New-York tribune., 1921-11-06

ne se comics read from, right to left
farmer to the highest position in the empirs
and, naturally, had rather high opinion of
his ability in doing things in the face of all
sorts of storms. Solemn conclaves after still
more solemn conclaves Of the elder statesmen
of the day yielded just one small harvest-in
the shape of a slender hope There was that
court FOOL Sorori He was absolutely the
only man who could do anything with the Sho-
gun. And this simple and all-apparent fact
made the stiff knee joints of the elders to bend
and bend before man of jests. Sorori ac-
cepted the commission with as much cheer as
a sales agent accepts the commission for
Rolls-Royce carload
Very early the following morning there was
rush and commotion where noise and dis
turbance meant the decapitation of dozen
heads any day--nanlely, in the bed chamber of
the Shotgun. The retaners on duty were pale
and ashen with amazement.
August MASTER" breathed Sorori, facing
squarely the stormy features of the Shotgun
with equally portentous frowns on his face,
'I've just met with liver-squashing sight, the
like of which the eyes of man never before
beheld. And | have rushed in here to tell
you of it before die-for I shall die in
minute two"
The death of favorite Jester was 10 laugh
ing matter to the Shotgun. Instantly he was
all ears and round-cpen eyes.
"The humble one climbed the hills back of
the castle as Of wont that might be num-
bered among the first to greet the Lord of Day.
The sacred silences among the pines beyond
the shrine We're profound as the thoughts
of the gods. And stood there lost in won
der as the dawn whtened on the treetops.
Suddenly there was a tremendous Tapping of
wings and behold, there lowered in front Of
me tengu as tall as heaven A tengu is
red-faced, winged dem-god with the longest
nose imaginable and who, like the storied
little girl, was very, very good when he was
good and very, very wicked when he wished
to be bad)
"Well'-- said the Shotgun, in the voice
Of one who had never seen tengu in all his
eyentful life.
"The august tengu said to me: I'm going
to eat you up. Half minute for you to talk
to your gods Strange, august master, how
quickly the wit of a lazy soul works when 1t
has to" said the JESTER his tangled features
melting into the first faint smile at the inter-
view. with the first breath that came back
to me said: 'Oh, sovereign tengas--how great
you are! Heaven is just high enough to roof
you. And after beholdng your noble proper
tons | am ready to die, regretting only can
not offer you nobler meal. But-but have
oy,o yryich kofo r J,o -hoA{ In
know what that was. Now that have seen
how great you can be, deign to show me how
really small you be also, for have heard
that you can shelter your noble stature within
an ant" The tengs agreed to satisfy my dying
wish and bade me to stretch forth my right
hand, palm up. There was another Tapping
Of wings and then in a twinkling the huge
tengu vanished Presently felt an itch on
my outstretched palm, and looking intentiy
upon it | found on it something like the
smallest ant had ever SEEM
Thus speaking, Sorori looked upon the
Shotgun in a dramatic pause The Shogun
wished to know what he had done
This" said Sorori, opening his mouth wide
and slapping his open palm onto it, land the
ten9u is inside of me now; and I am sure
am going to die
The Shogun never went abroad in the guiss
OF mendicant that he might study the con-
ditions of his people first hand
The father of japanese caricature was .
Buddhist priest called Kakuyu, wto is better
known among his friends as the Abott of Toba.
His genius dominated this particular field OF
pictorial art to such an extent that even to
this day all the earicatures and funny pictures
are called "Toba pictures" by the people Of
Nippon. The worthy abbot was born in 1868,
A. d., and frivoled away the early years OF
the twelfth century in amusing himself by
poking fun at men and beasts of his time with
his gifted brush. The abbot was the model OF
the famous Hokusai, who came about seven
centuries later and rendered the same sort OF
service to society of his time as the Abbot Of
Toba.
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