FullReads

“‘It is an unalluring alternative,’ said Ah-Ping, whose only inside thought was one of gratification that the exchange money for Ts’ain would so soon be in his possession, ‘yet this person fails to perceive how you could act otherwise after the decision of the omens. He now understands, moreover, that the loss you referred to on his part was in the nature of a figure of speech, as one makes use of thunderbolts and delicately-scented flowers to convey ideas of harsh and amiable passions, and alluded in reality to the forthcoming departure of his daughter, who is, as you so versatilely suggested, the comfort and riches of his old age.’

“‘O venerable, but at this moment somewhat obtuse, Ah-Ping,’ cried Quen, with a recurrence to his former method of expressing his unfeigned agitation, ‘is your evenly-balanced mind unable to grasp the essential fact of how this person’s contemplated action will affect your own celestial condition? It is a distressing but entirely unavoidable fact, that if this person acts in the manner which he has determined upon, he will be condemned to the lowest place of torment reserved for those who fail at the end of an otherwise pure existence, and in this he will never have an opportunity of meeting the very much higher placed Ah-Ping, and of restoring to him the thirty-thousand taels as agreed upon.’

“At these ill-destined words, all power of rigidness departed from Ah-Ping’s limbs, and he sank down upon the forbidding earth by Quen’s side.

“‘O most unfortunate one who is now speaking,’ he exclaimed, when at length his guarding spirit deemed it prudent to restore his power of expressing himself in words, ‘happy indeed would have been your lot had you been content to traffic in ginseng and other commodities of which you have actual knowledge. O amiable Quen, this matter must be in some way arranged without causing you to deviate from the entrancing paths of your habitual virtue. Could not the very reasonable Liao be induced to look favourably upon the attractions of some low-priced maiden, in which case this not really hard-stomached person would be willing to advance the necessary amount, until such time as it could be restored, at a very low and unremunerative rate of interest?’

“‘This person has observed every variety of practical humility in the course of his life,’ replied Quen with commendable dignity, ‘yet he now finds himself totally unable to overcome an inward repugnance to the thought of perpetuating his honoured name and race through the medium of any low-priced maiden. 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. In this, indeed, he himself will be more than exceptionally fortunate should the former one prove to possess even a portion of the clear-sighted sagaciousness exhibited by his engaging father.’

“VERSES COMPOSED BY A MUSICIAN OF LU-KWO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF LIAO AND TS’AIN

“Bright hued is the morning, the dark clouds have fallen;

At the mere waving of Quen’s virtuous hands they melted away.

Happy is Liao in the possession of so accomplished a parent,

Happy also is Quen to have so discriminating a son.

“The two persons in question sit, side by side, upon an embroidered couch,

Listening to the well-expressed compliments of those who pass to and fro.

From time to time their eyes meet, and glances of a very significant amusement pass between them;

Can it be that on so ceremonious an occasion they are recalling events of a gravity-removing nature?

“The gentle and rainbow-like Ts’ain has already arrived,

With the graceful motion of a silver carp gliding through a screen of rushes, she moves among those who are assembled.

On the brow of her somewhat contentious father there rests the shadow of an ill-repressed sorrow;

Doubtless the frequently-misjudged Ah-Ping is thinking of his lonely hearth, now that he is for ever parted from that which he holds most precious.

“In the most commodious chamber of the house the elegant wedding-gifts are conspicuously displayed; let us stand beside the one which we have contributed, and point out its excellence to those who pass by.

Surely the time cannot be far distant when the sound of many gongs will announce that the very desirable repast is at length to be partaken of.”