GIFT OF 
 
 C/asf 
 
THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 GEORGE TURNER MARSH 
 ONALD TEMPLE 
 
 With ILLUSTRATIONS By 
 CHIURA OBATA 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 JOHN J. NEWBEGIN 
 
 MCMXVI 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY JOHN J. NEWBEGIN 
 
 PRINTED BY TAYLOR & TAYLOR, SAN FRANCISCO 
 
BEFORE THE CURTAIN 
 
 HIS tale aims to picture the awakening Japan the Japan of 
 the period that begins with the year 1854, an d en ^ s w ' lt ^ the 
 year 1890. The scene of the Prologue is laid at Tedo in the year 
 18^4; that of Part I at Lake Eiwa and Tedo, 1854-1868, and 
 that of Part II at Tokyo, Satsuma, Lake Eiwa, and Washing- 
 ton, D. C., 1875-1890. 
 
 The Mikado has always been recognized as the ruler by divin- 
 ity, claiming descent from Ama-terasu,the Sun Goddess. In 1192 
 a dual system of government was formed by Tori-tomo, who, upon 
 his overcoming the powerful Taira family, received the special 
 court title of Shogun. This also created him military ruler, from 
 
 [v] 
 
 3G0618 
 
which time, under the direction of succeeding Shoguns, the Nation 
 was governed continuously by various -powerful families till the 
 year 1868; when the Imperial adherents overcoming the Shogun- 
 ate, the Mikado re-assumed the sole active government of the 
 country. 
 
 As the Proscenium of the Theatre lights upland the Orchestra 
 commences attuning its instruments, the mind of the Audience 
 focuses expectantly upon the unfolding of 'the plot 3 and the sustain- 
 ing of the various roles by the actors. 
 
 The curtain is rising upon an entirely new Drama in the 
 Theatre of Life. Heretofore its music has been interpreted by 
 Occidental ears, in the booming of cannon and clash of steel. But 
 there is an underlying motif , deeper^ great errand more truly hu- 
 mane undistinguishable by those ignorant of Japanese melody 
 and this motif carries in it no suggestion of the Eat tie Marches of 
 other Nations of the Great World. As to the manner in which the 
 actors of this Drama sustain their roles ^ the World must be the 
 judge. In this book both historical events and characters repre- 
 sent National conditions solely ; yet it would be but a sorry Play 
 that contained in its unfolding nothing of the greatest of all hu- 
 man passions and incentives Love. 
 
 THE AUTHORS. 
 
 [vi] 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PROLOGUE: PAGE 3 
 PART I 
 
 I. THE GARDEN BY THE WATER PAGE 15 
 
 II. WHERE NAME OF SLAVE AND SULTAN IS FORGOT 22 
 
 III. THE LORD FORLORN 30 
 IV. DEEP WATERS AND A WIND 4O 
 
 V. THE TREASURE AND THE MASTER 47 
 
 VI. EARTH AND GRAIN 54 
 
 vii. A HEART'S DESIRE 61 
 
 VIII. THE FILING OF THE KEY 68 
 
 ix. YOUTH'S MANUSCRIPT CLOSED 72 
 
 X. THE NIGHTINGALE CRIES TO THE ROSE 80 
 
 XI. THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN 88 
 
 PART II 
 
 I. ON WITH THE DRAMA IOI 
 
 II. THE PLAYER AND THE BALL IO8 
 
 III. THE LION IN THE COURTS OF THE LIZARD 1 15 
 
 IV. A SORRY TRADE I2O 
 V. ON THE ROLL OF FATE 128 
 
 VI. SAYONARA, O GARDEN OF MINE ! 134 
 
 VII. THE OLD FAMILIAR JUICE 140 
 
 [vii] 
 
VIII. POTTER AND POTS PAGE 146 
 
 ix. THE GARDEN'S HYACINTH 154 
 
 X. IN THE HOUSE OF THE POTTER l6o 
 
 xi. THE PORTER'S SHOULDER-KNOT 167 
 
 XII. THE POTTER THUMPS HIS CLAY 173 
 
 XIII. THE DAUGHTER OF THE VINE l8l 
 
 XIV. BY THE TAVERN DOOR 1 88 
 
 XV. THE PIECES OF THE GAME 199 
 
 XVI. THE BIRD OF TIME IS WINGING 2OQ 
 
 XVII. AH ! THE PASSIVE LIP I KISS'D ! 214 
 
 XVIII. THREAD-BARE PENITENCE 2IQ 
 
 XIX. IDOLS OF LOVE 224 
 
 XX. COMES MIGHTY M AH MUD WITH HIS SWORD 237 
 
 XXI. THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER BRINK 244 
 
 XXII. OVER THE FLAMING SHOULDERS OF THE FOAL 253 
 
 XXIII. BLOWN FLOWERS 257 
 
 XXIV. THE TAVERN LIGHT 264 
 
 XXV. NAKED, UPON THE AIR 28l 
 
 XXVI. FALLING LEAVES 287 
 
 XXVII. ON THE KNEES OF THE GODS 2Q7 
 
 GLOSSARY 303 
 
 [viii] 
 
THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Wake! for the Sun who scattered into flight 
 The Stars before him from the Field of Night, 
 
 Drives Night along with them from Heav'n, and strikes 
 The Sultan's Turret with a Shaft of Light. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
CHARACTERS 
 
 ASANO YO-AKE, The Lord of Moto and Shima. 
 
 TOKIYORI, his son. 
 
 SUKI SHIMADZU, Lord Suzerain of Tsushima. 
 
 KiKU-Ko (chrysanthemum), his daughter. 
 
 NAKAHARA, a Seer. 
 
 LORD SAITO, of Satsuma. 
 
 His ILLUSTRIOUS HIGHNESS, PRINCE MATSUO 
 
 GOTO, once Lord of the North. 
 TARO, his nephew. 
 Nui-Ko san 
 
 ~ r Sisters. 
 
 Tovo-Ko san ) 
 
 SABURO-IKEDA, once of the Shogun's Baka-fu. 
 REN-Ko (Lotus), The Breath of Mukojima, his 
 
 Daughter. 
 
 LORD SAKURAI, of Niijima. 
 MIDZU-HARA, a Protege of Dawn. 
 MATA, his Stepfather; Captain of the Yo-Ake 
 
 samurai. 
 
 YAMAKI, Proprietor of the yadoya, Ko-Matsu. 
 TANAKA, Host of the two houses, The Jewel 
 
 River. 
 
 A Gateman of the O-mon of Shima. 
 AYSIA, also a Lord of Dawn. 
 Samurai; Servants ; Jinricksha men ; Villagers ; 
 
 Hanashika; Oiiran; Geisha; Hokan. 
 
 *** At the end of the volume will be found a 
 Glossary of the Japanese words and phrases 
 used throughout the book. 
 
PROLOGUE 
 
 Dreaming, when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky, 
 I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry, 
 
 "Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup 
 Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry." OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 IT WAS the seventh day of the seventh month in the Occidental 
 manner of reckoning time, the year one thousand eight hundred 
 and fifty- four and the fear tears of the rain goddess were drying 
 fast, for the storm god had departed, traveling rapidly on beyond 
 the outer harbor of Yedo bay, where Perry's flotilla of "Foreign" 
 men-o'-war tugged menacingly at their moorings. 
 
 The typhoon which had raged for hours in and about the city 
 of Yedo, the Estuary Gate, had spent itself, and passed on toward 
 
4 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 where, faintly outlined by distance, Fuji-no-yama upshot its 
 crest well into the veil of the evening. 
 
 A crow cawed cautiously, and but for the low moaning wail of 
 the weary sea, blissful stillness reigned over the city, from the 
 Shiba woodlands to where the dark Sumida flows. 
 
 Slow rose the moon a Japan moon dripping its water jewels 
 through the Shiba foliage on the cairns of past and gone Shoguns 
 of the Tokugawa house; until, finally, it shot through the sylvan 
 bough fringe, penciling with the touch of a rare artist some near- 
 by walls, reared to gird a noble castle. From these it glinted on 
 the curved eaves of a low, rambling nagaya, or barracks, that 
 seemed literally to grow into the very ramparts themselves, flood- 
 ing the intervening space between them and the yashiki, or manor 
 house, with liquid phosphorescence. 
 
 In an upper room of this yashiki two men daimios, or nobles, 
 evidently by dress, bearing and presence were peering down 
 through an open window to where, in the courtyard, and well 
 within ear-shot, a group of castle retainers were gathered about 
 an old man who sat, or rather squatted, upon a mat, puffing at his 
 pipe. 
 
 "Tell us a legend, O Nakahara," requested a deep voice from 
 among those who enclosed the old man in a rude sort of semi- 
 circle; "a legend of samurai and sword." 
 "A-a-a-a!" chorused the bystanders. 
 
 Nakahara, the castle hanashika, or actor story-teller, scooped 
 the embers in the brazier bowl of his hibatchi, and knocked the 
 ashes from his pipe into the bamboo tube of his tobakobon. Then 
 he bowed to the' north, to the east, and finally sat gazing steadily 
 westwards, so that his audience might know it was of that quar- 
 ter he would tell. 
 
 "In the beginning," commenced Nakahara, quietly, "was the 
 sword, and it was to the soul of the samurai as are the strings of 
 a koto to the harper's fingers. For neither have in themselves any 
 life, saving that which is drawn from the touch of a knight or 
 minstrel. 
 
 "A great town once reared its golden walls to guard a faraway 
 land, and a winding, oft-hidden roadway led to this City of De- 
 
PROLOGUE 5 
 
 sire. Adown this glade had passed in their time many a prince, 
 lord, soldier, beggar and son of toil, all intent upon reaching its 
 gates. Yet, because the way was dark in parts, and fraught often 
 with pitfalls, none had as yet come anigh to this Golden City. 
 
 "Now among the varied wayfarers who chanced along this road 
 was a masterless samurai, who, having lately lost service through 
 the disgrace of his lord, had turned ronin 'wave-man' errant. 
 And he, too, strove toward this City of Desire, hoping to place his 
 sword at the service of, what he imagined, must be a most won- 
 drous ruler. And so wrapt in his one purpose was this ronin 
 samurai that he strode along heedless of all else until, at last, 
 overcome with utter weariness, he sank upon the moss carpet 
 that ran in strips along either side of this roadway. Reclining 
 thus, he beheld other travelers struggling toward the same goal, 
 some wandering across adjacent fields in search of shorter cuts, 
 some lingering to sport with the little fish in the brooks and play 
 with the flowers. But it was plain to him that none of these would 
 ever attain thus to the golden City of Desire. And now the night 
 was coming on apace, and still the gates of the city appeared as 
 far from him as ever. Then spake the ronin samurai, and said : 
 "'This road leads to No-Land. The City of Desire is but a myth. 
 And so do I perceive, at last, that the words of men are foul and 
 of no light. For this roadway is but a wallow wherein do all who 
 listen to that talk of foolishness become caught. And now that the 
 red sun has sunk behind yon forest, I see that it is indeed but the 
 beginning and ending of Naught. I can go neither backwards, 
 nor forwards, nor may I remain where I now am. Therefore, there 
 is left me but to commit the seppuku, and go to my fathers.' 
 
 "The ronin prepared to disembowel himself." 
 
 The wily old story-teller, well aware that his audience was ex- 
 cited to the highest pitch, broke off abruptly, making pretense that 
 his hibatchi needed re-scooping. It was the culmination of his art. 
 Overhead, in the room of the yashiki where the paper-paned 
 shoji stood ajar, the slightly elder of the two noblemen smiled, 
 and turned his head toward his companion listener. 
 
 "A poor story," he observed, for he was the daimio, or lord of 
 the great castle, and could not, of course, sound the praises of his 
 
O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 own servant, "yet, in a measure, very true to life. Like Nakahara's 
 ronin, we each have in our material existences a very pregnant 
 City of Desire, but how few of us ever realize its materialization. 
 Humanly, the perfect City of Desire is rarely attainable; its path- 
 way almost impregnable to mortal feet." 
 
 "Nay," replied the second nobleman, earnestly, "believe me, Yo- 
 Ake, you err there. There exists, I am convinced, a broad, well- 
 blazoned road to this City of Desire. In the past we have failed to 
 find it because we have sought it by the aid of the sword alone. 
 Yet I am sure there is a better, straighter and clearer way that 
 leads to it. It may be discovered by those who will seek it with an 
 humble purpose, diligently, warily and observantly. Your hana- 
 shika is looking up from his hibatchi. I think he will direct his 
 ronin upon this road of which I speak." 
 
 The last speaker, Lord Suki Shimadzu, Suzerain of the Island 
 Dependency of Tsushima, had voiced convictions that were al- 
 most occult in their presage. He was under immediate sentence of 
 death from the Shogun, for having presumed to open his island 
 port to "Foreign" traffic, while the question of the United States' 
 demands, borne to Nippon by Commodore Perry, was yet under- 
 going debate. It was this, indeed, that had brought him from 
 Tsushima on so unexpected a visit to Shima castle, within the 
 Shiba woodlands in Yedo, and the corresponding consultation 
 with his present companion, its master, Lord Asano Yo-Ake. 
 
 At last Nakahara's audience were beginning to evince a spirit 
 of restiveness. A child on the outskirts of the crowd whimpered. 
 Nakahara continued : 
 
 "Then, as the ronin turned the point of his sword toward his ab- 
 domen to disembowel himself, according to the honored rite of 
 seppuku thinking, thus only, to attain to the City of Desire an 
 old crow, perched in the branches overhead, cawed to him in this 
 wise : 
 
 "'O samurai, be no longer blinded by the legends of the blade, 
 for that way lie but the centuries that are gone, and thou would'st 
 travel to the City of Desire/ 
 
 "'This road leads true, but thou hast become so enwrapt with the 
 traditions of Bushido only, that other knowledge is hidden from 
 thee.' 
 
PROLOGUE 7 
 
 "'Cast away that sword, which serves now but to clog thy for- 
 ward stride, and, forgetting that thou art a samurai, observe, as do 
 the tillers of the fields, what hath gone before thee, and how/ 
 "'So, only, may'st thou find the road to this City of Desire/ 
 " 'Often through tangle, quagmire, and wastes that are very foul 
 and dangerous, does this road run. Yet must thou follow patient- 
 ly, steadfastly and humbly, ever placing thy feet in the steps of 
 those who have preceded thee, until thou can'st learn to walk 
 along it alone. Thus shalt thou surely come at last to the City of 
 Desire/ 
 
 "'But,' said the ronin samurai, 'how may I find the right direc- 
 tion?' 
 
 '"Thou shalt look into the Heavens,' quoth the crow, 'as the red 
 sun wanes and droops. And there shalt thou behold three stars 
 HUMILITY, VIGILANCE and PROGRESSION. They shall be thy guid- 
 ance, ever ; and when thou hast followed the three to the end shall 
 they lead thee to the City of Desire/ 
 
 "The crow, having spoken thus, flighted to a far-away copse, the 
 clouds parting to let it through. In the rift the samurai beheld the 
 sheen of the great city. The sun was flooding the ramparts and 
 flashing on the headpieces of the warders who tramped their vigil- 
 watches on the battlements. Then the day sank, and, saving for 
 a wan handful of stars, all was darkness. The ronin looked to the 
 north, to the east and to the west. And lo ! three stars suddenly 
 dropped earthwards to shoot their messages to him. Then the rift 
 closed. The ronin, breaking his sword across his knee, arose. 
 
 "Said the ronin samurai, 'I follow'." 
 
 The dawn of the next day found but one of the two noblemen 
 still in the overhead room of the yashiki in the Shiba woodlands 
 Lord Asano Yo-Ake, daimio of Shima castle. According to the 
 ancient usages of the code of Bushido that code which demand- 
 ed the self-immolation of one of its order rather than public dis- 
 grace for offense given Lord Shimadzu had committed seppuku, 
 that is he had, by right of his rank, disemboweled himself in the 
 presence of emissaries of the Shogun. Already had the Sho- 
 gun's emissaries departed, leaving as the result of their visit the 
 
8 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 headless trunk of Lord Suki Shimadzu a cadet of the princely 
 family of Satsuma who had thus expiated his offense of opening 
 his Island of Tsushima to "Foreign" traffic. In his hand Lord Yo- 
 Ake held some newly sealed documents, which he thoughtfully 
 perused. Of the contents of two he was aware. One appointed 
 him guardian to the young lady Kiku-ko, the five-year old, parent- 
 less daughter of Lord Shimadzu. Another ratified a pact of mar- 
 riage between this little girl and the only child of Lord Yo-Ake 
 Tokiyori, a lad of some sixteen years. The third, and last docu- 
 ment, was a letter from her dying father to Kiku-ko, not to be 
 opened until the eve of her marriage with Lord Yo-Ake's son. All 
 three documents were in order, absolute and valid. 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake was pleased with them that is, the two of 
 whose contents he knew. The union of his son with Shimadzu's 
 heiress would cement ties between his own family and that of the 
 Prince of Satsuma. And, as chief councilor to the Shogun, he 
 doubted not his ability to prevail upon the Tokugawa prince for 
 the restoration of her father's estates to Kiku-ko, escheat to the 
 Shogun because of the manner of Lord Shimadzu's death. 
 
 Yet, gratifying as were these documents to Lord Yo-Ake, his 
 mind was heavily troubled because of the shadow thrown across 
 the Island Empire by the flotilla of Commodore Perry, United 
 States emissary to Nippon, whose visit he felt implied something 
 beyond the courteous requests and demands made by that country, 
 although what that "something" was he could not fathom. 
 
 "Beyond us," he reasoned, "lies a great sea; ri on ri of foaming, 
 intervening waters. And, beyond that what? Enlightenment? 
 Yes, undoubtedly enlightenment then power. Or how else could 
 any one nation force our gates? Why do these 'Foreigners' come 
 to our shores with their armaments and demands? They can have 
 nothing in common with us, therefore there must be something, 
 yet hidden, they expect to gain from us. It is that something we 
 must seek and discover quickly. Some day, if we wait long 
 enough, it may be made clear to us, yet some day is but the em- 
 bryo in the laboring womb of today, and whether it will be still or 
 living, who knows?" 
 
 He arose and paced the apartment restlessly. 
 
PROLOGUE 9 
 
 "In the meantime," he continued, "these 'Foreigners' have come 
 among us with the evident intention of staying. If we drive this 
 tithe from our shores, an hundred will follow, and a thousand, 
 and an hundred thousand; drifting here and there like the sea 
 sands, and covering everything in their drift. But if we make 
 them welcome now, they may in time come to have an affection 
 for us. To them we, in our weakness, doubtless resemble children. 
 Perchance they may think to teach our toddling feet to walk. Yet 
 the babe grows strong when his time is come, and able to run 
 swiftly when those who taught him can scarcely hobble." 
 
 A sudden inspiration came to him, and he bent his head while 
 it took possession. It seemed to him as though a voice the voice 
 of his dead wife had whispered. A moment he remained listen- 
 ing, then he raised his eyes to a little shrine in which was an ihai 
 a tablet bearing her posthumous name, and before which a 
 small lamp burned day and night. 
 
 "So be it, Ume-ko," he exclaimed suddenly, as though in answer. 
 "Why should we wait so long for the knowledge we need so badly 
 now? Our son shall journey to 'Foreign' lands to discover and 
 bring home that secret to us." 
 
 Six weeks later a norimono the counterpart of which is the 
 sedan-chair used in the Occident in the eighteenth century, or the 
 Eastern palanquin stood, surrounded by an escort of samurai, on 
 the beach at Nagasaki. A boat was plying between the landing and 
 a three-masted sailing ship, from which flew the Dutch flag, the 
 ship being apparently ready to heave anchor and stand out to sea. 
 Near the norimono stood two men, Japanese or, rather, a man 
 and a boy, the former perhaps eight-and-thirty years of age, the 
 younger possibly sixteen, slightly built and a trifle stoop shoul- 
 dered. In repose the contour of their faces was markedly similar, 
 saving that the boy's lacked somewhat the iron determination in 
 the set jaws and lips of the man, and the latter's broad sweep of 
 massive forehead. Yet in the features of the lad were neither ef- 
 feminacy nor weakness, but rather a more studious, gentle purpose 
 and personality, while finer lines of poetry and sentiment showed 
 themselves in his deep-set eyes, sculptured in a softer portraiture 
 
IO THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 of the elder's, and in the over-sensitive droop of the mouth. A 
 face, you would say, capable of great love and great suffering, 
 coupled with a shy, almost shrinking disposition. The man ad- 
 dressed the boy in a low tone of voice. 
 
 "Tokiyori, my son, the moment for our farewells has come, and 
 it will be long, I fear, before we set eyes upon each other again. 
 Kano, our chief of household council, has arranged all matters 
 for you pertaining to finances, so you need give yourself no un- 
 easiness upon that score. In all things it is my desire that you 
 bear yourself as a Yo-Ake. So much for the social side of your 
 voyagings.' 
 
 "But while your travels may appear to others as a mere pleasure 
 visit by a young Nipponese nobleman to 'Foreign' capitols, there 
 is a serious hidden issue involved in them, and it is this that will 
 tax all your powers of observance, deduction and memory. Above 
 all, and before all, I desire that with your return to me you shall 
 bring with you a full and accurate account of, not only the social 
 customs of the 'Barbarians/ but the political, military and geo- 
 graphical movements of the whole outer world. More particularly 
 and bear this well in mind, Tokiyori there must be some one 
 keynote to this recent descent of theirs upon our shores. You 
 must bend every faculty to the discovering of that keynote, its 
 name and significance. On it may hinge the whole future of our 
 Island Empire. All this is, I fear, a severe task to lay upon one so 
 young and inexperienced as yourself ; yet I have a full belief that 
 you will succeed in your errand, and that the making of the suc- 
 cess will be your own making. 
 
 "And now, my son, I see that the boat has returned to bear you 
 to your ship and away from Nippon and your father. Swear, be- 
 fore you depart, that by the gods of our house and the ihai of your 
 dead mother you will leave no stone unturned to accomplish the 
 purpose of your travels, and that before all else shall ever come 
 with you, Nippon the Mikado and the Yo-Ake." 
 
 The lad bent his head to the ground before his father. 
 
 "I swear it, father," said he. "If I fail may my country, the Mi- 
 kado and my kin forget my name." 
 
 "So be it," acknowledged his father in a voice which, by an iron 
 
PROLOGUE II 
 
 effort, he effaced of sentiment. "Farewell, my son. The gods have 
 you in their keeping farewell." 
 
 A long time the man stood peering from beneath bent brows at 
 the great ship as her sails, spreading to the yards, bellied to the 
 stiff harbor breeze. Then with a creaking of cordage and shouting 
 of orders she began slowly to veer toward the harbor mouth. A 
 small dot stood on the poop intently watching the shores as the 
 ship receded. Lord Yo-Ake stretched forth his hands to it. 
 
 "O, Tokiyori," he whispered, the dry, pent-up sobs almost chok- 
 ing him, "my boy, Tokiyori ! How like the withered bough on au- 
 tumn-stricken tree am I, when the leaves, in all their beauty, are 
 taken from it. The winter blasts may bend me now at their will, 
 for that which I put forth upon me is gone, and in the chill and 
 darkness am I alone a naked branch. So must I wait until a new 
 spring shall see thee re-budding on me my boy ! my boy !" 
 
 The ship was no more than a tiny speck against the horizon 
 when Lord Yo-Ake turned and entered his norimono. 
 
PART I 
 
 In the beginning was the sword 
 
 LEGEND OF ONE, NAKAHARA, 
 
 HANASHIKA TO 
 
 LORD YO-AKE 
 
 r 
 
I 
 
 THE GARDEN BY THE WATER 
 
 Irdm indeed is gone with all its Rose, 
 
 And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows; 
 
 But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields, 
 And still a Garden by the Water blows. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 A WARM, early summer day of the year one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and sixty-six was drawing to its close as the old bell of 
 Miidera intoned a deep-mouthed angelus. By the water's edge, a 
 little knot of men arose, and turned their faces to where a stately 
 castle towered placidly over the lake, yet with evident reluctance. 
 
l6 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 They were samurai, or military retainers, of Moto castle, the 
 stately pile that housed Lord Asano Yo-Ake when on his Lake 
 Biwa estate, three hundred miles from his castle of Shima, in the 
 city of Yedo. Mata, who commanded the garrison at Moto, pre- 
 served an iron discipline ; and scant excuse was allowed loiterers 
 of his command who came not under the great gateway before the 
 sun had gone down. Yet, even in the knowledge of this, the samurai 
 walked to their rendezvous with many a backward glance at the 
 bloodshot crest of Ishiyama, and the crimson stain on the arches 
 of Seta Bridge; so that the last laggard had scarce reached the 
 massive castle entrance before the reverberating of the great bell 
 sank into the heart of the quivering shadows. Then, saving for 
 the chirp of a cheery little cricket, and a crow's drowsy good-night 
 caw from some nearby copse, the quietest hour of the day de- 
 scended upon Biwa-ko, the Guitar Lake. Even in the landscape 
 of Nippon was blent the sword and the song. 
 
 The samurai having entered the castle enclosure, filed off to 
 their nagaya, the great gates of Moto shutting to for the night 
 with a muffled clang. A young lady descended a small pathway 
 that led from the yashiki to a little brook, pausing to re-arrange 
 a flower that had fallen from her hair, and give a little feminine 
 touch to the folds of her obi a beautiful sash encircling her 
 kimono. Altogether she was as typically Japanese as the surround- 
 ings themselves Japanese of the old, dreamy, artistic Japan; and 
 could not have been more than seventeen years of age. Slight of 
 form she was gracefully slender rather, for she was but unfold- 
 ing into the flower of womanhood, while her features might be 
 described as demure and pretty, rather than beautiful. There was 
 an unmistakable aureola of breeding about her that hall-marked 
 her the born aristocrat, requiring no informant to point out that 
 she was an inmate of the daimio's residence, which perched just 
 above her on a mound of mossy rocks overlooking the castle walls, 
 and commanded a view of the lake itself. At the low, curving 
 bridge which spanned the brook she paused, gazing into the foliage 
 of a woodland glade that lay between the yashiki and the taiko- 
 yagura, or drum-turret, as though expecting someone to emerge 
 therefrom, perhaps some knight-errant in gallant armor, to help 
 her while away the evening hour. 
 
THE GARDEN BY THE WATER I/ 
 
 Indeed, if ever a copse could have yielded a fairy prince, that 
 of Moto might, as it overhung the brook which flowed down in 
 tiny cascades like little strips of fragile lace sheer lace, into the 
 delicate tracery of which seemed to have been inlaid, jade, and 
 onyx, and jasper, so exquisite was the verdure which it mirrored. 
 Presently, a number of little lights commenced to twinkle among 
 the lower boughs, and the clickety-clack of clogs announced to her 
 that someone was approaching from the grove. She stepped on to 
 the bridge, pausing about midway, and, simultaneously, a little, 
 wizened old fellow appeared from beneath the sylvan growth, and 
 came to her side, bowing low. 
 
 "I perceive, by the breath of the evening, your presence Lady 
 Kiku-ko," he observed, his face wrinkling into a thousand genial 
 smiles. 
 
 "And I perceive your presence by the opening eyes, Nakahara," 
 answered the young lady addressed as Kiku-ko. She pointed to the 
 newly lighted lanterns as she spoke. It was their customary even- 
 ing greeting to one another. 
 
 Nakahara, the castle hanashika, or actor story-teller, was some- 
 what of a privileged character. He had been in the service of the 
 Yo-Ake household for well nigh three-quarters of a century 
 when the father of the present lord, Asano Yo-Ake, was still a 
 young man, and had witnessed many changes in the great family 
 he so faithfully served. But although now feeble with increasing 
 age, he still tended his lanterns, and told his stories with all the 
 zest of his former youth. Drawing forth his pipe and tobacco 
 pouch, he prepared to pass a few of his evening moments in the 
 company of his lord's ward, the betrothed of his absent young 
 master, Lord Tokiyori. The moon had risen, and was just peering 
 over the castle wall to play on bridge and brook. Old Nakahara 
 squatted on his heels to light his pipe, and the moon fell upon his 
 upturned countenance, transfiguring it with a sort of ethereal 
 light. Kiku-ko, truly Japanese in her love of mystic beauty, 
 stretched forth her hands to the moon. 
 
 "O thou of the night," said she, after the fashion of the maidens 
 of her country, "whom the wise men say can look across the whole 
 world, tell me of my native Isle of Tsushima, and the angry seas 
 
l8 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 beyond where dwell the 'Barbarians.' When you leave us do you 
 turn ronin wave-man masterless wanderer without country or 
 kin, to watch over the steps of my betrothed? Give me a sign 
 from the heavens, Moon, I pray." 
 
 Nakahara inwardly approved the sentiments thus expressed by 
 his future mistress. As the affianced of his young lord it seemed 
 to him eminently commendable that she should be as anxious as 
 was himself, or Lord Asano Yo-Ake, concerning the prolonged 
 absence of the future master of the castle. Of late, Nakahara had 
 begun to fear that Kiku-ko's cousin, the already famous young 
 samurai, Lord Saito of Satsuma, was causing her to forget the ab- 
 sent heir. He could not understand, either, why Tokiyori's own 
 father, his feudal lord, should countenance these rather too fre- 
 quent visits of Lord Saito to Moto frequent, that is, since the 
 budding into womanhood of Kiku-ko. He was a very gentle old 
 fellow, was Nakahara, yet, at times, intense in his likes and dis- 
 likes. Among the latter, for some reason not fully comprehensible 
 even to himself, was Lord Saito of Satsuma. 
 "Very well asked, mistress," observed Nakahara anent Kiku-ko's 
 question of the moon. "And in the face of the Lady of the Night 
 herself do I read the answer." 
 
 Kiku-ko clapped her shapely hands delightedly. It was ever 
 considered a great privilege that the old hanashika should weave 
 romances for anyone in especial. Once before had he told a golden 
 tale for her own delectation, concerning some famous deed of 
 swordsmanship in which Lord Saito had been prominent, and 
 which was for the moment the prideful talk of all samurai. Naka- 
 hara had picked up the bare threads among the soldiery at the 
 nagaya,and delicately interwoven them into a charming and thrill- 
 ing story. This, needless to say, was in the days before Lord Saito 
 had given offense to the old man by frequenting the presence of 
 Kiku-ko, and his prowess had been blazoned by Nakahara solely 
 with an artist's eye to effect. Nakahara now repented that tale 
 he had come to fear its possible result and this time was deter- 
 mined to paint so glowing a picture of his absent master that all 
 memory of that former error should be erased or, at least, eclipsed. 
 He pointed with the stem of his pipe at the moon, which was now 
 nearly over the castle walls. 
 
THE GARDEN BY THE WATER ig 
 
 "In the face of the Queen of the Night," said Nakahara, "is a 
 great ocean girt by fierce, bleak mountains you can see them 
 plainly if you will but observe, my Lady." He traced an imagin- 
 ary circle about a heavy shadowing on the moon. "One mountain, 
 above all the others," he continued, "stands forth prominently. It 
 is the mountain of Knowledge, very lofty and almost impregna- 
 ble. Yet I see a form clambering upwards along its precipitous 
 cliffs, while other forms atop of the mountain crest are rolling 
 obstructions across his path, lest he attain to the summit and 
 crowd them off. Below him are many watchers, hopeful that he 
 may succeed in his effort, so that he may call down to them of 
 what is hidden on the high peak. Now he is just below the last 
 ascent, but the crags there have become so sheer that he can not 
 encompass them. He must retrace his steps, and again start climb- 
 ing from another point. As he turns his face to descend, I note his 
 features. They are those of my young lord, Tokiyori." 
 
 Nakahara paused to note the effect of his symbolism, while 
 Kiku-ko still gazed at the moon as though following the downward 
 course of the climber. He felt, somehow, that his tale had lacked 
 a convincing fire, and had failed to convey its true key. He began 
 to wish that he had depicted some other scene, wherein, for 
 choice, a fight against terrible odds had occurred between the 
 climber and some supposititious mountain banditti, Kiku-ko's next 
 remark still further convinced him that she had failed to compre- 
 hend the hidden depths of his allegory. 
 
 "It seems a tedious climb for one to undertake merely to attain 
 to a mountain top," she observed. "Would it not have been wiser 
 for him to have waited until those on the plateau must descend, 
 and then have forced them at the sword point to divulge the secret 
 of the crest?" 
 
 Nakahara felt at a loss. He was forced to admit to himself that 
 Kiku-ko's manner of viewing the matter was quite natural to one 
 of her romantic and chivalric upbringing. It was too late, how- 
 ever, to retell the story in another way. 
 
 "The sword may not always prove the best means of knowledge," 
 he objected, quietly. 
 
 "The sword is the soul of the samurai'," quoted Kiku-ko from 
 a time-honored proverb of the land. 
 
2O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Of the samurai, but not of the people," corrected Nakahara. 
 
 "It was the soul of my fathers," asserted Kiku-ko, with a pretty 
 display of martial spirit, "and what was my father's is mine. And 
 it is the soul of our young noblemen of today, like my cousin Lord 
 Saito, who has raised himself by it to be a commander of men." 
 
 "It would not so greatly matter about its being their soul if it 
 were not their brains as well," commented old Nakahara, dryly, as 
 he arose to his feet and lighted a stone toro a fantastically 
 shapen lantern at one end of the bridge. This lighting of his lan- 
 terns was a solemn ceremony to Nakahara. He would touch the 
 spark to the wick, murmuring "irasshai," just as an attendant 
 ushers one into a theatre. Then, as it ignited, he would bow to it, 
 saying "komban wa." His toro now alight, Nakahara bowed to his 
 lady. 
 
 "I have my other lanterns to attend still," said he, realizing the 
 futility of further appeal to Kiku-ko's comprehension. "And as 
 my lanterns and I depend on each other for eyes, we can neither 
 of us afford to neglect the other. With your gracious permission, 
 mistress, I will retire." 
 
 Kiku-ko stood watching the little old actor story-teller as he 
 clogged off up the shrubbery pathway that led to the yashiki, and 
 then continued on her way across the bridge. Nearby was a bower, 
 rich with hanging clusters of wistaria bloom. As she descended 
 from the bridge toward this, she became aware of a form emerg- 
 ing from the glade, which strode swiftly to her with a firm, mas- 
 terly step. As the moonlight fell across his features it revealed a 
 strong, handsome face, well bred and finely chiseled. By his side 
 he wore two swords. He bowed gracefully to Kiku-ko as he came 
 up with her. 
 
 "The night is so beautiful that I felt that you must be near," 
 said he. 
 
 Kiku-ko started slightly. 
 
 "Oh ! it is you, cousin Saito," she exclaimed. "You frighted me. 
 I half thought you a ronin of the moon." 
 Lord Saito bowed gravely to the moon. 
 
 "I am complimented," he answered. "Yet mayhap you are not so 
 far wrong, for where better could a moon ronin fare than in the 
 silver of your presence?" 
 
THE GARDEN BY THE WATER 21 
 
 Kiku-ko half hid her face, laughingly, behind the fan she car- 
 ried. 
 
 "I chanced to be in Kyoto," he continued, "and seized this op- 
 portunity of paying my respects to Lord Yo-Ake and his pretty 
 ward, my cousin." 
 
 "We are honored," she replied. "It would seem the moon is full 
 of ronins tonight. Nakahara was but now telling me of one in 
 'Foreign' lands, and of his leading all others in the quest for 
 knowledge. Nakahara called this ronin, Tokiyori Yo-Ake." 
 
II 
 
 WHERE NAME OF SLAVE AND SULTAN IS FORGOT 
 
 With me along the strip of Herbage strown 
 That just divides the desert from the sown, 
 
 Where name of Slave and Sultan is forgot 
 And Peace to Mahmud on his golden Throne ! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 LORD SAITO frowned at her reference to Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of 
 whom he felt he had cause to be jealous. Also he was not a little 
 secretly contemptuous of him for his wanderings in foreign lands. 
 "I grant you, my cousin," he replied her father, Lord Suki Shi- 
 madzu of Tsushima was his uncle "that Tokiyori Yo-Ake is the 
 
WHERE NAME OF SLAVE AND SULTAN IS FORGOT 23 
 
 first of us to mix with the 'Foreigner' on his own grounds, may 
 he be the last, also. Yet I think other reasons might be ascribed to 
 his continued absence from Nippon, just now." 
 
 "What reasons ?" asked Kiku-ko, innocently. 
 
 "Connected with coming events," answered Saito, lowering his 
 voice as they strolled up the glade together. "Surely you are not 
 unaware that war is imminent between the Shogun and his dai- 
 mios on the one side, and the Mikado and his Kuge on the other? 
 It is but a matter of short time before the two factions the Sho- 
 gun at Yedo, and the Mikado at Kyoto must meet with drawn 
 swords." 
 
 "Even then I can not see how the knowledge of this would affect 
 the fact of Tokiyori's absence?" commented Kiku-ko. 
 
 "No, but his absence very materially affects the fact that because 
 of it he will not be required to bear arms upon one side or the 
 other," rejoined Saito. 
 
 "Always supposing that he does not return before then," sup- 
 plemented Kiku-ko. 
 
 Saito smiled. Undoubtedly Tokiyori's absence from Nippon at 
 such a time gave good ground for just such an inference. 
 
 "Tokiyori will need to use haste if he intends returning before 
 the commencement of hostilities," he observed, dryly. 
 
 Kiku-ko felt herself flushing. She would gladly have cham- 
 pioned her affianced for her pride's sake, had he not by his absence 
 taken from her her sole weapon of defense. 
 
 "Will it be so soon?" she said. 
 
 "It may break forth at any hour," he replied. 
 
 "And you, of course, will assist the Shogun," she affirmed, tak- 
 ing it unconsciously for granted that Saito, like most of the other 
 powerful nobles of the day, would elect to throw in his lot with 
 the Tokugawa party. 
 
 "No," answered Saito in a low decisive tone, and not very wisely. 
 He was not at all wanting as a usual thing in worldly acumen, but, 
 like lovers the world over, permitted his heart sometimes to run 
 away with his head. Nor was he aware that Lord Yo-Ake counted 
 on this human frailty when he suffered the very obvious attentions 
 of Saito to his son's affianced, for the sake of much valuable in- 
 
24 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 formation which he very adroitly extracted from the unsuspecting 
 girl after each of these visits. "You can scarcely suppose," con- 
 tinued Saito, "that I would fail the Mikado at such a time, and 
 when he is in such sore need of men !" 
 
 "But why the Mikado?" asked Kiku-ko, innocently. "Certainly 
 he is our lawful Emperor the Son of the Sun God. Yet it is not 
 himself, they say, but the nobles of his court his kuge who wish 
 to crush the power of the Shogun." 
 
 "That is true, too, to a certain extent," admitted Saito. "Yet the 
 struggle is bound to come in any case. But I shall fight for the Mi- 
 kado, first because I believe he hates the 'Foreigners,' and because 
 the Shogun is permitting them to desecrate our city of Yedo. If it 
 were not for the Shogun, the Mikado would soon have the 'Bar- 
 barian' driven beyond the sea-line. And, secondly, I desire to fight 
 for the Mikado because, had it not been for the Shogun, your 
 father my uncle Shimadzu might be alive today. Our Satsuma 
 family will never forgive the Shogun that." 
 
 "But that was ordered by the Mikado himself," objected Kiku- 
 ko, whose fair-mindedness, although she felt the tears filling her 
 eyes, compelled her to speak in defense of the Shogun. 
 
 "Only as a matter of form," explained Saito in exoneration of 
 the Mikado's part in that sorrowful drama. "The Mikado seals all 
 documents and petitions from the Shogun, now, perforce. Of 
 course it was a mistake on the part of my uncle Shimadzu in at- 
 tempting to permit the 'Foreigner' access to Tsushima ; but as the 
 Shogun was even then himself arranging to open the whole of 
 Nippon to 'Foreign' traffic, with what justice could he demand the 
 death of your father for the lesser offense ? Remember, you are of 
 our Satsuma family, too, Kiku-ko sama, and should think as we." 
 
 "Yes, until I become a member of the Yo-Ake family," assented 
 Kiku-ko, thinking of her coming marriage with Tokiyori Yo-Ake. 
 
 "Another reason why I shall side with the Mikado," he con- 
 tinued in low tones, "is because his party will be the weaker. And 
 when we win for win we must there will be all the more glory 
 to those who have fought against the greater odds and con- 
 quered." 
 
 "It is all very terrible," said Kiku-ko, plaintively. 
 
WHERE NAME OF SLAVE AND SULTAN IS FORGOT 25 
 
 "Terrible, indeed !" repeated Saito. He was a young man scarce 
 seven and twenty, rapidly rising to martial fame, and in the pres- 
 ence of the woman he secretly adored, it was not to be wondered 
 at that he sought to add a few touches of color to that picture in 
 which he himself might play an important part. "As I said, the 
 Mikado must win if he hopes to shake off the power of the Sho- 
 gun, and, on the other hand, the Tokugawa can not afford to lose. 
 I shall probably command our Satsuma samurai, nearly all of 
 whom are veterans, and we shall doubtless be opposed to the Mitu 
 men, with whom, as you may recall, we have an old outstanding 
 blood-feud. It will be a hard-fought fight, Kiku-ko, and when the 
 sun goes down on the last stricken field there will be but few ban- 
 ners left for it to shine upon. 
 
 Kiku-ko felt a little thrill pass over her at Saito's portrayal of 
 the coming civil strife, for, if terrible, it would also be glorious; 
 and she was a woman. She wondered if Tokiyori would have 
 shared Saito's eagerness for the fray. Then she caught herself 
 flushing as she thought of the slight, frail lad, so serious and 
 studious beyond his years, whom she could just recall having seen 
 when he was a boy of sixteen, and she a little maid of five. They 
 had reached, unconscious of their whereabouts, so absorbed were 
 they in conversation, the limits of the glade walk, and now turned 
 back toward the bower. 
 
 "Three days from tomorrow is the fete of Karasaki," Saito re- 
 marked. "Shall you witness it, Kiku-ko sama?" 
 
 "Oh, yes," she answered. "We never miss the fete when at Moto. 
 Tonosama always considers it one of his particular duties as a 
 landowner here to be present for a few hours on the opening day. 
 Besides, old Nakahara would feel bitterly hurt were we not pres- 
 ent to step across his little piles of good-luck salt, and listen to at 
 least one of his tales." 
 
 "Old Nakahara's tales are getting stale with constant use," 
 laughed Saito. "I have heard him tell that one of the Kyoto and 
 Osaka frogs five distinct times within the past three months to my 
 knowledge." 
 
 "Poor old Nakahara !" -smiled Kiku-ko with a pretty solicitous- 
 ness. "He is becoming very old and infirm. Yet time was, so Tono- 
 
26 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 sama says, when Nakahara was accounted one of the greatest han- 
 ashika of the southlands. I think Tonosama is very attached to 
 him, and really believes him to be a seer. But are you also going 
 to be present at Karasaki with us, cousin ?" 
 
 "I am afraid not," he replied. "I must hasten back to Kyoto to- 
 morrow, in answer to a summons from my kinsman. I suppose, 
 though, you expect other guests during the fete season?" 
 
 "Only Prince Matsuo Goto, who sent his messenger to Tono- 
 sama this morning, advising him of his intention to attend the fes- 
 tival. He will arrive at Otsu tomorrow, and Tonosama has already 
 ordered Mata to take a guard of samurai to escort the prince 
 from there to Moto." 
 
 "Goto coming to Biwa," mused Saito. "I wonder what can have 
 brought him so far afield ?" 
 
 "Does not the prince travel much ?" queried Kiku-ko. 
 
 "Only along routes where there are relays of inns," laughed 
 Saito. "He would as soon think of walking barefoot to his north- 
 ern country as of traversing byroads where yadoyas are few, and 
 eels an unknown luxury. Something of import must have urged 
 him to this visit to Moto. I dare swear he has a feast of eels or- 
 dered at Otsu already. Which is the chief yadoya there, Kiku-ko 
 sama?" 
 
 "There is only one," she replied, laughing at Saito's description 
 of the great Prince. "It is beyond the pines at the further end of 
 the village, and is kept by old Yamaki." 
 
 "I was just thinking," observed Saito, "that it would be a very 
 amusing joke to stop there on my way to Kyoto tomorrow, and 
 devour Goto's eels." 
 
 With this remark of Saito's they gained the bower, and he drew 
 aside a cluster of blooms that they might enter. During their walk 
 the moon had risen high in its flight, and now looked down on 
 them through the unleafed wistaria blossoms overhead. It wove a 
 veil about Saito and Kiku-ko, and touched fondly her perfect 
 head, entwining myriad little web-stitches among the coils of her 
 black hair. Then it played over the folds of her kimono, delicately 
 tracing the faint outline of her young form. She seated herself 
 and Saito came to her side. 
 
WHERE NAME OF SLAVE AND SULTAN IS FORGOT 2? 
 
 At their feet sang the brook as melodious as a Koto, its silver 
 threads vibrating musically where they stretched across the little 
 cascades. Below the miniature falls and fern-swept pools, the 
 water's refrain echoes in a treble such an echo as recarries the 
 motif in a rhapsody. And all the while small pieces of pendent 
 glass tinkled over head in a sheer alto. It was a symphony of the 
 night, a nocturne of charmed waters, untramelled by the limited 
 conceptions of mankind's compositions. 
 
 At the entrance to the bower was a toro, supported by a large 
 upright stone, on the face of which was inscribed : "What is in 
 the book is in the heart. Yet neither you nor I have conceived it." 
 
 It was eminently appropriate. Saito was a Buddhist, as was also 
 Kiku-ko. Under his martial exterior Saito had the inborn poesy of 
 the real artist the birthright of every Nipponese. Something in 
 the cadence of the brook, and the witchery of the moon, awoke a 
 memory-chord in his soul. It was like a song of the birth the 
 birth of the Virgin Light, when Nippon was as yet unassoiled by 
 contamination with the outer world when the days were gold, 
 and the nights were love, and the temples were sweet with the 
 presence of the gods. As he stood gazing upon Kiku-ko with the 
 fire of a poet and the ardor of a wooer, Biwa, and all that was 
 earthly, faded from his knowledge. He knew not, nor cared, 
 whether it were dusk or dawn in the bower; he only knew that 
 she for whom his very soul panted was there beside him, and that 
 it was the Morning of his World to him. He touched the little, ex- 
 quisite hand that fluttered in her lap. 
 
 "Kiku-ko sama," said he in a quiet, dreamy voice, "a picture 
 comes before my eyes, and by it I know that once we were one. It 
 may have been a thousand cycles ago or an aeon, for whc^may 
 count the chasms of their re-births ? I reckon but the re-incarna- 
 tion of my soul when I know you now again in this mortal span. 
 Listen, heart of mine. This is how the picture is painted for me. 
 "I see but darkness awful, overwhelming darkness. Then sud- 
 denly a great, pure, enthralling light floods this black nothingness. 
 And from this light and darkness is born a shadow. It seems to 
 me the most wondrous creation, for it fills me with a knowledge 
 of unknown perfectness and peace, so marvelously beautiful is 
 
28 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 the form it assumes. The shadow seems to be a woman-child ; and, 
 because it is so perfect in its beauty, I think that it is Art and 
 that its name is Love. 
 
 "So it appears to me that love is born to create from, and make 
 for light and darkness, a world. Yet, unaided, how may that be 
 possible? And now I see heavy, lowering clouds approaching. 
 They draw nearer and nearer each other, until they meet with a 
 deafening crash, whilst flashes of bright fire run between them. 
 And, lo! as the clouds as suddenly dissolve, I see a figure. It 
 grasps a sword. It is a warrior the son of Thunder and Light- 
 ning. From beneath his feet a flare of vari-colored lights springs 
 forth, arching across the infinite." 
 
 Saito paused a moment in his description; and a sleepy spar- 
 row, imagining that it was the morning, twitted from a nearby 
 tree. 
 
 "The rainbow cleaves through space," continued Saito, "far 
 above the head of the soldier. A moment he scans the towering 
 crest; then, brandishing his sword, charges to the summit but, 
 there, only soft strains of music meet his ear; as, gazing down, 
 he decries Shadow the Art-Maid playing upon a koto, and 
 singing sweetly. And as he stands upon the crest of the great rain- 
 bow, enraptured by this sight, a glorious sun faintly crimsons all. 
 
 "It is the dawning of love, Kiku-ko sama love, treading the 
 pathway of love to Love herself, who awaits him at the end of 
 the arched rainbow yet the soldier fears to descend " 
 
 Again he stopped, abruptly, lost in the thoughts the vision in- 
 voked ; and Kiku-ko, already awakened to his from her, now for- 
 gotten, world, added in a low, ecstasied whisper : 
 
 "Art and the sword are one, in Nippon." 
 
 Saito half heard the whisper, and it brought his vision before 
 him again. 
 
 "The night is come," he continued in the same dreamy tone of 
 
 voice, "and a moon is created to light their nuptials I now 
 
 see other forms arising from the union of art and the sword; 
 some good and beautiful, some foul and loathsome. They are 
 thoughts ; and I see these thoughts evolving and evolving until 
 they, too, take shape shapes of fair towns and cities, and rich 
 
WHERE NAME OF SLAVE AND SULTAN IS FORGOT 29 
 
 lands ; shapes of dark sinks of vice, and evil byways. I see them 
 growing, and growing ever growing, until in an access of might 
 they seek to make light and darkness, and thunder and lightning, 
 their playthings gods !" 
 
 He placed his hand suddenly across his eyes with a gesture of 
 sharp pain. All frightened, Kiku-ko arose and came to his side. 
 
 "What is it, Saito sama?" she asked, trembling, "Oh! what do 
 you see ?" 
 
 "Nothing," he answered a trifle unsteadily, removing his hand. 
 "I can see no more. There was a flash that blinded me for the 
 moment and then the vision was gone. There is left but you and 
 me, Kiku-ko sama and the bower." 
 
 "Our bower," she whispered. 
 
 He stretched forth his arms to her, and she surrendered herself 
 to the intoxication of her awakening. She, too, now cared naught 
 for other than the words and caresses of the soldier. It was for 
 them the one perfect breath, allowed by the gods in all our lives 
 once, when the vale oi Elysia lies revealed. The wistaria had 
 closed them about from the world. 
 
 Clickety-clack ! clickety-clack ! Old Nakahara was clogging 
 about again to wish his lanterns a good-night as he extinguished 
 them. At the opening of the bower he paused, parting the hanging 
 blooms with his hands. 
 
 He noted a look upon Kiku-ko's face which conies but once to 
 every woman, and drew his own conclusions. He was a student of 
 human nature, was the old hanashika his profession made him 
 such. 
 
 Saito and Kiku-ko with a quiet "O yasumi nasai" passed by 
 him through the bower opening, and walked toward the shrubbery 
 path. He stood watching them while they crossed the bridge, and 
 ascended toward the yashiki. Soon a door slid, and in the sudden 
 flood of light he saw the two enter the house. After all, Nakahara 
 was a lover of human nature, too, or he could never have been 
 the story-teller he was. He turned to the bower lantern, sadly. 
 "Sayonara," sighed the old hanashika, as he blew out the light. 
 
4% 
 
 vSJf>'W.S 
 
 Ill 
 
 THE LORD FORLORN 
 
 Earth could not answer; nor the Seas that mourn 
 In flowing Purple, of their Lord Forlorn; 
 
 Nor rolling Heaven, with all his Signs reveal'd 
 And hidden by the sleeve of Night and Morn OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 WHILE this scene between Saito and Kiku-ko in the wistaria 
 bower was enacting, one other event was closing about Moto, 
 which would have its distinct bearing upon them both, on Lord 
 Asano Yo-Ake, and upon the future of Nippon. At that same hour 
 a "Foreign" vessel had come to anchor in the harbor of Hiogo, to 
 
THE LORD FORLORN 3! 
 
 discharge freight, and its single passenger a slight young man, 
 clad in European attire, although evidently a Japanese, and who 
 could not as yet have attained thirty years of age. A sanpan bore 
 him and his luggage from the side of the vessel to one of the town 
 slips, whence he came ashore, and sought a night's lodging at a 
 nearby yadoya. There he ordered a conveyance to Otsu for the 
 morrow, cautioning the landlord that he wished to make an early 
 start, as the journey would occupy some two days' time. 
 
 Otsu is a small fisher village on the extreme southern shores of 
 Lake Biwa. Not being on the main route of traffic for Kyoto, 
 where the Tokaido runs, lies several miles to the south and west 
 from it Otsu was but seldom accorded the sight of great folk, 
 save when, semi-yearly, Lord Yo-Ake and his retinue journeyed 
 to, or returned from, Yedo, or when the castle of Moto had 
 guests. On those occasions Otsu was fortunate, for, unless one 
 followed the lengthy road around the lake it was necessary to 
 traverse its one small street to come to the landing stage from 
 which sanpans might be chartered to the castle side of the shore. 
 
 Near the lake end of the village two mighty pines form a rude 
 sort of portal to Otsu. In some past century the soil has been torn 
 from their hold perhaps by flood, although there is no record 
 thereof so that these trees clutch the low, rocky embankment 
 with one rooty embrace, the other roots being pushed forth into 
 space in the semblance of a gnarled network of enormous fingers. 
 Through these giant hands the lake road leads into the main street 
 of the village direct. Little houses dot the street irregularly on 
 either side ; and at the far end of the village, near a small clump 
 of pines, was the yadoya of Otsu, kept by old Yamaki. Not that 
 Yamaki was really old, but somehow he was so associated in the 
 simple minds of the villagers with his quaint, ancient inn, that it 
 had become the custom to refer to him in that manner. Like his 
 yadoya, Yamaki was one of the recognized landmarks of the ham- 
 let. It was whispered that he had once been a strolling actor, but, 
 whether that were so or not, Yamaki was now, like his inn, emi- 
 nently respectable. 
 
 The day following Saito's wooing of Kiku-ko, and the coming 
 of the "Foreign" vessel to Hiogo, Otsu had the privilege of first 
 
32 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 entertaining Lord Saito and his retinue, and later one of somewhat 
 higher rank, although of less military fame. It befell that Mata, 
 who had been dispatched from the castle by Lord Yo-Ake to meet 
 Prince Goto, was marching at the head of his samurai between the 
 great rooty pine hands of the village. Already the sun had gone 
 down, and the early moon was mirroring its face in the glassy sur- 
 face of Biwa-ko. Across the lake the great fortalice of Moto 
 looked placidly upon the fisher sanpans that were drawing 
 homewards from Yabase. Here and there the little paper-paned 
 shoji of the houses gave forth their glow from andon and hibatchi 
 within; yet the street, and even the village itself, had an air of 
 being depopulated. It was evident that something of unusual im- 
 portance was happening at the further end of the hamlet, where 
 was situate Yamaki's yadoya, for such a hubbub broke suddenly 
 from that direction upon the ears of Mata and his men as caused 
 them instinctively to close their ranks. Every one was fully aware 
 that the actual outbreak of hostilities between Shogun and Mikado 
 might come at any hour almost, and Kyoto the Mikado's city, 
 and base of his operations lay but few ri from Otsu as has been 
 mentioned. Affairs might have come to a head even sooner than 
 had been generally anticipated. Mata was just coming to this con- 
 clusion when a deep voice broke suddenly into a roar that set his 
 mind at rest. No one in Nippon other than the fat Prince Matsuo 
 Goto of the north possessed such a mighty volume of tone. Mata 
 was familiar with the prince's personality from his frequent visits 
 to Shima castle, in Yedo. He quickened the step of his men, and- 
 hastened on to where the great nobleman was roaring forth prov- 
 erb after proverb as was his custom when conversing. 
 '"A tumor makes no choice of a place!'" bellowed the resonant 
 voice as Mata and his escort approached. "How now, thou villain 
 inn-keeper? How of the fried eels and sancho leaf garnish I or- 
 dered by courier to be ready against my passing today? Dost 
 think a personage of my weight may travel from Kyoto to Kara- 
 saki without bite or sup ?" 
 
 "Humbly craving your noble lordship's pardon," came the an- 
 swer, muffled perforce from the posture of humility assumed by 
 Yamaki, "the honorable Lord Saito of Satsuma passed through 
 
THE LORD FORLORN 33 
 
 here but three short hours since. His lordship forced myself and 
 servant to serve to his retinue the eels in cooking for your high- 
 ness." 
 
 "Words ! all words !" objected the huge voice. "'If you must be a 
 dog, belong to a great house.' Whom, pray, is Lord Saito in rank 
 that he should be served the delicacies from the platter of Prince 
 Matsuo Goto? Again, I say, what of the fried eels and sancho leaf 
 garnish ?" 
 
 "If your highness would but have an honorable patience," began 
 Yamaki 
 
 "Patience!" vociferated the enraged prince. "Patience! 'Yester- 
 day's bride is tomorrow's mother-in-law.' Where is my sword- 
 bearer?" 
 
 At this juncture Mata and his samurai arrived upon the scene. 
 On word of the invitation from Lord Yo-Ake, all wrath faded 
 from the angry nobleman's face, his little roving eyes twinkling 
 with delight. He was especially desirous of seeing in person Asa- 
 no Yo-Ake, just then, and had half feared that the latter might 
 chance to be absent. 
 
 "'A single aim pierces to heaven'," he observed to Mata, in answer 
 to the invitation borne by him. "I humbly accept your daimio's 
 kind hospitality, and will quarter myself and retinue upon him for 
 a night and day. Yet I like not leaving my eels behind. The fish 
 that escapes from the net seems always the largest'." 
 He added the latter part of this speech to himself. 
 
 "Your highness' pardon," said Mata, deferentially, "but we 
 heard an hubbub as we entered Otsu. I trust no discourtesy hath 
 been shown by anyone here?" 
 
 "'When you need bread, go to the bakery'," explained Goto. "This 
 fellow," indicating the still kneeling Yamaki, "hath been proven- 
 dering others at my expense. Honorable inside was empty. Ho! 
 sword-bearer ! Hew me the head from off this villain inn-keeper." 
 One of Goto's samurai stepped forth from the long line that 
 filled the village street, drawing his blade with a sharp whir. 
 
 "Nay, nay, your highness ! I beg of you !" intreated poor Yama- 
 ki. "The fault should rest with Lord Saito of Satsuma who hath 
 depleted my inn. Alas, that I should lose customer, good name, 
 and life itself for a fault not of my making!" 
 
34 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 The reasonableness of this appealed to Goto, whose bark was 
 really far worse than his bite, and whose heart was ever sympa- 
 thetic for anyone in adversity. 
 
 "Well, well," he admitted in mollified tones, "perhaps you are 
 right. 'A one gallon vessel can hold no more than one gallon.' Get 
 up, fellow. Hi, there ! thou ruffian stavemen ! pick up my nori- 
 mono. Now then, sir knight of the Yo-Ake if you are ready? 
 Forward, to Moto !" 
 
 A sharp word of command rang out from the samurai leaders, 
 and the serried ranks of soldiery surged forward as, with a beat- 
 ing of staves, and glittering of halberds and sword hilts, the ban- 
 ner of Goto, with its crest of three sancho leaves within a gold 
 embroidered circle, swung toward the lake shore for Moto. 
 
 Within the great room of his castle yashiki, sat Lord Yo-Ake, 
 lost in moody thought. Considering the beauty of his surround- 
 ings, the cause of his gloom was not apparent. Moto was one of 
 the most perfect edifices erected by the hand of man, and neither 
 expense nor labor had been spared to add to its artistic luxuriance. 
 Indeed, it was said that only one other garden in the whole of 
 Nippon could equal that of Moto's that of Nijiima, Lord Saku- 
 rai's Yedo residence. Shima, Lord Yo-Ake's other castle at Shiba, 
 in Yedo, imposing as it undoubtedly was, could not for one mo- 
 ment compare in actual loveliness to Moto. Added to the posses- 
 sion of these two magnificent seats, Lord Yo-Ake was wealthy, 
 and a councilor of the very highest rank on the Bakafu the 
 "curtain council" of the Shogun. 
 
 The room in which he now sat was the essence of good taste ; 
 richly, but sparingly furnished. In a toko-no-ma, or wall-recess, 
 hung a Sesshu a kakemono of exceeding rarity. Near the toko- 
 no-ma, a sword rack of exquisite design in lacquer supported sev- 
 eral perfect examples of the swordsmith's craft, among them a 
 great blade executed by no less a master than Muramasa. This 
 was known to legend as "The Devil Sword," and had belonged to 
 Oni Yo-Ake sometimes referred to as the "Devil of Biwa-ko" 
 who also enjoyed the distinction of being the founder of the Yo- 
 Ake family and fortunes. It was supposed that when this sword 
 was once drawn it must either drink the blood of a foeman of the 
 
THE LORD FORLORN 35 
 
 family, or it would turn itself against the vitals of its wearer. In 
 an opposite corner from the sword-rack was the shrine containing 
 the ihai to the daimio's dead wife, with its accompanying ever- 
 burning lamp. Upon the dais on which Lord Yo-Ake sat was a 
 small, richly lacquered table, on which were several scrolls of 
 writing matter. Thick tatami matted the floor, while hand painted 
 fusima or sliding doors closed in the apartment. These fusima 
 were worthy of more than passing attention, for they depicted the 
 eight points of greatest beauty about Biwa-ko Seta, the moon on 
 Hiriyama, sunrise at Ishiyama, the geese flighting to Katata, the 
 fisher sanpans drawing in from Yabase, the great bell of Miidera, 
 and some jade and silver waterfalls, with Moto itself in the back- 
 ground. Like the kakemono, they, too, had been executed by a 
 famous artist. A beautiful shrubbery vista, seen when the paper- 
 paned shoji were open, completed the settings. Yet, even amid all 
 this loveliness, Lord Yo-Ake sat wrapped in intense gloom. 
 
 It was summer of the year 1866, and just twelve years ago his 
 son, Tokiyori, had set forth on his travels among the "Foreign- 
 ers." Was he ever again to behold the features of that son? He 
 had heard from him at more or less regular intervals, but, so far 
 from expressing a desire for immediate return to Nippon, the 
 tenor of those letters had latterly indicated that their author con- 
 templated a somewhat indefinite sojourn abroad, more especially 
 in British possessions, with whose people he appeared distinctly 
 infatuated. The receipt of one of these epistles, some nine months 
 before, had so annoyed the daimio that he had dispatched a reply 
 commanding his heir to return to Nippon at once. Still time 
 passed, and there were no signs of the expatriate, nor did the dai- 
 mio know now his exact whereabouts. Perforce he could but con- 
 tinue patiently awaiting, and trusting that enough of filial respect 
 was still left to cause him to obey his father's injunctions. This, 
 in itself, was sufficiently perturbing, and, when added to the politi- 
 cal issues pending, explains why the daimio was so downcast amid 
 the surrounding charms of his Lake Biwa residence. To compre- 
 hend the latter cause more fully, a short family history and refer- 
 ence to the inner national politics of the times becomes necessary. 
 
 Since its inception by Oni Yo-Ake the "Devil of Biwa-ko" 
 
36 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 the Yo-Ake family had come through the three hundred odd years 
 of its existence with rather more good fortune than had been the 
 lot of many of its compeers. Two salient family characteristics 
 were mostly responsible for this their native wit, and an adap- 
 tability for what is termed "the masterly inactivity" of statecraft, 
 both prominent features of Lord Asano Yo-Ake's own make-up 
 while a well-considered system of intermarriage with the families 
 greatest in power had contributed to the Yo-Ake's repeated ad- 
 vancement and security. From these family tenets sprang Lord 
 Asano Yo-Ake, and although in his youth a staunch follower of 
 things martial, when the unexpected death of his elder brother in 
 an inland foray, followed by the demise of his father, had seated 
 him as the titular head of his family, he had lain aside the sword 
 for all time, devoting himself exclusively to his country's politics. 
 But while his political life had been successful to a marked de- 
 gree, advancing him at a comparatively early age to the post of 
 chief councilor to successive Shoguns, he had also increased the 
 enmity of many, who asserted that he served his masters best by 
 serving himself first. 
 
 The whole may therefore be briefly summed up by saying that 
 up to the advent of the "Foreigner," in 1854, Asano Yo-Ake was 
 a politician of weight, but actuated mostly by motives concerning 
 himself and his family. Since that time he had broadened into a 
 politician with greater and deeper motives inspiring his methods. 
 
 In a sense the cause, or causes, of his gloom concerned the fu- 
 ture policies of his family. He had been too close in the councils 
 of the Shoguns not to realize that the rule of the Tokugawas was 
 nearing its end. They had become too ambitious greedy perhaps 
 better describes the condition. From a sort of public representa- 
 tive of the Mikado in virtual retirement at Kyoto the ambi- 
 tions of this great military family had led them into an assump- 
 tion of not only the outward prerogatives of the throne, but the 
 actual sovereignty, itself. Emperors, under the cruel greed of the 
 Tokugawas, were deprived of their freedom, persecuted, or ban- 
 ished into the refuge of monasteries at the will of the Shoguns. 
 The kuge, or court noblesse of Kyoto, were virtually in exile, nor 
 were the heredities of the daimios, the territorial supporters of 
 
THE LORD FORLORN 37 
 
 the Shogunate, safe to their holders. For some time there had 
 been an undercurrent of murmuring against this, and now it was 
 plainly visible to all that the old order must give place to a new. 
 The Tokugawas saw this also, as clearly as the meanest of their 
 subjects, and, in their frenzy to hold their own, attempted to re- 
 double their grip. 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake, admitting to himself the probable outcome of 
 civil strife, sought to consummate some plan for the future of his 
 family. He was a man of a scant fifty years of age, with a strong 
 grip on the pulse of his country, and a far deeper insight into the 
 future than his compeers. If the Shogunate fell, what would be- 
 come of the Yo-Ake? He had asked himself this question on that 
 very night twelve years ago which had seen his friend and guest, 
 Lord Shimadzu, done to death at Shima castle by order of the 
 Shogun, and had answered it by sending his son abroad. His pol- 
 icy in this respect had been direct and simple for Lord Yo-Ake. 
 Firmly believing, even then, that the Mikado's faction must tri- 
 umph ultimately, he sought the means to attach himself or, 
 rather, to render himself indispensable to it. But he realized that 
 it was not sufficient that he should go to the Mikado saying sim- 
 ply, "I wish to be your majesty's councilor." He must have 
 stronger qualifications than an empty-handed desire, even when 
 backed by the Yo-Ake prestige, to place before the Emperor. Op- 
 portunely had occurred the diversion wrought by the demands of 
 the United States government, and the visit of Commodore Per- 
 ry's flotilla, bearing them. From this Lord Yo-Ake foresaw this 
 much : that the future of Nippon would hinge largely on its inter- 
 national policies and intercourse. Beyond that he had not attemp- 
 ted to peer, but the knowledge of it had caused him to urge, se- 
 cretly, his friend, Lord Shimadzu, to open Tsushima to "For- 
 eign" traffic, with what disastrous results is known. Thereafter 
 Asano Yo-Ake reasoned that if, when the Shogunate should fall, 
 he could approach the Mikado with a full and complete knowl- 
 edge of "Foreign" policies, his chances of procuring an important 
 appointment would be greatly enhanced, and that had actuated 
 the almost unprecedented act of sending his son on a visit to "For- 
 eign" nations. In all, Asano Yo-Ake's reasoning was absolutely 
 
38 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 faultless, and in result erred only in the non-appearance of its 
 most important factor, his son, Tokiyori. 
 
