Hung Lou Meng, or, the Dream of the Red Chamber Volume Ii Part 62

"I've got, in my quarters," Pao-yu answered, "some snow-white, wavy paper, which is both large in size, and proof against ink as well."

Pao-ch'ai gave a sarcastic smile. "I do maintain," she cried, "that you are a perfectly useless creature! That snow-white, wavy paper is good for pictures consisting of characters and for outline drawings. Or else, those who have the knack of making landscapes, use it for depicting scenery of the southern Sung era, as it resists ink and is strong enough to bear coa.r.s.e painting. But were you to employ this sort of paper to make a picture of this garden on, it will neither stand the colours, nor will it be easy to dry the painting by the fire. So not only won't it be suitable, but it will be a pity too to waste the paper. I'll tell you a way how to get out of this. When this garden was first laid out, some detailed plan was used, which although executed by a mere house-decorator, was perfect with regard to sites and bearings. You'd better therefore ask for it of your worthy mother, and apply as well to lady Feng for a piece of thick glazed l.u.s.tring of the size of that paper, and hand them to the gentlemen outside, and request them to prepare a rough copy for you, with any alterations or additions as might be necessary to make so as to accord with the style of these grounds.

All that will remain to be done will be to introduce a few human beings; no more. Then when you have to match the azure and green pigments as well as the ground gold and ground silver, you can get those people again to do so for you. But you'll also have to bring an extra portable stove, so as to have it handy for melting the glue, and for was.h.i.+ng your pencils, after you've taken the glue off. You further require a large table, painted white and covered with a cloth. That lot of small dishes you have aren't sufficient; your pencils too are not enough. It will be well consequently for you to purchase a new set of each."

"Do I own such a lot of painting materials!" Hsi Ch'un exclaimed. "Why, I simply use any pencil that first comes under my hand to paint with; that's all. And as for pigments, I've only got four kinds, ochrey stone, 'Kuang' flower paint, rattan yellow and rouge. Besides these, all I have amount to a couple of pencils for applying colours; no more."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Pao-ch'ai remarked. "I've still got some of these things remaining. But you don't need them, so were I to give you any, they'd lie uselessly about. I'll put them away for you now for a time, and, when you want them, I'll let you have some. You should, however, keep them for the exclusive purpose of painting fans; for were you to paint such big things with them it would be a pity! I'll draw out a list for you to-day to enable you to go and apply to our worthy senior for the items; as it isn't likely that you people can possibly know all that's required. I'll dictate them, and cousin Pao can write them down!"

Pao-yu had already got a pencil and inkslab ready, for, fearing lest he might not remember clearly the various necessaries, he had made up his mind to write a memorandum of them; so the moment he heard Pao-ch'ai's suggestion, he cheerfully took up his pencil, and listened quietly.

"Four pencils of the largest size," Pao-ch'ai commenced, "four of the third size; four of the second size; four pencils for applying colours on big ground; four on medium ground; four for small ground; ten claws of large southern crabs; ten claws of small crabs; ten pencils for painting side-hair and eyebrows; twenty for laying heavy colours; twenty for light colours; ten for painting faces; twenty willow-twigs; four ounces of 'arrow head' pearls; four ounces of southern ochre; four ounces of stone yellow; four ounces of dark green; four ounces of malachite; four ounces of tube-yellow; eight ounces of 'kuang' flower; four boxes of lead powder; ten sheets of rouge; two hundred sheets of thin red-gold leaves; two hundred sheets of lead; four ounces of smooth glue, from the two Kuang; and four ounces of pure alum. The glue and alum for sizing the l.u.s.tring are not included, so don't bother yourselves about them, but just take the l.u.s.tring and give it to them outside to size it with alum for you. You and I can scour and clarify all these pigments, and thus amuse ourselves, and prepare them for use as well. I feel sure you'll have an ample supply to last you a whole lifetime. But you must also get ready four sieves of fine l.u.s.tring; a pair of coa.r.s.e ones; four brush-pencils; four bowls, some large, some small; twenty large, coa.r.s.e saucers; ten five-inch plates; twenty three-inch coa.r.s.e, white plates; two stoves; four large and small earthenware pans; two new porcelain jars; four new water buckets; four one-foot-long bags, made of white cloth; two catties of light charcoal; one or two catties of willow-wood charcoal; a wooden box with three drawers; a yard of thick gauze, two ounces of fresh ginger; half a catty of soy;..."

"An iron kettle and an iron shovel," hastily chimed in Tai-yu with a smile full of irony.

"To do what with them?" Pao-ch'ai inquired.

"You ask for fresh ginger, soy and all these condiments, so I indent for an iron kettle for you to cook the paints and eat them." Tai-yu answered, to the intense merriment of one and all, who gave way to laughter.

