The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-09-12

a2S the las quarter or a century reminds
me of TIE time when I first saw tina;
country when IL was first beginning 10
open Its eyes to the outside world" The
SPEAKER was a guest at one of the Wash
ington hotels, and as he had record as q
globe trotter h had been asked 10 tell a
few of his experiences.
The str2ngest chapter in nv life was
ritten in Japan" he continued Most
OF you who have known me for twenty
five years never thought that | had been
married. Well, / was once. or thought !
was, and the worst part of the whole is
that / loved the woman. 1t wouldn't have
been so bad If l hadn't. No, Am not
going 10 get sentimental and tell you my
troubles. You can go If you want to. but
l warn you that IL you do you will miss
one Of the rarest tales you ever heard of.
1T was In the early sixties Good old
Commodore Perry had brought about the
quasi treaty with the United States sew
eral wears before. The shOgunate still
held the reins over the destiny of the
empire, for it was not until the revolution
Of 1868 that the shotgun was defeated ana
the mikado placed firmly on the throne.
Foreigners were not especially well re-
ceived, and strange as ii NAV seem
Americans and Enelishmen were the least
liked OF all, in spite of the fact that the
treaties mad been first concluded with
them. But Yokohama was open TO US.
and it was there that went. | was look
ing around for investments of some sort
l did not know what. / had plenty of
money, enough TO seem a real fortune to
the inhabitants of the island of Nippon. or
whatever you care to cali it. Yekohs ma
was cosmopolitan place The sailors
and tradesmen of all the world were
there, and at the time IL looked like a gil
2antic trading booth In The course of
time We made the inhabitants understand
that We had come to stay, and then we
got along famously.
Lease on Wife.
They were especially kind to us poor
homeless foreigners i'm one respect They
were willing 10 provide us with wives
Talk about your marriages of conven-
iencer They don't compare with the ones
solemniZed in those days between the
transient foreigners and the japanese
girls. There was an institution at that
time known as temporary marriages
When sailor came into port. or any
other man for that matter, all he had TO
tell them that he wanted a wife They
would fit him out in short order. The
marriage tie was broken by the foreigner
leaving the place. The marriage broker
was somewhat the same sort of individual
who advertises his business in this coun-
try He charged a commission from the
foreigner, which was always PAYABLE on
delivery of the goods, and the solemniza-
ton of the rites.
THE girls who contracted these mar
riages were from the middle classes of
Yokohama, and belonged to parents in
various vocations. They by no means
lost caste through having formed one of
these alliances with a foreigner, and
many of them married men in their own
station in life after their European lovers
had left them. The Japs seemed to think
that ii was not good for man to be alone
and they supported the custom by the
most hearty recognition. All that a man
was expected to do was to take care of
his temporary wife. clothe her and see
that her wants were supplied He was
not compelled TO give her any money,
although he usually did. The parents
were thus relieved of the burden of the
girls care, and thought themselves and
the young lady well off.
Il had heard of the custom. but I paid
little attention to the talk concerning it,
and now | wish that / had. / was young
barely twenty-five. | had Travelled ali
over the world. and nationality had begun
TO cut very little figure with me | had
about concluded to settle down in Yoke
hama and establish myself as a broker.
for | saw that the future opportunities
were great.
Fell in Love.
zone day l was walking along the
streets of the city and noticed the pref
test little japanese girl ever saw
Don't blame me if / rhap,oCize a little,
for il was more than a third Of a cen
fury ago. | could see from her attire
that she was from the middle class. and
/ followed her into one OF the tea stores
l found out that she was employed there
and that she was not married. / saw
her again on the street. but she did not
appear 10 notice me. To make a long
story short, decided that | was in love
with her, and that | would marry her, II
such a thing were possible. The pro-
prietor of the tea store could not speak
English, but l understood from what little
Japanese / knew that, in spite OF her ap-
parent cOyness, the young lady returned
my esteem.
II was IN a pickle, and decided 10 go
to one Of the marriage brokers. | made
my business known, and he said that he
would help ne 0G.. He discovered that
my inamorita's name was Sakichi, and
that she would be most happy TO become
my wife | told him 10 TX the matter
Up for ne, as 1 was afraid that ] would
bungle it. / had a good deal Of trouble
with the broker. He talked execrable
English ana ! talked worse japanese
but We finally concluded mat We under
stood each other. ] then met Sakichi-l
always called her 'KichF for snort. The
long e sound OF the ! made IL so pretty
| decided that she was more Deautifui
than ever, and told the broker 10 hurry
up the ceremony
Married by Native Rites
Il intended 10 have the nuptiai bonds
solemnized by some missionary. but the
broker said that il was not necessary.
She mack good wife, ne volunteered
and I heartily agreed with him.
There were a few flowers scattered
around. and Sakichi and broke tne rice
cake The simplicity Of the whole thing
startled me- but my bride appeared salts
fed and had 10 be. / paid the broker
his charges. an insignificant sum- ana
was a married man.
Were We happy? Sakichi appeared TO
he and | can say that ! was she was
the most affectionate little thing in the
world She had bright mind, and the
way she learned English was surprising.
She was very domestic in her tastes. and
kept the little house / had bought IN per-
feet order. / was as proud OF her as
could be, and whenever wen; out In the
evening on holidays / took her with me
When / came home from business she
was always waiting 10 receive me, and
had 10 give her Bout a thousand kisses
before / got inside o. the house. Thus
matters went on for three months
''One day business called me into the
north part OF the Island and / expected
10 go and see famous ShintO Temple On
my journey. IL was practically impos-
sibis for me 10 take Sakichi with ne
and I told her that she must stay aud
keep house for NE.
fully
Yes. ! will. Kichi.' said. ar I kissed