FIR-FLOWER TABLETS 75 



Mr. E. H. Parker also tried his hand: — 



When the white sun, heigh-ho ! 



That line doth pass 

 I will come seek you, Sir, 



In this thick grass. 

 Sunk is the sun, heigh-ho ! 



Disheartening, very 

 The moon is up, ho there ! 



Haste to the ferry ! 

 Delay like this, heigh-ho ! 



Reverse of merry ! 

 Ho ! you in the grass, I say ! 

 Ho ! you in the grass, I say ! 

 Are you not then some luckless runaway. 



The stirrings of heart of these two worthy sinologues are 

 perfectly apparent as is also the horrible quality of their 

 doggerel : — 



I've measured it from side to side 

 T'is three feet long and two feet wide. 



Giles introduced a new light touch and with his usual 

 brilliance improved upon the work of his contemporaries 

 and predecessors as may be readily seen in his ''Chinese 

 Poetry in English Verse," (1896). Mr. Waley rightly says 

 of this work that in it Mr. Giles "combines rhymes and 

 literalness with wonderful dexterity." In his "Chinese 

 Literature" Mr. Giles says that "a Chinese poem at best 

 is a hard nut to crack" but this knowledge did not cause 

 him to stay his hand; and it is well that it did not for 

 his translations have done more than anything else to> stir 

 up interest in Chinese poetry. This result causes no wonder 

 for some of Giles' work was of a high order, such as his 

 translation from T'ao Ch'ien: — 



A scholar lives on yonder hill 

 His clothes are rarely whole to view 

 Nine times a month he eats his fill 

 Once in ten years his hat is new. 

 A wretched lot — and yet the while 

 He ever wears a sunny smile. 



Longing to know what like was he 

 At dawn my steps a path enclosed 

 Where dark firs left the passage free 

 And on the eaves the white clouds dozed. 



But he, a spying my intent, 



Seized his guitar and swept the strings ; 



Up flew a crane towards heaven bent 



And now a startled pheasant springs. 



Oh, let me rest with thee until 



The winter winds again blow chill. 



