Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-05-05
Jap English.
DIFFICULT LANGUAGE FOR THEM Tc
CONQUER.

The Japanese certainly do try to learn
the English language. They find the
English language Q pretty hard nut to
crack, but that doesn't deter them. They
keep right ut 1t and crack 1t.
Yokohama for transpacific steamship
company, now on leave In New York,
brings q quaint package Of material IL
Illustrating the efforts OF the English
schooled Japanese to gain half-nelson
on the language Of Shakespeare.
A few months ago . young Japanese
applied to the steamship agent for a job
as clerk in the Yokohama steamship
Office. There being no vacancies, the
agent civilly got rid of the applicant,
and on the following day he received
this explanatory letter from him:
"Dear Sir-Many thanks for your spar
ing precious time during business hour
on my visit yesterday.
failed on that occasion, owing rather
to my sly nature to speak out my princi-
pal motive for clerk life and should be
much obliged If you will take it into
consideration. The cause for my being
clerk 10 that I am lover of Charles
Lamb, with whom l have many points
in common. 1 have an effectionate sis
ter for whose sake l will sacrifice my
life and lead single life like the English
humorist. Was be not a clerk in the
Indian company till his retirement
through the approaching age. said
my sister, but to tell the truth, she was
my cousin, and the past three years was
q tragic comedy to US, and from pure
love, by mutual consent, we will lead a
brother and sister life.
MY second motive is that / may be-
come a gentleman through your favor,
with whom I had no means to know each
other but such insolent way on my
part.
How glad my parents and dear sister
be if they hear some day that get a
position in your Office.
intend to enter some school within
two or three days and train myself in
bookkeeping and in the practice of type
writer.
Hoping you would not kindly forget
me through an artless fronties (front?).
Yours:f hfully, KATsU FARO"
Here is letter from Japanese ship
ping firm to the steamship company re-
specting whatever 1t means:
"Dear sirs-According to your favor of
Nov. %, 12-10th, with reference to dis
crepancy of 275 sacks of -four, we send
you the invoice No. 81, which you have
not. We beg you to return US the in
voice when you will not be short of it
and to inform us what it will be intend
by you to this discrepancies explana-
| tiOn -
The writer of the following letter had
lit'r'y amb tions, and his application is
addressed to the "Chief Editor" of a
newspaper published in English in
Yokohama:
dearest sir-let me, pray, have some
honor write to you who have no knowl-
edge with me. Well now am lived in
this town leisurely without having any
work. From the boyhood read several
English books so industriously as do
not its away of the hand till night from
morning. Of course my knowledge Of
the english might be pretty irregular
and unexperient 80 that I learned it
myself without training by any teacher.
However, in order to fill up my aspira-
ton THAT I am desiring to translate to
Japanese homeward intelligence to the
english language, for a long time) l
should be sertify to have some redi-
curious from the reader-of my writing.
Not only 1t; there are such proverb as
the following:
blind serpent never feared all thing
timidly.' So l decided to try to do
something having write to you this with
out ceremony and better thought.
Dearest sir, beg you to say than that
1 have to wish to publish my translation
in the edge of your costful paper here
after.
Had you to listen to my writing on the
above i shall work several kind of the
japanese papers and others, for which
ought to be liked by the foreigner, ask
ing your excellence opinion.
Sir, if mine would have been most I'M
tasteful 80 that let the reader have
scarcely one interest in ten, l so more
speak as it is the slender part of me at
any rate glance me your good aswer re-
main here. Yours faithfully,