In the course of a few days Genji was invited by the Emperor to come and see him. The latter had scarcely recovered from his indisposition, and was still looking weak and thin. When Genji appeared before him, he manifested great pleasure, and they conversed together in a friendly way till the evening. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 118: A religious feast in the Imperial Palace, in which Nin-wo-kio, one of the Buddhist Bibles, was read, an event which rarely took place. Its object was to tranquillize the country.] [Footnote 119: The god of the sea.] [Footnote 120: The "biwa," more than any other instrument, is played by blind performers, who accompany it with ballads.] [Footnote 121: The services performed by rigid priests were six times daily--namely, at early morn, mid-day, sunset, early evening, midnight, and after midnight.] [Footnote 122: The Buddhist idea that when we get into Paradise we take our seat upon the lotus flower.] CHAPTER XIV THE BEACON Genji well remembered the dream which he had dreamt at Suma, and in which his father, the late ex-Emperor, had made a faint allusion to his fallen state. He was always thinking of having solemn service performed for him, which might prove to be a remedy for evils. He was now in the capital, and at liberty to do anything he wished. In October, therefore, he ordered the grand ceremony of Mihakko to be performed for the repose of the dead. Meanwhile the respect of the public towards Genji had now returned to its former state, and he himself had become a distinguished personage in the capital. The Empress-mother, though indisposed, regretted she had not ruined Genji altogether; while the Emperor, who had not forgotten the injunction of the late ex-Emperor, felt satisfied with his recent disposition towards his half-brother, which he believed to be an act of goodness. This he felt the more, because he noticed the improvement in his health continued from day to day, and he experienced a sensation of fresh vigor. He did not, however, believe he should be long on the throne, and when he found himself lonely, he often sent for Genji, and spent hours conversing with him, without any reserve, on public affairs. In February of the next year the ceremony of the "Gembuk" of the Heir-apparent, who was eleven years of age, was performed. At the end of the same month the Emperor abdicated the throne in favor of the Heir-apparent, and his own son was made the Heir-apparent to the new Emperor. The suddenness of these changes struck the Empress-mother with surprise, but she was told by her son that his abdication had been occasioned by his desire to enjoy quiet and repose.