"May I trouble
you," said she, "to take this to your mistress?"
"If," said Jasmine to herself as the woman took her departure, "Miss
King is able to penetrate the meaning of my verses, she won't like them.
Without saying so in so many words, I have told her with sufficient
plainness that I will have nothing to say to her. But stupidity is a
shield sent by Providence to protect the greater part of mankind from
many evils; so perhaps she will escape."
It certainly in this case served to shield Miss King from Jasmine's
shafts. She was delighted at receiving the verses, and at once sat down
to compose a quatrain to match Jasmine's in reply. With infinite labour
she elaborated the following:
"Sung Yuh on th' eastern wall sat deep in thought,
And longed with P'e to pluck the fragrant fruit.
If all the well-known tunes be newly set,
What use to take again the half-burnt lute?"
Having copied these on a piece of silk-woven paper, she sent them to
Jasmine by her faithful attendant. On looking over the paper, Jasmine
said, smiling, "What a clever young lady your mistress must be! These
lines, though somewhat inconsequential, are incomparable.
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