u] in life was not the
most careful of men in conserving health." This was timidly interjected
by a third party. Kamimura suppressed him with a scowl--"Of course it is
O'Iwa San. Has she not been seen? The women of the house answer for it.
Only Kibei the sceptic, and Kakusuke who would face the devil in person,
attempt to deny it." He threw up a hand. With unction--"Ah! It inspires
fear. Small is the profit of wickedness and malice. He is a fool who
indulges in either.... How cold it is for the time of year!"

Said the interloper--"But the congratulations have to be rendered all
the same. It will be necessary to attend the all-night watch. How
vexatious! Perhaps O'Iwa San will not appear. There is no getting out of
it?"--"Certainly not," answered Kamimura. "The Go Inkyo[u] was the head
of the ward association. Twelve neighbours have been invited to the
watch. At dawn the body is to be prepared. A pleasant undertaking, if
all that is said be true! The viands will be of the best, the wine no
worse and plentiful. None must fail to attend." He smacked his lips. The
others likewise, but much less heartily.

It was an unwilling band which crawled in laggard procession through
rain and mud and the length of the Teramachi to Kwaiba's house. A
_do[u]shin_, the ward chief, a rich man, the mansion displayed all its
splendour. The atmosphere, however, was oppressive. Kibei greeted the
guests with heartiness, and accepted their condolence and gifts with
lavish thanks and the cheerful face of him that profiteth by the
funeral. Kakusuke was his main aid in connection with the Go Inkyo[u]'s
last appearance. Occasionally a timid white-faced woman was seen, but
she would flit away from the scene of these festivities, to seek the
companionship of her panic-stricken fellows. Entering the funereal
chamber the body was found, laid out and decently swathed so as to
cover, as far as possible, the horrible nature of the death. On a white
wood stand was the _ihai_ in white wood, a virtuous lie as to the
qualities of the deceased. It ran--Tentoku Gishin Jisho[u] Daishi. Which
can be interpreted--"A man of brilliant virtues, virtuous heart, and
benevolent temperament." Screens, upside down, were placed at the head:

"Alas! The screen: the carp descends the fall."[30] Akiyama, Natsume,
Imaizumi, were the last to appear. The former had been composing a
violent quarrel between his two friends--the long and the fat. Much
recrimination had passed, an