"Thy servant feared less for himself than for his beloved mother and the illustrious princess, whom he is commanded by the noble Nicholas to rescue from the degenerate soil of China, till it again owns its native princess," said Chow; adding, "From the hour that the vile guide betrayed the illustrious princess into the hands of the rogues, the noble Nicholas has left no stone unturned to discover thy fate." Then, repeating the history of their adventures to the time of his being taken prisoner by Li-Kong, he added, "So enraged was the villain mandarin, that, instead of killing me on the spot, he reserved me for a cruel death upon our reaching Pekin; then, however, being driven from the capital, he took me with him to Chen-si, where I was kept loaded with chains in a damp hole for many months, till indeed the great rebel was himself driven out of Chen-si, when, so ill that I could not walk, I was taken from the prison and conveyed to the house of the physician, who had been ordered to take charge of the sick and wounded, and unfortunately I remained senseless so long, that when I recovered, I discovered that not only had the great Woo-san-Kwei been the general who had punished Li, but that my beloved master had been with him. Bitterly regretting the misfortune that had caused me to miss him so narrowly, I resolved on seeking him in the capital; and so without money or food, but what I could beg on the road, I traveled, being compelled to rest many days upon my journey. "At length, however, I reached Pekin, when, to my great rage, not only did I find that the Tartar prince had seized the throne, but that my noble master had left the city in horror at the great treason of his illustrious parent Chin-Chi-Loong. Then, weary of a world which contained so much vileness and misfortune, I should have myself sought the yellow stream, had it not occurred to me, that it would be villainous to desert the beloved parent whom I had resolved to discover; but, moreover, my master had taught me that it was a great crime; and, trembling that I had ever contemplated such a thing, I rushed down to the canal and engaged myself as a Coolie, for I thought the employment would drive away my sorrow, and, perhaps, throw some lucky chance in my way, and so it happened; for one day, carrying some goods for a traveling merchant, the good man took a fancy to me, and offered to take me with him into the province of Fokien. The offer gave me joy, for I knew that if ever I found my master it would be near the sea, which he loves as if he were a fish, and so it chanced; for one day, after many months' traveling, we lodged at the town of Ho-a, when a few days afterward the Chinese inhabitants became very joyful, and the Tartar soldiers were greatly terrified at a report that the terrible Koshinga, whose name just about that time had become famous, would land. Well, the report proved true, for the sea chief appeared with a great fleet, and