In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

57 _ The Spearma n and the Consu l Though the Governor had hoped to do something meaningful b y conductin g the test, it came to nothing because of his relative's indiscretion. Fearing that he might be criticized, he asked someone to drop a hint to the Chief Prefect to use his own judgement. Realizing what the Governor's desire was, the Chief Prefect sen t someone t o give the spearman a talk. Then he examined the offender in court on two occasions. Though h e mad e a sho w o f wanting t o pu t th e accuse d unde r torture , h e wa s unable to extract a confession out of the man, who instead reeled off a long speech of nonsense. All those in court thus concluded that the accused must be a lunatic. 'Does he have a family?' enquired the Chief Prefect . Immediately, his wife and son came up and knelt down, saying, 'He is slightly sick i n th e head . H e ha d dresse d u p t o offe r hi s congratulation s a t a relative' s birthday party , accompanie d b y his boy servant Smal l Wang. Small Wang late r came home an d told us, "When we reached th e Officials' Examinatio n Hall , h e disappeared int o the crowd." Later, the family went all over the place to look for him, but there was no news about him at all. Today, we happened to pass by the prefectural yamen and heard that an important criminal was being tried, then we heard that the accused was a spearman caught at the Officials' Examination Hall. That is why we have come to take a look. Truly it is he! It is a fact that he is sick. Though he has the insignia of an office obtained by purchase, he is not an official , and he i s unable to compose essays. Please will your lordship exercise mercy an d release him?' 596 Officialdom Unmasked At first, the Chief Prefect ignore d the plea. After a while, he said, 'Even if he is not a spearman but a madman, he still has to be detained.' The Chief Prefect then asked for the expectant Prefect who had engaged th e spearman t o b e brough t up . Instead , h e wa s handed a folder b y th e expectan t Prefect's steward, who said that his master was unable to come due to illness. The steward said, 'It is true that my master had intended to come for the test, but he fell ill in the middle of the night. He felt dizzy in the head and his eyes were blurred, so he could not get out of bed.' 'If he was ill, he should have applied for leave,' observed the Chief Prefect . 'My maste r wa s alread y ver y il l when th e Governo r too k th e roll-call . W e servants were kept so busy engaging physicians and buying medicine that we could hardly cope. It was not until the afternoon o f the following day when our master was a little clearer in the head that he thought about the test. By that time, it was already too late.' Thus speaking , h e hande d u p a bundle o f prescriptions an d said , 'Thi s wa s written by Physician So-and-So; that one was written by Physician So-and-So.' He continued, 'My master is still lying in bed. Your lordship may send someone to see for himself. And then you can question those physicians.' The Chief Prefect nodded and sent all the people away. The madman was to remain in detention t o await the Governor's decision. He then made a report t o the Governor . The report stated: 'The spearman is found t o be a lunatic and I have ordered him t o be detained i n prison. As to the expectant Prefect , th e Chief Magistrat e was sen t t o examin e him . I t i s tru e tha t h e wa s sick . Th e physician' s writte n statement is proof. It was necessary for him to apply for sick leave, but he did not make a report of his sickness until his absence was noticed. Though enquiries d o not revea l an y deception...

Share