signified in pantomime that they were hers, from her uncle. She
returned her thanks in the same way, whereupon he returned to his
tea-chest, and, having no other means of communication, they sat
smiling and nodding at one another in an absurd sort of way till a
new idea seemed to strike Fun. Tumbling off his seat, he waddled
away as fast as his petticoats permitted, leaving Rose hoping that
he had not gone to get a roasted rat, a stewed puppy, or any other
foreign mess which civility would oblige her to eat.

While she waited for her funny new friend, she improved her mind
in a way that would have charmed Aunt Jane. The gentlemen were
talking over all sorts of things, and she listened attentively, storing
up much of what she heard, for she had an excellent memory, and
longed to distinguish herself by being able to produce some useful
information when reproached with her ignorance.

She was just trying to impress upon her mind that Amoy was two
hundred and eighty miles from Hong Kong, when Fun came
scuffling back, bearing what she thought was a small sword, till he
unfurled an immense fan, and presented it with a string of Chinese
compliments, the meaning of which would have amused her even
more than the sound, if she could have understood it.

She had never seen such an astonishing fan, and at once became
absorbed in examining it. Of course, there was no perspective
whatever, which only gave it a peculiar charm to Rose, for in one
place a lovely lady, with blue knitting-needles in her hair, sat
directly upon the spire of a stately pagoda. In another charming
view a brook appeared to flow in at the front door of a stout
gentleman's house, and out at his chimney. In a third a zig-zag wall