“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。
HeinquiresthenumberofhousesineachplacefromthepoliceorTransportAgent，andthespecialtradeofeachtown，andnotesthemdownforme。Hetakesgreatpainstobeaccurate，andoccasionallyremarksaboutsomepieceofinformationthatheisnotquitecertainabout，“Ifit’snottrue，it’snotworthhaving。“Heisneverlate，neverdawdles，nevergoesoutintheeveningexceptonerrandsforme，nevertouchessake，isneverdisobedient，neverrequirestobetoldthesamethingtwice，isalwayswithinhearing，hasagooddealoftactastowhatherepeats，andallwithanundisguisedviewtohisowninterest。Hesendsmostofhiswagestohismother，whoisawidow——“It’sthecustomofthecountry“——
andseemstospendtheremainderonsweetmeats，tobacco，andtheluxuryoffrequentshampooing。
Thathewouldtellalieifitservedhispurpose，andwould“squeeze“uptothelimitsofextortion，ifhecoulddoitunobserved，Ihavenottheslightestdoubt。Heseemstohavebutlittleheart，oranyideaofanybutviciouspleasures。Hehasnoreligionofanykind；hehasbeentoomuchwithforeignersforthat。Hisfranknessissomethingstartling。Hehasnoideaofreticenceonanysubject；butprobablyIlearnmoreaboutthingsastheyreallyarefromthisverydefect。Invirtueinmanorwoman，exceptinthatofhisformermaster，hehaslittle，ifanybelief。
HethinksthatJapanisrightinavailingherselfofthediscoveriesmadebyforeigners，thattheyhaveasmuchtolearnfromher，andthatshewilloutstripthemintherace，becauseshetakesallthatisworthhaving，andrejectstheincubusofChristianity。Patriotismis，Ithink，hisstrongestfeeling，andI
nevermetwithsuchaboastfuldisplayofit，exceptinaScotchmanoranAmerican。Hedespisestheuneducated，ashecanreadandwriteboththesyllabaries。Forforeignrankorpositionhehasnotanatomofreverenceorvalue，butagreatdealofbothforJapaneseofficialdom。Hedespisestheintellectsofwomen，butflirtsinatown-bredfashionwiththesimpletea-housegirls。
HeisanxioustospeaktheverybestEnglish，andtosaythatawordisslangyorcommoninterdictsitsuse。Sometimes，whentheweatherisfineandthingsgosmoothly，heisinanexcellentandcommunicativehumour，andtalksagooddealaswetravel。AfewdaysagoIremarked，“Whatabeautifuldaythisis！“andsoonafter，note-bookinhand，hesaid，“Yousay’abeautifulday。’IsthatbetterEnglishthan’adevilishfineday，’whichmostforeignerssay？“Irepliedthatitwas“common，“and“beautiful“
hasbeenbroughtoutfrequentlysince。Again，“Whenyouaskaquestionyouneversay，’Whatthed-lisit？’asotherforeignersdo。Isitproperformentosayitandnotforwomen？“Itoldhimitwasproperforneither，itwasavery“common“word，andIsawthatheeraseditfromhisnote-book。Atfirsthealwaysusedfellowsformen，as，“WillyouhaveoneortwoFELLOWSforyourkuruma？““FELLOWSandwomen。“AtlasthecalledtheChiefPhysicianofthehospitalhereaFELLOW，onwhichItoldhimthatitwasslightlyslangy，andatleast“colloquial，“andfortwodayshehasscrupulouslyspokenofmanandmen。To-dayhebroughtaboywithverysoreeyestoseeme，onwhichIexclaimed，“Poorlittlefellow！“andthiseveninghesaid，“Youcalledthatboyafellow，I
thoughtitwasabadword！“ThehabitsofmanyoftheYokohamaforeignershavehelpedtoobliterateanydistinctionsbetweenrightandwrong，ifheevermadeany。Ifhewishestotellmethathehasseenaverytipsyman，healwayssayshehasseen“afellowasdrunkasanEnglishman。“AtNikkoIaskedhimhowmanylegalwivesamancouldhaveinJapan，andhereplied，“Onlyonelawfulone，butasmanyothersmekakeashecansupport，justasEnglishmenhave。“Heneverforgetsacorrection。TillItoldhimitwasslangyhealwaysspokeofinebriatedpeopleas“tight，“andwhenI
gavehimthewords“tipsy，““drunk，““intoxicated，“heaskedmewhichonewoulduseinwritinggoodEnglish，andsincethenhehasalwaysspokenofpeopleas“intoxicated。“
Henaturallylikeslargetowns，andtriestodetermefromtakingthe“unbeatentracks，“whichIprefer——butwhenhefindsmeimmovable，alwaysconcludeshisargumentswiththesameformula，“Well，ofcourseyoucandoasyoulike；it’sallthesametome。“
Idonotthinkhecheatsmetoanyextent。Board，lodging，andtravellingexpensesforusbothareabout6s。6d。aday，andabout2s。6d。whenwearestationary，andthisincludesallgratuitiesandextras。True，theboardandlodgingconsistoftea，rice，andeggs，acopperbasinofwater，anandonandanemptyroom，for，thoughthereareplentyofchickensinallthevillages，thepeoplewon’tbebribedtosellthemforkilling，thoughtheywouldgladlypartwiththemiftheyweretobekepttolayeggs。Itoamusesmenearlyeverynightwithstoriesofhisunsuccessfulattemptstoprovidemewithanimalfood。
Thetravellingisthenearestapproachto“arideonarail“thatI