"What do you, P'in Erh, know about these things?" Pao-ch'ai laughed. "I am not certain in my mind that you won't put those coa.r.s.e coloured plates straightway on the fire. But unless you take the precaution beforehand of rubbing the bottom with ginger juice, mixed with soy, and of warming them dry, they're bound to crack, the moment they experience the least heat."

"It's really so," they exclaimed with one voice, after this explanation.

Tai-yu perused the list for a while. She then smiled and gave T'an Ch'un a tug. "Just see," she whispered, "we want to paint a picture, and she goes on indenting for a number of water jars and boxes! But, I presume, she's got so muddled, that she inserts a list of articles needed for her trousseau."

T'an Ch'un, at her remark, laughed with such heartiness, that it was all she could do to check herself. "Cousin Pao," she observed, "don't you wring her mouth? Just ask her what disparaging things she said about you."

"Why need I ask?" Pao-ch'ai smiled. "Is it likely, pray, that you can get ivory out of a cur's mouth?"

Speaking the while, she drew near, and, seizing Tai-yu, she pressed her down on the stove-couch with the intention of pinching her face. Tai-yu smilingly hastened to implore for grace. "My dear cousin," she cried, "spare me! P'in Erh is young in years; all she knows is to talk at random; she has no idea of what's proper and what's improper. But you are my elder cousin, so teach me how to behave. If you, cousin, don't let me off, to whom can I go and address my entreaties?"

Little did, however, all who heard her apprehend that there lurked some hidden purpose in her insinuations. "She's right there," they consequently pleaded smilingly. "So much is she to be pitied that even we have been mollified; do spare her and finis.h.!.+"

Pao-ch'ai had, at first, meant to play with her, but when she unawares heard her drag in again the advice she had tendered her the other day, with regard to the reckless perusal of unwholesome books, she at once felt as if she could not have any farther fuss with her, and she let her rise to her feet.

"It's you, after all, elder cousin," Tai-yu laughed. "Had it been I, I wouldn't have let any one off."

Pao-ch'ai smiled and pointed at her. "It is no wonder," she said, "that our dear ancestor doats on you and that every one loves you. Even I have to-day felt my heart warm towards you! But come here and let me put your hair up for you!"

Tai-yu then, in very deed, swung herself round and crossed over to her.

Pao-ch'ai arranged her coiffure with her hands. Pao-yu, who stood by and looked on, thought the style, in which her hair was being made up, better than it was before. But, of a sudden, he felt sorry at what had happened, as he fancied that she should not have let her brush her side hair, but left it alone for the time being and asked him to do it for her. While, however, he gave way to these erratic thoughts, he heard Pao-ch'ai speak. "We've done with what there was to write," she said, "so you'd better tomorrow go and tell grandmother about the things. If there be any at home, well and good; but if not, get some money to buy them with. I'll then help you both in your preparations."

Pao-yu vehemently put the list away; after which, they all joined in a further chat on irrelevant matters; and, their evening meal over, they once more repaired into old lady Chia's apartments to wish her good-night. Their grandmother had, indeed, had nothing serious the matter with her. Her ailment had amounted mainly to fatigue, to which a slight chill had been super-added, so that having kept in the warm room for the day and taken a dose or two of medicine, she entirely got over the effects, and felt, in the evening, quite like own self again.

But, reader, the occurrences of the next day areas yet a mystery to you, but the nest chapter will divulge them.

CHAPTER XLIII.

Having time to amuse themselves, the Chia inmates raise, when least expected, funds to celebrate lady Feng's birthday.

In his ceaseless affection for Chin Ch'uen, Pao-yu uses, for the occasion, a pinch of earth as incense and burns it.

When Madame w.a.n.g saw, for we will now proceed with our narrative, that the extent of dowager lady Chia's indisposition, contracted on the day she had been into the garden of Broad Vista, amounted to a simple chill, that no serious ailment had supervened, and that her health had improved soon after the doctor had been sent for and she had taken a couple of doses of medicine, she called lady Feng to her and asked her to get ready a present of some kind for her to take to her husband, Chia Cheng.

But while they were engaged in deliberation, they perceived a waiting-maid arrive. She came from their old senior's part to invite them to go to her. So, with speedy step, Madame w.a.n.g led the way for lady Feng, and they came over into her quarters.

"Pray, may I ask," Madame w.a.n.g then inquired, "whether you're feeling nearly well again now?"

"I'm quite all right to-day," old lady Chia replied. "I've tasted the young-pheasant soup you sent me a little time back and find it full of relish. I've also had two pieces of meat, so I feel quite comfortable within me."

