te.

"The above decree will be published, in full, to the peasants of the
village; and it is strictly forbidden to find fault with this
decision.

"The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the period Shoho."

The peasants, having heard this degree with all humility, left the
Court-house. Then the following punishments were awarded to the
officers of the castle, who, by rejecting the petition of the peasants
in the first instance, had brought trouble upon their lord:--

"Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at Yedo and at
the castle-town.

"Banished from the province, four district governors, and three
bailiffs, and nineteen petty officers.

"Dismissed from office, three metsukes, or censors, and seven
magistrates.

"Condemned to _hara-kiri_, one district governor and one Yedo bailiff.

"The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice of the
officials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, and bringing
affliction upon the people, and in refusing to receive the petitions
of the peasants, without consulting their lord, thus driving them to
appeal to the Shogun in person. In their avarice they looked not to
the future, but laid too heavy a burden on the peasants, so that they
made an appeal to a higher power, endangering the honour of their
lord's house. For this bad government the various officials are to be
punished as above."

In this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo and at the
Court-house at home. But in the history of the world, from the dark
ages down to the present time, there are few instances of one man
laying down his life for the many, as Sogoro did: noble and peasant
praise him alike.

As month after month passed away, towards the fourth year of the
period Shoho, the wife of my lord Kotsuke no Suke, being with child,
was seized with violent pains; and retainers were sent to all the
different temples and shrines to pray by proxy, but all to no purpose:
she continued to suffer as before. Towards the end of the seventh
month of the year, there appeared, every night, a preternatural light
above the lady's chamber; this was accompanied by hideous sounds as of
many people laughing fiendishly, and sometimes by piteous wailings, as
though myriads of persons were lamenting. The profound distress caused
by this added to her sufferings; so her own privy councillor, an old
man, took his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept watch. All of a
sudden, he heard