Then Tomotada knew that she accepted his admiration;and he was scarcely less surprised by the art with which she had uttered her feelings in verse,than delighted by the assurance which the verses conveyed.He was now certain that in all this world he could not hope to meet,much less to win,a girl more beautiful and witty than this rustic maid before him;and a voice in his heart seemed to cry out urgently,"Take the luck that the gods have put in your way!"In short he was bewitched --bewitched to such a degree that,without further preliminary,he asked the old people to give him their daughter in marriage,--telling them,at the same time,his name and lineage,and his rank in the train of the Lord of Noto.
They bowed down before him,with many exclamations of grateful astonishment.But,after some moments of apparent hesitation,the father replied:--
"Honored master,you are a person of high position,and likely to rise to still higher things.Too great is the favor that you deign to offer us;--indeed,the depth of our gratitude therefor is not to be spoken or measured.But this girl of ours,being a stupid country-girl of vulgar birth,with no training or teaching of any sort,it would be improper to let her become the wife of a noble samurai.Even to speak of such a matter is not right...But,since you find the girl to your liking,and have condescended to pardon her peasant-manners and to overlook her great rudeness,we do gladly present her to you,for an humble handmaid.Deign,therefore,to act hereafter in her regard according to your august pleasure."
Ere morning the storm had passed;and day broke through a cloudless east.Even if the sleeve of Aoyagi hid from her lover's eyes the rose-blush of that dawn,he could no longer tarry.But neither could he resign himself to part with the girl;and,when everything had been prepared for his journey,he thus addressed her parents:--
"Though it may seem thankless to ask for more than I have already received,I must again beg you to give me your daughter for wife.It would be difficult for me to separate from her now;and as she is willing to accompany me,if you permit,I can take her with me as she is.If you will give her to me,I shall ever cherish you as parents...And,in the meantime,please to accept this poor acknowledgment of your kindest hospitality."
So saying,he placed before his humble host a purse of gold ryo.But the old man,after many prostrations,gently pushed back the gift,and said:--
"Kind master,the gold would be of no use to us;and you will probably have need of it during your long,cold journey.Here we buy nothing;and we could not spend so much money upon ourselves,even if we wished...As for the girl,we have already bestowed her as a free gift;--she belongs to you:therefore it is not necessary to ask our leave to take her away.Already she has told us that she hopes to accompany you,and to remain your servant for as long as you may be willing to endure her presence.We are only too happy to know that you deign to accept her;and we pray that you will not trouble yourself on our account.In this place we could not provide her with proper clothing,--much less with a dowry.
Moreover,being old,we should in any event have to separate from her before long.Therefore it is very fortunate that you should be willing to take her with you now."
It was in vain that Tomotada tried to persuade the old people to accept a present:he found that they cared nothing for money.But he saw that they were really anxious to trust their daughter's fate to his hands;and he therefore decided to take her with him.So he placed her upon his horse,and bade the old folks farewell for the time being,with many sincere expressions of gratitude.
"honored Sir,"the father made answer,"it is we,and not you,who have reason for gratitude.We are sure that you will be kind to our girl;and we have no fears for her sake."...
[Here,in the Japanese original,there is a queer break in the natural course of the narration,which therefrom remains curiously inconsistent.Nothing further is said about the mother of Tomotada,or about the parents of Aoyagi,or about the daimyo of Noto.Evidently the writer wearied of his work at this point,and hurried the story,very carelessly,to its startling end.I am not able to supply his omissions,or to repair his faults of construction;but I must venture to put in a few explanatory details,without which the rest of the tale would not hold together...It appears that Tomotada rashly took Aoyagi with him to Kyoto,and so got into trouble;but we are not informed as to where the couple lived afterwards.]
...Now a samurai was not allowed to marry without the consent of his lord;and Tomotada could not expect to obtain this sanction before his mission had been accomplished.He had reason,under such circumstances,to fear that the beauty of Aoyagi might attract dangerous attention,and that means might be devised of taking her away from him.In Kyoto he therefore tried to keep her hidden from curious eyes.But a retainer of Lord Hosokawa one day caught sight of Aoyagi,discovered her relation to Tomotada,and reported the matter to the daimyo.Thereupon the daimyo --a young prince,and fond of pretty faces --gave orders that the girl should be brought to the place;and she was taken thither at once,without ceremony.
