"Hasten, O mandarins, let the scissors of disgrace cut off the two tails
of this wretch, and then let the sword of justice sever off his head."
But the rumour of his sentence flew on the wind to Suchong Pollyhong
Ka-te-tow; and before the executioner could arrive, he had mounted a
horse fleeter than the wind, and with the portrait of the peerless
Chaoukeun in his vest, had left even rumour far behind.
Ti-tum, tilly-lilly, ti-tum, tilly-lilly, ti-tum, ti.
And to whom did the miscreant minister fly, to hide his devoted head? He
flew to the wild nations of the north, the riders of wild horses, with
sharp scimitars and long lances. For three days and three nights did the
hoofs of his fiery steed strike fire upon the flints, which he spurned
in his impetuous course, and then, as an immortal poet hath already
sung, "he bowed his head and died." With the portrait of the peerless
Chaoukeun in his bosom, and his mandarin garments raised up under each
arm, the miscreant Suchong Pollyhong Ka-te-tow reached the presence of
the Great Khan. "O Khan of Tartary," said he, "may thy sword be ever
keen, thy lance unerring, and thy courser swift. I am thy slave. O thou
who commandest a hundred thousand warriors, hath thy slave permission to
address thee?"
"Speak, and be d----d," replied the warrior chief, of few words, whose
teeth were busy with some pounds of horse-flesh.
"Thou knowest, O Khan, that it hath been the custom for ages, that the
celestial empire should provide for thee a fair damsel for thy nuptial
bed, and that this hath been the price paid by the celestial court, to
prevent the ravages of thy insatiate warriors.
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