The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-23
JAPANESE BOYS
THEY ARE PATRIOTIC AND EA-
 GER FOR KNoKLEDGE.

Two small turtles in the yard of our little Japanese house were responsible for our first acquaintance with the small boys of our neighborhood, writes Marian Bonsall in the Houeskeeper by the turtles about ten boys from nine to twelve years of age, called upon us one evening, extending their greetings through our maid, who could speak English little.
 The following evening they called again, and feeling like old friends by that time, we asked the boys to sing their national anthem. Now the fond- est of us must admit that to make a group of American boys of the same age sing "Americ2" under similar cir cumstances, without actual compulsion, would be an impossibility; and we al- most gasped at the readiness with which oiur young guests compiled.
 "Ichi-ni-san" (one-two three) they began, and started to roar the anthem at the top of their voices, yet with a peculiar tenderness on the lingering notes. Delighted, we asked for more, The boys, with an utter lack of self consciousness, sang school songs for an hour.
 On the third evening they called again and asked that they might bring their teacher also. o Rim San whis- pered to us that the previous evening the young schoolmaster had stood con- cealed just outside the gate, listening to his students. SD he joined us and sang too.
 Immediately he asked us to sing "Dixie" and America" which the boys had heard at band concerts. To- gether we sang 'Auld Lang Syne," the air of which has been adapted to Jap anese words and is one of the most popular songs in the schools.
 Just before leaving the boys hummed Home, Sweet Home" which they had heard played by bands, and asked us to sing; so the boys whistling and the schoolmaster singing some Japanese school words that suited the air, we sang together.
 If I should speak of young Japanese boys as being intensely human l would be understood by those who are near to small boys as saying that they were good and bad and perverse and adora- ble all in a minute But even very young students are earnest in their studies to a degree that would amaze any student or teacher in Anne ga, and ambitious for the future, always with the idea of being valuable to their na- tion, to the point of planning years ahead, and applying themselves to their studies with determination not often excelled.
 Desperately hard are their studies too, requiring long hours of application This diligence, as displayed in learn ing English, sometimes expresses itselt most comically. Again and again, as we rode through the parks of Tokio when we stopped we were accosted by young schoolboys with a volley of IT, relevant questions for the sheer joy o1 tho practice.
 "Good morning. Where are you go ing? Are you visiting in Japan? DC you like Japan? Do you know the Japanese word for that cherry tree?' we would be asked.
 Often the questions would be much more personal, inquiring how We hat spent the morning and how old we were Never did the questions imply coriosity, however, but a sincerely DO lite interest that was very. engaging.
 One boy, more ingenious than tht rest, came up to our rickshaws one day and said that if we would talk to him for a while 1t would be good practice for his lesson. So for an hour we ca gerly discussed the qualities of ont rose his vocabulary not being suff1 cient to expand over broader subject
 A tiny little fellow, who had heard chance English words on the street, at. tempted to make a sentence in th' dearest possible manner one time 1T presenting a blossom to a young Eng fish girl resting on a bench in a publit park.
 After some hesitation he approached her, and dropping an exquisite camellis into her lap, said, speaking of the flow CT but mixing his pronouns, T am yer, pretty" and then ran away, embar. rassed, as fast as he could fly.
 Tn spite of their intense earnestness the school boys are fond of exeroisint their sense of humor, At a specia meeting of the literary society of ia nous boys school in Tol1io, which wa conducted almost entirely in English uproarious laughter was occasioned b, humorous dialogues and orations am the play with which the evening closed
 The auditorium was striking scene a strange combination of Japan ant America. The typical American col lege scene it seemed, confused by Jap anese flags and an audience composed fostly of school boys In short kimonos
 The immensity of Japan's accom- plishment was betokeneG in the pro gramme. Young students, wearin European dress for the occasion, de claimed earnestly in English Japan new duties, responsibilities and ambi tions.
 Certainly none who heard could hel being impressed by the obvious sheer ity of the students. In their speeche they would lay great stress on athleti exercises, that we may no longer be small bodied people," they would say "but splendid nation physically
 There were dialogues between rivs orators delivering Mark Antony's aC dess over the dead body of Caesar, an comical burlesques on the realisti school of elocution, all in English, cal ing forth immense enthusiasm. Ye genuine as was the approval of thes western accomplishments, the ev tlences of pleasure in the only tw numbers recalling old Japan-a swor dance come down from ancient tim and on old Japanese song-were natl rally deeper and more spontaneous.
 It was once my pleasure and priv