YIH K'E LUY

1 Grandly rolls the thunder,

On the south of the southern hill!

How was it he went away from this,

Not daring to take a little rest?

My noble lord!

May he return! May he return!

2 Grandly rolls the thunder,

About the sides of the southern hill!

How was it he went away from this,

委蛇 (al.佗)=自得之貌, 'the app. of self-possession'.Maou says it denotes 'the straight and equal steps with which the officers walked'.公=公門, 'the duke's gate', or generally 'the court'.

The rhymes are—in st. 1, 皮*, 紽, 蛇*, cat. 17: in 2,革, 緎, 食, cat. 1, t. 3: in 3, 縫, 總, 公. Cat. 9.

Ode 8. Allusive. A LADY'S ADMIRATION OF HER HUSBAND ABSENT ON PUBLIC SERVICE, AND HER LONGING FOR HIS RETURN. The lady, it must be supposed, is the wife of a great officer. She hears the rolling of the thunder, and is led to think of her absent husband. Yen Ts'an observes that the piece is simply allusive, without any metaphorical element(與之不兼比者); but K'ang-shing and others torture the first two lines into symbols of the officer on his commission. The rhythmical variations in the stanzas are, it will be seen, very small.

L. 1. 殷 (sometimes doubled) represents the solemn sound of thunder, heard rolling at some considerable distance off. 其is the demonstrative,= 'the', or 'that'. 靁has now given place to the less complicated 雷. L .2.'The southern hill' must be one of the hills in the south of the territory of Chow. The southern side of a hill is called 陽. L .3. The 1st 斯=斯人. So, Maou and Choo; better than Yen Ts'an, who makes it=斯時, 'at this time'.

Not daring to take a little rest?

My noble lord!

May he return! May he return!

3 Grandly rolls the thunder,

At the foot of the southern hill!

How was it he went away from this,

Not remaining a little at rest?

My noble lord!

May he return! May he return!