He Never Uses A Word
Inaccurately When He Has Once Got Hold Of Its Meaning, And His
Memory Never Fails.
He keeps a diary both in English and Japanese,
and it shows much painstaking observation.
He reads it to me
sometimes, and it is interesting to hear what a young man who has
travelled as much as he has regards as novel in this northern
region. He has made a hotel book and a transport book, in which
all the bills and receipts are written, and he daily transliterates
the names of all places into English letters, and puts down the
distances and the sums paid for transport and hotels on each bill.
He inquires the number of houses in each place from the police or
Transport Agent, and the special trade of each town, and notes them
down for me. He takes great pains to be accurate, and occasionally
remarks about some piece of information that he is not quite
certain about, "If it's not true, it's not worth having." He is
never late, never dawdles, never goes out in the evening except on
errands for me, never touches sake, is never disobedient, never
requires to be told the same thing twice, is always within hearing,
has a good deal of tact as to what he repeats, and all with an
undisguised view to his own interest. He sends most of his wages
to his mother, who is a widow - "It's the custom of the country" -
and seems to spend the remainder on sweetmeats, tobacco, and the
luxury of frequent shampooing.
That he would tell a lie if it served his purpose, and would
"squeeze" up to the limits of extortion, if he could do it
unobserved, I have not the slightest doubt. He seems to have but
little heart, or any idea of any but vicious pleasures. He has no
religion of any kind; he has been too much with foreigners for
that. His frankness is something startling. He has no idea of
reticence on any subject; but probably I learn more about things as
they really are from this very defect. In virtue in man or woman,
except in that of his former master, he has little, if any belief.
He thinks that Japan is right in availing herself of the
discoveries made by foreigners, that they have as much to learn
from her, and that she will outstrip them in the race, because she
takes all that is worth having, and rejects the incubus of
Christianity. Patriotism is, I think, his strongest feeling, and I
never met with such a boastful display of it, except in a Scotchman
or an American. He despises the uneducated, as he can read and
write both the syllabaries. For foreign rank or position he has
not an atom of reverence or value, but a great deal of both for
Japanese officialdom. He despises the intellects of women, but
flirts in a town-bred fashion with the simple tea-house girls.
He is anxious to speak the very best English, and to say that a
word is slangy or common interdicts its use. Sometimes, when the
weather is fine and things go smoothly, he is in an excellent and
communicative humour, and talks a good deal as we travel. A few
days ago I remarked, "What a beautiful day this is!" and soon
after, note-book in hand, he said, "You say 'a beautiful day.' Is
that better English than 'a devilish fine day,' which most
foreigners say?" I replied that it was "common," and "beautiful"
has been brought out frequently since. Again, "When you ask a
question you never say, 'What the d-l is it?' as other foreigners
do. Is it proper for men to say it and not for women?" I told him
it was proper for neither, it was a very "common" word, and I saw
that he erased it from his note-book. At first he always used
fellows for men, as, "Will you have one or two FELLOWS for your
kuruma?" "FELLOWS and women." At last he called the Chief
Physician of the hospital here a FELLOW, on which I told him that
it was slightly slangy, and at least "colloquial," and for two days
he has scrupulously spoken of man and men. To-day he brought a boy
with very sore eyes to see me, on which I exclaimed, "Poor little
fellow!" and this evening he said, "You called that boy a fellow, I
thought it was a bad word!" The habits of many of the Yokohama
foreigners have helped to obliterate any distinctions between right
and wrong, if he ever made any. If he wishes to tell me that he
has seen a very tipsy man, he always says he has seen "a fellow as
drunk as an Englishman." At Nikko I asked him how many legal wives
a man could have in Japan, and he replied, "Only one lawful one,
but as many others (mekake) as he can support, just as Englishmen
have." He never forgets a correction. Till I told him it was
slangy he always spoke of inebriated people as "tight," and when I
gave him the words "tipsy," "drunk," "intoxicated," he asked me
which one would use in writing good English, and since then he has
always spoken of people as "intoxicated."
He naturally likes large towns, and tries to deter me from taking
the "unbeaten tracks," which I prefer - but when he finds me
immovable, always concludes his arguments with the same formula,
"Well, of course you can do as you like; it's all the same to me."
I do not think he cheats me to any extent. Board, lodging, and
travelling expenses for us both are about 6s. 6d. a day, and about
2s. 6d. when we are stationary, and this includes all gratuities
and extras. True, the board and lodging consist of tea, rice, and
eggs, a copper basin of water, an andon and an empty room, for,
though there are plenty of chickens in all the villages, the people
won't be bribed to sell them for killing, though they would gladly
part with them if they were to be kept to lay eggs.
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