Ichimonjiya monologue (Act 11) — Chushingura; Or, The Treasury of Loyal Retainers

What, has he not come home? Strange! Perhaps, as he was loitering before the shrine of Inari,[1] he was bewitched by a fox. Now, just as we had agreed when I came here the other day, we decided last night that your daughter should serve for full five years only and her wages were to be a hundred _ryo_. Then the old man said that as he had some money to deliver last night, he wanted to sign the bond of service and receive in advance the whole sum of a hundred _ryo_. As he asked me with tears, I gave him half the sum when the bond was signed and promised to pay the remainder when the girl was delivered to me. And when I handed him the fifty _ryo_, he was overjoyed and raised the money to his head with rapture. It was about the fourth hour[2] when he went away rejoicing. I told him that he should not walk home alone with the money at night and tried to stop him; but he would not listen to me, and so he went home. It may be, on the road........