Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1885-02-21
A Diunef i'm TokIo.

flonal castoms. So it hanpened
that, though for some years resi-.
dent of the country, I had .ot yet
seen a ceremonious dinner ii ) Jap
anese home Of the first class Great
was my pleasure, therefore, one
morning, on receiving an ilhitation
to genuine japanese dlnne from
an official of my acqualnkahce. II
was written ii flle Aailf s and
eouched IN the Aost p0ll| d self
deezse earH
In preparation for hesgfCat event
! purchased a pair of chop-stieks,
and soon became reasonably expert
in handling the two thin pieces of
cedar wood. At four o'clock IN the
afternoon of the day fixed by the in
vitation, | ordered my "man- car
riage," and rode through the dark,
narrow, and winding streets of
Toxic. Passing through a guarded
gate and garden filled with ex-
quisitely arranged flowers and
plants, | was received by two attena
dants, who, sitting on the thick lma
ting Of the floor, bowed their head
to the ground. To keep this mat
ting, which serves both as carpet
and chairs, perfectly clean and neat
is the especial pride of the Japanese
housewife. Courtesy required me
to leave my high-heeled shoes at the
door, the japanese wearing in their
dwelling-rooms only a thick sort of
sock. Through a passage whose
walls are of rare and beautifully
polished woods, l am conducted to a
small veranda which in part sur
rounds the irregularly-shaped, one
storied house, with its sliding-doors
covered with thin paper in place of
windows. Thence | am ushered
into the presence Of the other guests
and of my host and hostess, who
welcome me, the one in English, the
other in her glib native tongue.
Soon, like all the other guests am
the only American pre- emit am
seated on handsome cushion, not,
however, in the true Japenese style,
which consists IN sitting on the feet,
not in crossing them in front as the
Turks do.
My hostess wore long robe of
black crepe, with an under-dress of
white. Tlte sleeves were long and
flowing, and the graceful folds were
kept in place by a wide girdle of
dark brocade. Her only ornaments
were the tortoise-shell pins that con-
fined her elaborately arranged hair.
Her daughter, a beautiful girl of
thirteen, was more brilliantly attir-
ed. Her hair glistened with oil, and
was adorned with scarlet crepe and
silver ornaments. Her dress, beau
tifulIy embroidered in rich colors
from dark purplish gray to lilac, was
held by girdle of gay brocade with
narrow band Of red crepe. Though
but a child, the oval face, the
creamy skin, and the merry, bright
eyes gave one startling idea of an
Eastern beauty.
After some conversation, during
which tea was served in tiny cups,
without milk or sugar, together with
delicate confections, dinner was
brought on. The sliding-doors
were opened to form one large
room, about which the guests were
seated in rows. Gayly dressed
singing and dancing girls brought
in large lacquered trays, and placed
them before the guests, beginning
with the most distinguished persons
present. The trays were raised
few inches from the floor by feet.
Each contained several small china
and lacquer bowls. In onew rice,
in another soup, while in front were
dishes of fish and many strange eat
ables. A little cup for wine,
small plate for pickles, and a pair of
slender chop-sticks comp eted the
arrangement
After a pause and low bow to
the hostess we began to eat, while
the girls flew about, bringing new
dishes, replenishing the rice and
the soup, and, above all, plying the
guests with Saki, the national wine.
| can not begin to describe the diff
ferent dishes, and, as they were
all placed before me at once, |
could not tell which was the soup
and which the desert. Neither
could | tell whether any morsel
would be sweet or salt, pleasant or
sour, until [ tried it. What mix
ture it seemed to me. Imagine
feast with no knife or fork, bread or
butter, but with such delicacies of
mushroom soup, young shoots of
bamboo, leg Of cuttle-fsh, roots Of
lotus, and lily bulbs, not to mention
more commonplace articles. such as
picked plums, with birds, chickens,
potatoes, beans of all kinds, and
other things that | am sure were
never tasted in America. 1t was to
me a feast mentally rather than
bodily, for though the tiny bits look
ed tempting, / could not coax them
up to my mouth, in spite of my pre-
viOus practice with chop-sticks.
But no one noticed my failures. and !
swallowed my chagrin together with
my soup, the bowl of which | could
raise to my mouth and thus appease
my appetite.
Dinner was about halt over when
the sliding doors on one side were
opened, disclosing musicians and