The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-21

! SuAQE PROCEEDED TO lecture ana We
could not understand a word he said
The guide would stop. and tell US a
/ long story. Being at a loss to COM
prehend him, we would venture a
"A temple where the people wor-
ship %
And he would reply briskly: eyes
/ sir; yes, sir" so that we really named
all the objects of interest we saw. But
/ this made little difference; it was a
day of surprising interest. I didn't
care what the buildings were, or who
lived in them: it seemed like a day
spent in Bagdad or some of the other
wonderful cities out of the Arabian
Nights" And this impression was in
creased by seeing a good many men
with one eye: you may remember
! that in the Arabian Nights many
of the men have but one eye. and
they are able to tell wonderful stOr-
les of how their eyes we're put out
for admiring beautiful women who
fiirted with them.
As we trotted along through the
strange, narrow, crooked streets, [ re-
member fearing occasionally, for a
moment, that my horse would frighten
at some of the unusual sights, and
then I looked down at my little man.
and felt languor and safety, and joy
At home horses are named Dick, or
Tom, or Prince, but my little man was
named "Yasu:" this name was painted
u
of his coat he had a large, strange
character. Little Walter Tracy, son
of Judge Tracy, one of our party
came up from the ship last night in
a 'ricksha. and when the American
boy saw the strange character on the
mans back, he thought it had been
pinned there as an April fool joke
If never see any more of Japan, 1
have an impression of it that will last
me as long as l live. You don't need
/ to see all of Japan; if you have seen
/ Kansas City, you can imagine Topeka:
and after you have seen Topeka, you
/ can imagine AtchisOn, and Hiawatha.
and Effingham, and Huron, and the
little places where there is only q
store and a postOfice. and a black
smith shop. I shall see Toxic. Kobe,
I Nagasaki and Yokohama in addition
/ to passing through a good deal of the
country by rail, and am content al
| though people laugh at me for my
/ haste; they say that to spend anly six
/ or seven days in Japan is sacrilege- It
was a the battlefield of Waterloo only
/ three hours, and know as much about
/ it as the average traveller: I think
most travellers remain too long in
/ strange places. and wear off the gla-
mOur.
While our procession of seven men
and three rickshas was passing
through the streets of Yokohama, we
! ran across little Miss Burgess, whom
J we UaQ KNOWN OH the snip. oIlt sd
at our table; and how she laughed at
US when she met US in Yokohama We
promised to meet her at tiffin Con the
ship, lunch is always tiffin, though 1
don't know why). On our return, she
called on us at the hotel and settled a
bet
While passing through the streets of
I Yokohama, what did we talk about?
/ Mainly we fused over the spelling OF
the word huge. Mattel said it was
/ hugh" and offered to bet on it. Fin
ally I said. "Of course you have no
money, and never viii have any, but
/ viii do this: If YOU are right I Will
1 buy you the silk kimona you say you
want; but if I am right, you are to
4 renOunce being a princess forever, and
become my vassal. my slave. You
are not to suggest anything to me in
case I win; on the contrary, you are
to wait on me- and 1 win call you
boy as they call the servants on the
ship"
She agreed to the proposition. and
Miss Burgess decided that I was
right. 1 am now carrying things with
a high hand; Eugene should see me
now.
You cannot see all there is to see.
anywhere. One place where our pro,
cessiOn stopped is known as 'The
Hundred Steps. I refused to go up
and when Mattel came back, she said
the attraction amounted to this: she
climbed a hundred steps, and paid
ten sen for cup of tea. It is a IA
nous place; why, L cannot imagine
The educational department says
Richard Harding Davis wrote Ut
the woman who keeps the place, but
the Educational Department may
be mistaken: it spelled huge" wrong
: after studying three years at an eX-
y pensive school in Washington.
1 preferred the ordinary things to
The Hundred Steps" so we visited
fishing village, and admired th(
7 cleanliness of the people and of the
houses. Apparently there are nc
poor in Yokohama; all the peOplf
seem able to live at least simply anC
| decently. Nearly ever little gif.
carried the family baby about on he1
? back; Japan is famous for babies
5 This fashion Of carrying babies is al
most identical with the fashion of Oul
= Indians The little girls raced abOu
l and played, and the poor babies tief
to their backs received a great jolting
: but they seemed to be very patient
We saw no beggars; we encountered
no rudeness of any kind although
! we went through the poorest districts
j While our guide could not talk Eng
3 lish, he was one of the politest meI
I ever met. He took us to see tn,
private grounds of a Yokohama rner
chant. and a gentleman we founc
- there accompanied US everywhere
3 These grounds are on top of a hill ov
u erIoOking the ocean, and are wonder
d full. The merchants family desert
{ the beautiful place during the sum
9 NOR, and moves to the city. The guild
Y and the gentleman who accompanie,
r. us Che seemed to be caretaker, O
an employe of the merchant, VIII
! happened to be at the place. wer
e Immensely polite to each other:
d shall always remember the politenes
/ of the japanese. They are as eeutee
as the French. and as clever.
r. Japan, as you know, is very noun
g. famous The people have terrace
II the sides of the mountains, with grea
- labor. and grow crops on the terraces
Where there are little valleys. they ar
III la1.ntal n lie 4