we had the pleasure of professor ballington's company at lunch to-day—uncle theodore had him down in his office on some business, and insisted on his coming home and lunching with him.

when he and my uncle walked in unannounced they found grandmother, aunt gwendolin, and me in the sitting-room.

the professor shook hands with me in a very friendly manner; he really seemed pleased to see me. oh, it is awfully nice for a girl in a strange land, feeling alone and lonesome, to have some one glad to see her. he had not spoken to me since that morning my uncle introduced me to him, but he has seen me a number of times when i have been out in the carriage with my grandmother and aunt.

he seated himself beside me, and we were just beginning to chat pleasantly when my aunt gwendolin said:

"you have not heard our little dependency sing, professor ballington?"

grandmother's cheeks flushed, and uncle theodore looked embarrassed.

"pearl, dear," she added sweetly, addressing me, "give us one of your stirring spanish songs before we go to[pg 93] lunch. you can sing better before lunch than after."

in obedience to the request—which i felt to be a command—i went to the piano and sang lightly the only spanish song i could sing.

all the hearers seemed pleased with my effort. professor ballington looked calmly at me, but a smile lay behind his blue eyes. what did that smile mean?

we immediately sat down to lunch, and i was saved the embarrassment of having to tell that i could only sing one spanish song. i guess aunt gwendolin made sure that no such a dilemma should occur.

by some stray remark of uncle theodore's, the conversation at the table turned on what he calls the "asiatic problem."

"those dreadful asiatics," interposed aunt gwendolin, "so sly and subtle, they certainly should be shut out. they are a menace to any country."

"above all nations is humanity," smilingly returned professor ballington.

"especially those inferior people, the chinese," added my aunt.

"we can scarcely call the chinese inferior, miss morgan," returned professor ballington. (how i wanted to give him a hug!) "the chinaman despises our day of small things. like the jew he possesses a great national history which dwarfs that of all other nations. the golden era of confucius lies back five hundred years before the coming of christ, and the palmy days of the chan dynasty antedate the period of david and solomon."

"oh, yes," said my aunt curtly, "but what has he accomplished in all[pg 95] that time? we regard them as a nation of laundrymen."

"and they regard us as a nation of shopkeepers, and express lofty contempt for our greed of gain," said the professor.

"the idea!" said my aunt scornfully; "the fact is i always feel inclined to relegate the yellow-skinned denizens of china to the brute kingdom. think of the dreadful things that happen there! life itself is of small account to them!"

"one of our own writers," returned the professor, "says, 'life is safer in pekin than in new york.' another writer adds, 'chicago beats china for official dishonesty!'"

"it is a nation which for thousands of years has set more store by education than any other nation under the sun," said uncle theodore, "i have been reading up about them lately" (that's[pg 96] because of me) "and it is perfectly astonishing, their high ideals. there are clearly marked gradations in society, and the highest rank is open only to highly educated men. first, the scholar; because mind is superior to wealth. second, the farmer; because the mind cannot act without the body, and the body cannot exist without food and raiment. third, the mechanic; because next to food and raiment shelter is necessary. fourth, the tradesman; men to carry on exchange and barter become a necessity. and last of all the soldier; because his business is to destroy, and not to build up society. how does that compare with our country which makes more of the destroyer than of any other citizen? no man in china can rise to any position of responsibility except by education; money in this country will[pg 97] carry a man into the legislature if he cannot write his own name."

"chinese ethics are grand," added the professor. "listen to the teaching of lao teh. 'i would meet good with good, but i would also meet evil with good, confidence with confidence—distrust with confidence. virtue is both good and trustful.'"

"there isn't a doubt that they are a wonderful people," returned uncle theodore. "when our ancestors were wandering about in sheep-skins and goat-skins—if in any other skins but their own—china had a civilisation. wrong seems to be not a question of right with us, but of might. we do not attempt to stop people taking chances on the stock exchange; taking such chances is perfectly legal, but taking chances in a lottery is a serious offence. if a[pg 98] chinaman takes chances in a little game which he understands, the morals of the community are endangered, and the poor celestial must be hurried off to jail. we civilised people allow betting at a horse-race, and disallow it in other places. it is only the uninfluential people we send to jail for violation of the law."

they talked back and forth in an animated way for some time. i was dying to speak, but did not dare; but i am sure that once in the heat of the argument, professor ballington shot a glance across the table at me which spoke volumes. the same smile was in his eyes that was there when i sang for him my one spanish song. what did he mean? can he guess? does he know that i am not spanish?—that i am the yellow pearl?