Prince Yong-Li was under the protection of the King of Pegu, the latter, for fear of being dethroned by his terrible neighbor, was compelled to give the prince into the hands of the Tartar, who, taking him to Pekin, there had him destroyed in a cruel and ignominious manner. Fortunately, however, the Tartar did not know that the imperial La-Loo, was with her brother, and so, aided by the King of Pegu, I traveled into my own province of Fokien, taking the princess as my daughter, and thy mother as her attendant; and no plan could be so safe, for the Tartar barbarian had proclaimed that all those Chinese nobles who had suffered by the tyranny of Wey-t-song, or Li-Kong, should be reinstalled in their former rank and possessions, conferring upon me alone, for my long and faithful services to my late master, the high and honorable title of 'Faithful to the Emperor.'" "Truly this is a sad and marvelous history," said Chow, taking a respectful leave of the venerable noble, and proceeding to the duties of the ship. CHAPTER XLV. THEY REACH THE PALACE OF THE SEA CHIEF KOSHINGA. Oh! how the heart of the princess bled for the poor people, as sailing along that coast she saw with what terrible haste the Emperor's command had been obeyed. There, as far as the vision could pierce, ran, blazed, crackled one cordon of fire; miles in thickness, this fearful belt seemed as if it were to ward off the attack of worlds of savage beasts, instead of one mortal man. Yet such was the shocking policy of the Tartar despot, that to starve the great sea warrior from the coast, he laid waste hundreds of miles, ruined millions of his new subjects, and turned a fertile and populous land into a dreary wilderness. For some days the little ship ploughed those waters, which, though famous for their tempests, were, as if in augury of better fortunes, now as placid as a lake, till at length they came in sight of the Pescadores, from almost every point of which they could see the colors of the victorious Koshinga. Then they reached the point of Formosa, upon which the Hollanders had erected their fort, but from which now floated the flag of the sea chief; then Chow sent up a signal, and in reply the Dutch guns bellowed forth a salute. Shortly afterward some large barges put off from the shore to the ship, the princess and her party took their seats, and were speedily rowed to the shore, upon which she had no sooner put her foot, than Nicholas fell upon his knees before her, saying, "Welcome, illustrious daughter of the Mings, to the kingdom of Koshinga." "Surely, my brave and noble brother, this is but mockery; for the daughter of the Mings is now but an outcast orphan," said the princess, taking Nicholas by the hands and assisting him to rise.