PARTISAN REVIEW
read about the trials and tortures he had undergone, his release after
he had signed a ridiculous confession, and finally
his
expulsion.
Neither the newspapers here nor those in Hongkong, where he had
stayed a few weeks before he came to Formosa, had attached any
importance to that document except that it would serve as another
instance of the Soviet farce of "justice." But his vehemence in bring–
ing down the accusation upon himself at this moment made it very
hard for me to put in a word of comfort. I had come here to hear
him
talk about his experience on the mainland, and now he was
right in the painful subject without even any trouble on my part
in
broaching it. A man with his learning and his experiences might talk
about almost anything and it would still be interesting. But where I
had expected reminiscences and anecdotes that would come in trickles
and streams, I was hearing now the distant roars of a cataract which,
unless checked in time, would drown me in a flood of lamentations
and religious discourse and thus defeat the purpose of my interview.
I would rather have the lights in his vast storehouse turned on
gradually, one at a time, so that I might have an unhurried look at
the wealth he had hoarded; but such a sudden blaze of passion, of
religious fervor and sincerity, dazzled and blinded me. I was par–
ticularly alarmed at his aspect at the moment-his fingers and eye–
brows were trembling, beads of perspiration were bursting forth on
his forehead, and his eyes had sunken so deep that I could not tell
whether they were still searching his own conscience or looking up–
ward at
his
God for grace and forgiveness, whether they were re–
viewing the past or staring at a point in the distant future where,
despite
his
ego, he was contemplating meeting again "his flock" on
the Chinese mainland. His language was still the dialect of H-–
Province, but now that his foreign accent was emphasized by his emo–
tional tone, it sounded pathetic, and his voice was that of a worn–
out pipe. Perhaps it was inhuman to get the old man so excited; I
tried to revert to the lighter subjects with which our conversation
had begun.
"""r
"No one would ever take the Communist propaganda seriously.
But the Chinese people will always be grateful for the good deeds
you have done for us. This nice little house,
if
it is a gift as you
have said, is concrete evidence, even if in a small way, of our
gratitude."
