istressing 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