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THE HOUK OF THE OX. 263
her wrist while she held the nail taken out of her
mouth. Selecting a place where the heart would be
in a human being, she drove in the first nail. Then
into the place of the eyes, the mouth, the neck, and
into each of the limbs, the iron was driven through
the straw until a score of nails had been expended.
All the while her lips moved as if in imprecation
the man and the woman whom the straw dolls
upon
represented, and with further prayer to the god to
save this tree. This done she tossed the tripod into
the bushes, turned away, and her form was soon lost
in the darkness.
" I have seen this thing done before," said Mr. Rai
as he stepped out with his companions to examine
the rude implements and "
images. In one instance
the avenger had three lighted candles stuck on the
tripod, and a little torch of bamboo and pine lighted
at both ends and held in her teeth. Could it be in
this case that the love of daintiness, for which Miss
Hoshi is noted, and the fear of begriming herself
with smoke or melting wax overcame her scruples ? "
" Rather fear of catching afire," said the matter-
of-fact doctor. "Perhaps the pure love of being
eccentric."
" Or perhaps the moonlight made other light un-
necessary," said Mr. Koba. " A woman must be
brave thus to come out after midnight on such an er-
rand alone, but revenge is the most powerful of motives
with us Japanese; and, if you will permit me
to say it, always
will be while Confucius is our master
of ethics. So long as the sage teaches men not to live