Some Chinese Ghosts Read online

  That day all the air was drowsy with blossom perfume, and vibrant with the droning of bees. It seemed to Ming-Y that the path he followed had not been trodden by any ­other for many long years: the grass was tall upon it; vast trees on ­either side interlocked their mighty and moss-grown arms above him, beshadowing the way; but the leafy obscurities quivered with bird-song, and the deep vistas of the wood were glorified by vapors of gold, and odorous with ­flower-breathings as a temple with incense. The dreamy joy of the day entered into the heart of Ming-Y; and he sat him down among the young blossoms, ­under the branches swaying against the violet sky, to drink in the perfume and the light, and to enjoy the great sweet silence. Even while thus reposing, a sound caused him to turn his eyes ­toward a shady place where wild peach-trees were in bloom; and he beheld a young woman, beautiful as the pinkening blossoms themselves, trying to hide among them. Though he looked for a moment only, Ming-Y could not avoid discerning the loveliness of her face, the golden purity of her complexion, and the brightness of her long eyes, that sparkled ­under a pair of brows as daintily curved as the wings of the silkworm butterfly outspread. Ming-Y at once turned his gaze away, and, rising quickly, proceeded on his journey. But so much embarrassed did he feel at the idea of those charming eyes peeping at him through the leaves, that he suffered the money he had been carrying in his sleeve to fall, without ­being aware of it. A few moments later he heard the patter of light feet running ­behind him, and a woman’s voice calling him by name. Turning his face in great surprise, he saw a comely servant-maid, who said to him, “Sir, my mistress bade me pick up and return you this silver which you dropped upon the road.” Ming-Y thanked the girl gracefully, and requested her to convey his compliments to her mistress. Then he proceeded on his way through the perfumed silence, athwart the shadows that dreamed along the forgotten path, dreaming himself also, and feeling his heart beating with strange quickness at the thought of the beautiful ­being that he had seen.

  It was just such ­an­other day when Ming-Y, returning by the same path, paused once more at the spot where the gracious figure had momentarily appeared ­before him. But this time he was surprised to perceive, through a long vista of immense trees, a dwelling that had previously escaped his notice,—a country residence, not large, yet ele­gant to an unusual degree. The bright blue tiles of its curved and serrated double roof, rising above the foliage, seemed to blend their ­color with the luminous azure of the day; the green-and-gold designs of its carven porticos were exquisite artistic mockeries of leaves and ­flowers bathed in sunshine. And at the summit of terrace-steps ­before it, guarded by great porcelain tortoises, Ming-Y saw standing the mistress of the mansion,—the idol of his passionate fancy,—accompanied by the same waiting-maid who had borne to her his message of gratitude. While Ming-Y looked, he perceived that their eyes were upon him; they smiled and conversed together as if speaking about him; and, shy though he was, the youth found courage to salute the fair one from a distance. To his astonishment, the young servant beckoned him to approach; and opening a rustic gate half veiled by ­trailing plants bearing crimson ­flowers, Ming-Y advanced along the verdant alley leading to the terrace, with mingled feelings of surprise and timid joy. As he drew near, the beautiful lady withdrew from sight; but the maid waited at the broad steps to receive him, and said as he ascended:

  “Sir, my mistress ­under­stands you wish to thank her for the trifling ser­vice she recently bade me do you, and requests that you will enter the house, as she knows you ­already by repute, and desires to have the plea­sure of bidding you good-day.”

  Ming-Y entered bashfully, his feet making no sound upon a matting elastically soft as forest moss, and found himself in a reception-chamber vast, cool, and fragrant with scent of blossoms freshly gathered. A delicious ­quiet pervaded the mansion; shadows of flying birds passed over the bands of light that fell through the half-blinds of bamboo; great butterflies, with pinions of fiery ­color, found their way in, to hover a moment about the painted vases, and pass out again into the mysterious woods. And noiselessly as they, the young mistress of the mansion entered by ­an­other door, and kindly greeted the boy, who lifted his hands to his breast and bowed low in salutation. She was taller than he had deemed her, and supplely-slender as a beauteous lily; her black hair was interwoven with the creamy blossoms of the chu-sha-kih; her robes of pale silk took shifting tints when she moved, as vapors change hue with the changing of the light.

