The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-08

that signitied swind." As the maple had
to be printed in several colors, several
wood blocks were required for both back
and front, but the making Of these and
those for the inside of the book altogether
cost only six of the deprecated Japanese
AT first Mr.. Nagao wanted to have pic
lures for the inside. japanese poetry
books, he explained, always had pictures,
but Japanese subjects clearly were out of
the question, and after seeing the Japanese
history of the great Napolean with his sol
diers in the armor Of the fifteenth century,
trembled to think how the war of indie
pendence would be treated, and suggested
as q compromise that he should have de-
signs drawn from the maple and blocks
prepared from them, to be printed on the
pages in light gray under the text. This
Re said was new, but thoroughly in keep
ing with the Japanese spirit in such mat
tiers, and he waxed enthusiastic in work
ing out my idea. Fetching out box OF
paints, and wetting and washing out the
brush in his mouth. in q few minutes he
had painted us lovely designs in autumn
tints for the covers and in pearly grays for
for the inside. j,
The question of price was to be deferred
till his freasurers could work out the esti-
mates. but Of course l should be charged
according to his special rates. Perhaps in
japan, as in America, the only people who
do not get special rates are the people who
forget to ask the price beforehand And
then there was more tea. more compii-
ments, more bowings, polite but clumsy
shuttle downstairs, a resumption OF sandals
and shoes by Mr.. Nagao and Man Sunday,
more compliments and bowings, and des-
perate bolt from the door to get back to the
hotel in time for lunch.
A day or two afterward the estimates ar.
rived. Toxic, our hotel boy, knocked at
.l,<,r bowa1 IN, tho CrouQd and
said: .:Mayeda-San, sir. Japanese boy
from the Hakubunsha" Mayeda-San, the
Notwithstanding clerk of the Hakubun-
sha. was shown up, a brignt-looking ia
panese with a mop OF HAIR hanging over
his ewes and cut in the Western way TO
show that he did not beiieve IN eitne5
of the national religions. But he did
not wear q hat or European boots, SO he
was evidently not of very advanced opin-
ions He began by informing us that he,
too was a poet. and rendering us poem
that he had written in conjunction with
his partner, who was street PHOTOGRAPHIC.
II was not long--"Dust OF Light at inc
Rack Of the Ocean"-but it " as transcribed
with unusual delicacy of caiigraphy, even
for japanese, with dainty little paint
ing Of the dawn in one corner. The reader
may not have recognized that the poem
described dawn.
The estimates arrived in the shape OF a
number of samples of paper sewed together
with a slip of tightly twisted paper, and
marked No. 1. No. 2, and so on, While on
another paper the prices were wri.. saa
down. Unfortunately the estimates were
in Japanese writing. which only one ior-
eigner i'm hundred can ever learn 70 oe-
cinher. But Mayeda-San translated larry
,,.sIi 20 Give me 4 general idea, and said he
would bring them back in English to close
the contract. :. 4s xarv
,n,,rh Te was remarkably intelligent tor
: Japaneee of the lower order, ana was