“_The mulberry-tree upon the ground Now sheds its yellow leaves around. Three years have slipped away from me Since first I shared your poverty; And now again, alas the day! Back through the ford I take my way. My heart is still unchanged, but you Have uttered words now proved untrue; And you have left me to deplore A love that can be mine no more._ “_For three long years I was your wife, And led in truth a toilsome life; Early to rise and late to bed, Each day alike passed o’er my head. I honestly fulfilled my part, And you--well, you have broke my heart. The truth my brothers will not know, So all the more their gibes will flow. I grieve in silence and repine That such a wretched fate is mine._ “_Ah, hand in hand to face old age!-- Instead, I turn a bitter page. O for the river-banks of yore; O for the much-loved marshy shore; The hours of girlhood, with my hair Ungathered, as we lingered there. The words we spoke, that seemed so true, I little thought that I should rue; I little thought the vows we swore Would some day bind us two no more._” Many of the Odes deal with warfare, and with the separation of wives from their husbands; others, with agriculture and with the chase, with marriage and feasting. The ordinary sorrows of life are fully represented, and to these may be added frequent complaints against the harshness of officials, one speaker going so far as to wish he were a tree without consciousness, without home, and without family. The old-time theme of “eat, drink, and be merry” is brought out as follows:-- “_You have coats and robes, But you do not trail them; You have chariots and horses, But you do not ride in them. By and by you will die, And another will enjoy them._ “_You have courtyards and halls, But they are not sprinkled and swept; You have bells and drums, But they are not struck. By and by you will die, And another will possess them._ “_You have wine and food; Why not play daily on your lute, That you may enjoy yourself now And lengthen your days? By and by you will die, And another will take your place._” The Odes are especially valuable for the insight they give us into the manners, and customs, and beliefs of the Chinese before the age of Confucius. How far back they extend it is quite impossible to say. An eclipse of the sun, “an event of evil omen,” is mentioned in one of the Odes as a recent occurrence on a certain day which works out as the 29th August, B.C. 775; and this eclipse has been verified for that date. The following lines are from Legge’s rendering of this Ode:-- “_The sun and moon announce evil, Not keeping to their proper paths. All through the kingdom there is no proper government, Because the good are not employed. For the moon to be eclipsed Is but an ordinary matter. Now that the sun has been eclipsed, How bad it is!_”