評論
打印
Pao-yue was still bent upon prosecuting his perusal， when the Fairy perceiving that his intellect was eminent and bright， and his natural talents quickwitted， and apprehending lest the decrees of heaven should be divulged， hastily closed the Book of Record， and addressed herself to Pao-yue. "Come along with me，" she said smiling， "and see some wonderful scenery. What's the need of staying here and beating this gourd of ennui？"
In a dazed state， Pao-yue listlessly discarded the record， and again followed in the footsteps of the Fairy. On their arrival at the back， he saw carnation portieres， and embroidered curtains， ornamented pillars， and carved eaves. But no words can adequately give an idea of the vermilion apartments glistening with splendour， of the floors garnished with gold， of the snow reflecting lustrous windows， of the palatial mansions made of gems. He also saw fairyland flowers， beautiful and fragrant， and extraordinary vegetation， full of perfume. The spot was indeed elysian.
He again heard the Fairy observe with a smiling face： "Come out all of you at once and GREet the honoured guest！"
these words were scarcely completed， when he espied fairies walk out of the mansion， all of whom were， with their dangling lotus sleeves， and their fluttering feather habiliments， as comely as spring flowers， and as winsome as the autumn moon. As soon as they caught sight of Pao-yue， they all， with one voice， resentfully reproached the Monitory Vision Fairy. "Ignorant as to who the honoured guest could be，" they argued， "we hastened to come out to offer our GREetings simply because you， elder sister， had told us that， on this day， and at this very time， there would be sure to come on a visit， the spirit of the younger sister of Chiang Chu. That's the reason why we've been waiting for ever so long； and now why do you， in lieu of her， introduce this vile object to contaminate the confines of pure and spotless maidens？"
As soon as Pao-yue heard these remarks， he was forthwith plunged in such a state of consternation that he would have retired， but he found it impossible to do so. In fact， he felt the consciousness of the foulness and corruption of his own nature quite intolerable. The Monitory Vision Fairy promptly took Pao-yue's hand in her own， and turning towards her younger sisters， smiled and explained： "You， and all of you， are not aware of the why and wherefore. To-day I did mean to have gone to the Jung mansion to fetch Chiang Chu， but as I went by the Ning mansion， I unexpectedly came across the ghosts of the two dukes of Jung and Ning， who addressed me in this wise： 'Our family has， since the dynasty established itself on the Throne， enjoyed merit and fame， which pervaded many ages， and riches and honours transmitted from generation to generation. One hundred years have already elapsed， but this good fortune has now waned， and this propitious luck is exhausted； so much so that they could not be retrieved！ Our sons and grandsons may be many， but there is no one among them who has the means to continue the family estate， with the exception of our kindred grandson， Pao-yue alone， who， though perverse in disposition and wayward by nature， is nevertheless intelligent and quick-witted and qualified in a measure to give effect to our hopes. But alas！ the good fortune of our family is entirely decayed， so that we fear there is no person to incite him to enter the right way！ Fortunately you worthy fairy come at an unexpected moment， and we venture to trust that you will， above all things， warn him against the foolish indulgence of inordinate desire， lascivious affections and other such things， in the hope that he may， at your instigation， be able to escape the snares of those girls who will allure him with their blandishments， and to enter on the right track； and we two brothers will be ever grateful.'
"On language such as this being addressed to me， my feelings of commiseration naturally burst forth； and I brought him here， and bade him， first of all， carefully peruse the records of the whole lives of the maidens in his family， belonging to the three grades， the upper， middle and lower， but as he has not yet fathomed the import， I have consequently led him into this place to experience the vision of drinking， eating， singing and licentious love， in the hope， there is no saying， of his at length attaining that perception."
