Many men in his position would have preferred the primrose path of dalliance to the steep heights of duty; but Lord Arthur was too conscientious to set pleasure above principle.

A late-afternoon bus ride through the Yanbian countryside as sunlight glitters on fields of rice and warms the upturned roofs of Korean huts, is one of the most exquisite experiences available in the Northeast during July. The best excuse to take such a ride is Fangchuan, a tiny town at the end of a needle-thin strip of Chinese territory between North Korea and Russia, and China's preeminent border-viewing spot. A view from the tower here (¥20) provides vistas of Russia, North Korea and, on a clear day, the northern edge of Japan.

Boris Johnson's claim ping-pong was originally a Victorian English invention called whiff-whaff has been attacked by the descendants of the world's oldest sporting and games manufacturer.]

The mistress of ceremonies, a local poetess named Alicia Larralde de Ferrero, did not observe that more than a dozen uninvited guests had joined the audience.