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Read Ebook: Tri Noveloj de Usona Verkisto Bret Harte by Harte Bret Grobe Edwin Translator
Font size: Background color: Text color: Add to tbrJar First Page Next PageEbook has 36 lines and 2710 words, and 1 pagesLIST OF MOST IMPORTANT PERSONS Aoi, Princess Genji's wife. Asagao, Princess Daughter of Prince Momozono. Courted in vain by Genji from his 17th year onward. Emperor, The Genji's father. Fujitsubo The Emperor's consort. Loved by Genji. Sister of Prince Hy?buky?; aunt of Murasaki. Genji, Prince Son of the Emperor and his concubine Kiritsubo. Hy?buky?, Prince Brother of Fujitsubo; father of Murasaki. Iyo no Suke Husband of Utsusemi. Ki no Kami Son of Iyo no Kami, also called Iyo no Suke. Kiritsubo Concubine of the Emperor; Genji's mother. K?kiden The Emperor's original consort; later supplanted by Kiritsubo and Fujitsubo successively. Koremitsu Genji's retainer. Left, Minister of the Father of Aoi. Momozono, Prince Father of Princess Asagao. Murasaki Child of Prince Hy?buky?. Adopted by Genji. Becomes his second wife. My?bu A young Court lady who introduces Genji to Princess Suyetsumuhana. Nokiba no Ogi Ki no Kami's sister. Oborozukiyo, Princess Sister of K?kiden. ?my?bu Fujitsubo's maid. Right, Minister of the Father of K?kiden. Rokuj?, Princess Widow of the Emperor's brother, Prince Zemb?. Genji's mistress from his 17th year onward. Sh?nagon Murasaki's nurse. Suyetsumuhana, Princess Daughter of Prince Hitachi. A timid and eccentric lady. T? no Ch?j? Genji's brother-in-law and great friend. Ukon Y?gao's maid. Utsusemi Wife of the provincial governor, Iyo no Suke. Courted by Genji. Y?gao Mistress first of T? no Ch?j? then of Genji. Dies bewitched. GENEALOGICAL TABLES MINISTER OF THE RIGHT. | + K?kiden . | + Oborozukiyo . A FORMER EMPEROR. | + Prince Hy?buky?. | | | + Murasaki . | + Fujitsubo. | + Child . IYO NO KAMI . | + Ki no Kami . | + Nokiba no Ogi . KIRITSUBO At the Court of an Emperor there was among the many gentlewomen of the Wardrobe and Chamber one, who though she was not of very high rank was favoured far beyond all the rest; so that the great ladies of the Palace, each of whom had secretly hoped that she herself would be chosen, looked with scorn and hatred upon the upstart who had dispelled their dreams. Still less were her former companions, the minor ladies of the Wardrobe, content to see her raised so far above them. Thus her position at Court, preponderant though it was, exposed her to constant jealousy and ill will; and soon, worn out with petty vexations, she fell into a decline, growing very melancholy and retiring frequently to her home. But the Emperor, so far from wearying of her now that she was no longer well or gay, grew every day more tender, and paid not the smallest heed to those who reproved him, till his conduct became the talk of all the land; and even his own barons and courtiers began to look askance at an attachment so ill-advised. They whispered among themselves that in the Land Beyond the Sea such happenings had led to riot and disaster. The people of the country did indeed soon have many grievances to show: and some likened her to Yang Kuei-fei, the mistress of Ming Huang. Yet, for all this discontent, so great was the sheltering power of her master's love that none dared openly molest her. Her father, who had been a Councillor, was dead. Her mother, who never forgot that the father was in his day a man of some consequence, managed despite all difficulties to give her as good an upbringing as generally falls to the lot of young ladies whose parents are alive and at the height of fortune. It would have helped matters greatly if there had been some influential guardian to busy himself on the child's behalf. Unfortunately, the mother was entirely alone in the world and sometimes, when troubles came, she felt very bitterly the lack of anyone to whom she could turn for comfort and advice. But to return to the daughter. In due time she bore him a little Prince who, perhaps because in some previous life a close bond had joined them, turned out as fine and likely a man-child as well might be in all the land. The Emperor could hardly contain himself during the days of waiting. But when, at the earliest possible moment, the child was presented at Court, he saw that rumour had not exaggerated its beauty. His eldest born prince was the son of Lady K?kiden, the daughter of the Minister of the Right, and this child was treated by all with the respect due to an undoubted Heir Apparent. But he was not so fine a child as the new prince; moreover the Emperor's great affection for the new child's mother made him feel the boy to be in a peculiar sense his own possession. Unfortunately she was not of the same rank as the courtiers who waited upon him in the Upper Palace, so that despite his love for her, and though she wore all the airs of a great lady, it was not without considerable qualms that he now made it his practice to have her by him not only when there was to be some entertainment, but even when any business of importance was afoot. Sometimes indeed he would keep her when he woke in the morning, not letting her go back to her lodging, so that willy-nilly she acted the part of a Lady-in-Perpetual-Attendance. Seeing all this, Lady K?kiden began to fear that the new prince, for whom the Emperor seemed to have so marked a preference, would if she did not take care soon be promoted to the Eastern Palace. But she had, after all, priority over her rival; the Emperor had loved her devotedly and she had born him princes. It was even now chiefly the fear of her reproaches that made him uneasy about his new way of life. Thus, though his mistress could be sure of his protection, there were many who sought to humiliate her, and she felt so weak in herself that it seemed to her at last as though all the honours heaped upon her had brought with them terror rather than joy. Her lodging was in the wing called Kiritsubo. It was but natural that the many ladies whose doors she had to pass on her repeated journeys to the Emperor's room should have gr Add to tbrJar First Page Next Page |
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