Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-02

their wives) one at a time to admire
they even apply the goodwin principle
to their wives. This method Of shop
ping is slow, and as l was not buying
Quarterly books or choice curios l tired
of it. The right way would be to have
an etiquette servant, like a parson editor,
to start an hour before you and get
through the gymnastics before you ar
rived.
You could choose one who held plenty of
tea, because if you don't drink tea you
are charged more as a worthless person
or a barbarian with no knowledge of bust
ness.
1t is better, however, to sit on your
heels and drink cups of Japanese tea than
to stand about bars drinking whiskies.
Once upon a time | published a book in
Japan. / was only 80 then, and had my
life before me. l called in on my way
to the exhibition to ask when l might ex-
pect some proofs which had been due a
month. l had to go upstairs and take
tea on the floor, and eat an orange, and
some bean-lower sweets before | could ask
the question:, lest | should hurt the pub
fishers feelings. 1t took half an hour,
but the time was not wasted, because he
sent his foreman to the exhibition with
me to get a free lesson in English. If you
have a good riksha boy, he goes in with
you to tell you how to behave.
l made up my mind only to deal with
pawnshops, unless l was buying camphor
wood boxes or paper umbrellas. When
you buy direct from the manufactures
things are simplifed a bit, as his whole
stock may be under twenty shillings' value.
Perhaps the Japanese don't really have
pawnshops, but the places which look like
tbor, ~ tho op1v Chppc uhora II &c anV
fun buying things; and the things you
buy are worth so much more when you
get to England, because they were made
in the days when the Japanese did not go
in for shops, but ALL lived in big families,
which sometimes ran into thousands, in
the establishment of a noble whose in
come was reckoned in rice.
This sounds as bad as having your name
writ in water, but it isn't really, for the
daimio's income would have run into the
millions if it hadn't been reckoned in rice.
The daimio paid salaries, also in rice, to
every kind of workman to take the proper
leisure over making things. One wonders
how much time a japanese would take
under those favorable circumstances; the
only thing he hurries over is fetching.
In the humble second hand shops which
abound round Shiba at Tokyo, AM behind
the Theater street at Yokohama, one buys
for coppers little gems Of articles of do
nestle use which are the most lOvable
things in Japan. They were made in the
old Daimio days when Il thing had TO be
perfect of it's kind, and though cnipped and
worn and discolored, their elegance of form
and ingenuity of design make them MASTER
pieces of art.
l do not only refer to the buttons which
they do not use for buttoning (netsuFes),
the four-trayed medicine chests which
would go inside of a cigar case Gnro), and
the pipe tubes and tobacco purses, which
are all the Japanese has in the way of jew
elTy, but the folding and telescoping can
dlesticks of bronze and iron, the finger bells
and gongs priests take out tor walks, chop
sticks and amulet cases, solemn tea cad
dies, dressing cases for carrying in your
sleeve, looking glasses made Of bronze and
ivory card cases for holding lip paint.
. The Japanese do sell some things too
large to go in a woman's muff. For mere
songs one can pick up wonderfully elegant
r and decorated finger stoves, smokers stoves
=. kitchen ranges made of wood which you
: could put in your portmantnaI, antique
screens a foot and a half high whirh are
) only meant to look at, DaimiOs' trunks OF
! black lacquer which open and smut like his,