El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-09

IrlenQs councillor OF me CuluGSb
= legation, Phang Lu, a highly
educated and refined Chinese and
great favorite in Paris. Naturally we
talked about the revolutionary move
ment IN China and, as / champ1Oned the
cause of new China against the old
and sharply criticized the corruption
and cruelty Of the mandarins, I soon
found that Phang Lu did not agree
with me-
THE books from which you have
your information" he said, are wrong.
They describe the mandarins as cruel
blood suckers who grow fat on the suf-
ferings Of the people, but 1 can assure
you that the wisest counsels are given
to our young students and that they
receive a very strict moral education 1t
is customary to tell them moral tales
in which virtue is praised and reward
ed and vice punished in the most ter
rible manner just happen to re
member one Of these tales"
When we had been served with
green tea and cakes, Phang Lu went
You know that. when a student in
China has succeeded in passing all the
strict examinations which the law de-
mands before he is considered worthy
to fill a government position. a festival
Is celebrated in his honor. His
parents, relatives and friends come to-
gether, poems are recited and incense
burned, whereupon is served a splen-
did banquet
The licentiate. Kao-Li, who passed
with honOrs his second degree at Can
ton, was thus celebrating a festival OF
this kind He was overwhelmed with
compliments which tickled his vanity
friends addressed him as your excel
lency and at last, tired with these
and having partaken rather literally
chair.
suddenly he woke up and saw two
of the emperOr's chamberlains ap-
DrOaC1lnR n
the palace where his majesty wanted
to see him. The chamberlains kOT-
toWed deeply to him and addressed
him Is Mr.. President When he had
reached the throne room, the emperor
sraciOusly embraced him and placed
him at the head Of all the colleges OF
the empire. Then he was dressed in
gorgeous robes and sent TO his new
post.
From now on Kao-Li lived in a state
Of intOxication. He inhabited a mag
nificent palace. A thousand slaves
waited on him and Frustrated them
selves at the sound Of his voice. One
hundred women, all exquisiteIy beauti-
Iul, studied his every wish and Wed
with each other to please him. Every
day hundreds Of applicants besieged
the palace gates and brought princely
gifts, rare silks. vases Of precious
metal, pearls and diamonds. But
KaO-Lis prosperity brought him many
enemies and many plots were formed
against his life. He discovered them
all now CT ana the a5bd6bllb were
put to death. But as KaO-Lds power
increased, his vanity also grew and
with it his injustice. He lost the
ability to judge good from evil. He
did not permit any one to go against
his wishes and the smallest obstacle
in his path made him furious
"One day he met a beautiful young
virgin and as her face pleased him,
he had her carried off in spite Of her
tears and the protests of her parents,
and placed her in his household. He
people cruelty until he was hated by
every one The rumOr Of his Cruelties
at last reached the ears Of the EN-
perOr, who ordered his censor to in
vestigate his conduct and report to
him. The report was crushing for
poor KaO-Li and one day when he
was walking through his palace, feast
ing hisleyes at the sight Of his price
less treasures, he heard a great noise
outside He was about to punish those
who thus dared to disturb his peace,
when he saw two officers Of the en-
percr's body guard entering. The
sight Of them made him tremble and
not without reason, for in moment
he was seized, bound. taken before the
emperor whom he had betrayed and
beheaded on the spot.
The miserable KaO-Lf was lying on
the ground his head separated from
his body by the cruel sword Of the
eXecutioner and he felt that his soul
was carried off to a distant city and
taken before a most repulsive looking
Judge. It was the supreme judge Of
Hades and he was occupied in looking
over an immense book in which the
deeds Of men. good or bad were en-
tered.
you are a political criminal. he said
to Kao-Li. You have oppressed the
6eople, been faithless to your master,
and your punishment is to be boiled in
koil.
heartrending. but no one seemed to
hear them. At the end Of a year he
was fished up again with a long fork
and once more taken before the judge,
who said:
you have been purged of your
1 treason against the emperor but now
you are to be punished for your i'm
morality by walking the Mount of
Knives.
This mountain was not very high,
but its sides were steep and full Of
sharp knives planted as closely rs the
stems of young bamboos. Kao-L
shuddered at the sight of it and tried
/ to run away, but one of the demons
l who guarded him seized him and
threw him up on the top Of the noun