“APlagueofImmoderateRain“——AConfidentialServant——Ito’sDiary——
Ito’sExcellences——Ito’sFaults——ProphecyoftheFutureofJapan——
CuriousQueries——SuperfineEnglish——EconomicalTravelling——TheJapanesePack-horseagain。
Iamherestill，notaltogetherbecausethetownisfascinating，butbecausetherainissoceaselessastobetruly“aplagueofimmoderaterainandwaters。“Travellerskeepcominginwithstoriesoftheimpassabilityoftheroadsandthecarryingawayofbridges。Itoamusesmeverymuchbyhisremarks。HethinksthatmyvisittotheschoolandhospitalmusthaveraisedJapaninmyestimation，andheistalkingratherbig。HeaskedmeifInoticedthatallthestudentskepttheirmouthsshutlikeeducatedmenandresidentsofTokiyo，andthatallcountrypeoplekeeptheirsopen。
Ihavesaidlittleabouthimforsometime，butIdailyfeelmoredependentonhim，notonlyforallinformation，butactuallyforgettingon。Atnighthehasmywatch，passport，andhalfmymoney，andIoftenwonderwhatwouldbecomeofmeifheabscondedbeforemorning。Heisnotagoodboy。Hehasnomoralsense，accordingtoournotions；hedislikesforeigners；hismannerisoftenverydisagreeable；andyetIdoubtwhetherIcouldhaveobtainedamorevaluableservantandinterpreter。WhenweleftTokiyohespokefairlygoodEnglish，butbypracticeandindustriousstudyhenowspeaksbetterthananyofficialinterpreterthatIhaveseen，andhisvocabularyisdailyincreasing。Heneverusesawordinaccuratelywhenhehasoncegotholdofitsmeaning，andhismemoryneverfails。HekeepsadiarybothinEnglishandJapanese，anditshowsmuchpainstakingobservation。Hereadsittomesometimes，anditisinterestingtohearwhatayoungmanwhohastravelledasmuchashehasregardsasnovelinthisnorthernregion。Hehasmadeahotelbookandatransportbook，inwhichallthebillsandreceiptsarewritten，andhedailytransliteratesthenamesofallplacesintoEnglishletters，andputsdownthedistancesandthesumspaidfortransportandhotelsoneachbill。