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THE LOYAL AND FAITHFUL MINISTER 

 MEI-KWEI. 



Translated from the Chinese, expressly for this Number. 

 BY P. P. THOMS. 



IF, in the remotest ages of antiquity, men of eminence were born, 

 Who, loyal to their prince, nobly fought for their country, 

 And with pure hearts and chaste bodies maintained the government, 

 How know ye, that Heaven will not exterminate the wicked ! 



When ambitious ministers oppose the kind intentions of their prince, 

 And the blood of virtuous statesmen flow down our streets ; 

 Be it known in legible characters it is written they shall be cut off. 

 Then will it be apparent, who are men of valour and renown !_. 



MEI-KWEI, the subject of this narrative, lived during the Tang 

 dynasty. He was a native of Chang-chow of Kean-nang province, a 

 man of unimpeachable integrity, who was otherwise called Pih-kaou. 

 His lady was of the ancient family Kew. They had a son named 

 Leang-yiih, ' Valuable Pearl,' whom in his infancy they betrothed 

 to How-yih, whose father filled a public situation ; as yet these 

 young persons were not married. 



Mei-kwei's first appointment was that of a Che-heen Magistrate, 

 presiding over the city Lee-ching of Tse-nan in Shan-tung pro- 

 vince, which appointment he filled with the greatest integrity for 

 upwards of ten years, not receiving from the people over whom he 

 was placed, the value of a mite, or even a cup of water, beyond hia 

 annual income. He had often heard of one Loo-ke, a venal 

 minister, who, by means of money and valuable presents, formed at 

 the capital an influential body of persons of mean birth, the mere 

 peel of the earth. Every thing occurring to their wishes, and promo- 

 tion succeeding promotion, in a very few years they were raised 

 to the highest rank. As regards the independent and virtuous 

 ministers, who merited the imperial favour, or such as were desirous 

 of taking office, when such were had before them and interrogated, 

 they might well be pitied, for disgrace on disgrace befel them, 

 while the number of those who lost their lives on account of their 

 principles cannot be known. 



It was fortunate for Mei-kwei, that he kept up an intimacy with 

 several officers at the capital, whose appointments were of the same 

 date as his, and had it not been for their influence, it is uncertain 

 whether he would have retained his situtation these several years. 

 Is it asked who these friends were ? One was a native of the district 

 Keang -too, of the city Yang, in Keang-nan province, whose name 

 was Ching-shing, otherwise called Tung-tsoo, president of the Le- 