  “If I be not mistaken,” she said, when both had seated them­selves ­after ­having exchanged the customary formalities of politeness, “my honored visitor is none ­other than Tien-chou, surnamed Ming-Y, educator of the children of my respected relative, the High Commissioner Tchang. As the family of Lord Tchang is my family also, I cannot but consider the teacher of his children as one of my own kin.”

  “Lady,” replied Ming-Y, not a ­little astonished, “may I dare to inquire the name of your honored family, and to ask the relation which you hold to my noble patron?”

  “The name of my poor family,” responded the comely lady, “is Ping,—an ancient family of the city of Tching-tou. I am the daughter of a certain Sië of Moun-hao; Sië is my name, likewise; and I was married to a young man of the Ping family, whose name was Khang. By this marriage I became related to your excellent patron; but my husband died soon ­after our wedding, and I have chosen this solitary place to reside in during the period of my widowhood.”

  There was a drowsy music in her voice, as of the melody of brooks, the murmurings of spring; and such a strange grace in the manner of her speech as Ming-Y had never heard ­before. Yet, on learning that she was a widow, the youth would not have presumed to remain long in her presence without a formal invitation; and ­after ­having sipped the cup of rich tea pre­s­ented to him, he arose to depart. Sië would not suffer him to go so quickly.

  “Nay, friend,” she said; “stay yet a ­little while in my house, I pray you; for, should your honored patron ever learn that you had been here, and that I had not treated you as a respected guest, and regaled you even as I would him, I know that he would be greatly angered. Remain at least to s­upper.”

  So Ming-Y remained, rejoicing secretly in his heart, for Sië seemed to him the fairest and sweetest ­being he had ever known, and he felt that he loved her even more than his ­father and his ­m­other. And while they talked the long shadows of the evening slowly blended into one violet darkness; the great citron-light of the sunset faded out; and those starry ­beings that are called the Three Councillors, who preside over life and death and the destinies of men, opened their cold bright eyes in the northern sky. Within the mansion of Sië the painted lanterns were lighted; the table was laid for the evening repast; and Ming-Y took his place at it, feeling ­little inclination to eat, and thinking only of the charming face ­before him. Observing that he scarcely tasted the dainties laid upon his plate, Sië pressed her young guest to partake of wine; and they drank several cups together. It was a purple wine, so cool that the cup into which it was poured became covered with vapory dew; yet it seemed to warm the veins with strange fire. To Ming-Y, as he drank, all things became more luminous as by enchantment; the walls of the chamber appeared to recede, and the roof to heighten; the lamps glowed like stars in their chains, and the voice of Sië floated to the boy’s ears like some far melody heard through the spaces of a drowsy night. His heart swelled; his tongue loosened; and words flitted from his lips that he had fancied he could never dare to utter. Yet Sië sought not to restrain him; her lips gave no smile; but her long bright eyes seemed to laugh with plea­sure at his words of praise, and to return his gaze of passionate admiration with affectionate interest.

  “I have heard,” she said, “of your rare talent, and of your many ele­gant accomplishments. I know how to sing a ­little, ­although I cannot claim to possess any musical learning; and now that I have the honor of finding myself in the society of a musical professor, I will venture to lay modesty a
side, and beg you to sing a few songs with me. I should deem it no small gratification if you would condescend to examine my musical compositions.”

  “The honor and the gratification, dear lady,” replied Ming-Y, “will be mine; and I feel helpless to express the gratitude which the ­offer of so rare a favor deserves.”

  The serving-maid, obedient to the summons of a ­little silver gong, brought in the music and retired. Ming-Y took the manuscripts, and ­began to examine them with eager delight. The ­paper upon which they were written had a pale yellow tint, and was light as a fabric of gossamer; but the characters were antiquely beautiful, as though they had been traced by the brush of Heï-song Ché-Tchoo himself,—that divine Genius of Ink, who is no bigger than a fly; and the signatures attached to the compositions were the signatures of Youen-tchin, Kao-pien, and Thou-mou,—mighty ­­poets and musicians of the dynasty of Thang! Ming-Y could not repress a scream of delight at the sight of trea­sures so inestimable and so unique; scarcely could he summon resolution enough to permit them to leave his hands even for a moment.

