Chorus. Dance on, sweet maiden, through the happy

hours!

Dance on, sweet maiden, while the magic flow'rs
Crowning thy tresses flutter in the wind.

Rais'd by thy waving pinions intertwin'd!
Dance on! for ne'er to mortal dance 'tis giv'n

To vie with that sweet dance thou bring'st from heav'n :

And when, cloud-soaring, thou shalt all too soon Homeward return to the full-shining moon,

Then hear our pray'rs, and from thy bounteous hand

Pour sev❜nfold treasures on our happy land; Bless ev'ry coast, refresh each panting field, That earth may still her proper increase yield!

But ah! the hour, the hour of parting rings! Caught by the breeze, the fairy's magic wings Heav'nward do bear her from the pine-clad shore, Past Ukishima's widely-stretching moor, Past Ashidaka's heights, and where are spread Th' eternal snows on Fusiyama's head,Higher and higher to the azure skies,

Till wand'ring vapours hide her from our eyes!

The Death-Stone.

DRAMATIS PERSONE.

THE SPIRIT OF THE "FLAWLESS JEWEL MAIDEN."

THE BUDDHIST PRIEST GENWOU.

THE CHORUS.

SCENE.-The moor of Nasu, in the province of Shimotsuke, som ninety miles to the north of Yedo.

Priest. What though the vapours of the fleeting scene
Obscure the view of pilgrims here below?
With heart intent on heav'nly things unseen,
I take my journey through this world of woe.*

Ever fixed

I am a priest, and Geñwou is my name. in the seat of contemplation, I had long groaned over my imperfection in that which of all things is the most essential.t But now I see clear, and, waving in my hand the sacerdotal besom, go forth to gaze upon the world. After sojourning in the province of Michinoku, I would now fain go up to the capital, and there pass the winter season of meditation. I have crossed the river Shirakaha, and have arrived at the moor of Nasu in the province of Shimotsuke.

* The original of this stanza and of the next is extremely obscure, and the English translation is therefore merely tentative.

Viz., spiritual insight.

Alas! the vapours of the fleeting scene
Obscure the view of pilgrims here below;
Strike out the hope in heav'nly things unseen,
What guide were left us through this world of
woe?

Spirit. Ah! rest not under the shadow of that stone! Priest. What then? Is there any reason for not resting under the shadow of this stone?

Spirit. Yes; this is the Death-Stone of the moor of Nasu; and not men only, but birds even and beasts perish if they but touch it.

Seek not to die! What! hast thou not heard tell
Of Nasu's Death-Stone and its fatal spell?

I entreat thee draw not nigh unto it!

Priest. What is it, then, that maketh this stone so murderous?

Spirit. 'Tis that into it, in the olden time, entered the spirit of her who was called the "Flawless Jewel

Maiden," concubine to the Emperor Toba.

Priest. Into this stone? on this far-distant road?
Methought the palace was the girl's abode.

Spirit. Verily it cannot be without reason that the story hath been handed down from the olden time. Priest. Thine appearance and thy language seem to assure me that the tale is not unknown to thee.

Spirit. No! no! I know it but in outline. Fleeting as the dew is the memory of the maiden's fate.

Spirit. Erst through the king's abode
Priest. Proudly the maiden strode,
Spirit. Now on this des'late road

Priest. Her ghost doth dwell,

Spirit. Broods o'er the fated land,

Priest. And ev'ry pilgrim band

Spirit. Falls 'neath her murd'rous hand,
Wielding the spell!

Priest.

Ι.

Chorus. The Death-Stone stands on Nasu's moor
Through winter snows and summer heat;
The moss grows grey upon its sides,
But the foul demon haunts it yet.

Chill blows the blast: the owl's sad choir
Hoots hoarsely through the moaning pines;
Among the low chrysanthemums

The skulking fox, the jackal whines,
As o'er the moor the autumn light declines."

II.

Chorus. Fair was the girl,-beyond expression fair; But what her country, who her parents were, None knew. And yet, as in her native place, She proudly dwelt above the Cloudy Space,†

* This stanza is an adaptation of part of an ode by the Chinese poet Peh Kü-yih.

i.e., in the Mikado's palace. The courtiers are called "the people above the clouds."

So sweetly deck'd by nature and by art,

The monarch's self soon clasp'd her to his heart.

Spirit. One day th' Imperial Majesty saw fit
To put to proof the Jewel Maiden's wit.

Chorus. Nor did she fail in ought: grave Buddhist lore, Confucian classics of the days of yore,

Cipango's bards, the poets of Cathay,

And all the science the two realms display,-
She knew them all, nor did her answers fail
To tell of music all the wondrous tale.

Spirit. A mind so flawless in a form so fair
Deserv'd the name her lord then gave to her.

I Chorus. Once the Mikado made a splendid feast
At the cool Summer Palace: ev'ry guest
That of accomplishments or wit could boast
Was bidden there,-a gay and brilliant host,
Like to the clouds, from out whose fleecy sphere
Th' imperial kindred, like the moon, shone clear.
But hark! what rumour mingles with the strains
Of liveliest music? See! the heav'nly plains
Are wrapp'd in clouds and darkness!

star,

The moon not risen yet: but from afar,
Heralded by the rustling of the show'r,

Not a

The wind comes howling through the festive

bow'r ;

The lanterns are blown out: "A light! a light!"

Cry all the courtiers in tumultuous fright.