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diff --git a/42313-0.txt b/42313-0.txt index de875bb..e84af41 100644 --- a/42313-0.txt +++ b/42313-0.txt @@ -1,34 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, -Volume 2, by Elizabeth Bisland - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2 - -Author: Elizabeth Bisland - -Release Date: March 23, 2013 [EBook #42313] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42313 *** Transcriber's Note @@ -17817,361 +17787,4 @@ were in order: End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2, by Elizabeth Bisland -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - -***** This file should be named 42313-0.txt or 42313-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/3/1/42313/ - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2 - -Author: Elizabeth Bisland - -Release Date: March 23, 2013 [EBook #42313] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Footnotes have been placed at the end of the paragraph in which they -are referenced. - -There are several captioned photographs, which are indicated as -[Illustration: Caption]. Hearn also included in his letters small -sketches and Japanese script, which cannot be reproduced here. -Their approximate positions are indicated with [Illustration]. Any -handwritten text in those sketches is included here as captions. No -translations of the Japanese were made, since they normally appear in -Hearn's text. - -Italic text is denoted with underscores as _italic_. The characters 'o', -'a' and 'u' appear with a macron, a straight bar atop the letter. These -use the '=' sign as 'T[=o]ky[=o]'. Any text which is printed in small -capitals has been rendered as all UPPERCASE, with the exception of -'McDONALD'. - -There are two instances of the 'oe' ligature which are given as 'amoeba' -and 'OEdipus'. - -Some corrections were made where printer's errors were most likely, -as described in the Note at the end of the text. Other than those -corrections, no changes to spelling have been made. Hyphenation of -words at line or page breaks are removed if other instances of the word -warrant it. - -This book was published in two volumes, of which this is the second. -The first volume was released as Project Gutenberg ebook #42312, -available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42312. - - - - - LIFE AND LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN - - VOLUME II - - [Illustration] - - - - - THE LIFE AND LETTERS - OF - LAFCADIO HEARN - - BY - - ELIZABETH BISLAND - - _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - IN TWO VOLUMES - - VOL. II - - [Illustration] - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - The Riverside Press Cambridge - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1906 BY ELIZABETH BISLAND WETMORE - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - _Published December 1906_ - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - LAFCADIO HEARN IN JAPANESE COSTUME (photogravure) - _Frontispiece_ - - THE CITY OF MATSUE, SEEN FROM CASTLE HILL 40 - - 1. The Prefecture Office. The Middle School, in which Mr. - Hearn was a teacher, is hidden from view by the Prefecture - Office Building. - - 2. The Normal School. Mr. Hearn also taught here. - - 3. Here on the beach of Lake Shinyi Mr. Hearn lived for some time. - - THE SHINT[=O] TEMPLE OF KIZUKI DESCRIBED IN "GLIMPSES - OF UNFAMILIAR JAPAN" 104 - - Lafcadio Hearn was the first foreigner who was allowed to - enter the inner part of this temple. - - A GROUP OF GRADUATES OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL 162 - - 1. Mr. Hearn. - - 2. Mr. Nishida. - - 3. The old teacher of Chinese Classics. - - LAFCADIO HEARN'S FAVOURITE DWELLING-HOUSE 192 - - This house, an old Samurai's residence, is situated in - front of a castle. The river before the house is an - outer moat of the castle. - - - MR. HEARN'S GARDEN IN T[=O]KY[=O] 282 - - WRITING-ROOM IN MR. HEARN'S T[=O]KY[=O] HOUSE 344 - - His three sons on the verandah. In this house he died. - - FACSIMILE OF MR. HEARN'S LATER HANDWRITING 410 - - KAZUO AND IWAO, LAFCADIO HEARN'S OLDER CHILDREN, - EXERCISING AT J[=U]-JUTSU 476 - - LAFCADIO HEARN'S GRAVE 516 - - - - - LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN - - - - - LETTERS - - 1890-1904 - - - TO ELIZABETH BISLAND - - - 1890. - -DEAR ELIZABETH,-- ... I feel indescribably towards Japan. Of course -Nature here is not the Nature of the tropics, which is so splendid and -savage and omnipotently beautiful that I feel at this very moment of -writing the same pain in my heart I felt when leaving Martinique. This -is a domesticated Nature, which loves man, and makes itself beautiful -for him in a quiet grey-and-blue way like the Japanese women, and the -trees seem to know what people say about them,--seem to have little -human souls. What I love in Japan is the Japanese,--the poor simple -humanity of the country. It is divine. There is nothing in this world -approaching the naïve natural charm of them. No book ever written -has reflected it. And I love their gods, their customs, their dress, -their bird-like quavering songs, their houses, their superstitions, -their faults. And I believe that their art is as far in advance of our -art as old Greek art was superior to that of the earliest European -art-gropings--I think there is more art in a print by Hokusai or those -who came after him than in a $10,000 painting--no, a $100,000 painting. -_We_ are the barbarians! I do not merely _think_ these things: I am -as sure of them as of death. I only wish I could be reincarnated in -some little Japanese baby, so that I could see and feel the world as -beautifully as a Japanese brain does. - -And, of course, I am studying Buddhism with heart and soul. A young -student from one of the temples is my companion. If I stay in Japan, we -shall live together.--Will write again if all goes well. - -My best love to you always. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELIZABETH BISLAND - - 1890. - -DEAR MISS BISLAND,--Do you think well enough of me to try to get me -employment at a regular salary, somewhere in the United States. I have -permanently broken off with the Harpers: I am starved out. My average -earnings for the last three years have been scarcely $500 a year. Here -in Japan prices are higher than in New York,--unless one can become a -Japanese employee. I was promised a situation; but it is now delayed -until September. - -I shall get along somehow. But I am so very tired of being hard-pushed, -and ignored, and starved,--and obliged to undergo moral humiliations -which are much worse than hunger or cold,--that I have ceased to be -ashamed to ask you to say a good word for me where you can, to some -newspaper, or some publishing firm, able to give me steady employ, later -on. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELIZABETH BISLAND - - 1890. - -MY DEAR SISTER ELIZABETH,-- ... Now, as for myself,--I am going -to become country school-master in Japan,--probably for several long -years. The language is unspeakably difficult to learn;--I believe it can -only be learned by ear. Teaching will help me to learn it; and before -learning it, to write anything enduring upon Japan would be absurdly -impossible. Literary work will not support one here, where living costs -quite as much as in New York. What I wish to do, I want to do for its -own sake; and so intend to settle, if possible, in this country, among a -people who seem to me the most lovable in the world. - -I have been living in temples and old Buddhist cemeteries, making -pilgrimages and sounding enormous bells and worshipping astounding -Buddhas. Still, I do not as yet know anything whatever about Japan. I -have nothing else worth telling you to write just now, and no address to -give,--as I do not know where I am going or what I shall be doing next -month. - -Later on, I shall write again. - - Best wishes and affection from - L. H. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - KIZUKI, July, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I am writing to you from the little beach -of Inasa, mentioned in the "Kojiki,"--the etymology of which name, as -given by Hirata, I think you say is incorrect, or at least fantastic. -But I think you may not know that Inasa beach is in some respects the -nicest bathing-place imaginable--certainly by far the best I have ever -visited in Japan. The hotels face a beach without a pebble in its -sand, and when the water is not rough, it is clear as a diamond; when -roughened by a west wind, however, the water sometimes becomes dirty -with seaweed, drift and such refuse. This is the great bathing resort -of Izumo. But it is much more quiet and pleasant than other Japanese -bathing resorts I have seen--such as [=O]iso. After the bath, moreover, -one can have a hot salt water bath or a cold fresh-water douche. And -there is plenty of deep water for swimming. Right opposite our window is -the "thousand draught rock" which the son of Ohokuni, etc., lifted on -the tips of his fingers. - -Kaka is famous for its sea cave, and legend of Jiz[=o]. I think I wrote -you of this beautiful legend of the child ghosts and the fountain of -milk. But it is really too pretty to publish in a matter-of-fact record. - -The term "arrows of prayer" which I use, might deceive the reader. The -arrows put into the rice-fields to scare away crows are very different -in appearance and purpose. I hope to send you some of the former from -Mionoseki. - -I will stay here some weeks--the sea-bathing is too good to lose. Will -write again soon. - - Most truly ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - KIZUKI, July, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--We are still at Kizuki--enjoying exquisite -weather and delicious sea-bathing. Last evening I dined with the -Kokuz[=o]; and I never ate so much dinner or drank so much sake anywhere -in Japan. It was a royal feast. I also saw some things that would -interest you. A series of letters of Motoori's,--also two MSS. of -flute-music made by him, and the brushes with which his commentaries -were written. One of the Senke family, who was his pupil, received these -as bequests, and they are preserved in the family. - -The conversation turned upon you; and I was asked many questions about -you, which I answered as best as I could. From the extreme interest -shown, I am sure that Kizuki would be turned inside out to please you if -you come down here. - -I asked about the deity of Mionoseki; and the learned priest Sasa and -others state positively that deity is not Hiruko. The legend concerning -him would prove the same fact. The deity detested the cock, and no hens -or chickens or eggs or feathers are allowed to exist in Mionoseki. No -vessel would take an egg to Mionoseki. It is wrong even to eat eggs -the day before going to Mionoseki. A passenger to Mionoseki was once -detected smoking a pipe which had the figure of a cock upon it, and that -pipe was immediately thrown into the sea. The dislike of the god for the -cock is attributed to some adventure of his youthful days,--when the -cock had been instructed to wake him up, or call him at a certain hour. -The cock did not perform his duty, and Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami, had his -hand bitten by a crocodile in hurrying to get back home. - -There is a temple of Ebisu in Nishinomiya near [=O]saka, where the deity -is believed to be identical with Hiruko, but this is not the case at -Mionoseki. - -Regarding the Deity of Marriage, I must correct an error in my last. -The learned priest Sasa states (quoting many ancient poems and authors -to prove the fact) that the ancient Deity of Marriage was the Deity of -Kizuki. But at Yaegaki Jinja, where there is a tree with two trunks, or -two trees with trunks grown into one, and other curious symbolic things, -the popular worship of the Deities Susa-no-o and Inada-Hime gradually -centred and finally wrested away the rights and privileges of the Kizuki -deity in favour of the gods of Yaegaki. - -I have had some fine _sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune_ made. And I can send you one -if you would like. There is a special kind of _sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune_ -made here. Mine, though of straw, is an elaborate model of a junk -and could sail for miles. Would you like to send one to Dr. Tylor? -Anthropologically, these little boats in which to send the souls home -have a rare interest. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, September, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--I have just returned from my first really -great Japanese experience,--a trip to Kizuki. The two trips were -beautiful. From Sh[=o]bara the route lies through a superb plain of rice -fields, with mountain ranges closing the horizon to left and right. - -Reaching Kizuki at night, I sent a letter of introduction from Mr. -Nishida of the Ch[=u]gakk[=o] to Senke Takamori,--the princely person -whose family for 82 generations have been in charge of the great temple. -I paid a visit to the grounds the same evening, and was amazed by the -great scale and dignity of the buildings, and the nobility of the -approaches to them, under succession of colossal _torii_. - -Next morning a messenger came from Mr. Senke, announcing that I would be -received at the temple. My attendant had, however, to put on _hakamas_ -and perform other personal corrections of dress before entering the -august presence. - -We were then received with a courtesy and kindness impossible to -praise sufficiently or to qualify too gratefully. After performing the -requisite ablution of hands, we were received into the inner shrine -of the chief deity--(my baggage not yet having arrived, I have not -your "Kojiki" by me to correct misspelling, but I think the name is -[=O]namuji-no-Mikoto). I was told that I was the first European ever -allowed to enter the shrine, though seven or eight other foreigners had -visited the grounds. - -There are some 19 shrines not consecrated to any particular deities,--in -which the Kami are supposed to assemble during the Kami-ari-zuki,--after -a preliminary visit to a much smaller temple erected on the -seashore,--where, it is said, the sovereignty of Izumo was first -divinely guaranteed by the great deity. - -We were received by the G[=u]ji (Senke) in ceremonial costumes. His -robes were white, those of the attendant priests purple with gold -figuring--very beautiful. I acknowledge that I felt considerable awe in -the presence of these superb Japanese, who realized for me all that I -had imagined about the daimy[=o]s, and grandees of the past. He who used -to be called the Iki-gami--said to descend from Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto--is -a fine portly man, with a full beard. The ceremonial was imposing, and -the sense of the immense antiquity and dignity of the cult, and of -the generations of its officiants, might have impressed even a more -unbelieving mind than my own. - -The temple is really very noble, with its huge pillars, and the solidity -of its vast beamwork. Since the prehistoric era it has been rebuilt 28 -times. It is said to be the oldest of all Shint[=o] places of worship, -and holier than Ise. There are many curiosities and valuable historical -documents. The chief shrine faces west,--unlike others. - -We were shown the primitive method of lighting the sacred fire--a simple -board in holes of which a rapidly revolving stick kindles the spark. -Also we saw the hierophantic dance, and heard the strange old song -sung--_An-un_--to the accompaniment of sticks tapped on curiously shaped -wooden boxes, or drums. - -Subsequently we were invited to the house of Mr. Senke, where other -curious things were shown to us. I have had a rare and delightful -experience, and I hope to write of it for one of the English reviews -later on. - -My attendant--unwarrantably, perhaps--mentioned me as a friend of yours; -and the statement provoked a murmur of pleasure. Your name is held, I -can assure you, in very great reverence at Kizuki; and I feel assured, -should you go there, that you would be received as if you were the chief -of the Kami. And I am also sure you would like these really fine and -noble men. - -I have written enough to tire you perhaps, but I believe the subject -may, at least, suggest questions of value from you, if not otherwise -interesting. Kizuki is certainly the chief place of interest in Izumo; -and I have all details and documents. They will take me some months to -digest, but I shall do something pretty. - -The jinrikisha ride is a little tiring. Kizuki is very, very pretty. -From 200,000 to 250,000 pilgrims go there yearly. All day the sound of -the clapping of hands is unbroken, like the sound of a cataract. At -least it was when I was there. - -Best regards to you. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, September, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--On second thought I have set to work to -obtain the information you wish as fully as possible from trustworthy -Japanese,--as I fear it could only be gathered by my own exertions -alone, too late to be serviceable. I shall send as soon as possible, and -if there be time I will supplement the notes with some observations of -my own. - -I think I shall be very happy in Matsue, and every one assures me it is -not so cold as in T[=o]ky[=o] in winter, although there is more snow. - -On the way here I stopped at a very primitive village where there are -volcanic springs, and nearly every house has a "natural bathtub" always -hot and fresh. And the good old man in whose house I stopped said he -only once before in all his life saw a European,--but he did not know -whether the European was a man or a woman. The European had very long -hair, of a curious colour, and wore a long dress reaching its feet, -and its manners were gentle and kind. I found out afterwards it was a -Norwegian missionary-girl, having the courage to travel alone. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, October, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I received your last kind letter -just after having posted a note to you. As for what information I could -send, I am surprised and delighted to find that it was of some use. I -never expected to be so kindly thanked for it,--deeming it too scanty. - -I do not think I shall have any difficulty in getting a model made of -the fire-drill, which at Kizuki is a thick board of dense white wood, -all the holes being drilled near one edge, in an almost parallel line. -Perhaps it may take some little time to arrange the matter; but if there -be no hurry, I am almost certain I can get the model made. I am a member -of the society now for the preservation of the Kizuki buildings, and am -sure my request will be kindly considered. - -There are coloured prints here enough: _Samurai-no-ehon_ they call the -old picture-books here. But they do not relate to Izumo. I hope to -procure some soon which will do. - -I am more and more impressed with the ascendency of Shint[=o] here. -Everybody is a Shint[=o]ist; and every house seems to have both its -_kamidana_ and its _butsudan._ One street is almost entirely composed -of Buddhist temples--the Teramachi; but all the worshippers also attend -the Shint[=o] services on certain days. The charms suspended over -doors, etc., are Shint[=o]. Most of the _mamori_ on the _kamidana_ of -a house are sure to be Shint[=o]. The Gods (1) Ebisu and (2) Daikoku, -here respectively identified with (1) Koto-shiro-nushi-no Kami and (2) -Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, are monopolized by Shint[=o]. Its signs and -mysteries are everywhere: the atmosphere is full of magic. - -I suppose some people would think this sort of worship shocking, -but I must say I could not laugh at it: the childish naïveté of the -prayers and the offerings--the idea of a _kami_ in the tree, able -to heal--seemed to me rather touching than absurd, and delightfully -natural. One feels what pastoral life in the antique world must have -been, on studying the artless notions of these good country-folk, whom -no one could live among without loving,--unless he were strangely brutal -or bigoted. - -I had to make a speech before the educational association of Izumo the -other day, and in citing the labours of Darwin, Lubbock, Huxley, and -others, I quoted also Tylor's delightful little book on Anthropology. My -speech was on the Value of the Imagination as a Factor in Education. The -Governor ordered it to be translated and printed;--so that I am being -for the moment perhaps much more highly considered than I ought to be. - -I have become so accustomed to Japanese food and habits, that it would -now be painful to me to change them. The only extras, besides sake, -which I take, are plenty of fried and raw eggs. So far I am in better -health than I hoped to be in Japan. - -I am very sorry you are not quite well. Here the weather is what they -call "mad weather"--rain alternating with sun, and chilly winds. - -With best regards, - - Faithfully yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - NOVEMBER, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--You will remember having invited -humble me to make a few criticisms if I could, about "Things Japanese." -I am now going to pray you with all my heart and soul to change that -article about Japanese Music in the next edition of the book. I am, -and have been for months unspeakably charmed with Japanese music,--I -think it is as dainty and playfully sweet and pretty as the Japanese -girls who sing it and play it; and I feel sure there is a very fine -subtle art-feeling in it. I am sorry to say, however, that while making -this plea, I must in honesty confess that I am not an appreciant of -Wagner, and that I have always been much impressed and charmed by -primitive music. African music, and Spanish-American melodies I am quite -infatuated about, and neither of these would be considered as related to -the higher musical sense. But I feel sure if you were in Izumo, I could -make you hear some music, both instrumental and vocal, which you would -acknowledge to be more than "pretty." - -I think I will be able to get a model of the fire-drill made in a while. -I have arranged for a week at Kizuki during the coming vacation. - -The importance of Shint[=o] here as compared with Buddhism impresses -me more and more every day. Most of the _kakemono_ in the _tokonomas_ -are Shint[=o] rather than Buddhist. The story of the Sun-goddess is a -favourite theme with local artists. Here also the gods of Good-Fortune -have become after a fashion adopted by Shint[=o]. - -I expect to send you some _mamori_ shortly from two places--Ichibata -and Sakusa. The Shint[=o] shrine at Sakusa would probably interest -you. Lovers in doubt go there to pray to the _kami_ who set the single -in family, and who have decided in advance the coupling of all human -creatures. In this shrine are the spirits of Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto and his -wife enshrined,--his first wife whom he met accompanied by her father -before he went to kill the Serpent. The ghost of the father-in-law, -"Foot-stroking Elder," is supposed to reside in the same place,--also -that of the mother-in-law. Almost every spot in hill or valley here has -a shrine marking an act or footstep of Susa-no-o. Every place where the -Serpent (Orochi) could possibly have been, still holds a legend of it. - -I am no longer in a hotel, but have a very beautiful house, fronting -on the lake, and from my window I could see with a telescope almost to -Kizuki over a beautiful stretch of blue water. And every peak I see -has some divine story attached to it, and several are named after the -primæval gods. - -I am perfectly treated here, and would be very, very happy if I had only -a little more time to work. It is now a busy season. The examinations -have come upon me; and I interrupted this letter twice before sending -it, in order to get some examination papers done. I have twelve large -classes to examine and give marks to on Dictation, Reading, Composition, -and Conversation. But now the trouble is over, and I shall have plenty -of time to write again. - -Hoping you will excuse silence, I am always - - Sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I enclose a few _mamori_ of Kishibojin,--the Sanscrit Harite,--to whom -wives pray for children. I suppose you know more about her worship -than I do. But in the Northern temples of her the votive offerings of -children dresses are large dresses. Here the dresses are only models -of dresses--doll size. The pregnant woman picks one out of a thousand, -keeping her eyes shut. When she looks, if she has picked out a girl's -dress, she is sure the child in her womb is a boy!--and vice versa. When -the child is born she makes another dress and brings it to the temple. I -am very fond of Kishibojin, and I think her worship beautiful. - -Verily I have become quite as much of an idolater as any of these. - - L. H. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I returned last Sunday from -Ichibata, but was too tired and busy to write at once. I have already -sent you some _mamori_ from the famed temple of Yakushi Nyorai. - -The little steamer--the very smallest I ever saw--which carries pilgrims -and others from Matsue to Kozakai--makes the trip to the latter village -in about two hours. Then the task of climbing the mountain is not -over-easy. The scenery, however, both on the lake and at Ichibata -is grand, and the peaks of the ranges have all their legends. There -are nearly 600 steps of stone to climb before the temple,--situated -on a windy summit whence the view extends for many luminous miles. -The temple is new,--the ancient one having been destroyed by fire. -There is a large hotel where guests are entertained upon a strictly -Buddhist diet--no fish, no eggs; but a little cheap sake is tolerated. -No girls,--only young men as servants and waiters. The priests made -some demonstrations at my appearance in their courts; but a few words -from the pilgrims with me settled me in their good opinions, and they -became kind, and showed me their _kakemonos_ of the Great Physician. All -afflicted with eye-troubles journey here and pray,--repeating always the -same prayer according to long established usage--"On koro-koro Sendai," -etc. Little water vessels are sold bearing the _mon_ of the temple, and -these are filled from the temple spring, and the sick bathe their eyes -therewith. The trip was altogether a very charming one for me, and not -the less interesting because I had to get back to Matsue in a sampan. - -I am becoming a good pilgrim. - -I do not think I am the first European to visit Ichibata, however: there -were some German naval officers here, according to tradition, eight or -ten years ago. - -With best regards, always yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - MATSUE, 1890. - -DEAR MR. NISHIDA,-- ... Last evening, the servant of -Governor Koteda came to the house with a curious-looking box, which -contained a present from Miss Koteda,--an uguisu: the bird which -sings "_Hokkeky[=o]_," and ought, therefore, for its piety, according -to the _sutra_ of the good law, to be endowed with six hundred good -qualities of Eye, six hundred good qualities of Hearing, twelve hundred -good qualities of Smelling power, and twelve hundred supernatural -excellences of the tongue, or of Speech. I am almost ready to believe -the last compensation has been given it,--for its voice is superlatively -sweet.--But what to say or do in the way of thanking the giver I don't -know: this is really too kind. - -So yesterday, despite the hideous weather, was a fortunate day: -it brought to my house the sacred bird and your delightful postal -news;--and for all things my grateful thanks and best wishes. - - Most faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO YRJÖ HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--I have just finished the reading of your "Origins of -Art." ... Some years ago I remember that I wanted very much to produce -an ideal essay upon the "ghostliness" of fine art,--the element of -_thrill_ common to all forms of it: painting, sculpture, music, or -architecture. The notion is not original, I suppose,--but it came to -me with such an intensity that I imagined a general truth behind it. -This was the possible fact that no existing æsthetic sentiment had a -primarily æsthetic origin, and that all such sentiment must simply -represent emotional accumulation,--organic memory or inherited tendency. -But I could not develop my notion judiciously. Your fine book shows me -how such things should have been done, and it expresses convictions and -ideas which I lacked the scientific training to utter consistently. - -I found a particular satisfaction in your critique of the Darwinian -hypothesis as to sexual æsthetic sensibility in animals and birds. -Though I am an "extreme" evolutionist, this hypothesis always seemed to -me essentially wrong,--essentially opposed to the facts of psychical -evolution. You have more than convinced me of what I suspected. Also I -think that, even while occasionally diverging from Spencer's views, you -have reënforced his main positions, and shed fresh light upon various -shadowy regions of the new psychology. I liked very much your treatment -of the difficult topic of pleasure-pain: indeed, I like the whole book -more than I feel able to tell you. - -My own slight knowledge of these matters is based chiefly upon a study -of Spencer. Although I have played "æsthetically" with metaphysical -ideas in my books, I believe that I have a fair knowledge of the whole -system of Synthetic Philosophy, and that I may call myself a disciple -of its author. Therefore,--or rather by reason of this private study -only,--can I presume even to discuss your work as an admirer. You -place the study of æsthetics upon a purely natural and common-sense -basis, even while considering its multiple aspects; and I am persuaded -that this must be the system of the future. Psychophysics and -psycho-dynamics have of late years been applied to æsthetic problems -with the naked result of leaving the main question exactly where it was -before, or of landing the student in a _cul-de-sac_; and I imagine that -much intellectual labour has been wasted in such paths merely through -cowardice of conventions. It is a delight to meet with a book like this, -in which science quietly ignores cant, and opens a new clearing through -the blinding maze of mediæval cobwebs. Again, I must say that a more -lucid, strong, and pleasing style I have not found in any modern work on -æsthetics. - -I want, however, to make a small protest about the second paragraph on -page 233. Perhaps in the second edition you might think it worth your -while to modify the statement as to the "gross" character of Japanese -dancing. I should question the fairness of classing together--except -as to probable emotional origins--Asiatic and African dances (i.e. -_negro_ dances). But I shall speak of the Japanese dances only. To -make any general statement about anything Japanese is always risky; -for customs here (differing in every province and every period) -exhibit a most bewildering variety. It is not correct to say that -the dancing is performed by "outcast women" mostly; for there are -many respectable forms of dancing. The _maiko_ is not perhaps a very -respectable person;--but the _miko_, or Shint[=o] priestesses (daughters -of priests), certainly are worthy of all respect. Well, there are the -temple-dances, before the old gods,--the dances of children at the -temples upon holidays,--the dances of the peasants, etc., etc. None of -these could be called gross,--however amorous their origin. Men dance as -well as women: all children dance; and in some conservative provinces -dancing is a part of female education. To come back to the _maiko_ or -_geisha_, however, let me assure you that although some of their dances -may be passionally mimetic, even the passionate acting could not be -termed "gross" with justice: on the contrary it is a very delicate bit -of refined acting,--acting of eyes and lips and hands,--which requires -a sharp eye to follow. There are in Japan, as everywhere else, dances -that would not bear severe moral criticism; but the fine forms of -Oriental dancing are really dramatic performances,--silent monologues of -a most artistic kind.--Perhaps you will be interested in a book which -an acquaintance of mine, Mr. Osman Edwards, is bringing out through Mr. -Heinemann of London, "The Theatre in Japan." The fact of the old lyric -drama seems to me to call for a modification of the statement on page -233. Of course I am not questioning the suggestion of origins. - -Excuse these hasty and insufficient expressions of appreciation. Now to -the question of a former letter received from you, on the subject of a -selection of papers translated from various books of mine, by Mrs. Hirn. - -You have my full consent to publish such a translation.... I should -certainly accept no pay either from translator or publisher; and a -single copy of such translation, when published, would be favour -enough.... - -On the subject of a photograph and biographical notice, however, will -you not excuse me for saying that I do not think the circumstances -justify such an introduction to a strange public?... - -With renewed thanks for your most precious book, believe me, dear -Professor, very sincerely yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, January, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I am sorry not to have heard -from you,--fearing you may have been ill. The weather here has become -something very disagreeable--I was going to say infernal; but I think -this word better describes the weather of the North Atlantic Coast. The -changes of temperature here are less extreme, the cold is milder, but -the temperature may change three times in twenty-four hours,--which -seems to me extraordinary. There is almost perpetual rain and gloom, and -I would almost dislike Izumo were it not that one lovely day in a month -is enough to make me forgive and forget all the bad weather. The "Izumo -Fuji"--Dai sen (which is not, however, in Izumo at all)--was beautifully -visible the day before yesterday, and the landscape was unspeakably -beautiful. - -I am now arranging, as best I can, to get the fire-drill model made in -Kizuki. My friends have been ill and my best friend, Mr. Nishida, is -still so ill that he cannot travel with me. But I think the drill can -be made very soon now. I have a passport for all Izumo; but the weather -is diabolical; and though my chest is very strong, I feel that it is -a severe strain to keep well even at home. So I shall not travel much -before the summer. - -I send you some clean new "fire-insurance mamori." I found out only two -weeks ago where they are sold,--at the great Inari temple in the grounds -of Matsue Castle, where there are enormous stone foxes, and perhaps -two thousand small foxes sitting all round the court with their tails -perpendicularly elevated. The most extraordinary thing of the kind I -ever saw. They showed me at the temple a _kakemono_ of a ghostly fox, -with a phosphoric jewel in its tail,--said to have been painted ages -ago. I think I shall buy it from them. It is not beautiful, but quite -curious. - -I wish you a very, very happy new year and many of them. - - Faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, January, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your kindness in sending me a -postal card while suffering so much yourself from sickness, is something -that touches me very much. I hope to thank you better later on. - -I myself am very sick. I boasted too soon about my immunity from cold. -I have been severely touched where I thought myself strongest--in -my lungs--and have passed some weeks in bed. My first serious -discouragement came with this check to my enthusiasm; I fear a few more -winters of this kind will put me underground. But this has been a very -exceptional winter, they say. The first snowstorm piled five feet of -snow about my house, which faces the lake, looking to Kizuki. All the -mountains are white, and the country is smothered with snow, and the -wind is very severe. I never saw a heavier snowfall in the United States -or Canada. The thermometer does not go so low as you might suppose, not -more than about 12 above zero; but the houses are cold as cattle barns, -and the _hibachi_ and the _kotatsu_ are mere shadows of heat,--ghosts, -illusions. But I have the blues now; perhaps to-morrow everything will -be cheerful again. The authorities are astonishingly kind to me. If they -were not, I do not know what I should do. - -I trust you are now strong again. I send you a few _mamori_ from the -famous shrine of Sakusa (county I-yu) where Yaegaki-san are worshipped, -the "Deities who couple and set the single in families." It is said that -these, so soon as a boy or girl is born, decide the future love and -marriage of the child,--betrothing all to all from the moment of birth. -Three Shint[=o] deities are the presiding gods: Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto, his -wife Inada-Hime-no-Mikoto, and their son Sakusa-no-Mikoto, from whom, I -suppose, the place takes its name. The mother of Inada-Hime and Taka o -gami-no-Mikoto, and Ama-terasu-Omi-Kami, are also there enshrined. - -Here, amid stone foxes and stone lions, a priest sells love-charms. Some -of these consist of the leaves of _Camellia Japonica_. - -There is a tree in the temple court (or rather two trees, which have -grown into one); this is considered both symbolical and magical. There -is also a pond in which newts live. The flesh of these newts, reduced to -ashes, is considered an efficacious aphrodisiac. It is also the custom -for lovers to throw offerings wrapped in bits of white paper into the -pond, and watch. If the newts at once run to it, the omen is good; if -they neglect it, it is bad. - -In the Middle Ages this temple used to be in the village of Ushio, on -the boundary of the counties of O hara and Ni ta, but was removed to its -present site many hundred years ago. There are curious traditions and -poems, mostly of an erotic character, regarding this shrine. - -Trusting you will soon be quite well, believe me always sincerely yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, April, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I am delighted to hear the fire-drill is at -last in your hands. - -About Shint[=o] ... Of course, as far as its philosophy is concerned -(which I am very fond of, in spite of my devotion to Herbert Spencer), -and romance of religious sentiment, and legends, and art,--my Izumo -experiences have not at all changed my love of Buddhism. If it were -possible for me to adopt a faith, I should adopt it. But Shint[=o] seems -to me like an occult force,--vast, extraordinary,--which has not been -seriously taken into account as a force. I think it is the hopeless, -irrefragable obstacle to the Christianization of Japan (for which -reason I am wicked enough to love it). It is not all a belief, nor all -a religion; it is a thing formless as a magnetism and indefinable as an -ancestral impulse. It is part of the Soul of the Race. It means all the -loyalty of the nation to its sovereigns, the devotion of retainers to -princes, the respect to sacred things, the conservation of principles, -the whole of what an Englishman would call sense of duty; but that this -sense seems to be hereditary and inborn. I think a baby is Shint[=o] -from the time its eyes can see. Here, too, the symbolism of Shint[=o] -is among the very first things the child sees (I suppose it is the same -in T[=o]ky[=o]). The toys are to a great extent Shint[=o] toys; and -the excursions of a young mother with a baby on her back are always to -Shint[=o] temples. How much of Confucianism may have entered into and -blended with what is a striking characteristic of Japanese boys in their -attitude toward teachers and superiors, I do not know; but I think that -what is now most pleasing in these boys is the outer reflection of the -spirit of Shint[=o] within them,--the hereditary spirit of it. - -The Shinsh[=u] sect is the only one, as far as I can learn, whose -members in Izumo are not also Shint[=o]ists; but the sect is very weak -here. Even the Nichirenites are Shint[=o]ists. The two religions are -so perfectly blended here that the lines of demarcation are sometimes -impossible to find. - -Well, I think we Occidentals have yet to learn the worship of -ancestors; and evolution is going to teach it to us. When we become -conscious that we owe whatever is wise or good or strong or beautiful -in each one of us, not to one particular inner individuality, but to -the struggles and sufferings and experiences of the whole unknown chain -of human lives behind us, reaching back into mystery unthinkable,--the -worship of ancestors seems an extremely righteous thing. What is -it, philosophically, but a tribute of gratitude to the past,--dead -relatively only,--alive really within us, and about us. - -With best regards, in momentary haste, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, May, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I have just returned from a pilgrimage to -the famous Kwannon temple of Kiyomizu--about 18 miles from Matsue--where -it is said that the sacred fire has never been extinguished for a -thousand years, to find your postal card. I do not wait to receive the -delightful gift in order to thank you for it; as I hope to have the -pleasure of writing you a letter on my impression of it after reading -it. You could have imagined nothing to send me more welcome. Mr. Lowell -has, I think, no warmer admirer in the world than myself, though I do -not agree with his theory in the "Soul of the Far East," and think he -has ignored the most essential and astonishing quality of the race: its -genius of eclecticism. The future holds many problems we cannot presume -to guess, in regard to the fate of races. But there is not wanting -foundation for the belief that the Orient may yet dominate the Occident -and absorb it utterly. China seems to many a far greater question than -Russia. - -About your kind question regarding books. I think I shall be able to -get all the books on Japan--in English--that I need; and your "Things -Japanese" is a mine of good advice on what to buy. But if I need counsel -which I cannot find in your book, then I will write and ask. - -I venture to say that I think you have underrated the importance of my -suggestion about the Sacred Snake,--of which I have not been able to -find the scientific name. If they have such a snake at Ise then I am -wrong. But, if not, I think the little snake would be worth having. -It does not--like the fire-drill of Kizuki--possess special interest -for the anthropologist; but it certainly should have interest for the -folk-lorist, as a chapter in one of the most ancient and widely spread -(if not universal) religious practices,--the worship of the Serpent. If -you ever want an enshrined snake, let me know. It is dried and put into -a little _miya_ for the _kamidana_. - -Speaking of folk-lore, I have been interesting myself in the -fox-superstition in Izumo. Here, and in Iwami, the superstition has -local peculiarities. It is so powerful as to affect the value of real -estate to the amount of hundreds of thousands of yen, and keen men have -become rich by speculating upon the strength of it. If you want any -facts about it, please tell me. - -The scenery at Kiyomizu is superb. But there is no clear water except -the view of Nanji-umi from the pagoda and the hills. The _mamori_, I -regret to say, are uninteresting. There is, however, a curious Inari -shrine. Beside it is a sort of huge trough filled with little foxes of -all shapes, designs, and material. If you want anything, you pray, and -put a fox in your pocket, and take it home. As soon as the prayer is -granted you must take the fox back again and put it just where it was -before. I should like to have taken one home; but my servants hate foxes -and Inari and _tofu_ and _azuki-meshi_ and _abura-gi_ and everything -related to foxes. So I left it alone. - -You will not be sorry to hear that I am to have the same publishers -as Mr. Lowell,--at least according to present indications. I am not -vain enough to think I can ever write anything so beautiful as his -"Chos[=o]n" or "Soul of the Far East," and will certainly make a poor -showing beside his precise, fine, perfectly worded work. But I am not -going to try to do anything in his line. My work will deal wholly with -exceptional things (chiefly popular) in an untilled field of another -kind. - -I gave 72 boys, as subject for composition the other day, the question: -"What would you most like in this world?" Nine of the compositions -contained in substance this answer: "To die for our Sacred Emperor." -That is Shint[=o]. Isn't it grand and beautiful? and do you wonder that -I love it after that? - -Most grateful regards from yours most sincerely, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I went to K[=o]be by rail, and thence -by jinrikisha across Japan over mountains and through valleys -of rice-fields--a journey of four days; but the most delightful -in some respects of all my travelling experiences. The scenery -had this peculiar effect, that it repeated for me many of my -tropical impressions--received in a country of similar volcanic -configuration,--besides reviving for me all sorts of early memories of -travel in Wales and England which I had forgotten. Nothing could be -more beautiful than this mingling of the sensations of the tropics with -those of Northern summers. And the people! My expectations were much -more than realized: it is among the country-people Japanese character -should be studied, and I could not give my opinion of them now without -using what you would call enthusiastic language. I felt quite sorry -to reach this larger city, where the people are so much less simple, -charming, and kindly,--although I have every reason to be pleased with -them. And in a mountain village I saw a dance unlike anything I ever saw -before--some dance immemorially old, and full of weird grace. I watched -it until midnight, and wish I could see it again. Nothing yet seen in -Japan delighted me so much as this Bon-odori--in no wise resembling the -same performance in the north. I found Buddhism gradually weaken toward -the interior, while Shint[=o] emblems surrounded the fields, and things -suggesting the phallic worship of antiquity were being adored in remote -groves. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, June, 1891. - -DEAR MR. CHAMBERLAIN,--I am horribly ashamed to confess my weakness; but -the truth must be told! After having lived for ten months exclusively -upon Japanese fare, I was obliged to return (for a couple of days -only!!!!) to the flesh-pots of Egypt. Having become sick, I could not -recuperate upon Japanese eating--even when reënforced with eggs. I -devoured enormous quantities of beef, fowl, and sausage, and fried solid -stuffs, and absorbed terrific quantities of beer,--having had the good -luck to find one foreign cook in Matsue. I am very much ashamed! But the -fault is neither mine nor that of the Japanese: it is the fault of my -ancestors,--the ferocious, wolfish hereditary instincts and tendencies -of boreal mankind. The sins of the father, etc. - -Do you know anything about Ch[=o]zuba-no-Kami? There are images of him. -He has no eyes--only ears. He passes much of his time in sleep. He is -angry if any one enters the _koka_ without previously hemming,--so as to -give him notice. He makes everybody sick if the place in which he dwells -is not regularly cleaned. He goes to Kizuki and to Sada with the other -gods once a year; and after a month's absence returns. When he returns, -he passes his hand over each member of the family as they go to the -Ch[=o]zuba,--to make sure the family is the same. But one must not be -afraid of the invisible hand. I think this kami is an extremely decent, -respectable person, with excellent views on the subjects of morality and -hygiene. I could not refuse him a lamp nor--for obvious reasons--the -worship of incense. - -I have not been able to travel yet far enough to find anything novel, -but hope soon to do so. Meanwhile I am planning to make, if possible, -not only a tour of Izumo, but also a very brief visit to T[=o]ky[=o] in -company with Mr. Nishida. Perhaps--I may be able to see both you and Mr. -Lowell for a tiny little while--you will always have a moment to spare. - -I am always haunted by a particularly sarcastic translation Mr. -Lowell, in one of his books, made of the name of a gate,--"The Gate -of Everlasting Ceremony." (Only an American could have dared to make -such a translation.) I have been through the Gate and into the Court of -Everlasting Ceremony; but the gate is a marvellous swarming of carven -dragons and water, and the court is full of peace and sweetness. Most -truly, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your welcome letter has just reached me, -on the eve of a trip to Kizuki, and--unless extraordinary circumstances -prevent--Oki islands. My guest has departed. He was so petted and made -much of here, that I could not help regretting you also would not come. -I think I could make you comfortable here,--even in regard to diet,--at -any time when you could make the trip; and, as far as the people go, -they would embarrass you with kindness. Your name here is--well, more -than you would wish it to be. - -Your last delightful letter I did not fully answer in my last, being -hurried. What you said about the influence of health or sickness -on the spiritual life of a man went straight to my heart. I have -found, as you have done, that the possessor of pure horse-health -never seems to have an idea of the "half-lights." It is impossible -to see the psychical undercurrents of human existence without that -self-separation from the purely physical part of being, which severe -sickness gives--like a revelation. One in good health, who has never -been obliged to separate his immaterial self from his material self, -always will imagine that he understands much which, even recorded in -words, cannot be understood at all without sharp experience. We are all -living two lives,--but the revelation of the first seems only to come -by accident. There is an essay worth reading, entitled "Sickness is -Health,"--dealing with the physical results of sickness only; but there -is a much larger psychological truth in the title than the author of -it, whose name I forget, ever dreamed of. All the history of asceticism -and self-suppression as a religion, appears to me founded upon a vague, -blundering, intuitive recognition of the terrible and glorious fact, -that we can reach the highest life only through that self-separation -which the experiences of illness, that is, the knowledge of physical -weakness, brings; perfect health always involves the domination of -the spiritual by the physical--at least in the present state of human -evolution. - -Perhaps it will interest you to know the effect of Japanese life upon -your little friend after the experiences of a year and a half. At first, -the sense of existence here is like that of escaping from an almost -unbearable atmospheric pressure into a rarefied, highly oxygenated -medium. That feeling continues: in Japan the law of life is not as -with us,--that each one strives to expand his own individuality at -the expense of his neighbour's. But on the other hand, how much one -loses! Never a fine inspiration, a deep emotion, a profound joy or a -profound pain--never a thrill, or, as the French say so much better -than we, a _frisson_. So literary work is dry, bony, hard, dead work. I -have confined myself strictly to the most emotional phases of Japanese -life,--popular religion and popular imagination, and yet I can find -nothing like what I would get at once in any Latin country, a strong -emotional thrill. Whether it is that the difference in our ancestral -history renders what we call soul-sympathy almost impossible, or whether -it is that the Japanese are psychically smaller than we, I cannot -venture to decide--I hope the former. But the experience of all thinking -persons with whom I have had a chance to speak seems to be the same. - -But how sweet the Japanese woman is!--all the possibilities of the race -for goodness seem to be concentrated in her. It shakes one's faith in -some Occidental doctrines. If this be the result of suppression and -oppression,--then these are not altogether bad. On the other hand, how -diamond-hard the character of the American woman becomes under the -idolatry of which she is the subject. In the eternal order of things -which is the highest being,--the childish, confiding, sweet Japanese -girl,--or the superb, calculating, penetrating Occidental Circe of our -more artificial society, with her enormous power for evil, and her -limited capacity for good? Viscount Torio's idea haunts me more and -more;--I think there are very formidable truths in his observations -about Western sociology. And the question comes: "In order to comprehend -the highest good, is it necessary that we must first learn the largest -power of evil?" For the one may be the Shadow of the other. - -I am very much disappointed with Rein. I got much more information -about my own particular line of study from your "Things Japanese" than -from Rein. Rein himself confesses, after seven or eight years' labour, -that he has only been able to make "a patchwork"! What, then, can a man -like myself hope to do,--without scientific knowledge, and without any -hope of even acquiring the language of the country so as to read even -a newspaper? Really it seems to me almost an impertinence on my part -to try to write anything about Japan at all, and the only fact which -gives me courage is that there exists no book especially devoted to the -subject I hope to consider. - -The deity of Mionoseki is called always by the people Ebisu, or -Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami;--in the guide the deity is said to be Hiruko, -who, I believe, has been identified by Shint[=o] commentators with -Hiruko, as I find in the article on the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, in -the Asiatic Transactions. But I am not sure what to say about Hiruko -being the deity of Mio Jinja, as a general statement. My friends say -that only a Shint[=o] priest can decide, and I am going to see one. - - Most truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I have just received and read your most -interesting letter on my return from Kizuki,--where I should have liked -to remain longer, but I must go to see the Bon-odori at Shimo-ichi, -where it is danced differently from anywhere else, so far as I can -learn, and in a thrillingly ghostly manner,--so that one thinks he is -looking at a Dance of Souls. - -Before leaving I had a copy of Murray's Guide sent to the Kokuz[=o], who -was more than pleased to see the picture of the great temple reproduced -and to hear what was said about it. Before I went away, he gave me -another singular entertainment, such as he alone could do--for he is -King of Kizuki. (By the way, the old reverence for the Kokuz[=o] is not -dead. Folks do not believe now that whoever he looks at immediately -becomes unable to move; but as I and my companion followed him to the -great shrine, the pilgrims fell down and worshipped him as he passed.) - -This was the entertainment he gave me:--Having invited me to the temple -grounds, where seats were prepared, and a supper got ready for us, Mr. -Senke gave some order, and the immense court immediately filled with -people,--thousands. Then at a signal began a round dance, such as I -had never seen before,--the H[=o]nen-odori, as anciently performed in -Kizuki. It was so fascinating that I watched it until two o'clock in -the morning. At least three hundred dancers were in the ring;--and the -leader, standing on a mochi-mortar turned upside down, with an umbrella -over his head, formed the axis of the great round, and turned slowly -within it upon his pedestal. He had a superb voice. The Kokuz[=o] also -got the beautiful _miko_ dances photographed to please me, and presented -me with many curious MSS., some of which I hope to show you later on. -They were written expressly for me. - -Now as to the sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune. Just as the Bon-odori differs in every -part of Japan, and just as everything at Kizuki is totally different -from everything at Ise, even to the Miko-kagura, so is the custom of -sending away the Ships of the Souls different here. In many parts the -ships are launched at two or three o'clock in the morning of the day -after the Bon; or if ships are not launched, then floating lanterns -are sent out by way of guiding the dead home. But in Kizuki the -sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune are launched only by day and for those who have been -drowned at sea, and the shapes of the ships vary according to the kind -of ship in which the lost man or woman perished. And they are launched -every year for ten years after the death:--and when the soul returns -yearly to visit the home, the ship is made ready, and a little stick of -incense is lighted before launching it to take the beloved ghost back -again, and a little stock of provisions is placed in it upon _kawarake_ -(principally _dango_). And the _kaimy[=o]_ of the dead is written upon -the sail. And these boats are launched,--not at night, as elsewhere, but -in the daytime. - -I have had the sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune boxed and addressed to you, and a -priest wrote for me the kaimy[=o] upon the sail and the date of death, -according to the usual custom. But you will not get the thing before -three weeks, as I am forwarding it by express, and you know how slow the -process is! - -As for my letters, use anything you wish, and, if you desire, my -name. The only matter is this: that I am so small a personage as an -author that I am much in doubt whether the use of my name attached -to any opinion would give the opinion more weight than if expressed -impersonally. Unless it should, it might not be good for the book. I -leave the decision entirely to you. - -I have been reading Mr. Lowell's book over again; for it is one thing to -read it in Philadelphia, and quite another thing to read it after having -spent a year and a half in Japan. And the power and the charm impress -me more than ever. But I am so much horrified by its conclusions--at -least a few of them--that I try very hard to find a flaw therein. I -think the idea that the degree of the development of individuality in -a people necessarily marks its place in the great march of mind is not -true necessarily. At least it may be argued about. For as the tendency -of the age is toward class specialization and interdependent subdivision -of all branches of knowledge and all practical application of that -knowledge, the development of the individuality of every integer of a -community would seem to me to unfit the unit to form a close part of any -specialized class. In brief, I doubt, or rather I wish to doubt, that -the development of individuality is a lofty or desirable tendency. Much -of what is called personality and individuality is intensely repellent, -and makes the principal misery of Occidental life. It means much that -is connected with pure aggressive selfishness: and its extraordinary -development in a country like America or England seems a confirmation -of Viscount Torio's theory that Western civilization has the defect of -cultivating the individual at the expense only of the mass, and giving -unbounded opportunities to human selfishness, unrestrained by religious -sentiment, law, or emotional feeling. - -[Illustration: THE CITY OF MATSUE] - -What you say about your experience with Japanese poetry is indeed very -telling and very painful to one who loves Japan. Depth, I have long -suspected, does not exist in the Japanese soul-stream. It flows much -like the rivers of the country,--over beds three quarters dry,--very -clear and charmingly beshadowed;--but made temporarily profound only -by some passional storm. But it seems to me that some tendencies in -Japanese prose give hope of some beautiful things. There was a -story some time ago in the _Asahi Shimbun_ about a _shiraby[=o]shi_ -that brought tears to my eyes, as slowly and painfully translated by a -friend. There was tenderness and poetry and pathos in it worthy of Le -Fanu (I thought of the exquisite story of Le Fanu, "A Bird of Passage," -simply as a superb bit of tender pathos) or Bret Harte--though, of -course, I don't know what the style is. But the Japanese poem, as I -judge from your work and the "Anthologie Japonaise," seems to me exactly -the Japanese coloured print in words,--nothing much more. Still, how the -sensation of that which has been is flashed into heart and memory by the -delicious print or the simple little verse. - -I go to-morrow or the next day to Shimo-ichi. If you get the -sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune, let me know. Any of your servants can, I think, -fix the little masts and pennons in place. A small incense vessel and -_kawarake_ with _dango_, or models of _dango_, might be added by Dr. -Tylor to the exhibit; but I suppose these are not essential. - -With sincerest regards, ever truly, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR MR. CHAMBERLAIN,--Before leaving, I must trouble you with another -note or two. - -For "Things Japanese," I would like to make a suggestion about the -article "Theatre." The reference to O-Kuni seems to me extremely -severe; for her story is very beautiful and touching. She was a _miko_ -in the Great Temple of Kizuki, and fell in love with a _ronin_ named -Nagoya Sanza, and she fled away with her lover to Ky[=o]to. On the way, -another _ronin_, who fell in love with her extraordinary beauty, was -killed by Sanza. Always the face of the dead man haunted the girl. - -At Ky[=o]to she supported her lover by dancing the Miko-kagura in the -dry bed of the river Kamogawa. - -Then they went to T[=o]ky[=o] (Yedo) and began to act. Sanza himself -became a famous and successful actor. The two lived together until Sanza -died. - -Then she came back to Kizuki. She was learned, and a great poet in the -style called _renga_. After Sanza's death she supported herself, or at -least occupied herself, in teaching this poetic art. But she shaved -off her hair and became a nun, and built the little Buddhist temple in -Kizuki called Rengaji, in which she lived, and taught her art. And the -reason she built the temple was that she might pray for the soul of -the _ronin_ whom the sight of her beauty had ruined. The temple stood -until thirty years ago. Nothing is now left of it but a broken statue -of Jiz[=o]. Her family still live in Kizuki, and until the restoration -the chief of the family was always entitled to a share of the profits of -the Kizuki theatre, because his ancestress, the beautiful _miko_, had -founded the art. - -So I would like to suggest that poor O-Kuni have a kind word said for -her. And I am sure we would both think very highly of her if she were -alive. - -There is a little Japanese book about her history; but I do not know the -title. With best regards, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PAGE,--I answer your dear letter at once, as you wished me to -do. It reached me to-day, on my return from Kizuki, the Holy City of -Japan,--where I have become something of a favourite with the high -pontiff of the most ancient and sacred shrine of the land,--which -no other European was ever permitted to enter before me. And I am -travelling now,--stopping at home only on my way to other curious and -unknown places. For this part of Japan is so little known that I was -the first to furnish Murray's Guidebook editors with some information -thereabout.... - -But I had unknown friends here who knew me through my "Chinese -Ghosts"--so they applied to the Government for me, and I got an -educational position under contract. The contract was renewed last March -for a year--the extreme term allowed by law. My salary is only $100 per -month; but that is equal here to more than double the sum in America. -So that I am able to keep up nearly the nicest house in town,--outside -of a few very rich men,--to have several servants, to give dinners, and -to dress my little wife tolerably nicely. Moreover, life in Japan is -something so placid and kindly and gentle--that it is just like one of -those dreams in which everybody is good-natured about everything. The -missionaries have no reason to like me,--for one had to be discharged to -secure me; and I teach the boys to respect their own beautiful faith and -the gods of their fathers, and not to listen to proselytism. However, -the missionaries leave me alone. We have a tiff about Spencer in the -_Japan Mail_ sometimes; but as a rule I am completely isolated from all -Europeans. It is only at long intervals one ever gets so far,--with -the exception of an austere female stationed here in the vague hope of -making a convert. - -Of course I will send you a photograph of my little wife. I must tell -you I am married only in the Japanese manner as yet,--because of the -territorial law. Only by becoming a Japanese citizen, which I think I -shall do, will it be possible to settle the matter satisfactorily. By -the present law, the moment a foreigner marries a native according to -English law, she becomes an English citizen, and her children English -subjects, if she have any. Therefore she becomes subject to territorial -laws regarding foreigners,--obliged to live within treaty limits, -and virtually separated from her own people. So it would be her ruin -to marry her according to English form, until I become a Japanese in -law;--for should I die, she would have serious reason to regret her loss -of citizenship. - -As for going abroad--I mean back to you all--I don't know what to -say. Just now, of course, I could not if I would; for I am under -legal contract. Then my plans for a book on Japan are but a quarter -finished. Then, my little woman would be very unhappy, I fear, away -from her people and her gods;--for this country is so strange that it -is impossible for any who have never lived here for a long time to -understand the enormous difference between the thought and feeling of -the Japanese and our own. But, later on, perhaps I _must_ go back for a -time to see about getting out a book. Then I will probably appeal to you -for a year's employ or something. The Orient is more fascinating than -you may suppose: here, remember, the people _really_ eat lotuses: they -form a common article of diet. But no human being can tell exactly what -the future has in store for him. So I cannot for the life of me say now -what I shall do.... - -We are many years behind you here. In Matsue there is a little newspaper -of which I must send you a copy as a curiosity. Every week or two there -is an article in it about me. For "the foreigner's" every act is a -subject for comment. There is no such thing in Japan as privacy. There -are no secrets. Every earthly thing a man does is known to everybody, -and life is extravagantly, astoundingly frank. The moral effect is, -in my opinion, extremely good,--though the missionaries, who lie hard -about this country, say the reverse. Think of nothing but a paper screen -dividing all your life from the lives about you,--a paper screen to poke -a hole through, which is not considered outrageous, unless the screen -be decorated with celebrated paintings. That is _common_ life here. -As for me, I have a secluded house, with three gardens round it. But, -according to popular custom, I must never shut the door, or lock myself -up except at night. One must not be nervous here, or impatient: it is -impossible to remain either in such an atmosphere, or to be ill-natured, -or to hide anything. And just think of it!--I having to give lectures -and make speeches through an interpreter, which lectures and speeches -are duly printed in a Japanese magazine! To speak before a Japanese -audience, however, is delightful. One look at all the placid smiling -faces reassures the most shrinking soul at once. - -Well, at all events, I shall write you often, and send you something -queer betimes. I must now get ready to take the little steamer by which -I start. - -With best regards to all, and to you best love, I remain, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -[Illustration: This is my legal seal.] - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - YABASE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I have discovered Yabase. No European seems -to have ever been here before. On arriving at Shimo-ichi to see the -Bon-odori, I found I had come three days too soon, and the little town -is very hot and uncomfortable. - -Well, Yabase is an extremely quiet, pretty little town, with a much -better hotel than I have seen for quite a while,--and a superb beach. -Strange to say, there are no boats and nobody ever thinks of going -into the sea, except children. So whenever I go to swim, the entire -population crowd the beach to look on. Happily I am a very good -swimmer,--could swim for twenty-four hours without fatigue. Thus the -people have a _mezurashii mono_ to behold. Another queer thing about -Yabase is that it is the only place I have seen in Japan where there -is no shrine of Inari. It is a strictly Buddhist town, and Nichiren -prevails. There is a _yashiro_ on a neighbouring mountain, however. -There is no Bon-odori here, one must go to the next town to see it, -which I will do to-night. There has been much rough weather--tremendous -seas breaking along the coast. At Kizuki I thought the hotel was going -to be carried away; and all the approaches to it, bridges, etc., were -dashed to pieces. Here, the sea is opposed by a loftier coast, but it -becomes something one cannot laugh at on a windy day. - -I must tell you an incident of the revival of pure Shint[=o]. At Kizuki, -until very recently, two of the hotels were kept by families belonging -to some Buddhist sect, as well as to the Kizuki sect of Shint[=o], and -so in their establishments, as in nearly every Izumo household, there -was a _butsudan_ as well as a _kamidana_. But some pilgrims who came to -Kizuki, full of fiery Shint[=o] zeal, were wroth to see a _butsudan_ -in the inns of the Sacred City, and girded up their loins, and sought -out an hotel where no Buddha was, and went there,--and sent out word -to their fellow pilgrims. The result has been that all the hotels in -Kizuki have suppressed Buddhism, or at least its externals: they have -become pure Shint[=o]. This incident is rather anomalous, but it is -a confirmation of what I said before, regarding the predominance of -Shint[=o]. - -From Mionoseki, I hope to send you some _o fuda_ of interest. The -prospects of getting to Oki are growing small, however,--for the time -being. - - * * * * * - -P.S. Alas! I have not discovered Yabase! Some detestable missionary was -here before me--for one hour only, it is true, but he was here!--And -to-day, being a day of high surf, there came down to the beach with -planks, divers boys, who swam far out and came in, as the Americans say, -"a-kite-ing," on the crests of waves--swimming unspeakably well, after -the fashion of the Polynesian islanders. So that I feel small! I offered -to teach them what I know in exchange for instruction as to how to come -"a-kite-ing" on the top of a wave. - -As for the little Japanese pipe:-- - -I cannot think that its form and dimensions simply evidence the -Japanese fondness for "small things." The ancient Samurai pipes, of -which I have seen many fine specimens, were very much larger than the -modern _kiseru_. The pipe seems to me rather the natural evolution of -a utensil in its relation to the domestic life of Japan. The little -pipe is admirably adapted to the multifarious interruptions of Japanese -occupations. Long-sustained effort, protracted and unbroken study, are -things foreign to Japanese existence. The Western pipe is good between -the teeth of a man trained to remain on duty without remission of mental -labour or relaxation of muscle for five or six hours at a stretch. But -the Japanese idea of labour is blessed and full of interruptions as -his year is full of _matsuri_. Thus, the little pipe, with its three -conventional whiffs, exactly suits his wants. Its artistic evolution is -also a matter worthy of study. Some of the best metal-work has been done -upon it. From the pipe of 3 sen to the pipe of 30 yen, there is as great -a range of artistic design and finish as in the realm of _kakemono_. -Pipes of silver are the fashion. Without engraving, the silver must be -very heavy. If the two metal parts be elaborately engraved and inlaid, -the metal may be made as light as possible. A really fine pipe becomes -an heirloom. - -The introduction of European costume among the class of officials and -teachers necessarily produced a change in the smoking paraphernalia -which formed a part of the native Japanese outfit. The _tabako-ire_ -was reshaped, so as to accommodate itself to a breast or side pocket, -and the little pipe shortened so as to be enclosed without the tobacco -pouch, much as a pencil is enclosed in a pocket-book. Many beautifully -designed things thus came into existence. A nice small pipe of silver -may now be had to order for about 3 yen,--(designed). The _netsuke_ has, -of course, no place in this form of the _tabako-ire_. I have collected -over a hundred different forms of the new pipe. This has no bamboo: -the whole thing is one solid piece of metal. The best are inlaid or -engraved:--the bowl and mouthpiece (at least) being usually of silver, -worked into steel or brass. - -Pipes with long stems are preferable for house use. They do not burn the -tongue so quickly as the short pipe. However, the tobacco itself has -much to do with this matter. Those j[=o]ros, geishas, and others, who -smoke the greater part of the time, use a special tobacco which does not -blister the tongue or lips. - -With the pipe for an evolutionary centre, a whole intricate and complex -world of smoking-furniture has come into existence,--of which the -richest specimens are perhaps those lacquered _tabako-bon_ for the -use of aristocratic ladies, with plated or solid silver _hibachi_ and -_haifuki_. The winter _hibachi_ for smoking purposes has, of course, -many forms;--some of the daintiest being those invented for use in -theatres, to be carried in the hand. The smoker, who finds a handsome -bronze _hibachi_ placed before him on a winter's day, is not supposed to -empty his pipe into it by knocking the metal head of the pipe upon the -rim: if genteel, he will always insert the leather flap of his tobacco -pouch between the pipehead and the _hibachi_--so as to prevent the -tapping of the pipehead from causing a dent in the bronze. At present -the most genteel _tabako-bon_ for summer use has a small cup of bronze, -instead of the usual cup of porcelain. The smoker empties his pipe, not -into the _hibachi_ of bronze or porcelain, but into the bamboo _haifuki_ -which is an indispensable part of the summer _tabako-bon_. - -The foreigner who uses the Japanese pipe commences his experience -with that apparently simple article by burning small round holes in -everything near him--the _tatami_, the _zabuton_, and especially his -own _yukata_ or _kimono_. The small pellet of ignited tobacco contained -in the _kiseru_ becomes, after a few whiffs, a fiery pill, loose, and -ready to leap from the pipe at a breath. Wherever it falls, it pierces -holes like a red-hot shot. But the Japanese expert smoker rarely burns -anything. He draws from his pipe at the very most three whiffs and at -once empties it into the _haifuki_. To smoke a Japanese pipe to the -bottom, moreover, results in clogging up the pipe. The art of cleaning -it out afterwards is quite elaborate. A common plan is to heat the -pipehead in the charcoal of the _hibachi_, and then blow out the refuse. -But this method corrodes and spoils a fine pipe. The cleaning of the -fine pipe must be done with a twist of tough fine paper passed up the -stem and pulled out through the head. - -Besides smoking-furniture, a special code of politeness has been evolved -around the Japanese pipe. - -The pipe, I regret to say, is in vulgar circles used as a domestic rod. -The wife or child who is very naughty may receive a severe blow with the -_kiseru_, or even many. However, it is not so bad as the instruments of -punishment in vogue elsewhere. - -I am not sure if I have been able to say anything worth your while to -read about the pipe, but I think the Japanese pipe is really worth more -consideration than is usually given it. - -NOTE. Women's pipes have a special, delicate form--and are made -very small and dainty--also their _tabako-ire_. