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Page 77
"Alas! how frequently does the purchaser of seemingly vigorous and
exceptionally low-priced flower-seeds discover, when too late, that
they are, in reality, fashioned from the root of the prolific and
valueless tzu-ka, skilfully covered with a disguising varnish! Instead
of presenting himself at the place of commerce frequented by those who
entrust money to others on the promise of an increased repayment when
certain very probable events have come to pass (so that if all else
failed he would still possess a serviceable number of taels),
Quen-Ki-Tong entirely neglected the demands of a most ordinary
prudence, nor could he be induced to set out on his journey until he
had passed seven days in public feasting to mark his good fortune, and
then devoted fourteen more days to fasting and various acts of
penance, in order to make known the regret with which he acknowledged
his entire unworthiness for the honour before him. Owing to this very
conscientious, but nevertheless somewhat short-sighted manner of
behaving, Quen found himself unable to reach Peking before the day
preceding that to which Lo Yuen had made special reference. From this
cause it came about that only sufficient time remained to perform the
various ceremonies of admission, without in any degree counselling
Quen as to his duties and procedure in the fulfilment of his really
important office.
"Among the many necessary and venerable ceremonies observed during the
changing periods of the year, none occupy a more important place than
those for which the fifteenth day of the month of Feathered Insects is
reserved, conveying as they do a respectful and delicately-fashioned
petition that the various affairs upon which persons in every
condition of life are engaged may arrive at a pleasant and
remunerative conclusion. At the earliest stroke of the gong the
versatile Emperor, accompanied by many persons of irreproachable
ancestry and certain others, very elaborately attired, proceeds to an
open space set apart for the occasion. With unassuming dexterity the
benevolent Emperor for a brief span of time engages in the menial
occupation of a person of low class, and with his own hands ploughs an
assigned portion of land in order that the enlightened spirits under
whose direct guardianship the earth is placed may not become lax in
their disinterested efforts to promote its fruitfulness. In this
charitable exertion he is followed by various other persons of
recognized position, the first being, by custom, the Guarder of the
Imperial Silkworms, while at the same time the amiably-disposed
Empress plants an allotted number of mulberry trees, and deposits upon
their leaves the carefully reared insects which she receives from the
hands of their Guarder. In the case of the accomplished Emperor an
ingenious contrivance is resorted to by which the soil is drawn aside
by means of hidden strings as the plough passes by, the implement in
question being itself constructed from paper of the highest quality,
while the oxen which draw it are, in reality, ordinary persons
cunningly concealed within masks of cardboard. In this thoughtful
manner the actual labours of the sublime Emperor are greatly lessened,
while no chance is afforded for an inauspicious omen to be created by
the rebellious behaviour of a maliciously-inclined ox, or by any other
event of an unforeseen nature. All the other persons, however, are
required to make themselves proficient in the art of ploughing, before
the ceremony, so that the chances of the attendant spirits discovering
the deception which has been practised upon them in the case of the
Emperor may not be increased by its needless repetition. It was
chiefly for this reason that Lo Yuen had urged Quen to journey to
Peking as speedily as possible, but owing to the very short time which
remained between his arrival and the ceremony of ploughing, not only
had the person in question neglected to profit by instruction, but he
was not even aware of the obligation which awaited him. When,
therefore, in spite of every respectful protest on his part, he was
led up to a massively-constructed implement drawn by two powerful and
undeniably evilly-intentioned-looking animals, it was with every sign
of great internal misgivings, and an entire absence of enthusiasm in
the entertainment, that he commenced his not too well understood task.
In this matter he was by no means mistaken, for it soon became plain
to all observers--of whom an immense concourse was assembled--that the
usually self-possessed Guarder of the Imperial Silkworms was
conducting himself in a most undignified manner; for though he still
clung to the plough-handles with an inspired tenacity, his body
assumed every variety of base and uninviting attitude. Encouraged by
this inelegant state of affairs, the evil spirits which are ever on
the watch to turn into derision the charitable intentions of the
pure-minded entered into the bodies of the oxen and provoked within
their minds a sudden and malignant confidence that the time had
arrived when they might with safety break into revolt and throw off
the outward signs of their dependent condition. From these various
causes it came about that Quen was, without warning, borne with
irresistible certainty against the majestic person of the sacred
Emperor, the inlaid box of Imperial silkworms, which up to that time
had remained safely among the folds of his silk garment, alone serving
to avert an even more violent and ill-destined blow.
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