or the court, he must have his weapon ready to strike him.'
'And what is the course in the murder of a brother?' 'The
surviving brother must not take office in the same State with
the slayer; yet, if he go on his prince's service to the State
where the slayer is, though he meet him, he must not fight with
him.' 'And what is the course in the murder of an uncle or
cousin?' 'In this case the nephew or cousin is not the
principal. If the principal, on whom the revenge devolves, can
take it, he has only to stand behind with his weapon in his
hand, and support him.'"

I will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is attached to the
graves of the Forty-seven. In the month of September 1868, a certain
man came to pray before the grave of Oishi Chikara. Having finished
his prayers, he deliberately performed _hara-kiri_,[8] and, the belly
wound not being mortal, dispatched himself by cutting his throat. Upon
his person were found papers setting forth that, being a Rônin and
without means of earning a living, he had petitioned to be allowed to
enter the clan of the Prince of Chôshiu, which he looked upon as the
noblest clan in the realm; his petition having been refused, nothing
remained for him but to die, for to be a Rônin was hateful to him, and
he would serve no other master than the Prince of Chôshiu: what more
fitting place could he find in which to put an end to his life than
the graveyard of these Braves? This happened at about two hundred
yards' distance from my house, and when I saw the spot an hour or two
later, the ground was all bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the
death-struggles of the man.

[Footnote 8: A purist in Japanese matters may object to the use of the
words _hara-kiri_ instead of the more elegant expression _Seppuku_. I