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - YURA, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--If you are not frightfully busy, which -I suppose nobody is at this time of the year, perhaps some of my -adventures will interest you. - -I found that the Bon-odori is different, not only in every village, but -even in every commune. So I was very anxious to see all the varieties -of this curious dance that I could. I heard that at [=O]tsuka, near -Yabase, there was a very remarkable kind of dance danced; and I went, in -Japanese costume, with a dozen citizens of Yabase, to see it. It turned -out to be not worth seeing at all: the people had no more knowledge of -dancing--or rather, much less, than Sioux or Comanches. - -[=O]tsuka is a stony, large, primitive-looking village,--full of rude -energy and, I am sorry to say, of bad manners,--a terrible thing to say -about any Japanese town. But I have been in about 50 Japanese villages, -where I loved all the people, and always made a few of them love me, -and [=O]tsuka is the first exception I found to the general rule about -the relation between foreigners and _hyakush[=o]-no-jin_. At [=O]tsuka -the people left their dance to pelt the foreigner with little pellets -of sand and mud,--crying out: "Bikki!--bikki!" What that means I do -not know. So both I and the whole of the Yabase people turned back. -The pelting was not very savage--it was just like the work of naughty -children: a foreign mob would have thrown stones, which these folk were -very careful not to do--in spite of the fact that there were no police. -I passed through this village twice since, and found the attitude of its -people peculiarly rough--bordering upon hostility. Compared with the -roughness of--say a Barbadoes mob--it was a very gentle thing, but it -gave me the first decidedly unpleasant sense of being an alien that I -have ever had in Japan. - -I have just returned from Togo-ike,--a place described in your Guide. - -Frankly, I detest Togo-ike. But it is extremely popular with travelling -Japanese--especially the _sh[=o]bai_. Imagine a valley of rice-fields, -ringed in by low jagged wooded hills, with a lakelet in the middle of -it about a mile and a quarter long (at most) by half a mile broad, and -hotels built out into the water. The coldest place I have yet been -in Japan. The hotels are supplied with hot water from the volcanic -springs through bamboo pipes, but the baths do not compare with those -of the much humbler Izumo resort--Tama-tsukuri. The cold air to me was -penetrating, sickly, but this may be idiosyncrasy. To one who has lived -in the tropics the chill of rice-fields means fever and death; and some -of my old tropical fears came up. Then the hotel has only _mishido_, no -_karakami_,--so that one is never alone. One hour of Yabase is worth -a season at Togo-ike--free of expense--to one who loves quiet and -simple ways. So I shall spend a couple more days there before going to -Mionoseki. - -I have given up Oki, until winter. The health and strength I get from -seawater bathing have made me delay too long. But I will get to Oki -later. - - Ever yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - YABASE, August, 1891. - -DEAR MR. NISHIDA,--I have had a pleasant time in different little drowsy -sea-villages,--sleeping, eating, drinking sake, and bathing. Yabase is -about the most pleasant place I ever stopped at here. - -But, alas!--_I saw no Bon-odori_ at all at Shimo-ichi. I seemed to have -gone too soon;--at Yabase, there is no Bon-odori; and at [=O]tsuka, -where I next travelled, on foot, to see the Bon-odori, I had an -adventure of a peculiar kind. - -[=O]tsuka seems to be a rough sort of place. Its folk are big hustling -noisy countrymen; and when they are full of sake inclined to be -mischievous. They stopped dancing to see the foreigner. The foreigner -took refuge from the pressure of the crowd in a house, where he sat -upon the floor, and smoked. The crowd came into the house and round -the house, and uttered curious observations and threw sand and water -at the foreigner. Therefore the people of Yabase, who had accompanied -the foreigner to [=O]tsuka, arose and made vigorous protests; and we -all returned to Yabase together. At Yabase, the police and some of -the principal people more than made up to me for the rudeness of the -[=O]tsuka folk,--they apologized for the [=O]tsuka folk until I was -really ashamed of being so kindly looked after; and I was entertained -very generously; and the police told me that anything in the world -I wished their advice or help about, only to send them word. (The -hostility of the [=O]tsuka folk was really a very childish sort of -thing, not worth making a fuss about;--a Western crowd would have thrown -stones or rotten eggs. Indeed I am not sure whether the crowd was really -hostile at all. I rather think that they wanted to see the foreigner -move,--so they tried to make him stir about,--like a _kedamono_ in a -cage.) - -To-morrow I return to Matsue, by way of Mionoseki;--I really regret -leaving Yabase: the people are the kindest, most honest, straightforward -folk imaginable. And I have made several friends;--at the temple of -Nichiren here, I got some beautiful _o fuda_. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--Having reached a spot where I can write -upon something better than a matted floor, I find three most pleasant -letters from you. The whole of the questions in them I cannot answer -to-night, but will do so presently, when I obtain the full information. - -However, as to cats' tails I can answer at once. Izumo cats--(and I -was under the impression until recently that all Japanese cats were -alike)--are generally born with long tails. But there is a belief -that any cat whose tail is not cut off in kittenhood, will become an -_obake_ or a _nekomata_, and there are weird stories about cats with -long tails dancing at night, with towels tied round their heads. There -are stories about petted cats eating their mistress and then assuming -the form, features, and voice of the victim. Of course you know the -Buddhist tradition that no cat can enter paradise. The cat and the snake -alone wept not for the death of Buddha. Cats are unpopular in Izumo, -but in H[=o]ki I saw that they seemed to exist under more favourable -conditions. The real reason for the unpopularity of the cat is its -powers of mischief in a Japanese house;--it tears the _tatami_, the -_karakami_, the _sh[=o]ji_, scratches the woodwork, and insists upon -carrying its food into the best room to eat it upon the floor. I am -a great lover of cats, having "raised," as the Americans say, more -than fifty;--but I could not gratify my desire to have a cat here. The -creature proved too mischievous, and wanted always to eat my uguisu. - - * * * * * - -The oscillation of one's thoughts concerning the Japanese--the swaying -you describe--is and has for some time been mine also. - -There are times when they seem so small! And then again, although -they never seem large, there is a vastness behind them,--a past of -indefinite complexity and marvel,--an amazing power of absorbing and -assimilating,--which forces one to suspect some power in the race so -different from our own that one cannot understand that power. And as -you say, whatever doubts or vexations one has in Japan, it is only -necessary to ask one's self:--"Well, who are the best people to live -with?" For it is a question whether the intellectual pleasures of social -life abroad are not more than dearly bought at the cost of social -pettinesses which do not seem to exist in Japan at all. - -Would you be horrified to learn that I have become passionately fond -of _daikon_,--not the fresh but the strong ancient pickled _daikon_? -But then the European Stilton cheese, or Limburger, is surely quite -as queer. I have become what they call here a _j[=o]go_,--and find -that a love of sake creates a total change in all one's eating habits -and tastes. All the sweet things the _geko_ likes, I cannot bear -when taking sake. By the way, what a huge world of etiquette, art, -taste, custom, has been developed by sake. An article upon sake,--its -social rules,--its vessels,--its physiological effects,--in short the -whole romance and charm of a Japanese banquet, ought to be written by -somebody. I hope to write one some day, but I am still learning. - - * * * * * - -As to Dr. Tylor and the anthropological institute. If he should want any -paper that I could furnish, I would be glad and consider myself honoured -to please him. As for your question about the _o fuda_, why, I should -think it no small pleasure to be mentioned merely as one of your workers -and friends. Though the little I have been able to send does not seem -to me to deserve your kindest words, it is making me very happy to have -been able to please you at all. Whatever I can write or send, make -always any use of you please. - -About "seeing Japan from a distance,"--I envy you your coming chance. -I could not finish my book on the West Indies until I saw the magical -island again through regret, as through a summer haze,--and under -circumstances which left me perfectly free to think, which the soporific -air of the tropics makes difficult. (Still the book is not what it -ought to be, for I was refused all reasonable help, and wrote most of -it upon a half-empty stomach, or with my blood full of fever.) But to -think of Japan in an English atmosphere will be a delicious experience -for you after so long an absence. I should not be surprised should the -experience result in the creation of something which would please your -own feelings as an author better than any other work you have made. Of -course it is at the time one is best pleased that one does one's real -best in the artistic line. - -By the way, since you like those Shint[=o] prints,--and I might get you -others,--what about a possible edition of your "Kojiki" illustrated by -Japanese conceptions of this kind, colours and all? Such work can be so -cheaply done in Japan! And an index! How often I wished for an index. I -have made an imperfect one of my own. It is believed here that Hahaki is -the ancient name of the modern H[=o]ki. I was told this when I wanted to -go to the legendary burial-place of Izanami. - -As usual, I find I have been too presumptuous in writing offhand about -cats' tails. On enquiring, I learn that there are often, born of the -same mother, Izumo kittens with short tails, and kittens with long -tails. This would show that two distinct species of cats exist here. The -long-tailed kittens are always deprived when possible of the larger part -of their caudal appendage. The short tails are spared. If an old cat be -seen with a short tail, people say,--"this cat is old, but she has a -short tail: therefore she is a good cat." (For the _obake_ cat gets two -tails when old, and every wicked cat has a long tail.) I am told that at -the recent _bon_, in Matsue, cats of the evil sort were seen to dance -upon the roofs of the houses. - -What you tell me about those Shint[=o] rituals and their suspicious -origin seems to me quite certainly true. So the _kara-shishi_ and the -_mon_ and the dragon-carvings and the _t[=o]r[=o]s_,--all stare me in -the face as pillage of Buddhism. But the funeral rite which I saw and -took part in, on the anniversary of the death of Prince Sanj[=o], struck -me as immemorially primitive. The weird simplicity of it--the banquet to -the ghost, the covering of the faces with white paper, the moaning song, -the barbarian music, all seemed to me traditions and echoes of the very -childhood of the race. I shall try to discover the genesis of the book -you speak of as dubious in character. The Shint[=o] christening ceremony -is strictly observed here, and there are curious facts about the funeral -ceremonies--totally at variance with and hostile to Buddhism. - -By the way, when I visited a _tera_ in Mionoseki after having bought _o -fuda_ at the Miojinja, I was told I must not carry the _o fuda_ into -the court of the _tera_. The Kami would be displeased. - -For the moment, good-bye. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MATSUE, 1891. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... My household relations have turned out to be -extremely happy, and to bind me very fast here at the very time that I -was beginning to feel like going away. It does not now seem possible -for me ever to go away. To take the little woman to another country -would be to make her extremely unhappy; for no kindness or comfort could -compensate for the loss of her own social atmosphere--in which all -thoughts and feelings are so totally different from our own. - -I find literary work extremely difficult here. The mental air about one -has a totally disintegrating effect upon Western habits of thinking;--no -strong emotion, no thrills or inspirations ever come to me, so I am -still in doubt how to work. Whether I shall ever be able to make a -really good book on Japan is still a question; but if I do, it will -require years of steady dry work, without one real flash in it. The -least fact in this Oriental life is so different from ours, and so -complex in its relationship to other facts, that to explain it requires -enormous time and patience. - -I was made a little homesick by your letter about New Orleans, -mentioning so many familiar names. It brought back many pleasant -memories. - -Ah! you are in a dangerous world now. You will meet some charming, -unsophisticated Southern girl, so much nicer than most Northern girls, -that the South may fascinate you too much. - -My correspondents have all dropped off except you. Sometimes a -letter wanders to me--six months old--announcing my nomination as -vice-president of some small literary society; but the outer world is -slowly and surely passing away. At the same time the harder side of -Japanese character is beginning to appear--in spots. The women are -certainly the sweetest beings I have ever seen, as a general rule: all -the good things of the race have been put into them. They are just -loving, joyous, simple-hearted children with infinite surprises of -pretty ways. About the men,--one never gets very close to them. One's -best friends have a certain far-offness about them, even when breaking -their necks to please you. There is no such thing as clapping a man -on the back and saying, "Hello! old boy!" There is no such thing as -clapping a fellow on the knee, or chucking a fellow under the ribs. -All such familiarities are terribly vulgar in Japan. So each one has -to tickle his own soul and clap it on the back, and say "Hello" to it. -And the soul, being Western, says: "Do you expect me always to stay in -this extraordinary country? I want to go home, or get back to the West -Indies, at least. Hurry up and save some money." As it is, I have two -hundred dollars saved up, even after dressing my little wife like a -queen. - -And now I am about to journey to outrageous places, among very strange -gods. Good-bye for a while. - - Ever most affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MATSUE, October, 1891. - -DEAR DEVILISHLY DELIGHTFUL OLD FELLOW,--I have been dancing an Indian -war-dance of exultation in my Japanese robes, to the unspeakable -astonishment of my placid household. After which I passed two hours in -a discourse in what my Japanese friends ironically term "The Hearnian -Dialect." Subject of exultation and discourse,--the marriage of Miss -Elizabeth Bisland. If she only knew how often I have written her name -upon the blackboard for the eyes of the students of the Normal School -to look upon when they asked me to tell them about English names! And -they pronounce it after me with a pretty Japanese accent and lisp: -"_Aileesabbet Beeslan_!" Well, well, well!--you most d--nably jolly -fellow!! - -... Civilization is full of deadly perils in small things,--isn't it? -and horrors in large things--railroad collisions, steamboat explosions, -elevator accidents,--all nightmares of machinery. How funny the quiet of -this Oriental life. The other day a man brought a skin to the house to -sell,--a foreign skin. Very beautiful the animal must have been, and the -price was cheap. But the idea of murder the thing conveyed was horrible -to me, and I was glad to find my folks of the same mind. "No, no!--we -don't like to see it," they said. And the man departed, and in his heart -pain was lord. - -Oh! as for vacation, I always get two months, or nearly two months,--the -greater part of July and all of August. This time I have been travelling -alone with my little wife, who translates my "Hearnian dialect" into -Japanese,--eating little dishes of seaweed, and swimming across all -the bays I could find on the Izumo coast. They take me to be a good -swimmer out here; but I am a little afraid to face really rough water -at a distance from shore.--About getting to you, I don't really see my -way clear to do it for another year or two--must wait till I feel very -strong with the Japanese. Just now friend Chamberlain is trying to get -me south, to teach Latin and English, at $200 per month, in a beautiful -climate. I would like it--but the Latin--"_hic sunt leones!_" I am -awfully rusty. Should I be offered the place and dare to take it, you -would find me at Kumamoto, in Ky[=u]sh[=u],--much more accessible than -Matsue. I think I have a better chance of seeing you here than you of -seeing me. But what a dear glorious chap you are to offer me the ways -and means;--I'll never forget it, old boy--never! - -Pretty to talk of "my pen of fire." I've lost it. Well, the fact is, -it is no use here. There isn't any fire here. It is all soft, dreamy, -quiet, pale, faint, gentle, hazy, vapoury, visionary,--a land where -lotus is a common article of diet,--and where there is scarcely any -real summer. Even the seasons are feeble ghostly things. Don't please -imagine there are any tropics here. Ah! the tropics--they still pull -at my heart-strings. Goodness! my real field was there--in the Latin -countries, in the West Indies and Spanish-America; and my dream was -to haunt the old crumbling Portuguese and Spanish cities, and steam -up the Amazon and Orinoco, and get romances nobody else could find. -And I could have done it, and made books that would sell for twenty -years yet. Perhaps, however, it's all for the best: I might have been -killed in that Martinique hurricane. And then, I think I may see the -tropics on this side of the world yet,--the Philippines, the Straits -Settlements,--perhaps Reunion or Madagascar. (When I get rich!) - -Besides, I _must_ finish my work on Japan, and that will take a couple -of years more. It is the hardest country to learn--except China--in -the world. I am the only man who ever attempted to learn the people -seriously; and I think I shall succeed. But there is work ahead--phew! -I have sent away about 1500 pp. MSS., and I have scarcely touched the -subject--merely broken ground. - -... Fact is, there is only one way to really marry a Japanese -legally,--to be adopted into a Japanese family after marrying the -daughter, and so become a Japanese citizen. Otherwise the wife loses -her citizenship--a terrible calamity to a good girl. She would have to -live in the open ports, unless I could always live in the interior. And -the children--the children would have no rights or prospects in Japan. -I don't see any way out of it except to abandon my English citizenship, -and change my name to _Koizumi_,--my wife's name. I am still hesitating -a little--because of the Japanese. _Would_ they try to take advantage, -and cut down my salary? I am thinking, and waiting. But meantime, I am -morally, and according to public opinion, fast married. - -By the way, she would very much like to see E. B. If E. has a yacht, -make her "sail the seas over" and come to this place; and she will be -much pleased and humbly served and somewhat amused. - -Well, so long, with best heart-wishes and thanks, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I have accepted a new position, in Southern Japan. - -Oh! read Zola's "L'Argent"--you will appreciate it. There are delicious -_financial_ characters in it. For goodness' sake, don't read a -translation. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, 1891. - -DEAR FRIEND NISHIDA,--Your very welcome letter came to-day. I -was beginning to be anxious about you, as my cook, who arrived here only -yesterday, said that it was extremely cold in Matsue; and I was afraid -the bitter weather might have given you cold. I am very glad you are -taking care of yourself.... - -I am now a little more reconciled to Kumamoto; but it is the most -uninteresting city I was ever in, in Japan. The famous shrines of -Kat[=o] Kiyomasa (the Kat[=o]-sha and the Hommy[=o]ji) are worth -visiting; they are at Akitagun, a little outside the town. The city is -packed with soldiers. Things are dear and ugly here--except silks. This -is quite a place for pretty silks, and they are cheaper than in Matsue: -but there is nothing pretty in the shape of lacquer-ware, porcelain, -or bronze. There is no art, and there are no _kakemonos_, and no -curio-shops. - -The weather here is queer--something like that of the Pacific slope, a -few hundred miles north of San Francisco. The nights and the mornings -are cold; and at sunrise, you see the ground covered with white frost, -and mists all over the hills. But by noon it gets warm, and in the -afternoon even hot; then after sundown it turns cold again. - -Mr. Kano was too modest when he told me there were other teachers who -spoke English better than he. There are not. He speaks and writes -better English than any Japanese I know. However, there is a Mr. Sakuma -here, from Ky[=o]to, who has a very uncommon knowledge of _literary_ -English: he has read a great deal, has a good library, and has made a -special study of Old English and Middle English. He teaches literature -(English) and grammar, etc. Mr. [=O]zawa (_I think_) is the second -English teacher: I like him the best personally. He has that fine -consideration for others which you have,--and which is not a common -quality of men anywhere. He speaks French. The Head-master, Mr. Sakurai, -a young and very silent man, also speaks French. Nearly all the teachers -speak English,--except the delightful old teacher of Chinese, who has -a great beard and a head like Socrates. I liked him at once,--just as -I liked Mr. Katayama at first sight. I wonder if there is anything -in the learning of Chinese which makes men amiable. Perhaps it is the -constant need of patience and the æsthetic sentiment also involved by -such studies, that changes or modifies character so agreeably. I don't -know much, however, about the teachers yet. I say good-morning and -good-evening, and sit in my corner, and smoke my pipe. So far they all -seem very gentle and courteous. I think I shall be able to get along -pleasantly with them; but I don't think I shall become as friendly with -any of them as I was with you. Indeed there is nobody like you here--no -chats in the ten minutes,--no curious information,--no projects and -discoveries. I often look at your pretty little tea-tray, with the -_semi_ and the dragonflies upon it,--and wish I could hear your voice at -the door.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I have become very strong, and weigh about 20 lbs. more than I did -last summer. But I can't tell just why. Perhaps because I am eating -three full meals a day instead of two. My house is not quite so large -as the one I had in Matsue. We are five here now--myself and wife, -the cook, the _kurumaya_, and O-Yone. It was very funny about O-Yone -when she first came. Nobody could understand her Izumo dialect (she is -from Imaichi); but both she and the _kurumaya_ can now get along. The -hotels here are outrageously expensive: at least some of them. I cannot -recommend the Shirakuin for cheapness. I paid, including tea-money, 24 -yen for 6-1/2 days. No more of that! - -About the boys? Yes, [=O]tani writes to me, and Azukizawa,--and I got a -charming letter from Tanabe, late of the 5th Class. - -I was surprised to hear of the decision of the Council. But I cannot -help thinking this is much better than that the boys should be taught -by a missionary; 99 out of 100 will not teach conscientiously and -painstakingly. And a clever Japanese teacher can do so much. I have now -no one to prepare some of my classes for the English lesson; and I know -what it means. The main use of a foreign teacher is to teach accent and -conversational habits. But I suspect that within another generation few -foreign teachers will be employed for English--except in higher schools -and for special purposes. There will be thousands of Japanese teachers, -speaking English perfectly well. I hope you will be the new Director. -Please kindly remember me to Mr. Sato, Mr. Katayama, Mr. Nakamura (I -wish I could hear him laugh now), and all friends. - - * * * * * - -P. S. Setsu insists that I shall tell you that the _kurumaya_ of this -town are _oni_, and that one must be careful in hiring them;--so that -if you should come down here when the weather is better, you must be as -careful as in T[=o]ky[=o],--where they are also _oni_. Also that rent is -high: my house is eleven yen. But with any Izumo cook, living is just as -cheap as in Matsue; and there is much good bread and meat and sake and -food of all kinds. - -I am sorry about that Tamatsukuri affair; for I wrote, as you will see, -words of _extreme_ praise,--never suspecting such possibilities. Why, -the first duty of gentlemen is to face death like soldiers,--not like -sailors on a sinking ship, who stave in the casks--sometimes. However, -don't such things make you wish for the chance to do the same duty -better? They do me. That is one good effect of a human weakness: it -makes others wish to be strong and to do strong things. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1891. - -MY DEAR [=O]TANI,--I have just received your most kind letter, for which -my sincerest thanks. But I don't want to correct it, and send it back to -you: I would rather keep it always, as a pleasant remembrance. - -It has been very cold in Kumamoto--a sharp frost came last night, with -an icy wind. Everybody says such cold is extraordinary here; but I -am not quite sure if this is really true, because they have told me -everywhere I have been during the last twenty years: "Really we never -saw such weather before." - -Kumamoto is not nearly so pretty a city as Matsue, although it is as -neat as Tenjin-machi. There are some very beautiful houses and hotels, -but the common houses are not so fine as those of Matsue. Most of the -old Shizoku houses were burned during the Satsuma war, so that there -are no streets like Kita-bori-machi, and it is very hard to find a nice -house. I have been fortunate enough to find one nearly as nice as the -one I had in Matsue, but the garden is not nearly so pretty; and the -rent is eleven dollars--nearly three times more than what I paid in -Matsue. There is, of course, no lake here, and no beautiful scenery like -that of Shinji-ko; but on clear days we can see the smoke rising from -the great volcano of Aso-san. - -As for the Dai Go K[=o]t[=o]-Ch[=u]gakk[=o], the magnificence of it -greatly surprised me. The buildings are enormous,--of brick for the most -part; and they reminded me at first sight of the Imperial University -of T[=o]ky[=o]. Most of the students live in the school. There is a -handsome military uniform; but all the boys do not wear it,--some -wear Japanese clothes, and the rules about dress (except during -drilling-time, etc.) are not very strict. There is no bell. The classes -are called and dismissed by the sound of a bugle. There are ten minutes -between class-hours for rest; but the buildings are so long, that it -takes ten minutes to walk through them to the teacher's room, which is -in a separate building. Two of the teachers speak French, and six or -seven English: there are 28 teachers. The students are very nice,--and -we became good friends at once. There are three classes, corresponding -with the three higher classes of the Jinj[=o] Ch[=u]gakk[=o],--and -two higher classes. I do not now teach on Saturdays. There are no -stoves--only _hibachi_. The library is small, and the English books -are not good; but this year they are going to get better books, and -to enlarge the library. There is a building in which _j[=u]-jutsu_ is -taught by Mr. Kano; and separate buildings for sleeping, eating, and -bathing. The bath-room is a surprise. Thirty or forty students can -bathe at the same time; and four hundred can eat at once in the great -dining-hall. There is a separate building also for the teaching of -chemistry, natural history, etc.; and there is a small museum. - -You have been kind enough to offer to find out for me something about -Shint[=o]. Well, if you have time, I will ask you to find out for me as -much as you can about the _miya_ of the household,--the household shrine -and _kamidana_ in Izumo. I would like to know what way the _kamidana_ -should face--north, south, east, or west. - -Also, what is the origin of the curious shape of the little stoppers of -the _omiki-dokkuri_? - -[Illustration] - -Also, whether the ancestors are ever worshipped before the _kamidana_ in -the same way as they are worshipped before the _butsudan_. - -Are the names of the dead ever written upon something to be placed in -the _miya_, in the same way, or nearly the same way, as the _kaimy[=o]_ -is written upon the _ihai_ or Buddhist mortuary tablet. - -In the Shint[=o] worship of _family_ ancestors (if there is any such -worship, which I doubt), what prayers are said? - -Are any particular _family_-prayers said by Buddhists when praying -before the _kaimy[=o]_, or do the common people utter only the ordinary -prayer of their sect--such as "_Namu Amida Butsu_," or, "_Namu -My[=o]h[=o] Rengeky[=o]_?" - -But do not give yourself too much trouble about these things, and take -your own time;--in a month, or two months, or even three months will -be quite time enough. And if you have no time, do not trouble yourself -about it at all; and write to me that you cannot, or would rather -not,--then I will ask some one who is less busy. - -I shall be hoping really to see you in Kumamoto next year. You would -like the school very much. Perhaps you would not like the city as well -as Matsue; but the school is not in the city exactly; it is a little -outside of it, and you would live in the school, probably,--or very -near it. The students make excursions to Nagasaki and other places, by -railroad and steamer. - -Now about your letter. It was very nice. You made a few mistakes in -using "_will_,"--and in saying "if I would have promote my school." It -ought to have been "if I should go to a higher school." - -"This will be a bad letter" ought to have been "I fear this _is_ ... -etc." But you and I and everybody learn best by making mistakes. - -With best remembrance from your old teacher, believe me - - Ever truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, December, 1891. - -DEAR FRIEND NISHIDA,--Your letter has just reached me. I am more -sorry than I can express to hear of the death of Yokogi. Nature seems -strangely cruel in making such a life, and destroying it before the -time of ripeness. And the good hearts and the fine brains pass to dust, -while the coarse and the cunning survive all dangers.... - -The name of the delightful old Samurai who teaches Chinese here, I think -you know,--Akizuki. He was at Aizu, and made a great soldier's name; -and he is just as gentle and quiet as Mr. Katayama,--and still more -paternally charming in his manner. He is sixty-three years old.... - -I have made no friends among the teachers yet. I attended my first -Japanese dinner with them the night before last; and, because _you_ were -not there, I think I made some queer mistakes about the dishes--when -to use chopsticks, etc. There were no _geishas_: the former director -had forbidden their employment at teachers' dinners; and I don't think -that Mr. Kano is going to revoke the order. The reason for it was not -prudery; but the opposition paper used to take advantage of the presence -of _geishas_ at the teachers' banquets to print nasty things against -the school. So it was determined not to give the paper a chance to say -anything more.... - -I have been very cautious in writing you about the climate, because I -wanted to be very sure that, in case you should come here, it would be -for the best. So far the climate is like this: every morning and night -cold, with white frost; afternoons so warm that one can go out without -an overcoat. Very little rain. No snow yet; but I am told that it will -come. - -As for me, I have become stronger than I have been for years. All my -clothes, even my Japanese _kimono_, have become too small!! But I -cannot say whether this be the climate or the diet or what. Setsu says -it is because I have a good wife;--but she might be prejudiced, you -know! My lungs are sound as a bell; I never cough at all. This is all -that I can tell you at present. - -No: O-Yone came with us. She took O-Yoshi's place, when O-Yoshi went -back to live with her mother. I am sorry to say I had to send the -_kurumaya_ away. He abandoned his wife in Matsue, and she went to the -house of the Inagaki, crying and telling a very pitiful story. When -I heard this, I told the man he must go back. But on the same days -later, I found he had been doing very wrong things,--trying to make -trouble among the other servants, and playing tricks upon us by making -secret arrangements with the shopkeepers. I had bought him clothes, -and given him altogether 14 yen and 50 sen, besides his board and -lodging--including 5 yen to go back with. But he had squandered his -little money and how he managed afterward I don't know. I could not -help him any more; for his cunningness and foolishness together made it -impossible to keep him a day longer in the house. The cook is from the -_Nisho-tei_,--to which you first introduced me. The _kurumaya's_ place -would have been a nice place for a good man. I shall be very careful -about employing another _kurumaya_ by the month. - -Now about the question you asked me. The words you underlined are -from the Jewish Bible. The ideas of VALUE and of WEIGHT were closely -connected in the minds of the old Semites, as they are still, to some -extent, in our own. Everything was sold by WEIGHT, and according to the -WEIGHT was the VALUE. The weighing was done with the SCALES or BALANCE, -of which there were several kinds. The balancing was done by suspending -a weight at one end of the "balance," or scales, as in Japan, and the -article to be sold in the other. If too light, the article was "found -wanting"--(i. e.: in weight). So in such English expressions as "to make -LIGHT of" (to ridicule, to belittle, to speak contemptuously of)--the -idea of WEIGHT thus estimated survives. Now, in the mythology of the -Jews God is represented as one who WEIGHS, in a scale or balance, the -good that is in a man--(his MORAL WEIGHT or VALUE)--and sends him to -hell if he proves too light. Public opinion is now the God with the -scales. If I am an author, for example, I (that is, my work) will be -WEIGHED in the BALANCE (of public or of literary opinion) and found -perhaps WANTING. Poor Ito was weighed many, many times, and found -wanting--before being expelled. I am afraid he will be found wanting -also by the world into which he must enter. - -As for the phrase, "not a hair of their _head_," the singular is often -used for the plural in the old English of the Bible, and other books. -(To-day, we should use only the plural,--as a general rule.) - -_Examples from the Bible:_ - - 1. "The fire had no power upon their bodies, nor - singular - was the hair of _their_ HEAD singed." - - --_Daniel, 3d Chap. 27th verse._ - - plural singular - 2. "But the very hairs of your HEAD are all numbered." - - --_Luke_ 12. 7. - - singular - 3. "And he bowed the HEART of _all the men of Judah_" - - --_II Samuel_ 19. 14. - -Poets to-day, or writers of poetical prose, may take similar liberties -with grammar as that in No. 3. - -There are very many quotations in the Bible about the words "weighed in -the balance;" the most famous being that in the story of Belshazzar, in -the book of Daniel. The first poetical use of the phrase is in the book -of Job--supposed, you know, to have been written by an Arab, not a Jew. - -Now I hope and pray that you will take good care of yourself, and not -allow your Samurai-spirit of self-denial to urge you into taking any -risks on bitterly cold days. Many, many happy new years to you and yours. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Your welcome postal to hand. One must travel out -of Izumo after a long residence to find out how utterly different -the place is from other places,--for instance, this country. Matsue -is incomparably prettier and better built and in every way more -interesting than Kumamoto. What Kumamoto is religiously, I have not -yet been able to find out. There are no shops here full of household -shrines of _hinoki_-wood for sale, no display of _shimenawa_ over -doors, no charms in the fields, no _o fuda_ pasted upon house-doors, -no profusion of Shint[=o] emblems, no certainty of seeing a _kamidana_ -or a _butsudan_ in every house, and a strange scarcity of temples -and images. Religiously, the place seems to be uninteresting; and -to-day it is infernally cold. Everything is atrociously dear, and the -charming simplicity of the Izumo folk does not here exist. My own -people--four came with me--feel like fish out of water. My little wife -said the other morning, with an amusing wonder in her eyes, that there -was a _mezurashii kedamono_ in the next yard. We looked out, and the -extraordinary animal was a goat. Some geese were also a subject of -wonder, and a pig. None of these creatures are to be seen in Izumo. - -About Inari. I may enquire again, but I think that the representation of -Inari as a man with a beard, riding upon a white fox, in the pictures -of Toyokuni, for instance, and in the sacred _kakemono_ is tolerably -good evidence. Also the relief carving I have seen representing him as a -man. Also the general popular idea concerning him, about which there is -no mistake. Also the letter of Hideyoshi to Inari Daimy[=o]jin cited in -Walter Dening's Readers, under the heading: "Hideyoshi's Letter to Gods." - -As to Kwannon, it is true that in Buddhist history she figures both as -a man and woman (as also does the daughter of the Serpent-King in the -astounding _sutra_ of the Lotus of the Good Law),--she is identified -with the Sanscrit Avalokitesvara,--about whose sex there may be -some doubt. I have a translation of her Japanese _sutra_, in which -she is female, however;--and in China and in Japan she has come to -be considered the ideal of all that is sweet in womanliness, and her -statues and the representations of her in the numerous pictures of the -Buddhist pantheon are of a woman,--maiden. And after all, the people, -not the scholars, make the gods, and the gods they make are the best. - -I cannot help thinking that the identification of the Japanese Buddhas -and Bodhisattvas with those of India is not sufficiently specified by -Eitel and others as an identification of origin only. They have become -totally transformed here,--they have undergone perfect avatars, and -are not now the same. Shaka, Amida, Yakushi, Fud[=o], Dainichi, etc., -may have been in India distinct personalities: in Japan they are but -forms of the One,--as indeed are the innumerable Buddhas of the Lotus -of the True Law. All are one. And Kshitigarbha is not our Japanese -Jiz[=o],--and Kwannon is not Avalokitesvara, and the Ni-[=o] are not the -figures of Indra, and Emma-O is not Yama. "They were and are not." Don't -you agree with me that the popular idea of a divinity is an element of -weight in such questions of doubt as we are chatting about? - -With every wish that you may enjoy your journey in Shikoku, I remain, -most truly ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S.... I have been teaching three days, and find no difference in the -boys from those of Izumo,--they are gentle, polite, manly and eager. -But I am greatly hampered by the books. There are not books enough, and -the reading-books chosen are atrociously unsuited for the students. -Fancy "Silas Marner" and "John Halifax," with the long double-compound -complex semiphilosophical sentences of George Eliot, as text-books -for boys who can scarcely speak in English! A missionary's choice! -Ye gods of old Japan! I think the Mombush[=o] is economical in the -wrong direction. Too much money cannot be spent on good reading-books. -Less money on buildings and more for books would give better results. -Buildings worth a quarter of a million (as building costs in America), -and "Lovell's Library" and "George Munro's" piracies bought for -text-books. I could scream!! - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1892. - -DEAR [=O]TANI,--Your long and most interesting letter gave me much -pleasure, as well as much information. I am very glad to have had my -questions so nicely answered; for I am writing an essay on Shint[=o] -home-worship in Izumo,--all about the _kamidana_, etc. I know a good -deal about general forms and rules, but very little about the reverence -paid _in the house_ to the family dead (forefathers, father, mother, -dead children, etc.)--in Shint[=o], which is very interesting to know. -I think much of the modern customs shows a Chinese origin, though the -spirit of pure Shint[=o] seems to be wholly Japanese. - -I think your first explanation of the form of the _omiki dokkuri no -kuchi-sashi_ is the correct one,--so far as this is concerned. I am -not sure, but the shape is strikingly like that of the mystic jewel of -Buddhist art. There is another form in brass, which I have, that seems -intended to represent a folded paper; but I am not sure what it means. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -Many thanks for your very valuable notes about the January customs. -You told me quite a number of things I did not know before,--such as -the rules about the twist of the straw-rope, and the symbolism of the -charcoal and many other articles. But I would like to know why the -pendent straws should be 3-5-7: is there any mystic signification in -those numbers? I thought the Japanese mystic number was 8.... - -Take good care of your health. - - Ever very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1892. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Your jolly letter just came--Jan. 3rd,--to find me -celebrating the new year after the Japanese fashion. There is not one -New Year's day here, but three. Over the gate, and all the alcoves of -each apartment, the straw rope (_shimenawa_), which is the Shint[=o] -emblem of the gods, is festooned; upon the _kamidana_, or "god-shelf," -lights are burning before the tablets of those deities who have -pledged themselves in Japanese ideographs to love and protect this -foreigner,--and I have given to them offerings of rice-cakes and sake. -For the guests are dishes of raw fish, and others which it would take -too long to describe, and hot sake. My little wife does the honours. -Before the gate are Japanese flags and pine-trees--emblems of green old -age and unflinching purpose. - ---Well, here I am in Ky[=u]sh[=u], a thousand miles and more south of -Yokohama, at a salary of 200 yen a month. All my Izumo servants came -with me. Our house is not nearly so beautiful as that in Matsue, and the -city is devilishly ugly and commonplace,--an enormous, half-Europeanized -garrison-town, full of soldiers. I don't like it; but Lord! I must -try to make money, for nothing is sure in Japan, and I am now so tied -down to the country that I can't quit it, except for a trip, whether -the Government employs me or not. I have nine lives depending on my -work--wife, wife's mother, wife's father, wife's adopted mother, wife's -father's father, and then servants, and a Buddhist student. How would -_you_ like that? It wouldn't do in America. But it is nothing here--no -appreciable burden. The _moral_ burden, however, is heavy enough. You -can't let a little world grow up around you, to depend on you, and then -break it all up--not if you are a respectable person. And I indulge -in the luxury of "filial piety"--a virtue of which the good and evil -results are only known to us Orientals. - -I translated into Hearnian dialect all you said. And my wife, whose name -is Setsu, or Chi-yo (alternative), knows you well by your photograph, -and said such nice things about that photograph that I dare not tell -you. Which is all the more extraordinary because when I showed her some -pictures of "distinguished foreigners" she and the girls all said that -if they should ever meet such people they would "become Buddhas for -fear"--i. e., die of fright. American and English faces--their deep-set -eyes--terrify unsophisticated Japanese. Children cry with fear at the -sight of a foreigner. So your photo must reveal exceptional qualities to -make such an impression.... - -Everybody gets drunk here to-day; but a cultivated Japanese is never -offensively drunk. To get _properly_, politely drunk upon sake is the -_summum bonum_.... Although a gentleman knows how to act, however drunk, -it is the custom, when your host makes you drunker than usual (which -delights him), to call at the house next morning, and thank him for the -entertainment--at the same time apologizing for any _possible_ mistakes. -Of course, there are no ladies at men's dinners--only professional -dancing-girls, _maiko_ or _geisha_. - -Work progresses; but the barrier of language is a serious one. My -project to study Buddhism must be indefinitely delayed on that account. -For the deeper mysteries of Buddhism cannot be explained in the Hearnian -dialect. - -What some people say about Miss Bisland--ah! I mean Mrs. Wetmore--being -only beautiful when she wants to be is, I think, perfectly true. She -can change into seventeen different women. She used to make me almost -believe the stories about Circe and Lilith. She laughed to scorn the -terrible scientific test of the photograph--of the science which reveals -new _nebulae_ and tells a man in advance whether he is going to get the -small-pox or not. No two photos of her ever represented the same human -being. In ordinary mortals the sort of thing called _Ego_, which is not -"I" but "They," is worked up into a recognizable composite photo. But -in her case, 'tis quite otherwise. The different dead that live in her, -live quite separately from each other, in different rooms, and receive -upon different afternoons. And yet--if even Rudyard Kipling were to -write the truth about that person--or rather that ghostly congregation -of persons called Elizabeth Bisland,--who but a crazy man would believe -that truth? Assuredly Mr. W. ought to think himself lucky. Ever to -get tired of Elizabeth is out of human possibility. There are too -many different Elizabeths, belonging to different historical epochs, -countries, and conditions. If he should tire of one Elizabeth,--lo! -there will appear another. And there is one very terrible Elizabeth, -whom I had a momentary glimpse of once, and whom it will not be well for -Mr. W. or anybody else to summon from her retirement. But I am glad for -the compound Elizabeth that she has this Protector in reserve.--Lord! -how irreverently I have been talking! But that is because you can read -under the irreverence.... - -What can't be insured against is earthquake. I have become afraid. -Do you know that the earthquake the other day in Gifu, Aichi, etc., -destroyed nearly 200,000 houses and nearly 10,000 lives? My house in -far-off Matsue rocked and groaned like a steamer in a typhoon. It isn't -the quake one's afraid of: it is being held down under a ton of timber -and slowly burned alive. That is what happened to most of the dead. Five -millions of dollars will scarcely relieve the distress.... - -Well, here's a thousand happy New Years to you and yours,--all luck, all -blessings, all glorious sensations. - - Ever from your old disoccidentalized chum, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1892. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Just had a long and delightful letter from you, and -Mallock's book. I hate the Jesuit; but he has a particular cleverness -of his own indeed. I hate him first because he is insincere, as -you suggest; then I hate him because he is morbid, with a priestly -morbidness--sickly, cynical, unhealthy. I like Kipling's morbidness, -which is manly and full of enormous resolve and defiance in the teeth of -God and hell and nature,--but the other--no! This book is not free from -the usual faults. It is like Paul Bourget boiled into thin soup, and -flavoured with a dash of M. de Camors. The Markham girl was certainly -Feuillet's imagination; but she is excellently done. Really, I don't -know;--I asked myself: "If it was I?" ... And conscience answered: "If -it was _you_, in spite of love and duty and honour and hellfire staring -you in the face you would have gone after her,--and tried to console -yourself by considering the Law of Attraction of Bodies and Souls in -the incomprehensible cosmical order of things, which is older than the -gods." And I was very much inclined to demur; but conscience repeated: -"Oh! don't be such a liar and quibbler;--you know you would! That was -the only part of the book you really liked. Your ancestors were not -religious people: you lack constitutional morality. That's why you are -poor, and unsuccessful, and void of mental balance, and an exile in -Japan. You know you cannot be happy in an English moral community. You -are a fraud--a vile Latin--a vicious French-hearted scalawag." - -And I could not say anything, because what conscience observed was -true--to a considerable extent. "_Vive le monde antique!_" ... - -I have been thinking a heap, because of being much alone. (The Japanese -do not understand Western thought at all--at least not its emotional -side. Therefore devour time and devour thought even while they stimulate -it.) ... - -Now about these Shadows. Yes, there are forces about one,--vague, -working soundlessly, imperceptibly, softening one as the action of air -softens certain surfaces of rock while hardening others. The magnetism -of another faith about you necessarily polarizes that loose-quivering -needle of desire in a man that seeks source of attraction in spite of -synthetic philosophy. The general belief in an infinite past and future -interpenetrates one somehow. When you find children who do wrong are -always warned, "Ah! your future birth will be unhappy;" when you find -two lovers drinking death together, and leaving behind them letters -saying, "This is the influence of our last birth, when we broke our -promise to become husband and wife;" and last, but not least, when -some loving woman murmurs, laughingly: "In the last life thou wert a -woman and I a man, and I loved thee much; but thou didst not love me at -all,"--you begin to doubt if you do not really believe like everybody -else. - -About the training of the senses. The idea is admirable, but _alas!_--a -very clever Frenchman five years ago, in the _Revue Politique et -Littéraire_, almost exhausted it. He represented a man who had -cultivated his eye so that he could see the bacteria in the air, and the -grain of metals,--also being able to adjust his eyes to distance. He had -trained his ear so as to hear all sounds of growth and decomposition. He -had trained his nose to smell all substances supposed to have no smell. -He made a diagram of the five senses thus:-- - -The way impressions come to-- - -YOU [Illustration] ME [Illustration] - -I translated it for the _T.-D._ - -For a little while, good-bye and best happiness. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, 1892. - -DEAR E. H.,-- ... Your thoughts about the Shadows of the East are -touching. You ought to be able to write something beautiful and quite -new if you had time.... - -You have been seized by the fascination of monstrous cities built up -to heaven, and eternally sending their thunder to the smoke-blacked -sky,--cities where we live by machinery. I can shudder now only to think -of walking down a street between miles of houses two hundred feet high, -with a roaring of traffic through them as of a torrent in a cañon. And -that fascination means elegance, fashion, social duties.... I have been -trying to deal with these two problems: "What has been the moral value -of Christianity to mankind?" and "Why is Western civilization still in -slavery to religious hypocrisy?" The answer to the former seems to be -that without the brutal denial of the value of life and pleasure by -Christianity, we could never have learned that the highest enjoyments -are, after all, intellectual, and that progress can be effected only by -self-sacrifice to interest and indifference to physical gratifications. -And the latter question, though I have not yet solved it, seems to -suggest that the hypocrisy itself may have large hidden value,--may be -in process of transmutation into a truth. - -Yes, Japanese women are all that your question implies you would wish -them to be. They are children, of course. They perceive every possible -shade of thought,--vexation, doubt, or pleasure,--as it passes over -the face; and they know all you do not tell them. If you are unhappy -about anything, then they say: "I will pray to the Kami-sama for my -lord,"--and they light a little lamp, and clap their hands and pray. -And the ancient gods hearken unto them; and the heart of the foreign -barbarian is therewith lightened and made luminous with sunshine. And -he orders the merchants of curious textures to bring their goods to the -house, which they do--piling them up like mountains; and there is such -choice that the pleasure of the purchase is dampened by the sense of -inability to buy everything in this world. And the merchants, departing, -leave behind them dreams in little Japanese brains of beautiful things -to be bought next year. - -Also Japanese women have curious Souls. The other day in Nagano, a -politician told a treacherous lie. Whereupon his wife robed herself all -in white as those are robed who are about to journey to the world of -ghosts, and purified her lips according to the holy rite, and, taking -from the storeroom an ancient family sword, thereupon slew herself. -And she left a letter, regretting that she had but one life to give in -expiation of the shame and the wrong of that lie. And the people do -now worship at her grave, and strew flowers thereupon, and pray for -daughters with hearts as brave.... But the worms are eating her. - -Because you sent me that horrid book, I revenge myself. I send you a -much more horrid book. But if you do not enjoy it, I shall commit _hara -kiri_, or _seppuku_, which is the polite name. And a woman wrote it--a -woman! Christopher Columbus! what a _terrible_ woman she must be!... - -The "tract" you sent is giving much amusement to friends here. Send -anything _really_ good of that sort you can find: it makes life happier -for the exile. - -I am not easy about my book, of which I now await the proofs. It lacks -colour--it isn't like the West Indian book. But the world here is not -forceful: it is all washed in faint blues and greys and greens. There -are really gamboge, or saffron-coloured valleys,--and lilac fields; but -these exist only in the early summer and the rape-plant season, and -ordinarily Japan is chromatically spectral. My next book will probably -be on Buddhism in common life. - -You write me delightful letters, which, alas! I can't answer. Well, they -are not answerable in themselves. They are thinking. I can only say -this about one point: the isolation ought--unless you are physically -tired by the day's work--to prove of value. All the best work is done -the way ants do things--by tiny but tireless and regular additions. I -wouldn't recommend introspection,--except in commentary. You _must_ see -interesting life. Of course only in flashes and patches. But preserve -in writing the memory of these. In a year you will be astounded to find -them self-arranging, kaleidoscopically, into something symmetrical,--and -trying to live. Then play God, and breathe into the nostrils,--and be -astonished and pleased. - - Lovingly ever yours - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - KUMAMOTO, June, 1892. - - DEAR PAGE,--To-day, second of June, your kind letter came, - enclosing a draft for £163; and I write in haste to catch the mail.... -And now, ten thousand thanks, from the bottom of my much-scarified heart. - -I am sorry I did not get the _T.-D._, as it would have helped me to get -out my book quicker,--my first book. It ought to be out this Fall; and -I think it will be tolerably large,--a little larger than "Two Years in -the French West Indies;" but it is only an introductory book. - -Really, it is very queer; but you seem to be the best friend I've got -outside of Japan. You really do things for a fellow--great big things; -and nobody else seems inclined to do much of anything.... - -I send you to-day a better photo of my little wife, and some other -things; and you will shortly get a copy of Chamberlain's "Things -Japanese" I have ordered for you.... As for making a present to Setsu -(that is her name in Japanese; in Chinese Chi-yo, or Tchi-yo[1]), I -don't think you could send her anything Western she would understand. -And I would not wish you to take so much trouble. The best thing you -can do to please her is to be good to me. She has really everything she -wants (you know Japanese women wear no earrings, necklaces, or jewelry -as ours do); and what she really wants is only made in Japan; and I am -wickedly trying to keep her as innocent of foreign life as possible. -So whenever she shows a liking even for foreign textures (many are now -thrown on the market) I persuade her that Japanese goods are twice as -pretty and durable, and for fear she might not believe me I usually -manage to find some Japanese stuff that really is much better than the -foreign article on sale.... - -[1] (Like Tchi-Nim?)--It means "Life-for-a-Thousand-Years,"--a - name of good omen. - -Oh, about distances. I am in Ky[=u]sh[=u], the southern island, you -know,--very far from T[=o]ky[=o], and by the route much farther than as -the crow flies. What I meant by 2000 miles south of T[=o]ky[=o] was the -Loochoo Islands. You know they belong to Japan, but perhaps I am wrong -as to distance. The Loochoo Islands compose what is called _Okinawa Ken_ -(ken is province).... I find I shall not be able to go to Loochoo this -summer, however; I must make studies somewhere else for a new book. Of -course you will get my book as soon as it comes out. - -In that book you will find a good deal about what you ask in relation -to my way of living, etc. But as to eating, I have said very little. -The fact is I lived for one year exclusively on Japanese food, which -Europeans, among others Mr. Chamberlain, consider almost impossible. -I must confess, however, that it broke me down. After twelve months -I could not eat at all. You know Japanese food is raw fish and fresh -fish, rice, bean-curds (they look like custard), seaweed, dried -cuttle-fish,--rarely chicken or eggs. In short, of five hundred -Japanese dishes, the basis is rice, fish, beans, lotus, various -vegetables, including bamboo shoots, and seaweed. Confectionery is -eaten between meals only, and sparingly. Tea is never allowed to become -strong: it is a pale straw-colour, without sugar or milk, and once used -to it, you cannot bear the sight of European tea any more. But I had to -return to the flesh-pots of Egypt. I now eat Japanese food only once a -day; and morning and evening indulge in beefsteak, bread, and Bass's Ale. - -One becomes fond of Japanese sake (rice-wine); but it can only be eaten -with Japanese food. A barrel of the best costs about $3.50. It is -extremely deceiving. It looks like lemonade; but it is heavy as sherry. -Happily it has not the after-effects of sherry. There is no liquor in -the world upon which a man becomes so quickly intoxicated, and yet none -of which the effects last so short a time. The intoxication is pleasant -as the effect of opium or hasheesh. It is a soft, pleasant, luminous -exhilaration: everything becomes brighter, happier, lighter;--then you -get very sleepy. At Japanese dinners it is the rule to become slightly -exhilarated; but not to drink enough to talk thickly, or walk crooked. -The ability to drink at banquets requires practice--long practice. With -European wines, the rule is, I believe, that hearty eating prevents the -drink from taking too much effect. But with Japanese sake it is exactly -the opposite. There are banquets of many kinds, and the man who is -invited to one at which extensive drinking may be expected is careful -to start in upon an empty, or almost empty, stomach. By not eating one -can drink a good deal. The cups are very small, and of many curious -shapes; but one maybe expected to empty fifty. A quart of sake is a good -load; two quarts require iron nerves to stand. But among the Japanese -there are wonderful drinkers. At a military officer's banquet a captain -offered me a tumbler holding a good pint of sake,--I almost fainted at -the sight of it; for it was only the first. But a friend said to me: -"Only drink a little, and pass it back"--which I did. Stronger heads -emptied cup after cup like water. "Oh, that is nothing," my friend said; -"wait till you see an old-fashioned cup." He showed me something like -a wash-basin for size,--a beautiful lacquered bowl, holding, I should -guess, at the very least a quart and a half. "A valiant warrior was -expected," he said, "to swallow this at one draft, and wait for more." I -should not like to attempt it, unless I were suffering very badly from -chills and fever. When very tired and cold, one can drink a great deal -of sake without harm. - -About my every-day life. Well, it is the simplest and most silent of -lives,--in a simple Japanese house. I use one chair, only for writing at -a high table on account of my eyes. Most of my life I spend squatting -on the floor. Europeans can seldom get used to this; but it has become -second nature to me. - -I always wear Japanese clothes in the house, of course. We rest, eat, -talk, read, and sleep on the floor. But then, you do not know, perhaps, -what a Japanese floor is. It is like a great soft mattress: the real -floor is covered by heavy mats, fitted to one another like mattresses -set edge to edge; and these cannot be lifted up except by a workman: -they are really part of the building. Then this floor is spotlessly -clean. No dust is ever suffered upon it,--not a speck. Therefore we -live barefooted in summer, or wearing only stockings in winter. The -bed consists of a series of heavy quilts of pretty colours--like very -thick comforts, piled one upon the other on the floor. By day these are -rolled up and stowed out of sight. So in a Japanese house you see no -furniture,--only in some recess, a graceful vase, and one _kakemono_, -or hanging picture painted on silk. That is all--except the smoking-box -(_hibachi_) in the middle of the room, surrounded by kneeling-cushions. -In the evening the Japanese bath is ready. It is _almost_ scalding -always--hard to get used to; but the best in the world because you can't -take cold after it. It consists of an immense tub, with a little furnace -_in_ it which heats the water. For amusements we have the Japanese -theatres, the street-festivals, visits of friends, Japanese newspapers, -occasional pilgrimages to curious places, and--delight of delights in -some cities--_shopping_, Japanese shopping. - -Bad boys,--and not obliged to give good and great moral -examples,--people who are not strictly moral in their virtues like you -and me,--sometimes hire _geisha_ or dancing girls to amuse them.... - -At all banquets--except those of teachers here--there are _geisha_. When -you sit down (I mean kneel down) to eat, a band of beautiful girls come -in to wait upon you, with exquisite voices, and beautiful dresses, etc. -These are _geisha_. After a while they dance. If you wish to fall in -love with them, you may.... - -In Matsue I often saw _geisha_ dance: they were at all banquets. But at -teachers' banquets in Kumamoto they are not allowed. We are strictly -moral in Ky[=u]sh[=u].... - -Lo!--it's nearly time to close the mail for the outgoing steamer. So, -dear Page, I must conclude for the moment in great haste. - -With best regards to Mrs. Baker, best remembrances and gratitude to you, -excuse this scrawl, and believe me ever faithfully - - Your friend, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -Really, it seems to me as if I hadn't thanked you at all. You are simply -divine about doing kind things. My little wife sends you this greeting -with her own hand,-- - -[Illustration] - -It means: "_May you live a thousand years!_" - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KAGAWA, SAKAI, August, 1892. - -DEAR NISHIDA,-- ... It made us both very happy to hear you had been -persuaded to stop at our little house; for although it is hot and small, -still you would feel more homelike there, with Izumo folk, than at the -big dreary hotels of Kumamoto. I hope you will be able to stop a little -while with us now at Mionoseki. - -I like Oki very, very much--much better than Kumamoto. I like country -people, fishermen, sailors, primitive manners, simple ways: all these -delight me, and they are in Oki. To watch the life and customs of those -people is very pleasant, and would be profitable to me in a literary way -if I had time to spare. Oki is worth six months' literary study for me. -I hope to see it again. The only unpleasant thing is the awful smell of -the cuttle-fish. But I will tell you all my impressions when we meet.... - -With kindest regards from myself and Setsu,--hoping to see you soon, as -ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - MIONOSEKI, August, 1892. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--We felt quite lonesome after you went away, and -especially at supper-time,--when there were only two mats, instead -of three, laid upon the _suzumi-dai_, overlooking the bay, and the -twinkling of the Golden Dragon. - -Next morning the water was rough, and made a great noise; and I -said, "That is because Nishida San has sent us some eggs." But in -the afternoon the bay again became like a mirror; and I succeeded in -teaching Masayoshi to lie on his back in the water. Quite late in the -afternoon the little Sakai Maru came in, and brought a magnificent box -of eggs, and your letter, and a copy of the _Nippon_. - -You are too good; and I felt not less pleased to find myself so kindly -remembered than sorry to think of the trouble you took for us. But -the eggs were more than welcome. The landlord cooked them in a little -quadrangular pan; and each one looked like a Japanese flag, with the -Red Sun in the middle. A thousand thanks to you, and to your kindest -mother,--and to all your family warmest regards. - -By the way, speaking of the Great Deity of Mionoseki, last evening we -had a good laugh at the arguments of a clever barber, who came to cut -my _kappa_-hair. I noticed he had a soldier's belt instead of an _obi_. -I questioned him, through Setsu; and found he had been many years in -the army. In the army they gave the soldiers eggs; and he hated eggs -at first. But he learned to eat them, and found that they made him -stronger. Whenever he ate many eggs, he could blow his bugle much -better. Then he became fond of eggs. Still he gets his friends secretly -to send him eggs; and the Great Deity of Mionoseki is not angry. He -says: "What nonsense! Suppose the Cock _did_ crow at the wrong hour, -is not Koto-shiro-nushi no Mikoto a _Kami sama_?--and how are we to -believe that a _Kami sama_ does not know the right time? And suppose the -_wanizame_ did bite him,--then it is at the _wanizame_ he ought to have -been angry,--not at the Cock. I don't believe Koto-shiro-nushi no Kami -could be so foolish. Indeed it is very wrong to tell such a story about -him. I like eggs. I pity the people of Mionoseki, who do not know the -rare pleasure of eating a well-cooked egg" (etc., etc.). "If the Deity -was angry with the Cock, he should have eaten him." ... - - With many grateful regards, - Ever most truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - November, 1892. - -DEAR OLD FELLOW,-- ... What a beastly nightmare that woman who -married the preacher! High-pressure civilization only produces these -types.--But, Lord! what is to be the end?... The race will still be -to the mentally strong as well as to the physically strong. But the -women fit for fertile maternity, and equally fit to discuss the fourth -dimension of space, are yet rare,--and apt to be a little terrible. The -cost of intellectual race-expansion is more terrible,--is frightful; and -then the expansion cannot _ever_ become universal. The many must profit -by the few. To make 1 of the few, there must be, I suppose, at least -111,111 of such monstrosities created as that one you wrote of. - -Isn't the hunger for the eternal feminine much like the other -hunger?--to be completely exorcised in the same way. Marriage seems -to me the certain destruction of all that emotion and suffering,--so -that one afterwards looks back at the old times with wonder. One -cannot dream or desire anything more after love is transmuted into the -friendship of marriage. It is like a haven from which you can see the -dangerous sea-currents, running like violet bands beyond you out of -sight. It seems to me (though I'm a poor judge of such matters) that it -doesn't make a man any happier to have an intellectual wife--unless he -marries for society. The less intellectual, the more lovable: so long as -there is neither coarseness nor foolishness. For intellectual converse a -man _can't_ have really with women: womanhood is antagonistic to it. And -emotional truth is quite as plain to the childish mind as to the mind of -Herbert Spencer or of Clifford. The child and the god come equally near -to the eternal truth. But then marriage in a complex civilization is -really a terrible problem: there are so _many_ questions involved. - -Oh!--_you_ talk of being without intellectual companionship! O ye Eight -Hundred Myriads of Gods! What would you do if you were me. Lo! the -illusion is gone!--Japan in Ky[=u]sh[=u] is like Europe;--except I have -no friend. The differences in ways of thinking, and the difficulties -of language, render it impossible for an _educated_ Japanese to find -pleasure in the society of a European. Here is an astounding fact. The -Japanese child is as close to you as the European child--perhaps closer -and sweeter, because infinitely more natural and naturally refined. -Cultivate his mind, and the more it is cultivated, the _further you push -him_ from you. Why? Because there the race-antipodalism shows itself. -As the Oriental thinks naturally to the left where we think to the -right, the more you cultivate him the more strongly will he think in -the opposite direction from you. Finis sweetness, sympathy, friendship. -Now, my scholars in this great Government school are not boys, but -men. They speak to me only in class. The teachers never speak to me -at all. I go to the college (two miles away) by jinrikisha and return -after class,--always alone, no mental company but books. But at home -everything is sweet. - -At the college there is always a recess of half an hour at noon, for -dining. I do not dine, but climb the hill behind the college. There -is a grey old cemetery, where "the rude forefathers of the hamlet -sleep." From between the tombs I can look down on the Dai Go K[=o]t[=o] -Ch[=u]gakk[=o], with its huge modern brick buildings and its tumultuous -life, as in a bird's-eye view. I am only there never alone. For -Buddha sits beside me, and also looks down upon the college through -his half-closed eyelids of stone. There is moss on his nose and his -hands,--moss on his back, of course! And I always say to him: "O Master, -what do you think of all this?