more keenly I felt how wicked I had been, and the more I foresaw that my
victim's vengeance would some day overtake me. Haunted by this thought,
I lost my nerve, till one night I beheld your spirit, and from that time
fell ill. But how you managed to escape, and are still alive, is more
than I can understand."

"A guilty man," said the priest, with a smile, "shudders at the rustling
of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak; a murderer's conscience
preys upon his mind till he sees what is not. Poverty drives a man to
crimes which he repents of in his wealth. How true is the doctrine of
Moshi [Mencius], that the heart of man, pure by nature, is corrupted by
circumstances!"

Thus he held forth; and Tokubei, who had long since repented of his
crime, implored forgiveness, and gave him a large sum of money, saying,
"Half of this is the amount I stole from you three years since; the
other half I entreat you to accept as interest, or as a gift."

The priest at first refused the money; but Tokubei insisted on his
accepting it, and did all he could to detain him, but in vain; for the
priest went on his way, and bestowed the money on the poor and needy. As
for Tokubei himself, he soon shook off his disorder, and thenceforward
lived at peace with all men, revered both at home and abroad, and ever
intent on good and charitable deeds.




A CHINESE GIRL GRADUATE, By R. K. Douglas