Chobei, of Bandzuin, and I
hold myself lucky to have met you this day. Let us be friends."

"It is a great honour for a humble wardsman to meet a nobleman face to
face."

[Footnote 22: The tiny Japanese pipe contains but two or three whiffs;
and as the tobacco is rolled up tightly in the fingers before it is
inserted, the ash, when shaken out, is a little fire-ball from which a
second pipe is lighted.]

As they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish and wine, and
Jiurozayemon pressed Chobei to feast with him; and thinking to annoy
Chobei, offered him a large wine-cup,[23] which, however, he drank
without shrinking, and then returned to his entertainer, who was by no
means so well able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiurozayemon
hit upon another device for annoying Chobei, and, hoping to frighten
him, said--

"Here, Chobei, let me offer you some fish;" and with those words he
drew his sword, and, picking up a cake of baked fish upon the point of
it, thrust it towards the wardsman's mouth. Any ordinary man would
have been afraid to accept the morsel so roughly offered; but Chobei
simply opened his mouth, and taking the cake off the sword's point ate
it without wincing. Whilst Jiurozayemon was wondering in his heart
what manner of man this was, that nothing could daunt, Chobei said to
him--

"This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious occasion to
me, and I would fain ask leave to offer some humble gift to your
lordship in memory of it.[24] Is there anything which your lordship
would specially fancy?"

"I am very fond of cold macaroni."

[Footnote 23: It is an act of rudeness to offer a large wine-cup. As,
however, the same cup is returned to the person who has offered it,
the ill carries with it its own remedy. At a Japanese feast the same
cup is passed from hand to hand, each person rinsing it in a bowl of
water after using it, and before offering it to another.]

[Footnote 24: The giving of presents from inferiors to superiors is a
common custom.]

"Then I shall have the honour of ordering some for your lordship;" and
with this Chobei went downstairs, and calling one of his apprentices,
named Token Gombei,[25] who was waiting for him, gave him a hundred
riyos (about L28), and bade him collect all the cold macaroni to be
found in the neighbouring cook-shops and pile it up in front of the
tea-house. So Gombei went home, and, collecting Chobei's apprentices,
sent them out in all direct