With this proposal, she laid hold of a cup and offered it to Mrs. Hsueh.

Turning also towards Hsiang-yun and Pao-ch'ai: "You two cousins!" she added, "must also have a cup. Your cousin Lin can't take much wine, but even she mustn't be let off."

While pressing them, she drained her cup. Hsiang-yun, Pao-ch'ai and Tai-y u then had their drink. But about this time old goody Liu caught the strains of music, and, being already under the influence of liquor, her spirits became more and more exuberant, and she began to gesticulate and skip about. Her pranks amused Pao-yu to such a degree that leaving the table, he crossed over to where Tai-yu was seated and observed laughingly: "Just you look at the way old goody Liu is going on!"

"In days of yore," Tai-yu smiled, "every species of animal commenced to dance the moment the sounds of music broke forth. She's like a buffalo now."

This simile made her cousins laugh. But shortly the music ceased. "We've all had our wine," Mrs. Hsueh smilingly proposed, "so let's go and stroll about for a time; we can after that sit down again!"

Dowager lady Chia herself was at the moment feeling a strong inclination to have a ramble. In due course, therefore, they all left the banquet and went with their old senior, for a walk. Dowager lady Chia, however, longed to take goody Liu along with her to help her dispel her ennui, so promptly seizing the old dame's hand in hers, they threaded their way as far as the trees, which stood facing the hill. After lolling about with her for a few minutes, "What kind of tree is this?" she went on to inquire of her. "What kind of stone is this? What species of flower is that?"

Old goody Liu gave suitable reply to each of her questions. "Who'd ever have imagined it," she proceeded to tell dowager lady Chia; "not only are the human beings in the city grand, but even the birds are grand.

Why, the moment these birds fly into your mansion, they also become beautiful things, and acquire the gift of speech as well!"

The company could not make out the drift of her observations. "What birds get transformed into beautiful things and become able to speak?"

they felt impelled to ask.

"Those perched on those gold stands, under the verandah, with green plumage and red beaks are parrots. I know them well enough!" Goody Liu replied. "But those old black crows in the cages there have crests like phoenixes! They can talk too!"

One and all laughed. But not long elapsed before they caught sight of several waiting-maids, who came to invite them to a collation.

"After the number of cups of wine I've had," old lady Chia said, "I don't feel hungry. But never mind, bring the things here. We can nibble something at our leisure."

The maids speedily went off and fetched two teapoys; but they also brought a couple of small boxes with part.i.tions. When they came to be opened and to be examined, the contents of each were found to consist of two kinds of viands. In the one, were two sorts of steamed eatables. One of these was a sweet cake, made of lotus powder, scented with sun-flower. The other being rolls with goose fat and fir cone seeds. The second box contained two kinds of fried eatables; one of which was small dumplings, about an inch in size.

"What stuffing have they put in them?" dowager lady Chia asked.

"They're with crabs inside," 'hastily rejoined the matrons.

Their old mistress, at this reply, knitted her eyebrows. "These fat, greasy viands for such a time!" she observed. "Who'll ever eat these things?"

But finding, when she came to inspect the other kind, that it consisted of small fruits of flour, fashioned in every shape, and fried in b.u.t.ter, she did not fancy these either. She then however pressed Mrs. Hsueh to have something to eat, but Mrs. Hsueh merely took a piece of cake, while dowager lady Chia helped herself to a roll; but after tasting a bit, she gave the remaining half to a servant girl.

Goody Liu saw how beautifully worked those small flour fruits were, made as they were in various colours and designs, and she took, after picking and choosing, one which looked like a peony. "The most ingenious girls in our village could not, even with a pair of scissors, cut out anything like this in paper!" she exclaimed. "I would like to eat it, but I can't make up my mind to! I had better pack up a few and take them home and give them to them as specimens!"

Her remarks amused every one.

"When you start for home," dowager lady Chia said, "I'll give you a whole porcelain jar full of them; so you may as well eat these first, while they are hot!"

The rest of the inmates selected such of the fruits as took their fancy, but after they had helped themselves to one or two, they felt satisfied.

Goody Liu, however, had never before touched such delicacies. These were, in addition, made small, dainty, and without the least semblance of clumsiness, so when she and Pan Erh had served themselves to a few of each sort, half the contents of the dish vanished. But what remained of them were then, at the instance of lady Feng, put into two plates, and sent, together with a part.i.tion-box, to Wen Kuan and the other singing girls as their share.

At an unexpected moment, they perceived the nurse come in with Ta Chieh-erh in her arms, and they all induced her to have a romp with them for a time. But while Ta Chieh-erh was holding a large pumelo and amusing herself with it, she casually caught sight of Pan Erh with a 'Buddha's hand.' Ta Chieh would have it. A servant-girl endeavoured to coax (Pan-Erh) to surrender it to her, but Ta Chieh-erh, unable to curb her impatience, burst out crying. It was only after the pumelo had been given to Pan-Erh, and that the 'Buddha's hand' had, by dint of much humouring, been got from Pan Erh and given to her, that she stopped crying.

Pan Erh had played quite long enough with the 'Buddha's hand,' and had, at the moment, his two hands laden with fruits, which he was in the course of eating. When he suddenly besides saw how scented and round the pumelo was, the idea dawned on him that it was more handy for play, and, using it as a ball, he kicked it along and went off to have some fun, relinquishing at once every thought of the 'Buddha's hand.'

By this time dowager lady Chia and the other members had had tea, so leading off again goody Liu, they threaded their way to the Lung Ts'ui monastery. Miao Yu hastened to usher them in. On their arrival in the interior of the court, they saw the flowers and trees in luxuriant blossom.

