Upon a certain occasion, the particulars of which have already been recorded, Ling had judged himself to have passed into the form of a spirit on beholding the ethereal form of Mian bending over him. After swallowing the entire liquid, which had cost the dead magician so much to distil and make perfect, it was with a well-assured determination of never again awakening that he lost the outward senses and floated in the Middle Air, so that when his eyes next opened upon what seemed to be the bare walls of his own chamber, his first thought was a natural conviction that the matter had been so arranged either out of a charitable desire that he should not be overcome by a too sudden transition to unparalleled splendour, or that such a reception was the outcome of some dignified jest on the part of certain lesser and more cheerful spirits. After waiting in one position for several hours, however, and receiving no summons or manifestation of a celestial nature, he began to doubt the qualities of the liquid, and applying certain tests, he soon ascertained that he was still in the lower world and unharmed. Nevertheless, this circumstance did not tend in any way to depress his mind, for, doubtless owing to some hidden virtue of the fluid, he felt an enjoyable emotion that he still lived; all his attributes appeared to be purified, and he experienced an inspired certainty of feeling that an illustrious and highly-remunerative future lay before one who still had an ordinary existence after being both officially killed and self-poisoned.  
In this intelligent disposition thoughts of Mian recurred to him with unreproved persistence, and in order to convey to her an account of the various matters which had engaged him since his arrival at the city, and a well-considered declaration of the unchanged state of his own feelings towards her, he composed and despatched with impetuous haste the following delicate verses:
 
CONSTANCY
 
  About the walls and gates of Canton
  Are many pleasing and entertaining maidens;
  Indeed, in the eyes of their friends and of the passers-by
  Some of them are exceptionally adorable.
  The person who is inscribing these lines, however,
  Sees before him, as it were, an assemblage of deformed and
    un-prepossessing hags,
  Venerable in age and inconsiderable in appearance;
  For the dignified and majestic image of Mian is ever before him,
  Making all others very inferior.
 
  Within the houses and streets of Canton
  Hang many bright lanterns.
  The ordinary person who has occasion to walk by night
  Professes to find them highly lustrous.
  But there is one who thinks contrary facts,
  And when he goes forth he carries two long curved poles
  To prevent him from stumbling among the dark and hidden places;
  For he has gazed into the brilliant and pellucid orbs of Mian,
  And all other lights are dull and practically opaque.
 
  In various parts of the literary quarter of Canton
  Reside such as spend their time in inward contemplation.
  In spite of their generally uninviting exteriors
  Their reflexions are often of a very profound order.
  Yet the unpopular and persistently-abused Ling
  Would unhesitatingly prefer his own thoughts to theirs,
  For what makes this person’s thoughts far more pleasing
  Is that they are invariably connected with the virtuous and
    ornamental Mian.
 
Becoming very amiably disposed after this agreeable occupation, Ling surveyed himself at the disc of polished metal, and observed with surprise and shame the rough and uninviting condition of his person. He had, indeed, although it was not until some time later that he became aware of the circumstance, slept for five days without interruption, and it need not therefore be a matter of wonder or of reproach to him that his smooth surfaces had become covered with short hair. Reviling himself bitterly for the appearance which he conceived he must have exhibited when he conducted his business, and to which he now in part attributed his ill-success, Ling went forth without delay, and quickly discovering one of those who remove hair publicly for a very small sum, he placed himself in the chair, and directed that his face, arms, and legs should be denuded after the manner affected by the ones who make a practice of observing the most recent customs.
 
“Did the illustrious individual who is now conferring distinction on this really worn-out chair by occupying it express himself in favour of having the face entirely denuded?” demanded the one who conducted the operation; for these persons have become famous for their elegant and persistent ability to discourse, and frequen............