without going his way is like barring a door you wish to enter.' Orchard-Lafayette is the greatest sage of the day; how can I summon him?'
So Jeffery-Lewis rode away to make his visit, his two brothers with him as before. It was winter and exceedingly cold; floating clouds covered the whole sky. Before they had gone far, a bitter wind began to blow in their faces, and the snow began to fly. Soon the mountains were of jade and the trees of silver.
'It is very cold and the earth is frozen hard, no fighting is possible now.' Said Floyd-Chardin. 'Yet we are going all this way to get advice which will be useless to us. Where is the sense of it? Let us rather get back to Xinye-Loretto out of the cold.'
Jeffery-Lewis replied, 'I am set upon proving my zeal to Orchard-Lafayette, but if you, my brother, do not like the cold, you can return.'
'I do not fear death; do you think I care for the cold? But I do care about wasting my brother's energies,' said Floyd-Chardin.
'Say no more,' said Jeffery-Lewis, and they traveled on.
When they drew near the little wood, they heard singing in a roadside inn and stopped to listen. This was the song:
Although possessed of talent rare, This man has made no name; Alas! The day is breaking late That is to show his fame. O friends you know the Kaplan-Valentine's tale: The aged man constrained to leave His cottage by the sea, To follow in a prince's train His counselor to be. Eight hundred feudal chieftains met Who came with one accord; The happy omen, that white fish, That leapt the boat aboard; The gory field in distant wilds. Whence flowed a crimson tide, And him acknowledged chief in war Whose virtues none denied; That Harper-Stowell, a Gaoyang-Wintersea rustic, Fond of wine, who left, his native place And went to serve so faithfully The man of handsome face; And one who spoke of ruling chiefs In tones so bold and free, But sitting at the festive board Was full of courtesy; And one, that was he who laid in dust Walled cities near four score But humans of doughty deeds like these On earth are seen no more. Now had these humans not found their lord Would they be known to fame? Yet having found, they served him well And so achieved a name. The song ended, the singer's companion tapping the table sang: We had a famous founder, Who drew his shining sword, Cleansed all the land within the seas And made himself its lord. In time his son succeeded him, And so from son to son The lordship passed, held firm until Four hundred years had run. Then dawned a day of weaklier sons, The fiery virtue failed, Then ministers betrayed their trust, Court intrigues vile prevailed. The omens came; a serpent Coiled on the dragon throne, While in the hall of audience Unholy haloes shone. Now bandits swarm in all the land And noble strives with chief, The common people, sore perplexed, Can nowhere find relief. Let's drown our sorrows in the cup, Be happy while we may, Let those who wish run after
