7'Z CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 



At the time appointed, the abbot took the brethren of his 

 monastery with their horses, and stationing' them in front of the 

 whole army, cried with a loud voice " Phe n -Leng-Thien, I, 

 the old priest, adjure you to respond to the command of Heaven, 

 and to follow the advice of men ; if you do this, you will be al- 

 lowed to return home, and avoid calamity and disgrace. If you 

 will not listen to my words, then truly I fear you will run to 

 destruction, and I should be grieved that such a brave hero 

 should perish miserably in this place." 



Phe n -Leng-Thien being enraged, cried; " What is the ad- 

 vantage of so many words? Bring on your men and horses; I 

 will this day see which of us is to gain the victory, or perish/' 



The words were scarcely uttered, when he saw Chhoa-Tek- 

 Tiong and Lau-Keng riding forward, flourishing their swords, 

 and shouting the war cry; Phe n -Leng-Thien in great wrath 

 spurred on his horse, and engaged both men. After several en- 

 counters had taken place, Png-Toa-Ang galloped up, crying, 

 " Here I am, I will take Phe n -Leng-Thien.' v On hearing this, 

 Leng-Thien left Chhoa, and, Lau, and rushed on Toa-Aug, who 

 after a few passes turned his horse, and fled towards the mouth 

 of the Hu-tek ravine. Phe 11 -Leng-Thien being deceived by this 

 stratagem, gave chase, and waved his whip for his men to follow. 



When the abbot perceived that the Eleuths had entered the 

 trap, he ordered the signal guns to be fired, and immediately, 

 the two priests, O-Tek-Te, and Ma-Thiau-Heng, with their men, 

 discharged incessantly their fire-arrows and sprung their mines; 

 Heaven and earth were obscured by the blaze and smoke, and at 

 one blow, more than §0,000 soldiers and 1,000 officers of the 

 Eleuth army were annihilated. 



Of the whole army, the General Phe n -Leng-Thien alone 

 escaped with his horse, and galloping iuto the mountain, he soon 

 found the road so rugged and difficult, that he was obliged to 

 dismount, abandon his horse, and walk like a common soldier, 

 being only too happy to save his life, and comfort himself by 

 thinking his time had not yet come. 



The Eleuth little knew that by the Abbot's commands, the 

 Generals Chhoa, Ma, Ng, and O were lying in ambush in the 

 road; when these men saw Phe 11 -Leng-Thien coming along, 

 they could not help saying; " this excellent scheme of the Ab- 

 bot is truly worthy of a spiritual being"! they then rushed for- 

 ward, and under a discharge of their fire-arrows, the brave and 

 heroic Phen-Len^-Thien succumbed to his fate, and perished 

 miserably at their hands. The above event took place on the 