 Thus musing, Lord Yo-Ake raised his head and gazed abstract- 
 edly about the room in which he sat. So absorbed had he been in 
 these thoughts that he had failed to note the gathering night until 
 through the open shoji flickering moon-shadows ran weirdly about 
 the apartment. These touched the hilt of the great "devil" sword 
 of Oni Yo-Ake, and played over the ihai to his dead wife. Then 
 the moon-shadows danced hither and thither, while a soft summer 
 wind moaned gently against the eaves of the yashiki, until, finally, 
 they began, to his mind, to assume definite shape. There went the 
 form of Shimadzu, his friend, who might today have been alive 
 had he not urged him to a hazardous act. And, there, the shade of 
 his wife, the Lady Ume-ko, who had been required to die that 
 despite the warnings of physicians a son and heir might be born 
 to him. He might have prevented both fatalities why had he not 
 stayed his hand ? It seemed to Lord Yo-Ake that the forms beck- 
 oned him to look, and he saw suddenly a picture of the union of 
 two young people his son and Shimadzu's daughter. Behind them 
 they hid another form, scarcely visible. Was this the answer 
 that because of that hidden something the union he saw pictured 
 was necessary and the two deaths ? A long time he watched this 
 vision, until the shadows danced into another portraiture before 
 his eyes, and he saw an atonement, and a sacrifice. The sacrifice 
 seemed to personify the features of his son, and the atonement of 
 a little child. But himself he could not see. 
 
 The chill of the late evening crept through the open shoji and 
 closed about his soul. For the first time Asano Yo-Ake knew fear. 
 Gods ! If his son should fail to return, or if he himself should die 
 before his time ! He was treading on a sheer precipice now, and 
 any day might come an accusation of him from his enemies to the 
 Shogun. It seemed as though all had gone dark before him nay, 
 it was dark, for the lamp before the ihai no longer glowed ! 
 
 He fell upon his knees before the shrine. 
 
 "O, Ume-ko !" he cried softly, "stretch forth thy hand from the 
 Meido-Land to save me, and to guide our boy homeward !" 
 
 A moment longer the darkness continued. Then the lamp in the 
 
THE LORD FORLORN 39 
 
 little shrine suddenly glowed again, and the peace of the steady 
 flame brought a great comfort to his heart. 
 
 A fusima slid, and the voice of a servant announced, ''Prince 
 Matsuo Goto." 
 
IV 
 
 DEEP WATERS AND A WIND 
 
 With them the seed of Wisdom did I sow, 
 
 And with mine own hand wrought to make it grow; 
 
 And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd 
 "I came like Water, and like Wind I go." OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 WHEN one has a delicate errand to perform, or doubtful in- 
 formation to be gleaned, it is sometimes best to approach the mat- 
 ter boldly. So decided Prince Goto as he waddled into the pres- 
 ence of the master of Moto, making and receiving the usual obei- 
 sance. Already were servants arranging the small dining tables 
 
DEEP WATERS AND A WIND 4! 
 
 before the cushions placed for the two noblemen, orders to serve a 
 meal in Lord Yo-Ake's own apartment having been given in an- 
 ticipation of the arrival of the great lord of the north. Goto fairly 
 beamed at the sight. He was a votary of the table, a gourmet, and 
 held implicit faith in the belief that a host with his own table be- 
 fore him could be made to speak with far greater freedom than 
 could the same person in the less convivial environment of an offi- 
 cial chamber. Goto also prided himself not a little in secret on the 
 adroit manner in which he had prearranged this visit so as to make 
 it appear but a casual journey from Yedo, with the fete at Kara- 
 saki as its objective. The consequent invitation to stay at Moto he 
 regarded as but the natural outcome of his own shrewdness in 
 thus seeking an opportunity of sounding his host concerning his 
 dispositions in the forthcoming internecine strife. He might have 
 spared himself such laborious thought and plotting, for Asano Yo- 
 Ake had already easily guessed the underlying purport of this 
 visit, and was secretly amused at the prince's rather obvious ef- 
 forts to conceal it. Lord Yo-Ake possessed a perfectly developed 
 faculty for the perusal of other men's minds, and it would have 
 required a very much more clever deception than Goto was cap- 
 able of to mislead him in a matter of such apparentness. 
 
 Not being aware of this, Goto proceeded to put his carefully 
 thought out plan into execution. As a man of large landed and 
 political interests, he was not unnaturally anxious to ascertain ex- 
 actly how his compeers purposed taking sides in the event of a 
 clash between the Shogun and Mikado. He could not, of course, 
 he realized, approach Lord Yo-Ake in this instance with any de- 
 gree of frankness, for their relative positions on the Shogunate 
 council would have converted the question, no matter how care- 
 fully concealed, into the essence of bad faith on the part of the 
 daimio toward the Tokugawas an insult that, however much he 
 might question Yo-Ake's sincerity, Goto was not prepared to offer. 
 But he could lead his host into a statement that might indicate the 
 trend of his intentions, and, by a system of cross questioning, per- 
 haps gain some sort of admission from him. Thus had planned 
 Prince Goto, with what success the sequel will show. 
 "'The fortune teller knows not his own destiny'/' he quoted to 
 
42 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 his host, as they prepared to enjoy the viands with which the little 
 tables were set. "I had not supposed my hunger would have pro- 
 cured me a place at such a feast of the gods this night. Pray how 
 do your servitors prepare the eels' flesh at Moto, Yo-Ake?" he 
 added, anxiously regarding a dish of those beloved luxuries. 
 
 "Upon bamboo spits, well rubbed in sancho leaves before being 
 thrust into the flesh of the eels, I believe," answered the daimio. 
 
 "Excellent! excellent!" agreed Goto in joyous anticipation. "It 
 is the way I have always instructed my own ruffians in the north ; 
 only I require that the platters be well rubbed with the sancho 
 berry also." He busied himself a moment with the girdle that held 
 his kimono in place. "If you will permit," he added, "I will loose 
 the folds of my kimono before sampling this divine feast, as is my 
 custom. 'First prepare your arsenal, then go into battle'." 
 
 It was evident that Goto was no mere recruit at this sort of 
 warfare from the massed attack he immediately executed. Either 
 at the board or with the sword the great prince was reckoned as 
 no mean adversary. 
 
 "Referring to the culture and preparation of eels," observed 
 Lord Yo-Ake, after a few moments, perceiving that his guest's 
 appetite was becoming somewhat appeased, "I recall having heard 
 young Saito of Satsuma remark that they should be first pickled in 
 sea-grass." 
 
 The subject of Saito was a sore one just then with Goto. The 
 memory of the eels in waiting for him that very day, which had 
 been so rudely consumed by the former, still rankled. 
 "'Little minds gaze at the skies through a needle-hole'," he re- 
 sponded with ponderous sarcasm. "Saito was reared on a shore 
 overgrown with kelp." 
 
 "So, also, was my ward and future daughter-in-law, Kiku-ko 
 Shimadzu," commented the daimio. 
 
 "'The fish dances under the wave, but the bird flies heaven- 
 ward'," quoted Goto, with great readiness of mind. "I make my 
 humble salutations to the Lady Kiku-ko. I remember her father, 
 Suki Shimadzu, well." 
 
 He bent his forehead to a cup containing sake, as he spoke, the 
 contents of which he drained; then, rinsing it in a bowl of fresh 
 
DEEP WATERS AND A WIND 43 
 
 water by his elbow, passed it on to the daimio that he, too, might 
 join in this toast to his future daughter-in-law. 
 
 "Speaking of Shimadzu," continued Goto, who thought that he 
 perceived a chance of leading the conversation around to present 
 political topics, "I recall very well when he attempted to open 
 Tsushima to 'Foreign' traffic. The Shogun very properly nipped 
 that in the bud, for the time was not then ripe. 'Secret wrong in- 
 vites disaster.' Doubtless Shimadzu had his notions of what was 
 due his country and posterity yet, 'the tiger and the deer do not 
 lie down together.' Poor Suki paid the penalty for his temerity. 
 A most senseless proceeding, I thought it." 
 
 Had Goto known that that very political movement of the de- 
 funct Shimadzu's was at the instigation of the man at whose table 
 he was at that moment dining he might have been more reserved 
 in his criticism. Being blissfully ignorant of this fact, he waited 
 an answer to this observation in the hope that it might possibly 
 lead Yo-Ake into some statement of his views regarding the pres- 
 ent policy of the Shogun. 
 
 "After all," observed the daimio, finally, "it was bound to come 
 about eventually. We were too confined, Goto ; communal life 
 does not thrive on isolation. But Shimadzu, as you say, preceded 
 his day. ... I, also, was his friend." 
 
 Goto pondered on this a moment, but failed to find any definite 
 information contained in the remark. 
 
 "Shimadzu was unfortunate in his haste," said he at last. "Yet 
 today we count his disciples by thousands. 'When an insane man 
 runs the sound-minded will follow'." 
 
 And to himself he added : '"Look at a man's friends, then judge 
 his character.' Shimadzu and Yo-Ake were close in each other's 
 councils." 
 
 "Referring to the 'Foreigners'," observed the daimio, after a 
 pause, during which Goto consumed another dish of eels, and laid 
 secret plans for another method of attack, "I learn recently that 
 they are in favor of the Mikado's assuming the actual reins of 
 government. More especially the representatives of the august 
 realm of America, who desire to treat directly with the Emperor 
 in person. It now appears that, by their manner of designating the 
 
/| /j THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Shogun as 'Tycoon' in their documents, they were of the belief 
 that he was in reality the Sacred Person. Is it to be presumed 
 from this that the presence of the 'Foreigner' in Yedo will receive 
 greater encouragement from Kyoto than that already accorded by 
 our party ?" 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake put this question with the air of one desirous of 
 information ; although, in reality, it was but intended to ascertain 
 whether or no Goto had been secretly trafficking with the Mika- 
 do's faction. If the latter should chance to be the case, Goto would 
 to some extent be cognizant of the Kyoto party's policy, and not 
 likely very adroit to conceal his information. Lord Yo-Ake knew 
 quite well what that policy was, and that the young Emperor's 
 advisers were then bitterly opposed to any and all intercourse 
 with other nations. Goto's reply convinced him of the former's 
 ignorance of the Kyoto views on the matter, and of his innocence 
 from any intriguing. 
 
 "You can not expect a clear vision from a cave dweller'," replied 
 the prince sagely. "The Kyoto party have been so long in enforced 
 seclusion they are more than likely to favor any interests that of- 
 fer the slightest support. Undoubtedly the advisers of the Mikado 
 will favor the presence of the 'Foreigner' more than we, in return 
 for his aid." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake appeared to weigh this opinion gravely. 
 
 "I am not sure," he remarked, finally, "that we of Nippon did an 
 altogether wise thing by admitting the 'Foreigner' into our midst. 
 Still, so long as he has become an established factor in our na- 
 tional life, it humbly seems to me, now, the height of folly and 
 rashness to wantonly antagonize his interests here. I do conceive 
 that such utter rancour against him as, .for instance, that held by 
 Saito, which finds its vent in recent movements against the 'For- 
 eigner's' life and liberty, is a most hazardous feeling for Nippon 
 to entertain. Moreover, it is a direct violation to the 'Foreign' 
 treaties, for which we may some day have to pay a heavy indem- 
 nity." 
 
 Goto sniffed at this second mention of Saito's name. 
 
 "Speaking of Saito," said he, "I owe him but little good-will. He 
 passed through Otsu on his way to Kyoto today, as I have very 
 
DEEP WATERS AND A WIND 45 
 
 good cause to remember. 'Even a stone image will resent a rough 
 stroked face!'" 
 
 "On his way to Kyoto ?" said the marquis indolently. 
 "The snake's road the snake alone knows'," affirmed Goto, severe- 
 ly. "It was said that he journeyed to Kyoto." 
 
 "It is not often that in one day our poor countryside is distin- 
 guished by two such personages as that of the lord of the north 
 and the famous swordsman of Satsuma," remarked Lord Yo-Ake 
 courteously. "Did you chance to meet him ?" 
 
 "No," replied Goto, "but my eels did. 'Kindred spirits seek one 
 another'." 
 
 "It is rumored that the Shogun intends him for commander of 
 the Baka-fu forces, if such take the field against the Kyoto 
 troops," observed the daimio, indifferently. 
 
 Goto laid down his chopsticks; he had wanted this very post 
 himself. Lord Yo-Ake was aware of this fact, also, and sought 
 this method of creating a breach between Goto and Saito. Asano 
 Yo-Ake did not wish it thought that he was himself in any way 
 inimical to the latter, because of the very necessary information 
 through the medium of Tetsu-ko Saito's visits brought to Moto. 
 Nevertheless, he perceived that Saito's vaunted antipathy against 
 the 'Foreigner' might eventually embroil Nippon with outside na- 
 tions, so sought quietly in every way possible to raise a little un- 
 dercurrent of feeling against him. 
 
 Goto pondered a moment on this appointment of Saito's. 
 "'The swimming fish disturbs the pool'," he reminded finally. "Do 
 you think this contemplated elevation of Saito to command our 
 forces wise, Yo-Ake? His hatred of the 'Foreigner' is very well 
 known." 
 
 "All moves are more or less open to criticism, Goto," replied the 
 daimio, equivocally. "Facts have, as you say, an illbred habit of 
 intruding." 
 
 Goto was distinctly puzzled. He could not remember having 
 said anything of the sort. It suddenly occurred to him that he was 
 getting no nearer the object of his visit to Moto. He picked up his 
 chopsticks, and twirled them a moment in perplexity. 
 "'You cannot catch the tiger without going to his lair'," he 
 
46 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 thought. And then, aloud, "'Doubting minds bring a swarm of 
 demons,' Yo-Ake. Personally, I question the wisdom of such an 
 appointment. Still, whatever we as individuals may think, we 
 must stand or fall by our master, the Shogun. Is it not so?" 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake stifled a smile at the crudity of Goto's diplomatic 
 methods. 
 
 "'The frog that lives in the well knows not of the ocean'/' he an- 
 swered drily, in a proverb after the fashion of his guest. "So 
 much does my estate here claim my time, when in residence, that 
 I become most disregardful on issues of state until I am able to 
 take up the thread of them again in Yedo. But I see that you have 
 finished your repast, and I am sure you must desire to rest after 
 the fatigues incumbent upon your long journey. May I not have 
 the privilege of conducting you to your apartments?" 
 
 Thus was the inquisition brought to a close, without, however, 
 the inquisitor attaining the desired knowledge. And Goto, as he 
 prepared to disrobe himself, was feign to admit in the privacy of 
 his room that "a snake has no ears, but its eyes are always open," 
 adding, ere he closed his own eyes for the night, "that it was fool- 
 ish to inquire the sea road of the mountain cutter, or ask the sea- 
 man the way to the hills." 
 
 "Yo-Ake was over close," soliloquized Goto from his futon. "I 
 like not the weather at Biwa. 'Clouds foretell a change.' Tomor- 
 row I depart for Yedo. 'Before falling, take your staff'." 
 
 And so saying, the great lord of the north fell asleep, dreaming 
 that Asano Yo-Ake, dressed as a cook, was giving orders to have 
 him pickled in sea-grass after the detestable custom of Saito of 
 Satsuma. 
 
THE TREASURE AND THE MASTER 
 
 A Hair, perhaps, divides the False and True; 
 Yes ; and a single Alif were the clue 
 
 Could you but find it to the Treasure-house, 
 And peradventure to THE MASTER too; . . . .OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 AT LAST the first of old Nakahara's three great red-letter days 
 had arrived ; it was evening of the first day of the fete of the 
 resin-raining of Biwa's mighty pine tree at Karasaki. Earlier in 
 the afternoon, Lord Asano Yo-Ake had visited the scene with his 
 household, according to his rigid annual custom, and after watch- 
 
48 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 ing the concordance of three thousand odd votaries gathered un- 
 der the enormous propped-up branches, had gladdened old Naka- 
 hara's heart by stopping to listen to one of his stories, and then 
 withdrawn to Moto. Now, the sun having gone down in a burst of 
 brilliant flame, the stars, lighting the skies in preparation for the 
 moon's night ride, were hung out as carelessly by some hand as 
 the lanterns in the boughs of the great tree. 
 
 Under a single mighty limb that swept out over the lake waters, 
 old Nakahara sat watching the gathering night. Above and around 
 the myriad lanterns twinkled merrily, and just without the circu- 
 lar sweep of pine boughs several Koya, or amusement halls, 
 swung their fuda, the wooden laths billing their attractions to the 
 view of the great throng. A constant stream of sanpans from Ot- 
 su, on the opposite side, bore the visitors from Sakamoto and the 
 country around, and even from distant Kyoto, and on his own side 
 of the lake, but farther up its shore, Nakahara could still make 
 out the great walls of placid Moto, over which the trees were 
 bending misshapenly to the moat waters. And all the while the 
 bantering chatter of the country swain with the coy, pretty little 
 tea-stall maids rose in a shrill medley on the evening air. 
 
 Presently some hanashika passed Nakahara on their way to the 
 various Koya, where they would shortly appear before their ad- 
 miring audiences, and bowed mockingly to the old fellow seated 
 before his little piles of good-luck salt, while the crowd that fol- 
 lowed at their heels began to laugh and point out to one another 
 the lonely old figure puffing at his well-worn pipe. 
 
 "He needs no Koya," said one jester to another. "The ground it- 
 self is scarcely capacious enough to accommodate his audience." 
 "Yet he should use care that his listeners do not scatter his piles 
 of salt in their hurry to hear his tales," observed the second, in 
 mockery of Nakahara's loneliness. 
 
 A passing woman stopped, and regarded the old man in a spirit 
 of compassion. 
 
 "Heed not these rough yokels," she said, kindly. "Mayhap the 
 gods have in store for you gifts more eloquent than the fuda of 
 lesser artists." 
 
 Nakahara paid no attention to these remarks, any more than he 
 
THE TREASURE AND THE MASTER 49 
 
 had the insolent bowings of the competitive hanashika, whose re- 
 cent intercourse with the "Foreigner" at Yedo and Kyoto enabled 
 them to satisfy the popular craving with newer tales; yet, none 
 the less, both bowings and remarks hurt him. He had once been 
 accounted the greatest hanashika of the southlands, but, sorrow- 
 fully, he realized that the phrase "had been" expressed his condi- 
 tion now. As he placed the mirror of life to the back of his head, 
 in a vain effort to ignore the tracery of the hastening years, it ac- 
 centuated the furrows of time upon his countenance with a venge- 
 ful contrariety, and, looking at it from what angle he would, the 
 mirror reiterated always the same tale he was growing old; he 
 was growing old. The vista of audiences once moved to tears un- 
 der the mellow artistry of his story-telling, faded when he turned 
 the mirror about, and he saw reflected there only the very few lis- 
 teners whom he could now count upon because of their inability 
 to afford the Koya prices. In the bitterness of his heart, Nakahara 
 cursed the advent of "Foreign" ways into the beauty of Nippon, 
 and their influence on his sacred calling of hanashika. 
 
 But if present circumstances were arrayed against him, Naka- 
 hara was not without hope, and like his lord, Asano Yo-Ake, was 
 awaiting, in all anxiety, the return of the son of the great house, 
 in the hope that it would bring with it a return of his lost prestige, 
 because of superior knowledge of the outlands with which his 
 young master would undoubtedly regale him. And who knows ? 
 some talisman from the wondrous West might yet render him 
 greater than ever was there a hanashika. 
 
 While musing in this strain, Nakahara noted that a small audi- 
 ence of the poorest type had gathered around him. He blinked in- 
 to the gentle glow from the fire-bowl of his tabako-bon, and 
 scooped the charcoal in circles, thinking on his coming tale the 
 while. 
 
 "Let us take a smoke," said he, finally, according to his prelud- 
 ing custom, at the same time plucking a live coal from the brazier 
 as a pipe-light. 
 
 A norimono, which had arrived from the direction of Otsu, 
 came to a stop on the outskirts of the great pine's branches, while 
 its occupant, from his attire presumably a "Foreigner," stepped 
 
5<D THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 out. Turning to some coolies, who followed with his luggage, he 
 bade them continue on to Moto Castle, and directed his stave-men 
 to await while he strolled about among the Koya and booths. 
 
 Nakahara, perceiving that his audience was on the verge of ex- 
 pectancy, laid aside his pipe and commenced his tale. 
 
 "Now, On To Waga, the Frog," he began, chancing upon the 
 very story that Lord Saito had complained to Kiku-ko of having 
 heard so often, "started from Kyoto to see Osaka, and by dint of 
 much hopping finally arrived at the top of the hill, Ten-no-zan, 
 which lies about half way between the two places. There On To 
 Waga, the Frog, met another of his kind, who had hopped half 
 way from Osaka to view Kyoto. And after both frogs had rested, 
 they stood on tiptoe, gazing each toward the birthplace of the 
 other, as they thought. 
 
 "'Now,' exclaimed the Kyoto frog, 'at last I see Osaka!' 
 " 'And now,' said the Osaka frog, 'at last I see Kyoto !' 
 
 "So they looked for some time at the two cities, and then finally 
 dropping upon their bellies, regarded each other fixedly. 
 
 "On To Waga, the Kyoto frog, was the first to speak. 
 "'I own I am disappointed,' said he, 'at having hopped this far, 
 for I can perceive no difference between this Osaka and my own 
 birthplace, Kyoto.' 
 
 "'And I also am disappointed,' rejoined the Osaka frog, 'I can see 
 no difference between Kyoto and my own native city, Osaka.' 
 
 "So they each turned and hopped off toward their respective 
 homes. But the facts were, the frogs had forgotten that their eyes 
 were set in the backs of their heads, so that when they stood on 
 tiptoe they consequently saw what was behind them, and not what 
 was in front." 
 
 Old Nakahara paused in his tale, and his audience, glad of the 
 excuse, arose to seek the comparative excitement of the toy- 
 booths, or to gaze wistfully at the fuda before the Koya where the 
 other hanashika would be rolling forth strange adventures of for- 
 eign lands. He noted the only too apparent relief of his listeners 
 at the opportunity for leaving, and the red blood of shame surged 
 to his brow as he called silently upon his gods to uphold him 
 through the darkest hour of his life. Not even the gibes of the 
 
THE TREASURE AND THE MASTER 5! 
 
 hanashika and their following hurt him as did this, for, bitterest 
 drop of all, he knew full well the cause. If only his young lord 
 had returned Tokiyori, the little lad who was wont to toddle 
 about holding to the skirts of his kimono, and begging for just one 
 more story from the then famous raconteur ! Then, suddenly and 
 occultly, a great light broke on Nakahara, for his time was near. 
 He raised his voice, and caught the disappearing tail of the crowd, 
 literally slewing it toward him, open mouthed, as he sent his last 
 great challenge forth from under the far-stretched boughs of 
 Karasaki-no-Matsu. 
 
 "So, On To Waga, the Frog, having started toward his birth- 
 place, Kyoto, stopped at a stream to cool his skin, and he met 
 there a fish to whom he told the story of his disappointment. 
 "'You are but a silly fellow !' said the fish. 'For could you not see 
 that your eyes are set in the back of your head, so that when you 
 thought you were viewing Osaka it was Kyoto all along that you 
 saw?' 
 
 "'How should I be able to see my eyes if they are in the back of 
 my head ?' asked On To Waga, indignantly. 'And what must I do 
 to get eyes in the front of my head.' 
 
 '"You must do even as I,' answered the fish, 'and go down to the 
 faraway horizon, where the great sea ends. But, first, you will 
 have to assume the form of a man, and to accomplish this you 
 must climb up the great mountain of vision, and give battle there 
 to No Binka, the Giant'." 
 
 Back came the departing listeners, for this sequel held forth the 
 promise of a new feature. And, after them, attracting a crowd in 
 his wake, sauntered the "Foreign"-dressed visitor. The fete-mak- 
 ers stared in polite awe, wondering who this might be, evidently a 
 Japanese and yet garbed after the manner of the " Barbarian." 
 The whisper ran swiftly about under the boughs of Karasaki's 
 great tree until it reached the Koya, from where audience and 
 hanashika poured forth to witness this unusual sight. So, singly 
 and in pairs, one and all hurried in the wake of the stranger to- 
 ward the great bough under which old Nakahara sat. 
 
 Nakahara sensed the gathering, and his worn-out old eyes fail- 
 ing in the dim light of moon and lantern to note its cause, sent a 
 
52 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 silent prayer of thanks to his gods, as he drew on what time had 
 left him of his former strength. He took up the metamorphosis of 
 On To Waga, the Frog, and told of the great fight with the giant, 
 No Binka, that raged from sun to sun, while the red blood oozed 
 through the iron-shod joints of the gauntleted fingers, and trickled 
 along the grooves of the sword blades. Then he told how On To 
 Waga triumphant and no longer the frog, but still eyeless put 
 forth on the great sea in quest of his eyes in a wondrous ship, 
 whose masts were steeped in hammered gold, and whose sails 
 were spun of the finest silk, and whose hull was of carven ivory. 
 
 A fire was flickering across his glazing features as the crowd 
 of listeners, forgetting in their joy and lust of the new tale the 
 cause of their being his audience, pressed closer and closer about 
 his little piles of good-luck salt. Nakahara was singing his swan 
 song the saga of the brain of Yo-Ake his lord. But he could not 
 know that. 
 
 Back and forward swayed the old body as he told of the 
 rhythm of the sea with a poetry so pathetically graphic that his 
 hearers could literally feel the biting of the spin-drift, and the 
 moaning and soughing of the gales among the creaking masts. 
 Then his eyes glinted like live coals, and the climax of his great 
 story came like the bite of a sword blade from off his aged tongue. 
 " and On To Waga, the same who had sailed forth on the 
 great sea in quest of eyes wherewith to light his forehead, notched 
 his prow on the bloodshot disc that hung burning over the distant 
 horizon." 
 
 Where now were these upstart hanashika with their tales of 
 "Foreign" seas and lands ! The gaping audience, all else forgot- 
 ten, drew ever closer to the old fellow as they hung on the wan- 
 derings of On To Waga, the eyeless. Nakahara rolled his own 
 fast-glazing eyes, for the fight was all but too much for him, as 
 he brought his banner up and flung it in the face of the Karasaki 
 scoffers. 
 
 "Then On To Waga, the Frog, having reached the great fireball 
 just as it shot down into the waving kelp, thinking that its glint in 
 the sea-wash might be the eyes he sought, plunged his arm down 
 into the dank, sucking ooze and lo ! he plucked from the slime 
 
THE TREASURE AND THE MASTER 53 
 
 a jewel, which he bore to the shore. Thus was brought from the 
 sea the rarest of all gems which men have named Hope." 
 
 Nakahara's voice stopped abruptly, while his old body, its 
 strength gone forth with the tale, sank limply. There was a little 
 movement among the throng of listeners, and he in "Foreign" 
 garb approached the form of the hanashika. A moment he scanned 
 the time-dried features, and then laid his two hands on the bent 
 old shoulders to raise them. 
 
 "O, Nakahara," said he, "have you forgotten me? Have you no 
 word of welcome for Tokiyori, the babe whom you taught to 
 walk?" 
 
 A beautiful smile illumined the features of the dying old ser- 
 vant, clearing away the creases and furrows of the years. He 
 strove to raise himself on his elbow to bow to his young lord, but 
 the shock had been too great for him. Eager hands raised him at 
 the bidding of the "Foreign" young man, and bore him to the lat- 
 ter's norimono in waiting. 
 
 Then, in respectful attitudes, hanashika and revellers stood 
 while the litter containing the great story-teller passed, but old 
 Nakahara knew not, for, his last fable told, he had come, with the 
 Alif, into his treasure, and into the presence of the Master. 
 
VI 
 
 EARTH AND GRAIN 
 
 And those who husbanded the Golden grain, 
 And those who flung it to the winds like Rain, 
 
 Alike to no such aureate Earth are turned 
 As, buried once, Men want dug up again. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 1 HE looms of the gods were busy that night, for while at Kara- 
 
 saki their shuttles were weaving the winding shroud of old Naka- 
 
 hara, at Moto they were threading a mantle of different design, 
 
 yet both had as their warp the coming of the heir of the Yo-Ake. 
 
 Of late years, more especially since that season which had wit- 
 
EARTH AND GRAIN 55 
 
 nessed the sailing forth of Lord Asano's son, a quiet reclusiveness 
 had marked the Lake Biwa castle of the Yo-Ake. Moto, like a 
 shore-cast beautiful sea shell, had losts its former life and luster 
 during the absence of Tokiyori, but now, with his anticipated re- 
 turn, it was assuming brilliancy once more. Swift runners having 
 borne to Lord Yo-Ake the tidings of his son's expected arrival at 
 Moto, in the early part of the evening, the grounds had as if by 
 magic burst suddenly into a perfect tousel of rich artistry from 
 a thousand twinkling lanterns. From tenshu to bastion, from 
 drum turret to yashiki waving banners formed a panoply so solid 
 that it seemed as if only privileged stars could peer through it to 
 note the happenings within the mighty walls. Serried ranks of 
 samurai, in indescribably rich armor, were drawn up under Mata, 
 before their nagaya, extending from there in two lines to the en- 
 trance of the yashiki itself, and on into the interior of the manor 
 house, whose lower floor had been thrown into one great recep- 
 tion room by the removal of the partitioning fusima, while stal- 
 wart guards paced the great gateway. It was as though some un- 
 seen hand had lighted trees and earth, and with a magic wand 
 peopled them with a world of gallant knights in brilliant array, 
 and then drawn the skies down to make a tapestry for the gor- 
 geous setting. 
 
 Within the great lower room of the yashiki, so formed, sat 
 Lord Asano Yo-Ake upon a raised dais, about which were grouped 
 his household councilors. Sage, thoughtful men, these, their expe- 
 rience and wisdom written upon their countenances, so that a 
 shrewd observer might have hazarded that, with a change of island 
 policies, they would play a most important part. And just beyond 
 them, though somewhat nearer the dais, was Kiku-ko with her 
 bevy of ladies-in-waiting, the beauty of their kimonos high-light- 
 ing the impressive gorgeousness of this picture set in old Japan. 
 Leading straight from the entrance of the yashiki to the dais, a 
 roll of gold cloth, brocaded into a thousand phantasies of design 
 and conception, awaited the steps of the coming heir, and, about 
 all, in attitudes of the greatest reverence and respect, knelt the 
 vast gathering of household and castle servants. The waters had 
 borne Tokiyori Yo-Ake back to the land that awaited him; his 
 
56 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 own were assembled to do him honor, and one had died that the 
 swan-song of his tarrying might be sung. 
 
 Presently a slight movement fluttered along the lines of samu- 
 rai without, so that the attention of the whole concourse within 
 the yashiki was riveted toward its entrance. Then an officer of the 
 guard entering, approached the body of councilors and spoke in 
 low tones to old Kano, its chief executive, who in turn bore the 
 tidings to the ear of Lord Yo-Ake. It seemed that coolies bearing 
 luggage and boxes had just been admitted to the castle, reporting 
 that they preceded the returning heir of the house, who had 
 stopped to witness the fete at Karasaki. Lord Yo-Ake frowned at 
 the latter part of this information; it was not thus that a son 
 should hasten his return to an awaiting father. This malingering 
 was wanting in both filial respect to him, and reverence to his po- 
 sition. But to Kano he merely nodded his head in confirmation of 
 the report, as the latter resumed his place in the council. Yet, de- 
 spite his outward serenity, Lord Yo-Ake's heart was bitter within 
 him at this humiliation, for he was aware that not one of those 
 close enough to him including Kiku-ko to catch Kano's low 
 words but must feel as did he himself. In fact the impression this 
 information made had already served to create an unfortunate 
 and erroneous undercurrent of opinion against Tokiyori, even be- 
 fore his appearance among them. 
 
 Then, from far down the road, they heard the expected sounds 
 at last, in the faint, distant beating of staves and cries of stave- 
 men, telling all that a norimono was approaching. Louder and 
 louder the sounds grew, until the eager listeners could make out 
 the words. What strange happening had occurred? For in place of 
 the expected "Make way ! Make way for the noble young lord, 
 Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of Moto and Shima !" was heard, "Make way ! 
 Make way for the mortal remains of the great hanashika, Naka- 
 hara, a faithful servant to the Lord of Dawn !" It was thus that 
 Tokiyori sought to honor the dead friend of his childhood. Before 
 an explanation could be rendered of the unusual circumstance 
 which told the watchers only that one of their household had un- 
 expectedly and suddenly passed from them, a sentinel challenged, 
 and the norimono was admitted to the castle enclosure. Next 
 
EARTH AND GRAIN 57 
 
 steps were heard approaching between the ranks of the samurai, 
 and those within the yashiki turned their faces towards the en- 
 trance, an expectancy most intense in its eagerness written upon 
 each countenance. The moment had long been anticipated, and 
 many were the pictures conceived by all concerning the manner of 
 man that the wanderer might be, until to each he had assumed, 
 aided by old Nakahara's imagination, the portraiture of a martial 
 hero. At last the expected steps sounded at the yashiki entrance, 
 and a little gasp manifested itself in the apartment. Kiku-ko raised 
 her head from her position upon the mats, and descried, through 
 staring eyes, the slight figure of the traveler approaching. Thus 
 she remained as his shadow fell across her, stunned, for the in- 
 stant, incapable of thought. 
 
 It was a trying moment for all. By an iron effort Lord Yo-Ake 
 preserved an immobile countenance. A more pathetically incon- 
 gruous climax to this scene of oriental medisevalism the gods 
 themselves could not have arranged. On every hand were knights 
 in full armor, ladies in flowered kimonos, and a vast concourse of 
 the retainers and dependants of feudalism, and facing them alone 
 was a young, slightly-built man in "Foreign" garb black frock 
 coat, pearl grey trousers; in his hand a silk hat and cane occi- 
 dental progress against oriental chivalry ! And the wearer of this 
 uncouth attire was a Yo-Ake, a lord of Moto and Shima a Lord 
 of Dawn ! 
 
 For a breath that seemed to Kiku-ko an eternity, the universe 
 stood still. Then suddenly the very earth itself, room, soldiery 
 and servants reeled and spun in a mad purposeless whirl before 
 her eyes until she became aware that this strange being was 
 speaking. 
 
 "I have returned to you, my father," he was saying in a quiet, 
 small voice. And after what appeared to her an interminable in- 
 terval, she was conscious that the daimio himself was uttering the 
 one word, "Irasshai." 
 
 That was all. A cold, indifferent, unemotional welcome, such 
 as with which one bids the stranger enter. Irasshai ! Yet Kiku-ko 
 noted the words of the son, and the reply of the father, but sub- 
 consciously, for through her mind ran but the one theme : "Is this 
 the man whom I must marry? Is this the man?" 
 
58 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Of what further happened she was but dimly aware. There was 
 a good deal of orderly commotion occasioned by the individual 
 presentation of heads of the various household bodies, the individ- 
 ual and privileged greeting by a few well-remembered old family 
 servitors, and then the formal presentation of the heir to the 
 whole assembled mass of family retainers and dependants. After 
 which Kano, in his capacity of chief of the Yo-Ake council, ad- 
 ministered to Tokiyori the tremendous oath of loyalty to the fam- 
 ily and country a custom among the Yo-Ake upon an heir's at- 
 taining his majority while Mata, as captain of the Yo-Ake samu- 
 rai baring the great blade of Oni Yo-Ake, touched it lightly to the 
 young man's forehead, thereby setting the imaginary seal of the 
 founder of the family upon the oath. At last, the imposing ritual 
 was complete, and Tokiyori Yo-Ake had come into his own ; nor 
 had he come empty handed, for he had a something to add to the 
 heirlooms of his fathers in comparison with which their deeds 
 and legends would sink into mediocrity. The council, samurai and 
 servitors filed from the great room in orderly precedence, till at 
 last remained but Lord Asano Yo-Ake, Tokiyori and Kiku-ko. 
 
 The daimio beckoned his ward to his side. 
 
 "Permit me, my son," said he, conventionally, "to present to you 
 your future wife, my ward the Lady Kiku-ko Shimadzu of Tsu- 
 shima. I believe you were too young," he added to Kiku-ko, pat- 
 ting her head in fatherly fashion, while he still kept his gaze avert- 
 ed from his son, "to recall much of your affianced at the time of 
 his departure from Nippon." 
 
 Kiku-ko bowed low to both noblemen, and then advanced a few 
 steps nearer Tokiyori. 
 
 "It is a great privilege," said she formally, "to be afforded the 
 honor of adding my welcome to that of your august father. I trust 
 a peaceful night's rest may recompense you for the fatigues of 
 your journey home, and prepare you for an enjoyment of its beau- 
 ties on the morrow." 
 
 Again she bent low to the daimio. 
 
 "With your permission, my lord," she concluded, "I will wish 
 you o yasumi nasai." 
 
 Tokiyori stood watching her as she withdrew, noting contem- 
 
EARTH AND GRAIN 59 
 
 platively that she was exceedingly pretty, dainty and aristocratic, 
 until the voice of his father recalled him. 
 
 "My son," the daimio was saying, "messengers from Otsu in- 
 formed us of your arrival there in the early part of the evening. 
 The journey hither is but short, yet it was well into the night ere 
 we were permitted to extend our welcome to you." 
 
 "I stopped at Karasaki for the moment, to rest my stavemen," 
 explained Tokiyori, "and was detained by the death of old Naka- 
 hara." 
 
 "Nakahara dead ?" exclaimed the daimio. 
 He remained a moment in thought. 
 
 "I regret to hear of such a sad happening on the night of your 
 return to us," said he in tones that contained both a note of sor- 
 row at the cause of the delay, and relief at the explanation afford- 
 ed. "Nakahara has been a faithful servant to our house for many 
 years. I would have you always remember, and reward, faithful 
 service, Tokiyori. I had a great affection for Nakahara, he was 
 undoubtedly a seer." 
 
 "His death occurred at the climax of a story he was telling," 
 explained Tokiyori, "and although I heard but the end of the tale, 
 it much impressed me. I believe it was to some extent prophetic 
 of my journeyings and return with a jewel named Hope. I had his 
 body conveyed hither in my norimono." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake nodded, and paced the apartment in meditation, 
 while Tokiyori awaited the further pleasure of his father. Finally 
 the daimio halted before his son, and bent his gaze intently upon 
 him. Then he pointed solemnly to the great sword of Oni Yo-Ake 
 that rested once more in its rack. 
 
 "My son," said he, impressively, "you doubtless recall to whom 
 that sword belonged?" 
 
 "Perfectly," answered Tokiyori. 
 
 "Nor, I am sure," continued the daimio, indicating a little shrine 
 with a burning lamp, "can you for one moment have forgotten to 
 whom that ihai is inscribed?" 
 
 "It is to my mother in the Meido-Land," answered Tokiyori, in 
 hushed, reverent tones. 
 
 "Twelve years ago," continued the daimio, "you and I bade each 
 
6O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 other farewell upon the beach at Nagasaki, and you then swore to 
 me an oath. Do you recall that, my son ?" 
 
 "I have forgotten that neither," replied Tokiyori. "It has been 
 faithfully fulfilled." 
 
 "What then," asked Lord Yo-Ake in a low voice, and just as 
 though there had been no intervening years since when the first 
 utterance of those words had determined him in dispatching his 
 son abroad, "is behind the visit of these 'Foreigners' to our 
 shores ?" 
 
 Tokiyori hesitated, feeling it impossible to sum up the knowl- 
 edge gained in twelve years of observation and study in one word 
 that could be comprehended by his father. 
 
 "There are many governing motives, my father," said he, at last, 
 "greed, the desire of acquisition, curiosity, a belief that to the oc- 
 cidental is given the possession of the earth, and possibly the hope 
 of colonization. Yet, to assign to each its rightful value, it will be 
 necessary that I take you with me on my travels, in spirit. For 
 only by a recital of all that I did and witnessed can the answer to 
 your question be comprehended. 
 The daimio pondered a moment. 
 
 "It shall be as you say," he agreed, finally. "And as the story may 
 take some time in its telling, we had best defer it until tomorrow. 
 In the meantime, let me assure you that it gives me every pleasure 
 to bid you yoki irasshai, Tokiyori ; you are very greatly welcome 
 to me, and mine." 
 
 He led his son to the little shrine. 
 
 "Let us say our prayers to the ihai of your mother before retir- 
 ing," said he, kneeling. 
 
VII 
 
 A HEART'S DESIRE 
 
 Ah Love! could you and I with Him conspire 
 To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire, 
 Would not zve shatter it to bits and then 
 Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's desire! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 /\LL that night Kiku-ko tossed on her futon in a fever of con- 
 tending emotions, the harpies of humiliation and despair claiming 
 her successfully as their prey. And all the while within the great 
 castle walls the night watchman clanged his little bronze rings to 
 mark the periods of his vigil, their musical jingling growing ever 
 
62 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 fainter as he walked from tenshu to tenshu, until it ceased com- 
 pletely, only to start afresh from the direction of the taiko-yagura. 
 Each of these hour calls, that brought to the sleeping fortalice the 
 assurance of safety and peace, brought to the sleepless Kiku-ko a 
 thousand searing phantasies to rend and destroy her own rest and 
 happiness. 
 
 Finally the jingling of the watchman's rings told her that it was 
 the zenith of the night, and so wanting but a short hour to the 
 dawn. She arose, and throwing a light covering over her shoul- 
 ders, sought the little upper balcony that ran about the shoji of 
 her apartment. Saving for the glow from the andon in her room 
 and the lantern of the night watchman, the castle enclosure was 
 lit only by the stars sprinkled in the forest of the skies like the 
 toro in the woodland glades of Moto. She gazed up into the great 
 infinite beyond, of which she believed she had once been a part 
 with Saito, and it seemed to her as if those stars were but little 
 studded bolts, holding the awful bars in place that shut her from 
 that life and from the soldier, till she felt as though some terrific 
 force had lain roughly hold of her and was dragging her irresist- 
 ibly from that old world so dear to her. 
 
 Shivering, she reentered the room and stirred the smouldering 
 embers of her hibatchi, for the chilliest, darkest hour of the night 
 was heralding the dawn. To the vigilant watchman below it 
 brought cheer in the knowledge that his tour of wakefulness 
 would soon be over, but to Kiku-ko it told but of the coming of 
 the day when she would have to listen to undesired words from 
 the suitor arranged for by her father. Again she crossed to the 
 shoji, and looked without. Overhead the "sky lanterns" were be- 
 ginning to blink, for their oil was running low, and away beyond 
 them cycles away a lone star shot suddenly through space to- 
 ward the south. There it dissolved in a shower of sparks directly 
 over Satsuma, thought Kiku-ko. Perhaps it was a maiden love- 
 thought of hers winging its swift way to Saito; she prayed the 
 gods he might read it so that they might thus be enabled to con- 
 verse with each other through the dreary years to come. Good 
 night, little eyes of the sky! The morn was breaking chill and 
 white, yet there was still the blood-red of the day to be reckoned 
 with. 
 
63 
 
 Unable longer to contain her thoughts within the confines of 
 her room, Kiku-ko dressed, and quitted the yashiki for the iris 
 pond that lay near the great gate. Thus it was that Tokiyori, aris- 
 ing and sliding the shoji of his room, spied her in the early morn- 
 ing of the perfect summer day, and again he took thought on the 
 exquisite daintiness of this woman who was to be his wife. From 
 watching her he glanced about at the remembered scenes of his 
 boyhood, his mind naturally reverting to the memories they in- 
 voked. There was the pool at the foot of the little waterfall from 
 which old Nakahara had once rescued him, and just beyond the 
 wistaria bower where the old hanashika was wont to squat and 
 tell him wondrous tales of giants and fairies. It seemed now but 
 yesterday since these scenes had had a life for him, and he sighed 
 a little as he realized how very different was the present, and how 
 still more foreign would be the future. Old Nakahara would never 
 tell a story again in this life and himself? These environs were 
 all unchanged, his life was no longer affected by them. Circum- 
 stances were responsible for this, of course when are they not? 
 It was a sad reproach against them that he perceived for the first 
 time that he had had no young manhood nothing but an all too 
 short childhood, and then the leap across the years to a thought- 
 ful, prematurely staid age. The responsibilities lain on him by his 
 father had robbed him of the joyous sensings of development, and 
 bent him with the greater weights of life. Musing in this strain, 
 he dressed hastily and left the yashiki for the iris pond. 
 
 There he came upon Kiku-ko, apparently so enwrapt in thought 
 as to be unaware of his presence, until his first words fell upon 
 her ears. 
 
 "The iris are fortunate," he remarked. "They are permitted to 
 open their eyes to your beauty this morning. I envy them." 
 
 "I love the iris," she answered, bowing to him. "Their very 
 name, 'ayame,' is the soul of poetry itself, nor do I think that any- 
 thing can be more perfectly beautiful than these buds as they 
 break forth upon the world. They are early somewhat this year. 
 Perhaps it is in honor of your homecoming." 
 
 "More likely mere curiosity to observe what manner of person 
 I am," he answered lightly. "Yet I should feel flattered that even 
 
64 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 the iris deem me worthy their attention. I had more than feared 
 my very existence would be forgotten in Nippon." 
 
 She stooped to bury her head among the buds, then plucking 
 one whose first petal was slowly unrolling, presented it to him. 
 
 "I had no opportunity of offering any attentions to you last 
 night," he continued, "owing to the publicity of our meeting. Per- 
 mit me to do so now, and pray believe that nothing but the pres- 
 ence of others could have kept me from your side." 
 
 She realized that some answer to this was necessary, and yet 
 still so heavy was her heart, she could not bring herself to make 
 the obvious reply. Finally she hazarded : 
 
 "I suppose Nippon must seem to you very how shall I say it 
 small, insignificant, uninteresting perhaps after your long sojourn 
 among so many mightier nations ?" 
 
 "Say rather that I find it more beautiful than ever," he correct- 
 ed, smiling. His smile was one of the pleasantest things about 
 Tokiyori, for through it seemed to peer his true, inner self ten- 
 der, poetic, magnetic. 
 
 "I have found nowhere," he went on, "fairer landscape, richer 
 verdure, nor anything that could approach my country in the rare 
 simplicity of its charms. Among the 'Foreigners' there is ever an 
 overglutting in the display of things of beauty, so that an indi- 
 vidual perfection is lost in the bewildering extravagance of the 
 whole. To us a single bud cadences in myriad tones ; to them its 
 best perfection is found in tier upon tier of heaped and smother- 
 ing flowers. So is it also with their surroundings and their per- 
 sonal adornment, where beauty exists not in the thing itself, but in 
 its numerical multiplication. One needs seek Nippon to learn the 
 exquisite perfection of simplicity." 
 
 "Then one may feel assured that you have never forgotten your 
 birthland?" she asked. 
 
 "Nor its people particularly one," he answered. 
 
 "It will be a great solace to Tonosama," said Kiku-ko, "to know 
 that he has been in your thoughts so often. I know, myself, that 
 not a day since you left him has passed but that he has planned of 
 your return, and of the many things in store to make your future 
 bright. And poor old Nakahara, too ! How he would picture your 
 
A HEART'S DESIRE 65 
 
 wanderings to us, and the hour when he would be privileged to 
 behold you again! Indeed/' she concluded, "I doubt if you will 
 ever realize the anxiety and loving thought that was given you 
 during your absence, daily, hourly." 
 He came a step nearer to her side. 
 
 "And you," said he, "did you too think about me? Did you also 
 picture what manner of man I might have grown into? What 
 manner of man it was to whom you were promised?" 
 
 "Often," she replied, frankly. "Indeed it would have been im- 
 possible to have remained long in Nakahara's presence without 
 seeing vivid representations of you. His conversation, and latter- 
 ly his tales, were exclusively on that one topic. Most dearly of all 
 he loved to picture you as climbing great mountains in quest of 
 hidden treasure. It was thus I came to think of you." 
 
 "Until I shattered your illusion by the manner of my advent," 
 he rejoined, smiling. "I quite appreciate that point of view, I as- 
 sure you. Yet, despite the very poor figure I am aware I must 
 have presented in contrast to the surrounding galaxy,! would have 
 you believe that old Nakahara was not altogether wrong in his 
 surmises. Without doubt he possessed very wonderful qualities of 
 so-called foresight, which I fear we did not always give him due 
 credit for. For instance, it was due, I have heard, to a tale of his 
 concerning a samurai and a crow that the incentive to my voyag- 
 ings was given birth in my father's mind, and it was but last night 
 that another story of his, concerning an eyeless frog, prophesied 
 my coming, even before he could possibly have been aware of my 
 return. So, if he has also told you that I was climbing great moun- 
 tains in quest of hidden treasure, you may believe it to the full. 
 But for the height and difficulty of the ascent I should have been 
 back here long since. Nakahara was not merely a hanashika, he 
 was a seer." 
 
 Kiku-ko made no pretense of following the drift of all this. She 
 realized, dimly, that Tokiyori was himself speaking allegorically 
 when referring to his mountain climbing, for his material person- 
 ality divested him, to her mind, of anything savoring of mighty 
 physical deeds, such as might have been performed by Saito. Be- 
 yond that realization, however, she could connect nothing, for the 
 
66 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 real object of Tokiyori's travels was but known to his father and 
 himself. 
 
 "Many things are, of course, hidden to me," said she at last, "for 
 I am only a woman. Nor can I pretend to understand these refer- 
 ences of yours and Nakahara's. Yet I, too, used in my way to fol- 
 low an imaginary course of travel for you through 'Foreign' 
 lands. I would like to know whether my vision at all approached 
 the real truth. Will you not tell me something of life among the 
 'Barbarians?'" 
 
 "Gladly," he answered. "Yet there are 'Foreigners' resident now, 
 and for some time past, in Yedo, whom you have doubtless seen." 
 
 "Only through the portrayals by others," she explained. 
 
 "A delineation of the 'Foreigners' would entail a rather too 
 lengthy story for your patience, I fear," said he, "for they are so 
 numerous in nationalities, and so varied in local customs, that it 
 would require many hours of closest attention to such a recital 
 before you would begin to understand their modes of life. It oc- 
 casioned me, even when among them, many years of laborious 
 study and observation before I could approach to a comprehen- 
 sion of them. Rather let me describe to you something of the 
 characteristics of their women a subject which I think will prove 
 of greater interest and which is really one of primary importance 
 in the study of all races." 
 
 She assented eagerly, seating herself on a nearby rustic rest, 
 and there among the flowers of old Japan, girt in by the walls of 
 a feudal castle still in its mediaeval existence, Tokiyori, the then 
 lone connecting link between past and present, between orient and 
 Occident, painted for the woman who was shortly to become his 
 wife a picture of the new Japan to be, and which he had traveled 
 so far and long to attain knowledge of. He touched on the individ- 
 ual life of womanhood, upon its fulfillment in the home life, and 
 its relation to the life of the whole nation, instancing the fame and 
 histories of women whose names had made the world ring of their 
 majesty and learning, and Kiku-ko followed each phase of his re- 
 cital with mingled feelings of curiosity and awe. His canvas was 
 fresh, and the portraitures he sketched upon it stood forth start- 
 lingly to her. These beings were the antithesis of everything f emi- 
 
6 7 
 
 nine in Japan. They married according to individual choice, had 
 pursuits and pleasures apart from their household cares, and 
 even expressed opinions boldly in gatherings where men were 
 present. She could hardly conceive such a state of affairs, and she 
 felt in her insularity that such creatures could be deserving of 
 very little of the respect he so evidently accorded them. 
 
 "It is by a reflection of such lives that a nation attains its noblest 
 growth!" said he, carried away by his subject. "Wherefrom does 
 the babe draw many of its most lasting impressions impressions 
 that remain ineffaceably foundational throughout its whole life? 
 I think, without doubt, at its mother's knee. Supposing then that 
 mother to be qualified not only to teach it of the material exigen- 
 cies of its life, but to enter into the spiritual phases as well, help- 
 ing and suggesting each step, each new study would not such in- 
 struction, coupled with a father's larger aid, tend to make of that 
 babe a mighty man when it reaches years of mature thought? It 
 is the purest reason. Yet how may our wives and mothers be quali- 
 fied to rear such types of men when we keep them apart from our 
 real lives and thoughts ? The whole national fabric is but the com- 
 bined principal of each of its individual families, and the individu- 
 al family life is but the life of each of its members combined. 
 What wonder, Kiku-ko san, that the Japan of our system of fam- 
 ily life could make no stand against these 'Foreign' nations?" 
 
 What answer she might have made to this he did not learn, for 
 at that moment a servant, seeking him, bore the intimation that 
 the daimio was now ready to receive his son. So, perforce, Toki- 
 yori left the woman who was to become his wife without satisfy- 
 ing himself as to her views on life, which after all may have been 
 at that time no very unfortunate thing. Thus do the gods in their 
 infinite wisdom lead our blind and ignorant feet into paths we 
 otherwise would fear to tread. 
 
VIII 
 
 THE FILING OF THE KEY 
 
 The Vine had struck a fiber, which about 
 If clings my Being let the Dervish flout, 
 Of my Base metal may be filed a Key 
 That shall unlock the Door he howls without. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 1 HE sun had stretched the shadows almost to the extent of their 
 tensity that afternoon before Tokiyori's recital of his travels to 
 his father was completed. He had striven to purge his narrative 
 of all excepting the essentially vital, and in this had been assisted 
 from time to time by questions wisely put by the daimio. But, even 
 
THE FILING OF THE KEY 69 
 
 with this, he had found himself taxed to the utmost to "compress 
 his Iliad into a nutshell." Lord Yo-Ake, realizing this, felt his con- 
 fidence in his son's acumen fully justified, and his belief in him 
 once more restored. 
 
 The interview ended with but slight comment on its conduct 
 from the daimio, for it was a tenet of his to observe everything 
 and say little ; to the practice of this he largely owed his diplo- 
 matic success. As his son retreated through the fusima, he fell 
 to studying intently some maps and drawings left by the latter on 
 his writing table. After a few moments of silent observation of 
 these, he bowed his head as though in confirmation. 
 
 "Such is the inexorable law of life," he mused. "Either as indi- 
 viduals or as nations we accumulate forced debts that must be dis- 
 charged whether there is the wherewithal to satisfy them or no. 
 It is the outcome of our habitually natural greed that has its foun- 
 dation in a still existant primeval instinct of self preservation. I 
 doubt that we evolve but along our lines of least resistance our 
 surface veneer. Yet Nippon has been too long a frog sucking in 
 the moisture from its own well, alone. And now that to this well 
 have come other frogs, the home frog must seek fresh pools for 
 its maintenance." 
 
 He picked at random some pictures and a diagram from the lit- 
 tle pile of maps upon his table. They were representations of the 
 partly constructed Suez Canal. 
 
 "O, wise nation of the English !" said he. "What culmination of 
 a finely exercised judgment, when allowing others to perform the 
 work from which you reap your profits. Gods of my house ! what 
 a little people have been we of Nippon ! Beneath our very hands 
 lies an enormous virgin ocean that we have failed to see, its bil- 
 lows beating upon our shores we in our deafness have failed to 
 hear. We, the natural jewel of its diadem the only possible con- 
 vergence of its traffic routes, know not even the meaning of the 
 words 'Trade' and 'Commerce.' Comes not such ignorance upon 
 us because we of the daimioates, with our samurai, have blinded 
 the land with our one-purpose creed Bushido ?" 
 
 Laying aside the pictures and diagrams, he bent over a map, 
 which he studied intently a moment. The indications thereon were, 
 
7<D THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 of course, indecipherable by him, but the area represented had 
 been traversed by his son, and that son's finger had traced the 
 salient points not once, nor twice, but a score of times that very 
 day. 
 
 From India he drew an imaginary line to and through the Suez 
 Canal to England, and smiled. From the eastern coast of the Uni- 
 ted States he made a similar line toward the southern extremity 
 of the great continent, pausing at the narrow strip of land that 
 formed the Isthmus of Panama. He regarded this intently. Then 
 he observed the great sweep of the Pacific slopes of America, and 
 shook his head as though at an unsolven problem. 
 
 "I did Tokiyori an injustice," he observed, half aloud as was his 
 habit when engrossed in thought, "when I censured him for his 
 prolonged tarrying in England. He chose as his particular study 
 the undoubtedly wisest and greatest traders of the world. I con- 
 fess to an admiration for this nation. It encourages others to dig 
 waterways which it shall eventually absorb to its own exclusive 
 interests and profits; it builds a mighty concourse of trading 
 ships, and polices the seas for these with fighting boats and chains 
 of fortresses. It seems to me the acme of wisdom and power when 
 a nation arranges to carry the world's necessities in its own ships, 
 for it is carrying the life of the world to its own profit. Yet with 
 all this commerce carrying and control of countries and oceans 
 it seems that England is but a little group of islands as are we. 
 And Tokiyori says that it is from another country India that 
 she draws the bulk of the resources for her vast undertakings." 
 
 He regarded the map again, fixedly. 
 
 "India is one might hazard at least an hundred times further 
 from England than China from us. May not China prove as vast 
 and wealthy as this India ? And is she not in her hermit state like 
 ourselves, another isolated frog?" 
 
 He touched with his finger the pictured Pacific ocean and the 
 little groups of islands that dotted it. 
 
 "A chain of fortresses and a concourse of war boats," said he, 
 "and this sea might change its name to the Lake of Japan." 
 
 He laid aside maps, documents and pictures carefully. 
 "So," he concluded, "it seems that Trade spells Wealth, and 
 
THE FILING OF THE KEY 71 
 
 Wealth, Power. Therein lay the wisdom of Nakahara's crow 
 when it advised his samurai to put aside the sword and study care- 
 fully the roadway to the City of Desire. My son has returned to 
 me with unknown wisdom from the outer world. This may be of 
 material benefit to the Mikado if directed to his attention." 
 
 For a long time he remained sunk in thought, reviewing the pol- 
 itical situation of his country, the fast failing Tokugawas, and the 
 chances of the Mikado's party to wrest the power from the usurp- 
 ing Shogunate. Finally he called a servant and bade him summon 
 to him Kano, his chief of household council. In the interim of 
 awaiting the coming of the latter, Lord Yo-Ake prepared a short 
 document with great care. He had just concluded this when the 
 councilor entered the apartment, bowing low to his lord. 
 
 "Arise, excellent Kano," said the daimio, "and draw near." 
 
 "It is my wish," he continued in lower tones, as Kano came 
 closer to his side, "that this night you journey to Kyoto and seek 
 audience of the Mikado. Present to him my humble and devoted- 
 ly respectful salutations, and say, 'My -lord, Asano Yo-Ake, of 
 Moto and Shima, has at your Majesty's disposal an hundred 
 thousand koku of rice and six thousand samurai. He but craves 
 your Majesty's seal upon this document." 
 He handed it to Kano, who bowed again. 
 
 "Your will is a law to me, my lord," said he simply. 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake watched the withdrawing councilor out of the 
 tail of his eye. 
 
 "Kano is growing old in my service, and is very faithful," he 
 reflected. "I will instruct Mata to watch his going to, and return- 
 ing from, Kyoto, so that there may be no possible intercourse 
 with other travelers. A hint of this message would ruin me and 
 my house. Mata, too, is born to my service, and of proven fidelity. 
 One may trust a friend with one's money, a woman with one's 
 name, but neither with one's secrets." 
 Again he summoned his servant. 
 
 "Instruct the Lady Kiku-ko that I request her presence here as 
 soon as may be possible," he ordered. 
 
IX 
 
 YOUTHS MANUSCRIPT CLOSED 
 
 Yet Ah, that Spring should vanish with the Rose! 
 That Youth's sweet-scented manuscript should close! 
 
 The Nightingale that in the branches sang, 
 Ah whence, and whither flown again, who knows! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 LORD Yo-Ake greeted Kiku-ko pleasantly as she entered his 
 room. 
 
 "My daughter," said he, as was his accustomed mode of ad- 
 dressing her, "I have sent for you because the time is now near at 
 hand when you are to become actually what you have always 
 
YOUTH'S MANUSCRIPT CLOSED 73 
 
 virtually been one of our family. You and I have both waited 
 the return of my son so long that I can see no further reason for 
 prolonging the date of your nuptials ; and let me assure you that I 
 have every belief that this union will prove both a happy and 
 blessed one, and that my most earnest prayers and wishes are all 
 directed towards the welfare of yourself and my son, in the life 
 you will shortly enter upon together." 
 
 He picked a sealed roll of writing off the table before him, 
 holding it in his hand while he continued addressing her. 
 
 "Thirteen years ago," said he, quietly, "your father, Lord Suki 
 Shimadzu, was my guest at Shima, in Yedo. The occasion, as you 
 now know, was one of the saddest. He had attempted to give ac- 
 cess to his island port, Idzu-ga-hara, to some 'Foreigners' as a 
 place where they might repair their ships, and found a colony. In 
 this he preceded events, but whether he was right or wrong is not 
 for us to say. He was awarded the death by seppuku in a mandate 
 which the Shogun petitioned the Mikado to utter. I was your 
 father's closest friend, so that it was not strange that he should 
 seek me out at such a time. On the last night of his life he handed 
 me this sealed packet, requesting that I deliver it to you upon the 
 eve of your nuptials with my son." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake held forth the packet to Kiku-ko, impressively. 
 "After you have read this, he concluded, you must be the sole 
 judge as to whether the contents are of such a nature as should 
 be communicated to me or not. In any case, you will, I am sure, 
 understand that I have no thought of forcing your confidence in 
 any way." 
 
 She bowed to him, feeling that the interview was terminated. 
 "A moment more, my daughter," said he, as she prepared to 
 leave, "I desire that you make what immediate preparations are 
 necessary for your coming wedding, which unless otherwise pre- 
 vented by unforseen circumstances will take place before an- 
 other moon is full. You may withdraw to the privacy of your own 
 apartment now, as I am sure you must be anxious to learn the 
 contents of your father's letter." 
 
 He bowed courteously in dismissal, and Kiku-ko, returning it 
 profoundly, left him to the contemplation of his reading and writ- 
 
74 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 ing, while with quick steps she sought the privacy of her own 
 rooms. 
 
 There she broke the seal of the packet with a feeling of awe, 
 and drew forth a small, tightly folded slip of paper, with a roll of 
 writing. The former she undid first. It contained a small jade tab- 
 let, and upon the paper enfolding it was written : "Once the prop- 
 erty of your mother. Keep it in the memory of her whom you 
 never knew." 
 
 She pressed the tablet to her brow reverently, and then placed 
 it carefully in a little lacquered case that stood upon a small dress- 
 er before a mirror of polished steel. The second enclosure proved 
 to be more lengthy than the foregoing, and ran in this wise : 
 
 "To my beloved daughter, Kiku-ko Shimadzu; 
 "Your father stove. 
 
 "My Daughter: Death is about to remove me from you before 
 we have scarce come to know each other, yet it is to you alone 
 that my thoughts turn on this my last earthly night. 
 
 "When your dear mother, my beloved wife, died at the hour of 
 your birth, I then swore that nothing I could accomplish should 
 be left undone to provide for your future welfare. Yet how little 
 do we blind mortals forsee the purposes of the gods! for I, your 
 father, must even now pass from you, leaving you naught more 
 than that with which a beggar may pittance his offspring love. 
 
 "With the justice, or injustice, of my ordered death we need 
 have no further concern, for that question may only be answered 
 by the conscience of the one who commanded it, to his gods. 
 Therefore, I pray that you do not allow such a question to harass 
 or perplex your future. But the results of that death materially 
 affect both you and your welfare. Concerned mostly with this, I 
 have sought out my old friend, Lord Asano Yo-Ake, at Shima, 
 and he has most generously agreed to receive you into his own 
 family as one of its members, thereby assuring, in a measure, 
 your future. Lord Yo-Ake is a man of vaster influence than is 
 generally conceded him by the superficial observer, and because 
 of this, and also of the position he holds on the Baka-fu and in 
 the private councils of the Shogun, I have every hope that he will 
 
YOUTH'S MANUSCRIPT CLOSED 75 
 
 be enabled to attain for you the restoration of my estates, forfeit- 
 ed to the Tokugawa. Yet, whether or no he is eventually success- 
 ful in this, you will always be far removed from want, both be- 
 cause you will be to all intents and purposes the daughter of one 
 of Nippon's most powerful nobles, and because, in due time, you 
 will become the wife of his son and heir. So we have agreed. 
 Therefore, Kiku-ko, I conjure you to always regard Lord Yo-Ake 
 with feelings of the deepest gratitude, and to render him that un- 
 questioning filial respect and obedience that you would have given 
 me had I been permitted to live to receive them. 
 
 "Of Tokiyori Yo-Ake, your future husband, I know little, sav- 
 ing that he is a shy, quiet lad, studious and thoughtful beyond his 
 years. No doubt his father destines him for great political signifi- 
 cance some day. Yet not alone because of the securing of your 
 material future have I arranged for your betrothal to this lad, as 
 what follows will show to you. 
 
