r Takakura. For that reason only, I thought it to be a
precious thing."

It[=o], in return, besought her to accept for a remembrance the
_k[=o]gai_[75] of his sword, which were decorated with inlaid work of
silver and gold, representing plum-flowers and nightingales.

[Footnote 75: This was the name given to a pair of metal rods attached
to a sword-sheath, and used like chop-sticks. They were sometimes
exquisitely ornamented.]

Then the little _miya-dzukai_ came to guide him through the garden,
and his bride with her foster-mother accompanied him to the threshold.

As he turned at the foot of the steps to make his parting salute, the
old woman said:--

"We shall meet again the next Year of the Boar, at the same hour of
the same day of the same month that you came here. This being the Year
of the Tiger, you will have to wait ten years. But, for reasons which
I must not say, we shall not be able to meet again in this place;
we are going to the neighborhood of Ky[=o]to, where the good Emperor
Takakura and our fathers and many of our people are dwelling. All
the H['e][:i]k['e] will be rejoiced by your coming. We shall send a
_kago_[76] for you on the appointed day."

[Footnote 76: A kind of palanquin.]

* * * * *

Above the village the stars were burning as It[=o] passed the gate;
but on reaching the open road he saw the dawn brightening beyond
leagues of silent fields. In his bosom he carried the gift of his
bride. The charm of her voice lingered in his ears,--and nevertheless,
had it not been for the memento which he touched with questioning
fingers, he could have persuaded himself that the memories of the
night were memories of sleep, and that his life still belonged to him.

But the certainty that he had doomed himself evoked no least regret:
he was troubled only by the pain of separation, and the thought of the
seasons that would have to pass before the illusion could be renewed
for him. Ten years!--and every day of those years would seem how long!
The mystery of the delay he could not hope to solve; the secret ways
of the dead are known to the gods alone.

* * * * *

Often and often, in his solitary walks, It[=o] revisited the village
at Kotobikiyama, vaguely hoping to obtain another glimpse of the past.
But never again, by night or by day, was he able to find the rustic
gate in the shadowed lane; never again could he perceive the figure of
th