people's clothes! Yes, I remember how, during her stay here in the third
and fourth moons of last year, she used to wear cousin Pao's pelisses.
She even put on his shoes, and attached his frontlets as well round her
head. At a casual glance, she looked the very image of cousin Pao; what
was superfluous was that pair of earrings of hers. As she stood at the
back of that chair she so thoroughly took in our venerable ancestor that
she kept on shouting: 'Pao-yue, come over! Mind the tassels suspended on
that lamp; for if you shake the dust off, it may get into your eyes!'
But all she did was to laugh; she did not budge; and it was only after
every one found it hard to keep their countenance that our worthy senior
also started laughing. 'You do look well in male habiliments!' she said
to her."

"What about that!" cried Lin Tai-yue, "why, she had scarcely been here
with us a couple of days in the first moon of last year, when we sent
and fetched her, that we had a fall of snow. You, venerable senior, and
her maternal aunt had on that day, I remember so well, just returned
from worshipping the images of our ancestors, and a brand-new deep red
felt wrapper of yours, dear grandmother, had been lying over there, when
suddenly it disappeared. But, lo, she it was who had put it on! Being,
however, too large and too long for her, she took a couple of
handkerchiefs, and fastened them round her waist. She was then trudging
into the back court with the servant-girls to make snow men when she
tripped and fell flat in front of the drain, and got covered all over
with mud."

As she narrated this incident, every one recalled the circumstances to
mind, and had a good laugh.

"Dame Chou," Pao-ch'ai smilingly inquired of nurse Chou, "is your young