To this end has he decided.'
"Those who were well acquainted with Ah-Ping in matters of commerce
did not hesitate to declare that his great wealth had been acquired by
his consistent habit of forming an opinion quickly while others
hesitated. On the occasion in question he only engaged his mind with
the opposing circumstances for a few moments before he definitely
fixed upon the course which he should pursue.
"'Quen-Ki-Tong,' he said, with an evident intermingling of many very
conflicting emotions, 'retain to the end this well-merited reputation
for unaffected honourableness which you have so fittingly earned. Few
in the entire Empire, with powers so versatilely pointing to an
eminent position in any chosen direction, would have been content to
pass their lives in an unremunerative existence devoted to actions of
charity. Had you selected an entirely different manner of living, this
person has every confidence that he, and many others in Lu-kwo, would
by this time be experiencing a very ignoble poverty. For this reason
he will make it his most prominent ambition to hasten the realization
of the amiable hopes expressed both by Liao and by Ts'ain, concerning
their future relationship.
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