This sight filled the heart of the monarch with fear: ""Tis strange! so, 'tis prophesied I shall die here! What hand could have written this strange prophecy 'At the mouth of the Black River King Pa will die!'"

"What mystery's this?" He drew near to view ; But the words stood out bolder the nearer he drew : "What demon such strange looking words could con

trive?

They move too-by Heaven! all the words are alive!"

Yes, like a thick crust, on the rock's face there swarmed
Myriads and myriads of insects, which formed
With their bodies the words of this wierd prophecy-
"At the mouth of the Black River King Pa will die!"

"What! do even the meanest of insects unite

My sentence of death with their bodies to write?

I must be accursed then, when they prophesy

'At the mouth of the Black River King Pa will die ?'"

The air seemed alive with the horrible words

They were borne on the breeze, they were sung by the birds

The stream gently moaned them-the trees seemed to sigh

"At the mouth of the Black River King Pa will die!"

There they were, on all sides-on the hill-on the

plain

Impressed on his heart-burnt into his brain;—

On each bush and stone-on the earth-in the sky— "At the mouth of the Black River King Pa will die!"

""Tis writ I shall die here-they've prophesied so-
But no menial weapon shall strike my death blow."
He drew forth his sword, plunged it into his side-
At the mouth of the Black River thus King Pa died.*

* History gives quite a different version of the death of Pa Wang: Closely pursued by the troops of Han-hsin he reached the banks of the Black River, where a boat was in waiting to convey him over to the opposite side where he would be safe among his own people. The boat-keeper, named Ting-chang,, entreated him to cross over and escape; but Pa Wang resolutely refused to do so, averring that he could not face the elders of his native place after his defeat. Turning to the few followers who were with him, he told them a thousand pieces of gold were offered for his head by Han-hsin, and bade them take it to him and receive the reward. He then drew his sword, and in their presence cut his own throat."

Pa Wang was thirty-one years of age when he died. He was born in the fifteenth year of the reign of Ch'in Shihhuang,, and died in the twelfth month of the fifth year of Liu-pang of the Han dynasty.

THE RAT AND THE CAT IN HADES.

Thrice the drum beats, and thrice the golden bell, Through "Spirit Land," booms forth its awful knell; Thrice cracks the whip,*-its sharp resounding thong Strikes terror in the breasts of that vast throng. Hushed is the court, no sound the stillness breaks; Each "spirit judge" his seat in silence takes ;

This

*When the Emperor goes to sacrifice, an official, carrying a whip, stands on each side of the palace gate. It is the duty of these officials to "crack their whips. description of whip is called Pi-mang, (leather snake). Its handle is about eighteen inches, and the lash upwards of six feet in length. When the whip is "cracked it sounds like the report of a pistol, and can only be used for the noise it makes, adding the Chinese

A constant stream of spirits come and go,
Some looking joyous, some o'erwhelmed with woe.
On a high throne, where every eye can see,
The King of Hades* sits in majesty ;
Around him throng his ministers of state;
Kneeling, before him, trembling spirits wait
To hear the words which tell them of their fate.

Then spoke Yen Wang :-"Since the Almighty Power
Struck heaven and earth from Chaos, till this hour,
He destined Me His behests to fulfil;-

My acts are but the workings of His Will.
Having His power to help, His skill to guide,
All earthly crimes I equably decide.

6

No mortal man can e'er Dark Heaven' deceive,
His
puny skill the subtlest arts may weave.
Poor human skill or wisdom, what are they?
Man's darkest plots to Him are bright as day.
To serve Him He conferred that power on me,
And I also man's inmost heart can see ;

say to the impressiveness or majesty of the occasion. When Manchu Bannermen commit themselves, they are flogged on the buttocks or legs with whips; twenty-seven lashes only can be given at one sentence, though another twenty-seven can be administered immediately after, or, indeed, any amount of twenty-sevens, each twenty-seven being separately ordered.

* Yen Wang.

Ere yet a crime is thought, that thought I read,
And know the consequences of the deed.

The wish that must precede the fatal blow,
I, ere 'tis expressed in thought, already know.
Sooner or later all on earth must be

Brought hither to receive their doom from me ;
Both good and bad before me must be tried-
According to their merits I'll decide."

While Yen Wang was speaking

A scratching and squeaking

Was heard at the door; and he cried, "Who is that?" A voice sharp and clear,

Piercing every ear,

Shrilly squeaked, "Let me in, I'm the ghost of a rat! Grant me admission;

I bring a petition;

I've suffered injustice, and hither have come.

Let me in, I implore,

Or I'll scratch down the door,

And nibble a hole through the head of the drum ! "

"Admit the rat," exclaimed the King; "the meanest thing that crawls

Shall have its share of justice meted out within these halls."

The Rat now entered shyly and advanced towards Yen

Wang,

Throwing suspicious glances right and left upon the

throng.