"
It was with the short and sudden breath of the cowering antelope when
the stealthy tread of the pitiless tiger approaches its lair, that
Yang Hu opened his paper in the seclusion of his own cave; for his
mind was darkened with an inspired inside emotion that he, the one
doubting among the eagerly proffering and destructively inclined
multitude, would be chosen to accomplish the high aim for which,
indeed, he felt exceptionally unworthy. The written sentence which he
perceived immediately upon unfolding the paper, instructing him to
appear again before Tung Fel at the hour of midnight, was, therefore,
nothing but the echo and fulfilment of his own thoughts, and served in
reality to impress his mind with calmer feelings of dignified
unconcern than would have been the case had he not been chosen. Having
neither possessions nor relations, the occupation of disposing of his
goods and making ceremonious and affectionate leavetakings of his
family, against the occurrence of any unforeseen disaster, engrossed
no portion of Yang Hu's time. Yet there was one matter to which no
reference has yet been made, but which now forces itself obtrusively
upon the attention, which was in a large measure responsible for many
of the most prominent actions of Yang Hu's life, and, indeed, in no
small degree influenced his hesitation in offering himself before Tung
Fel.
Pages:
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288