The leader., 1905-10-14

IcD in the good old days when Japan
was really Japan. He had to decide
upon all the kinds OF cases that the
ingenious subjects of the shogun were
able to everything from muir
der and manslaughter to mistaken
marriages. Once he had to decide upon
a cat. 1t happened thus:
Mr.. Mountain (Oyama SAM, Mr.
Pinetree (Omatsul, Mr.. Forest (Hay-
ashi SAM, and Mr.. Temple (Otera
SAM had gone into partnership They
were rich merchants. Oyama San was
a small bit of man, even for
japanese; Omatsu San was fat and
round likO ball; Hayashi San was
like a bean pole, and Otera San had
such small head, one wondered were
there room in it for any brains at all.
These four men lived in village
near Nagoya, where the golden dolph-
ms stand on their heads on the ridge
pole oil the roof of the ancient castle
palace, and considering the size of the
village. they did an excellent business.
Just as in this country folk speculate
in wheat, over in Japan they speculate
in rice. They had a produce ex-
change there, or rice exchange, long
before anyone in this country thought
of that sort of thing.
Being partners, they belonged to the
same guild-an ancient one that clung
to customs that dated back to nobody
knew when. Among these customs one
| bod ~ dA
went against the members of this guild
in winter time. they appeared on the
streets in the gauziest of summer cos
tunes. If the market went wrong in
summer, they walked about muffied in
tippets to their eyes, thick hoods on
their heads, and their bodies wrapped
in the heaviest padded kimono. No
one has been able to trace the origin
Of this custom, but only recently has
it disappeared. Probably were one TO
scrutinize carefully he would find
traces of it even to-day.
| Well, one summer day the market
had behaved badly, and the four part
ners went down the street together
looking like bales of cotton on parade
Hayashi San led the procession. He
looked like two bales, one on top of
the other. Then came Otera San; he
looked like cotton pyramid. Omatsu
San followed, looking like nothing but
bal! of wool; and Oyama San
brought up the rear looking like a
little Omatsu San.
AS they drew near the exchange
where the trouble of the day had
come about, Oyama San saw cat.
He rolled towards it, saying:
"Aha! the very thing. Now we
shall have good luck
What is it?" asked the three in
front, through their wraps and per-
spiTation.
"Tbe cat," replied the painting
Oyama.
''And what of the cat? There are
many cats. We see cats every day and
hear them every night
at is true indeed, augustly, honorably
true"
"Well, then?" All were exceeding
ly warm, and not patient, probably,
but Oyama San managed to puff suffi-
GENTLY to explain.
Behold, the cat has four colors,
brown, and black, and white, and
gray; and we are four-that is a sign.
Then, like all cats, she has four legs,
and our warehouse has four corners
Thus have we four and four, and four
and four. The sixteen sacred emblems
| Nf h. ;p1%
buy this cat"
BY appealing to 16 sacred emblems,
the perspiring Oyama San persuaded
his perspiring partners to join him
in purchasing the cat The four pro-
oeeded through the gate before which
the cat sat, and at the entrance to the
house within. On reaching the en-
trance to the house, Oyama San, in a
voice lined with flannel, called out.
august pardon deign!" He meant
that he wished the master of the
house to pardon him for venturing TO
approach-that is, theoretically, he
meant that-practically he was doing
no more than letting the servant know
that he was there; knocking with his
voice, so to speak; there are neither
door bells nor door knockers in Japan.
In this lack they are neither Amer
ican nor English.
There was a reply to Oyama's
August pardon deign!" 1t sounded
like the word "high," long drawn ont:
"Hai-i-i-i-i-i-i."
Then the door slid to one side, and
the face of a maid appeared.
Oyama San blew out through his
tippet another August pardon deign!'
and asked if the honorable cat, august
Iy sitting at the honorable gate, au-
sustly belonged to the honorable
house.
The maid replied that it honorably
old.
would the honorable possessor
deign to dispose augustly of it," queried
Oyama San.
The maid honorably didn't know, but
she volunteered to inquire: and the
master of the house, who knew the
four, told his son, who was the own
er OF the cat, to give her up. He
would not hear of money recompensa
for the boy, but the four bought the
lad enough sweets and oranges to
keep him stuffed for a month, besides
kites and tops. and a beautiful battle
door and shuttlecock. To these gifts
in kind the father made no objection.
Indeed, he himself was not impair
tial to sweets and oranges.
Oyama San being the smallest of the
four, naturally felt, as little men do.
that he was the one who could manage
the whole affair rightly He divided
the cost Of the gifts into four equal
parts and assessed each partner the
value of part Then he took the