CHAPTER VI.
THE FRATERNITY OF BLIND MEN.
A few hours later, groups of courtiers stood beneath the veranda of thepalace of Hieyas; anxious to be the first to greet the real master,they awaited his wakening. Some leaned against the cedar columnsthat supported the roof, others, standing firm on their legs, onehand on their hip, crumpling the silky folds of their loose tunic,listened to one of their number as he told an anecdote, doubtless veryentertaining, for it was followed with the utmost attention, and theauditors let fall an occasional laugh, instantly stifled out of respectfor the slumbers of the illustrious sleeper.
The narrator was the Prince of Tosa, and the Prince of Nagato the heroof the adventure that he recounted.
"Yesterday," he said, "the sun was setting when I heard a noise atmy palace gate. I went to the window, and saw my servants wranglingwith a troop of blind men. The latter were bent on entering, and alltalked at once, striking the flagstones with their sticks; the lackeysshouted to drive them off, and no one heard what the other said. I wasbeginning to lose my temper at the scene, when the Prince of Nagatoappeared; my servants at once bowed low before him, and at his orderadmitted the blind men into the pavilion used as a stable for thehorses of my visitors. I went out to meet the Prince, curious to hearan explanation, of this comedy.
"'Make haste!' he said as he entered, throwing a bundle on the floor;'let us take off our robes, and dress in these costumes.'
"'But why?' I asked, looking at the costumes, which were little to mytaste.
"'What!' said he, 'is not this the hour when we may drop the weary pompof our rank, and become free and happy men?'
"'Yes,' said I; 'but why use our liberty to muffle ourselves in thatugly garb?'
"'You shall see; I have a scheme,' said the Prince, who was alreadydisrobing; then, putting his lips to my ear, he added, 'I marry,to-night. You'll see what a lark it will be.'
"'What! you're going to be married, and in that dress?' I cried,looking at the Prince in his beggarly disguise.
"'Come, hurry,' he said; 'or we sha'n't find the bride.'
The Prince was half way downstairs. I quickly donned a dress like his,and, urged by curiosity, followed him.
"'But,' I exclaimed, 'all those blind men whom you quartered in thestable?'
"'We will join them.'
"'In the stable?' I asked.
"I did not understand a blessed thing; but I had confidence in thewhimsical fancy of the Prince, and I patiently waited for him to solvethe mystery. The blind men had collected in the great courtyard of thepalace, and I saw that we were dressed precisely like them. The poorfellows had the most comical faces imaginable, with their lashlesseyelids, their flat noses, their thick lips, and their stupidly happyexpression. Nagato put a staff in my hand, and said: 'Let us be off.'
"The gates were thrown open. The blind men, holding one another bythe skirt, started out, tapping the ground with their sticks as theywent. Nagato, bending his back and shutting his eyes, followed in theirrear. I saw that I was expected to do the same, and I tried my best toimitate him. There we were in the streets in the train of that bandof blind men. I could restrain myself no longer. I was seized with afrantic fit of laughter, which all my comrades soon shared."
"Nagato has certainly lost his senses!" cried the Prince of Tosa'shearers, writhing with laughter.
"And Tosa was scarcely better!"
"The Prince of Nagato, he never laughed," continued the story-teller;"he was very angry. I tried to find out something of the Prince's plansfrom the blind man nearest me, but he knew nothing of them. I onlylearned that the corporation of which I formed a part belonged to thatconfraternity of blind men whose business it is to go among the middleclasses to rub sick people and those who are not strong. The idea thatwe might perhaps have to rub some one, sent me off again into such afit of merriment that, in spite of my efforts to keep a straight faceto please the Prince, I was obliged to stop and sit down on a stone tohold my sides.
"Nagato was furious. 'You'll put a stop to my marriage,' he said.
"I set off again, winking my eyes and imitating the gait of my strangefellow-travellers as best I could. They struck the ground with theirsticks, and, at this noise, people leaned from their windows and calledthem in. In this way we came to a house of poor appearance. The noiseof sticks was redoubled. A voice demanded two shampooers.
