No sound of music troubles my ears.
No political element absorbs our minds.
I compare my cottage to the celebrated cottage of Nan-Yang,
Or to the historical pavilion of Si-Seu.”
Moreover, has not Confucius written as follows?—
“There is no misery where there is no complaint.”
I pause here to tell an anecdote:
“A foreign diplomat told me one day, whilst we were sitting chatting and smoking cigarettes in his study, that under the reign of Frederick the Great a Chinese dignitary came to Berlin. He was well received at Court, and introduced forthwith to a professor, who enjoyed a great reputation in the German capital for his translations of Chinese literature and his lessons in the Chinese language.
“The mission of this Chinese dignitary lasted several years, at the end of which time a real professor arrived from abroad. He was at once brought into the presence of the Chinese professor.