The murderer, a man named Hsii Jung. chun, was a_native of P'u-cheong Hsien in Fukien, He lived in the same house with two of his cousins, who were brothers, but kept a separate establishment from them. He was formerly the tenant of an "eight picul" lot of rice land; but by some means the younger cousin ousted him from it and occupied it against his will. He frequently demanded it back again, but was met with curses and blows. Brooding over his wrongs he determined to take his enemy's life by poison. Under the pretence that he wished to kill rats he induced an old barber to purchase for him a packet of arsenic. His enemy, the younger cousin, was in the habit of. rising very early in order to go and work in the fields, and for this reason always breakfasted alone on the cold remains of the family supper, which were placed for him in a special vessel, Inthe dead of the night,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.