This
residence is certainly unprepossessing in the extreme, yet it contains
many objects of some value and of great rarity; illiterate as this
person is, he would not be so presumptuous as to offer any for your
acceptance, but if you will confer upon him the favour of selecting
that which appears to be the most priceless and unreplaceable, he will
immediately, and with every manifestation of extreme delight, break it
irredeemably in your honour, to prove the unaffected depth of his
gratified emotions.'
"'Quen-Ki-Tong,' replied the person before him, speaking with an
evident sincerity of purpose, 'pleasant to this one's ears are your
words, breathing as they do an obvious hospitality and a due regard
for the forms of etiquette. But if, indeed, you are desirous of
gaining this person's explicit regard, break no articles of fine
porcelain or rare inlaid wood in proof of it, but immediately dismiss
to a very distant spot the three-score gong-beaters who have enclosed
him within two solid rings, and who are now carrying out their duties
in so diligent a manner that he greatly doubts if the unimpaired
faculties of hearing will ever be fully restored.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310