Hung Lou Meng - book 1 | Page 7

then gave utterance to the four lines that follow:
You indulge your tender daughter and are laughed at as inane; Vain
you face the snow, oh mirror! for it will evanescent wane, When the
festival of lanterns is gone by, guard 'gainst your doom, 'Tis what time
the flames will kindle, and the fire will consume.
Shih-yin understood distinctly the full import of what he heard; but his
heart was still full of conjectures. He was about to inquire who and
what they were, when he heard the Taoist remark,--"You and I cannot
speed together; let us now part company, and each of us will be then
able to go after his own business. After the lapse of three ages, I shall
be at the Pei Mang mount, waiting for you; and we can, after our
reunion, betake ourselves to the Visionary Confines of the Great Void,
there to cancel the name of the stone from the records."
"Excellent! first rate!" exclaimed the Bonze. And at the conclusion of
these words, the two men parted, each going his own way, and no trace
was again seen of them.
"These two men," Shih-yin then pondered within his heart, "must have
had many experiences, and I ought really to have made more inquiries
of them; but at this juncture to indulge in regret is anyhow too late."
While Shih-yin gave way to these foolish reflections, he suddenly
noticed the arrival of a penniless scholar, Chia by surname, Hua by
name, Shih-fei by style and Yü-ts'un by nickname, who had taken up
his quarters in the Gourd temple next door. This Chia Yü-ts'un was
originally a denizen of Hu-Chow, and was also of literary and official
parentage, but as he was born of the youngest stock, and the
possessions of his paternal and maternal ancestors were completely
exhausted, and his parents and relatives were dead, he remained the
sole and only survivor; and, as he found his residence in his native
place of no avail, he therefore entered the capital in search of that
reputation, which would enable him to put the family estate on a proper
standing. He had arrived at this place since the year before last, and had,

what is more, lived all along in very straitened circumstances. He had
made the temple his temporary quarters, and earned a living by daily
occupying himself in composing documents and writing letters for
customers. Thus it was that Shih-yin had been in constant relations with
him.
As soon as Yü-ts'un perceived Shih-yin, he lost no time in saluting him.
"My worthy Sir," he observed with a forced smile; "how is it you are
leaning against the door and looking out? Is there perchance any news
astir in the streets, or in the public places?"
"None whatever," replied Shih-yin, as he returned the smile. "Just a
while back, my young daughter was in sobs, and I coaxed her out here
to amuse her. I am just now without anything whatever to attend to, so
that, dear brother Chia, you come just in the nick of time. Please walk
into my mean abode, and let us endeavour, in each other's company, to
while away this long summer day."
After he had made this remark, he bade a servant take his daughter in,
while he, hand-in-hand with Yü-ts'un, walked into the library, where a
young page served tea. They had hardly exchanged a few sentences,
when one of the household came in, in flying haste, to announce that
Mr. Yen had come to pay a visit.
Shih-yin at once stood up. "Pray excuse my rudeness," he remarked
apologetically, "but do sit down; I shall shortly rejoin you, and enjoy
the pleasure of your society." "My dear Sir," answered Yü-ts'un, as he
got up, also in a conceding way, "suit your own convenience. I've often
had the honour of being your guest, and what will it matter if I wait a
little?" While these apologies were yet being spoken, Shih-yin had
already walked out into the front parlour. During his absence, Yü-ts'un
occupied himself in turning over the pages of some poetical work to
dispel ennui, when suddenly he heard, outside the window, a woman's
cough. Yü-ts'un hurriedly got up and looked out. He saw at a glance
that it was a servant girl engaged in picking flowers. Her deportment
was out of the common; her eyes so bright, her eyebrows so well
defined. Though not a perfect beauty, she possessed nevertheless
charms sufficient to arouse the feelings. Yü-ts'un unwittingly gazed at

her with fixed eye. This waiting-maid, belonging to the Chen family,
had done picking flowers, and was on the point of going in, when she
of a sudden raised her eyes and became aware of the presence of some
person inside the window, whose head-gear consisted