 "Upon this night, the eve of my death, I have heard an impres- 
 sive story told. It concerned a samurai and a crow ; its author a 
 hanashika Nakahara by name in the service of Lord Yo-Ake. 
 At the conclusion of the tale, the samurai was made to see the 
 error of the time-worn road he purposed following, and to find 
 the right way to the City of Desire. Nippon's City of Desire is 
 soon, I believe, to be unfolded to her vision, and of all her samu- 
 rai but one, I feel Lord Asano Yo-Ake will be able to point 
 out the right pathway to her. Yet it has always been Lord Yo- 
 Ake's practice to remain in the background, working through the 
 outward efforts of others. Such being the case, I doubt not that 
 the first to traverse this new and difficult road to our City of De- 
 sire will be Lord Yo-Ake's only son, your future husband. 
 
 "In the Meido-Land, dear daughter, where I shall so soon be with 
 your mother, my happiness will be complete when I am permitted 
 to watch you and your husband leading our nation to this great 
 achievement; yet, I warn you now that you may find the way dif- 
 ficult in the extreme, and that from yourself only can come the 
 strength to overcome its obstacles, for he who walks beside you 
 can not drag you along it, so much will it tax his own utmost 
 strength to traverse it himself. 
 
76 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "And now a last word as to the full meaning of this union of 
 yours with Lord Yo-Ake's son. It will of course ally the Satsuma 
 family influence with the Yo-Ake power, thus consolidating the 
 midlands and the south ; but, still more significant and glorious, it 
 will, I hope and believe, virtually unite our old Japan with a new, 
 the result of which should be a great, irresistible oneness. From 
 the outcome of all this, my daughter, it is my fervid hope that a 
 child shall spring, half Satsuma, half Yo-Ake; half old, half new 
 Japan a saviour and a leader to our newer and greater country. 
 So then will it happen, Kiku-ko, that my death shall not have 
 been in vain if from it one with the blood of Shimadzu shall be 
 born to lead his country to the City of Desire. 
 
 "The dawn approaches. 
 
 "Farewell ; the gods have you in their keeping. 
 
 "Your father, 
 
 "SuKi SHIMADZU, 
 "Lord Suzerain of the Isle of Tsushima." 
 
 Kiku-ko laid the letter aside. Just beneath her window some 
 woodland doves were billing and cooing among the bushes that 
 girt the shrubbery path. Suddenly she dropped her head in her 
 hands, bursting into sobs. 
 
 Lord Saito, returning from Kyoto, arrived at Moto late that 
 day. Since he had left Kiku-ko last the morning following the 
 incident of his vision, told her in the wistaria bower he had 
 come to the conviction that he could no longer exist without her. 
 He had at first striven to fight off this growing desire, fearing 
 that a yielding to it might end in the ruin of the career he had 
 mapped out for himself, for he was worldly wise enough to per- 
 ceive that a wife would but retard a young soldier's ambitions 
 and was a luxury to be best enjoyed when able to rest upon the 
 laurels gained by martial valor. Yet, master as he was generally 
 of his actions and impulses, he was forced to admit to himself 
 finally that, when weighed against Kiku-ko, his military ambi- 
 tions became secondary. When this had become fully clear to him, 
 he decided to lose no time in securing the prize he so ardently 
 coveted, and although aware that Tokiyori was the nominal affi- 
 
YOUTH'S MANUSCRIPT CLOSED 77 
 
 anced of Kiku-ko, he believed that Lord Yo-Ake would scarce 
 care to offend so powerful a family as his by refusing to accede 
 to his wishes in this respect. Thus the same hour that found Kiku- 
 ko perusing the letter from her father, saw Saito alighting from 
 his kago in the courtyard of Moto. 
 
 He found the daimio in his own room, and, being yet unaware 
 of the return of Tokiyori, proceeded to come immediately to the 
 purport of his unexpected visit. 
 
 "I have given myself the honor of again seeking your lordship," 
 said he, with soldierly bluntness, "in order that I may place my 
 plea in person before you. For some time past I have known that 
 I love my cousin, Kiku-ko Shimadzu, your lordship's ward. I 
 am, of course, aware that there may have been at one time some 
 idea expressed between rriy uncle, Shimadzu, and yourself regard- 
 ing a possibility of Kiku-ko's one day becoming the wife of your 
 son. As, however, time has elapsed without his return, and as I 
 am assured my cousin would welcome a marriage with me, I ven- 
 ture to hope that the indefiniteness of the former arrangement 
 may lead you, sir, to an acquiescence in accepting me in the light 
 of a suitor." 
 
 He ceased, and Lord Yo-Ake regarded him attentively, seeking 
 some means of refusing this proposal without giving offense. Sai- 
 to, he realized, might, on account of his prestige with samurai 
 and populace, be very necessary to his plans shortly, and it would 
 never do to antagonize him. It was a difficult and delicate position. 
 On the other hand, Saito's plea could not be entertained because 
 it was necessary that the Yo-Ake family should have the support 
 of the Satsuma clan in what Lord Yo-Ake proposed undertaking, 
 and that support could only be controlled by this alliance of Toki- 
 yori with Kiku-ko. Saito must be gently apprised of Tokiyori's re- 
 turn, and shown that not because of that return which might 
 serve to antagonize his jealousy against Tokiyori but because of 
 far greater things concerning the whole nation, this wish of his 
 must remain ungranted. Lord Yo-Ake, perfect in his knowledge 
 of human nature, determined to make his appeal to the young 
 man's vanity. 
 "Naturally this request comes to me in the nature of a complete 
 
78 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 surprise, said he at last, in answer to Saito's plea. "I can some- 
 how scarce conceive that my little ward has grown to a marriage- 
 able age. How time slips by us, unnoting!" 
 
 He rose from his seat. 
 
 "Will you not accompany me through my poor grounds?" he 
 asked. "I have been so long confined to this room today, by mat- 
 ters of business, that I feel the need of fresher air." 
 
 As they descended the shrubbery path that led to the brook and 
 the bower, one of Saito's two swords caught in the branch of an 
 encroaching bush, whereat a frightened wild dove suddenly arose 
 and flew across the castle walls to some foliage without. 
 
 "Ah," observed the daimio, who noted every incident, however 
 trivial. "It seems that Nature has herself answered your question. 
 The dove is the love-bird, we have many such at Moto. Yet it 
 wings from its mate, you see, at the sound of arms, nor will it re- 
 turn I fear until the evening has set in." 
 
 He stopped short on the pathway and regarded his young guest 
 with a kindly expression. 
 
 "My lord," said he, "absurd as it may appear, the action of that 
 bird exactly typifies the condition of us nobles of Nippon today. 
 There is a coming call to arms soon, of which not one of us is 
 unaware. Whichever cause we each may support, there is scarce 
 one of us, I think, who is not putting aside all selfish desires and 
 indulgences to bend our efforts to the greater situation. With the 
 prospect of this bloody war- before us, the chances for a young 
 samurai of your fame and rank are incalculable. Under the most 
 favorable conditions, marriage at such a time could but serve to 
 hamper such prospects and blight such a career. It is not in the 
 hour of our rising, but in the evening of our fulfillment, that we 
 should think of building about us a nest, and rearing others to 
 perpetuate a name then gained. Believe me, I speak as your well 
 wisher. Your family and mine have ever been upon the most am- 
 icable terms, and your uncle, Shimadzu, was my closest friend. 
 An arrangement of marriage was entered into between him and 
 myself for my son and his daughter on the night just preceding 
 his death." 
 
 A footstep sounded upon the bridge, and Saito, glancing up, 
 
79 
 
 perceived another of about his own age, walking toward them in 
 deep thought. As the newcomer caught sight of them he hastened 
 his steps. 
 
 "Permit me, Lord Saito," concluded the daimio, "to introduce 
 to you my son, who but a short four-and-twenty hours since re- 
 turned to his home from his travels among the 'Foreigners'." 
 
 Saito, realizing that, because of the return of the wanderer the 
 pact of marriage must be fulfilled, accepted the doom of his 
 hopes. It was the unwritten law of his caste, that stood higher 
 than mandate of Shogun or Mikado, and he would not have 
 dreamed of rebelling against it. With samurai fortitude he con- 
 cealed his feelings and gave a formal greeting to Tokiyori. After 
 a few moments of desultory conversation the latter remarked to 
 his father that he had been inspecting the arrangements for Naka- 
 hara's funeral on the morrow. This gave Lord Saito his opportu- 
 nity, and after expressing his surprise and regret at the death of 
 the old hanashika, he prepared to take his departure. 
 
 "Believe me," said he, "I would not have dreamed of intruding 
 upon you at such a time, for I well know the regard in which 
 your former servitor was held by your family. Farewell then, my 
 lords. Pray make my excuses to my cousin, Kiku-ko. I journey 
 to Satsuma immediately. If there is aught in which I may be of 
 service, command me." 
 
 He sought his kago, accompanied by Tokiyori, and Lord Yo- 
 Ake stood watching the two young men as they disappeared in the 
 direction of the nagaya. Suddenly he became aware of a low sob- 
 bing -from the room almost overhead where Kiku-ko had retired 
 to read her father's letter. He guessed that she must have heard 
 his refusal of Saito's proffer, and witnessed the latter's departure. 
 
 "Ah, life ! life !" he mused sadly, as he turned back to enter the 
 yashiki. "How few of your pleasant dreams ever become realities ! 
 How seldom do we reach the goal that we set out to attain ! The 
 pictures so vari-hued that you draw to the eyes of our youth 
 seem but grey monochromes when viewed with the color blindness 
 of middle age, else would we mortals become as are the gods." 
 
 That night the dove returned to its nest in the shrubbery copse, 
 but the tears had so blinded Kiku-ko's eyes that she saw it not. 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE CRIES TO THE ROSE 
 
 And David's lips are lockt ; but in divine 
 High-piping Pehlevi, with "Wine! Wine! Wine! 
 
 Red Wine!" the Nightingale cries to the Rose 
 That sallow cheek of hers to' incarnadine. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 OOME eighteen months later to be exact, the twenty-sixth of 
 January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, old Yedo 
 was in the last evening of its life, although none dreamed 
 how tremendously different the coming era would be. True, for 
 some time past events had heralded a changed city, yet still the 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE CRIES TO THE ROSE 8l 
 
 appurtenances of the Shogunate were predominant there, and the 
 Baka-fu although the Shogun, Tokugawa Keiki, had virtually re- 
 signed office continued to hold its meetings in the palace over- 
 looking the bay. Desultory fighting had been in progress for some 
 time past, resulting in the burning of the yashikis of the Satsuma 
 clan in Yedo, and one or more night attacks had been perper- 
 trated, by troops unknown, against the "Foreign" embassies, but 
 no decisive blow had been struck by either side in the civil strife, 
 and for the present the Mikado and his court continued resident 
 in Kyoto. 
 
 Allying himself to this latter cause, as he had a year since in- 
 formed Kiku-ko were his intentions, Saito had now assumed com- 
 mand of the Emperor's forces, but as to his present whereabouts 
 none seemed precisely informed. In Yedo itself, at this time, there 
 were but few of the generally resident nobility left, for the con- 
 centration of opposing forces in their different encampments had 
 necessitated that the supporters of each side should join the main 
 bodies with their retainers-at-arms. 
 
 In the knowledge of the turmoil natural to a city at such an 
 epoch it was with many misgivings that Lord Asano Yo-Ake, still 
 resident at far away Moto, directed his son to take up his resi- 
 dence with his bride at the little besso, or dower house, well with- 
 in stone's throw of the mighty walls of Shima, the Shiba fortress 
 in Yedo. Yet, without doubt, this step had been one of prime im- 
 portance, for in the light of Yo-Ake's plans for his family's future, 
 it was imperative that he should be kept accurately informed on 
 what was happening at the nation's capital city. Deeming it neces- 
 sary, therefore, to keep his son in dangerous proximity to the zone 
 of probable warfare, he had taken the precaution of protecting his 
 person against possible molestation by providing him with a doc- 
 ument of safe conduct from the Mikado, that same which he had 
 dispatched Kano to Kyoto to procure in anticipation. 
 
 For the rest, Prince Goto still retained his place on the Baka-fu, 
 to which recently had been added, to fill the vacancy created by 
 the retirement of Lord Yo-Ake, one Lord Saburo Ikeda, a noble 
 of lesser rank. Thus stood affairs in midwinter of the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight. 
 
02 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 About Shiba, the woods lay so deathly still under the soft fluf- 
 fing of the constantly-falling flakes that the snapping of twigs and 
 branches by the weight of the snow seemed like a series of rifle 
 volleys. As the winter day drew to its close, the great red globe of 
 fire sank behind the powdery foliage, while night stole over the 
 city. Presently a muffled step broke crisply through a glade lead- 
 ing to the tombstones of past and gone Tokugawa Shoguns, and 
 the figure of a man emerged into a patch of blood-light that 
 dripped upon the upturned tops of the cairns through winter 
 rents in the trees. On the head of this pedestrian a basket-shaped 
 hat descended to completely hide his features, while a thickly 
 wadded kimono enveloped his body to his geta, the wooden clogs 
 that shod his feet. At a casual glance he appeared but some errant 
 minstrel, yet to a close observer something in his poise and step 
 might have told that two swords would have become him more 
 naturally than the flute he carried. He passed down a pathway, 
 lined on either side by great stone lanterns the gifts of fudai 
 daimios to their former masters and halted beside one whose in- 
 scription announced that it had been presented, many years be- 
 fore, to the memory of "The Illustrious Temple of Learning" 
 the posthumous title of a dead Shogun by Lord Suki Shimadzu 
 of Tsushima. Here he rested a few moments in thought. 
 
 Far distant, through the naked trees, lay Yedo, with its now 
 snow-topped houses and palace. Nearer still, was Sengakuji, 
 where the seven-and-forty ronin lay close to their shrine, and 
 through an avenue of nude limbs and bare trunks could be caught 
 a glimpse of the frowning walls of Shima, and the little besso 
 nestling under their protection. And, all about him stood, as 
 silently as himself, cairn upon cairn, each with the mitsu-aoi the 
 three-leafed asarum carven upon it to tell the passer-by that 
 here beneath his crest a Tokugawa kept his crestless tryst. 
 
 A long time the minstrel stood, wrapped in the silence of the 
 graves, his face turned citywards, then slowly and with bent mien 
 he made his way through the Shiba woodlands towards where the 
 besso lay. 
 
 Within a room of this sat Kiku-ko, superintending some final 
 arrangements of the apartment, for a dinner was to be tendered 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE CRIES TO THE ROSE 83 
 
 there that evening to a small party of friends by her husband and 
 herself. In the interim of directing the servants, she glanced from 
 time to time at a missive which she held, and from which she ap- 
 peared to gather the little frown of annoyance that overshadowed 
 her pretty countenance. Finally she crumpled this and dropped it 
 among the coals of an hibatchi glowing close by her side. 
 "'Tis too bad !" she muttered to herself. "This interminable worry 
 about these 'Foreign' embassies has become well nigh unbearable. 
 If Tokiyori must needs spend almost his entire time with them, 
 why should he deem it necessary to invite friends to a dinner? 
 This is the second occasion within the month that we have had 
 guests coming to us by invitation, and the master of the house 
 absent during the evening. I will no longer bear it in silence, em- 
 bassies or no embassies, 'Foreigners' or no 'Foreigners.' If they 
 so fear ronin attacks that they dare not abide in their embassies 
 without the presence of Tokiyori, let them betake themselves back 
 to the lands from which they came." 
 
 She paused suddenly to listen, for from without the soft plaint- 
 ive notes of a flute fell upon her ears. Then after a moment of pre- 
 lude a low, rich voice took up a song of her native Island of Tsu- 
 shima : 
 
 Canst thou tell is it day, is it night on the island, 
 Thou of my dreams whom my soul longest for? 
 
 Are the pine trees still true ? Do the waves lash on high, and 
 Breaking jade green, do the breakers still roar? 
 
 Is the sea-breath that same when the gulls o'er us sweeping, 
 O thou of my dreams whom my soul longest for, 
 
 Thou asked for my heart, and I gave it thy keeping 
 
 As the swirl break jade green on the Tsushima shore? 
 
 Does the moon climb the waves still, the lagoons to play with, 
 Thou of my dreams whom my soul longest for? 
 
 Is it sooth ? is it phantasy ? or is it fey-myth 
 
 That answers me only the breakers' dull roar ? 
 
84 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Was it day ? nay, I know not or night on the island, 
 O thou of my dreams whom my soul longest for? 
 
 For only the moan of the pines on the highland 
 
 Can tell where thou art, and the breakers' dull roar. 
 
 As the song ceased Kiku-ko arose and crossed to the shoji look- 
 ing down on the little courtyard. The besso stood against a slight 
 rise of the ground, so that while its front was on the same level as 
 the walk and the woodlands, its rear, with its lower story, de- 
 scended abruptly to the courtyard. Thus as she came through the 
 shoji out onto the small veranda impelled by curiosity because 
 of the song relating to her birthplace she looked down directly 
 upon a wandering troubadour, the one who had lately stood by the 
 gift-lantern of her father in the Shiba glade. At sight of her the 
 singer bent his head low. 
 
 "Your song is very pleasing to me, minstrel," said Kiku-ko. "Will 
 you not step within and rest yourself? There is a small entertain- 
 ment here this evening, and it may be that you would care to play 
 and sing to our guests." 
 
 "I humbly thank you," replied the voice of the songster, muffled 
 by the great basket hat that hid his features, "but I am but a 
 flighting bird of the snows. I light here or there for the moment, 
 throat my simple notes, and then must wing my way to other 
 copses." 
 
 "A sorry payment for the pleasure you give," said she. Ordinar- 
 ily she would have bidden one of the servants attend to the man's 
 wants and make him some small present, but for some unaccount- 
 able whim she lingered in the cold of the veranda. 
 
 "When the bird's chant can win for it the plaudits of a beauteous 
 lady, what greater payment could be desired ?" asked the minstrel. 
 
 "Yet the listener might feel a desire to hear more of so rare a 
 songster," she rejoined. 
 
 The singer approached a step nearer. 
 
 "A boon, then, most noble mistress a boon !" said he. 
 
 "Granted, if possible, O minstrel," she replied. 
 
 "Nay, it is but a small favor," said he. "The snow bird, aweary 
 with its flightings and the cold, accepts the shelter of your eaves." 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE CRIES TO THE ROSE 85 
 
 Without waiting for her further consent, he proceeded to climb 
 upwards by the balcony supports. As his head came level with the 
 low railing, his hat was pushed from his features. Kiku-ko 
 stepped back a pace, and caught her breath sharply. 
 
 "Saito!" she exclaimed. 
 
 "Hush !" he replied warningly, clambering on to the veranda. 
 
 "It is I, Kiku-ko," said he in a low voice, coming quickly to her 
 side. "Are there any within who may see or hear us ?" 
 
 "Not if we stand here," she answered in the same cautious tones, 
 taking a step into the shelter of a cupboard that formed an ac- 
 commodation for the outer storm-shutters when not in use. "Here 
 we will be unobserved, and there are none within excepting the 
 servants, who are all engaged in preparing for the entertainment 
 this evening. Yet, I know not if I do aright in thus clandestinely 
 speaking with you," she added uncertainly. 
 
 Saito waived the question. He was spying out the city in dis- 
 guise, and had been unable to resist the opportunity once again to 
 see Kiku-ko and communicate certain things to her ear. 
 
 "I noticed as I passed your gateway," said he, "that preparations 
 were as you say in evidence for the coming of guests. Whom 
 do you expect this evening? Believe me I ask the question from 
 no motive of impertinent curiosity." 
 
 "We are giving a small dining party to Prince Goto and his 
 friend, Lord Ikeda," she explained. "And we expect also some 
 neighboring ladies, Nui-ko san and Toyo-ko san." 
 
 "None of whom have as yet arrived?" he added. 
 
 "Nay, but I expect them at any moment now." 
 
 "Then, excepting these guests, there will be no one else here this 
 evening ?" 
 
 "Only a little girl Lord Ikeda's daughter, Ren-ko," she an- 
 swered. "Tokiyori is absent attending to something at the 'For- 
 eign' embassies." 
 
 "Then there is no one to be taken into account excepting Goto," 
 mused Saito. "Tokiyori will be away, and as for Ikeda pah! Steel 
 tempers not from gold, nor courage from a miser. I need scarcely 
 employ others to assist me, yet it were wisest " 
 
 She drew away from him, frightened at his wild words, that 
 seemed to her to contain a hint of danger. 
 
86 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Why do you wish to know who will be here tonight, Saito?" 
 she asked. 
 
 He took her little hand within his own strong one, and fondled 
 it reassuringly. 
 
 "I should have explained to you before," said he; forgive my 
 abruptness. Kiku-ko, I can no longer exist without you, and to- 
 night I am going to make the great effort to win you. Nay, listen, 
 heart of mine, and say nothing. None but you know that I am in 
 Yedo tonight. Scarce a week ago the troops of the Baka-fu burned 
 our yashikis here, and we have determined to avenge this. Our 
 Satsuma samurai are now hidden in different parts of the city, 
 and at a preconcerted signal will attack the 'Foreign' embassies to- 
 night, because they are the especial charge of the Baka-fu. Ikeda, 
 who has been appointed to their care by the Shogun, has with- 
 drawn the bulk of the Yaconin guards with which they were till 
 lately furnished, so the task will be doubly easy to us. With the 
 downfall of these, Tokiyori Yo-Ake will be forced to flee also, 
 and will doubtless seek to escape with them from Nippon on some 
 'Foreign' ship because of the hatred and mistrust he has already 
 aroused among our people by his pandering to the barbarians. In 
 his disgrace will also be included that of his father, and so with 
 the downfall of the Yo-Ake, and the consequent desertion of you 
 by your husband, you will be relieved from further obligations to 
 your father's given word. In the meantime I shall be near you to 
 protect you, and as soon as these rebels against the Mikado are 
 driven out of the city, will take you to our own kinsfolk in Satsu- 
 ma." 
 
 Not for one moment, despite her fidelity to her ties, had Kiku- 
 ko forgotten her love for Saito, and it seemed to her as though 
 the gods had at last decided to take pity upon her, and grant her 
 that one only happiness she desired above all things. Then the 
 memory of her father's letter came suddenly to her, and its clos- 
 ing paragraph. She pressed her hands over her heart and, straight- 
 ening herself, caught Saito's arm as he stood awaiting her answer. 
 
 "You say my obligations will be fulfilled, Saito?" she asked. 
 
 "Yes, heart of mine ; entirely," he answered. 
 She drew back from him and shook her head sadly. 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE CRIES TO THE ROSE 8? 
 
 "Not yet," she whispered, "not yet." 
 
 "Not yet !" he repeated in bewilderment ; and then as her mean- 
 ing dawned on him, stood staring at her in sorrow. 
 
 "I am to become the mother of an Yo-Ake," she sobbed, hiding 
 her head in her kimono sleeve. 
 
 Steps sounded at the front of the besso, and the voice of a ser- 
 vant announced, 
 
 "The Lady Nui-ko, and the Lady Toyo-ko." 
 
XI 
 
 THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN 
 
 With Earth's first Clay They did the Last Man knead, 
 And there of the Last Harvest sow'd the Seed: 
 
 And the first Morning of Creation wrote 
 What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 \ViTHOUT further words, Saito descended noiselessly from the 
 balcony, while Kiku-ko, composing herself, entered through the 
 shoji into the reception room, bowing to her just-arrived guests. 
 "It is most considerate of you to grace our poor entertainment 
 this evening," said she. 
 
THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN 89 
 
 "We are honored beyond measure," replied the two ladies, in 
 unison. 
 
 They were twins, about thirty-and-five years of age, unprepos- 
 sessing and unmarried, never seen apart, rarely speaking other 
 than in a sort of mental symphony, and, if report did not exag- 
 gerate, inveterate gossips. Once, in a moment of unguarded 
 mirth, Goto had referred to them as "the double fusima," ex- 
 plaining that one painted side slid out to let you in, and the other 
 painted side slid in to let you out. This was considered as very 
 witty on Goto's part by his friends, because the jovial prince had 
 once, it was known, been marked by the two prim maidens as 
 legitimate prey, and narrowly escaped with his bachelorhood in- 
 tact. 
 
 "We trust your honorable husband is in the enjoyment of richly 
 deserved good health," continued the two ladies. 
 
 "He is, I thank you," answered Kiku-ko, still nervous from her 
 recent meeting with Saito, "but unavoidably detained at the 'For- 
 eign' embassies." 
 
 "Oh, the embassies!" chorused the twins. "Indeed it is a pity 
 that they are permitted to exist so unrestrictedly in our city." 
 
 "But why?" asked Kiku-ko, apprehensive of Tokiyori's safety 
 at the mention of the embassies. 
 
 "Because, my dear, they do say," began the Lady Nui-ko, "that 
 is, of course " 
 
 She hesitated, and her sister continued for her. 
 
 "It is reported so authentically that one is feign to believe it." 
 
 "To believe what ?" asked Kiku-ko, bewildered. 
 
 Both ladies looked at one another, kittenishly, until Nui-ko san 
 finally took upon herself to complete what she had begun. 
 
 "Well, of course, my dear, one would scarcely care to mention 
 such things saving in the presence of a lady of your known good- 
 ness, but they do say that the 'Foreign' embassies are fast ruining 
 the womanhood of Yedo." 
 
 "We at Shiba can not be too thankful that we are so far re- 
 moved from their dangerous influences," supplemented the Lady 
 Toyo-ko. 
 
 Kiku-ko, regarding the two prim maiden ladies before her, felt 
 
go THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 almost inclined to smile, until the allusion to the embassies again 
 recalled to her mind Saito's intended night attack upon them, and 
 the consequent danger to Tokiyori. 
 
 "Lord Ikeda, who is in charge of them, is to be one of our 
 guests this evening," said she. "He will accompany Prince Goto, 
 with whom he is on terms of very close companionship, I be- 
 lieve." 
 
 "Scarcely that," dissented Nui-ko san, grasping with avidity at 
 the opportunity of a little gossip, "as the prince has been absent 
 from Yedo much recently upon his northern estates, owing to the 
 death of his only sister, and her legacy to him of her orphan son, 
 Taro." 
 
 "Which has, of course, kept the prince in the north pretty con- 
 stantly of late superintending the education of his young neph- 
 ew," added Toyo-ko. 
 
 "Only partly the cause, sister," supplemented Nui-ko. "It is said 
 that the prince was confined there to his futon by reason of an 
 illness brought on by overeating " 
 
 She was interrupted by a beating of staves and hoarse cries of 
 "Make way ! make way for the most exalted prince, His Illustri- 
 ous Highness Matsuo Goto, Lord of the North !" "Make way for 
 the norimono of my noble Lord Saburo Ikeda of the Baka-fu! 
 Make way ! make way !" Then came a scuffling of feet at the gate- 
 way of the besso, and a huge voice bellowed 
 "'At the gate of a widow gossips will gather.' Ahai! thou ruffian 
 staveman, set not my norimono down so hastily ! I tell you, Ike- 
 da, I put not overmuch faith in these repeated rumors of ronin 
 attacks upon the 'Foreigners.' Since the assassination of some sea 
 samurai of the Russian nation it has become the fashion to cry 
 Tire ! fire !' upon the slightest pretext." 
 
 The voices grew plainer, and presently a servant entered the 
 room. 
 
 "His Illustrious Highness Prince Matsuo Goto, Hoku-no-kami," 
 he announced, "the noble Lord Saburo Ikeda and his daughter, 
 the Lady Ren-ko." 
 
 Prince Goto advanced into the room first, perforce, for his 
 bulk, which often had been compared jestingly by the populace to 
 
THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN QI 
 
 that of a famous wrestler, claimed the lion's share of the opening. 
 Behind him came Lord Ikeda, a smallish man, whose shifty, 
 crafty eyes, set in a rather weak countenance, noted each occu- 
 pant of the room before he was far enough within to bow to his 
 hostess, and following him, his daughter, a demure little girl of 
 not more than ten years of age, who kept her eyes dropped shyly 
 to the floor. The arrivals bowed to their hostess and then to the 
 other two guests, kneeling upon their cushions, already placed, 
 so that Goto was upon Kiku-ko's right, facing the little company, 
 and Ikeda upon her left, while little Ren-ko knelt quietly upon a 
 mat between the two maiden sisters. 
 
 '"Stronger than a yoke of oxen is the drawing power in a single 
 strand of a woman's hair'/' grunted Goto, in a voice which re- 
 produced the surf-beat upon his own northern shores, and made 
 an adjacent andon flicker. "If we are culpably late in arriving 'tis 
 not for want of cursing our stavemen; Ikeda aided me nobly. 
 But I fail to perceive your husband, Lord Tokiyori. I trust no 
 mischance has befallen him?" 
 
 "My husband is detained at the 'Foreign' embassies," replied 
 Kiku-ko. "I confess myself somewhat anxious concerning his ab- 
 sence." 
 
 She turned to Lord Ikeda, who, as the chargee of the "For- 
 eign" residents in Yedo, would know best regarding their welfare. 
 
 "I presume there is no question concerning the security of the 
 embassies from chance attacks?" she asked of him. 
 
 "Pray have no uneasiness upon that score, Lady Kiku-ko," he 
 answered. "So safe do I feel the embassies now to be that I have 
 this day ordered a further reduction of their yaconin guards." 
 
 Kiku-ko was almost thrown into a state bordering on hysteria 
 at the reception of this last piece of information. In the knowl- 
 edge of what she knew from Saito, she could only wonder how 
 one so obviously deceived concerning the true state of affairs as 
 Ikeda could retain his position on the council as one of the na- 
 tion's trusted advisers. The voice of Goto recalled her to her sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 "'You can not weave a garment with one thread, nor make a for- 
 est with one tree'," he observed bowingly, indicating the two sis- 
 
Q2 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 ters. "I compliment you, Lady Kiku-ko, upon having two such 
 charming neighbors." 
 
 Lord Ikeda again claimed his hostess' attention. 
 
 "The prince and I were discussing the 'Foreign' embassies on 
 our way hither," said he. "They have much to be thankful for in 
 your husband's care of them." 
 
 "And in yours also, my lord," asserted Kiku-ko with hidden sar- 
 casm. 
 
 "'A fruitful tree tells of a good husbandman'," quoted Goto. 
 "Yet, considering the number of lawless dai-sho now infesting the 
 city, the 'Foreigner' sleeps not on a futon of roses." 
 
 Servants entered, some with the ante-prandial tea and tobako- 
 bon, others with steaming dishes for the small tables. 
 
 "In fact," said Ikeda, a gleam of amusement in his eyes, "the 
 present position of the 'Foreigner' in Yedo may be likened to that 
 of our eels in Nippon. They repose for awhile among the sea 
 weed in apparent safety. Then Prince Goto is heralded adown the 
 road, and the poor eels are hastened toward their next re-incarna- 
 tion." 
 
 "It is not I who am always the ronin," grunted Goto between 
 whiffs of his pipe. "Saito of Satsuma once played that role upon 
 some eels of my ordering. 'A gentleman should not stop to retie 
 his sandals beside another's melon field'." 
 
 "Does any one know where Saito is at the present?" asked Ike- 
 da, and Kiku-ko felt herself flushing guiltily as she kept silence 
 with the others. 
 
 "Teaching the Mikado's kuge how to pickle eels in kelp," re- 
 marked Goto with ponderous sarcasm. "Saito is like to find him- 
 self also hastened toward his next re-incarnation." 
 
 "No politics tonight, I beg of you," laughed Ikeda. "We hear 
 overmuch of them nowadays in the council chamber. How beau- 
 tiful it is among the solemnity of your Shiba foliage," he con- 
 tinued, addressing himself to his hostess. "As we came through 
 the park, it had the appearance of a drape of dark hanging vel- 
 vet, through which the moon, breaking over the snow-powdered 
 branches, wove stitches of beautiful silver design." 
 
 "The moon threads often weave a fairy-land," sighed Nui-ko, 
 with a languishing look in Goto's direction. 
 
THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN 93 
 
 "A fairy-land sewn with myriad beautiful elfins," added Toyo- 
 ko, also looking longingly at Goto. 
 
 "Elfins of the brain," mumbled Goto, a trifle nervously. 
 
 "Elfins are of the skies," lisped little Ren-ko prettily, whereat 
 all smiled. 
 
 Goto, whose conception of a dinner was a place where people 
 foregathered primarily to eat, had been glancing about him in 
 fidgety fashion at the steaming platters with which the servants 
 were decorating the little tables. He now bowed to Kiku-ko in 
 joyous anticipation. 
 
 "'Tongue wagging may produce clothing'," he observed, jocu- 
 larly, " 'but it needs ploughing to produce food.' I perceive the de- 
 licious repast is ripe to our chopsticks." 
 
 At a glance from Kiku-ko the tables were arranged separately 
 before each guest, and with the beginning of the feasting, geisha 
 and top-spinners made their appearance. Goto seized the oppor- 
 tunity to swallow his food and drink his sake without the neces- 
 sary interruption of conversation. 
 
 "Your honorable father-in-law is, I understand, permanently 
 resident at Biwa-ko," observed Ikeda to Kiku-ko during the lull 
 occasioned by the retirement of the entertainers. 
 
 "Yes," she answered, "although he travels often of late to Hio- 
 go, being much interested in 'Foreign' shipping." 
 "'You can not study swimming on the tatami'," muttered Goto 
 between mouthfuls. "Yo-Ake had better have taken up his resi- 
 dence in Yedo for that purpose." 
 
 "There is certainly a great increase of 'Foreign' shipping here of 
 late," agreed Ikeda. "I was amazed recently at noting the number 
 of alien warehouses in course of erection along our harbor shores. 
 The 'Outlander' is undoubtedly bringing much wealth to our 
 city." 
 
 "'Even a mountain monkey, with adornment, will be nice'," ad- 
 mitted Goto, glancing about him for the sight of a servant. 
 
 Again the geisha reentered the apartment, bringing with them 
 some little dancing girls who performed the "Flight of the Spar- 
 rows," with arms outspread in quaint, graceful mimicry of the 
 birds, aided by huge flapping hats. During their dance, Ikeda de- 
 
94 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 voted himself steadily to the sake cup, with the result that, when 
 Kiku-ko chanced to glance in his direction, she observed from his 
 flushed countenance that the liquor was affecting him. 
 
 "All this talk of 'Foreigners' must be very awesome to such a 
 little girl as Lord Ikeda's daughter," she observed, hoping to divert 
 possible attention from him. "It must seem to her like stories of 
 some hungry wolf about to devour her home. Does it not frighten 
 you, Ren-ko san ?" 
 
 "Nay," lisped little Ren-ko, "because if the wolf tried to hurt me 
 I should feed him until he were so full of nice things that he fell 
 asleep, and then I should steal out with a great sword and kill 
 him." 
 
 Her father appeared too sunk in reverie to notice this remark 
 of his daughter, but Goto regarded the little maiden quizically. 
 "'The smallest pools are often the deepest'," he observed to the 
 company generally. "I like your answer, little Miss Ren-ko, it 
 contains much food for thought. Servant, another cup of sake." 
 
 "The 'Foreigner' is not the worst wolf Nippon has to deal with," 
 hiccoughed Ikeda, scowling slightly. "We have greater traitors 
 within our gates." 
 " 'Dwellings have rats ; nations thieves'," agreed Goto, sagely. 
 
 "Which time will undoubtedly adjust," continued Ikeda, with 
 that wise look often assumed by an intoxicated person who has 
 said something that has not the slightest bearing upon the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 "The road of time has no gatekeeper'," objected Goto at ran- 
 dom. He, too, had not the slightest idea to what Ikeda's observa- 
 tion referred, but, having himself drunk deeply of the mellow 
 wine, considered that a proverb would be most appropriate to the 
 remark. 
 
 Lord Ikeda frowned. He found these repeated interruptions by 
 Goto annoying. Kiku-ko, noting the condition of the two men, 
 with the quick intuition of a hostess, and fearing a possible 
 "scene" if this banter were carried too far, hastened to change 
 the subject. 
 
 "I am sure the 'Foreigners' should feel deeply grateful to Lord 
 Ikeda for his care of them," said she. 
 
THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN 95 
 
 "'Beware of committing the care of fish to the cat'," reminded 
 Goto, with his usual aptitude at quotation. 
 
 Ikeda fastened his glassy eyes with an unsteady expression up 
 on Goto's wine-reddened countenance. The liquor lent him a de- 
 gree of courage. 
 
 "Your highness does me an an unpardonable injustice," he 
 stuttered, hiccoughing again. "If there were any danger to the 
 'Barbarians' I trust you will all do me the justice to acknowledge 
 that I would be the first to court it, and the last to leave its vicin- 
 ity." 
 
 Unfortunately, every one present believed that just exactly the 
 opposite would be the case, and smiles were with difficulty re- 
 pressed by the ladies. Indeed, so near did Nui-ko come to permit- 
 ting her risibilities to escape her, she had to clap her hands to 
 hide her confusion, crying, "How brave ! how brave !" 
 "The dog may bay at the moon, but will not leap toward it'," 
 guffawed Goto, who did not seek to conceal his mirth. 
 
 Ikeda gripped his table with both hands to steady himself as he 
 strove to arise, and Kiku-ko interposed pacifically. 
 
 "We should strive, the poets tell us, to view things through 
 others' eyes. And so long as Lord Ikeda sees that the 'Foreigners' 
 are secure in his care, the rest of us may accept his view." 
 
 She glanced appealingly at Goto. Goto proved a bad ally. 
 "Ho! ho!" he chuckled. "'The bat hanging upside down laughs 
 at the topsy-turvy world !'" 
 
 Ikeda was on his feet like a flash. 
 
 "Your highness infers by that," he began when the sudden din 
 of a furore without drowned his further words. 
 
 "Slay! slay! slay!" roared a multitude of voices, magnified an 
 hundred fold by the intense stillness of the woodlands. 
 
 Goto bounded to his feet, and without ceremony rushed to 
 where his swords had been left at the entrance to the room. 
 "By Uji-no-Mitama !" he shouted. "It must be the ronin !" 
 
 The dread word struck Ikeda sober, and a chill of terror at the 
 hearts of the rest of the company. Again came the roar from 
 without, paralyzing the little gathering with fear at its ferocity. 
 
 "Tokiyori Yo-Ake! Tokiyori Yo-Ake! Slay the traitor who 
 would sell Nippon to the 'Barbarian' !" 
 
96 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Ikeda seized his daughter by the hand and ran toward the rear 
 exit of the besso, followed by the cowering Nui-ko and Toyo-ko. 
 Only Kiku-ko remained, kneeling at her little table, too frightened 
 to move. The clinking of steel and oaths of men crashed louder 
 still, and a sharp report rang out, followed by a yell and a groan. 
 The sounds of the pursuit were closing about the besso deafen- 
 ingly. Dimly she heard Goto cursing as he strove to pry his huge 
 bulk over the low balcony rails. 
 
 With a crash the front entrance to the house gave way, falling 
 inwards, and suddenly the bodies of men in armor were tumbled 
 into the room indiscriminately. As these disengaged themselves 
 from the human maelstrom, she perceived the form of her hus- 
 band lying motionless upon the mats. She arose, terrified, all un- 
 knowing what was to follow, when Saito suddenly appeared in 
 the broken-in opening, the samurai falling quickly into some sort 
 of military precision under the steely glance of his eye. He came 
 swiftly to Kiku-ko's side. 
 
 "I regret this scene," said he hurriedly, "but you had best retire 
 to your own rooms till I send for you." 
 He turned to a samurai near him. 
 
 "Search the body of that traitor," he commanded, pointing to- 
 ward the motionless Tokiyori, "for evidence of his infidelity to 
 the Mikado." 
 
 The samurai bent at the word, and plunging his hand within 
 the kimono of the fallen man, withdrew it presently, holding a 
 piece of paper. Saito took this, and perceiving that it bore the 
 imperial seal, read aloud : 
 
 To all our subjects, 
 
 Heiki. 
 
 You are hereby enjoined to aid and protect the bearer of this, 
 Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of Moto and Shima, as is the will of the Mi- 
 kado. 
 
 A servant was bearing Kiku-ko to her apartments in the besso 
 when suddenly the throes of a physical agony shook her frame. 
 Then she knew. 
 
THE NIGHT BEFORE DAWN 97 
 
 "O, goodness of the gods!" she sobbed. "O, goodness of the 
 gods ! Saito ! Saito !" 
 
 That night the beginning of the great three-days' battle burst 
 over Yedo, ending in the triumph of the Mikado and the dawn of 
 the era Meiji. But Kiku-ko noted not, for a little babe lay nestled 
 at her breast. 
 
PART II 
 
 DAWN 
 
 Quoth the samurai^ I follow 
 
 LEGEND OF ONE, NAKAHARA, 
 
 HANASHIKA TO 
 
 LORD YO-AKE 
 
ON WITH THE DRAMA 
 
 /4 moment guess 'd then back behind the Fold 
 Immerst of Darkness round the Drama roll'd 
 
 Which, for the Pastime of Eternity, 
 He doth Himself contrive, enact, behold. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 IT WAS spring in the seventh year of Meiji (1875), and the early 
 cherry petals of Shigatsu (the fourth month) were dropping from 
 the mukojima trees upon the waters of the dark Sumida. Al- 
 though still early forenoon, the Cherry Avenue swarmed with ur- 
 banites, who loitered about its tea-booths and yose, for not yet 
 had the iris budded at Horikiri. 
 
IO2 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Suddenly a jinricksha, drawn by tandem runners and pushed 
 from behind by two others, came rolling down the avenue at 
 seemingly terrific pace, shaving the wheels of other vehicles mir- 
 aculously as it passed in and out among them. In it was a stout 
 gentleman, perhaps fifty years of age, clad in black frock-coat, 
 in the buttonhole of which was an enormous nosegay of the sea- 
 son's offerings. A high silk-hat sat rakishly on one side of his 
 head, while a waistcoat of wondrous prismatic hues girded his 
 ample form, calling attention to the fact that its wearer was a 
 bon-vivant a fact still further emphasized by the heavy jowls 
 sunk deep in a high European "choker" of the period, and the 
 merry lines about the twinkling eyes. Striped lavender trousers, 
 spats, kid gloves, and a malacca walking-stick with a carven ivory 
 dog's-head handle, as mighty as a bludgeon, completed his equip- 
 ment. As his 'ricksha shot in and out among the traffic, he sud- 
 denly exclaimed in a mighty voice: "'It is not possible to surpass 
 the feet of a bridegroom' ! Ho, thou ruffian runners ! Is this a 
 seemly manner to convey a personage of my dignity to call upon 
 a brother nobleman ?" 
 
 The 'ricksha stopped, and one of the runners, drawing the 
 sleeve of his jacket across his brow, bowed defferentially. 
 
 "Your honor instructed us," said he, "to convey your honor 
 to Shima Castle with all speed. It is a long distance to Shiba." 
 "Baron," corrected the stout gentleman, sternly; "Baron Go- 
 to, forget not that, fellow. As for what you say regarding 
 haste, perhaps you are right 'the speeding season may not turn 
 aside for the growing grain.' Yet, proceed more warily, I pray 
 you. I would not that the Marquis Yo-Ake should be inconveni- 
 enced by the reception of my mangled body." 
 
 Again the runners started on, but in more leisurely fashion, 
 and soon the 'ricksha and its occupant were lost to view. 
 
 The startling change manifest in the once Lord of the North 
 now General Baron Goto was typical of that which had come 
 over Nippon in the past seven years. The results of that battle, be- 
 ginning on the night of the twenty-seventh of January, one thou- 
 sand eight hundred and sixty-eight during which Tokiyori Yo- 
 Ake had received his almost fatal wound from the victorious im- 
 
ON WITH THE DRAMA IO3 
 
 perial troops commanded by Lord Saito of Satsuma had estab- 
 lished the restoration of the Mikado as actual governing head of 
 his country, thus stamping a new era upon Japanese history. By 
 one alone was it viewed with anything approaching equanimity 
 Lord (now Marquis) Asano Yo-Ake, whose brain had planned, 
 and hand shaped, this entire innovation. 
 
 This very morning on which Goto was hastening to Shima, To- 
 kiyori and his father the marquis were strolling about the castle 
 grounds immersed in conversation relating to a recent movement 
 on the part of the imperial cabinet toward the important question 
 of student emigration. 
 
 "You are not then in favor, I understand, of our student emi- 
 grants being given the means to support themselves whilst study- 
 ing in 'Foreign' lands," observed Tokiyori. "Personally I question 
 the popularity of such a restriction. For instance, there are to my 
 knowledge many sons of peers preparing to travel abroad for 
 purposes of study, yet I doubt if any of them would care to as- 
 sume menial capacities in order to promulgate their knowledge." 
 
 "Possibly not at first," agreed the marquis, tranquilly. "And 
 yet, if it were shown them that it was for Dai Nippon, and the 
 wish of the Mikado, I think our emigrants would discover an im- 
 mediate desire to carry out the contexts of such passports, in the 
 spirit as well as the letter. We are in many respects a peculiar na- 
 tion, my son, and our strongest asset is the intense spirit of loyal- 
 ty implanted in each and every one of our people." 
 
 They walked on for a few moments in silence, and finally the 
 marquis observed : 
 
 "In reply to your objection, my son, it seems to me that in the 
 very fact of furnishing passports to our students to study abroad 
 you furnish them also with the means of self support. In any 
 country a man who can not support himself under normal condi- 
 tions is a ronin a vagrant a nuisance to his community, and 
 with the lack of his capability toward his self support goes, like- 
 wise, his self respect. The issue is clearly criminal. But, I fail to 
 perceive why his own country should furnish the funds to his 
 maintenance, to the benefit of an alien country. Particularly in 
 our case we need the monies of other countries coming to Japan, 
 
IO4 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 not Japanese money going to swell the revenues of other, and 
 possibly inimical, countries. 
 
 "Still," objected Tokiyori, "there is no doubt that the assump- 
 tion of menial positions among the 'Foreigners' by our young stu- 
 dents of rank and position will be a bitter pill for them to swal- 
 low." 
 
 "My dear son," commented the marquis, serenely, "since when 
 has it been regarded a demeaning act for a samurai to penetrate 
 the ranks of the enemy in disguise even when the carrying out 
 of such disguise entails acts of a menial character upon its wear- 
 er?" 
 
 "I grant your argument," answered his son, finally. "Neverthe- 
 less I predict that we shall hear the same clamorings raised as 
 when Baron Goto at your suggestion drew upon commoner as 
 well as noble to officer his army." 
 
 "I think results have justified Goto's decision," replied the mar- 
 quis. "In any case the army was demoralized by the Bushido 
 training it received at the hands of Saito, before his retirement 
 created the vacancy for Goto. Heredity is, no doubt, a very ad- 
 mirable thing, yet cold facts have an unpleasant habit of writing 
 strange entries regarding efficiency between the lines of peerages. 
 Ideally it would be most pleasing that our army should be offi- 
 cered by our great our nobles each holding command accord- 
 ing to his rank. Did the entailment of the rank entail also the wis- 
 dom and prowess of the founder of the rank I would be one of 
 the first to decry any other order. In our imperfect mortal society 
 it seems that we must of necessity bow to the pranks of fate, and 
 when the gods see fit to place the intellect of a lord in the material 
 head of a commoner, it would be folly of us humans to question 
 the wisdom of the gods." 
 
 In their walk they had approached near a small but deep pond 
 that lay in the gardens girt about with high bushes. Through a 
 vista of these Tokiyori perceived his little seven-year-old daugh- 
 ter, Aysia, calling and gesticulating to her nurse across the pond. 
 The cause was at once apparent, for in the center of the little 
 lake her toy sail boat a "Foreign" importation had been blown 
 by the light breeze upon a tiny gravel-topped island, grounding 
 
ON WITH THE DRAMA IO5 
 
 firmly. From the opposite bank the nurse was vainly endeavoring 
 to reach the craft with a long bamboo pole a hopeless task, as 
 the island was more than three times the length of the pole from 
 the bank. Perceiving the fruitlessness of her nurse's efforts, the 
 little maid glanced about for other aid, and espying a boy, kite 
 flying in the barrack enclosure, called to him. 
 
 The lad came running quickly to the scene, his kite under his 
 arm. In appearance he was about thirteen years of age, quite 
 sturdily built, and with a countenance that betokened an excep- 
 tionally keen alertness. Upon being shown the cause of the 
 trouble, he promptly removed his sandals and, tucking up his 
 kimono about his knees, prepared to wade out to the little island. 
 Aysia had watched these preparations for the releasing of her 
 boat with evident interest, and now, realizing what the lad con- 
 templated, sought to dissuade him. 
 
 "You can't walk out there," said she; "you'll be drowned. One 
 of the men servants fell in there the other day, and it was so 
 deep that he had to be pulled out." 
 
 The boy stood irresolutely a moment. Had he been a lad of the 
 Occident he would probably have solved the problem by gathering 
 up what rocks he could and flinging these at the boat until she 
 was released from the island regardless of damage. Being a Jap- 
 anese, this lad set himself to attain his end without impairing the 
 serviceability of the craft, and for that purpose sought to discover 
 the cause of the trouble. This, to his mind, evidently was the 
 wind which was holding the boat directly against the island. He 
 perceived that if the wind were blowing from the opposite direc- 
 tion it would float the boat loose. He could not reach the boat to 
 change its position, nor could he alter the island, but it suddenly 
 occurred to him that he might change the direction of the wind. 
 
 He returned to where he had left his kite a large square one 
 beside Aysia, and, breaking its long string into four equal 
 pieces, tied one to each of the four corners of the kite. Then, 
 handing two of the strings to Aysia, he took the remaining two 
 into his own hands and, bidding her follow his instructions, ran 
 around to the opposite bank of the pond. Tokiyori and his father 
 watched with both interest and pleasure the little scene enacting. 
 
106 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Under the lad's directions, the kite was manipulated in such 
 manner that finally it rested upright upon the island, so that the 
 wind beat upon it and drove back against the little boat in tiny 
 sharp gusts. The boy dared not move the kite against the boat for 
 fear of breaking some of the toy's delicate rigging, but soon the 
 deflected wind began to take effect. Its mainsail was swung to lee- 
 ward, until, jerking from side to side, the jib caught the full 
 slant of the wind, driving the boat out into the water, whence, of 
 course, it was soon blown to the shore. His task completed, the 
 boy quietly gathered up his kite and prepared to depart. 
 
 At this instant Lord Yo-Ake, followed by his son, emerged 
 from the bushes that had hid them from sight of the actors in this 
 scene, the former beckoning the boy to him. 
 
 "Come here, my lad," said he ; and as the boy approached, "What 
 is your name?" he asked. 
 
 "Midzu-hara, may it please your honorable lordship," answered 
 the boy, perceiving at once who it was that addressed him. 
 
 "Do you belong to my household ?" 
 
 "My stepfather, your honorable lordship, is Mata, your lord- 
 ship's captain of samurai," replied Midzu-hara. 
 
 "How came you, then, into my private grounds when your 
 bounds should be the nagaya ?" asked the marquis. 
 
 "I was flying my kite there when the young lady called me to 
 help her," explained the boy, "and when I saw that it was a 'For- 
 eign' boat that she wanted me to get, I became so interested in 
 saving it that I forgot all else." 
 
 He looked up into the marquis' face as he spoke, with clear, 
 honest eyes that impressed Lord Yo-Ake favorably. Just then 
 Aysia, who had been an interested listener, ran up to Midzu-hara 
 impulsively, and placed her boat in his hands. 
 
 "If you like the boats of the 'Foreigner'," said she, "you may 
 have mine." 
 
 "You are more than kind, mistress," replied the lad, "but it 
 would be a sorry thing that I should be the means of depriving 
 you of the plaything I have recovered for you." 
 
 The manner of the refusal pleased Lord Yo-Ake still further. 
 It argued that the lad had right instincts, and knew how to dis- 
 play them tactfully. 
 
ON WITH THE DRAMA IOJ 
 
 "Take it, my lad," said he ; "my granddaughter shall not be the 
 loser by her generosity. You may come to this pond to sail it as 
 often as you wish. 
 
 Young Midzu-hara accepted the boat with a wildly-beating 
 heart, and, saluting the two gentlemen and Aysia, departed to- 
 ward the magaya, his precious prize hugged closely in his arms. 
 
 Tokiyori turned to his father, smiling. 
 "You seem interested in the lad, father," he observed. 
 "Unless I am very mistaken in my estimate," answered his fath- 
 er quietly, "we shall all have cause to be interested in him some 
 day. It may be," he added, half to himself, "that his stepfather 
 would permit that he study nautical affairs abroad. If so, I will 
 afford him the opportunity." 
 
 Count Tokiyori patted his daughter's head. 
 
 "You are a considerate little girl, Aysia," said he. "You shall 
 have a beautiful new boat to replace the one you have given 
 away, and, if you wish to, father will take you and mother to the 
 booths at Mukojima this afternoon." 
 
 Aysia clapped her hands delightedly at this news, and Tokiyori 
 turned to his father. 
 
 "I will take your suggestion up with the diet at once, father," 
 said he. "But, as I have said, I doubt the popularity of its recep- 
 tion by that body, and certainly by the intending student emi- 
 grants." 
 
 He bade his father good morning, and the marquis, re-entering 
 his yashiki, was just in time to greet Goto, who had that moment 
 arrived. 
 
 The latter, as soon as he perceived his host, crossed the room 
 to him, consternation depicted on his usually jovial countenance. 
 "'After the moon fulls it lessens!'" he vociferated, excitedly. 
 "The 'Foreign' ship which, on your advice, I purchased, has blown 
 its honorable insides out, and I have lost all my remaining ko- 
 kus !" 
 
II 
 
 THE PLAYER AND THE BALL 
 
 The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes, 
 But Here or There as strikes the Player goes; 
 
 And He that toss'd you down into the Field, 
 He knows about it all HE knows HE knows! 
 
 KHAYYAM. 
 
 1 HE marquis motioned his guest to a seat, taking another near 
 him, and nodded gravely. 
 
 "That is a regrettable disaster," he said consolingly. "Still, there 
 are more fish in the sea than ever came out of it. Patience, baron, 
 fortune must smile." 
 
THE PLAYER AND THE BALL 
 
 Goto shook his head, dolefully. 
 
 "'Awaiting fortune is like awaiting death'/' he replied. "I had in- 
 structed the ruffian who attends to the wheels and things which 
 my ship has blown into the sea not to sail her over the kelp, be- 
 cause of the eels therein. 'Music to a cow, while it hears the 
 sound, conveys no meaning to its ears.' The villain disobeyed me." 
 
 Recently the marquis had persuaded Goto, among others of his 
 acquaintance, to invest in a ship, believing that if Japan was to 
 become a sea power she must acquire the tools necessary to the 
 learning of her trade. 
 
 "Possibly it was not wholly the engineer's fault," observed the 
 marquis drily. He was quite aware that certain American and 
 European firms were unloading obsolete hulks upon the "Nation 
 of Little Children," although he still encouraged his friends to 
 buy these as a quick means of acquiring knowledge concerning 
 them. 
 
 "Perhaps you are right there," rejoined Goto. "The 'Foreigner' 
 who sold my ship to me is undoubtedly a conscienceless scoun- 
 drel. At the time of my making the purchase he told me that she 
 was so strong that if, by mischance, she should strike against a 
 rock, she would split it in twain. While in reality she was so rot- 
 ten that she fell to pieces in the soft kelp. I am minded to bid a 
 servant of mine disembowel himself upon the threshold of the 
 knave's house." 
 
 The marquis repressed a smile. It seemed to him almost piti- 
 fully ludicrous to listen to this most modern attired gentleman 
 turning so readily to the methods that prevailed when kimonos 
 and the two swords were the fashion. Then he sighed a little as 
 he realized what a long and weary march his people still were 
 from the City of Desire that Dai Nippon for which we toiled 
 and spun. 
 
 "Nay, nay, baron," he reasoned, almost as one might seek to dis- 
 suade a child, "that would have answered well enough in the old 
 days. There is now a better method of revenge than that." 
 
 "I would that you would show it me then," responded Goto, 
 gloomily. 
 
 "Buy another ship," suggested the marquis, quietly. 
 
IIO THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Buy another ship !" exclaimed Goto, his eyes starting nearly 
 out of his head. 
 
 "The more ships," explained the marquis, serenely, "the more 
 knowledge of what ships can do." 
 
 Goto expressed himself as doubtful as to whether he desired to 
 learn anything further concerning the pranks of such diabolical 
 contrivances, but the marquis continued : 
 
 "By knowledge of them you may equal the 'Foreigner' at his 
 own game." 
 
 "But if we keep on buying ships so old that they burst their in- 
 sides, these 'Foreigners' will think us fools babes imbeciles !" 
 objected Goto, excitedly. 
 
 "It is to be sincerely hoped so," answered Lord Yo-Ake, "for 
 in order to sell us more they will then be inclined to teach us more 
 about them, while we shall have the better opportunity to study 
 and learn, unsuspected. Be guided, baron, and buy another ship." 
 "'With too many ships the land would be all water'," quoted Go- 
 to, doubtfully. "What do we want with all these ships, Yo-Ake? 
 I think the country has gone mad, for everywhere is but talk of 
 ships, ships, ships, when even now are half our people ruined with 
 those they have already purchased. My curses on the man who 
 first invented ships." 
 
 Still, so long as they are a necessity to great nations," coun- 
 seled the marquis, "it behooves us to learn all that is possible con- 
 cerning their uses. Should, for instance, a war ever occur be- 
 tween us and any other country, it will be fought on ships as well 
 as on land. Thus, even if we half ruin ourselves now in the pur- 
 chasing of these disused hulks, we still must have them to learn 
 with. A fencing stick for the novice a blade of the finest steel 
 for the master swordsman. The babe must learn to crawl before 
 it toddles, and toddle before it walks firmly nor do the parents 
 notice how rapidly it is passing from one stage to the other." 
 
 Goto pondered over this a moment, and ended as usual by ac- 
 cepting the advice of his friend, of the soundness of which a 
 long-time habit of acting upon had convinced him. 
 
 "As to what you say regarding the advisability of national own- 
 ership of boats by us, Yo-Ake," he admitted, "perhaps you are 
 
THE PLAYER AND THE BALL III 
 
 right. Yet, in the matter of my own further investing in such, I 
 fear it will be an impossibility for some time to come." 
 
 He drew from the breast pocket of his coat a wallet, from 
 which he solemnly extracted an envelope, handing its contents to 
 the marquis. 
 
 '"A cold hearth is no detraction to beggars'," concluded Goto 
 with a whimsical dolefulness. "No sooner did I receive news of 
 my ship blowing up than I got this." 
 
 The marquis took the extended letter and read: 
 
 "To the Hen. Baron Goto, " San F n c> California, U. S. A. 
 "Tokio, Japan. 
 
 "My dear Uncle : I am writing to advise you that it has become 
 necessary for me to draw upon you through the Hong Kong & 
 Shanghai Bank for yen five thousand. 
 
 "I venture to hope that the fact of my not requesting any remit- 
 tances from you during the four years of my residence here, 
 coupled with the following reasons, will induce you to take up 
 this draft upon its presentation. 
 
 "If you will recall to your honorable memory, at the time of my 
 leaving Nippon I was furnished with a first-cabin passage to 
 America, and yen one thousand toward the defraying of further 
 expenses. These latter being much more excessive here than in 
 Japan, I was soon forced to accept work of a menial sort in order 
 to maintain myself, whereby I was enabled to gain a knowledge of 
 the people, language and customs, both of the social and business 
 life of the country, sooner than might otherwise have been the 
 case. I mention this in order to convince you that my estimate of 
 what follows is based on accurate knowledge and sound judgment 
 so acquired. Having attained a use of the language of the country, 
 I cast about for some medium through which to embark in busi- 
 ness for myself, an opportunity to do which has just presented it- 
 self. 
 
 "Briefly, certain of the great railways here are materially in- 
 creasing their activities and scope, necessitating a corresponding 
 increase in the numbers of laborers employed by them. In the fact 
 that these need not be skilled mechanics I perceived my chance to 
 
112 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 exploit our own laboring class profitably. Acting upon this deter- 
 mination, I have already contracted with certain of these rail- 
 ways' managerial sources to supply them Japanese labor at yen 
 two per day, per head. As this scale of wage will be so greatly in 
 excess of what our laborers can achieve at home, there should be 
 not the slightest difficulty in inducing a great number to accept 
 this offer through me. 
 
 "In the light of this, it will be necessary that I return to my 
 country shortly, and I shall, I have no doubt, be enabled easily to 
 repay you the amount of this draft before the year is out. Trust- 
 ing this will find you enjoying the best of health and prosperity, 
 dear uncle, I am, 
 
 "Your dutiful nephew, 
 
 "TARO GOTO/' 
 
 "'The hungry ox will seek its own stall first'," observed Goto as 
 Lord Yo-Ake, having concluded the perusal of this epistle, re- 
 turned it to him. "The amount of this draft is inconvenient, and 
 the moment of its presentation still more unpropitious. Still, I 
 auger that the boy will do well in this venture." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake assented quietly, his mind reverting to what he 
 knew of Goto's nephew, in the hopes of finding some vulnerable 
 spot by which this enterprise might be presented at its inception, 
 for he saw that the success of Taro's scheme might upset all his 
 future plans for the welfare of the country ! Taro did not suggest 
 to his mind the memory of one who would be likely to conceive a 
 venture of such magnitude and undoubted success, unless some 
 very startling change had come over him within the past four 
 years of absence. In this Lord Yo-Ake was influenced by what he 
 had formerly known of Taro, through his own efforts to assist 
 the lad for the baron's sake. At that time Goto had had recourse 
 to Lord Yo-Ake in order to get Taro into some one of the gov- 
 ernment departments, and through the influence of the marquis 
 had eventually succeeded in installing his nephew in a desk posi- 
 tion, carrying with it the highly important and onerous task of 
 recording names, dates and addresses of senders of all public doc- 
 uments received by his department. 
 
THE PLAYER AND THE BALL 113 
 
 Taro prepared to discharge his new duties by passing long pe- 
 riods of the department's time in a contemplation of its ceiling, 
 with the result that at the end of his first term of service it re- 
 quired the careful and laborious drawing of a horoscope about his 
 notations by his fellow clerks to discover which was which. An 
 intricate knowledge of mural decorations not being conceived by 
 those practical and prosaic souls who conducted his department 
 as necessary to the fulfillment of his duties, Taro had been re- 
 lieved from further service to it, and the baron on the advice of 
 Marquis Yo-Ake had finally sent him to America. 
 
 Recalling this, Lord Yo-Ake reluctantly admitted to himself 
 that Taro had now stumbled so he designated Taro's business 
 acumen upon a scheme for exploiting his countrymen, which, 
 while it might be profitable to himself, Lord Yo-Ake feared would 
 result in untold danger to Nippon. To his way of viewing the mat- 
 ter, while it was desirable that the student and merchant should be 
 encouraged to emigrate for the purposes of study and acquisi- 
 tion, it was imperative that the producer the backbone of the 
 nation, as he considered him should be kept at home. 
 
 "It seems a promising venture for your nephew, if one may be 
 permitted to pass a hasty judgment upon cursory information," 
 observed the marquis to the baron, finally, in reference to Taro's 
 letter. "Of course, there is always the danger to be reckoned with 
 as in the case of your ship, Goto that the 'Foreigners,' who 
 have not always been absolutely honorable in their dealings with 
 us, may not now fulfill their promises to your nephew." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake was feeling about for some means to forestall 
 Taro from receiving the remittance necessary to the founding of 
 this venture. 
 
 Goto leaned toward the marquis, impressively. 
 
 "That boy of mine is undoubtedly very clever, Yo-Ake," he ob- 
 served in low tones. "He can secure all the laborers he desires for 
 yen 10 a month." 
 
 "He could scarcely be otherwise, considering the fact that he is 
 his uncle's nephew," responded the marquis with flattering unc- 
 tion. "Yet there are so many disadvantages offered oriental enter- 
 prise in the Occident, I understand, that it seems to me it would 
 
114 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 be wiser your nephew should come home to discuss this subject 
 with you before making payment upon this draft he has drawn 
 upon you." 
 
 "That," explained Goto, rising to take his leave, "was attended 
 to yesterday morning. I could not leave the lad in doubt as to my 
 intentions to aid him when necessary, Yo-Ake, nor inconvenience 
 him by delay." 
 
 Goto left shortly after, declining his host's invitation to stay 
 and partake of a light luncheon on the grounds of urgent public 
 business, and after his departure Lord Yo-Ake fell into a musing 
 strain. 
 
 "The loss of our labor just now would paralyze our productive 
 energies," he argued to himself, "yet the same ends may be at- 
 tained as regards Taro's enterprise by issuing passports to our 
 student class in which they shall be designated laborers. Judging 
 from this young man's own experience, the opportunity in that 
 way afforded them to learn will be greater, and they will become 
 self-supporting from the outset, while we shall be enabled to keep 
 our laborers where they are most needed, and will be indispens- 
 able in the years to come at home." 
 
THE LION IN THE COURTS OF THE LIZARD 
 
 They say the Lion and the Lizard keep 
 The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep: 
 And Bahrdm, that great Hunter the Wild Ass 
 Stamps o'er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 \J, RAVISHMENTS of maiden spring, when every bright-garbed 
 bush within your courts stretches forth pliant arms of welcome ; 
 when every flower is but a parting lip ; when fluttering clouds of 
 unsoiled petal-snow are showered from the cherry trees of Muko- 
 jima, to cling in drifts along the banks, or hide in fallen masses 
 
Il6 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 the waters of the dark Sumida, whose gentle eddies abstain from 
 touching with wet tongues their loveliness ! What wonder that all, 
 from far and near, come to view its beauty ! 
 
