the portal, and ushered him into the guest-room with words of greeting: "It gives me great delight to see you well and in good spirits, my lord. I am very grateful that you deign to honour my humble dwelling with your august presence. No greater honour could fall to the lot of our family, my lord."
Yoshioki had hardly seated himself when he broke into speech, while the expression of his face betrayed the gravity of his mood: "There is a rumour that the remnants of the Ōtomo faction are prowling about in the bordering provinces trying to stir up rebellion. If we leave them unmolested a very serious state of affairs will develop. What do you advise? Shall we strike now and try to wipe them out once and for all?"
"That, my lord," said Takita, "is out of the question. The Ōtomo partisans are not, by any means, to be made light of and if, at the rallying-cry of war, all the adherents of that house make head against our clan from several provinces our peril will be very grave indeed. They will muster so strong that to face their great forces with our small army would be more futile than to attempt to smash a huge rock with a hen's egg. In my
