spot the by no means inviting atmosphere of a low-class
tea-house garden during the festivities attending the birthday of the
sacred Emperor.'

"'This person is overwhelmed with a most unendurable confusion that the
matters referred to should have been regarded in such a light,' replied
Quen humbly. 'Although he himself had no knowledge of them until this
moment, he is confident that they in no wise differ from the usual
honourable manifestations with which it is customary in this Province to
welcome strangers of exceptional rank and titles.'

"'The welcome was of a most dignified and impressive nature,' replied
the stranger, with every appearance of not desiring to cause Quen any
uneasy internal doubts; 'yet the fact is none the less true that at the
moment this person's head seems to contain an exceedingly powerful and
well-equipped band; and also, that as he passed through the courtyard
an ingeniously constructed but somewhat unmanageable figure of gigantic
size, composed entirely of jets of many-coloured flame, leaped out
suddenly from behind a dark wall and made an almost successful attempt
to embrace him in its ever-revolving arms. Lo Yuen greatly fears that
the time when he would have rejoiced in the necessary display of agility
to which the incident gave rise has for ever passed away.'

"'Lo Yuen!' exclaimed Quen, with an unaffected mingling of the emotions
of reverential awe and pleasureable anticipation. 'Can it indeed be
an uncontroversial fact that so learned and ornamental a person as the
renowned Controller of Unsolicited Degrees stands beneath this inelegant
person's utterly unpresentable roof! Now, indeed, he plainly understands
why this ill-conditioned chamber has the appearance of being filled with
a Heaven-sent brilliance, and why at the first spoken words of the one
before him a melodious sound, like the rushing waters of the sacred
Tien-Kiang, seemed to fill his ears.'

"'Undoubtedly the chamber is pervaded by a very exceptional splendour,'
replied Lo Yuen, who, in spite of his high position, regarded graceful
talk and well-imagined compliments in a spirit of no-satisfaction; 'yet
this commonplace-minded one has a fixed conviction that it is caused
by the crimson-eyed and pink-fire-breathing dragon which, despite your
slave's most assiduous efforts, is now endeavouring to climb through
the aperture behind you. The noise which still fills his ears, also,
resembles rather the despairing cries of t