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.