ce. Onoye, a daughter of the people, child of a merchant, has by
chance risen to the position of lady-in-waiting to a daimi[=o]'s
wife,--a thing so uncommon that it has roused the jealousy of the other
ladies, who are of the samurai class. Iwafuji, one of the highest and
proudest ladies at the court, takes pains on every occasion to insult
and torment the poor, unoffending Onoye, whom she cannot bear to have
as an associate. She constantly reminds her of her inferior birth, and
at last challenges her to a trial in fencing, in which accomplishment
Onoye is not proficient, having lacked the proper training in her early
life. At last the hatred and anger of Iwafuji culminate in a frenzy of
rage; she forgets herself, and strikes the meek and gentle Onoye with
her sandal,--the worst insult that could be offered to any one.

Onoye, overcome by this deep disgrace offered her in public, returns
from the main palace to her own apartments, and ponders long and deeply,
in the bitterness of her soul, how to wipe out the disgrace of an insult
by such an enemy.

Her own faithful maid, seeing her disordered hair and anxious looks,
perceives some secret trouble, which her mistress will not disclose, and
tries, while performing her acts of service, to dispel the gloom by
telling gayly all the gossip of the day. This maid, O Haru, is a type of
the clever faithful servant. She is really of higher birth than her
mistress, for, though she has been obliged to go out to service, she was
born of a samurai family. Onoye, while listening to the talk of her
servant, has made up her mind that only one thing can blot out her
disgrace, and that is to commit suicide. She hastily pens a farewell to
her family, for the deed must not be delayed, and sends with the letter
the token of her disgrace,--Iwafuji's sandal, which she has kept. O Haru
is sent on this errand, and, unconscious of the ill-news she is bearing,
she starts out. On the way, the ominous croak of the ravens, who are
making a dismal noise,--a presage of ill-luck,--frightens the observant
O Haru. A little further on, the strap of her clog breaks,--a still more
alarming sign. Thoroughly frightened, O Haru turns back, and reaches her
mistress' room in time to find that the fatal deed is done, and her
mistress is dying. O Haru is heart-broken, learns the whole truth, and
vows vengeance on the enemy of her loved mistress.

O Haru, unlike Onoye, is thoroughly trained in fencing. An occasion
a