18 



TENETS OF CHINESE CHEISTIANS. Chap. I. 



Heavenly Father has ascended again to heaven, 

 that is, the Eastern Prince is no longer under 

 divine influence, and the whole party get into 

 their sedan-chairs to communicate the divine com- 

 mands to the Celestial King, Hung-sew-tseuen. 

 Before they start, however, the Heavenly Father 

 descends a second time, and the Eastern Prince 

 falls again into a trance. The Heavenly Father 

 now issues his commands by the lips of the Eastern 

 Prince to the Northern Prince, who kneels reve- 

 rently in the street to receive them. These are 

 to the effect that He, the Heavenly Father, is to 

 be conveyed to the Hall of Audience in the Ce- 

 lestial King's palace. When they arrive there, the 

 Celestial King is summoned ; he with the Northern 

 Prince kneels before the Heavenly Father (the 

 Eastern Prince) to hear his commands. The 

 Heavenly Father now reproved the King in the 

 following words : — " Sew-tseuen, you are very 

 much in fault ; are you aware of it ? " Sew-tseuen, 

 with the other officers of his court, kneels down 

 before the Heavenly Father and says, " Your un- 

 worthy son knows he is in fault, and begs the 

 Heavenly Father graciously to forgive him." The 

 Heavenly Father then said with a loud voice, 

 " Since you acknowledge your fault, you must be 

 beaten with forty blows." When this judgment 

 is pronounced, the Northern Prince and all the 

 officers of the court prostrate themselves on the 

 ground, and, weeping, implore the Heavenly Fa- 

 ther to remit the punishment which their master 



