The Red Cloud chief., 1883-06-15

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lord of Bizen. one Of the haughticss and
proudest Of the mobiles of the empire.
As ne seated himself In the guisc OF .
fly on the top Of q sword-r rack In the
b~angueting chamber he said: He 500
great TO he ambitious: he isf-Srich t.
be a~varicious: he has toogreat expense.
TO be ~exiravagant; he has nothing 10
scheme for, bis fame l. too bright for
him TO dsre to sully IL by dishonesty: he
is too familiar with pleasure to be vi
cious."
The banquet was spread. and the
great lord entered in gorgeous apparel.
The sweets with which the meal COM
mcnced were served In dishes of the
purest Nagasaki porcelain. the rice was
ia the finest Of old gold lacquer. the
wine-that prince Of wines.the Flower
in Full Bloom"-hissed and bubbled in
vases of the choicest Bizen war;. while
the rarest Of fish and fowl came M in
quaint dishes brought from China.
Merrily the feast proceeded. the winc-
cup circlcd necessarily, checks grew
flushed, eyes began To sparkle. and
tongues wagged fast. There was moth
ing in this with which Inari could find
fault, for the Prince was wealthy. and
IL became his d On ~ To keep a sumptu-
table, hut he was annoyed and dis
gusfed To observe with what brutality the
Prince treated his wife. a poor. modest.
retiring creature, whose fault seemed
to be tina. she brooked her hus-
bands insOlcnce too meekly. II
she spoke Bizen answered her
roughly; II she smi Ell he frowned. and
the poor woman knew not which way TO
look or how TO behave. When the
dancing irls were ushered in. n retainer.
humbly Frustrating himself rs he
crawled along the floor. brought the
Prince a note. Inari, who Of course
could see through walls. doors and
everything. espied a poor ragged man.
evidently half dead with cold and
want, sitting in the snow outside.
Now" said the god TO himself, IL
shall see the true nature of the Prince"
When Bizcn opened the note his face
grew purple with passion. his brow was
puckcred into q network Z. frowns.
and his hand stretched out to his
swOrd-an act at table which is only
tolerated under the most exceptional cir
cumstances. When Bizen had 50 far col
lected himself as to be able to speak, he
roared: what does the scamp mean by
intruding upon my privacy with his
beggarly petitions? Who let him in at
the great gatc?" "What is itg" asked
his wife, incautiously. The Prince
turned on her like a wild animal.
what is it. madam" he Kissed.
why, it's a letter from an impOstor
who declares that | have ruined him by
FORGETTING his tenure last summer; he
says he is starving, and has the I'M
heard-of insolence To ask me for the
loan Of a hundred riyos," You can
afford TO let him have them. can you
not?" mcekly asked his wife; $50 I will
60 and give them to him." The Prince
woman to the ground.
lnari could stay no longer. Outside.
where covered the beggar. he assumed
the guise of n retainer. where do
you live?" he asked the poor man. AT
kawasaki. your noble Honor" replied
the man, trembling with terror, land l
have walked here through the snow
some fourteen miles to ask his High
ness for a little help. for l am very poor
and miserable, and through no fault of
my own" .'Are you hOncst?" asked
Inari." Il try to be. your Honor"
answered the poor fellow. II can
sasltiE tind ont" said the god, $50 do
at him. Inari placed his hand in the
poor mans sleeve and disappeared.
The beggar. ~bewildereI. looked round,
then felt in his sleeve. and pulled out
notes to the value of five hundred riyos.
Then he fell on his knees and or ed: at
is the worshipful Inari himsclfr' and
went his way rejoicing.
The next day the Prince of Bizen was
murdered and his palace burned to the
ground by \ mob of discontinued ten
ants.
The mex journey of Inari was to a
hall of justice. IF l don't find hon
esty here" he sa ID. Il don't know
where TO look for it,"
The days business began. and Inari
took the form of a pen in the hand of
one of the clerks. "Call the first case"
said the Judge. a big. heavy fellow,
with a face which betokened constant
acquaintance with the good things of
life. The first criminal was intro
duced; he was carried in. for he had
laid five days in a noisome cell with
we 'ghts upon his back and legs. and
could not move. "YOu are accused
Of robbery" said the Judge. NAY, |
your Honor" whispered the poor
w Itch, Il was starving. l saw a rice
on n shop shelf. and l could not
the temptation to seize it,"
doesn't matter. ''It's robbery" said
the Judge. Peoples property must
be protected. Fifty stripes with the
a months hard labor upon rice
and water, and think yourself lucky to
get off with your head! Next case"
A dissolute-looking young fellow,
[ashionably dressed. staggered in be-
tween two ~iailers. Sorry to See YOU
here. Mr.. Hanaski." said the Judge.
dandy. Same rs before. l suppose?"
We'll. SIR" replied the young man,
with an air of careless effrontery, ..it
at the Three Pine Trees;' sup
pose l had been drinking a bit, the
vench was impudent, and l cut her
Down. l suppose n couple of hundred
HsSS "A A"Aiy Will Sctte IL. 4
oh, as it was justifiable." said the
Judge. "wen call it q hundred. Good
morning." The young man paid the
money and left the court.
lnari shuddered. Here thought
he, as s poor wretch who is convicted
# having stolen q cake worth half a
empo 10 appease the cravings of his
iunger and is condemned to be crippled
or life; and a young blackguard who
ills a woman gets of with an EASY
On the spot he struck the Judge
With q dropsy, from which he never re
'overed: and the young murderer was
vaylaid by the friends Of the girl and
% maltreated that he died of his
rounds.
Heart-sick and mortified. Inari said:
Now for Kawasaki. Possibly, but not
probably, l shall find beneath the lowly
'easant's roof what I have failed to dis
over in the gilded palaces of the
Mighty" To Kawasaki he went "a
He soon espied the beggar
wood outside 3 poor but neat