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131 A CHINESE' STUDIO 131

how he had said to Mr. Chang that his home was a great way off, and how Mr. Chang had taken him to his own home, and finally cured him of his wounds ; when, having no son of his own, he had adopted him. And now, happen- ing to be out with his father, he had caught sight of his brother. As he was speaking Mr. Chang walked in, and Na thanked him very heartily for all his kindness ; Ch'eng, meanwhile, going into the inner apartments to get some clothes for his brother. Wine and food was placed on the table ; and while they were chatting together the mandarin asked Na about the number of their family in Honan. " There is only my father," repUed Na, " and he is a Shantung man who came to live in Honan." " Why, I am a Shantung man too," rejoined Mr. Chang ; " what is the name of your father's native place ? " "I have heard that it was in the Tung-ch'ang district," replied Na. " Then we are from the same place." cried the mandarin. "Why did your father go away to Honan ? " " His first wife," said Na, " was carried off by soldiers, and my father lost everything he possessed ; so, being in the habit of trading to Honan, he determined to settle down there for good." The mandarin then asked what his father's other name was, and when he heard, he sat some time staring at Na, and at length hurried away within. In a few moments out came an old lady, and when they had all bowed to her, she asked Na if he was Chang Ping-chih's grandson. On his replying in the affirmative, the old lady wept, and, turning to Mr. Chang, said, " These two are your younger brothers," And then she explained to Na and Ch'eng as follows : — " Three years after my marriage with your father, I was carried off to the north and made a slave ® in a mandarin's family. Six months

■ Slavery, under a modified form, exists in China at the present day. All parents, having absolute power over their children, are at liberty to sell them as servants or slaves to their wealthier neigh- boms. This is not an infrequent occurrence in times of distress, the children even going so far as to voluntarily sell themselves, and exposing themselves in some public thoroughfare, with a notice affixed to a kind of arrow on their backs, stating that they are for sale, and the ampunt required from the purchaser. This I have seen with my own eyes. The chief source, however, from which the supply of aiaves is kept up is kidnapping. [See No. XXIII., note 10.] As to the condition of the slaves themselves, it is by no

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