United States or Kyrgyzstan ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Moreover, it was a very pretty lie, worthy of so pretty a girl; and Mien-yaun, whose wits were fast leaving him, removed the jewel from his hat, and begged the maiden to accept it. She, declaring that she never could think of such a thing, deposited it in her bosom. Evidently the twain were on the brink of love; a gentle push only was needed to submerge them.
He renounces all connection with the black-haired daughter of the Kung, whom he now wishes a very good evening." And the ex-censor of the highest board gravely and gracefully bowed the family of Tching-whang out of the premises. The moment they crossed the threshold, Mien-yaun and Ching-ki-pin went into a simultaneous fit. Mien-yaun now abandoned himself to grief.
Where there was so much mystery, there must, of necessity, be some peculiar reason for it. A great many had always thought him a little crazy. In fact, the whole tide of public sentiment instantly turned. Mien-yaun, without knowing it, was dethroned.
But the enraptured Mien-yaun, blind to everything except his own overwhelming happiness, saw and heard them not.
She entertained Mien-yaun with a detailed account of her family trials, so interminable, that, with all his politeness, the young noble could not avoid gaping desperately. Tching-whang, observing his visitor's strait, interposed. "What the women have lost in their feet, they have added to their tongues," said he, quoting a Chinese proverb of great popularity.
When he had learned so much, they were interrupted by the reappearance of the Antique, who brought with her the cup of tea, most carefully prepared. In deep abstraction, Mien-yaun seized it, and, instead of drinking the boiling beverage, poured it upon the old woman's back, scalding her to such a degree that her shrieks resounded through the neighborhood.
He was a little disturbed to find that his much revered father, the ex-censor of the highest board, took no notice of what was going on, and never alluded to the subject in any manner. Mien-yaun was too deeply impressed with a sense of filial obligation to intrude his humble affairs upon the old gentleman's
His poem was enthusiastically accepted. In a week, it was issued anonymously, although the author's name was universally known the same day. As Mien-yaun himself was afterwards accustomed to say, after six months of ignominious obscurity, he awoke one morning and found himself famous! In two days the first edition was exhausted, and a second, with illustrations, was called for.
The old woman was delighted, and ran off to prepare the desired refreshment, so that Mien-yaun was at length rewarded by the opportunity of a few private words with the daughter. "Tell me, Miss," said he, "why did the sweetest of lips perform their most delicate office when the brightest of eyes first turned upon me?"
The young lady, confused and blushing, answered, that the brilliancy of the jewel which Mien-yaun wore in his hat had dazzled her vision, and that she mistook him for an intimate friend of her youth, that was all. He knew this was a lie; but as lying was in exact accordance with the elementary principles laid down by the learned Kei-ying, he was rather pleased by it.
Word Of The Day