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OWARDS the end of the third month, when out in the country the orchards were no longer at their best and the song of the wild birds had lost its first freshness, Murasaki’s Spring Garden seemed only to become every day more enchanting. The little wood on the hill beyond the lake, the bridge that joined the two islands, the mossy banks that seemed to grow greener not every day but every hour—could anything have looked more tempting? ‘If only one could get there!’ sighed the young people of the household; and at last Genji decided that there must be boats on the lake. They were built in the Chinese style. Every one was in such a hurry to get on board that very little time was spent in decorating them, and they were put into use almost as soon as they would float. On the day when they were launched the Water Music was played by musicians summoned from the Imperial Board of Song. The spectacle was witnessed by a large assembly of princes, noblemen and courtiers, and also by the Empress Akikonomu, who was spending her holidays at the New Palace.

Akikonomu remembered Murasaki’s response to her present: it had been tantamount to saying ‘Do not visit me now, but in the spring-time when my garden will be at its best.’ Genji too was always saying that he wanted