I had a fancy for keeping
those verses. They are rubbishy if you will; but the sentiment which
struggles to find expression in them is far from despicable.
No one smoked that evening; no one played billiards; no one cared for
music; we just sat round the fire in a circle, and talked.
"And where have you come from, Ideala?" was the first question.
"From China," she answered.
There was a general exclamation. "I have been with the missionaries in
China," she added.
"Oh, isn't it very strange, the life in China?" some one asked.
"It looks different," she said, "but its feels like our own. To begin
with, one is struck by the strange appearance of the people, and the
quaint humour of their art; but when the first effect wears off, and
you learn to know them, you find after all that theirs is the same
human nature, only in another garb; the familiar old tune, as it were,
with a new set of variations. The like in unlikeness is common enough,
but still the finding of a remarkable similarity in things apparently
unlike continues to surprise us."
"But, Ideala, you cannot compare the Chinese to ourselves! Think of the
state of degradation the people are in! Every crime is rife among them
--infanticide is quite common!"
"Yes," said Ideala, as, if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Pages:
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303