The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-27
Est7ttzSst WIG sFs 'sssSs v "'F""S"" " THE ADVERTISERS
 DAILY SHORT STORY

&WWNesSFSSsT ss sSsscsTor eSF "es " Poor little oToya-san! She pluckes nervously at her girdie, while her mother poured out voiuble adponitions as to the necessity of this .istasteful marriage offered to her. Distasteful! What was she, a mere girl, to have opinions Q. her own! As if she could be supposed to know what was best for her future welfarei Here was man wno W0uiu honorabiy condescend to settle ten kohus of rice upon her honorable father, pe- sides the presents of tea ana nx,S SIX wnlGe aDe had already been received. would sns indeed dare to question the wisdom oI her parents In this matter concerning her welfare.
 OToya-san pouted her red lips and eso sayed a feeble protest: But he IS so old, so yellow. He Is like withereo tree bent and twisted by storms. Ills teeth are like the fox-demon's s and when e1iookse at one his eyes sleam like a fefret's." A shudder of disgust quivereo through her frame.
 The O-kami-san eyed her daughter with suspicion.
 Who has put such ,,sS;s npRsense eomes in your of your visits to the Bund. and the bold talk of the young girls who hire them selves to the foreign devils as amans. 1t was not so when l was young: we knew that in order to be s, pleasing o, oV and piety. Go away from my signt, ungrateful one, until you learn to show an obedient spirit to your parents wishes"
 OToya-san went out into the minia- ture garden with bent head and fore boding heart. She had no eyes Tor the pink cherry blossoms, which clustereu in fragrant bloom upon the leaness trees showing interstices of blue sky between. In vain they drifted like prismatic snow flakes at her small feet. She relentless ly crushed them. She was deaf to her
 caged singing crickets. which greeted her with musical raptures. The gold-nsh in the artificial pond darted to the side in quest of the tiny morsels Of rice cake. OToya-san needed them not, for today she felt that crisis had come into her young life and that she must pray to Hotai, God of Happiness, to help her.
 O'Toya-san made an alluring picture as she stood there with hands thrust into the long flowing sleeves or hel kimona, her night-black hair glossy as the copper mirror which reflected her image when she dressed her coinure n the quaint fashion of her country w2.
 men: the piquant little nose, the full red lips; the marvellous transparency of her met; the arched brows shading her soft dark eyes, in which were blended the mystery of the Orient with the wistfu faith of girlhood. She seemed indeed part of that wondrous whole, the fantas- tic, undiscovered, ghost-haunted land oi the Gods-Japan.'
 That which her mother had said was | true, O'Toya-san reflected. Down on the Hatoba she had frequently met certain friends who, with their young charges | the children of American tourists-wert In the habit of strolling there. One ol | them had accompanied her employer | to America, and in due time returned | with wondrous tales of that great anc | free land.
 It was like a dream of enchantment tt | listen to the greatly -traveled one. OToya | san recalled the description of the pal aces where one bought beautiful thing! | to wear and to eat, of the tea house: hich reached the sky, and Of the smal rooms, substitute for stairs. which moved | swiftly up and down inside these huge buildings. She described the WonderIu cars which flew up and down hills with | out either horses or jinrikisha runners, a | the command of a man who stood in tn' | front and grasped an iron handle. Ant | then, most strange in this land of topsy | turvydum, the young girls kissed th' | young men. What stir that statemen created! It was received with HUI | shrieks of incredulity and fearful ght | What! Really! Are you certain? I'm csc Scheherasade. O'Toya-san hersel | was skeptical No modest, self-respect
 ing girl would be guilty of such breacl | of modesty. Still, If one liked someon | O'Toya-san-and it were the etiquette o | even a barbarous countryside blushed
 Later thought flashed through her min
 which crystallized into a resolve.
 will go to the shrine" she whispered t
 herself. and learn my fate.
 The day was done All the world rest
 ed. From the sea crept up the warn
 dusk, plotting out the far. faint: dream sky, and the deep-hued mountains, Wit a phantom mist-curtain. the man Wit the ferret eyes. The delicate. fairy-like irdescribable. The roofs of blue-gra tiles caught a fugitive gleam of rose. a frCm the after-glow of a sunset memor and left in deeper shadow the narroyI
 streets between the houses, where 4 mul
 titude of twinkling lights appeared on
 Thursdays story. HANK DUNKIN's