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Genji, as a matter of fact, overheard both these remarks, and going to Tō no Chūjō, he said: ‘I must beg of you to be very careful for a little while; otherwise both our reputations are likely to suffer. Were we ordinary citizens we should only have our own consciences to satisfy, and if our mutual affairs got into rather a mess it would concern no one but ourselves. Unfortunately, however, we both of us hold positions in which the good opinion of all sorts of people (some of whom judge by standards quite different from ours) is of the greatest importance to us, and can only be disregarded at the risk of disagreeable consequences. It would be fatal, for example, if this situation were suddenly sprung upon the world in all its details. But allowed to leak out piecemeal, it will do very little harm. What matters is that people should have plenty of time to get used to one part of a scandal before the next is allowed to leak out.’ ‘I had no intention of putting her under your wing,’ replied Tō no Chūjō; ‘but I must confess that it has worked out very well. In fact, it seems as though she were intended by Fate to be your child rather than mine; you may count upon me to do exactly as you think best.’

Great efforts were made to hush up for a little while longer the true facts concerning Tamakatsura’s birth. But talking about other people’s affairs is so indispensable an occupation that such efforts are commonly of little avail; and in this case it was not long before every detail was known. Being a great gossip, the Lady from Ōmi was soon in possession of the secret, and one day in Lady Chūjō’s room, when Kashiwagi and Kōbai were both present, she screamed out: ‘Here’s news for you! My father’s found another new daughter! What do you think of that? And she’s a luckier girl than I am, for before father found her Prince Genji said she was his daughter, and made no end of a fuss over her. And listen now, this is the queer