mission to Hosokawa Masamoto, the great daimyo of Kyoto, a kinsman of
Hatakeyama Yoshimune. Having been ordered to journey through Echizen, the
youth requested and obtained permission to pay a visit, on the way, to his
widowed mother.


It was the coldest period of the year when he started; and, though mounted
upon a powerful horse, he found himself obliged to proceed slowly. The road
which he followed passed through a mountain-district where the settlements
were few and far between; and on the second day of his journey, after a
weary ride of hours, he was dismayed to find that he could not reached his
intended halting-place until late in the night. He had reason to be
anxious;-- for a heavy snowstorm came on, with an intensely cold wind; and
the horse showed signs of exhaustion. But in that trying moment, Tomotada
unexpectedly perceived the thatched room of a cottage on the summit of a
near hill, where willow-trees were growing. With difficulty he urged his
tired animal to the dwelling; and he loudly knocked upon the storm-doors,
which had been closed against the wind. An old woman opened them, and cried
out compassionately at the sight of the handsome stranger: "Ah, how
pitiful! -- a young gentleman traveling alone in such weather!... Deign,
young master, to enter."



Tomotada dismounted, and after leading his horse to a shed in the rear,
entered the cottage, where he saw an old man and a girl warming themselves
by a fire of bamboo splints. They respectfully invited him to approach the
fire; and the old folks then proceeded to warm some rice-wine, and to
prepare food for the traveler, whom they ventured to question in regard to
his journey. Meanwhile the young girl disappeared behind a screen. Tomotada