Note 69 — LXXIV. A RIP VAN WINKLE.[65]

Besides the above, there is the story of a man named Wang, who, wandering one day in the mountains, came upon some old men playing a game of wei-ch‘i (see Appendix); and after watching them for some time, he found that the handle of an axe he had with him had mouldered away into dust. Seven generations of men had passed away in the interval. Also, a similar legend of a horseman, who, when riding over the hills, saw several old men playing a game with rushes, and tied his horse to a tree while he himself approached to observe them. A few minutes afterwards he turned to depart, but found only the skeleton of his horse and the rotten remnants of the saddle and bridle. He then sought his home, but that was gone too; and so he laid himself down upon the ground and died of a broken heart. return to text