"'Come,' said Nagato to me; 'this is the place.'
"Leaving the band, we went up a few steps and found ourselves in thehouse. I saw two women, whom Nagato awkwardly saluted, turning his backto them as he did so. I hastily shut my eyes and bowed to the wall. ButI managed to half open one eye again, prompted by curiosity. There werea young girl and an old woman, probably her mother.
"'Take us first,' said the latter; 'you shall rub my husband later.'
"She then squatted on the floor and bared her back. I foresaw that theold woman would fall to my lot, and that I must certainly play the partof shampooer. Nagato was lost in salutations.
"'Ah! ah! ah!' he mumbled, as inferiors do when saluting a person ofhigh rank.
"I began to rub the old lady violently, and she uttered lamentablegroans; I struggled bravely to resist the laugh which again rose inmy throat and nearly choked me. The girl had uncovered one shoulder,modestly, as if we had had eyes.
"'It is there,' she said; 'I gave myself a blow, and the doctor saidthat it would do me good to be rubbed.'
"Nagato began to rub the young girl with amazing gravity; but all atonce he seemed to forget his role of blind man.
"'What beautiful hair you have!' said he. 'There's one thing certain:if you were to adopt the headdress of noble women, you would not haveto resort, as they do, to all sorts of devices for lengthening yourhair.'
"The young girl gave a shriek and turned round; she saw Nagato's verywide open eyes fixed upon her.
"'Mother!' she exclaimed, 'these are no blind men!'
"The mother fell flat on the floor; and surprise taking away all hersenses, she made no effort to rise, but began to utter yells of rareshrillness.
"The father ran in in a fright.
"As for me, I gave free vent to my mirth, and rolled on the ground,unable to hold in longer. To my great surprise, the Prince of Nagatothrew himself at the workman's feet.
"'Forgive us,' said he. 'Your daughter and I want to be married; andas I have no money, I resolved to follow the custom of the country andcarry her off, to avoid wedding expenses. According to custom also, youmust forgive us, after playing the stem parent for a little while.'
"'I marry that man!' said the girl; 'but I don't know him in the least.'
"'You think my daughter would take a scamp like you fora husband?"cried the father. 'Be off! out of the house in a trice, if you don'twant to be acquainted with my fists.'
"The sound of his angry voice began to attract a crowd before thehouse. Nagato gave a long-drawn whistle.
"'Will you go!' cried the man of the people, scarlet with rage; and,amidst the most vulgar insults and objurgations, he raised his fistupon Nagato.
"'Do not strike one who will soon be your son,' said the Prince,catching him by the arm.
"'You, my son! You will sooner see the snow on Fusiyama blossom withflowers.'
"'I swear that you shall be my father-in-law,' said the Prince,throwing his arms round the fellow's waist.
"The latter struggled in vain; Nagato bore him from the house. Ithen approached the balustrade, and saw the crowd collected outside,dispersed by the runners preceding a magnificent procession,--music,banners, palanquins, all bearing the Prince's arms. The norimonosstopped at the door, and Nagato stuffed his father-in-law into one ofthem, which he closed and fastened with a pad-lock. I saw what I wasto do; I clutched the old woman and settled her in another palanquin,while Nagato went back to got the girl. Two norimonos received us, andthe procession set out, while the music sounded gayly. We soon reacheda charming establishment in the midst of the prettiest garden I eversaw. Everything was lighted u
p; orchestras hidden among the foliageplayed softly; busy servants ran to and fro.
"'What is this enchanting palace?' said I to Nagato.
"'Oh! a trifle,' he answered scornfully; 'it is a little house which Ibought for my new wife.'
"'He is crazy,' thought I, 'and will utterly ruin himself; but that'snot my affair.'
"We were led into a room, where we put on splendid dresses; then wewent down into the banquet-hall, where we met all Nagato's youngfriends, Satake, Foungo, Aki, and many others. They received us withenthusiastic shouts. Soon the bride, superbly dressed, entered,followed by her father and mother, stumbling over the folds of theirsilken robes. The father seemed quite calm, the mother was flurried,and the young girl so astounded that she kept her pretty mouth wideopen. Nagato declared that he took her for his wife, and the marriageceremony was complete. I never saw so merry a one. The feast was mostdelicate, everybody was soon drunk, and I among the rest; but I hadmyself carried hack to the palace about three o'clock for a brief rest,for I wanted to be present this morning at the Regent's levee."
"That is the most absurd story I ever heard," said the Prince of Figo."There is certainly no one like Nagato for knowing how to carry out ajoke."
"And he is really married?" asked another lord.
"Very really," said the Prince of Tosa; "the marriage is legal, inspite of the woman's low rank."
"The Prince invents new follies every day, and gives splendid feasts;he must come to an end of his vast fortune ere long."
"If he is ruined, it will please the Regent, who does not love him overmuch."
"Yes; but it will grieve the Shogun, who is exceedingly fond of him,and who will never let him want for money."
"Hollo!" cried the Prince of Tosa, "there comes Nagato back to thepalace."
A procession was indeed passing through the gardens. On the banners andon the norimono, borne by twenty men, were visible the insignia of thePrince,--a black bolt surmounting three balls in pyramidal form. The_cortege_ marched quite near the veranda which sheltered the nobles,and through the curtains of the norimono they saw the young Princedozing on his cushions.
"He surely won't come to the Regent's levee," said one lord; "he wouldrun the risk of falling asleep on the shoulder of Hieyas."
"Nagato never comes to pay his respects to Hieyas; he detests himprofoundly; he is his avowed enemy."
"Such an enemy is not much to be feared," said the Prince of Tosa. "Onhis return from these nightly escapades he is only fit for sleeping."
"I don't know whether that is the Regent's opinion."
"If he thought otherwise, would he endure from him insults seriousenough to condemn him to hara-kiri? If the Prince still lives, he owesit to the clemency of Hieyas."
"Or to the loving protection of Fide-Yori."
"Doubtless Hieyas is only generous through regard for the master; butif all his enemies were of Nagato's mind, he might esteem himselfhappy."
While the courtiers thus chatted away the time of waiting for hiswaking, Hieyas, who had risen long before, paced his chamber, anxious,uneasy, bearing on his care-worn face the marks of sleeplessness.
A man stood near the Regent, leaning against the wall; he watchedhim stride up and down; this man was a former groom, named Faxibo.Hostlers had enjoyed considerable favor since the accession to power ofTaiko-Sama, who was originally an hostler. Faxibo was deeper than anyother person in the confidence of the Regent, who hid nothing from him,and even thought aloud in his presence.
Hieyas constantly raised the blind from the window and looked out.
"Nothing," he said impatiently; "no news. It is incomprehensible."
"Be patient for a few moments more," said Faxibo; "those whom you sentout upon the Kioto road cannot have returned yet."
"But the others! There were forty of them, and not one has returned! Ifhe has escaped me again, it is maddening."
"Perhaps you exaggerate the man's importance," said Faxibo. "It is alove-affair that attracts him to Kioto; his head is full of follies."
"So you think; and I confess that this man terrifies me," said theRegent vehemently, pausing before Faxibo. "No one ever knows what heis doing; you think him here, he is there. He outwits the most cunningspies: one declares that he followed him to Kioto, another swearsthat he has not lost sight of him for an instant, and that he has hotleft Osaka; all his friends supped with him, while he was fighting onhis return from the Miako[1] with men stationed by me. I think himasleep, or busy with his own affairs: one of my schemes is on theeve of success; his hand descends upon me at the last, moment. Theempire would long since have been ours if it had not been for him; mypartisans are numerous, but his are no less strong, and he has theright on his side. Stay: that plan which I had so skilfully arranged torid the country, under the guise of accident, of a sovereign withouttalent and without energy,--that plan which was to throw the power intomy hands,--who frustrated it? Who was the accursed coachman who urgedthat infernal team across the bridge? Nagato! He, always he. However,"added Hieyas, "some one else, one of my allies, must have played thetraitor, for it is impossible that any other can have guessed thescheme. Ah! if I knew the villain's name, I would at least gratifymyself by an awful revenge."
"I told you what I was able to discover," said Faxibo. "Fide-Yoriexclaimed at the moment of the crash: 'Omiti, you were right!'"
"Omiti! Who is Omiti? I do not know the name."
The Regent had advanced into the hall adjoining his chamber, which wasdivided, by a large screen only, from the veranda where the nobleswere awaiting his coming. From within, this screen admitted of seeingwithout being seen. Hieyas heard the name of Nagato uttered; heapproached eagerly, and signed to Faxibo to come close to him. Thusthey heard the whole story of the Prince of Tosa.
"Yes," muttered Hieyas; "for a long time I took him for a man ofdissolute morals and of no political importance; that was why I atfirst favored his intimacy with Fide-Yori. How deeply I repent it, nowthat I know what he is worth!"
"You see, master," said Faxibo, "that the Prince, doubtless warned ofyour project, did not quit Osaka."
"I tell you he was at the Miako, and did not leave there until far onin the night."
"And yet the Prince of Tosa was with him until very late."
"One of my spies followed him to Kioto; he entered the city in broaddaylight, and remained there until midnight."
"It is incomprehensible," said Faxibo. "Stay! there he is, going home,"he added, seeing Nagato's procession.
"Is it really he who occupies the litter?" asked Hieyas, trying to lookout.
"I think I recognized him," replied Faxibo.
"Impossible! it cannot be the Prince of Nagato, unless it be hiscorpse."
At this moment a man entered the chamber, and prostrated himself withhis face on the ground.
"It is my envoy," cried Hieyas. "Speak quickly, come I What have youlearned?" he cried to the messenger.
"I went to the part of the road to which you directed me, all-powerfulmaster," said the envoy. "At that spot the ground was strewn withcorpses; I counted forty men and fifteen horses. Peasants were hoveringaround the dead; some felt of them, to see if there were no lingeringtrace of life. Others pursued the wounded horses, which were runningabout the rice-fields. I asked what had happened. They told me that noone knew; but at sunrise they saw a band of horsemen pass, belongingto the divine Mikado; they were on their way to Kioto. As for thecorpses lying by the roadside, red with their blood, they all wore darkcostumes, without any armorial bearings, and their faces were halfhidden by their headdress, after the fashion of bandits and assassins."
"Enough!" exclaimed Hieyas, frowning; "go!"
The envoy retired, or rather fled.
"He has escaped me again," said Hieyas. "Well! I must deal the blowwith my own hand. The end which I would attain is so noble, that Ishould not hesitate to use infamous means to overthrow the obstacleswhich rise in my path. Faxibo," he added, turning to the ex-groom,"usher in those who wait. Their presence
may drive away the sadforebodings which oppressed me all night."
Faxibo lifted aside the screen, and the nobles entered one afteranother to greet the master. Hieyas observed that the courtiers wereloss numerous than usual; none were present except those princes whowere wholly devoted to his cause, and some few indifferent people whosought a special favor of the Regent.
Hieyas, still talking with the lords, moved out upon the veranda andlooked around.
It seemed to him that an unusual bustle pervaded the palace courts.Messengers were starting off every moment, and princes coming up intheir norimonos, in spite of the early hour. All were proceedingtowards Fide-Yori's palace.
"What is the matter?" thought he; "whence comes all this stir I whatmean these messengers bearing orders of which I know nothing?" And,full of alarm, he dismissed the lords with a gesture.
"You will excuse me, I know," he said "the interests of the countrycall me."
But before the princes had taken leave, a soldier entered the room.
"The Shogun, Fide-Yori, begs the illustrious Hieyas to be good enoughto come before his presence at once," said he; and without waiting foran answer, he departed.
Hieyas stopped the lords who were about to leave.
"Wait for me here," he said; "I do not know what is going on, but I amdevoured by anxiety. You are devoted to me; I may possibly need you."
He saluted them with a wave of the hand, and went slowly out, his headbent, followed only by Faxibo.
[1] That is to say, the capital.