ave received any."

"I understand that," thought To-no-Chiujio; "perhaps he has got one; I
suspect so."

To state the truth, Genji was not very deeply smitten by the Princess,
and he was but little concerned at her sending no reply to his letter;
but when he heard the confession of his brother-in-law's attempts in
the same quarter, the spirit of rivalry stirred him once more. "A
girl," thought he, "will yield to him who pays her the most
attentions. I must not allow him to excel me in that." And Genji
determined to achieve what he intended to do, and with this object
still enlisted the aid of Tayu. He told her that the Princess's
treating his letter with such indifference was an act of great
cruelty. "Perhaps she does this," said he, "because she suspects I am
changeable. I am not, however, such a one as that. It is often only
the fault of ladies themselves that causes men to appear so; besides a
lady, like the Princess, who has neither parent nor brother to
interfere with her, is a most desirable acquaintance, as we can
maintain our friendship far better than we could otherwise do."

"Yes! what you say is all very well," replied Tayu, "but the Princess
is not exactly so placed that any one can make himself quite at ease
with her. As I told you before she is very bashful and reserved; but
yet is perhaps more desirable for this very reason," and she detailed
many more particulars about her. This enabled Genji to fully picture
the general bearing of the Princess's character; and he thought,
"Perhaps her mind is not one of brilliant activity, but she may be
modest, and of a quiet nature, worthy of attention." And so he kept
the recollection of her alive in his mind. Before, however, he met
her, many events had taken place. He had been attacked by the ague,
which led to his journey to the mountain and his discovery of Violet,
and his secret affection for a certain one in the palace.

His mind being thus otherwise occupied, the spring and summer passed
away without anything further transpiring about the Princess. As the
autumn advanced his thoughts recurred to past times, and even the
sound of the fuller's hammer, which he had listened to in the home of
Yugao, came back to his mental ear; and these reveries again brought
him to the recollection of the Princess Hitachi, and now once more he
began to urge Tayu to contrive a meeting.

It would seem that there was no difficulty for Tayu to bring the
matter about, but at th