Ho Kang-ting, "Bright Censer," the middleman, who represented the Ho family in the house-renting transaction (and ex-Hankow refugee), in hisdeposition describes how the house' came to be rented to foreigners, and how he was afterwards thrown into prison on a charge of embezzling clan funds when the foreigners came and requested the Macheng magistrate to set him at liberty. This being done they all returned to Hokiapu, and the missionaries went to Hankow. Later on, when. Messrs. Wikholm and Johansson came back, the gentry ordered witness to request them not to stay long lest there should be trouble, but being under obligation to the foreigners for his liberty he could not conveniently exhort them strenuously. Besides, the foreigner Mei had formed an illicit connection with Yi Ya, the eldest daughter of Ho Fang-kum (more common. ly called Wu Liu, or "Fifty-six"). He is the landlord of the house in which the missionaries lived, and doting on the girl was unwilling fo leave. Originally it was his servant Yang Cheng-hen who had intercourse with her,. but the foreigner. Mei seeing Yi Ya to be prepossessing in appearance gave her father Tls. 200 to have her. Afterwards the family of Ho Lau-pa, ''Ho the Eight," getting to know of it, he gave him Tls. 20, and Tis 10 to Vu Fung-kuei ('Precious Phoenix," a beggar woman commonly spoken of as Vu Taniang, she is the witness whose deposition is given next,) and Tls. 10 each to Ho Vu-tu "Gemmy Hare," and Ho Chang-mao "Long Hair." "Afterwards, as Yi Ya was not betrothed, the foreigner Mei proposed to marry her, hut her father wanted six hundred' taels so the matter was not put through. At the time of the feast, when the district magistrate fearing there would be trouble sent Lieutenant Tung to request the foreigners to come to the city for a little, they were hindered by their servants who said that there were men to protect them, and the headman, Manly Harmony, engaged Nine Eggs, and others to protect them promising them 400 cash a day. Witness then gives a somewhat similar account of the capture of the four men, the breaking of Manly Harmony's head, the firing of the house by the cook, and the escape from it as is given above by Nine Eggs, and finishes up with "At the time I was at home lud up with a swollen foot, and being afraid did not cone out to see anything, so do not know in what way the two foreigners were killed, Dut T have heard that when the foreigner Mei ascended the roof he took a gold ring and gave it to Mrs. Ho Fifty-six (the landlord's wife, and mother of Yi Ya).
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.