Page 15 - incense-bearers of han

CHAPTER II - LEE-BORN-OF THE-SPIRIT

MIGHTY IN PRAYER AND FAITH

The church in the Eighth Village was in an uproar. Every tongue was wagging at
the defection from sound morals of Deacon Lee-Hope-to-get-Rich.

The more tolerant souls were urging that a little less acrimony be directed toward
him, since after all (it appeared that) he was more a victim than an instigator of the

untoward circumstances which now engulfed him.

Deacon Lee was an itinerant peddler of books, the books being predominantly
novels and folklore of none too good repute.

Since becoming connected with the Hall of the Jesus Doctrine his way of life had
not visibly altered to the outside world, and though he had been elevated to the
exalted office of Deacon by the election of his fellow-members, it was rather in

deference to the fact that he was a man of persuasive eloquence than because of any
outstanding spiritual qualities. In fact he was distinctly sub-par in the esteem of those
who had in pretence or in truth named the Name of Christ.

There had been, however, up to this time no outstanding charge against him. Even

though she was childless, he had been faithful to his wife, and had never made the
slightest move to take an additional wife in the hopes of having children to carry on
the family tradition. The latter course was both desirable and advisable according to

the ancient code of his nation and his heathen relatives had urged him to pursue it. But
he had steadfastly eschewed it as being out of keeping with the “customs” of the Jesus
Hall.

It came to pass that one of Deacon Lee‟s brothers, having migrated to the city of

Nanking, had prospered in business. In accordance with the traditions of clan-loyalty,
he cast around in his mind for some means of enhancing the power and increasing the
numbers of the House of Lee.

He bethought himself of the fact that his elder brother Lee-Hope-to-get-Rich had
neither gotten rich nor produced sons, the latter failure being the more lamentable of
the two. The difficulty had been further aggravated because his brother, having joined
himself to the Jesus Hall of the foreign doctrine, had insisted on denying himself a
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