of trouble they climbed down the chimney and peeped out.... There lay
the old Chinaman on the floor ... broken into three pieces.... "This is
terrible," said the shepherdess. "He can be riveted," said the
chimney-sweep.... The family had the Chinaman's back mended and a strong
rivet put through his neck; he looked as good as new, but when
"Major-General-field-sergeant-commander-Billy-goat's-legs" again asked
for the shepherdess to be his wife, the old Chinaman could no longer nod
his head.

And so the little china people remained together and were thankful for
the rivet in grandfather's neck, and continued to love each other until
they were broken to pieces.




PART ONE - PROPINQUITY

_"A singer, eh?... Well, well! but when he sings
Take jealous heed lest idiosyncrasies
Entinge and taint too deep his melodies;
See that his lute has no discordant strings
To harrow us; and let his vaporings
Be all of virtue and its victories,
And of man's best and noblest qualities,
And scenery, and flowers, and similar things_.

"Thus bid our paymasters whose mutterings
Some few deride, and blithely link their rhymes
At random; and, as ever, on frail wings