At the time that the foundations of the new prisons were laid, a leading necromaneer, vexed that he had not been consulted, predicted that some evil would shortly overtake the Mandarin. The evil has come, and there are few who do not connect it with the prediction. A man in the town went away on business, leaving behind a young wife of whom he was ery fond. Word came back through some source or other that the man was dead, and after some time the widow was persuaded to marry again. She was good-looking and the money paid to her relatives was no small sum. A few weeks back the first husband turned up at Faye. With the usual Chinese carelessness, he had not bothered to write to his relatives. Finding that his wife was now married to another, he commenced a suit for her recovery, and she was anxious that he should The second husband resisted, but finally offered to lot her go back, if all his expenses i the matter were paid. The woman and two men were, according to custom, kneeling in front of the Mandarin while the ease was being tried. Immediately the Mandarin announced his decision that the money must be refunded to the second husband, the first husband sprang to his feet, seized the woman by the hair, and before anyone could interfere had cut her throat' and plunged the knife into his own heart. He seems to have felt that to pay the money meant ruin, and to lose the wife was mor than he could stand. The necromancer is now a man of note.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.