mutually charmed with each other; and by and by Chia sent off a servant to bring wine from a neighbouring wine-shop.  Mr Chen proved himself a pleasant boon-companion, and when the wine was nearly finished he went to a box and took from it some wine-cups and a large and beautiful jade tankard; into the latter he poured a single cup of wine, and immediately it was filled to the brim.  They then proceeded to help themselves from the tankard; but however much they took out, the contents never seemed to diminish.  Chia was astonished at this, and begged Mr Chen to tell him how it was done.  “Ah,” replied Mr Chen, “I tried to avoid making your acquaintance solely because of your one bad quality—­avarice.  The art I practise is a secret known to the Immortals only:  how can I divulge it to you?” “You do me wrong,” rejoined Chia, “in thus attributing avarice to me.  The avaricious, indeed, are always poor.”  Mr Chen laughed, and they separated for that day; but from that time they were constantly together, and all ceremony was laid aside between them.  Whenever Chia wanted money Mr Chen would bring out a black stone, and, muttering a charm, would rub it on a tile or a brick, which was forthwith changed into a lump of silver.  This silver he would give to Chia, and it was always just as much as he actually required, neither more nor less; and if ever the latter asked for more Mr Chen would rally him on the subject of avarice.  Finally Chia determined to try to get possession of this stone; and one day, when Mr Chen was sleeping off the fumes of a drinking-bout, he tried to extract it from his clothes.  However, Chen detected him at once, and declared that they could be friends no more, and next day he left the place altogether.  About a year afterward Chia was one day wandering by the river-bank, when he saw a handsome-looking stone, marvellously like that in the possession of Mr Chen; and he picked it up at once and carried it home with him.  A few days passed away, and suddenly Mr Chen presented himself at Chia’s house, and explained that the stone in question possessed the property of changing anything into gold, and had been bestowed upon him long before by a certain Taoist priest whom he had followed as a disciple.  “Alas!” added he, “I got tipsy and lost it; but divination told me where it was, and if you will now restore it to me I will take care to repay your kindness.”  “You have divined rightly,” replied Chia; “the stone is with me; but recollect, if you please, that the indigent Kuan Chung [45] shared the wealth of his friend Pao Shu.”  At this hint Mr Chen said he would give Chia one hundred ounces of silver; to which the latter replied that one hundred ounces was a fair offer, but that he would far sooner have Mr Chen teach him the formula to utter when rubbing the stone on anything, so that he might try the thing once himself.  Mr Chen was afraid to do this; whereupon Chia cried out, “You are an Immortal yourself; you must know well enough that I would never