every\nblind man in his jurisdiction to the Capital. And thus it came to pass\nthat Cheng-Si collected all the blind men of Korea in order to give\nthem a token.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_But more anon, for here endeth the ninth step of our legend._\n\n\n\n\n  X\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nX\n\n\nMany months had come and gone since the day when the unfortunate and\nbroken-hearted Sun-Yen had seen his daughter pass away to certain\ndeath. He led a wretched existence--his strength being sustained only\nby the promise of the disciple that his sight would be restored to him\nat the end of three years. But the allotted time had passed and the\npoor victim of Ja-Jo-Mi, the unscrupulous, had not recovered his sight.\nHis dejection was pitiful to behold, and he awaited with impatience the\ndeath that would free him from his constant misery.\n\nNow, one day Sun-Yen was disturbed in the midst of his morbid\nmeditations by the arrival at his poor dwelling of the Mandarin of the\nprovince.\n\n\u201cThe King,\u201d declared this dignitary, \u201cdesires to assemble all the blind\nmen of the Kingdom at a banquet. You must go to the Capital.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy strength will never permit me to make such a long journey,\u201d replied\nSun-Yen. \u201cAs it is, I can scarcely take a few steps from my own door.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou need not be troubled about that. I will provide you with a horse\nand guide.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you from the bottom of my heart, but is it really necessary to\nspend so much on my account?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the King\u2019s order. Everything is prepared and you can start this\nvery moment.\u201d\n\nSun-Yen was easily persuaded. A few days and he was in the Capital.\n\nAt the orders of San-Syeng, an elaborate and tasty feast had been\nprepared. The ladies of the Court had been instructed to see that\nnothing was lacking for the comfort of the blind men who had come\nfrom all corners of Korea. They watched over them and came to their\nassistance when--on account of their blindness--they were awkward and\nclumsy. The banquet was nearing an end when Sun-Yen arrived--tired and\ntravel-stained. The servants led him to one of the ladies who could\nnot conceal a grimace of disgust when she saw him. In fact, the old\ngentleman did present a very disagreeable appearance to the eye. The\nlady made a disparaging remark which Sun-Yen overheard and to which he\nreplied:\n\n\u201cI am well aware of what you are saying, but kindly listen to what I\nhave to say. The actions and outer garb of men may differ much, but\ngood hearts and good manners should be in the bosoms of us all. The\nwicked and crafty often conceal a cowardly and vile disposition beneath\na beautiful exterior. People of wisdom pay no attention to form, but\nprobe to the bottom where kindness and gentleness often abide. When\nyou see an apple that looks attractive but contains a worm, you may\ncontemplate its beauty but you keep your mouth away. Heaven alone is of\nlasting beauty and nothing beside it matters. I have been deceived by a\nso-called religious man who had no other intention but a selfish desire\nto supplant his Master.\n\n\u201cI planted a beautiful fruit tree and it bore a single flower of\nexquisite beauty and charm. A gust of wind swept this flower toward\nthe sea where it was peacefully rocked in the cradle of the waves. The\nflower often thought of the poor tree from which it had been stolen and\nthe latter, shorn of its only child, was slowly dying of a broken heart.\n\n\u201cThe crescent of the moon seems to emerge from the waters. The fishes\nare frightened, believing they see a golden hook on a gigantic line\nwhich will lift them from their homes in the sea.\n\n\u201cEvery month the moon is hidden from our sight for a brief season.\nThen soon its light reappears in all its wondrous glory. But I, on the\ncontrary, have never seen the light of day since I was stricken by\nblindness.\n\n\u201cFor three years my eyes have shed tears more abundant than the rain\nwhich comes from the Heavens. My sighs are sadder than the night wind\nthat whistles through the forest tops.\u201d\n\nConcluding, the blind man said, with a sigh: \u201cIf my lack of a comely\nappearance and a rich garb displeases you, put me in a corner by\nmyself, please.\u201d\n\nThe lady was surprised to hear such profound and poetic speech from the\nmouth of this old man. She begged his pardon for having treated him\nwith so little respect. At the request of Sun-Yen he was placed at a\ntable by himself.\n\nWhile he was eating, the lady went to the Queen and repeated to her the\nstrange speech of the blind visitor.