“Well,” I said hesitatingly, “I’m not sure, but if I can be of any use to you on such a quest it will be in Corea. I’ve been there on two or three occasions, and each time had an audience with the King.”
“Why do you call him the King? Isn’t he an Emperor?”
“Well, I’ve always called him the King, but I’ve heard people term him the Emperor.”
“The American papers always call him an Emperor. So you think you could manage it, eh?”
“I don’t know that there would be any difficulty about the matter. Of course you are aware he is merely a savage.”
“Well, they’re all savages out here, aren’t they? I don’t suppose he’s any worse or any better than the Mikado.”
“Oh, the Mikado belongs to one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. I don’t think the two potentates are at all on a par.”
“Well, that’s all right. That just bears out what I was saying, that it’s the correct thing to begin with the lowest of them. You see I hate to admit I’m too old to learn anything, and I think I can learn this King business if I stick long enough at it. But I don’t believe in a man trying to make a grand piano before he knows how to handle a saw. So you see, Mr. Tremorne, the position is just this. I want to sail for Corea, and Gertie, she wants to go back to Yokohama and tackle the Mikado again, thinking you can pull it off this time.”
“I dislike very much to disagree with a lady,” I said, “but I think your plan is the more feasible of the two. I do not think it would be possible to get the Mikado to come aboard this yacht, but it might be that the King of Corea would accept your invitation.”