"These dainties were presented to you, dear ancestor, by that girl Feng," Madame w.a.n.g smiled. "It only shows how sincere her filial piety is. She does not render futile the love, which you, venerable senior, ever lavish on her."

Dowager lady Chia nodded her head a.s.sentingly. "She's too kind to think of me!" she answered smiling. "But should there be any more uncooked, let them fry a couple of pieces; and, if these be thoroughly immersed in wine, the congee will taste well with them. The soup is, it's true, good, but it shouldn't, properly speaking, be prepared with fine rice."

After listening to her wishes, lady Feng expressed with alacrity her readiness to see them executed, and directed a servant to go and deliver the message in the cook-house.

"I sent the servant for you," dowager lady Chia meanwhile said to Madame w.a.n.g with a smile, "not for anything else, but for the birthday of that girl Feng, which falls on the second. I had made up my mind two years ago to celebrate her birthday in proper style, but when the time came, there happened to be again something important to attend to, and it went by without anything being done. But this year, the inmates are, on one hand, all here, and there won't, I fancy, be, on the other, anything to prevent us, so we should all do our best to enjoy ourselves thoroughly for a day."

"I was thinking the same thing," Madame w.a.n.g rejoined, laughingly, "and, since it's your good pleasure, venerable senior, why, shouldn't we deliberate at once and decide upon something?"

"To the best of my recollection," dowager lady Chia resumed smiling, "whenever in past years I've had any birthday celebrations for any one of us, no matter who it was, we have ever individually sent our respective presents; but this method is common and is also apt, I think, to look very much as if there were some disunion. But I'll now devise a new way; a way, which won't have the effect of creating any discord, and will be productive of good cheer."

"Let whatever way you may think best, dear ancestor, be adopted." Madame w.a.n.g eagerly rejoined.

"My idea is," old lady Chia laughingly continued, "that we too should follow the example of those poor families and raise a subscription among ourselves, and devote the whole of whatever we may collect to meet the outlay for the necessary preparations. What do you say, will this do or not?"

"This is a splendid idea!" Madame w.a.n.g acquiesced. "But what will, I wonder, be the way adopted for raising contributions?"

Old lady Chia was the more inspirited by her reply. There and then she despatched servants to go and invite Mrs. Hsueh, Madame Hsing and the rest of the ladies, and bade others summon the young ladies and Pao-yu.

But from the other mansion, Chia Chen's spouse, Lai Ta's wife, even up to the wives of such stewards as enjoyed a certain amount of respectability, were likewise to be asked to come round.

The sight of their old mistress' delight filled the waiting-maids and married women with high glee as well; and each hurried with vehemence to execute her respective errand. Those that were to be invited were invited, and those that had to be sent for were sent for; and, before the lapse of such time as could suffice to have a meal in, the old as well as young, the high as well as low, crammed, in a black ma.s.s, every bit of the available s.p.a.ce in the rooms.

Only Mrs. Hsueh and dowager lady Chia sat opposite to each other.

Mesdames Hsing and w.a.n.g simply seated themselves on two chairs, which faced the door of the apartment. Pao-ch'ai and her five or six cousins occupied the stove-couch. Pao-yu sat on his grandmother's lap. Below, the whole extent of the floor was crowded with inmates on their feet.

But old lady Chia forthwith desired that a few small stools should be fetched. When brought, these were proffered to Lai Ta's mother and some other nurses, who were advanced in years and held in respect; for it was the custom in the Chia mansion that the family servants, who had waited upon any of the fathers or mothers, should enjoy a higher status than even young masters and mistresses. Hence it was that while Mrs. Yu, lady Feng and other ladies remained standing below, Lai Ta's mother and three or four other old nurses had, after excusing themselves for their rudeness, seated themselves on small stools.

Dowager lady Chia recounted, with a face beaming with smiles, the suggestions she had shortly made, for the benefit of the various inmates present; and one and all, of course, were only too ready to contribute for the entertainment. More, some of them, were on friendly terms with lady Feng, so they, of their own free will, adopted the proposal; others lived in fear and trembling of lady Feng, and these were only too anxious to make up to her. Every one, besides, could well afford the means, so that, as soon as they heard of the proposed subscriptions, they, with one consent, signified their acquiescence.

"I'll give twenty taels!" old lady Chia was the first to say with a smile playing round her lips.

"I'll follow your lead, dear senior," Mrs. Hsueh smiled, "and also subscribe twenty taels."

"We don't presume to place ourselves on an equal footing with your ladys.h.i.+p," Mesdames Hsing and w.a.n.g pleaded. "We, of course, come one degree lower; each of us therefore will contribute sixteen taels."

"We too naturally rank one step lower," Mrs. Yu and Li Wan also smiled, "so we'll each give twelve taels."