\n\nCheng-Si was very much struck by the recital. She told her impressions\nto her husband and then expressed a desire to have all the blind men in\nthe Palace pass before her--one by one.\n\n\u201cI wish to make a present to each one,\u201d she said.\n\nImmediately, the long file began to form, Sun-Yen being the last of the\nline. When he stood before the Queen, the lady said:\n\n\u201cMajesty, here is the blind man whose startling words I brought you.\u201d\n\nCheng-Si summoned the old man closer and said to him:\n\n\u201cWhy do you express such radical views against our government, our\nreligion and the world?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause, my Queen, the world and religion and the government have\ncaused me evils without number. I was powerful and I was exiled. I\nhad the best of wives and I lost her. I became blind and my only\nconsolation, a little daughter, was taken away. She furnished a\nbeautiful example of filial love, sacrificing her life on the promise\nthat I would regain my sight. The poor girl is dead and I am still\ndeprived of the light of day.\u201d\n\nThese words moved Cheng-Si profoundly for in this sordid old man she\nrecognized her father. She uttered a cry.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you know Cheng-Si?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy daughter,\u201d stammered Sun-Yen, and instantly his eyes opened and he\nsaw before him the daughter that he had thought forever lost.\n\nThe prediction of the disciple was at last fulfilled and under these\nhappy circumstances, shaken by emotion and joy, father and daughter\nfell into each other\u2019s arms.\n\nThe King, a witness of this scene--to him incomprehensible--did not\ndelay long in finding out the cause, and he cried:\n\n\u201cStop the banquet. This requires no witnesses.\u201d\n\nWhen alone with her father and her husband, Cheng-Si told the King the\nstory of her family.\n\nSun-Yen was completely transformed with delight as he heard his\ndaughter speaking. When she had finished her story he asked, \u201cHow did\nyou escape death? How did you come to marry the King?\u201d\n\nSo Cheng-Si told her father of her adventures from the time of her\nembarkation on the merchant\u2019s vessel up to her arrival at the Capital\nwith the King.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d cried Sun-Yen, \u201cit was San-Syeng who saved you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, father.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s he doing? Where is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe King has appointed him General. I shall have him brought to you.\u201d\n\nWhen San-Syeng arrived, Sun-Yen asked him:\n\n\u201cWhat was your father\u2019s name?\u201d\n\n\u201cSan-Houni.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this name, Sun-Yen embraced the young man, crying, \u201cOh, son\nof my dearest friend, tell me quickly where your father is.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, he is no longer in the world. He was exiled when you were, but\nhe was murdered by Su-Rung, the thief, before reaching Ko-Kum-To. He\nsleeps with his ancestors.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat, he is dead?\u201d cried the old man, bursting into tears.\n\nSan-Syeng\u2019s eyes also moistened at the mention of the father whom he\nhad never known.\n\nThe King offered them a few words of condolence and said: \u201cYou shall\nbe my Prime Minister,\u201d indicating Sun-Yen. The old man accepted this\nresponsible charge with a bow and a few well chosen words of gratitude.\n\n\u201cNow, proceed with the banquet,\u201d said the Queen.\n\nThe other blind men had been informed of what had taken place and a few\namong them envied the good fortune of Sun-Yen.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d they cried, \u201cWe cannot even see the recipient of this good\nfortune.\u201d\n\nSun-Yen the benevolent, spoke to them in a gentle tone and in the name\nof the King invited them to stay several days at the Capital, and the\nblind men, you may believe, accepted with joy, for they knew they would\nbe well taken care of.\n\nThe new Prime Minister was not long in assuming his office. The King\nconstantly summoned him to his councils. Now it came to pass one day\nthat he sent for him and said, \u201cI am intending to lead an army against\nJin-Han. My father suffered a severe defeat while attacking that\ncountry and it is my duty to avenge him. What do you think of it?\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d replied Sun-Yen, \u201cMay I have permission to reflect upon this\nmatter for a few days before giving you my opinion?