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Show IiilflM THE LADY WITH THE FAN fiflBsV By Anatolo France.) f ffljj& Tchouang-Tson, who was of the country of illlflB Soung, was a man whoso wisdom had taught him i'llH detachment from all things of this world, and, be- -vlBB Ing a good Gninaman, ue diu" not DelIeVG In things f k J jflfl eternal. '!iBfl Now ifc 80 happened tuat ono brlSt morning he 'liBB was saunterInS along the flowery slope of the 'llBH mountain called Nan-Hoa, and ho came to a ceme- ''fjlBB tery, where, according to tho usage of the coun- -IfBB try' tlie deau sleGp unuGr little mounds of earth. lliflH When he saw these tombs, which extended as far '11991 as tho eye could reacu tlie philosopher began to ' iBB meditate upon tho ultimate destink of man. jIflH "Alas-" he said, "here is the cross-roads where IBB a Patlis terminate. When one has once taken IfBH llis place among tuG dead lie never returns." J J IBB s It must be admitted that this idea was not very 'Ifln original, but, after all, it sums up the philosophy " '1BB oE Tcll0UanS-Tsen, and that of the Chinese in gen- Kyjj . jiJflH eral. These people know but one life, and that is twl iiBfif tllG one in wni(m you can look upon tlie sun shin" Hwl "HBfi lns upon tue PeonlGS- Ii-iiMH As ho wandered about among the tombs, lost 'f IBB n bought, lie met a yunS woman who was '"'IBB clothed in mourning; that is to say, she had on a ' 'iSHI Iong wnlte seamless dress of coarse cotton. '"'iBB Soated by a grave, she moved her fan to and fro ' 199f over tne receny upturned earth. IBB Curious to know what was her motive in thus IBB fanning a newly made grave, Tchouang-Tsen ' I iBB bowed low and courteously to the young lady and slBB said: "Might I ask, madame, who the person is fflwsB who 1Ies wItnm tuIs tomb," and why you take 80 jfBB much trouble to fan the earth which has been iKfl ' heaped upon him? I am a philosopher. I am 1 HbsB always looking for cause and effect, and I cannot 'ViBIB understand tho reason for your strange actions." JmHV Tne younS lady continued to move her fan to 'IHB and fro Sne blushed, bowed her head and mur- ,' 'IHHl mured some words which the sage could not hear. l 19B Hg asked tllQ Quest1011 several times, but could !BB get n0 answer Tne yunS woman seemed to pay ''ftisfll no attentIon to nim and !t was as i a11 tne ;.i lilH strength of her soul were concentrated in the hand tlfSK wnIcn was moving the fan slowly but incessantly Mm iIBB Tchouang-Tsen withdrew regretfully. While he H t ilBfl knew that all is vanity in this world, his philo- H ' liBfl sophic mind inclined him to seek out the' reasons Bn ffliBfl for numan actlons and especially reasons for those mm MBB of women; for this class of humanity Inspired him B i 11BB vrlth a deep, malevolent curiosity. He walked mm iEmmm '' slowly away, turning back now and then in spite HI i i1H ' of uimsel to watcu that fan which never stopped, B llfJBi and looked like the wing of a huge butterfly. li: WBKl ': Suddenly there appeared before him an old B a 'flHB ' woman whose presence he had not hitherto re- mm 1 marked, and she made sign to him to follow her. H 'I nfll e dIu 80 and wlien tney came within the shade 16 l 'mmm f llishor tlmn tIie others' 8ne B ! (ShI "I lieard yu aslc my mistress a question, which H ' I lmm sne not answer But 1 satisfy your curi- mm I iSnl osity because I am naturally obliging and also in Br! I 'Wmfm tnQ hope tllat you slvo m0 enouSh money to K i uy from tlie PrIest a magic paper which will pro- mm ' I1 'lH Tchouang took from his purse a coin and B i ilJBV handed it to the old woman, and thereupon she ' llisflE "This lady whom you saw by the tomb is Lady IB f'BBB Lu' wIdow oE a writer who was called Tao, and IB ? HbB wll die(i som fifteen days ago, after a long 111- 'HB ness, and was buried there. They loved each mm i IWmmm other very tenderly. Although knowing that B5 iB death was upon him, Tao could not bo content to B i iIbbB leave her. And the thought that he must forsake B IJhssB lier m the very flower of llGr youth and beauty was mm ' PmBc insupportable to him. He resigned himself, how- 1mm f Wt&nmr ever, to the inevitable, for ho was a man of very loving character, and well he know that ho must bow to the decree of fate. Weeping at the bedside of Tao, whom she had not loft a moment during his illness, Lady Lu called the gods to witness that she would not survive him, that she would share his coffin as she had shared his bed. "But Tao said to hor: 'My lady, do not swear that.' " 'At least,' she sobbed, 'if I must survive you, if I am condemned by tho evil spirit to continue to see the light of day after your eyes have closed to it, know that I will never consent to become be-come tho wife of mother, and that I will have but one husband as I have but one soul.'' "But Tao said to her: 'My lady, do not swear that.' "'Oh! My Lord Tao, my lord Tao! Permit me at least to swear that I will live at least five years before I marry another.' "But Tao said to her: 'My lady, do not swear that. Swear that you will be faithful to my memory mem-ory as long as the earth upon my tomb has not dried.' "Thereupon Lady Lu swore a solemn oath, and the-good Tao closed his eyes forever. "The sorrow of the widow was beyond words to describo. Her eyes were reddened by tears. She scratched her pink and white cheeks with her sharp little nails. But everything passes away. Her torrent of tears grew smaller and smaller. Three days after the death of Loard Tao she began be-gan to take notice. She heard that a young disciple dis-ciple of her husband desired to tell her how much he sympathized with her. In common decency she could not refuse to receive him. She sighed deeply as he came in. This young man was very fashionably dressed and was likewise like-wise very good looking. He spoke very little about the late Lord Tao and very much about the lady herself; he confessed that he loved her, and she did not seem to object very much. In the meantime, she passes whole days seated by the tomb of her husband, trying to dry up the earth with her fan." When the old woman had finished her story the wise Tchouang-Tsen meditated profoundly: "Youth is short; tho prick of desire gives wings to young men and young women. After all, it must be acknowledged that Lady Lu is an honest woman wo-man who will not break her word." From "Tales" for July. |