評論
打印
the spirit of Chia Pao-yue visits the confines of the GREat Void. The Monitory Vision Fairy expounds， in ballads， the Dream of the Red Chamber.
Having in the fourth chapter explained， to some deGREe， the circumstances attending the settlement of the mother and children of the Hsueeh family in the Jung mansion， and other incidental matters， we will now revert to Lin Tai-yue.
Ever since her arrival in the Jung mansion， dowager lady Chia showed her the highest sympathy and affection， so that in everything connected with sleeping， eating， rising and accommodation she was on the same footing as Pao-yue； with the result that Ying Ch'un， Hsi Ch'un and T'an Ch'un， her three granddaughters， had after all to take a back seat. In fact， the intimate and close friendliness and love which sprung up between the two persons Pao-yue and Tai-yue， was， in the same deGREe， of an exceptional kind， as compared with those existing between the others. By daylight they were wont to walk together， and to sit together. At night， they would desist together， and rest together. Really it was a case of harmony in language and concord in ideas， of the consistency of varnish or of glue， （a close friendship）， when at this unexpected juncture there came this girl， Hsueeh Pao-ch'ai， who， though not very much older in years （than the others）， was， nevertheless， in manner so correct， and in features so beautiful that the consensus of opinion was that Tai-yue herself could not come up to her standard.
What is more， in her ways Pao-Ch'ai was so full of good tact， so considerate and accommodating， so unlike Tai-yue， who was supercilious， self-confident， and without any regard for the world below， that the natural consequence was that she soon completely won the hearts of the lower classes. Even the whole number of waiting-maids would also for the most part， play and joke with Pao-ch'ai. Hence it was that Tai-yue fostered， in her heart， considerable feelings of resentment， but of this however Pao-ch'ai had not the least inkling.
Pao-yue was， likewise， in the prime of his boyhood， and was， besides， as far as the bent of his natural disposition was concerned， in every respect absurd and perverse； regarding his cousins， whether male or female， one and all with one common sentiment， and without any distinction whatever between the deGREes of distant or close relationship. Sitting and sleeping， as he now was under the same roof with Tai-yue in dowager lady Chia's suite of rooms， he naturally became comparatively more friendly with her than with his other cousins； and this friendliness led to greater intimacy and this intimacy once established， rendered unavoidable the occurrence of the blight of harmony from unforeseen slight pretexts.
these two had had on this very day， for some unknown reason， words between them more or less unfriendly， and Tai-yue was again sitting all alone in her room， giving way to tears. Pao-yue was once more within himself quite conscience-smitten for his ungraceful remarks， and coming forward， he humbly made advances， until， at length， Tai-yue little by little came round.
As the plum blossom， in the eastern part of the garden of the Ning mansion， was in full bloom， Chia Chen's spouse， Mrs. Yu， made preparations for a collation， （purposing） to send invitations to dowager lady Chia， mesdames Hsing， and Wang， and the other members of the family， to come and admire the flowers； and when the day arrived the first thing she did was to take Chia Jung and his wife， the two of them， and come and ask them round in person. Dowager lady Chia and the other inmates crossed over after their early meal； and they at once promenaded the Hui Fang （Concentrated Fragrance） Garden. First tea was served， and next wine； but the entertainment was no more than a family banquet of the kindred of the two mansions of Ning and Jung， so that there was a total lack of any novel or original recreation that could be put on record.
After a little time， Pao-yue felt tired and languid and inclined for his midday siesta. "Take good care，" dowager lady Chia enjoined some of them， "and stay with him， while he rests for a while， when he can come back；" whereupon Chia Jung's wife， Mrs. Ch'in， smiled and said with eagerness： "We got ready in here a room for uncle Pao， so let your venerable ladyship set your mind at ease. Just hand him over to my charge， and he will be quite safe. Mothers and sisters，" she continued， addressing herself to Pao-yue's nurses and waiting maids， "invite uncle Pao to follow me in here."
Dowager lady Chia had always been aware of the fact that Mrs. Ch'in was a most trustworthy person， naturally courteous and scrupulous， and in every action likewise so benign and gentle； indeed the most estimable among the whole number of her GREat grandsons' wives， so that when she saw her about to go and attend to Pao-yue， she felt that， for a certainty， everything would be well.
Mrs. Ch'in， there and then， led away a company of attendants， and came into the rooms inside the drawing room. Pao-yue， upon raising his head， and catching sight of a picture hung on the upper wall， representing a human figure， in perfect style， the subject of which was a portrait of Yen Li， speedily felt his heart sink within him.
there was also a pair of scrolls， the text of which was：
A thorough insight into worldly matters arises from knowledge； A clear perception of human nature emanates from literary lore.
On perusal of these two sentences， albeit the room was sumptuous and beautifully laid out， he would on no account remain in it. "Let us go at once，" he hastened to observe， "let us go at once."
Mrs. Ch'in upon hearing his objections smiled. "If this，" she said， "is really not nice， where are you going？ if you won't remain here， well then come into my room."
Pao-yue nodded his head and gave a faint grin.
"Where do you find the propriety，" a nurse thereupon interposed， "of an uncle going to sleep in the room of a nephew's wife？"
"Ai ya！" exclaimed Mrs. Ch'in laughing， "I don't mind whether he gets angry or not （at what I say）； but how old can he be as to reverentially shun all these things？ Why my brother was with me here last month； didn't you see him？ he's， true enough， of the same age as uncle Pao， but were the two of them to stand side by side， I suspect that he would be much higher in stature."
