O-po-tae, however, had hardly struck his free flag, and the pirates were hardly in the power of the Chinese, when it was proposed by many that they should all be treacherously murdered.  The governor happened to be more honorable and humane, or probably, only more politic than those who made this foul proposal—­he knew that such a bloody breach of faith would for ever prevent the pirates still in arms from voluntary submitting; he knew equally well, even weakened as they were by O-po-tae’s defection, that the Government could not reduce them by force, and he thought by keeping his faith with them, he might turn the force of those who had submitted against those who still held out, and so destroy the pirates with the pirates.  Consequently the eight thousand men, it had been proposed to cut off in cold blood, were allowed to remain uninjured, and their leader, O-po-tae, having changed his name to that of Hoe-been, or, “The Lustre of Instruction,” was elevated to the rank of an imperial officer.

The widow of Ching-yih, and her favorite Paou, continued for some months to pillage the coast, and to beat the Chinese and the Mandarins’ troops and ships, and seemed almost as strong as before the separation of O-po-tae’s flag.  But that example was probably operating in the minds of many of the outlaws, and finally the lawless heroine herself, who was the spirit that kept the complicate body together, seeing that O-po-tae had been made a government officer, and that he continued to prosper, began also to think of making her submission.

“I am,” said she, “ten times stronger than O-po-tae, and government will perhaps, if I submit, act towards me as they have done with O-po-tae.”

A rumor of her intentions having reached shore, the Mandarin sent off a certain Chow, a doctor of Macao, “Who,” says the historian, “being already well acquainted with the pirates, did not need any introduction,” to enter on preliminaries with them.

When the worthy practitioner presented himself to Paou, that friend concluded he had been committing some crime, and had come for safety to that general refugium peccatorum, the pirate fleet.

The Doctor explained, and assured the chief, that if he would submit, Government was inclined to treat him and his far more favorably and more honorably than O-po-tae.  But if he continued to resist, not only a general arming of all the coast and the rivers, but O-po-tae was to proceed against him.

At this part of his narrative our Chinese historian is again so curious, that I shall quote his words at length.

“When Fei-heung-Chow came to Paou, he said:  ’Friend Paou, do you know why I come to you?’”

“Paou.—­’Thou hast committed some crime and comest to me for protection?’”

“Chow.—­’By no means.’”

“Paou.—­’You will then know how it stands concerning the report about our submission, if it is true or false?’”

“Chow.—­’You are again wrong here, Sir.  What are you in comparison with O-po-tae?’”