It therefore
became necessary that he should become competent in the art of drawing
figures without delay, and with this object he called at the
picture-room of Tieng Lin, a person whose experience was so great that
he could, without discomfort to himself, draw men and women of all
classes, both good and bad. When the person who is setting forth this
narrative revealed to Tieng Lin the utmost amount of money he could
afford to give for instruction in the art of drawing living figures,
Tieng Lin's face became as overcast as the sky immediately before the
Great Rains, for in his ignorance of this incapable person's poverty
he had treated him with equality and courtesy, nor had he kept him
waiting in the mean room on the plea that he was at that moment
closeted with the Sacred Emperor. However, upon receiving an assurance
that a rumour would be spread in which the number of taels should be
multiplied by ten, and that the sum itself should be brought in
advance, Tieng Lin promised to instruct this person in the art of
drawing five characters, which, he said, would be sufficient to
illustrate all stories except those by the most expensive and
highly-rewarded story-tellers--men who have become so proficient that
they not infrequently introduce a score or more of living persons into
their tales without confusion.
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