human
That is the kind of an instrument that some foreigners sent as a present to my grandfather while he was viceroy, but it was larger than this one.
gpt
And did he use it?
human
No, we did not know what it was for. Besides my grandfather was too busy with the affairs of the government to try to understand it.
gpt
And where is it now?
human
I do not know, she answered.
gpt
The servants thought it was a pump and tried to pump water with it, but it would not work. It is probably among the junk in some of the back rooms.
human
I wonder if we could not find it and fix it up,
gpt
I am afraid not, she answered.
human
The last I saw of it, the servants had taken the glass out of the small end and were using it to look at insects on the bed.
gpt
It is a long time since I have seen you. Have you been out of the city?
human
Yes, I have been spending some months with my father-in-law, the viceroy of the Canton provinces. His wife has died, and I have returned to Peking to get him a concubine.
gpt
How old is he?
human
Seventy-two years,
gpt
And how will you undertake to secure a concubine for such an old man?
human
I shall probably buy one.