his beauty, which some feared might be lessened,
seemed only more remarkable from the change. And the Emperor, who had
before tried to resist them, now found old memories irresistible.

Sadaijin had by his wife, who was a Royal Princess, an only daughter.
The Heir-apparent had taken some notice of her, but her father did not
encourage him. He had, on the other hand, some idea of Genji, and had
sounded the Emperor on the subject. He regarded the idea with favor,
and especially on the ground that such a union would be of advantage
to Genji, who had not yet any influential supporters.

Now all the Court and the distinguished visitors were assembled in the
palace, where a great festival was held; Genji occupied a seat next to
that of the Royal Princess. During the entertainment Sadaijin
whispered something several times into his ear, but he was too young
and diffident to make any answer.

Sadaijin was now summoned before the dais of the Emperor, and,
according to custom, an Imperial gift, a white O-Uchiki (grand robe),
and a suit of silk vestments were presented to him by a lady. Then
proffering his own wine-cup, the Emperor addressed him thus:--

"In the first hair-knot[19] of youth,
Let love that lasts for age be bound!"

This evidently implied an idea of matrimony. Sadaijin feigned surprise
and responded:--

"Aye! if the purple[20] of the cord,
I bound so anxiously, endure!"

He then descended into the Court-yard, and gave expression to his
thanks in the same manner in which Genji had previously done. A horse
from the Imperial stables and a falcon from the Kurand-Dokoro[21] were
on view in the yard, and were now presented to him. The princes and
nobles were all gathered together in front of the grand staircase, and
appropriate gifts were also presented to each one of them. Among the
crowd baskets and trays of fruits and delicacies were distributed by
the Emperor's order, under the direction of Udaiben; and more
rice-cakes and other things were given away now than at the Gembuk of
the Heir-apparent.

In the evening the young Prince went to the mansion of the Sadaijin,
where the espousal with the young daughter of the latter was
celebrated with much splendor. The youthfulness of the beautiful boy
was well pleasing to Sadaijin; but the bride, who was some years older
than he was, and who considered the disparity in their age to be
unsuitable, blushed when she thought of it.

Not only was this Sad