Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1883-05-11

AS nc seated hlmsolf in the guiSc of n
| fly on the top of sword-rack in the
banqueting chamber he said: "Ho is too
great TO be ambitious; he Is too rich to
be avaricious; he has too great expenses
to be extravagant; he has nothing to
scheme for, his fame is too bright for
him TO dare to sully it by dishonesty; he
is too familiar with pleasure to be vi
cious.n
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
in the finest of old gold lacquer the
wine-that prince of wines,th Flower
in Full Bloom'i-hisscd and bubbled in
vases of the choicest Bizcn ware, while
the rarest of fish and fowl camo up in
quaint dishes brought from China.
Mcrrily the feast proceeded, the wine
cup circled incessantly, cheeks 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
it became his dignity to keep sumptu-
Gus table, but he was annoyed and dis
gusted to observe with what brutality the
Prince treated his wife, poor, modest,
retiring creature, whose fault seemed
to be that she brooked her hus-
bands insolence too meekly. If
she spoke Bizen answered her
roughly; if she smiled he frowned, and
the poor woman knew not which way to
look or how to behave. When the
dancing girls were ushered in, aretaincr,
humbly prostrating himself as he
crawled along the floor, brought the
Prince note. 1nari, who of course
could see through walls, doors and
everything, espied poor ragged man,
evidently half dead with cold and
want, sitting in the snow outside.
"Now," said the god to himself, 81
shall see the true nature of the Prince
When Bizen opened the note his face
grew purple with passion, his brow was
puckered into u network OF frowns,
and his hand stretched out to his
sword-an act mt table which is only
tolerated under the most exceptional cir
cumstances. When Bizen had so 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 petitionsp Who let him in at
the great gatoPn "What is itpn asked
his wife, incautiously. The Prince
turned on her like wild animal.
"What is it, madampn he Kissed.
"Why, it's letter from an impostor
who declares that have ruined him by
forfeiting his tenure last summer; he
| says he is starving, and has the un-
heard-of insolence to ask me for the
loan of % hundred riyosv' "You can
afford to let him have them, can you
not?" meekly asked his wife; $50 will
go and give them to him. The Prince
woman to the ground
lnari could stay no longer. Outside,
where covered the bcggar, he assumed
the guise of a retainer. "Where do
you liveP'' he asked the poor man. ''At
Kawasaki, your noble Honor" replied
the man, trembling with terror, "and |
have walked here through the snow
some fourteen miles TO ask his High
ness for little help, for / am very poor
and miserable, and through no fault of
my own" care you honestPn asked
Inari." 81 try to be, your Honor, ~
answered the poor fellow. II can
easily find out, said the god, :" so do
not deceive me-" The beggar looked
at him. Inari placed his hand in the
poor mans sleeve and disappeared
The beggar, bewildered, 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 cricd I" 1t
is the worshipful Inari himself" and
went his way rejoicing
The next day the Prince of Bizen was
murdered and his palace burned to the
ground by mob of discontcnted ten
ants.
The next journey of Inari was to n
hall of justice. "If L don't find hon
| esty here" he said, 81 don't know
where to look for it.
The days business began, and Inari
took the form of pen in the hand of
one of the clerks. "Call the first case,A
said the Judge, big, heavy fellow,
acquaintance with the good things of
this life. The first criminal was intro
duced; he was carried in, for he had
laid five days in noisome cell with
weights upon his back and legs, and
could not move. "You are accused
of robbery" said the Judge. "Nay,
your Honor" whispered the poor
wretch, Il was starving. saw n rice
cake on n shop shelf, and | could not
resist the temptation to seize it.
doesn't matter. "Its robbery" said
the Judge. peoples property must
be protected. Fifty stripes with the
bamboo, months hard labor upon rice
and water, and think yourself lucky to
get off with your head! Next case"
A dissolute-looking young fellow,
fashionably dressed, staggered in be-
tween two iailers. "Sorry to see you
here, Mr.. Hanasbi," said the Judge,
blandly. "Same as before, supposeP"
"Well SIR" replied the young man,
with an air of careless eflrontery, sit
was at the Three Pine Trees;' l sup
pose had been drinking u bit, the
wench was impudent, and 1 cut her
down. suppose couple of hundred
riyos for the family will settle itp"
"Oh, as it was justifiable," said the
Judge, ''we'll call it hundred. Good
morning." The young man paid the
money and left the court.
Inari shuddered "Here," thought
he, sis poor wretch who is convicted
of having stolen cake worth half a
tempo to appease the cravings of his
hunger and is condemned to be crippled
for life and young blackguard who
kills a woman gets off with an easy
fine!'' On the spot he struck the Judge
with dropsy, from which he never re-
covered; and the young murderer was
waylaid by the friends of the Girl and
so maltreated that he died of his
wounds.
Heart-sick and mortified, Inari said:
snow for Kawasaki. Possibly, but not
probably, shall find beneath the lowly
peasants roof what have failed to dis
cover in the gilded palaces of the
mighty" To Kawasah he went as a
pilgrim. He soon espied the beggar
cutting wood outside poor but neat
little hut hard by the ferry. Assuming
an air of great weariness, the god adj
dressed him; 81 am bound for the