ing of a prince, a patron of the arts, and, at the same time, told
him how he ought to address the nobleman, assuring him that the fact of
his being a messenger from a friend of the prince would open the doors of
the palace to him.

"The next day the young poet presented himself at the home of the
great lord, who, knowing that he had been sent by Lang-Ho, received
him in spite of the fact that he was suffering intensely from a
violent headache.

"He learned from the young man that he was a poet and treated him with
great consideration, making him understand, however, that all sustained
mental effort was insupportable to him on that day.

"But the poet, not paying attention to the prince's exprest desire,
unrolled his manuscripts and began reading an interminable ode without
noticing the signs of impatience shown by his august hearer.

"He did not have the pleasure of finishing it.

"The prince, seeing that the reader did not understand his importunity,
struck a gong and ordered the servant who appeared to conduct the young
man out of his presence.

"Later, he declared to Lang-Ho that his protege had no talent at all, and
reprimanded him severely for having sent the poet to the palace.

"But my master did not like to be thus criticized.

"So, a little while after that, one day, when that same prince was in an
agreeable frame of mind, Lang-Ho invited him to the reading of one of
his works.

"The nobleman declared that he had never heard anything more beautiful.

"'That is true,' said Lang-Ho, 'but you ought to have said this the first
time you heard it.'

"And he revealed to the prince that these verses were those of the young
man whom he had judged so harshly."

From this story two lessons may be drawn:

The first is, that if common sense indicates that judgment should not
change from scorn to enthusiasm, when it is a question of the same
object, practical sense insists that one should be certain of
impartiality of judgment, by avoiding the influence of questions which
relate to environment and surrounding circumstances.

The second concerns opportunity.

We have already had occasion to say how much some things, which seem
desirable at certain times, are questionable when the situation changes.

Bad humor creates ill-will; therefore it is abominably stupid to
provoke the manifestation of the second when one has proved the
existence of the first.

In order that there may be a connection between the fa