The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-22

iwo-inch-high lacqucred sandals. sho
might have stepped off the Tokyo fan
in my drawing-room cabinet.
There are Japanese women galore in
Hawaii: bat the blight of Western
civilization Is upon most of them They
wear dirty blue cotton Mother Hub
yards" and shapelcss straw hats; they
arc unclasslncd and hideous.
But Tia, in her silver gray kimono.
with her gold and blue obi folded about
her tiny waist ana loopcd over an abb
surd little horschair pillow behind;
with her two-tocd stockings ending at
tho ankle and hooking; I'D the sides:
With her skin like old ivory. her poutnd
rcd lips and long fringcd eyes. Tia was
dnpan-thc Orient Tile nu,ter OF
cherry blossoms. tho breath OF almond
boushs. camc with her.
What shall doc" demanded of
the household ".5ha has just arrived
in the Islands She doesn't know :,
word OF English she has never seen
"a cooking stove. or knife and fork,
or n spring bed
Keep her!" chorused the household.
with deep bass emphasis from the
masculine portion.
'1laso!' called. opening the dining
room door With trcpidation. Alaso was
our japanese chef aud factotum, Il
force always TO be reckoncd with ana
under no circumstances to be disturb
Cd. lean, crnbbcd bachelor OF forty
was Maso, with superior views Of his
own Importance. and a lofty Gisdain oil
petticoats. Western and. presuma bly,.
Japanese. He spoke the most precise
English, wore long tailed coats and i
brown Fedora. ana was one OF the
pillars of the local church / held my
breath os he sauntcrcd in. a bluc-chock-
I'd dish towel flung over his shoulder.
and gazcd beneath his half closed Ids
the vision under 10.
bush.
Human nature is the Same from the
days of Helen! One eyc-nash-and
Maso. conquered, was leading her KIT
chinwards his Japanese amenities
ningllnG with her gurglinE laugh
II was worth Tias wages just to hear
ha, laugh! From the time she patter-
I'd In with her gay "Ohayo! in the
morning to ,he last 'SAyonnra,r flung
uner her shoulders at night, life anu
work were one long Jest TO her. She
pcrvadcd the place like Ii butterfly. II
was Tia in the drawinS-rcom with a
feather buster half as big as hersclt.
TIA IN the Kitchen swinging her heels
from tall wooden chair and eating
rndishcs and shoyn; Tia among the
4inS'r blossoms reaching high above
her head to pluck the creamy stalk;
AND Tia at tho gate. making three
bows to O-TsukiSan the white moon
IN the sky. It canno, he said that
training her into u nigh class walt
ross and cha mncrmaid did not have its
drawbacks There were times when
the Japanese dictionary, Dumb Cramho
and Dclaartc combined failed TO con-
v"y the slightest impression. cam
not truthfully say we ever understood
inch other in those first days, but VIC
often OWNED each other: and when
animation failed We sat down ana
laughed. witch is sometimes better for
The soul than much comprehension.
And 10 see her arranging flowers
with her glossy head sidet!lted like
: hlrd's. nor red under lip sucked N
Ind her tiny hands posing over the
blossoms till they caught that incffn bic
blend OF Art and Nature which is the
mystery OF Japan; TO sec her toddling
about the dining table with her funny
short steps, her long sleeves thrown
uver her shoulder and n ginger bloom
IN her hair. were compcnsations.
AS to the masculine portion OF the
household, IL auccumbed TO her to
man and II she rrlumphed in the parlor.
she tyrannized III the kitchen. Maso
the naughty, Maso the taciturn, who
smiled pityingly over suggestions of
desserts and scorned preferences in
potatoes. became Maso the supp. liant
He hung out Tia's washing for her.
he cmpticd her tubs for her. lie wa H.
ID the dinner dishes (Which was OBJ
viously her duty). Her impndent little
sandals cluttcrcd up his neat kitchen;
her combs and harpins Uttered his
bachelor bcdroom--for where else could
O-jo-snn Tia smooth her satiny locks?
ami for return she laughed at him
and tcascd him all day long; called
him "oId man and good for nothing,"
and treated him generally as the dust
bcneathc her feet.
There we're also others: famashito.
the painter, who took ;hree days to do
one days work, flirting with Tia at my
expense. and carpenters ana butcher
boys and itlnorant turnip sellers. O.
jc-san Tia laughed at them all.
Thcn came Ishiwara, the barber. It
might DC said that Tshwara was in the
sir from the beginning, hui II was some
time before he materializcd.
Ii Tia was Japan feminine Ishi-
wara was Japan MASCULINE strap
ping lad, with square shoulders and
lean tanks that would have done credit
to a West Pointer. His backing brush
hair, cropped close behind, grew longer
on top and fell picturesquely almost
10 MS eyebrows. end he wore always
y blue and white klmono, Girt with
white silk obi, He had been n holder
$50 ne told us), and his swagger was
worth crossing half the Pacific 10 see,
AIasn. with his ill-htting American
clothes and STOPPING shoulders, was
undistin guishable from the common
herd, but Ishiwara might have been
AIikado incognito. Ono always ex-
pected him to stride into the garden
with two swords thrrst through his
girdle, and a retinue OF princes!
Twilight by twilight he camo to sit
on his heels under the banana trees
and tell Tia tales Of his prowess--mag-
nihcent tales. intersperscd with many
cigarettes (his fingers were mahogany
colored with nicotine) and acted out
with all the superb aplomb of the
Oriental. Now he ground li-chi nuts be-
meath Ills heel like Chinese skulls;
now he reconnoitred among the papai
etrees; now he crouched In ambush be-
hind royal palm: and now he. chars-
ed upon platoons of ti-pnnts and swept
them from the face of the earth!
AIaso took no part In those seances.