SIX WEEKS IN A TOWER. 67 



wives, live in peace under the same tiles, and never 

 separate, except under the pressure of misfortune, so 

 long as the family has a living head. Thus A Shui's 

 sons and their wives and families still lived with him 

 in harmony and contentment. The sons I shall de- 

 signate by their ages. Thirty -Two, the oldest, and 

 Thirty, were fat, lazy, and might have been desig- 

 nated as " bloated aristocrats." To his other accom- 

 plishments Thirty-Two added those of meanness and 

 greed, as became the future head of the family. 

 Twenty-Six was much the best of the lot, being, 

 like his father, modest, active, firm, and truthful. 

 Twenty was pockpitted, presumptuous, and resembled 

 a donkey trying to make itself agreeable. Four- 

 teen was in the disagreeable state of hobbledehoyism, 

 but promised to turn out a good man. The defunct 

 eldest brother of all had been sawn asunder by the 

 rebels ; but he was represented by his son, a boy of 

 eight years old, with an invariably dirty nose, who, 

 on account of his father's services, had received a 

 pension from the Imperial Government, and the hon- 

 orary rank of a petty military mandarin. There were 

 also about a dozen more of Wong a Shui's grand- 

 children, over whom the infantile mandarin affected to 

 exercise severe and judicious control. He also some- 

 times attempted to command his youngest uncle ; but 

 though this was not openly resisted, it usually proved 

 an utter failure from Fourteen's superior knowledge 

 and experience of the world. The wives, except by 



