The Red Cloud chief., 1883-06-15

are quite comfortable now" And be
told lnan about his visit 20 the Bixcn
palace.
The god said nothing for . few min
utes. and then he asked: II shall be re
turning here in . forsnight's time; could
you make IL convenient TO lend ne fty
riyos?"
Willingly. sir" said the peasant
! and he counted out the sum from his
bamboo stem and placed the paper in
the hand Of the god In . fortnight
lnari returned 70 The peasants house.
and said: Here are the fifty riyo. YOU
wers kind enough TO lend me-and.
taking from his own pocket = roll oi
notes. here are five hundred more.
only borrowed from you TO test your
heart. and perhaps YOU q guess who ]
am" The as,onished and delighted
ccuple fell on their knees in an ecstasy
Of JOY. Inari disappeared. and the poor
peasant prospered ever after. until he
became the owner of the largest Tea
house in KAwasaki.
Another story Is called:
A Gun FOR DIsCONrESr.
In that low quarter Of the city Of
Yeddo. called ShinAgawa. there lived .
poor sandal-msker. lie was very poor.
and belonged to the prescribed tribe OF
Etas. arace which. previous TO the pres
ent era Il refinement and enlightcn-
ment. lived by themselves. the spurned
and despiscd Of men. able only To fol.
low certain trades Of . mental charac-
ter. such a. the iaying Of animals. the
execution Of criminals and the making
Of sandals and clogs. 10 which the free
born citizens would not s:oop. Poverty
and misery preyed upon the mind Of the
poor sandai-maker 80 much that one
night he said % his wife: ''Oh. Taxi.
wish / could be q great lord for q few
days. to do nothing, to eat and drink
Of the best. and never to be obliged TO
think about spending . tempo" Don't
be stupid. Denkichi." replied his wife.
'.you would never do to be n lord; you
might just - well try 10 swallow
Fuji' (the great mountain). But the
god Inari. who was proving about ns
was his wont, heard this. and resolved
that he would tesch the poor man u
lesson Of contentment. So when the
sandal-maker was asleep between his
filthy quilts, he appeared to him and
said: ''You van to he a lord. Very
well; YOU shall try il for a week"
The sandal-makcr rubbed his eyes and
awoke. He was in a beautiful 10 I'm the
walls Of which were hung with curious
ly painted scrolls, the mats were Of the
finest and whitest straw; his quilts were
Of the softest silk. and his pillow was Of
camphor wood with a roll Of the best
bamboo paper tied upon it.
As he awOke a servant approached
him kneeling with a tray of sweetmeats.
Denkichi took a handful and swallowed
them. smacked his lips and cleared the
dish. The servant Frustrated himself
to the mats and retired rs he anne.
kneeling. WELL" said Denkichi.
"this Is luck! I suppose I'd better
dress" His old garments were gone,
and in their place "a q suit Of splen-
didly embroidered silk. fitted with stiff
cardboard wings and adorned with huge
white crests Of oak leaves. a person
age who seemed to he a sort of major
domo appeared, and informed him that
the suitors were waiting in the ante
room. But where's q Taki?" asked
Denkichi. The man shook his head.
well. rs I'm n regular lord. thought
Denkichi, IL NAV aS well see what it's
like; but l should have liked q Taxi to
have seen me. And these clothes arc
confoundedly hot and heavy. Blu, new
or mind, here goes SO he went into
been at least n hundred people assem-
bled, who all made obeisance rs he APP
peared. The major-lomo showed him
to a sort of raised dias on which he was
to seat himself. and for three long hours
he was obliged to remain motionless.
listening to claims and petitions. and
circumstances and beggings of ~favors,
and details of estates. and of revenue,
and of q hundred other things about
which he knew nothing. Several times
he felt rs if he would have liked to
jump up and stretch his legs. and
hitched himself uneasily. but the eve of
the major-domo spoke a silent remon-
STRANGE, and he subsidized with a sigh.
When ut length the business was con.
cluded. Denkichi was about to fling Oft
his robes and lie down as was his wont.
half-naked, with his pipe between his
lips and a bowl of wine beside him,
when the m~ajOr-domo informed him
that the hour Of the midday meal had
arrived. At this rcpast he was intro
duced to the ladies Of his %retinuc. who
were magniiicently arraycd. but so staid
and solemn Of demeanor. so unable tn
appreciate the jokes by which he had
won for himself the nance of the ..Shina-
gawa W.T." that he would much rather
have had his plain. homcly q Taxi by
his side. The meat Was splendid. but
Denkichi would have preferred n dish of
stewed GELS. a bowl Of Yakidofu. and a
measure Of Three Virtue wine to all the
delicate dishes presented to him, SO
smothered in sauces and condiments rs
to preserve an atom of their natural
flavor. 1t was q long affair. too. and
when it was over he exclaimed with q
sigh Of relief: '.Well. at my rate. now
let me have half an hours
peace" But the major-domo ap-
preached. and reminded him that the
fencing master was waiting. So poor
Denkichi was obliged to incase
himself in a heavy suit Of chain armor.
and for more than an hour attack and
defend. repeat, parry. cut. lunge and
dance about until he WAS well nigh
dropping with fatigue. After the fenc-
ing came the master of Chinese, and
the master of Chinese the music |
A few cups of tea-spoiled.
so thought Denkichi. BY the infusion of
f1ower-somewhat refreshed him.
and for the first time during the day |
he was enabled to get . few minutes
Of such rest as his stiff raiment would |
allow him. But the business of the
day was by no means over. A council
Of the heads Of the ward was held, at !
which Denkichi presided. and again he
had to sit listening to dry arguments on
questions Of law, petty differences Of
opinion. long speeches and statements
about matters in which he did not feel
the slightest interest. This was fol-
by the evening meal. an enter.
tainment just n formal and twice rs
lengthy rs that at midday. He was al
most asleep with WEAKNESS and fatigue,
and would have crept into his sumptuous
bed-chamber. but the major-domo-how
he hated that maior-domO,-told him