Chap. XII. 



THE TEIN-SIN. 



219 



did not feel inclined to eat anything more that night. 

 Sing-Hoo, however, said it was a most unusual pro- 

 ceeding to refuse the Tein-sin, and, thinking it better 

 to conform to the customs of the country, I followed 

 him into the hall. Here I found a table covered with 

 many Chinese dishes. Our host had killed some 

 fowls for the occasion, which had been cut up into 

 small pieces, and were served up with, or rather in, 

 some excellent soup. Had I been at all hungry I 

 might have made an excellent meal, but in the pre- 

 sent circumstances I could not be expected to enjoy it 

 with much relish. The landlord waited upon me 

 himself, and pressed me to eat. He kept constantly 

 pointing to the different dishes, saying " Eat this, eat 

 this," in his most pressing manner. I tasted the 

 different dishes, eating more or less of each as they 

 took my fancy, and at last, considering I had gone 

 quite as far as even Chinese politeness required, I 

 laid down my chopsticks, and expressed my delight 

 at the manner in which the Tein-sin had been served. 

 But he pressed me more and more by putting the 

 different dishes near me and praising their quality. 

 At last he finished his part of the play by removing 

 the viands from the table and setting tea before me. 

 I was now free again, and retired to rest, afraid of 

 night-mare and all the evils of not taking supper 

 sparingly. 



Early the next morning our host appeared, and 

 informed me that the Tein-sin was ready. I partook 

 of it in the same manner as I had done the night 

 before, but with much greater relish. To my sur- 



