评论
打印
Having concluded these remarks， she led Pao-yue by the hand into the apartment， where he felt a whiff of subtle fragrance， but what it was that reached his nostrils he could not tell.
To Pao-yue's eager and incessant inquiries， the Fairy made reply with a sardonic smile. "This perfume，" she said， "is not to be found in the world， and how could you discern what it is？ This is made of the essence of the first sprouts of rare herbs， growing on all hills of fame and places of superior excellence， admixed with the oil of every species of splendid shrubs in precious groves， and is called the marrow of Conglomerated Fragrance."
At these words Pao-yue was， of course， full of no other feeling than wonder.
the whole party advanced and took their seats， and a young maidservant presented tea， which Pao-yue found of pure aroma， of excellent flavour and of no ordinary kind. "What is the name of this tea？" he therefore asked； upon which the Fairy explained. "This tea，" she added， "originates from the Hills of Emitted Spring and the Valley of Drooping Fragrance， and is， besides， brewed in the night dew， found on spiritual plants and divine leaves. The name of this tea is 'one thousand red in one hole.'"
At these words Pao-yue nodded his head， and extolled its qualities. Espying in the room lutes， with jasper mountings， and tripods， inlaid with gems， antique paintings， and new poetical works， which were to be seen everywhere， he felt more than ever in a high state of delight. Below the windows， were also shreds of velvet sputtered about and a toilet case stained with the traces of time and smudged with cosmetic； while on the partition wall was likewise suspended a pair of scrolls， with the inscription：
A lonesome， small， ethereal， beauteous nook！ What help is there， but Heaven's will to brook？
Pao-yue having completed his inspection felt full of admiration， and proceeded to ascertain the names and surnames of the Fairies. One was called the Fairy of Lustful Dreams； another "the High Ruler of Propagated Passion；" the name of one was "the Golden Maiden of Perpetuated Sorrow；" of another the "Intelligent Maiden of Transmitted Hatred." （In fact，） the respective Taoist appellations were not of one and the same kind.
In a short while， young maid-servants came in and laid the table， put the chairs in their places， and spread out wines and eatables. There were actually crystal tankards overflowing with luscious wines， and amber glasses full to the brim with pearly strong liquors. But still less need is there to give any further details about the sumptuousness of the refreshments.
Pao-yue found it difficult， on account of the unusual purity of the bouquet of the wine， to again restrain himself from making inquiries about it.
"This wine，" observed the Monitory Dream Fairy， "is made of the twigs of hundreds of flowers， and the juice of ten thousands of trees， with the addition of must composed of unicorn marrow， and yeast prepared with phoenix milk. Hence the name of 'Ten thousand Beauties in one Cup' was given to it."
Pao-yue sang its incessant praise， and， while he sipped his wine， twelve dancing girls came forward， and requested to be told what songs they were to sing.
"Take，" suggested the Fairy， "the newly-composed Twelve Sections of the Dream of the Red Chamber， and sing them."
the singing girls signified their obedience， and forthwith they lightly clapped the castagnettes and gently thrummed the virginals. These were the words which they were heard to sing：
At the time of the opening of the heavens and the laying out of the earth chaos prevailed.
they had just sung this one line when the Fairy exclaimed： "This ballad is unlike the ballads written in the dusty world whose purport is to hand down remarkable events， in which the distinction of scholars， girls， old men and women， and fools is essential， and in which are furthermore introduced the lyrics of the Southern and Northern Palaces. These fairy songs consist either of elegaic effusions on some person or impressions of some occurrence or other， and are impromptu songs readily set to the music of wind or string instruments， so that any one who is not cognisant of their gist cannot appreciate the beauties contained in them. So you are not likely， I fear， to understand this lyric with any clearness； and unless you first peruse the text and then listen to the ballad， you will， instead of pleasure， feel as if you were chewing wax （devoid of any zest）。"
