The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-21

1T is necessary that you live high,
See" Then he proceeded with his
brush and ink block to adorn a long
strip of paper with characters. This
he gave to us, while we returned one
II those beautiful bright silver coins
known as a yen.
But we were not through yet. We
had TO be registered at police head
quarters, and o Yen trudged there
with our visiting cards. In return, a
scribe from the police office came and
the two, seated on the floor, talked for
an hour over cups of tea, While he
wrote and wrote as we looked on,
wondering how they could find so
much to say about us, and eventually
paid the bill.
Japan, it seemed, took no chances
with strange visitors.
With the understanding that o Yen
was to go to police headquarters
Thursday of every week and report
our doings, we were at last settled.
With our loose-poihted ways of look
| ing at things, the Japanese utilization
of space and the extension of it's pos
sibilities seem like sixth sense. On
a half acre of ground there were five
| houses, each with its little pocket hand
| kerchief of a yard laid out as if it
| was landscape. Each was surrounded
| by a high fence of split bamboo, i'm
penetrable as to sight. AS for hear
ing, we might all almost have been in
the same house. Our next neighbor
was a young Englishman with his
toric name and a geisha who strummed
her samisen all day long.
But we were easily the most notable
household. For one thing, we had a
cooking stove. This was the most
costly bit of furniture in the house.
1t had long pipe, whose adjustment
proved that stove pipes are much the
| same in every quarter of the world.
| Then we had a hired piano, which a
convenient partition was taken down
| to accommodate.
| The shoji or windows occupied al
| most one side of the house and slipped
on grooves. The tiny panes were
| filed with transparent paper. The
| duty of every morning was to paste
up the holes pushed in the paper
where the night before we had seen
| glittering eyes, for the sound of the
piano was the signal for the neighbour
hood to gather outside.
The piano was scarcely installed
when o Yen came in and closed the
| lid in the midst of tune. She ex-
| planned the act with great volubility.
o Yen could never understand why
| such accomplished foreigners could
not comprehend the talk of a poor
Japanese maid. Even when she gos-
| slipped about us to q neighboring
| crony she always talked in a whisper.
| But 1t appeared that Prince Yashimina
was dead, and etiquette prescribed
| that for three days the sound of music
must not be heard in the land. At
| the end of this time o Yen raised the
| lid of the piano with a giggle and
l. dashed into "All Coons Look
Alike to Me-"
The earthquake was produced SO
promptly that 1t seemed Japan was
eager to bring out her novelties. We
were lying wrapped in our futons, the
one in a kimona wardrobe, the other
in an honored recess, when at mid
night the dogs began to bark, the
corners of the room seemed to be
bowling to one another, and then the
room waltzed around by itself. The
movement was long enough for us to
be keenly awake and Historically en-
joylng the sensation.
It was surprising to find on the NOR
row that the foreigners were busy in
speeding their beams and foundations
after "a fairly severe shock" They
live under this shadow. Familiarity
with earthquakes does not breed con-
tempt On the contrary, the longer a
foreigner lives in Japan the more these
commissions are feared. Japanese
houses are safer than foreign houses,
for the reason that the uprights stand
in stones slightly followed, so that
they may yield to the movement. The
real danger is from the heavy roof
tiles flying through the air. The for
eigner is warned not to run out of
the house, but to stand in the door
way in order to get the protection of
the framework above.
There are other novelties by night.
One is fire, and this quickly followed
the earthquake. "Kadgi" "Kadgi!"
We heard the scream, and knew what
it meant, for there is terror in this cry,
which belongs to all tongues. 1t
proved to be the corner house on our
little lane
o Yen withheld our impetuosity UNI
til she lighted her paper lantern, al
though the whole area was like day.
One Of the humors of japan is that no
one must go to a fire without Ian
tern; and the presence of hundreds of
these tiny sparks around the blazing
house was, indeed, funny.
The firemen of Japan do not attempt
to put out a fire. With long hooks they
pull down the blazing structure and
merely prevent the flames from
spreading. The neighboring hopse-
holders, with buckets of water, look
out for their own property. A fire in
a crowded japanese quarter is a Sc
rious matter. A few days before
1900 houses were burned in Toxic. Our
part in the fire was TO pay the watch
man, who cried 'kadgi," six yen when
he presented his bill for waking US
up.
These watchmen are feature of ia
pan. Armed with stout sticks, topped
by loose metal rings. they walk up and
down, striking their sticks against the
ground. This makes the rings jingle.
and assures the citizen that he may
sleep on, for the Waterman is doing
his duty. The thieves are alike warned.
Another Of the characteristic sounds
OF night Is the melancholy pipe of the
ANNA san" These are the blind mas
seurs looking out for custom. Only the
blind are allowed TO practice massage.
This and the hot bath are the remedial
agents OF Japan. The demand for the
masseur among the rickshaw men Is
great. Thus their legs are kept In COM
ditiOn.
The hot bath helps 20 keep the nation
warm. The cold OF a japanese winter
Is the most dlsagreeable cold Of the