 Like a gathering of newly-plumed birds the Tokyoites fluttered 
 from tea-booth to toy-stall, twittering their joy of the spring and 
 cherry trees, as Lord Saito of Satsuma strolled along the avenue 
 the early afternoon of the same day when Goto had paid his call 
 to his old friend, the Marquis Yo-Ake. Yet, unlike the majority of 
 the pleasure seekers, Lord Saito glanced with but indifferent eye 
 upon the surrounding sights, until he chanced to see an acquaint- 
 ance of other days soliciting the patronage of passers-by to one 
 of the several places of amusement. Then he frowned, for al- 
 though it no longer astonished him to come suddenly upon old- 
 time friends of the fudai daimio performing menial offices, it 
 galled him, and he never lost opportunity to address such osten- 
 tatiously, as though to impress upon the chance observer that 
 neither restoration nor "Foreign" ways could in his estimation al- 
 ter the status of a born gentleman. Needless to state, he attributed 
 the present disagreeable conditions as he considered them en- 
 tirely to "Foreign" influence in Nippon, and the protection ex- 
 tended that body by the Yo-Ake. In accordance with his usual 
 practice, he now made his way across the avenue with the inten- 
 tion of exchanging a few words with the theatre attendant in 
 whom he had recognized a former equal. 
 
 "I give you good day, Ikeda," said he. "It is some years since we 
 have met." 
 
 Ikeda once Lord Saburo Ikeda, of the Shogun's Baka-fu, the 
 accredited chargee of the safety of "Foreign" embassies in Yedo 
 returned the greeting with reserve. His position of nakauri or 
 yose refreshment vender was not such that he cared to advertise 
 its present tenant as formerly a daimio, nor had he, despite the 
 several years of service at this occupation, become so accustomed 
 to his changed fortunes that he could greet old acquaintances 
 without inward feelings of humiliation. 
 
 "It is not likely that we should see one another often," he replied 
 to Saito's greeting, "for our lives and conditions have become 
 widely separated since this topsy-turveydom of all things, known, 
 I understand, as Meiji." 
 
THE LION IN THE COURTS OF THE LIZARD 117 
 
 "You have at least the one consolation of having many others to 
 share equal misfortunes with you," remarked Saito, "while, in my 
 case, I stand practically alone in my life and views. I recall that it 
 was but the other day I chanced to meet a one-time acquaintance 
 drawing a 'ricksha for some 'Foreign' parvenu." 
 
 "A small consolation," rejoined Ikeda, whilst bowing to an en- 
 tering patron. "But in what do you stand alone?" 
 
 "Apparently in my distrust of the 'Barbarian'," returned Saito. 
 "To judge by the actions of our countrymen of today, one would 
 believe the 'Foreigner' an absolute god. Our people imitate his 
 every thought and action, and live but according to his diction 
 even you rub shoulders with him daily, while Goto has fairly 
 smothered his own nationality beneath 'Foreign' clothes, and 
 now struts forth as vain and pompous as a brainless peacock. 
 But as for me, rather than welcome the despoiler of my country, 
 the traducer of her honor, and the desecrator of her gods, I have 
 severed all connection with the present government, retiring per- 
 manently to my native Satsuma. There, joined by a few of our old 
 kind, Ikeda, who still hold their honor before their pockets, I have 
 founded a school for the training of samurai, for which I have 
 but now journeyed to Tokyo to purchase armor and swords." 
 
 "Both swords and armor are cheap enough today," commented 
 Ikeda. "Indeed it was but this very morn that an old friend 
 once a daimio of the east provinces offered me his Muramasa 
 blade for two bu. I learned that he sold it shortly after to a relic- 
 hunting 'Foreigner' for thrice that amount." 
 
 "Steel forged by Nippon's greatest master sold to some coarse 
 tradesman for the price of a harlot's love !" exclaimed Saito bit- 
 terly. "No wonder that where once the wearers of those mighty 
 blades trod proudly, commerce now stalks in loud-mouthed inso- 
 solence !" 
 
 He felt by his side as though there to find the familiar hilts of 
 his own swords, forgetting for the moment that these had been 
 discarded because of the governmental order against their use. 
 
 "My blades, as well," said he, "were forged by Muramasa, in 
 blood and fire, and my fathers wore them before me for Satsuma 
 and for Nippon. They were never drawn but in knightly honor, 
 
Il8 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 and may my right hand rot and wither on its arm if any 'For- 
 eigner' feels aught of them excepting the keenness of their edge." 
 
 "That is all very well for you to say," rejoined Ikeda, "for you 
 still have your fat rent rolls, and are not forced to soil your hands 
 with menial tasks as am I and others." 
 
 "Yet would I rather become a tiller of the fields the balance of 
 my years," retorted Saito, "than lower my honor and desecrate 
 the memory of my fathers, as has your friend his. If you so dis- 
 like your occupation here why do you continue it ?" 
 
 Ikeda stared at him a moment in uncertainty, as though half 
 hoping Saito might intend to make him some other offer, and 
 then, perceiving that such was not the case and that Saito spoke 
 merely from an ignorance of the vicissitudes of utter poverty, 
 burst out with, 
 
 "Fiends of hell, Saito ! Do you suppose I thus demean myself for 
 sport? I tell you not in all the history of my house has such a 
 wrong gone unavenged! Here stand I, Saburo Ikeda, a noble of 
 Nippon and counselor to the Shogun, penniless, a menial. I tell 
 you, Saito, life holds not a sister misery to that encompassed by 
 the scroll of an emptied title. By the Jurojin! I'd rather have 
 been born my yose landlord here in Mukojima, than Saburo Ikeda 
 gilt in his armorial bearings without the wherewithal to pittance 
 him a meal !" 
 
 He broke off abruptly, and clutching Saito wildly by the sleeve 
 of his kimono, pointed to a small party of passers-by across the 
 avenue from where he and Saito stood. 
 
 "Look ! look !" he whispered in excited accents. "There goes he 
 who has brought all this woe upon us !" 
 
 Saito, glancing in the direction indicated by Ikeda, perceived 
 Tokiyori Yo-Ake walking with his unmistakable slight limp the 
 result of the wound he had received on the night of the attack up- 
 on the "Foreign" embassies seven years before beside another 
 gentleman whom he recognized as Lord (now Viscount) Sakurai 
 of Niijima. Behind them, holding a little girl by the hand, stepped 
 with pretty demureness one the sight of whom started his heart 
 beating wildly Kiku-ko, born Shimadzu. An instant he followed 
 the outlines of her figure beneath the sunshade she held, then as 
 
THE LION IN THE COURTS OF THE LIZARD 
 
 the party came abreast of the yose, quickly shrank within, drawing 
 Ikeda after him. 
 
 "You do not love this Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake," he remarked, 
 eyeing Ikeda keenly. 
 
 "Love him !" burst out Ikeda, intensely. "Aye, I love him so well 
 that I pray mine gods each night of my life to consume him and 
 his brood lecherous spawn of vipers ! Count ! Count Tokiyori 
 Yo-Ake and his father the most noble marquis. By my faith, 
 Saito, kami and sama were noble enough in our times ! Yet, now 
 it seems that one must be labeled as count, marquis, baron or vis- 
 count before one is reckoned as of honorable blood. On my honor, 
 Saito, I swear to you that so little reverence have I for the wear- 
 ers of these new titles, and that 'Foreign' fox, Tokiyori Yo-Ake, 
 who creates them, that I pray daily that whatever of success 
 should follow his life may be accredited to others, but that his 
 failures may be so many, and so indelibly stamped on his own 
 record, that when his time is come he shall descend unto his grave 
 unhonored and unwept." 
 
 In his hatred of the man he so stigmatized, he stepped forth 
 from his shelter, shaking his clenched fist at the retreating figures. 
 Saito also emerged, and prepared to continue his stroll along the 
 Cherry Avenue. 
 
 "Who knows ?" said he, thoughtfully. "The pestle crushes slow- 
 ly, but it grinds the bean to finest powder. Sayonara, Ikeda." 
 
IV 
 
 A SORRY TRADE 
 
 What! from his helpless Creature be repaid 
 Pure Gold for what he lent him dross-allay' d 
 
 Sue for a Debt we never did contract, 
 And cannot answer Oh the sorry trade! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 AFTER Saito's departure, Ikeda still stood without the yose en- 
 trance, immersed in retrospective thought. He was possessed of a 
 naturally intriguing turn of mind, and the words spoken by his 
 companion of the moment since had set his brain actively dredg- 
 ing in channels whose depths had for the past few years become 
 
A SORRY TRADE 121 
 
 obscured in the mire of his degradation. Plainly, he perceived, or 
 thought he perceived, a means to attaining the restoration of his 
 forfeited rank and estates by the overthrow of the present govern- 
 mental system. His own present unpalatable position he regarded 
 as the depths of injustice, having at the time of the Mikado's as- 
 sumption of actual sovereignty in the first year of Meiji (1868)! 
 sought to attach himself to the government, and being prevented 
 from becoming a member of it by the emphatic negative of Asano 
 Yo-Ake, who for the moment during which the future of Nip- 
 pon hung in the scales between a virtual Shogunate and real em- 
 pire had stepped into the breach as an all-powerful dictator. 
 Now, although Lord Yo-Ake had retired from outward political 
 duties as soon as he had firmly established the Mikado in Tokyo, 
 his tenets were being carried out almost identically by his mate- 
 rial successors, so that Saburo Ikeda found the ears of these no 
 more open to his plaints than had been those of Lord Yo-Ake. 
 Perforce, as a maintenance for his growing daughter and himself, 
 he had installed himself in his present position at Mukojima; yet, 
 he had never ceased to dream and plan of the possibility of some 
 day reverting to his former status. 
 
 It occurred to him now that an opportunity was unfolding to- 
 ward this desired consummation, could he but grasp it. Saito was 
 disgruntled with the present government, as was shown by his 
 withdrawal from participation in any of its affairs. He might, 
 Ikeda argued, be prevailed upon to lead a revolutionary move- 
 ment against the diet under certain conditions, in which event he 
 would be already partly equipped by virtue of his well-attended 
 school for samurai at Satsuma. This, Ikeda calculated roughly, 
 would furnish as it now stood possibly some five hundred trained 
 and tried men-at-arms for the nucleus of a contemplated revolt, 
 moreover it was beyond mere supposition that Saito's immense 
 popularity with the old samurai and the populace would, at the 
 first hint that he proposed placing himself at the head of a body 
 of men for the restoration of old Nippon, treble his ranks in less 
 than no time. On that issue Ikeda felt there need be no apprehen- 
 sion, but he was not so sanguine as to presuppose that the ulti- 
 mate successful outcome of so great and far-reaching a signifi- 
 
122 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 cance could be accomplished by the personal efforts of a few thou- 
 sand fighting men and the acclaims of an easily swayed populace. 
 Saga had tried conclusions with the government on that same rea- 
 soning some two years before, failing most disastrously. Ikeda 
 believed he could put his finger on the exact weak spot in the ar- 
 mor of Saga's rebellion its absolute confinement to a single lo- 
 cality of interest and action. That is, Saga had failed because he 
 represented the interests of but one class of the people as against 
 the interests of the whole country, a handicap Ikeda determined 
 to avoid at the outset should he be successful in inducing Saito to 
 espouse a cause of his. 
 
 He planned for, now that it was necessary his contemplated 
 movement should embrace what it stood for, all conditions of 
 old Nippon. Undoubtedly, he argued, there were many with inter- 
 ests now bound up in certain of the empire's developing industries 
 who might be brought to aid him through their still predominant 
 reverence for that Nippon of the Shogunate days, and could these 
 but be discovered and secured toward his revolt, it would be a 
 long step toward its successful climax. But, most of all, he count- 
 ed on the adherents of former Tokugawa partisans who, like him- 
 self, were now in reduced circumstances. The prestige and family 
 connections of such would be incalculably far reaching, under- 
 mining even many of the present diet's offices. This honeycombing 
 of the empire was, Ikeda saw, the needed factor to his ultimate 
 success, and must be accomplished before it would be practical to 
 proclaim a state of arms against this new order of things. 
 
 Resolved upon this, he now bethought him of ways and means 
 toward its fulfillment. It was one thing to plan a gathering of mal- 
 contents, and quite another to bring it to an actuality. As a first 
 step toward the latter, money was essential, and this he lacked. 
 With money he could approach former acquaintances with a view 
 to enlisting their sympathies and co-operation, and be enabled to 
 conduct meetings in places where good food, wine and privacy 
 indispensable adjuncts would be procurable, which, alas ! his own 
 meager establishment, that barely sufficed for the support of his 
 daughter and himself, could not provide. His credit was worth- 
 less, his prospects nil, his few remaining friends as bankrupt as 
 himself. Where and how then to obtain money? 
 
A SORRY TRADE 123 
 
 Pondering, he glanced abstractedly across the avenue, where he 
 chanced to perceive and recognize one familiar to him in bygone 
 days Tanaka san, proprietor of the houses known as The Jewel 
 River in the Yoshiwara, or "Flower Quarter," of Tokyo. Ikeda 
 recalled, idly, that this person had once been wont to lend sums 
 of money to his temporarily embarrassed patrons, at usurious 
 rates of interest it was true, but money nevertheless. Aforetime, 
 he had himself had recourse to this Tanaka, and from the fact 
 that he had in those days promptly discharged such indebtedness 
 he suddenly conceived that it might be barely possible he could 
 again approach him successfully on such a topic. In any event 
 Tanaka seemed the sole source likely to entertain a proposal to 
 make him a loan, and with this thought in mind, Ikeda stepped 
 forth from the yose entrance into the passing throng of sight- 
 seers, gesticulating to attract the vanishing Tanaka's attention. 
 Eventually this individual, perceiving that some one was trying to 
 attract his attention with the evident desire of speech, crossed 
 over toward the yose. 
 
 As Tanaka approached him, Ikeda noted that he preserved the 
 same sleek, smooth appearance as of yore, and then, when he was 
 within easy speaking distance, plunged into his subject without 
 reserve. 
 
 "You recall me, Tanaka?" he asked. "Saburo Ikeda Lord Ike- 
 da, you know, of the Shogun's Baka-fu? Step within this yose; I 
 have a word for your private ear." 
 
 Tanaka accompanied him as requested, and when they had 
 found a quiet place for the afternoon was waning and attend- 
 ance at the yose had somewhat fallen off prepared to listen to 
 what disclosures his companion had in store for him. 
 
 "I presume," began Ikeda, "that you still control your houses, 
 The Jewel River?" 
 
 Tanaka admitted the truth of this surmise, adding: 
 
 "Business is improving since the advent of the 'Foreigner' ; 
 yet I lost so much in loans to the nobles of the Shogun's court at 
 the time of the Restoration that it will be long, I fear, before I 
 recover from those bad debts." 
 
 "Then," said Ikeda, "you would not be averse to seeing your 
 debtors in a position in which they would be able to repay you ?" 
 
124 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Naturally not," answered Tanaka, slightly surprised. 
 
 "Even if it required a small outlay on your part to bring such a 
 state of affairs about?" continued Ikeda. 
 
 "If it might be done securely," assented Tanaka, cautiously, now 
 both suspicious and wary of Ikeda's intentions. He had a premo- 
 nition of what was coming and did not favor Saburo Ikeda as a 
 desirable investment. 
 
 Ikeda leaned impressively toward him. 
 
 "Tanaka," said he, in low, eager tones, "I want you to lend me a 
 thousand yen." 
 
 Tanaka spread his hands out, deprecatingly. 
 
 "A thousand yen!" he exclaimed. "By the gods, I do not own 
 such a sum ! You might better ask that I give you my houses of 
 The Jewel River, incumbrances, good-will and all." 
 
 "If you have it not, you can procure it easily," argued Ikeda, ig- 
 noring the money-lender's incredulity, "and its loan now will re- 
 turn you its weight multiplied thrice." 
 
 "In how long?" asked Tanaka. 
 
 "One year from the date of its receipt," assured Ikeda. 
 Tanaka pondered. 
 
 "There would have to be excellent security," he cautioned. 
 
 "There is," answered Ikeda. 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "My word." 
 
 "Not negotiable," was Tanaka's imperturable answer. 
 Ikeda pretended to grow angry. 
 
 "Do you refuse the word of a gentleman?" he asked, with some- 
 thing of his old manner. 
 
 "I prefer his seals upon other securities when loaning him my 
 money," replied Tanaka, unmoved. "I have the words of many 
 noble gentlemen now in return for my monies, yet they still re- 
 main my debtors." 
 
 Ikeda tried other tactics. 
 
 "If you will but lend me this paltry sum I will soon place many 
 of your debtors in a position from which they will be able to re- 
 pay you principal and interest," he insisted in low tones. "Listen, 
 Tanaka. Your loan can not be otherwise than safe with me. There 
 
A SORRY TRADE 125 
 
 are many coming changes changes of which you know nothing. 
 I shall soon be in a position worthy of my name, I tell you. You 
 may find it greatly to your advantage to have a friend in Saburo 
 Ikeda shortly." 
 
 Tanaka shrugged his shoulders incredulously. 
 
 "I do not see any signs of the many changes at which you hint," 
 said he; "nor any possibility of your fortunes becoming altered 
 for the better." 
 
 Ikeda, fearful of losing this sole opportunity of securing the 
 coveted loan, became slightly incautious. 
 
 "That is because you do not know," he replied. "The whole 
 country is aroused against the pro-'Foreign' policy of the govern- 
 ment. That government, Tanaka, can not much longer stand upon 
 its false foundations, and it dare not change its attitude now for 
 fear of retaliation. Men may call it what they please, but in reality 
 it is but a Yo-Ake government, given by the father, carried out 
 by the son. Do you suppose Nippon will long permit a continuance 
 of such things ? I know, Tanaka, I know ! Am I not of those from 
 whom the natural advisory rulers of the country are drawn? Have 
 you not heard that Lord Saito has founded a school for samurai 
 at Satsuma?" 
 
 "So that is where Lord Saito disappeared to," mused Tanaka, 
 thinking deeply. His profession required that he should keep 
 abreast of the times, both politically and socially. 
 
 "Disappeared!" exclaimed Ikeda, scornfully. "Your knowledge 
 of things is sadly lacking, Tanaka. Saito is in Tokyo now, and 
 was conversing with me but a short half hour ago on subjects that 
 might surprise you." 
 
 "I might be inclined to consider such a loan provided I knew 
 something of the purpose for which it was intended," said Tana- 
 ka at last, in the tones of one who was becoming slowly convinced, 
 "although the gods alone know where I could procure the sum 
 you mention." 
 
 "Furies of hell, man !" broke out Ikeda. "Have I not told enough 
 already?" 
 
 Tanaka fixed Ikeda with a pair of relentless eyes. 
 
 "Yes, you have," said he, "told me sufficient to show me that you 
 
126 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 and Lord Saito are planning a repetition of the Saga revolt, and 
 that you require a thousand yen to join yourself with it. 
 
 "You have no right to jump to such a hasty conclusion," object- 
 ed Ikeda, now frightened at what he had said to Tanaka. 
 
 "I would be but a fool could I not see that which is so appar- 
 ent," retorted Tanaka. "As to the loan, I am an honest subject of 
 the Mikado and see no reason why I should help his evident ene- 
 mies." 
 
 A cold perspiration broke out on Ikeda's brow as he realized 
 the import of Tanaka's words, and how completely the latter had 
 him in his power. What disavowal he might have attempted or 
 what further Tanaka might have threatened remained unknown, 
 for an interruption occurred just then in the person of a girl or 
 rather young woman of such exceeding and dainty beauty as to 
 distract Tanaka's attention momentarily. She approached the two, 
 and bowing to Ikeda, indicated an overcoat she bore on her arm. 
 "I have brought your howari, father, against the chill of the 
 evening," said she. "Shall you be home in time for an early sup- 
 per?" 
 
 She extended her arm holding the overcoat as she spoke, and 
 Tanaka noted with admiration the perfect symmetry of wrist and 
 hand. 
 
 Ikeda nodded absently to his daughter's query. 
 "Shortly, shortly, Ren-ko," said he. 
 
 "Then I will retire to prepare it," she answered, and, bowing to 
 her father without paying any attention to his companion, with- 
 drew. 
 
 Tanaka prepared to renew the conversation. 
 "Your daughter?" he asked of Ikeda, still watching the grace- 
 fully retreating form of the girl. 
 
 Again Ikeda nodded. He was too sunk in a troubled mind to 
 
 give thought to such topics ; moreover he would not in any case 
 
 have discussed a lady of his household with one of Tanaka's caste. 
 
 "She is beautifully perfect," continued Tanaka, still watching 
 
 her ; "extraordinarily so !" 
 
 He remained, his head still strained to catch the last of her 
 vanishing figure, until she had passed outside the yose entrance, 
 then turned suddenly to Ikeda. 
 
A SORRY TRADE 127 
 
 "I will loan you that one thousand yen, Ikeda," said he, "upon 
 one condition " 
 
 Ikeda glanced up, his heart palpitating with sudden fear and 
 hope. 
 
 "That you give your daughter into my keeping as your security," 
 concluded Tanaka. 
 
ON THE ROLL OF FATE 
 
 Would but some winged Angel ere too late 
 Arrest the yet unfolded Roll of Fate, 
 
 And make the stern Recorder otherwise 
 Enregister, or quite obliterate! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 JTOR a moment Ikeda stared at Tanaka in sheer amazement, then, 
 as the interpretation of the latter's meaning formed in his mind, 
 he sprang to his feet, his face fairly livid at the insult offered his 
 family. 
 "You vile harlot-huckster !" he broke forth. "You low" 
 
ON THE ROLL OF FATE I2Q 
 
 "Not so loud," reminded Tanaka, quietly yet menacingly. 
 "Others might chance to overhear you, when certain unfortunate 
 explanations would become necessary." 
 
 The realization of Tanaka's recently acquired power over him 
 sobered Ikeda, and he relapsed into a sullen, angry silence. 
 
 "This is my proposal," continued Tanaka, "which you may, of 
 course, reject if you deem such a course advisable. How old is 
 your daughter ?" 
 
 Ikeda comprehended Tanaka's hidden threat in the slight ac- 
 centing of the word "advisable." 
 
 "Seventeen," he growled. 
 
 "A very good age," responded Tanaka. "If I loan you this yen 
 one thousand it must be upon some more stable security than your 
 personal ambitions. Your daughter is acceptable to me as such 
 nay," he continued as Ikeda made as if to interrupt, "hear me out 
 before you decide. Can she perform on samisen and koto?" 
 Ikeda nodded. 
 
 "Do you not know that noble ladies are taught such accomplish- 
 ments ?" said he. 
 
 "Yet there is a difference between the superficial accomplish- 
 ments of noble ladies and the work of real artists," dissented Tan- 
 aka. "However, if not already proficient your daughter will or 
 I am making my first mis-guess at such acquire the art in little 
 or no time. I propose that she be installed at the Jewel River as 
 a geisha for the space of one year. I will lend you now this yen 
 one thousand upon your written agreement to repay me yen three 
 thousand at the end of that time, during which your daughter 
 shall be your hostage ; but if you fail to liquidate the indebtedness 
 in full at the end of the stipulated year, she is to belong absolute- 
 ly to me until she, by her own efforts, repays the whole amount. 
 Do you agree?" 
 
 Ikeda, who had been thinking hard during Tanaka's expounding 
 of his proposal, came to the conclusion that such an arrangement 
 would benefit him greatly. Moreover, he was of a sanguine tem- 
 perament, and did not believe in the possibility of failure to his 
 scheme. 
 
 "There is one proviso that would first have to be considered," 
 
I3O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 said he. "It will be necessary that I have at my disposal, always, 
 one room in the Jewel River." 
 
 Tanaka reflected a moment. He perceived at once that such a 
 privilege extended Ikeda would redound to the financial benefit of 
 the Jewel River, because the bulk of the yen one thousand would 
 find its way back into his own pockets through the medium of the 
 profits on his sake, food, and the like, yet hesitated on account of 
 the danger of furnishing a place of meeting to a conspiracy. 
 
 "If you choose to occupy a room in my house," said he finally 
 and non-committally, "that is no affair of mine, and the private 
 arrangements between ourselves regarding such a privilege will 
 be no affair of others. But it must be understood that in all re- 
 spects your position in my house is the same as that of any other 
 visitor your privacy as inviolate. I am not supposed to concern 
 myself with what my guests permit within rooms hired by them 
 unless I chance to know such to be against the law and order of 
 the country." 
 
 "With the acceptance of that proviso, then, I agree to your pro- 
 posal," assented Ikeda. 
 
 Tanaka arose, prepared to bring the conversation to a close. 
 
 "I will proceed to the 'Flower Quarter' for the necessary papers 
 and the money," said he. "When and where can we complete this 
 transaction ?" 
 
 "My duties end here at sundown for a short space," suggested 
 Ikeda. "Why not return here for me at that hour, when we can 
 adjourn to my home for a bite and sup, and there arrange all final 
 details?" 
 
 "That will suit me excellently," agreed Tanaka. "At sundown 
 then I will be awaiting you without. Sayonara till then." 
 
 After bidding farewell to Ikeda, Saito had wandered about the 
 city for some time, now passing old acquaintances, now pausing 
 to view once familiar scenes, until, the afternoon far spent, he 
 determined to indulge the craving he felt to talk with Kiku-ko 
 once again. In reality there was no reason why he should have 
 hesitated to call at Tokiyori's besso, for although he and Kiku- 
 ko's husband were the antithesis of one another politically, they 
 
ON THE ROLL OF FATE 13! 
 
 were still socially upon terms of apparent amity, and as Kiku-ko's 
 kinsman he was assured of a welcome. 
 
 As he had anticipated, he found Kiku-ko alone at the villa, she 
 having returned thither from Mukojima with Aysia, leaving To- 
 kiyori to accompany Lord Sakurai first to Niijima, and after- 
 wards to continue on to his offices in the diet chambers. His 
 meeting with Kiku-ko was somewhat constrained at first, for 
 neither had seen much of one another since the afternoon of his 
 serenade beneath the balcony of the besso, attired as a minstrel, 
 and that same night when he had led his samurai in an attack on 
 what he supposed was the house of a traitor. After the first few 
 questions about members of the Satsuma family and affairs in the 
 south, their conversation drifted into more personal channels, Ki- 
 ku-ko asking him what he intended doing now that he had retired 
 from any active part in public affairs. 
 
 "Nothing, as regards further service to the government," Saito 
 replied in answer to her question. "My heart is sickened when I 
 look upon our sacred city and note that here, in its greatest temple, 
 our Japan is fast becoming but a memory. I shall reside perman- 
 ently in Satsuma, where as yet no 'Foreign' impurities have 
 invaded." 
 
 "Aysia and I are leaving Tokio shortly for Moto," continued Ki- 
 ku-ko. "We expect to be there the greater part of the hot summer 
 months. The marquis has grown very attached to Aysia, and rare- 
 ly visits Biwa-ko without taking us with him. As Moto is so much 
 nearer Satsuma than is Tokyo, perhaps we shall be favored with 
 an occasional visit from you there, Saito san." 
 Saito shook his head, sadly. 
 
 "I think not," said he. "I dare say Lord Yo-Ake would make me 
 welcome enough, but I could not bear to look upon Moto, and our 
 bower again, Kiku-ko. I have no doubt it will be soon in the full 
 beauty of its wistaria blooms, but I have no desire to hear possible 
 'Foreign' visitors to the castle defiling its music with their hoarse, 
 coarse speech bawling in their ill breeding where once your sami- 
 sen did sing. It would paint for me too vividly all that I have lost, 
 the bitter, failure of the hopes and visions I then had for our fu- 
 ture, and our country." 
 
132 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 He relapsed into silence, while Kiku-ko felt a moisture dim- 
 ming her eyes as she thought of that one perfect evening with him 
 in the bower. 
 
 "Our Nippon has gone from us," continued Saito, after a few 
 moments, ''back into the land of art-shadows and mists from 
 whence it came. Its winter snows are broken and soiled now with 
 the trampling of foreign feet, and of its summers, all, excepting 
 their sun, is set. Nippon is dead, leaving a few of us who loved it 
 to mingle our tears over its almost forgotten grave. I mourn for 
 that which was, and loath this which is, Kiku-ko this Japan to 
 which I belong not at all, and which has no welcome for such as 
 I. Thus, it seems to me, that my life here is now purposeless, and 
 that I should be far happier awaiting you in the Meido-Land 
 Lady of my heart." 
 
 Her tears were falling now, for as the daughter of a samurai 
 she knew full well that he hinted at taking his own life. He sought 
 her hand, and finding it, pressed it tenderly to his cheeks, yet with 
 a reverence that removed somehow any insult to her, a wife. 
 
 "Oh, do not think and say such things, Saito san !" she plead, 
 finding her voice at last. "You are great and strong, and I know 
 the gods place not such in this world without giving to them a 
 mission." 
 
 "My mission died when Nippon closed her flowers o'er her eyes," 
 he answered. 
 
 "Yet she left you to guard and care for her children," replied 
 Kiku-ko, quickly. "She counted on such as you to cherish the 
 babes of her heart whom she loved. Will you fail her? Our people 
 reverence you and look to you for aid and protection." 
 
 "Only when they are in the extremes of danger," he replied, 
 moodily. "The men of Nippon are now too busy in their endeav- 
 ors to resemble the 'Barbarian' to pay heed to such out-of-fashion 
 persons as myself." 
 
 "But not her daughters," rejoined Kiku-ko. "They need the pro- 
 tection of just such nobles as yourself my knight." 
 He shook his head, still unconvinced. 
 
 "Will you not live for them?" she continued, softly. 
 
 "If you wish it," said he. 
 
ON THE ROLL OF FATE 133 
 
 "I do with all my heart and soul !" 
 
 "So be it, then," he promised. "From henceforth I live to guard 
 and aid the women of my land." 
 
 A little burst of shrill laughter interrupted them, followed by 
 cries of "Kiri ! kiri ! hyaku hyaku !" Kiku-ko slid the shoji that 
 gave out on the garden, disclosing to them Aysia, who, a flower 
 wand in hand, was chasing a group of lavender-and-gold butter- 
 flies about the compound. At sight of her mother's visitor she as- 
 sumed a shy air of demureness and entered through the opening 
 to be presented to him." 
 
 "This is your cousin, the famous Lord Saito of Satsuma, dear," 
 explained Kiku-ko to her daughter. 
 
 Aysia made the quaintest little bow imaginable, and Saito pat- 
 ted her head. 
 
 "Had I known what a pretty little cousin I possessed," said he, 
 "I would not have paid this visit empty-handed of sweetmeats. As 
 it is I must hastert into the city to repair my neglect." 
 
 He bowed to his two cousins and quitted the besso by the 'rick- 
 sha that awaited him at the gateway. Kiku-ko and Aysia stood at 
 the open shoji watching until the Shiba verdure hid him from 
 sight. Then, with a little sigh, Kiku-ko closed the shoji. 
 
 "Is not cousin Saito very handsome, mother?" asked Aysia. 
 
 "Yes, Aysia; I think the handsomest and bravest man in the 
 whole of Japan," answered Kiku-ko, unthinkingly. 
 
 "No," corrected Aysia, "father is that, you know. But I think 
 that after father and Midzu-hara he is the handsomest and brav- 
 est." 
 
 "Whom is Midzu-hara, little one?" asked Kiku-ko. 
 
 "Oh, a friend of mine," answered Aysia with a deliciously grown- 
 up air. 
 
VI 
 
 SAYONARA, OH GARDEN OF MINE! 
 
 Yon rising Moon that looks for us again 
 How oft hereafter shall she wax and wane; 
 
 How oft hereafter rising look for us 
 Through this same Garden and for ONE in vain! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 SABURO IKEDA'S humble abode did not present many oppor- 
 tunities for extended housekeeping, and limited as Ren-ko was for 
 space and necessities, she was fortunate in being expected to pre- 
 pare only the simplest of meals. Thus, having cooked the supper 
 rice and set a bottle of cheap sake by her parent's tray, she with- 
 
SAYONARA, OH GARDEN OF MINE ! 135 
 
 drew to her little room whilst awaiting the homecoming of her 
 father. 
 
 Yet, if she was unfortunate in the attributes of ordinary life, 
 Ren-ko had one compensation for the unkindness of her fate 
 the small garden at the rear of the cottage. Here with loving care 
 she grew the seasonal flowers and vines, and sometimes for the 
 flowers seemed grateful for her understanding of and sympathy 
 with them little odd, nameless shrubs and plants would peep up 
 from the earth to afford her joy and amusement. As she entered 
 her room she slid the shoji of it, that she might wish her garden 
 an o yasumi nasai. 
 
 Dusk was touching the cherry petals of the Mukojima trees 
 with leaden, gray fingers, and through the open window Ren-ko 
 could discern the faint night mist draping gracefully over the petal- 
 strewn waters of the Sumida like the coverlet of a futon, while 
 here and there twinkling lanterns began to gleam along the av- 
 enue. Far-away so it seemed to her lay the great, sleepless city, 
 with Fuji-no-yama watching over the changing panoramic life, 
 serene in its snow-capped distant height, and over the tree tops, 
 toward this, a silvery light was spreading in the soft, waxlike sky 
 to forerun the stately flight of April's moon. 
 
 She stood for a few moments inhaling the beauty of the fading 
 twilight, then turning back into the little room, lit the single an- 
 don it contained, and kneeling by the faint glow, proceeded to 
 turn the leaves of a brightly-colored book lent her that day by a 
 neighbor. It portrayed scenes from the various fetes for which 
 the Yoshiwara was celebrated, among them the great annual pro- 
 cession of its oiiran, spread across the double pages of the book 
 in a pageant of startling color and magnificence. The reproduc- 
 tions were faithful, even to detail, for, despite the richness of the 
 display, the artist had caught and pictured the unearthly nothing- 
 ness and mechanism in the features of the courtesans, transform- 
 ing even the gorgeous fulness of their kimonos into a semblance 
 of utter woodenness. With full, crimsoned lips, faces and necks 
 bedaubed with the unnaturalness of dead-white paint and pow- 
 der, stiff with the embroidered gold and silver of crepe and silk, 
 apparently seeing, feeling and knowing nothing, passed on the 
 
136 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 pages before her, by twos and twos, the endless oiiran, attended 
 each by two small maiden neophytes in their novitiate. 
 
 Ren-ko studied the drawings rapturously, until in a childish 
 spirit of play, she commenced unconsciously to pace her tiny 
 apartment in mimicry of the pictured beauties. Left much to her 
 own devices, she had acquired a habit of amusing herself by se- 
 cret acting, and with the necessity of ever developing this art fur- 
 ther to appease the craving of her critical loneliness, had achieved 
 a perfection in it. Up and down her apartment she tripped, raising 
 her feet as though shod with the highest of geta, until, ever and 
 anon resuming her seat by the andon for a fresh study of details, 
 she decided that nothing was lacking in her imitation to make it 
 live, excepting the reality itself ah, yes; one thing was awry, 
 the oiiran in the pictures wore the bows of their obi knotted in 
 front! Again she studied the reproductions to reassure herself 
 upon this point, and then noting that the same custom prevailed 
 for one and all of the unfortunates in the pictured procession, 
 slipped the bow of her own obi to the front, exactly after the 
 fashion prescribed for the inmates of the "Flower Quarter." 
 
 "There!" exclaimed Ren-ko, as she completed her task, "now I 
 am a real oiiran !" 
 
 She heard the fusima of the adjoining apartment open, and has- 
 tened into the room to serve her father with his evening meal. In 
 the doorway she stopped suddenly, all confused, for she perceived 
 that he had brought to their home a guest a most unusual oc- 
 currence who was evidently the same with whom she had found 
 him conversing at the yose earlier in the afternoon. 
 
 "Your supper is prepared, father," she faltered. "I was not 
 aware of your intentions to bring an honorable guest with you, 
 and must crave his pardon for so poor a meal." 
 
 "It will suffice," answered Ikeda, while Tanaka murmured some- 
 thing about the divineness of the surroundings compensating for 
 any fare, however humble. He was, in truth, although he would 
 not admit such even to himself, a little secretly awed by his sud- 
 den close association with his born superiors. 
 
 "Bring my ink-case and writing table," continued Ikeda to his 
 daughter, "and then serve supper." 
 
SAYONARA, OH GARDEN OF MINE ! 137 
 
 She retired quickly into the privacy of her small room, and 
 after a few seconds devoted to the rearranging of her attire, re- 
 entered the apartment with the ink-case, which, with the table, 
 she placed before her parent ; she then set the supper tables, plac- 
 ing her own, with its scanty meal, before the mat of their guest. 
 This done she withdrew to her room, supperless. 
 
 Before the window once more she stood, yet now it seemed the 
 beauty of the landscape had become erased by the dark shade that 
 lay over all. Presently this dispelled, and the rim of the rising 
 moon semi-circled the tops of a gathering of trees. Slowly, but 
 invincibly, it rose until its half globe of molten radiance showered 
 a ripe, full light, rich as spilling quicksilver. Then, like an enor- 
 mous andon in the velvet courts of night, it hung above the Cherry 
 Avenue. It dimmed the lanterns among the trees,, and shed its 
 cold, unerring glamor over road and river, creeping in and out 
 among the tree trunks and shadow-blackened booths and yose like 
 some great occult searchlight, from whose insistence nothing 
 could hide. She noted the still falling clouds of cherry petals, sil- 
 ver flaked by the moon and suddenly to Ren-ko they seemed as 
 cold as winter snow. Beneath her shoji the little garden lay, frost- 
 ed in this whiteness, the flowers motionless and lifeless as though 
 of carven ivory. A shadow touched her soul, awful in the perfec- 
 tion of its deathlike nothingness. 
 
 Presently she distinguished the voice of her father summoning 
 her to the adjoining apartment, and with a sigh that contained in 
 its notes the loneliness of a last farewell, entered the room where 
 the two men were. Their supper was over; before Ikeda lay a 
 freshly signed and sealed scroll. 
 
 "Ren-ko," said he, without lifting his eyes from the scroll, " a 
 change has entered our lives necessitating a removal of abode. In 
 the immediate future my own movements will be to some extent 
 uncertain unavoidably so. Because of this I have arranged for a 
 temporary asylum for you with this man, Mr. Tanaka. It is my 
 wish that you prepare to accompany him as soon as possible." 
 
 He stopped and eyed her anxiously, while Ren-ko strove to re- 
 cover from the bewilderment of his sudden and unexpected an- 
 nouncement. 
 "Where is to be my abode, father ?" she faltered, finally. 
 
138 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Ikeda cleared his throat, nervously. 
 
 "At that is, I would say I believe this man Mr. Tanaka's 
 house is called the The Jewel River," explained Ikeda with ob- 
 vious confusion. 
 
 "The Jewel River?" repeated Ren-ko, still bewildered. "The 
 Jewel River?" 
 
 Then a light, as cold and relentless as the moon, dawned on 
 her, nipping, as frost nips flower, the warmth of her maiden inno- 
 cence. No abodes of her knowing were called by such name as 
 Jewel River, but on the banners borne among the oiiran of her 
 picture book similar unique insignia was frequent. She came a 
 step nearer her father, her lips parted, her eyes staring as though 
 at some startling horror, her little shapely hands clasped over her 
 breasts as though to hold shut the door of its purity its sanctum 
 against the vandalism of mankind. 
 
 "Am I sold, my father ?" she quavered, her mouth drooping pite- 
 ously. 
 
 Ikeda turned his head away, murmuring something about "de- 
 graded circumstances" and the "appurtenances of the house of 
 Ikeda," but neither he nor his guest said aught to her. She gazed, 
 as though for some word of comfort, from one to the other, and 
 still they sat immobile Ikeda through shame, Tanaka because his 
 time was not yet. They seemed to her like two great giant spiders, 
 motionless, relentless, their spinnerets weaving silent webs about 
 their helpless victim. Then without warning ; beyond her powers 
 of suppression a stifled hysterical scream escaped her, as bury- 
 ing her head within her hands, she sobbed dry, tearless, body 
 racking sobs, that shook her watchers with a creature anguish. 
 "Oh, sorrow of the gods !" she wailed, "I am to be an oiiran ! I 
 am to be an oiiran !" 
 
 She reached her room how she knew not, nor cared and me- 
 chanically made up her belongings into one small bundle. This 
 finished, she started to return to her father and Tanaka then 
 stopped irresolutely, and stepped back to the open shoji. It was to 
 her garden that she would make her last farewell. There it lay, 
 its flowers perfect in their slumber, the children she had moth- 
 ered because of her unknown, yet primal, instinct of motherhood 
 
SAYONARA, OH GARDEN OF MINE ! 139 
 
 and creation. Her garden slept, the flowers folded on its breasts, 
 and when their eyes would open on the morrow no Ren-ko would 
 tend their fragile petals, no Ren-ko would straighten or bend their 
 delicate stalks. What matter that some other might learn to care 
 for them? They were hers the children of her soul. 
 
 The tears that had not come to ease her own pain, now fell like 
 pearl drops in the moonlight on her garden. 
 
 "Sayonara, Oh garden of mine," whispered Ren-ko the fallen 
 flower; "Sayonara." 
 

 VII 
 
 THE OLD FAMILIAR JUICE 
 
 "Well," murmur'd one, "Let whoso make or buy, 
 My Clay with long Oblivion has gone dry: 
 But nil me with the old familiar Juice, 
 Methinks I might recover by and by." OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 JL)ECEMBER of that year brought with it two visitors to Nippon 
 the seasonal snow and the now occidentalized Taro Goto the 
 last in quest of Japanese laborers to fulfill his contract. With his 
 advent into Goto's home by the Sumida River, life had taken on 
 the cherriest of aspects to the baron. Taro was his idol, the hope 
 
THE OLD FAMILIAR JUICE 14! 
 
 of his family, and to neither friends nor acquaintances did Goto 
 ever seem to tire of recounting tales of his nephew's extreme sa- 
 gacity, and his wonderful insight into "Foreign" life and cus- 
 toms. Hence it befell that before he had been in Tokyo a full 
 fortnight, Mr. Taro Goto had become somewhat of a celebrity, 
 and was spoken of everywhere as a coming young man. 
 
 Among others to whom the baron preferred entertainments at 
 his Mukojima besso in honor of his nephew was Tokiyori. Kiku- 
 ko and Aysia had accompanied the marquis to Biwa-ko about 
 mid-summer, and had not yet returned to the city. With Taro, To- 
 kiyori was from the first favorably impressed, and naturally, for 
 the two had much in common regarding "Foreign" topics. He lis- 
 tened with the utmost interest to Taro's plan concerning the ex- 
 ploitation of labor, and in the end not only agreed to assist his 
 enterprise by the issuance of the necessary passports and the 
 stamp of governmental approval, but suggested to Taro that he 
 form an emigration company, which should also seek to acquire 
 lands for farming purposes in the United States. 
 
 Upon this advice Taro set smartly to work, with the result that 
 at the end of a fortnight the Nippon Land and Emigration Com- 
 pany received its birth, with projected offices in Tokyo and San 
 Francisco. Taro interested several men of wealth and prominence 
 in the formation of this company, and had himself elected general 
 manager, with almost limitless discretionary powers. Nor was his 
 uncle, the baron, forgotten in all this good fortune. Thus, while 
 it would have been impracticable for Goto because of his promi- 
 nent governmental position to become directly connected with a 
 private enterprise, the difficulty was surmounted by his being rep- 
 resented through the medium of a third party. Once more, it 
 seemed, prosperity was about to descend upon the house of Goto. 
 
 These details to the launching of the Nippon Land and Emi- 
 gration Company satisfactorily completed, Taro prepared to give 
 himself up for the few remaining weeks of his stay in Tokyo to 
 the pleasures of the city, and in accordance with this found him- 
 self strolling one evening through the "Flower Quarter" of the 
 town, and by chance in front of the two houses of The Jewel Riv- 
 er. Entering, he ordered dinner and geisha. Fate ordained that 
 
142 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 One of the latter should be Ren-ko, who for some eight months 
 past had been under Tanaka's rule, known by her "house name" 
 as The Breath of Mukojima. At the conclusion of the entertain- 
 ment, Taro was so well pleased and so profoundly impressed with 
 her that he engaged the same geisha for the following evening. 
 
 The eight months subsequent upon her sale had developed Ren- 
 ko from a girl into a woman an extremely world-wise one. Clev- 
 er she had always been. In a manner she had become reconciled 
 to the change in her life, taking a positive interest and enjoyment 
 in her share of her father's conspiracy, to which she proved no 
 small accessory by reason of her perfect adaptability to any and 
 all circumstances and the aid of her truly wondrous beauty. The 
 plot was progressing favorably, and Ikeda had succeeded in en- 
 rolling Saito among its members a fact due largely to the lat- 
 ter's interpretation of his promise to Kiku-ko, and a secret hope 
 of overthrowing the Yo-Ake and ultimately winning her. 
 
 The following night saw Taro again in The Jewel River, ac- 
 cording to his arrangement of the evening before. As he was 
 leaving the house he met Tanaka by chance, and took occasion to 
 compliment him upon the possession of such a charming geisha. 
 
 "She is a very remarkable girl," observed Taro. 
 
 "She is, indeed, the pride of my poor houses," agreed Tanaka. 
 "When in addition to her accomplishments as a geisha one takes 
 into account the nobility of her birth and breeding, The Jewel 
 River may be pardoned if it feels that it is making every effort to 
 please its customers. We hope for the honor of a visit from you 
 soon again, honorable sir." 
 
 "Of noble birth is she?" asked Taro. "Who are her parents?" 
 
 "The honorable Saburo Ikeda is her father," explained Tanaka. 
 
 "Saburo Ikeda? Not Lord Ikeda, once of the Shogun'sBaka-fu?" 
 
 "Yes," said Tanaka, "the same." 
 
 "Saburo Ikeda!" repeated Taro, half to himself. "I remember 
 him quite well when I was but a boy. How times have changed ! 
 Well, sayonara, landlord; your dinner was excellent and your 
 geisha was most charming." 
 
 Later that same night Taro took his uncle into his confidence 
 regarding the geisha, Breath of Mukojima. 
 
THE OLD FAMILIAR JUICE 143 
 
 "I dined at The Jewel River in the Yoshiwara this evening," he 
 observed to Goto, with whom he was conversing preparatory to 
 retiring for the night, "and was entertained there by a most re- 
 markable geisha." 
 
 "'If there is folly in the cup, there is also wisdom in the brewing 
 of it'," quoted Goto, absently, his mind of late being often occu- 
 pied with calculations relative to Taro's enterprise. "You dined at 
 the Yoshiwara, you say ? I believe they still serve a very good re- 
 past at some of the houses there. By the way, nephew, how many 
 of your ruffian laborers do you reckon on exporting with your first 
 shipload?" 
 
 Taro regarded his uncle impatiently. He was more interested 
 in the topic of The Jewel River just then than in the emigration 
 question. 
 
 "With your permission," said he, "I would rather talk to you 
 about the former Lord Saburo Ikeda's daughter, who is a geisha 
 at The Jewel River, where I dined this evening." 
 
 "Old Ikeda's daughter a geisha!" exclaimed Goto. "Well, well. 
 I recall her when she was a pretty little child. Times have indeed 
 altered 'the coat of the animal changes with each new season/ I 
 remember Ikeda when he and I were on the Baka-fu. A most self- 
 opinionated man was he, and excessively narrow. I recall when 
 he and I dined once together at Tokiyori Yo-Ake's besso in the 
 Shiba woodlands. It was the night of Saito's attack upon the 
 'Foreign' embassies. Ikeda was airing an absurd opinion about 
 pickling eels in sea grass, and I said " 
 
 "But, uncle, I am attempting to tell you about his daughter," in- 
 terrupted Taro, hastily. He knew that his uncle once launched on 
 his favorite topic would conversationally exhaust every subject 
 of gastronomy pertaining thereto. "I think her the wittiest and 
 most beautiful girl I have ever seen," he continued. "I could not 
 begin to do justice to her charms by a mere description of her; 
 you would have to see her with your own eyes to comprehend her 
 exquisite beauty." 
 
 "She is, then, so very beautiful?" queried Goto with sudden in- 
 terest. 
 
 "She is called," answered Taro, rapturously, "The Breath of 
 
144 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Mukojima, and, indeed, she reminds me of nothing so much as a 
 handful of light, airy, floating cherry petals." 
 
 Goto chuckled. 
 
 '"To a lover's eyes a pock-mark has the beauty of a dimple'," he 
 quoted. "I do not know that I should encourage you in this affair, 
 Taro; still, young men must have their day. I remember in my 
 time a very famous beauty at the Sign of the " 
 
 "Uncle," interrupted Taro again, solemnly, "I want you to come 
 with me and see Ikeda's daughter with your own eyes." 
 
 "I !" exclaimed Goto, sitting up in his surprise. "By Uji-no-mita- 
 ma, the boy is mad ! It would hardly be advisable for a personage 
 of my importance to be seen attending a house of the 'Flower 
 Quarter.' 'The elephant does not walk abroad unobserved'." 
 
 "You might so becloak yourself that no one would know whom 
 you were," suggested Taro. 
 
 Goto shook his head. 
 
 '"The lion deprived of his mane has still his roar'," he objected. 
 "Considering my prominent position, I fear it would not be wise, 
 nephew." 
 
 "We could take 'rickshas, beneath the hoods of which we would 
 be unobserved," continued Taro, "and, upon arriving at The Jew- 
 el River, enter by a private way so that none need know that Gen- 
 eral Baron Goto of the Imperial Army was a visitor to the Yoshi- 
 wara." 
 
 "And, pray," asked Goto, somewhat ponderously, "what sort of 
 a figure would General Baron Goto of the Imperial Army resem- 
 ble muffled up to his eyes and sneaking into a Yoshiwara house by 
 the back way? 'Fuji disrobed of its crest would lose its majesty'." 
 
 "But, uncle," persisted Taro, all those details can be arranged 
 without causing you either loss of dignity or annoyance. Besides, 
 think how seldom we are, or can be, together nowadays. Surely 
 you will not refuse me this small boon?" 
 
 Goto pondered a moment. 
 
 "'The dam must often cross unsound ground to follow the colt'," 
 he mused. "Well, well, nephew, perhaps you are right. The 'pleas- 
 ure of recalling kindly acts robs parting of much of its sting.' By 
 Uji-no-mitama ! I am getting to be an old fellow. You say take 
 
THE OLD FAMILIAR JUICE 145 
 
 'rickshas to this Jewel River? Ha-ha! in my day we young men 
 used to ride thither on white horses but, times are changed, 
 times are changed. Yet, with a good bottle of wine and a pretty 
 woman, who knows but that I might grow young again, nephew ?" 
 
VIII 
 
 POTTER AND POTS 
 
 Whereat some one of the loquacious Lot 
 / think a Sufi pipkin waxing hot 
 
 "All this of Pot and Potter Tell me then, 
 Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?" OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 I HE two houses of The Jewel River fronted on the Nightless 
 Street, being bounded on the one side by a smaller thoroughfare 
 known as the Street of the Sorrow-Love, and at the back by an 
 alley from which a rarely-used exit led to the rear of the brothels. 
 By this back entrance Taro conducted his uncle, Baron Goto, into 
 
POTTER AND POTS 147 
 
 The Jewel River the following night, and on up the rear stairway 
 to the story above, where a dinner room was reserved for them. 
 From just beyond this room a bridge the Bridge of Love 
 spanned the small gardened courtyard between the two houses, 
 and led to the balcony opposite. Mainly the rooms looking out on 
 this belonged to the oiiran, but the two rooms nearest the back 
 stairway had been allotted to Saburo Ikeda and Ren-ko. 
 
 To Taro's impatient chagrin, Breath of Mukojima was late in 
 making her appearance on this occasion. Grown impatient, he at 
 last arose and slid the shoji, when, to his surprise, he saw her, 
 preceded by two elderly men, leaving her room across the bridge. 
 He drew his uncle's attention to this, whereupon Goto suddenly 
 exclaimed 
 
 "By Uji-no-mitama! if that is not Watanabe and Nakamura! I 
 had heard they were both impoverished since the Restoration and 
 supporting themselves somewhere on the outskirts of the city by 
 the cultivation of flowers." 
 
 "Who are they?" queried Taro, in no very good humor at Ren- 
 ko's delay. 
 
 "Old daimios of the Tokugawa days," exclaimed Goto. "I knew 
 them both personally." 
 
 "They must be doing a thriving trade with flowers to be able to 
 afford geisha," observed Taro, ironically. 
 
 Before Goto could make further comment Ren-ko entered, dis- 
 pelling by her wit and beauty Taro's ill temper. Thereafter the 
 dinner progressed favorably to its conclusion, Goto on their way 
 home expressing himself to Taro as greatly taken with the latter's 
 inamorata. 
 
 In the meanwhile Ikeda's conspiracy had been gathering way 
 to the satisfaction of those concerned, particularly Tanaka, who, 
 while not one of the plotters, had, nevertheless, an acute interest 
 in the furthering of the scheme. Watching the constantly increas- 
 ing stream of former Shogunate partisans to his house, he con- 
 gratulated himself not a little on his astuteness in deciding to loan 
 Ikeda the yen one thousand, for, whichever way affairs should 
 ultimately turn out, he would be a heavy gainer. Even should Ike- 
 da untimely fail, Tanaka, according to the terms of the contract, 
 
148 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 would be the proprietor, body and soul, of Ren-ko, whose fame 
 had already served as a drawing card to The Jewel River. Tana- 
 ka reckoned that not a few thousand yen would swell his profits 
 before her meager percentage would be sufficiently accumulated 
 to liquidate her father's original indebtedness to him. Therefore 
 he was well satisfied with the continuance of affairs as they stood. 
 
 Ikeda, on the other hand, was consumed with a feverish anxiety 
 to force the final issue. But three months of the stipulated time 
 toward the repayment of the loan remained, and meanwhile there 
 was a world of detail to be accomplished. True, his hopes regard- 
 ing Saito had materialized, yet, despite all his scheming and run- 
 ning hither and thither, the culmination of the plotting progressed 
 with maddening tardiness and there was always the daily danger 
 of discovery. 
 
 Saito, having arranged his samurai in Satsuma to his liking, de- 
 cided to remain in Tokyo, rendering necessary assistance to Ike- 
 da, but to Ren-ko, more than any of the others, was due credit for 
 the daily addition of fresh names to the document prepared by 
 Ikeda a document simply stating : 
 
 We do swear to accomplish the liberation of our Japan of the 
 gods from its ''Foreign" yoke ; to assist Saburo Ikeda, in which 
 we pledge our souls, our swords, our wealth and our lives. 
 
 Now most of the intending signers of this had tried conclusions 
 with the Imperialists in the era of Meiji, and were more than 
 convinced that any demonstration against the existing govern- 
 ment would, at the present at all events, prove anything but a suc- 
 cess. Furthermore, one and all had a deeply ingrained reverence 
 for the Mikado, who was the focusing point of the state spiritual 
 as well as the state temporal. These facts rendered many disin- 
 clined to contemplate again drawing their swords against the 
 cause of the son of the son of the god, and herein Ren-ko became 
 invaluable, for whatever were the means she employed, or powers 
 of suasion she used, it is certain that no known one of the many 
 fish brought to her feet, by her father and Saito, escaped without 
 adding their names to the other signatures and seals upon the doc- 
 ument entrusted to her keeping. 
 
POTTER AND POTS 149 
 
 The day following the little dinner given by Taro to his uncle, 
 the former again sought The Jewel River in quest of Ren-ko, and 
 was again kept waiting, this time by a handsome soldierly man, 
 of distinguished presence and dress, who, having left Ren-ko's 
 apartment with her father so Taro observed through a small 
 opening in the shoji of his room turned back for further conver- 
 sation with her. Something in his manner and her actions an- 
 noyed Taro, and he determined to find out the name of this un- 
 known rival and his connection with Breath of Mukojima. 
 
 The next day had been set apart by both Goto and Taro to ful- 
 fill a dinner engagement with Lord Yo-Ake at Shima Castle, and 
 afterwards to call upon Tokiyori and Kiku-ko at the besso near- 
 by. Arranging to meet his uncle at Shima, Taro took 'ricksha 
 thither, arriving at the castle before his uncle. The marquis was a 
 charming host, attentive, courtly and most catholic in his conver- 
 sational topics, and few men had mastered the art of listening to 
 better purpose than he. Led to the subject by his host, Taro 
 launched into the question of his enterprise, drifting from thence 
 to a detailed description of his own life in San Francisco prior to 
 his present home coming. In this he became so engrossed that he 
 absorbed the entire conversation. 
 
 The marquis asked him about Midzu-hara, Mata's stepson, 
 whom he had dispatched to America with introductory letters to 
 Taro, and was pleased to learn much in detail of the lad's new 
 life. 
 
 "I determined from the first," said Taro, "that your lordship's 
 protege should be put in the way of profiting by my experience. 
 When I first became a resident of San Francisco, I discovered 
 that the yen one thousand given me by my uncle, while it would 
 have more than sufficed for my wants here, was inadequate to 
 maintaining me in a similar position for any length of time in the 
 United States. Therefore I determined to undertake some definite 
 occupation that would also afford me an opportunity of learning 
 the language and customs of the people. Yet, because of my utter 
 ignorance of the English tongue and lack of knowledge concern- 
 ing any trade or business, I was left with a very narrow field from 
 which to choose. Eventually I decided to become a house servant, 
 
I5O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 engaging my services in that capacity as against my board and 
 lodging. Gradually, however, as I became more proficient and bet- 
 ter acquainted with the language, I was enabled to ask added re- 
 muneration for my services." 
 
 "It speaks very well for you, Mr. Taro Goto," commented the 
 marquis, "that you did not permit your occupation to interfere 
 with your studies." 
 
 "That would have been hardly possible in any case," responded 
 Taro, smiling. "The lady with whom I was domiciled took a most 
 kindly interest in the forlorn young Japanese, even somewhat neg- 
 lecting her own children to afford me hours of instruction in her 
 language hours that I turned to the best and quickest possible 
 profit, so that I was shortly in a position to leave her service and 
 seek similar work where I would have greater opportunities of 
 study. Following out this method of procedure, I passed from one 
 household to another, until finally I became valet to a general offi- 
 cer commanding the United States troops at the Presidio, or mil- 
 itary depot, in San Francisco, in which latter service I was en- 
 abled to learn much of importance concerning coast fortifications 
 there and subjects of like interest. Of course I was careful in this 
 situation to conceal my now thoroughly acquired perfection in the 
 language, so that because of my supposed ignorance I gained much 
 information on many strategic subjects of guarded secrecy. 
 
 "Profiting by this," continued Taro, after a moment's pause, "I 
 arranged, immediately upon Midzuhara's arrival bearing creden- 
 tials from you, to install him as body servant to a naval officer 
 stationed at Mare Island, the Pacific naval base of the United 
 States, being influenced to this particular choice of situation be- 
 cause I gathered from your lordship's letter that you intended 
 him ultimately for a naval career. His duties are light, and if he 
 exercises his ingenuity he will be able to pick up much valuable 
 knowledge." 
 
 "And were no suspicions aroused as to your proper sphere in 
 li fe?" asked Lord Yo-Ake. 
 
 "None," smiled Taro, "for my cue was not to talk, but listen. 
 My masters could not know whether I was coolie or noble." 
 At this juncture the baron arrived, and while awaiting the an- 
 
POTTER AND POTS 151 
 
 nouncement of dinner, proceeded to entertain his host with an ac- 
 count of Taro's affair at The Jewel River. 
 
 '"As the swallow passes the nest, the parent birds fail to recog- 
 nize him as the fledgling of the spring'," he quoted to Lord Yo- 
 Ake, with a mischievous glance at his nephew. "Taro has returned 
 to me so full of worldly knowledge and wisdom that I dare scarce 
 refer to myself as his uncle." 
 
 "He is, indeed, a young gentleman of whom much may be 
 hoped," replied the marquis. "It seems regrettable that having 
 again found him, as it were, you must so soon lose him, for I am 
 given to understand that Mr. Taro contemplates an early return 
 to America." 
 
 "That remains to be seen," rejoined Goto, with a merry twinkle. 
 'The magnet in a woman's eye can sometimes anchor the most 
 quick sailing of junks.' The hour of Taro's departure is not yet 
 recorded in the day book of The Jewel River." 
 
 He laughed jocosely, and the marquis raised his brows in polite 
 inquiry, while Taro grew suddenly red and uncomfortable. 
 
 "Nonsense, uncle," he observed, hastily. "The fact of a casual 
 visit of mine to the 'Flower Quarter' can scarce prove a topic of 
 much interest to Lord Yo-Ake." 
 
 Goto threw his head back and chuckled in his stentorian tones. 
 He was getting huge enjoyment out of the Yoshiwara episode, in 
 his simple way. 
 
 "Casual!" he guffawed. "Casual? Ho-ho-ho!" 
 
 "Pray let us hear the story, if Mr. Taro has no great objection," 
 adjured the marquis, with his ever-courteous solicitousness con- 
 cerning any topic of apparent interest to a guest. 
 
 "I fear your lordship will find this one of but small entertain- 
 ment," replied Taro, answering for his uncle. "The facts are that 
 I chanced one evening to be strolling through the Yoshiwara, and 
 sought a neighboring house The Jewel River for dinner. There 
 I was entertained by a geisha so witty and so exquisitely beauti- 
 ful that she impressed me. Inquiry elicited the information that 
 she is the daughter of the former Lord Ikeda, whom I recalled as 
 a one-time acquaintance of my uncle's. The geisha Breath of 
 Mukojima I considered so well worth seeing that I prevailed 
 upon my uncle to accompany me thither. 
 
152 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Which had to be done with the utmost care," supplemented Go- 
 to. "The lion's nobility would suffer were he caught hunting 
 among rats. 5 However, Yo-Ake, it appears that my boy is not the 
 only victim to the charms of Ikeda's daughter and she is, I 
 vouch, quite as popular as beautiful for while we were dining 
 there I saw old Watanabe and Jiro Nakamura coming from what 
 I learned were her rooms. But what most struck me was how 
 either of them both, I know, destitute since the downfall of 
 Keiki Tokugawa could afford that sort of thing." 
 
 "The folly of life is not to be measured by its age apparently," 
 rejoined Lord Yo-Ake, "nor, it would seem, by financial consider- 
 ations either. Yet, with you, Goto, I fail to understand why the 
 impulses of youth should control maturer years. Even in our 
 younger days such luxuries as visits to the Yoshiwara were con- 
 spicuous by their rarity rather than otherwise, and generally oc- 
 curred when at all on some gala occasion subsequent upon the 
 collections of our semi-annual rents. But proceed, Mr. Taro, I 
 beg you." 
 
 "There is very little more to confess," said Taro, his mind easier 
 by the every-day manner in which his host of whom he stood 
 secretly in some awe had received the intelligence of Goto's lit- 
 tle tale. "I chanced to dine there on another occasion, when I ex- 
 perienced a tardiness of attention by the geisha Breath of Muko- 
 jima. Eventually there emerged from her rooms four men, one of 
 whom I recalled as the former Lord Takeo Mikuni, a one-time 
 playmate, and the second of whom I identified as Saburo Ikeda. 
 The other two were unknown to me, but one of them must be, I 
 judge, on terms of great intimacy with Breath of Mukojima, as 
 he left his companions and re-entered her rooms, where he re- 
 mained during the rest of my stay that evening at The Jewel 
 River." 
 
 "You say you saw Takeo Mikuni there?" interpolated Goto. "I 
 heard he had fled somewhere to the south after the Restoration, 
 although his brother, Fumiyo Mikuni, is high in Imperial favor at 
 present. But have you no idea as to who is your rival, Taro ?" 
 
 "None, saving that he was a soldierly appearing man of perhaps 
 five-and-thirty, or forty years of age," replied Taro. 
 
POTTER AND POTS 
 
 153 
 
 "A description that might easily be applied to quite a number of 
 individuals/' commented the marquis, smiling. "But I perceive 
 our repast is in readiness and that my old friend the baron is 
 growing somewhat impatient. It is an infallible law of human ex- 
 istence, Mr. Taro, that as our mentality ages in wisdom, our ma- 
 terial propoganda grows more childlike, and requires ever more 
 careful nursing and attention." 
 
IX 
 
 THE GARDEN S HYACINTH 
 
 / sometimes think that never blows so red 
 The Rose as where some buried Ccesar bled; 
 That every Hyacinth the Garden wears 
 Dropt in her Lap from some once lovely Head.omn KHAYYAM. 
 
 I HAT afternoon Saito had called at the besso, and in the ab- 
 sence of Tokiyori had lingered to chat with Kiku-ko. After a few 
 moments' conversation, he relapsed into a sort of moody self- ret- 
 rospection, for he still loved her as ardently as he had that never- 
 to-be-forgotten night in the wistaria bower at Moto. Finally, Ki- 
 
THE GARDEN S HYACINTH 155 
 
 ku-ko rallied him upon his preoccupation, ascribing it to love- 
 lorness. 
 
 "One would almost think," said she in a spirit of banter, "that 
 you had become enslaved by some beautiful creature and are re- 
 gretting every minute not spent in her presence." 
 
 "That is true," he answered, moodily. "The gods know I some- 
 times wish that I might lose my reason if with it I could also lose 
 remembrance, and the poignant and ever-present sorrow that re- 
 membrance brings." 
 
 "Is forgetting so difficult a matter?" she asked, thoughtlessly, 
 and then, realizing almost immediately what his reference meant, 
 blushed in some confusion. 
 
 "It is not difficult it is impossible," he replied. "I can find no 
 surcease in work, nor could I, I fear, in dissipation. Those two 
 are, I believe, the established substitutes in most men's lives for 
 disappointed hopes. To me they are unavailable. Perhaps the gods 
 have cursed me with an over-imaginative mind I know not, but 
 that I can not for one moment forget our love, Kiku-ko, each 
 heart-beat of mine reminds me." 
 
 "Heart beats are but the ticking of time," said she, quietly. 
 "Who takes account of the tickings that are past?" 
 
 "If there were no past tickings how could there be present or 
 future time?" he asked. "If there were no dead, where would be 
 the quick? I can no more bury the memory of my slain love than 
 I can the memory of my ancestors. If it were not for both, would 
 I be myself?" 
 
