d great rejoicing.

Afterwards the pair were conducted to a suite of apartments that had
been prepared for them in another portion of the palace; and there they
received the congratulations of many noble persons, and wedding gifts
beyond counting.

Some days later Akinosuke was again summoned to the throne-room. On
this occasion he was received even more graciously than before; and the
King said to him:--

"In the southwestern part of Our dominion there is an island called
Raishu. We have now appointed you Governor of that island. You will
find the people loyal and docile; but their laws have not yet been
brought into proper accord with the laws of Tokoyo; and their customs
have not been properly regulated. We entrust you with the duty of
improving their social condition as far as may be possible; and We
desire that you shall rule them with kindness and wisdom. All
preparations necessary for your journey to Raishu have already been
made."

So Akinosuke and his bride departed from the palace of Tokoyo,
accompanied to the shore by a great escort of nobles and officials; and
they embarked upon a ship of state provided by the king. And with
favoring winds they safety sailed to Raishu, and found the good people
of that island assembled upon the beach to welcome them.

Akinosuke entered at once upon his new duties; and they did not prove
to be hard. During the first three years of his governorship he was
occupied chiefly with the framing and the enactment of laws; but he had
wise counselors to help him, and he never found the work unpleasant.
When it was all finished, he had no active duties to perform, beyond
attending the rites and ceremonies ordained by ancient custom. The
country was so healthy and so fertile that sickness and want were
unknown; and the people were so good that no laws were ever broken. And
Akinosuke dwelt and ruled in Raishu for twenty years more,--making in
all twenty-three years of sojourn, during which no shadow of sorrow
traversed his life.

But in the twenty-fourth year of his governorship, a great misfortune
came upon him; for his wife, who had borne him seven children,--five
boys and two girls,--fell sick and died. She was buried, with high
pomp, on the summit of a beautiful hill in the district of Hanryoko;
and a monument, exceedingly splendid, was placed upon her grave. But
Akinosuke felt such grief at her death that he no longer cared to live.

Now when the legal period of mour