EMPEROR. You say well. We appoint you at once our minister of
selection, and will invest you with a written authority. Search
diligently through our realms; and when you have selected the most
worthy, let us be provided with portraits of each, as a means of
fixing our choice. By the merits of your services, you may supply us
with an occasion of rewarding you on your return. [_Exeunt_.
[Footnote 1: Han Koong Tsew, literally "Autumn in the Palace of Han";
but in Chinese, Autumn is emblematic of Sorrow, as Spring is of Joy, and
may therefore be rendered by what it represents.]
[Footnote 2: In Chinese, Ko-ban.]
[Footnote 3: The mother of Hoeyte, a bold and able woman, who ruled for
her son, the second emperor of Han.]
~ACT FIRST~
MINISTER [_repeats verses_]. The huge ingots of yellow gold I
appropriate to myself.
I heed not the seas of blood which flow by perverting the
laws.
During life I am determined to have abundance of riches; what care I
for the curses of mankind after my death? Having received the
Emperor's commission to search far and wide for the most beautiful
damsels, I have fixed upon ninety and nine. Their families were glad
to invite my selection by rich gifts, and the treasure that I have
amassed is not small.
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