 "You might have been a greater you," she hazarded ; and then, 
 quickly, "and yet not that either, Saito. I would not in my wom- 
 an's heart have you other than you are. I do not think that I, 
 myself, have grown calloused, or have ever forgotten the past 
 and beautiful Biwa of my maiden days. Ah, no ; its very name and 
 what it stood for has ever a lingering trace of wistaria about it. 
 Yet, now, life has lain so many duties upon me that in their ful- 
 fillment I have scant time for other thought. I know what you 
 would say, but it is so with a woman, Saito. Love is her whole ex- 
 istence yet, how seldom it touches her with a tender hand! 
 Rather it builds to her senses an ideal impossible of attainment, or 
 
156 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 else an architectural shell, hollow as it is beautiful. Both are im- 
 possible of permanent realization. Happy the woman who, know- 
 ing naught other of life, asks of it but its duties and drudgery." 
 
 "You speak but for the woman," he replied, "yet is it not the 
 same with the man? I, also, have my ideals two you and our 
 Nippon. On these my star of life is set, in all that touches them is 
 my nature lawless. I can not realize one waking hour of peace 
 when both are not entwined before my eyes. At my daily practice 
 of sword manual I am striking blows but for both, or, guarding, 
 I seem to be shielding not myself, but you and Nippon. The very 
 embers in my hibatchi, as I sit pondering late at night, form 
 strange pictures of what might be. I would it were not so ; that I 
 could be as are other men, rinding work and pleasure to absorb 
 these things ; but, as I may not, I must continue on in this re-in- 
 carnation, cursed by the gods, an ever-burning lamp to light an- 
 other's ihai in the shrine of love. Was ever greater sacrifice de- 
 manded ?" 
 
 He had arisen, when as will happen at such moments an in- 
 terruption was created by Aysia, who had just learned that her 
 cousin Saito had arrived. 
 
 "Who is a greater sacrifice ?" she demanded in her quaint child- 
 ish way, as she burst into the room on the last word of her cous- 
 in's. 
 
 "A great many people, little cousin," he replied. "Those who can 
 not have what they want, for instance. And those who have what 
 belongs to them taken from them." 
 
 "Then I am a very great sacrifice," rejoined Aysia. "Because 
 nurse never lets me have many sweeties unless grandfather Yo- 
 Ake tells her to," she added, with candor. 
 
 "Her grandfather spoils Aysia with his indulgences," explained 
 Kiku-ko, plaintively. 
 
 "Somewhat of a new role for Lord Yo-Ake to be assuming," 
 Saito answered, ironically. 
 
 Aysia's mind that had in it a suggestion of the perambulation 
 and tenacity of her grandfather's again reverted to the original 
 question. 
 
 "Who is a greater sacrifice ?" she repeated, and Saito, puzzled as 
 to how to answer her question, replied haphazardly : 
 
THE GARDEN S HYACINTH 157 
 
 "Why, little Shiny Locks, of course." 
 
 Aysia promptly settled herself upon a cushion close to her 
 mother. 
 
 "Tell me," she said in a voice half of entreaty, half of command, 
 "Who is little Shiny Locks?" 
 
 Saito, with a whimsical look at Kiku-ko, complied. 
 
 "Little Shiny Locks," he explained, "why she was a very good 
 little girl who once lived in beautiful old Japan, and had a lovely 
 dolly. One day the dolly got broken, so Shiny Locks cried, and 
 she cried, and she cried so hard that by and by her shiny black 
 locks became all damp with the dew of her tears, and refused to 
 be shiny any longer. 
 
 "While she was crying thus, there passed a great samurai called 
 Mighty Sword, and seeing her tears flow so fast, he asked Shiny 
 Locks what he could do for her.' 
 
 "'I have broken my dolly,' wailed little Shiny Locks, 'and have 
 cried so hard that my locks are no longer shiny.' 
 "'Well, well,' answered Mighty Sword, 'I think I might mend 
 your dolly for you if that will dry your tears.' 
 
 "Now Mighty Sword was so strong and skillful that he soon had 
 Shiny Locks' dolly all mended, and more beautiful than ever. 
 "'Now,' said Shiny Locks, 'I am sure that my dolly loves you 
 very much, Mighty Sword. You must go on to the wars, but when 
 you return she will be waiting for you, and will marry you/ 
 
 "So she said sayonara to him, and Mighty Sword went on his way 
 with the promise of Shiny Locks in his heart, and his big sword 
 by his side." 
 
 Saito paused a moment to decide how to end his story, and then 
 went on : 
 
 "Now Shiny Locks had two old parents, who were also very 
 poor, and when they saw how beautiful was the dolly that Mighty 
 Sword had mended, they said to little Shiny Locks : 
 "'Shiny Locks,you must take your dolly to the toy-maker's booth, 
 where you may sell it for a good price.' 
 
 "Little Shiny Locks broke out into tears once more, and hugged 
 her dolly to her breast. 
 " 'Why must I sell my dolly ?' she asked. 
 
158 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "'Because your parents are hungry,' said they, 'and all good lit- 
 tle girls will do what they ought for their hungry parents.' 
 "'But my dolly is going to grow up,' objected Shiny Locks, 'and 
 marry Mighty Sword, the big samurai !' 
 
 "'Perhaps,' answered her parents, 'but now we are hungry and 
 must be fed.' 
 
 "So little Shiny Locks," concluded Saito, "took her dolly like an 
 obedient little girl, and sold it at the toy-maker's booth, and when 
 Mighty Sword returned from the wars to claim his bride, he 
 found that she had been sold to the toy-maker's booth, so that he 
 would never see her any more." 
 
 "What did Mighty Sword do?" asked Aysia. 
 
 "Mighty Sword," replied Saito, "was so grieved when he learned 
 of this that he went away and killed himself." 
 
 "And that is sacrifice ?" she asked, pensively. 
 
 "Yes two," answered Saito. 
 Aysia had an objection to offer valid to her young mind. 
 
 "Why didn't Shiny Locks' parents sell something of their own?" 
 she queried. 
 
 "Quite right, my little daughter," answered a third voice, and all 
 glancing about were aware of the presence of Tokiyori. Aysia, 
 jumping up quickly, ran to her father, while Lord Saito bowed 
 gravely to his host. 
 
 "I am rejoiced at the opportunity of paying my respects to you," 
 said he, "although regretful to have displeased you by the little 
 story with which I was seeking to amuse Aysia before taking my 
 departure." 
 
 "Pray pardon my abruptness," answered Tokiyori, courteously, 
 advancing into the room with his slightly limping walk. "It was 
 not the story itself I objected to, I assure you, nor the manner of 
 its telling, but the unfortunate practice of our national life which 
 it symbolizes." 
 
 "I had not the slightest thought of such a possible interpreta- 
 tion," said Saito. 
 
 "I quite believe that," rejoined Tokiyori. "Yet the manifesta- 
 tions of the human mind are unfathomable, and how seldom do 
 our thoughts, materialized by words, convey an exact and un- 
 warped translation. But permit me to assure you of the pleasure 
 
THE GARDEN'S HYACINTH 159 
 
 both my wife and myself derive from a visit from our kinsman. I 
 trust this will be but the first of many. I need not speak for Ay- 
 sia," he concluded, smiling as his little daughter thrust her hand 
 into that of her cousin's, "for I perceive she has found an expres- 
 sion of affectionate welcome far more potent than mere words." 
 Saito patted Aysia's little head. 
 
 "It is a reciprocal attachment," said he. 
 Tokiyori turned to Kiku-ko. 
 
 "Would you be kind enough to see that your cousin and myself 
 are served with tea and smoking materials?" he requested. "I 
 trust you intend affording us the pleasure of your company at our 
 simple evening meal," he added to Saito as Kiku-ko left the room 
 to attend the wants of her husband and guest. 
 
 "You are most kind," replied Saito to his host, "but I regret my 
 inability to encroach further upon your hospitality. My short 
 stay in Tokyo is limited mostly to the transaction of business, and 
 I fear that I have somewhat neglected that this afternoon and 
 trespassed unduly upon my cousin's time by my already prolonged 
 call." 
 
 "That is a somewhat one-sided view of the matter," answered 
 Tokiyori, with his expressive smile. "I doubt that Kiku-ko could 
 be induced to voice similar sentiments ah, she has returned to 
 speak for herself," he added, as Kiku-ko, followed by a servant, 
 re-entered the room. "Your kinsman, my dear, was in the act of 
 apologizing for what he choses to term the infliction of his com- 
 pany upon your leisure, an infliction that I have taken upon my- 
 self to assure him like historic facts, finds its happiest expres- 
 sion in repetition." 
 
 "It is said that the matsuri of Hina (the Doll's Festival) has no 
 more ardent votaries than childless women," said Kiku-ko. "My 
 delight in the western country of my birth is confined now to my 
 hearing of it from the lips of my cousin Saito." 
 
 "The west is the only Hina country left in Nippon, I fear," ob- 
 served Saito, as he finished his tea and prepared for departure. 
 "Our dolls are bruised and broken, our idols are gone, our faith 
 and honor destroyed, and even the flowers of our gardens are but 
 what have dropped from the heads of our goddesses and taken a 
 poor, second root. Sayonara." 
 
".***. "^ 
 
 .. *, * .-' ; ' V. . 
 
 , A^ % :> 'f.'jar ' 
 
 ..-:*te/^\>H..^Ci*-?^l& '"'-' .-ft Hi/- 
 
 ,"-^V ^-"- $^*?H. "5^r- --/;^ ^;- 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF THE POTTER 
 
 /4.y wnrf^r co^^r of departing Day 
 Slunk hunger-stricken Ramazdn away, 
 
 Once more within the Potter's house alone 
 I stood, surrounded by the Shapes of Clay. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 As SAITO left the besso, Lord Yo-Ake, accompanied by Baron 
 Goto and Taro, was strolling thither in accordance with the prom- 
 ised visit to Tokiyori and Kiku-ko. It was still light, despite the 
 setting of the wintry sun, and the virgin snow lay like a woolly 
 carpet upon copse, castle and glades, saving where newly trampled 
 
IN THE HOUSE OF THE POTTER l6l 
 
 by the feet of 'ricksha runners. Suddenly, as the trio approached 
 toward the small gateway, a figure emerged therefrom and en- 
 tered a waiting 'ricksha, which immediately set off at a sharp pace 
 in the direction of the city. Passing closely enough for discern- 
 ment, the occupant saluted the pedestrians, Goto and the marquis 
 returning his bow. 
 
 "By Uji-no-mitama !" ejaculated Goto, "if it is not Saito ! I heard 
 that he was permanently residing in Satsuma. I had no idea that 
 he was in Tokyo." 
 
 "The material evidences appear against such a supposition," 
 smiled Lord Yo-Ake. "He is not only in Tokyo unless our senses 
 deceive us but had we finished our meal a few moments sooner, 
 or not lingered to hear Mr. Taro's last tale of the decline of Amer- 
 ican shipping interests, we should have had the opportunity of 
 greeting an old friend in the flesh. Personally, I am glad not to 
 have missed your story, Mr. Taro. I trust," he added, laughingly, 
 to Goto, "that Saito has not again taken the occasion of your ab- 
 sence to devour some favorite dish of yours, as if my memory 
 serves me correctly he did some ten years ago at Otsu ?" 
 
 Goto drew his brows together at the mention of this, for triv- 
 ially absurd as it undoubtedly was it preserved somewhat of a 
 breach between himself and Saito. 
 
 "You may jest about that, Yo-Ake, if it pleases you," he ob- 
 served with severity, "but I tell you I place not overmuch confi- 
 dence in one who tampers lightly with others private concerns. 
 Such a person is apt to have two distinct sides to his character, 
 and when I was a young man they used to have a saying in the 
 Yoshiwara that 'one should look at the lanterns from behind, and 
 the geisha in front'." 
 
 Taro during this conversation had been watching the retreating 
 form in the 'ricksha. 
 
 "Whom did you say that gentleman is?" he inquired of his uncle. 
 
 "He?" said Goto. "That is Lord Saito of Satsuma. You must re- 
 call his name, nephew ?" 
 
 "Saito of Satsuma!" exclaimed Taro. "Why that is the fellow 
 whom I saw with Ikeda and Mikuni at The Jewel River, and who 
 by his devotions to Breath of Mukojima deprived me of her com- 
 pany at my last visit there." 
 
l62 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Goto burst into a great roar of laughter at what he considered 
 a very good joke at the expense of his nephew, but the marquis 
 with apparent indifference put one or two questions, regarding 
 The Jewel River premises and its character, to Taro, until finally 
 they entered the besso. 
 
 Here, after a short call, the baron and Taro departed in their 
 'rickshas for Tokyo, while the marquis, refusing the proffered aid 
 of his son, retraced his steps thinking deeply toward the castle 
 under the cold unfeeling light of the thin January moon that had 
 just begun to show its rim above the Shiba trees. The recent in- 
 formation regarding Saito's hitherto unknown familiarity with 
 Ikeda and his daughter at The Jewel River troubled him. When, 
 added to this, he recalled what Goto and Taro had told him con- 
 cerning the visits of several other ruined Tokugawa daimios in 
 company with Ikeda, he felt that something of a serious nature 
 might be afoot. Many plottings and counter plottings were in the 
 hatching just then, and he conceived that he had possibly stum- 
 bled on one of the greatest importance, for he was not deceived, 
 as had been Taro, by the tale of Saito's devotions to Breath of 
 Mukojima, nor did he credit that Ikeda would have sacrificed his 
 daughter to the life of the Yoshiwara for any lesser cause. The 
 fact of Saito's probable connection with a possible conspiracy was 
 in itself a matter of great menace, for as was well known Sai- 
 to's name and prestige stood high in favor with all classes. But 
 from the news that such former daimios as Mikuni were also ap- 
 parently linking their names with Ikeda's, Lord Yo-Ake gathered 
 his greatest source of anxiety, because Mikuni, as an example, 
 had powerful connections in the present government, and it ap- 
 peared to the marquis that Ikeda was consummating a carefully 
 laid out plan to honeycomb all ranks and classes of society. 
 
 Pondering on this, the marquis reached the O-mon, or great 
 gateway, of his castle, which swung open to admit him. He paused 
 a moment under its entrance and looked back at the pallid moon 
 that had now cleared the tree tops of the woodland's verdure. He 
 had aged with increasing rapidity of late years, so that it had be- 
 come necessary for him to employ the aid of a walking stick, and 
 his features were deeply furrowed with lines of thought and care. 
 
IN THE HOUSE OF THE POTTER 163 
 
 The snow on the roadway lay as silvery and fleecy as a winding 
 shroud to enfold the deathlike stillness of Shiba and the silver 
 in his raven hair had turned as spotless as the untrodden snow. Of 
 his earlier manhood remained to him but the brightness of eye 
 set in his aristocratic, thin, ascetic countenance, and the keenness 
 of his untiring, seemingly unconquerable intellect. He raised his 
 face to gaze calmly into the depths of the moon, and it seemed to 
 the gateman, who stood awaiting his entrance in respectful atti- 
 tude, as though it were the visualized visage of some earth-de- 
 scended god some immortalized being for such had almost be- 
 come Asano Yo-Ake. 
 
 As he stood in thought under the great gateway of his ancient, 
 mighty fortalice, his lips moved silently, while the aureola of his 
 working mind could almost be sensed by the half-awed gatekeep- 
 er. A shadow from some unseen cloud touched for a moment the 
 edges of the great listless reflection in the skies, and it seemed to 
 Lord Yo-Ake like the passing of a foreboding presage across the 
 clarity of his country. 
 
 "The moon is a mirror that registers the night's good or ill with 
 a faultless veracity," he mused, "and in its perfect reflection upon 
 the surface of some night-lake may be discerned the silhouette of 
 the man in the gliding boat, though they may not be visible be- 
 cause of the obscuring shadows. It mirrors the palace of the em- 
 peror, and it mirrors the brothel of the Nightless City tonight. 
 Which may it mirror in the thousands of nights to come? The 
 visage of the Son of the Son of the God, or the visage of Saburo 
 Ikeda and his Yoshiwara dupes? Is our future emblem to be the 
 sixteen-petaled chrysanthemum, or the soiled buddings of the 
 'Flower Quarter?' I wonder." 
 
 He turned to enter, and it seemed to the gateman that his lord 
 had grown suddenly enfeebled, so that he was minded to proffer 
 him escort to the yashiki. 
 
 "The night is very cold, my lord," said he, shivering slightly. 
 
 "The night of the shortening days is always cold, keeper," an- 
 swered the ageing man, quietly; "cold, bitter and who knows if 
 ever ending? Close your gates and seek the warmth of your hibat- 
 chi, keeper ; its glow will be your kindliest friend in the chill of 
 the night." 
 
164 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 He moved off while the gateman was still making up his mind 
 to the somewhat unusual liberty of proffering his personal assist- 
 ance to his lord, while the former stood watching the bent form 
 leaning heavily upon the "Foreign" cane, until the tama-gaki hid 
 his master from sight. The gateman scratched his chin thought- 
 fully, then he looked up at the moon a second, and finally, with a 
 perplexed shrug of his shoulders, bolted and barred the O-mon. 
 
 'There are eyes that see best in the darkness," he observed to 
 himself, "and they are said to belong to birds of the greatest wis- 
 dom." 
 
 He turned, still shaking his head, and entered his little lodge 
 nearby. 
 
 In the meantime, Lord Yo-Ake had gained his house, and now 
 sought his library, which of late had become the room most used 
 by him. A servant preceded him, lighting the tall waxen tapers 
 and andon, and then solicitously stirred a smouldering hibatchi 
 until it glowed a rich red with its contained heat. With a nod of 
 dismissal to the man, Lord Yo-Ake settled himself by the brazier, 
 and sinking his head on his chest, stared into the heart of the 
 burning coals. 
 
 "What pitiful ants we mortals are," he mused, "crawling around, 
 and around, and around in one ever-continuous circle about some 
 loud-mouthed proselytor, who for the moment finds sufficient un- 
 probed logic to convince our limited senses of his likeness to the 
 image of truth. Under this category is now, it appears, to be 
 classed Saburo Ikeda, and yet I marvel how he could make a con- 
 vert of such a man as Saito to a movement that must inevitably, in 
 the event of its failure, mean disaster, ruin and death. What 
 weirdsome vessel forms, we poor humans assume, to beguile some 
 passing sake-porter into filling our cracked and leaking bowls, a 
 little moment, with life's liquor !" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders slightly at the helpless frailties of 
 mankind, and with his hypo-super-subtle faculty of assuming the 
 workings of other men's minds, proceeded to lay bare the fabric 
 of Ikeda's plot, speaking aloud as though Ikeda himself were pres- 
 ent, and he but criticising certain doubtful features toward the 
 outcome. 
 
IN THE HOUSE OF THE POTTER 165 
 
 "Your reasoning, my friend," said Lord Yo-Ake, "is wisdom 
 personified in as far as it goes yet you are handicapped by the 
 fact that your mind is not of that order that can plan to do a great 
 thing for the sake of the thing itself, but leans rather to the schem- 
 ing of a multiplicity of things for the sake of yourself alone. 
 Thus, having converted your intellect into a specie of mental oven, 
 you have created yourself a political potter, and in this role have 
 filled that limited oven to overflowing with a number of different 
 vessels, each requiring various degrees of heat to bring them to 
 perfection. Yet, Ikeda, my friend, I think the great potter at- 
 tempts but one masterpiece at a time." 
 
 He sighed, as though at the unwisdom of Ikeda, and then con- 
 tinued. 
 
 "If then we humans are but a varied assortment of pottery, mark 
 well the hand-craft of the master workman, Ikeda, my friend. He 
 molds his pots each according to his best conception, and shapes 
 them as he intends they shall appear throughout their life of clay. 
 Then comes the time when he realizes that each of his creations 
 must stand the test of fire it is the crucial time in the lives of 
 these poor pots. Anxiously he opens the oven door to draw them 
 forth. Some are so beautiful that they exceed his highest hopes 
 and imaginings. But, alas ! some are utter failures, their colors 
 run, their glazing splotched and foul. Whose is the fault. The 
 craftsman worked with his greatest skill, the pots were but the 
 shapings of his brain and fingers until the test of fire.' 
 
 "Now comes the last stage in the lives of these pots. The true 
 return the craftsman many times the hours of his labor, but for 
 the failures remain no niche in the ornamentation of life which 
 they may fill, Ikeda, my friend." 
 
 He ceased his musings, and observing that the hibatchi was 
 growing cold, took up the small irons to stir it then he paused, 
 and abstractedly dropped them at the side of the brazier. 
 
 "I am an old man, now, whose fast thinning blood, each, about- 
 to-be, imposed sacrificial act turns to a frozen pool, and each new 
 day now but brings an added chill of loneliness. Gods! of all 
 whom my domains has housed is there none to relieve me of this 
 strangling desolation, the agony of my thoughts?" 
 
l66 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 He clapped his hands thrice. 
 
 "More lights," he ordered of the servitor who entered. "This 
 apartment is scarce less gloomy than a death-sealed tomb. Bring 
 fresh coals for my hibatchi and dispatch a messenger to the besso 
 of my son, the count, requesting his presence here." 
 
XI 
 
 THE PORTERS SHOULDER-KNOT 
 
 So while the Vessels one by one were speaking, 
 The little Moon look'd in that all were seeking: 
 
 And then they jogg'd each other, "Brother! Brother! 
 Now for the Porter's shoulder-knot a-creaking!" OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 AFTER bidding his father sayonara at the entrance to the besso, 
 Tokiyori re-entered, seeking again the room where Kiku-ko still 
 sat, answering, in desultory fashion, Aysia's stream of chatter. 
 She glanced up at him curiously as he entered, for his reproof of 
 Saito's story had set her mind working in a new channel, and 
 there were questions she desired to ask of her husband. 
 
l68 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "I am rather worried about father," he observed, as he took his 
 seat by the hibatchi. "It seemed to me, tonight, that he had sud- 
 denly aged very much. Perhaps it is because I have realized it for 
 the first time. Have you not noticed it, Kiku-ko?" 
 
 "No," she replied, "not in the way you mention. Of course we 
 are none of us growing any younger, and doubtless it is because 
 the daimio has recently taken to a walking-stick that he seems so 
 much older to you. Yet I suppose it is but natural after all; he 
 must be nearly three score of years in age." 
 
 "He has passed his sixty-second birthday," answered Tokiyori, 
 "yet mere years would hardly account for his declining appear- 
 ance. I fear I should not have permitted him to depart homeward 
 unaccompanied ; yet he insisted." 
 
 "I would not worry myself so greatly were I you," enjoined Ki- 
 ku-ko. "Your father has still the appearance of a hale man, and 
 his faculties seem as active as ever." 
 
 "More so, I should say," he replied. "His capacity for assimilat- 
 ing all sorts of knowledge recently is little short of marvelous. I 
 find him constantly delving in the classics of other countries 
 their philosophies, economic treatises, poetry and history. I mar- 
 vel how, even in his semi-retirement, he can find time for such a 
 voluminous consumption of literature." 
 
 "How much older is grandfather than you, father?" asked Ay- 
 sia. 
 
 "About five-and-twenty years," replied her father, smiling. 
 
 "That's a whole lot," announced Aysia, after a contemplation of 
 this, to her, startling fact. "And is he twenty-five years older than 
 mother, too ?" 
 
 "Much more, dear," answered her father. 
 
 "I am nine years of age," observed Aysia. 
 
 She remained silent some little time after this announcement, 
 while her father and mother entered into a discussion of the events 
 of the afternoon and evening. Suddenly Aysia broke out with : 
 
 "How much older is cousin Saito than I, father?" 
 
 "I don't know exactly, Aysia," replied her father. 
 
 "He is just one year younger than you," said Kiku-ko to her 
 husband. 
 
THE PORTER'S SHOULDER-KNOT 169 
 
 "Then that would make him eight-and-thirty years of age," ob- 
 served Tokiyori. "Why are you so anxious concerning people's 
 ages, Aysia ?" 
 
 "Because," replied Aysia, thoughtfully, "I was wondering 
 whether cousin Saito if he wasn't too much older than I would 
 marry me when I am grown up, like Mighty Sword, the samurai, 
 waited for little Shiny Locks' dolly." 
 
 "What a perambulating mind you have, child," remonstrated her 
 father. "I am sure it is much past your bedtime. Say oyasumi na- 
 sai to mother and father, and run along to your nurse." 
 
 Aysia, despite a good deal of petting, and the over indulging 
 she received at the hands of her grandfather, stood a little in awe 
 of her father. She arose upon his bidding, and with a quaint little 
 bow, quitted the apartment. 
 
 "Why do you so object to that simple little fairy tale that Saito 
 told Aysia?" asked Kiku-ko, chidingly, ascribing Aysia's dismis- 
 sal to her mention of it. "The child thoroughly enjoyed it, and it 
 is a harmless enough legend of old Japan." 
 
 "I can not agree with you," he answered. "It is a perfect symbol- 
 ism of the practice of selling our womenfolk into a life of degra- 
 dation." 
 
 "It is a recognized right, legalized also by the Diet in which you 
 sit," she retorted. "I do not see why you should take exception to 
 what you have helped inaugurate." 
 
 "I have always fought the legalizing of the practice," he ob- 
 jected. 
 
 "Yet, you have made it possible," she rejoined. "It was from your 
 sex alone that the key to the wanton's chamber was filed. Your 
 sex made her such, your sex built the abode for her, and your sex 
 forced her to enter therein to satiate its appetite, to fill its pock- 
 et, not hers. I can not see why such excessive moral tone is need- 
 ed to cover up the crime of your own acts. To me it but tells of 
 an added hypocrisy." 
 
 "A sad truth," he admitted, "and because of which I for one am 
 now striving to find some remedy for it. You may recall that, up- 
 on my return to Nippon, just prior to our marriage, I once told 
 you that I believed the future of our country lay as much in the 
 
170 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 lives of our women as in the brains of our men. In this belief I 
 daily raise my voice in the Diet against the inherent customs of 
 our land, to bring about an emancipation for our women." 
 
 "Such an emancipation may come when night is day evening 
 dawn," rejoined Kiku-ko, sardonically. 
 
 "Perhaps so," he answered, quietly, "only I am sure it will never 
 come to those who think as you appear to. I am referring to an 
 equal moral law that would make compulsory sales to the Yoshi- 
 wara no more binding upon the one sex than the other. That will 
 be the first upward step. Yet, possibly you are right when you 
 doubt its defmiteness, for not from the lips of man, but from the 
 broadened intellect of women will come, after all, her true eman- 
 cipation. As yet she can not touch the outer hem of the real gar- 
 ment, her complement of senses is still lacking, and impulse and 
 vanity really control her whole thought and actions. I can but 
 work, and hope." 
 
 "Your ambition appears to me a dreamer's vision a floating sea 
 fog an Island of Nowhere," said Kiku-ko, nettled. 
 
 "An Island of Gold," he replied, "born with the dawn of a pure 
 day ; yet, alas ! invisible to the color-blind. The receding tide must 
 wash from its yellow sands the corpses of the past, corraling a 
 thousand lagoons to wall the moaning of the sea's evil from the 
 island, and there a garden may come to be formed of beautiful 
 flowers and fruits. What matter if the first furrows are but brok- 
 en by the rude hand of some poor ploughman? The gardener that 
 follows will find the soil readier to his sewing. My fellow mem- 
 bers of the Diet look with no approval on what they term even 
 as you, Kiku-ko my visionary dreams of reform. It may be that 
 the recent mass of petitions from Yoshiwara proprietors have 
 frightened them, or that they do not judge the time yet ripe. 
 Whatever the causes, they have for the moment prevented my 
 aims from becoming realities, and mostly, I think, because neither 
 they nor those creatures who gain their livelihood in the traffic of 
 human bodies and souls, understand in the least what my aims 
 will mean." 
 
 "I doubt that you will ever be able to abolish the Yoshiwara," 
 objected Kiku-ko. 
 
THE PORTER'S SHOULDER-KNOT 171 
 
 "You take exactly the same view as does the Diet," he rejoined, 
 quietly, "and with quite as much understanding. Yet, I assure 
 you, I am no such foolish dreamer as to hope for a complete erad- 
 ication of the so-called 'social evil.' I leave all such Eutopian 
 ideas to acknowledged reformers, who, among their carefully 
 considered plans for the betterment of conditions, invariably ex- 
 clude the one salient factor to the life of the world human na- 
 ture. No, I do not even hope for an ultimate abolition of such ; I 
 merely seek to protect the innocent who are summarily sold into 
 such a life because of the idleness or greed of their relatives and 
 sponsors. If I can succeed in initiating the passage of a law which 
 shall make all such sales illegal criminally illegal to all contract- 
 ing parties I may save some innocent victims from the results of 
 our inherent, and still living, medievalism. There are women, I 
 quite realize, to whom such a means of financial gains will ever 
 be more alluring than almost menial labor for pittances; nor, in 
 general, are they to be blamed for seeking the only obvious means 
 of protecting themselves against the miseries of poverty to which 
 the greed of mankind has condemned them. My project will not 
 in any way interfere with such, but it will make the first push on 
 the downward path, penal for the offender. If I can, therefore, 
 help ever so little toward the protection of such, it may be that I 
 shall not have lived in vain." 
 
 Carried away by the depth of feeling which his spoken thoughts 
 evoked, he had arisen, and stood facing her. It seemed to Kiku-ko 
 that this man, who in her eyes had always compared so unfavor- 
 ably with such as Saito, loomed suddenly to gigantic proportions, 
 measured by which Saito himself would but scale the height of a 
 pigmy. She did not know that the one man was the embodiment of 
 the materially sensual of life, the other the sensuous intellectual- 
 ity ; but she did realize that there was more to her husband than 
 she had thought heretofore. Perhaps this was but the result of 
 her feminine pleasure in being mastered, for Tokiyori, in the ear- 
 lier part of his discourse, had spoken in somewhat contemptuous 
 vein of her capabilities of understanding. 
 
 Now he seemed to sense the change that had come to her so 
 suddenly, and, from some unknown and unnoted impulse, half 
 
172 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 stretched out his arms to her a thing he had never contemplated 
 doing before. She could scarcely credit the evidence of her sen- 
 ses then a faint glimmer dawning for her, arose too, still half 
 uncertain. 
 
 A servant entered. 
 
 "Your pardon, my lord," he interrupted, "the noble marquis, your 
 father, requests your immediate presence at Shima." 
 He bowed and withdrew. 
 
 Kiku-ko stood regarding Tokiyori, a curious half-felt presenti- 
 ment crossing her mind why, she knew not. Suddenly she pressed 
 her hand to her heart, her features assuming a waxen tone, as of 
 death. 
 
 "Oh, I am falling ! I am falling !" she cried, faintly. 
 
 He caught her in his arms, and in a moment she gently disen- 
 gaged herself, and stood swaying slightly. 
 
 "Thank you," said she. "I should have fallen. I do not know 
 what could have caused this spell of dizziness I am not accus- 
 tomed to such." 
 
 "It may have been the closeness of the room," he volunteered ; 
 "the hibatchi throws out a strong heat for so modest an apart- 
 ment." 
 
 He crossed the room solicitously, and partly slid a shoji, admit- 
 ting the cold, crisp night air. The moon found the opening, too, 
 and played upon the glow of the brazier, turning its dull orange 
 coals a pale brick color. 
 
 "If you feel better, Kiku-ko," said Tokiyori, "I will hasten on to 
 Shima for a little while, as I fear my father may be ill and in need 
 of me." 
 
 "Pray do so," she replied. "I assure you I have quite recovered 
 from my unaccountable faintness." 
 
 He left the besso upon this, and Kiku-ko, standing by the open 
 shoji, marked his vanishing form across the snow carpet that led 
 to the House of the Potter. 
 
m^i^mm^ 
 
 ft--TrC?-sS- fe 
 
 XII 
 
 THE POTTER THUMPS HIS CLAY 
 
 For I remember stopping by the way 
 
 To watch a Potter thumping his wet Clay: 
 
 And with its all-obliterated Tongue 
 It murmur'd "Gently, Brother, gently, pray!" OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 IN THE great library of the castle Tokiyori found his father, and 
 hastened to question him regarding his health. The marquis set 
 his son's mind at rest, attributing his impulse in sending for the 
 latter solely to an unconquerable selfish desire to dispell loneli- 
 ness. 
 
174 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "As one grows older," explained Lord Yo-Ake, apologetically, 
 "one seems to become more and more selfish. In my case it takes 
 the form of a desire to cheat the encroaching hours of their lone- 
 liness ; doubtless I am most inconsiderate of your and my daugh- 
 ter-in-law's domestic privacy. You must pardon this spirit in an 
 ageing man, my son, and believe that although it is one of the 
 penalties of rank that one's sentiments may not be given publicity 
 nothing in life affords me such pleasure as your little visits to 
 me." 
 
 "The pleasure is reciprocal," answered his son, "and, for me, in- 
 structive as well. Not even time itself will ever erase the memo- 
 ries of such interviews, my father." 
 
 "Time," soliloquized Lord Yo-Ake, gently, "ah, Time ! Neither 
 disease, nor death can weave such a tracery as spin the drawn 
 cobwebs of Time. Disease? Disease but leads by mathematic tran- 
 sit to the change we term Death ; but Time registers the un forget- 
 ting trade-mark of oblivion on the Forgot. The little glowing 
 cheapnesses we set our hearts upon turn ashes as the chill hand of 
 Time presses down the coals in Life's hibatchi. Or, for a breath, 
 they smoulder, and, scarce thawing the ice of our freezing exist- 
 ances, are gone. No material conception may suspire before the 
 corroding touch of Time. If you would be great, my son, learn to 
 avoid Time as I have not." 
 
 The two sat in silence a few moments, the marquis pensive, 
 Tokiyori touched and awaiting. At last Lord Yo-Ake spoke again : 
 
 "With the encroachments of this tide-line of Time," said he, "it 
 is both curious and saddening to note the changes that occur as 
 the years and events pass in their kaleidoscopic procession; yet 
 saddest of all are the daily human sacrifices we must pay the gods 
 for the privilege of evoluting. Both you and I, my son, are such." 
 
 "Sacrifices ?" asked Tokiyori. 
 The marquis nodded. 
 
 "A sacrifice," he explained, "may take many forms." And then, 
 with his unreadable perambulation of thought 
 
 "Do you recall Saburo Ikeda?" he asked. "Once Lord Ikeda of 
 the Tokugawa Baka-fu?" 
 
 "Perfectly," answered Tokiyori. 
 
THE POTTER THUMPS HIS CLAY 175 
 
 "He has a daughter," continued the marquis, "who is blessed 
 or rather cursed with a reported wondrous beauty. It is a 
 thousand pities that such a lovely pot should be destined for the 
 rubbish heap. She is an inmate of the Yoshiwara another form 
 of sacrifice, you see." 
 
 "Damnable in its repulsiveness," replied Tokiyori, sternly. It did 
 not occur to him to question the methods by which his father 
 seemed always to keep himself informed on even the most appar- 
 ently trivial of subjects. 
 
 "Just so," agreed the marquis, quietly. "Alas for human nature ! 
 Ikeda has apparently prospered since her sale, and Breath of Mu- 
 kojima his daughter's 'house name' at The Jewel River, I un- 
 derstand has proved a loadstone in attracting many old acquaint- 
 ances of Ikeda's thither former daimios who once held their 
 fiefs under the Tokugawa government. 
 
 "It sounds as romanceful as a conspiracy," laughed Tokiyori, 
 mirthlessly. 
 
 "Almost," agreed the marquis. "Thither consorts Saito, also." 
 
 "In that company ?" asked Tokiyori in surprise. 
 
 "I am told he is a frequenter of The Jewel River," answered 
 Lord Yo-Ake, ambiguously. It was never his custom to make defi- 
 nite statements, prefering the medium of suggestion. 
 
 "You infer, of course," observed Tokiyori, "on account of Ike- 
 da's daughter ?" 
 
 "Probably," replied the marquis. 
 
 "But I understood that he was mostly with his school of samu- 
 rai at Satsuma," objected Tokiyori. 
 
 "That should not be a difficult matter to learn, now," replied 
 Lord Yo-Ake. 
 
 "Only purposeless, since he has retired from all participation in 
 politics," answered the son. 
 
 "On the contrary," disagreed the marquis. 
 Tokiyori regarded his father, fixedly. 
 
 "You infer to be learned from Ikeda's daughter?" he asked, 
 finally. 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 "But, if she is his mistress?" 
 
176 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 i i 
 
 "She is also of the Yoshiwara." 
 Again Tokiyori regarded his father quizically. 
 
 "I do not think I quite follow you," said he at last. 
 The marquis relapsed into retrospection again. 
 
 "Mark the whimsicality of life, Tokiyori," said he; "the super- 
 ficiality of years. I am or I now should be a more engaging 
 conversationalist than I could possibly have been in my youth, 
 yet were I to present myself at The Jewel River as a contestant 
 in the arena of the Breath of Mukojima's favors, I fear I should 
 provoke but derision and failure. Seriously, my son, it is impera- 
 tive that we should ascertain exactly why certain daimios and, 
 above all, Saito have taken to frequenting that particular house, 
 and with a man whose whole life has been spent in petty intrigu- 
 ing Saburo Ikeda, an overthrown lord." 
 
 "Whom then do you destine for the unpleasant role?" asked To- 
 kiyori. "Goto? He has no family ties. Or Taro, his nephew? He is 
 a clever young fellow." 
 
 "Goto," rejoined the marquis, "is among other objections 
 like myself, not so young as he once was, that alone would debar 
 him from acting successfully in that capacity. And as for Mr. 
 Taro well, I am given to understand that he is somewhat in the 
 nature of a rival to Saito in the lady's affections. Of course, in 
 that instance, one could hardly expect him to " 
 
 "Gain her confidence, and then basely betray it," finished Toki- 
 yori for him, ironically. "No, I scarcely think Mr. Taro would 
 lend himself to a proposal of that nature." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake regarded his son with an expression of the utmost 
 gentle compassion. 
 
 "You see how our field of representatives narrow," he said. 
 
 Tokiyori paced the apartment, then came to an abrupt stand- 
 still before his father. 
 
 "Before considering this question further," said he, "tell me ex- 
 actly what it is you most fear in this matter of Saito and Ikeda." 
 
 "That is what I wish to find out," reminded the marquis. 
 
 "Then as I understand it you wish to discover why Ikeda has 
 sold his daughter to The Jewel River, why Saito and Ikeda have 
 suddenly become intimates, and why if a dangerous why there 
 
THE POTTER THUMPS HIS CLAY 177 
 
 be these Tokugawa discontents foregather at this Jewel River. 
 Well, your object can be attained, it seems to me, without all this 
 pother. If you suspect a conspiracy at the bottom of all, why not 
 simply cause the arrest of the supposed ringleaders and have 
 them held pending an investigation ?" 
 
 "And by so doing/' continued the marquis, "arouse the allegi- 
 ance of the populace and thousands of other Tokugawa partisans 
 to Saito's cause, and so plunge the whole country afresh into civil 
 strife? That would be the outcome of the first governmental move 
 against Saito. We must proceed with only the greatest caution. 
 Our first safeguard lies in discovering, and then watching care- 
 fully. It is our best in fact, I believe, our only possible action." 
 
 "Yet, I can scarcely imagine," objected Tokiyori, "that this sus- 
 pected conspiracy can have gathered sufficient headway to be a 
 matter of such grave menace as you seem to suggest." 
 
 "Again I must remind you that that is what we must discover," 
 replied Lord Yo-Ake, dryly. "One fact, at any rate, points to it 
 as a dangerous sore in our midst one of the Mikuni brothers is 
 involved. You see what this means, of course, because of his pow- 
 erful connections in the present government. If Saburo Ikeda has 
 captured to his cause a Mikuni, why not others similarly placed? 
 Who knows but that some morning we might awaken to find half 
 the Diet taking sides against the remainder ?" 
 
 Tokiyori nodded his head; he had to admit that his father's 
 fears were better grounded than he had at first supposed. 
 
 "I do not seek to evade your meaning," said he, "but there is an- 
 other aspect to this case that I would present to your considera- 
 tion before you fasten upon me the role of spy, and the ignominy 
 that will be resultant upon such. I can not approach this geisha, 
 Ikeda's daughter, with the purpose in hand and expect any ulti- 
 mate success without breaking every bonden tie in my present 
 life. I speak frankly, because there is no other way in which I 
 may say my say. Is the discovering of a thousand conspiracies 
 worth this, my father?" 
 
 For a few moments silence reigned, broken at last by Lord Yo- 
 Ake. 
 
 "You know what is hidden beyond those paper panes, my son?" 
 
178 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 he asked, indicating the shoji that gave out on the Shiba wood- 
 lands. 
 
 "Why, yes Shiba of course," answered Tokiyori, completely 
 surprised at this sudden change of topic. 
 
 "You know their environs well ?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 "And the temples and tombs? The neighboring temple of Senga- 
 kuji, for instance?" 
 
 "Where the seven-and- forty ronin lie buried, and one other?" 
 "Yes." 
 
 "The one other is not of that immortal band," dissented Lord 
 Yo-Ake; "the seven-and- forty will suffice. Seven-and-forty sacri- 
 fices seven-and- forty morals. Do you ever make your devotions 
 at those shrines, Tokiyori ?" 
 
 "I have not visited the graves since when a boy with old Naka- 
 hara," answered Tokiyori. 
 
 "Yet, you recall their story?" 
 
 "Of course. Led by Kuranosuke they gave their lives for a ven- 
 geance." 
 
 "And something higher," supplemented the marquis ; "for a duty 
 as they conceived it." 
 
 "A bushido one," observed Tokiyori. 
 
 "Time alters circumstances," affirmed his father. "In the course 
 of the evolution of mankind what was noble in the ancestor might 
 appear absurd in the descendant. Our sense of appreciation is 
 molded by environment, yet the fundamental principles of all 
 greatness defy even the prying chipping of the ages. Kuranosuke, 
 a councilor noted for great wisdom, a husband noted for fidelity, 
 a father noted for love and care, at an advanced age sacrificed all 
 this repute to roll in the arms of a bought courtesan, and lie in 
 the gutters of the streets a drunken derision. The world now 
 knows that this was for a duty and to allay the suspicions of his 
 enemy toward its accomplishment, his mead and that of the forty- 
 six others who patiently followed his example death. Among 
 that band was his loved son. Such acts may be termed bushidic, 
 my son, but their moral to the public is invaluable, the example 
 they create in symbolism glorious. The memory of the seven-and- 
 
THE POTTER THUMPS HIS CLAY 179 
 
 forty will be ever green while flowers are born to deck their graves, 
 while hearts are capable of pulsing quicker at tales of noble 
 deeds." 
 
 He ceased speaking, and eyed his son anxiously. His short re- 
 cital had been quiet and logical, delivered with that suppressed 
 dramaticism of which he was a past master. He awaited the re- 
 sult. 
 
 "Your reasoning is as always irrefutable, father," said Toki- 
 yori at last ; "your argument, convincing ; the implied suggestion, 
 unmistakable. I never knew you to commit but one error in your 
 life." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake raised his brows. 
 
 "That oversight which you were guilty of," continued Tokiyori, 
 "when, at the hour of my birth, you neglected to fasten upon me 
 the name of Kuranosuke. . . . O yasumi nasai." 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake sat meditating after the departure of his son. A 
 servant entered, and at his master's abstracted bidding, exting- 
 uished andon and tapers, so that saving for the faint glimmer 
 from the little lamp before his wife's ihai, the apartment was in 
 darkness. The servant withdrew. 
 
 "Life," meditated Lord Yo-Ake, "is an abysmal forest, still pri- 
 meval in its vegetation. A sun patch breaks it here, and some new 
 verdure is given a growth. A heavy shade falls there, and we know 
 not which of the many trees obstruct the rays. Its lights and shad- 
 ows are ever scintillating, for as the sun passes on its interminable 
 path, where was darkness, now is radiance, and where clarity, den- 
 sity. Thus is the forest of life; ever changing, ever changeless; 
 until an inanimate winter stamps it with apparent death. Then, 
 through nude shivering branches, groaning beneath the weight of 
 their snowy shroud, the full light floods upon the ground a gol- 
 gotha of dead leaves. Yet, after the sun has lain bare the earth in 
 all its beauties, in all its imperfections, sorrily the re-incarnation 
 of the leafing verdure must again darken the forest during the 
 life of its rebirth." 
 
 He arose, tottering slightly, his head bent in thought. The faint 
 glimmer of a little lamp the never-extinguished light before the 
 ihai to his wife alone lit the oppressive darkness. Suddenly he 
 
l8o THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 raised his head and listened from the woodlands came the faint 
 tinkling of bells temple bells it was the hour of midnight 
 prayer at Sengakuji. He listened until the faint tinkling stopped, 
 and then gazed intently at the shrine. 
 
 "There must be an eight-and-fortieth ronin," said he, softly, 
 "the legend is yet incomplete." 
 
XIII 
 
 THE DAUGHTER OF THE VINE 
 
 You know, my Friends, with what a brave Carouse 
 I made a Second Marriage in my house; 
 
 Divorced old barren Reason from my Bed, 
 And took the Daughter of the Vine to Spouse. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 13 A RON GOTO bent over his desk in the War Department and 
 solemnly regarded a number of drawings that three statuesque of- 
 ficers of his staff had just handed him for inspection and approv- 
 al. It appeared that certain staff officers having lately petitioned to 
 be allowed a more distinctive symbol of their rank than that hith- 
 
l82 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 erto laid down for them, a committee of Goto's aides had been in- 
 structed to prepare drawings of suggestions for a new style of 
 uniform. These drawings were the result. 
 
 Goto bent his brows heavily. 
 
 "Why have you placed all this gold lace upon the coat-tails of 
 the proposed uniforms?" he inquired of one, evidently the senior 
 of the officers who stood stiffly at attention before him. 
 
 The officer explained that it had been thought the best place. 
 "'The rooster wears its colors in its comb, the peacock in its 
 tail!'" vociferated Goto. "Do you suppose a general wants to 
 command a soldier whose colors are all on its coat ends ?" 
 
 "The object of thus placing the insignia," explained the senior 
 staff officer, "is to render the uniform less conspicuous in time of 
 possible war than if it were placed on the front of the coat where 
 it might attract the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters." 
 
 "And in case of a retreat," supplemented Goto in ponderous sar- 
 casm, "I should be having all my wounded shot in their coat-tails, 
 according to your reasoning. No, no ; the goldfish has many tails 
 grafted upon his own by the skill of the fancier, but these impede 
 rather than accelerate his swimming. I will not approve of such 
 obvious nonsense ! There is no place approaching the nobility of 
 the chest for a soldier to receive his wounds in. Prepare another 
 draft of suggestions at once." 
 
 Just then an orderly entered bearing a card, and with a salute 
 of dismissal to his personal staff, Goto turned the card to decipher 
 it: 
 
 COUNT TOKIYORI YO-AKE 
 Imperial Diet 
 
 "Show the count in at once," he commanded, and then waited, 
 wondering what reason had brought him this unusual call from 
 Tokiyori. 
 
 "This is an unprecedented pleasure," he observed as the latter 
 made his appearance in the wake of the orderly, who immediately 
 withdrew. "I was just about to seek an eating house nearby where 
 they serve a very good repast, when you were announced. May I 
 not have the pleasure of your company?" 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF THE VINE 183 
 
 "I shall be overjoyed," replied Tokiyori, "if you will consent to 
 be my guest for this evening." 
 
 Goto assented, and a few moments later saw the two emerge 
 from the chambers and make across the snow-melted street to- 
 ward the yadoya designated by the baron. 
 
 "The fact is, baron," remarked Tokiyori, after they had taken 
 their seats there, and somewhat appeased their hunger, "I have 
 been overworked somewhat recently, and have thought of giving 
 myself a few days leisure and pleasure." 
 
 "It is a very wise decision," agreed Goto. "I find sometimes, my- 
 self, 'that all ploughing, and no playing, makes the farmer careless 
 of his furrows.' Although, I must admit, that since the return of 
 Taro I have been kept fairly busy tagging after his footsteps. But 
 where do we dine tonight ?" 
 
 I was thinking of having a little dinner and a pleasant evening 
 afterwards in the 'Flower Quarter' say at The Jewel River." 
 
 Goto laid down his chopsticks and regarded his companion with 
 wide open eyes. 
 
 "At The Jewel River !" he repeated. 
 
 "If you have no objections," added Tokiyori. 
 
 "I think you young men have gone mad about this Jewel River," 
 observed Goto, without answering Tokiyori's question. "First 
 Taro must needs drag me thither one evening, and now you come 
 to me with a similar invitation. I dare swear the same loadstone 
 is the cause of both. Frankly, count, I would rather dine else- 
 where. In the first place it does not look well for a man of my 
 prominence to be seen entering such places, and secondly in the 
 very strictest confidence one is always liable to exceed an aver- 
 age amount of sake in such places, which in my case results in at- 
 tacks of gout. Another night like the one I spent with Taro and I 
 should be confined to my besso for a week." 
 
 "What is this loadstone of which you speak?" asked Tokiyori, 
 ignoring in his turn Goto's objection. 
 
 "Saburo Ikeda's daughter Breath of Mukojima, as she now is 
 called," answered Goto. "You must know her; she was a guest 
 with her father at your house the night of Saito's attack at Mei- 
 
184 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Ah, I was absent that night, you may remember," answered To- 
 kiyori, "and so I have never seen her. You say she is an inmate of 
 this Yoshiwara house ?" 
 
 "For the last eight or nine months, poor child," replied the bar- 
 on; "a geisha." 
 
 "Why was she sold?" 
 
 "Old Ikeda was destitute and had no prospects, I suppose," ex- 
 plained Goto. "It is a thousand pities." 
 
 "My dear baron, you arouse my curiosity," said Tokiyori. "Is 
 she then so very beautiful?" 
 
 Goto leaned toward him impressively. 
 
 "She is exactly like a handful of light, airy, floating cherry pet- 
 als," said he, remembering Taro's description of her. "Between 
 ourselves, count, I am very sorry to find her in such a position. 
 She was a bright, pretty child, and worthy a better fate than is 
 now hers." 
 
 "She must indeed be well worth seeing from your description of 
 her," mused Tokiyori. "I would really take it as a great favor if 
 you would accompany me, baron, to this Jewel River. You might 
 play the host and introduce me as a friend of yours from say 
 the north Sendai way, for instance. It would be amusing. Ex- 
 plain to the lady that I am deeply interested in some large fisher- 
 ies there it will be less embarrassing for her than knowing that I 
 was once her host and that my name is let us say Take 
 Take san. I think that will suit admirably. May I count upon you 
 for this favor, baron?" 
 
 Goto knit his brows, hesitating. He did not wish to refuse Toki- 
 yori for several reasons, but introducing another man to one with 
 whom he knew his nephew to be really in love seemed somewhat 
 of a disloyalty. Moreover, he was really a most respectable mid- 
 dle-aged gentleman, and while it was one thing to accompany his 
 nephew once to see a geisha with whom he was taken, it was quite 
 another thing to make a practice of visiting the Flower Quarter. 
 
 "The fact is, baron," added Tokiyori, seeing Goto's hesitation, 
 "I have my reasons for wishing to visit the lady in question in- 
 cognito. That can best be accomplished through your aid I am 
 sure you will not refuse me this small favor once. I feel the need 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF THE VINE 185 
 
 of relaxation, as I told you, and well, you know, even the night- 
 ingale changes its wants with the seasons. Need I say more ?" 
 
 He assumed an air of "lady killer and roue" so foreign to his 
 nature that Goto stared at him in amazement at his transforma- 
 tion. 
 
 "After all, baron," he concluded, simpering like any young 
 "blood," "what is life without some beautiful woman? What fleet- 
 ing pleasure so great as a brave carouse a bottle of good wine 
 and a temporary second marriage, let us say, with the daughter of 
 the vine? A night of the gods the vale of the immortals and 
 away, for the moment, with dull, sober, barren old reason !" 
 
 Goto caught the festive fire from his companion's words. 
 "By Uji-no-Mitama !" he shouted. "I believe you are right ! 'The 
 ever-working brush grows clogged and ragged with the ink.' I will 
 meet you, then, at the O-mon to the Flower Quarter at when 
 shall we say?" 
 
 "Supposing we arrange for an hour after the sun has gone down. 
 It will be dark enough then for our purpose. In the meantime, I 
 must hasten back to my work. Sayonara till then, baron." 
 
 All that late forenoon and early afternoon the sun had shone so 
 brightly out of a cloudless sky that there had been an almost sug- 
 gestion of early spring in the air, but now, when the day had run 
 its travail, the chill of winter again struck bitter, while dusk crept 
 like a gaunt wolf through the streets and byways of the city. Yet, 
 cheer and warmth were redoubled within doors as stately Night, 
 gathering her robe about her, flaunted its star-flecked lining over 
 Tokyo, and the Flower Quarter. 
 
 In the latter, where the upper balconies of The Jewel River gave 
 out over the Nightless Street, Breath of Mukojima once Ren-ko 
 of the house of Ikeda leaned upon the low railing watching the 
 hurrying winter-clad throng beneath. Beyond, she knew that the 
 great O-mon was now yawning to receive its nightly quota of 
 pleasure seekers, for which the houses about her seemed to watch 
 tirelessly, while the oiiran scanned each passerby through the bars 
 of their gilded cages. Above, a cold, rain-circled moon had clasped 
 the girdle of darkness about the night, and from the interior of 
 The Jewel River arose ever-increasing sounds of jollity and 
 
l86 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 mirth. Soon now, she reflected, her evening work of entertaining 
 would be called into requisition, and she sighed a little wearily at 
 the monotony of it all the seasonal close rooms, reeking with vi- 
 ands, sake and stale tobacco; the half-tipsy revelers with whom 
 she would be expected to bandy wit and pathos alternately, ac- 
 cording to their moods. 
 
 At the junction of the Nightless Street with that of the Sorrow- 
 Love, just beneath where she stood, a w r ell known old umbrella 
 vendor, who varied his calling by hawking caged cicadas in the 
 summer months, was, with a persistent monotony, crying his sea- 
 sonal wares that brought him his scant livelihood. 
 
 "Behold, most noble masters !" he importuned in a raspy, croak- 
 ing voice, in the Yoshiwara jargon, displaying at the same time a 
 gorgeous umbrella to catch passing attention, "here is that which 
 will shelter you from the encroaching blasts of life, or hide your 
 noble countenances from vulgar prying as you speed to pluck the 
 night-flowers of the hot-houses. See, masters, upon it are pic- 
 tured some of the most famous of the oiiran ! Who will buy? who 
 will buy ?" 
 
 In a half spirit of compassion, Ren-ko dropped a small coin to 
 the old peddler. She had on occasion performed like small kind- 
 nesses to the picturesque old fellow, so that quite a friendship had 
 sprung up between the two. 
 
 "I doubt not," said she, "that your kasa will be in demand to 
 
 catch the falling drops from the moon's umbrella 'ere the night 
 
 passes." She pointed upward to the rain-rimed moon as she spoke. 
 
 The umbrellaman caught the dropping coin dextrously,and then 
 
 following the line of her pointing, nodded his head. 
 
 "The moon has her umbrella out already," he agreed. 
 
 "May it bring you luck and money," cried Ren-ko, prettily. 
 
 "And may your samisen lilt as sweetly as a harp of the gods shod 
 with flower-frets," he answered, readily. "May your feet tread 
 the dance as lightly as a shooting star. The blossoms of Mukojima 
 died when their fragrance was wafted to the Flower Quarter." 
 
 She clapped her hands shapely and tapering as the unfolding 
 petals of a wild iris laughing at the old fellow's extravagances. 
 Idly she noted two 'rickshas pass swiftly through the throng on 
 
THE DAUGHTER OF THE VINE 187 
 
 the Nightless Street and turn down the Street of the Sorrow-Love 
 that ended at the alleyway leading to The Jewel River's private 
 entrance. She presumed that they contained guests who might not 
 desire their identity recognized, and, dismissing from her mind 
 further conjectures regarding them, bent over again to a contem- 
 plation of the tireless little old umbrellaman. What a life she 
 mused this of his ! Unvariant, cheerless, probably lost by virtue 
 of custom to any other interest than that occasioned by the ever- 
 pressing needs for the maintenance of that life. Cold, or warm, 
 the weather could but serve for him to form a limitless night-shop 
 for the disposal of his day's labor. And, in return, doubtless but 
 some dismal hovel, a wife embittered by the unequal struggle 
 against an existence resultant upon an intellect limited by a de- 
 cree of the gods, a coarse meal, and a lowly futon. 
 
 She contrasted this with her own life, prodigally dowered in 
 comparison, and thought with conviction that not even love itself 
 so plentifully pictured as a safeguard against such ills in the 
 romances of her country could tempt her to an interchange of 
 existences with the umbrellaman. Then the thought came to her 
 that he possessed one jewel which she had not freedom. Yes, he 
 might come and go at will, whither or when he pleased and she ? 
 
 She recalled that the time of her allotted probation in The Jew- 
 el River was fast drawing to a close, soon to be changed into a 
 permanent actuality of slavery should her father fail in liquidat- 
 ing the total amount of his indebtedness to Tanaka. Quite perfect- 
 ly she realized what the alternative would mean, and for she was 
 most observing in detail found no comforting possibility in any 
 hopes that Tanaka might be induced to forego his pound of flesh. 
 She shuddered a little at the thought. After all, might not the men- 
 dicant old umbrellaman be far better off in this life than such as 
 she? 
 
 A shuffling of feet sounded along the balcony, at the far end 
 from where she stood. 
 
 "Miss Breath of Mukojima is requested to entertain in the sec- 
 ond room from across the Bridge of Love," announced a voice. 
 
XIV 
 
 BY THE TAVERN DOOR 
 
 And lately, by the Tavern Door agape, 
 
 Came shining through the Dusk an Angel Shape 
 
 Bearing a vessel on his Shoulder; and 
 He bade me taste of it, and 'twas the Grape! OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 As REN-KO entered the room of the two diners, she saw that 
 one was Baron Goto, but the other was an utter stranger. Goto in- 
 troduced his friend as Mr. Take, of the north country. After the 
 customary bows and acknowledgments, Ren-ko took her floor- 
 cushion seat near the little maid who had preceded her with her 
 
BY THE TAVERN DOOR 189 
 
 samisen, and just across the low table from Mr. Take. As the din- 
 ner progressed, little dancing girls were introduced into the apart- 
 ment. 
 
 The stranger observed the geisha, Breath of Mukojima, covert- 
 ly. Tall she could scarce be described as, yet she seemed to sug- 
 gest an exceedance of the height of Japanese women. Possibly 
 this was because of the unusual, and apparently unconscious, 
 freedom of movement which, when walking, bore her hither and 
 thither as lightly and easily as a butterfly flutters from flower to 
 flower. Her oval features, perfect in form and expression, were 
 poised on a neck and throat of amber, pliant and undulant as the 
 delicate stalk of a blown flower. She wore the customary dress of 
 geisha grey crepe kimono, dark above and lightly shaded below 
 into a pictured landscape, with crest of The Jewel River on 
 sleeves and back. A large gold damask obi girdled this, and a 
 snowy neckband enhanced its simple richness. White socks en- 
 cased her shapely feet, while a coiffure of the Shimada type, held 
 in place by a single hairpin of susuki grass design, completed and 
 gave a setting to the whole. Yet it was neither in the dress, nor 
 features, nor the vibrant pulsing of her full bosom where Ren- 
 ko's greatest beauty lay, but in her eyes clear, large, ever chang- 
 ing from a suggestion of the violets to the softest black of full 
 night, liquid and sensitive as dew upon the grass-lands. 
 
 She took the samisen from the hands of her little attendant and 
 drew from it a few plaintive, lingering chords, whereupon the 
 dancing girls, swaying gently, executed the graceful story of a 
 newly created posture-poem. At its conclusion these withdrew, 
 and Ren-ko, laying aside her musical instrument, prepared for the 
 customary interchange of wit and repartee. 
 
 "'A good horse is known by the graceful movement of its legs'/' 
 observed Goto, jocosely, draining a cup of sake. "May I inquire 
 the name of the beautiful dance we have just witnessed?" 
 
 "It is but recently composed," explained Ren-ko, "and is called 
 the Dance of the Falling Cherry Petals." 
 
 "It is lightsome," commented Take san,"yet not more so than your 
 exquisite touch upon your samisen, which would make even the 
 falling petals themselves seem leadlike in comparison, fair Breath 
 of Mukojima." 
 
I9O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Yet falling petals are often lighter than sorrows of the heart," 
 supplemented Ren-ko. 
 
 "In any event your sorrows have not weighted your ringers," re- 
 joined Take san. "Is the heart then so heavy?" 
 
 "The only scale whose weights are adjusted to its measure is 
 called love," she answered, lightly. 
 
 "A scale whose perfect balance is often lacking," added Take, 
 laughingly. 
 
 He emptied his cup of sake as he spoke, and stretched forth his 
 hand for a fresh cup with an air of reckless gaiety. 
 "'The balance of the scale is easily tampered with'," quoted Goto, 
 inspecting one of the bottles of the wine. "I'll wager these bottles 
 were weighed in such. More sake for my guest and self, atten- 
 dant." 
 
 "Love is a god who never knew love," observed Take to Ren-ko, 
 in answer to her remark of a moment before. 
 
 "Love is a god created from himself," she retorted. 
 
 "Love is a miserable failure as a provider of meals, so I have ob- 
 served in others," commented Goto, sagely. "Wisely, I have re- 
 mained a bachelor." 
 
 Ren-ko joined in Take's laugh at this sally of the jovial baron's, 
 and the attendant returning at that moment with the fresh bottles 
 of sake, a diversion was created, in which Ren-ko had again re- 
 course to her samisen. Her voice was soft and dulcet, making up 
 in richness and sweetness what it lacked in volume, and the song 
 she now chose the Soul of the Cherry Blossom suited it ad- 
 mirably. After a short prelude, her voice glided into so it seemed, 
 rather than began the song : 
 
 All blushing, Mukojima greets 
 
 The new-born day ; 
 
 Her blooms unfolding, one by one, 
 
 In pink array, 
 
 And as each petal opens it 
 
 Lisps love's roundelay. 
 
 In saffron runes a butterfly 
 Is tinged with dawn ; 
 
BY THE TAVERN DOOR 19! 
 
 And, thus, the cherry-flower's soul 
 Is fluttering born 
 
 Like rosy babe from whom the quilts 
 Are sudden shorn. 
 
 Sorrow ! the gentle flutt'r's wings 
 
 But made for flight 
 
 Have caught some ravish'd mortal's eye 
 
 In sheer delight ; 
 
 And so the cherry's soul is waft 
 
 Into the night. 
 
 She laid aside her samisen, thoughtfully, while Goto remarked : 
 "That is both beautiful and sad. It reminds me very much of 
 two ladies whom I used to know. Their names were Nui-ko san 
 and Toyo-ko san, and they were sisters. Somehow, I think they 
 must have been like the mortal eye of your song, Miss Breath of 
 Mukojima always on the lookout for fresh butterflies. I had a 
 narrow escape myself once, before I, too, was waft out into the 
 night." 
 
 He relapsed into a fresh cup of sake. 
 
 The jollity increased after this, jest following jest, quip fol- 
 lowing quip, and song following song, until Ren-ko noted that her 
 two diners had apparently consumed all the sake possible while 
 still able to continue a conversation. In the case of Goto, indeed, 
 Ren-ko saw that he was growing drowsy, but it was to the young- 
 er man Take san that her attention was mostly directed. Al- 
 though such scenes were now a common matter of occurrence to 
 her, there was something about this frail looking stranger that 
 told her his life was far removed from such coarse indulgences. 
 Scarce knowing why, she conceived a sudden revulsion of feeling 
 against such scenes a revulsion deadened now by familiarity with 
 them that made her long for an end to all this. 
 
 "You have made no comment on my poor song," said she to Ta- 
 ke. "Perhaps it was not to your taste, or that you prefer the bal- 
 lads of the sea, which are doubtless commoner in your northern 
 country." 
 "You can hear them best when the tides are washing the eels in 
 
THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 among the kelp," remarked Goto with a smile of drowsy good na- 
 ture. "It was there that Taro was born I will drink another cup 
 of sake to Taro." 
 
 He refilled his cup with an unsteady hand and drained part of 
 it, then sat regarding the two with a look of fatherly benevolence. 
 
 "Our northern customs and melodies may seem rough when com- 
 pared with your softer practices of the southlands," said Take, 
 with a slight hiccough, "but in the north our hearts still beat true 
 and unswerving to the Nippon of our fathers, nor have we ever 
 cast aside the mantle of our Bushido at the bidding of a half 'For- 
 eign' government." 
 
 He picked up her samisen as he spoke and strummed reminis- 
 cently a weird, unnameable sort of dirge as boundless in its effect 
 as the sweep of the great ocean. Goto laughed happily he knew 
 not why. 
 
 "G'is song, Take," said he ; "song of the sea." 
 Take laid aside Ren-ko's samisen. 
 
 "Songs of the sea are sad," said he, "and I would rather be gay, 
 tonight. Give me another cup of sake, and I will tell you instead 
 a foolish little story of the denizens of the deep." 
 
 Ren-ko, inwardly protesting, served him a meager cup of wine, 
 after having first according to rigid Yoshiwara etiquette seen 
 that host Goto's cup was replenished. Then Take, tossing off the 
 liquor in a seeming reckless mood, arose suddenly and threw his 
 arms out, knocking over a nearby screen. 
 
 A moment or so he gyrated about the room, making motions 
 with his arms and body as though of one swimming, and finally 
 came to a step near the table where Goto was watching him with 
 a now almost vacant stare. 
 
 "In a great sea pool," began Take, "once dwelt a school of tai, 
 happy, prosperous ; finding their spawning and feeding beds suffi- 
 cient for all their needs. One fine watery day, one among them de- 
 cided to swim past the mouth of the happy pool and see what was 
 beyond. So he bade farewell to his kin, and went out to the great 
 sea very inquisitive and also very foolish. 
 
