dreamed during
the night. On their dreams he would base his decision.

The young princes washed their bodies and changed their
clothes,--seemingly a religious rite. Visions came to them during the
still watches of the night, and the next morning they eagerly told their
father what dreams the gods had sent.

"I dreamed that I climbed a mountain," said the elder, "and on reaching
its summit I faced the east, and eight times I cut with the sword and
thrust with the spear."

"I climbed the same mountain," said the younger, "and stretched snares
of cords on every side, seeking to catch the sparrows that destroy the
grain."

The emperor listened intently, and thus sagely interpreted the visions
of his sons.

"You, my son," he said to the elder, "looked in one direction. You will
go to the east and become its governor. You looked in every direction,"
he said to the younger. "You will govern on all sides. The gods have
selected you as my heir."

His words came true. The younger became ruler over all the land; the
elder became a warrior in the east and governor over its people.

And Sujin the civilizer, having lived long and ruled wisely, was
gathered to his fathers, and slept death's dreamless sleep.

_YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF ROMANCE._

We have now to deal with the principal hero of Japanese legend,
Yamato-Dake, the conqueror. His story is full of myth and fable, but
there is history in it, too, and it is well worth the telling. Every
ancient nation has its legendary hero, who performs wonderful feats,
dares fearful perils, and has not only the strength of man but the power
of magic and the wiles of evil spirits to contend against. We give the
story as it stands, with all its adventures and supernatural incidents.

This Japanese hero of romance, born 71 A.D., was the son of Keiko, the
twelfth in line of the mikados. In form he was manly and graceful, fair
of aspect, and of handsome and engaging presence. While still a youth he
led an army to Kiushiu, in which island a rebellion had broken out. In
order to enter the camp of the rebel force, he disguised himself as a
dancing-girl, a character which his beardless face and well-rounded
figure enabled him easily to assume. Presenting himself before the
sentinel, his beauty of face and form disarmed the soldier of all doubt,
and he led the seeming damsel to the presence of the rebel chief, from
whom he hoped for a rich reward.

Here the visitor danced before the