ed. Here the great archer
became governor of the people, and forbade them to pay tribute to the
throne. A fleet of boats was despatched against him, but, standing on
the strand, he sent an arrow hurtling through the timbers of the nearest
vessel and sunk it beneath the waves. Then, shouting defiance to his
foes, he shut himself up in his house, set fire to it, and perished in
the flames. But another legend relates that he fled to the Loochoo
Islands, where he became ruler and founder of their dynasty of kings. On
the Japanese greenback notes is a picture of this mighty archer, who is
shown grasping his bow after sinking the ship.

It was the purpose of Kiyomori to exterminate the family of his foes. In
two instances he was induced to let sons of that family live, a leniency
for which the Taira were to pay bitterly in the end. The story of both
these boys is full of romance. We give one of them here, reserving the
other for a succeeding tale. Yoritomo, the third son of Yoshitomo, was
twelve years of age at the date of his father's defeat and death. During
the retreat the boy was separated from his companions, and fell into the
hands of an officer of the opposite party, who took him as prisoner to
Kioto, the capital. Here the regent sentenced him to death, and the day
for his execution was fixed. Only the tender heart of a woman saved the
life of one who was destined to become the avenger of his father and
friends.

"Would you like to live?" the boy's captor asked him.

"Yes," he replied; "my father and mother are both dead, and who but I
can pray for their happiness in the world to come?"

The feelings of the officer were touched by this reply, and, hoping to
save the boy, he told the story to the step-mother of Kiyomori, who was
a Buddhist nun. The filial piety of the child affected her, and she was
deeply moved when the officer said, "Yoritomo is much like Prince Uma."

Uma had been her favorite son, one loved and lost, and, her mother's
heart stirred to its depths, she sought Kiyomori and begged him to spare
the boy's life. He was obdurate at first, worldly wisdom bidding him to
remove the last scion of his foes, but in the end he yielded to his
mother's prayer and consented to spare the child, condemning him,
however, to distant exile. This softness of heart he was bitterly to
regret.

Yoritomo was banished to the province of Idzu, where he was kept under
close guard by two officers of the Taira. He was advised