 "There he came upon a school of dolphins who were disporting 
 themselves in the long, undulating swells. These leaped up so" 
 
BY THE TAVERN DOOR 
 
 Take here made a half drunken attempt to mimic the diving of 
 dolphin "and came down so, while the inquisitive tai watched 
 their antics in open-mouthed admiration. Finally he asked one of 
 the dolphin why he leapt and dived in this extraordinary manner. 
 " 'And how else should I progress on my way ?' asked the dolphin. 
 "'Why, by swimming quietly along as I do,' replied the tai. 
 
 "The dolphin puffed a great line of bubbles, which is the fish way 
 of laughing derisively. 
 
 "'You are but an ignorant fellow,' said he, 'who apparently knows 
 naught of the great life of the seas. Whence do you come, and 
 what are you ?' 
 
 "'I am of the tai folk/ answered the inquisitive seeker, 'and I 
 come from a beautiful pool, past the kelp in-shore.' 
 '"And have you never seen any of us king dolphin before?' quer- 
 ied the dolphin. 
 
 '"Nay/ replied the tai, 'for no strange fish are allowed to enter 
 our pool.' 
 
 '"I can perceive that such may very well have been the case/ re- 
 joined the magnificent dolphin, diving again. When he came about 
 on his course once more, he stopped by the still watching tai. 
 "'Look you, friend/ said he, 'I can perceive that despite your ig- 
 norance you are a fish of very fine scales. Lead us, therefore, to 
 this home pool of yours, and when we arrive there we will sit you 
 on the throne of the tai fish and teach the other tai how to leap 
 and dive as do we.' 
 
 "Now the tai thought that this was a very good idea, so he did as 
 the dolphin bade, returning to his people to become their ruler. 
 With him came the dolphin, and so curious was the impression 
 they immediately created upon the tai that most of these latter 
 soon started imitating the dolphin, until finally they became a new 
 specie of fish, half dolphin, half tai. Then the dolphin settled down 
 among them, and were given many very fine spawning and feed- 
 ing beds, and soon the pool became the rendezvous of a multitude 
 of all sorts of fishes, so that the customs and forms of the tai were 
 about forgotten." 
 
 Take san paused a moment and looked about him, for a gentle 
 snoring had interrupted his tale. He noticed that Goto was fast 
 
194 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 asleep, his head sunken on his great chest, evidently dreaming 
 blissfully, to judge by the expression of happy serenity depicted 
 on his countenance. 
 
 "My story, if not instructive, is at all events soothing," remarked 
 Take to Ren-ko, who sat with her chin in the palm of her hand, 
 listening intently. 
 
 "Say, rather, it is so graphic in its telling," she replied, "that, 
 like the motion of waves, it has rocked the baron to sleep." 
 
 "It interests you ?" asked Take, with a look and gesture in which 
 there were no traces of his recent apparent intoxication. 
 
 "Excessively," she replied, quietly. "I am all anxious to learn 
 the sequel." 
 
 "There is little more to tell yet," said he. "This inquisitive tai 
 continued opening up the once secluded pool to every specie of 
 fish, till finally some of the few tai who had remained staunch to 
 their old customs and thoughts, gathered together and elected one 
 of their number spokesman and leader. Then said this one: 
 "'Lo, this tai fellow of our folk is despoiling our sacred waters, 
 and has given away to these dolphin many of the best of our 
 spawning and feeding grounds. He and the rest of our brethren 
 are traitors, for they are no longer true tai, but half dolphin. Soon 
 we shall be forced to roam the seas without, where we shall be 
 ever in danger from passing shark and the perils of the deep. Let 
 us therefore attack this tai and his followers and drive them, 
 with the other intruders, away from our pool forever'." 
 
 "And did they so ?" asked Ren-ko, as he hesitated. 
 
 "I do not know," he answered; "the rest of the story is yet to be 
 told." 
 
 She regarded him a moment, and became convinced of two 
 things ; first, that he was not, and had not been, intoxicated as she 
 had at first thought, and secondly, that he was either opposed to 
 the present government or else a spy from it. Yet, as the com- 
 panion of Goto who still snored peacefully and guilelessly she 
 hardly believed this latter to be the case. She determined to test 
 him, and if he were really sincere, to angle for his name to her 
 father's document herself. Coming a trifle closer to him, she ad- 
 dressed him in an almost whisper : 
 
BY THE TAVERN DOOR 195 
 
 "I admire your story no less than your manner of telling it," 
 said she, smiling sweetly upon him. "Indeed it seems to me that 
 the allegory you picture by your fish and the secluded bay might 
 also read Japan, and those who wish her saved from the tai who 
 have become dolphin." 
 
 "You have caught just my meaning," said he, in tones equally 
 low. 
 
 "Yet, you seem to side with the true tai," she observed. 
 
 "I told you that we of the north are still loyal to our old Nip- 
 pon," he answered. 
 
 Ren-ko mused a moment. 
 
 "It seems a thousand pities that such nobility of purpose should 
 be confined to allegory alone," she observed, half to herself. 
 
 "Who knows if it always will," hinted Take, darkly. "There are 
 still some loyal spirits known to me who might some day assume 
 the roles of the tai." 
 
 "And you?" whispered Ren-ko, "if the opportunity were shown 
 you, would you help drive out the half dolphin?" 
 
 "Ah, if I could but be afforded the chance !" he exclaimed. 
 
 She edged a little nearer to him, and leaned so that her parted 
 lips almost brushed his ear. 
 
 "Supposing," she said in the faintest of whispers, "that some- 
 one should show you how a blow might be struck for Japan 
 would you be one to strike?" 
 
 "A thousand!" he whispered back, fiery ardor in his tones. "I 
 would never cease striking while breath were left in my body. 
 But who could show me the way ?" 
 
 She glanced at the still snoring Goto apprehensively, and then 
 whispered again in his ear : 
 
 "Supposing I could ?" 
 
 "Can you?" 
 
 "Perhaps." 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 "Oh, dear !" she pouted. "Is it necessary that one must give the 
 
 whys and wherefores of everything and I a woman? Supposing, 
 
 then, it were because I have become greatly drawn toward you." 
 
 She blushed exquisitely and hid her face behind her fan. Take 
 
 clasped her hand in his and pressed it to his heart, rapturously. 
 
196 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Ah, if you would but show me such an opportunity !" he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 "Ma-a-a-a!" said she, derisively, laying a delicately tapering 
 finger on his lips in admonishment ; "we were only supposing. Let 
 us confine ourselves to that it is safer so." 
 He nodded eagerly. 
 
 "Supposing, then," she continued, "that I should tell you of a 
 great conspiracy to free our country from the dolphin?" 
 
 "Yes ?" said he, all anxiety. 
 
 "And supposing," she went on with a provokingly pretty smile, 
 "that I should add that the Flower Quarter was where it held its 
 meetings ?" 
 
 He nodded again, too intent to answer. 
 
 "And supposing oh, supposing that I should confide in you still 
 further, and tell you that this meeting place was was in The 
 Jewel River?" 
 
 "Is that true?" he asked. 
 
 "How you do insist on a literality !" she pouted, plaintively. "I 
 told you that we were only to suppose. Even then a careless word 
 from you might prove my undoing." 
 He pressed her hand to his heart again. 
 
 "I swear to you," said he, "that you shall not regret your con- 
 fidence." 
 
 "Well, supposing if such an opportunity did exist " 
 
 "Here?" 
 
 "Here, and" 
 
 "A plan to overthrow the present government?" 
 
 "The dolphin folk" 
 
 "When may I know ?" he whispered. 
 
 "Now if you are ready." 
 
 "I am." 
 
 "But first, I am sacrificing much, perhaps ; what am I to get in 
 return for my risk ?" 
 
 "Anything you choose to ask." 
 
 "Even if that anything were yourself?" 
 
 "That would be no hard thing to forfeit to you," he smiled. 
 Suddenly she withdrew her hand from his, and clasped his face 
 
BY THE TAVERN DOOR 197 
 
 between her two warm palms, scanning his features as though she 
 would read behind this mask of life. 
 
 "I will tell you yes you, and you only," said she, "relying on 
 your promise to give yourself to me provided I tell you the name 
 of a conspiracy against the government, and its meeting place." 
 Again she just touched his ear with her lips. 
 
 "In the Flower Quarter," she whispered, "in this very street, in 
 this house are you sure of your intentions and promise to me?" 
 
 "Yes, yes," cried he, impatiently ; "I swear it !" 
 
 "Was planned," said she, slowly and apprehensively, "the Saga 
 rebellion !" 
 
 He fell back from her, from his knees to his heels, in sheer as- 
 tonishment. 
 
 "The Saga rebellion !" he repeated, puzzled for the moment. 
 "Why that failed two years ago !" 
 
 "I know it," she answered tranquilly; "but, oh, just think how 
 different might have been the result had you been there to aid the 
 true tai !" 
 
 He looked steadily at her, chagrin his most apparent feeling. 
 Presently this gave place to admiration. 
 
 "Possibly," he replied, quietly, "unless I chanced to talk with a 
 false tai first." 
 
 Just then an attendant entered, and kneeling close beside Ren- 
 ko, whispered something to her. As the servant withdrew, she 
 arose, and bowed low to Take. 
 
 "I must bid you sayonara now," said she, prettily ; "I have to fill 
 a previous engagement. I shall hope to see you soon again." 
 
 "When I shall hope to convince you that the tai are really the 
 true fish," he added. 
 
 "I am willing now to admit one remarkable quality they pos- 
 sess," she replied "their marvelous powers of recuperation from 
 the effects of apparently deep libations. Pray make my humble 
 farewells to your much less endowed companion, the baron. Say- 
 onara." 
 
 She went lightly from the room, laughing softly, and Take sud- 
 denly recalled, that but a short time since he had been supposedly 
 quite intoxicated. 
 
198 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 As the shoji closed behind her, he crossed to Goto's side and 
 endeavored to arouse him. 
 
 "Come, baron," said he, shaking the still sleeping Goto lightly. 
 "It is time we were moving." 
 Goto partially awoke with a jerk. 
 
 "Hi, th' ruff'n sta'mn!" he ejaculated, sternly, "shake not my 
 n'ro'mno about so carelessly !" 
 
 Evidently his pleasant dreams had taken him back into the good 
 old days when he was Hoku-no-kami. He relapsed again imme- 
 diately into a series of stentorian snores. 
 
 "Come, come, baron !" insisted Take a trifle louder, shaking his 
 companion less gently. "We are going home." 
 
 "Going home !" repeated Goto, awakening for the second time. 
 "Going home !" He regarded Take vacantly. 
 "The stag leaves his pool only when the sun rises'," he said sol- 
 emnly. 
 
 Take, realizing that Goto who, because of an artifice, had been 
 made unconsciously to drink his guest's share of the sake as well 
 as his own would require assistance to reach his awaiting 'rick- 
 sha, stepped to the shoji to summon an attendant. As he slid the 
 shoji he perceived a figure, on the opposite balcony, stop at the 
 second room from the head of the back stairway and call some- 
 thing in a low voice thrice. The shoji of the room opened, and he 
 saw Ren-ko awaiting to admit the visitor. The latter entered her 
 apartment ; the glimmer from the andon within disclosed his fea- 
 tures, they were unmistakably those of Lord Saito of Satsuma. 
 Take san, keeping himself well concealed, attracted the attention 
 of a passing servant, and, after discharging the score for the 
 evening's entertainment, proceeded to the task of assisting to con- 
 vey the still peacefully sleeping Goto to his 'ricksha. 
 
XV 
 
 THE PIECES OF THE GAME 
 
 But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays 
 Upon this Chequer-board of Nights and Days; 
 
 Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays, 
 And one by one back in the Closet lays. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 1 HE next day the Marquis Yo-Ake and his son were closeted to- 
 gether some little time, during which the events of the preceding 
 night were made clear to the former. 
 
 "I admit that the matter assumes a most difficult aspect/' ob- 
 served Lord Yo-Ake at the conclusion of the tale. "Evidently you 
 
2OO THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 are dealing with one exceptionally clever for her sex, and doubt- 
 less as unscrupulous as she is clever she would scarcely have 
 been Saburo Ikeda's progeny and otherwise. Yet, to me, there 
 seems no other way of solving this riddle than by what you may 
 learn through her of her father and Saito's plans that is always 
 providing she does not penetrate your incognito." 
 
 "Another danger," agreed Tokiyori, "not so much from her, nor 
 Ikeda, as from Saito. My personality is much better known to him 
 than to her father, and as he is evidently persona grata with the 
 lady in question, I am likely to come face to face with him there 
 at any time. Of course such a catastrophe would end my mission." 
 The marquis pondered a moment. He recalled that Saito had 
 once been an admirer of Kiku-ko's, and encouraged in his visits to 
 Moto much to old Nakahara's disgust for very similar reasons 
 to those which now presented themselves for wishing to keep Sai- 
 to where he could be more easily observed. The same simple meth- 
 ods might as efficaciously be employed ; for Lord Yo-Ake ever 
 a shrewd observer of what passed beneath his eye believed that 
 all memory of those days at Biwa-ko had not been effaced either 
 from Kiku-ko's or Saito's recollections. 
 
 "You may set your mind at rest regarding any danger of meet- 
 ing Saito at this Jewel River, provided you keep me accurately in- 
 formed as to the hours of your anticipated visits there, I think," 
 said he to his son. "He doubtless will be returning to Satsuma 
 shortly, and meanwhile I may find some way of attracting his 
 time and attention elsewhere. Goto's aptitude for sake will prove 
 of great benefit to you, for, while his company will serve as pro- 
 tection to you and your purposes, his proclivities in that respect 
 may apparently be counted upon to render him oblivious to what 
 is. going on about him. I should always take him with me, were I 
 you, Tokiyori." 
 
 "I do not know whether that will be always possible," remarked 
 Tokiyori. "I had considerable difficulty in inducing him to accom- 
 pany me this time, necessitating my ascribing my desires to visit 
 the Yoshiwara to causes which I am sure have lowered his esti- 
 mation of me considerably." 
 The marquis smiled slightly. 
 
THE PIECES OF THE GAME 2OI 
 
 "I compliment you upon your acting," said he, "but I would give 
 a good deal to know whether it equally deceived the girl, also." 
 
 "She is unfathomable," answered his son; "but of one thing I 
 feel sure" 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "That it will take many more visits, and a much more appealing 
 way of paying them, before her confidence may be counted as 
 won." 
 
 He arose to take his departure, but his father detained him a 
 moment longer. 
 
 "By the way, Tokiyori," said he, "I wish you would see that the 
 government makes an application to the United States Govern- 
 ment for the admission of my protege, young Midzu-hara Ma- 
 ta's stepson to its naval academy as a student. It may be neces- 
 sary to represent him as the son of the Marquis Yo-Ake to gain 
 this I am not informed as to the required rank of intending ca- 
 dets if such should be the case, describe him as such, pray." 
 
 "I will attend to that at once," said Tokiyori. "Is there anything 
 further?" 
 
 "Not that I can think of," answered the marquis, "excepting to 
 ask you how my young friend's Mr. Taro Goto scheme of la- 
 bor emigration is progressing?" 
 
 "Favorably, I believe," replied Tokiyori. "The Diet is assisting 
 in preparing the people's mind for its reception." 
 Lord Yo-Ake shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Mr. Taro is a most lucky young man the idea will enrich him, 
 even if it does not help the poor emigrant." 
 
 "Why should it not help the emigrant, father ?" 
 
 "Because, my son, I have an idea that, as Mr. Taro purposes ad- 
 vancing the original amount for their passage to America, they 
 are likely to remain heavily in Mr. Taro's debt for some time to 
 come, in which event, of course, the laborers will be working in 
 America for virtually what they can receive by laboring here at 
 home. Well, well, he is a very clever young man, Mr. Taro, and as 
 for the poor laborers, let us hope that as the 'Foreigners' say 
 Heaven will temper the wind to the shorn lamb." 
 
 "I do not know that the 'Foreigners" Scriptures have applied 
 
2O2 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 that phrase to exactly the condition of affairs you depict," replied 
 Tokiyori, smiling. 
 
 "Their application of phrases is most catholic, I think," replied 
 Lord Yo-Ake; "their precepts very instructive at times. I have 
 an admiration, Tokiyori, for much in the so called Apocrypha 
 although I do not so greatly concur with the New Testament. It 
 seems to me a mistake that the Christus should have founded the 
 keynote of his life on a creed of such utter self abnegation and 
 self-annihilation. I have thought he might have used the Romans 
 most advantageously in his dealings with the Jews." 
 
 "His life was one of perfect sacrifice," commented Tokiyori; "a 
 Hebrew Kuranosuke, as it were." 
 
 "Ah, yes; undoubtedly," answered the marquis. "Still I confess 
 to a greater admiration for that most wise king, Solomon. There 
 was a character, Tokiyori. Witness his most able handling of the 
 labor question in his time. Without his policy of keeping his arti- 
 sans at home the great temple would never have been built." 
 
 "Conditions were different then," dissented Tokiyori. "Israel 
 was a much older nation than are we in our present form, and 
 the demand for skilled labor at home greater." 
 
 "Ah, no," objected the marquis, "I must take issue with you 
 there. I scarce think there can ever be a fundamental divergence 
 of conditions on that all important topic. The times advance or 
 retrograde, and with them we progress or decline, but the inher- 
 ent principles of communal constitution remain the same. No cor- 
 porate body may disassociate itself from its vertebra without sub- 
 jecting the entire system to coma and the laborer is undoubted- 
 ly the backbone of the nation. Europe, shortsightedly as I believe, 
 regards this class as the least important of its natural fabrics, and 
 has allowed it to emigrate in vast numbers, thus upbuilding an 
 alien republic. The laborer is in essence the working bee of the 
 hive, and every laborer lost to a nation I regard as a nation's dis- 
 tinct loss." 
 
 "The Diet has consented to assist Taro Goto because it believes 
 that by an opportunity afforded to acquire modern agricultural 
 methods abroad, they will ultimately improve agricultural condi- 
 tions at home. Otherwise it is a matter of no importance as to 
 whether Taro himself makes money or loses it." 
 
THE PIECES OF THE GAME 2O3 
 
 "Looking at it through Mr. Taro's eyes," said Lord Yo-Ake, I 
 admit it has all the appearance of being a most excellent idea, and 
 one that should net him a very handsome percentage from his or- 
 iginal outlay; still there is another point of view which, in their 
 haste to comply with Mr. Taro's wishes, the Diet has evidently 
 overlooked. I am sure you will agree with me that the withdrawal 
 of our chief means of production must inevitably result in an in- 
 crease of the cost of living and a partial paralysis of home indus- 
 tries, largely affecting our exports. This, because I doubt not that 
 the great bulk of our laborers, lured by roseate dreams of receiv- 
 ing yen sixty per month, will flock to America. Now, putting aside 
 these minor objections for the moment, I would direct your atten- 
 tion to the fact that under our proposed and, I believe, accepted 
 plan of military organization, our laboring class is to become 
 our second fighting line. Let us say, then granting that there is 
 the possibility of our one day expanding territorially, that the 
 evacuation of an army of occupation of ours speaking in a fig- 
 urative sense for the purpose of illustration is made compulsory 
 from disputed, or acquired, territory. Under our present plans the 
 places of such an army could at once be taken by our laborers, 
 each a skilled and trained soldier; a system to which no possible 
 adversary could offer any legal or logical objection. With the re- 
 moval from our midst of our laboring class, all plans for such or- 
 ganization must, of course, be abandoned. I do not think the Diet 
 can have studied this view of the question, or else it is to be pre- 
 sumed they would have been more chary of assisting Mr. Taro to 
 empty the country of its producer and second fighting line." 
 
 "To have prevented Taro's plans especially after they had been 
 publicly advertised to the masses would have raised up a tre- 
 mendous opposition against the government at a time when we 
 could least afford it." defended Tokiyori. 
 
 "No form of good government may prosper without a strong op- 
 position," negatived Lord Yo-Ake. "Intensity of feeling against is 
 one of the stepping stones by which we should walk onwards, my 
 son. It is well, of course, to have friends, even if one has to use 
 one's enemies in that capacity, but as to the voices of the masses 
 they accomplish nothing. They but cry 'Death !' today for that at 
 
2O4 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 which they cry 'Life!' tomorrow. They are blunt tools, to be used 
 as such, my son." 
 
 "Must we never have relations with others excepting for the pur- 
 pose of making them our tools?" asked Tokiyori. 
 
 "It is an inherent principle of life both in its separate and col- 
 lective form that we must all be of use, each to the other," re- 
 plied Lord Yo-Ake, suavely. "Remains but whether one is to be 
 of use to one's kind, my son, or whether one's kind is to be of use 
 to one. I presume," he added with the faintest suspicion of a 
 smile, "that you are very often inclined to regard me as a most 
 useless old man, yet, I assure you, it is unavoidable." 
 
 He remained thinking for some time after the departure of his 
 son, and then calling a servant to bring his winter walking ap- 
 parel, left the yashiki for a morning call upon his daughter-in- 
 law. 
 
 On the way thither, he paused a moment, and smiled sardoni- 
 cally to himself. 
 
 "After all," he observed, half aloud, "I am very glad that Toki- 
 yori was always kept in ignorance regarding Kiku-ko's feelings 
 for Saito. I have felt that his ignorance might be useful some day." 
 
 He strolled on toward the besso, musing. 
 
 "Human nature," he observed to himself, "is much like a pic- 
 turesque lake extraneously. As we pass placidly across its calm 
 surface we are enthralled by the beauty of its hidden life, the per- 
 fection of its flora and the coloring of its fauna. Its hidden dan- 
 gers but tempt the swimmer into greater depths, and the touch of 
 its seeming purity to our jaded senses is like the caressing of its 
 own nymphs. So does it too often appear cool, clear and invit- 
 ing. But when some scientific delver, collecting a cup full of its 
 liquid, spills but a drop of it beneath the lense of his microscope, 
 he discovers there that which, if interesting, is most repellant in 
 its crawliness." 
 
 He gained the besso gateway and turned to enter. 
 
 During the past week, Taro had sunk into a state of mental de- 
 pression bordering on melancholia, greatly to the consternation of 
 his uncle, nor could either remonstrances or cajolings on Goto's 
 
THE PIECES OF THE GAME 2O5 
 
 part induce him to a more cheerful frame of mind. Realizing that 
 Taro's present unhappiness was due to the impossibility of his 
 being with Breath of Mukojima always now otherwise engaged 
 poor Goto was overcome with the utmost remorse at the du- 
 plicity he had permitted himself to be inveigled into by what he 
 regarded as the machinations of Tokiyori Yo-Ake. He heartily 
 wished, at least a hundred times a day, that he had had nothing 
 whatsoever to do with either the latter or The Jewel River, and 
 determined to break off all connections with both in that respect 
 as soon as should be politic. Moreover, he was somewhat ashamed 
 of the role of old roue he had been so successfully portraying re- 
 cently, and devoutly wished that Tokiyori would suggest dispens- 
 ing with his further company to such scenes of debauchery. This 
 latter desire was occasioned by a missive just received from the 
 subject of his thoughts, which he was but now perusing, which 
 reminded the baron of his promise on the previous evening to 
 again accompany him to The Jewel River the night after which, 
 of course, would be tonight. Goto could not deny the promise, for 
 the very obvious reason that he could not remember what had 
 transpired during the latter part of the evening in The Jewel 
 River, and had spent the greater part of a headachy morning try- 
 ing to solve just exactly how he had happened to find himself in 
 his own bed on awakening, and his chances of having attained it 
 unobserved by Taro. 
 
 He wondered, too, what loadstone in Ren-ko's eyes was com- 
 pelling Tokiyori Yo-Ake toward a probable unpleasant scandal. 
 Goto, as a man of the world, could very well understand a liaison 
 between one situated even as was Tokiyori and an extremely pret- 
 ty woman of whatever calling, but what he could not comprehend 
 was the utter disregard for the outward observances in a man so 
 placed. If, according to his way of thinking, Tokiyori Yo-Ake 
 was so greatly impressed with Ikeda's daughter, why not effect 
 her liberation from her articles to The Jewel River a mere mat- 
 ter of money and install her in some one of the outskirts of 
 Tokyo? Or, if his feelings toward the girl were not strong enough 
 to warrant such a proceeding, why these repeated visits to a lo- 
 cality where, sooner or later, he must become recognized, with an 
 
2O6 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 inevitable resultant scandal ? The more Goto thought over this the 
 more puzzled regarding Tokiyori's motives he became, until, at 
 last urged thereto by the memory of the melancholy mien and 
 dejected mood of the despondent Taro he made up his mind that 
 come what might he would wash his hands of the whole affair. 
 
 Toward this latter consummation, fate re-incarnated for the 
 purpose in Lord Asano Yo-Ake saved Goto further worry and 
 unpleasantness. It was at the end of the fortnight following his 
 first dinner at The Jewel River with Tokiyori a fortnight dur- 
 ing which that abode had had the pleasure of thrice providing for 
 him, in company with the latter, with Ren-ko to entertain them 
 that he received simultaneously two letters, one from Tokiyori re- 
 questing his company for the usual Yoshiwara jaunt, and one 
 from Lord Yo-Ake requesting his presence to Shima at dinner 
 the same evening. Goto at once accepted the marquis' invitation, 
 and then, after dispatching his regrets to Tokiyori, made prepar- 
 ations for what he considered the asceticism of Shima cookery by 
 consuming a dish of eels and a bottle of sake on his way thither. 
 
 At the same hour Tokiyori was speeding toward the O-mon of 
 the Flower Quarter, secure now in the knowledge that his visits 
 no longer aroused a suspicion as to their intent in Ren-ko's bosom. 
 In a sense he found this new dangerous game that he was hazard- 
 ing not without unusual fascination a fascination that increased 
 like an opiate with each fresh recurrence to it. At first he had 
 viewed the matter of his proposed visits to The Jewel River with 
 dread, tempered strongly with absolute fear as to the outcome, 
 accepting it perforce as the only alternative to worse things, but, 
 gradually, as the quality of Ren-ko's intellect became unfolded to 
 him, and as he found his intended victim by no means the meek 
 lamb that he, like a ravenous wolf, was set to devour, an admira- 
 tion for her mentality, that taxed his own to the utmost, took pos- 
 session of him, and he came to look forward to each coming visit 
 with a positive longing. Perhaps this sort of mental gambling was 
 what he most needed an intellectual hypodermic that could 
 arouse his keenest perception and most vivid enthusiasm for it 
 stimulated him to more desperate efforts than he would otherwise 
 have dared venture. Also he was not sorry that Goto's company 
 
THE PIECES OF THE GAME 2O? 
 
 was to be dispensed with, for while the jovial baron invariably 
 drank himself into a state of pleasurable drowsiness each night, 
 shortly after the final retirement of the dancing maids, he felt 
 there would be less restraint when relieved of the baron's pres- 
 ence. In fact Goto, had he but known it, so far from being a 
 wished- for companion by Tokiyori, was secretly regarded more in 
 the light of a necessary evil. 
 
 In Ren-ko's case, it is doubtful if she was quite aware of the 
 full extent of her feelings at this time toward this new friend, 
 Take san. To her he was an anomaly that no deductions collected 
 from recent knowledge of the genus man seemed able to solve. 
 From the outset she had been convinced that he was not as others 
 of her acquaintance, and yet she could assign no definite niche in 
 humanity that he appeared as made to fill. This, naturally, devel- 
 oped her feminine interest to the full, and for some time she had 
 regarded him with a veiled mistrust, until, their friendship ripening, 
 she began to build secret little air castles about herself and Take 
 little dreams of roses and gold, of jade landscapes and silver wa- 
 terfalls dear, unconscious Eutopias of love, found too often, 
 alas ! only in our twilight musings. Take had found the one weak 
 spot in her invulnerability her intellectuality and on this he had 
 played as adroitly as a harper on the most delicate instrument. 
 Her materiality she could have had flattered as often as there 
 were hours in the day ; the craving of her mentality for recogni- 
 tion Take alone seemed capable of answering. Since the night of 
 his first visit to her, he had not again sought to ingratiate himself 
 by a display of recklessness or bon vivantry, but had instead paint- 
 ed life for her in aspects so somber and so rose tinted, with such 
 depth of thought, epigram, wit or irony, that he had captivated 
 the best of Ren-ko her mind and chained it to almost his bid- 
 ding. 
 
 It was dark, for day had faded into afterglow, afterglow into 
 a thin, purplish twilight, and twilight into a closed-in chamber, 
 even as a black drape might be let down to hide an andon in an 
 adjoining apartment. Ren-ko stood, as was often her custom, up- 
 on the upper balcony of The Jewel River, looking down upon the 
 constant little old umbrella man and the ever-changing panorama 
 
2O8 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 of curious humans. February was drawing to the end of its visit, 
 but its snow remained, like some belated guest to the Flower 
 Quarter, warning that March would enter upon its moon-rule 
 prepared to keep up its time-honored reputation. Ren-ko watched 
 the throngs with an indifference born of familiarity, until she es- 
 pied a 'ricksha detach itself from the congesting traffic and turn 
 sharply down the Street of the Sorrow-Love. Then she gave a 
 faint, happy little sigh, for although she could not see the figure 
 beneath the 'ricksha hood her woman's instinct had bidden her 
 heart quicken its throbbing, and Ren-ko knew. 
 
 A moment longer she lingered on the balcony dreaming such 
 opal dreams wild thoughts of putting all this life far, far be- 
 hind her of forgetting the sights and drone of the Nightless 
 Street in some flower-clad besso near the northern headlands, 
 where the waves would hum and roar beneath pure, uncovered 
 skies, and where rippling padi would undulate to the background 
 of mountain walls, inringed by clumps of feathery bamboo, and 
 tinted with the raw, inburnt maple. 
 
 It thrilled, but did not surprise her, when a moment later a 
 voice called that "Miss Breath of Mukojima was requested to be- 
 stow her company upon a diner in the second room from across 
 the Bridge of Love." 
 
XVI 
 
 THE BIRD OF TIME IS WINGING 
 
 Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring 
 The Winter-garment of Repentance fling: 
 The Bird of Time has but a little way 
 To flutter and the Bird is on the Wing. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 loRN by the harpy of unrequited affection, Taro at that same 
 hour was hastening his 'ricksha toward the Street of the Sorrow- 
 Love, and so to the rear exit of The Jewel River, when he espied 
 Saito in another vehicle just ahead of him, evidently journeying 
 in the same direction. Love sent to Taro wings of desire, but the 
 
2IO THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 'ricksha man evidently immune to the little god continued on 
 the same unvarying pace despite curses and entreaties. He na- 
 turally concluded that Saito had the same destination in view 
 The Jewel River and the same object of seeking it Breath of 
 Mukojima. Just then a slight congestion of traffic was occasioned 
 by the blunder of some peddler's cart, necessitating a stoppage of 
 all vehicles from behind Saito's 'ricksha, whereby Taro arrived 
 finally at The Jewel River in time to see Breath of Mukojima 
 crossing the Bridge of Love toward a room, where so he imme- 
 diately conjectured Saito must be awaiting her. In this presump- 
 tion he verified in his own person the accusation so often made 
 against this same love, for as a matter of fact Saito was at that 
 precise moment in Saburo Ikeda's room, awaiting the coming of 
 that worthy, and Ren-ko entering to the presence of Take san. 
 Poor Taro ! 
 
 He ordered a room for the following evening and then left The 
 Jewel River in a state of perturbation, for the morrow was to be 
 his last day in Tokyo. At the exit to the houses he entered his 
 'ricksha, directing the runner to convey him to Tokiyori's besso, 
 for he had some final matters concerning the Nippon Land and 
 Emigration Company's exportation of laborers to put before the 
 Diet, and wished them presented through his friend. 
 
 Arrived there he was informed by Kiku-ko that Tokiyori was 
 absent on business and not expected home until quite late that 
 night, so lingered but a moment to make his farewells to his 
 friend's wife. Throughout his call his manner was so gloomy and 
 reminiscent of blighted hopes and happiness that Kiku-ko who, 
 because of his intimacy with Tokiyori, had come to know him 
 fairly well during his stay in Tokyo rallied him upon his moody 
 preoccupation. "You are as sad as a broken-hearted lover," she 
 said, jestingly. 
 
 "My heart is broken!" sighed poor Taro. "How can I laugh? I 
 feel more inclined to commit seppuku." 
 
 Kiku-ko repressed a smile with difficulty, for ancient rites and 
 modern clothing were ludicrously incongruous. Also Taro's mis- 
 ery had about it a suggestion of the extreme humor depicted in 
 the throes of toothache when seen in others. 
 
THE BIRD OF TIME IS WINGING 211 
 
 "How can you consider such dreadful things when I understand 
 your Nippon Land and Emigration Company is such a success?" 
 she asked. 
 
 "Curse the Nippon Land and Emigration Company!" muttered 
 Taro, hollowly. "My heart is shattered in a thousand fragments, 
 countess. I shall never know happiness again." 
 
 "But who has been so cruel?" asked Kiku-ko, sympathetically. 
 
 Taro was longing for just some such chance to recount the 
 agonies of a blasted life. 
 
 "You may have heard," said he, "that Saburo Ikeda once Lord 
 Ikeda of the Baka-fu, you know has a most beauteous and most 
 heartless daughter no, no, I don't quite mean that; she is as 
 sweet and good as the cherry petals for whom she is named. The 
 old scoundrel sold her to a house in the Yoshiwara The Jewel 
 River and I have come to love her with all my heart." 
 
 "Can you not effect her liberation ?" inquired Kiku-ko. 
 
 "Oh, yes," said he, "that would no doubt be fairly easy, for as a 
 geisha her indentures would probably not be excessive. It is not 
 that that troubles me, but the fact that Saito of Satsuma is her 
 evident preference." 
 
 Kiku-ko sat up suddenly very straight. 
 
 "Saito of Satsuma !" she repeated. 
 
 Taro nodded, too engrossed upon his own misery to note her 
 sudden change of attitude. 
 
 "He's with her always," he went on ; "has been her constant vis- 
 itor for the past two months. What she can see in the fellow is 
 beyond me. A more conceited man I never saw. Why he Oh, but 
 what's the use of talking!" 
 
 He sat in silence brooding for a few moments, during which 
 Kiku-ko also pondered over what she had just learned. Finally 
 Taro arose to take his leave. 
 
 "Goodbye, countess," he said. "I leave for Yokohama the day 
 after tomorrow, bound for America. I shall see your husband at 
 his offices before I go. Please say farewell to your little daughter 
 for me. I shall send her some small remembrance from America. 
 You have all been most kind to me goodbye." 
 
 For a long time after Taro's departure Kiku-ko sat by the hibat- 
 
212 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 chi, wrapt in thought. Finally the sound of Aysia and her nurse 
 returning from Shima aroused her. She arose quietly to welcome 
 her little daughter, and Aysia noted that there were traces of 
 tears in her mother's eyes. 
 
 Meanwhile Saito had been awaiting the coming of Ikeda in the 
 room used by the conspirators as a meeting place. Growing im- 
 patient at last, he slid the shoji to make his exit, when he saw 
 Ren-ko emerging from the room across the balcony, and a mo- 
 ment afterwards Tokiyori Yo-Ake retiring toward the rear stair- 
 way. One glance was sufficient; Saito closed the shoji and await- 
 ed the coming of Ren-ko. 
 
 As she entered he came straight to the subject of her recent 
 visitor. 
 
 "Whom were you with just now?" he asked. 
 
 "A gentleman from the north, by the name of Take san," she re- 
 plied, slightly surprised. 
 
 "From the north ?" laughed Saito, sneeringly. "What part of the 
 north?" 
 
 "Somewhere near Sendai, I think," she answered, innocently. 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Northern men are of a dangerous and nameless breed," he re- 
 plied with a meaning intonation. 
 
 "Not Mr. Take," she affirmed, and with such a tone and look 
 that Saito became at once convinced of the existing state of af- 
 fairs. 
 
 "Do you mean to tell me that the fellow has been making love to 
 you?" he asked, rudely, because of his sudden apprehension. 
 
 "I mean to tell you nothing when you assume that tone," she an- 
 swered, now thoroughly angry. "What right have you to question 
 me on such a subject?" 
 
 "The right of wishing to prevent your ruining yourself, and us, 
 before it is too late," said he. 
 Ren-ko opened her eyes wide. 
 
 "You are speaking without any knowledge of your subject," 
 said she. "I was about to tell you when you took the words out 
 
THE BIRD OF TIME IS WINGING 213 
 
 of my mouth that Mr. Take is in the utmost sympathy with our 
 plans, and ready to join us at a moment's notice." 
 
 "He told you that !" exclaimed Saito, bitterly, "and you, I sup- 
 pose, were fool enough to credit it." 
 
 "Why should I not?" she asked, defiantly. 
 
 "Because," said he, slowly, "this man who has evidently made 
 such convincing love to you who has won your affections, con- 
 fidence and the knowledge of our plans from you who is so 
 anxious to join sides with us pah!" he broke off in a sudden 
 whirl of fury. "Do you know what you have done, girl? Do you 
 know who it is to whom you have confided everything you 
 should have held sacred? For whom it is you have made a fool of 
 yourself and a proclaimed traitor of your father and myself and 
 a score of others you the worse traitor of all? Well, your Mister 
 Take of the North, near Sendai, happens to be one whom I know 
 intimately Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of Moto and Shima, a mem- 
 ber of the Imperial Diet." 
 
XVII 
 
 AH! THE PASSIVE LIP I 
 
 / think the Vessel, that with fugitive 
 Articulation answer'd, once did live, 
 
 And drink; and Ah! the passive Lip I kiss'd, 
 How many Kisses might it take and givefovs.** KHAYYAM. 
 
 .TOR the moment Ren-ko was too stunned at the receipt of this 
 intelligence to reply. Granting the truth of what Saito had just 
 said, it was not of the probable failure of her father's plans, nor 
 the resultant doom of her own life, that she was thinking. She 
 cared nothing for the fact that he if he were such this Take 
 
AH! THE PASSIVE LIP I KISS'o! 215 
 
 Tokiyori Yo-Ake had won from her, knowledge concerning the 
 conspiracy she was set to guard, but that he had played upon her 
 feelings, and tricked her into an admission of love for him an 
 unreserved admission that he was doubtless then laughing at 
 was gall and wormwood to her womanly indignation. Then the 
 memory of the man as she knew him came back to her, tele- 
 pathically, to sweep aside all her doubts and fears. 
 
 "You are wrong," said she to Saito, proudly. "You are doubtless 
 sincere in your belief, but you are misinformed. Such a man as 
 you describe would be a shameless villain. Mr. Take is a gentle- 
 man of Nippon." 
 
 Her face was suffused with a great belief in this man whose 
 guilt she refused to credit. Saito regarded her a moment, wonder- 
 ing at the utter wilful unreasonableness of her sex. Then, slowly 
 and quietly, he proceeded to convince her of the truth. 
 
 "Perhaps I am," said he at last, "for doubtless Count Tokiyori 
 Yo-Ake a man of family ties would scarce come a-seeking 
 pleasures or information in the Yoshiwara. I believe you knew 
 his wife once the Countess Kiku-ko; yet, if my memory serves 
 me correctly, you have never seen him. Let me describe him to 
 you for I know him well so that you may judge of his similar- 
 ity to your Mr. Take of the North, near Sendai." 
 
 He drew nearer, fixing her unflinchingly with his eye, and pro- 
 ceeded to tear her credence in this man into shreds, logically, con- 
 vincingly, irresistibly. 
 
 "Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake," he continued, quietly, " is an inveter- 
 ate foe to old Nippon because of his infatuation for 'Foreign' cus- 
 toms and modes, on which account he is most anti- Japanese in 
 thought and action. In years he is about mine own age say near- 
 ing forty. In appearance he is very slightly poorly formed ; stu- 
 dious, yet chimerical; grave, yet chivalrous. He stoops slightly, 
 and both gesture and voice are as gentle as a woman's. His fea- 
 tures are unhandsome, high forheaded, with a rounded full eye, 
 and oh, yes, I almost forgot to add that he has a defect in his 
 walk, a limp occasioned by a wound received from a night attack 
 of the Baka-fu troops in Yedo. I think that describes Tokiyori Yo- 
 Ake to the best of my poor powers." 
 
2l6 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 She listened intently during his picture of Tokiyori, comparing 
 it point by point with the man whom she had come to love as 
 Take san. It coincided, that is there were points of inexplainable 
 coincidences of likeness the gentle voice, the effeminate gestures 
 had she not often remarked to herself this in particular as she 
 served him with tea and cakes? But when Saito came to the de- 
 fect in his walk, all lingering doubt as to the identity of Take was 
 removed from Ren-ko's mind; the coincidences were too numer- 
 ous for refutation. 
 
 "And how much," concluded Saito, "have you told this friend 
 of yours this Mister Take of the North, Sendai way of our in- 
 tentions and hopes ?" 
 
 "I have told him nothing as yet whereby he may harm us," 
 she answered, steadily. "I might have tomorrow night, when he 
 again visits me but, in any case, I have told him nothing. You 
 may believe me. But, had I told him everything, it would be of no 
 avail to him now." 
 
 "Why?" he asked, surprised in his turn. 
 
 "Because," she answered, slowly and thoughtfully, "whether 
 Take san or Tokiyori Yo-Ake, he will be one of our party before 
 a second sun has risen." 
 
 She left him, entering her own room adjoining, through the 
 fusima that separated it from the conspirators' apartment, while 
 Saito, frankly perplexed at this sudden change of mood, left The 
 Jewel River to consider this fresh danger that had arisen. 
 
 Secure in the privacy of her room, Ren-ko dropped upon the 
 mats, sobbing to herself the full shame and agony of her be- 
 trayed love. Presently, the calmer moments succeeding the storm, 
 she began step by step to review her acquaintance with Take san 
 for so she still preferred to designate him to herself. 
 
 From wondering at the ease with which he had been enabled to 
 entrap her for, despite her statement to Saito, Take had gained 
 from her an admission that she would not be free from Tanaka's 
 control until her father and his friends had succeeded in their re- 
 establishment, denied them by the present government she 
 passed into a state of still further wonder at his powers as an ac- 
 tor, his vivid portrayal of an assumed part. How had he so easily 
 
AH! THE PASSIVE LIP i Kiss'n! 217 
 
 won her love? Not by virtue of appearance certainly, nor by lav- 
 ish display of wealth two adjuncts most effective into the good 
 graces of woman, for while he had been carelessly generous in 
 the matter of his expenditures, he had made no attempt to dazzle 
 her with the wealth she now knew to be his. What then, she asked 
 herself over and over again, was it about him that had so attracted 
 her? Ah, yes, his thoughts given such marvelous expression to. 
 Strange that one should be gifted with the power of divinely in- 
 spired utterances but so to misuse them! to garb his real self 
 with a cloak of lies! Then unaccountably, bringing with it a 
 world of comfort the thought came to Ren-ko that Saito had 
 been mistaken after all, not as to Take's identity, but as to the 
 purpose of his visits to The Jewel River. True, he might political- 
 ly be an enemy to her people and their plans, and an important 
 member of the government that had ousted her father and his 
 friends from any place in it ; yet this gave no reason for the sup- 
 position that he had deliberately sought her acquaintance as a 
 spy. She hugged this new hope to her breast, and if a doubt of his 
 ascribed intentions arose, she easily confronted and defeated it 
 with a thousand reasons why such could not be so. His assumption 
 of another name was most feasible of explanation, and she re- 
 called gladly that while he might appear by such stories as that 
 of his tai, for instance to have sought to lead her into an avowal 
 of her father's plans, he had made no effort, when he well might, 
 to force her confidence, nor play upon her feelings so as to gain 
 his desire if such it were. Ren-ko loved Take, simply and obvi- 
 ously, and as with such natures as her's, love was all. 
 
 She recalled a previous conversation with him, in which she 
 had asked him for a definition of love, and he had answered her 
 that it was life, embracing all immortality endless, unslayable. 
 She had asked him if death, that grim spectre that hovers even 
 through the thoughts of lovers, could not find a sting to kill it, 
 and he had told her that to those who loved there was no death 
 possible. Death was but a shadow, falling across the landscape of 
 life, and growing longer and longer until finally it became merged 
 in the morrow. And where it fell on the morrow it would fall on 
 the million morrows to come; it was but the short night that in- 
 tervened. 
 
2l8 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 She remembered that she had asked him what would become of 
 the shadow if the sun failed to appear on that morrow, and he had 
 laughed softly, taking her hand in his, and telling her that a poet 
 would need no eyes to see the visions of which he wrote. This 
 shadow would fall just the same, it was but doubting eyes that re- 
 quired the sun as evidence. 
 
 She believed this and because of it believed in him. Was she 
 a doubter to require a sun to show her love to her to think that 
 love slain because a short night was intervening ? 
 
 She crossed to a shoji that gave out over the Nightless Street, 
 and slid it that the crisp night air might enter and fan her thought- 
 heated brow. About her a great world of sin and evil surged and 
 lurched in the wickedness of its life, but overhead the stars shone 
 pure and bright. The lanterns of the Flower Quarter required 
 constant attention, their little lamps re-burnishing and filling, their 
 wicks re-trimming. Those other lanterns in the sky overhead 
 needed naught, but shone as brightly as though they had been lit 
 and hung by some Hand. When they became invisible to mortal 
 eye it was but because a passing cloud obscured them, the stars 
 were still in their places and still shining. Behind them, some- 
 where, was the great sun that made light and shadow that, too, 
 was still shining, obstructed but by the passage of the night, a 
 night whose fullest complement of hours could scarce equal half 
 of their nycthemeron. Where was her love? 
 
 She raised her face to the stars, crying softly above the mocking 
 jollity of The Jewel River revelers. 
 "He loves me ! He loves me !" 
 
XVIII . 
 
 THREAD-BARE PENITENCE 
 
 Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before 
 I swore but was I sober when I swore? 
 
 And then and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand 
 My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore, OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 IT WAS the early afternoon of the following day. In the yashiki 
 of his Mukojima besso, Goto was protesting to Taro vehemently 
 at a suggestion from the latter that they should make one night of 
 it at The Jewel River before the start for Yokohama on the mor- 
 row. Taro, secretly in the hope of seeing Ren-ko for one last time, 
 
22O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 had been urging this to his uncle for the past half hour, and the 
 baron had as insistently been negativing the idea. 
 
 His recent escapades at The Jewel River, in the company of 
 Tokiyori,had resulted for Goto in an attack of gout, as he had pre- 
 dicted, and each sharp twinge now served to prick his conscience 
 as well. He was determined that, hereafter, no earthly powers of 
 suasion should lure him from the paths of sobriety and rectitude. 
 Besides it was not dignified for a personage of his prominence to 
 be frequenting such places, and, moreover, his foot hurt him ex- 
 cessively. 
 
 " 'Clapping can not be done with one hand'," he expostulated to 
 Taro, when the latter had again renewed his attack. "My honor- 
 able foot is so wretchedly annoying that I can scarcely walk." 
 
 "But, uncle," interjected Taro, plaintively, "think, this is our last 
 night together for some time." 
 Goto shifted in his seat, uneasily. 
 
 "I think this daughter of Ikeda's has bewitched you young fel- 
 lows," he answered testily, drawing up his foot sharply at a sud- 
 den twinge. "Why need you hurry back to America, Taro ? There 
 must be others in the Company who can take these trips in your 
 place, and I am getting to be an old fellow who will be lonely 
 without you." 
 
 "It is absolutely imperative that I journey to America, as you 
 must realize, uncle," replied Taro, "because, owing to an increase 
 in applications for labor transportation to that country, arrange- 
 ments must be entered into there for a more extended field of 
 placing our intended emigrants. Moreover, we have pledged our- 
 selves to the Diet to secure, if possible, farming lands for these 
 emigrants in California, all of which will require my personal su- 
 pervision." 
 
 "Well, well," grumbled Goto, "I suppose you are right, nephew. 
 Nevertheless, I shall be very lonely after you are gone." 
 
 He relapsed into silence, broken only by occasional "ouches" 
 and anathemas at the pain in his foot, while Taro awaited a more 
 favorable opportunity of again broaching the subject of The Jew- 
 el River. Finally, Goto observed : 
 
 "Why not forego this Yoshiwara project of yours for tonight, 
 
THREAD-BARE PENITENCE 221 
 
 Taro, and let us spend our last evening together peaceably at 
 home? I have some very good sake, and I daresay our cook can 
 manage something palatable for us." 
 
 "I thought the 'Foreign' doctor had forbidden you sake until you 
 have recovered from this attack of gout," remarked Taro. 
 
 The baron moved about uneasily once more. 
 "'There is more danger in the knife of a doctor than in the fierc- 
 est storms of winter'," he defended. "The 'Foreign' doctor told 
 me that if I would give up my sake I would greatly lengthen my 
 days. I have tried it for two days now, and I must say, Taro, they 
 are the longest days I ever remember to have spent. I thought 
 they would never end." 
 
 "Well, uncle," affirmed Taro, "at all events the 'Foreign' doctor 
 has not forbidden your visiting the Yoshiwara with your nephew. 
 I will warrant that if you but accompany me your foot will not 
 trouble you as much as it does now, and that the evening will 
 pass far more pleasantly to you than shut up in this room with 
 the constant memory of your pain for a companion. As for me, I 
 must attend The Jewel River a few moments in any case, for, 
 while there yesterday evening, I ordered a room for us the same 
 room we have always used and geisha and hokan. The cooks 
 have my orders to prepare eels with sancho, after our custom in 
 the north, and there is to be a new 'Foreign' dish a piece de re- 
 sistance, called pate de foi gras that is worthy a place on the Mi- 
 kado's table. It will be a feast fit only for kings, uncle, sparkling 
 with wit, wine and pretty women an evening to remember for 
 many a long year to come, with mirth and joy our only guests at 
 the festive board ! Surely, uncle, you will not leave it for me to 
 partake of this alone?" 
 
 As usual, the epicurean picture proved too great a temptation 
 for Goto. 
 
 "By Uji-no-mitama !" he vociferated ; "I believe the boy is right ! 
 'The moping owl complains away its rest.' That 'Foreign' doctor 
 is a fool. Order 'rickshas then, nephew, while I prepare my toilet." 
 
 Later that afternoon Tokiyori stood in the great library of Shi- 
 ma, about to take his departure from his father's presence. 
 
222 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "I am assured," said he to Lord Yo-Ake, "that Ikeda's conspir- 
 acy has its foundation in a plot to re-establish the old order of 
 Tokugawa times ; that he has succeeded in attracting many like 
 himself and with much more powerful connections in the pres- 
 ent regime, in many cases to his cause, and that Saito is the 
 head and soul of the military part of the organization. Their plans 
 are maturing rapidly and there is a general hope among them of 
 bringing matters to an issue before the summer months." 
 
 "We can but wait, and watch," answered Lord Yo-Ake. "Your 
 part has been well done, my son. You have tricked this girl most 
 skilfully." 
 
 "Yes," answered Tokiyori, with unusual bitterness, "that is just 
 what I am what I have been made to be a trickster, a forger 
 of sacred words, a liar. I go now to fresh victories sayonara." 
 Lord Yo-Ake watched him as he left the room. 
 
 "After all," he mused, "our vaunted system of marriage is sub- 
 servient to many translations, any one of all depending merely on 
 the translator. It is called a union of what? Rather, to me, its 
 material state is simply an affining of molecular atoms; its intel- 
 lectual communion the ventriloquism of souls. But Love? Ah, 
 Love! what place have you or ever had in marriage? Your 
 presence therein is just as likely to prove conspicuous by its ab- 
 sence as otherwise; yet you are the life of the world, for without 
 you there would be no universe no Nippon no Yo-Ake. Love !" 
 He stood gazing into the shrine to his dead wife, until the 
 sound of the o-mon shutting to, told him that his son had left the 
 castle. 
 
 Much later that afternoon Saito called at the Shiba besso. He 
 was anxious to ascertain, unsuspected, something of Tokiyori's 
 movements, and it was two days since he had seen Kiku-ko an 
 unusual remissness on his part, latterly. At the entrance he was 
 met by Kiku-ko herself, who conducted him into the guest cham- 
 ber. 
 
 "I wanted this opportunity," said she, "to speak to you please 
 hear me out before you interrupt." 
 
 She was standing before him, very straight and determined, so 
 
THREAD-BARE PENITENCE 223 
 
 that she seemed to Saito to have acquired a hitherto unknown dig- 
 nity. 
 
 "I have listened to you for some years," she went on, "because I 
 believed you the one true, unchanging thing in this rapidly chang- 
 ing country of ours. It seemed to me that you alone stood for our 
 Bushido all that was most honorable in our life. Now I see that 
 I was wrong, both in my estimate of you and of that code for 
 which you stood. It is but a brilliant cloak, hiding the tawdriness 
 beneath; why should I expect its wearer to be otherwise? I have 
 suffered for the falsity of my belief, and I suffer again in saying 
 this ; but now I know that there is neither truth nor honor longer 
 in the old Nippon." 
 
 "I do not understand you," said he when at last he was given the 
 opportunity to defend himself. 
 
 "No," she replied, "I hardly expected that you would. You be- 
 long to that world past now, thank the gods! to whom there 
 was virtue or chastity in naught but the sword. Do you think a 
 woman whose eyes have been opened could again revert to such a 
 state?" 
 
 "Revert to what state?" he asked, still bewildered. 
 
 "To the state for instance to which you, and others, have sen- 
 tenced a woman of your own caste the daughter of the once 
 Lord Ikeda of the Baka-fu, to be more explicit." 
 
 "And what has that to do with us, Kiku-ko ?" said he. 
 
 "I refer you for the answer to your friend ? at The Jewel Riv- 
 er," she replied. "Sayonara." 
 
 With a bow she left him, and Saito, in a now ugly frame of 
 mind, stalked from the house to his awaiting 'ricksha without. As 
 he proceeded in it toward the city, a sudden thought came to him. 
 
 "By the gods !" he exclaimed half aloud, "I believe she loves 
 him ! I believe she loves him !" 
 He pondered a moment. 
 
 "Ho, there, runner !" he called sharply to his 'ricksha man, "con- 
 vey me as quickly as possible to the houses of The Jewel River, 
 on the Nightless Street of the Flower Quarter." 
 
XIX 
 
 IDOLS OF LOVE 
 
 Indeed the Idols I have loved so long 
 
 Have done my credit in this World much wrong: 
 
 Have drown'd my Glory in a shallow Cup, 
 And sold my Reputation for a Song. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 IHE baron and Taro having secured the sole remaining enter- 
 tainment chamber at The Jewel River that night, Ren-ko gave or- 
 ders that Take's dinner should be served in her own room, whither 
 she awaited him. The day following a sleepless night, occasioned 
 by Saito's warning against Tokiyori, had found her again fraught 
 
IDOLS OF LOVE 225 
 
 with doubts regarding him, and while she was now enabled to 
 meet these in a vein of calmer reasoning, she prepared for a pos- 
 sible worst by an antidote of which she had thought. If, she rea- 
 soned, Take were innocent, the foresight could do not the slight- 
 est harm; or if otherwise, she would have at hand a powerful 
 weapon of protection for herself and father. 
 
 Kneeling before a small writing table, she unrolled a scroll to 
 its full length, so that it covered the table top. In the right-hand 
 margin of this was a statement contained in a few closely written 
 characters in perpendicular lines, followed by a score of signa- 
 tures and seals covering nearly one half the paper. She studied 
 these for some time, then clapped her hands thrice. 
 
 When the maid answered the summons, she instructed her to 
 bring a bowl of boiled rice. As the servant withdrew, she care- 
 fully rolled the scroll toward its under side, stopping when was 
 left to view but the unwritten portion of the paper. Presently the 
 maid returned with the rice, and placing it by her mistress, asked 
 if she required anything further. Ren-ko ordered tea and cakes 
 for two, then turned to her task. 
 
 Crushing a grain of the rice against the inside of the bowl with 
 her forefinger, she lightly touched the roll where she held it be- 
 tween finger and thumb of the other hand, thus glueing it. Then 
 she rolled up the remainder and, lifting her ink-case from the 
 floor onto the table, laid the scroll in readiness beside it. 
 
 Her task completed to her satisfaction, she arose, and crossing 
 the room to the hibatchi, placed her small iron kettle on the rest 
 over its hot coals, and, setting her cushion beside it, was now 
 ready for her visitor. Shortly after the maid entered and deposit- 
 ed a tea tray close to her mistress, laying another cushion on the 
 opposite side of the hibatchi. Then, gathering up the bowl of rice, 
 she withdrew just as the voice of an attendant was heard ushering 
 a guest toward the room. A moment later the shoji slid admitting 
 Take san. 
 
 He advanced quickly to her side, and after greeting her warm- 
 ly, remarked on her room. 
 "How pretty this apartment is," he observed. 
 "Ah, yes," she answered, smiling up happily at him. "Of course 
 
226 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 you have never seen it before. All the other chambers were en- 
 gaged for the evening, so I thought to make shift to entertain you 
 in my poor apartment." 
 
 "It is an unexpected, and therefore doubly appreciated, pleas- 
 ure," he replied, settling himself upon the cushion laid for him. 
 
 Her room was separated from the one adjoining used by her 
 father and his associates of the conspiracy by fusima depicting 
 a great cherry tree in full bloom, blown by a wind so that its pet- 
 als were falling in showers to form a thick snow-like carpet. In- 
 termingled with the falling blossoms was a swarm of exquisitely 
 tinted butterflies ; two sides of the room were enclosed by shoji. 
 Besides the writing table, hibatchi, tea service, and her ko-tansu of 
 dull wood with fantastic bronze-wrought clasps upon its drawers 
 and little doors, there was but the toko-no-ma, containing a dainty 
 little kakemono of bird life, and oddly a sword rack on which 
 reposed two weapons that had evidently, from make and hous- 
 ings, belonged once to some noble or samurai of the wealthier 
 class. Ren-ko, busying herself with the tea service, explained the 
 presence of these latter laughingly to Take. 
 
 "They are my father's," said she, "who treasures them greatly, 
 although he can not, of course, wear them under the present regu- 
 lations." 
 
 She served him his tea, noting as he received it the effeminacy 
 of gesture of which Saito had spoken, and Take, draining the cup 
 of its contents, passed it to her for re-filling. 
 
 Just then sounds of revelry from across "the Bridge of Love" 
 became audible, distinguishable among them the voice of Goto. 
 
 "I understand now," smiled Take, "why my usual apartment was 
 let this evening. It seems my friend, the baron, is entertaining 
 again tonight." 
 
 "A farewell dinner, I believe, to his nephew, Mr. Taro Goto, 
 who leaves for America tomorrow," explained Ren-ko. 
 
 "Is he one of your friends, Flower Heart?" asked Take, in jok- 
 ing vein. 
 
 "He was," she answered, "until he decided not to be." 
 
 "Ah ! I perceive," smiled Take. "Well, he will doubtless be very 
 rich some day," he added, jestingly. 
 
IDOLS OF LOVE 22? 
 
 "That is naught to me," she replied, indifferently. 
 
 "Do not all women love riches ?" he asked. 
 
 "I prefer greatness," she answered, simply. 
 
 "Well, are not riches greatness?" he queried, still in the same 
 tone of light banter. 
 
 "Indeed no," she affirmed without hesitancy. "A rich man is 
 often mistaken for a great one by the world because of what his 
 wealth can buy, but to me greatness consists rather in the power 
 of giving." 
 
 "Then how would you define a great man, my Soul of the Blos- 
 soms?" 
 
 "A great man," she answered, slowly and thoughtfully, "is one 
 who, recking nothing of himself, labors above all for the good of 
 humanity, no matter what his sphere of work may be ; that alone 
 is what constitutes greatness, I think. Such a one might not ac- 
 quire much worldly wealth, because his mind would be given to 
 the advancement of others rather than to his own interests. 
 
 "Yet there are said to be rich men who work for the good of hu- 
 manity," he objected. 
 
 "Yes, after they have worn out the best in their lives accumulat- 
 ing for themselves," she agreed. 
 
 "Then you think our friend, Taro, will never be great?" 
 
 "He will probably be wealthy some day," she replied, "and in 
 the world's eyes that embraces everything. I know his plans, but 
 cannot see any greatness in a work destined toward the ultimate 
 ruin of his country." 
 
 He evinced a sudden deep interest. 
 
 "The ruin of the country?" he asked. "How can that be?" 
 
 "How can it not be?" she answered. "Mr. Taro is attempting, 
 and successfully according to report, to instigate a desire for emi- 
 gration in his countrymen by the offer of greater prosperity. Think 
 you that our people will ever care to return to their native fare 
 after tasting this dish he is providing for them? Soon we should 
 be a race of neither Orientals nor Occidentals, but, like your fish, 
 half dolphin, half tai. Where then would be our vaunted oneness 
 of national ambition, or love of country? It would be the fore- 
 word of the decline and fall of Nippon." 
 
228 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "That would appear to settle the claims of our friend, Taro 
 Goto, to greatness/' he laughed, "and so a rival is removed from 
 my list. Yet, I confess to fears for myself ; your estimate of great- 
 ness seems so humanly unattainable." 
 
 "I think that, given the heart for such work," she differed, 
 "greatness is more easily attainable than mere money. The brain 
 lacks the spontaneity of the heart, and what is an effort to the 
 one would be but a pleasure to the other. Yet, mere ostensible suc- 
 cess does not necessarily stamp the worker as great, any more 
 than the acquisition of mere wealth does. I know of one, now, 
 who is I think the nearest human attribute of greatness, yet I 
 doubt that he has ever experienced one proclaimed success of his 
 efforts." 
 
 "Excepting that of apparently winning your encomium," he jest- 
 ed. "Would that I were he !" 
 
 "Oh, you are in many ways," she answered, quickly. "I often 
 think you very similar in character to my hero Tokiyori Yo- 
 Ake." 
 
 She watched him closely as she spoke, and it added to her ap- 
 proval of him that he betrayed no consciousness of her inuendo. 
 
 "I would, Soul of Mine," said he, lightly, "that I could be to you 
 what this Tokiyori Yo-Ake seems." 
 
 There was a note of deep sincerity in his voice despite the 
 lithesome manner of speaking, unmistakable to the woman whose 
 senses were strained to his every mood. 
 
 "You are," said she, simply; "I thank the gods!" 
 
 He regarded her with one swift, keen glance, and then gave a 
 short laugh. 
 
 "You flatter me," he replied. 
 
 "Not if you are what I believe you to be," she answered. And 
 then, before he had time for further comment 
 
 "Have you ever seen a lake of muddy water, into which a pure 
 stream flows," she asked, "and noted the beauty of the clear 
 liquid where it touches? We of the Flower Quarter are like so 
 many turbid ponds : purity there is among us for we are women 
 yet the constant stirring of the mud obscures all else. When, 
 from the high mountains, a clear stream flows to us such as, for 
 
IDOLS OF LOVE 22Q 
 
 instance, this Tokiyori Yo-Ake is it any wonder that it leaves an 
 impress? We know his efforts in the Diet on our behalf, they are 
 common talk among us, and whatever his lack of success regard- 
 ing this may be to the public, I think a little ihai is preserved in 
 every woman's heart here to enshrine his name in." 
 
 She touched his hand timidly with her own shapely, tapering 
 fingers a touch that thrilled him. 
 
 "Oh, Tokiyori, Tokiyori," she laughed, softly. "Could you not 
 see through my little play? Forgive me the deception, dearest 
 heart. You think it strange that I know you? Yet, if you would 
 but stop to consider, you would perceive that I could scarcely have 
 failed to identify you. I was a guest at your besso on the night of 
 the ronin attack upon the old embassies, and you still carry the 
 effects of the wound you received then. Then, too, you have been 
 the subject of especial vituperation in the Yoshiwara because of 
 your project against the established practices here, and naturally 
 your personality has undergone much discussion among us." 
 
 In a second he realized the impracticability of an attempted de- 
 nial of his identity, and decided that his best chance of allaying 
 her suspicions would be in an acceptable explanation of his in- 
 cognito. 
 
 "You are right," said he, quietly. "I would have told you all the 
 truth, eventually, but the deception was imperative just now. It is 
 not without danger, in the present state of feeling against me by 
 the house owners here, that I pay my visits to you, and, as you 
 must realize, I could not afford to risk the fact of these visits be- 
 coming public property. But one other beside yourself knows 
 of them my friend, Baron Goto." 
 
 "Why have you sought me?" she asked. 
 
 "By accident at first, and afterwards for love." , 
 
 "I know that you have come to me with words of love," said she, 
 "which I have accepted with my woman's impulsiveness. I be- 
 lieved those words as sincere as is my love for you. Were they ?" 
 
 "By that love, I swear it." 
 
 "And I too swear the same," she replied. "In any case there can 
 be no shame in such a confession from me, for were I to you but 
 a light love, or the one whose soul was created a counterpart of 
 
230 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 yours, my love is true and in truth there can be no shame. You 
 swear your words were true; and I recall how often you prom- 
 ised to take me away from this was that the truth, also?" 
 "Yes," he answered, "it was." 
 Suddenly she buried her face in her hands, shaking convulsive- 
 
 ly- 
 
 "Oh, take me away from this !" she sobbed. "Oh, take me away !" 
 Her plea was as anguished as that of one drowning. 
 
 "I will," he replied, "on my honor. But you must allow me time 
 to make arrangements. It is superfluous, surely, for me to tell you 
 that any whisper of this would ruin me ?" 
 
 Exactly what he said, he meant. He knew that her love was 
 everything to him, and, had less pended on himself both as re- 
 garded his country and his family he would have cast aside the 
 role he was assuming and told her the whole truth. In a flash it 
 came to him, as never before, what a series of sacrifices his lot in 
 life had predestined him to, and, worst of all, the sacrifices were 
 entailed on all others, seemingly, who came into close contact with 
 himself. First Kiku-ko he understood the sacrifice of her love- 
 less marriage, despite his supposed ignorance, regarding her secret 
 attitude for Saito and now this woman nay, girl who alone 
 had come deepest into his life. 
 
 Suddenly she removed her hands from her face, and clutched 
 his cheeks between them, her eyes fairly burning into his own. 
 
