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Article A CHINESE TALE. ← Page 2 of 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Chinese Tale.
a day in which his accusers should be heard , and the Minister should - . tmd upon his defence . The day being arrived , ajid the Minister brought before the tribunal , three accusers of principal note appeared from among the number : the first was a carrier who supplied the city with fish ; he deposed , that it was a custom time immemorial for carriers to bring their fish upon a hamperwhich being placed on one
, side , and balanced by a stone of equal weig ht on the other , the load was thus conveyed with ease and safety ; but that the prisoner , moved either by a malicious spirit of innovation , or perhaps bribed by the company of hamper-makers , had obliged all carriers to take down "the stone , and in its place to put up another hamper on the opposite sideentirely repugnant to the customs of ail antiquityand those of
, , the kingdom of Yawaqua in particular . The carrier finished , and the whole court began to shake theirheads at the innovating Minister , when the second witness appeared : he was Inspector of the buildings , ofthe city ,- and accused the disgraced favourite of having given or-, ders for the demolition of an ancient ruin , which happened only to ,
-Obstruct the passage through a principal street of the city . He ob- ^ * served , that such buildings were noble monuments of barbarous antiquity , and contributed finely to shew how little their ancestors understood architecture , and for that reason they should be held sacred , and suffered gradually to decay . The third and last witness now appeared ; this was a widow , who had laudably attempted to burn herself upon her husband ' s funeral ile : she had only attempted
p , for the innovating Minister had prevented the execution of her design , and was insensible to all her tears , protestations , and intrea-. ties . The Queen could have pardoned his two former offences , but this was considered as so gross an injury to the sex , and so directly contrary to all the customs of antiquity , that it called for immediate justice . " What ! " cries the Queen , " not suffer a woman to burn
herself when she has a mind ! A very pretty minister truly ; a poor Woman cannot go peaceably and throw herself into the fire but he must intermeddle ; very fine indeed ! the sex are to be very prettily ¦ tutored no doubt , they must be restrained from entertaining their female friends now and then with a roasted acquaintance ! I sentence ¦ the criminal at the bar , for his injurious treatment of the sex , to be banished my presence for ever . "
¦ Pakupi had been hitherto silent , and began to speak only to shew irhe sincerity of his resignation ; " I acknowledge , " cried he , " my crime ; and since I am to be banished , I beg it may be to some ruined town , or desolate village in the country I have governed . " His request appearing reasonable , it was immediately complied with , and a courtier had orders to fix upon a p lace of banishment answering the minister ' s descriptionAfter some months searchhoweverthe
in-. , , quiry proved fruitless ' ; neither a desolate village , nor a ruined town was found in the whole kingdom . " Alas ! " said Takupi to the Queen , " how can that country be ill governed , which has neither a desolate village nor a ruined town in it ? " The Queen perceived the . justice of his remark ; and received the minister into more than former favour . Jv
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Chinese Tale.
a day in which his accusers should be heard , and the Minister should - . tmd upon his defence . The day being arrived , ajid the Minister brought before the tribunal , three accusers of principal note appeared from among the number : the first was a carrier who supplied the city with fish ; he deposed , that it was a custom time immemorial for carriers to bring their fish upon a hamperwhich being placed on one
, side , and balanced by a stone of equal weig ht on the other , the load was thus conveyed with ease and safety ; but that the prisoner , moved either by a malicious spirit of innovation , or perhaps bribed by the company of hamper-makers , had obliged all carriers to take down "the stone , and in its place to put up another hamper on the opposite sideentirely repugnant to the customs of ail antiquityand those of
, , the kingdom of Yawaqua in particular . The carrier finished , and the whole court began to shake theirheads at the innovating Minister , when the second witness appeared : he was Inspector of the buildings , ofthe city ,- and accused the disgraced favourite of having given or-, ders for the demolition of an ancient ruin , which happened only to ,
-Obstruct the passage through a principal street of the city . He ob- ^ * served , that such buildings were noble monuments of barbarous antiquity , and contributed finely to shew how little their ancestors understood architecture , and for that reason they should be held sacred , and suffered gradually to decay . The third and last witness now appeared ; this was a widow , who had laudably attempted to burn herself upon her husband ' s funeral ile : she had only attempted
p , for the innovating Minister had prevented the execution of her design , and was insensible to all her tears , protestations , and intrea-. ties . The Queen could have pardoned his two former offences , but this was considered as so gross an injury to the sex , and so directly contrary to all the customs of antiquity , that it called for immediate justice . " What ! " cries the Queen , " not suffer a woman to burn
herself when she has a mind ! A very pretty minister truly ; a poor Woman cannot go peaceably and throw herself into the fire but he must intermeddle ; very fine indeed ! the sex are to be very prettily ¦ tutored no doubt , they must be restrained from entertaining their female friends now and then with a roasted acquaintance ! I sentence ¦ the criminal at the bar , for his injurious treatment of the sex , to be banished my presence for ever . "
¦ Pakupi had been hitherto silent , and began to speak only to shew irhe sincerity of his resignation ; " I acknowledge , " cried he , " my crime ; and since I am to be banished , I beg it may be to some ruined town , or desolate village in the country I have governed . " His request appearing reasonable , it was immediately complied with , and a courtier had orders to fix upon a p lace of banishment answering the minister ' s descriptionAfter some months searchhoweverthe
in-. , , quiry proved fruitless ' ; neither a desolate village , nor a ruined town was found in the whole kingdom . " Alas ! " said Takupi to the Queen , " how can that country be ill governed , which has neither a desolate village nor a ruined town in it ? " The Queen perceived the . justice of his remark ; and received the minister into more than former favour . Jv