through the semester. I left Shan-yang toward the end of May.
From Shan-yang I went to Li-cheng and from there to Tai-ku. After more than half a year of wandering I was still without a job, and I decided to return to the city of S. It was in the afternoon of an early spring day when I arrived; the sky was overcast and everything was enveloped in gray. There was a vacant room in my former lodginghouse and again I put up there. I had thought of Lien-shu on the homeward journey, and decided to go over to see him after supper. Carrying with me two packages of the steamed cakes for which Wen-hsi was famous, I walked through miles of wet road, avoiding the numerous dogs that lay indolently in the street, and finally arrived at the house where Lien-shu lived. It was bright inside. I smiled as I thought that this must be because he was now an advisor to General Tu. But when I looked up I discerned clearly a strip of paper pasted at an angle on either side of the door. Big Liang's grandmother must have died, I thought as I stepped into the gate and went toward the inner court.
There was a coffin in the dimly lit court. Beside it stood a soldier or bodyguard in military uniform talking to someone who turned out to be Big Liang's grandmother. There were also a few laborers in short coats. My heart began to beat violently. The old woman turned around and saw me, whereupon she cried, "Ah, you have returned? Why couldn't you have come back earlier?"
"Who—who has died.?" I asked though there was little doubt now in my mind as to who it was.
"His Excellency Wei. He passed away day before yesterday."
Looking around I found the guest room rather dark, prob-
