This Ssu Erh was， who would have thought it， a girl gifted with matchless artfulness， and perceiving that Pao-yue had requisitioned her services， she speedily began to devise extreme ways and means to inveigle him. When evening came， and dinner was over， Pao-yue's eyes were scorching hot and his ears burning from the effects of two cups of wine that he had taken. Had it been in past days， he would have now had Hsi Jen and her companions with him， and with all their good cheer and laughter， he would have been enjoying himself. But here was he， on this occasion， dull and forlorn， a solitary being， gazing at the lamp with an absolute lack of pleasure. By and by he felt a certain wish to go after them， but dreading that if they carried their point， they would， in the future， come and tender advice still more immoderate， and that， were he to put on the airs of a superior to intimidate them， he would appear to be too deeply devoid of all feeling， he therefore， needless to say， thwarted the wish of his heart， and treated them just as if they were dead. And as anyway he was constrained also to live， alone though he was， he readily looked upon them， for the time being as departed， and did not worry his mind in the least on their account. On the contrary， he was able to feel happy and contented with his own society. Hence it was that bidding Ssu Erh trim the candles and brew the tea， he himself perused for a time the "Nan Hua Ching，" and upon reaching the precept： "On thieves，" given on some additional pages， the burden of which was： "Therefore by exterminating intuitive wisdom， and by discarding knowledge， highway robbers will cease to exist， and by taking off the jade and by putting away the pearls， pilferers will not spring to existence； by burning the slips and by breaking up the seals， by smashing the measures， and snapping the scales， the result will be that the people will not wrangle； by abrogating， to the utmost deGREe， wise rules under the heavens， the people will， at length， be able to take part in deliberation. By putting to confusion the musical scale， and destroying fifes and lutes， by deafening the ears of the blind Kuang， then， at last， will the human race in the world constrain his sense of hearing. By extinguishing literary compositions， by dispersing the five colours and by sticking the eyes of Li Chu， then， at length， mankind under the whole sky， will restrain the perception of his eyes. By destroying and eliminating the hooks and lines， by discarding the compasses and squares， and by amputating Kung Chui's fingers， the human race will ultimately succeed in constraining his ingenuity，"——his high spirits， on perusal of this passage， were so exultant that taking advantage of the exuberance caused by the wine， he picked up his pen， for he could not repress himself， and continued the text in this wise： "By burning the flower， （Hua-Hsi Jen） and dispersing the musk， （She Yueeh）， the consequence will be that the inmates of the inner chambers will， eventually， keep advice to themselves. By obliterating Pao-ch'ai's supernatural beauty， by reducing to ashes Tai-yue's spiritual perception， and by destroying and extinguishing my affectionate preferences， the beautiful in the inner chambers as well as the plain will then， at length， be put on the same footing. And as they will keep advice to themselves， there will be no fear of any disagreement. By obliterating her supernatural beauty， I shall then have no incentive for any violent affection； by dissolving her spiritual perception， I will have no feelings with which to foster the memory of her talents. The hair-pin， jade， flower and musk （Pao-ch'ai， Tai-yue， Hsi Jen and She Yueeh） do each and all spread out their snares and dig mines， and thus succeed in inveigling and entrapping every one in the world."

At the conclusion of this annex， he flung the pen away， and lay himself down to sleep. His head had barely reached the pillow before he at once fell fast asleep， remaining the whole night long perfectly unconscious of everything straight up to the break of day， when upon waking and turning himself round， he， at a glance， caught sight of no one else than Hsi Jen， sleeping in her clothes over the coverlet.

Pao-yue had already banished from his mind every thought of what had transpired the previous day， so that forthwith giving Hsi Jen a push： "Get up！" he said， "and be careful where you sleep， as you may catch cold."

the fact is that Hsi Jen was aware that he was， without regard to day or night， ever up to mischief with his female cousins； but presuming that if she earnestly called him to account， he would not mend his ways， she had， for this reason， had recourse to tender language to exhort him， in the hope that， in a short while， he would come round again to his better self. But against all her expectations Pao-yue had， after the lapse of a whole day and night， not changed the least in his manner， and as she really was in her heart quite at a loss what to do， she failed to find throughout the whole night any proper sleep. But when on this day， she unexpectedly perceived Pao-yue in this mood， she flattered herself that he had made up his mind to effect a change， and readily thought it best not to notice him. Pao-yue， seeing that she made no reply， forthwith stretched out his hand and undid her jacket； but he had just unclasped the button， when his arm was pushed away by Hsi Jen， who again made it fast herself.

Pao-yue was so much at his wit's ends that he had no alternative but to take her hand and smilingly ask： "What's the matter with you， after all， that I've had to ask you something time after time？"

Hsi Jen opened her eyes wide. "there's nothing really the matter with me！" she observed； "but as you're awake， you surely had better be going over into the opposite room to comb your hair and wash； for if you dilly-dally any longer， you won't be in time."

"Where shall I go over to？" Pao-yue inquired.

Hsi Jen gave a sarcastic grin. "Do you ask me？" she rejoined； "do I know？ you're at perfect liberty to go over wherever you like； from this day forth you and I must part company so as to avoid fighting like cocks or brawling like geese， to the amusement of third parties. Indeed， when you get surfeited on that side， you come over to this， where there are， after all， such girls as Fours and Fives （Ssu Erh and Wu Erh） to dance attendance upon you. But such kind of things as ourselves uselessly defile fine names and fine surnames."

"Do you still remember this to-day！" Pao-yue asked with a smirk.

"Hundred years hence I shall still bear it in mind，" Hsi Jen protested； "I'm not like you， who treat my words as so much wind blowing by the side of your ears， that what I've said at night， you've forgotten early in the morning."

Pao-yue perceiving what a seductive though angry air pervaded her face found it difficult to repress his feelings， and speedily taking up， from the side of the pillow， a hair-pin made of jade， he dashed it down breaking it into two exclaiming： "If I again don't listen to your words， may I fare like this hair-pin."

Hsi Jen immediately picked up the hair-pin， as she remarked： "What's up with you at this early hour of the morning？ Whether you listen or not is of no consequence； and is it worth while that you should behave as you do？"

"How can you know，" Pao-yue answered， "the anguish in my heart！"

"Do you also know what anguish means？" Hsi Jen observed laughing； "if you do， then you can judge what the state of my heart is！ But be quick and get up， and wash your face and be off！"

As she spoke， they both got out of bed and performed their toilette； but after Pao-yue had gone to the drawing rooms， and at a moment least expected by any one， Tai-yue walked into his apartment. Noticing that Pao-yue was not in， she was fumbling with the books on the table and examining them， when， as luck would have it， she turned up the Chuang Tzu of the previous day. Upon perusing the passage tagged on by Pao-yue， she could not help feeling both incensed and amused. Nor could she restrain herself from taking up the pen and appending a stanza to this effect：

Who is that man， who of his pen， without good rhyme， made use， A toilsome task to do into the Chuang-tzu text to steal， Who for the knowledge he doth lack no sense of shame doth feel， But language vile and foul employs third parties to abuse？