"Raise him up！" old lady Chia vehemently called out.

Chia Chen lost no time in pulling him to his feet and bringing him over.

the Taoist Chang first indulged in loud laughter. "Oh Buddha of unlimited years！" he then observed. "Have you kept all right and in good health， throughout， venerable Senior？ Have all the ladies and young ladies continued well？ I haven't been for some time to your mansion to pay my obeisance， but you， my dowager lady， have improved more and more."

"Venerable Immortal Being！" smiled old lady Chia， "how are you； quite well？"

"Thanks to the ten thousand blessings he has enjoyed from your hands，" rejoined Chang the Taoist， "your servant too continues pretty strong and hale. In every other respect， I've， after all， been all right； but I have felt much concern about Mr. Pao-yue. Has he been all right all the time？ The other day， on the 26th of the fourth moon， I celebrated the birthday of the 'Heaven-Pervading-Mighty-King；' few people came and everything went off right and proper. I told them to invite Mr. Pao to come for a stroll； but how was it they said that he wasn't at home？"

"It was indeed true that he was away from home，" remarked dowager lady Chia. As she spoke， she turned her head round and called Pao-yue.

Pao-yue had， as it happened， just returned from outside where he had been to make himself comfortable， and with speedy step， he came forward. "My respects to you， grandfather Chang，" he said.

the Taoist Chang eagerly clasped him in his arms and inquired how he was getting on. Turning towards old lady Chia， "Mr. Pao，" he observed， "has grown fatter than ever."

"Outwardly， his looks，" replied dowager lady Chia， "may be all right， but， inwardly， he is weak. In addition to this， his father presses him so much to study that he has again and again managed， all through this bullying， to make his child fall sick."

"the other day，" continued Chang the Taoist， "I went to several places on a visit， and saw characters written by Mr. Pao and verses composed by him， all of which were exceedingly good； so how is it that his worthy father still feels displeased with him， and maintains that Mr. Pao is not very fond of his books？ According to my humble idea， he knows quite enough. As I consider Mr. Pao's face， his bearing， his speech and his deportment，" he proceeded， heaving a sigh， "what a striking resemblance I find in him to the former duke of the Jung mansion！" As he uttered these words， tears rolled down his cheeks.

At these words， old lady Chia herself found it hard to control her feelings. Her face became covered with the traces of tears. "Quite so，" she assented， "I've had ever so many sons and grandsons， and not one of them betrayed the slightest resemblance to his grandfather； and this Pao-yue turns out to be the very image of him！"

"What the former duke of Jung Kuo was like in appearance，" Chang， the Taoist went on to remark， addressing himself to Chia Chen， "you gentlemen， and your generation， were， of course， needless to say， not in time to see for yourselves； but I fancy that even our Senior master and our Master Secundus have but a faint recollection of it."

This said， he burst into another loud fit of laughter. "The other day，" he resumed， "I was at some one's house and there I met a young girl， who is this year in her fifteenth year， and verily gifted with a beautiful face， and I bethought myself that Mr. Pao must also have a wife found for him. As far as looks， intelligence and mental talents， extraction and family standing go， this maiden is a suitable match for him. But as I didn't know what your venerable ladyship would have to say about it， your servant did not presume to act recklessly， but waited until I could ascertain your wishes before I took upon myself to open my mouth with the parties concerned."

"Some time ago，" responded dowager lady Chia， "a bonze explained that it was ordained by destiny that this child shouldn't be married at an early age， and that we should put things off until he GREw somewhat in years before anything was settled. But mark my words now. Pay no regard as to whether she be of wealthy and honourable stock or not， the essential thing is to find one whose looks make her a fit match for him and then come at once and tell me. For even admitting that the girl is poor， all I shall have to do will be to bestow on her a few ounces of silver； but fine looks and a sweet temperament are not easy things to come across."

When she had done speaking， lady Feng was heard to smilingly interpose： "Grandfather Chang， aren't you going to change the talisman of 'Recorded Name' of our daughter？ The other day， lucky enough for you， you had again the GREat cheek to send some one to ask me for some satin of gosling-yellow colour. I gave it to you， for had I not， I was afraid lest your old face should have been made to feel uneasy."

"Hah， hah，" roared the Taoist Chang， "just see how my eyes must have grown dim！ I didn't notice that you， my lady， were in here； nor did I express one word of thanks to you！ The talisman of 'Recorded Name' is ready long ago. I meant to have sent it over the day before yesterday， but the unforeseen visit of the Empress to perform meritorious deeds upset my equilibrium， and made me quite forget it. But it's still placed before the gods， and if you will wait I'll go and fetch it."

Saying this， he rushed into the main hall. Presently， he returned with a tea-tray in hand， on which was spread a deep red satin cover， brocaded with dragons. In this， he presented the charm. Ta Chieh-erh's nurse took it from him.

But just as the Taoist was on the point of taking Ta Chieh-erh in his embrace， lady Feng remarked with a smile： "It would have been sufficient if you'd carried it in your hand！ And why use a tray to lay it on？"

"My hands aren't clean，" replied the Taoist Chang， "so how could I very well have taken hold of it？ A tray therefore made things much cleaner！"

"When you produced that tray just now，" laughed lady Feng， "you gave me quite a start； I didn't imagine that it was for the purpose of bringing the charm in. It really looked as if you were disposed to beg donations of us."

This observation sent the whole company into a violent fit of laughter. Even Chia Chen could not suppress a smile.

"What a monkey！" dowager lady Chia exclaimed， turning her head round. "What a monkey you are！ Aren't you afraid of going down to that Hell， where tongues are cut off？"

"I've got nothing to do with any men whatever，" rejoined lady Feng laughing， "and why does he time and again tell me that it's my bounden duty to lay up a store of meritorious deeds； and that if I'm remiss， my life will be short？"

Chang， the Taoist， indulged in further laughter. "I brought out，" he explained， "the tray so as to kill two birds with one stone. It wasn't， however， to beg for donations. On the contrary， it was in order to put in it the jade， which I meant to ask Mr. Pao to take off， so as to carry it outside and let all those Taoist friends of mine， who come from far away， as well as my neophytes and the young apprentices， see what it's like."

"Well， since that be the case，" added old lady Chia， "why do you， at your age， try your strength by running about the whole day long？ Take him at once along and let them see it！ But were you to have called him in there， wouldn't it have saved a lot of trouble？"