 "Let me look into your eyes," said she, "into the well of your 
 life, for I know they can reveal naught but the purity of you. I 
 care not what your lips may utter, it is in the depths of your eyes 
 that I shall see, and know. I do not seek to embarrass your posi- 
 tion, rather I would help you. I could not be selfish, my Take, and 
 be what I long to your helpmeet ; the moisture-gathering clouds 
 blot out the dawn. I would be the clear atmosphere that intensi- 
 fies the glory of the sun. Listen, O Heart of Mine ! 
 
 "A new dawn has broken for Japan, you believe ; let it dawn for 
 us, too. The mists are clearing away before your radiance, my 
 beautiful sun, and I would not be that which obstructs your light, 
 for well I know it must shine upon our earth through no murki- 
 ness, no befogging air. See, how I may be of help to you. Since 
 
IDOLS OF LOVE 23! 
 
 first I knew you, my Tokiyori my Take I felt that to be worthy 
 of you I must learn with the comprehension of man. Naught else 
 would appeal to you, that I understood, even on that night of our 
 first meeting, when you sought to blind me with your assumed in- 
 toxication as though such as you would descend to such coarse- 
 ness, soul of my soul ! And so I thought oh, so earnestly ! and 
 studied when chance permitted, asking questions of all who could 
 enlighten me, neglecting no littlest piece of knowledge. I grasped 
 each opportunity possible to entertain at the banquets of impor- 
 tant officials, until I began to know something of the undercur- 
 rents of our national existence. Gradually I pieced those glean- 
 ings together into one whole garment, that I might some day 
 bring it to you as my little offering to the shrine of our love. Dear 
 heart, I have accepted repugnant attentions to learn for you, and 
 I have learned secrets of state that you believed inviolately 
 guarded, plans of men sitting with you on the Diet that you would 
 not dream existed trust a woman to acquire what she desires, 
 when aided by the sake cup." 
 
 She arose, superb in her wonderful perfection of beauty, and 
 stretched her arms forth, her great eyes liquid with the loveliness 
 of her adoration. 
 
 "I learned all this," said she, "because first I had learned love. 
 Love that I hoped would make me, not the mistress to a lover, the 
 bed companion to a great lord but the consort to a king !" 
 
 He was watching her every action, her every gesture, noting 
 with all that was in him her every word, her every inflexion, en- 
 thralled. Her soul was open to his sight, unfolding like the timid 
 petals of a flower. The veil of her life fell slowly before his eyes, 
 till the shrine was bereft of its coverings, and naught stood be- 
 tween them but the great naked flame of truth and love not that 
 feeble, animal misnomer of the human race, but a love so all-lov- 
 ing that it sought but the creation and perfection of itself, un- 
 selfish, all-giving. He entered through the thought veil of her 
 life and, for the gift-moment, affined by the gods, they trod the 
 pure ether above the earth ; then, like the black, downward rush 
 of falling waters, his trust spake into his ear, quietly, insistently, 
 irresistibly. He tried to brush it aside, but it whispered to him that 
 
232 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 infidelity to it would be infidelity to her as well. Honor must de- 
 scend to a material villainy to beget itself Jesuitical, yet awe- 
 inspiring in the hopeless sacrifice of its life for its life. 
 
 He was shown the opportunity afforded by her plea to exact in- 
 formation, and quickly sought to take advantage of it. 
 
 "You have said that you would be my help," said he; "would 
 you be so now ?" 
 
 "Yes," she answered, simply. 
 
 He hesitated, and then decided to risk all on a single throw of 
 the dice, fearing that the opportunity might not occur again, and 
 believing that her present sentiments could be played upon. 
 
 "There are," said he, "frequent meetings here between your 
 father, Lord Saito, and certain daimios of the Tokugawa times. 
 Their motives I know, but the names of those taking part in this 
 conspiracy and the time set for its consummation are necessary 
 to that dawn of which you spoke nay, they are the very ob- 
 structing fog that will prevent it. As you love me as your words 
 are true I adjure you to aid me now." 
 
 A sudden hot anger leaped to Ren-ko's heart. He had ignored 
 her plea, and cared but to pervert her offer to his selfish ends. He 
 sought but to take every advantage of her love ; not to take that 
 love as she had offered it. Palpably he was but playing on her af- 
 fections, using her love but as a lever to the attainment of his set 
 purpose, and while that belief did not kill her love for him it 
 was too vast and enduring for mortal slaughter it aroused in her 
 a contempt of his methods, and a desire to show him how very 
 small he had suddenly become in her eyes. 
 
 "If I should consent to tell you what you ask," said she, "what 
 recompense would be mine ? For be assured that I would be run- 
 ning no small risk of ultimate discovery." 
 
 "Ask what you will," he agreed, eagerly; "it shall be granted 
 with the fullness of a grateful heart." 
 
 "Nay," she replied, "it is not for myself that I would ask. My 
 love would bid me give, not sell, its assistance to you. But as I 
 told you your personality is known here, and your visits to me 
 have been marked. If I should divulge this plot, suspicion would 
 point through me to my father, who would be accused of traitor- 
 
IDOLS OF LOVE 233 
 
 ous dealing, and himself most harshly dealt with. It is protection 
 for him that I am seeking." 
 
 "I will afford him that protection," said he. "Both in my father's 
 name and in my own, I will assist him I swear it." 
 
 "I make no doubt of your willingness so to do," she answered, 
 "but the possibility of performing it. Neither my father nor my- 
 self could leave this house without incurring arrest. My father is 
 in the debt of the proprietor, Tanaka san, for yen three thousand, 
 and that amount would have to be repaid before either of us 
 would be permitted to depart hence." 
 
 "I will pay it," he complied. "I will send you the amount by mes- 
 senger in the morning. I will send you as much more as you wish." 
 
 "Nay," she answered, "that sum will suffice that and your 
 promise to aid and protect my father. Do you swear that?" 
 
 "By the gods of my house," he affirmed. 
 
 She crossed the room to her writing table, returning with it to 
 his side. 
 
 "It will be necessary that I have some statement to show my 
 father in order to protect myself against his first wrath," she ex- 
 plained as she placed the table and ink-case before him. "He 
 would not, I fear, understand my motives, and might attribute my 
 confession to you to wrongful causes." 
 
 She placed the scroll, that lay beside the ink-case, in his hand as 
 she spoke, and laid her head with the prettiest gesture of a found 
 refuge on his shoulder. 
 
 "That is a simple matter," he smiled, slowly unrolling the scroll. 
 "What shall I say?" 
 
 When sufficient paper was unrolled, he took a brush from the 
 ink-case and, pondering scarce a moment, stroked rapidly : 
 
 / agree to place at the disposal of Saburo Ikeda yen three thou- 
 sand, and I swear to protect and aid him in the name, and with 
 the Influence, of my family and myself. 
 
 For a moment he considered what he had written, and then af- 
 fixing his seal, signed it Tokiyori Yo-Ake. 
 
 Ren-ko languidly received the scroll, and reading it, passed to 
 the other side of the hibatchi, while he replaced the writing ma- 
 
234 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 terials within the ink-case. He was pleased to have given her this 
 pleasure now but the forerunner of what he intended should be 
 many. Suddenly she called to him. 
 
 He glanced up from the writing table with a smile a smile that 
 soon faded from his lips when he saw that the scroll she held out 
 to his inspection had more on it more signatures and seals than 
 his own. What did these mean? From where she stood the heavy 
 brush strokes in the extreme right hand margin of it were plainly 
 decipherable by him, and he read : 
 
 We do swear to accomplish the liberation of our Japan of the 
 gods from Its "Foreign" yoke ; to assist Saburo Ikeda,ln which we 
 pledge our souls, our sivords, our wealth, and our lives. 
 
 His eye traveled swiftly to the signatures Saito of Satsuma, 
 Watanabe, Nakamura, Kato, Noto-no-kami he sprang to his feet, 
 but Ren-ko, quicker than his thought, which she anticipated, gli- 
 ded to the shoji, holding the scroll forth over the Nightless Street. 
 "If you force me to it," she warned with quiet firmness, "I shall 
 drop this to the street and summon aid." 
 
 He stood irresolute a moment, and then realizing the futility of 
 attempting to recover the document, sank again to his knees be- 
 side the hibatchi. He had learned that which he had come a-seek- 
 ing. Yet, not only could he make no use of the knowledge, but by 
 the addition of his own name to the scroll a signature affixed 
 over the writing of treasonable intents in his own hand had put 
 himself completely in their power. It would be vain for him to 
 attempt explanations should this ever be made public; he had 
 many enemies in the government who would seize only too eager- 
 ly upon such a pretext to discredit his name and ruin him, and 
 the one whose word would carry most weight in corroboration of 
 a statement of his innocence would, he fully realized, withold that 
 word. Lord Yo-Ake would never permit it to be supposed that he 
 had been a party to such an intrigue. 
 
 Suddenly there was added to his bitterness an admiration for 
 this woman who had so triumphed over him, and to that a fear 
 of her, psychic in its manifestation. She had cajoled, tricked and 
 outwitted him at every move, penetrating his incognito with an 
 
IDOLS OF LOVE 235 
 
 ease that was startling in its simplicity. It seemed to him that he 
 was but as a little child in her hands, helpless to hide even the in- 
 nermost depths of his soul from her reading. When, just then, she 
 broke the silence to address him, she answered his unspoken 
 thought as though he had voiced it aloud. 
 
 "I have no pity for you," said she. "You thought it easy to trick 
 a woman such as I. Why not? You forced me into this place 
 when, for selfish reasons of your own, you were most instrumental 
 in debarring my father from any participation in your govern- 
 ment. Did it occur to you then that you were raising up a danger- 
 ous enemy to your Japan, and creating a woman's nay, a girl's 
 ruin ? And now that you have failed to win my simple confidence 
 sought but to betray it, and me you think yourself harshly 
 used, believing doubtless that there is no faith in womankind. 
 Yet, whom but you have destroyed it have forced me to this is- 
 sue to protect myself? Have you no word of contrition of re- 
 morse for the part you have driven me to play ?" 
 
 She waited a moment, and then receiving no answer from him, 
 continued : 
 
 "I could condone the fact that you sought to gain from me in- 
 formation of a plot you were led to believe existed against your 
 government even had you been successful in your quest had 
 you but played fair. But what I cannot forgive is that, unable by 
 your own wits to make the discovery, you had recourse to what 
 you imagined a foolish girl's heart, seeking to gain her confidence 
 by protestations of love to ruin her. Yes, ruin, for the success of 
 your scheming would have meant my bondage here for life as a 
 public woman. My father, as I have told you, is heavily in the 
 debt of the creature who owns this house. Unless this sum is 
 made good before another month is past I must remain here to 
 work off the indebtedness by the small percentage accruing from 
 the ruin of my womanhood. My father's only chance of repaying 
 that sum is through the fulfillment of the vows recorded on this 
 scroll. Do you think me a cheat because I, refusing to be sacri- 
 ficed to your gain a man who is seeking to betray and ruin me 
 have forced you to become one of the signers also, thereby re- 
 moving from you the power to harm us ?" 
 
236 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 She gazed upon him scornfully; he was stooped over where he 
 kneeled, his head sunken on his chest. It seemed to Ren-ko that he 
 had suddenly become an old man from whom life was slipping 
 swiftly in a flood of sorrow and failure. A wave of compunction 
 and compassion swept over her he seemed so lonely, so helpless, 
 so forlorn, and so beaten by adversity. She realized that, whatever 
 his outward manifestations, she had once been permitted to know 
 his soul and that was clean. 
 
 It came to her, overwhelmingly, that she loved this man with 
 his own definition of love once given her unselfish, charitable, 
 all- forgiving. She clasped the scroll to her heart as though en- 
 graving his name there then, with sudden impulse, made to step 
 toward him, the scroll extended in her hand. 
 
 Her attention was diverted toward the fusima depicting the 
 falling cherry petals, for in its opening stood Saito. 
 
 He advanced toward her. 
 "The scroll, if you please," said he. 
 
XX 
 
 COMES MIGHTY MAHMUD WITH HIS SWORD 
 
 The mighty Mahmud, Allah-breathing Lord, 
 That all the misbelieving and black Horde 
 
 Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the Soul 
 Scatters before him with his whirlwind Sword. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 r>T SUCH moments of extreme tension even the most trivial hap- 
 penings becomes magnified into important actualities. Ren-ko dis- 
 tinctly heard the tones of the old umbrellaman outside, crying his 
 wares, and caught the chattering of the dining party across the 
 Bridge of Love. She noted that Take san, while undoubtedly con- 
 
238 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 scious of the intrusion of Saito, was apparently oblivious of his 
 presence. 
 
 Increasing sounds of bustle and revelry were arising in the 
 house as the evening gathered in, and the scuffling of feet and 
 twinkling of lanterns told that The Jewel River was donning its 
 night garb. A gust of laughter was wafted across the balconies, 
 one voice more insistent than the others. 
 
 "Ho-ho! 'A moth seeking the light will burn itself, and a butter- 
 fly become caught in a spider's web !' Because of this I have always 
 avoided lovely woman, Taro." 
 
 Saito advanced further toward Ren-ko 
 
 "The scroll, if you please," he repeated. 
 
 She realized that he must have been a listener, and knew what 
 was passing between Take and herself concerning its signing. Her 
 one thought now was how to prevent Saito from obtaining the 
 scroll, and so save Take. As she stood by the hibatchi, hesitating, 
 Take arose and placed himself quietly between Saito and her. He 
 appeared to note the presence of the former for the first time, as, 
 bowing gravely, he addressed him. 
 
 "Your pardon, sir," said he, in the mildest tones imaginable, 
 "but I fear you have mistaken the room. This apartment, with its 
 geisha, has been hired by me for this evening." 
 
 "An evening that is like to cost you dear, I am afraid," replied 
 Saito, with a reckless laugh. "But why should you not have a wel- 
 come for me, Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake or, I beg your pardon, 
 Mr. Take of the North, Sendai way? I perceive from appearances 
 that you have at last decided to join our cause against these 
 traitors who are selling our Nippon to the 'Barbarian.' Still, as 
 you wish to be alone with your geisha, I will, with your permis- 
 sion, receive something I require from her, and then retire." 
 
 Take answered nothing, but his face set suddenly with an unac- 
 customed hardness. He was determined that Saito should not get 
 the scroll into his possession, believing that with Ren-ko his fam- 
 ily name would, at all events, be safe. Yet how to prevent Saito, 
 should he resort to force, he knew not, for physically he would be 
 but a child in the hands of so active and trained a man. Moreover, 
 he dared not call for help, for to do so would but precipitate the 
 exposure. 
 
COMES MIGHTY MAHMUD WITH HIS SWORD 239 
 
 Again Saito spoke, and in slightly more menacing tones. 
 "Your pardon, count," said he, his eyes narrowing slightly, "but 
 I think you are standing in my way." 
 
 Each was watching for the initial movement of his opponent, 
 forgetting Ren-ko in their hawk-like attitude. Then Saito advanced 
 upon Take. A sudden drift of smoke and burst of flame filled the 
 room. Instinctively each glanced at Ren-ko, who was just arising 
 from beside the hibatchi. Atop of its coals, a blackened, half- 
 glowing mass of paper was twisting and stretching into a myriad 
 of weirdsome contortions. Then Take laughed, quietly. 
 "Oh, Flower Heart !" he called softly across the hibatchi. 
 
 He turned to Saito, still courteously. 
 
 "I fear you have made a mistake when you suppose my name to 
 be associated with a conspiracy of your plotting," said he. "Doubt- 
 less you jested, yet I warn you that it would be unwise to sejek to 
 interfere with one of His Majesty's Counselors. Permit me, by re- 
 tiring, to place this apartment at your disposal. Sayonara, Miss 
 Breath of Mokujima, I will call again shortly." 
 
 He left the room composedly enough, but quickened his steps 
 toward the rear stairway as he came out onto the balcony, for his 
 one thought was to reach Shima as swiftly as possible. Then he 
 paused, as a sudden fear came to him appalling. She who had 
 sacrificed her all for him a sacrifice he was determined should 
 not be exacted of her was left alone with a man bitter and 
 thwarted, who might in the anger and disappointment of the mo- 
 ment hesitate at naught. She was his love, her safety more precious 
 to him than aught beside his trust. If harm came to her it would 
 strike at the best of his life no, he could not, even for the sake 
 of his trust, leave her in this plight. 
 
 Swiftly he started to retrace his steps, when voices arose from 
 the room where Goto and Taro were dining. 
 "Love is as delicate as a cobweb," was asserting the baron, evi- 
 dently in a sententiousness born of rich sake, "and often it is all 
 that stretches across the places that have been." 
 
 He laughed boisterously at his epigram. 
 
 "I should have thought it more like a red-hot hibatchi," dissent- 
 ed the voice of Taro. 
 
240 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Nay," laughed Goto, "for a woman may not be trusted to keep 
 that alight." 
 
 Take changed his direction from toward Ren-ko's room to that 
 of the two diners. There a word to a servant brought the baron 
 without. Take hastily explained Ren-ko's predicament, and his 
 fears for her, attributing the whole to jealous rivalry on the part 
 of Saito. He begged Goto to keep an eye on Ren-ko's room in case 
 of any violent disturbance, and if necessary interfere to protect 
 her, then having received the baron's promise so to do, departed 
 from The Jewel River. 
 
 For a few moments after Take left him, Goto, in deep medita- 
 tion, stood watching the room indicated. He had a kindly regard 
 for Ren-ko and a compassionate feeling for her circumstances. 
 Suddenly he heard her voice raised in expostulation, drowned by 
 the angry vehemence of others. He half started to her assistance, 
 and then stopped, realizing the futility of any attempted inter- 
 ference between parent and child, for among the protesting and 
 accusing voices he had noted that of her father. 
 
 "Poor child!" he murmured, shaking his head sympathetically, 
 "poor child!" 
 
 He was about to re-enter his dining room, when the noise of a 
 loud tumult, followed by the thuds of a falling body, came from 
 Ren-ko's room. Then a smothered scream, dying into a low, moan- 
 ing wail. Goto halted abruptly, straightened himself with military 
 precision, and without further hesitation, stepped forth upon the 
 Bridge of Love, his white evening waistcoat gleaming incongru- 
 ously in the glimmer of a hanging lantern. 
 
 Within her chamber, as the shoji closed behind the retreating 
 form of Take, Ren-ko knelt, cowering from the look in Saito's 
 eyes. The cherry tree fusima slid, this time admitting her father 
 and Tanaka. Saito turned swiftly to the former. 
 
 "Your daughter has destroyed us/' he announced. 
 
 "Destroyed us !" exclaimed Ikeda, incredulously, starting back ; 
 "how, Saito, how?" 
 
 "Tokiyori Yo-Ake is her lover," explained Saito, hurriedly. "She 
 has shown him our document and then burned it in the hibatchi. 
 
 "That is not so !" cried Ren-ko. "He is not my lover !" 
 
COMES MIGHTY MAHMUD WITH HIS SWORD 24! 
 
 "Silence, girl !" commanded Ikeda, paling. "Where has Yo-Ake 
 gone?" he quavered, addressing Saito. "Was it long since?" 
 
 "Just before you came in," answered Saito. "Probably he is even 
 now hastening to set the authorities on our heels." 
 
 "You should have prevented him," exclaimed Ikeda. 
 
 "How?" asked Saito, with a flash of anger. "Your daughter, 
 after obtaining Tokiyori's seal to the bond, has burnt the docu- 
 ment and taken the only weapon out of my hands, and to have 
 forcibly detained a man of his prominence in the government 
 would have been to bring a hornet's nest about our ears." 
 These conjectures threw Ikeda into a state of abject fear. 
 
 "It will go nigh to our death, Saito!" he wailed, wringing his 
 hands. "Say, are we yet too late to effect our escape? Is it too late, 
 Saito?" 
 
 He crossed swiftly to a shoji and threw it open, gazing down on 
 the Nightless Street. 
 
 "See!" he exclaimed in a whisper, "there appear none on the 
 streets whom we need fear. We may yet make good our escape ! 
 There is time if we hurry ! There is time !" 
 
 Saito regarded him with a brave man's contempt for such a 
 display of arrant cowardice. 
 
 "Of course there is time," said he. "Listen closely to what I say. 
 I am going into the city to see how far this affair has gone. Do 
 you prepare your daughter and yourself for immediate departure, 
 taking 'ricksha to Shinagawa, where you may await me at my 
 abode. I will join you there, and we can take junk immediately to 
 Satsuma." 
 
 He turned to go, but Tanaka, who had been a silent listener to 
 this, broke in with 
 
 "Not so fast, my lord. What about the funds advanced by me to 
 the honorable Ikeda?" 
 
 "What in the name of all the gods of hell have I to do with your 
 affairs?" demanded Saito, fiercely. He was already tried beyond 
 his patience by the events of that day, and it needed but little more 
 to ignite his fury, like spark to powder. 
 
 "I must have my monies, nevertheless," replied Tanaka, with an 
 air of insolence bred of the knowledge that he was a creditor of 
 
242 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 the chief one of the conspiracy. "I care naught for your rebellion, 
 but the loss of yen three thousand will go nigh to ruin me." 
 
 Here was a new stumbling block to Saito's present plans. He 
 realized that the least outcry such as this fellow would undoubt- 
 edly make would bring the authorities buzzing about their ears, 
 and then farewell to Satsuma for any of them. He thrust his face, 
 now fierce and passion-inflamed, to within an inch of Tanaka's. 
 
 "A loud tongue will go still nearer to ruin you," he snarled, so 
 savagely that Tanaka shrank from him, "bear that in mind, you 
 insolent dog. Now Ikeda," he added to the latter, "attend to what 
 I directed, and make all speed." 
 
 Ikeda, fearful that without Saito's protection Tanaka would 
 seek to coerce him, grasped Ren-ko by the sleeve with the inten- 
 tion of their following Saito from the house, but Tanaka, divining 
 his purpose, caught at her to detain her. 
 
 "You shall not take her !" he cried. "She is my property. I hold 
 a document of her sale to me !" 
 
 He strove to drag her from her father's clutch, and in the scuf- 
 fle that ensued, Ren-ko, hurt by their roughness, cried aloud for 
 help. Steps were heard running up the back stairway, and a heavy 
 tread upon the bridge. Saito glanced swiftly about him, and espy- 
 ing Ikeda's swords upon the rack, reached them with one bound. 
 He seized the first that came to his hand, and drawing it from its 
 scabbard, whirled the bare blade aloft, while the room danced a 
 mad, joyous riot of red blood before his eyes. Tanaka stood di- 
 rectly before him, still holding Ren-ko with Ikeda on her other 
 side. With a smothered shout, Saito rushed for Tanaka, the steel 
 encircling his head in bright, angry flashes. 
 
 Then it was that her father, bewildered by the action of Saito, 
 in his excitement passed in front of her as Saito struck blindly 
 at Tanaka, and the great blade went crashing through Ikeda's 
 skull. Not a cry escaped from her father as he collapsed face 
 downwards upon the mats dead. 
 
 Saito dropped the sword, brought to his senses by this calamity, 
 and Tanaka, loosening his hold of Ren-ko, slunk shivering into 
 the toko-no-ma. A shriek broke from Ren-ko, followed by a long 
 low wail, as she threw herself on her father's body. In awe-struck 
 
COMES MIGHTY MAHMUD WITH HIS SWORD 243 
 
 silence Saito regarded the results of his deed, then as the foot- 
 steps approached the shoji, flung himself through it with an oath, 
 colliding with the just entering form of Goto. Before the baron 
 could recover himself, Saito had reached the rear stairway and 
 disappeared. 
 
 Goto paused on the threshold and noted the scene. Before him 
 lay Saburo Ikeda, his distorted features upturned in a motley of 
 blood and hair, and beside him, her face buried in her father's 
 kimono, was Ren-ko. 
 
 Goto, believing at first that both had been slain, crossed to the 
 bodies and stooped over Ren-ko to raise her, when Tanaka, fear- 
 ful for the loss of his property, emerged from the toko-no-ma, 
 and placing his hand rudely on Goto's white waistcoat, pushed 
 him from her. 
 
 "You shall not touch her !" he shrieked to Goto. "You shall not 
 have her ! She is mine, I tell you ! I hold the bond of her sale." 
 
 Goto, his eyes fairly ablaze, whirled on Tanaka like a flash, and 
 literally tore him from Ren-ko. 
 
 "The collector of mummies will soon be one himself !" he shout- 
 ed, and flung Tanaka crashing through the shoji. Tanaka, striking 
 backwards on the balcony ledge, bounded to the low bamboo rail- 
 ing, which the weight of his body broke through, and fell to the 
 courtyard below, where he lay a groaning, quivering heap. Goto 
 turned, and bent over Ren-ko again. 
 "Poor child!" said he in perplexity, "poor child." 
 
 She raised her head and looked up at him. 
 "Oh, take me from this ! Please take me from this !" she cried. 
 
 A great thought came to Goto. 
 
 "'The old tree has need of fresh branches for shade'," he mut- 
 tered. "I shall be over lonely after Taro leaves me." 
 
 He put forth his hands suddenly and plucked her up into his 
 arms. 
 
 "Banzai !" roared Baron Goto as he bore Ren-ko across the 
 Bridge of Love. 
 
MfeT 
 
 J/~ * 
 
 XXI 
 
 THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER-BRINK 
 
 So when the Angel of the darker Drink 
 At last shall find you by the river-brink, 
 
 And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul 
 Forth to your Lips to quaff you shall not shrink. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 1 H E day following, Tokiyori learned through the baron of the 
 events that had happened after his departure from the houses of 
 The Jewel River. Further it appeared that Tanaka though great- 
 ly injured by the fall he had received at the baron's hands had 
 already made requisition to the authorities for the return of Ren- 
 
THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER BRINK 245 
 
 ko to his house, a piece of information that was causing the baron 
 the greatest concern, until Tokiyori informed him of the existence 
 of such proof against the loyalty of Tanaka as would cause his 
 imprisonment. 
 
 With Tanaka's coming trial for conspiracy, Tokiyori foresaw 
 that the fact of his visits to the Yoshiwara would become public, 
 and his character, with the world's usual charitable interpretation, 
 suffer accordingly, particularly in the light of his recent ardent 
 speeches against such cases of Yoshiwara traffic as Ren-ko's. In 
 imagination he already anticipated the smiles of polite incredulity 
 with which his next speech against the ruination of young woman- 
 hood would be received by the Diet. On the conclusion of the bar- 
 on's tale, he requested permission to call upon Ren-ko Ikeda that 
 day. 
 
 "The Lady Ren-ko Ikeda," said Goto, drawing himself up very 
 grandly, "has done me the honor to become one of my family. Her 
 past life is not my affair is, indeed, a closed book but from now 
 on she is the Lady Ren-ko Goto, daughter of General Baron Goto 
 of the Imperial Army." 
 
 "My dear baron," answered Tokiyori, "I assure you that I both 
 have, and have always had, the utmost respect for the Lady Ren- 
 ko Goto. It has been one of the privileges of my life that I have 
 been honored with her slight acquaintance. With your consent, I 
 will pay my respects to your daughter this afternoon." 
 
 "My daughter," said the baron, "will be at home to your dis- 
 tinguished visit. I must make excuses for my absence, as Taro is 
 sailing for America and I must accompany him to Yokohama this 
 afternoon." 
 
 Tokiyori spent the greater part of that day at his desk in the 
 Diet chambers, but, as the afternoon wore on, took 'ricksha to the 
 besso Ayame the villa of the Iris as Goto had named his Mu- 
 kojima residence. His reasons for so doing were twofold: first, an 
 uncontrollable desire to see Ren-ko again, and also because some 
 understanding as to their future relationship must be arrived at. 
 As Goto's adopted daughter her position would be vastly differ- 
 ent, and their opportunities for meeting socially unavoidable. 
 How then were they to meet before the world? 
 
246 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Close by the bank of the Sumida lay the villa Ayame,to the gate- 
 way of which a glade of larch and maple led. From there a grace- 
 fully arching bridge brought the visitor into the gardens, through 
 which a brook descended in a series of little cascades, passing be- 
 neath two lower bridges, until it flowed into the waters of the dark 
 Sumida. The residence was girt with a high hedge, and past this a 
 lane ran, disclosing unexpected nooks and corners of surprising 
 loveliness. Not far away the traffic plied to and from the Cherry 
 Avenue, yet so secluded was Ayame that it was unheard by the 
 dwellers of the besso. 
 
 At the gateway Tokiyori descended from his 'ricksha, and cross- 
 ing the bridge that led to the gardens, turned into the lane on his 
 way to the courtyard of the house. New fallen snow carpeted the 
 grounds and lay in a fluffy mantle on the curved house-tops and 
 foliage. Here and there under the white covered trees little col- 
 ored lanterns peeped unexpectedly, lighted in anticipation of the 
 approaching short twilight, although the stains spilled by the rud- 
 dy sun's goblet had not yet been removed by the tireless servant 
 Dusk, who prepares the apartments for Night. Suddenly Toki- 
 yori heard his name exclaimed his name of his other life 
 "Take san !" 
 
 He glanced about and perceived Ren-ko standing beneath the 
 silver hangings of a tree. A lantern swung just before her from 
 an adjacent bough; she put this lightly aside with one shapely 
 hand so that he saw her face. 
 
 There were traces of sorrow upon it, intensifying her wondrous 
 beauty, and in it was reflected, unmistakably, her marvelous love 
 for him. Again she called in a voice rich with perfect happiness 
 at his nearness 
 "Take san!" 
 
 The doubts regarding their future relationship that had assailed 
 him since learning of her adoption by Goto suddenly cleared away. 
 He bowed most courteously. 
 
 "Baron Goto's daughter, I believe?" he asked. "Permit me to of- 
 fer my respects to you. The baron called upon me at my offices a 
 few short hours since." 
 
 For the moment Ren-ko was stunned. The cold, deliberately 
 
THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER BRINK 247 
 
 polite tones and manner were so different to what she had pic- 
 tured their meetings would be. 
 
 "Are you not glad to see me?" she faltered. 
 
 "Honored, rather," he answered, again bowing. 
 
 "It is all so different from what it was," she continued. "Then, if 
 you recollect, the cherry gave you its morning fragrance. Now 
 that I am no longer the cherry" an allusion to her late "house 
 name" "I may blow for you the live-long day." 
 
 His heart was sick within him with the hurts he was dealing 
 her ; she was after all such a child in sophistry, despite her clever- 
 ness and worldly experience. 
 
 "Again I am honored," he answered, most courteously. "But, 
 pardon me. I note that you address me as Take, whereas my name 
 is Tokiyori Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of the Imperial Diet." 
 
 "But to me always Take san," she replied, quickly. 
 
 "I would it were my lot to be so fortunate," said he, again bow- 
 ing, "yet I fear that you have confused me with some other of 
 your acquaintance. I assure you the former is my only name." 
 
 She opened her eyes wide, inarticulate for the moment in her 
 astonishment. 
 
 "Would you have me believe that I never called you Take san, a 
 name I have grown to have the tenderest recollections of?" she 
 asked, finally. 
 
 "A probable resemblance to the one you so designate has pos- 
 sibly misled you," he equivocated. It seemed so cruel a thing to 
 tell her what he knew he must. "This is the first time I have been 
 privileged to meet Baron Goto's daughter," he added. 
 
 Hurt as she was, she determined to force him to an acknowl- 
 edgment of what he was to her. What mattered it whether he 
 called himself Take or Tokiyori, whether unknown or famed, 
 poor or rich. All that she desired to know was whether or no he 
 loved her. 
 
 "Have you then also forgotten Flower Soul?" she asked, with a 
 studied calmness. 
 
 "I never knew it, I fear," he answered, imperturbably. 
 
 She shivered slightly, although her eyes were like hibatchi 
 coals. 
 
248 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "Naturally, then," said she, with a dangerous sweetness of man- 
 ner, "you could not have known Take san." 
 
 "I assure you I have not that pleasure," he replied. 
 She came a few steps closer to him. 
 
 "I see, now, my mistake," said she, quietly. "Take san to whom 
 I refer was the very soul of gentleness and honor. It would have 
 been impossible for himself to be otherwise. Yet the first likeness 
 was so startling that I actually mistook you for him. You are pos- 
 itive you know nothing of my Take san?" 
 
 "Absolutely," he assured her, coldly. "I am, as I informed you, 
 Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of the Imperial Diet. I fear that pressure 
 of duties to the State allow me all too few opportunities for cul- 
 tivating the acquaintance of people outside their purview. It is a 
 misfortune by which I acknowledge myself the loser." 
 
 She met his denial with apparent sang froid, its reason she 
 thought she understood. He desired to show her that a wide social 
 circle lay between Count Tokiyori Yo-Ake, of Moto and Shima, 
 and a former geisha of the Flower Quarter albeit she was now 
 the adopted daughter of one of his friends which one known as 
 Take san could now no longer bridge over. 
 
 "Take san," she explained to him, "was in every way, I think, 
 worth the knowing ; the loss is indeed your lordship's. His was a 
 character that would, I am sure, have interested you greatly. In 
 appearance he was, as I have said, startlingly your counterpart, 
 saving that his eyes were perhaps more tender and his manner less 
 formal. But it was, after all, to the mind and soul of the man that 
 one looked for his real self. I do not think a soul could ever have 
 been fashioned more beautifully than was the real soul of Take 
 san. And he loved, yes, I know he loved all humanity, all suffering 
 ones, with that great, hidden, poet-nature of his, as tenderly as the 
 early cherry, and as warmly as the autumn maple, and as mightily 
 as the strong winter pine. His soul was all of these, and it could 
 not lie. I knew him in it matters not where, no locality could 
 hold the soul of Take san. It was of everywhere, and of no par- 
 ticular where, and it was human oh, but it was human ! He was 
 of the north, he said a student of the fishes ; but I think that he 
 was the greatest teacher of all, for he taught but the nude truth. 
 
THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER BRINK 249 
 
 It is strange now that I come to think of it that I should have 
 mistaken your lordship for my Take san." 
 
 He winced, while still preserving his outwardly composed de- 
 meanor. Ren-ko noted it, and, with true feminine tenderness, in- 
 tuitively picked out the most raw spots to play upon. 
 
 "Thus," said she, "was my Take one who came once into a gar- 
 den where grew many flowers. Some of them were brilliant, some 
 faded, yet all were befouled because the soil in which they grew 
 was impure. In the night time many lanterns festooned this gar- 
 den, and then all the flowers appeared brightly hued and happy 
 it was only in the daylight that one could see they were not fresh 
 flowers. Yet Take came to the garden often, and he looked with a 
 sorrowing love on all the flowers, bright or faded, because he was 
 a poet, and he knew and understood, and loved the handicraft of 
 the gods, good or evil. One he named Flower Soul, and each day 
 he taught it to blow its perfume ever sweeter, telling it wondrous 
 tales of gardens where dwelt the gods, until the soul of this flower 
 was ravished, and it came to blow its petals for Take, only. Oh, 
 say, my lord," she broke off, "have you never known such a one as 
 Take Take san who loved the flowers so ?" 
 
 It seemed to him as though she were some avenging goddess, 
 given the power of words that were both nard and hyssop. The 
 right to inflict pain was now hers, and he mentally acknowledged 
 the justice of its use. He had deliberately and successfully taught 
 her to love him that he might the surer draw from her admissions 
 concerning her father and Saito, and now that he had fallen into 
 his own trap had found his most potent weapon turned against 
 himself he could have no cause of complaint. By a superhuman 
 effort he stifled his desire to take her into his arms, forgetting all 
 else other than their love, for the hour of his punishment was at 
 hand. She watched intently for the effect of her words upon him, 
 and then went on. 
 
 "But what matter mere names? Whether Take or Tokiyori, 
 whether Flower Soul or Ren-ko, the man is the man, and the 
 woman the woman; between them but the oneness of their love 
 trod in a rose-blood torrent from the grape of their lives. Can a 
 woman and man stand before one another with bared souls and 
 then so cloak these as to be a stranger semblance to each other 
 
25O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 ever after? Man-made we stand before one another, but god-made 
 we came into this world; who dare attempt the reformation of 
 that fashioned by the gods? Are you a greater artist? Our souls 
 are ours or; rather, we are our souls, and what is sent into them 
 is from the gods not from man. Into the garden of my soul were 
 you sent to make its flowers pure why may I not keep that which 
 was sent into my soul?" 
 He found his voice at last. 
 
 "Lent not sent, Ren-ko, my lotus, thou emblem of purity found 
 in impurity." 
 
 She gave a delighted little cry of rapture ; he had acknowledged 
 her. 
 
 "Lent or sent," she answered, happily, "it was by the gods in 
 either case." 
 
 Without the least connection, there suddenly flashed across his 
 mind some forgotten words : 
 
 "Through paths that are very difficult will the way run toward 
 the City of Desire." 
 
 With an effort he recalled that they had once been uttered by 
 the friend and attendant of his boyhood, the old hanashika of his 
 family, Nakahara. He must bring her to see the truth of these. 
 
 "It was a loan of the gods," he conceded, "but one that we must 
 some day give an accounting of." 
 
 "And, if a real loan, a living thing !" she cried in ecstasy. "You 
 must have believed it ! You must have known it was the loan of 
 yourself to me?" 
 
 "It was and is," he answered simply. 
 
 "Then why do you seek to take it from me?" she went on with 
 a display of righteous indignation. "If the gods have loaned you 
 to me, what right have you to seek to deprive me of yourself? It 
 is theirs to give in life, to take away in death. What right have 
 you," she repeatedly fiercely, "to tamper with that which belongs 
 to the gods ?" 
 
 "Because," he answered, slowly and sorrowfully, "it is a loan 
 which some day we you and I will be called upon to return as 
 honored as when received. We would but sully it by longer use 
 now. We may not cannot efface its memory I know, but at 
 least we may strive to keep that memory bright as well as fresh." 
 
THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER BRINK 25! 
 
 For the first time since the great change in her life he touched 
 her laid his hand upon her head, gently, with a sorrowful, wist- 
 ful caress, such a caress as one gives to one departed from all 
 present earthly communication. 
 
 "There is honor, Ren-ko as much to your life as mine that 
 must always forerun good love. My honor is my duty yours, I 
 think, to assist that honor in its fulfillment. The honor of each of 
 us is separate and distinct, yet indissolubly wedded. You would 
 not degrade our love to the level of beasts of the field? I know 
 that, as you say, Take did not lie to Flower Heart when speaking 
 with his soul, so neither did Flower Heart lie to Take. Even in 
 the evil surroundings where they came to find their love, their in- 
 tercourse was founded on respect a spiritual marriage bed whose 
 coverlets were honor. I want to keep the memory of what it meant 
 fragrant, not soiled. Some day must my little daughter grow up, 
 and love and be loved. I could wish her no better and truer love 
 than is our real, underlying love, if you will but help me keep it 
 so." 
 
 He gazed upon her with a look, the sincerity of which there 
 was no mistaking. 
 
 "You must see, O Heart of Mine, what must be and why. It is 
 as necessary to the continuance of our love as is ever untainted 
 air to our lives. It means that we must not attempt to know one 
 another again, as we have known can but speak to each other 
 only through the mouths of assembled friends gaze each on the 
 other only through the eyes of those in whose company we chance 
 to meet, for in future it is there alone where we must meet. Yet, 
 through it all, shall we have the comfort of our great love, abid- 
 ing, all sacrificing, known but to us, existing in that utter silence 
 that is the perfect test of its worth and endurance. It may be that 
 some day the gods, because of so great an interpretation of their 
 own loves, will grant that we commingle in thought. I think that 
 such will be nay, I believe it. By the favor of the gods may our 
 thoughts, when flashed across the space dividing us, bring no 
 harmful attendants with them, O thou Thought-Life of mine! 
 sayonara !" 
 
252 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 When she raised her head naught material remained of him but 
 the imprint of his feet in the snow. She clasped her hands over 
 her heart with a gesture of sharp pain. It was the end. The short 
 twilight had fallen, tracing soft loving lines about her face and 
 form, retouching the large luster violet eyes, liquid with their un- 
 shed tears. Dowered beyond the avarice for beauty of woman, it 
 seemed her gifts were granted her but that they might be used to 
 destroy her birthright. 
 
 His footprint in the snow told how close to her he had just 
 stood. Reverently she knelt, stooped and touched it with her lips. 
 
XXII 
 
 OVER THE FLAMING SHOULDERS OF THE FOAL 
 
 I tell you this When, started from the Goal, 
 Over the flaming shoulders of the Foal 
 
 Of Heav'n Parwin and Mushtari they Hung, 
 In my predestined Plot of Dust and Soul. . . .OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 CONSTERNATION reigned in Tokyo next day among govern- 
 mental officials and populace, for the news of Saburo Ikeda's 
 death in The Jewel River had been made public. Thus was dis- 
 closed the plot on which he had been engaged, and the subsequent 
 flight of Saito. For the Diet, and those to whom the maintenance 
 
254 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 of governmental supremacy intact was paramount, trying days 
 were in store; for the masses to whom was Saito a hero and a 
 darling eager sensation and expectancy. It was known that, 
 after the killing of Ikeda who in death achieved a prominence 
 that would have gladdened the latter years of his life Saito had 
 succeeded in getting clear of the Yoshiwara, but there all clue as 
 to his movements abruptly terminated. The government feared, 
 and the people hoped, that he had succeeded in making good his 
 escape to Satsuma, and was already at the head of several thou- 
 sand ronin samurai who would call him lord and captain. 
 
 What actually had happened was that, after escaping through 
 the Yoshiwara O-mon, Saito made directly for the house of a 
 friend where a horse was ever in readiness for him against such 
 an emergency, relays being maintained at various points along the 
 Tokaido. He had ridden hard to the outskirts of the city, and 
 then a sudden thought occurring to him, turned his steed's head 
 in the direction of the Shiba woodlands an act in keeping with 
 the utter recklessness of his character when aroused. 
 
 In the depths of Shiba he drew rein and, dismounting, advanced 
 cautiously to the same balcony up which he had once climbed to 
 Kiku-ko, lured by what wild intentions the gods alone know. 
 Then again the woodlands heard the song of the Island of Tsu- 
 shima, but this time only the woodlands answered seemingly, yet 
 was convinced that Kiku-ko had heard. 
 
 That night a horse and rider tore through Shinagawa, saddle 
 housings and heaving flanks a creamy lather, and before the star- 
 tled inhabitants could catch more than a fleeting glimpse of steed 
 or horseman, were swallowed by the outer darkness. The vil- 
 lagers, believing it to be a messenger of the government riding 
 for one of the prefectures, returned to their warm futons, and 
 Saito passed toward the long stretch of the Tokaido, and on to 
 Satsuma. 
 
 Thereafter, and for the ensuing several months, events came 
 and went with an ever-changing rapidity. Rumors of the pro- 
 gress of the revolt soon reached Tokyo from stricken or beleag- 
 uered provinces and towns. Now they had sacked that stronghold, 
 now they had razed this fortalice, and with each fresh reported 
 
OVER THE FLAMING SHOULDERS OF THE FOAL 255 
 
 success Saito's prestige rose higher and higher with the masses, 
 until he became openly deified as an almost god. At last it was 
 plain that one of two things must happen either Saito and his 
 cause must be swiftly defeated, subdued and broken, or Nippon 
 would be plunged into another civil war that would bid fair to 
 outdo that leading to the glorious restoration of the Mikado.. 
 
 At this juncture the hopes of the Imperialists were focused 
 upon General Goto, who was forthwith ordered to Satsuma in 
 command of a large corps. Goto accepted this mission with the 
 joy natural to a soldier when ordered on active service, the one 
 drawback to his happiness being the still unsettled claim of Tan- 
 aka of The Jewel River for the person of Ren-ko, pending in the 
 courts. Remembering Tokiyori's hints of proofs against the loyal- 
 ty of Tanaka, Goto had recourse to the former, his mind being 
 relieved when Tokiyori promised that such a prosecution would 
 be brought against Tanaka as would effectually preserve Ren-ko 
 from further apprehension from that source. So in the last of 
 Gogatsu (the fifth month), Goto had departed with his staff in all 
 pomp and splendor for the seat of war. 
 
 Nine weeks elapsed, bringing news from the front of Goto's 
 hemming in of Saito's forces on the lowlands of Satsuma, and the 
 consequent impossibility of escape for the two thousand five hun- 
 dred odd rebels through the net drawn about them ; bringing also 
 the event of Tanaka's trial for treason. True to his word, Toki- 
 yori appeared in person against the owner of The Jewel River, a 
 step that resulted in Tanaka's conviction, he being awarded a 
 term of six years penal servitude as a partlceps criminis to the 
 conspiracy, and his property declared forfeit. 
 
 This was not accomplished without the disclosure of Tokiyori's 
 visits to the Flower Quarter, and it would be superfluous to de- 
 tail the avidity with which the press seized upon this "scandal in 
 high life," or how by suggestion and otherwise it linked the 
 names of Tokiyori Yo-Ake and Ren-ko, born Ikeda. As a climax, 
 Tanaka's terrific denunciation of his accuser in open court ran 
 the length and breadth of the land. 
 
 "Not I, but you, Tokiyori Yo-Ake," he thundered, as he was led 
 forth to his sentence, "are the traitor spurned of the gods ! Why 
 
256 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 tell you not also to this tribunal that your name, in your own 
 hand, and over your own seal, was added to the scroll placed 
 there at the bidding of your mistress? Why tell you not of an 
 hundred visits paid her? Of the long hours spent not in a public 
 room as customary for geisha entertainment in private in her 
 own chamber? Why did you sign that document if you were not 
 of the conspiracy? Why linger in the arms of my geisha if you 
 were not her lover ? Why swear to assist her and her father with 
 your wealth and influence? Condemn, imprison me as you will, I 
 tell you that you stand before all a worse traitor to your country, 
 your name and the honor of your family, than I whom you have 
 caused to be sentenced, and by the spirits of my departed yujo, 
 Tokiyori Yo-Ake, I swear that you and I shall ere long stand to- 
 gether before a tribunal of the gods to advance our claims of jus- 
 tice I have spoken." 
 
 That day the story of Tokiyori and Ren-ko, The Jewel River 
 and the room across the Bridge of Love, was borne to a thousand 
 ears ; over hill and valley it went, through temple and hovel, and 
 under the great gate of Shima and the little portal of the Shiba 
 besso. One alone, perhaps, sorrowed understandingly, whilst fast 
 and thick fell the tear-drops at the villa of the Iris. Not Tanaka 
 of The Jewel River, but Tokiyori Yo-Ake of Moto and Shima had 
 been on his trial. 
 
XXIII 
 
 BLOWN FLOWERS 
 
 Oh threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! 
 One thing at least is certain THIS Life flies; 
 One thing is certain and the rest is Lies; 
 The Flower that once has blown for ever dies. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 September, tinting with burnt umber the lotus leaves. 
 Against an overhanging headland in the lowlands of Satsuma a 
 moaning sea was tapping occult warnings, unheeded by a knot of 
 knights in rusted armor who crowned the headland crest. From 
 their feet a steep slope stretched away into a great plain, alive 
 
258 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 now with a modern army. It was the wane of the day a day of 
 fierce fighting since early dawn, lulling a moment with the setting 
 of the sun. Bushido was dying in a blaze of glory ; Occidentalism 
 triumphing. 
 
 From among the samurai who rested with their backs to the 
 sea stepped forth one, and scanned anxiously the distant serried 
 lines of the Imperial troops beneath him. Then he turned to his 
 comrades, and with a soldier's eye re-marshalled their ranks from 
 double to single. The problem that confronted him was past solu- 
 tion six months of mostly victorious fighting, resulting only in a 
 diminution of his force to a scant half thousand men-at-arms ; all 
 retreat cut off by land and sea, and against them a score-and-a- 
 half thousand trained and drilled troops, armed with modern 
 weapons. 
 
 The leader of the samurai watched the maneuverings of the 
 great host preparing to speed up the slope against him. Suddenly 
 these faded from his sight, and headland, sea, plain and panoply 
 of war went into a mist. A placid lake, over which a magnificent 
 castle peered, lay before him. He entered the gate of this fortalice, 
 and descending a pathway that led to a brook, turned aside to a 
 nearby bower of hanging wistaria. The blooms were parted like 
 curtains for his entrance within sat beautiful Shadow, the Art- 
 Maid. She arose, and taking his hand, led him through a garden 
 to the slope of a great rainbow. Together they breasted it, and 
 stood above the world. Some hand was suddenly removed from 
 his eyes. 
 
 Below him, and about, stretched the vast universe, alive with 
 the thoughts of men. Shadow pointed to these. 
 "Our children," she said, and that was all. 
 
 It came to him that aeons ago Shadow and a Soldier the daugh- 
 ter of Light and Darkness, the son of Thunder and Lightning 
 had populated the great nothingness with thoughts some good, 
 some evil and corrupt. He watched more closely. 
 
 A great war seemed in progress armies streaming after arm- 
 ies. It was the fight for the life of the world commerce ! an ever- 
 raging battle seemingly, yet bloodless because fought by thoughts. 
 Beyond rolled a vast sea, alive with navies. As the vision grew 
 nearer he saw that these vessels were but traders 
 
BLOWN FLOWERS 259 
 
 Another vision : Nippon lay before his eyes, black smoke haze 
 rising from a myriad factory chimneys, the clangor of machinery, 
 deafening and insistent. Her armies were garbed after the fashion 
 of merchants ; her navies bearing merchandise instead of deadly 
 weapons. 
 
 A red sun was setting in a burst of blood ; the silver of night 
 was gathering about the mouth of life's mold; the dawn would be 
 gold. 
 
 Indistinctly from somewhere not of the vision he seemed to 
 hear three sullen shouts, such as gallant men might give when 
 turning their faces to a foe for the last time. He broke his sword 
 across arid flung the fragments from him. 
 
 "Farewell, Nippon!" he cried; "land of the gods that are no 
 more ! The bones of thy great gone shall rot in thy neglected 
 crypts, nor shall thy quick know aught again of honor in thy 
 name. Farewell, Bushido, thou valor of our fathers ! Your noble 
 corse is gnawed down to its marrow by the whetted fangs of 
 trade and commerce farewell !" 
 
 As night gathered in Baron Goto and his staff rode among the 
 silent ranks that lay across the crest of the headland. Below the 
 sea still moaned, but its occult tappings against the cliffs had 
 ceased. The forelight of the moon was pushing through the black, 
 oily wash of the ocean, giving sufficient light to distinguish ob- 
 jects with clearness. The general drew rein before a little mound 
 of bodies whose position denoted the last stand, and ordered one 
 of his staff to dismount and search among the fallen. 
 
 The officer, obeying, suddenly gave an exclamation, and turned 
 over an armored figure, raising the cracked and battered casque 
 so that the features of the slain were visible. 
 "It is, without doubt, Saito of Satsuma," reported the staff offi- 
 cer to his general. 
 
 Goto gazed down upon the noble countenance, once so familiar. 
 The moon arose and softened the gory flecks about the disem- 
 boweled body. He saluted, solemnly. 
 
 "'The mother-in-law must one day give place to the bride'," said 
 he, gravely. "The old order has passed; a gallant gentleman has 
 gone from among us this day." 
 
260 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Slowly rode general and staff back to the Imperial lines as the 
 moon stretched a silver veil over the iron sleepers of Satsuma. 
 
 It played over Shima, too, that night, tracing the lintel of the 
 great gate and the leaden grey walls of other days with a sad 
 familiarity. Within the library of the castle yashiki stood three 
 Lord Yo-Ake, Kiku-ko and Tokiyori. Lord Yo-Ake was speaking : 
 
 "If you can find it in your conscience to credit these canards 
 against your husband, my daughter," said he, in conclusion to an 
 argument, "there is nothing further to be urged against your de- 
 cision." 
 
 "If they are lies, why do you not deny them?" she replied to the 
 marquis; "or you?" she added, addressing her husband. "I ask 
 you both for some little word of the meaning of these dreadful 
 stories against Tokiyori," she continued to her father-in-law, "and 
 you put me off with a dissertation on the evils of freedom of the 
 press, while he refuses to make me any answer. Once he told me 
 that the right of equal voice and judgment with man was the 
 birthright of every woman. I claim that now; I will abide with 
 him as the wife, only." 
 
 "It is one of the established tenets of all proper administration 
 of justice," began Lord Yo-Ake, "that the innocence of the ac- 
 cused is to be presumed until disproven beyond a reasonable 
 doubt. The power of judgment is an awful weapon, to be used 
 solely with the most extreme caution lest we make of justice a 
 criminal suicide " 
 
 "Can an administration of justice mend broken marital rights for 
 the woman ?" interrupted Kiku-ko. 
 
 She pointed to the ihai of his dead wife, lit by its small, ever- 
 burning lamp. 
 
 "By the memory to which that is inscribed," she demanded, "are 
 these accusations against my husband false or true ?" 
 
 She waited a moment for an answer, and then repeated 
 
 "Are they false or true?" 
 
 "Why do you address yourself to me exclusively?" asked Lord 
 Yo-Ake, finally. 
 
 "Because my husband's life is open only to you," she replied, bit- 
 terly. 
 
BLOWN FLOWERS 26l 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake regarded her thoughtfully a moment. Almost be- 
 tween them stood Tokiyori, immobile. 
 
 "In the Garden of Life," said the marquis, "some one must be 
 appointed to tend the flowers not favored ones, but all. It would 
 be a sorry gardener, my daughter, who would leave some to 
 chance dew, watering only those most cared for. And though the 
 chrysanthemum, grown merely to decorate our homes, requires 
 more careful culture than the foul-grown lotus that beautiful 
 emblem of purity rising from the stagnant pool he has his duty 
 to each." 
 
 "Now, I understand," said she, in a low voice. "I am not of the 
 mud where the sacred lotus grows ; I the chrysanthemum was 
 born only to adorn. With my husband's permission, I will retire 
 to Tsushima, to our villa at Idzu-ga-hara." 
 The marquis shook his head, helplessly. 
 
 "And Aysia?" he asked ; then added with as near an approach to 
 sarcasm as he ever permitted to escape him, "and Aysia? I pre- 
 sume some arrangements for her future should be considered?" 
 Tokiyori spoke for the first time. 
 
 "Aysia accompanies her mother," he announced. 
 
 Kiku-ko regarded him with a look of grateful relief, while he 
 continued, addressing her 
 
 "The responsibility devolving upon you because of your choice 
 in which I have sought neither to urge, nor dissuade you is 
 greater, possibly, than you at present comprehend. Aysia's educa- 
 tion will be conducted in America, England, and on the Conti- 
 nent. It is you who must prepare the soil of her mind for the har- 
 vest. The soul of a little maid is the most delicate of all the god's 
 creations. No fabric was ever woven so spotlessly ; none that may 
 as easily be spoiled. Once soil the virgin garment of womanhood 
 and the mantel is forever ruined. Yet ignorance is of no kith to 
 innocence. I wish my daughter innocent like an unfolding flower 
 that sees all life about it, the weeds and tares as well as the beau- 
 tiful verdure, yet keeps its own scent sweet and pure. If she is so 
 taught, some day a husband may be enabled to go to her with se- 
 crets of his life's work, knowing that from such a woman he will 
 receive naught but aid and understanding." 
 
262 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 He relapsed into silence, and after a few half-hearted attempts 
 on the part of his father to alter Kiku-ko's decision, she took her 
 departure for the besso. 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake turned to his son. 
 
 "It seems to be the end," he observed; "regretable, of course, 
 and all the more so because I fear the knowledge of her decision, 
 when made public, will serve to confirm these unfortunate stories 
 in the papers. I can not think you acted with your usual wisdom, 
 my son, when you permitted yourself to be inveigled into a public 
 statement of your connection with Goto's adopted daughter and 
 The Jewel River/' 
 
 "My dear father," answered his son, "I think we humans are 
 but lanterns of the earth, lighting here and there some little dark- 
 some nook. Some nooks are so heavy with clinging growth that no 
 lantern light can penetrate them, others show forth their hidden 
 beauties in the faintest glimmer. The lantern tender furnishes us 
 with wick and oil, hanging us in the nooks which he deems best ; 
 we can but glow where we are placed so long as our little lamps 
 may burn." 
 
 "And when as it seems with you, Tokiyori the lantern is to be 
 discarded?" supplemented his father. 
 
 "The lantern tender will replace the light with a better one," an- 
 swered Tokiyori. "Nippon has no nook just now, I feel, to hang 
 the lantern of my life in, so I have decided to take another tour of 
 observation abroad. There is much to be studied, and it may be 
 that my light will glow brighter from there." 
 The marquis dropped his head upon his chest. 
 
 "I am an old man, Tokiyori," said he, "and I fear the responsibil- 
 ity of being alone. Like a darkening nook, I have come to regard 
 you as my lantern. It is an awful thing to be left alone in the 
 dark." 
 
 He pondered a long time, while silence reigned in the room. 
 Finally he spoke as though to himself, in low, dreamy tones : 
 
 "'A great town once reared its golden walls to guard a far-away 
 land, and a winding, oft-hidden roadway led to this City of De- 
 sire. Adown this glade had passed in their time many a prince, 
 
BLOWN FLOWERS 263 
 
 lord, soldier, beggar and son of toil, all intent upon reaching the 
 gates ; yet, because the way was dark in parts and fraught often 
 with pitfalls, none had as yet come anigh to the City of Desire'." 
 
 He came close to his son, and laid his two hands on his shoul- 
 ders, looking earnestly into his eyes. 
 
 "I know not," said he, "whether Nakahara had a further mean- 
 ing in his legend of a samurai and a crow, told here in that dark 
 year that heard the American warships thundering at our gates ; 
 but, despite all our efforts, the roadway to the City of Desire is 
 still a closed book. What it is where it is we have not yet as- 
 certained, only to where it leads. Go, my son, and find this road- 
 way to the City of Desire." 
 
XXIV 
 
 THE TAVERN LIGHT 
 
 And this I know: whether the one True Light 
 Kindle to Love, or Wrath-consume me quite, 
 
 One Flash of It within the Tavern caught 
 Better than in the Temple lost outright. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 1 HE annual season of one thousand eight hundred and eighty- 
 three ended as usual in Washington, seat of the United States 
 Government. Congress was preparing for its long vacation. The 
 White House functions were discarded for the hot months. The 
 birds of fashion were flitting hither and thither abroad for the 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 265 
 
 London season and continental spas, or to native resorts from the 
 Adirondacks to the Sierras. In the city were left but the few gov- 
 ernmental clerks, chained to their Ixion-like wheels of routine, 
 and those military and naval officers unable to obtain leave from 
 their duties. Thus, socially and departmentally, a sense of utter 
 desolation lay from the Capitol to the now deserted grounds of 
 Chevy Chase. 
 
 In the Metropolitan Club cool, awning- shaded, inviting such 
 habitues as remained in town, perforce, were arriving for the 
 evening men in flannels, men in semi-business garb. The conven- 
 tional frock coat and dinner dress were conspicuous by their ab- 
 sence, save in one instance, that of Viscount Sakurai, Japanese 
 ambassador to the United States, who, small, dapper and immacu- 
 lately attired, according to the rigor of social etiquette, evidently 
 awaited guests, or guest, before adjourning to the club dining- 
 room. 
 
 Presently this latter arrived, and Sakurai arose to greet him. 
 "My dear Tokiyori," said he, warmly, "I am indeed fortunate. I 
 feared that my poor invitation would scarce tempt you to such 
 exertion this hot evening." 
 
 Tokiyori took a chair near his compatriot and lit a cigarette, 
 while a club steward served the two with an iced mint julep. 
 
 "I received your note only at the last moment," explained Toki- 
 yori. "I am glad that I was fortunate enough to arrive in time." 
 
 He whiffed luxuriously at the fragrant Russian cigarette, for 
 he was an exquisite in such matters, and prepared to enjoy his 
 evening with Sakurai. 
 
 Viscount Sakurai was a scholarly man, the essence of refine- 
 ment, added to which he possessed a very wide understanding of 
 the world, and was noted as a raconteur. His estate of Niijima, in 
 Tokyo, was famed for its artistic beauty the length and breadth 
 of the land, and was pronounced by competent judges more per- 
 fect even than Moto, on Lake Biwa. Both men were old acquaint- 
 ances, on terms of some intimacy with one another, and although 
 differing at times politically, were thoroughly en rapport on the 
 one great topic dai Nippon. 
 
 Although Sakurai had been resident for the past three years at 
 
266 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Washington, and Tokiyori absent from Japan twice that length 
 of time, they had not met abroad heretofore. Tokiyori had been 
 traveling in England, on the Continent and in Russia, varying this 
 program with occasional short trips to the Western States and 
 Canada. Twice, also, he had been to China, and had traversed 
 part of the Persian route to India, but it was in western America 
 and the Isthmus of Panama where his attentions had been most 
 intently focused. He had but just arrived in Washington after a 
 year of study on shipping conditions and an observation of Taro 
 Goto's Japanese colony in California. His invitation to dine with 
 Sakurai had followed directly on the announcement of his pres- 
 ence in Washington. 
 
 Their cigarettes finished, they adjourned to a small, seques- 
 tered, palm-screened table in the club dining-room. Hitherto they 
 had been conversing in French, but with the advent of dinner, in 
 its seclusion, dropped naturally into their native tongue. 
 
 "I am expecting my transfer to St. Petersburg shortly," an- 
 nounced Sakurai, confidentially. "I was in hopes of a recall home, 
 but it seems that is ordained otherwise. Three years' absence from 
 one's native country makes one long ardently for the chance of 
 return." 
 
 "Yet, you have been home," reminded Tokiyori. 
 
 "Yes," answered Sakurai, "I was home two months ago still it 
 is only in the nature of a flying visit that one can leave one's 
 duties." 
 
 "The viscountess enjoys American society, does she not?" quer- 
 ied Tokiyori. 
 
 "Oh, thoroughly!" laughed Sakurai. "Entre nous, my friend, I 
 think Americans the most constant source of entertainment im- 
 aginable. To me they are unique as a race of glaring inconsisten- 
 cies and contradictions. They decry against any form of titular 
 rank, and worship the holders of such ; they prate of the equality 
 of man, and establish among them a dollarocracy that outbids in 
 selfish power the most absolute despotism ; the most progressive 
 of peoples, they are the most obsolete; wise, and simple as chil- 
 dren ; democratic, and boastful ; warlike, and unmilitary ; and, 
 withal, eaten up with a conceit in themselves, and utterly failing 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 267 
 
 to note the things that grow before their eyes. Their press is local 
 rather than world wide ; their teachings to their children in their 
 schools insular, narrow, bigoted and prejudiced in the extreme. 
 They call their country a republic, themselves republicans, and 
 are positively vulgar in their display of personal adornment and 
 wealth; and, while deifying their system of government, they 
 never lose occasion to villify its incumbent publicly. It would not 
 surprise me to see them with the Monroe document in one hand, 
 grasping out with the other for lands in which they have neither 
 right nor interest. What will be the eventual destiny of a people so 
 great, so shortsighted, so purposeful, so unbalanced, so stead- 
 fast, so neurotic, I forbear to conjecture probably it will be a 
 destiny of superlative inconsistencies. In the meantime they are 
 to me absorbing as a study in depth and shallowness." 
 
 "By shortsightedness, I presume you refer to their neglect of 
 their merchant marine, and their failure to establish a trade con- 
 trol in South America," rejoined Tokiyori. "That, at least, will be 
 to our advantage, possibly. Some day the traffic of the world will 
 be shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific we hope." 
 
 "The Lake of Japan," supplemented Sakurai. "The Romans are 
 credited with a saying that all roads lead to Rome" 
 
 "But, now, it must be in peace," warned Tokiyori. 
 Sakurai shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "The course of empire, my dear Tokiyori," he observed dryly, 
 "has made a merry jest of that word." 
 
 "The course of empire has made a jest of many things," re- 
 joined Tokiyori "of great nations, and even of its very self. 
 History has taught us, Sakurai, that for man to accomplish any- 
 thing he must become its tyrant. Hitherto war has been our hu- 
 man tyranny ; now it is time we modernists became its oppressor." 
 
 "So we have," laughed Sakurai. "Most distinctly so, I should 
 say. War is now no longer a necessity to national honor ; it is the 
 result of a money mechanism to which we apply the lever." 
 
 "Why apply this lever to war, then?" questioned Tokiyori. "If 
 nothing else could be urged against it, war is but a foolish way of 
 attempting to strengthen our national resources. There is no more 
 expensive speculation a nation may indulge in than going to war. 
 
268 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 I leave the question of morality out of this discussion and make 
 my appeal merely as a matter of common-sense business conduct 
 to any nation." 
 
 "That," answered Sakurai, "depends upon how the diplomats 
 manage to conduct the sequence of a war. There is such a thing, 
 my dear fellow, as indemnity and territory." 
 
 "At the risk of what?" rejoined Tokiyori. "And are the intel- 
 lects of diplomatists so dulled that bloodshed is of necessity to 
 sharpen them ? Your argument would place diplomats in the same 
 category as is the magistrate, who, unable to convict his prisoner 
 by his wits, seeks to force a confession of his guilt from him with 
 chains and staves." 
 
 Sakurai sipped his wine reflectively. 
 
 "There is another phase of the question that does not come with- 
 in your condemnation," said he, at length. "I refer to our national 
 esprit Bushido. There is a morale attached to war that tends to 
 hold us modern men up to a higher plane it inculcates honor and 
 sacrifice. Without this war-engendered morale our Bushido I 
 fear, my friend, that we should soon merge into cold, selfish, cal- 
 culating money-making machines." 
 
 "I deny that, too," smiled Tokiyori. "Bushido is distinctly a code 
 of individualism. In reality it is our most deeply inherent religion. 
 Its manifestations are primarily not in deeds of blood, but in hon- 
 or, love and the highest sense of duty. Shorn of localism, it is in 
 essence what the Christus died to prove. Wherein is there any 
 spirit of war there? Did He bid His disciples go forth with guns 
 to teach the heathen? I claim that our Bushido is our strongest 
 factor toward peace, and that it is imperishable in our make-ups. 
 As to your material argument that militarism, and its factor, hero- 
 ism, are the essence of Bushido, I would point out to you that the 
 fire fighter, or the city policeman, display quite as much heroic 
 bravery as any soldier." 
 
