lie down quietly over there for a little!"

Chiding him the while, she directed a servant to fetch a pillow. Pao-yue
therefore lay himself down at the back of Madame Wang, and called Ts'ai
Hsia to come and stroke him.

Pao-yue then began to bandy words with Ts'ai Hsia. But perceiving that
Ts'ai Hsia was reserved, and, that instead of paying him any attention,
she kept her eyes fixed upon Chia Huan, Pao-yue eagerly took her hand.
"My dear girl!" he said; "do also heed me a little;" and as he gave
utterance to this appeal, he kept her hand clasped in his.

Ts'ai Hsia, however, drew her hand away and would not let him hold it.
"If you go on in this way," she vehemently exclaimed, "I'll shout out at
once."

These two were in the act of wrangling, when verily Chia Huan overheard
what was going on. He had, in fact, all along hated Pao-yue; so when on
this occasion, he espied him up to his larks with Ts'ai Hsia, he could
much less than ever stifle feelings of resentment in his heart. After
some reflection, therefore, an idea suggested itself to his mind, and
pretending that it was by a slip of the hand, he shoved the candle,
overflowing with tallow, into Pao-yue's face.

"Ai ya!" Pao-yue was heard to exclaim. Every one in the whole room was
plunged in consternation. With precipitate haste, the lanterns, standing
on the floor, were moved over; and, with the first ray of light, they
discovered that Pao-yue's face was one mass of tallow.

Madame Wang gave way to anger as well as anxiety. At one time, she