Page:Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan.djvu/213

 more and more infrequent. In the continuous rains the lady gazed at the clouds and thought how the court would be talking about them. She had had many friends; now there was only the Prince. Though people invented various tales about her, she thought the truth could never be known to any. The Prince wrote a letter about the tedious rain:

It was smile-giving to see that he seized upon every occasion to write her a poem, and she also felt as he did that this was a time for sentiment.

The reply:

And on another paper she wrote another poem:

The Prince read this letter and the messenger came back with his answer:

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