d woman smiled as if pleased by these words, and responded:--

"Until you have seen our Him['e]gimi-Sama, it were better that you
make no decision. Perhaps you will feel no hesitation after you have
seen her. Deign now to come with me, that I may present you to her."

She conducted him to another larger guest-room, where preparations
for a feast had been made, and having shown him the place of honor,
left him for a moment alone. She returned accompanied by the
Him['e]gimi-Sama; and, at the first sight of the young mistress,
It[=o] felt again the strange thrill of wonder and delight that had
come to him in the garden, as he listened to the music of the _koto_.
Never had he dreamed of so beautiful a being. Light seemed to radiate
from her presence, and to shine through her garments, as the light of
the moon through flossy clouds; her loosely flowing hair swayed about
her as she moved, like the boughs of the drooping willow bestirred
by the breezes of spring; her lips were like flowers of the peach
besprinkled with morning dew. It[=o] was bewildered by the vision.
He asked himself whether he was not looking upon the person of
Amano-kawara-no-Ori-Him['e] herself,--the Weaving-Maiden who dwells by
the shining River of Heaven.

Smiling, the aged woman turned to the fair one, who remained
speechless, with downcast eyes and flushing cheeks, and said to her:--

"See, my child!--at the moment when we could least have hoped for such
a thing, the very person whom you wished to meet has come of his own
accord. So fortunate a happening could have been brought about only
by the will of the high gods. To think of it makes me weep for joy."
And she sobbed aloud. "But now," she continued, wiping away her tears
with her sleeve, "it only remains for you both--unless either prove
unwilling, which I doubt--to pledge yourselves to each other, and to
partake of your wedding feast."

* * * * *

It[=o] answered by no word: the incomparable vision before him had
numbed his will and tied his tongue. Maid-servants entered, bearing
dishes and wine: the wedding feast was spread before the pair; and the
pledges were given. It[=o] nevertheless remained as in a trance: the
marvel of the adventure, and the wonder of the beauty of the bride,
still bewildered him. A gladness, beyond aught that he had ever known
before, filled his heart--like a great silence. But gradually he
recovered his wonted calm; and thereafter he