"Really," smiled old lady Chia, "it's those people, who devote themselves to an ascetic life and have nothing to do, who manage, by constant repairs, to make their places much nicer than those of others!"

As she spoke, she wended her steps towards the Eastern hall. Miao Yu, with a face beaming with smiles, made way for her to walk in. "We've just been filling ourselves with wines and meats," dowager lady Chia observed, "and with the josses you've got in here, we shall be guilty of profanity. We'd better therefore sit here! But give us some of that good tea of yours; and we'll get off so soon as we have had a cup of it."

Pao-yu watched Miao Yu's movements intently, when he noticed her lay hold of a small tea-tray, fashioned in the shape of a peony, made of red carved lacquer, and inlaid with designs in gold representing a dragon ensconced in the clouds with the character 'longevity' clasped in its jaws, a tray, which contained a small multicoloured cup with cover, fabricated at the 'Ch'eng' Kiln, and present it to his grandmother.

"I don't care for 'Liu An' tea!" old lady Chia exclaimed.

"I know it; but this is old 'Chun Mei,'" Miao Yu answered with a smile.

Dowager lady Chia received the cup. "What water is this?" she went on to inquire.

"It's rain water collected last year;" Miao Yu added by way of reply.

Old lady Chia readily drank half a cup of the tea; and smiling, she proffered it to goody Liu. "Just you taste this tea!" she said.

Goody Liu drained the remainder with one draught. "It's good, of course," she remarked laughingly, "but it's rather weak! It would be far better were it brewed a little stronger!"

Dowager lady Chia and all the inmates laughed. But subsequently, each of them was handed a thin, pure white covered cup, all of the same make, originating from the 'Kuan' kiln. Miao Yu, however, soon gave a tug at Pao-ch'ai's and Tai-yu's lapels, and both quitted the apartment along with her. But Pao-yu too quietly followed at their heels. Spying Miao Yu show his two cousins into a side-room, Pao-ch'ai take a seat in the court, Tai-yu seat herself on Miao Yu's rush mat, and Miao Yu herself approach a stove, fan the fire and boil some water, with which she brewed another pot of tea, Pao-yu walked in. "Are you bent upon drinking your own private tea?" he smiled.

"Here you rush again to steal our tea," the two girls laughed with one accord. "There's none for you!"

But just as Miao Yu was going to fetch a cup, she perceived an old taoist matron bring away the tea things, which had been used in the upper rooms. "Don't put that 'Ch'eng' kiln tea-cup by!" Miao Yu hastily shouted. "Go and put it outside!"

Pao-yu understood that it must be because old goody Liu had drunk out of it that she considered it too dirty to keep. He then saw Miao Yu produce two other cups. The one had an ear on the side. On the bowl itself were engraved in three characters: 'calabash cup,' in the plain 'square'

writing. After these, followed a row of small characters in the 'true'

style, to the effect that the cup had been an article much treasured by w.a.n.g K'ai. Next came a second row of small characters stating: 'that in the course of the fourth moon of the fifth year of Yuan Feng, of the Sung dynasty, Su Shih of Mei Shan had seen it in the 'Secret' palace.

This cup, Miao Yu filled, and handed to Pao-ch'ai.

The other cup was, in appearance, as clumsy as it was small; yet on it figured an engraved inscription, consisting of 'spotted rhinoceros cup,'

in three 'seal' characters, which bore the semblance of pendent pearls.

Miao Yu replenished this cup and gave it to Tai-yu; and taking the green jade cup, which she had, on previous occasions, often used for her own tea, she filled it and presented it to Pao-yu.

"'The rules observed in the world,' the adage says, 'must be impartial,'" Pao-yu smiled. "But while my two cousins are handling those antique and rare gems, here am I with this coa.r.s.e object!"

"Is this a coa.r.s.e thing?" Miao Yu exclaimed. "Why, I'm making no outrageous statement when I say that I'm inclined to think that it is by no means certain that you could lay your hand upon any such coa.r.s.e thing as this in your home!"

"'Do in the country as country people do,' the proverb says," Pao-yu laughingly rejoined. "So when one gets in a place like this of yours, one must naturally look down upon every thing in the way of gold, pearls, jade and precious stones, as coa.r.s.e rubbish!"

This sentiment highly delighted Miao Yu. So much so, that producing another capacious cup, carved out of a whole bamboo root, which with its nine curves and ten rings, with twenty knots in each ring, resembled a coiled dragon, "Here," she said with a face beaming with smiles, "there only remains this one! Can you manage this large cup?"

"I can!" Pao-yu vehemently replied, with high glee.

"Albeit you have the stomach to tackle all it holds," Miao Yu laughed, "I haven't got so much tea for you to waste! Have you not heard how that the first cup is the 'taste'-cup; the second 'the stupid-thing-for- quenching-one's-thirst,' and the third 'the drink-mule' cup? But were you now to go in for this huge cup, why what more wouldn't that be?"

At these words, Pao-ch'ai, Tai-yu and Pao-yu simultaneously indulged in laughter. But Miao-yu seized the teapot, and poured well-nigh a whole cupful of tea into the big cup. Pao-yu tasted some carefully, and found it, in real truth, so exceptionally soft and pure that he extolled it with incessant praise.

"If you've had any tea this time," Miao-Yu pursued with a serious expression about her face, "it's thanks to these two young ladies; for had you come alone, I wouldn't have given you any."

"I'm well aware of this," Pao-yu laughingly rejoined, "so I too will receive no favour from your hands, but simply express my thanks to these two cousins of mine, and have done!"