評論
打印
the fact is that after Yue-ts'un had been presented with the money by Shih-yin， he promptly started on the 16th day for the capital， and at the triennial GREat tripos， his wishes were gratified to the full. Having successfully carried off his degree of graduate of the third rank， his name was put by selection on the list for provincial appointments. By this time， he had been raised to the rank of Magistrate in this district； but， in spite of the excellence and sufficiency of his accomplishments and abilities， he could not escape being ambitious and overbearing. He failed besides， confident as he was in his own merits， in respect toward his superiors， with the result that these officials looked upon him scornfully with the corner of the eye.
A year had hardly elapsed， when he was readily denounced in a memorial to the Throne by the High Provincial authorities， who represented that he was of a haughty disposition， that he had taken upon himself to introduce innovations in the rites and ceremonies， that overtly， while he endeavoured to enjoy the reputation of probity and uprightness， he， secretly， combined the nature of the tiger and wolf； with the consequence that he had been the cause of much trouble in the district， and that he had made life intolerable for the people.
the Dragon countenance of the Emperor was considerably incensed. His Majesty lost no time in issuing commands， in reply to the Memorial， that he should be deprived of his official status.
On the arrival of the despatch from the Board， GREat was the joy felt by every officer， without exception， of the prefecture in which he had held office. Yue-ts'un， though at heart intensely mortified and incensed， betrayed not the least outward symptom of annoyance， but still preserved， as of old， a smiling and cheerful countenance.
He handed over charge of all official business and removed the savings which he had accumulated during the several years he had been in office， his family and all his chattels to his original home； where， after having put everything in proper order， he himself travelled （carried the winds and sleeved the moon） far and wide， visiting every relic of note in the whole Empire.
As luck would have it， on a certain day while making a second journey through the Wei Yang district， he heard the news that the Salt Commissioner appointed this year was Lin Ju-hai. This Lin Ju-hai's family name was Lin， his name Hai and his style Ju-hai. He had obtained the third place in the previous triennial examination， and had， by this time， already risen to the rank of Director of the Court of Censors. He was a native of Ku Su. He had been recently named by Imperial appointment a Censor attached to the Salt Inspectorate， and had arrived at his post only a short while back.
In fact， the ancestors of Lin Ju-hai had， from years back， successively inherited the title of Marquis， which rank， by its present descent to Ju-hai， had already been enjoyed by five generations. When first conferred， the hereditary right to the title had been limited to three generations； but of late years， by an act of magnanimous favour and generous beneficence， extraordinary bounty had been superadded； and on the arrival of the succession to the father of Ju-hai， the right had been extended to another deGREe. It had now descended to Ju-hai， who had， besides this title of nobility， begun his career as a successful graduate. But though his family had been through uninterrupted ages the recipient of imperial bounties， his kindred had all been anyhow men of culture.
the only misfortune had been that the several branches of the Lin family had not been prolific， so that the numbers of its members continued limited； and though there existed several households， they were all however to Ju-hai no closer relatives than first cousins. Neither were there any connections of the same lineage， or of the same parentage.
Ju-hai was at this date past forty； and had only had a son， who had died the previous year， in the third year of his age. Though he had several handmaids， he had not had the good fortune of having another son； but this was too a matter that could not be remedied.
