THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

Ill
1 ' I
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68 THE BOOK OF POETRY. [PAET I. BE II. iv.] THE BOOK OF POETEY. 69
2 Of the magpie's nest
Is the dove possest.
This bride goes to her new home to live;
And escort a hundred chariots give.
8 The nest magpie wove
Now filled by the dove.
This bride now takes to her home her way;
And these numerous cars her state display.
II.
The Ts'aefan; narrative. THE INDUSTRY AND REVERENCE OF A
PRINCE'S WIFE, ASSISTING HIM IN SACRIFICING.
We must suppose the ladies of a harem, in one of the States of the South,
admiring and praising the way in which their mistress discharged her
duties.
1 Around the pools, the islets o'er,
Fast she plucks white southernwood,
To help the sacrificial store ;
And for our prince does service good.
2 Where streams among the valleys shine,
Of southernwoods she plucks the white;
And brings it to the sacred shrine,
To aid our prince in solemn rite.
3 In. head-dress high, most reverent, she
The temple seeks at early dawn.
The service o'er, the head-dress see
To her own chamber slow withdrawn.
III.
The Ts'aou-ch'ung ; narrative. THE WIFE OF SOME GREAT OFFICER
BEWAILS HIS ABSENCE ON DUTY, AND LONGS FOR THE JOY OF HIS
RETURN.
1 Shrill chirp the insects in the grass;
All about the hoppers spring.
While I my husband do not see,
Sorrow must my bosom wring.
0 to meet him !
0 to greet him !
Then my heart would rest and sing.
2 Ascending high that southern hill,
Turtle ferns I strove to get.
While I my husband do not see,
Sorrow must my heart beset.
0 to meet him !
0 to greet him !
Then my heart would cease to fret.
3 Ascending high that southern hill,
Spinous ferns I sought to find.
While I my husband do not see,
Hankies sorrow in my mind.
0 to meet him !
0 to greet him!
In my heart would peace be shrined.
IV.
The Ts'aepin; narrative. THE DILIGENCE AND REVERENCE OF THE
YOUNG WIFE OF AN OFFICER, DOING HER PART IN SACRIFICIAL OFFER
INGS.
1 She gathers fast the large duckweed,
From valley stream that southward flows ;
And for the pondweed to the pools
Left on the plains by floods she goes.
2 The plants, when closed her toil, she puts
• In baskets round and baskets square.
Then home she hies to cook her spoil,
In pans and tripods ready there.
3 In sacred chamber this she sets,
Where the light falls down through the wall.
JTis she, our lord's young reverent wife,
Who manages this service all.