THE DUKE’S ATTACK ON THE AMBASSADOR.
In saying this, his meaning was not to be misunderstood. He showed himself ready to stand by the consequences of his act; yet there was a certain half-conciliatory tone and manner about him of which the other thought best to avail himself. He knew that if the failure of the important mission with which he was intrusted could be attributed to his own lack of discretion—to which in this instance it might be ascribed, although the provocation he had given was certainly a slight one—it would end in his own disgrace with his lord. So, quickly collecting himself, with a laugh as natural as he could simulate, he replied: “You have certainly given us a good practical illustration of what you call your style of dyeing, and if you intended it as a lesson, I will accept it as such from you; although there are very few lords in this kingdom for whom it would be safe or advisable to attempt a similar course of teaching with me.”
STREET BOARD FOR GOVERNMENT EDICTS.
Physical courage in those days was a common virtue, and that of the envoy was too well known to be doubted; his course in ignoring the rash act prompted by the other’s ungovernable temper only raised him in the opinion of every one present, including Ono ga Sawa himself. It was probably the only period in the history of Japan when such an occurrence could have taken place without entailing more serious consequences. During the long civil wars which were soon to follow, peaceful solutions of any difficulty were again out of the question; and after that time the observance of etiquette was made so imperative that such a breach of it as had been here committed by Ono ga Sawa would have demanded redress by law, and would have subjected its perpetrator to severe punishment by the court of the Shôgun. On the other hand, up to a hundred years previous, when fighting was the rule all over the land to the exclusion of everything else, such a course as had been here taken by the ambassador would certainly not have been appreciated; it would have been utterly opposed to the spirit of an age which acknowledged no other honorable means of redress than an appeal to arms, and which did not permit any qualification as to time and place, but demanded instant and unhesitating action, even if self-destruction was the certain result.