評論
打印
"From what you say，" observed Tzu-hsing， "success makes （a man） a duke or a marquis； ruin， a thief！"
"Quite so； that's just my idea！" replied Yue-ts'un； "I've not as yet let you know that after my degradation from office， I spent the last couple of years in travelling for pleasure all over each province， and that I also myself came across two extraordinary youths. This is why， when a short while back you alluded to this Pao-yue， I at once conjectured， with a good deal of certainty， that he must be a human being of the same stamp. There's no need for me to speak of any farther than the walled city of Chin Ling. This Mr. Chen was， by imperial appointment， named Principal of the Government Public College of the Chin Ling province. Do you perhaps know him？"
"Who doesn't know him？" remarked Tzu-hsing. "This Chen family is an old connection of the Chia family. These two families were on terms of GREat intimacy， and I myself likewise enjoyed the pleasure of their friendship for many a day."
"Last year， when at Chin Ling，" Yue-ts'un continued with a smile， "some one recommended me as resident tutor to the school in the Chen mansion； and when I moved into it I saw for myself the state of things. Who would ever think that that household was grand and luxurious to such a deGREe！ But they are an affluent family， and withal full of propriety， so that a school like this was of course not one easy to obtain. The pupil， however， was， it is true， a young tyro， but far more troublesome to teach than a candidate for the examination of graduate of the second degree. Were I to enter into details， you would indeed have a laugh. 'I must needs，' he explained， 'have the company of two girls in my studies to enable me to read at all， and to keep likewise my brain clear. Otherwise， if left to myself， my head gets all in a muddle.' Time after time， he further expounded to his young attendants， how extremely honourable and extremely pure were the two words representing woman， that they are more valuable and precious than the auspicious animal， the felicitous bird， rare flowers and uncommon plants. 'You may not' （he was wont to say）， 'on any account heedlessly utter them， you set of foul mouths and filthy tongues！ these two words are of the utmost import！ Whenever you have occasion to allude to them， you must， before you can do so with impunity， take pure water and scented tea and rinse your mouths. In the event of any slip of the tongue， I shall at once have your teeth extracted， and your eyes gouged out.' His obstinacy and waywardness are， in every respect， out of the common. After he was allowed to leave school， and to return home， he became， at the sight of the young ladies， so tractable， gentle， sharp， and polite， transformed， in fact， like one of them. And though， for this reason， his father has punished him on more than one occasion， by giving him a sound thrashing， such as brought him to the verge of death， he cannot however change. Whenever he was being beaten， and could no more endure the pain， he was wont to promptly break forth in promiscuous loud shouts， 'Girls！ girls！' The young ladies， who heard him from the inner chambers， subsequently made fun of him. 'Why，' they said， 'when you are being thrashed， and you are in pain， your only thought is to bawl out girls！ Is it perchance that you expect us young ladies to go and intercede for you？ How is that you have no sense of shame？' To their taunts he gave a most plausible explanation. 'Once，' he replied， 'when in the agony of pain， I gave vent to shouting girls， in the hope， perchance， I did not then know， of its being able to alleviate the soreness. After I had， with this purpose， given one cry， I really felt the pain considerably better； and now that I have obtained this secret spell， I have recourse， at once， when I am in the height of anguish， to shouts of girls， one shout after another. Now what do you say to this？ Isn't this absurd， eh？"
"the grandmother is so infatuated by her extreme tenderness for this youth， that， time after time， she has， on her grandson's account， found fault with the tutor， and called her son to task， with the result that I resigned my post and took my leave. A youth， with a disposition such as his， cannot assuredly either perpetuate intact the estate of his father and grandfather， or follow the injunctions of teacher or advice of friends. The pity is， however， that there are， in that family， several excellent female cousins， the like of all of whom it would be difficult to discover."
"Quite so！" remarked Tzu-hsing； "there are now three young ladies in the Chia family who are simply perfection itself. The eldest is a daughter of Mr. Cheng， Yuan Ch'un by name， who， on account of her excellence， filial piety， talents， and virtue， has been selected as a governess in the palace. The second is the daughter of Mr. She's handmaid， and is called Ying Ch'un； the third is T'an Ch'un， the child of Mr. Cheng's handmaid； while the fourth is the uterine sister of Mr. Chen of the Ning Mansion. Her name is Hsi Ch'un. As dowager lady Shih is so fondly attached to her granddaughters， they come， for the most part， over to their grandmother's place to prosecute their studies together， and each one of these girls is， I hear， without a fault."
"More admirable，" observed Yue-ts'un， "is the regime （adhered to） in the Chen family， where the names of the female children have all been selected from the list of male names， and are unlike all those out-of-the-way names， such as Spring Blossom， Scented Gem， and the like flowery terms in vogue in other families. But how is it that the Chia family have likewise fallen into this common practice？"
