Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-04
Price Three Cent s

abandon. group of three seductive-Iook- 1 ing maidens entered the room, exquisitely attired in long flowing robes of delicate shade of brown, from beneath which their dainty white feet peeped without any hampering adornments in the way of hose. Genufecting before us these enticing fe- males timidly extended to each of us tray bearing artistic wooden bowls of lacquered ware filled with rice, and chop-sticks. Bowls of water were also placed near us on the floor, and in the center was a lar ger tray containing bottles of saki, the na- tional liquor in Japan, and decorated china cups. This saki is distilled from rice q judge there is no limit to the number of ways in which the natives utilize rice), and is universally drunk even by the women. IL is said that at certain seasons of the year seven out of every ten men in the is- land go to bed at night really intoxicated but the effect is so mild in comparison with that of whiskey in our own country and opium in China that the habit is not very much condemned. At weddings twen- ty-seven different brands of this saki are served, and to decline to drink is gross discourtesy.
 The girls remained kneeling before us which was Q very satisfactory state of things, save that it embarrassed me with & fear that I should make some egreRious blunder. Seizing the chop-sticks boldly. I began manipulating them with a noncha- lance that must, I was sure, disarm criti- cism. Now if I had only appeared timid, and requested my charming walters to teach me the art, l ana sure 1t would have been far better, for they were very kindly disposed. But I sailed in with wild bra vado that somehow o7ercame their risibili- ties. They laughed outright, though in g good natured way. blushed deeply, for had fancied that I was a really accom- plished Japanese by this time, and I was very anxious to favorably impress these vo- luptuous native maidens, So in sheer des- peration I continued to fairly shovel the rice from my bowl into the orifice immediately under my nasal appendage, vainly imagining that blind ferocity would pass for acquaint- ance with the art. At length took refuge in English. "For pitys sake," said aside to my companion, ''do tell me what the trouble is." "You are using the wrong ends of the chopsticks," was the quiet but dis dressing reply.
 Alas, it was even so! This was ignomin- ious indeed, after my weeks of practice I corrected the error as indifferently as I could, and one of the lovely creatures before us helped me with delft hand and 8 merry laugh now and then to perform the remaining duties of the meal, an arrangement which was by no means disagreeable. It seems that there had been special effort to make the meal as American ss possible ill my honor, and 50 aa enumeration of the dishes is not fair example of Japanese diet, which is really so simple that it does not afford suf- dcient nourishment for tourist from Europe or America. Here is a somewhat comprehen- sive list of the dishes, made ont with the as- sistance of my friends memory, and an oc- casional draught upon my own fertile imagine- tion: soup, unfathomable, incomprehensi- ble, intangible all kinds of fish from fried sea serpent to broiled whale; four varieties of sea weed that seemed to have an antipa- thy for the human stomach, and writhed in
 
 prawns, fish cake, alleged pounded chicken, chestnuts, sweet potatoes. mushrooms, rice, lily seeds plums, rice, some salads that defy classification or analysls, and rice. Also some rice. But pray do not smack your lips or la appeased. It was not. Tho saki was served hot, cups of the liquid being placed about a foot in front of us on the floor. There did not appear to be that chasm between our host and his attendants which is so common in the United States. The extrava- gant observances and smiling protestations produced the impression of familiarity. As for the etiquette governing the whole meal, it WAS too complicated to justify any attempt at description. The hardest part of the en- tertainment was the constant struggle in search of comfortable place for bestoWing my arms and legs. since the meal was 9 very protracted one. This difficulty was helped. however, by the strolIs in the garden and smoking intervals which occurred between the courses.
 When the tiffin was finally completed, I hurried back to the hotel and got something to eat. EMILE.