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of my rational interpretation. But after a few months, the clerk was visited by an incessant storm. The raging of the billows and waves greatly hindered his fishing, and he could not catch even a single shell. He was followed by a great loss, and all his capital was very nearly brought to nil.

He then came to me alone and forlorn, and complained me of his adversity. I was horror-stricken. I was very sorry to have moved the sacred words of the “Eki” arbitrarily with my imperfect wisdom, and to have made this fellow receive an awful loss. I offered him some gold, as an atonement for my fault. I was then fully assured that the words in the "Eki" must not be heedlessly looked over, and I shall never forget this lesson.

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IV. MÔInfancy).

The

Mô. Auspicious; we do not apply to children; children do apply to us. first divination is answered, but repetition is blasphemous; and when blasphemous, it is not answered. Advantageous to be constant.

Exposition. An obstacle lying at the foot of a mountain and stopping [a stream] is [the emblem] of Mô. Mô is auspicious, that is to say, it attains seasonablences by following the principle of auspiciousness. We do not apply to children; children do apply to us, that is to say, the wish [of children] is responded to [by us]. The first divination is answered, because [the inquirer is actuated by the spirit] of firmness and modesty. Repetition is blasphemous, and when blasphemous it is not answered, because it will disgrace Mô. Wise men can only be produced by nourishing the spirit of righteousness during the period of Mô.

Interpretation. A spring gushing out of the foot of a mountain is [the emblem] of Mô. Honourable men are accordingly persistent in their behaviour and nourish. their virtues.

Negative I. In opening Mô to light it is advantageous to hold men liable to punishments, and to unfasten shackles. To rely entirely upon punishments is inauspicious.

Interpretation.

It is advantageous to hold men liable to punishments, because righteous laws are thus enforced.

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The son

Positive II. is lucky to take [under his instruction] the whole Mô; and lucky to take in a woman. skilfully manages the household affairs.

Interpretation.

"The son skilfully manages the household affairs," because he combines the elements of both strength and mildness.

Negative III. Do not take a woman in marriage: she will be attracted by rich men and will not remain constant. There will be no advantage [in marrying her].

Interpretation. Do not take a woman in marriage, because her conduct will not be proper.

Negative IV. is sunk in Mô; inauspicious.

Interpretation. The calamity of being sunk in Mô is the result of [Negative IV] keeping himself aloof from the intelligent.

Negative V. is an infant; and is lucky.

Interpretation. The infant is lucky, because it is obedient and meek.

Positive V1. attacks Môn Disadvantageous to make an assault, but advantageous to defend against an assault.

Interpretation. It is advantageous to defend against assault, because the high and the low are obedient to each other.

EXAMPLES.

MODE OF EDUCATION OF HIS SON
(FOR MR. NAGAI).

His

Mr. Shōzaemon Nagai, a rich merchant of Tōkyō, has been befriended with me a long time since. only son, sixteen years old, was very wayward and profligate, and would not hear his father who kept reproving him every now and then. Mr. Nagai, fully disgusted with his son, came to me and said, "My son would not hear me at all, and I am going to put him into the

hands of a foreigner to be corrected by him, and taught in the foreign language, into the bargain. I do not know the good or evil of doing so, and I am come here to hear your opinion through your 'Eki'" I took up

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the "sticks and obtained the "Positive II" of "Mó (蒙

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"Mo' means infancy, and is a hexagram representing the primitive and undeveloped state of things, which must necessarily be instructed. The faults of your son are through his 'Mo' or ignorance, and he does not know that he is not doing right. To rectify him, therefore, you must first pour in the moral principles into his head. Moreover, as it says, 'Positive II is lucky to take [under his instruction] the whole Mô; and lucky to take in a woman. The son skillfully manages the household affairs,' the mode of opening his ignorance to light is to educate him gradually, and afterwards to make him wed with an appropriate woman. In this way, he will gradually regret and improve his conduct until at last he will arrive at the happiness of 'skillfully managing the household affairs.'

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My friend was moved, and he sent his son, soon after, to Tōkyō, to be instructed by a certain eminent moralist in that city.

RETURN OF OUR RANSOM FROM AMERICA.

During the month of January in the fourteenth year of Meiji, I stayed at Atami. While I was one day playing the "go-bang" in my room in a company consisting of my fellow-lodgers,-Lord Shimazu, Mr. Y. Nomura, Governor to Kanagawa Ken, Mr. N. Shirakami, Judge, Mr. T. Kobayashi, Consul, Mr. R. Narushima, Chief Editor of the "Chōya-Shimbun," and Mr. K. Tanigawa, Manager to the late Mito Daimiate,--I was visited by

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the three senates, Count Ōkuma, Count Itō; and Count Inoue, with the secretaries Messrs. Andō, Ochiai, Yanō, and Itō, accompanied by Mr. Hayashi, Director to the Hospital of Army. One of the guests spoke first, As it is raining to-day, we can not go a-hunting and a-walking among the hills. Being too solitary, we are all come here to hear from you some 'Eki.' Will you please do so for us?" "Certainly, I replied, "but on what subject ?" "Well," said he, "Yes, see if the Americans will return our ransom payed at ShimonoSheki, it is attracting the attention of so many people."

"When divined by the 'Eki,'" proposed I," the matter can be decided very easily. It may happen that the case may come out to be neutral, that is to say, neither returning the ransom, nor keeping it; but a means of quickening the decision can be known, through the principles of the 'Eki.' Here I wish to make a proposal and I hope you will allow me to divine after receiving your answers and acknowledgements. My proposal is this, that, should the 'Eki' assist in the restoration of the ransom, please do not spend that money nowhere else than building a large dock at Yokohama, as a prize for the 'Eki'?"

"That's fair," replied he, "The communication over the Pacific between Yokohama and America can be done in eighteen to twenty days, but I regret to say that sometimes when waves roll high, the steamers have the disadvantage of anchouring longer than the limited twentyfour hours, as there is no dock here at Yokohama. Now if America will be kind enough to return the ransom, it must be spent for something which will facilitate the intercourse between the two nations, and this can only be effected by building a dock here. I have thus no objection as to your proposal."

I then divined and obtained the "Negative IV" of

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