Page:Frank Owen - Rare Earth, 1931.djvu/210

 no sounds at these magic spots that filtered into the soul of Scobee. Hangchow was a failure.

The venerable walled city of Soochow at which they stopped off on the return to Shanghai was no better. It has been written that the cobble streets of Soochow have been trod by eighty generations of men. Its known history goes back to four centuries before the birth of Christ. Of no city anywhere has the history been written down so painstakingly. Hung Long Tom loved Soochow because it has always been admittedly the literary heart of China. He was a poet Soochow could not fail to impress him. In his youth he had written many lyrics in praise of the exquisite loveliness of Soochow women.

It troubled him that the Chinese adventure was not doing Scobee any good whatsoever. Something was wrong. He was not able to translate for Scobee the Chinese attitude toward existence. And he thought since all art is interchangeable and one may speak of the poetry of perfume, the music of color, the