She knows that I leave for China early to-morrow." "So at the present moment you are in suspense." "I am in suspense," Prince Shan admitted, "and perhaps," he went on, with one of his rare smiles, "it occurred to me that it would be in one sense a relief to speak to a fellow man of the hopes and fears that are in my heart.

You are the one person to whom I could speak, Lord Dorminster.

You have not wished my suit well, but at least you have been clear-sighted.

I think it has never occurred to you that a prince of China might venture to compete with a peer of England." "On the contrary," Nigel assented, "I have the greatest admiration for the few living descendants of the world's oldest aristocracy.

You have a right to enter the lists, a right to win if you can." "And what do you think of my prospects, if I may ask such a delicate question ?" Prince Shan enquired.
"I cannot estimate them," Nigel replied.