El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-08
THE GEISHA GIRL.
BY SABA YACCO

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The moon goddess had almost shed her
pure Wilderness on the Geisha quarter in
Tokyo.
The lanterns in the teahouses were al
ready Pickering family as their flames
diminished. The night Waterman, max
ing his rounds. could bc heard %heralding
the hour OF dawn in his n~onotonous
tones, when Takao. the most beautiful
Geisha girl in Tokyo, sat by the window
of her room. with n sad heart in her eyes.
If she had been n beauty OF the occi-
lent she would have cried and sobbed
aloud, but in oriental countries we hid
our sufferingS.
She was "a poor girl. n daughter Of one
OF the poor nobility OF Japan.
Takao had excessive beauty and dis
~tinction of manner. for she was very
proud. but she had humblcd her spirit, so
that her parents could be saved from ex-
trcme poverty.
For this reason. according to Japanese
custom. she bad entered the Gcisha
quarter. receiving the sum of 800 "yedos'
To bind her presence there for three
years
In a short while Takao became the
queen OF the Geisha. and all the nobility
and rank OF Japan assembled at her tea
house.
Among the gallants who paid their re-
spects to this beautiful japanese woman
was Tuzaburo Shimada, n knight and a
soldier.
He was poor compared TO the other
suitors for Takao's hand. but he was the
handsomest. biggest. finest japanese man
of them all. and Takao loved him.
h had never told him this because
In Japan women are not brought up to
ha lapnnnsfr,tfr in chair 1a-. a6atrx
but she knew that Shimada loved her.
for he had told her that some day. when
he was rich. he would make her his wife,
and what could he say more?
But still Takao was much troubled. for
where love is in the heart there is often
sadness too.
So she was thinking. wondering il her
sweetheart would ever become rich
enough to take her to his home.
1t takes n long time. and one can think
a long while about these things-that *
why Takao found herself sitting by the
window in her tcahouse watching the
sun god slowly steal in golden splendor
over the harbor and the hills in the dis
lance.
The night before 4 great feast had
been given in her honor by Sendaiko, 4
feudal lord of Japan-an the wealthiest
man in the country.
Repeatedly Scndaiko had asked her to
become his wife. and repeatedly she had
refused him. for in her heart was the pic
ture OF Tuzaburo Shimada, the knight
whom she loved.
Sendaiko had pressed his suit earnest
ly, with great Will splendid
with presents and with prom
ises. but without success. for the heart
OF a Japanese girl is made only for one
lover. one husband.
Seu1aiEo was at first SurpriSet and
finally grew angry at Takao's persistent
refusal. She accepted his fetes in her
honor and the presents he gave her be-
cause in the Gcisha quarter she was
obliged to treat all visitors with cere-
mony and respect
As the moon goddess disappeared in
mist of early dawn and the sun god
peeped in Mt the window where Takao
his yellow eye saw n queer sight.
The sun god searched every corner of
the teahouse carefully. and everywhere
he found sparkling gold lying untouched
about the floor.
In one corner he found n pair of great
scales. and most of the money bags were
placed on one side of these scales.
The night before Sendaiko had laid n
wager with his friends that he would
buy kao' love for her weight in gold.
During the feast he had the scales
brought in. and while the attendants
piled the gold on the scales Sendaiko
Takao to balance her weight
against his money.
Laughiugly she had complied. and as
he stood on the scales Sendaiko said:
This. all this. will / give you if you
will become my wife"
Takao leaped instantly from the scales
and in the presence of the company re-
fused TO marry Sendaiko, even for her
in gold.
Sendaiko, enraged at the public humil-
alton. refused to accept her answer, and,
eaving the money in the teahouse, said:
Tomorrow 1 will take you to my coun-
which is called the country of SEN
in the northeast part OF Japan"
And when they had all gone Takao.
trembling and frightened, sat down at
he window of her teahouse and looked
or her sweetheart, Shimada, to rescue
Ter.
But he did not come. for he had been
on n mission into n far distant coun-
nv by the influence of Sendaiko.
Suddenly the door of the eahouse was
'ushcd open, and some men crept stealth
in.
Before Takao could utter n cry of
harm she was seized. her head was
wrapped in n scarf. and she was carried
ut of the teahousc to the seacoast; there
he was placed on a ship anchored in the
arbor OF Tokyo and owned by Sendaiko.
When the ship was we'll out at sea.
endaiko had the beautiful Takao
'rought before him on deck, and, hold
n sword to her breast. he demanded
Z she would marry him, for he loved her
realty and would make her his wife.
Takao, true to her sweetheart, again
The attendants OF Sendaiko tried their
to restrain their master, but in "A
,assion of rage he plunged the sword
nto T'akao's heart, and her body was
brown into the sea.
As all japanese stories have a moral.