of her feet until she was nearly eight, and then bound them very tightly. She was only scolded and beaten when she cried, and the pain was so great she nearly died; and when one of her feet got very bad they called in the native doctor. He said it was a demon in her left leg, so they heated needles and poked them in her legs to let the evil spirit out. But she didn't get better, so they took her to a charm priest some miles away. They couldn't afford a chair, so little Pearl was forced to walk part of the way. The priest wrote some characters on paper, put them in water, and Pearl drank it. Then they paid a good sum of money and returned.
The long walk was too much for Pearl, and she had a long illness, and is now lame. They say it was because she, in her previous life, was a bad man—so she was born again as a woman, and has had all this pain.
I have heard that in the mission-schools of the foreigners the girls all have large feet; but I am sure they must look very coarse—and whoever will marry them? Still, I daresay it's nice to be able to run about without falling. I remember once mother slipped on the ladder going into the loft, and fell, hurting her back; but she didn't blame her feet. "Little golden lilies make an insecure footing," says the proverb.
I was about eight when I was taken to my new home, and the following years were so full of sorrow that I hardly dare tell you about them. I was just a little slave-girl, nothing more. There are many thousands in the same plight in China. I was the property of
