Lafcadio Hearn

Some Chinese Ghosts Lafcadio Hearn

The water-clock marks the hour in the Ta-chung sz', -in the Tower of the Great Bell: now the mallet is lifted to smite the lips of the metal monster, -the vast lips inscribed with Buddhist texts from the sacred Fa-hwa-King, from the chapters of the holy Ling-yen-King! Hear the great bell responding!-how mighty her voice, though tongueless!-KO-NGAI! All the little dragons on the high-tilted eaves of the green roofs shiver to the tips of their gilded tails under that deep wave of sound; all the porcelain gargoyles tremble on their carven perches; all the hundred little bells of the pagodas quiver with desire to speak. KO-NGAI!-all the green-and-gold tiles of the temple are vibrating; the wooden goldfish above them are writhing against the sky; the uplifted finger of Fo shakes high over the heads of the worshippers through the blue fog of incense! KO-NGAI!-What a thunder tone was tha