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the Chia consort， on the other hand， enjoined "that much as it was expedient to display zeal， in the management of state matters， it behoved him， when he had any leisure， to take good care of himself， and that he should not， whatever he did， give way to solicitude on her behalf." And Chia Cheng then went on to say "that the various inscriptions in the park over the pavilions， terraces， halls and residences had been all composed by Pao-yue， and， that in the event of there being one or two that could claim her attention， he would be happy if it would please her to at once favour him with its name." Whereupon the imperial consort Yuean， when she heard that Pao-yue could compose verses， forthwith exclaimed with a smile： "He has in very truth made proGREss！"
After Chia Cheng had retired out of the hall， the Chia consort made it a point to ask： "How is it that I do not see Pao-yue？" and dowager lady Chia explained： "An outside male relative as he is， and without official rank， he does not venture to appear before you of his own accord."
"Bring him in！" the imperial consort directed； whereupon a young eunuch ushered Pao-yue in. After he had first complied with the state ceremonies， she bade him draw near to her， and taking his hand， she held it in her lap， and， as she went on to caress his head and neck， she smiled and said： "He's grown considerably taller than he was before；" but she had barely concluded this remark， when her tears ran down as profuse as rain. Mrs. Yu， lady Feng， and the rest pressed forward. "The banquet is quite ready，" they announced， "and your highness is requested to favour the place with your presence."
the imperial consort Yuan stood up and asking Pao-yue to lead the way， she followed in his steps， along with the whole party， and betook herself on foot as far as the entrance of the garden gate， whence she at once espied， in the lustre shed by the lanterns， every kind of decorations. Entering the garden， they first passed the spots with the device "a phoenix comes with dignified air，" "the red （flowers are） fragrant and the GREen （banana leaves like） jade！" "the sign on the apricot tree is visible，" "the fragrance pure of the ligularia and iris，" and other places； and ascending the towers they walked up the halls， forded the streams and wound round the hills； contemplating as they turned their gaze from side to side， each place arranged in a different style， and each kind of article laid out in unique designs. The Chia consort expressed her admiration in most profuse eulogiums， and then went on to advise them： "that it was not expedient to indulge in future in such excessive extravagance and that all these arrangements were over and above what should have been done."
Presently they reached the main pavilion， where she commanded that they could dispense with the rites and take their seats. A sumptuous banquet was laid out， at which dowager lady Chia and the other ladies occupied the lower seats and entertained each other， while Mrs. Yu， widow Li Wan， lady Feng and the rest presented the soup and handed the cups. The Imperial consort Yuan subsequently directed that the pencils and inkslabs should be brought， and with her own hands she opened the silken paper. She chose the places she liked， and conferred upon them a name； and devising a general designation for the garden， she called it the Ta Kuan garden （Broad vista）， while for the tablet of the main pavilion the device she composed ran as follows： "Be mindful of the grace and remember the equity （of His Majesty）；" with this inscription on the antithetical scrolls：
Mercy excessive Heaven and earth display， And it men young and old hail gratefully； From old till now they pour their bounties GREat Those rich gifts which Cathay and all states permeate.
Changing also the text： "A phoenix comes with dignified air for the Hsiao Hsiang Lodge."
"the red （flowers are） fragrant and the GREen （banana leaves like） jade，" she altered into "Happy red and joyful green"； bestowing upon the place the appellation of the I Hung court （joyful red）。 The spot where "the fragrance pure of the ligularia and iris，" was inscribed， she called "the ligularia and the 'Wu' weed court；" and where was "the sign in the apricot tree is visible，" she designated "the cottage in the hills where dolichos is bleached." The main tower she called the Broad Vista Tower. The lofty tower facing the east， she designated "the variegated and flowery Hall；" bestowing on the line of buildings， facing the west， the appellation of "the Hall of Occult Fragrance；" and besides these figured such further names as： "the Hall of peppery wind，" "the Arbour of lotus fragrance，" "the Islet of purple caltrop，" "the Bank of golden lotus，" and the like. There were also tablets with four characters such as： "the peach blossom and the vernal rain；" "the autumnal wind prunes the Eloecocca，" "the artemisia leaves and the night snow，" and other similar names which could not all be placed on record. She furthermore directed that such tablets as were already put up， should not be dismounted， and she forthwith took the lead and composed an heptameter stanza， the burden of which was：
Hills it enclasps， embraces streams， with skill it is laid out： What task the grounds to raise！ the works to start and bring about！ Of scenery in heaven and amongst men store has been made； The name Broad Vista o'er the fragrant park should be engraved.
When she had finished writing， she observed smilingly， as she addressed herself to all the young ladies： "I have all along lacked the quality of sharpness and never besides been good at verses； as you， sisters， and all of you have ever been aware； but， on a night like this I've been fain to do my best， with the object of escaping censure， and of not reflecting injustice on this scenery and nothing more. But some other day when I've got time， be it ever so little， I shall deem it my duty to make up what remains by inditing a record of the Broad Vista Garden， as well as a song on my visit to my parents and other such literary productions in memory of the events of this day. You sisters and others must， each of you， in like manner compose a stanza on the motto on each tablet， expressing your sentiments， as you please， without being restrained by any regard for my meaGRE ability. Knowing as I do besides that Pao-yue is， indeed， able to write verses， I feel the more delighted！ But among his compositions， those I like the best are those in the two places， 'the Hsiao Hsiang Lodge，' and 'the court of Heng and Wu；' and next those of 'the Joyful red court，' and 'the cottage in the hills， where the dolichos is bleached.' As for grand sites like these four， there should be found some out-of-the-way expressions to insert in the verses so that they should be felicitous. The antithetical lines composed by you， （Pao-yue）， on a former occasion are excellent， it is true； but you should now further indite for each place， a pentameter stanza， so that by allowing me to test you in my presence， you may not show yourself ungrateful for the trouble I have taken in teaching you from your youth up."
Pao-yue had no help but to assent， and descending from the hall， he went off all alone to give himself up to reflection.
Of the three Ying Ch'un， T'an Ch'un， and Hsi Ch'un， T'an Ch'un must be considered to have also been above the standard of her sisters， but she， in her own estimation， imagined it， in fact， difficult to compete with Hsueeh Pao-ch'ai and Lin Tai-yue. With no alternative however than that of doing her best， she followed the example of all the rest with the sole purpose of warding off criticism. And Li Wan too succeeded， after much exertion， in putting together a stanza.
the consort of the Chia family perused in due order the verses written by the young ladies， the text of which is given below.