--is it not vanity? There is no faith -there, no creed, no thought of the past life nor of the future life, nor -of Nirvana,--only chemistry and cube-geometry and trigonometry,--and the -most damnable 'English language.'" He never answers me; but he looks -very sad,--smiles just like one who has received an injury which he -cannot return,--and you know that is the most pathetic of all smiles. -And the snakes twist before my feet as I descend to the sound of the -bell.--There is my only companion for you! but I like him better than -those who look like him waiting for me in the classroom. Ever with best -regards, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I do not know how to thank you enough for your last -letter;--indeed I must tell you frankly that I felt ashamed of having -put you to such trouble involuntarily, for I had no idea how complicated -the matter was when I wrote to you for information about the origin of -the belief. And now let me beg of you never to take so much trouble -again on my account. I think I can hear you protesting that it was only -a pleasure. I am sure it was a pleasure to help me; but I am too much of -a literary man not to know exactly the time-cost of the work, especially -in a language not your own. So I will again beg you not to take so much -trouble for me at any future time--as it would cause me pain. - -And now let me say something else about other letters. You spoke of -_mistakes_. Do you know that I think your letters are very wonderful? -There are extremely few mistakes; and there are very seldom even -incorrectnesses in the use of idioms. This is rare in Japan. Very few -Japanese, even among those who have been abroad, can write an informal -letter without mistakes of a serious kind. You write letters much as a -well-educated German or Frenchman would--showing only rarely, by some -unfamiliar turn of expression, by the elision of a preposition, or -(but this is very seldom indeed) by a sudden change of tense, that it -is not an Englishman who writes. And in a few years more, even these -little signs will disappear. It is very wonderful to me to see how a few -Japanese have been able to master English without ever leaving Japan. - -A point of much value to me in your explanation was the fact that too -many souls are held to be as bad as too few. I had imagined the opposite -to be the case, and had so written. But as I put the statement into -the mouth of a story-teller, it will read all right enough; and I can -correct the erroneous impression by a footnote. - -There is rejoicing here over the non-abolition of the school. Your -predictions have been well fulfilled. Several new books I recommended -have been adopted; but there were changes made in my list, I think for -the worse. Kingsley's "Greek Heroes" (Ginn, Heath & Co.'s school-text -edition) has been adopted for the younger class. I recommended this book -for the extreme purity and simplicity of its English, which reads like -a song. I tried to get "Cuore" adopted, but could not succeed: they -said it was "too childish." I tried Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome;" -and that I think they will get. Then some classic texts--Burke's Essays -(selected) were adopted instead of a volume of stories I proposed. They -adopted also "The Book of Golden Deeds," a volume of anecdotes of virtue -and courage. As for my own classes, they still give me no books at all; -and I teach entirely by word of mouth and chalk. Still, considering the -short time given to each class, I believe this is best. The main thing -is to teach them to express themselves in English without books to help -them. I have noticed that at one period of the course there is always a -sudden improvement, as if there had been also a sudden development of -intelligence,--between the third and fourth class. It corresponds to a -change of capacity I noticed also in the Jinj[=o] Ch[=u]gakk[=o]. It -might be indicated by lines, thus:-- - -[Illustration] - -Between 3 and 4 the increase of power is like a leap. But after that (in -the higher schools) I don't think there is much progress. Thereafter -I fancy that in most cases the highest capacity has been reached, and -then the strain comes. The students attempt to do on rice and gruel -what foreign students can only do on beef, eggs, puddings, heavy -nutritious diet. In the eternal order of things the overstrain comes. -The higher education will not give the desired results for at least -another generation,--because the physique of the student must be raised -to meet it. The higher education requires a physiological change,--an -increase of brain capacity in actual development of tissue, an increase -of nervous energy, and consequently a higher standard of living. That -there have been wonderful exceptions in Japanese scholarship makes -no difference: it is a question of general averages. The student of -to-day is not sufficiently strong and sufficiently nourished to bear -the tremendous strain put upon him at the higher schools and the -university. Wherefore he loses some of his best qualities in mere -effort. The higher schools don't feed their boys well--not so well by -half as the Government feeds the soldiers. At least so I have been -assured.... Yours faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Your charming letter has just come, full of news and -things to be grateful for. There is some news here too. Mr. Kano is -gone! We are all very, very sorry.... - -Perhaps I might go to Niigata during the summer. Setsu is always, -always, always talking about T[=o]ky[=o]. I suppose I shall have to -take her there. And I want to visit Kompira, and Zenk[=o]ji in Nagano -(?)--where all the Souls of the Dead go,--and one might do all that -and see Niigata too. I am very anxious to see the dear kind Governor -and his daughter again. That kind of Governor is rare, and I think -will soon cease to exist in Japan. He always seemed to me a delightful -type of the old days,--like the princes of the _ehon_: the modernized -Governor scarcely seems to belong to the same race. And the Japanese of -the next generation will not be kind and open-hearted and unselfish, I -fear: they will become hard of character like the Western people,--more -intellectual and less moral. For old Japan, in unselfishness, was as far -in advance of the West as she was materially behind it. - -[Illustration: THE SHINT[=O] TEMPLE OF KIZUKI] - -The curling-up of the toe in the statue of Inada-Hime is not according -to the canons of Western sculpture (which is still generally governed by -the Greek spirit),--because it shows the member in what is considered an -ungraceful position. But I thought after looking awhile at it, that it -was really natural. Not natural from the standpoint of a modern people -whose toes have lost both symmetry and flexibility owing to the wearing -of leather shoes; but natural among a people whose feet are well shaped -and whose toes remain supple, and to some degree, prehensile. Among -tropical races the toes retain extraordinary flexibility; but I don't -think any English girl could put her great-toe into the attitude taken -by that of Inada-Hime. I imagined that this movement represented in the -statue a little nervous feeling,--the involuntary shrinking of a woman -from sharp cold steel. But that is only a guess. What it really means I -should like to know. - -I forgot in another letter to tell you that Herbert Spencer, in one -of his recent volumes ("Individual Life") severely criticized some of -the Mombush[=o] Readers and other publications as immoral,--because -appealing to the desire of revenge and the passion of hatred and -bloodshed.... One thing is certain, that Readers for Japanese students -ought to be edited in Japan, and edited in a particular manner -with especial reference to national character and feeling. I prize -the Mombush[=o] Readers, because I learn so much from them; but as -text-books they are not well written, and they do not appeal to the -student's natural love of novelty. It is hopeless to interest boys in -stories they know already by heart in their own language. They want what -is new and strange and beautiful.--But no thanks will ever be given -to the man who tries to do the work well; and his work itself will -almost certainly be spoiled by the emendations and interpolations of a -committee of men without knowledge or taste,--unless the thing should be -done quite independently of officialdom. - -I am trying to teach Setsu English by a fast memory-system. I can't tell -whether I will succeed or not: if I find it strains her too much I must -stop,--for the system is exhausting. In the course of teaching I notice -something of what you tell me about Izumo pronunciation. It makes the -difficulty much greater. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, February, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--This is not going to be a pleasant letter,--though it -may have interest for you. I don't hesitate to tell my friends about -shadows as well as lights, and I rather think the latter alone would -cease to be interesting. Besides, we are all most interested in what -most closely relates to the realities of life; and the realities of life -are ugly to no small degree. Dreams are realities--of desire for things -out of reach; but the diet of dreams is not substantial enough for the -sense of friendship to live upon. So here goes for the lamentations,--or -as a Frenchman would say, a _jérémiade_.... - -I might cite a fourth, a fifth;--but happily there are lights. I made -one delightful friend here, Professor Chamberlain, and I told you about -Major McDonald.... - -I am perfectly conscious that to a thorough man of the world I must be -only a contemptible fool. Even to a friend like you who are not spoiled -and cannot be spoiled by your _milieu_, I must seem something of a fool. -Be that as it may,--here I am. Now what is this fool to do?... - -Suppose I should seek a place as teacher of English literature. -Everybody thinks he can teach English literature, and the public doesn't -care particularly: it takes its pabulum largely on trust. On whose -trust? Oh! the trust of the trustees,--and the respectable people. -Now I am not respectable. I am under the _odium theologicum_ of every -Christian faith. Small and mean as I am, I am spotted. Don't imagine -this is vanity! It doesn't require any greatness to be spotted. It is -just like a prostitute trying to become an honest woman, or a convicted -thief endeavouring to get employment. There is nothing great about it. -If I had any position worth hunting up, the cry would be raised that -an atheist, a debauchee, a disreputable ex-reporter was corrupting the -morals of the young under pretence of teaching literature. That is -position No. 3. As Fiske says, the heretic is not now burned at the -stake; but there is an organized policy to starve him by injuring his -reputation and lying about him. And even Fiske (because he is poor) -dares not take the whole position of Spencer. - -But I don't want to pretend myself a martyr for any worthy cause. I -am not. I am _not respectable_: that is the whole matter,--and the -pardoning influence of women would never be exerted for me, because I -am physically disagreeable,--and what I could win by my own merit I -could not keep, because I have no aggressiveness and no cunning. And I -am only now learning all this,--with my hair grey. There is no chance -of becoming independent, as I will never be allowed to hold a position -that pays well. I shall never be able to do my best in literary matters; -for I shall never have the leisure, the means, or the opportunities of -travel I want.... - -To all this _jérémiade_, then, you must think for reply, in the words -of Herbert Spencer: "My dear friend, the first necessity for success in -life is to be a good animal. As an animal you don't work well at all. -Furthermore you are out of harmony mentally and morally with the life -of society: you represent broken-down tissue. There is some good in -the ghostly part of you, but it would never have been developed under -comfortable circumstances. Hard knocks and intellectual starvation have -brought your miserable little _animula_ into some sort of shape. It will -never have full opportunity to express itself, doubtless; but perhaps -that is better. It might otherwise make too many mistakes; and it has -not sufficient original force to move the sea of human mind to any storm -of aspiration. Perhaps, in some future state of--" But here Spencer -stops.... - -I think civilization is a fraud, because I don't like the hopeless -struggle. If I were very rich I should perhaps think quite -differently--or, what would be still more rational, try not to think -at all about it. Religion under an empire preaches the divinity of -autocracy; under a monarchy, the divinity of aristocracy. In this -industrial epoch it is the servant of the monster business, and is -paid to declare that religion is governed by God, and business by -religion,--"whoever says the contrary, let him be anathema!" Business -has its fixed standard of hypocrisy; everything above or below that is -to be denounced by the ministers of the gospel of God and business. -Hence the howl about Jay Gould, who, with splendid, brutal frankness, -exposed to the entire universe the real laws of business,--without any -preaching at all,--and overrode society and law and became supreme. -Wherefore I hold that a statue should be erected to him. Here we have -been having a newspaper fight. All the missionaries are down on "that -anonymous writer" as usual. I wrote an article to prove that Gould was -the grandest moral teacher of the century. Even sermons were preached -in T[=o]ky[=o] denouncing the writer of that article. I was accused of -declaring that the end justified the means. I had not said so; but I -quoted American authorities to show Gould had created and made effective -the railroad-transportation system of the West; and then I quoted -English financial authorities to prove that that very transportation -system alone was now saving the United States from bankruptcy. The facts -were unanswerable (at least by the clerics); and they proved that in -order to get power to save a whole nation from ruin,--Gould had to ruin -a few thousand people. Wherefore I am called "immoral, low, beastly." -Nobody _knows_ it is I; but some suspect. I am already deemed the "moral -plague-spot" of Japan by the dear missionaries. Next week I'll try them -with an article on "The Abomination of Civilization." ... - -But I have at home a little world of about eleven people, to whom I am -Love and Light and Food. It is a very gentle world. It is only happy -when I am happy. If I even look tired, it is silent, and walks on -tiptoe. It is a moral force. I dare not fret about anything when I can -help it,--for others would fret more. So I try to keep right. My little -wife and I have saved nearly 2000 Japanese dollars between us. I think -I'll be able to make her independent. When I've done that, I can let the -teaching go, and wander about awhile, and write "sketches" at $10 per -page. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... You never wrote a more wonderful letter than that -last letter full of penetrating things. Now one of my shortcomings is -a total ignorance of practical worldly wisdom;--for instance, I could -not sit down and talk to a man in polite enigmas which both of us would -understand, at all. All that world of business is to me a mystery and -a marvel incomprehensible. Moreover, it is the revelation of mental -powers of a very subtle order, as much beyond me as mathematics,--so -that I cannot but respect the forces manifested, even if I deplore the -directions in which they are sometimes exercised. Your sketch of the two -men, and the interview, and the psychological relations was perfectly -delicious,--and like nearly everything you write to me, gave me the -pleasure of a novel sensation.... - -Your criticism about ----'s criticism was not exactly what I thought you -might make:--it _is_ true that we like to be thought, and to believe -ourselves, capable of doing vast harm, and credit ourselves more for our -goodness perhaps on account of that belief. But I don't agree with you -in thinking the remark uncomplimentary. I think it was true, and in the -sense I take it, beautiful. Ask yourself could you really do anything -you knew to be terribly cruel under any personal provocation,--at -least after the first burst of sudden anger was over? And you will -find you _could not_. Any nature sincerely sympathetic--with a complex -nerve-system--cannot inflict pain without receiving at least as much, -if not more pain than it gives. I believe you could kill a man, under -just provocation; but that is not bad, or cruel--indeed, it might be -a duty. The terrible men are the men who do everything in cold blood, -icily, with calculation, infinite patience, and infinite pleasure. But -the capacity to be thus dangerous means also a low development of those -qualities which give sweetness to character and amiability to life,--and -chivalry to a man's soul. - -Now here is the very immoral side of Western civilization. Being wholly -aggressive and selfish, the hard, cold qualities of character are -being prodigiously developed by it. The emotional qualities, you might -suggest, are also indirectly developed by the suffering the others -inflict;--there is action and reaction. Yes, that is true. But the -terrible men--the men of the type of that manager--represent not only -a constantly increasing class, but a leading one--the class whose name -is Power. Now Power multiplies. In wealth and luxury multiplication -is rapid and facile. They are less fertile comparatively than other -classes; but the cost of their individuality is infinitely greater, -and one type can outlive, outwork, outplan a hundred of the emotional -sort,--as a general rule. The ultimate tendency is to settle all power -in the hands of those without moral scruple. It may take another few -centuries to do this; but the tendency is obvious, and the danger is -steadily growing. I think the West can never become as moral as the -Orient. But it may become infinitely more wicked. - -This is one way of seeing the matter. Another I wrote you about in my -last letter,--the sexual question in the West,--something never dreamed -of in the East. What must be the ultimate results of this Western -worship of the Eternal Feminine? Must not one be, the contempt of old -age, and universal irreverence for things the most naturally deserving -of reverence? Already, in the West, the Family has almost ceased to -exist. - -To an Oriental it seems utterly monstrous that grown-up children should -not live with their father, mother, and grandparents, and support and -love them more than their own children, wives, or husbands. It seems to -him sheer wickedness that a man should not love his mother-in-law,--or -that he should love his own wife even half as well as his own father or -mother. Our whole existence seems to him disgustingly immoral. He would -deem worthy of death the man who wrote-- - - "He stood on his head on the wild seashore, - And joy was the cause of the act;-- - For he felt, as he never had felt before, - Insanely glad, in fact. - And why? Because on that selfsame day - His mother-in-law had sailed - To a tropical climate, far away, - _Where tigers and snakes prevailed_." - -He first most loves his father,--then his mother,--then his -father-in-law and mother-in-law,--then his children,--and lastly, his -wife. His wife is not of the family proper,--a stranger,--not of the -blood of the ancestors,--how can he love her like his own parents! - -Now I half suspect the Oriental is right. - -To him the people of the West with their novels and poems about love -seem a race of very lascivious people. If indeed he should think more -kindly of them at all, it would be through pity,--as a race of sexually -starved beings, frantic with nymphomania and all forms of erotomania, -through refusal to obey the laws of nature. "They talk about their -wives!--they write novels about their lusts!--they do not support -their parents!--they do not obey their mothers-in-law! Truly they are -savages!" Now they write love-stories in Japan. But who are the women -of these love-stories? Dancing-girls. "If one must write stories about -the passion of sex, let him at least not write such things about wives -and daughters of honest men--let him write about whores! A whore's -business is to excite passion. That of a pure woman is to quench it. -What horribly immoral people the Western people are!" - ---Don Juan is the imagination of the West. No Japanese Don Juan--no -Chinese Don Juan--ever existed or could exist. He is a common type at -home. But the Orient rejoices also in exemption from one of the most -terrible creations of Western life;--no Oriental is haunted by "the -Woman thou shalt never know." - -What a curse and a delusion is that beautiful spectre! How many lives -she makes desolate! How many crimes does she inspire, "the Woman thou -shalt never know!"--the impossible ideal, not of love, but of artistic -passion, pursued by warm hearts from youth till age, always in vain. -As her pursuer grows more old, she becomes ever more young and fair. -He waits for her through the years,--waits till his hair is grey. -Then,--wifeless, childless, blasé, ennuyé, cynical, misanthropic,--he -looks in the glass and finds that he has been cheated out of youth and -life. But does he give up the chase? No!--the hair of Lilith--just -one--has been twisted round his heart,--an ever-tightening fine -spider-line of gold. And he sees her smile just ere he passes into the -Eternal darkness. - -Then again, our social morals! We never in the West talk to people of -their duties. Do orators make speeches about duties? Do any, except -priests, talk about social duties? But what do we talk to the people -about? We talk to them about their _rights_,--"by G--d!" Always, -incessantly, _ad nauseam_, about their _rights_. Now to talk to people -who know nothing of social science, of political economy, of ethical -ideas in their relation to eternal truths,--to talk to such people -about their _rights_, is like giving a new-born baby a razor to play -with. Or putting a loaded revolver in the hands of a mischievous child. -Or inviting a crowd of urchins to make a bonfire in the immediate -vicinity of ten thousand barrels of gunpowder. And the Oriental knows -this. (Wherefore in China it was a law that he who should say or invent -anything new should be put to death,--an extreme view of the necessities -of the case, but not much more extreme than our own philistinism.) - -The Japanese of the new school do not, however, keep to the Chinese -wisdom. They show evidence now of a desire to put to death those who -say anything older than yesterday. They are becoming infected with the -Western moral poison. They are beginning to love their wives more than -their fathers and mothers;--it is much cheaper.... - -By the way, I am in a world of new sensations. My first child will be -born, I expect, about September next. The rest of my family have come -from Matsue,--father-in-law, father's father also, a nice old man of 84. -We are now all together. There is universal joy because of the birth -in prospect. And I am accused of not seeming joyful enough. I am not -sorry. But I hope my little one will never have to face life in the -West, but may always dwell in a Buddhist atmosphere. - - Ever most faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Your most welcome lines of March 1 came to me during a -lonesome spring vacation--to brighten it up. Your wish about a Japanese -love-story has been partly answered in the March _Atlantic_; and in -the June number, you will have a paper of mine, entitled the "Japanese -Smile," which you will find as philosophical as you could wish.--No, I -have been working well, but for a book only; and of that book only five -or six chapters can be published in a magazine. I am not yet sure if the -book will be published in the shape I want,--although the publishers -show some signs of yielding. - -So much for me. I was too egotistic last time, and will not be so much -so again, unless I get a very awful attack of the blues within the next -five years.... - -To return to Japan and Japanese life. What do you think of the -following? It happened near Kumamoto. A peasant went to consult an -astrologer what to do for his mother's eyes: she had become blind. The -astrologer said that she would get her sight back if she could eat a -little human liver,--taken fresh and from a young body. The peasant -went home crying, and told his wife. She said: "We have only one boy. -He is beautiful. You can get another wife as good, or better than I, -very easily, but might never be able to get another son. Therefore, you -must kill me instead of the son, and give my liver to your mother." They -embraced; and the husband killed her with a sword, and cut out the liver -and began to cook it, when the child awoke and screamed. Neighbours -and police came. In the police court, the peasant told his tale with -childish frankness and cited stories from the Buddhist scriptures. The -judges were moved to tears. They did not condemn the man to death;--they -gave only nine years in prison. Really the man who ought to have been -killed was the astrologer. And this but a few miles off from where they -are teaching integral calculus, trigonometry, and Herbert Spencer! -yet Western science and religion could never inspire that idolatrous -self-devotion to a mother which the old ignorant peasant and his wife -had. She thought it her sacred duty to die for her mother-in-law.... - -I am going to have the delight of a visit from the author of "The Soul -of the Far East." He is a lucky man,--wonderful genius, strength, youth, -and plenty of money. He spends six months of each year in the Orient. -Professor Chamberlain, my other friend, spent a few days with me last -week. He speaks Japanese better than the Japanese;--in fact, he is -_Professor of Japanese in the Imperial University of Japan_. He mentions -me in his books; and Conder, who writes those beautiful books about -Japanese flower arrangement and Japanese gardens, has just written a -book with a kindly reference to me. - -Enough to tire you, I fear, already. Well, _au revoir_, till the next -mail. Affectionately ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -MY DEAR NISHIDA,--About the sentence that puzzles you (as it well might -puzzle anybody unaccustomed to what we call "rant"),--the phrase simply -signifies the Bible. It is based on the idea that Christ is the "_Light_ -of the World" (Light and Glory being used synonymously); and the origin -of this expression again goes back beyond Christianity into ancient -Gnostic ideas,--_probably_ based on the Iranian belief of Ormuzd, the -(Persian or Iranian) God of _Light_, as distinguished from Ahriman, the -Spirit of Evil and Darkness. The common Christian people know nothing of -this; but from childhood, they are accustomed to hear the word "Bible" -coupled with the words "light" and "glory" and "illumination,"--and -to see pictures representing a Bible surrounded with rays of light -beaming from it as from a sun. "The glory of the mechanic's shop," i. -e., illuminating the darkness of labour, the suffering and gloom, by -light of consolation, etc.--But I must say that all this is what we call -"rant" (worse than "cant");--it is of no earthly use to let the boys -read it. I used always to skip it. The article is not even good English: -it is fanatical "gush" and humbug. If I were you, I would not bother -with it at all,--except for your own amusement, as a study of queer -ideas. I don't mean to say _all_ writing of this sort is bad;--some -of it is very beautiful, although the ideas be false. But that stuff -in Sanders's Reader is the sort we call "_cheap_ rant,"--such as any -uneducated Sunday-school teacher can spout by the mile.... - -I do not think Setsu can travel again this year. I expect to become a -father about September, or perhaps even sooner. So we shall not see -T[=o]ky[=o] in 1893, at all events. And the chances are that I shall not -be able to travel very far;--as I shall have to be in constant weekly -communication with the mail-steamers for America. The preparation of the -printed proofs will be hard work. - -I am sorry about Goto. You summed him up, however, very keenly a long -time ago.--We have a wonderful drawing-master here, who painted a -wonderful oil-portrait of Mr. Akizuki. And that man is only getting $12 -a month (counting the deduction of his salary for building warships)! -Yet he is really a fine artist. - -Besides the letter of introduction I gave you to Mr. Kano, I also wrote -him a long letter about you last year. Should you go to T[=o]ky[=o], -therefore, remind him of that. Or, if you wish, I will write you at once -a third letter to take with you. You will like Mr. Kano at sight. He -charms even the most reserved foreigners, and still he is perfectly easy -and simple in his manners. Faithfully yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... I hear rarely from America, and have no definite -news from Boston up to date. They send me a paper--the Sunday edition, -full of poetry about love, woodcuts of beauties of fashion, and all -sorts of chatter about women and new styles of undergarments. To-day, -after three years in the most Eastern East, when I look at that paper, -I can hardly believe my eyes. The East has opened my eyes. How affected -the whole thing seems! Yet it never seemed so to me before. My students -say to me, "Dear Teacher, why are your English novels all filled with -nonsense about love and women?--we do not like such things." Then I -tell them partly why. "You must know, my dear young gentlemen, that in -England and America, marriage is a most important matter,--though it is -something you never even speak about in Japan. For in Japan, it is as -easy to get married as it is to eat a bowl of rice. But for educated -young men in the West, it is very difficult and dangerous to marry. It -is necessary to be rich to marry well,--or to be, at least, what _you_ -would call rich. And the struggle for life is very bitter and very -terrible--so bitter and terrible that you cannot possibly imagine what -it means. It is hard to live at all,--made harder to marry. Therefore -the whole object of life is to succeed _in order to get married_. And -the parents have nothing to do with the matter, as in Japan; the young -man must please the girl, and must win her away from all other young -men who want to get her. That is why the English and others write all -that stuff about love and beauty and marriage, and why everybody buys -those books and laughs or weeps over them--though to you they are simply -disgusting." - -But that was not all the truth. The whole truth is always suggested to -me by the Sunday paper. We live in the musky atmosphere of desire in -the West;--an erotic perfume emanates from all that artificial life of -ours;--we keep the senses perpetually stimulated with a million ideas -of the eternal feminine; and our very language reflects the strain. The -Western civilization is using all its arts, its sciences, its philosophy -in stimulating and exaggerating and exacerbating the thought of sex. An -Oriental would almost faint with astonishment and shame to see a Western -ballet. He would scream at the sight of a French nude. He would be -scandalized by a Greek statue. He would rightly and instantly estimate -all this as being exactly what it is,--artificial stimulus of dangerous -senses. The whole West is steeped in it. It now seems, even to me, -almost disgusting. - -Yet what does it mean? Certainly it pollutes literature, creates and -fosters a hundred vices, accentuates the misery of those devoted by the -law of life as the victims of lust. It turns art from Nature to sex. -It cultivates one æsthetic faculty at the expense of all the rest. And -yet--perhaps its working is divine behind all that veil of vulgarity and -lustfulness. It is cultivating also, beyond any question, a capacity for -tenderness the Orient knows nothing of. Tenderness is not of the Orient -_man_. He is without brutality, but he is also without that immense -reserve force of deep love and forgiving-power which even the rougher -men of the West have. The Oriental is intellectually, rationally capable -of all self-sacrifice and loyalty: he does the noblest and grandest -things without even the ghost of a tender feeling. His feeblest passion -is that of sex, because with him the natural need has never been starved -or exasperated. He marries at sixteen or seventeen perhaps,--is a father -of two or three children at twenty. All that sort of thing for him -belongs to the natural appetites: he would no more talk about his wife -or tell you he had a child born, than he would tell you that his organs -performed their function regularly at 6.30 A.M. He is ashamed -of appearing to have any sexual love at all in public;--and his family -live all their lives in the shadow--do not appear to visitors. Well, his -nature may lose something by this. It loses certainly in capacities that -mean everything for us--tenderness, deep sympathy, a world of sensations -not indeed sexual with us, yet surely developed out of sexualism to no -small extent,--just as the sense of moral beauty developed out of the -sense of physical beauty. - -I guess this must bore you, however. More anon of other matters. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, June, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I am not quite sure that you are right about the -Oriental view of things. It is very difficult to understand at first. -It is not want of refinement or sensibility to beautiful things. It -is rather a tendency to silence and secrecy in regard to the highest -emotions. So that a cultivated Japanese never even speaks of his wife -and family, or hints of his fondness for them. Of course, our idea is -nobler and higher. But it is a question with me whether it cannot be, -and has not been, developed to excess. I think we have filled the whole -universe with an ideal of woman. Star-swarms and all cosmical glories -exist for us only in an infinity of passional pantheism. I suspect -that we see Nature especially through the beauty of woman. A splendid -tree, a fragrant bud, delicacy of petals, songs of birds, undulations -of hills, mobility of waters, sounds of foliage, murmur of breezes -and their caress, laughter of streamlets, even the gold light--do not -all these things remind us of woman? You might cite the ruggedness of -oaks and the grimness of crags as masculine. True, we have visions of -Nature as masculine--for rugged and mighty contrasts. But how enormously -preponderant is the eternal feminine! Even our language is a language of -gender,--in which I think the feminine predominates. But in our thought -the masculine at once suggests the feminine, and creates a new idea. All -precious things, too, remind us of what is not masculine, because "far -and from the uttermost coasts is the price of _her_." - -Now the Oriental sees Nature in no such way. His language has no gender. -He does not think of a young girl when he sees a palm, nor of the -lines of a beautiful body when he sees the undulations of the hills. -Neither does he see Nature as masculine. He sees it as _neuter_. His -geographical nomenclature shows this. He sees things as they are. The -immediate inference would be that he finds less enjoyment in them. But -his art shows that he finds _more_. He sees in Nature much that we can't -see at all. He sees beauty in stones,--in common stones,--in clouds, -fogs, smoke, curling water, shapes of trees, shapes of insects. In -my friend's alcove is a stone. When you can learn that that stone is -more beautiful than a beautiful painting, you can begin to understand -that there is another way of seeing Nature. In my own garden there -are a number of large stones. Their value is seven hundred dollars. -No American would give five cents for them--no! he would not dream of -taking them as a gift--no! he would consider himself highly insulted by -the offer! Then why are they worth seven hundred dollars? Because they -are beautiful. You would say: "I can't see it!" You can't see it because -you see all Nature through the idea of woman. And it is just faintly -possible (I don't say certain) that our way--your way of seeing Nature -is all wrong. It is like peeping through an atmosphere which makes -everything iridescent and deflects the lines of forms. - -Now, why do I suspect that our way of looking at Nature may not be the -highest,--besides the plain fact that it is not according to the Eternal -order of things? I suspect it because the evolution of the ideal has -been chiefly physical. It has not been an ideal of soul. Is the soul -of a woman more beautiful than that of a man--outside of maternal -tenderness? You have just had a divine glimpse of two souls--excuse the -personal question (for it is a highly important one): which seemed to -you the largest and deepest?--in which were the glories more profound -and radiant? And is it not essential that the woman-beauty of soul must -be the lesser; for its scope must be limited by its eternal duty. We -are in the presence, however, of the undeniable fact that we rarely get -glimpses of the higher possibilities of the man-soul. Life is too hard -and bitter. But in the twilight of every home one sees the woman-souls -glowing like fireflies. We think only of the lights we see. The circling -darknesses are opaque to us,--like burnt-out suns. - -Reading over the list of things in your notebook I was impressed by -several facts. It is well to set down everything that impresses you. -But--I cannot help thinking that you do not look for the highest,--that -you miss a universe of beautiful things. The obtrusive, the eccentric, -the sharply bitter, the "Distorted Souls" as you call them, naturally -compel attention first,--just as in real life the forward, the selfish, -the aggressive, force themselves upon us. It is of the highest possible -value, as a means of self-preservation, to understand them. But I -suspect that it is of no value at all to draw them, to photograph them, -to give them artistic treatment _except in a contrast-study_. They are -not beautiful. They are not good. They are, using the word in the -Miltonic sense, obscene--like owls. On the other hand the beautiful -in life must be sought, and coaxed, and caressed to make it show its -colours. It does not appear very often spontaneously. Yet I feel -convinced it is all about us. It travels on railroads too, and lodges at -hotels. It fights for life against ugliness and wickedness and apathy -and selfishness: it is Ormuzd against Ahriman. Now what is the artist's -moral duty? (Of course he may take any subject he pleases and be great -in it.) But what is his duty in the eternal order of things, to art and -to ethics? Is it not to extract the gold from the ore,--the rubies and -emeralds from the rubble? I think it is--though many may laugh at me. -Thus newer and higher ideals are created. We advance only by new ideals. -I don't mean to say we should make statues of pure gold, or a table, -like that of some Caliph, out of a single emerald. But I think that in -modern life we should use the dross and slag only when their lightness, -worthlessness, or rudeness brings out in higher relief the light of the -pure jewel, the weight of the pure metal, the value of that which gives -the radiance or the gravity. And in the order of research I would seek -the lodes and veins first;--the rest is always easy to find and handle, -though requiring much scientific skill, of course, to use artistically. - -There _is_ a world, I suppose, almost as barren as the Alkali Plains, -where convention has strangled all feeling, and where the development of -selfish capacities has choked the other growths. But either below this -world or above it there are Americas to discover--full of warmth, light, -and beauty--continents chained to each other by snow-peaks, watered by -Amazons and Mississippis. - -Below, I think, more than above,--for the nearer to Nature, the nearer -to truth. And the value, artistically, of our high-pressure civilization -seems to me to be that its monstrosities and glooms and tragedies -infernal give an opportunity for the grandest contrasts ever made. What -I would pray you to do is "to put a lily in the mouth of Hell"--using -one of Carlyle's phrases. Then the petals of the lily will change into -pure light, like those of the Lotus of Amida Buddha.... - -Good-bye, with affectionate wishes, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, July, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--To continue from my last:-- - -It seems to me you might have mistaken my meaning in my half-criticism -of the contents of your notebook. I don't wish you should think I -find any fault with them _per se_. Indeed you cannot set down too -much. Only I think you have been collecting only shadow-and-fire -material. You have no sky-blues,--no rose and violet and purple and -gold-yellow,--no cadmium, no iridescences. You have that which will give -them all value--artistic value. Even if you have only one light for ten -darknesses, it will be enough to illume them all. - -And now for Ego and Egotisms. In my home the women are all making -baby-clothes,--funny little Japanese baby-clothes. All the tender -Buddhist divinities, who love little children, have been invoked except -one,--he who cares for them only when they are dead, and plays little -ghostly games with them in the shadowy world. Letters of congratulation -come from all directions, and queer, pretty presents; for the -announcement of pregnancy is a subject of great gladness in Japan. And -one theme of rejoicing is that the child will look more like a Japanese -than the children of other foreigners, because the father is dark. -Behind all this, of course, there is a universe of new sensations,--new -ideas,--revelations of things in Buddhist faith and in the religion of -the more ancient gods, which are very beautiful and touching. About -the world an atmosphere of delicious, sacred naïveté,--difficult to -describe, because resembling nothing in the Western world.--Some doubts -and fears for me, of course; but they are passing away gradually. I have -only some anxiety about _her_: still she is so strong that I trust the -gods will be kind to us.... - -This summer I shall not be able to travel far. First, of course, I can't -leave my little woman too long alone; second, I have proofs to correct; -third, I am economizing. We have now nearly $3500 between us; and I want -to try to provide for her as soon as I can,--so that once the chances of -ill luck are off my mind, I can make a few long voyages to other places -east of Japan. The Chinese ports are only a few days distant; and there -is Manila, there is the French Orient to see. I hope to be able to do -this in a few years more. You will be glad to hear I am very strong, -though getting grey,--much stronger than I was at thirty. - -Professor Chamberlain and I have a secret project in hand,--a book on -Japanese folk-lore. Whether we can carry it out I do not know; but if -the dear Professor's health keeps up we shall do something together.... - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I got your kind letter,--and the money,--and the -ballads; for all of which a thousand thanks. I feel you have been very, -very kind in all this, even while you were sick: so that my poor thanks -signify little of what I really feel towards you. It has given me much -pleasure to hear of your being better; but I am disappointed at your -being unable to travel,--very much disappointed, as I fear I will not be -able to leave Kumamoto again this vacation.... - -I see that, as regards Ky[=u]sh[=u] compared with T[=o]ky[=o], you take -the moral aspect of the question, while I have possibly been ruled too -much by the artistic side. I cannot fully understand the moral side, -of course: I can only perceive that the Ky[=u]sh[=u] students are -allowed to dress as simply as possible,--are encouraged to be frugal -and frank, and rough in their sports,--and are generally said to be -extremely independent and what you call _katai_, isn't it? But whether -they are really any better than Matsue students, I don't know. Certainly -they have no pleasures to soften their minds. There is nothing to see, -and nowhere to go. And Ky[=o]to is the most delightful city in the whole -of Japan. However, I suppose it has also temptations for students of a -dangerous sort.... - -I had no luck with Kumagae Masayoshi, and was obliged to send the boy -back to Oki, after he had worried and made unhappy everybody in the -house. He was an extraordinarily clever boy,--both at school, and at -everything he undertook,--extremely skilful with his hands, and almost -diabolically intelligent. But he had no affection at all, and seemed -to be naturally very cruel and cunning. He was strictly honest, and -trustworthy,--for all that. But his character was supremely selfish and -malignant. He made nasty songs about people, and sang them, and gave us -the impression of being a small devil. - -I am trying to do some literary work. Your ballad of Shuntoku-maru -proved quite useful to me in the course of an essay I wrote on the -difficulty experienced by Japanese in understanding a certain class -of English poetry and fiction. It revealed a popular conception of -things,--that ballad, which I took for an illustration, in showing the -total unlikeness of Western to Oriental society--especially in the -family relation; the absence of flirting and kissing and woman-worship -which we have in the West. Indeed I think the great difficulty of -mutual comprehension between the Japanese and the English is chiefly due -to the predominance of _a feminine idea_ in our language, our art, and -our whole conception of Nature. Therefore the Oriental can see aspects -of Nature to which we remain blind.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -MY DEAR OCHIAI,--It has given me much pleasure to hear of your success -at the examinations. I wish you all good fortune for the coming year, -and good health to aid you. - -I want also to talk to you about another matter very much to your -interest. Please pay attention to my words, and think about them. I only -wish your happiness;--therefore remember that what I say deserves your -attention and your thought. - -I want to talk to you about Christianity, as a religion,--not as a -_sh[=u]_, or sect. I hope you will understand the distinction I make. -A religion is a moral belief which causes men to live honestly and to -be kind and good to each other. A sect is made by a _difference_ of -belief as to what is true religious teaching. Thus in Buddhism there -are many sects or _sh[=u]_; and in Christianity, there are also many -sects or _sh[=u]_. But it is not what makes the sects that has made -Buddhism. Neither is it what has made the Christian sects that has made -Christianity. Truth makes a religion--moral truth; sects are made by -differences of opinion about the meaning of _ky[=o]_, or the meaning of -other sacred texts. - -So much for this. I want now to tell you, as your friend, that it is -_not_ Christianity to refuse to bow before the portrait of the Emperor, -or before the tombs of the great dead. If anybody tells you that is -Christianity,--that person is not a Christian, but a bigot, and an -enemy of his country. Whenever we sing the English national anthem, we -take off our hats. Whenever we enter into the presence of one of Her -Majesty's representatives, we take off our hats. We stand up to drink -Her Majesty's health. We are taught that the Queen rules by divine -command. It is the same in Germany, in Austria, in Italy, in Spain,--in -all except republican countries. So much for that. It is quite right, -even for a Christian, to bow before the Emperor's picture;--it is loyal, -noble, and good to do it. To refuse to do it is ignorant and vulgar. It -is not Christian at all. - -Now about the question of tombs and temples. What is the Christian -custom? The Christian custom is to pay proper and just respect to -the religion which other people believe in. If I go into a Christian -church,--although I am not a Christian,--I must take off my hat. If I -go into a Mohammedan mosque, I must take off my shoes. Such tokens of -respect are purely social,--they are just and right. In Mexico, for -example, when a religious procession passes, everybody who is polite -takes off his hat. That means,--"Although I am not of your religion, -I respect your religion,--your prayers to heaven, and your wish to be -good." - -Again, when a funeral goes by, we take off our hats. That means, -"Although none of _my_ friends have died, I sympathize with your -sorrow." It is courteous and it is right. - -Whatever you believe, my dear Ochiai, you need never refuse to show -respect to the tomb of an Emperor, to the memory of an ancestor, or the -religion of another people or another country. Christianity teaches -no such discourtesy. Only bigots teach it,--and even they teach it -for reasons you are not able to understand. I do not want to question -your religious belief at all;--that is not my duty. I want only to -talk to you about social action in reference to _real_ religion. No -honest religion ought to cause you any unhappiness, or to cause you -to be blamed by others. Religion ought to be of the heart. It is not -a question of hats and shoes. Do not refuse to show respect to honest -customs and honest reverence for ancestors, by a bow, or a removal of -the hat. It will injure your prospects in life to make ill will for -yourself by refusing to show respect to the beliefs of your nation -and country. Such respect has nothing to do with your faith;--it is a -question of social politeness and gentlemanliness. And when you refuse, -you will not be judged for your belief,--not at all. You will simply be -thought vulgar,--not a true gentleman. - -A true gentleman respects _all_ religions. That is the real Western -idea. Do not deceive yourself. - -This from your true friend and teacher, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... And now for a letter. Your last two letters were -full of curious things that call for no answer, but, in connection with -foregoing ones, certainly invite comment. More and more, reading your -lightning-flash glimpses of life, I think how terribly tragical modern -life is becoming. What is its law? Is it not something like this?-- - - General: (1) Theoretically, you must be good. (2) Practically you must - be not very good,--unless you wish to starve or live in the - slime. (3) Reconcile these facts very intelligently, without - making any blunders. - - Special: (1) If you are not more intelligent than the average man, you - must be both theoretically and practically good,--and resign - yourself to remaining poor and despised all your blessed - life. Don't kick: if you do, you'll die! (2) In proportion - as you are more intelligent than your fellow man, the more - to your interest to depart from abstract moral rules;--the - more, indeed, you _must_. It is quite true that vice and - crime lead to ruin. Still, you must perform your part of - both without getting into trouble. If you don't, you will - die. (3) Reconcile intelligently these seeming - contradictions. - -The contradictions can only be fully recognized and reconciled -through a profound knowledge of social conditions, not in the abstract -only, but in the most complex operation. This is the theoretical -recognition. But the practical recognition requires special hereditary -gifts,--intuitions,--instincts,--powers. Mere education in business -alone won't do. That only makes servants. Masters must be _natural_ -masters of men. Life is an intellectual battle, but not a battle to -be fought out by mere chess-combinations. It is also a battle of -characters. The combinations required for success are of the most -difficult--comprising force, perception, versatility, resource,--and -enough comprehension of morals as factors in sociology to avoid fatal -mistakes. He who has all this, and strong health, goes to the top. But -he has there to fight for his standing-room. Besides all other fighting, -he has to fight against himself. - -In the Buddhist system, the soul, by self-suppression and struggle -against temptation, obtains Light and effects progress. The Past begins -to be remembered, the Future to be foreseen. But always in proportion -to the progress and the enlightenment, the temptations increase. For -example, one reward of virtue is beauty and high sexual power (!) The -more indulgence is despised, the greater these gifts. The Soul reaches -heaven. Then is the greatest of all temptations. Life for thousands of -ages,--supreme beauty and power,--supreme loveliness of celestial beings -offered to feast upon. And here can be no _sin_: it is only a question -of further progress. Indulgence means retrogression. The wise only pass -to Nirvana.--Now I fancy the battle of life has the same moral. - -It is a terrible battle now, though; and is becoming fiercer every -year,--and aggravating with a velocity beyond all precedent. (I see -there is a falling-off in the birth-rate of the U.S.--which means -increased difficulty of living.) And ultimately what must come out of -all this? Pain is certainly the only reliable creator,--the only one -whose work endures. Extraordinary intelligence and, mental dynamical -power will be results, of course,--up to a certain time. I do not see -much likelihood, however, of _moral_ development. Indeed, as Mackintosh -long ago said, morals have been at a standstill since the beginning -of history: we have made no apparent progress in that. Then comes the -question, Are we not developing immorally? - -I have begun to think immorality must be, in the eternal order of -things, a _moral_ force. That is, some kinds of it,--the aggressive -kinds: those which the whole world agrees to call immoral. For the -physical value and excellence of a life in its relation to other lives -is primarily in its capacity to meet all hostile influences by changes -correspondingly effected within itself. This is called adaptation to -environment. If this be the physical side of the question, what is the -moral side? That the perfect character must be able to oppose or to meet -all hostile influences by corresponding changes within itself. This -necessarily involves a prodigious experience of evil,--a deep, personal, -intimate, artistic, loving knowledge of evil. I see a frightful dualism -only in prospect. No love or mercy outside of the circle of each -active life. As Spencer holds, absolute morality can only begin where -the struggle for existence has ceased. This is not new. The appalling -prospect is this,--How infinitely worse the world must become before it -begins to improve at all!--And surely education ought to be conducted -with a knowledge of these things. - -But will the existing state of things continue indefinitely? Surely, it -can't! It is too monstrous, and the suffering too infernal! There must -be social smashings, earthquakes, chaos-breakings-up, recrystallizations -to lighten the burthen. And what will these be? - -I cannot send you, because there is no copy here, but I recommend you a -book,--Pearson's "National Character," a study. He takes the ground that -the future is not to the white races,--not to the Anglo-Saxon. I think -this almost certain. I think of the awful cost of life to the white -races,--the more awful cost of character. I think of the vast races -of creatures--behemoths and megatheriums and ichthyosaurians--which -have disappeared from the earth simply because of the cost of their -physical structure. But what is the physical cost of even the structure -of an ichthyosaurus to the cost of the structure of a master of applied -mathematics! It costs one educated European,--receiving, say, a salary -of $100 a month,--exactly as much as it costs twenty educated Orientals -to live--each with a family of at least three persons,--or in other -words 1 European = 120 Orientals. There is an instinctive knowledge, -perhaps, of the future, in the instinctive hatred of the Chinese in -America. There is an instinctive sense of the same kind in the feeling -which prompts the Oriental to exclude Europeans. The latter _over_live -the former; the former underlive the latter. But in all this there are -complicated physiological questions extraordinary. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... "Thou shalt not love" is of Buddha. "He who hath -wife and child hath taken upon him fear. Such a fear is greater than -that which the man should feel who, unarmed and alone, entering a -cavern, meets a tiger face to face." It is true, the greatest of all -fear is the fear for another,--the pity for another,--the frightful -imaginings of sorrow or want or despair for another. But there might -be perfect conditions. That is true;--but then,--beware the jealousy -of the gods. A Rossetti finds his Ideal Maiden, weds, loses, maddens, -and passes the rest of his nights in tears of regret, and his days in -writing epitaphs. Children may console and they may shame,--and they -may die just when they have become charming,--and they may ruin us; and -at best, in the world of the West, they separate from us, and we can -keep only memories of them. Some woman or some man gets hold of their -heart and bites it, and the poison spreads a veil between parents and -offspring for all time. Finally, in any conditions, the burthen of life -is enormously increased. How much more must a man bear, and how much -less can he assert himself, when he has ever to remember that he has -ceased to belong to himself. Such is a Buddhist view of the thing. It is -not all wrong.... - - L. H. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - AUGUST, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--What you wrote about the charming person "_flirting_ -with her maternal instincts" is delicious. I recognized the portrait in -a most fantastic past experience,--but of that anon. The thought sent me -off into a reverie about--adulteration. - -There is a philosophy about adulteration I don't know much about. I -have not sufficiently learned the main facts about the practical and -utilitarian side of adulteration,--though I read the "petit dictionnaire -des falsifications," and other things. However, let's try. Most of what -we sell now is adulteration. We used to feel angry, when I was a boy, -at the mere thought that leather-composition should be sold for genuine -leather,--shoddy for wool,--cotton mixed with silk for pure silk, -etc. We wanted our spoons to be genuine silver, and our claret quite -trustworthy. Since then we have had to resign ourselves to margarine, -glucose, and other products which have become vast staples of commerce. -In some cases the genuine has been altogether supplanted by the false; -and the false has been universally accepted with full knowledge of its -origin. There have been advantages enormous to industry and manufacture, -of course; and the public health has not been ruined, according to -prediction. On the contrary it has been improving, and the nervous -system developing. - -Now may not the same thing be going on in our morals? Or rather, must -it not go on? We are substituting the sham for the real. It is very -sorrowful and excites awful surmises; but nevertheless the sham seems to -do very well. The trouble with the original article was its cost and its -enormous solidity. It was not malleable. It resisted pressure. It was -not adapted at all to the new life of cities and science. For example, -absolute veracity interfered with business,--absolute love became a -nuisance, took up too much space, and proved too incompressible. Just -as we have become too sensitive to bear the rawness of pure colour, so -have we become too sensitive to bear the rawness of pure affection. -We consider persons vulgar who wear blood-red, grass-green, burning -yellows and blues--persons of undeveloped feeling and taste. So also -we begin to think people vulgar who are prone to live by any simple -emotions. We hold them undeveloped. We don't want the real thing. No: -we want shades, tones,--imperceptible tones, ethereal shades. Even in -books the raw emotion has become distasteful, savage. Pure passion is -penny-theatrical. Isn't all this a suggestion of fact? And isn't the -fact founded upon necessary physiological changes? Existing life is too -complex for pure emotions. We want mixed tonics,--delicately flavoured -and tinted. - -All of which means that the primal sources of life are becoming -forgotten. Love, honour, idealism, etc., these can no longer be supreme -or absorbing motives. They interfere with more serious necessities, -and with pleasure. We have first to learn how to live inside the -eight-day clock of modern life without getting caught in the cogs. This -learned,--and it is no easy lesson,--we may venture to indulge in some -falsifications of emotion, some shot-silk colours of love. Such seems -to me the drift. The most serious necessity of life is not to take the -moral side of it seriously. We must play with it, as with an _hetaira_. - -The genuine is only good for the agricultural districts. - -And is this progress in a durable sense, or morbidness in evolution? -Really I am not sure. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I have missed you very much this long vacation; but, as I -anticipated, it could not be helped. Another bundle of proofs has been -keeping me at work; and I find the book promises to be bigger than I -told you in my last letter. They are using type that will spread it out -to probably 750 pp. I send you one specimen proof--just to show you the -size of the type. - -The man who has been sent for to fill the place in Ky[=o]to, will not, -I imagine, be able to keep it. He is a rabid proselytizer; in Kumamoto, -years ago, he formed a society of Christians, called the Christian -Band (I forget the Japanese name): that is why the Ky[=u]sh[=u] folk -nearly killed him. Privately--between you and me--I think there will -be great changes in the Ky[=o]to middle school next year; _and I think -that I shall get there_. But there is nothing sure. I will not go to -T[=o]ky[=o] as long as I can help it. - -Many thanks for your splendid letter about the legends of the ballads. -I have put it away carefully to use in a future essay.--You say, if -you were to tell me about the noble things the common people do, you -would never get done. Indeed, _one_ strong fact would give me work for -two or three months. The publishers wrote me to say they want stories -of the life of the common people _to-day_,--showing the influence -of moral teaching on _conduct_: that is, Buddhist, Shint[=o], and -ancestor-teaching. I have been trying to get the facts about the poor -girl who killed herself in Ky[=o]to because the Emperor "augustly -mourned" after the crazy action of Tsuda Sanzo; but I have not yet -succeeded. By the way, I think Tsuda Sanzo will be more kindly judged -by a future generation. His crime was only "loyalty-run-mad." He was -insane for the moment with an insanity which would have been of the -highest value in a good cause and time. He saw before him the living -representative of the awful Power which makes even England tremble;--the -power against which Western Europe has mustered an army of more than -15,000,000 of men. He saw, or thought he saw (perhaps he really _did_ -see: time only can show) the Enemy of Japan. Then he struck--out of -his heart, without consulting his head. He did very wrong;--he made -a sad mistake; but I think that man's heart was noble and true, in -spite of all his foolishness. He would have been a hero under happier -circumstances.... - -[Illustration: [Japanese]] - -I have just heard that the name of one kind of those horrid beetles in -Kumamoto is _gane-bun-bun_, and the _hyakush[=o]_ call them _gane-bu_; -and people throw them out of the window, saying, "Come back the -day-before-yesterday." Then they never come back at all. - -[Illustration: [Japanese]] - -[Illustration: [Japanese]] - -I have made a mistake again. The _gane-bun-bun_ is not the greatest -plague I was complaining of,--but the _fu-mushi_. There is yet another -small one, I have not found out the name of. They make a whole room -smell horribly. Some, however, call both the big _fu-mushi_ and the -small creature by the same name--distinguishing them only as the green -and the black. By the way, I will put a _fu-mushi_ in this letter, -because they keep coming on the table so that I think it may be well to -send one to Izumo, in the hopes of inducing the rest to emigrate. - -All send kindest regards to you, and pray you to take good care of your -health. - -With every best wish, believe me ever, - - Most faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, 1893. - -[Illustration] - -DEAR NISHIDA,--It gave me much pleasure to get your last -kind letter. There was much depth in your statement of the present -instability being consequent upon the stagnation of three hundred -years. As to the consequence, however, only two theories are possible. -The instability means--however it end--disintegration. Is the -disintegration to be permanent?--or is there to be a re-integration? -That is what nobody can say. There is this, however. Usually a movement -of disintegration represents something like this line,--the undulations -signifying waves of reaction. This movement is downward, and ends in -ruin. However, so far, the undulations in Japan have been, I think, of -a very different character,--something like this:--which would mean -restoration of national solidity upon a much higher plane than before. -The doubt is whether a much larger movement of disintegration is not -going on,--whose undulations are too large to be seen in a space of -thirty years. - -[Illustration] - -You have noticed that under all the surface waves of a sea, far vaster -waves move--too large to be seen. They are only _felt_--upon _long_ -voyages. - -Mr. Senke has sent me a letter which I think is the most wonderfully -kind and gracious letter anybody ever received in this whole world, and -how to answer it at all, I don't know. He has also promised to send some -souvenir; I am not quite sure what it is: I must _try_ to write him a -nice letter when it comes. But Mr. Senke writes as an Emperor would -write--with a grace for which there is no equivalent in Western speech -at all; and whatever I try to do, it must seem vulgar and common beside -the splendid courtesy of Mr. Senke's style. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR OCHIAI,--I was very glad indeed to get your letter. It came while -the school was closed--all the students having gone upon an excursion to -[=O]ita, so that I did not receive it until to-day (the 11th), when I -went to the school to see if there were any letters for me. - -Don't think any more about any mistakes you may have made;--everybody -will forget them quickly: only think about what makes you happy. But as -for Christianity, of course that is a matter for your own conscience; -and I would not advise you at all unless you are in doubt. I can only -tell you this,--that there are a great many different forms of what is -called the Christian religion--a very great many. But what is called the -"higher Christianity" is a pure code of ethics; and that code of ethics -recognizes that in all civilized religions,--whether of Japan, India, -China, Persia, or Arabia,--there is _some_ eternal truth; because all -religions agree in the deepest teaching about duty and conduct to one's -fellow men; and therefore all are entitled to the respect of good men. -But in all religions also there are some things which even very good men -cannot approve: that is not the fault of the true part of religion, but -only the fault of social conditions--that is, the state of society. No -state of society is yet perfect; and there can be no perfect religious -system until all men become perfectly good. How to become good is, -nevertheless, taught by all civilized religions. Nearly everything -which is eternally true is taught by one as well as by the other; and -therefore a society cannot throw away its religion on account of some -errors in it. And each religion represents the experience of a nation -with right and wrong--its knowledge of morality. But as society is -constructed quite differently in different countries, the religion of -one country may not be suited to another. That is why the introduction -of a foreign religion may often be opposed by a whole people. For some -things which are right in one country may not be right in another. It is -not right in China or in Japan to leave one's parents, and to neglect -them when they are old. But in England and America and other countries, -sons and daughters go away from their parents, and do not think it -a duty to support them;--and there is no family relation in those -countries such as there is in the Orient. And therefore many things -in Western religion are not suited to the kinder and more benevolent -life of Japan. Also, some religions teach loyalty, and some do not. For -Japan to become strong, and to remain independent, it is very necessary -that her people should remain very loyal. Her ancient religion teaches -loyalty;--therefore it is still very useful to her. And that is why -there is anger shown against some Christians who show no respect to that -religion. They are not blamed for not believing in dogmas, but only for -what seems to be not loyal. - -Perhaps it is better that you should not think a great deal about -religious questions until you become old enough to study scientific -philosophy--because these questions ought to be studied in relation -to society, in relation to history, in relation to law, in relation -to national character, and in relation to science. Therefore they are -very difficult. But if you should like to read the highest thoughts -of Western people about _modern_ religious ideas, I can send you some -little books which will show you that the highest religion agrees with -the highest science. What I mean by the highest religion is the belief -in eternal laws of right conduct. However, as I said, to think about -these questions at all requires great study and much knowledge. I think -the best advice I can give you in a general way is this,--Do not believe -a new thing told you because it is told you; but think for yourself, and -follow your own heart when you are in doubt. But remember that the _old_ -things taught you have been valuable to society--and have been useful -for thousands of years--so that we cannot despise them. - -I send you a book of old Greek stories to read. Perhaps it will interest -you. You will see from the stories how different the old Greek life was -from modern life in many things. You must tell me, too, what books you -like to read--novels, history, etc.; perhaps I shall be able to send you -some from time to time. - -Study well, and never be discouraged;--think only how to make yourself -a noble and perfect man. And remember the best men in public life have -generally been those who made plenty of mistakes and got into plenty of -trouble when they were boys. - -And never, _never_ be afraid--except of your own heart. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have been waiting several weeks to tell you of an -event which occurred later than I expected. Last night my child was -born,--a very strong boy, with large black eyes; he looks more like a -Japanese, however, than like a foreign boy. He has my nose, but his -mother's features in some other respects, curiously blended with mine. -There is no fault with him; and the physicians say, from the form of -his little bones, that he promises to become very tall. A cross between -European and Japanese is nearly always an improvement when both parents -are in good condition; and happily the old military caste to which -my wife belongs is a strong one. She is quite well.