Page:Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan.djvu/210



Her answer:

His Highness received this letter. He wanted to come, but days passed without realizing his wish. On the moon-hidden day [last day of month] she wrote:

She sent this poem, but as the Prince had many callers it could only reach him the next morning.

His answer:

And so he came at last, avoiding public attention. The lady was preparing herself for temple-going, and in the act of religious purification. Thinking that the rare visits of the Prince betrayed his indifference, and 154