The Tupelo journal., 1908-05-22

Talk about masculine superiority" said the
globe-trotter, you ought to see the way women
greet a man guest in Japan. There's a nice fellow
in Tokyo whom | used to know. He was in San
francisco a few years ago, but he went back to
take up his fathers business. Well, l was invited
10 his house in Tokyo. Say, you ought to have
seen the way Mrs. Furugawa saluted me! She was
a sweet little creature, not really pretty, but gen.
tie and dainty and all that sort of thing. Well, sir,
she went down on her knees and crossed her hands
on the floor and bowed her head down to touch
the mating. | felt like a grinning idol. Furugawa
ought to have told her not to, or else he ought to
have given her warning so l might have gone down
on my own knees; but as it was I'd no idea what
she was going to do, so there l stood like a wooden
image of a heather god, and she thinking all the
time what beasty manners Americans have.
You've no idea what an idiot it made me feel. What
I'm used to at home is having a sternly aggressive
American woman deliberately glare at me in a
street car till l give her my seat"
1t was hard on you," said the hostess, with a
twinkle in her eye. Il remember you of old at
dancing school, and how you used to hate even that
mild ordeal"
Boys always hate bowling and scraping. But
girls seem to take to it like ducks to water"
Alas, not all of us" put in a plump and jolly
young matron; while we were in London last year
] was presented to Queen Alexandra. To tell the
truth, | really had supposed l knew how to make a
suitable curtsey, but my friend, Eileen Tanning,
who gave me various points beforehand, made me
practice over and over while she criticised. 1t all
seemed too absurd for anything, but really l assure
you those rehearsals were all that saved me from
dying of modification on the floor of Buckingham
palace. If you fancy it's easy to make a very, very
low, sweeping curtsey, almost to the very floor,
again and again and again, gracefully retiring dur
Ing the process, and not getting tripped up by the
longest train you ever had a chance to wear-well,
Just try it YOURSELF"
Eat least, you did know what was expected Of
you. and had time to prepare for it," said the
traveller. IT'S when you run up against some un-
expected kind of salutation that you're lost. l saw
a funny sight once on the pier here just as I was
landing from one of the Hamburg-American boats.
There was a big, bearded Russian on board coming
over to visit some relations or other, and when he
walked down the gang-plank there were two young
people waiting for him, a pretty girl, evidently
Russian, and a young fellow who wasn't Russian at
all but spoke English and looked as if he hailed
from the state of Maine. Well, the one with the
beard fell upon the pretty girl as if he'd never seen
anything so good beforeI guessed he was Uncle
Niklovitch or something of that sort. Aad when
he had kissed Olga on both pink cheeks, didn't he
just grab the stiff, shy Yankee fellow and kiss him,
too! Yes, sir, first on one cheek and then on the
other, just as if he'd been a waiting sweetheart.
That poor fellow from Aroostook county was Grim
a parting bear-hug and set him free. l suppose he'd
never in all his life seen Russian Eaen kiss each
other-but he'll see more If he marries the pretty
girl as l guess he means to"
Hard on a New England man." suggested a