Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-17

EUUWARA spoke English after the
manner of the primary schools,
and dissembed with the fuency
and smile of officer of the staff:
He was thin. hollow chested, round
shouldered youth, who wore spectacles
quarter of an inch thick, and talked in
throaty wheeze ostentatiously confidential. In the
day time he sat on his shins in the office OF The
Shot, newspaper and wrote profound pieces on
foreign politics and other affairs his English being
supposed to give him special familiarity with the
foreign exchanges that and then found their
way into the office
When the newspaper correspondents began to
flock into Toxic the beginning of the Russo
Japanese War. Fuwara developed the habit of
dropping into their hotel in the evening the long
tails of heavy rock coat tapping about his spidery
legs and his feet clad in felt slippers that gave an
air of stealth and mystery to his walk.
He professed to be establishing relations with
the distinguished representatives of the foreign
press" The simple truth that his paper had
put him in charge of recently installed foreign
news service and he greatly in need of assistance
with his English. So he intimated cautiously to
two of the young English speaking correspond
ents that for occasional aid he might hint
at suggest, perhaps even elucldate a little, some
of the matters of Importance concerning the war
within his japanese knowledge.
The older and more experienced correspondents
smiled loftily the proposition for they recognized
how one sided such a partnership might be- But
some of the younger took it up, and what began
the bare chance of profit continued tor other
reasons, perhaps just for the fun of the thing
For frankly Fuiiwara was a Joke and Jokes were
the most of. But perhaps not sufficient account
had been taken of the young man S tenacity. Stu
dents of phvsognomy agree that prominent under
jaw is Indicative of strength of character and some
of the foreign press failed to consider duly the
fact that FuJiwara had chin.
A S the international alliance continued, its Japan
csc member developed some surprises He bios
somed out afternoon in riding clothes and came
to the hotel astride obstreperous shaggy little
beast that threw him three times between the gate
and the main entrance and restrained only
with clubs and double haters from fighting every
animal of its kind within the compound. Never
theless Fujiwara rode that brute away in triumph
and reported proudly in the evening that he had
been landed in the street only five times in getting
home The foreign correspondents thought it ludi-
Crous Not one of them took it warning.
Fujiwara was known bilingually to the foreigners
as Full y and The Joke" His mental process was
a little slow and he seemed not to comprehend quite
clearly many of the sportve illusions that travelled
about when he was present He always joined IN
the laugh however. as heartily anyone, because
that comported with his japanese sense of polite
ness and never cared to question whether 1t was at
his expense not Apparently he cared only to be
on good terms with his distinguished colleagues.
A close observer might have noticed that little
by little Fujiwara improving his English and
picking up bits of professional wisdom There was
no better listener shop talk and stories OF
this or that campaign, than he. He always
interested in the tagging discussion of kit
and field equipment and tales of great beats