n in the gallant societies of the upper
world towards ladies whom they respect but do not woo; deferential,
complimentary, exquisitely polished--what we should call 'chivalrous.'

Certainly I was a little put out by the number of civil things addressed
to my 'amour propre,' which were said to me by those courteous young
Gy-ei. In the world I came from, a man would have thought himself
aggrieved, treated with irony, 'chaffed' (if so vulgar a slang word
may be allowed on the authority of the popular novelists who use it
so freely), when one fair Gy complimented me on the freshness of my
complexion, another on the choice of colours in my dress, a third, with
a sly smile, on the conquests I had made at Aph-Lin's entertainment. But
I knew already that all such language was what the French call 'banal,'
and did but express in the female mouth, below earth, that sort of
desire to pass for amiable with the opposite sex which, above earth,
arbitrary custom and hereditary transmission demonstrate by the mouth of
the male. And just as a high-bred young lady, above earth, habituated
to such compliments, feels that she cannot, without impropriety, return
them, nor evince any great satisfaction at receiving them; so I who
had learned polite manners at the house of so wealthy and dignified
a Minister of that nation, could but smile and try to look pretty in
bashfully disclaiming the compliments showered upon me. While we were
thus talking, Taee's sister, it seems, had seen us from the upper rooms
of the Royal Palace at the entrance of the town, and, precipitating
herself on her wings, alighted in the midst of the group.

Singling me out, she said, though still with the inimitable deference
of manner which I have called 'chivalrous,' yet not without a certain
abruptness of tone which, as addressed to the weaker sex, Sir Philip
Sydney might have termed 'rustic,' "Why do you never come to see
us?" While I was deliberating on the right answer to give to this
unlooked-for question, Taee said quickly and sternly, "Sister, you
forget--the stranger is of my sex. It is not for persons of my sex,
having due regard for reputation and modesty, to lower themselves by
running after the society of yours."

This speech was received with evident approval by the young Gy-ei in
general; but Taee's sister looked greatly abashed. Poor thing!--and a
PRINCESS too!

Just at this moment a shadow fell on the space between me and the group;
and, turning rou