Page:Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan.djvu/204

 —'Yes, I do' said I; then, breaking off this branch of tachibana flowers, His Highness replied, 'Give this to her, [see] how she will take it.' The Prince had in mind the old poem:

So I have come—what shall I say to him?"

It was embarrassing to return an oral message through the page, and the Prince had not written; discontented, yet wishing to make some response, she wrote a poem and gave it to the page:

The Prince was on the veranda of his palace, and as the page approached him with important face, he led him into an inner room saying, "What is it?" The page presented the poem.

The Prince read it and wrote this answer:

His Highness gave this to the page and walked away, saying, "Tell it to no one, I might be thought amorous." The page brought the poem to the lady. Lovely it was, but it seemed wiser not to write too often [so did not answer]. 150