In the first half of the last century, in the great city of Yedo, lived Oka, Lord of Echizen, a judge whose name is acknow ledged to be the most famous on the long roll of Tokugawa judges, and whose memory is still perpetuated in tales and traditions dear to the heart of the romance-loving populace. Oka was fortunate enough to live under a Shogun who was himself a brilliant administrator and knew the value of able ser vants; and for thirty-five years Oka continued to dispense justice, first in the City Court of Yedo, and then as one of the two Ecclesias tical Magistrates, whose jurisdiction was national. It is as a trial judge that his fame is greatest. A wonderful knowledge of hu man nature, the keenest insight into motives, tact to attain his purpose by indirection when necessary, and, above all, a sympathy for the people unusual in a feudal official, and a rough-and-ready justice appealing to com mon-sense, — these made him the idol of the people of Yedo, and the personification of judicial wisdom; and there was, to their minds, no case too difficult for Oka's genius to unravel. The records which have come down to us are encumbered with popular tradition. We could not separate the tradi tion, if we would; but perhaps it is as well, for if the celebrated cases which are still so eagerly read are not in every respect records of actual events, they at least represent what the Japanese populace regarded as the ideal qualities of a last-century judge. The first tale to be told is that of THE FLAYED HEAD ON THE GIBliET. I. There was living in the city of Osaka, about the year 1740, a worthy burgher, by name Hikobei, who followed the occupation of a dealer in art objects. Lacquer boxes, ivories, bronzes, — these products of the cun

ning artisans of Kyoto and Osaka were the subjects of his commerce. In the year abovementioned the times had gone hard with Hikobei. None of his ventures (for his sales were few and he made his profits by invest ments in promising objects of special rarity and value) seemed to prosper. Towards the close of the year his sanguine heart was ex cited by the prospect, held out to him by a friend, of retrieving his fortunes in the great city of Yedo, where the feudal luxury of the daimyo who congregated there offered a neverfailing market for the wares in which Hikobei dealt. His wife and the two boys, of course, must be left behind, in the care of friends, until it should be seen whether the new en terprise was to be successful; and these ar rangements made, Hikobei started for the feudal capital, trudging all the way along the dusty thoroughfare known as the Tokaido,— for even if his means had permitted him to ride, the law of his country would not have allowed a merchant-commoner the luxury of a sedan and bearers. As luck would have it, Hikobei's opening proved a good one, and customers began to appear in the most unexpected quarters. He was beginning to think of sending for his wife and children, who had felt the separation keenly, when one day an interruption came to all his affectionate plans. Not very far from the Ryogoku Bridge, the great bond which unites the two heart-valves of Yedo's throbbing life, was the house of an old lady with whom he had become very intimate since his arrival in Yedo. He had first made her acquaintance during a shower of rain, when a pleasant voice had called him in to take shelter awhile as he stood under the dripping eaves trying in vain to escape the drenching drops. The motherly old lady soon won the heart of the lonesome Hikobei, and mutual services cemented the friendship