lity of martial prowess about them when the need for it
came; and the long education in obedience and loyalty did not fail to
produce the desired results. Death, and ignominy worse than death, could
be met bravely, but disgrace involving loss of honor to husband or
feudal lord was the one thing that must be avoided at all hazards. It
was my good fortune, many years ago, to make the acquaintance of a
little Japanese girl who had lived in the midst of the siege of
Wakamatsu, the city in which the Sh[=o]gun's forces made their last stand
for their lord and the system that he represented. As the Emperor's
forces marched upon the castle town, moat after moat was taken,[*209]
until at last men, women, and children took refuge within the citadel
itself to defend it until the last gasp. The bombs of the besiegers fell
crashing into the castle precincts, killing the women as they worked at
whatever they could do in aid of the defenders; and even the little
girls ran back and forth, amid the rain of bullets and balls, carrying
cartridges, which the women were making within the castle, to the men
who were defending the walls. "Weren't you afraid?" we asked the
delicate child, when she told us of her own share in the defense. "No,"
was the answer. A small but dangerous sword, of the finest Japanese
steel, was shown us as the sword that she wore in her belt during all
those days of war and tumult. "Why did you wear the sword?" we asked.
"So that I would have it if I was taken prisoner." "What would you have
done with it?" was the next question, for we could not believe that a
child of eight would undertake to defend herself against armed soldiers
with that little sword. "I would have killed myself," was the answer,
with a flash of the eye that showed her quite capable of committing the
act in case of need.

In the olden times, when the spirit of warfare was strong and justice
but scantily administered, revenge for personal insult, or for the death
of father or lord, fell upon the children, or the retainers. Sometimes
the bloody deed has fallen to the lot of a woman, to some weak and
feeble girl, who, in many a tale, has braved all the difficulties that
beset a woman's path, devoted her life to an act of vengeance, and, with
the courage of a man, has often successfully consummated her revenge.

One of the tales of old Japan, and a favorite subject of theatrical
representation, is the death and revenge of a lady in a daimi[=o]'s
pala