MINISTER MEI-KWEI. 265 



tables. The servant in reply said, "I understand;" and making out 

 a list of the articles necessary, he gave it to the mae-pan or compra- 

 dore. It was not long before the compradore re-entered the house 

 with his purchases. Do you ask what they were ? They proved 

 to be two bundles of spinage, eight slices of pulse, a pound and a half 

 of pork, and two pints of wine. The servant was sent to call his 

 young master. The young gentleman, as soon as he had adjusted 

 his attire, ordering his attendant to lock the study door, entered the 

 hall. On seeing his father and mother engaged in conversation, he 

 said, "As you, father and mother, are sitting in state, your son pays 

 his respects." Mei-kwei and his lady with a smile requested him 

 to sit down, when the former addressed him, " As I am at leisure to 

 day, and to-morrow is your mother's birth-day, I have sent for you 

 to present the congratulatory cup." The son in reply said," I under- 

 stand." In a short time the servants brought in four plates of vege- 

 tables, and two dishes of pork, two dishes of spinage, and pulse, 

 with three glasses for the wine. The husband and wife sat at the 

 head of the table, and the son on the side. Mei-kwei addressing 

 his lady said, " Had not you and I some one to depend on in the 

 evening of life, even this entertainment would by no means be agree- 

 able. As our son violates not the principles of decorum, hereafter, 

 doubtless, he will be of great service to us. But the ancient adage 

 says, ' The tutor that flatters his pupil cannot be a good tutor ; so the 

 father that flatters his son cannot be a good father.' Now as I am 

 his father, and not altogether destitute of talent, and my son's bosom 

 is filled with talent, although I am unable daily to read with him, 

 our son should apply himself to an acquaintance with the classics, 

 and occasionally let his father see the result of his studies." The 

 lady with a smile remarked, " Your son studies with a determination 

 to obtain fame ; should he some morning pluck the green bays and 

 deprive you of your fame, what would you then say?" Mei-kwei re- 

 plied, " Though you are an intelligent woman, you are unacquainted 

 with the affairs of life. The sages say, ' The virtuous adhere to 

 what is correct, while the ambitious minister seeks power.' Since 

 his majesty is surrounded by the traitorous minister Loo-ke and his 

 adherents, no one can approach the throne, much less ascend the 

 golden steps to petition for the removal of those traitorous persons, 

 or reward the virtuous. Loo-ke and his faction are rebels, arid his 

 majesty ought to be petitioned concerning them ; his majesty would 

 then extirpate Loo-ke and his adherents ; if petitions be not sent 

 against them, those who serve under them will experience calamity, 

 and have their lifeless heads exposed in the market-place. Could I 

 accomplish my wish, in death I would close my eyes, and smile in 

 hades that I had left behind ine a good reputation, that would be 

 transmitted to posterity. Thus in the first place I should not be un- 

 grateful for his majesty's kindness, which even a faithful minister 

 cannot recompence ; and in the second place, rny rnutulated body 

 would be said to live for a thousand ages. Then I, Mei-kwei, should 

 be able to meet my ancestors, and make known the motives that in- 

 fluenced my conduct. Should those menials say to my son, ' That 

 they fully comprehended the extent of his powers, and cause his 