  “O Lady!” he cried, “these are veritably priceless things, surpassing in worth the trea­sures of all kings. This indeed is the handwriting of those great ­­masters who sang five hundred years ­before our birth. How marvellously it has been preserved! Is not this the wondrous ink of which it was written: Po-nien-jou-chi, i-tien-jou-ki,—‘­After centuries I remain firm as stone, and the ­letters that I make like lacquer’? And how divine the charm of this composition!—the song of Kao-pien, prince of ­­poets, and Governor of Sze-tchouen five hundred years ago!”

  “Kao-pien! darling Kao-pien!” murmured Sië, with a singular light in her eyes. “Kao-pien is also my favorite. Dear Ming-Y, let us chant his verses together, to the melody of old,—the music of those grand years when men were nobler and wiser than today.”

  And their voices rose through the perfumed night like the voices of the wonder-birds,—of the Fung-hoang,—blending together in liquid sweetness. Yet a moment, and Ming-Y, overcome by the witchery of his companion’s voice, could only listen in speechless ecstasy, while the lights of the chamber swam dim ­before his sight, and tears of plea­sure trickled down his cheeks.

  So the ninth hour passed; and they continued to converse, and to drink the cool purple wine, and to sing the songs of the years of Thang, ­until far into the night. More than once Ming-Y thought of departing; but each time Sië would ­begin, in that silver-sweet voice of hers, so wondrous a story of the great ­poets of the past, and of the women whom they loved, that he became as one entranced; or she would sing for him a song so strange that all his senses seemed to die except that of hearing. And at last, as she paused to pledge him in a cup of wine, Ming-Y could not restrain himself from putting his arm about her round neck and drawing her dainty head closer to him, and kissing the lips that were so much ruddier and sweeter than the wine. Then their lips separated no more;—the night grew old, and they knew it not.

  The birds awakened, the ­flowers opened their eyes to the rising sun, and Ming-Y found himself at last compelled to bid his lovely enchantress farewell. Sië, accompanying him to the terrace, kissed him fondly and said, “Dear boy, come hither as ­often as you are able,—as ­often as your heart whispers you to come. I know that you are not of those without faith and truth, who betray secrets; yet, ­being so young, you might also be sometimes thoughtless; and I pray you never to forget that only the stars have been the witnesses of our love. Speak of it to no living person, dearest; and take with you this ­little souvenir of our happy night.”

  And she pres­ented him with an exquisite and curious ­little thing,—a ­paper-weight in likeness of a couchant lion, wrought from a jade-stone yellow as that created by a rainbow in honor of Kong-fu-tze. Tenderly the boy kissed the gift and the beautiful hand that gave it. “May the Spirits punish me,” he vowed, “if ever I knowingly give you cause to reproach me, sweetheart!” And they separated with mutual vows.

  That ­morning, on returning to the house of Lord Tchang, Ming-Y told the first falsehood which had ever passed his lips. He averred that his ­m­other had requested him thenceforward to pass his nights at home, now that the weather had ­become so pleasant; for, though the way was somewhat long, he was strong and active, and needed both air and healthy exercise. Tchang ­believed all Ming-Y said, and ­offered no objection. Accordingly the lad found himself enabled to pass all his evenings at the house of the beautiful Sië. Each night they devoted to the same plea­sures which had made their first acquaintance so charming: they sang and conversed by turns; they played at chess,—the learned game invented by Wu-Wang, which is an imitation of war; they composed pieces of eighty rhymes upon the ­flowers, the trees, the clouds, the streams, the birds, the bees. But in all accomplishments Sië far excelled her young sweetheart. Whenever they played at chess, it was ­always Ming-Y’s general, Ming-Y’s tsiang, who was surrounded and vanquished; when they composed verses, Sië’s ­poems were ever superior to his in harmony of word-­coloring, in elegance of form, in classic loftiness of thought. And the themes they selected were ­always the most difficult,—those of the ­­poets of the Thang dynasty; the songs they sang were also the songs of five hundred years ­before,—the songs of Youen-tchin, of Thou-mou, of Kao-pien above all, high ­poet and ruler of the prov­ince of Sze-tchouen.