haveevermade。Ihavenowridden，orrathersat，uponseventy-sixhorses，allhorrible。Theyallstumble。Theloinsofsomearehigherthantheirshoulders，sothatoneslipsforwards，andtheback-bonesofallareridgy。Theirhindfeetgrowintopointswhichturnup，andtheirhindlegsallturnoutwards，likethoseofacat，fromcarryingheavyburdensatanearlyage。Thesamethinggivesthemarollintheirgait，whichisincreasedbytheirawkwardshoes。Insummertheyfeedchieflyonleaves，supplementedwithmashesofbruisedbeans，andinsteadofstrawtheysleeponbedsofleaves。Intheirstallstheirheadsaretied“wheretheirtailsshouldbe，“andtheirfodderisplacednotinamanger，butinaswingingbucket。ThoseusedinthispartofJapanareworthfrom15to30yen。Ihavenotseenanyoverloadingorill-
treatment；theyareneitherkicked，norbeaten，northreatenedinroughtones，andwhentheydietheyaredecentlyburied，andhavestonesplacedovertheirgraves。Itmightbewelliftheendofaworn-outhorseweresomewhataccelerated，butthisismainlyaBuddhistregion，andtheaversiontotakinganimallifeisverystrong。I。L。B。
TheSymbolismofSeaweed——AfternoonVisitors——AnInfantProdigy——A
FeatinCaligraphy——ChildWorship——ABorrowedDress——ATrousseau——
HouseFurniture——TheMarriageCeremony。
Theweatheratlastgivesahopeofimprovement，andIthinkI
shallleaveto-morrow。IhadwrittenthissentencewhenItocameintosaythatthemaninthenexthousewouldliketoseemystretcherandmosquitonet，andhadsentmeabagofcakeswiththeusualbitofseaweedattached，toshowthatitwasapresent。TheJapanesebelievethemselvestobedescendedfromaraceoffishermen；theyareproudofit，andYebis，thegodoffishermen，isoneofthemostpopularofthehouseholddivinities。Thepieceofseaweedsentwithapresenttoanyordinaryperson，andthepieceofdriedfish-skinwhichaccompaniesapresenttotheMikado，recordtheoriginoftherace，andatthesametimetypifythedignityofsimpleindustry。
OfcourseIconsentedtoreceivethevisitor，andwiththemercuryat84degrees，fivemen，twoboys，andfivewomenenteredmysmall，lowroom，andafterbowingtotheearththreetimes，satdownonthefloor。Theyhadevidentlycometospendtheafternoon。Traysofteaandsweetmeatswerehandedround，andalabako-bonwasbroughtin，andtheyallsmoked，asIhadtoldItothatallusualcourtesiesweretobepunctiliouslyperformed。Theyexpressedtheirgratificationatseeingso“honourable“atraveller。I
expressedmineatseeingsomuchoftheir“honourable“country。
Thenweallbowedprofoundly。ThenIlaidBrunton’smaponthefloorandshowedthemmyroute，showedthemtheAsiaticSociety’sTransactions，andhowwereadfromlefttoright，insteadoffromtoptobottom，showedthemmyknitting，whichamazedthem，andmyBerlinwork，andthenhadnothingleft。Thentheybegantoentertainme，andIfoundthattherealobjectoftheirvisitwastoexhibitan“infantprodigy，“aboyoffour，withaheadshavenallbutatuftonthetop，afaceofpreternaturalthoughtfulnessandgravity，andtheself-possessedanddignifieddemeanourofanelderlyman。Hewasdressedinscarletsilkhakama，andadark，striped，bluesilkkimono，andfannedhimselfgracefully，lookingateverythingasintelligentlyandcourteouslyastheothers。Totalkchild’stalktohim，orshowhimtoys，ortrytoamusehim，wouldhavebeenaninsult。Themonsterhastaughthimselftoreadandwrite，andhascomposedpoetry。Hisfathersaysthatheneverplays，andunderstandseverythingjustlikeagrownperson。TheintentionwasthatIshouldaskhimtowrite，andIdidso。
Itwasasolemnperformance。Aredblanketwaslaidinthemiddleofthefloor，withalacquerwriting-boxuponit。Thecreaturerubbedtheinkwithwaterontheinkstone，unrolledfourrollsofpaper，fivefeetlong，andinscribedthemwithChinesecharacters，nineincheslong，ofthemostcomplicatedkind，withfirmandgracefulcurvesofhisbrush，andwiththeeaseandcertaintyofGiottointurninghisO。Hesealedthemwithhissealinvermilion，bowedthreetimes，andtheperformancewasended。
Peoplegethimtowritekakemonosandsignboardsforthem，andhehadearned10yen，orabout2pounds，thatday。HisfatherisgoingtotraveltoKiyotowithhim，toseeifanyoneunderfourteencanwriteaswell。Ineversawsuchanexaggeratedinstanceofchildworship。Father，mother，friends，andservants，treatedhimasifhewereaprince。
Thehouse-master，whoisamostpoliteman，procuredmeaninvitationtothemarriageofhisniece，andIhavejustreturnedfromit。Hehasthree“wives“himself。OnekeepsayadoyainKiyoto，anotherinMorioka，andthethirdandyoungestiswithhimhere。Fromherlimitlessstoresofapparelshechosewhatsheconsideredasuitabledressforme——anunder-dressofsagegreensilkcrepe，akimonoofsoft，green，stripedsilkofadarkershade，withafoldofwhitecrepe，spangledwithgoldattheneck，andagirdleofsagegreencordedsilk，withthefamilybadgehereandthereuponitingold。Iwentwiththehouse-master，Ito，tohisdisgust，notbeinginvited，andhisabsencewaslikethelossofoneofmysenses，asIcouldnotgetanyexplanationstillafterwards。