--Still, I had -my anxiety, and the new experience brought to me for a moment, with -extraordinary force, the knowledge of how sacred and terrible a thing -maternity is, and how even religion cannot hedge it about sufficiently -with protection. Then I thought with astonishment of the possibility -that men could be cruel to women who bore their children; and the world -seemed very dark for a moment. When it was all over, I confess I felt -very humble and grateful to the Unknowable Power which had treated us so -kindly,--and I said a little prayer of thanks, feeling quite sure it was -not foolish to do so. - -If ever you become a father, I think the strangest and strongest -sensation of your life will be hearing for the first time the thin -cry of your own child. For a moment you have the strange feeling -of being double; but there is something more, quite impossible to -analyze--perhaps the echo in a man's heart of all the sensations felt -by all the fathers and mothers of his race at a similar instant in the -past. It is a very tender, but also a very ghostly feeling. - -Now the kind dull veil that Nature keeps during most of a life stretched -between it and such extraordinary glimpses of the Unknown, is drawn -again. The world is the same nearly as before; and I can plan. The -little man will wear sandals and dress like a Japanese, and become a -good little Buddhist if he lives long enough. He will not have to go to -church, and listen to stupid sermons, and be perpetually tormented by -absurd conventions. He will have what I never had as a child,--natural -physical freedom. - -Your two late letters were full of interest and beauty, and you are -getting most surprising glimpses of life. I have long had in my mind the -idea of a chapter on "Morbid Individuality"--taking issue with Lowell's -position in "The Soul of the Far East." Instances like those you have -cited are very telling as proofs. The story of the father also is -wonderful--absolutely wonderful,--a beautiful surprise of human nature. - -What also much impressed me in your letter was the feeling of sadness -the spectacle of the great Exposition gave you. But I scarcely think -it was due to any reminiscences of boyhood--not simply because of its -being certainly a feeling infinitely too complex to have sprung out of a -single relative experience in the past (your confession of inability to -analyze it, and the statement of others who had the same feeling, would -show that),--but also because, if you reflect on other experiences of a -totally different kind, you will find they give the same sensation. The -first sight of a colossal range of mountains; the awful beauty of a peak -like Chimborazo or Fuji; the majesty of an enormous river; the vision -of the sea in speaking motion; and, among human spectacles, a military -sight, such as the passing-by of a corps of fifty thousand men, will -give also a feeling of sadness. You will feel something like it standing -in the choir of the Cathedral of Cologne; and you will feel something -like it while watching in the night, from some mighty railroad centre, -the rushing of glimmering trains,--bearing away human lives to unknown -destinies beyond the darkness. - -Probably, as Schopenhauer said, the vision of mountains has the effect -of producing sadness, because the sense of their antiquity awakens -sudden recognition of the shortness of human life. But I do not think it -is a mere individual feeling. It is a feeling we share with countless -dead who live in us, and who saw the same mountains,--perhaps felt -the same way. Besides, there should be a religious ancestral feeling -there--since mountains have ever been the abode of gods, and the -earliest places of worship and of burial. And I think there is. You do -not laugh when you look at mountains--nor when you look at the sea. - -What effect does the sudden sight of an extraordinarily beautiful -person have upon you? I mean the very _first_. Is it not an effect of -sadness? Analyze it; and perhaps you will find yourself involuntarily -thinking of _death_. - -What has the effect of any great beauty--of art, or poetry or -utterance--no matter what the subject? Is it cheerful? No, it is very -sad. But why? Perhaps partly because of the consciousness of the -_exceptional_ character of that beauty,--therefore the sudden contrast -between the tender dream-world of art and goodness, and the hideous -goblin realities of the world we know. At all events the sadness is -certainly the ancient sadness,--the sadness of life, which must, for -reasons we cannot learn, begin and end with an agony. - -Now at the Exposition you had all the elements for what Clifford would -call a "cosmic emotion" of sadness. Vastness, which forced the knowledge -of individual weakness; beauty, compelling the memory of impermanency; -force, suggesting weakness also; and prodigious effort,--calling for the -largest possible exertion of human sympathy, and love, and pity, and -sorrow. That you should feel like crying then, does you honour: that is -the tribute of all that is noblest in you to the eternal Religion of -Human Suffering. - -Dear H., I have not slept last night: I am going to rest a -little;--good-bye for a short time, with love to you. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--A few days ago there came from Kizuki a little box -addressed to me,--from Mr. Senke; and opening it, I found therein the -robe of a _Kokuz[=o]_--all black silk with the sacred _mon_ of the -temple worked into the silk. Accompanying the robe were two poems, very -beautifully written upon vari-coloured paper. The robe was very curious -in itself, and of course most precious as a souvenir. I hesitated to -write at once; for I could not answer Mr. Senke's magnificent letter in -a worthy way at all. It was a very long letter, written on fine paper -and in large handsome characters. I have now tried to reply, but my -answer reads very shabbily compared with Mr. Senke's gracious style. - -I found I had forgotten, in writing you the other day, to speak about -Kompira, as you asked me. What a pity I had not known about the real -temple of Kompira, which I did not see at all. Yes, I did find the place -interesting and very beautiful. But it was interesting because of the -quaint shops and streets and customs; and it was beautiful _because -the day happened to be very beautiful_. The vast blue light coloured -everything,--walls, timbers, awnings, draperies, dresses of pilgrims; -and the cherry-trees were one blaze of snowy blossoms; and the horizon -was clear as crystal. In the distance towered Sanuki-Fuji,--a cone of -amethyst in the light. I wished I could teach in some school at Kompira -_uchimachi_, and stay there always. - -I like little towns. To live at Tadotsu, or at Hishi-ura in Oki, or at -Yunotsu in Iwami, or at Daikon-shimain Naka-umi, would fill my soul with -joy. I cannot like the new Japan. I dislike the officials, the imitation -of foreign ways, the airs, the conceits, the contempt for Temp[=o], etc. -Now to my poor mind, all that was good and noble and true was Old Japan: -I wish I could fly out of Meiji forever, back against the stream of -Time, into Temp[=o], or into the age of the Mikado Y[=u]riaku,--fourteen -hundred years ago. The life of the old fans, the old _by[=o]bu_, the -tiny villages--that is the _real_ Japan I love. Somehow or other, -Kumamoto doesn't seem to me Japan at all. I hate it. - - Ever with best regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Both of your letters were as interesting as they -were kind. They revealed to me much more than I had been able to learn -from the newspapers. I am more than sorry for that terrible destruction -and suffering in the _Ken_; but when I think of Okayama, again, I cannot -help thinking that the good fortune, which seems especially to belong -to Matsue, has not yet deserted her. And the Governor seems to be a -first-class man. I like that story of his action with the rice-dealers. -But really, the people are very patient. In some Western countries, -notably in parts of America, it would have been more than dangerous for -men to have acted so selfishly; and they would be in any case afterwards -"boycotted," and obliged perhaps to leave the city. It is a great pity -they were not made to suffer for such atrocious meanness. When I think -of the chrysanthemums in your garden, and read your extraordinary -story about catching fish in it, I can realize what a tremendous loss -there must have been through all the rice-country. Certainly Matsue is -fortunate to have escaped as she did. - -Almost at the same time there came to me news from the Gulf of Mexico. -Perhaps you will remember that I wrote a novel about some islands there. -I used to pass my summers in those islands. They were about sixty miles -from the city of New Orleans. Well, on October 4th, a storm burst over -that coast, killing more than 2000 people. The island of Grand Isle was -covered by the sea in the night; and everything--houses, trees, and -people--carried away. Hundreds I used to know are dead. It is a year of -storms and calamities, surely, in all parts of the world. - -I will write a better letter later: I am writing now to answer your -questions about those sentences:-- - -(i) "Choppy"--"chopped" or "chapped" by cold: "chapped hands"--hands of -which the skin is _cracked_ by frost. "His hands are all chapped"--that -is, all _roughened_ by frost. "Choppy" is not so often used as -"chapped:" it is a poetical use of the word. - -(ii) "He had torn the cataracts from the hills." You must remember here -Winter is personified as a monstrous giant. "Cataracts" is used in the -sense of "waterfalls." The waterfalls are frozen into solid masses of -ice. Winter, the giant, breaks them off, and hangs them round his waist. - -[Illustration] - -(iii) "And they clanked at his girdle like _manacles_" (from Latin -_manus_, "hand") (you spelled the word wrong: it is "manacles"). -"Manacles," iron fetters for the hands;--handcuffs. They are made -in pairs, fastened together by a chain, and closed by a key. They -_clank_ when they strike together,--(i. e.) make a ringing metallic -noise--because they are of fine steel usually. The sound made by iron -is "clank"--"_to_ clank" (verb), "_a_ clank" (noun). Why does Shelley -use such a simile? Because Winter is like a jailer, like the keeper of a -prison. He fastens up, or imprisons, the rivers, lakes, and ponds with -ice. So he is described as a keeper of prisoners,--with manacles or -handcuffs hanging to his waist, ready for use. Ice striking against ice -makes a ringing noise, very much like iron--sometimes. The comparison is -very strong. - -And why does he put his chapped finger to his lip? To put the first -finger on the lips is a sign for "Be silent!" "Do not speak!" In winter -the world becomes silent. The birds are gone; the insects are dead. - -P. S. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I waited over last night to hunt up the -quotation for you; and during the night my child was born. A very strong -boy,--dark eyes and hair; he has some of my features, some of Setsu's. -Setsu is well enough to send kind words, and to tell you what I was -intending to tell you myself,--how delighted we have all been to hear of -your good health this year. - -I intended to write more, but I am too tired for the moment,--as I have -not been in bed for more than 24 hours. So for a little, good-bye,--best -regards to you and yours always from - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Everybody is well up to date: the little boy looks -prettier every day, and gives very little trouble. He scarcely cries at -all. Many people come to look at him, and express surprise that he looks -so much like a Japanese. But he is going to have a nose something like -mine, certainly, when he grows up. - -Setsu advises me to write you about another matter. I wanted, and tried -several times since coming to Kumamoto, to have Setsu registered as my -lawfully married wife, but the answer was always the same--that it was -a difficult matter, and would have to be arranged in T[=o]ky[=o], if at -all. The day before yesterday, I made another attempt when registering -the birth of the boy. The registry people said that as the parties came -from Matsue, Izumo, they would only make the statement of the marriage -by Matsue authority,--and that I had better write to Matsue. But at the -same time, they said words to this effect: "The law is difficult for -you. If you wish the boy to remain a Japanese citizen, you must register -him in the mother's name only. If you register him in the father's name, -he becomes a foreigner." - -Of course we all want the child to be a Japanese citizen, as he will -be the heir and stay of the old folks after I am dead--whether he goes -abroad for a few years' study or no. Prudence seems to dictate the -latter course. Yet the whole thing is a puzzle. By becoming myself a -Japanese citizen, everything would be settled. Even that, however, -is more difficult than it at first seemed. Again, I believe that I -could become a Japanese citizen by making direct application to the -Government;--but at the present time the result might not be for the -best. An Englishman in Yokohama, who became a Japanese citizen, had his -salary immediately reduced to a very small figure, with the observation: -"Having become a Japanese citizen, you must now be content to live like -one." I don't quite see the morality of the reduction; for services -should be paid according to the market-value at least;--but there is no -doubt it would be made. As for America, and my relatives in England, I -am married: that has been duly announced. Perhaps I had better wait a -few years, and then become a citizen. Being a Japanese citizen would, of -course, make no difference whatever as to my relations in any civilized -countries abroad. It would only make some difference in an uncivilized -country,--such as revolutionary South America, where English or French -or American protection is a good thing to have. But the long and the -short of the matter is that I am anxious only about Setsu's and the -boy's interests; my own being concerned only at that point where their -injury would be Setsu's injury. I suppose I must trust to fate and the -gods. If you can suggest anything good to do, however, I will be very -grateful. - -Every day, it strikes me more and more how little I shall ever know -of the Japanese. I have been working hard at a new book, which is now -half-finished, and consists of philosophical sketches chiefly: It will -be a very different book from the "Glimpses," and will show you how -much the Japanese world has changed for me. I imagine that sympathy and -friendship are almost impossible for any foreigner to obtain,--because -of the amazing difference in the psychology of the two races. We only -guess at each other without understanding; and it is only a very keen -guesser, indeed, of large experience, who can ever guess correctly. I -have met no one else like you. Nothing is so curious as to sit down and -talk for hours with a Japanese of the ordinary T[=o]ky[=o] modernized -class. You understand all he says, and he understands all you say,--but -neither understands more than the words. The ideas behind the words are -so different, that the more we talk the less we know each other. In the -case of the students, I found myself obliged to invent a new method of -teaching. I now teach my higher classes psychologically. I give them -lectures and dictations on various difficulties of the preposition, for -example, starting out with the announcement that they must not allow -themselves to think of the Japanese preposition at all.... - -I have followed this plan with great success in teaching the articles, -the value of English idioms, etc., and the comparative force of verbs. -But it shows how hopeless for a stranger to see deeply into the Japanese -mind. I am taking almost exactly the opposite ground to that of Lowell. - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1894. - -DEAR OCHIAI,--Many thanks for your kind letter, with its kind -wishes,--and many happy New Years to you. - -I have been very glad to hear of your success at school, and all the -news about your reading. I think Mr. Nishida's plan is very wise and -good. It is true that the lives of such men as Clive and Hastings--and -above all Napoleon--are full of interest and romance, because they show -the wonderful things that can be achieved by force of character united -with great intellect,--Clive being the best man, morally, of the three. -But, on the other hand, it is sadly true that the genius and the courage -of those three wonderful men were not employed in the noblest way, -but most often in a bad cause. Strong characters are very attractive, -because those who read about them take pleasure in imagining what -they would do if they had the same power and opportunity. But strong -characters are only really admirable when they are employed in a good, -just, noble cause. And of such characters, the number in Western history -is few. Pericles, Miltiades, Epaminondas, were nobler than Alexander; -yet people like to read about Alexander, who was not a good man. Marcus -Aurelius was nobler than Cæsar; but people like to read more about -Cæsar, because he was a great conqueror. And so on through all Western -history. There is splendour and honour in brave fighting for what is -right; but I do not think we ought to allow ourselves to praise brave -fighting for what is wrong. Bravery is noble only when the object is -noble. As a quality, it is not peculiar to man at all;--a wild bull is -braver than any general. It is very noble to sacrifice one's life for -a good cause--for love of parents, country, duty; but we ought not to -admire the throwing away of life for an unjust cause. The real rule by -which to measure what is admirable and what is despicable is the rule of -Duty. - -That is why I admire very, very much, all that was noble in the old -Japanese life,--its moral code, its household religion, and its -unselfishness. Everything is now passing away. By the time you are as -old as I now am, all Japan will have been changed; and I think you will -remember with regret the kindness and the simplicity of heart and the -pleasant manners of the Old Japan, that used to be all about you. The -New Japan will be richer and stronger and in many things wiser; but it -will neither be so happy nor so kindly as the old. - -Well, I trust you will have all possible success,--not only in your -school-life, but in all your life to come. I have hopes you will do -great and good things, and that I will hear of them. - - Ever affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - KUMAMOTO, March, 1894. - -MY DEAR [=O]TANI,--To study philology, with the idea of becoming a -philologist, scarcely seems to me a hopeful undertaking for you. -Philology means a great deal, including the comparative study of -languages; and it requires a very special natural gift in acquiring -languages, to be of any very practical value to you. It would also -require, I think, years of study in foreign universities. I am not quite -sure what you mean by philology, and what your purpose in following that -course would be. You might, of course, do as many do--take the literary -and philological course at the university. But the question, to my mind, -seems to be this: "What would be the practical value of such studies -afterwards?" Do you wish to become a Professor of Philology? Do you wish -to give your life to the scientific study of languages? If you do, are -you quite sure you have the particular kind of talent required (for, -remember, everybody cannot become a philologist any more than everybody -can become a mathematician)? - -[Illustration: A GROUP OF GRADUATES OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL - - 1 Mr. Hearn 2 Mr. Nishida 3 The old teacher of Chinese - Classics] - -The truth is, I do not know enough about your circumstances and -intentions and abilities to advise you well. I can only tell you _in a -general way_ what I think. - -I think you ought not to study what would not be of _practical_ use -to you in after-life. I am always glad to hear of a student studying -engineering, architecture, medicine (if he has the particular moral -character which medicine requires), or any branch of applied science. -I do not like to see all the fine boys turning to the study of law, -instead of to the study of science or technology. Of course much depends -upon the mathematical faculty. If you have that faculty, I would -strongly advise you to direct all your studies toward a scientific -profession--something really practical,--engineering, architecture, -electricity, chemistry, etc. If you should ask which, I could not -tell you, because I do not know your own highest capacities in such -directions. I would only say,--"Whatever you are most sure of loving as -a practical profession." - -Japan wants no more lawyers now; and I think the professions of -literature and of teaching give small promise. What Japan needs are -scientific men; and she will need more and more of them every year. -To-day you are fortunate; but nothing in this world is sure. Suppose you -were obliged suddenly to depend entirely on your own unassisted power to -make money,--would it not then be necessary to do something practical? -Certainly it would. And _according to the rarity of your abilities_ -would be your remuneration,--your money-making power. Even the Queen of -England obliged her children to learn professions. - -Now scientific men are still comparatively rare in Japan. The -science-classes in the colleges are small. Many students begin the -study,--but they find it hard for them, and give it up. Nevertheless, it -is _just because it is hard_ that it is so important and of such high -value to the person who masters it. If you were my son, or brother, -I would say to you, "Study science,--applied science; study for a -practical profession." As for languages and other subjects, you can -study them whenever you please. The practical knowledge is the only -important knowledge now,--and your whole life will depend upon your -present studies. - -You asked whether philology was difficult. Science _is_ -difficult,--really difficult; but everything worth having in this world -is difficult to get, exactly in proportion to its value. The only -question, I think, should be, "What study will be most useful to me all -through life?" But not whether it is difficult. What is important to -know is always difficult to learn. Philology is difficult; practical -science is difficult;--both are very difficult. But philology would -never be of much use to you, unless you have a natural genius for -language-study. And science would be of immense value to you, whether -you have any genius or not. You will need, however, as I said before, -mathematical study to fit you for that. And I would also remind you of -this:-- - -Hundreds of students leave the university without any real profession, -and without any practical ability to make themselves useful. All -cannot become teachers, or lawyers, or clerks. They become _soshi_, or -they become officials, or they do nothing of any consequence. Their -whole education has been of no real use to them, because it has not -been _practical_. Men can succeed in life only by their ability to -_do_ something, and three fourths of the university students can _do_ -nothing. Their education has been only _ornamental_. - - Faithfully yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1894. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--You are becoming a very _indifferent_ correspondent, if -one should judge by scarcity of letters,--so I suppose I am not to hear -from you again until something extraordinary happens. So runs the world -away from a man. But never shall I be able to understand the people of -"the most Eastern East." - -Well, I have been to Kompira,--in a _fune-fune_ to Tadotsu, thence -by rail to the wonderful, quaint old town. We took Kaji along. He -never cries now, and behaved so well that on all the railroads and -steamers people fell in love with him and played with him. He made the -acquaintance of many politicians, of surveyors, of some silk merchants, -of two captains, of a naval surgeon, of many gentle women, of the _miko_ -at Kompira, and--I am sorry to say--of some geisha. However, that was -because he was very young, and did not know. I hope when he gets bigger -he will be more reserved with his smiles. One thing showed his good -taste: he was especially attracted by the two young _miko_, who were -really very sweet and pretty,--the prettiest I ever saw, and he made one -of them smile even during her dance. I have sent a better picture of him. - -I should much rather be in a country-school again. However, so far -as I can see, the same trouble is going to find its way into all the -public schools, and stay there, until some means be devised of removing -schools altogether from the domain of politics by something like the -American system. The American system is imperfect; but it has at least -this merit,--that the leading citizens and merchants of a place can act -as boards of directors, and that the temporary officials proper cannot -meddle directly in school matters at all. Thus the school interests are -taken care of by those most directly concerned in their welfare, and not -by strangers. Each community supports its own school by a general tax. -Of course in so corrupt a country as America the pecuniary side of the -question is attended with some ugly stealing; but that is done before -the money is placed in the hands of the directors, and is done at a -serious risk. In some American States, too, the text-books are meddled -with by politicians. But I think it might be quite possible in Japan to -adopt a system of school-support, which, while removing the schools from -the power of the Kench[=o] to meddle with them, would also establish -something like permanency in their management and method. At present -everything is so unpermanent and unsteady that one feels the tendency is -to dissolution rather than integration. - - Ever very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. I forgot your question about the summer vacation. I have not yet -been able to decide exactly what to do, but it is at least certain that -I go to T[=o]ky[=o], and that I hope to meet you there. Should anything -prevent you from going, I may try to meet you elsewhere. I should like -to see you, and hear some more of the same wonderful things you used to -tell me,--which you will read in that much-delayed book. By the way, I -did not tell you that the publishers concluded to delay it again, on -account of what they call the trade-season. I suppose they are right, -but it is very provoking. Including the index the book makes about 700 -pages, in two volumes. Meantime I have half written a philosophical book -about Japanese life. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, Spring, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Are you reading the _Atlantic_ at all? There is a -wonderful story by Mrs. Deland, "Philip and his Wife." Philip's wife -makes me think always of E. B. - -The problem of merely being able to live. What a plague it is! And the -pain of life isn't hunger, isn't want, isn't cold, isn't sickness, -isn't physical misery of any kind: it is simply moral pain caused by -the damnable meanness of those who try to injure others for their -own personal benefit or interest. That is really all the pain of the -struggle of life. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, May, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... I think there was one mistake in the story of -OEdipus and the Sphinx. It was the sweeping statement about the Sphinx's -alternative. It isn't true that she devoured every one who couldn't -answer her riddles. Everybody meets the Sphinx in life;--so I can -speak from authority. She doesn't kill people like me,--she only bites -and scratches them; and I've got the marks of her teeth in a number -of places on my soul. She meets me every few years and asks the same -tiresome question,--and I have latterly contented myself with simply -telling her, "I don't know." - -It now seems to me that I was partly wrong in a former letter to you -about business morality: I took much too narrow a view of the case, -perhaps. The comparison between the Western and Oriental brain--which -everybody is forced to make after a few years' sojourn here--now appears -to me appalling in its results. The Western business man is really -a very terrible and wonderful person. He is the outcome, perhaps, of -a mediæval wish. For types are created by men's wishes--just as men -themselves are created. The greatest teaching of science is that no -Body made us,--but we made ourselves under the smart stimulus of pain. -Well, as I was saying, the business man is an answer to a wish. (You -know about the frogs who asked Jupiter for a King.) In the age of -robber-barons, racks, swordmills, and _droit de cuissage_,--men prayed -Jupiter for Law, Order, System. Jupiter (in the shape of a very, very -earnest desire) produced the Business man. He represents insatiate -thirst of dominion, supreme intellectual aggressive capacity, faultless -practical perceptivity, and the art of handling men exactly like pawns. -But he represents also Order, System, Law. He is Organization, and is -King of the Earth. The pawns cry out, "We are not pawns." But he always -politely answers, "I am sorry to disagree with you, but I find it -expedient for our mutual interest to consider you pawns; besides, I have -no time to argue the matter. If you think you are not pawns, you must -show the faculty of Organization." - -The tyranny of the future must be that of Organization: the monopoly, -the trust, the combination, the associated company--representing -supremely perfect mathematical unification of Law, Order, and System. -Much more powerful than the robber-baron, or Charlemagne, or Barbarossa, -these are infinitely less human,--having no souls, etc. (What would -be the use of souls!--souls only waste time.) Business is exact and -dangerous and powerful like a colossal dynamo: it is the extreme of -everything men used to pray for,--and it is _not_ what they did _not_ -pray for. Perhaps they would like the robber-baron better. - -We little petty outsiders--the gnats hovering about life--feel the world -is changing too quickly: all becoming methodical as an abacus. There -isn't any more room for us. Competition is of no use. Law, Order, and -System fill the places without consulting us,--the editorial desks, the -clerkships, the Government posts, the publishers' offices, the pulpits, -the professorships, the sinecures as well as the tough jobs. Where a -worker is unnecessary, a pawn is preferred. (Oh, for a lodge in some -vast wilderness!--provided with a good table and a regular supply of -reading from Murray's circulating library!) One thing is dead sure: in -another generation there can be no living by dreaming and scheming of -art: only those having wealth can indulge in the luxury of writing books -for their own pleasure.... - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, May, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--So far from your letters not being interesting, -they are always full of interest--first, simply because they are _your_ -letters; secondly, because they tell the evolution of you--showing -how, after all, we are made by the eternal forces. That you become a -business man, in every sense of the word, is inevitable. It would be -wrong if you did not. It would be wrong not to love your profession. The -evil of becoming a business man exists only for small men--dries small -men up. Surely you are not small! There is nothing to regret--except -perhaps a temporary darkness which may yield to enormous light later on. -Some would say to you, "Always keep one little place in your heart from -hardening." I would say nothing of the kind now: I think you are too -large to be talked to in that way. - -[Illustration] - -Suppose I try to illustrate by reference to the scope of human thinking -in general. Ethical theology might be represented then as an inverted -pyramid,--thus [Illustration: inverted triangle]; hard, skeptical -science by a larger figure, pressing it down; the highest philosophy -by a circle,--something like this figure. The largest thought accepts -all, surrounds all, absorbs all,--like light itself. The ugly and the -beautiful, the ignorant and the wise, the virtuous and the vile,--all -come within its recognition; nature and sins as well as societies and -clubs,--prisons and churches, brothels and houses. The very duties of -observation forced upon you compel two things: the study of all moral -and material details; the study of all combinations and wholes. And the -larger the grasp of the whole the larger must become your power and -value; for you will have to see eternal laws working down out of the -unknown and thereafter ramifying and inter-ramifying into innumerable -actions, reactions, disintegrations, and crystallizations. The horrible -thing about business, men say, is that it considers men as pawns. But if -your sight becomes large enough,--if your thought widens enough,--you -_must_ look upon men as pawns. To be a brother to all you cannot. To be -a friend to many you cannot. You become the agent--not of the Commercial -Union Assurance Co. only,--but the special agent of infinite laws; and -if you act efficiently in that capacity, you cannot do very wrong. The -Cosmos will be responsible for you. - -The business man to-day is the king of the earth; merchants and bankers -are the rulers, and will for all time be, while industrialism continues -necessary. They seek and win power, and all the good things of life; -they also prevent others from getting either. They may not be poets, -philosophers, didactic teachers, artists; but their mental organization -is undoubtedly the highest,--because its achievements represent the -mastery of the highest difficulties, the deepest problems, the most -intricate riddles. Certainly this higher organization is obtained -at a heavy cost in the majority of cases. The emotions dry up in -the evolution of it, and the moral sense weakens. But because this -must happen in the majority of cases when any _new_ faculty is being -developed, it is far from happening in all. The man whose vision is vast -enough can scarcely do more evil than a god. He cannot injure his world -voluntarily without suffering from his own action. He must study his -world as a naturalist his ant-hill. And even as a God he must feel the -ultimate evil and good is not of him; but is being forever viewlessly -woven in Shadow by the Fates of the Infinite,--whose distaff twists the -thread of his own life, and whose will guides his own courses. - -The great desire would be for the combination of emotion with knowledge, -of philosophy with mathematics, of Plato with a Napoleon, or Spinoza -with a Gould. This will come. Now it is very rare.... - -You might reply, "In the present order of things the combination would -ruin the working-power of the man. The Gould could not act the Gould if -combined with the Spinoza,--nor could the Napoleon _se foule de la vie -d'un million d'hommes_ if crossed with a Plato." - -I would answer, "Not in the elder generation, but why not to-day? If -the moral laws that in a Spinoza would have checked a Gould, or in a -Plato checked a Napoleon, were essentially limited in other years, are -they so to-day? If the two philosophers had had larger horizons of -thinking, would they have recognized a tether,--or would they not rather -have viewed themselves as mere force-atoms in an infinite electric -stream? Are there not now recognitions of laws transcending all human -ethics?--laws of which Goethe threw out such weird suggestions?--and -must not business, from its very nature, drift into the knowledge of -these laws?" - -To-day, it is true, the highest possible type of business man would -have to follow the small policy of the majority. But certainly he can -be like one of those compound double-engines,--whereof the best half is -kept idle in reserve,--always oiled and speckless and ready for rare -emergencies or opportunities. If something within you regrets something -else that is passing away, that need not be any alarming sign. The mere -fact that the regret exists, indicates higher possibilities. Don't you -remember Emerson's extraordinary lines,-- - - "Though thou love her as thyself-- - As a self of purer clay,-- - Though her parting dim the day - Stealing grace from all alive,-- - _Heartily know, - When half-gods go - The Gods arrive!_" - -The dear little psyche is going? Well, let her go! Regret her a -little--that is sweet and good. Feel lonesome for her awhile. Wait. Then -make yourself a new soul, large enough to wrap round the whole world, -like the Æther. - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - KUMAMOTO, 1894. - -DEAR PAGE,--Though I never hear from you directly, the _T.-D._ brings -me occasionally very emphatic proof that I am not forgotten, and am -perhaps forgiven. So I venture a line or two, hoping you will not show -the letter to anybody. - -I told you some years ago I was married; but I did not tell you I had -a son,--who is, of course, dearer than my own life to me. Curiously, -he is neither like his mother nor like me: he takes after some English -ancestor,--for he is grey-eyed, fair-haired (curly chestnut), and -wonderfully strong: he is going, if he lives, to be a remarkably -powerful man; and, I hope, a more sensible man than his foolish dad. - -Well, now two perils menace me. First, the immense reaction of -Japan,--reasserting her individuality against all foreign influence, -which has resulted in the discharge of most of the high-paid foreign -employees; secondly, the war with China. The Japanese--essentially a -fighting race, as Bantams are--will probably win the battles every -time; but if China be in dead, bitter earnest, _she_ will win the -war. (Probably her chances will be snatched from her by foreign -intervention.) But whatever be the end of this enormous complication, -Japan is going to empty her treasury. The chances for Government -employees are dwindling: my contract runs only till March, and the -chances are 0. - -Of course, I can peg along somehow,--getting odd jobs from newspapers, -etc., doing a little teaching of English, French, or Spanish. I can't -help thinking I would do better to go abroad--especially at a time when -every American 100 cents is worth nearly 200 Japanese cents. - -Here goes. Could you get me anything to do if I started in the spring -for America? I mean something good enough to save money at. I am past -all nonsense now, and for myself only would need very little. But it -would not be for myself that I should go. I should want to be sure of -being able to send money to Japan, by confining my own wants to good -living and an occasional book or two. If you could get me something -anywhere south of Mason and Dixon's line, I should try to be practically -grateful in some way. I am not in the least desirous of seeing Boston -or New York or Philadelphia--or being obliged to exist by machinery. -I would rather infinitely be in Memphis or Charleston or Mobile -or--glorious Florida. - -Or can you get me anything educational in Spanish-America? I could -scarcely take my people to the U.S.,--but to South America I might try -later on. I am now 44, and all grey as a badger. Unless I can make -enough to educate my boy well, I don't know what I am worth,--but I feel -that I shall have precious little time to do it in. Add 20 to 44,--and -how much is left of a man? - -Perhaps you will think--if I am worth thinking about at all: "Well, why -were you such a d----d fool as to go and have a son?" Ask the gods! -Really _I_ don't know. - -Ever faithfully--or, as the Japanese would say, _un_faithfully,--yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, June, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... We were chatting last time about the morality of -business. Now let me tell you how the question strikes an intelligent -Japanese student. - -"Sir, what was your opinion when you first came to our country about the -old-fashioned Japanese? Please be frank with me." - -"You mean the old men, who still preserve the old customs and -courtesy,--men like Mr. Akizuki, the Chinese teacher?" - -"Yes." - -"I think they were much better men than the Japanese of to-day. They -seemed to me like the ideals of their own gods realized. They seemed to -me all that was good and noble." - -"And do you still think as well of them?" - -"I think better of them, if anything. The more I see the Japanese of the -new generation, the more I admire the men of the old." - -"But you must have, as a foreigner, also observed their defects." - -"What defects?" - -"Such weaknesses or faults as foreigners would observe." - -"No. According as a man is more or less perfectly adapted to the society -to which he belongs, so is he to be judged as a citizen and as a man. To -judge a man by the standards of a society totally different to his own -would not be just." - -"That is true." - -"Well, judged by that standard, the old-fashioned Japanese were perfect -men. They represented fully all the virtues of their society. And that -society was morally better than ours." - -"In what respect?" - -"In kindness, in benevolence, in generosity, in courtesy, in heroism, in -self-sacrifice, in simple faith, in loyalty, in self-control,--in the -capacity to be contented with a little,--in filial piety." - -"But would those qualities you admire in the old Japanese suffice for -success in Western life--practical success?" - -"Why, no." - -"The qualities required for practical success in a Western country are -just those qualities which the old Japanese did not possess, are they -not?" - -"I am sorry to say they are." - -"And the old Japanese society cultivated those qualities of -unselfishness and courtesy and benevolence which you admire at the -sacrifice of the individual. But Western society cultivates the -individual by a competition in mere powers--intellectual power, power of -calculating and of acting?" - -"Yes." - -"But in order that Japan may be able to keep her place among nations, -she _must_ adopt the industrial and financial methods of the West. Her -future depends upon industry and commerce; and these cannot be developed -if we continue to follow our ancient morals and manners." - -"Why?" - -"Not to be able to compete with the West means ruin; yet in order to -compete with the West, we must follow the methods of the West,--and -these are contrary to the old morality." - -"Perhaps--" - -"I do not think there is any 'perhaps.' To do any business on a large -scale, we must not be checked by the idea that we should never take -any advantage if another be injured by it. Those who are checked by -emotional feeling, where no check is placed upon competition, must fail. -The law of what you call the struggle for existence is that the strong -and clever succeed, and the weak and foolish fail. But the old morality -condemned such competition." - -"That is true." - -"Then, sir, no matter how good the old morality may seem to be, we can -neither make any great progress in industry or commerce or finance, -nor even preserve our national independence, by following it. We must -forsake our past, and substitute law for morality." - -"But it is not a good substitute." - -"It seems to me that it has proved a good substitute in Western -countries--England especially--if we are to judge by material progress. -We will have to learn to be moral by reason, not by emotion. Knowledge -of law, and the reasons for obeying law, must teach a rational morality -of some sort at last." - -Pretty good reasoning for a Japanese boy, wasn't it? He goes to the -university next month,--a splendid fellow. Later the Government is to -send him abroad. - - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1894. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Many, many best thanks for the excellent photograph of -yourself, and your kindest letter. The photograph brought so vividly -before me again the kind eyes that saw so much for me, and the kind lips -that told me so many wise, good things, and advised me and helped me so -much,--that I could not but feel more sorry than ever at having missed -you. - -Mr. Senke has sent me the most beautiful letter, which I hope to answer -by this same mail. What a divine thing the old Japanese courtesy was! -and how like _Kami sama_ the dear old men who remember it, and preserve -it. Of course Mr. Senke is a young man, but _his_ courtesy is the old -courtesy. The high schools seem to me to be ruining Japanese manners, -and therefore morals--because morals are manners to a certain extent. -Those who lose the old ways never replace them; they cannot learn -foreign courtesy, which is largely a matter of tone,--tone of voice, -address, touch of minds, and benevolence in small things, which is our -politeness. So they remain without any manners at all, and their hearts -get hardened in some queer way. They cease to be lovable, and often -become unbearable. I hope the great reaction will bring back, among -other things, some of the knightly old ways. - -I send a reprint of my last Japanese story. Hope my book will reach you -soon, and will not displease you. Of course, you will find in it many -mistakes--as any book written by a foreigner must be rich in errors. But -the general effect of the book will not be bad, I think. I am now trying -to write a sketch about Yuko Hatakeyama, the girl who killed herself at -Ky[=o]to in May, 1891, for loyalty's sake. The fact is full of wonderful -meaning--as indicating a national sentiment. - -Kazuo is crawling about, opening drawers, and causing much trouble. His -eyes have again changed colour,--from blue to brown, like my own; but -his hair remains chestnut. His upper teeth are well out, and everybody -wonders how strong he is. He has one Japanese virtue: he does not cry, -and keeps his self-control even when hurt. I hope he will keep all -these traits. My whole anxiety is now about him: I must send him, or, -if possible, take him abroad--for a scientific education, if he prove -to have a good head. That will be expensive. But I hope to do it. I do -not think a father should leave his son alone in a foreign school, if it -can be helped: he ought to be always near him, until manhood. And Setsu -would feel at home soon in France or in Italy,--at least at home enough -to bear the life until Kazuo could get through a course or two. - -The foreign community sorrows about the war,--naturally. Business is -paralyzed. Every one feels the Japanese will win the fights. But who -will win the war? That might be a question of money. Japan is daring -to do what the richest country in Europe fears to do--because it costs -so much to fight China. And some of the Izumo boys are out there in the -rice-fields of Chosön. I trust they will pass safely through all perils. -Please send me any news of them you can. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MATSUE, September, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--If ever I must go to America, I hope I can keep out -of New York. The great nightmare of it always dwells with me,--moos -at me in the night, especially in the time of earthquakes. Of London -I should be much less afraid. But in such great cities I do not think -a literary man can write any literature. Certainly not if he has to -stay in the heart of the clockwork. Society withers him up--unless he -have been born into the manner of it; and the complexities of the vast -life about him he never could learn. Fancy a good romance about Wall -Street,--so written that the public could understand it! There is, of -course, a tremendous romance there; but only a financier can really know -the machinery, and his knowledge is technical. But what can the mere -littérateur do, walled up to heaven in a world of mathematical mystery -and machinery! Your own city of Albany is a paradise compared to the -metropolis: you are really very fortunate--very, very happy to be able -to live at home. - -Of course, there is a philosophy of good manners--too much of it, eh? -There is Emerson, all suggestive,--but touching eternal truths in his -essays on conduct, behaviour, etc.; and there is Spencer, who traces -back the history of nearly all good manners to the earliest period of -savagery and perpetual war. (You know about the origin of the bow, of -our forms of address, and of the forms of prayer.) Politeness survives -longest and develops most elaborately under militant conditions, and -diminishes in exact proportion as militancy decreases. That there -should be less politeness in America than in other countries, and less -in the Northern States than in the Southern, might be expected. This -was true as to both conditions: it is now true probably only as to the -first. With the growth of industrialism,--the sense of equal chances, -at least of equal rights before the law,--the abolition of class -distinctions,--fine manners vanish more or less. Nevertheless I fancy -that under all the American roughness and lack of delicacy, or of that -politeness which means "benevolence in small things," there is growing -up a vast, deep feeling of human brotherhood,--of genuine kindliness, -which may show itself later under stabler conditions. All now is -unsettled. It is said that nearly all our _formal_ politeness must -eventually disappear under conditions of industrialism, and be replaced -by something more real and more agreeable,--kindly consideration, and -natural desire to please. But that will be in ages and ages only after -we are dead. There must be an end of all fighting first,--of cruelty in -competition, and this cannot happen until with intellectual expansion, -population ceases to so increase as to enforce competition without mercy. - -The tendency now (referring to what you said about trusts) seems to -point indeed to what Spencer calls "The Coming Slavery." Monopolies -and trusts must continue to grow and multiply,--must eventually tend -to coalesce,--must ultimately hold all. Bellamy's ideas will be partly -carried out, but in no paradisaical manner. The State itself will -become the one monstrous trust. Socialism will be promised all, and -be compelled to work against its own ends unconsciously. The edifice -is even now being reared in which every man will be a veritable slave -to the State,--the State itself a universal monopoly, or trust. Then -every life will be regulated to infinitesimal details, and the working -population of the whole West find themselves situated just as men in -factories or on railroads are situated. The trust will be nominally -for the universal benefit, and must for a time so seem to be. But just -so surely as human nature is not perfect, just so surely will the -directing class eventually exploit the wonderful situation,--just as -some Roman rulers exploited the world. Assuredly anarchy will eventuate; -but first,--in spite of all that human wisdom can do,--nations will -pass under the most fearful tyranny ever known. And perhaps centuries -of persistent effort will scarcely suffice to burst the fetters which -Socialism now seeks to impose on human society;--the machinery will be -too frightfully perfect, too harmonious in operation, too absolutely -exact and of one piece,--to be easily attacked. As well try with -naked hands to pierce the side of an iron-clad. The law, the police, -the military power, religious influence, commercial and industrial -interests,--all will be as One, working to preserve the form of the new -socialism. To seek redress, to demand change, were then sheer madness. -And even the power to flee away out of the land, to dwell among beasts -and birds, might be denied. Liberty of opinion, which we all boast -of now, would be then less possible than in the time of the sway of -Torquemada.... - -You have heard of the Japanese facile victories by land and sea. I -should not be surprised to hear of their winning every engagement, and -capturing Pekin. But what the end will be for the country, who can -say? The whole thing is the last huge effort of the race for national -independence. Under the steady torturing pressure of our industrial -civilization,--being robbed every year by unjust treaties,--Japan has -determined to show her military power to the world by attacking her old -teacher, China. At the same time she has asked and obtained from England -such revision of the treaty as would not only protect her against -the danger of large fresh investments of foreign capital, but would -probably result in driving existing capital away. I cannot think that -the United States will be short-sighted enough to grant the same terms. -For instance, though the country is to be opened to foreign settlement, -no Englishman can hold land except on lease; and the lease, by Japanese -law, expires with the death of the lessor. So that if I build a stone -house, and my landlord die in twenty years after, I must be at the -mercy of his heir, or carry away my house on my back. - -It is an ugly business, this war. It may leave Japan absolutely -independent, as in the days of Ieyasu. But will that be best for her? -I am no longer sure. The people are still good. The upper classes are -becoming corrupt. The old courtesy, the old faith, the old kindness are -vanishing like snow in sun. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, September, 1894. - -DEAR MR. OCHIAI,-- ... I was much interested in what your letter related -about the doves leaving Kizuki, and about the _O mamori_. It is a -curious fact that nearly the same story is told in Kumamoto, in regard -to Kat[=o] Kiyomasa. At the Nichiren temple of Hommy[=o]ji the helmet, -armour, and sword of the great Captain were always preserved. Lately -they disappeared, and some say they were sent to Korea,--to stimulate -the zeal of the army. But some of the people say that in the night -horse-hoofs were heard in the temple court; and that a great shadowy -horseman, in full armour, was seen to pass. So it is whispered that -Kiyomasa rose up from his grave, and buckled on his armour, and departed -to lead the Imperial Armies to glory and conquest. - -Thanks also for the very interesting note about the Emperor Go-Daigo. -You know I visited the place where he lived at Oki, and the little -village--Chiburi-mura--from which he made his escape in the fishermen's -boat. - -What you said about the _mamori_ of the soldier reminds me that at the -_ujigami_ here little charms are being given to thousands of soldiers. -They are very narrow, and contrived so as to be slipped into the lining -(_ura_) of a uniform. - -Thanks for your two kindest letters. I shall write you again another -day,--this is only my answer to one of your two letters; the other I -still owe you for. - -Best wishes and regards to you always. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, December, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--So it was _you_ that sent me "Trilby"--the -magical thing! I never knew till the Spencer came, and Kipling's "Jungle -Book." And the joke is that I thanked another man for the gift of -"Trilby," and the beast never let on. And I wrote a two and one-half -column review of "Trilby" to please _him_. Oh! you rascal! why didn't -you tell me? Love to you for "Trilby." ... - -Glad you liked my first book on Japan. The _Tribune_ essay vexed me.... -The curious fact of the article was the statement about the influence -of the _decadents_ and of Verlaine being "apparent." Never read a line -of Verlaine in my life,--and only know enough of the decadent school to -convince me that the principle is scientifically wrong, and that to -study the stuff is mere waste of time. - -I am writing one article a day for 100 yen a month. Exchange is so low -now that the 100 represents something less than 50 in American money. -And my eyes, or eye, giving out. Curious!--cold seriously affects my -remnant of sight. If I had a few thousand I should go to a hot climate -during the winter months. Heat gives me good vision. Even a Japanese hot -bath temporarily restores clearness of sight.... - -Of course, we shall never see each other again in this world. And what -is the use of being unkind--after all? Life to us literary folk--small -and great--is so short, and we are never in competition, like business -men who _must_ compete--_what_ is the use of meanness? I suppose -there must be some use. The effect is certainly to convince a man -of "fourty-four" that the less he has to do with his fellow men the -better,--or, at least, that the less he has to do with the so-called -"cultured" the better.... - -The other day you told me of some queer changes in your inner life -wrought by the influences of the outer. In my case the changes are very -unpleasant. I can't feel towards men generally any longer as I used -to--I feel, in short, a little misanthropic. The general facts seem to -be that all realities of relations between men are of self-interest in -the main; that the pleasures of those relations are illusions--dependent -upon youth, power, position, etc., for degree of intensity. No man, as -a general rule, shows his soul to another man; he shows it only to a -woman,--and then only with the assurance that she won't give him away. -As a matter of fact, she can't:--the Holy Ghost takes care of that! No -woman unveils herself to another woman--only to a man; and what she -unveils he cannot betray. He can only talk of her body, if he is brute -enough to wish to: the inner being, of which he has had some glimpses, -can be pictured only in a language which he cannot use. But what a -fighting masked-ball the whole thing is! - -Have you read Huxley's views on Ethics and Evolution? They have been -a great revelation to me. They make it perfectly plain why men cannot -be good to one another on general principles without causing trouble -in the order of the universe. They also explain the immorality of -Nature. Cosmic principles afford explanations of--but not consolations -for--individual experiences. - - L. H. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, December, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Of course I shall teach the "Jungle Book" to the little -fellow, when he gets big enough. How pretty of you to send it. I sent -some little prints--don't know if you like them; in an album they would -perhaps interest your friends who have not been in Japan. I shall look -out for seeds for you regularly hereafter. - -About Emerson. Last spring I got a pretty edition of him from H. M. -& Co. and I digested him. He is only suggestive, but wondrously so at -times, as in his poems. As a suggester he will always be great. The talk -about his truisms must depend upon the knowledge of the speaker. Emerson -will be large or small,--commonplace or profound,--according to the -reader's knowledge of the thought of the age. - -My reading out here has been pretty heavy. I have had to digest a -good deal of Buddhist and Chinese stuff, of course. My philosophical -favourites are still Spencer and Huxley, Lewes and Fiske and Clifford. -I made Kipling's acquaintance out here (I mean his books), and told you -what I think of him. Next to Kipling I like Stevenson. But I have really -read very little of anything new. Browning is a pet study still. Somehow -I have tired of Tennyson--don't exactly know why. - -The labour of a mother is something which, I imagine, no man without a -child can understand. We big folks forget what our own mothers did for -us,--and we have no real chance to see all that other mothers do. My -whole family are always caring for the boy: his interest and necessities -rule the whole house,--but the mother!! for a single hour she has no -rest with him (Japanese give the breast for two years)--no sleep except -when he allows it,--and yet it all is joy for her. How they have already -taught him Japanese politeness, how to prostrate himself before his -father the first thing in the morning and last at night,--to ask for -things, putting his hands in the proper way,--to smile,--to know the -names of things before he can pronounce them,--I can't understand. -Angel-patience and love alone could have done it. I want her to wean -him--but she won't hear of it; and the old grandmother gets angry at the -mere idea. It is only in home-relation that people are true enough to -each other,--show what human nature is--the beauty of it, the divinity -of it. We are otherwise all on our guard against each other. I cannot -say how happy I think you are--you can see Souls without armour or -mail,--loving you. That is the joy of life, after all--isn't it? - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I have just written to Mr. Senke, to apologize for delay -in sending my annual contribution--which I had hoped to be able to do as -a Japanese citizen. But this may give me a chance to write again, when I -get naturalized. - -The Governor of Hy[=o]go did a very strange thing--informed the British -Consul that I was to make a declaration in writing, presumably before -the Consul, that I intended to be faithful to the Emperor of Japan, and -to obey the laws. I did make the declaration; and the Consul is kind -enough to forward it. But I believe he is doing this out of personal -kindness; for I do not think it is according to English ideas, much less -English laws, for a Consul to accept such a declaration at all. Indeed, -what was asked was equivalent to requesting the English Consul to accept -an English subject's renunciation of allegiance to Queen Victoria,--and -I am astonished that the Consul, who is a rigid disciplinarian, in -this case allowed me to submit to him any declaration on the subject. -One thing is sure, that others who want to become Japanese subjects -are going to have plenty of trouble. These measures are entirely new, -and quite different to anything ever before exacted--for example, in -the case of Warburton and other K[=o]be residents who became Japanese -subjects, perhaps for business reasons. - -I am thinking of building Setsu a house, either in K[=o]be or Ky[=o]to. -When I say K[=o]be, I mean Hy[=o]go, really; for I cannot well afford to -buy land at $40 to $70 per _tsubo_ in the back streets of K[=o]be. In -Hy[=o]go, I can do better. Setsu and I both agree that K[=o]be is warmer -than Ky[=o]to; but, except for the winter months, I should rather live -in Ky[=o]to than in any part of Japan. T[=o]ky[=o] is the most horrible -place in Japan, and I want to live in it just as short a time as -possible. The weather is atrocious;--the earthquakes are fearsome;--the -foreign element and the Japanese officialism of T[=o]ky[=o] must -be dreadful. I want to feel and see _Japan_: there is no Japan in -T[=o]ky[=o]. But in spite of all I say, Setsu thinks of T[=o]ky[=o] -just as a French lady thinks of Paris. After she has passed a winter -there, perhaps she will not like T[=o]ky[=o] so much. I imagine that she -thinks the T[=o]ky[=o],--the really beautiful T[=o]ky[=o]--of the old -picture-books, and the bank-bills, still exists. Then she knows all -the famous names--the names of the bridges and streets and temples,--and -these are associated in her mind with the dramas and the famous stories -and legends of Japan. Perhaps I should love T[=o]ky[=o] just as much as -she does, if I knew the history and the traditions of the country as -well. - -[Illustration: LAFCADIO HEARN'S FAVOURITE DWELLING-HOUSE] - -You will be pleased to hear that my books are attracting considerable -attention now in England. It is very hard to win attention there, but -much more important than to win it in America. "Out of the East" has -made more impression in England than my first book did. I don't know -what will be said of "Kokoro:" it is a terribly "radical" book--at -variance with all English conventions and beliefs. However, if you and -my few Japanese friends like it, I shall be happy. - -I wish you were here to eat some plum-pudding with me. - -Oh! I forgot to tell you that Finck, who wrote that book about Japan, is -rather celebrated (perhaps celebrated is too strong a word--_well known_ -is better) as the author of a book called "Romantic Love and Personal -Beauty." - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK:--Three books and a catalogue reached me--Mallock, -Kipling, and a volume by Morris--for which more than thanks the value -much exceeding, I fear, the slight difference between us. - -It now seems to me that time is the most precious of all things -conceivable. I can't waste it by going out to hear people talk -nonsense,--or by going to see pretty girls whom I can't marry, being -married already,--or by playing games of cards, etc., to kill time,--or -by answering letters written me by people who have neither real fine -feeling nor real things to say. Of course I might on occasion do some -one of these things,--but, having done it, I feel that so much of my -life has been wasted--sinfully wasted. There are rich natures who can -afford the waste; but I can't, because the best part of my life has been -wasted in wrong directions and I shall have to work like thunder till I -die to make up for it. I shall never do anything remarkable; but I think -I have caught sight of a few truths on the way. - -I might say that I have become indifferent to personal pleasures of -any sort,--except sympathy and sympathetic converse; but this might -represent a somewhat morbid state. What is more significant, I think, is -the feeling that the greatest pleasure is to work for others,--for those -who take it as a matter of course that I should do so, and would be as -much amazed to find me selfish about it as if an earthquake had shaken -the house down. Really I am not affecting to think this; I feel it so -much that it has become a part of me. - -Then of course, I like a little success and praise,--though a big -success and big praise would scare me; but I find that even the little -praise I have been getting has occasionally unhinged my judgement. And I -have to be very careful. - -Next, I have to acknowledge to feeling a sort of resentment against -certain things in which I used to take pleasure. I can't look at a -number of the _Petit Journal pour Rire_ or the _Charivari_ without -vexation, almost anger. I can't find pleasure in a French novel written -for the obvious purpose of appealing to instincts that interfere with -perception of higher things than instincts. I would not go to see the -Paris opera if it were next door and I had a free ticket--or, if I did -go, it would be for the sake of observing the pleasure given to somebody -else. I should not like to visit the most beautiful lady and be received -in evening dress. You see how absurd I have become--and this without any -idea of principle about the matter, except the knowledge that I ought to -avoid everything which does not help the best of myself--small as it may -be. Whenever by chance I happen to make a deviation from this general -rule, work suffers in consequence. - -I think that on the whole I am gaining a little in the path; but I -have regular fits of despondency and disgust about my work, of course. -One day I think I have done well; the next that I am a hideous ass and -fool. Much is a question of nervous condition. But I feel sure that a -long-continued period of self-contentment would be extremely injurious -to me; and that checks and failures and mockeries are indispensable -medicine. - -I read the books you sent me--Mallock only because _you_ wished me to -read it. I suppose it is the very best thing he ever did. How immensely -clever and keen and--immoral! It is a wonderful thing. - -"The Wood beyond the World" astounded me. Its value is in the study of -the quaint English; but you know that such a thing could not be written -in modern English prose very well; and I must say that I feel like -disputing the _raison d'être_ thereof. It is simply a very naughty story. - -Kipling is priceless,--the single story of Purim Bagat is worth a -kingdom; and the suggestive moral of human life is such a miracle! I -can't tell you what pleasure it gave me. Indeed the three books--as -representing three totally distinct fields of literary work--were a -great treat. - -My boy is quite well again, though we were very frightened about him. -He suffers from the cold every winter (you know the Japanese never have -fire in winter), but he is getting hardier, I trust. He is very fond of -pictures and says funny things about the pictures in the "Jungle Book." -I am off to the Southern Islands shortly,--so you may not hear from me -for some weeks. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -Since I wrote you last, you dear old fellow, I've been through some -trouble. Indeed, the very _day_ after writing you, I broke down, and had -to remain three weeks with compresses over my eyes in a dark room. I am -now over it--able to write and read for a short time every day, but have -been warned to leave routine newspaper work alone. Which I must do. - -Your letter was--well, I don't just know what to call its -quality:--there was a bracing tenderness in it that reminded me of a -college friendship. Really, in this world there is nothing quite so holy -as a college friendship. Two lads,--absolutely innocent of everything -wrong in the world or in life,--living in ideals of duty and dreams of -future miracles, and telling each other all their troubles, and bracing -each other up. I had such a friend once. We were both about fifteen when -separated, but had been together from ten. Our friendship began with a -fight, of which I got the worst;--then my friend became for me a sort -of ideal, which still lives. I should be almost afraid to ask where he -is now (men grow away from each other so): but your letter brought his -voice and face back,--just as if his very ghost had come in to lay a -hand on my shoulder.... - -K[=o]be is a nice little place. The effect on me is not pleasant, -however. I have become too accustomed to the interior. The sight of -foreign women--the sound of their voices--jars upon me harshly after -long living among purely natural women with soundless steps and softer -speech. (I fear the foreign women here, too, are nearly all of the -savagely _bourgeoise_ style--affected English and affected American ways -prevail.) Carpets,--dirty shoes,--absurd fashions,--wickedly expensive -living,--airs,--vanities,--gossip: how much sweeter the Japanese life -on the soft mats,--with its ever dearer courtesy and pretty, pure -simplicity. Yet my boy can never be a Japanese. Perhaps, if he grows -old, there will some day come back to him memories of his mother's -dainty little world,--the _hibachi_,--the _toko_,--the garden,--the -lights of the household shrine,--the voices and hands that shaped his -thought and guided every little tottering step. Then he will feel very, -very lonesome,--and be sorry he did not follow after those who loved -him into some shadowy resting-place where the Buddhas still smile under -their moss.... - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I'm able now to write and read a little every -day--not much, as to reading: writing tires the eyes less. Glad you like -"Glimpses," as I see by your last kind letter. Of course it is full of -faults: any work written in absolute isolation must be. It's taking, -though: the publishers announce a third edition already, and the notices -have been good--in America, enthusiastic. _The Athenæum_ praised it -fervidly; but a few English papers abuse it. The mixture of blame and -praise means literary success generally. - -The earthquakes are really horrible. I can sympathize with you. - -The sensation of foreign life here is very unpleasant, after life in -the interior. A foreign interior is a horror to me; and the voices -of the foreign women--China-Coast tall women--jar upon the comfort -of existence. Can't agree with you about the "genuine men and women" -in the open ports. There are some--very, very few. (Thank the Gods I -shall never have to live among them!) The number of Germans here makes -life more tolerable, I fancy. They are plain, but homely, which is a -virtue, and liberal, which commercial English or Americans (the former -especially) seldom are. They have their own club and a good library. But -life in Yunotsu or Hino-misaki, or Oki, with only the bare means for -Japanese comfort, were better and cleaner and higher in every way than -the best open ports can offer. - -The Japanese peasant is ten times more of a gentleman than a foreign -merchant could ever learn to be. Unfortunately the Japanese official, -with all his civility and morality rubbed off, is something a good -deal lower than a savage and meaner than the straight-out Western -rough (who always has a kernel of good in him) by an inexpressible per -cent. Carpets--pianos--windows--curtains--brass bands--churches! how I -hate them!! And white shirts!--and _y[=o]fuku!_ Would I had been born -savage; the curse of civilized cities is on me--and I suppose I can't -get away permanently from them. You like all these things, I know. I'm -not expecting any sympathy--but thought you might like to know about -the effect on me of a half-return to Western life. How much I could hate -all that we call civilization I never knew before. How ugly it is I -never could have conceived without a long sojourn in old Japan--the only -civilized country that existed since antiquity. Them's my sentiments! - -I have not yet been able to read Lowell's new book through. But he must -have worked tremendously to write it. It is a very clever book--though -disfigured by absolutely shameless puns. It touches truths to the -quick,--with a light sharp sting peculiar to Lowell's art. It is -painfully unsympathetic--Mephistophelian in a way that chills me. It is -scientific--but the fault of it strikes me as being that the study is -applicable equally to Europe or America as to Japan. The same psychical -phenomena may be studied out anywhere, with the same result. The race -difference in persons, like the difference between life and not-life in -biology, is only one of degree, not of kind. Still, it is a wonderful -book. - - Ever truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--To-day is a spring day and I can add a little to my -screed. The weather brightens up my eyes. - -I was thinking just now about the difference between the Japanese -_hyakush[=o]_ and the English merchant. - -My servant girl from Imaichi--who cannot read or write--saw you at -Kumamoto and said words to this effect: "He speaks Japanese like a -great man. And he is so gentle and so kind." Vaguely something of the -intellectual and moral side of you had reached and touched her simple -mind. The other day a merchant said of you: "Chamberlain--Oh, yes. Met -him at Miyanoshita. Tell you, he's a gentleman--plays a good game of -whist!" There 's appreciation for you. Which is the best soul of the -two--my servant girl's or that merchant's? - -A merchant, however, has inspired me with the idea of a sketch, to be -entitled "His Josses"!... - -On the other hand it strikes me that in another twenty years, or perhaps -thirty, after a brief artificial expansion, all the ports will shrink. -The foreign commerce will be all reduced to agencies. A system of small -persecutions will be inaugurated and maintained to drive away all -the foreigners who can be driven away. After the war there will be a -strong anti-foreign reaction--outrages--police-repressions--temporary -stillness and peace: then a new crusade. Life will be made wretched -for Occidentals--in business--just as it is being made in the -schools--by all sorts of little tricky plans which cannot be brought -under law-provisions, or even so defined as to appear to justify -resentment--tricks at which the Japanese are as elaborately ingenious -as they are in matters of etiquette and forms of other kinds. The -nation will show its ugly side to us--after a manner unexpected, but -irresistible. - -The future looks worse than black. As for me, I am in a perpetual -quandary. I suppose I'll have to travel West,--and console myself with -the hope of visiting Japan at long intervals. - -Well, there's no use in worrying--one must face the music, - -I am sorry your eyes are weak, too. What the devil of a trouble physical -trouble is!