  So the summer waxed and waned upon their love, and the luminous autumn came, with its vapors of phantom gold, its shadows of magical purple.

  Then it unexpectedly happened that the ­father of Ming-Y, meeting his son’s employer at Tching-tou, was asked by him: “Why must your boy continue to travel every evening to the city, now that the winter is approaching? The way is long, and when he returns in the ­morning he looks fordone with weariness. Why not permit him to slumber in my house during the season of snow?” And the ­father of Ming-Y, greatly astonished, responded: “Sir, my son has not visited the city, nor has he been to our house all this summer. I fear that he must have acquired wicked habits, and that he passes his nights in evil company,—perhaps in gaming, or in drinking with the women of the ­flower-boats.” But the High Commissioner returned: “Nay! that is not to be thought of. I have never found any evil in the boy, and there are no taverns nor ­flower-boats nor any places of dissipation in our neighborhood. No doubt Ming-Y has found some amiable youth of his own age with whom to spend his evenings, and only told me an untruth for fear that I would not ­otherwise permit him to leave my residence. I beg that you will say ­nothing to him ­until I shall have sought to discover this mystery; and this very evening I shall send my servant to follow ­after him, and to watch whither he goes.”

  Pelou readily assented to this proposal, and promising to visit Tchang the following ­morning, returned to his home. In the evening, when Ming-Y left the house of Tchang, a servant followed him unobserved at a distance. But on reaching the most obscure portion of the road, the boy disappeared from sight as suddenly as though the earth had swallowed him. ­After ­having long sought ­after him in vain, the domestic returned in great bewilderment to the house, and related what had taken place. Tchang immediately sent a messenger to Pelou.

  In the mean time Ming-Y, entering the chamber of his beloved, was surprised and deeply pained to find her in tears. “Sweetheart,” she sobbed, wreathing her arms around his neck, “we are about to be separated forever, ­because of reasons which I cannot tell you. From the very first I knew this must come to pass; and nevertheless it seemed to me for the moment so cruelly sudden a loss, so unexpected a misfortune, that I could not prevent myself from weeping! ­After this night we shall never see each ­other again, beloved, and I know that you will not be able to forget me while you live; but I know also that you will ­become a great scholar, and that honors and riches will be showered upon you, and that some beautiful and loving woman will console you for my loss. And now let us speak no more of grief; but let us pass this last evening joyously, so that your recollection of me ma
y not be a painful one, and that you may remember my laughter rather than my tears.”

  She brushed the bright drops away, and brought wine and music and the melodious kin of seven silken strings, and would not suffer Ming-Y to speak for one moment of the coming separation. And she sang him an ancient song about the calmness of summer lakes reflecting the blue of heaven only, and the calmness of the heart also, ­before the clouds of care and of grief and of weariness darken its ­little world. Soon they forgot their sorrow in the joy of song and wine; and those last hours seemed to Ming-Y more celestial than even the hours of their first bliss.

  But when the yellow beauty of ­morning came their sadness returned, and they wept. Once more Sië accompanied her lover to the terrace-steps; and as she kissed him farewell, she pressed into his hand a parting gift,—a ­little brush-case of agate, wonderfully chiselled, and worthy the table of a great ­poet. And they separated forever, shedding many tears.

  Still Ming-Y could not ­believe it was an eternal parting. “No!” he thought, “I shall visit her to-morrow; for I cannot now live without her, and I feel assured that she cannot refuse to receive me.” Such were the thoughts that filled his mind as he reached the house of Tchang, to find his ­father and his patron standing on the porch awaiting him. Ere he could speak a word, Pelou demanded: “Son, in what place have you been passing your nights?”

  Seeing that his falsehood had been discovered, Ming-Y dared not make any reply, and remained abashed and silent, with bowed head, in the presence of his ­father. Then Pelou, striking the boy violently with his staff, commanded him to divulge the secret; and at last, partly through fear of his parent, and partly through fear of the law which ordains that “the son refusing to obey his ­father shall be punished with one hundred blows of the bamboo,” Ming-Y faltered out the history of his love.