Had I waited till the sale
of his effects, which occurred within a few weeks, I could probably
have procured it for a fifth part of the sum which I paid, the
other pieces realizing very little. I did not, however, grudge the
poor fellow what he got from me, as I considered myself to be
somewhat in his debt for the information he had afforded me.
"As for the rest of my story, it may be briefly told. I followed
the advice of the shopkeeper, and applied to a bookseller who wrote
to his correspondent in London. After a long interval, I was
informed that if I wished to learn Chinese, I must do so through
the medium of French, there being neither Chinese grammar nor
dictionary in our language. I was at first very much disheartened.
I determined, however, at last to gratify my desire of learning
Chinese, even at the expense of learning French. I procured the
books, and in order to qualify myself to turn them to account, took
lessons in French from a little Swiss, the usher of a neighbouring
boarding-school. I was very stupid in acquiring French;
perseverance, however, enabled me to acquire a knowledge sufficient
for the object I had in view. In about two years I began to study
Chinese by myself, through the medium of the French."
"Well," said I, "and how did you get on with the study of the
Chinese?"
And then the old man proceeded to inform me how he got on with the
study of Chinese, enumerated all the difficulties he had had to
encounter; dilating upon his frequent despondency of mind, and
occasionally his utter despair of ever mastering Chinese.
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