--a dead weight check on will! Still, you have good luck in -other ways, and after all, eye-trouble is only a warning in both our -cases. - - Ever truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, February, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I had mailed you the American letter before your own -most kind enclosure came, with the note from Makino. Of course this -is beyond thanks,--and I can't say very much about it. Since then I -received from you also Lowell's six papers on Mars,--which I have read, -and return by this mail,--and your friendly lines from Atami. - -Just as you suggested in the Atami letter, I was feeling about matters. -There would be special conditions in New Orleans, on the paper of which -I was ten years a staff-writer. I should have to work only a couple of -hours a day in my own room, and would have opportunities of money-making -and travel. There are risks, too,--yellow fever, lawlessness, and -personal enemies. But to leave Japan now would, of course, be like -tearing one's self in two,--and I am not sure but the ultimate nervous -result would destroy my capacity for literary work. The best thing, I -imagine, will be to ask my friend to keep the gate open for me, in case -I have to go. The great thing for me is not to worry: worry and literary -work will not harmonize. The work always betrays the strain afterward. - -You say my friend writes nicely. He is about the most lovable man -I ever met,--an old-time Southerner, very tall and slight, with a -singular face. He is so exactly an ideal Mephistopheles that he would -never get his photograph taken. The face does not altogether belie the -character,--but the mockery is very tender play, and queerly original. -It never offends. The real Mephistopheles appears only when there are -ugly obstacles to overcome. Then the diabolical keenness with which -motives are read and disclosed, and the lightning moves by which a plot -is checkmated, or made a net for the plotter himself, usually startle -people. He is a man of immense force--it takes such a one to rule in -that community, but as a gentleman I never saw his superior in grace or -consideration. I always loved him--but like all whom I like, never could -get quite enough of his company for myself. - -The papers on Mars are quite weirdly suggestive--are they not? Just -how much of the theories and the discoveries were Lowell's very own, -I can't make out--though the papers are things to be thankful for. You -know the physiological side of his psychology in "Occult Japan" is no -more original than the "Miscellany" of a medical weekly. - -By the way, I must point out a serious mistake he makes on page -293,--when he says that the absence of the belief in possession by other -living men is a proof of the absence of personality in Japan. As a -matter of fact there is no such absence. I alone know of three different -forms of such belief--and know that one is extremely common. So that all -the metaphysical structure of argument built upon the supposed absence -of that belief vanishes into nothingness! - -As Huxley says, that man who goes about the world "unlabelled" is sure -to be punished for it. So I can't help thinking that I ought to have -a label. Fancy the man who makes his bear drink champagne seeking -my company on the ground that "Neither of us are Christians." The -Ama-terasu-[=O]mi-kami business first aroused my suspicions, but the -phrase itself was so raw! - - Compañia de uno - 1 Compañia de ninguno; - Compañia de dos - 2 Compañia de Dios; - Compañia de tres - 3 Compañia es (but never for me); - Compañia de cuatro - 4 Compañia del diablo. - -This old Spanish hymn might have been made expressly about me,--except -in No. 3. I should feel more at home with you if I knew you would share -my letters with nobody. This is all for yourself only. Ever gratefully, -with more than regards, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, February, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I never liked any letter I got from you more -than the last--which brings us closer together. I suppose I have often -misread you--being more supersensitive than I ought to be,--and also -finding certain of my best friends so differently soul-toned that I am -often at a loss to understand hows and whys. But it is curious that we -are absolutely at one, after all, on sociological questions, as your -letter shows. Undoubtedly the "coming slavery," predicted by Spencer, -will come upon us. A democracy more brutal than any Spartan oligarchy -will control life. Men may not be obliged to eat at a public table; -but every item of their existence will be regulated by law. The world -will be sickened for all time of democracy as now preached. The future -tyranny will be worse than any of old,--for it will be a régime of moral -rather than physical pain, and there will be no refuge from it--except -among savages. But, for all that, the people are good. They will be -trapped through their ignorance, and held in slavery by their ignorance; -and made, I suppose, in the eternal order, to develop a still higher -goodness before they can reach freedom again. - -I believe there is no point of your letter in which we are not -thoroughly at accord. I have also been inclined to many schools of -belief in these matters: I have been at heart everything by turns. It -is like the history of one's religious experiences. And just as when, -after emancipating one's self from the last mesh of the net of creeds, -one sees for the first time the value-social and meaning of all, and -the moral worth of many,--so in sociological questions, it is by -emancipation from faiths in politics that one learns what lies behind -all politics,--the necessity of the Conservative vs. the Radical, of the -pleb. vs. the aristo. Then, if sympathetic with popular needs one still -recognizes the æsthetic and moral value of ranks and orders; or, if -belonging to the latter, one learns also to understand that the great, -good, unhappy, moral, immoral, vicious, virtuous people are the real -soil of all future hope,--the field of the divine in Man. - -But for all that, when conditions jar on me, I sometimes grumble and see -only evil. What matter? I never look for it as a study. My work--though -"no great shakes"--must show you that. At the end of all experiences, -bitter and pleasant, I try to sum up good only. - -What I said about the Germans you may not have understood. I did -not explain. There is, I think, a particular German characteristic -which has its charm. Accustomed for generations to a communal form -of life--totally different from that of the English--there has been -developed among them a certain spirit of tolerance and a social -inclination essentially German. Also the poverty of their country has -nourished a tendency to sobriety of life, while the causes developing -their educational system on a wonderful level of economy have brought -the race, I believe, to a higher general plane than others. I don't -mean that the top-shoots are higher than French or English; but I think -the middle growth educationally is. At all events a German community in -America or in Japan, while it remains German--has a peculiar charm--an -independence of conventions, as distinguished from the religious and -social codes,--and an exterior affability,--quite different from the -individualism of other communities. Perhaps, however, the friendship -never goes quite as deep as in those isolated natures so much harder to -win. - -The essay by Spencer you will find in a volume sent you by mail, and -sent to me by my American friend. It did not appear in the old editions. -Perhaps I may try the feat some day of a Japanese study on those -lines,--though I must acknowledge that I now perceive several of my -views entirely wrong. I also perceive how closely Lowell reached the -neighbourhood of truth without being able, nevertheless, (or willing?) -to actually touch it. My conclusion is that the charm of Japanese life -is largely the charm of childhood, and that the most beautiful of all -race childhoods is passing into an adolescence which threatens to prove -repulsive. Perhaps the manhood may redeem all,--as with English "bad -boys" it often does. - -I fear I can scarcely finish "Occult Japan," and that I praised it -too much in my late letter, after hasty examination. It strikes me -only as a mood of the man, an ugly, supercilious one, verging on the -wickedness of a wish to hurt. When my eyes improve, I should like better -to see his work on Mars. I don't wish to say that my work is as good as -Lowell's "Soul of the Far East;" but it is a curious fact that in at -least a majority of the favourable criticisms I have been spoken of as -far more successful than Lowell. Why? Certainly not because I am his -equal, either as a thinker or an observer. The reason is simply that -the world considers the sympathetic mood more just than the analytical -or critical. And except when the critic is a giant like Spencer or -his peers,--I fear the merely critical mood will always be blind to -the most vital side of any human question. For the more vital side is -feeling,--not reason. This, indeed, Spencer showed long ago. But there -was in the "Soul of the Far East" an exquisite approach to playful -tenderness--utterly banished from "Occult Japan." - - Ever yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, February, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Thanks for the curious historical envelopes. My eyes -are nearly well: there is still one small black spot in the centre of -the field of vision; but I trust it will go away as soon as the weather -becomes warm. - -I am delighted to know you like the book. A curious fact is that out -of fifty criticisms sent me, in which the critics select "favourites," -I find that almost every article in the book has been selected by -somebody. It thus seems to appeal to persons of totally different -temperament in different ways, and this fact suggests itself,--that -perhaps no book written entirely in one key can please so well as a book -written in many keys. However, the work must be unconscious. If you -are curious about any of the "inside facts," I shall be glad to tell -you. The "Teacher's Diary" is, of course, strictly true as to means and -facts; and the artistic work is simply one of "grouping." The cruiser -at Mionoseki was the Takachiho,--since become famous. Hino-misaki and -Yaegaki ought to contain something you would like,--so I trust you -will peep at them some time. The G[=u]ji of Hino-misaki is my wife's -relative, and the story of his ancestor is quite true. - -As for Japanese words, you might like "Out of the East" better. I don't -think there are five Japanese words in the book. But it is chiefly -reverie--contains little about facts or places. Perhaps you will be less -pleased with it in another way. - -As for changing my conclusions,--well, I have had to change a good many. -The tone of "Glimpses" is true in being the feeling of a place and time. -Since then I've seen how thoroughly detestable Japanese can be, and -that revelation assisted in illuminating things. I am now convinced, -for example, that the deficiency of the sexual instinct (using the term -philosophically) in the race is a serious defect rather than a merit, -and is very probably connected with the absence of the musical sense and -the incapacity for abstract reasoning. It does not follow, however, that -the same instinct may not have been overdeveloped in our own case. To an -Englishman, it would appear that such overdevelopment among Latin races -would account for the artistic superiority as well as the moral weakness -of French and Italians in special directions;--and the fact that even -certain classes of music are now called sensual (not sensuous), and -that there is a tendency to abjure Italian music in favour of the more -aspirational German music,--would seem to show that the largest-brained -races are reaching a stage in abstract æsthetics still higher than -the highest possible development of the æsthetics based on the sexual -feeling. That the Japanese can ever reach our æsthetic stage seems to me -utterly impossible, but assuredly what they lack in certain directions -they may prove splendidly capable of making up in others. Indeed the -development of the mathematical faculty in the race--unchecked and -unmollified by our class of æsthetics and idealisms--ought to prove a -serious danger to Western civilization at last. At least it seems to me -that here is a danger. Japan ought to produce scientific, political, and -military haters of "ideologists,"--Napoleons of practical applications -of science. All that is tender and manly and considerate and heroic in -Northern character has certainly grown out of the sexual sentiment: -but the same class of feelings in the far East would seem to have -been evolved out of a different class of emotional habits, and a -class bound to disappear. Imagine a civilization on Western lines with -cold calculation universally substituted for ethical principle! The -suggestion is very terrible and very ugly. One would prefer even the -society of the later Roman Empire. - -I am sorry your eyes are not all you could wish. Do you not think it may -be the weather? The doctor tells me my eyes will be all right in summer, -but that I have to be careful in cold weather. And the tropics did me -wonderful good. I want to get to the warm zones occasionally--perhaps -shall be able to. There are some tropics bad for the eyes,--lacking -verdure. I have been unable to get facts about tropical conditions -on this side of the world,--except through Wallace. Ceram suggests -possibilities. But one must be well informed before going. Then there -are the French Marquesas. A French colony ought to be full of romance, -and void of missionaries. But all these are dreams. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--It was very comforting to get a letter from you; -for I wanted an impulse to write. I have been blue--by reason partly -of the weather; and partly because of those reactions which follow all -accomplished work in some men's cases. Everything done then seems like -an Elle-woman,--a mere delusive shell; and one marvels why anybody -should have been charmed. - -Of course I did not ask point-blank for criticisms, because you told me -long ago, "Every man should make his own book,"--and, although it is -the literary custom in America to consult friends, I could see justice -in the suggestion. The title "Out of the East" was selected from a -number. It was suggested only by the motto of the Oriental Society, "Ex -Oriente lux." The "Far East" has been so monopolized by others that I -did not like to use the phrase. "Out of the Uttermost East" would sound -cacophonously,--besides suggesting a straining for effect. I thought -of Tennyson's "most eastern east," but the publishers didn't approve -it. The simpler the title, and the vaguer--in my case--the better: -the vagueness touches curiosity. Besides, the book is a vague thing. -Sound has much to do with the value of a title. If it hadn't, you would -have written "Japanese Things" instead of "Things Japanese"--which is -entirely different, and so pretty that your admirers and imitators -snapped it up at once. So we have "Things Chinese" by an imitator, and -"Things Japanese" is a phrase which has found its recognized place in -the vocabulary of critics of both worlds. Your criticism on "Out of -the East," though, would have strongly influenced me, if you had sent -it early enough. I noticed the very same suggestion in the _Athenæum_ -regarding the use of the word "Orient" and the phrase "Far East" -by Americans. For our "Orient" is, as you say, still the Orient of -Kinglake, of De Nerval, etc. But why should it be? To Milton it was the -Indian East with kings barbaric sitting under a rain of pearls and gold. - -Manila was long my dream. But, although my capacity for sympathy with -the beliefs of Catholic peasantry anywhere is very large,--the ugly -possibility exists that the Inquisition survives in Manila, and I have -had the ill-fortune to make the Jesuits pay some attention to me. You -know about the young Spaniard who had his property confiscated, and -who disappeared some years ago,--and was restored to liberty only -after heaven and earth had been moved by his friends in Spain. I don't -know that I should disappear; but I should certainly have obstacles -thrown in my way. Mexico would be a safer country for the same class of -studies,--Ceram ought to be interesting: in Wallace's time the cost of -life per individual was only about 8s. 6d. a year! A moist, hot tropical -climate I like best. The heat is weakening, I know, but that moisture -means the verdure that is a delight to the eyes, and palms, and parrots, -and butterflies of enormous size;--and no possibility of establishing -Western conditions of life. I should like very much to see the book you -kindly offered to lend me. It might create new aspirations: I am always -at night dreaming of islands in undiscovered seas, where all the people -are gods and fairies. - -Of course I cannot know much about it now, but I am almost sure of -having been in Malta as a child. At a later time my father, who was long -there, told me queer things about the old palaces of the knights, and -a story about a monk who, on the coming of the French, had the presence -of mind to paint the gold chancel-railing with green paint. Southern -Italy and the Mediterranean islands are especially fitted for classical -scholars, like Symonds; but what a world of folk-lore also is there -still ungathered! I should think that, next to Venice, Malta must be the -most romantic spot in Europe. - -I see your paper on Loochoo must have been much more than what you said -of it,--viz., that only some snuffy German would read it. Or was the -London report about the paper on Loochoo which I have? (There must be a -wonderful ghost-world in those islands,--though it would be quite hard -to get at: probably three years' work.) - -You can't imagine my feeling of reaction in the matter of Japanese -psychology. It seems as if everything had quite suddenly become clear -to me, and utterly void of emotional interest: a race primitive as -the Etruscan before Rome was, or more so, adopting the practices of a -larger civilization under compulsion,--five thousand years at least -emotionally behind us,--yet able to suggest to us the existence of -feelings and ideals which do not exist, but are simulated by something -infinitely simpler. Wonder if our own highest things have not grown -up out of equally simple things. The compulsion first--then the -sense of duty become habit, automatic, the conviction expanding into -knowledge of ethical habit,--then the habit creating conviction,--then -relations,--then the capacity for general ideas. But all the educational -system now seems to me farcical and wrong,--except in mere dealing -with facts apparent to common sense. There are no depths to stir, no -race-profundities to explore: all is like a Japanese river-bed, through -which the stones and rocks show up all the year round,--and is never -filled but in time of cataclysm and destruction. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Of course send back the Taylor and Pater--if you -don't care for them. I myself was very much disappointed in Pater. -Perhaps my liking for Taylor is connected with boyish recollections of -his facile charm: even Longfellow cannot greatly thrill me now. And may -I make a confession?--I can't endure any more of Wordsworth, Keats, -and Shelley--having learned the gems of them by heart. I really prefer -Dobson and Watson and Lang. Of Wordsworth Watson sings,-- - - "It may be thought has broadened since he died!" - -Well, I should smile! His deepest truths have become platitudes. - -This reminds me that I have wanted to talk to you about a magical bit of -Hugo's, "Chant de Sophocle à Salamine." It is such a striking instance -of Hugo's greatness and littleness. You know it, I suppose. It opens -thus:-- - - Me voila! Je suis un Ephèbe,-- - Mes seize ans sont d'azur baignés, - Guerre, Déesse de l'Erèbe,-- - Sombre Guerre _aux cris indignes_. - -The italicized words make me mad. It is a bathos, the fourth -line--shrieking bathos; while the first part of the verse is like a -Greek frieze. But let us go on:-- - - Je viens à toi, la nuit est noire! - Puisque Xercès est le plus fort, - Prends-moi pour la lutte et la gloire, - Et pour la tombe,--mais d'abord,-- - -(Now for the magnificence!) - - Toi dont le glaive est le ministre, - Toi que l'Eclair suit dans les cieux, - Choisis-moi de ta main sinistre - Une belle fille aux doux yeux. - -What makes the splendour of this verse? Not only the tremendous -contrast,--apocalyptic. It is especially, I think, the magnificent dual -use of "sinistre." How Hugoish the whole thing is!... - -I fear that what I said long ago is likely to come true: the first -fire is burnt out,--the zeal is dead,--the educational effort (one of -the most colossal in all history, surely) having served its immediate -purpose (the recovery of national autonomy) is dead. Hence there is a -prospect of decay. - -Now I should like to protest against this danger in a review-article: -say, "History of the Decline and Fall of Education in Japan;" or, -"History of Foreign Teaching in Japan." Could I get documents?--just -a skeleton at least; of statistics, rules, details, numbers. The -article has been in my mind for two years. And I notice the Japanese -don't object to healthy criticisms at all,--rather like them. They hate -petting-talk, however,--and stupid misinterpretations. I should like to -try the thing. - -I think it is Amenomori who is writing rather savage things in the -_Chronicle_ just now, about the Mombush[=o], and threatens to write -more. There is a something unpleasant in the tone of Japanese satire to -me,--however clever, it shows that they have not yet reached the same -perception of sensibility as we have. Of course I refer only to the best -of them--masters. The sympathetic touch is always absent. I feel unhappy -at being in the company of a cultivated Japanese for more than an hour -at a time. After the first charm of formality is over, the man becomes -ice--or else suddenly drifts away from you into his own world, far from -ours as the star Rephan. - -You will be pleased to hear that I have not yet dropped money. I have -made nothing to speak of, but have lost none so far. By fall I suppose -I shall have made something, though no fortune, out of "Glimpses." If I -can clear enough to justify a tropical trip, I shall be satisfied. - -Malta must be delightful. But I am not enough of a scholar to use such -an opportunity as Malta would give. I should do better with Spain and -gipsies, or Pondicherry and Klings. - -By the way, my child-tongue was Italian. I spoke Romaic and Italian by -turns. In New Orleans I hired a teacher to teach me,--thinking memory -would come back again. But it didn't come at all, and I quarrelled with -the teacher, who looked exactly like a murderer and never smiled. So I -know not Italian. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--About three days ago came the welcome books. -"The Cruise of the Marchesa" it would be difficult to praise too -highly. There are a few touches here and there slightly priggish, or -snobbish,--but the fine taste of the writer as a rule, his modesty as -a man of science, his compact force of expression, his appreciation of -nature, his astonishing capacity for saying a vast deal in a few words, -are indubitable, and give the book a very high literary place. The -engravings are lovely. The other book is an amazement. How any man could -seriously make such a book I can't possibly imagine. It is the most -disgraceful attempt of the sort I ever saw,--absolutely unreadable as -a whole: an almanac is a romance by comparison. Still I found a lot of -interesting facts by groping through it. I should scarcely like to trust -myself in Manila. - -The Marchesa book is a delight, and will bear many readings. The general -impression is that both Sulu and the Celebes are paradises; but that -Dutch order is highly preferable to the condition of the isles under -Spanish domination (in theory). The necessity of dress-coats and _de -rigueur_ habits is the chief drawback, I should imagine, at a place like -Macassar. But the Malayan Dutch colonies must be delightful places. I -fear, however, that as in Java, the Christianization of the natives has -spoiled the field for folk-lore work. - -The Ry[=u]ky[=u] chapters, with the illumination of your own pamphlet, -make a very pleasant, dreamy, gentle sensation. Half-China and -half-Japan under tropical conditions should create a particular -queerness quite different from our Dai Nippon queerness. I hardly -believe that the conditions will change so rapidly as those of Japan -proper. In such latitudes and such isolation changes do not come -quickly. There are little places on the west coast I know of where the -conditions must be still pretty near the same as they were a thousand -years ago. - -I fear, however, my travelling days (except for business and monotonous -work) are nearly over. I'm not going to get rich. Some day I may hit the -public; but that will probably be when I shall have become ancient. I -feel just now empty and useless and a dead failure. Perhaps I shall feel -better next season. At all events I have learned that, beyond all doubt -and question, it is absolutely useless for me to try to "force work." -If the feeling does not come of itself from outside, one had better do -nothing. - -I had a sensation the other day, though, which I want to talk to you -about. I felt as if I hated Japan unspeakably, and the whole world -seemed not worth living in, when there came two women to the house, to -sell ballads. One took her _samisen_ and sang; and people crowded into -the tiny yard to hear. Never did I listen to anything sweeter. All the -sorrow and beauty, all the pain and the sweetness of life thrilled and -quivered in that voice; and the old first love of Japan and of things -Japanese came back, and a great tenderness seemed to fill the place -like a haunting. I looked at the people, and I saw they were nearly all -weeping, and snuffing; and though I could not understand the words, -I could feel the pathos and the beauty of things. Then, too, for the -first time, I noticed that the singer was blind. Both women were almost -surprisingly ugly, but the voice of the one that sang was indescribably -beautiful; and she sang as peasants and birds and _semi_ sing, which -is nature and is divine. They were wanderers both. I called them in, -and treated them well, and heard their story. It was not romantic at -all,--small-pox, blindness, a sick husband (paralyzed) and children to -care for. I got two copies of the ballad, and enclose one. I should be -very glad to pay for having it translated literally:--if you think it -could be used, I wish you would some day, when opportunity offers, give -it to a Japanese translator. As for price, I should say five yen would -be a fair limit. - -Would you not like me to return some day your version of the Kumamoto -R[=o]j[=o], and admirable translation? I preserve it carefully; and have -used some of the lines for a sketch in the forthcoming book. I rendered -nearly the whole into loose verse, but in spite of my utmost efforts, I -could do nothing with the best part of it; I could put no spirit into -the lines. My suggestion about it is because it is a very curious if not -a very poetical thing; and should you ever make an essay upon modern -Japanese military songs, it would be a pity not to include it. So it is -always carefully kept, not only for its own sake, but also in view of -such possible use. - -I find it is still the custom when a _shinj[=u]_ occurs to make a ballad -about it, and sing the same, and sell it. This reminds one of London. -Ballad customs seem to be the same in all parts of the world. - -I shall soon return the books, with a copy of the next _Atlantic_. What -could I send you that you would like? I should suggest Rossetti, if -you do not know him well--for I think he ranks as high as Tennyson. I -have only Wallace among travellers. I have all of Fiske and Huxley and -Spencer and Clifford and the philosophy of Lewes. By the way, have you -read "Trilby"? I have read it several times over. It is a wonderful -book. The art of it escapes one at first reading, when one reads only -for the story. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I warned you not to get Gautier's complete works--so -you have been disappointed against my desire. Gautier's own opinion -was adverse to the publication of his complete poems in this shape. -He selected and published separately those which satisfied him, in -the "Emaux et Camées." (I once translated "Les Taches Jaunes,"--isn't -it?--in the other volume; a bit of weird sensualism quite in the -Romantic spirit.) Gautier's work is often uneven. He was a journalist, -and lived by the newspaper. His life's complaint was that he could -never find time for perfect work: the effort merely to live finally -worried him to death during the siege, I think. Still, writing merely -for a newspaper,--in haste,--without a chance to think and polish,--his -feuilletons remain treasures of French literature. (You are very -unjust to his prose; for it is the finest of all French prose.) His -complete works are worth having--they run to about 60 vols., but they -cannot all be had from one publisher. So he has become a subject for -book-collectors. Sainte-Beuve, like Gautier, existed as a journalist. In -France a journalist used to have literary chances. In English-speaking -countries literary work is still outside of the newspapers; and our -would-be littérateurs have therefore a still harder struggle. (See that -article in the _Revue_. No English prose could accomplish those feats of -colour and sensation--delicate sensation the most difficult to produce. -English as an artistic tongue is immeasurably inferior to French.) - -"Philip and His Wife" was finished in the October number. I know I sent -all the numbers containing it. Mrs. Deland is a great genius, I think. -Her "Story of a Child" was one of the daintiest bits of psychology I -ever read. - -Sorry you deny hereditary sensation. The idea of the experimentalists -that the mind of the newly born child is a _tabula rasa_, and that -all sensations are based on individual experiences, is no longer -recognized--not at least by the evolutional school of psychology, the -only purely scientific school. Spencer especially has denied this idea. -In the life about us we see every day proofs of inherited capacity for -pleasures we know nothing of, and incapacity for pleasures normal to -us and to our whole race. Indeed, I can prove the fact to you at any -time.... - - Faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. I have been out for a walk. As usual the little boys cried "Ijin," -"T[=o]jin,"--and, although I don't go out alone, the changed feeling of -even the adult population toward a foreigner wandering through their -streets was strongly visible. - -A sadness, such as I never felt before in Japan, came over me. Perhaps -your pencilled comments on the decrease of filial piety, and the -erroneous impressions of national character in "Glimpses," had something -to do with it. I felt, as never before, how utterly dead Old Japan is, -and how ugly New Japan is becoming. I thought how useless to write about -things which have ceased to exist. Only on reaching a little shrine, -filled with popular _ex-voto_,--innocent foolish things,--it seemed to -me something of the old heart was beating still,--but far away from me, -and out of reach. And I thought I would like to be in the old Buddhist -cemetery at Gessh[=o]ji, which is in Matsue, in the Land of Izumo,--the -dead are so much better off than the living, and were so much greater. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--You will scarcely be able to believe me, I imagine; -but I must confess that your letter on "shall" and "will" is a sort of -revelation in one sense--it convinces me that some people, and I suppose -all people of fine English culture, really feel a sharp distinction -of meaning in the sight and sound of the words "will" and "shall." I -confess, also, that I never have felt such a distinction, and cannot -feel it now. I have been guided chiefly by euphony, and the sensation -of "will" as softer and gentler than "shall." The word "shall" in the -second person especially has for me a queer identification with English -harshness and menace,--memories of school, perhaps. I shall study the -differences by your teaching, and try to avoid mistakes, but I think -I shall never be able to feel the distinction. The tone to me is -everything--the word nothing. For example, the Western cowboy says "Yes, -you will, Mister," in a tone that means something much more terrible -than the angry educated Englishman's "you shall." I know this confession -is horrid--but there's the truth of the matter; and I feel angry with -conventional forms of language of which I cannot understand the real -spirit. I trust the tendency to substitute "will" for "shall" which -you have noticed, and which I have always felt, is going eventually to -render the use of "shall" with the first person obsolete. I am "colour -blind" to the values you assert; and I suspect that the majority of the -English-speaking races--the raw people--are also blind thereunto. It -is the people, after all, who make the language in the end, and in the -direction of least resistance. - -You did not quite catch my meaning on the subject of inherited feeling. -I did not hint you denied heredity (though your last letter embodies -several strong denials of it, I think). I believe it is an accepted -general rule, for example, that only a child having parents of different -races can learn even two languages equally well: in other cases, one -language gains at the expense of the other. Creoles exemplify this -rule. Toys are related to the æsthetic faculty, to the play-impulse, -to the imaginative capacity. These differ really in different races; -and represent, not individual education at all, but the sum of racial -experiences under certain conditions. I cannot believe for a moment -that an English child born in Japan could feel the same sensation on -looking at a Japanese picture as the sensation felt by a Japanese child -when looking at the same picture. (With food, the matter is different: -English children in many cases disliking greasy cooking, and in other -cases showing a decided preference for fat. Only a very large number of -instances--many thousand--could really show any general rule in the -case of English children born in Japan. The evidence you cite seems to -me a contradiction, or exception to general tendencies.) The psychical -fact about feelings and emotions is that they are inheritances, just -as much as the colour of hair, or the size of limbs; and tastes--such -as a taste for music or painting--are similarly inherited. They are -outside of the individual experience as much as a birthmark. To explain -fully why, would involve a lot of neurological scribbling,--but it is -sufficient to say that as all feelings are the result of motions in -nervous structure, the volume and character and kind of feeling is -predetermined in each individual by the character of nerve-tissue and -its arrangement and complexity. In no two individuals are the nervous -structures exactly the same; and the differences in races or individuals -are consequent upon the differences in quality, variety, and volume of -ancestral experience shaping each life. - -"The experience-hypothesis," says Spencer, "is inadequate to account for -emotional phenomena. It is even more at fault in respect to the emotions -than in respect to the cognitions. The doctrine that all the desires, -all the sentiments, are generated by the experiences of the individual, -is so glaringly at variance with facts that I wonder how any one should -ever have entertained it." And he cites "the multiform passions of the -infant, displayed before there has been any such amount of experience as -could possibly account for them." - -In short, there is no possible room for argument as to whether each -particular character--with all its possibilities, intellectual or -emotional--is not predetermined by the character of nervous structure, -slowly evolved by millions of billions of experiences in the past. As -the differences in the ancestral sums of experiences, so the differences -in the psychical life. Varying enormously in races so widely removed -as English and Japanese, it is impossible to believe that any feeling -in one race is exactly parallelled by any feeling in the other. It is -equally impossible to think that the feelings of a Japanese child can be -the same as those of an English child born in Japan. Amazing physical -proof to the contrary would be afforded by a comparative study of the -two nervous structures. - -To say, therefore, that the sight of a toy--adjusted exactly by the -experience of the race to the experience of the individual--produces on -the mind of a Japanese child the same impression it would produce on the -mind of an English child born in Japan and brought up by Japanese only, -would be to deny all our modern knowledge of biology, psychology, and -even physiology. The pleasure of the Japanese child in its toy is the -pleasure of the dead. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--"The law of heredity is unlimited in its application" -(Spencer, "Biology," vol. I, chapter "Heredity"). "Some naturalists -seem to entertain a vague belief [like yours?] that the law of heredity -applies only to main characters of structure, and not to details; or -that though it applies to such details as constitute differences of -species, it does not apply to smaller details. The circumstance that the -tendency to repetition is in a slight degree qualified by the tendency -to variation (which ... is but an indirect result of the tendency -to repetition) leads some to doubt whether heredity is unlimited. A -careful weighing of the evidence ... will remove the ground for this -skepticism." ("Biology," vol. I, p. 239.) - -Your statement that the "weak person will always remain weak," but that -"the manifestations of his weakness will surely depend on the nature of -the obstacles in his way," is a proof that you do not perceive the full -reach of the explanation. The manifestations of weakness may be evoked -by obstacles, but the nature of those manifestations cannot possibly -have anything in common with the nature of the obstacles. The weakness -being hereditary, the nature of the obstacle cannot change it. - -The case of the Northern nations seems to me direct proof of the -contrary to what you suggest. Olaf Trygvesson and others never really -changed the national religion, except in name,--no such rapid change -would have been possible. The worship of Odin and Thor continued under -the name of Christ and the Saints,--and still continues to some extent -to influence English life. The shaking-off of ecclesiastical power at a -later day,--the protestantizing of the Northern races,--is certainly the -manifestation in history of the same fierce love of freedom that founded -the Icelandic Republic. So with English limitation of monarchical power, -the history of the constitution, etc. So with the superiority of English -and Norse seamanship to-day,--Vikings still command our fleet. The -changes you cite as evidence of the non-influence of heredity really -prove it: they are, moreover, mere surface-shiftings of colour, and do -not reach down into the national life. Variations are the result of -heredity, not the exceptions to it. The explanation of this fact would -necessitate, however, a long discussion on the deepening or weakening -of those channels of nerve-force which are the river-courses of life -and thought. Similarly, growth--of brain and thought as well as of -body--is the consequence, not the contradiction, of inheritance. So with -instinct,--which is organized memory,--and with genius, which represents -accumulations of capacity (often at the expense of other growths). - -I fear you think of Galton only when you limit the word heredity. -Universal life and growth is touched by the larger meaning: Galton's -wonderful books represent merely a domestic paragraph of the subject. -The underlying principles of evolution--the deep laws of physiological -growth and development--involve far vaster and profounder consideration -of the subject. Inheritance is no "fad:" it means you and me and the -world and our central sun. - -My text was plain,--but you have forgotten it. I spoke of "ancestral -pleasure," "hereditary delight." You deny their possibility. The toys -are not ancestral, of course, nor did I say they were,--but they -appealed to ancestral feeling. Why? All pleasure is hereditary--every -feeling is inherited. Why, then, say so? Because in this case we are -considering race-feelings widely differentiated from our own. - -But all this is surface,--the ghostly side of the question is the -beautiful one, and one which you would not deny without examining -the evidence? Perhaps you think that the first time you saw Fuji or -Miyanoshita, you had really a new sensation. But you had nothing of -the kind. The sensations of that new experience in your own life -were millions of years old! Far from simple is the commonest of our -pleasures, but a layer, infinitely multiple, of myriads of millions -of ancestral impressions. Try to analyze the sensation of pleasure in -a sunrise, or the smell of hay, and how soon we are lost. We can only -classify the elements of such a pleasure "by bundles," so to speak. - -It might at first sight shock a strong soul to perceive itself not -individual and original, but an infinite compound. But I think one's -pride in one's good should subsequently expand. The thought that one's -strength is the strength of one's ancestors--of a host innumerable and -ancient as the race--has its larger consolation. And here is the poetry -of the thing. You are my friend B. H. C. But you are much more--you are -also Captain B. H., and a host of others--doubtless Viking and Norman -and Danish--a procession reaching back into the weird twilight of the -Northern gods. - -So much for the fun of our discussion. I won't send the long screed: -it is too full of dry stuff, and on reading it over I find that my -enthusiasm betrayed me into several wild misstatements. - -I am sorry about your cold, and I can sympathize; for I also have been -ill, and my boy, and I find spring very trying. I am all right to-day, -and so are we all. - -Wish I were nineteen years old, and, like Ben, going to sea. As a boy, I -cried and made a great fuss because they told me, "You can't go to sea: -you are too near-sighted." Perhaps I was saved from disillusions. - -You know Frederick Soulié's "Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait." -There was an unconscious recognition of heredity,--before modern biology -had been synthetized. - - Ever with best wishes and regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--On re-reading your letter I find it necessary -to assure you positively (pardon me if I am rude) that you have no -conception whatever, not the least, of the scientific opinions as to -psychological evolution held by Spencer. It is necessary I should say -this,--otherwise the mere discussion of details would leave you under -the impression that I recognize your understanding of the subject. It -is quite obvious that you do not understand evolution at all. You do -understand natural selection,--but that is quite another matter. - -To comprehend psychological evolution, it is first necessary to -banish absolutely from the mind every speck of belief that the -individual can be changed in character, or intrinsically added to, -by any influence whatever, to any perceptible degree. There may be -modifications or increments, just as there may be decrements, but these -remain imperceptible. The race is visibly modified in the course of -centuries--not the individual, whether by education, environment or -anything else. The millions of years required for the development of a -body are much more required for the development of a mind. Could the -individual be really changed to the degree imagined by the soul-theory, -a few generations would suffice to form a perfectly evolved race. - -Education and other influences only develop or stimulate the -preëxisting. There is an unfolding (possibly also a very slight -increment of neural structure), but the unfolding is of that formed -before birth. There are no changes such as seriously affect character. -The evolution of the race is perceptible,--not that of the individual, -except as the individual life is that of the race in epitome. - -Besides emotions, passions, etc., certain ideas are necessarily -inherited. Otherwise mental development in the individual even could not -take place. Such is the idea of Space, and other ideas which form the -canvas and stage of thought. Simple as they seem, they are complicated -enough to have required millions of years to form. - -Evolution includes not merely the shaping and modification of existing -matter, but the development of visible matter itself out of the -invisible. The evidence of chemistry is that all substances we call -elements have been evolved by tendencies out of something infinitely -simpler and massless. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -Precisely for the same reason that the majority of men in all countries -live more by feeling than by reason, and that the emotions, which are -inheritances, play a greater part in the individual life than the -reasoning faculties, which need training and experience for their -development and use,--so is the study of heredity of larger importance -in the study of emotional life. And therefore your suggestion that -one factor should not be dwelt on rather than others would be bad to -follow,--first, because all are not equal either in importance or -interest, and secondly because the circumstance related or studied must -be considered especially in relation to the principal factor of the -psychological state which that circumstance has evoked. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--The factors of evolution are multitudinous beyond -enumeration, and no one with a ghost of knowledge of the modern -scientific researches on the subject could hold (as you suggest I do) -that heredity is a first cause and "exclusive"(!) Heredity is a result, -and the vehicle of transmission, as well as the "Karma" (which Huxley -calls it). Degeneration, atrophy, atavism, are quite as much factors in -evolution as variation and natural selection and development;--but the -flowing of the eternal stream, the river of life, is heredity,--whatever -form the ripples take. As I have given some twenty years' study -to these subjects, I am not likely to overlook any such thing as -environment or climate or diet. You cannot, however, get a grasp of -the system by reading only a digest of results--a study of biology and -physiology is absolutely necessary before the psychology of the thing -can be clearly perceived. Now you say you will accept anything Spencer -writes on the subject. Well, he writes that "a child" playing with its -"toys" experiences "presentative-representative feelings." What are -presentative-representative feelings? They are feelings chiefly "deeper -than individual experience." What are feelings deeper than individual -experience? Mr. Spencer tells us they are "inherited feelings,"--the sum -of ancestral experiences,--the aggregates of race-experience. Therefore -when I said the child's delight in its toys was "hereditary-ancestral," -I said precisely what Spencer says, but what you would never acknowledge -so long as "only I" said it. - -On this subject of emotions inherited as distinguished from others, -and from those changes in states of consciousness generally which we -call reasoning or constructive imagination, the definite utterances of -Spencer as physiologist are electrically reënforced by the startling -theory of Schopenhauer, by the system of Hartmann, and by the views of -Janet and his rapidly growing school. Indeed, the mere fact that a child -cries at the sight of a frowning face and laughs at a smiling one could -be explained in no other manner. - -You are not quite correct in saying that Spencer could not obtain -a hearing before Darwin. Before Darwin, Spencer had already been -recognized by Lewes as the mightiest of all English thinkers, with -the remarkable observation that he was too large and near to be -justly estimated even in his lifetime. Darwin did much, of course, to -illuminate one factor of evolution; but I need hardly say that one -factor, though the most commonly identified with evolution, is but one -of myriads. Natural selection can explain but a very small part of -the thing. The colossal brain which first detected the necessity of -evolution as a cosmic law,--governing the growth of a solar system as -well as the growth of a gnat,--the brain of Spencer, discerned that law -by pure mathematical study of the laws of force. And the work of the -Darwins and Huxleys and Tyndalls is but detail--small detail--in that -tremendous system which has abolished all preëxisting philosophy and -transformed all science and education. - -I need scarcely say, however, that I should not be able, as a literary -dreamer, to derive the inspiration needed from Spencer alone: he is best -illuminated, I think, by the aid of Schopenhauer and the new French -school which considers the so-called individual as really an infinite -multiple. These men have said nothing of value which Spencer has not -said much better scientifically,--but they are infinitely suggestive -when they happen to coincide with him. So, after a fashion, is the -Vedantic philosophy (much more so than Buddhism), and so also some few -dreams of the old Greek schools. - -Your criticisms also show that you take me as confusing changes -of relation of integrated states of consciousness with inherited -integrations of emotional feeling. These are absolutely distinct. But -don't think that I pretend to be invariably a state of facts: without -theory, a very large part of life's poetry could never be adequately -uttered. - -I knew that the music of the "_Kimi ga yo_" was new,--though I did not -know the story of the German bandmaster. But I did not know that the -words once had no reference to the Emperor. I was more careful, however, -than you give me credit for,--since I wrote only "the syllables made -sacred by the reverential love of a century of generations," which, -allowing for poetical exaggeration, seems to be all right anyhow, even -if the words did not refer to the Emperor. Of course the implication to -the foreign reader would, however, be wrong. - -Still, on the subject of loyalty, I cannot see that the existence of -the feeling as inborn is invalidated by the fact of transference. -The feeling is the thing,--not the object, not the Emperor nor the -Daimy[=o],--which, I imagine, must have survived all the changes. -Trained from the time of the gods to obedience and loyalty to somebody, -the feeling of the military classes would not have been instantly -dissipated or annihilated by the change of government, but simply -transferred. Indeed, that strikes me as having been what the Government -worked for. It could not afford to ignore or throw away so enormous -a source of power as the inherited feeling of the race offered, and -attempted (I think very successfully) to transfer it to the Emperor. The -fact in no way affects the truth or falsehood of the sketch "Y[=u]ho." - -Your criticism is only a re-denial of inherited feeling as a possibility. - - Ever very truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - APRIL, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Excuse me if I don't reply more fully to your letter, -because my eyes are a little tired. I can only say I wish I were sick, -somewhere near you: then perhaps you would come and see me, and talk -more of these queer things. You would not find the time heavy. For the -subject is a romance. - -In order to convey by a diagram any picture-idea of what heredity means, -one should have to draw a series of inverted cone-figures representing -a reticulation of millions of cross-lines. This could only be done well -under a microscope, and on a very limited scale. Because the thing goes -by arithmetical progression. The individual is the product of 2, the 2 -of 4, the 4 of 8, the 8 of 16--well, you know the tale of the smith who -offered to shoe a horse with 32 nails, to receive 1 cent on the first -nail, and to double the sum upon every nail! The enormity of inheritance -is at once apparent. But to produce another individual, another life is -needed, which represents the superimposition in the child of another -infinitely complex inheritance. The fact is only worth stating as -suggesting that under normal circumstances the child would necessarily -represent an increment. He should receive not only the experience of his -father's race, but all that of his mother's race superimposed upon it. -The fact that he does very nearly do so is evidenced by the reappearance -in his descendants of parental traits always invisible in himself. Mere -multiplication ought therefore to account for a larger mental growth and -progress than exists or could ever exist. - -Why doesn't it? Simply because in the brain the same selective -process goes on as in the vegetable world. As out of 10,000,000 -seeds scarcely one survives: so out of a million mental impressions -scarcely one survives. Indeed, not so many. For the inheritance -is of repetitions,--rarely of single impressions. It is only when -an impression has been repeated times innumerable that it becomes -transmissible,--that it affects the cerebral structure so as to -become organic memory. The inheritance is of a very compound nature, -therefore,--requiring either enormous time for development, or enormous -experience. There is reason to believe, however, that in the case of -very highly organized brains,--such as those of the modern musician, -linguist, or mathematician,--the multiple experiences of even one -lifetime may produce structural modifications capable of transmission. -This is not the case except in men as much larger than common men as -Fuji is larger than an ant-hill. And the reason is that such a brain can -daily receive billions of impressions that common minds cannot receive -in a whole lifetime. The thinking is of the constructive character,--the -most highly complex form possible; and the extreme sensitiveness of the -structures renders habitual conceptions which represent combinations of -conscious states never entered into before. Measured by mere difference -of force, the brain of the mathematician is to the brain of the ordinary -man as the most powerful dynamo to the muscles of an ant. - -Happily for mankind, not only is inheritance something more than -repetition, it is also something less than repetition. Between these two -extremes of plus and minus the physiology of mental activities in any -lifetime represents a fierce struggle for the survival of the best or -worst. Here is where the environment comes in,--determining which of a -million tendencies shall have freest play or least play. According to -circumstances the impulses of the dead are used or neglected. The more -used, the more powerful their active potentialities, and the more apt -to increase by transmission. But their vitality is racial--measurable -only by millions of years. They may lie dormant for twenty centuries, -and be suddenly called into being again--sinister and monstrous-seeming, -because no longer in harmony with the age. (Here is the point of the -selective process.) - -Here comes in the consideration of a very terrible possibility. Suppose -we use integers instead of quintillions or centillions, and say that -an individual represents by inheritance a total of 10--5 of impulses -favourable to social life, 5 of the reverse. (Such a balance would -really occur in many cases.) The child inherits, under favourable -conditions, the father's balance plus the maternal balance of 9,--four -of the number being favourable. We have then a total which becomes -odd, and the single odd number gives preponderance to an accumulation -of ancestral impulse incalculable for evil. It would be like a pair -of scales, each holding a mass as large as Fuji. If the balance were -absolutely perfect, the weight of one hair would be enough to move -a mass of millions of tons. Here is your antique Nemesis awfully -magnified. Let the individual descend below a certain level, and -countless dead suddenly seize and destroy him,--like the Furies. - -In all cases, however, except those of the very highest forms of -mental activity, the psychological life consists of repetitions,--not -of originalities. And environment, chance, etc., simply influence the -extent and volume of the repetitions. In the case of constructive -imagination, on the other hand, there are totally new combinations made -independently of environment or circumstances: there is almost creation, -and in certain cases absolute faculty of prediction. Instance the case -of the mathematician who, without having ever seen the Iceland Spar, -but knowing its qualities, said: "Cut it at such an angle, and you will -see a coloured circle." They cut it, and the circle was seen for the -first time by human eyes. - -Properly, however, there is no such thing as an individual, but only -a combination,--one balance of an infinite sum. The charm of a very -superior man or woman is the ghostliest of all conceivable experiences. -For the man or woman in question can in a single evening become fifty, a -hundred, two hundred different people--not in fancy, but in actual fact. -Here the character of the ancestral experience has been so high and rare -that a different part of the race's mental life is instantly resurrected -at will to welcome and charm, or to master and repel, the various sorts -of character encountered, haphazard, in the salon of the aristocratic -milieu. - -It would be natural to ask: If the emotions and passions are -inheritances, why are not these higher faculties inherited en masse -as well? Because feeling is infinitely older than thinking, developed -millions of years before thinking. Also because the reasoning powers -have been grown out of the feelings--as trees from soil. Those forms of -consciousness most connected with the animal life of the race are, of -course, the first to develop, and the first to become transmissible. -But the time may come when higher faculties will be also similarly -transmissible. - -Taking the highest possible form of human thought,--a mathematical -concept,--and analyzing it, we find a whole volume is required for the -mere statement of the analysis. The flash of the thought took less than -a second; to write all the thinking it involved requires years. We take -it to pieces by bundles of concepts and bundles of experiences,--which -are changes in relations of compound states of consciousness. The -relations of those states of consciousness are resolvable into simpler -ones, and those into simpler, and at last we come down to mere -perceptions, and the perceptions are separated into ideas, and the ideas -into compound sensations, and the compound sensations into sensations -simple as those of the am[oe]ba, or the humblest protozoa. - -Thus we can also trace up the history of any thought from the state -of mere animalcular sensation. The highest thought is resolvable into -infinite compounds of such sensations. Beyond that we cannot go. The -Universe may be sentient, but we don't know it. All we know is sensation -and combinations of sensations in the brain. The highest spiritual -sentiment is based upon the lowest animal sensations. But what is -sensation? No one can tell. On this subject very awful discoveries are -perhaps awaiting us. - -Now heredity is the most wonderful thing of all things, because it is -utterly incomprehensible. - -A mathematical calculation has established beyond all question the fact -that the number of ultimate units in a sperm-cell and germ-cell combined -is totally insufficient to account for the number of impressions and -tendencies transmitted--supposing a change in the ultimate units -possible. Therefore in order to have a working theory, we are obliged -to use the term polarity,--which only means physical tendency to -relationships. But the mystery of the transmission of the impulse -remains just as far away as ever. - -Of course I can't agree with you as to the statement of culture from -outside, except in the poetical sense. Scientifically the culture -movement is internal,--the responses of innumerable dead to exterior -influence,--the weirdest resurrections of buried faculties. - -As for evolution being caused by outer influences, I think the idea -leads to misconception of an intelligent power working and watching -things. We have no need of such a theory. Pain is the chief mental -factor. The elements of life are remarkable in being chemically -unstable,--astonishingly unstable, and the mere working of the -universal forces on such elements quite sufficiently accounts for all -changes. But the fact that there is no line between life and not-life, -no line between the animal and vegetable world, no line between the -visible and invisible, no assurance that matter has any existence -in itself--that is a very awful truth. It is otherwise incorrect to -think of evolution being caused by outer influences, because the inner -forces are the really direct ones,--answering to the outer. Moreover, -the thing evolved, and the power evolving, and the forces internal and -external,--the visible and the non-visible,--are (so far as human reason -permits us to judge) all one and the same. We know only phenomena; and -modern thought recognizes more and more the Indian thought that the -Supreme Brahma is only playing a chess game with himself. Absolutely -we know only forces--pure ghostliness. The individual substance is -but a force combination,--its changes are force combinations,--the -powers outside are but force combinations,--the universe is a force -combination--and we can know nothing more than vibrations. - - Ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. I forgot to notice your statement--"not through the physical fact -of nerve-tissue," etc. - -All thinking--all, without exception--is alteration of nerve-substance; -either temporary motion or motion making by countless repetition -alterations that are permanent. Physiologically, "thought" is a very -complex vibration in nerve-tissue. There is no other meaning whatever -in science for "thought." For "thought" is a perception of relations -in preëxisting states of consciousness, and those are bundles of -sensations. What "sensation" is, no man knows. That is the dark spot in -the retina of consciousness. But there is no proof that sensation exists -apart from cell-substance. - -To speak of an "ideal process" outside of vibration in nervous substance -is therefore like saying that 5 times 5 = 918. It is a total denial -of all science on the subject. An idea is a bundle of sensations, and -a sensation is coincident with a movement in cerebral cells. Without -the movement there is no sensation,--not at least in the brain. We do -not know the ultimate of sensation, but thoughts and ideas only mean -complex combinations of sensations impossible outside of nerve-substance -so far as we know. - -Of course if you mean by culture from outside the transmission of -civilization from one race to another,--then there has been enormous -alteration of cerebral structure. Such alteration is even now going on -in Japan, and causes yearly hundreds of deaths. - -The brain of the civilized man is 30 p.c. heavier than that of the -savage; and the brain of the 19th century much larger than that of the -16th (see Broca). A striking fact of evolution is brain-growth. The -early mammals were remarkable for the smallness of their brains. Man's -nervous structure is, of course, the most powerful of all. Cut out of -the body, it is found to weigh, as a total, double that of a horse. For -mind signifies motion, force,--the more powerful the mind the greater -the forces evolved. Perhaps the nervous system of a whale might weigh -more than that of a man as a total mass, but not nearly so much in -parts corresponding with mental differences. Nevertheless the changes -effected by progress in the brain are chiefly visible in the direction -of increasing complexity rather than in bulk. The study of brain-casts -promises to develop some interesting facts. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--In one of your recent letters, which charmed me by -its kindness,--though I did not dwell on the pleasure given me, because -I was so immediately occupied in discussing my psychical hobby,--you -asked me: "How could I expect to hit the public more than I have done?" - -Well, not with a book on Japan, perhaps; but I must do better some day -with something, or acknowledge myself a dead failure. I really think I -have stored away in me somewhere powers larger than those I have yet -been able to use. Of course I don't mean that I have any hidden wisdom, -or anything of that sort; but I believe I have some power to reach the -public emotionally, if conditions allow. - -One little story which would never die, might suffice,--or a volume of -little stories. Stories, fiction: that is all the public care about. -Not essays, however clever,--nor vagaries, nor travels,--but stories -about something common to all life under the sun. And this is just the -very hardest of all earthly things to do. I might write an essay on some -topic of which I am now quite ignorant,--by studying the subject for the -necessary time. But a story cannot be written by the help of study at -all: it must come from outside. It must be a "sensation" in one's own -life,--and not peculiar to any life or any place or time. - -I have been studying the "will" and "shall" carefully, and think that -I shall be able to avoid serious mistakes hereafter. It is difficult, -however, for me to get the "instantaneous sense"--so to speak--of their -correct use. The line between "intention" and "future sequence" I can't -well define. - -I can't help fearing that what you mean by "justice and temperateness" -in writing means that you want me to write as if I were you, or at least -to measure sentence or thought by your standard. This, of course, would -render frank correspondence impossible,--as it does even now to some -extent. If I write well of a thing one day, and badly another--I expect -my friend to discern that both impressions are true, and solve the -contradiction--that is, if my letters are really wanted. For absolute -"justice and temperateness," one can find them in the pages of Herbert -Spencer--but you would then discern that even _la raison peut fatiguer -à la longue_. I should suppose the interest of letters not to be in the -text, but in the writer. Am I wrong? - - L. H. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--In writing to you, of course, I've not been writing -a book--but simply setting down the thoughts and feelings of the moment -as they come. I write a book exactly the same way; but all this has to -be smoothed, ordinated, corrected, toned over twenty times before a page -is ready. It strikes me, however, that the first raw emotion or fancy, -which is the base of all, has its value between men who understand -each other. You, on the other hand,--differently constituted,--write -a letter as you would write a book. You collect and mould the thought -instinctively and perhaps unconsciously before setting it on paper. - -I'm not quite such an American radical as you think in consequence; -for I confess to a belief in the value of aristocracies--a very strong -belief. On the other hand, the reality of the thing to the man is -its relation to him personally. Don't you think your comfort in all -sorts and conditions may be due to your personal independence of those -sorts and conditions? It is like Rufz's statement that "the first -relations between men are delicious"--so long as you are in nobody's -way, and have capacity to please, you have the bright side turned to -you. (Again, there is this question: Are you sure the side you see -and like is not the artificial side? I don't say it is, but there are -possibilities.) My own dislike of mercantile people in all countries -is based upon experiences of the contrary sort. But how can men, -trained from childhood to watch for and to take all possible advantage -of human weakness, remain a morally superior class. That they don't, -needs no argument; and that the poorest people in all countries are -the most moral and self-sacrificing needs no argument either. Both are -acknowledged and indisputable facts in sociology,--in the study of -civilized races, at least. When to this marrow-bred sense of morality is -superadded the courtesy you yourself in a former letter declared without -parallel, I see nothing extravagant in the statement that a Japanese -_hyakush[=o]_ is more of a gentleman than an English merchant can be--if -gentleness means delicate consideration for others, by means of which -virtue no man can succeed in life. - -I should like to know any story of heroism--sorry not to be near you to -coax you for an outline of it. Every fact of goodness makes one better, -and an author richer, to know it. There are good heroes and heroines in -all walks of life, indeed,--though all walks of life do not necessarily -lead to goodness. Indeed, there are some which teach that goodness is -foolishness,--but all won't believe it is true. - -The extraordinary wastefulness of foreign life is a fact that strikes -one hard after life in the interior. Men work like slaves for no other -earthly reason than that conventions require them to live beyond their -means; and those who are free to live as they wish live on a scale that -seems extravagant in the extreme. All goes right in the end, but I have -not yet escaped the sensation of imagining one life devouring a hundred -for mere amusement. Here is a man who spends, to my knowledge, more -than $500 a week for mere amusement. He lives, therefore, at the rate -of more than 1000 Japanese lives. I'm not disputing his right: but in -the eternal order of things the whirligig of time must bring in strange -revenges.... - -A paper read by Spencer before the Anthropological Society, on the -subject of the Method of Comparative Psychology, came into my hands the -other day. It was only four or five pages--so I could read it. What -a magnificent teaching for an essay on Japanese psychology! I may try -to take up the theme some day. There are some terrible suggestions, -however--such as that the Japanese indifference to abstract ideas is not -indifference, but incapacity to form general ideas. The language would -seem to confirm the suggestion. - -P. S. I should like to discuss the "heredity and evolution" topic of -child-feeling, but fear to weary you with my scribble. Indeed I wrote a -long letter, but concluded not to send to-day. You are quite right about -the inherited feeling of the impulse to martial play: the new toy would -represent subjectively some slight modifications of inherited pleasure -as regards colour, form, and noise,--but the inherited feeling remains -the chief factor in the matter. A mask of _o tafuku_ as a toy would not -effect modifications in the quality of certain inherited impressions, -but only accentuate them, and accentuate others innumerable faintly -connected with them. - -Ever, with regret that I cannot write more for the moment, yours -faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I might one of these days get a job in Loochoo, when -the country becomes richer,--and explore ghostology. The ghost-business -must be simply immense: it must be immense anywhere that the dead are -better housed than the living. Of old I felt sure that if the Egyptian -demotic texts were translated, the ghostly side of that literature would -be amazing--for just the same reason. Well, they have been translated; -and the ghost-stories are without parallel. Assyrian ghostology is also -very awful; but we don't know much about their necropoles,--for whatever -those were, they were of perishable stuff. - -As I told the Houghton firm I had a volume of philosophical fairy-tales -in mind, and wanted to read Andersen again, they sent me four volumes; -... the old charm comes back with tenfold force, and makes me despair. -How great the art of the man!--the immense volume of fancy,--the magical -simplicity--the astounding force of compression! This isn't mere -literary art; it is a soul photographed and phonographed and put, like -electricity, in storage. To write like Andersen, one must be Andersen. -But the fountain of his inspiration is unexhausted, and I hope to gain -by drinking from it. I read, and let the result set up disturbances -interiorly. Disturbances emotional I need. I have had no sensations -since leaving Ky[=u]sh[=u]. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Apparently the war is over; and we -are glad,--with due apprehension. Possibilities are ugly. The doom -of foreign trade in Japan has, I think, begun to be knelled. In -twenty-five years more the foreign merchants will be represented here by -agents chiefly. The anti-foreign feeling is strong. I am not sure but it -is just. Only--the innocent pay, not the guilty. - -As for me, I must confess that I am only happy out of the sight of -foreign faces and the hearing of English voices. Not quite happy, -though--I am always worried for the future. I drew the lots of the gods: -they replied yesterday at Kiyomizu in Holy Ky[=o]to: "All you wish you -shall have, but not until you are very old." H'm! Is that Delphic? Can I -become very old? - -No: Kazuo is not a Japanese rendering of Lafcadio. It signifies only -"First of the Excellent," or "Best of the Peerless Ones," but it does -serve for both purposes to the imagination. - -As I watch the little fellow playing, all the dim vague sensations of -my own childhood seem to come back to me. I comprehend by unexpected -retrospection! - -My eye is not yet quite well. But I expect it will last for some years -more. - -Best thanks for that admirable and timely letter of advice. Of course I -shall follow it absolutely. Wish I had the advantage of being closer to -my loved adviser,--for more reasons than one. - - L. H. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR PAGE,--I paid 35c. postage the other day on a huge envelope the -superscription whereof filled my soul with joy. I know it is mean to -mention the 35c.; but I do this on purpose,--that I may be properly -revenged. Opening the envelope I found a very dear letter, for which I -am more than grateful,--_and two pieces of pasteboard, for which I am -not grateful at all_. The promised photo had never been put into the -envelope,--only the envelope,--only the pasteboards. The two envelopes -had never been opened. And the why and the wherefore of the thing I -am at a loss to discern. But as you did not stop sending the paper to -Kumamoto for eight months after I had vainly prayed for a change of -address, I suppose that you simply forgot in both cases.... - -About the little Japanese dress. Now the matter of a little girl's dress -is much more complicated than I can tell you--if you want the real -thing. Do you wish for a winter, spring, summer, or autumn dress?--for -these are quite necessary distinctions. Do you wish for a holiday -dress?--a ceremonial dress?--an every-day dress? The winter ceremonial -dress for a girl of good family is very expensive, for it consists of -silk skirt, _koshimaki_ (body under-petticoat), and four or five heavily -wadded silk robes one over the other,--with _obi_, etc. The _obi_ is the -most costly part of the dress--may run to 30 or even 50 yen: it ought to -cost at least 20. The summer dress is light, and much cheaper. I think -you ought to get a suit for about (yen) 60-70. Of course, no suits are -ready-made. The dress must be made to order; and even the girdle worked -up. To tie the girdle will be difficult,--unless a Japanese shows you -the method. - -If you want only a common cotton suit, which is very, very pretty, it -would be quite cheap. But I suppose you want the fashionable dress, -and that is as dear as you care to pay. Prices may range up into the -hundreds. Boys' dresses--even winter dresses--are not so dear, but -my little fellow's ceremonial dress,--the overdress alone,--cost $27 -without counting the adjuncts. Boys' soft _obi_ cost, however, only 3 or -4 yen; and girls' _obi_ five or six times as much. Shoes (sandals) and -stockings are cheap. The _geta_ could scarcely be managed by a Western -child. The straw sandal (_z[=o]ri_), with velvet thong, is easy and -pleasant to wear. I have heard of _silk tabi_, but never saw any, and I -think they are worn only by _geisha_, etc. White cotton _tabi_ are the -prettiest; and I have heard that white silk _tabi_ never look really -white,--so the coloured _tabi_ would be better in silk. But everybody -wears the white cotton _tabi_, and nothing could be prettier than a -little foot in this cleft envelope. - -The colours of the dress of a girl are much brighter than those of boys' -dresses; but they change every additional year of the girl's life. They -are covered with designs, generally symbolical,--full of meanings, but -meaningless to Western eyes. The finest textures used--crape--silk, -etc.--shrink and suffer immensely by washing; for such dresses as you -would want are not worn every day--nor at school or in play. - -You see the subject is really very complex, and requires years to learn -much about. Only a native in any case can be relied on for choice, -etc. The suits of "Japanese clothes" usually bought by foreigners in -Japan, to take home to their friends, are made to order just to sell to -foreigners, and are not Japanese at all--no Japanese would wear them. -For the man as for the woman the rules of dress are very strict, and -vary precisely according to the age of the wearer. - -For a little girl two years old, you would not need a _hakama_,--divided -skirt. Such _hakama_ are worn by little school-girls, and are usually -sky-blue. They are not, like the men's fashionable _hakama_, made of -Sendai silk. The _hakama_ of a high official may be very expensive. - -I think what you want could be got for about $40 (American money, -including all costs), unless you want a winter dress. It would be very -heavy, and likely to make the little one too warm, for this climate is -not like that of New Orleans. The chief cost is the _obi_,--the broad -stiff heavy silk girdle. - -Thanks for the sweet things you said about my little boy. He was born -November 16th, '93;--so he is younger than your little angel by four or -five months. Mrs. Baker was right. Trust a mother's eye to decide all -such problems! And say all the kindest and wisest and prettiest things -you can to Mrs. Baker for her kindest message.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. What you wrote about Constance is very beautiful. No man can -possibly know what life means, what the world means, what anything -means, until he has a child and loves it. And then the whole universe -changes,--and nothing will ever again seem exactly as it seemed before. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, May, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I received your kind letter shortly after returning -from Ky[=o]to, where I have been living in an old samurai _yashiki_ -transformed into a hotel. - -I am quite sorry your eyes are troubling you; and indeed I should -sincerely advise you to get away from all temptation to reading or -writing for some months. Considering how much your translation of -that ballad signified in the matter of personal kindness under such -circumstances, I cannot but feel pain,--though you will not be sorry to -hear that you made a sketch possible, entitled "A Street-Singer," sent -to H. M. & Co. towards the construction of a new book now under way. - -I have not written you before because feeling under the weather--hungry -for sympathy I cannot get, and have no reason really to expect. It -is only long after one gets credit as a writer that one wins any -recognition as a thinker. My critics are careful to discriminate. One -assures me that as a poet I am impeccable, and "a great man," but that I -must remember my theories can only be decided by the "serious student." -Or in other words that I am never to be taken seriously. The men taken -seriously get $10,000 a year for trying to do what I could do much -better. Poor myself must try to live on "dream-stuff." - -I am sorry you cannot read. But still you are fortunate, because you are -able to live without being at the mercy of cads and clerks. That alone -is a great happiness. I am pestered with requests to do vulgar work for -fools at prices they would not dare to offer, if they did not imagine me -an object of charity. Happily I can get away from them all, and keep the -door locked. - -What a privilege to live in Ky[=o]to. I should be glad of a very small -post there. The Exhibition is marvellous--showing how Japan will revenge -herself on the West. Artistically it is very disappointing. There are -funny things--a naked woman (not a "nude study," but simply a naked -woman in oil) for which the artist insolently asks $3000. It is worth -about three rin. The Japanese don't like it, and they are right. But I -fear they do not know why they are right. - - Ever with best regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, May, 1895. - -DEAR PAGE,--It was _almost_ unkind, after all to have sent the very dear -picture, because it brought back too vividly hours of pleasant talk and -kind words and great projects and all sorts of things which have forever -passed away. But there was a pleasure in the pain too,--for it is quite -a help in life to feel that ever so far away there is somebody who loves -you, and whom Time will not quickly change. You look just the same. I--I -should scare you were I to send you a picture--you would think Time was -much faster than he is. For I am very ancient to behold. - -Well, love to you for the picture.... - -Of news little to tell you that you do not get from other sources. -Japan has yielded the Liao-tung Peninsula; but the nation is full of -sullen anger against Russia and the interference-powers. The press is -officially muzzled; but there is no mistaking the popular feeling. Even -an overthrow of the existing Government is not impossible, and a return -to that military autocracy which is really the natural government of an -essentially military race. If the Japanese house of representatives had -not interfered seriously and idiotically with naval expansion, Russian -interference would have been almost impossible. - -I was on the Matsushima yesterday, the flag-ship. She has few scars -outside; but she must have been half torn to pieces inside. Her decks -were covered only a few months back with blood and brains. She is only -4280 tons; and she had to fight with two 7400 ton battle-ships and -European gunners. She lost half her crew, but won gloriously. (The -Japanese really never lost one ship--only a torpedo-boat that got -run aground.) The people are proud of her with good reason; and the -officers let them come with their babies to look at the decks where -stains still tell of the sacrifices for Japan's sake. - - Ever faithfully and affectionately, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER. - - K[=O]BE, July, 1895. - -DEAR PAGE,--Your kindest letter has come. Of course my mention of the -postage-payment was only playful spite; for I should be glad to get -letters from you upon those conditions. The Japanese P.O. people don't -seem to do things after our fashion just now, since discharging all -their foreign employés. The new clerks get about $10.00 a month ($4.50 -American money), and most of them are married on that! - -No: I do not see the newspapers. The clubs have them; but I take -infinite care to avoid the vicinity of clubs. Sometimes a friend sends -me a paper (the _Herald_, for example); and the publishers sent me only -a few notices this time,--about three, I think. That _Herald_ I saw, -through kindness of a man whom I don't even know. - -I don't know that you are wrong about not ordering the dress just now. -The taller the little Constance gets, the better she will look in one. I -fancy that the summer dress will be best,--it shows the figure a little: -the winter dress, for a cold day, makes one look a little bit roly-poly. -Perhaps a little school-girl's dress would please you;--though it is -not very dear, but rather very cheap, it is pretty,--quite pretty and -of many colours. The Japanese robes bought in Japan by foreign ladies -are especially made for them;--they are not the real thing. No pretty -grown-up American girl would feel comfortable in the Japanese girdle, -which is not tied round the waist, but round the hips,--so that Japanese -women, well dressed, look shorter-limbed then they really are, and they -are short of limb compared with the women of Northern races. Much stuff -has been written, however, about the short-legged Japanese. I have -seen as well-limbed men as one could care to see:--they are shorter of -stature than Northern Europeans or Americans, but they would make a very -good comparison with French, Spanish, or Italians--the dark types. They -are heavily built, too, sometimes. The Kumamoto troops are very sturdy; -and the weight of the men surprised me. But the finest men, except -labourers, that I have seen in Japan are the men-of-war's-men,--the -blue-jackets. They are picked from the sturdiest fishing population of -Southern Japan, where the men grow big, and I have seen several over six -feet. - -But I have been digressing. It was very sweet,--your little picture -of home life with the darling _fillette_. She is much more advanced -than my boy. He is younger, of course; but girls mature intellectually -so much quicker than boys. He is puzzled, too, by having to learn -two languages,--each totally different in thought construction; but -he knows, when the postman gives him a letter, which language it is -written in. I think, though it is not for me to say it, that the whole -street loves him;--for everybody brings him presents and pets him. At -first he worried me a little by calling out to every foreigner,--some -rough ones into the bargain,--"Hei, papa!" But the old sea-captains and -the mercantile folk thus addressed would take him up in their arms and -pet him; and there is a big captain with a red face who watches for him -regularly, to give him candies, etc. We are going soon to another house; -and we shall miss the good kind captain. - -I'm still out of work, and going to stay out of it. I think I can live -by my pen. I am not sure, of course; but I can hang out here a couple -of years more, anyhow,--and trust to luck. My publishers seem to be all -right. - -Infinite thanks about the syndicate project. I can certainly undertake -the matter for the figure named,--for I won't be away more than six -months. I have written my publishers to ask if I can get certain proofs -of a new book (not quite finished yet--so please don't mention it) -early enough to start about October. I should like one provision,--that -I may choose another point, such as Java, in preference to Manila or -Ry[=u]ky[=u],--supposing ugly circumstances, such as cholera, intervene. -I might try a French colony,--Tonkin, Noumea, or Pondicherry. At all -events this would not hurt the syndicate's interests. I should hope to -be back in spring; and I would not disappoint you as to quality. Perhaps -the more queer places I go to, the better for the syndicate. - -I don't know what to tell you about war-matters. The unjust interference -of the three powers has to be considered, though, from two points of -view. The first is, that the anger of the nation may create such a -feeling in the next Diet as to provoke a temporary suspension of the -constitution. The second is that most of us feel the check to Japan -was rather in the interest of foreign residents. The feeling against -foreigners had been very strong, not without reason, as the foreign -newspapers, excepting the _Mail_ and the _K[=o]be Chronicle_, had mostly -opposed the new treaties, and criticized the war in an unkindly spirit. -Besides, there never had been any really good feeling between foreigners -and Japanese in the open ports. Now there was really danger that after -a roaring triumph, without check, over China, the previous feeling -against foreigners would take more violent form. The sympathetic action -of England improved the feeling very much; and really I think the check -will in the end benefit Japan. She will be obliged to double or triple -her naval strength, and wait a generation. In the meantime she will gain -much in other power, military and industrial. Then she will be able to -tackle Russia,--if she feels as she now does. The army and navy were -furiously eager to fight Russia. But Russia has enormous staying power; -and the fleets of three nations stood between the 150,000 men abroad and -the shores of Japan. Of course it was a risk. England might have settled -the naval side of the matter in Japan's favour. But war would have had -sad consequences to industry and commerce. The Japanese statesmen were -right. Besides, what does Japan lose?--Nothing, except a position; for -the retrocession must be heavily paid for. The anger of the people is -only a question of national vanity wounded;--and though they would -sacrifice everything for war, it is better that they were not suffered -by the few wise heads to do so. - -I was sorry about your having to slap that fellow. But you will always -be the old-style Knight--preferring to give a straight-out blow, than -simply to sit down at a desk and score a man every day, unwearyingly, as -Northern editors do. - -I am glad to hear of Matas. I used to love him very much.... - -As to kissing in Japan, there is no kissing. Kissing is not "forbidden" -at all;--there is simply no impulse to kiss among the Turanian races. -All Aryan races have the impulse, as an affectionate greeting. Children -do not kiss their parents;--but the pressing of cheek to cheek is -nearly the same thing--as a demonstration. Mothers lip their little -ones;--but--how shall I explain? The kiss, as we understand it in the -Occident, is considered not as an affectionate, but as a _sexual_ -impulse, or as of kin to such an impulse. Now this is absolutely true. -Undoubtedly the modern kiss of the cultivated West may have no such -meaning in 99,997 cases out of 99,998. But the original primitive -signification of pressing lip to lip, as Aryan races do, or even lip -to cheek, is physiologically traceable to the love which is too often -called _l'amour_, but which has little to do with the higher sense -of affection. With us the impulse of a child to kiss is absolutely -_instinctive_. The Japanese child has no such impulse whatever; but his -way of caressing is none the less delicious. - -On the other hand, it is significant that the Japanese word for -"dear," "lovable" is also used to signify "sweetness" of the material -saccharine kind. But perhaps this is offset by the fact that Japanese -confectionery, though delicious, never nauseates through over-sweetness; -and that the quantity of sugar used is very much less than with us. -One never gets tired of _kwashi_; but plumcake and bonbons in the -West need to be sparingly used. Perhaps we want too much sweetness of -all kinds. The Japanese are in all things essentially temperate and -self-restrained--as a people. Of course, Western notions and examples -begin to spoil them a little. - -It is possible by the time this reaches you that I shall have become a -Japanese citizen,--for legal reasons. (Say nothing yet about it.) If I -marry my wife before the consul, then she becomes English, and loses -the right to hold property in her own country. Marrying her by Japanese -custom will not be acknowledged as legal, without special permission -of the minister of foreign affairs,--but if I get the permission, then -she becomes English, and the _boy_ too. So my marriage, though legal -according to every moral code, and according to the old law, becomes -illegal by new law, and the wife and family--as I really follow the -Japanese code, supporting father, mother, and grandparents--have no -rights except through a will, which relatives can dispute. I therefore -cut the puzzle by changing nationality, and becoming a Japanese. Then -I lose all chance of Government employ at a living salary; for the -Englishman who becomes a Japanese is only paid by the Japanese scale. -Also I lose the really powerful protection given to Englishmen by their -own nation. Finally I have to pay taxes much bigger than consular fees, -and my boy becomes liable to military service. (But that won't hurt -him.) I hope in any case to give him a scientific education abroad. -The trouble is I am now forty-five. I'll be sleeping in some Buddhist -cemetery before I can see him quite independent.... - -I have lost friends because their wives didn't like me--more than -once;--as Chamberlain says, "No: you'll never be a ladies' man." But the -kindly spirit of Mrs. Baker shows even through your own letters;--and -if I can ever see you again, I know that, although not a ladies' man, -I won't be disliked in one friend's home as a fugitive visitor. Say -everything grateful to her for me that you can. - -Good-bye, with love to your pretty gold-head,--and regards to all -friends. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, July, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--In reading Schopenhauer (I believe -you have the splendid Haldane & Kemp version in three volumes: it -is said to preserve even the remarkable sonority of the German -original), you may notice where Schopenhauer failed, only through -want of knowledge undeveloped in his time. While highly appreciating -Lamarck,--the greatest of the evolutionists before Darwin, greater -even than Goethe,--he finds fault with his theory as not showing -proof of the prototype formless animal from which all organic forms -existing are derived. Therefore Schopenhauer insisted on the potential -prototype existing in the Will only. But since Schopenhauer's day, the -material formless prototypal animal has been found; and the theory of -Schopenhauer as to forms falls back into a region of pure metaphysics. -He is none the less valuable on that account. He represents the soul -(psyche) of an enormous fact, or at least a soul which can be fitted -to the body of science for the time being. He has been justly called a -German Buddhist; and his philosophy is entirely based on the study of -Brahmanic and Buddhist texts. The only absolutely novel theory in his -book is the essay on sexual love,--vol. 3 in your edition. There is one -defect in it, but that does not hurt the value of the whole. And then -the splendour of style, of self-assertion, of imagery Huxley equalled -only, I think twice, in all of his essays. Of course Schopenhauer -belongs to the evolutional school; that is the reason why he has -been taken up to-day after long neglect. His work gives new force to -evolutional psychology of the new school. The most remarkable popular -effect of the newer school has not, I think, yet been noticed. It is in -fiction; and the success of a work taken in this line recently has made -a fortune for publishers and author. Unfortunately, poor I have not the -constructive art necessary to attempt anything of the kind--not yet! -Perhaps in twenty years more. - - Very faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, August, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--A delicious surprise,--though one that gave some -pain; for I suffered to think you should have used your eyes to such -an extent for my sake. Mason, too, one day actually wrote me that he -would copy something for me if I needed it (which luckily I had got from -another source): I should be pained to have either of you try your eyes -for my poor vagaries. Please don't think me too selfish;--it was simply -lovable of you, but don't do it again. - -I think I may be able to use a fragment or two effectively: what I want -now to get is the rhythm used in the singing,--and that none of my -people can remember. They said it was very wonderful, but very difficult -to catch: so that it would seem some melodies are as hard for the -Japanese themselves to learn by ear, as they are for us to so learn. -I had the same curious experience at Sakai and in Kizuki; yet I asked -persons who had been listening to the singing for several hours, and -were natives of the place. They all said, "Ah! that is very difficult. -So a good _ondo tori_ is hard to find; and they are paid well to come to -our festivals." But when the woman comes again I shall try to syllabify -the measure on paper. - -I can feel the popular mind in the peasant songs: in the military songs -I cannot. But there is a queer variation in tone used in military -singing which is very effective. The leader suddenly turns down his -voice nearly a full octave, and all the chorus follow: it is like a -sudden and terrible menace,--then all go back to high tenor notes again. -What you tell me about Ry[=u]ky[=u] priests' songs surprised me. You -must have got everything that could be got there in an astonishingly -short time. I sent you the Nara _miko_-songs,--mystical hymns about -sowing, etc.,--very artless. The Nara and Kompira _miko_ are really -virgins. _Entre nous_ I am sorry to say that the _miko_ of Kizuki are -not: but, as they ought to be, there is no use specifying in any public -way. It would be like denying the virtue of nuns in general, because -one or two sisters fall from grace. While the ideal lives anywhere it -strikes me as wrong to insist too much on realism. - -I know you make a collection of everything relating to Japan, so I must -send you a photo of Yuko Hatakeyama. I had it copied from a badly faded -one--so it does not come out well. You are not of those who refuse -to see beyond the visible; and though there is nothing beautiful or -ideal in this figure, it was certainly the earthly chrysalis of a very -precious and beautiful soul, which I have tried to make the West love a -little bit. So you may prize it. - -Some one, thinking to please me, sent me by this mail a large French -periodical, full of gravures porno-or semi-pornographiques, Saint -Anthony and French courtesans and angels mixed up together. I burned the -thing,--astonished at the revulsion of feeling it produced in myself. -(The work was beautiful in its way, of course, but the way!) After all, -it seems to me that Japanese life is essentially chaste: its ideals -are chaste. I can feel now exactly how a Japanese feels about certain -foreign tendencies. I know all about Japanese picture-books of a certain -class--innocent things in their very frankness: there is more real -evil, or at least more moral weakness in any number of certain French -public prints. It strikes me also that the charm even of the _j[=o]ro_ -to the Japanese mind is quite different from any corresponding Western -feeling. She figures simply as an ideal lady of old time, and the graces -cultivated in her, and the costume donned, are those of an ideal past. -The animalism of half-exposures and suggestions of whole exposures -is not any more Japanese than it was old-Persian. Even the naughty -picture-books were intended for imitations, catechism. - -Talking of catechism, I have been thinking of making a Buddhist -catechism of a somewhat fantastic sort. - -"How old are you?" - -"I am millions of millions of years old, as a phenomenon. As absolute I -am eternal and older than the universe," etc. - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, September, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... I am waiting every day for the sanction of the -minister to change my name; and I think it will come soon. This will -make me Koizumi Yakumo, or,--arranging the personal and family names -in English order,--"Y. Koizumi." "Eight clouds" is the meaning of -"Yakumo," and is the first part of the most ancient poem extant in the -Japanese language. (You will find the whole story in "Glimpses"--article -"Yaegaki.") Well, "Yakumo" is a poetical alternative for Izumo, my -beloved province, "the Place of the Issuing of Clouds." You will -understand how the name was chosen. - -If all goes well, and I am not obliged to return to America, I shall -next year probably return to Izumo, and make a permanent home there. So -long as I can travel in winter, I need not care about the weather. When -my boy grows big enough, if I live, I shall take him abroad, and try to -give him a purely scientific education--modern languages if possible, -no waste of time on Latin, Greek, and stupidities. (Literature and -history can be best learned at home; and the greatest men are not the -products of schools, not in England or America, at least: Germany is an -exception.) He might turn out to be very commonplace, in which case all -plans must be changed; but I suspect he will not be stupid. He says, by -the way, that he was a doctor in his former birth. It is quite possible, -for he has my father's eyes. - -In regard to what you asked me about the English literature business, -I think there is no way of teaching English literature except by -selections,--joined together with an evolutional study of English -emotional life, illustrated after the manner of Taine's "Art in -Italy," etc. But such work, combining history with literature, would -involve the use of an immense library, and would be very costly to the -teacher. By the way, I _hate_ English literature. French literature -is much more interesting. What I should most like would be to make a -study of comparative literature--including Sanscrit, Finnish, Arabic, -Persian,--systematizing the best specimens of each into kindred -groupings on the evolutional plan. That _would_ be worth doing; for it -means a study of the evolutional development of all mankind. But such -undertakings, I fear, are for the extremely rich. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, Autumn, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... It has often occurred to me to ask whether you -think other men feel as I do about some things--you yourself, for -example. Work with me is a pain--no pleasure till it is done. It is not -voluntary; it is not agreeable. It is forced by necessity. The necessity -is a curious one. The mind, in my case, eats itself when unemployed. -Reading, you might suggest, would employ it. No: my thoughts wander, -and the gnawing goes on just the same. What kind of gnawing? Vexation -and anger and imaginings and recollections of unpleasant things said -or done. _Unless somebody does or says something horribly mean to me, -I can't do certain kinds of work_,--the tiresome kinds, that compel a -great deal of thinking. The exact force of a hurt I can measure at the -time of receiving it: "This will be over in six months;" "This I shall -have to fight for two years;" "This will be remembered longer." When I -begin to think about the matter afterwards, then I rush to work. I write -page after page of vagaries, metaphysical, emotional, romantic,--throw -them aside. Then next day, I go to work rewriting them. I rewrite and -rewrite them till they begin to define and arrange themselves into a -whole,--and the result is an essay; and the editor of the _Atlantic_ -writes, "It is a veritable illumination,"--and no mortal man knows why, -or how it was written,--not even I myself,--or what it cost to write it. -Pain is therefore to me of exceeding value betimes; and everybody who -does me a wrong indirectly does me a right. I wonder if anybody else -works on this plan. The benefit of it is that a _habit_ is forming,--a -habit of studying and thinking in a way I should otherwise have been too -lazy-minded to do. But whenever I begin to forget one burn, new caustic -from some unexpected quarter is poured into my brain: then the new pain -forces other work. It strikes me as being possibly a peculiar morbid -condition. If it is, I trust that some day the power will come to do -something really extraordinary--I mean very unique. What is the good of -having a morbid sensitive spot, if it cannot be utilized to some purpose -worth achieving? - -There was a funny suicide here the other day. A boy of seventeen threw -himself on the railroad track and was cut to pieces by a train. He left -a letter to his employer, saying that the death of the employer's little -son had made the world dark for him. The child would have nobody to play -with: so, he said, "I shall go to play with him. But I have a little -sister of six;--I pray you to take care of her." - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - SEPTEMBER, 1895. - -MY DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your paper on Luchu gave me more pleasure, I am -sure, than it even did to the president of the society before whom -it was read; and I was delighted with the nice things said of you. -Of course this paper--being a much more elaborate monograph than the -other--differs from its predecessor in the matter of suggestiveness. -To me it is like a graded anthropological map,--shading off the -direction of character-tendencies, language, customs, to the uttermost -limit of the subject. I had no idea how much you had been doing in -the Archipelago--your own field of research by unquestionable right. -If I ever go down there I shall certainly attempt nothing out of the -much humbler line which I can follow: there is really nothing left for -another man to do in the way of gathering general knowledge about an -unfamiliar region. - -There is one expression of opinion in the monograph which I may venture -a remark about. The idea is growing upon me, more and more each day I -live, that the supposed indifferentism of the Japanese in religious -matters is affected indifferentism--that it is put on like _yofuku_, -only for foreigners. I see too much of the real life, even here in -K[=o]be, to think the indifferentism real. And I believe the Jesuits, -who are better judges far than our comfortable modern proselytizers, -never accused the Japanese of indifference. However, this is but -suggestive: I think that should you ever find time to watch the -incidents of common life minutely, you will recognize the Jesuits as the -keenest observers. As for the educated classes, I have also reason to -know that in most cases the indifference is feigned. This will show you -how my own opinions have changed in five years' time. - - Very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, October, 1895. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Kazuo knows your picture, always hanging on the wall by -my desk, and your name--so that if you see him soon, he will not think -you a stranger. He talks well now, but is getting naughty, like his -father used to be--very naughty. I see my own childish naughtiness all -over again. I think he will be cleverer than his father. If he shows -real talent, I shall try to take him to France or to Italy, later on -in life. English schools I don't like: they are too rough. New England -schools are better; especially for the earlier teaching. The systems -of Spencer and others have been much better followed out in Eastern -Massachusetts than in England, where religious conservatism persists -in loading the minds with perfectly useless acquirements. The future -demands scientific education--not ornamented; and the thoroughly -trained man never needs help. I remember a friend in the United States -Army,--engineer and graduate of West Point (a splendid institution): -he was coaxed out of the army by an electrical company because of his -knowledge of applied mathematics. What wonderful men one meets among -the scientifically educated to-day one must go abroad to know. Such -men, unfortunately, do not come to Japan. If _they_ had been chosen for -teachers, I fancy that education would have felt their influence. It -does not feel the influence of common foreign teachers. But, a student -said to me, "We must cultivate our own powers through our own language -hereafter,"--and I think he expressed the sensible general feeling of -the day. - -Ever with kindest hopes and wishes for you, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, November, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your more than gracious flying visit, having set in -motion the machinery of converse, left me long continuing a phantom talk -with a phantom professor across a real table,--which I touched to make -sure. - -Then my wife's delight with her Miyako-miyage, and the boy's with the -pictures, you can imagine,--though not perhaps my own feeling of mingled -pleasure and sorrow. Whatever you do is done so delicately and finely -that I fear I could show no appreciation of it in writing. - -It was lucky that we had returned from Ky[=o]to just so as to be here -for your visit. What pleased me most of all, perhaps, was your seeing -my boy. I have often thought if I can realize my dream of taking him -to Europe, which now seems quite possible, I might some day have the -pleasure of presenting him as a man. - -You wanted a thinking book; and I must confess that is now my own want: -I care only for a novel when it illustrates some new philosophical idea, -or when it possesses such art that it can be studied for the art alone. -Perhaps Lombroso would interest (and revolt) you at the same time: -Nordau is only a new edition of Lombroso, I think--a journalistic one. -I detest his generalizations, so far as I know them through extracts: -all being false that I have seen. Progress depends on variation; and the -morale of Nordau would lead to, or accentuate, already existing Chinese -notions in the conventional world, that all departures from formality -and humbug are to be explained by degeneration. Without having read it, -I should judge the book a shallow one,--much at variance with Spencer's -views on eccentricity and its values. Of the Italian school, Mantegazza -most appeals to me, and would, I think to you--though he is sentimental -as Michelet in "L'Amour." ... - -You think me too dissatisfied, don't you? It is true I am not satisfied, -and already unable to look at my former work. But the moment a man can -feel satisfied with himself, progress stops. He can only move along a -level afterwards; and I hope the level is still some years off. (I see -a possibility to strive for; but I am afraid even to speak of it--so -well out of reach it now is.) But what you will be glad to hear is that -my publishers are treating me well enough. I have up to September made -about 2000 yen (Japanese money), and prospects of making about 4000 in -1896. It is now largely a question of eyes. - -I visited the grave of Yuko Hatakeyama last week at Ky[=o]to,--and -saw all the touching relics of her, and of her suicide: also secured -copies of her letters, etc. A nice monument has been erected over her -resting-place by public subscription; and there was a little cup of tea -before the _sekito_ when I arrived. - -Needless to say that I am asked to send messages which could only be -spoiled by putting them into English, and my wife is ashamed, or at -least shy, of writing what she would like to write if possessing more -self-confidence in matters epistolary. But you will understand without -more words. - - Most gratefully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, December, 1895. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I suppose we have both been very busy--you with the -winter school-term, and I with my new book. I trust you got my last -letter, and that you know how grateful we feel to you for the advice and -help given to Mr. Takaki, and for smoothing matters. We are also anxious -to hear that you are well, and are hoping to see you this coming summer. - -As for the naturalization business, it seems to hang fire.[2] A couple -of months ago, there came to the house an official, who asked us -many questions. What he asked me was not important or interesting; -but his questions to Setsu were amusing. He enquired how long we had -been together--whether I had always been kind--whether she thought -I would always be good to her--whether she would be content always -to have such a husband--whether she was in earnest--whether she -had made the application of her own free will, or under pressure -from relations--whether I had not forced her to make such an -application--whether she held any property in my name. Afterwards -she had to go to some office where she was asked the same questions -over again. Since that time we have heard nothing. I am wondering -if my request (or her request, I should say) will be refused. I -suppose it could be; and I have not been over-prudent, for I did -not reply respectfully to the offer of a place of some sort in the -university--what kind of place I don't know--made through Kano,--and I -think Saionji has charge of the foreign business just now. Perhaps it is -all right;--the delay, however, has its legal vexations:--money-orders -having been made out, for example, in a Japanese name,--a little too -soon. What a funny thing it all is. - - [2] I am not sure if you know this expression;--it is said of a - gun or pistol which does not go off when the trigger is pulled. - -I made the acquaintance some ten days ago of Wadamori Kikujir[=o],--the -memory-man. He is a native of Shimane. I did all I could to please -him, and hope to do more. He gave me an exhibition of his wonderful -power,--and another exhibition to a small circle of foreigners to whom I -was able to introduce him. They were very much pleased. - -I think I told you that "Kokoro" is printed,--that is, in type. I am -waiting only for the proofs. I think you will get a copy in March or -April. Half of another Japanese book has been written, and part of -another book (not on Japanese subjects)--so you will see how hard I have -been working. Also my eyes are very much better. It seems to have been -a case of blood to the eyes; and a doctor told me that if I took violent -exercise I should get well. I did so,--and got quite well. I have only -now to be careful. - -Exercise was difficult at first; but now I am used to it. By exercising -every day, I have kept quite well. - -Kazuo, except for a cold, is all a father can imagine. He talks very -well now, and tries to draw a little. I must get rich for his sake if I -have any brains to make money. My friends in America and England predict -good fortune for me. I am not too hopeful; but I think it is much better -that I hereafter devote all my efforts to writing--until I find whether -I can do well by it. Should I succeed I can travel everywhere, and -Kazuo's education abroad would not be a cause of anxiety. - - Ever with warmest regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, December, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Eyes a little better, and courage reviving. Moreover I -enclose letter showing prospects in a better light. The book is to be -out in spring. - -My boy is beginning to talk, and to look better. He walks now. He has -much changed,--always growing fairer. I shall send a photo of him as -soon as I think the difference from his first chubby aspect becomes -apparent enough to interest you.... - -What succeeds like force?--eh? See what Japan has now become in the eyes -of the world! Yet that war was unjust, unnecessary. It was forced upon -Japan. She knew her strength. Her people wished to turn that strength -against European powers. Her rulers, more wisely, turned the storm -against China,--just to show the West what she could do, if necessary. -Thus she has secured her autonomy. But let no man believe Japan hates -China. China is her teacher and her Palestine. I anticipate a reaction -against Occidental influence after this war, of a very serious kind. -Japan has always hated the West--Western ideas, Western religion. She -has always loved China. Free of European pressure, she will assert her -old Oriental soul again. There will be no conversion to Christianity. -No! not till the sun rises in the West. And I hope to see a United -Orient yet bound into one strong alliance against our cruel Western -civilization. If I have been able to do nothing else in my life, I have -been able at least to help a little--as a teacher and as a writer, and -as an editor--in opposing the growth of what is called society and what -is called civilization. It is very little, of course,--but the gods -ought to love me for it. They ought to make me rich enough to go every -year for six months to uncivilized lands--such as Java, Borneo, etc. If -I have good luck with my books, I'll make a tropical trip next spring. - - Love to you, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--It is really queer, you know--this university. It is -imposing to look at,--with its relics of feudalism, to suggest the -picturesque past, surrounding a structure that might be in the city of -Boston, or in Philadelphia, or in London, without appearing at all out -of place. There is even a large, deserted, wood-shadowed Buddhist temple -in the grounds! - -The students have uniforms and peculiar caps with Chinese letters on -them; but only a small percentage regularly wear the uniform. The old -discipline has been relaxed; and there is a general return to sandals -and robes and _hakama_,--the cap alone marking the university man. - -About seventy-five per cent of the students ought not to be allowed in -the university at all for certain branches. Some who know no European -language but French attend German lectures on philosophy; some who -know nothing of any European language attend lectures on philology. -What is the university, then?--is it only a mask to impose upon the -intellectual West? No: it is the best Japan can do, but it has the -fault of being a gate to public office. Get through the university, and -you have a post--a start in life. Fancy the outside Oriental pressure -to force lads through--the influences intercrossing and fulminating! -Accordingly, the power within is little more than nominal. Who rules in -fact? Nobody exactly. Certainly the Directing President does not,--nor -do the heads of colleges, except in minor matters of discipline. -All, or nearly all, are graduates of German, English, or French or -American universities;--they know what ought to be--but they do only -what they can. Something nameless and invisible, much stronger than -they,--political perhaps, certainly social,--overawes the whole business. - -[Illustration: MR. HEARN'S GARDEN IN T[=O]KY[=O]] - -I ought not to say anything, and won't _except to you_. No foreign -professor says much,--even after returning home. None have had just -cause to complain of treatment received. Besides, if things were as they -are in the West, I wouldn't be allowed to teach (there would be a demand -for a "Christian" _and_ gentleman). I lecture on subjects which I do not -understand; and yet without remorse, because I know just enough to steer -those who know much less. After a year or two I shall probably be more -fit for the position. - -Studying in one class, for a university text, Tennyson's "Princess" -(my selection); in another, "Paradise Lost,"--the students wanted it, -because they heard it was difficult. They are beginning to perceive that -it is unspeakably difficult for them. (Remember, they know nothing of -Christian mythology or history.) I lecture on the Victorian poets, etc., -and on special themes,--depending a good deal on dictation. - -Only two and one half miles from the university. Seas of mud between. -One hour daily to go, and one to return by jinrikisha!--agony -unspeakable. But I have one joy. No one ever dreams of coming to see -me. To do so one should have webbed feet and be able to croak and to -spawn,--or else one should become a bird. It has rained for three months -almost steadily;--some of the city is under water: the rest is partly -under mud. And to increase the amphibious joy, half the streets are torn -open to put down Western water-mains. They will yawn thus, probably, for -years to come. - -The professors I have seen few of. I send you two books; notice the -charming pictures to "Inoshima." Florenz is a Magister Artium Liberalium -of Heidelberg, I think,--fat and good-natured and a little--odd. There -is a Russian professor of philosophy, Von Koeber,--a charming man and a -divine pianist. There is a go-and-be-damned-to-you American professor -of law.... There is a Jesuit priest, Emile Heck,--professor of French -literature. There is a Buddhist priest, professor of Buddhism. There -is an anti-Christian thinker and really great philosopher, Inoue -Tetsujir[=o],--lectures against Western Christianity, and on Buddhism. -There is an infidel,--a renegade,--a man lost to all sense of shame -and decency, called Lafcadio Hearn, professing atheism and English -Literature and various villainous notions of his own. - -The Jesuit I did not want to know. I am afraid of Jesuits. Out of the -corner of mine cyclops-eye I looked upon him. Elegantly dressed,--with a -beard enormous, bushy, majestic, black as hell,--and a small keen bright -black caressing demoniac eye. The Director, who knows not, introduced -me!--oh! ah! Embarrassed at the thought of my own thoughts contrasted -with the perfect courtesy of the man. Blundered;--spoke atrocious -French; gave myself away; got questioned without receiving any idea in -return except an idea of admiration for generous courtesy and very quick -piercing keenness. Felt uncomfortable all day after--talked to myself -as if I had still before me the half-shut Jesuit eye and the vast and -voluminous beard. _Et le fin au prochain numéro,--ou plus tard._ - - L. H. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, January, 1896. - -DEAR PAGE,--What a pleasure your letter was--in spite of the -typewriting! How shall I answer it? From the end backwards,--as the last -was the most pleasant. - -Of course it was _really_ long ago that we used to sit -together--sometimes in your office, sometimes upon a doorstep, -sometimes at a little marble-topped table somewhere over a glass of -something,--and talk such talk as I never talked since. It is very -nearly ten years ago. That is quite true. But you say that my flitting -has been my gain, and that I have made myriads of friends by my books. -That is not quite so true as you think. You think so only because you -have still the heart of the old Southern gentleman,--the real aristo. -and soldier,--the man who said exactly what he thought, and expected -other people to do the same, and lived in a world where people did so. -That is why also you remain for me quite distinct and different from -other men: you have never lost your ideals--therefore you can remain -ideal to others, as you will always do to me. But you are enormously -mistaken in supposing that I have made myriads of friends, or gained -anything--except what one gains by disillusion, and the change that -comes with the care and love of others: this, of course, is gain. But -book-success! No: it seems to me just the reverse. The slightest success -has to be very dearly paid for. It brings no friends at all, but many -enemies and ill-wishers. It brings letters from autograph-hunters, -and letters enclosing malicious criticisms, and letters requesting -subscriptions to all sorts of shams, and letters of invitation to -join respectable-humbug societies, and requests to call on people who -merely want to gratify the meanest sort of curiosity,--that which -views a fellow creature _only_ as a curiosity. Then, of course, there -are uncounted little tricks and advertising dodges to be avoided like -pitfalls,--and extravagant pretences of sympathy, often so clever as to -seem really genuine, made for utilitarian purposes. Then there are all -sorts of little snobberies and patronizings and disappointments. And -after the work is done, it soon begins to get shabby and threadbare in -memory; and I pick it up and wonder how I could have written it, and -marvel how anybody could have bought it, and find that the criticisms -which I didn't like were nearly all true. Sometimes I feel good, and -think I have really done well; but that very soon passes, and in a day -or two I find I have been all wrong, and sure never to write anything -quite right. - -The fact seems to be that when ideals go away, writing becomes mere -downright hard work; and the reward of the pleasure of finishing it is -not for me, because I have nobody to talk to about it, and nobody to -take it up, and read it infinitely better than I could do myself. The -most delightful criticisms I ever had were your own readings aloud of my -vagaries in the _T.-D_. office, after the proofs came down. How I should -like to have that experience once more--just to hear you read something -of mine quite fresh from the composition-room,--with the wet sharp inky -smell still on the paper! - -But I suppose I have gained otherwise. You also. For there is something -in everybody--the best of him, too, isn't it?--which only unfolds in him -when he has to think about his double,--the other self to which he has -given existence; and then he sees things differently. I suppose you do. -I imagine you must now be ever so much more lovable than you used to -be--but that you have less of yourself proportionately to give away. If -I were in New Orleans I don't think that I could coax you to talk after -a fixed hour: you would say, "--! it's after twelve o'clock: I must be -off!" - -What you write about little Miss Constance is very sweet. I hope soon to -send her some Japanese fairy-tales written by your humble servant;--that -is, I _hope_; for the T[=o]ky[=o] publisher is awfully slow in getting -them out. You have had anxiety, I find. But the delicacy that causes it -means a highly complex nervous organization; and the anxieties will be -well compensated, I fancy, later on. She will become, judging from the -suggestion of that gold-head in the photograph, almost too beautiful: -I hope to see another photograph later on. I shall send one of Kazuo -in a few days. We were terribly frightened about him,--for he caught a -serious cold on the lungs; but after a few weeks he picked up well. He -gets taller, and every day surprises us with some new observation. He -seems to get fairer always instead of darker--nobody now ever takes him -to be a Japanese boy. He is very jealous of his mother,--won't allow -me to monopolize her for even five minutes; and I am no longer master -in my own house. Servants and relatives and grandparents, they all -obey him,--and pay no attention at all to my wishes unless they happen -to be in harmony with his own. Certainly Japanese people are kinder -to children than any other people in the world,--too good altogether. -Still, they do not spoil children,--for as a general rule they manage -to make them grow up strangely, incomprehensibly obedient. I don't -understand it,--except as heredity: indeed, I may as well frankly say -that the longer I live in Japan, the less I know about the Japanese. -"That is a sign," says one Oriental friend, "that you are beginning to -understand. It is only when a foreigner confesses he knows nothing about -us that there is some reason to expect he will understand us later on." - -About the letters, I need only say, perhaps, that I shall give you the -best of what I write this year (excepting, of course, essays on Buddhist -philosophy, or stuff of that sort, which would be out of place, no -doubt, in a newspaper). I may include a few little stories.... - -"Kokoro" ought to reach you next March. It is rather a crazy book; but I -wish I could hear you _read_ one or two pages in it.... - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - K[=O]BE, February, 1896. - -DEAR OCHIAI,--I am delighted that you have taken up medicine, for two -reasons. First, it will assure your independence--your ability to -maintain yourself, and to help your people. Secondly, it will change all -your ideas about the world we live in, and will make you large-minded -in many ways, if you study well. For in these days, you cannot study -medicine without studying many different branches of science--chemistry, -which will oblige you to understand something of the nature of the -great mystery of matter,--physiology, which will show you that the -most ordinary human body is full of machinery more wonderful than any -genius ever invented,--biology, which will give you perceptions of the -eternal laws which shape all form and regulate all motion,--histology, -which will show you that all life is shaped, after methods that no -man can understand, out of one substance into millions of different -forms,--embryology, which will teach you how the whole history of a -species or a race is shown in the development of the individual, as -organ after organ unfolds and develops in the wonderful process of -growth. The study of medicine is, to a large extent, the study of the -universe and of universal laws,--and makes a better man of any one who -is intelligent enough to master its principles. Of course you must -learn to love it,--because no man can do anything really great with a -subject that he does not like. There are many very horrible things in -it which you will have to face; but you must not be repelled by these, -because the facts behind them are very beautiful and wonderful. There -is so much in medicine--such a variety of subjects, that you will have -a wide choice before you in case some particular branch should not be -attractive to you. - -Also do not forget that your knowledge of English will be of great use -to you in medicine, and that, if you love literature, medicine will give -you plenty of chance to indulge that love. (Some of our best foreign -authors, you know, have been practising physicians.) In K[=o]be I find -that some of the best Japanese doctors find English very useful to them, -not only in their practice, but also in their private studies. But you -will also have to learn German; and that language will open to you a -very wonderful literature, if you like literature--not to speak of the -scientific advantages of German, which are unrivalled. - -Well, I trust to hear good news from you later on. Take great care of -your health, I beg of you, and believe me ever anxious for your success. - - Very truly always, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, February, 1896. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I should have answered your kindest letter before now -but for illness,--so I only sent a photo of Kazuo, as I had a cold in -my eyes, nose, chest, back; a most atrocious and damnable cold, which -rendered any work out of the question. - -Mr. Katayama--dear Mr. Katayama--wrote a charming little poem. I am -going to have a large copy made of it, and have it mounted as a little -_kakemono_, for a souvenir. I love all these funny little things: they -are the real Japan--the humour and the kindness and the grace of it. As -for the so-called New Japan,--with its appearance of Occidentalism, and -its utter loss of the old poetry and the old courtesy--well, however -necessary it may be, it is certainly as much of a moral loss as it is a -material advance. I wish I could live somewhere out of the sight and the -sound of all that is new. - -I had a letter from Ochiai, which I shall answer in a day or so;--for -the moment I am behind with all my correspondence. What can be the -matter with the lad? He did not tell me the nature of his sickness. -I am really sorry for him. Strangely enough, on the very same day, -I had a letter from one of the cleverest of the Kumamoto students, -who seemed a tower of strength, but who has broken down after a year -at the university. Some students I liked have gone mad; numbers have -died; numbers have had to give up. The strain is too great because -the hardship is too great,--the cold, the poor cheap food, the poor -thin clothes. "Hardy" the lads claim to be. So naturally they are--much -hardier than Europeans in certain respects. But some knowledge of -physiology seems to be needed in Government schools. No man--however -strong--can keep hardy while the heavy strain of study is unsupported -by good living. I think most of the lads I know who died or went mad -would never have even fallen sick if they had had only hard physical -labour. Physical labour is not dangerous, but strengthening. And in the -Government schools there is no feeling for the lads: everybody has to do -the best he can for himself. Those who do get through the mill are not -always the best--though they may be the strongest. - - Ever, with best regards of all of us, - LAFCADIO HEARN (KOIZUMI YAKUMO). - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, March, 1896. - -DEAR PAGE,--I have your exquisite photo of Constance--like a bit -of marble it is.... And I have your letter--a very dear letter, -though--excuse me--I cannot help hating the typewriter! - -I have been very sick with inflammation of the lungs, and unable to -move until recently. But I shall soon, I hope, be able to send you -something.... - -About my name. Koizumi is a family name: I take my wife's name as -her husband by adoption--the only way in which I could become a -Japanese citizen. Koizumi means "little spring" or "little source." -The other name means "many clouds," and is an alternate poetical -name for Izumo, the "Place of the Issuing of Clouds." For I became a -citizen of the province of Izumo, where I am officially registered. The -word is also the first word of the most ancient poem in the Japanese -language--referring to a legend of the sacred records. _Please do not -publish this!_ it is a little private matter, and the whole explanation, -though read at a glance by a Japanese, would require many pages to make -clear. As to your other question, I always wear the Japanese dress at -home or in the interior. In K[=o]be or the large cities I wear Western -clothes when I go on the street; because it does not do there for a man -with a long nose to be too "Japanesey"--there has been a surplus of -"Japanesey" display on the part of foreigners of the jocose class. I am -Japanese only among Japanese.... - -And you have been very sick too. Do you know that I am often worried by -the fear that one of us might die before we meet again? I very often -think about you. Please take every care of yourself,--all the outing -you can. I think, though, you are a long-lived tough race--you Bakers; -and that Page M. Baker will be writing some day an obituary of Lafcadio -Hearn that was,--with many pleasant observations which the said Lafcadio -never deserved and never will deserve. - -You think I am misanthropic--no, not exactly; but I do feel an intense -hatred for the business class of Northern mankind. You know I never -could learn much about them till I was ass enough to go North.... And -you will remember that settled dislikes or likes come to this creature -at intervals--never thereafter to depart. My last horror--one that I can -scarcely bear--is what is called "business correspondence." That is why -I say that I dislike the sight of typewriting--though I assure you, dear -Page, I am glad to get a line from you written or printed in any way, -shape, or form. - -Ghosts! After getting your letter last night I dreamed. Do you remember -that splendid Creole who used to be your city editor--whose voice seemed -to come up from a well, a lover of music and poetry and everything -nice? John----? Is it not a sin that I have forgotten his name? Next -to yourself I see him, however, more distinctly than any other figure -of the old days. He recited "The Portrait" of Owen Meredith in that -caressing abysmal voice of his. Last night I was talking to him. He sat -in a big chair in the old office, and told me wonderful things,--which I -could not recall on waking; but I was vaguely annoyed by the fact that -he "avoided the point." So I interrupted, and said: "But you do not tell -me--you are dead--is there ..." I only remember saying that. Then the -light in his eyes went out, and there was nothing. I woke up in the dark -and wondered. - -For six years in Japan I have been walking up and down--over matted -floors--by myself, just as I used to do in that room you wrote me from. -Curiously, my little boy has the same habit. It is very difficult to -make him keep still at meal-time. He likes to take a nibble or sup of -something, then walk up and down, or run, then another nibble, etc.--I -hope the gods will save him from adopting other former habits of mine, -which are less innocent, when he grows up:--for example, if he should -take a foolish fancy to every damozel in his path. However, I expect -that his mother's strong common-sense, which he seems to inherit, will -counterbalance the fantasticalities bequeathed him by me.... It has only -been since his entrance into this world that I fully realize what a -"disgraceful person" I used to be. - -I live pretty much alone--have no foreign friends and very few Japanese -friends outside of my family, which numbers, however, a good many dear -souls. How isolated I have managed to be you can imagine from the fact -that sometimes for months no one sees me except home-folks. I work -when I can; and when I cannot I bury myself in studies--philosophical -studies: you can scarcely believe how they interest me now, and I find -worlds of inspiration in them--new perceptions of commonplace fact. I -try not to worry, and let things take their course. Probably next year -I shall be leading a busier life; but I don't know whether Japanese -officialism can be endured for any great length of time. I had one -dose of it too much already. The people are the best in the world; the -military and naval men are _men_, and generally _braves garçons_.... - -The old men are divine: I do not know any other word to express what -they are. When you meet a horrid Japanese, though, there is a distorted -quality about him that makes him a unique monster--he is like an awry -caricature of a Western mean fellow, without the vim and push--solid -contemptibility _in petto_. You can scarcely imagine what he may be. -Every transition period has its peculiar monsters. - -I wonder, wonder, wonder whether I shall see you again,--and walk -up and down on that cocoanut matting,--and make noises through the -speaking-tube leading to the composing-room. Perhaps I could make some -sketches of American life better now--after having looked back at it -from this distance of eight thousand odd miles.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, April, 1896. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--It made me happy to get your letter, and to hear -from you that you think I am beginning to understand the Japanese a -little better. My other books have had success in Europe as well as -America;--the leading French review (_Revue des Deux Mondes_) had a -long article about me; and the _Spectator_, the _Athenæum_, the _Times_ -and other English journals have been kind. Still, I am not foolish -enough to take the praise for praise of fact,--feeling my own ignorance -more and more every day, and being more pleased with the approval of -a Japanese friend than with the verdict of a foreign reviewer, who, -necessarily, knows nothing to speak of about Japan. But one thing _is_ -encouraging,--namely, that whatever I write about Japan hereafter will -be widely read in Europe and elsewhere,--so that I may be able to do -good. My first book is being translated into German. - -I got a beautiful letter from Mr. Senke the other day, to which he has, -I trust, by this time the answer,--in which I told him that I hope to -see Matsue and Kizuki again in about another month. Setsu, mother, and -the boy come with me. Kazuo is now much better--except morally;--he is -more mischievous than ever. I want him to have as much of the sea this -summer as he can bear. And I want to swim at Kizuki and Mionoseki, and -to talk to you all I can--without tiring you. - -I have been away. I have been at Ise, Futami, and nearly a week in -[=O]saka. Ise disappointed me a little. The scenery is superb; but -I like Kizuki better. At Ise there is so much money,--such enormous -hotels,--such modernization: the place did not _feel_ holy to me, as -Kizuki did. Even the _miko_ won't show their faces for less than five -yen. Besides, it was bitterly cold, and hurt my lungs. I came back sick. -[=O]saka delighted me beyond words. Excepting Ky[=o]to, it is certainly -the most interesting city on this side of Japan. And I could never -tell you how Tenn[=o]ji delighted me--what a queer, dear old temple. -I went to Sakai, of course,--and bought a sword, and saw the grave of -the eleven samurai of Tosa who had to commit _seppuku_ for killing some -foreigners,--and told them I wished they could come back again to -kill a few more who are writing extraordinary lies about Japan at this -present moment. I would rather live a month in [=O]saka than ten years -free of rent in T[=o]ky[=o]. - -Speaking of T[=o]ky[=o] reminds me to tell you that my engagement with -the university is not yet assured. Day before yesterday I had a letter -from Professor Toyama that my becoming a Japanese citizen had raised -a difficulty "which," he wrote, "we must manage to get over somehow." -I wrote him that I was not worried about the matter, and had never -allowed myself to consider it very seriously,--hinting also that I would -not accept any low salary. What he will next write I don't know, and -don't very much care. If Matsue were a little warmer in winter I should -rather be teaching there. Indeed I think that even after a few years in -T[=o]ky[=o], I should be asking to get back to Matsue; and in any event -I hope to make a home there. If I can get such a _yashiki_ as I had--I -mean buy one for my own home--Matsue would be a very happy place to work -and study in. Besides, if my health keeps fair, I can hope eventually -to be able to travel in the coldest winter months, and then the Matsue -climate would make no difference for me. In summer it is delicious. Even -Setsu now thinks it better to live in the interior; and I shall be glad -to escape from the open ports. I have seen enough of the foreigners -here, and like them less than ever. - -I should certainly like Mr. Asai very much, from your charming account -of him; and, at any rate, I expect to see both you and him within -forty days from this writing. If you think he would like a copy of -"Kokoro" it will make me very happy to send him one. As he has studied -philosophy, however, I don't know what he will think of the chapters -on the Idea of Preëxistence and the Worship of Ancestors. You know the -school of thought that I follow is bitterly opposed; and I believe it is -not honestly taught in any English establishment. In one or two American -universities it is partly taught; but only the French have given it -really fair attention abroad. - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - -P. S. It made me feel queer to be addressed by Prof. Toyama as "Mr. -Yakumo Koizumi"! - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Somebody (who, I do not know) has been sending me -books. Did you send me a book by Richard LeGallienne? I thought Mrs. -Rollins had sent it, and I wrote to her nice things about it, which -vexed her into sending me a very sharp criticism of it (she _is_ a -critic), and proving me to have praised a worthless book out of liking -for the sender! Where am I? I am certainly wrong. I did think the -book nice because of my belief that she sent it; and I am now equally -convinced that it isn't nice at all, because she proved that it was -not. I should certainly make a bad critic if I were acquainted with -authors and their friends. One sees what does not exist wherever one -loves or hates. As I am rather a creature of extremes, I should be an -extremely crooked-visioned judge of work. I have not tried to answer -Mrs. Rollins's letter--fact is, I _can't_. - -No: the head on the title-page of "Kokoro" is not Kazuo, but the head -of a little boy called Takaki. The photograph was soft and beautiful, -and showed an uncommonly intellectual type of Japanese head. The -woodcut is rather coarse and hard.--But I enclose a third edition of -Kazuo: he is growing a little better-looking, but is not so strong -as I could wish; and he is so sensitive that I am very much worried -about his future. Physical pain he bears well enough; but a mere look, -a careless word, a moment of unconscious indifference is fire to his -little soul. I don't know what to do with him. If he shows the artistic -temperament I shall try to educate him in Italy or France. With an -emotional nature one is happier among Latins. I confess that I can only -bear the uncommon types of Englishmen, Germans, and Americans,--the -conventional types simply drive me wild. On the other hand, I can feel -at home with even a villain, if he be Spaniard, Italian, or French. -According to evolutionary doctrine, however, it seems not unlikely -that the Latin races will be squeezed out of existence in the future -pressure of civilization. They cannot hold their own against the -superior massiveness of the Northern races,--who, unfortunately, have no -art-feeling at all. They will be absorbed, I suppose. In the industrial -invasion of the barbarians, the men will be quietly starved to death, -and the women taken by the conquerors. History will repeat itself -without blood and shrieks. - -What is the present matter with American civilization? Nearly all the -clever American authors seem to be women, and most of them have to go -"out of town" for their studies of life. American city-life seems to -wither and burn up everything. There is something of the same sort -noticeable in England--the authors have to go out of England. Of -course, there are some great exceptions--like James and Mallock. But -how many great writers deal with civilized life as it is? They go to -the Highlands, like Black and Barrie,--or to Italy, like Crawford,--or -to strange countries, like Kipling;--but who to-day would write "A -London Romance"? This brings up another question. What is the meaning -of English literary superiority? It is all very well to howl about the -copyright question, and the shameful treatment of American authors; but -what American authors have we to compare with the English? Excepting -women like Mrs. Deland and Miss Jewett and Mrs. Phelps, etc.,--what -American writers can touch English methods? James is certainly our -best;--so London steals him; but he stands alone. America has no one -like a dozen,--nay, a score of English writers that might be named. -It certainly is not a question of remuneration; for real high ability -is always sooner or later able to get all it asks for. It must be an -effect of American city-life, and American training, and American -environment;--perhaps over-education has something to do with it. -Again--English work is so massive--even at its worst: the effort made is -always so much _larger_. Perhaps we do things too _fast_. The English -are slow and exact. I am told that the other Northern races are still -somewhat behind--always excepting great Russia. But in the France of -1896, what is doing? The greatest writers of the age are dead or silent. -Is not our horrible competitive civilization at last going to choke all -aspirational life into silence? After the Du Maurier school, what will -even England be able to do? Alfred Austin after Alfred Tennyson! - -These are my thoughts sometimes;--then, again, I think of a possible -new idealism,--a new prodigious burst of faith and passion and song -greater than anything Victorian;--and I remember that all progress is -rhythmical. But if this comes, it will be only, I fear, after we have -been dust for a century. - -I feel this is an awfully stupid letter. But I'll write a better one -soon. My best wishes for your big, big, _big_ success. They will be -realized, I think. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MIONOSEKI, IZUMO, July, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have just had a most delightful letter from you. Your -letters are full of witty flashes and curious observation. As they -contain personal portraits, I make it a duty to burn them; but I regret -it--like a destruction of the artistic. The rapid sketches they give -of the most extraordinary bits of character, in the midst of the most -extraordinary and complicated life of the century, are such as only one -having your own most peculiar opportunities could make. - -Do you ever reflect how much more of life you are able to see in one -month than the ordinary mortal in twenty-five years? You belong to a -purely modern school of travelling observers. Fifty years ago such -experiences were not possible--at least upon any scale to speak of. - -But why is it that the most extraordinary experiences of business men -are never written? Is it because, like the scholarly specialist who -knows too much about literature to make any literature, they see too -much of the wonderful to feel it? The astounding for others is for them -the commonplace,--perhaps. Or perhaps they are not sympathetic like your -friend Macy,--have no inclination to apply the philosophy of relations -to what they see and study? - -I have been sick--eyes and lungs;--and now I am in an Izumo -fishing-village to recruit. I swim in the harbour every day for about -five hours, and am burnt all over in all colours, and getting thinner -and stronger. There are no tables here, and I have to write on the floor. - - With best love and felicitations, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - AUGUST, 1896. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--We got back on the night of the twenty-third. We had -to wait a couple of days at Sakai; and I had some more swimming. Dr. -Takahashi was very much surprised at my condition. He said that my lungs -had become perfectly well, and that the swimming had brought out all -the chest-muscles again in an extraordinary way--considering the time -in which it had happened. He tells me to go to the sea whenever I feel -pulled down again. - -Sakai is a queer place for swimming. The currents change three times -every day, and twice at least become very strong. One who cannot swim -far has to be careful. Straws in the water show the way of the current -near shore; but in the middle there are cross-currents going the other -way. - -There were eight foreign officers on the Meiji Maru. They were very kind -to us. The captain (his name is Poole) was decorated with the 3d Order -of the Rising Sun (I think) and got a present of $2000 for services -during the war,--the transport-service, of course. He told me some very -interesting things about the behaviour of the soldiery,--very nice -things. - -I felt unhappy at the [=O]hashi, because you waited so long, and I had -no power to coax you to go home. I can still see you sitting there -so kindly and patiently,--in the great heat of that afternoon. Write -soon,--if only a line in Japanese,--to tell us how you are. - -Kaji-_chan_ remembers you, and sends his little greeting to Nishida-San -no Oji-San. We all hope to have another summer with you next year. - -Ever faithfully, with warmest regards of all, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I still see you sitting at the wharf to watch us go. I think I shall -always see you there. - -[Illustration] - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I am in immediate and awful need of books, and -am going to ask you to put me into communication with a _general -book-dealer_ to whom I can send P. O. orders, and who will mail me books -directly on receipt of cash. It is hopeless ordering through local -book-dealers,--not simply because of charges and errors, but because -of enormous delays. On a separate sheet I enclose some titles of what -I badly want for the moment; and I am sending some cash. This said, I -promise not to trouble you further _except when I can't help it_. See -what a nuisance I am! - -You may well believe me in a hurry when I send a letter with such -a beginning. Imagine my position:--a professor of literature -without books, improvising lectures to students without books. I -reached T[=o]ky[=o] about seven days ago, and have not yet got a -house,--but am living in a hotel. At present I can give you no valid -impressions:--everything is a blur. But so far the position does not -seem disagreeable--rather the reverse. In fact I am afraid to express -my satisfaction,--remembering Polyxenes. The salary is 400 yen,--and in -Japan, a yen is a dollar though it is only fifty-odd cents in America. -Old pupils of Izumo and elsewhere gather round me, welcoming me, -delighted--some needing help and winning it--some needing only sympathy. -Professors far off, moving in separate and never-colliding orbits. I can -teach for years--if I please--without ever seeing any of my colleagues. -But Government favour, you know, is uncertain. The chances are that I -shall hold on for three years at least. - -When I heard last from you I was in Izumo. There I became very strong by -constant swimming and starving,--Japanese diet takes all the loose flesh -from a man in short order. My lungs got quite sound, and my miserable -eye _nearly_ well. - -I suppose that I partly owe this place to my books, and partly to -Professor Chamberlain's kind recommendation. The Japanese seldom notice -literary work,--but they have paid considerable attention to mine, -considering that I am a foreigner. My ambition, though, is independence -in my own home,--an old-fashioned _yashiki_, full of surprises of -colour and beauty and quaintness and peace. And a few years abroad -with my boy,--who is very mischievous now, and beats his father -occasionally.--Curious, how much better the Japanese understand children -than we do. You remember as a boy the obligatory morning _dip_ in the -sea, no doubt. This no Japanese parents would inflict on their child. -I tried it with mine, but the folks said, "That is wrong: it will only -make him afraid of the water." Which proved true. Moreover, he would not -allow me to come near him any more in the sea,--but used to order me to -keep away. "Go away, and don't come back any more." Then the grandmother -took him in charge; and in a week he was as fond of the water as I,--had -overcome his fear of it. But it requires great patience to treat -children Japanese-style,--by leaving them _almost_ free to follow their -natural impulses, and coaxing courage by little and little. - -Awful weather,--floods, wreckings, ruinings, drownings. I think the -deforestation of the country is probably the cause of these terrible -visitations. In K[=o]be just before I left, the river, usually a dry -sandbed, burst its banks after rain, swept away whole streets, wrecked -hundreds of houses, and drowned about a hundred people. Then you know -the tidal wave in the north--it was _only_ 200 miles long--destroyed -some 30,000 lives. A considerable part of East Central Japan is still -under water at this moment--river water. Lake Biwa rose and drowned the -city of [=O]tsu. - -Isn't it almost wicked of me to have fought for a foreign salary -under such circumstances?--especially while students come to tell -me: "My father and mother have educated me thus far by selling all -their property,--piece by piece,--even mother's dresses and our -lacquer-ware had to be sold. And now we have nothing, and my education -is unfinished--and unless it is finished I cannot even hope for a -position. Teacher, I shall work six years to pay the money back, if you -will help me." Poor fellows!--their whole expense is only about $120 -(Japanese) a year. But if I did not take the salary, another foreigner -would ask even more; and I am working for a Japanese community of my -own. Buying books is rather extravagant, but my literary work pays for -that. - -Well, here's love to you. (If the book-business does not bother you too -much, please tell the book-dealer to mail _everything_,--not to send by -express.) - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - (Y. KOIZUMI.) - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - OCTOBER, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have two unanswered letters from you--delayed in -reaching me because of my change of residence. One is only a glorious -shout of joy and sympathy;--the other describes charmingly the incidents -and sensations of your Nova Scotia days. It struck me while reading it -that the great pleasure each of you had was in watching the display of -the powers and the graces of the other, in the new field,--and from -thinking about that I began to think of my own experiences. I believe -that my happiest glows of sympathetic admiration have been felt under -somewhat like circumstances. If one's friend is a fine keen man, and -one is proud of him, what greater enjoyment than to see him face the -unfamiliar and watch him dealing with it _en maître_,--turning it this -way and that with symmetrical ease,--and winning all he wants with a -smile or a bright jest? The pleasure of watching a play is nothing to -it. And again, what _novel_ (it is always new, you know)--what novel -delight that of seeing a soldier, a man of business, or even a "man of -God," turning into a boy under the mere joyous bath of air and sun and -summer air out of town! It gives one a larger sense of humanity, and a -sort of awe at the omnipotent magic of Nature. - -Well, I have a house,--a large, but, I regret to say, not beautiful -house in T[=o]ky[=o]. There is no garden,--no surprises,--no -delicacies,--no chromatic contrasts: a large bald utilitarian house, -belonging to a man who owns eight hundred Japanese houses, and looks -after them all at seventy-eight years of age. He was a sake-brewer: he -is now good to the poor,--buries free of charge the head of any family -unable to pay the expenses of a Buddhist funeral. He looked at my boy -and played with him and said: "You are too pretty,--you ought to have -been a girl. When you get a little older you will be studying things you -ought not to study,--pulling girls about, and doing mischief." (Because -he used to be an old rascal himself.) But he set me thinking. I don't -think K. will be very handsome; but if he feels like his father about -pretty girls,--what shall I do with him? Marry him at 17 or 19? Or send -him to grim and ferocious Puritans that he may be taught the Way of the -Lord? I am now beginning to think that really much of ecclesiastical -education (bad and cruel as I used to imagine it) is founded upon the -best experience of man under civilization; and I understand lots of -things which I used to think superstitious bosh, and now think solid -wisdom. Don't have children (Punch's advice is the same, you know) -unless you want to discover new Americas.... - -In haste to give a lecture on _ballad_ literature(!). - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have had several delightful letters from you, some of -which were not answered in detail, though deserving to be. Let me see -about my deficiencies in acknowledging your letters during recent hurry -and flurry:--That sermon, belonging to the 13th--or perhaps the 10th -century--was really an amazement. Thanks for kindly note about Lowell's -words of praise.... - -As for the university. Because the shadow of the Jesuit, broadening back -through the centuries, is very black, and because I saw stake-fires in -it, I didn't relish the idea of his acquaintance. But that _had_ to -come, you know. There was a weary matriculation ceremony at which all -of us had to be present; and it was purely Japanese, so that we could -not understand it. We had to sit for three hours and listen. So I and -the Jesuit, for want of anything else to do, got into a religious -discussion; and I found him charming. Of course, he said that every -thought which I thought was heresy,--that all the philosophy of the -19th century was false,--that everything accomplished by free thought -and Protestantism was folly leading to ruin. But we had sympathies -in common,--the contempt of religion as convention, scorn of the -missionaries, and just recognition of the sincerely and profoundly -religious character of the Japanese,--denied, of course, by the -ordinary class of missionary jackasses. Then we were both amused by the -architecture of the university. It is ecclesiastical, of course,--and -the pinnacles and angles are tipped with cruciform ornaments. "C'est -tout-a-fait comme un monastère," said my comrade of the beard;--"et -ceçi,--on en fera une assez jolie église. _Et pourtant ce n'est pas -l'esprit Chrétien qui_," etc. His irony was delicious, and the laughter -broke the ice. - -Now comes a queer fact. The existing group of professors in the Library -college who keep a little together are the Professor of Philosophy -(Heidelberg), the Professor of Sanscrit and Philology (Leipsig), the -Professor of French Literature (Lyons), and the Professor of English -Literature--from the devil knows where. There is little affiliation -outside. Now all this group is--including myself--Roman Catholic -by training. Why it is, I can't say, except the Jesuit, we are not -believers,--but there is a human something separating us from the -_froid protestantisme_, or the hard materialism of the other foreign -professors,--something warmer and more natural. Is it not the _Latin_ -feeling surviving in Catholicism,--and humanizing paganly what it -touches?--penetrating all of us--the Russian, the German, the Frenchman, -and L. H., through early association? Really there is neither art nor -warm feeling nor the spirit of human love in the stock Protestantism -of to-day.--I regret to say, however, that I have no Spencerian -sympathizer. In my beliefs and tendencies I stand alone; and the Jesuit -marvels at the astounding insanity of my notions. He, like all of his -tribe, does not quite know how to take the American. The American -Professor of Law--enormously self-sufficient, and aggressive--rather -embarrasses him. I saw him wilt a little before him; and I like him all -the better for it,--as he is certainly very delicate, and his shrinking -was largely due to this delicacy. But all these are only impressions of -the moment. - -As a member of the faculty, I have to sometimes attend faculty meetings, -called for various purposes. One of the purposes was to decide the -fate of a certain German Professor of History--not nominally for the -purpose, but really. I could not help the professor, and I felt that -he was really unnecessary--not to speak of $500 per mensem. I do not -think his contract will be renewed. I did not like the man very much: -he is a worshipper of Virchow and an enemy of English psychology, etc., -_ipso facto_. We could have no sympathies. But I was startled by the -fashion in which those who professed to be his friends suddenly went -back upon him, when they saw the drift of things. The drift was given -by the Japanese Professor of Philosophy (Buddhist and other),--a fine, -lean, keen, soft-spoken, persistent champion of Japanese national -conservatism, and a good honest hater of sham Christianity. I like him: -his name is Inoue Tetsujir[=o]. He very sensibly observed that he saw -no reason why foreign professors should forever teach _history_ in a -Japanese university,--or why students should be obliged to listen to -lectures not in their native tongue. I felt he was right; but it meant -the doom of nearly all foreign teaching. (Perhaps I shall last for some -years more, and the professors of foreign _languages_--but the rest will -certainly go before long.) - -I said to my little self: "Don't expect any love from those quarters, -old fellow: the Japanese themselves will treat you more frankly, even -if they get to hate you." I have no doubt whatever that there will -be as much said against _me_ as _dare_ be said. Happily, however, my -engagement is based on Japanese _policy_--kindly policy--with a strong -man behind it; and mere tongue-thrusts will do me no harm at all in the -present order of things. - -"Sufficient for the day is," etc. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I fear--I suspect that this position has been given unto -me for a combination of reasons, among which the dominant is that I may -write at ease many books about Japan. This has two unfortunate aspects. -Firstly, the people who do not know what labour literary work is imagine -that books can be written by the page as quickly as letters, and keep -asking me why I don't get out another book--that means the Influence of -Hurry-Scurry. Secondly, I am plunged into a world of which the highest -possible effort in poetry seems to be this:-- - - "_Sometimes I hear your flute, - But I never can see your face, - O beautiful Oiterupé!_" - -Who is Oiterupé? Euterpe, of course. And this represents, I do assure -you, the very highest possible result of a Western education at -Göttingen, etc., upon the mind of the modern Japanese poet. Formerly -he would have said something. Now he is struck dumb by--Heidelberg or -Göttingen. - -I have only twelve hours a week in which to teach; but, as I told -you before, there are no text-books, and the university will not buy -any; and the general standard of English is so low that I am sure not -half of my classes understand what I say. Worst of all, there is no -discipline. The students are virtually the masters in certain matters: -the authorities fear their displeasure, and they do things extraordinary -which fill European professors with amazement and rage--such as -_ordering_ different hours for their lectures, and demanding after a -menacing fashion subscriptions for their various undertakings. Fancy the -following colloquy:-- - -Professor--"But this is not a case of distress: I don't think a -professor should be asked for money where money is not needed--and -then--" - -Student--"The question is simply, will you pay or will you not?" - -Professor--"I have told you my ideas about--" - -Student--"I am not interested in your ideas. Will you or will you not?" - -Professor (flushing with anger, like Sigurd the Bishop)--"No." - -Student turns his back upon professor, and walks away with the air of -one going to prepare for a vendetta. - -I have told you before that the first, second, and third year classes -are mixed together. But that makes no matter. The matter is that the -students can change the subjects of their studies when they please, and -do so occasionally by way of showing their disapproval of the professor. -"You must not teach that subject: I wish you to teach us about Greek -mythology instead" is a specimen observation. - -I cannot write to you about such delightful friends as the one described -in your last letter, for the simple reason that I haven't any. (You know -that it is very difficult for me to find sympathizers in such a frogpond -as the foreign community of an open port.) The Russian professor of -philosophy, although boasting a Heidelberg degree, acknowledges to me -that he believes heretics ought to be burnt alive ("for the saving of -their souls"), and that he hopes to see the whole world under Catholic -domination. I fancy he dreams of the Russian conquest to come; and the -Panslavic dream is not impossible! He is a queer man,--about fifty at -least,--a bachelor. Soft and cold--snowy in fact. The Jesuit improves on -acquaintance--gentle, courteous, half-sympathetic, but always on guard, -like a man afraid of being struck by some human affection. The American -lawyer, hard and grim, has a rough plain goodness about him--providing -that he be put to no trouble.... And the German, Dr. R----, of whom I -spoke rather unsympathetically before, seems to me now the finest man of -the lot. There can be no question of his learning, and his dogmatism; -but he gives me the solid feeling of a man honest like a great rock of -black basalt--huge, hard, direct--one of those rare German types with -eyes and hair blacker than a coal. His hand is broad, hard, warm always, -and has something electrical in its grasp. I think I shall get fond of -him, if he doesn't talk Virchow to me. (For Virchow is my _bête noir_! -I hate his name with unspeakable hatred.) At all events, to my great -surprise, I find this grim dark German takes absolute pleasure in doing -a kindness, and in speaking well of others. Wherefore I feel that I am -unreasonable and wrong to feel repelled by his liking for Virchow. - -Of course, we must all go some day, if the university doesn't go first. -But as all have big salaries, all prepare for the rainy day. I shall not -complain if allowed to finish my three years--though I should prefer -six. But you can imagine how unstable everything looks--with changes in -the ministry of education about every twelve months,--and the political -influences behind the students. I am reposing upon the safety-valves of -a steam-boiler,--much cracked, with many of the rivets loose,--and the -engineers studying how to be out of the way when the great whang-bang -comes around. - -And when it does come, may it blow me, for a moment at least, in the -immediate vicinity of Ellwood Hendrick. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1896. - -DEAR OLD FELLOW,-- ... The Emperor paid us a visit the other day; and -I had to don a frock-coat and a thing which inspired the Mohammedan -curse,--"May God put a HAT on you!" We stood in sleet and snow--horribly -cold (no overcoats allowed) and were twice permitted to bow down before -His Majesty. I confess I saw only _les bottes de S. M._ He has a deep -commanding voice--is above the average in height. Most of us got cold, I -think--nothing more for the nonce. Lowell discovered one delicious thing -in the Far East--"The Gate of Everlasting Ceremony." But the ancient -ceremony was beautiful. Swallow-tails and plugs are not beautiful. My -little wife tells me: "Don't talk like that: even if a robber were -listening to you upon the roof of the house, he would get angry." So -I am only saying this to you: "I don't see why I should be obliged to -take cold, merely for the privilege of bowing to H. M." Of course this -is half-jest, half-earnest. There is a reason for things--for anything -except--a plug-hat!... - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--"Sentimental Tommy" is marvellous. Gives me a very great -idea of Barrie. The question with me is whether such a _milieu_ and such -a suggested ancestry could produce such types as Grizel and Tommy. I am -not quite sure of it: I am still under the impression that blood _will_ -tell, and that children of drunkards and whores are not apt to prove -angels--though there must be exceptions when the better inheritance -dominates. However, the book has a good meaning as well as a great -art, and the tendency is to recognitions of truths deeper than those -of "Philistia." You were awfully good to send it; but I feel rather -small--my last sending being so poor a sprat to your salmon. - -Never mind. I'll send you my own book sometime this year--I _think_. It -ought to be in the printer's hands by the time you get this letter. It -will probably be called "A Living God, and Other Studies"--or something -of that sort. But only the gods exactly know. - -Half of my psychological book--or nearly half--is also written. I -shall dedicate it probably to the Lady of a Myriad Souls--whose photo -in a black frame decorates my Japanese alcove. Provided--I don't -die or worse before it is finished. Any suggestions? I'm trying -to explain all mysterious things which philosophers, etc., call -_inexplicable_ feelings. Have you any? Please turn some over to me, -and let me digest them. I've managed the _frisson_ (woman's touch), -some colour-sensations, sublimities, etc. I want some mysterious -feelings--some exquisitenesses,--normal only. _Parfum de jeunesse_ -suggests experiences. Do you know any?... - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, February, 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Oh! have you read those two marvellous things of -Kipling's last--"McAndrews' Hymn," and "The Mary Gloster"? Especially -the "Mary Gloster." I have no more qualified ideas about Kipling. He is -to my fixed conviction the greatest of living English poets, and greater -than all before him in the line he has taken. As for England, he is her -modern Saga-man,--skald, scôp, whatever you like: lineal descendants of -those fellows to whom the Berserker used to say: "Now you just stand -right here, and see us fight so that you can make a song about it." - -Meanwhile the Holy Ghost has become temporarily (perhaps) disgusted -with me; and I am doing nothing for three days past. Simply can't--no -feelings. I can _grind_; but what's the use? I want to do something -remarkable, unique, extraordinary, audacious; and I haven't the -qualifications. I want sensations--dreams--glimpses. Nothing! Will I -ever get another good idea? Don't know. Will I ever have any literary -success?--So swings the pendulum! I fear my next book won't be as good -as it ought to be.... - -After all, the Jesuit _is_ really the most interesting person. We are -close to each other because we are so enormously far away,--just as in -Wundt's colour-theory the red and violet ends of the spectrum overlap -after a fashion.... - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - (Y. KOIZUMI.) - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1897. - -DEAR E. H.,--I have been reading your last over and over again--because -it is very pretty indeed, one of the very prettiest letters I ever read. -There is altogether something so deliriously _assured_ about it--so full -of happy confidence, that I feel quite comfortable and jolly about you -... notwithstanding the fact that I am tolerably sure you will be taken -utterly away from me in the end. For this shall a man leave not only his -friend, but his father and his mother,--saith the Sacred Book. You know -that particular passage makes the Japanese mad,--but not quite so mad as -the observation: "Unless a man shall hate his father and his mother," -etc., which has knocked the wind out of much missionary enterprise. - -I can't write much more about yourself, because I don't know anything -yet. So I shall talk about T[=o]ky[=o]. - -As you know, I have been somewhat idle--for a month at least. And the -loneliness thickens. And certain gentlemen make it a rule to spit upon -the ground with a loud noise when I pass by. I believe the trick is not -confined to the Occident, having found Japanese skilful at it; but these -be nevertheless manners of Heidelberg doctors! Nevertheless, it won't -work. - -But really the conditions are very queer. I felt instinctively before -going to T[=o]ky[=o], that I was going into a world of intrigue; but -what a world I had no conception. The foreign element appears to live -in a condition of perpetual panic. Everybody is infinitely afraid of -everybody else, afraid to speak not only their minds, but to speak -about anything except irrelevant matters, and then only in a certain -formal tone sanctioned by custom. They huddle together sometimes at -parties, and talk all together loudly about nothing,--like people in -the expectation of a possible catastrophe, or like folks making a noise -to drive away ghosts, or fear of ghosts. Somebody, quite accidentally, -observes--or rather drops an observation about facts. Instantly there is -a scattering away from that man as from dynamite. He is isolated for -several weeks by common consent. Then he goes to work to reform a group -of his own. Gradually he collects one--and rival groups are formed. But -presently some one in another party or chat talks about something as it -ought to be. Bang-fizz--chaos and confusion. Then all the groups unite -to isolate that wicked tongue. The man is dangerous--an intriguer--ha! -And so on--_ad lib_. - -This is panic, pure and simple, and the selfishness of panic. But -there is some reason for it--considering the class of minds. We are -all in Japan living over earthquakes. Nothing is stable. All Japanese -officialdom is perpetually in flux,--nothing but the throne is even -temporarily fixed; and the direction of the currents depends much upon -force of intrigue. They shift, like currents in the sea, off a coast of -tides. But the side currents penetrate everywhere, and _clapotent_ all -comers, and swirl round the writing-stool of the smallest clerk,--whose -pen trembles with continual fear for his wife's and babies' rice. -Being good or clever or generous or popular or the best man for the -place counts for very little. Intrigue has nothing at all to do with -qualities. Popularity in the biggest sense has, of course, some value, -but only the value depending upon certain alternations of the rhythm of -outs-and-ins. That's all. - -In the Orient intrigue has been cultivated as an art for ages, and it -has been cultivated as an art in every country, no doubt. But the result -of the adoption of constitutional government by a race accustomed to -autocracy and caste, enabled intrigue to spread like a ferment, in -new forms, through every condition of society,--and almost into every -household. It has become an infinite net--unbreakable, because elastic -as air, though strong enough to upset ministers as readily as to oust -clerks. - -Future prospects--? _Dégringolade_. - -I feel sorry to say that I think I have been wrong about a good many -of my sincere hopes and glowing predictions. T[=o]ky[=o] takes out -of me all power to hope for a great Japanese future. You know how -easily a society in such a state can be manipulated by shrewd foreign -influence. The race must give evidence of some tremendous self-purifying -and self-solidifying power, before my hopes can be restored to their -former rainbow hues. At present I think it can truthfully be said that -every official branch of service shows the rapidly growing weakness -that means demoralization. The causes are numerous--too numerous to -mention,--inadequate pay being a large one, as the best men will not -take positions at $15 or $20 a month. But the great cause is utter -instability and discouragement. The P. O., the telegraph-service, the -railroads, etc., all are in a queer state. - -And I--am as a flea in a wash-bowl. My best chance is to lie quiet and -wait the coming of events. I hope to see Europe, with my boy, some day. - -Well, this is only private history to amuse E. H., to make Western by -contrast to Eastern life seem more beautiful to him. Affectionately, - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1897. - -DEAR E. H.,--I am still alive in alternations of gloom and sun. I -anticipate now chiefly a national bankruptcy, or a war with Russia to -upset my bank-account. There is a Buddhist text (Saddharma-Pundarika, -chap. III, verse 125):--"The man whom they happen to serve is unwilling -to give them much, and what he gives is soon lost. Such is the fruit -of sinfulness." It would be impossible, I imagine, that I should -escape some future extraordinary experience of calamity. It is simply -ridiculous,--can't help seeing the absurdity of it. Otherwise I have -sorrow. - -For my friends have been dying quickly. Some years ago, one said to -me: "You will outlive us: foreigners live longer than Japanese." This -I did not think true, as I know many Japanese over eighty, and the -longevity of the western farmers is sometimes extraordinary--110 years -being not very rare, and 100 plentiful, as examples. But my friend was -doubtless referring to the more delicate classes--the hot-house plants, -conservatory-growths, moulded by etiquette and classical culture and -home-law. And I fear he was right. Nearly all my Japanese friends are -dead. The last case was three or four days ago,--the sweetest of little -women,--a creature not seemingly of flesh and blood, but made of silk -embroidery mixed with soul. She was highly accomplished--one of my -wife's school friends. Married to a good man, but a man unable to care -for her as she ought to have been cared for. No force to bear children: -the pretty creature had never been too strong, and over-education had -strained her nerves. She ought never to have been married at all. She -knew she was dying, and came to bid us good-bye, laughing and lying -bravely. "I must go home," she said, "but I'll soon be well and come -back." She must have suffered terribly for more than a year--but she -never complained, never ceased to smile, never broke down. Died soon -after reaching home. - -Another friend, a man, dying, tells his wife: "Open the windows -(_sh[=o]ji_) wide, that my friend may see the chrysanthemums in the -garden." And he watches my face, laughing, while I pretend to be -pleased. The beauty of his soul is finer than any chrysanthemum, and it -is flitting. He wakes up in the night and calls: "Mother, did you hear -from my friend? is his son well?" Then he goes to sleep again--his last -words--for he is dead at sunrise. These lives are too fine and frail -for the brutal civilization that is going to crush them all out--every -one of them,--and prove to the future that sweetness is immoral _à la -Nietzsche_: that to be unselfish is to sentence one's self to death and -one's beloved to misery and probable extermination. - -But then imagine beings who never, in their lives, did anything which -was not--I will not say "right," that is commonplace--any single thing -which was not _beautiful_! Should I write this the world would, of -course, call me a liar, as it has become accustomed to do. But I could -not now even write of them except to you--the wounds are raw. - -I am thinking about Velvet Souls in general, and all ever known by me in -particular. Almost in every place where I lived long, it was given me to -meet a velvet soul or two--presences (male or female mattered nothing) -which with a word or look wrapped all your being round in a softness and -warmth of emotional caress inexpressible. "Velvet" isn't a good word. -The effect is more like the bath of tropical light and warmth to the -body of a sick voyager from lands of consumption and rheumatism. These -souls are intellectual in many cases, but that is not the interest of -them--the interest is purely emotional. A purely intellectual person is -unpleasant; and I fancy our religion is chiefly hateful because it makes -its gods of the intellectual kind now-a-days. I should like to write -about such souls--but how difficult. A queer thing for me is that in -memory _they unite_, without distinction of sex, into one divine type -of perfect tenderness and sympathy and knowledge,--like those Living -Creatures of Dante's Paradise composed of many different persons. I have -found such souls also in Japan--but only Japanese souls. But they are -melting into the night. - - - LAFCADIO. - -P.S. A very sad but curious story. A charming person, of high rank, -bore twins. A Western woman would be proud and pleased. Shame struck -the Japanese mother down. She became insane for shame. All Japanese -life is not beautiful, you see. Imagine the cruelty of such a popular -idea,--a peasant would have borne the trouble well,--but a daughter of -princes--no! - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1897. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Your last kind letter came just after I had -posted mine to you. Since then I have been horribly busy, and upset, -and confused,--and even now I write rather because feeling ashamed at -having been so long silent, than because I have time to write a good -letter. We got a house only on the 29th, and are only half-settled now. -The house is large--two-storied, and new--but not pretty, and there is -no garden (at least nothing which deserves to be called a garden). We -moved into it _before it was finished_, so as to make sure of it. It is -all Japanese, of course--ten rooms. It belongs to a man who owns seven -hundred and eighty houses!--a very old man, a _Sakeya_, named Masumoto -Kihei. (Somebody tells me I am wrong,--that he has more than eight -hundred houses.) He buries poor people free of charge--that is one of -his ways of showing charity. He has one superintendent who, with many -assistants, manages the renting of the houses. The house is very far -from the university--forty-five minutes by _kuruma_--in Ushigome, and -almost at the very end of T[=o]ky[=o]. But it was a case of _Shikata ga -nai_. - -I teach only twelve hours. I have no text-books except for two -classes,--one of which studies Milton's "Paradise Lost" and the other -Tennyson's "Princess" (at my suggestion). I did not suggest "Paradise -Lost;" but as the students wanted in different divisions of the class -to study different books, made them vote, and, out of seventy-eight, -sixty-three voted for "Paradise Lost"! Curious! (Just because it was -hard for them, I suppose.) My other classes are special, and receive -lectures on special branches of English literature (such as Ballad -Literature, Ancient and Modern; Victorian Literature, etc.);--the -professor being left free to do as he pleases. Of course, the position, -as I try to fill it, will be an expensive one. I shall probably have -to buy $1000 worth of books before next summer. Ultimately everything -will be less expensive. The classes are very badly arranged (_badly_ -is a gentle word); for the 1st, 2d and 3d years of literature make -one class;--the 2d and 3d together another class;--the 3d by itself a -third class. You will see at once how difficult to try to establish a -systematic three-years' course. I am doing it, however,--with Professor -Toyama's approval;--hoping that the classes may be changed next year. - -The students have been very kind and pleasant. My old Kumamoto pupils -invited me to a meeting, and I made a speech to them. They meet in -the same temple where Yaoya-O-Shichi used to meet Kichizo Sama,--her -acolyte-lover. It is called Kichij[=o]ji.--I met some of my old pupils -who had become judges, others who were professors, others engineers. I -felt rather happy. - -Professor Toyama I like more and more. He is a curious man,--really -a _solid_ man and a man of the world,--but not at all unkind, and -extremely straightforward. He _can_ be very sarcastic, and is very -skilful at making jokes. Some of the foreign professors are rather -afraid of his jokes: I have heard him make some sharp ones. But he does -not joke yet with me directly--seems to understand me very well indeed. -He knows a great deal about English authors and their values,--but says -very little about his own studies. I do not understand how he found time -to learn as much about the English and American authors as he seems to -know. He gave me some kind hints about the students--told me exactly -what they liked, and how far to humour them. I had only one long talk -with him,--that was at the house of Dr. Florenz one evening. The doctor -had invited five of us to dinner. - -What else is there to tell you? I must not say too much about the mud, -the bad roads, the horrible confusion caused by the laying-down of those -new water-pipes. The weather is vile, and T[=o]ky[=o] is hideous in -Ushigome. But Setsu is happy--like a bird making its nest. She is fixing -up her new home, and has not yet had time to notice what ugly weather it -is. - -In T[=o]ky[=o] we find everything _very_ cheap,--except house-rent. And -even house-rent is much lower than in K[=o]be,--very much lower. I pay -only $25 for a very big house; but I expect to do even better than that. -Affectionate regards, - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1897. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--This morning (the 17th) Mr. Takahashi came with your -letter of introduction. He is a charming gentleman, and I felt unhappy -at not being able to talk Japanese to him. He brought a most beautiful -present--a tea-set of a sort I had never even seen before,--"crackled" -porcelain inside to the eye, and outside a chocolate-coloured clay -etched with pretty designs of houses and groves and lakes with boats -upon them. The cups were a great surprise and delight--especially as -they were made in Matsue. Mr. Takahashi gave me better news of you than -your last letter brought me: he thought you were getting stronger,--so -I have hopes of pleasant chats with you. He told us many things about -Matsue. He is a very correct, courteous gentleman; and I felt quite -clumsy, as I always do when I meet a real gentleman of the Japanese -school. I think I should like any of your friends. Mr. Takahashi had -something about him which brought back to me the happy feeling of my -pleasant time in Izumo. - -I don't feel to-day, though, like I used to feel in Izumo. I have become -very grey, and much queerer looking; and as I never make any visits or -acquaintances outside of my quiet little neighbourhood, I have become -also rather _henjin_. But I have written half a new book. I am not able -to say now what it will be like: for the things I most wish to put into -it--stories of real life--have not yet been written. I have finished -only the philosophical chapters. One subject is "Nirvana," and another -the study of matter in itself as unreality,--or at least as a temporary -apparition only. Then I have taken up the defence of Japanese methods of -drawing, under the title of "Faces in the Old Picture-Books." My public, -however, is not all composed of thinkers; and I have to please the -majority by telling them stories sometimes. After all, every public more -or less resembles a school-class. They say, just like my students always -used to say when they felt very tired or sleepy, hot days,--"Teacher, we -are tired: please tell us some extraordinary story." - -I can't just now remember when--at Matsue--a man came into the classroom -to watch my teaching. He came from some little island. I have quite -forgotten the name. He looked a little like Mr. Takahashi;--but there -was something different in his face,--a little sad, perhaps. When the -class was over he came to me and said something very good and kind, -and pressed my hand and went away to his island. It is a queer thing -that experiences of this kind are often among the most vivid of one's -life--though they are so short. I have often dreamed of that man. Often -and often. And the dream is always the same. He is the director of a -beautiful little school in a very large garden, surrounded by high white -walls. I go into that garden by an iron gate. It is always summer. I -teach for that man; and everything is gentle and earnest and pleasant -and beautiful, just as it used to be in Matsue,--and he always repeats -the nice things he said long ago. If I can ever find that school, with -the white walls and the iron gate,--I shall want to teach there, even -if the salary be only the nice things said at the end of the class. But -I fear the school is made of mist, and that teacher and pupils are only -ghosts. Or perhaps it is in _H[=o]rai_. - -Ever with best regards from all of us, faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--As for Miss Josephine's letter, I believe that I cannot -answer it at all: it was so sweet that I could only sit down quietly -and think about it,--and I feel that any attempt to answer it on paper -would be no use. There is only one way that it ought to be adequately -answered, and that way I hope that you will adopt for my sake. - -It was a more than happy little romance--that which you told me of, -and makes one feel new things about the great complex life of your -greater world. The poetry of the story makes a singular appeal to -me now--possibly because in this Far East such loving sympathy is -non-existent (at least outside of the household). Artistic life depends -a great deal upon such friendships: I doubt whether it can exist without -them, any more than butterflies or bees could exist without flowers. -The ideal is created by the heart, no doubt; but it is nourished only -by others' faith and love for it. In all this great T[=o]ky[=o] I doubt -if there is a man with an ideal--or a woman (I mean any one not a -Japanese); and so far as I have been able to hear and see there are -consequently no friendships. Can there possibly be friendships where -there is no aspirational life? I doubt it very much. - -I must eat some humble pie. My work during the past ten months has been -rather poor. Why, I cannot quite understand--because it costs me more -effort. Anyhow I have had to rewrite ten essays: they greatly improved -under the process. I am trying now to get a Buddhist commentary for -them--mostly to be composed of texts dealing with preëxistence and -memory of former lives. I took for subjects the following:--Beauty is -Memory;--why beautiful things bring sadness;--the riddle of touch--i. -e., the _thrill_ that a touch gives;--the perfume of youth;--the reason -of the pleasure of the feeling evoked by bright blue;--the pain caused -by certain kinds of red;--mystery of certain musical effects;--fear of -darkness and the feeling of dreams. Queer subjects, are they not? I -think of calling the collection "Retrospectives." It might be dedicated -to "E. B. W.,"--I fancy that I should do well to use the initials only; -for some of the essays might be found a little startling. But when the -work will be finished I cannot tell. - -[Illustration] - -In this T[=o]ky[=o], this detestable T[=o]ky[=o], there are no Japanese -impressions to be had except at rare intervals. To describe to you the -place would be utterly impossible,--more easy to describe a province. -Here the quarter of the foreign embassies, looking like a well-painted -American suburb;--near by an estate with quaint Chinese gates -several centuries old; a little further square miles of indescribable -squalor;--then miles of military parade-ground trampled into a waste -of dust, and bounded by hideous barracks;--then a great park, full of -really weird beauty, the shadows all black as ink;--then square miles of -streets of shops, which burn down once a year;--then more squalor;--then -rice-fields and bamboo groves;--then more streets. All this not -flat, but hilly,--a city of undulations. Immense silences--green and -romantic--alternate with quarters of turmoil and factories and railroad -stations. Miles of telegraph-poles, looking at a distance like enormous -fine-tooth combs, make a horrid impression. Miles of water-pipes--miles -and miles and miles of them--interrupt the traffic of the principal -streets: they have been trying to put them underground for seven -years,--and what with official trickery, etc., the work makes slow -progress. Gigantic reservoirs are ready; but no water in them yet. City -being sued by the foreign engineer (once a university professor) for -$138,000 odd commission on plans! Streets melt under rain, water-pipes -sink, water-pipe holes drown spreeing men and swallow up playful -children; frogs sing amazing songs in the street.--To think of art or -time or eternity in the dead waste and muddle of this mess is difficult. -The Holy Ghost of the poets is not in T[=o]ky[=o]. I am going to try to -find him by the seashore. - -[Illustration] - -The other night I got into a little-known part of T[=o]ky[=o],--a street -all ablaze with lanterns about thirty feet high, painted with weird -devices. And I was interested especially by the insect-sellers. I bought -a number of cages full of night-singing insects, and am now trying to -make a study of the subjects. The noise made by these creatures is very -much more extraordinary than you could imagine; but the habit of keeping -them is not merely due to a love of the noise in itself. No: it is -because these little orchestras give to city-dwellers the _feeling_ of -the delight of being in the country,--the sense of woods and hills and -flowing water and starry nights and sweet air. Fireflies are caged for -the same reason. - -This is a refinement of sensation, is it not?--only a poetical people -could have imagined the luxury of buying summer-voices to make for them -the illusion of nature where there is only dust and mud. Notice also -that the singers are _night-singers_. It is no use to cage the cicadæ: -they remain silent in a cage, and die. - -In this horrid T[=o]ky[=o] I feel like a cicada:--I am caged, and can't -sing. Sometimes I wonder whether I shall ever be able to sing any -more,--except at night?--like a bell-insect which has only _one_ note. - -What more and more impresses me every year is the degree to which the -writer is a creature of circumstance. If he can make the circumstance, -like a Kipling or a Stevenson, he can go on forever. Otherwise he is -likely to exhaust every motive in short order, to the same extent that -he depends on outer influence. - -There was a little under-ripple of premonition in that very sweet letter -from Miss Josephine,--just the faintest suggestion of a thought that the -future might hold troubles in its shadow. Now I suppose that for none -can the future be only luminous; but that you will have a smooth and -steady current to bear you along to the great sea appears to me a matter -of course. I do not imagine there will be rocks and reefs and whirlpools -for you. You have both such large experience of life as it is, and of -the laws and the arts of navigating that water, that I have no anxiety -about you at all. Such little disillusions as you may have should only -draw you nearer together. But there is the sensation of being afraid -for somebody else--one has to face that; and the more boldly, perhaps, -the less the terror becomes. It is worse in the case where one would be -helpless without the other. But I imagine that your union is one of two -strong independent spirits--each skilled in self-guidance. That makes -everything so much easier. - -One thing you _will_ have to do,--that is, to take extremely good care -of yourself for somebody else's sake. Which redounds to my benefit; for -I really don't know what I should do without that occasional wind of -sympathy wherewith your letters refresh me. I keep telling my wife that -it would be ever so much better to leave T[=o]ky[=o], and dwell in the -country, at a very much smaller salary, and have peace of mind. She says -that nowhere could I have any peace of mind until I become a Buddha, and -that with patience we can become independent. This is good; and my few -Japanese friends tell me the same thing. But perhaps the influence from -40 Kilby Street, Boston, is the most powerful and saving of all. - -An earthquake and several other things (I _hate_ earthquakes) -interrupted this letter. It is awfully dull, I know--forgive its -flatness.... - - Ever, dear H., your - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... You speak about that feeling of fulness of the -heart with which we look at a thing,--half angered by inability to -analyze within ourselves the delight of the vision. I think the feeling -is unanalyzable, simply because, as Kipling says in that wonderful -narrative, "The Finest Story in the World," "the doors have been shut -behind us." The pleasure you felt in looking at that tree, at that -lawn,--all the pleasure of the quaint summer in that charming old -city,--was it only _your_ pleasure? There is really no singular,--no -"I." "I" is surely collective. Otherwise we never could explain fully -those movements within us caused by the scent of hay,--by moonlight -on summer waters,--by certain voice tones that make the heart beat -quicker,--by certain colours and touches and longings. The law that -inherited memory becomes transmuted into intuitions or instincts is -not absolute. Only some memories, or rather parts of them, are so -transformed. Others remain--will not die. When you felt the charm of -that tree and that lawn,--many who would have loved you were they able -to live as in other days, were looking through you and remembering -happy things. At least I think it must have been so. The different ways -in which different places and things thus make appeal would be partly -explained;--the supreme charm referring to reminiscences reaching -through the longest chain of life, and the highest. But no pleasure of -this sort can have so ghostly a sweetness as that which belongs to the -charm of an ancestral home--in which happy generations have been. Then -how much dead love lives again, and how many ecstasies of the childhoods -of a hundred years must revive! We do not _all_ die,--said the ancient -wise man. How much of us dies is an unutterable mystery. - -Science is rather provoking here. She tells us we are advancing toward -equilibration, to be followed by dissolution, to be succeeded by another -evolution, to end in another disintegration--and so on forever. Why a -cosmos must be dissipated into a nebula, and the nebula again resolved -into a sun-swarm, she confesses that she does not know. There is no -comfort in her except the comfort of doubt,--and that is wholesome. But -she says one encouraging thing. No thought can utterly perish. As all -life is force, the record of everything must pass into the infinite. -Now what is this force that shapes and unshapes universes? Might it -be old thoughts and words and passions of men? The ancient East so -declares. There can be rest eternal only when--not in one petty world, -but throughout all the cosmos--the Good only lives. Here all is, of -course, theory and ignorance,--for all we know. Still the faith ought to -have value. How would the well-balanced man try to live if once fully -persuaded that his every thought would affect not only the future of -himself, but of the universe! The other day something queer happened. I -was vexed about something wrong that had been done at a distance. Some -days after, one said to me: "The other day, while you were so angry, -people were killed"--mentioning the place. "I know that," I said. "But -do you not feel sorry?" "Why should I feel sorry?--I did not kill -anybody." "_How do you know you did not? Your anger might have been -added to the measure of the anger that caused the wrong._" Unto this I -could not reply. Thinking over the matter, indeed, who can say what his -life may be to the life of the unseen about him? - - Ever very affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... The idea of a set of philosophical fairy-tales -often haunts me. One doesn't need to go to the Orient for the material. -It is everywhere. The Elle-woman is real. So are the Sirens, Circe, and -the Sphinx and Herakles and Admetos and Alkestis. So are the Harpies, -and Medusa, and the Fates who measure and cut and spin. But when I try, -I find myself unable to create for want of a knowledge of every-day -life,--that life which is the only life the general reader understands -or cares about. - -Then the philosophical fairy-tales might deal with personal experiences -common to all men,--impulse and sorrow and loss and hope and discovery -of the hollowness of things. But the inclination only is with me,--the -pushing sensation,--the vague cloud-feeling of the thing. Can you -help--suggest--define--develop by a flash or two? If you can, be sweet, -and tell me; and the fairy-tales shall be dedicated unto you. Indeed -they shall in any case, if I can ever write them. In haste, with love, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1897. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I can only very poorly express my real feeling at the -true goodness shown me, not only in coming out to my miserable little -shanty, over that muddy chaos of street,--but in making me feel so -free-and-easy with you, in the charming way you accepted the horrid -attempt at entertainment, and in the hundred ways by which you showed -your interest and sympathy. It was more than nice--that is all I can say. - -But you set some mental machinery at work too. I believe almost your -first remark was your desire that I should write fiction,--and I believe -I understand why you wish this. It is because you wish me to make some -profit out of my pen; and, being well informed on all business matters, -you know, just as well as we literary men do, that fiction is about -the only material that really pays. And now I am going, after a little -thinking about the matter, to answer you in kind. - -Why do not men like myself write more fiction? For two reasons. -The first is because they have little knowledge of life, little -_savoir-vivre_, to help them in the study of the artificial and complex -growth of modern society. The second is that, unless very exceptionally -situated, they are debarred, by this very want of knowledge and skill, -from mixing with that life which alone can furnish the material. Society -everywhere suspects them; common life repels them. They can _divine_, -but they must have rare chances to do that. Men like the genius Kipling -belong to the great life-struggle, understand it, reflect it, and the -world worships them. But dreamers who talk about preëxistence, and -who think differently from common-sense folk, are quite outside of -social existence. But--I can do this: You know all about the foreign -life of these parts,--the shadows and the lights. You can give me, -perhaps, in the course of three years, _suggestions_ for six little -stories--based upon the relations between foreigners and Japanese in -this era of Meiji: studies of the life of the "open ports." I should -need only real facts--not names or dates--real facts of beauty or -pathos or tragedy. There are hosts of these. All the life of the open -ports is not commonplace: there are heroisms and romances in it; and -there is nothing in this world nearly as wonderful as life itself. All -real life is a marvel--but in Japan a marvel that is hidden as much as -possible--especially hidden from dangerous chatterers like Lafcadio -Hearn. - -Of course I could not make a book in a few months,--not in less than two -or three years; but I _could_ make one, with the mere help of hints from -a man who knows. And if that book of short stories (six would be enough -to make a book) should ever be so written, I should certainly make a -dedication of it to M. McD. as prettily as I could. - -There is an answer to your wish so far as I can make one for the -present. I shall be down to see you the next month, probably, and we can -chat over matters if you have time. And I shall take care not to come -when you are _too_ busy. - -Faithfully, with affectionate regards and thanks, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1897. - -DEAR [=O]TANI,--I have your very nice letter, which gave me -much pleasure. This is just a line before I go away, in regard to the -subject for January, and relevant matters. - -First let me tell you that you are very, very much -mistaken--extraordinarily mistaken--in thinking that I do not care for -what you call "vulgar" songs. They are just what I care _most_ about. In -all the poems that you translated for me this month, I could find but -_one_ that I liked very much; and that was a _dodoitsu_. - -Now I am going to shock you by saying something that may surprise you; -but if I do not say it, you will _never_ understand what I want. In all -the great mass of student poetry that you collected for me, I found -only seventeen pieces that I could call poetry,--and on submitting -those seventeen pieces to higher tests, I found that nearly all were -reflections of thoughts and feelings from older poets. As for the book -that you translated, I could find no true poetry in it at all, and -scarcely anything original. - -And now let me tell you my honest opinion about this whole matter. The -_refined_ poetry of this era, and most of the poetry that you collected -for me of other eras, is of little or no value. On the other hand, the -"vulgar" songs sung by coolies and fishermen and sailors and farmers and -artisans, are very true and beautiful poetry; and would be admired by -great poets in England, in France, in Italy, in Germany, or in Russia. - -You will think, of course, that this only shows my ignorance and my -stupidity. But please reflect a little about the matter. A great poem -by Heine, by Shakespeare, by Calderon, by Petrarch, by Hafiz, by -Saadi, remains a great poem _even when it is translated into the prose -of another language_. It touches the emotion or the imagination in -every language. But poetry which cannot be translated is of no value -whatever in world-literature; and it is not even true poetry. It is a -mere playing with values of words. True poetry has nothing to do with -mere word-values. It is fancy, it is emotion, it is passion, or it is -thought. Therefore it has power and truth. Poetry that depends for -existence on the peculiarities of _one language_ is waste of time, and -can never live in people's hearts. For this reason there is more value -in the English ballad of "Childe Waters" or of "Tamlane," than in the -whole of the verse of Pope. - -Of course, I know there are some beautiful things in Japanese classical -poetry--I have translations from the _Many[=o]sh[=u]_ and _Kokinsh[=u]_ -which are beautiful enough to live forever in any language. But these -are beautiful because they do _not_ depend on word-values, but upon -sentiment and feeling. - -I fear you will think all this very foolish and barbarous; but perhaps -it will help you to understand what I want. "Vulgar" poetry is supremely -valuable, in my humble opinion. - -Please this month collect for me, if you can, some poems on the _Sound -of the Sea and the Sound of the Wind_. If there are not many poems on -these subjects, then you might add poems on the Sea and the Wind in any -other connection. What I want to get is the _feeling_ that the sound and -the mystery of Wind and Sea have inspired in Japanese Song. - -With best wishes ever, faithfully yours, - - Y. KOIZUMI. - -[Illustration: WRITING-ROOM IN MR. HEARN'S T[=O]KY[=O] HOUSE - _His three sons on the verandah_] - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1898. - -MY DEAR [=O]TANI,--I am pleased to hear that the incident was -imaginary,--because this gives me a higher idea of your sense of art. -True literary art consists very largely in skilful combination of real -or possible facts in an imaginary succession. Literature artistic never -can be raw truth, any more than a photograph can be compared with a -painting. Here is a little sentence from one of the greatest of modern -French writers:-- - -"_L'art n'a pas la vérité pour objet._ Il faut demander la vérité aux -Sciences, parce qu'elle est leur objet;--il ne faut pas la demander a la -littérature, _qui n'a et ne peut avoir d'objet_ que le beau." (Anatole -France.) - -Of course this must not be taken _too_ literally; but it is -substantially the most important of truths for a writer to keep in mind. -I would suggest this addition: "Remember that nothing can be beautiful -which does not contain truth, and that making an imagination beautiful -means also to make it partly true." - -Your English is poor still; but your composition was _artistic_, and -gave me both surprise and pleasure. You understand something about the -grouping of facts in the dramatic sense, and how to appeal by natural -and simple incidents to the reader's emotion. The basis of art is there; -the rest can only come with years of practice,--I mean the secret of -compressed power and high polish. I would suggest that when writing -in your own language, you aim hereafter somewhat in the direction of -compression. You are now somewhat inclined to diffuseness; and a great -deal is gained in strength by understanding how much of detail can be -sacrificed.... - - Yours faithfully, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I believe those three days, of mine in Yokohama were the -most pleasurable in a pilgrimage of forty-seven years. I can venture to -say little more about them _per se_. Such experience will not do for me -except at vast intervals. It sends me back to work with much too good -an opinion of myself,--and that is bad for literary self-judgement. -The beneficial result is an offsetting of that morbid condition,--that -utter want of self-confidence. On the whole, I feel "toned-up"--full -of new energy; that will not be displeasing to you. I not only feel -that I ought to do something good, but I am going to do it,--with the -permission of the gods. - -How nice of you to have invited Amenomori to our tiffin,--and the trip -to [=O]mori! I look forward in the future to a Kamakura day, under like -circumstances, when time and tide permit. I believe A. can surprise us -at Kamakura, which he knows better than any man living. He does not give -his knowledge to many people. - -I am sending you Knapp's book, as I promised, and that volume of mine -which you have not read. Excuse the shabbiness of the volumes. I think -Dr. Hall knows much about the curious dialect which I have used,--the -Creole. Please say to him for me what you feel ought to be said. - -I won't write any more now--and I settle down forthwith to work with -fresh vim and hope. - -With more than grateful remembrance, - - Affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have both of your kindest letters. It gave me no small -pleasure to find that you liked "Youma:" you will not like it less -knowing that the story is substantially true. You can see the ruins of -the old house in the Quartier du Fort if you ever visit Saint-Pierre, -and perhaps meet my old friend Arnoux, a survivor of the time. The girl -really died under the heroic conditions described--refusing the help of -the blacks, and the ladder. Of course I may have idealized _her_, but -not her act. The incident of the serpent occurred also; but the heroine -was a different person,--a plantation girl, celebrated by the historian -Rufz de Lavison. I wrote the story under wretched circumstances in -Martinique, near the scenes described, and under the cross with the -black Christ. As for the "Sylvestre Bonnard" I believe I told you that -that was translated in about ten days and published in two weeks from -the time of beginning--at the wish of the Harpers. Price $115, if I -remember rightly,--and no commission on sales,--but the work suffers in -consequence of the haste. - -How to answer your kind suggestion about pulling me "out of my shell," -I don't well know. I like to be out of the shell--but much of that kind -of thing could only result in the blue devils. After seeing men like you -and the other Guardsman,--the dear doctor,--one is beset with a foolish -wish to get back into the world which produced you both, back to the -U. S. A.,--out of Government grind, out of the unspeakable abomination -and dulness and selfishness and stupidity of mere officialism. And I -can't afford that feeling often--not _yet_. I have too many little -butterfly-lives to love and take care of. Some day, I know, I must get -back for a time. Meanwhile I must face the enemy and stand the music. - -Now I want you to tell me that Highbinder romance when I next meet you. -Perhaps your solitary experience could give me more than one good story. -Every good man's life is full of romances. The trouble is to get him to -tell them, and to understand them properly when told. Your "Prussian -officer" is delicious; but I fear my talent is not quite up to the mark -of telling it as it ought to be told. Maupassant--Kipling--they would -delight the world with such a thing. Never mind!--I am sure, _if_ you -want me to write stories, that you can give me all the material you -want or that I need. I shall sit again at the table, supporting that -beautiful cap with its silver-eagle,--and I shall talk and talk and talk -until you tell me more stories. - -Won't you be glad to hear that my new book will be finished this -month,--perhaps this week? Then for the "Stories from Many Lips"--or -something of that kind. - - Ever affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I got your kindest reply to my note of the other -day,--actually apologizing for not writing sooner. But I told you never -to bother yourself about writing me when you do not feel like it or when -you are in the least busy; and I shall never feel neglected if you be -silent, but only think that you have business on hand, and hope that you -will have good luck in the undertaking. - -Why, yes: I must get down some Saturday, or Friday afternoon--that would -be still better--so as to return to T[=o]ky[=o] Sunday night: for my -Saturdays are free. But not _too_ soon. It is only about two weeks since -I was with you--though I acknowledge that it seems to me like three -months. I wish I could see you more often;--then again, I think, you -would be tired of my chatter soon. (I know what you would protest; but -it doesn't matter.) Well, not to argue too much, I promise to make a -visit during February,--though I shall scarcely be able to name an exact -day in advance. - -I have never been in San Francisco, unfortunately. But that matters -little, if I can ask all the questions I want. The value in a literary -way of the scenes would be less the scenes themselves than the -impression which they made upon your own memory. I anticipate much -pleasure in asking you about it, as well as delight in hearing the story -itself. - -What will you think of my wickedness? I am going to tell you a bad -story about myself. The other day (I mustn't try to pretend it was -long ago, like I did about the Club-Hotel story in your carriage, for -fear of being questioned as to direct facts) my publishers sent me -some rather nasty newspaper clippings, together with what affected to -be a manuscript history of my personal eccentricities and weaknesses. -They suggested that I should correct, amend, or reject, but that they -should be glad to publish it with my approval. (About 19 pp. I think.) -Having read it with considerable anger, I laid it aside for a couple -of days,--during which time I effectually restrained the first impulse -to write a furious letter. Then I most effectually amended that MS.; I -corrected it as thoroughly as it could possibly be corrected--but not -with pencil or pen: such instruments being quite inadequate for the -purpose. In short, I corrected, amended, and rejected it all at the same -time--with the assistance of a red-hot stove. They shall never know; but -as murder will out, I must tell somebody, and that somebody shall be -you. With best regards to the doctor,--ever with hopes to see you _soon_, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--It would do me a great deal of harm if I could believe -your appreciations and predictions; but I am quite sure you are mistaken -about both. As to success, I think my greatest good fortune would -consist in being able occasionally to travel for about six months,--just -to pick up strange or beautiful literary material. If I can ever manage -that much--or even if I can manage to get so far independent that I can -escape from officialdom--I shall be very fortunate indeed. Want to get -to Europe for a time, in any case, to put my boy there. But all this is -dream and shadow, perhaps. - -Literary success of any enduring kind is made only by refusing to do -what publishers want, by refusing to write what the public want, by -refusing to accept any popular standard, by refusing to write anything -to order. I grant it is not the way to make money quickly; but it is the -way--and the only way--to win what sincerity in literary effort ought to -obtain. My publishers have frankly gone over to the Philistines. I could -not write for them further even if they paid me $100 per line. - -What a selfish letter I am writing! You are making me talk too much -about my own affairs, and you would really spoil me, if you could. -Talking to me of fame and hundreds of thousands of dollars! Of course -I should like to have hundreds of thousands, and to hold them at your -disposal; but I should also like to live in the realization of the life -of the Arabian Nights. About the truth of life seems to be this: You can -get what you wish for only when you have stopped wishing for it, and do -not care about keeping it. - -I see your name in the papers often now, and in connections that fill me -with gladness. You are a power again in the land--wish you could be here -for longer than you are going to stay. But, after all, that would not be -best for you--would it? - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--_After all_, instinct isn't a bad thing. Your -just-received excellent advice is precisely what my "blind instinct"--as -scientific men call it--told me. No: I shall do nothing without -consulting you. - -Well, I imagine that not _next_ Friday, but the Friday after will be -most convenient to you. I'll try the later date, therefore. (Friday need -not be a Black Friday in Japan--I used to hate to do anything on that -day--landed in Japan on Good Friday (!) but now I belong to the Oriental -gods.) - -Wonder if you know that the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ has sent a poet -here to write up Japan--M. André Bellesort. He is a man of big literary -calibre, and has a rare wife--who speaks Persian. About as charming a -Frenchwoman as one could wish to know. She speaks English, Italian, and -Spanish besides. Trying to get them interested in Amenomori. They are at -the Hotel Metropole,--perhaps on account of the Legation. - - Faithfully and affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I _ought_ to have answered you about the subject of -investment the other day; but I thought it would be better to wait. -However, now I think (I have just received your telegram, and I confess -it made me uncomfortable) that I had better write my feelings frankly. -I suppose that, being naturally born to bad luck, I shall lose my small -savings in the ordinary course of the world's events; but I would -prefer this prospect to the worry of mind that I should have about -any investment. In fact, rather than stand that worry again (I have -had it once) I should prefer to lose everything now. The mere idea of -business is a horror, a nightmare, a torture unspeakable. The moment I -think about business I wish that I had never been born. I can assure -you truthfully that I would rather burn a five hundred dollar bill than -invest it,--because, having burned it, I could forget all about it, and -trust myself to the mercy of the gods. Even if I had Jay Gould behind -me, to pull me up every time I fell, I should not have anything to do -with business. Even to have to write you this letter makes me wish that -all the business in the world could be instantly destroyed. I am afraid -to explain more. I think I won't go to Yokohama on Friday next--but -later,--well, what's the use of writing more--you will understand how I -feel. Ever most faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--When I saw that big envelope, I thought to myself, -"Lord! what a _lot_ of h--l I am going to get!" You see my conscience -was bad. I was wrong not to have told you long ago of my peculiar -'phobia. And inside that envelope there was only the kindest of kind -letters,--proving that you understood me perfectly well, and forthwith -putting me at ease. - -I read the prospectus with great interest (by the way, I am returning -it, because, as it is still in the state of a private document, I think -it is better that I do not keep it); and I am proud of my friend. _He_ -can do things! "Canst thou play with Leviathan like a bird? Or canst -thou bind him for thy handmaidens?" No, I can't, and I am not going to -try; but I have a friend in Yokohama--an officer of the U. S. Navy--_he_ -plays with Leviathan, and makes him "talk soft, soft words"--indeed he -even "presses down his tongue with a cord." Well, I should like you to -be as rich as you could be made rich, without having worry. But as for -_me_!