Page:Inside Canton.djvu/123

122 only in their imagination. At Talkee-True's we admired a great many of these carvings, and particularly about twenty rhinoceros' tusks, which were beautifully cut. These master-pieces by unknown hands, would have made our renowned artists jealous; the latter would certainly have greatly admired the original conception of the subject—the execution and the clearness of the engraving. One of these remarkable carvings was, I think, obtained by M. de Lagrené for fifty piastres; but had he paid its weight in gold it would not have been dear. It represents a fragile plant, the slender branches of which, perfectly separate from one another, bear delicate leaves, on which insects are crawling, and moths, with gauze-like wings, are sporting. In the midst of the interlaced stalks hangs a cup, which by its weight alone bends down the delicate branches to which it is fastened. This magnificent work is more than a foot long ; it rests on an ebony stand, which is carved with rare delicacy.

That day Talkee-True, whom the ambassador's purchases had probably put into a good humour, was gracious enough to give me, for the small sum of three piastres, a little cup made from the tusk of a rhinoceros, which is nevertheless a master-piece, in my opinion. This little vase is in the shape of a lotus leaf. On its foliaceous disks, bitten by insects, aquatic worms are crawling, and a jigger, clinging to