 "My dear fellow, you are an altruist," observed Sakurai. 
 
 "As to the cost of peace today," continued Tokiyori, "how few of 
 the workers of the world have any conception of the amount of 
 universal energy that is absorbed in the effort to maintain it. Even 
 here in this great country of the United States nearly eighty per 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 269 
 
 cent of its national energy and resources is given over to protect- 
 ing its national rights." 
 
 "Which otherwise might have been turned to furthering the bet- 
 terment of its people," asserted Sakurai. 
 
 "Universal peace," continued Tokiyori, fervently, "is bound to 
 come. The world is crying for it. Christ, Buddha, Confucius did 
 not live in vain. The only real jeopardy now towards its early ful- 
 filment is the sensation-loving jingoism of the foreign press, es- 
 pecially the American." 
 Sakurai chuckled. 
 
 "My dear fellow," said he, "the American press is a peculiar in- 
 stitution. Its maw is ever distended. This renders it of great aid 
 toward what we may desire. It is but necessary to whisper the 
 contrary to the truth into its huge, yellow ear, and in its voracity 
 for news it will print the most misleading articles for public con- 
 sumption in type decipherable by a blind man. Where would Jap- 
 an's plans of empire be were it not for the unconscious aid ren- 
 dered them by this same, all-knowing American press !" 
 
 "A unity of nations," repeated Tokiyori, "is bound to come even- 
 tually, and the successes of nations will rest with their diplomats. 
 Therefore it behooves us to accomplish two great things in these 
 years of preparation, Sakurai to bend our highest faculties to- 
 ward international diplomacy, and to speedily establish a trade 
 supremacy." 
 
 "Which latter," supplemented Sakurai, dryly, "has as the first 
 of its requirements an established national credit. The methods of 
 our merchants, my dear Tokiyori, are not of such high caliber, I 
 regret to say, as to induce a feeling of credit security in the hearts 
 of the Occidentals." 
 
 "That is deplorably true," agreed Tokiyori. "Our early schooling 
 in business matters at the hands of 'Foreigners' was so deplorably 
 lacking in principles of uprightness and honor that our whole 
 business ethics are corrupt. We must go to school again with 
 teachers of higher integrity than our early 'Foreign' preceptors, 
 and learn that business honor is our first asset toward trade su- 
 premacy." 
 
 Sakurai smiled noncommitally, and Tokiyori reverted again to 
 
270 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 the topic of America. "The greatest danger I see for America and 
 possibly other nations," he said, "is a civil war of labor against 
 capital. For labor, capital and advanced thoughts both good and 
 evil are fast forming into classes, the various classes tending to 
 become universal rather than national. In the course of evolution 
 the individual man has progressed beyond the days when he main- 
 tained his rights and redressed his wrongs by the sword the days 
 when might made right; the days when judicial laws were un- 
 known. History still repeats itself in the life of nations for 
 might still makes right in national disputes yet, in time, will not 
 the people of the nations progress intellectually until they reverse 
 the past order of history and world conditions, which has always, 
 even as today, found the great majority of the populace incapable 
 of thinking individually and therefore subject to control and di- 
 rection of the intellectual minority. With higher education, lead- 
 ing to a better philosophic development, the mentally free must 
 eventually attain to a majority ; then will the nations evolute to the 
 degree of casting away their swords and settle their differences in 
 a great hall of justice, subject to universal laws, to be expounded 
 by diplomats, and by which nations shall be governed." 
 
 "Then you would make us each and all subjects of the world, 
 with our citizen rights secondary to our world rights," remarked 
 Sakurai. 
 
 "Though joined together as equal citizens of the world," Toki- 
 yori replied, "yet the nation which produces the most intellectual 
 and brilliant minds will naturally influence those of lesser mental- 
 ity ; and America, to the outside world, is seemingly forging ahead 
 at a rapid pace and is likely to be recognized as authority on many 
 questions of advanced ideas pertaining to world rights ; neverthe- 
 less there is this to be remembered of the American people in every 
 judgment upon them, they are yet children in age, and history 
 fails to show any such wonderful empire building within the equal 
 of what has been their national lifetime as America has achieved. 
 It is marvelous, when you come to consider it, Sakurai." 
 
 "True as that is," replied the ambassador, "it does not alter my 
 conviction of their shortsightedness as a nation. Take the vital 
 question of unlimited control by the trusts which is going on here 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 
 
 :, not less important, the misuse to which they put life insur- 
 ance. Neither are aught but individual sources of profit. I can not 
 conceive how any individual should be permitted to profit thus 
 from sources vital to a nation's ownership. I, myself, Tokiyori, 
 have no faith in the equality of man the gods manifestly have not 
 cast us in the same mold, nor in an equal individual right to own- 
 ership we should be simply kine of the fields in such a calami- 
 tous case. But I do believe in the oneness of a nation the cooper- 
 ation of all its people with, and for, it." 
 
 "I agree with you on that point," said Tokiyori, quickly. "A na- 
 tion should be entirely cooperative within itself must be to at- 
 tain the fulfilment of its progression. You call me an altruist, Sa- 
 kurai I plead guilty to the impeachment. But am I so imprac- 
 tical? A nation is a family merely many families, if you prefer, 
 making a great one. As such we must of necessity have sponsors 
 guardians governing fathers. Unless they are to be mere polit- 
 ical egoists we must conceive that such shall be as real fathers 
 imbued with every conception of both paternal and filial love as 
 the individual father of a family. Their position then is both that 
 of father to the nation, and son of the nation ; and the nation must 
 so regard them collectively and individually. Thus we may say 
 that a nation is its own father, and its own son. Its masses are the 
 working bees of the nation, to whom the cry we want work now 
 so often heard should be unknown ; rather the nation's parental 
 command should be you must work, for every man physically 
 capable should be forced to work, and working jails should be es- 
 tablished for the drones and non-workers unwilling to support 
 themselves. What would you think of the parents who would so 
 bring up their family as to permit any one or more of their chil- 
 dren to live upon the charity of their neighbors ? What would we 
 think of the parents so inhuman as to turn a deaf ear and decline 
 to give food and shelter to one or more of their children, who, un- 
 able to secure lucrative employment, were willing and anxious to 
 aid in the household chores? What would we think of the more 
 successful brothers and sisters who would stand calmly by and 
 bear with such parents ?" 
 
 "That they were oni and not human," asserted Sakurai, impress- 
 
272 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 ively, "for the first thought of the loving parent is always for the 
 weaker child; yet, how may your parents find work for, and the 
 means to support, these unemployed children?" 
 
 "Well asked, and for answer I would say," exclaimed Tokiyori, 
 "let the family estate be improved under the parents' direction, by 
 means drawn from the estate's income, supplemented if necessary 
 by demands upon the more fortunate sons and brothers ; in other 
 words, a nation should create an adequate reserve fund that would 
 justify the planning for great national improvements capable of 
 consuming the surplus energy of its subjects, a fund so great that 
 under normal conditions there should be left a heavy balance to 
 be drawn against for greater undertakings during periods of in- 
 dustrial depression." 
 
 "I grant you the wisdom of your argument, my dear Tokiyori," 
 said Sakurai, "but I fear that any national effort made by this 
 nation likewise many of the European to protect and assist its 
 laboring class, will find its greatest stumbling block in its labor or- 
 ganizations, which selfishly guard and cherish but the ones within 
 its fold, and who turn a deaf ear to all without its pale, forgetting 
 that they are all brothers, born with equal God-given rights to for- 
 age for food." 
 
 "To be overcome," replied Tokiyori, "by the nations owning and 
 directing all national necessities industrial and otherwise and 
 recognizing solely the right of citizenship !" 
 
 "That would settle the question of aliens," smilingly exclaimed 
 Sakurai, "and give the citizen the advantage." 
 
 "I truly believe that every advantage that pertains to livelihood 
 should be given to the citizen," continued Tokiyori, "and that 
 the alien should be dependent solely upon his own individual re- 
 sources, and I further conceive, that when a citizen a 'bread- 
 winner' so called has reached, let us say the age of sixty years, 
 presupposing that during forty years of that time he has been a 
 working bee in the hive, is it not in reason that he must necessar- 
 ily in his struggle for self maintenance have in some degree 
 aided his family, his nation? Why then should such a person not 
 be entitled, during his few remaining years, to sufficient aid and 
 
 care by those whom he has so assisted as to insure his existence?" 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 273 
 
 "That might be achieved by a system of life insurance," suggest- 
 ed Sakurai, "in which the individual is taxed according to his 
 earning capacity, the sum so collected to be used for his benefit as 
 an annuity after attaining the age limit." 
 
 "With universal peace attained," replied Tokiyori, "such a sys- 
 tem might be put in motion. If we can minimize the national drain 
 for militarism by merely subscribing for our share to a universal 
 military power, and increase our national resources so that the in- 
 dividual taxation may be reduced to a mere income tax, which tax, 
 or a portion of it, shall be applied to an annuity fund, which at an 
 age limit shall entitle the assessed to a continuance of his previous 
 average earning income during his remaining years, we will have 
 solved the question of nationality. The only objection to your plan 
 I at present see is that, unfortunately, life insurance, as known to- 
 day, is a private corporation benefit neither a national resource, 
 nor a profitable venture for the people." 
 
 Sakurai leaned across the table to his guest. The subject of life 
 insurance not then introduced into Japan as a national factor 
 was a hobby of his, and (profiting by its abuses in the Occident, 
 as he saw them) he had dreams of his own for making life insur- 
 ance a national, rather than an individual, factor. 
 
 "Life insurance/' he observed, impressively, "should be a protec- 
 tive measure for the people, to be handled by the government for 
 the mutual benefit of both, if its true definition is to be realized. 
 Thus the people would be wholly protected, and the government 
 in control of that which, in case of national danger, could readily 
 be converted into national use. And as for the trusts, well, when a 
 handful of men are permitted to control a nation, financially and 
 administratively, there is an end to true nationality. Of one thing 
 I am certain, no system of trusts should ever be allowed to arise 
 in Japan and subvert the necessities of life. Such control if any 
 should vest in our government. We have too good an example 
 of the trust evil here not to profit by it !" 
 
 "I go still further," said Tokiyori. "I say that a nation should ab- 
 solutely control every public utility and luxury for the good of all. 
 You may call this socialism, Sakurai, or what you please, but I 
 contend that it is the true definition of the word 'Nation'." 
 
274 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 'They have a very amusing piece of advice in England," inter- 
 rupted Sakurai, "that I think answers your contention 'how to 
 cook a hare, first catch your hare.' Seriously, I think as you on this 
 subject, Tokiyori, but before such a national ownership will be 
 possible the people of the nation must be schooled not a difficult 
 matter in our case to a degree of national pride in such govern- 
 mental projects, believing and knowing that by such national con- 
 trol an honest government may increase its resources and thereby 
 relieve the masses of excessive taxation. It seems to me, Tokiyori, 
 that such a step would be a great factor also in political purity, 
 for it would make it incumbent upon the people to return an hon- 
 est government." 
 
 He laughed lightly at the latter part of his speech, but Tokiyori 
 knew full well the depth of feeling and national reverence that 
 underlay Sakurai's lightness of manner and satirical method of 
 speaking. 
 
 "My dear Sakurai," he smiled, "you are the most respecting and 
 respectable diplomat that I know." 
 
 Sakurai threw up his hands in mock horror. 
 
 "Respectable !" he cried. "Gods of my fathers ! Call me not that, 
 my friend. Respectability is a charnal house of those human traits 
 that time has transformed into modern hypocricies. Call me, 
 rather, if you choose, an ambassadorial epigram but respectable? 
 I'd rather be an epitaph, or an epileptic !" 
 
 "It must have been a relief to you to visit Japan again and rest 
 yourself in its simple serenity after such a trying educational 
 course as you seem to have undergone here," laughed Tokiyori. 
 "Is the viscountess with you now ?" 
 
 "She remained in Tokyo," answered Sakurai, as he gravely con- 
 sidered the relative merits of Mumm and Roederer. "She will be 
 enjoying the lotus now. I do not expect her return till the wistaria 
 falls." 
 
 He hesitated for all his world was aware of Tokiyori's sep- 
 aration from Kiku-ko then, sipping his wine, finally ventured 
 
 "The Countess Kiku-ko is in excellent health, I trust ?" 
 
 "According to a recent letter," assured Tokiyori, without a trace 
 of embarrassment. "My daughter, Aysia, who has been studying 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 275 
 
 at Bryn Mawr for the past year, is now with her in the interim of 
 proceeding to France for her finishing course. As you were in 
 Tokyo so recently, can you not enlighten me as to old friends 
 there?" 
 
 "I fear that most of my news will be stale to you by now," re- 
 sponded Sakurai. "I called upon the marquis, your father, of 
 course, and found him in wonderfully good health, although anx- 
 ious concerning your probable return. He preserves the full use 
 of all his faculties most marvelously. The countess, your wife, 
 was absent at Biwa-ko at the time, so I was not favored with 
 sight of her. At a dinner one evening I found myself seated be- 
 tween two old acquaintances Nui-ko san and Toyo-ko san 
 whom I had not seen for years, Goto's famous 'double fusima/ 
 you know. They were quite as beautifully painted as ever. Which 
 reminds me that I dined also with the baron at Ayame. Sake and 
 eels comprised the main effort of his chef. He took me into his 
 library after dinner, and solemnly read to me from a bulky manu- 
 script, a work on Nipponese proverbs. Since his retirement from 
 active army life he has ample leisure for the compiling of these. 
 I fancy that in some intermediate state necessary, I believe, to 
 all departed souls Goto will pass his time in reading his prov- 
 erbs to the other dwellers of the Meido-Land." 
 
 "The baron was in good health?" asked Tokiyori, who longed 
 most to hear of Ren-ko, and yet dared not question Sakurai re- 
 garding her. He had heard of her, indirectly, several times, but the 
 question that was always nearest his heart was never permitted to 
 rise to his lips. His farewell with Ren-ko had been complete and 
 entire a "thought life" was the only intercourse open to them. 
 Because of this he dared not return to Japan; because of it he 
 thought all the more of her with each waking hour. 
 
 Sakurai sensed something of what was passing in his guest's 
 mind, and determined suddenly to relieve it. He knew somewhat 
 of the attributed cause to Tokiyori's differences with Kiku-ko, but 
 with this opportunity he felt he might safely venture on the out- 
 skirts of unsound ground. Moreover, curiosity compelled him to 
 the hazard. 
 
 "Goto is in excellent health," he replied. "Stouter, I should say, 
 
276 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 than ever. I passed a most agreeable evening with him and his 
 daughter, Lady Ren-ko. What a lovely woman she is, Tokiyori, 
 and as perfect in intellect as she is in beauty. She spoke but sel- 
 dom, but when she did her words were to me as trumpet calls to a 
 soldier. I recall the conversation had turned on the subject of 
 Taro Goto's successes with his emigration enterprise. Taro, be- 
 tween ourselves, is, I understand, greatly in love with Lady Ren- 
 ko, although his sighings for her have, apparently, failed of an 
 impression." 
 
 "As I say," he continued, "Lady Ren-ko and I were speaking of 
 Taro and his emigration concerns. 'It is the brightness of the can- 
 dle that fortells darkness,' said Lady Ren-ko to me in a low voice 
 the baron being occupied in conversation with my wife 'the se- 
 ductive calm that foreruns the typhoon.' 'Why do you call Taro's 
 enterprise that?' I asked, amusedly, although I confess I was in- 
 terested also. 'Because it so exactly typifies both,' she answered, 
 without hesitation. 'He is today unloading hundreds upon hun- 
 dreds of our supposed laboring class upon an alien country, be- 
 cause of the fact that they can, and will, labor more cheaply than 
 foreign workmen. As yet the 'Foreigner' appears not to have 
 awakened to what this means, but how will they regard us when 
 they feel that our people are taking the food from their mouths, 
 and gaining knowledge not to be used for the country that is feed- 
 ing, teaching and supporting them, but for us? Can you see other 
 in the eventual outcome than perilous race hatred, and probable 
 war?'" 
 
 Lord Sakurai lowered his voice, and leaned across the table to- 
 ward Tokiyori, impressively. 
 
 "I confess, Tokiyori," said he, "that I had never viewed this 
 matter in that light before, but, from what she said, I had my in- 
 terest awakened to the extent of looking into it more closely. I 
 am convinced that America is on the verge of a great social revo- 
 lution, although what form violent or diplomatic it will take, I 
 am unable to conjecture. Everywhere labor in America is sullen 
 and disgruntled with capital, and it needs but very little to in- 
 flame the whole mass of the nation's workers into one seething, 
 angry, dangerous mob. Capital sees this also, and will use the 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 277 
 
 Japanese cheap laborers as a pretext for turning aside, for the 
 time, the wrath of the masses. Thus we shall be the sufferers the 
 scape-goats. Sooner or later, if Taro Goto's business and that of 
 similar concerns that have started up recently are not curtailed, 
 we shall have an exclusion act in force against our people here 
 or war." 
 
 Tokiyori had been listening intently to the first part of Saku- 
 rai's narrative of his dinner at Goto's, and although his host's per- 
 oration had not escaped him, had been turning over and over in 
 his mind a picture of Ren-ko as he had last seen her, in the snow 
 at Ayame, and as she must have looked when talking with Saku- 
 rai. 
 
 "When did you say that you heard this prophecy from the lips 
 of of Goto's daughter?" he asked. 
 
 "About three months ago," answered Sakurai, slightly surprised. 
 "Yes, I recall it was on my wife's birthday, which is on the fif- 
 teenth day of the Iris month. Why, my dear fellow?" 
 
 Tokiyori collected himself. 
 
 "Merely that I was wondering why no such views had been 
 brought before the Diet?" he rejoined. 
 
 "There is a report now to that effect made under my super- 
 vision to the Diet," explained Sakurai. "What action they may 
 decide to take upon it you can conjecture as well as I- I fear 
 none, at the present. But I see that our dinner is a thing of the 
 past ; shall we not adjourn for coffee and a cigar?" 
 
 Tokiyori arose with his host. 
 
 "I think not, if you will excuse me," said he. "I have another en- 
 gagement this evening that I dare not neglect. I shall hope to see 
 you at the embassy tomorrow." 
 
 They bade one another goodnight and separated, Sakurai to- 
 ward the club's smoking room, and Tokiyori toward its entrance. 
 Under the portals he paused, then descending the brown-stone 
 steps, turned into Connecticut Avenue, crossing a nearby square 
 on his way to his hotel. 
 
 Arrived there, he sought his rooms at once, dismissing his man 
 who awaited him. Then, drawing a chair up to an open bay win- 
 dow, he sat gazing out across the lamp-lit streets of the silent, al- 
 most deserted city. 
 
278 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Presently he arose, and crossing to an escretoire, drew from it 
 a dispatch case. Opening this, he extracted one of several red 
 morocco leathered diaries. He turned back its leaves until he came 
 to an entry, and read : 
 
 JUNE I5TH: i HAVE COME TO SEE THAT MY FORMER BELIEF IN 
 THE ULTIMATE VALUE TO US OF LABOR EMIGRATION WAS ERRONE- 
 OUS. OUR PEOPLE ARE LITERALLY INUNDATING THE PACIFIC SLOPE 
 STATES, CUTTING PRICES UNDER NATIVE WORKMEN TO GAIN EMPLOY- 
 MENT. THE MINDS OF THE MASSES OF THE COUNTRY ARE ALREADY 
 INFLAMED AGAINST CAPITAL, AND CAPITAL, SEEING THE OPPORTUNITY 
 WE AFFORD THEM FOR TURNING ASIDE THE WRATH OF LABOR, WILL 
 UNDOUBTEDLY SEIZE ON SUCH A PRETEXT. IT WILL BE REPRESENTED 
 TO THE AMERICAN WORKINGMAN THAT NOT CAPITAL, BUT CHEAP 
 
 ORIENTAL LABOR, IS TAKING THE FOOD OUT OF HIS MOUTH AND 
 
 NOT BY THE EXERCISE OF GREATER SKILL, BUT BY THE ABILITY TO 
 LIVE FOR LESS THAN THE OCCIDENTAL POSSIBLY CAN. THE OUTCOME 
 
 IS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION. A FEW GRAINS OF SUCH POWDER 
 
 PRESSURE BROUGHT TO BEAR ON GOVERNMENTAL LEGISLATURE AND 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND, WHIFF ! AN ULTIMATUM TO NIPPON, AND 
 
 WAR! 
 
 He replaced the diary, locked and replaced the dispatch box 
 and locked the escretoire. 
 
 He recrossed the room and gazed out across the silent street 
 once more. Suddenly it seemed to him that the city faded into a 
 nothingness, and that a drawn veil was lifted from his eyes. In 
 all the vast universe that stretched before him there seemed but 
 two people Ren-ko and himself ; she flashing thought upon 
 thought to him, he recording these and acting upon them. At 
 Ayame she had told Sakurai that which, on that self same day, he 
 had written in his diary. He seemed to realize suddenly that she 
 was living his life for him in thought in how many different 
 governing thoughts he could only conjecture. Altruist, dreamer, 
 man of intellect as he was, his mind suddenly descended to the 
 practical in a way that would have amused Sakurai, and he deter- 
 mined impelled by his inherent human weaknesses that that 
 which belonged to her spiritually should be hers actually as well. 
 
THE TAVERN LIGHT 279 
 
 "I am now in my forty-fourth year," he mused, "and, saving for 
 an all-short boyhood, I think I have never known a real happiness 
 but once. Long before attaining my majority, cares and respon- 
 sibilities seldom expected of matured men were laid upon my 
 shoulders ; since then I have never known, I think, an hour's re- 
 spite from care, responsibility and sorrow. I have toiled but to see 
 my successes accredited to others, my apparent failures and the 
 failures of others stamped indelibly against my own record. 
 Whether my father, or the Diet, the results for me have always 
 been the same toil, work and conception on my part; success 
 and popular recognition and acclaim for them. Then came a dark 
 night when Nippon's danger stood close by her elbow, when the 
 Nightless Street whispered secrets that the winds never bore past 
 the O-mon of the Flower Quarter, so that only by lying, treachery 
 and fraud might Nippon be saved. A woman's heart was at stake 
 to be won by deeds so foul that none could be expected to per- 
 form them saving one, I. And then it was I found, amidst all the 
 filth and mire, the only joy my life was permitted to know a lo- 
 tus grew from the mud; I plucked it. In the garden of life the 
 gods have planted for each of us his flower, to take or leave the 
 lotus grew for me." 
 
 Suddenly some words his own returned to him, words spok- 
 en over pure, white snow that covered the walks of a villa the 
 villa of Ayame : 
 
 it may be that the gods, because of so great an interpretation 
 of their own loves, will grant that we commingle in thought 
 
 It had been granted. 
 
 "Thought is but the better life after all," he said aloud; "the 
 flowerings of the garden of life. Chrysanthemum or lotus, one cul- 
 tured guardedly in rich soil, the other wild-flowering in foul mud, 
 yet emblem of all purity. Each perfect in its place in the garden, 
 but it is the call of the lotus, in the rustling of its leaves, that the 
 gardener, in the hours of darkness, hears." 
 
 He picked up some time-tables that lay on the desk top, and con- 
 sulted them, then rang for his servant. 
 
 "Pack my things," he ordered. "We leave for San Francisco on 
 the midnight express." 
 
28O THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "To remain there, sir?" queried the servant with the respectful 
 familiarity of the valet. 
 
 "No ; till this day week when the steamer leaves for Japan," re- 
 plied Tokiyori. 
 
XXV 
 
 NAKED,, UPONTHEAIR 
 
 Why, if the Soul can fling the Dust aside, 
 And naked on the Air of Heaven ride, 
 
 Were't not a Shame were't not a Shame for him 
 In this clay carcase crippled to abide? OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 SEPTEMBER came to refresh Japan, touching the veins of the 
 Mukojima foliage with cool caressing fingers, damp with Au- 
 tumnal rain, while the dark Sumida awoke from its summer sleep, 
 slipping along among the bordering cherry trees, like a sluggish 
 serpent. 
 
282 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Early afternoon had waned, and with it the gentle showers had 
 ceased, so that the grounds of Ayame lay glistening like a blaze of 
 jewels where a golden sun lingered on the raindrops. A lane of 
 burnt umber tints ran mingling with a thousand variant greens on 
 this palette of nature, untouched here by the scalpel of man, and 
 the scent of mokusei was damp and sweet as the breathing of a 
 little child a little lisping child with the bloom still fresh upon it. 
 
 Within his yashiki Goto snoozed peacefully, a confused mass of 
 writing on a table before him. Recently, as related to Tokiyori by 
 Viscount Sakurai, Goto had begun the elaboration of an intended 
 stupendous volume of native proverbs a prodigious work that 
 seemingly grew the further from completion the more its author 
 labored at it. Every now and then the baron would solemnly an- 
 nounce to his intimates that shortly the publication of his magnus 
 opus would occur, hinting darkly that certain selected sayings of 
 the Flower Quarter personally and laboriously collected would 
 astound the world. However, the work still remained in manu- 
 script form, and if its appearance was a matter of conjecture, it 
 had the present value of serving to occupy pleasingly the baron's 
 time and thoughts. 
 
 Without, Ren-ko was loitering about the lane. A restlessness 
 had unaccountably come to her that day, presaging events events 
 feared, she knew not why, and yet longed for. Her thoughts, ever 
 of one across the great seas, were now tinged with a flush of guilt. 
 She had transmitted mentally to him things that she knew to be of 
 the utmost importance whether such had been received she knew 
 not, only hoped. A month ago she had sent him another thought, 
 impelled by the aching void in her heart, against her knowledge of 
 what was right. Had he received that? Would he answer? 
 
 She turned about, as though under the urgence of some unseen 
 hand, and saw a stranger upon the walk. He was standing mo- 
 tionless, wrapt in contemplation of her. His head was bared so 
 that she noted his hair was heavily tinged with grey ; his features 
 those of a man at once sad, and happy in his sadness. As he started 
 to approach her, it needed not the slight limp observable in his 
 walk to tell her who he was. 
 
 "Take san !" she sobbed softly, her joy welling up in voice and 
 eyes ; "Take san !" 
 
NAKED, UPON THE AIR 283 
 
 He came swiftly to her, his arms outstretched. So perfect an 
 understanding, psychic in its divination, existed between them, 
 there was no need for formality of social garb. 
 "You knew me?" he asked, his cup of happiness full. 
 "Would a poet need eyes to see the visions of which he writes?" 
 she answered, using the very words he had once spoken to her in 
 The Jewel River. "The afternoon is perfect because of you, and 
 the shadows are holding back from their lengthening that I may 
 see you." 
 
 He led her to a seat beneath a hanging willow that same spot 
 where, when last they had been together, he had told her that 
 their life must, in future, be in their thoughts alone. 
 "The shadows of the afternoon are short yet," said he, "but be- 
 fore long they will have lengthened into the chill of night. It is 
 the kindly veil dusk draws over the knees of day, bent o'er the 
 sacrificial altar. I have come to feel, Ren-ko san, that so little of 
 this life is guessed how may we hope to know the after! A 
 thought a breath and the careless sleeve of night and morn has 
 brushed us from the pathway ! Only a narrow thought strip sep- 
 arates you and I from the Island of Life yet it is wider than the 
 cycles naught but the bridge of love alone may span it and the 
 guide-rope is in your hands. There are lands where the sun never 
 sets where neither gods, nor fiends, may yea or nay the day 
 where wild doves throat their loves at will. It is these I shall seek, 
 Flower Heart, for it has come to me that I may no longer waste 
 the gift of love the gods laid in my cradle. So, after the lapse of 
 years, have I come from the long shadows to journey into the 
 sunlight with you." 
 
 She regarded him with rapture too great for words, her ex- 
 pression one of triumphant happiness. Suddenly, this changed 
 into one of consternation and horror. This love, as he had told 
 her, was lent, not sent, and now he had placed the guide-rope in 
 her hands. 
 
 "A journey?" said she. "Nay, rather a flight a flight under 
 cover of darkness from the creditors one dares not face on the 
 morrow. Life's debts are an inheritance, Take san, an heirloom 
 bequeathed to us by our own evolution, to be paid by each for the 
 
284 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 furtherance of all. Oft times the usery seems inhumanly exor- 
 bitant, and our best talents unmarketable at their true value ; yet, 
 in the very losses of their barter do we march into the line of the 
 next reincarnation of our world. We are but the accredited shop- 
 keepers of those talents, laden at our births with an overwhelm- 
 ing indebtedness, and according to their disposal shall not only 
 we, but all mankind, progress. It is a sorry merchant who will 
 not stay and fight impending bankruptcy, Take san my merchant 
 of the fishes." 
 
 "Yet there is love to reckon with, Ren-ko san my Lotus !" 
 
 "Love ! What love? Do you refer to bodily passion? Or do you 
 refer to that human almost divine comprehension which alone 
 the darkness can feel, can see, can understand, can know the thrill 
 of each act of self-sacrifice which raises the willing victim one 
 rung higher on the rack? Ah! such a love as that I thank the 
 gods is mine. The perfect love, which gnawing day and night, 
 reminds me by the very constancy of its pain, that that which I 
 love is suffering too suffering every conceivable torture. And it 
 is this hallowed passion which makes possible the union of our 
 souls, Take san." 
 
 "A life of suffering ! Ren-ko san. What right has God, or man, 
 to encumber us beyond our strength?" he demanded. "Has some 
 force but procreated this world as a holiday pit where it may 
 gloat on helpless suffering ? My nature cries out against this fiend 
 of fiends who would destroy that which, in sportive mood, it made 
 for jest! Neither man, nor God, has a right to lay a finger on the 
 love that springs unbidden from the soul, for that is the life of 
 the world the world itself. Deny it if you dare Flower Soul 
 my breath !" 
 
 "Your cavil is that of the craven who cries against his general's 
 right to demand the seemingly useless sacrifice of the forlorn 
 hope he is ordered to march with," she answered bravely, "but not 
 the motto of the man I love. We can not lay aside our debts ; they 
 are not ours so to dispose of. The gods alone are permitted to shift 
 the burdens from one of us to the other, we can but receive them 
 on the knees of the gods. Our courageous acceptance of them is 
 that love, which is the breath of the world, my Take san. No thrill 
 
NAKED, UPON THE AIR 285 
 
 of material contact can create such an undying sensualism as 
 that ! From such a love, my beloved, I have come to believe, will 
 the salvation of our people be worked for, as you once told me, 
 your work and honor was in doing for others, mine in aiding you 
 therein. We are but the pioneers of a greater nation, my Take 
 san pioneers, because- while realizing and striving for the bet- 
 ter, we are still custom-chained to the worse. No great onward 
 movement but must have its martyrs for charter-members. Would 
 you take that love, which is my breath, from me to defile it, Take 
 san?" 
 
 His head was bowed, and save for his labored breathing, he 
 stood as one entranced. She took his hand and led him gently 
 down the shaded walk, among the lengthening shadows, and into 
 the last rays of the sun that flooded the curving bridge. Beyond 
 lay the Cherry Avenue, and the road through Tokyo to Shiba. 
 Above, crows were flighting in that direction. 
 
 "The crows are cawing now on their nightly homeward flight to 
 the Shiba woodlands," said she, "for the heart of their mother 
 forest calls them to nest. If the crows came not, the heart of the 
 woodlands would be silent and sad. Poor heart ! your children do 
 not leave you aching. You are of Shiba, my Take an errant 
 crow for whom its nest is awaiting ; there lies your work, and your 
 honor. I am of the cherry blooms, that float hither and thither on 
 the air of heaven. A duty has whispered to me I go to America, 
 shortly, to Taro Goto. Sayonara O Gardener of the Garden of 
 my Life!" 
 
 The morning of that day, the great, gloomy jail of Tokyo had 
 disgorged one once Tanaka of The Jewel River. 
 
 He had passed along the Nightless Street in the early fore- 
 noon, watching the scenes about what once was his, now the 
 property of another. A man, evidently from his air their pres- 
 ent proprietor, fat, ungainly and indolent, came forth from the 
 entrance that led to the interior courtyard, and leaned against the 
 lintel of the doorway, purfing his pipe, and watching idly the few 
 sight-seers on the street. Tanaka's prison-dimmed eyes regarded 
 him with envy, and his prison-nurtured heart, black as the corners 
 
286 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 of his cell, whispered to him its daily word of vengeance. He left 
 the Nightless Street, Shibawards. 
 
 There, in a hidden glade of the woodlands that led to the path 
 of tombs, where mould the Tokugawas, he lingered throughout 
 the afternoon, watching, ever watching the O-mon of Shima, and 
 the little besso beyond. As night was about to fall, he heard the 
 sounds of a 'ricksha, and perceived one stop before the latter 
 place. Its passenger dismounted, followed by the 'ricksha man 
 carrying his hand baggage Tanaka distinctly noted who it was 
 discharged the 'ricksha and entered the gateway of the villa. 
 Then Tanaka drew a happy sigh for the first time in six long 
 years, and glided silently toward the outskirts of the woodlands. 
 
 Presently the figure stood in the yashiki doorway, evidently 
 asking questions of one who answered his summons. The servant 
 pointed toward the grey castle. The figure turned from the house 
 and walked thoughtfully in the direction indicated. 
 
 Tanaka stepped forth onto the roadway, and quickened his 
 pace. As he gained upon the figure, his shadow fell across the 
 thought-wrapped man, who looked over his shoulder. The flash 
 of a knife and Tanaka struck; then fled for the woodlands, 
 reaching their shelter almost as soon as the tottering body fell to 
 the roadway. 
 
 The gateman of Shima, dozing just outside its entrance, was 
 awakened by the falling of the body. He stretched his arms, 
 rubbed his eyes and arose. He had been about to scratch his chin 
 as habitual, but stopped, his eyes starting from his head as he 
 perceived the fallen man. He went toward him and bent over it 
 was a long time since bodies had lain without the O-mon of Shima. 
 Then he jumped suddenly to his feet, and flung his arms wildly 
 above his head. 
 
 "Gods of the house I serve !" he cried. "It is my young master, 
 Lord Tokiyori !" 
 
XXVI 
 
 FALLING LEAVES 
 
 Whether at Naishdpur or Babylon, 
 Whether the Cup with sweet or bitter run, 
 
 The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop, 
 The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 IN THE library of the Yashiki were Lord Yo-Ake and Kiku-ko; 
 he, grown very infirm and in need of constant little attentions, she, 
 delighting in administering to his wants. The years of separation 
 from Tokiyori had brought to her, time for thought thought 
 aided and suggested by the father. This had resulted in an under- 
 standing. 
 
288 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 They were conversing of Tokiyori a subject scarce ever 
 absent from their lips. Lord Yo-Ake had arrived at that age when 
 the hesitancy of caste to display its natural emotions is no longer 
 heeded ; when wisdom has arrived at the belief in the nothingness 
 of everything. 
 
 "Life," affirmed Lord Yo-Ake, reminiscently, to Kiku-ko, "is a 
 golgotha of dead leaves. Our hopes are strewn on the ground. 
 The evening air is chilling, autumn will be with us soon, Kiku-ko." 
 She answered nothing, but arose and crossed over to an open 
 shoji. The twilight was fading into night. From across the wood- 
 lands came the gentle tinkling of temple bells from Sengakuji 
 for it was the hour of evening prayer at the shrines of the forty- 
 seven ronin. Both listened while the gentle tones were audible, 
 and then as they died into the heart of the silent verdure, Kiku-ko 
 tightly closed the shoji, and returned to her father's side. Lord 
 Yo-Ake stifled a sigh. 
 
 "The legend was incomplete," he murmured to himself; "the 
 legend was incomplete." 
 
 "Do you believe in the gods, father?" she asked, suddenly. 
 
 "Do not you, Kiku-ko?" he answered. 
 
 "I pray to them each night of my life," said she, in a low voice, 
 "for light, and forgiveness for my darkness. It is by the andon 
 of my husband I have come to see what light may be, and I need 
 its aid now more than ever. I only ask of the gods the return of its 
 glimmer is that too much to ask? Sometimes I wonder if there 
 are gods." 
 
 "The portals of life," answered Lord Yo-Ake, "are invisible. 
 Who knows what lies beyond that which we can not see? Dawn, 
 born blushing, slips unconsciously into the day of what we think 
 light and sight; before we are aware, dusk passes like a watch- 
 man to put out our lights, and night enshrouds us. If another 
 dawn there be, who knows? or who may tell us of it? Yet, if I 
 could but believe ! Could but believe !" 
 
 Silence reigned whilst the room began to grow dark. Suddenly 
 Lord Yo-Ake became aware of the low voice of his daughter, 
 praying. He turned his head, and saw that she was kneeling in 
 supplicating attitude before the ihai to his wife, whispering the 
 
FALLING LEAVES 289 
 
 cry of her aching heart to the spirit-mother of the man she had 
 come to long for. 
 
 "O Mother of the Light of my Life," prayed Kiku-ko, "stretch 
 forth your hand from the Meido-Land, and lead my husband to 
 me." * 
 
 She ceased, and it seemed that a great stillness had fallen upon 
 the room. Presently the shrine lamp went out, and a heavy dark- 
 ness descended. A faint rustle as though a something crept 
 through the room like the passing of a soul; then, again, lifeless 
 silence. 
 
 Steps sounded in the passage; a lantern glimmered, and men 
 entered bearing something which they reverently laid down, and 
 then withdrew. A shudder passed through her; intuitively, she 
 knew that her prayer had been answered ; that her husband had 
 returned to her. Quietly and composedly she arose, lighted an 
 andon, and knelt beside him, uncovering the still features. A great 
 peace had settled upon them. 
 
 Suddenly she was aware that the father, whom she had forgot- 
 ten, was standing beside her. He stretched his old, shaking hands 
 forth. 
 
 "Gods, now take thou thy servant from this toil of pain," he 
 whispered in a dry, trembling voice; "for mine eyes have seen the 
 evening of my house. The leaves are fallen from the tree it 
 stands uncovered. The fault was mine ; the atonement his." 
 
 With the morning of the next day, Kiku-ko ceased from her 
 constant vigil beside the body of her husband, arid sought her 
 father's rooms to make amends for her natural neglect of him. 
 She found him confined to his futon the reaction of the shock 
 having prostrated him but in full possession of his faculties, 
 calm in his sorrow. 
 
 As he greeted her he indicated a traveling bag in a corner of 
 
 the room, it was monogrammed in silver with Tokiyori's initials. 
 
 "It was sent over from the besso this morning," said he. "I had 
 
 it placed here in order not to disturb you. You had best take it 
 
 to your own apartments, Kiku-ko, and examine it." 
 
 A feeling of new-found joy, even in her sadness, came to 
 
THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Kiku-ko. If his bag had been left at the besso, he himself must 
 have gone there to her first, before seeking his father. 
 "Nay," she replied, "let us examine it here together, father." 
 
 She went to the bag and returned with it to the side of his 
 futon ; kneeling, she opened it. It proved to contain such necessi- 
 ties of quick travel as one most needs for the moment, and several 
 red morocco-leathered diaries. She laid these beside the futon, 
 opened one, and read : 
 
 ". . .A truth is not an actuality until some soul has humanized 
 it, embodied it but I think, nevertheless, that it was always a 
 truth. If my thesis is correct my Bushido was as much a fact as 
 that of Saito, for which he died at Satsuma. I, therefore, deduce 
 that Bushido has its two distinct manifestations, spiritual and ma- 
 terial. In either phase I confess to a loathing for, and admiration 
 of, its requirements, as contradictory as its manifestations them- 
 selves. Altruism is a natural factor under its spiritual phase; 
 egoism a characteristic of its material manifestation. My own ma- 
 terial cosmos an effeminate desire for sympathetic affection and 
 comprehension; a most pronounced horror of pain; an antipathy 
 of the strongest against that which creates suffering became ef- 
 faced when affined to the spiritual Bushido, so that, despite the 
 loathing for the task set me by my father in the Yoshiwara, I was 
 enabled to undertake it with a true Pantheistic disinterestedness. 
 
 "Removed from the environment of my act I find that I am able 
 to review all persons and sentiments attaching to it with a calm 
 introspection. It was never a marvel to me how Kiku-ko, whom I 
 knew to be inbred with romanticism, could prefer as a matter of 
 individual selection her cousin Saito to myself; yet, it must be 
 admitted, that all unconsciously she did me therein a supreme 
 moral injustice. Saito, an exponent of material Bushido, repre- 
 sented to her all that stood for chivalry and valor, the creed of 
 our forefathers; while I, with my poor personal attractions and 
 studiousness, appeared in every way the last one within whom 
 a spirit of chivalry could be found to have a habitat. Heredity is 
 the strongest factor in our make-up when we do not permit our 
 mentalities to evolute sufficiently to overcome its inheritance. Un- 
 
FALLING LEAVES 2QI 
 
 derstanding Kiku-ko's psychology in this light I can also appre- 
 ciate her view point. What she could neither see, nor comprehend, 
 was that my nature craved for a sympathetic and affectionate 
 understanding. The results of such an intercourse as hers and 
 mine could not be otherwise than befell. 
 
 "When I undertook the task of spying upon the plans of Ikeda 
 through the medium of his daughter, I did so with every feeling 
 of revulsion. My material personality revolted at the idea; my 
 spiritual Bushido made the duty possible. If from the first she 
 showed me that complete comprehension that Kiku-ko lacked, 
 feeding with each word my intellectuality, any sentiment I may 
 have then entertained for her was entirely subconscious. Our in- 
 timacy was but the carrying out of a duty by each she to blind 
 my eyes to the plottings of her father, I to gain information of 
 those plottings for the salvation of our country. Our real liaison 
 has been one of purest mentality and intellectuality. I do not con- 
 demn Kiku-ko for her lack of understanding but, oh ! what a 
 world of misfortune both to her life, and to mine, might have 
 been saved could she have learned to look upon my spiritual 
 Bushido with as just eyes as she comprehended, and loved Saito's 
 material Bushido ! . . . " 
 
 Kiku-ko dropped the diary upon the futon. The written words 
 of her dead husband came to her as a shock but they also came 
 to her as a blessed light by which her eyes were opened. It was by 
 the glimmer of the lantern of his life that she was made to see. 
 For the first time it came to her that there could be a spiritual 
 infidelity as well as a material one and that all her life with him 
 she had been guilty of the former. Stunned, she arose, and with 
 bent head quitted Lord Yo-Ake's apartment. 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake lay musing. Then his faculty of mentally assimi- 
 lating that which his mortal eyes had not seen, painted to him the 
 events of that last day in his son's life. The unexpected return, un- 
 announced ; the bag at the besso ; the death of Tokiyori ; the 
 diaries ; all told him as clearly as though he had accompanied his 
 son throughout the momentous day. He saw the landing the hur- 
 ried visit to Ayame the meeting of Ren-ko and Tokiyori the 
 
292 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 splendid and awful renunciation of a human soul of its life and 
 he rejoiced that the mortal sufferings of his son were past; that 
 the tortured soul of the boy whom he loved more dearly than 
 aught, saving his country, was now gathered to the peace of the 
 mother-bosom in the Meido-Land. 
 
 Haphazard, he picked up one of the diaries and read : 
 
 ". . . Constant increase and expansion of international com- 
 merce must be the guiding policy of our country ; a supreme con- 
 trol of such to be the eventual result. 
 
 "Toward which we must gain, and maintain, recognition as a 
 world power by land and sea, and advance this to the degree of, 
 at least, one of the three great nations of the world. ..." 
 
 "... The acquisition of our national status has been command- 
 ed solely by the sword. Today we are but a vaunted evolution of 
 caveman, of prehistoric half-beast, for we still maintain our moral 
 ascendency over our fellow men by the same methods as our 
 remote ancestors. I have often heard it expressed as a centra- 
 argument to disarmament of nations that war is a necessity to 
 relieve the world periodically of over-population, and that with- 
 out militarism honor the honor in which our whole code of 
 ethics should be (but is not) founded would cease as an existent 
 social factor. I clearly see that scientific advancement (higher 
 civilization) is more effectually taking care of surplus popula- 
 tion than ever war did ; and as to the latter argumentum Bushido 
 is the answer absolute and final ipso facto. What then must take 
 the place of this material throwing away of the samurai's sword? 
 Trade, the Crow's Roadway to the City of Desire. And how 
 may it be applied? 
 
 "With the reduction of national armament; a nation's most 
 salient weapon, as well as its most vulnerable point, will be its 
 commercial standing, its financial credit in the concourse of na- 
 tions. The weapon of progress figuratively is like its counterpart 
 of Justice a two-edged sword. The obverse edge of the offensive 
 weapon will be commercial ostracism that developed stone-age 
 weapon whereby modern humanitarian nations may control an 
 offending one. In this isolation will be found the most effectual 
 means of punishing recalcitrant nations. ..." 
 
FALLING LEAVES 293 
 
 ". . . Our government should first realize the fact that it is in 
 itself but a national expression of the welfare of the individual, 
 and the individual must be schooled to have confidence and regard 
 for the government. My country must control all monopolies to 
 her own self-support, by governmental acquisition of all industries 
 that may be or tend to become either a public necessity or lux- 
 ury, thus precluding the formation of private trusts, thereby in- 
 creasing the government's resources, and reducing the direct tax- 
 ation of the individual. 
 
 "Our greatest asset is the Bushidic loyalty and oneness of our 
 people, engendered in the belief that the actual and executive 
 head of our nation is our father spiritual as well as temporal. 
 Our posterity must be schooled in this belief instilling in them 
 that degree of national pride whereby the voice of the govern- 
 ment shall be to them an abiding and sacred law, ever working 
 for the generations to follow. Whether nation or individual, our 
 aim and desire should be to anticipate the advancement of those 
 to follow, that we may live as long as the world itself in those 
 who come after us. ... " 
 
 " . . . Whatever adverse judgment I may have merited from 
 my country and family, let this at least stand to my credit I have 
 obeyed my father's last words to me to go forth and find the 
 Roadway to the City of Desire. 
 
 "The fulfilment of Nakahara's prophecy I read thus : 
 
 "His City of Desire is the World's Commerce; his Ronin, the 
 Trader ; the Roadway Korea and the sweep of the Pacific. So I 
 see the solution written in the Stars. 
 
 "Great Britain and we are analagous a small group of islands. 
 Her revenues, largely, India; ours was meant to be China. The 
 Atlantic traffic is controlled by Great Britain mostly, Europe 
 slightly, and discarded by America ; the virgin Pacific through 
 America's neglect can be ours. The trade control of Europe with 
 China and the Orient can be attained through Korea the pivot of 
 the world's coming trade. 
 
 "Korea, the Roadway to the City of Desire, is our birthright. 
 The powers must be prevented from partitioning China. The 
 dawn approaches. ..." 
 
294 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "... Though I find that all nations have their City of Desire 
 centered in the world's commerce ; yet there is a Universal City of 
 Desire to which each nation should aspire, that they may light the 
 roadway to the Empire of Universal Humanitarianism, which will 
 give to each one of the world's untold millions an ownership in 
 equity in all material happiness. ..." 
 
 All during that day Lord Yo-Ake had remained encouched, 
 perusing carefully each entry of the diaries. Toward the close of 
 the day he laid these aside, and for a long time fell into a deep 
 meditative state. Dusk had fallen and the andon stars of night 
 were lighting, when suddenly he half arose and gave expression to 
 his thoughts : "Oh, my son ! thou hast torn the misty film from my 
 eyes and shown me that Japan, with Occidental knowledge en- 
 grafted upon her ancient Oriental wisdom, is capable of what I 
 had never dared dream for her in my most sanguine imaginings. 
 
 "Thy words have cleared the Roadway to the City of Desire of 
 its brambles and hidden pitfalls. 
 
 "I now see the possible boundaries of an empire greater than 
 ever empire has been. How Japan may become the great nation of 
 the future not by superior armaments, nor alone through keener 
 statecraft, or vaster finances, but by the wisdom of profiting by 
 the bigoted ignorance and blind neglect of the Occident. And 
 whilst the externals of our governmental system may be shown 
 to the Occident, our national psychology must remain hidden from 
 the ken of the west. 
 
 "Korea must be ours, to be made the hub of the coming Trade 
 Wheel of the World. Wars necessary, unavoidable wars must 
 be fought to establish Japan's prestige over China; but peace 
 must follow a universal peace and when the supremacy of 
 arbitration is finally established over carnage, then Japan's ac- 
 quired diplomatic training and practice must be such as will render 
 her invincible." 
 
 Without, on the castle walk, the sounds of many feet told of a 
 stream of callers, for word had gone through byway and alley 
 that Tokiyori Yo-Ake had returned to his native land, and lay 
 dead in the castle of his fathers. 
 
FALLING LEAVES 295 
 
 Lord Yo-Ake raised his eyes to the ceiling of his room. 
 
 "Said the samurai I follow," he quoted, softly. 
 He stretched his arms out as though in supplication. 
 
 "My house hath seen its evening," he continued; "the ihai to 
 my wife is dark. Its lamp burning ever these forty years that 
 hath gone out but twice, each time at the home coming of my son 
 is dead. The shrine shall remain in darkness, its lamp forever 
 unlighted, for I think Ume-Ko's soul hath gone from its abode to 
 clasp our son to the mother bosom in the Meido-Land O, son of 
 my soul ! Son of my soul ! 
 
 "O, Nippon, land of the newer, greater gods ! Thou country that 
 wast nurtured in the womb of my wife when my son wast there 
 conceived, that was suckled with him at her breast what a 
 jewel shalt thou be in the diadem of the future, and what a flower 
 in the chaplet on the brow of the world ! I see the waterways so 
 laden with thy shipping, that it seems as though the great seas 
 were crowded with myriad resting gulls, all ready to spread wing 
 and fly to the end of the earth. I see thy cities great and beautiful, 
 thy countries fair and endless. I see suns upon the horizons, upon 
 the eastern, the western, the northern, the southern ; and they are 
 ever-rising suns, emblem of our country. I see thy people supreme 
 in might, wisdom, humanity and loyalty ; the arts and merchan- 
 dise of the world flowing to and from thy shores. I see thee, O, 
 beloved country, for whom my son lived and died, the nation of 
 all, the Trade-Rome of the future vaster than the vastness of all 
 Rome ; yet though riches beyond the avarice of Rome shall flow 
 to thee, thy people must never become corrupt by the fiends of 
 luxury, idleness and licentiousness. 
 
 "O, Universal City of Desire! Thou, whose roadway is only to 
 be followed under the guidance of those three stars, Vigilance, 
 Progression and Humility, I see thee now the final goal of not 
 one nation alone, but of the whole world. Thou godlike city, that 
 will be the temple of all justice, righteousness, and truth, wherein 
 there shall be neither Christian, nor Shintoist, Buddhist, nor Mo- 
 hammedan, but one great, pure light embracing all in the one 
 moral essence the betterment of mankind. What matter by 
 what individual code each nation shall strive to attain to this, 
 
296 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 whether it be through the Christian virtues Faith, Hope and 
 Chanty or through the enlightenment of Buddhism, if they but 
 reach the gateway and enter. 
 
 "Thou art gone from me, O, son of mine into the land where 
 awaits thy mother. Thy sufferings are o'er; those whom thou 
 loved, who loved thee, will know thee no more. Thy work is done 
 but, oh, thrice cursed be the foul hand that laid thee low ! 
 
 "Yet, why should I such curses invoke when thou, thyself, 
 wouldst have been the first to say peace. The leaves have fallen 
 from the rose, so ruthlessly cut down; but the gardener, gather- 
 ing the petals, knows that their aroma will still live." 
 
 He ceased and sank back upon the futon. Darkness had fallen ; 
 from Sengakuji came the nightly tinkling of temple bells that 
 called to prayer beside the graves of the seven-and-forty. 
 
 "Night is an impenetrable drape to mortal eyes," murmured 
 Lord Yo-Ake, "but the voices of those we loved may call and 
 answer through it." 
 
XXVII 
 
 ON THE KNEES OF THE GODS 
 
 Listen again. One evening at the Close 
 Of Ramazan, as the better Moon arose, 
 
 In the old Potter's Shop I stood alone 
 With the Clay Population round in rows. OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 
 AN AUGUST even- fall of the year one thousand eight hundred 
 and ninety lingered about Biwa-ko, the red sun waning behind 
 Ishiyama, yet pausing in its flight to touch the mighty walls of 
 Moto castle. Throughout the day rain had fallen, but a late after- 
 noon sun had dried the moisture, saving where it still lingered in 
 the corners of turret and keep like tears in the eyes of a weeper. 
 
298 THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 Japan, the ever-changing, had turned on the juggernaut wheels 
 of the years, the fortunes of her sons and daughters revolving 
 spoke-like from the hub of her national policies. Among those 
 affected by time was the family of Yo-Ake, the Lords of Dawn, 
 whose heiress was now wedded to a rising young officer of the 
 Imperial Navy, Captain Midzuhara, destined to play a prominent 
 part in the history of his country. He was the same lad who, 
 when a boy, had rescued for the child, who is now his wife, a toy 
 boat from difficulties in a pond at Shima, and had been rewarded 
 by the patronage of Lord Yo-Ake, who secured his appointment 
 to a cadetship at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis. 
 Aysia and her husband now resided at the Shiba besso. 
 
 Kiku-ko still remained in attendance upon old Lord Yo-Ake, 
 who had removed his residence permanently to Moto his son 
 being buried there. She had but just now received a letter from 
 Aysia, detailing Tokio news, extracts from which she was reading 
 to the marquis. A large part of Kiku-ko's daily vocations now 
 consisted in such duties, for the failing years of his life had 
 brought also failing sight to the old nobleman, so that his dimmed, 
 time-worn eyes could scarce discern the forms of those about him. 
 
 "Tokyo is pleasant this month, though warm," read Kiku-ko to 
 her father from the just received letter from Aysia. "We hope 
 soon if Midzuhara secures leave of absence to visit you and 
 grandfather at Moto. Last week Midzuhara received news of his 
 appointment to command the Kai-ten Kan, lately commissioned. 
 He, as well as I, is greatly elated. 
 
 "Last week we dined at Ayame a dinner given by the baron 
 to several of his friends to celebrate the publication of his book 
 of proverbs. He read us a few after the meal, and said there 
 were many more he would like to read, but dared not. I am sure 
 they must have been dreadful. He spoke to us also of his nephew, 
 and his nephew's wife, who are returning home from America. 
 It seems that Mr. Taro Goto is retiring from the Nippon Land 
 and Emigration Company at the solicitation of Lady Ren-ko. 
 Presumably we shall see something of them in Tokyo during the 
 winter. 
 
 "Such a weird and unpleasant thing happened yesterday that I 
 
ON THE KNEES OF THE GODS 2Q9 
 
 scarce know how to write it. Midzuhara was returning afoot, 
 late in the evening, through the Shiba woods, having been to 
 Shima. As he left the castle he was stopped by a stranger who 
 asked if the Yo-Ake family were in residence there now. Upon 
 Midzuhara's informing him to the contrary, he thanked him and 
 withdrew. Midzuhara was much struck by the man's dejected 
 mien; he said it was as that of some lost spirit seeking an un- 
 found atonement. Later that night a man was found dead just 
 before the O-mon of the castle ; he had committed seppuku. The 
 authorities were notified and his identity established. He was the 
 murderer, Tanaka. It may have been an expiation ; if so I pray the 
 gods will receive his soul. It is so father would have wished us to 
 pray. 
 
 "The lotus will shortly be out now. I went into the castle grounds 
 today; the ponds were alive with buds." 
 
 Kiku-ko ceased reading and laid the letter aside. For some 
 little time silence reigned between her and her father, each occu- 
 pied with thoughts invoked by the letter. Presently Lord Yo-Ake 
 spoke in a quavering old voice : 
 
 "The lotus here should be out by now, Kiku-ko," said he. 
 
 "It is all in buds yet," she answered. 
 
 "I wish you would go to the pond and see if none have flowered," 
 he requested with the pertinacity of age. 
 
 Each day for the past fortnight had Kiku-ko patiently sought 
 the pond at similar biddings from him. 
 
 "Dear father," she remonstrated, "it is but a few short hours 
 since I visited the pond, and it showed naught but buds." 
 
 "One may have flowered since," objected Lord Yo-Ake, ob- 
 stinately. 
 
 With a sigh Kiku-ko arose to comply, and after her departure 
 Lord Yo-Ake sat musing. 
 
 "He so loved a lotus," he reasoned to himself, "that if a rain of 
 love could make them flower, I think my boy would deluge them 
 with such. It rained but now who knows ? There may be lotus ; 
 no flower would resist the love he bore it. I feel the lotus will 
 come to Moto for him today." 
 
 He sat thinking on this until Kiku-ko re-entered the room. 
 
3OO THE LORDS OF DAWN 
 
 "See what a beautiful flower, father," she exclaimed, holding 
 forth a lotus in full bloom. "I must have overlooked it when last 
 at the pond." 
 
 She placed the flower in his trembling hands, and he fondled it 
 tenderly. 
 
 "We will take it to Tokiyori's grave," said he. "Help me to 
 arise, Kiku-ko." 
 
 "Nay, I will take it for you," said she. 
 The old man held tightly to his treasure. 
 
 "We," he insisted, with the petulance of age. 
 
 "But, father," she remonstrated, "you have not left the house 
 for months past. It will overtax you to walk to the grave." 
 
 "Strength will be given me," he asserted, "to bear a lotus to my 
 son. Your arm, my daughter." 
 
 Perforce, she complied, and, tottering feebly, he finally man- 
 aged by help of arm and cane to reach the grave-side. Night was 
 drawing in as they knelt and laid the flower upon the shrine. 
 Across the water came welling the great bell of Miidera, low, sol- 
 emn, musical strokes lulling finally into the silence of sleep on the 
 bosom of placid Biwa. 
 
 Through the dusk, one other a woman approached the 
 shrine, kneeling reverently near them, yet so silently that the 
 engrossed father and wife of the dead noted not. Lord Yo-Ake, 
 his prayers said, raised his head, and Kiku-ko arose to assist him 
 to his feet. As she did so, she observed the other devotee. It was 
 the woman who had ruined her life, had striven to steal her hus- 
 band's affections, the "brothel woman" all these Kiku-ko 
 thought her Ren-ko Goto, born Ikeda. 
 
 The one little start Kiku-ko gave upon recognition of the in- 
 truder aroused Lord Yo-Ake. He got to his feet, trembling. A low 
 sob caught his attention it was not from Kiku-ko. 
 
 "Some one to whom my boy was dear is with us," said he. 
 
 He peered about him and made out the dim form of a woman 
 arising to her feet. He approached, and touched the scarce seen 
 forehead with trembling fingers. Then he drew himself up with a 
 sharp intonation of the breath. The effort had been so much that 
 he staggered; Ren-ko stretched forth her hand to save him. 
 
ON THE KNEES OF THE GODS 3OI 
 
 Kiku-ko interposed quickly, and slipped her arm beneath her 
 father's to lead him away. Lord Yo-Ake stopped, took Ren-ko's 
 hand and strove to find that of his daughter's. A little evening 
 breeze sprang up, rustling the grass of the grave to each a 
 whisper came, clear and distinct: 
 
 "Lotus and chrysanthemum of mine, your peace, as your sorrow, 
 is on the knees of the gods." 
 
 Old, tottering, Lord Yo-Ake joined the hands of the two. 
 "I knew the lotus would come to Moto today," said he, simply; 
 "my boy wished it so, and the garden was incomplete my daugh- 
 ters." 
 
 Slowly, supporting him, Lotus and Chrysanthemum wended to- 
 ward the yashiki until the jewel-hedge hid them from sight. 
 
 A moon arose, and drew the outline of the castle walls as fine 
 as the thread of a melodious samisen against the star-keyed fret- 
 board of Night. 
 
 SAYONARA 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 Andon (Ahn-dhon) A paper-framed night 
 
 light. 
 Ayame (Ah-yam-may) Iris. 
 
 Baka-fu (Bah-ka-foo) Administrative 
 
 council. 
 
 Banzai (Bahn-zai) Live forever. 
 Besso, A villa. 
 Biwa (Bee-wah) Lute name of great 
 
 lake near Kiyoto. 
 
 Bu, Coin a quarter of a Ryo (Yen). 
 Bushido (Bu-she-do) Chivalry. 
 
 Daimio (Dai-me-yo) Prince. 
 
 Daisho (Dai-sho) Two-sworded warrior. 
 
 Fuda (Foo-dah) Amusement placard 
 
 posters. 
 Fudai Daimio (Foo-dai) Hereditary 
 
 prince. 
 Fusima (Fu-su-ma) Sliding door between 
 
 rooms. 
 Futon (Fu-tong) Mattress. 
 
 Geisha (Gay-sha) A public entertaining 
 
 girl. 
 
 Geta (Gay-tah) Wooden clogs. 
 Godowns, Oriental term for warehouse. 
 
 Hanashika (Hana-shee-kah) Professional 
 
 story teller. 
 
 Hibatchi (Hee-batchee) A brazier. 
 Hokan (Ho-kahn) Male jester. 
 Hoku No Kami, Lord of the North. 
 Hyaku (High-yaku) Hurry, quickly. 
 
 Ihai (E-high) Ancestral tablet. 
 Irasshai (E-ras-shy) Welcome. 
 Ishiyama (E-she-yah-mah) A mountain 
 
 one of the eight points of interest 
 
 around Kiyoto. 
 
 Kago (Kang-o) Basket palanquin or 
 
 carried vehicle. 
 Kakemono (Kah-kee-mo-no) A hanging 
 
 picture. 
 Kasa (Kah-sah) Umbrella. 
 
 Kirei (Kee-ray) Pretty. 
 
 Koku (Ko-ku) Five-bushel rice measure, 
 
 Kom Ban Wa (Koom-ban-wah) Good 
 
 evening. 
 
 Koro (Ko-ro) Incense burner. 
 Ko Tansu (Ko-Dansu) Small chest of 
 
 drawers. 
 
 Koto (Ko-to) Musical instrument. 
 Koya (Ko-yah) Amusement booth. 
 Kuge (Koo-gay) Court noble. 
 
 Matsuri (Mat-suree) Festival. 
 
 Meido (May-doh) Unknown. 
 
 Meiji (Mey-gee) Period 1868 to 1911. 
 
 Miidera (Me-e-deerah) One of the eight 
 
 points of interest around Lake Biwa. 
 Mitsu Awoi (Meet-su ah-woy) Three 
 
 holly-hock leaves. 
 Mokusei (Moke-sey) Fragrant Osman- 
 
 thus flowers. 
 Mukojima (Moo-koh-gee-mah) Name of 
 
 Cherry Avenue at Tokyo. 
 
 Nagaya (Nang-eye-yah) Barracks. 
 
 Nakauri (Nah-kah-oo-ree) Theater ven- 
 dor and guest welcomer. 
 
 Nippon (Nee-pohn) Japan. 
 
 Nori Mono (No-re-mo-no) Enclosed pa- 
 lanquin carried vehicle. 
 
 Obi (Oh-bee) Woman's wide sash. 
 Oiiran (Oy-ran) Prostitute of first class. 
 Omon (Oh-mon) The great gate. 
 Oni (Oh-nee) Devils or evil spirits. 
 Oyasumi Nasai (Oh-yah-soo-mee nah- 
 sigh) Good night. 
 
 Ri (Ree) About two and one-half miles. 
 Ronin (Roe-nin) Masterless samurai (rov- 
 ing knights). 
 
 Sake (Sackey) Native wine. 
 Samisen (Sahm-sen) Musical instrument. 
 Samurai (Sam-mu-rai) A knight. 
 Sancho (San-sho) Japanese fragrant pep- 
 per. 
 
304 
 
 GLOSSARY 
 
 Sanpan, Oriental term for boat. 
 
 Satsuma (Sat-soo-mah) A powerful clan. 
 
 Sayonara (Sai-yo-nara) Goodbye. 
 
 Seppuku (Sepoo-ku) Act of disembowel- 
 ing. 
 
 Sesshu (Sess-shu) Name of a celebrated 
 artist. 
 
 Shogun (Sho-guhn) Military ruler. 
 
 Shoji (Sho-gee) Outer sliding paper 
 doors. 
 
 Singakuji ( Seng - gab -koo- gee) Burial 
 place of the 47 ronins. 
 
 Susuki (Su-su-kee) Autumn grass. 
 
 Sumida (Su-mee-dah) River in Tokyo. 
 
 Tai (Tie) The Japanese king of fishes. 
 Taiko Yagura (Tic-ko-yah-gu-rah) Drum 
 
 turret. 
 Tama Gaki (Tah-ma-gah-kee) Jewel 
 
 Hedge Tree-grown ramparts. 
 Tatami (Tah-tam-inee) Floor mats. 
 
 Tenshu, Castle tower. 
 
 Tobakobon (Tobak-o-bohn) Smoker's 
 
 cabinet. 
 Tokonoma (Toe-ko-no-mah) Decorative 
 
 recess in guest room. 
 Tono Sama (Toe-no-sah-mah) The dai- 
 
 mio or great master. 
 Toro (Toe-roe) Lantern. 
 
 Uji No Mitama (Oo-gee-no-mee-ta-mah) 
 "By the treasures of my ancestors." 
 
 Yakunin (Yak-oo-nin) An official. 
 
 Yashiki (Yash-key) The master's house. 
 
 Yadoya (Yadoyah) An inn or hotel. 
 
 Yen, Japanese money equal to about 50 
 cents in our coin. 
 
 Yo-Ake (Yo-ah-key) Dawn. 
 
 Yose (Yo-sey) Place of entertainment. 
 
 Yoshiwara (Yoshee-warah) Public prosti- 
 tute district. 
 
 Yujo (Yu-jo) Prostitute. 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 JUL 28 1938 
 
 
 SEP 22 194 
 
 
 
 
 25Feb > 57?Ct 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 frR 1 2 1957 
 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LD 21-95m-7,'37 
 
YC 46587 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY