24

Yu~giri had quite lost his appetite. He lay brooding in his room and the classics were neglected. Wanting a change of air, he slipped out and wandered quietly through the house. He was well dressed and very goodlooking, and calm and self-possessed for his age. The young women who saw him were entranced. He went to Murasaki's wing of the house but was not permitted near her blinds. Remembering his own past behavior, Genji was taking precautions. Yu~giri lived in the east lodge and was not on intimate terms with Murasaki's women; but today he took advantage of the excitement to slip into her part of the house, where he stood watching from behind a screen or blind of some sort.

The Gosechi dancer was helped from her carriage to an enclosure of screens that had been put up near the veranda. Yu~giri made his way behind a screen. Apparently tired, she was leaning against an armrest. She was about the same height as Kumoinokari, or perhaps just a little taller. She may have been just a little prettier. He could not say, for the light was not good; but she did so remind him of his love that, though it would have been an exaggeration to say that he transferred his affections on the spot, he found himself strongly drawn to her. He reached forward and tugged at a sleeve. She was startled, by the tugging and by the poem which followed:

“The lady who serves Toyooka in the heavens

Is not to forget that someone thinks of her here.*

“I have long been looking through the sacred fence.”

It was a pleasant young voice, but she could not identify it. She was frightened. just then her women came in to retouch her face, and he reluctantly withdrew.