The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1910-03-03

/
During his first day in the town, ne
put up at the Darnivostock hotel, but
found the lodging so abominable. the
/ fare so execrable and the service so
! insolent that he was glad to engage
an old peasant woman of all work and
begin housekeeping in some unoccu-
pied rooms of the Trading Company's
store.
Besides this old woman, his only
companion was young Russian clerk.
who spoke little bad English, which
he practiced on Hardy with such per-
sistence that he became a nuisance,
entertaining him with such re-
marks as:
Good morning. Mr.. Hardy. The
barn of my store is not so large as the
barn of my uncle. Have you seen the
barn of my uncle?" or, Good evening,
| Mr. Hardy. Do you think the black
horse is as good as the white horse?
Neither the one nor the other is so
good as the horse of my aunt"
This interesting person was pos
sessed of the skin of a baby, pink
cheeks, very thick, red lips, blue eyes
and tin-foil hair His name was Vasili
Ogorodnikoff. He imagined himself
great merchant. and his manner to-
ward Hardy oscillated between super.
ciliousness and the other extreme of
sudden servility when reminded of his
position. He was either presumptu.
GUS or groveling II was impossible
to treat him as an equal.
And here, from the very start,
Hardy got his first taste of hard work.
and came to realize what a blessing
it is; how it ennobles a mans sur
roundings. however, strange, prosaic
or uninviting, and what a royal pana-
cea it is for blues, inconsistencies. love
sickness, or any species of fostering
discomfort In addition TO the daily
business of the store, it was necessary
for him to take stock. familiarize him
self with the details of the trade. get
what idea he could of the accounts.
study the commercial possibilities of
the region. He saw Immediately. that
If he did not wish to continue at the
mercy of Vasili he must learn the
Russian language as soon as possible:
this, indeed, must be his first object.
He must swallow Russian in great
gulps and must digest il. He there
fore looked about for a teacher. The
only available person he could find
was a Russian Jew, who, despite his
youth, wore a great bale OF bushy red
whiskers, falling to the fourth button
of his shabby waistcoat
Mordecai Baruch knew English very
well, as he had spent several years in
New York in the factory OF a rela-
of caps. He undertook to teach Hardy
Russian, and he found the latter a
most assiduous pupil. devoting as
many as four hours a day to the sub
ject.
Hardy had not been long in Stry-
etensk before he received a letter
from Mrs. Johnny Folkstoae, the Bos-
ton society leader. calling him a
naughty boy for running away to the
ends of the earth and deserving all his
friends. and assuring him that society
would not have been able to do with
out him, money or no money, had he
seen fit to remain.
Another letter, received not long
after his arrival in Stryetensk, gave
him more pleasure.
II was written on the daintiest and
lightest of Japanese paper, IN very
small and exquisitely-formed script
AS Hardy picked this letter up from
his writing table, there was something
about it that suggested femininity,
even before he opened II.
"a woman, eh?" he muttered, land
in Japan. l wonder who are in Japan
this summer? Perhaps the Castle
tons"
He held the envelope closer to his
eyes to examine the script to see il
he could guess at the writer's identity
when the problem was solved A faint
and elusive perfume arose to his nos
trils, so faint as to be almost imper-
ceptible, yet imperishable as the
memory OF a kiss, and the image of
Aisome took shape again in his mind
-Aisome, as she had stood that night
on the wharf at Hakodate, bidding
him good-by, dainty as a on-flower,
exquisite as a Queen of Fairy-land.
Yokohama, August IS. 1903
You will perhaps be surprised at hear
ing from me, but you will not accuse me
of forwardness. I am sure. when you
learn my reason for addressing you in
this manner. Some time ago the estim-
able Mr. Sano did me the honor OF desir-
ing to marry me. Soon after your de-
parture for Hakodate. he again offered
me his hand, and when I made II plain
to him that l should never consent. he
became very angry and accused mellow
shall / express myself?-of having become
infatuated with the American. meaalng
you. In his jealous rage he revealed the
fact that he had given secret orders to
the captain OF the Shikoku Maru TO have
you disposed OF. you will never" he ex-
claimed, gnashing his teeth like a wolf
behold your beloved American again"
You can Imagine that this confession did
not advance Mr.. Sano TO any great ex-
tent in my esteem. Though did not be-
tray myself to him, was nearly frantic
concerning you. I went TO the higher au-
thorities, told them frankly OF Sano's p-o-
posal to me. and of his plot against your
life. / disclaimed any interest in you,
further than the fact that you were limo
cent. and that you were a well-known
American. and that Il would not be wise
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