\u201d\n\nThe same day, San-Syeng questioned the King\u2019s father-in-law upon the\nsubject of Ja-Jo-Mi and Su-Rung. The young General was thirsting for\nrevenge. He expected to find Sun-Yen in a similar frame of mind but the\nPrime Minister spoke to him as he had done to the King.\n\n\u201cYou will know my decision in a few days. I must consider this.\u201d\n\nWhen he was alone Sun-Yen considered the problem from every angle.\n\nAlthough misfortunes a-plenty had been his share, he did not hold any\nresentment against humanity. He felt a great tolerance for his most\nbitter enemies. \u201cOf what good is revenge,\u201d he thought. \u201cWhat will it\nprofit us to declare war which sooner or later will bring reprisals?\u201d\nInspired by such sentiments, the Prime Minister went to the Sovereign.\n\u201cSire,\u201d he said, \u201cdo you not believe that it would be advisable to know\nwhat your subjects think of this war before undertaking the campaign?\u201d\n\n\u201cAssuredly,\u201d replied the King. \u201cI would gladly be informed upon that\nquestion, but how can we learn the opinion of all the Koreans?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat will be very easy, sire. Have a grand meeting of your people here\nat the Capital. Their sentiment will be the sentiment of the country at\nlarge. I shall have a few words to say, and then if you persist in your\nintentions, we shall begin the war.\u201d\n\nThe King approved Sun-Yen\u2019s suggestion and orders were issued that an\nimmense feast be prepared. Hundreds of tables were decorated and filled\nwith food. The guests were to be divided into five groups: the Royal\nFamily, the Governors, the Army, the common people and the criminals\nand other unfit. The repast, the first of this kind in all Korea, was a\nmerry one. Before the guests separated, Sun-Yen asked for silence, and\nin a powerful voice pronounced the following words:\n\n\u201cBy virtue of my office as Prime Minister, I have taken it upon myself\nto put one question to all of you. Our Master, the King, wishes to\nundertake an expedition against Jin-Han to avenge his father\u2019s defeat.\nIs this expedition opportune? To me, war is the worst of evils. It\ncauses destruction beyond measure, and it is impossible to count the\ninnocent ones who perish on the battlefield and at home. What is the\ncause of your heavy taxes if not the need of maintaining a large army?\n\n\u201cWith peace all is different. The public welfare increases. Mankind,\ncreated to love and not to slaughter, may enter into relations which\nwill increase mutual happiness. Nature furnishes us an example of\npeace, does it not? When we see a ferocious dog on the highway\nattacking another dog, incapable of defending itself, we hasten to help\nthe weaker. Why should we be more cruel with our fellow men than with\nour animals? Perhaps the stronger dog will always seek to oppress the\nweaker, but are we not superior beings and do we not possess reason\nwhich teaches tolerance and mercy to our neighbors? Therefore, it is my\nopinion, sire, that we should not declare war.\n\n\u201cI do not wish the punishment of our guilty neighbors although several\nof them have done me a great deal of harm. Let us pardon them. May this\nexample serve as a lesson to those peoples who have similar wicked\nthoughts.\u201d\n\nThese words met with unanimous approbation. Every one seemed to be of\nSun-Yen\u2019s opinion and loud shouts of approval went up from the crowd.\n\u201cWhat happiness is ours! We are like the grass which the Springtime\nbrings to life, like the beneficial rain after a long drought.\u201d From\nthe tremendous crowd arose cries of gladness which were a token of\nthanks, a hymn of joy and a fervent prayer for the future of the land.\n\n\u2019Twas a happy epoch for our country. Content reigned everywhere. Under\nthe benevolent influence of Sun-Yen, everybody in Korea worked and\nlived in peace.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOne day the Prime Minister disappeared. He could not be found. Possibly\nhe had been carried to Heaven in a cloud--to his last and well-deserved\nhome with his ancestors.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_For it has been proclaimed by The Great Teacher and Venerable\nPhilosopher from the depths of his Wisdom, that all things having the\nappearance of Evil are transient and that Goodness will overcome and\nVirtue triumph._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_So--having passed through the ten stages of its life--our legend here\ncometh to an end._\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\nPage 79: \u201cGovernor\u2019s\u201d corrected to \u201cGovernors\u2019\u201d.\n\nPage 97: \u201crevery\u201d corrected to \u201creverie\u201d.\n\nInconsistencies in hyphenation have been left unchanged.","title":"Winning Buddha's smile : $b A Korean legend","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":26377}