"
"Revenge is not for men to trifle with, nor maids to talk of," he
said. "Harbor no such desires, but rather come with me and I will
show thee more attractive things. This very day doth the great
emperor go forth from the City of Peace,[1] to the banks of the
Yellow River. Come thou with me to witness the splendor of his
train, and perchance even to see the great emperor himself and
the young Prince Kaou, his son."
[1] The meaning of Chang-an, the ancient capital of China, is
"the City of Continuous Peace."
"That I will not then," cried the girl, more hotly than before.
"I hate this great emperor, as men do wrongfully call him, and I
hate the young Prince Kaou. May Lung Wang, the god of the
dragons, dash them both beneath the Yellow River ere yet they
leave its banks this day."
At this terrible wish on the lips of a girl, the good master very
nearly forgot even his most valuable precept--never to be
surprised. He regarded his defiant young companion in sheer
amazement.
"Have a care, have a care, my daughter!" he said at length. "The
blessed Saint James telleth us that the tongue is a little
member, but it can kindle a great fire.
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