however, living at this time a young Princess, the fourth
child of a late Emperor. She had great promise of beauty, and was
guarded with jealous care by her mother, the Empress-Dowager. The
Naishi-no-Ske, who had been at the Court from the time of the said
Emperor, was intimately acquainted with the Empress and familiar with
the Princess, her daughter, from her very childhood. This person now
recommended the Emperor to see the Princess, because her features
closely resembled those of Kiri-Tsubo.

"I have now fulfilled," she said, "the duties of my office under three
reigns, and, as yet, I have seen but one person who resembles the
departed. The daughter of the Empress-Dowager does resemble her, and
she is singularly beautiful."

"There may be some truth in this," thought the Emperor, and he began
to regard her with awakening interest.

This was related to the Empress-Dowager. She, however, gave no
encouragement whatever to the idea, "How terrible!" she said. "Do we
not remember the cruel harshness of the mother of the Heir-apparent,
which hastened the fate of Kiri-Tsubo!"

While thus discountenancing any intimacy between her daughter and the
Emperor, she too died, and the princess was left parentless. The
Emperor acted with great kindness, and intimated his wish to regard
her as his own daughter. In consequence of this her guardian, and her
brother, Prince Hiob-Kio, considering that life at Court would be
better for her and more attractive for her than the quiet of her own
home, obtained for her an introduction there.

She was styled the Princess Fuji-Tsubo (of the Chamber of Wistaria),
from the name of the chamber which was assigned to her.

There was, indeed, both in features and manners a strange resemblance
between her and Kiri-Tsubo. The rivals of the latter constantly caused
pain both to herself and to the Emperor; but the illustrious birth of
the Princess prevented any one from ever daring to humiliate her, and
she uniformly maintained the dignity of her position. And to her alas!
the Emperor's thoughts were now gradually drawn, though he could not
yet be said to have forgotten Kiri-Tsubo.

The young Prince, whom we now style Genji (the Gen), was still with
the Emperor, and passed his time pleasantly enough in visiting the
various apartments where the inmates of the palace resided. He found
the companionship of all of them sufficiently agreeable; but beside
the many who were now of maturer years, there wa