—it does seem rather queer—

He kept his vow—

It touches up their pride and helps to lower itFrom then till now, the last night of each year,

The Emperor must sacrifice and kneel before it; Much as our Tatar conquerors may sneer,

It still remains a fact, they can't ignore it.

THE PALACE OF GOLD.

Dear Aunt, were sweet Ah-chiao my bride, I would bear her

From this court and its pomp to some far away scene; There, secluded, shut out from the world, I'd prepare her A home worthy of her, and make her its queen.

Embosomed in hills, their blue summits uprearing,
The edge of the horizon, forming a dome
Of the blue sky above us, the mountains appearing
The natural many-hued walls of our home.

Like the sunshiny tears which trickle unbidden

From the bright eyes of youth; down the face of the

hills,

Now catching the sun, now 'midst foliage hidden,

In their sinuous course trickle numberless rills.

These streams from all sides are eternally flowing,

Till they mingle their tears in a lakelet's pure breast, On whose margin trees and sweet flowers are growing,— There, nestled in verdure, they placidly rest.

'Midst birds, flowers and trees, in the bright sunny weather
She should never know sorrow, and never grow old
In the midst of the lake we'd live happy together,
For there I should build her a palace of gold.*

*Wu-ti of the Han dynasty, when quite a child, was asked by his aunt, princess Chang whether he would like to marry. He replied, "Yes." On being shown Ah-chiao, Chang's daughter, and asked whether he would like to marry her, he replied, "If I had Ah-chiao for my wife I would build her a palace of gold."

THE SQUARE IRON BAR OF LU-KOU.

How came that great iron bar at Lu-kou ?
Who placed it there-

In the bed of the river? Does any one know
The reason it's square?

'Twas the spear of a blood-thirsty pirate, 'tis saidBy name Wang-yen-chang; *

If he could whirl that iron bar round his head,

He must have been strong.

* Wang-yen-chang, E, was a notorious pirate in the T'ang dynasty; he used to levy a sort of "black mail on all passing vessels, and was much dreaded on account of his enormous strength. The name of the person who killed him is not given in the legend, but there is no doubt the death of the giant was hailed with great joy by

everyone.

The square iron bar remains in the bed of the stream to this moment- -as far as I am aware-and is believed to be immovable by mortal hands. I question, however, if it would stay there long if any real efforts were made to pull it out. The Bridge of Lu-kou is the scene of two curious legends, the "Stone Lions," and the above.

He used that square bar both as weapon and oar—
In rowing or fight.

In mid-stream he'd thrust it-his barge to it moor,
When resting at night.

One night at the bridge of Lu-kou he had moored,
And quietly slept;

When his foe, with a knife 'twixt his teeth, swam on board,

And stealthily crept

To the place where the giant was taking his rest-
Perhaps in a dream-

Drove his long knife right up to the hilt in his breast,
And plunged in the stream.

The giant sprang up, with an unearthly yell-
In pursuit of his foe

;

And, blinded by rage, on the top of him fell-
Both sank down below.

Who can tell the wild struggle they had 'neath the wave— How each of them sought

The throat of the other-what death-blows they gaveHow fiercely they fought?

Clasped in death they were found the next morn near the spear

In the stream's pebbly bed;

Like wild-fire the joyful news spread far and near

That the pirate was dead.