Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-11-04
TWO JAPANESE MAIDS AT vAssAR.
How They Behaved at College and Their
Later Fortunes In Mikado Land.

girls Stamatz and Singhi, who were !
sent over by the government along !
with half dozen more little maids
to be educated in America. 1t was
at the time when Japanese people
were beginning to be eager to ac-
Iuire everything that was good in
western thought and western meth
eds of life. The boys were encour
aged to visit Europe and America
and seek degrees in the schools
The girls, to the number of eight or
ten, were sent over at the expense
of the government. All of these
girls were of gentle birth, and sew
eral belonged to the nobility. 1t Is
interesting to learn the result of the
experiment from lady who recent
ly visited these girls in their Japa-
nese homes and who writes about her
visit to the Pail Mall Gazette. At
Vassar Stamatz was brilliant and ex-
elusive and very beautiful. She took
high honors in English literature,
wrote charming essays and spoke
English with slight accent of
course, but her vocabulary and her
use of it were flawless. She was
president of her class in her sopho-
more year and was member of the
Shakespeare, a club always con-
fined to the girls who were first in
tellectually. Stamatz played Won
derful game of chess and excelled at
whist.
Singhi was never president of any
thing, but every one loved her She
was invaluable at the fortnightly
"candy pulls" splendid on a sleigh
ride, and she spent half of her time
in the infrmary coddling sick girls.
She got through her examinations
with eminent respectability, spoke
very broken English and wrote it
stifly but correctly. Singh was
plain, dumpy and nearsighted, with
a wee fat nose and in every feature
broadly japanese.
Stamatz on her return to Japan
made brilliant marriage. Her hus-
band was an old man Of high posi-.
ton, great power and immense
wealth. His wife has become q
noted hostess and speaks French and
English fiuently as well as German
and Italian. She received an old
time friend who called upon her al
her home with all her old time gra
ciousness, served tea and cake from
: an English service and talked as en-
tertainingly as ever about the books
she read in America, but her tact
, grew listless when Vassar was men
/ toned. When the college paper fol
which in her student days she wrote
such clever articles was spoken OF
she said she believed they sometime
sent her a copy, but she wasn't sure
! She had not read printed page o
/ French or English since her return
. TO japan. Evidently she had spen
: the 10 years In exile because the m
kado thought it best. She wore tn
costume of japanese women, say
, that her hair was coiled in the sin
nle Greek fashion, and her bron2
Slippers were of Partisan make. 4
noted European called upon tn
Countess Olyama, as she is no.
known, with japanese gentleman
The Jap bent seven times to the fioc
when Stamatz entered, Countess
the Englishman said, 'f bow
; often and as low as that. / shall ia
down. But l am extremely glad
Y meet you" She smiled and mat
his cali delightful, but she never TO
:, gave him. Stamatz was born to II
/ nurple. and she loved it. She is fo'
, times a mother and four times
y stepmother. ,, -.
q Singhi lives in a funny little hous
4 purely japanese, and is the wife
a lieutenant in the navy. The Jol
Il little woman has not changed b
8 She seized her old friend by O
IL hand her friends husband by q
70 other She had never seen the hl
u hand or heard of him, but she
d. stinctiyely knew who he must
W and adopted him in her little moth'
az lv way. She had forgotten most
as her imperfect English, and at ~
'e the two friends could barely und'
de s+and each other. But she ov'
wbelmed the visitor with queslo
about everything and every6o
tbev had known in their school da'
She sent for her FIVE little childr'
/, and they bobbed queer little co
tesies with their queer little Dod
u and ran away laughing Inc oi oi
It suggestions Of Europe in the III
y iii of a home were three oid Do'
. and a box Of cigars, which the h'
y ess brought out for the gentlem
il with her gleeful laugh. bnt net
tbeless the empress has founded
girls' college in Japan, ana
11sinphi) is professor OF the piano
Met His Match.
az az The Russian marshal suvar :,
Ill 80 famops as a jester and was Il