My fellow-townsman Chang was a scholar, who, having obtained his M. A. degree, took up the profession of law, for his success in which he was disliked by his neighbors in Fragrant Hills. The time came when it behooved him to go to Pekin for the purpose of passing examination for the doctor’s degree. Accordingly, with three hundred dollars in his three trunks, many books and “skinning papers,” he went to Canton to obtain documents of identification. Pending the issue of these, he stopped at an inn, resolved to set out to Pekin by steamer as soon as possible. In the next room, separated from his simply by a wooden partition, lodged two gentlemen, who, by their Northern dialect, declared themselves strangers, and who appeared to be on the same errand as himself. He overheard them more than once quarrelling about a rich widow who had ended the prescribed twenty-seven months of mourning and was taking active measures to change her lonely condition. Filled with curiosity, Mr. Chang panted to know more; so dropping into their room one day, after duly introducing himself, he said, “For days I have heard you disputing over a marriage affair. Pray, will you enlighten my understanding by telling me the interesting facts in the case?” “With pleasure, sir,” answered the elder of the two; “you see there lives near here a pretty widow whose husband, a trader from Kiang-si, had the bad taste to leave her an immense fortune at his death. Now, as she has no children, she is anxious to marry again. But she will marry none except a scholar of distinguished merit, a man of fine character and suitable age, money being evidently no object to her. When we learned that, we both wanted to offer ourselves and that explains why we have disturbed your serenity in such an unseemly manner. But yesterday we heard from a go-between that she had set her heart on marrying a native of this province. So we are out of the race.” “Such a man,” said Chang, “is not hard to find. I know one now, not a _li_ from here, who can fulfil these conditions. Do you think there is any chance for a worthless person like me?” “You do yourself injustice,” said the younger man. “I am sure she ought to feel honored by an alliance with a scholar of your blooming talent. If you wish to try your luck, I can tell you where the go-between lives. Will you have the goodness to precede us?” Arrived at the entrance of a cottage, the two took their leave. Mr. Chang knocked at the door. It was opened by the matchmaker herself. She was a woman of the poorer class, dressed in home-spun linen, having feet that had evidently borne the tortures of binding in vain, for they were still as large as Nature could have made them.