matter of Sun's detention. But a Chinese diplomatist is nothing if not a capable liar, and Tang's opportunity of lying must have satisfied even his Oriental liking for the rôle. With the semblance of truth in his every word and action, Tang assured his interrogator that the whole thing was nonsense, and that no such person was there. His openness and frankness partly shook Dr. Hanson's belief in my condition, and when he got back to Mr. Cantlie's he was so impressed with the apparent truthfulness of Tang s statement, that he even suggested that the tale of my imprisonment might be a trick by myself to some end—he knew not what. Thus can my countrymen lie; Tang even shook the belief of a man like Dr. Manson, who had lived in China twenty-two years; who spoke the Amoy dialect fluently; and was thereby more intimately acquainted with the Chinese and their ways than nine-tenths of the
