At Five Ito Came And Entreated Me To
Leave, Whimpering, "I've Had No Sleep; There Are Thousands And
Thousands Of
Fleas!" He has travelled by another route to the
Tsugaru Strait through the interior, and says that he would not
Have believed that there was such a place in Japan, and that people
in Yokohama will not believe it when he tells them of it and of the
costume of the women. He is "ashamed for a foreigner to see such a
place," he says. His cleverness in travelling and his singular
intelligence surprise me daily. He is very anxious to speak GOOD
English, as distinguished from "common" English, and to get new
words, with their correct pronunciation and spelling. Each day he
puts down in his note-book all the words that I use that he does
not quite understand, and in the evening brings them to me and puts
down their meaning and spelling with their Japanese equivalents.
He speaks English already far better than many professional
interpreters, but would be more pleasing if he had not picked up
some American vulgarisms and free-and-easy ways. It is so
important to me to have a good interpreter, or I should not have
engaged so young and inexperienced a servant; but he is so clever
that he is now able to be cook, laundryman, and general attendant,
as well as courier and interpreter, and I think it is far easier
for me than if he were an older man.
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