--the greatest favour you can ever do me is to take off my hands -even the business that I have--contracts, and the like,--so that I need -never again remember them. Besides, if I were dead, you are the one I -should want to be profiting by my labours. Then every time you set your -jaw square, and made them "fork over," my ghost would squeak and chipper -for delight,--and you would look around to see where the bats came from. - -Well, next week I'll try to get down. In fact I feel that I must go to -Yokohama, for various reasons besides imposing upon a certain friend -there. To-day I have been packing up my book all the time from morning -until now--so as to send by registered letter. - -About "the best." You are a dreadful man! How could you think that I had -got even halfway to the bottom. I have only drunk three bottles yet; -but that is a shameful "only." Three bottles in one month is simply -outrageous; and I look into the glass often to observe the end of my -nose. That "best" is too seductive. - -With affectionate thanks for kindest letter, - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Your telegram made me feel comfortable. I had been a -little uneasy,--especially because you never told me what really was -the matter;--and when a man like you cannot bend his back, the matter -could not have been a joke. Also the telegram convinced me that you were -really thinking about coming up, and possibly might come up during the -spring or the summer or the coming autumn season, and that I could squat -on the floor and talk to you--which made me comparatively happy. - -I have been otherwise disgracefully blue. When I want to feel properly -humble, I read "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan"--about half a page;--then -I howl, and wonder how I could ever have written so badly,--and find -that I am really only a very twenty-fifth-rate workman and that I -ought to be kicked. Then the weather has been trying;--the mails are -behind;--the afflictions of T[=o]ky[=o] manifold. Also I have been -provoked to think that there is no other person like you known to me -in the entire world,--and that you are by no means immortal,--and -that, even as it is, you think ever so much more of me than I deserve. -Also I have been meditating on the unpermanency of the universe, and -considering the possible folly of making books at all.--This must be the -darkness before the dawn: at least I ought to think so. - -I have partly in mind the plan for making the best part of number eight -out of stories adapted from the Japanese. Not sure that I can carry the -plan out satisfactorily;--but I am resolved that number eight must be -worthy of your hopes for me,--and that it shall prove an atonement for -the faults of the first book dedicated to you. - -Take all care of yourself, and believe me most grateful for that -telegram. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--Two or three mornings ago I woke up with a vague feeling -of pleasure--a dim notion that something very pleasant had occurred -the day before. Then I remembered that the pleasure had come from your -unanswered letter. I kept putting off writing, nevertheless, day after -day, in consequence partly of the conviction that such a letter should -not be answered in a dull mood, and partly because some of my college -work this past week has been more than usually complicated--involving -a study of subjects that I thoroughly hate, but must try to make -interesting--the literature and spirit of the eighteenth century. - -Well, even now, I do not quite know what to say about your letter. To -tell me that I have something of your father's spirit more than pleased -me--not because I could quite believe it, but because you did. Your -father must have been a very fine man, without any pettiness,--and -I have more smallness in me than you can suspect. How could it be -otherwise! If a man lives like a rat for twenty or twenty-five years, -he must have acquired something of the disposition peculiar to -house-rodents,--mustn't he? Anyhow, I could never agree to let you take -all the trouble you propose to take for me merely as a matter of "thank -you." I must contrive ways and means to better your proposal--not to -cancel the obligation, for that could not be done, but at least to make -you quite sure that I appreciate the extreme rarity of such friendship. - -I am writing with hesitation to-day (chiefly, indeed, through a sense of -duty to you),--for I fear that you are in trouble, and that my letter is -going to reach you at the worst possible time. However, I hope you have -not lost any very dear friends by that terrible accident at Havana. I -think you told me that you were once on that ship, nevertheless; and I -fear that you must receive some bad news. My sympathies are with you in -any event. - -My Boston friend is lost to me, certainly. I got a letter yesterday -from him--showing the serious effect upon friendship of taking to one's -self a wife,--a fashionable wife. It was meant to be exactly like the -old letters;--but it wasn't. Paymaster M. M. must also some day take a -wife, and ... Oh! I know what you are going to say;--they all say that! -They all assure you that they _both_ love you, and that their house -will be always open to you, etc., etc., and then--they forget all about -you--purposely or otherwise. Still, one ought to be grateful,--the -dropping is so gently and softly done. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MR. AND MRS. JOHN ALBEE - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -MY DEAR FRIENDS,--I am going to address you together, as that will save -me from the attempt to write in two keys corresponding to the differing -charm of your two letters. Certainly it gave me, as you surmised, -sincere pleasure to hear from you. Mrs. Albee surprised me at the same -time by a most agreeable, though I fear somewhat _generous_, reference -to a forgotten letter. I think I must have penned many extravagances in -those days. I _know_ it--in certain cases: anyhow I should be afraid -to read my own letters to Mr. Albee over again. As for my old ambition -then expressed, I don't quite know what to say. The attempt referred to -led me far at one time in the wrong direction--though whatever I have -learned of style has certainly been due rather to French and Spanish -studies than to English ones. I have now dropped theories, nevertheless; -and I simply try to do the best I can, without reference to schools. - -Do you know that I had a dim notion always that Mr. Albee was a -millionaire,--or at least a very wealthy dilettante?--which would be -the best of reasons for never sending him a book, notwithstanding my -grateful remembrance of his first generous encouragement. (_Here_ I use -"generous" in the strongest meaning possible.) I am, _selfishly_, rather -pleased to hear that the price of a book is sometimes for him, as for -me, a question worth thinking over--because the fact permits me to offer -him a volume occasionally. Otherwise indeed I wish he were rich as my -fancy painted him. - -You say that you have not read "all my books on Japan." Any that you -particularly care to read, I can send you--though I should not recommend -the "Glimpses," except for reference. "Kokoro" would probably best -please Mrs. Albee, and after it, "Out of the East." Hereafter I shall -send a copy of every "new book" to you. Of course I shall be glad to -have the pleasure of seeing Mr. Albee's "Prose Idyls"--many sincere -thanks for the kind remembrance! - -With kindest and best regards, faithfully ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO JOHN ALBEE - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1898. - -DEAR MR. ALBEE,--My best thanks for the "Prose Idyls." The book leaves -on the mind an impression of quiet brightness like that of a New -England summer sky thinly veiled. Three idyls especially linger in -my imagination,--each for a reason all its own. Hawthorne might have -written "The Devil's Bargain:" it is a powerful moral fancy, and the -touch of grotesque humour in it is just enough to keep it from being -out of tone in the gallery of optimist studies. "The Family Mirror" is -haunting: the whole effect, to my notion, being brought out by that -charming reference to the damaged spot at the back. Then "A Mountain -Maid" much appealed to me by its suggestion of that beautiful and -mysterious _sauvagerie_, as the French call it,--that wholly instinctive -shrinking from caress, which develops with the earliest budding of -womanhood, but which the girl could not herself possibly explain. -Indeed I fancy that only evolutional philosophy can explain it at all. -Analogous conditions in the boy of fourteen or fifteen are well worthy -of study--already I had attempted a little sketch on this subject, which -_may_ be printed some day or other: "A Pair of Eyes." - -My next volume will have a series of what I might call _metaphysical -idyls_, perhaps, at its latter end. I fear you will think them too -sombre,--now that I have felt something of the sunshine of your soul. -However, each of us can only give his own tone to the thread which he -contributes to the infinite warp and woof of human thought and emotion. -Is it not so? With kindest regards to Mrs. Albee, very gratefully yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I must try to forget some of your beautiful letter -for fear that it should give me much too good an opinion of myself. A -reverse state of mind is, on the whole, much better for the writer,--I -mean for any professional writer. - -I believe all that you wish me to believe about your generous call--but, -if friend McDonald does not think my house a poor rat-trap, that is -because friend McDonald has not yet discovered what a beautiful Japanese -house is like. Let me assure him, therefore, that it is something so -dainty, so wonderful, that only by custom can one cease to be afraid to -walk about in it. - -Yes, as you surmised, one of your suggestions is wrong. The professional -writer, however small his own powers may be, generally knows the range -of literary possibilities; and I _know_ that what you wish cannot be -done by any Western writer with the least hope of success. It has -been extensively tried--always with the result of failure. The best -attempt, perhaps, was the effort of Judith Gautier,--a very delicate -French writer; but it did not succeed. As for "A Muramasa Blade," "Mito -Yashiki," etc., the less said the better. In any case, it is not so much -that the subject itself is immensely difficult for a foreigner, as that -even supposing this difficulty mastered, the Western public would not -care twopence about the result. Material is everywhere at hand. Yearly, -from the Japanese press are issued the most wonderful and thrilling -stories of Japanese feudal life; but a master-translation of these, -accompanied with illustrations of the finest kind, would fall dead in a -Western book-market, and find its way quickly into the ten-cent boxes of -second-hand dealers. And why? Simply because the Occidental reader could -not feel interested in the poetry or romance of a life so remote. - -No: the public want in fiction things taken raw and palpitating out of -life itself,--the life they know,--the life everybody knows,--not that -which is known only to a few. Stories from Japan (or India or China, -for that matter) must be stories about Western people among alien -surroundings. And the people must not be difficult to understand; they -must be people like the owner of the "Mary Gloster" in Kipling's "Seven -Seas." (You ought to buy that book--and love it.) Of course, I don't -mean to say that I could ever do anything of Kipling's kind--I should -have to do much humbler work,--but I am indicating what I mean by "raw -out of life." - -As for the other suggestion,--who ever was such a pretty maker of -compliments!--I can only say that I am happy to have a friend who thus -thinks of me. - -Gratefully, with much thanks for your charming letter, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I did not think much of the title of Morrow's book; -but your judgement of the stories interested me, and the selfsame -evening I began the volume--in bed. I read three quarters at a run, and -the rest early in the morning. They are queer and sometimes powerful -little stories--not less interesting because they are, most of them, -improbable. They have the charm of the now old-fashioned stories of -1850-70,--perhaps not finished to the same extent as the _Atlantic_ -stories used to be; but they make me think of them a little. (The -literary centres clamour for realism to-day; but I fancy that the taste -for the romantic will live a good while longer.) Then again there is a -little of the old-time gold light of California days here--that will -always have a charm for readers. I wonder if Morrow is a young man: if -he is, I should believe him likely to do still better in the future. If -he writes for money, he need not do much finer work; but if just for -love of the thing, I should say that he could finish his work better -than he does,--as in the study of the emotions of the man who finds -his wife untrue to him, and solves a moral problem after quite an -ideal fashion. The subject was splendid: it might have been made more -of.--But not to criticize things--especially things which I could not do -myself--I must say that I enjoyed the tales, and that they ought to have -a very good sale. - -Somehow your own story--the "Highbinder story"--kept riding on the back -of that gold dragon all the while I was reading. The real dominated the -romantic, and yet betimes made the romantic seem possible. I could feel -everything to be just as it was--my experience as a police-reporter gave -verisimilitude to the least detail. You are after all a knight-errant in -soul,--a real knight, tilting, not against shadows and windmills, but -against the dragons of corrupted law and the giants of fraud who haunt -the nineteenth century. You are a survival, I fear--there are few like -you: you ride alone: all the more reason that you should take every care -of yourself--care of your health; I fear you are not exercising enough, -keeping too confined. If you are really, as I believe, fond of your -little friend, don't forget his prayer that you make health your No. 1 -consideration. - -Hope to be down Friday about 2 P. M. or 2.30 at latest. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - MARCH, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I do not feel pleased at your returning to me -the money and giving me your own copy of the book. I feel mean over -it. But what can one do with a man who deliberately takes off his own -coat to cover his friend during a nine minutes' drive? I shall remember -the _feeling_ of that coat--warmth of friendship must also have been -electrical in it--until I die. - -Affectionately and somewhat reproachfully,--in haste, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I write _in haste_, so as not to keep your man waiting. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Just got your letter,--your more than kind letter. -Happily there is no occasion to send the telegram. I am getting well -fast, and think I shall be lecturing on Monday. No: I did not minimize -things. I have been laid up, but it was more painful than serious. Can't -tell what it was--a painful swelling of one side of the face, and nose. -My picturesque nose suffered most. That a square mile of solid pain -could be concentrated into one square inch of nose was a revelation! -Anyhow, it felt just like a severe case of frost-bite; but I suppose it -was only some sort of a cold. Going to Yokohama had nothing to do with -it; but the weather must have had. It was rather trying, you know, last -Tuesday. - -You are the one who tries to minimize things, my dear friend, by -assuring me that there are thousands of ... people like yourself. I -am glad to think that you _can_ believe thus well of the world; but I -can't, and I should not be glad to think you were right. I prefer the -exceptional. Then you will remember my philosophical theory that no two -living beings have even the same voice, and that it is the uniqueness -of each that has value. I should have to abandon my theories to accept -your opinion of things in general, and I am prejudiced in favour of my -theories. - -Perhaps next week I can run down, and if that be not a good time for -you, the week following. Anyhow the term will be over in about two weeks -more, and--I hope--the cold. Tuesday deceived even the creatures of the -spring. Hundreds of little frogs began to chant their song of birth, and -flowers were opening everywhere. Now there is no sound of a frog. They -woke up too soon, the creatures,--and the flowers look as if they were -dying of consumption. In your hotel you don't know all this--because you -keep up the atmosphere of the Bermudas under that roof. In Ushigome we -are practically in the country, and observe the seasons. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Wasn't I lucky in deciding to get back early last night? -It would have been no easy matter getting back this morning--everything -is drowned in snow! That was the reason of yesterday's atrocious cold. -Verily I was inspired by the gods--both as to going and returning. - -This morning I woke up with an extreme feeling of comfort and -lightness--which reminded me that something very pleasant must have -happened the day before,--and I heard the U.S.C. cynically observing -with a Mephistophelian smile, "Well, I guess our friend here will pull -your chestnuts out of the fire for you!" And then I thanked all the host -of heaven for that which had been, and also for that which would never -again be. After all, I _am_ rather a lucky fellow,--a most peculiarly -lucky fellow. Principally owing to the note written some eight years ago -by a certain sweet young lady whose portrait now looks down on me from -the ceiling of No. 21 Tomihisa-ch[=o], Ichigaya, Ushigome-ku, in the -city of T[=o]ky[=o], Japan. - -I send with this "Some Chinese Ghosts" in awfully bad condition. Early -work of a man who tried to understand the Far East from books,--and -couldn't; but then, the real purpose of the stories was only artistic. -Should I ever reprint the thing, I would change nothing,--but only -preface the new edition with a proper apology. - -You remember my anecdote yesterday of the Memphis man--"What! a d--d -nigger? I'd as soon shoot a nigger as I'd shoot a rat!" He was a very -pretty boy, too. I forgot to tell you something also about him that -occurs to me this morning. He was walking lame in a pair of top-boots -one morning, and I asked him what was the matter. "Only these d--d -boots," he said; "they've taken all the skin off my feet." "Haven't you -another pair?" I asked. "Lots of 'em," he answered; "but I'm not going -to _give in_ to these: I won't let 'em get the better of _me_!--I won't -let them get the better of _me_!" I rather admired this vengeful and -foolish pluck; and I am thinking now that I'd better follow the example. -Spite of all conditions I'm getting No. 6 book under way; and I won't -_give in_ either to publishers or to public. - -Loving thanks for yesterday's extraordinary enjoyableness and for all -things. In haste. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am looking and looking for your last kind letter; but -for the moment I cannot find it. So I must give it up for to-night, if I -am to write you. - -I'm through with the university; and I must get down to Yokohama, either -to-morrow or Monday, and try to bore you, and to coax that story from -Mrs. Burns (is that the name?),--but I shall make another visit later, -if the weather allows. This will be only an expedition--partly in search -of literary material. I feel I must get a few stories, to keep on the -surface. Otherwise I'll get heavy and sink. I have been rather heavy -lately. My dog-sketch has developed into such a nightmare that I myself -am afraid of it, and don't want to think about it for a few days. Then -I have just finished a short sketch, "In a Pair of Eyes"--considerably -metaphysical. Such things may interest; but they will not touch hearts; -and an author must try to get loved by his readers. So I shall forage. - -Consul General Gowey gave me an agreeable start the other day by sending -me a number of "The Philistine"--you know the little thing, very -clever--with a pretended quotation from one of my books. The quotation, -however, hit what I _think_,--though I never put the matter in just that -shape. It was nice of the consul to send it--made me feel jolly. I must -some day send him something to amuse him. Not to like him is impossible. - -I think you must have hosts of friends now calling on you,--since the -battle-powers of the great Republic are gathering out this way. I hope -you won't have to get yourself killed for Uncle Sam; but if you have, I -want to be in the conning-tower about the same time. I fancy, however, -that Manila would not be a mouthful if the navy is ordered to gobble it; -and that the chief result of the expedition to U. S. officers would be -an uncommonly large and fine supply of cigars. - -I have last week declined three dinners. It strikes me that the average -university professor is circumstanced about thus:-- - -1. Twelve to fourteen lectures a week. - -2. Average of a hundred official banquets per year. - -3. Average of sixty private society-dinners. - -4. Average of thirty to fifty invitations to charitable, musical, -uncharitable, and non-musical colonial gatherings. - -5. Average of a hundred and fifty social afternoon calls. - -6. Average of thirty requests for contributions to Japanese publications. - -7. Average of a hundred requests for pecuniary contributions from all -sources. - -8. Average of four requests per month for speeches or outside lectures. - -9. Average of a hundred calls from students "wanting" things--chiefly to -waste _the professor's_ time. - -This is only about half the list. I say "No" to _everything_--softly, -of course. Otherwise how should I exist, breathe, even have time to -think?--much less write books? Oh dear, oh dear!--What a farce it is! -When they first started, they wanted the professors to wear a uniform of -scarlet and gold. (I am sure about the gold--not quite sure about the -scarlet.) The professors kicked at the gold,--luckily for themselves! - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Sunshine, warmth, and beauty in the world to-day; and -sunshine and warmth of another sort in my heart--beautiful ghostly -summer made by words and thoughts in Yokohama. "When the earth is still -by reason of the South wind"--that is my mental world. - -I am sending the photo of our friend, which reminds me that I was -reproached very justly on reaching home last night. "But you did not -bring your American friend's picture?... Forgot to put it into the -valise?... Oh! but you _are_ queer--always, always dreaming! And don't -you feel just a little bit ashamed?" I do feel ashamed, but more than a -little bit. - -Also I send you a little volume containing "The House and the -Brain"--published in other editions under the title "The Haunted and -the Haunters." (Usually it is bound up with that tremendous story about -the Elixir of Life,--the "Strange Story" of Bulwer Lytton.) Professor -Saintsbury calls this the best ghost-story ever written. But you ought -to read it at night only--after the hotel becomes silent. - -By way of precaution I must make a confession. I shall not be able to -eat again until about Tuesday noon, I think. The tiffins, dinners, -"irresistibles," and above all that Blue Soul, were too much for me. -I am getting old, sure enough,--and when I go down again to Yokohama -I must live in the most ascetic manner. I feel constitutionally -demoralized by all that luxurious living. Still, I must say that I -suspect the sudden change of the weather is partly responsible for the -feeling. - -Now, really--don't you feel tired of all this talk? Of course I -know--but the conditions are so much like those of old college -friendships that they seem more of dreams than of reality. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Your kindest letter came last night. I must confess to -a feeling of remorse for transferring all my troubles to your broader -shoulders,--a remorse tempered somewhat, of course, by the certainty -that you find a pleasure in helping your friend, but nevertheless, a -remorse. So pray do not do anything more than you find it pleasant and -inexpensive to do. - -We are under the weather for the moment. We shall not be able to profit -by the holidays. I have escaped cold and all other troubles; but I could -not escape the generally depressing influence of this chilly, sunless, -muddy, slimy season. In other words, I feel too stupid to do anything. -Probably the sight of the sun will make us all feel happy again. - -Of course I shall be unhappy till I get your photos,--both military -and civilian. I fear to ask too many; but all I can get, I want. Don't -hurry; but--don't forget me, if you think I deserve to be remembered. - -I am a little anxious lest war take you away from Japan, which would -leave me less satisfied with this world than I now am. But I should like -indeed to accompany you in a descent on Manila, and to chronicle events -picturesquely. - -I should never be able, however, to do anything so wonderful as did -Loti in describing the French attack on the coast of Annam. It was the -greatest literary feat ever done by a naval officer; but it nearly cost -him his place in the navy, and did in fact suppress him for several -years. In his reissue of the narrative I see that he was obliged to -suppress the terrible notes on the killing. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--The holidays are over; and the winter is still dying hard. -We are all feeling pretty well now notwithstanding,--and my imp was -down yesterday to Ueno, in the sea of people, trying to get a glimpse -of things. Because he had a naval uniform on, he became quite angry at -the _kurumaya_ for proposing to lift him up to look over the heads of -the people. The K. wisely answered: "I know you are a man--but then you -must think that I am a horse only, and ride on my back. Even military -men ride horses, you know!" Subsequently, the imp had to submit to -circumstances,--swallowed his pride,--and got on the man's back. I liked -the pride, though: it was the first flash of the man-spirit in him. - -I wonder if you are ever tired simply of living! That is what the -weather made me for a time. Glimpses of sun now seem quite delicious. -Well, it is the same way with my Yokohama friend. If I saw him too -often, I should not feel quite so warm in the sunshine that he can -make--should begin to think the light a normal and usual, instead of -a most extraordinary condition. There is one thing, however, that I -hope to live to see: M. McD. in a private residence of his own, and a -beautiful young Mrs. McD. therein. - -If the quarrel with Spain does nothing else, perhaps it will stir up -the American people to make a good-sized navy in short order. With so -many thousand miles of coast to defend they are at a big disadvantage -compared with most European powers. I see that Captain Mahan has been -getting out a new book on the subject, just at the right time. What a -lucky author he has been on the whole; and all circumstances seem to -have actually bent themselves in his favour. - -Affectionately, with regards to the doctor and all friends, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Just after having posted my letter (dated 11th, but -mailed 14th) yours came, together with the most precious photographs. My -warmest thanks, not only for them, but also for the friend's inscription -upon them, which adds to their preciousness. But--see how mean I am!--I -hope for _at least_ one more,--the one with the full-dress hat _on_. You -don't like it; but I just love it, and I hope you will save one for me. -The two you sent are admirable: I am going to put the large one in a -frame. - -Shall I climb Fuji? Perhaps; but I know that at this blessed moment I -could not do it. I am too soft now. Must harden up first in the sea; and -then, please the gods, I'll climb with you. The climb is simply horrid; -but the view is a compensation. - -I don't know what to do with you--after that remark about Loti. Unless I -can manage in the next three years to write something very extraordinary -indeed, I fear you will be horribly disappointed some day. You should -try to consider me as a _tenth-rate_ author, until the literary world -shall have fixed my place. And don't for a moment imagine me modest in -literary matters. I am Satanically proud--not modest at all. If I tell -you that much of my work is very bad, I tell you so, not because I am -modest, but because, as a professional writer, I can see bad execution -where you would not see it unless I pointed it out to you. It is like -an honest carpenter, who knows his trade, and will tell his customer: -"That isn't going to cost you much, because the work is bad. See! this -is backed with cheap wood underneath! It looks all right only because -you don't know how we patch up these things." - - Ever most affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Your letter came this morning (Sunday), and it rejoiced -me to find that you are not yet in likelihood of being allowed to attend -the Asiatic side of the smash; while, as you suggest, before you could -join ... on the other side, the serious part of the campaign would be -over. That torpedo squadron at Porto Rico is apparently stronger than -any force of the same kind possessed by the U.S.; and although Northern -seamanship must tell in a fight, machinery in itself is a formidable -thing, even without anything more than mere pluck behind it. But just -think how a literary narrative of a battle would sell in America! -Wouldn't L. B. & Co. make money! - -How kind of you to send photo of Amenomori! (Yes; you returned the -little one.) This will not fade, and is a decided improvement. I need -scarcely tell you that out of a million Japanese heads, you could not -find another like this. It represents the cream of the race at its -intellectual best. - -In writing hurriedly the other day, I forgot to answer your question -about the _Athenæum_ paper. Yes: the notice was hostile,--but not -directly so; for a literary work the book was highly praised. The critic -simply took the ground of denying that what I wrote about existed. I was -braced with a missionary, and while the missionary's book was accepted -as unquestionable fact, mine was pronounced a volume from Laputa. The -_Saturday Review_ knew better than that. - -As to the royalties given to Kipling, they are fancy rates, of course, -and probably never twice the same. Publishers bid against each other -for the right of issuing even a limited edition. Macmillan & Co. hold -the ultimate right in all cases; but they do not often print the first -edition. Jas. Lane Allen probably gets only ten per cent. He may get -more; but not much more--there is no American to compare with Kipling -in the market, except Henry James and Marion Crawford. Kipling probably -outsells both together. James is too fine and delicate a writer--a -psychological analogist of the most complex society--ever to become -popular. In short, any writer's chances of good terms, in England or -America, must depend upon his popularity,--his general market value. -Once that he makes a big success--that is, a sale of 20,000 copies of a -book within a year and a half, suppose--he can get fancy terms for his -next book. - -... As to when I shall have another MS. I don't know. To-day, I am -hesitating whether I ought or ought not to burn some MS. My work has -lately been a little horrible, a little morbid perhaps. Everything -depends upon exterior influence,--inspiration; and T[=o]ky=[o] is the -very worst place in all Japan for that. Perhaps within a year from now, -I shall have a new book ready; perhaps in six months--according to what -comes up,--suggestions from Nature, books, or mankind. At the very -latest, I ought to have a new book ready by next spring. - -But there is just one possibility. In case that during this year, or -any year, there should come to me a good idea for such a story as I -have been long hoping to write,--a single short powerful philosophical -story, of the most emotional and romantic sort,--then I shall abandon -everything else for the time being, and write it. If I can ever write -_that_, there will be money in it, long after I have been planted in -one of these old Buddhist cemeteries. I do not mean that it will pay -_because_ I write it, but because it will touch something in the new -thought of the age, in the tendencies of the time. All thought is -changing; and I feel within myself the sense of such a story--vaguely, -like the sense of a perfume, or the smell of a spring wind, which you -cannot describe or define. What divine luck such an inspiration would -be! But the chances are that a more powerful mind than mine will catch -the inspiration first,--as the highest peak most quickly takes the sun. -Whatever comes, I'll just hand or send the MS. to you, and say, "Now -just do whatever you please--only see that I get the proofs. The book is -yours." - -Ever so many thanks for kind advice, and for everything else. - -I read that war has begun. Hope it will soon end. Anyhow Uncle Sam does -not lose time: he knows too well that time is money. And after it is -over, he will probably start to build him the biggest fleet in creation; -for he needs it. Ever affectionately, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--Your kindest letter is with me. I cannot quite understand -your faith in my work: it is a veritable Roman Catholic faith,--for it -refuses to hear adverse arguments. I only say that I can see no reason -to suppose or even hope that I can ever be worth to publishers nearly as -much as the author of a blood-and-thunder detective story contributed to -a popular weekly. - -About getting killed:--I should like nothing so much if I had no one but -myself in the world to take care of--which is just why I would not get -killed. You never get what you want in this world. I used to feel that -way in tight places, and say to myself: "Well, I don't care: _therefore_ -it can't happen." It is only what a man cares about that happens. "That -which ye fear exceedingly shall come upon you." I fear exceedingly -being burned alive slowly, in an earthquake fire,--being eaten by -sharks,--being blinded or maimed so as to prove of no further use;--but -dying is probably a very good thing indeed, and as much to be desired -for one's self as dreaded for one's friends. - -But my work is not done yet: I can't afford luxuries till it is done, I -suppose--at least so the gods think. - -No: I shall not burn the MS. yet; but if I decided, after deliberation, -to burn it, I think I should be right. How much I now wish I had burned -things which I printed ten or twelve years ago! - -I think with you that the U.S.N. will sweep the Spaniards off the sea; -but still I feel slightly uneasy. - -I have met a most extraordinary man to whom I gave your address,--in -case he should need advice, or wish to see Amenomori. He is going to the -hotel, but is now at Nikko. His name is E. T. Sturdy. He has lived in -India,--up in the Himalayas for years,--studying Eastern philosophy; and -the hotel delicacies will do him no good, because he is a vegetarian. -He is a friend of Professor Rhys-Davids, who gave him a letter of -introduction to me; and has paid for the publication of several Eastern -texts--Pali, etc. Beyond any question, he is the most _remarkable_ -person I have met in Japan. Fancy a man independent, strong, cultivated, -with property in New Zealand and elsewhere, voluntarily haunting the -Himalayas in the company of Hindoo pilgrims and ascetics,--in search of -the Nameless and the Eternal. Yet he is not a Theosophist exactly, nor a -Spiritualist. I did not get very near him--he has that extreme English -reserve which deludes under the appearance of almost boyish frankness; -but I think we might become fast friends did we live in the same city. -He told me some things that I shall never forget,--very strange things. -I envy, not him, but his independence. Think of being able to live -where one pleases, nobody's servant,--able to choose one's own studies -and friends and books. On the other hand, most authors write because -they are compelled to find occupation for their minds. Would I, being -independent, become idle? I don't think so; but I know that some of my -work has been done just to keep the mind from eating itself,--as does -the stomach without food. _Ergo_, perhaps, I ought to be maintained in a -condition of "eternal torment"? - -Well, it is not impossible that you may eventually suggest to me -something of the great story that is eventually to be written--let -us hope. Assuredly if I once start in upon it, I shall be asking you -questions, and you will be able to help me very much. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ERNEST FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1898. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--It is too bad that I should twice have missed the -pleasure of seeing you,--and still worse that Mrs. Fenollosa should -have come into my wretched little street to find me absent. But it were -better always when possible to let me know in advance of any chances -for a visit--otherwise I can seldom be relied upon; especially in these -months, for I am over head and ears in work,--with the dreadful prospect -of examinations and the agonies of proof-reading to be rolled upon me at -the same moment. You are so far happy to be able to command your time: I -cannot often manage it. - -Well, even if I had been free, I do not think I should have cared -to go to the Ukioy-e exhibition again--except, of course, to hear -you talk about it. I am inclined to agree with one who said that -the catalogue was worth more than the view. It (not the catalogue) -left me cold--partly, perhaps, because I had just been looking at a -set of embroidered screens that almost made me scream with regret -at my inability to purchase them. I remember only three or four at -Ukioy-e,--the interesting Kappa; Sh[=o]ki diverting himself; a Listening -Girl--something of that sort: nothing excited in me any desire to -possess it, even as a gift, except the Kappa and the Sh[=o]ki. (I know -I am hopeless--but it were hopeless to try to be otherwise.) Verily -I prefer the modern colour-prints, which I can afford sometimes to -buy. What is more, I do not wish to learn better. While I know nothing -I can always follow the Shint[=o] code and consult my heart about -buying things. Were I to know more, I should be less happy in buying -cheap things. It is like the Chinese characters on the shop-fronts. -Once you begin to know the meaning of a few, the magical charm--- -the charm of mystery--evaporates. There's heresy for you! As for the -catalogues--especially the glorious New York catalogue--I think them -precious things. If they do me no other good, they serve the purpose of -suggesting the range and unfathomability of my ignorance. I only regret -that you do not use legends,--do not tell stories. If you did, Andersen -would be quickly superseded. We buy him only for the folk-lore and the -references. - -Now I must thank Mrs. Fenollosa for the exceeding kindness of bringing -those books so far for me. I fear I shall have little chance to read -within the next couple of weeks; but if I get the least opportunity, -I must try to read the "Cardinal" anyhow. I shall, whatever happens, -return the volumes safely before very long. As for the Stevenson, it was -not worth while thanking me for; besides, I do not candidly think it an -example of the writer at his highest. But one reads these things because -the times force you to. - -As for the Mountain of Skulls--yes: I have written it,--about seven or -eight times over; but it still refuses to give the impression I feel, -and can't define,--the impression that floated into my brain with the -soft-flowing voice of the teller. I shall try again later; but, although -I feel tolerably sure about the result, nothing but very hard work will -develop the thing. Had I only eleven more stories of such quality, what -a book could be made out of them! Still, it is quite impossible that a -dozen such tales could exist. I read all the Jatakas to no purpose: one -makes such a find only by the rarest and most unexpected chance. - -By the way, it puzzled me to imagine how the professor knew of my -insignificance having visited the exhibition! But a charming professor -who made three long visits there wants very much to make Professor -Fenollosa's acquaintance,--E. Foxwell, a fellow of Cambridge, and an -authority on economics. Quite a rare fine type of Englishman,--at once -sympathetic and severely scientific,--a fine companion and a broad -strong thinker. - -Faithfully, with best regards and thanks, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I wonder if you are perfectly disgusted with my silence -and general invisibility. But perhaps you have been far too busy to -think enough about me even to say, "D--n his lying little soul!" -(which is what I would have said under like circumstances); for I have -been reading about you,--and know that you have had some sad and very -important duties to perform, of an unexpected character. - -I got by the last steamer only two notices for you; they are amusing, -because they represent two entirely different religious points of view -in Methodist criticism. Perhaps you will think the favourable notice -very kindly under the circumstances. - -What to say about the Manila matter I don't know. My notion is that you -will not be likely to get the furlough so soon. Events are thickening, -and looking very dark as well as strange. What most delights me -is the prospect of an Anglo-American alliance. Then will come the -world-struggle of races--British and Yankee against the Slav and his -allies. Hope we shall not see that--it will be a very awful thing,--a -vast earthquake in all the world's markets. And the Latins, curiously -enough, are being drawn together by the same sense of their future -peril. Their existence is in danger. Loti offers his services to Spain, -after having been dropt from the French navy,--not because the moral -justice of the question is understood by him, or even felt by him; but -because his blood and ancestral feelings naturally attract him to Spain -rather than to America. I should be sorry to see the best writer of -prose of any country in this world blown to pieces for his chivalrous -whim; but he is very likely to get killed if he goes into this mess. All -men of letters will feel then very sorry; and a marvellous genius will -have been thrown away for nothing--since there is no ghost of a hope for -Spain. - -I shall get down to Yokohama unexpectedly, I suppose, very soon--if I -feel well enough: the weather has been so atrocious that I had fire in -my room up to last week. I hope you have not felt any the worse for -these abominable changes of temperature. Another such "spring" would -drive me wild! In spite of it I have nearly completed a sixth chapter or -essay for book Number Six. I am full of projects and suggestions; but -cannot yet decide which among the multitude are strong enough to survive -and bear development. - -Ever affectionately, with faint hopes of forgiveness, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1898. - -DEAR WIZARD, MAGICIAN, THAUMATURGIST,--Your letter was wonderful. It -made things quite vivid before me; and I can actually see G. and M. -and the others you speak of (including myself, under the influence of -demophobia). Also you cannot imagine how much good such a letter does -a fellow in my condition. It is tonicky,--slips ozone of hope into a -consumptive soul. I must now keep out of blues for at least another -seven years. - -Anyhow, things are about right. My little wife is getting strong again; -my eyes are all right; the examinations are over; the vacation begins; -Little, Brown & Company send me heaps of books; and we go to the seaside -as soon as I can manage it,--with an old pupil of mine,--an officer now -of engineers. - -Speaking of pupils reminds me that just as you keep me from follies, -or mischief, by a bit of sound advice at times,--not to say by other -means,--so here I have learned to be guided by K.'s mamma. Indeed, -no Occidental-born could manage a purely Japanese household, or -direct Japanese according to his own light. Things are so opposite, -so eccentric, so provoking at times,--so impossible to understand. A -foreign merchant, for example, cannot possibly manage his own Japanese -clerks--he must trust their direction to a Japanese head clerk. And this -is the way all through the Orient,--even in Aryan India. Any attempt -to control everything directly is hopelessly mischievous. By learning -to abstain therefrom, I have been able to keep my servants from the -beginning, and have learned to prize some of them at their weight in -gold. - -What I was going to say especially is in reference to pupils and -students. In T[=o]ky[=o] students do everything everywhere for -or against everybody. They are legion,--they are ubiquitous. The -news-vender, the hotel-clerk, the porter of a mansion, the man-servant -of any large house is sure to be a student, struggling to live. (I have -had one for a year--a good boy, and inconceivably useful, who soon -enters the army.) A T[=o]ky[=o] resident is _obliged_ to have students -about him. They are better guards than police, and better servants than -any servants. If you don't have a student or two, you may look out for -robbers, confidence-men, rowdies, trouble of all kinds at your house. -Students _police_ T[=o]ky[=o]. - -Well, I found I could not be familiar with my students. It spoiled -matters. I had to be a little unpleasant. Then reserved. As a -consequence all is admirable. Direct interference won't do. I have to -leave that to the lady of the house; and she can manage things without -ever getting angry. But another student, whom I am educating, _did_ give -me much heart-burning, until I became simply cruel with him. I should -have dropped him; but I was told: "You don't understand: have patience, -and wait." "But," I said, "his work is trash--worthless." "Never mind," -was the answer, "wait and see!" At the end of the year, I am surprised -by the improvement and the earnestness. "You see," I am told, "that boy -was a spoiled child while his family were rich; but his heart is good. -He will do well yet." And I find this quite probable. How the Japanese -can manage with perfect gentleness and laughter what we cannot manage -by force or fraud or money, ought to be a lesson. And I sympathize with -this character--only, my own character is much too impatient and cranky -to allow of correct imitation. - -I am, or have been, the teacher of men who, although insignificant in -English, are literary celebrities in their own tongue. Their portraits -are known over Japan; their poems and stories celebrated. Naturally -they feel proportionately averse to being treated as mere boys. Still, -an appeal to their honour, gently made, will sometimes work wonders. I -tried it the other day, by advice of the director, when there had been a -refusal to obey. He said: "Don't write to them; don't _order_ them: just -go and talk to them. You know what to say." And they obeyed--_in spite -of the fact that the whole room laughed at them for their change of -resolve_. There is hope for this class of men: if the university system -were better managed, they would be splendidly earnest.... - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--We ran over somebody last night--and the train therefore -waited in mourning upon the track during a decorous period. We did not -see T[=o]ky[=o] till after eleven considerably. But the waiting was -not unpleasant. Frogs sang as if nothing had happened, and the breeze -from the sea faintly moved through the cars;--and I meditated about -the sorrows and the joys of life by turns, and smoked, and thanked the -gods for many things,--including the existence of yourself and Dr. -Hall. I was not unfortunate enough to see what had been killed,--or the -consequences to friends and acquaintances; and feeling there was no more -pain for that person, I smoked in peace--though not without a prayer to -the gods to pardon my want of seriousness. - -Altogether I felt extremely happy, in spite of the delay. The day had -been so glorious,--especially subsequent to the removal of a small h--l, -containing several myriads of lost souls, from the left side of my lower -jaw. - -Reaching home, I used some of that absolutely wonderful medicine. It was -a great and grateful surprise. (I am not trying to say much about the -kindness of the gift--that would be no use.) After having used it, for -the first time, I made a tactile investigation without fear, and found-- - -What do you think? - -Guess! - -Well, I found that--_the wrong one had been pulled_,--No. 3 instead of -No. 2. - -I don't say that No. 3 didn't deserve its fate. But it had never -been openly aggressive. It had struggled to perform its duties under -disadvantageous circumstances: its character had been modest and -shrinking. No. 2 had been, on the contrary, Mt. Vesuvius, the last great -Javanese earthquake, the tidal wave of '96, and the seventh chamber of -the Inferno, all in mathematical combination. It--Mt. Vesuvius, etc.--is -still with me, and although to-day astonished into quiescence, is far -from being extinct. The medicine keeps it still for the time. You will -see that I have been destined to experience strange adventures. - -Hope I may be able to see you again _soon_,--4th, if possible. Love to -you and all kind wishes to everybody. - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I mailed you this morning the raw proofs, and the _Revue -des Deux Mondes_. I fear you will find the former rather faulty in their -present unfinished state. But if you mount Fuji you will be a glorious -critic. - -I don't know how to tell you about the sense of all the pleasant -episodes of yesterday, coupled with the feeling that I must have seemed -too sombre toward the close,--instead of showing to you and friend -Amenomori the happiest face possible. I was unusually naughty--I -suppose; but I was worried a little. However, my sky is only clouded for -moments--and my friends know that appearances signify nothing serious. - -We had adventures at Shimbashi. I saw a well-dressed fellow getting -rather close to my wife while she was counting some small change; and -I pushed in between her and him--just in time; for she had found his -hand on her girdle, trying to get her watch. Then I had a hand poked in -my right side-pocket, and another almost simultaneously into my left -breast-pocket. The men got nothing from either of us. What interested -me was the style of the work. The man I noticed especially was a -delicate-looking young fellow, very genteelly dressed, and wearing -spectacles. He pretended to be very hot, and was holding his hat in -his left hand before him, and working under it with his right. The -touching of the pocket with the fingers reminded me of nothing so much -as the motion of a cat's paw in playing. You know the cat does not give -a single stroke, but a succession of taps, so quickly following each -other that you can scarcely see how it is done. The incident was rather -curious and amusing than provoking. - -I fear poor Amenomori was disappointed--after all his pains about Haneda. - -It was just as well that we made the trip yesterday. To-day the weather -is mean,--cloudy, hot, and dusty all at the same time. Yesterday we had -clear azure and gold,--and lilac-flashing dragonflies,--and a glorious -moon coming home. - -After seeing your shoulders I have no doubt about your finding Fuji -child's-play--even Fuji could not break such a back as that; but I think -that you will do well, on the climb, to eat very lightly. My experience -was that the less eating the easier climbing. I took one drink on the -stiff part of the climb,--contrary to the advice of the guides,--and I -was sorry for it. The necessity is to reduce rather than stimulate the -circulation when you get to the rarefied zone. Perhaps you will find -another route better than the Gotemba route; but Amenomori would be the -best adviser there. - -Ever affectionately, with countless thanks, - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am sending you two of Zola's books, and a rather -complex social novel by Maupassant--not, any of them, to be returned. I -recommend "Rome" only; the others will just do to lend to friends, or to -read for the sake of the French, when you have nothing better on hand. - -What a glorious day we did have! Wonder if I shall ever be able to make -a thumbnail literary study thereof,--with philosophical reflections. The -naval officer, the Buddhist philosopher, and the wandering evolutionist. -The impression is altogether too sunny and happy and queer to be forever -lost to the world. I must think it up some day. - -My back feels to-day as if those little sand-crabs were running over it; -but the pain is nearly all gone. I shall be ready for another swim in a -day or two. - -And that supper at the Grand Hotel! I am awfully demoralized -to-day--feeling gloriously well, but not in a working mood. A week -more of holidays would ruin me! Discomfort is absolutely necessary for -literary inspiration. Make a man perfectly happy, and what has he to -work for? Nothing shall disturb my "ancient solitary reign" excepting -the friends with whom I yesterday imposed upon the patience of certain -crabs,--who suddenly found themselves facing a problem for which all -their inherited experience had left them supremely unprepared. - -Too soon we shall have winter upon us again; and I shall be struggling -with problems of university-student peculiarities;--and I shall be -working wonderfully hard at a new book. There will be all kinds of -dull, dark, tiresome days; but whenever I want I can call back the -summer sun,--simply by closing my eyes. Then, in blue light, between -sand and sea-line, I shall discern a U.S. naval officer in Cape May -costume, and a Buddhist philosopher, busied making little holes in the -beach,--sapping and mining the habitations of small horrified crabs. -Also I shall see a lemon yellow sky, with an amethystine Fuji cutting -sharply against it. And many other things,--little dreams of gold. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I thought the house would go last night; but we had only -two trees blown down this time, and the fence lifted in a southwesterly -direction. Truly I was wise not to go to Shinano as I intended: it -would have been no easy thing to get back again. And you did well not -to try Fuji. It might have been all right; and it might have been very -dangerous work indeed. When a typhoon runs around Fuji, Amenomori tells -me that it blows the big rocks away like a powder-explosion. Judging -from the extraordinary "protection-walls" built about the hut at the -mountain-top, and from the way in which the station-house roofs are -purposely weighted down, I fancy this must be quite true. A lava-block -falling from the upper regions goes down like a bounding shot from a -cannon; and I should just about as soon stand in front of a 50-lb. steel -shell. - -The Japanese papers to-day are denouncing some rice-speculator who -has been praying to the gods for bad weather! The gods do wisely not -to answer anybody's prayers at all. City-dwellers would pray for fine -weather, while farmers pray for rain;--fellows like me would pray for -eternal heat, while others would pray for eternal coolness;--and what -would the gods do when begged by peace-lovers to avert war, and by -military ambitions to bring it about? Think of twenty people praying for -a minister's death; and twenty others pleading for his life. Think of -ten different men praying to the gods for the same girl! Why, really, -the gods would in any event be obliged to tell us to settle our own -little affairs in our own little way, and be d--d! One ought to write -something some day about a dilemma of the gods;--Ludovic Halévy did -something of the sort; but he did not exhaust the subject. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have your delightful letter and throw all else -overboard for the moment to send a few lines of greeting and chatter. - -I have sent word to Mr. ---- that I can receive no foreign visitors. I -run away from the house on days of danger from calls,--and nevertheless -I cannot entirely escape. Yet you would have me enter like Daniel into -that lions' den of the Grand Hotel, because you are the Angel of the -Lord. Well, I suppose I must get down soon,--but I cannot say exactly a -day. Better let me come after the fashion of the Judgement,--when no man -knoweth. - -I am right glad to hear you are well again.... - -Don't know what my book will turn out to be after a few more months -of work. It will be a queer thing anyhow: the Japanese part will be -interesting enough; but the personal-impression parts do not develop -well. And I must work very hard at it. You think that a day or two in -the Grand Hotel is good for me once in a while; but you can't imagine -what difficulty it is to find any time while the thing is still in -pupa-condition. - -But what most injures an author is not means and leisure: it is -_society_, conventions, obligations, waste of time in forms and -vanities. There are very few men strong enough to stand the life of -society, and to write. I can think of but one of importance,--that is -Henry James;--but his special study _is_ society. - -And now for a lecture. (In haste.) - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I find myself not only at the busiest part of the -term, the part when professors of the university don't find time to go -anywhere,--but also in the most trying portion of the work of getting -out a book,--the last portion, the finishing and rounding off. - -And I am going to ask you simply _not_ to come and see your friend, and -_not_ to ask him to come to see you, _for at least three months more_. -I know this seems horrid--but such are the only conditions upon which -literary work is possible, when combined with the duties of a professor -of literature. I don't want to see or hear or feel anything outside -of my work till the book is done,--and I therefore have the impudent -assurance to ask you to help me stand by my wheel. Of course it would be -pleasant to do otherwise; but I can't even think of pleasant things and -do decent work at the same time. Please think of a helmsman, off shore, -and the ship in rough weather, with breakers in sight. - -Hate to send you this letter--but I think you will sympathize with me in -spite of it. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am very glad that I wrote you that selfish letter,--in -spite of the protests of my little wife, who says that I am simply -a savage. I am glad, because I felt _quite sure_ that you would -understand, and that the result would be a very sweet note, which I -shall always prize. Of course, I mean three months at the outside: -I have vowed to finish by the year's end, and I think I can. As for -letters, you can't write too many. It takes me five minutes at most to -write a letter (that is, to you); but if it took an hour I could always -manage that. - -"Like the little crab,"--yes, indeed. Thursday, three enemies dug at my -hole, but I zigzagged away from them. I go in and out by the back way, -now, so as to avoid the risk of being seen from afar off. - -Ever most affectionately (with renewed thanks for that delicious letter), - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1898. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Verily I think I ought to be apologizing for my -blues. But it is such a relief to write them betimes--when you are -sure of a patient hearing. Besides, it may interest you to hear of a -small professional scribbler's ups and downs. I used only to pray for -opportunity: if I could only get an audience! Now I have one--a small -one. An offer of $1200 from a syndicate, which would make for me nearly -$3000 here; and plenty of others. _And I can't write._ That is, I can -do nothing except what would lower the little reputation I have gained. -In such a case the duty is plainly not to try, but to wait for the Holy -Ghost,--or (as I am out of his domain) the coming of the gods. I am now -in a period of mental drought, but have written half of a book that -will probably be dedicated to E. H.,--or will certainly unless another -incomplete book should be ready first, a book to be called perhaps -"Thoughts about Feelings." - -I am quite uncertain, however, as to the realization of this latter -book. Looking back through my life I find that, with the exception -of West-Indian and a few New Orleans experiences, I remember nothing -agreeable. It was a rule with me from boyhood to try to forget -disagreeable things; and in trying to forget them I made no effort to -remember the agreeable,--just because "a sorrow's crown of sorrows -is remembering happier things." So the past is nearly a blank. Then -another queer thing is my absolute ignorance of realities. Always -having lived in hopes and imaginations, the smallest practical matters, -that everybody should know, I don't know anything about. Nothing, for -example, about a boat, a horse, a farm, an orchard, a watch, a garden. -Nothing about what a man ought to do under any possible circumstances. I -know nothing but sensations and books,--and most of the sensations are -not worth penning. I really ought to have become a monk or something -of that kind. Still, I believe I have a new key to the explanation of -sensations,--if I can find the incident to peg the essays upon,--the -dummies for the new philosophical robes. So far the book of reveries -consists of only two little chapters. The better part of my life might -just as well never have been lived at all. I am only waking up in the -hoariness of age, and my next birth will probably see me a mud-turtle or -a serpent, or something else essentially torpid and speechless. - -Of course, I can write and write and write; but the moment I begin to -write for money, vanishes the little special colour, evaporates the -small special flavour, which is ME. And I become nobody again; and the -public wonders why it ever paid any attention to so commonplace a fool. -So I must sit and wait for the gods. - -Yet a little while, I shall be all hope and pride and confidence; and -again a little while, up to my ears in the Slough of Despond. And the -beautifully milled dollars and exquisitely engraved notes you talk of -will stay in the pockets of practical people. - - - LAFCADIO. - - _Afterthought_ - -DEAR OLD MAN,--Speaking on the subject of "Life"--have you -read "Amiel's Journal" (_Journal Intime_)? If not, I would advise you -to, as its fine delicate analysis of things is in pure harmony with -your own way of thinking, so far as generalities go. In it there is a -paragraph about Germans, of precisely the same tenor as the paragraph in -your letter; and there is an admirable analysis of "society," with some -severe but just (just at the time written) animadversions upon American -society. - -It seems to me, however, that neither Amiel nor anybody else has exactly -told us what society means. Amiel comes very close to it. I think, -however, the real truth would be more brutal.... Is not the charm (and -its display) of womanly presence and power the real force? Because it -is not really intellectual, this society. Intellectual societies are -societies of artists, men of letters, philosophers, where absolute -freedom of speech and action and dress are allowed. The polite society -only delicately sniffs or nibbles at intellectual life, or else -subordinates it to its fairy shows and transformation scenes. I don't -suppose for a moment that I am suggesting even the ghost of anything -new,--but I wish only to suggest that I think (in view of all this) that -nobody has ever, in English, dared to say what society really is as a -system or display,--to cut boldly into the heart of things. I don't mean -to say it is shocking, or wrong, or anything of that sort. It is quite -proper in the existing order of things, or else it wouldn't be. But -there are evolutional illustrations in it.... - -By the way, a Japanese friend tells me I have only _one -soul_,--confirming the Oxford beast's revelation. "Why?" I asked. "You -have no patience. Those who have no patience have only one soul. I have -four souls." "How many souls can one have?" I enquired. "Nine," he said. -"Men who can make other men afraid of them, men of strong will: they -have nine souls, or at least a great many." - -Good-bye,--I think you have several souls. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MRS. FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1898. - -DEAR MRS. FENOLLOSA,--I see that my little word "sympathy"--used, of -course, in the fine French sense of fellow-feeling in matters _not_ of -the common--was as true as I could wish it.... - -_I_ am the one now to give thanks,--and very earnest thanks; for I -confess that I felt a little nervous about your opinion. Independently -of the personal quality which makes it so precious for me, I believe -that it must represent, in a general way, the opinion of a number of -cultured ladies whom I never have seen, and never shall see, but who -are much more important as critics than any editors,--for they _make_ -opinion, not in newspapers or magazines, but in social circles. And I -was a little bit afraid of my new venture in "Retrospectives." I picked -out the little piece sent you, because it had a Japanese subject as a -hanging-peg,--so that I thought you and the professor would feel more -inclined to take the trouble of reading it.... - -Well, you are one of my Rewards in this world: I don't know that I -can expect any better return than your letter for a year's work on a -book,--and I certainly do not want anything better. In this particular -case too, with a new venture, encouragement is positively a benefit as -well as a pleasure. In other cases, it might make me too well satisfied -with my work, and tempt me to be careless, or at least less careful.... - -I see Mr. Edwards has gone; and I am sorry to think that I may never see -him again,--for he is in every way a man and a gentleman. Probably we -shall have a book from him some day; and it will not be a common book, -for that man is incapable of the _common_: he will think hard, work -solidly, and put his own square-set Oxford self into every thought. It -will certainly be interesting. - -My best thanks for that volume of Watson.... I have a very strong liking -for Watson; and there are bits in that book of delightful worth. I shall -venture to impose on your good nature by keeping it just a "weeny" bit -longer,--to copy a verse or two. - -I sprained my foot nearly two weeks ago, and after a week in bed and -bandages, managed to hobble around the university again, but I am now -all over the main trouble. T[=o]ky[=o] roads are dangerous after dark -sometimes. The enforced homeing, however, did me good; for my next book -is almost ready for the publisher. - -And now that you understand my wishes to try to do something new--at -least understand them well enough to write me so very pleasant a -letter,--I am sure you won't think me too selfish for being so rare a -visitor. I am like a setting hen,--afraid to leave my eggs till the -hatching is done and the shells are broken. With all best wishes and -thanks, - - Very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have your precious letter. It came all right. I -am very glad that I was mistaken about the registry-business being -neglected--but I thought it my duty to make the remark. As one of -my students says: "A friend is a man to whom you can tell all your -_suspicions_." - -Now I am going to tell you something much more than "suspicions." I -think it time;--and I want you to listen, and to think over it. - -You do not understand my situation. - -One reason that you do not understand is because you are a -bachelor. Another reason is because you are a naval officer _and_ a -bachelor,--consequently to a considerable degree independent of social -conventions of the smaller and meaner kind. - -I am in a somewhat critical position and time. Don't make any mistake -about it. Small as I am, I have mountains to lift; and if you do not -realize it, you cannot help it, but can only get your fingers crushed. -Only your fingers--mind! but that will hurt more than you think. - -Here is my fix: I have "down upon me"-- - -I. Society. Civilized society conspires to starve certain men to death. -It must do so in self-defence. There _are_ privileged men; I may become -one yet. - -II. I have down on me the Church. By Church, you must not think of the -Roman, Greek, Episcopalian, etc., persuasions,--but all Christendom -supporting missionary societies, and opposing free-thinking in every -shape. Do not be deceived by a few kindly notes about my work from -religious sources. They are genuine,--but they signify absolutely -nothing against the great dead weight of more orthodox opinion. As -Professor Huxley says, no man can tell the force of a belief until he -has had the experience of fighting it. Good! Church and Society together -are pretty vigorous, you will acknowledge. - -III. The English and American Press in combination,--the press that -represents critical opinion in London as well as in New York. Don't -mistake the meaning of notices. All, or nearly all, are managed by -the publishers. The policy is to praise the work--because that brings -advertisements. Society, Church, Press--that means a big combination, -rather. On my side I have a brave American naval officer--and the -present good will of the Japanese Government, which has been vaguely -aware that my books have been doing some good. - -Now you may say, "How important the little mite thinks himself,--the -cynosure of the world!" But that would be hasty thinking. I am pretty -much in the position of a book-keeper known to have once embezzled, -or of a man who has been in prison, or of a prostitute who has been -on the street. These are, none of them, you will confess, _important_ -persons. But what keeps them in their holes? Society, Church, and -public opinion--the Press. No man is too small to get the whole world's -attention _if_ he does certain things. Talent signifies nothing. Talent -starves in the streets, and dies in the ginhouse. Talent helps no one -not in some way independent of society. _Temporarily_, I _am_ thus -independent. - -At this moment the pressure is very heavy--perhaps never will be much -heavier. Why? Because I have excited some attention,--because there is a -danger that I might succeed. You must not think I mean that everybody in -general, or anybody in special, _thinks out these thoughts_. Not at all. -Society, Church, and Press work blindly, instinctively,--like machinery -set in motion to keep a level smooth. The machinery feels the least -projection, and tries to flatten it out of existence,--without even -considering what it may be. Diamond or dung makes no difference. - -But if the obstruction prove _too_ hard, it is lifted out of the way of -the machinery. That is where my one chance lies--in making something -solid that forces this kind of attention. - -You might ask me, if I think thus, why dedicate a book to our friend -the doctor? That is a different matter. My literary work _cannot_ be -snubbed; and it goes into drawing-rooms where the author would be -snubbed. Besides, a doctor can accept what other people can't. - -You see that there are many who come to Japan that want to see me; and -you think this is a proof of kindly interest. Not a bit of it. It is -precisely the same kind of curiosity that impels men to look at strange -animals,--a six-legged calf, for instance. The interest in the book is -in some cases genuine; the interest in the personality is of the New -York _Police Gazette_ quality. Don't think I am exaggerating. When I get -my fingers caught in the cogs, I can feel it. - -So much for the ugly side of the question. Let us take the cheerful one. - -_Every_ man who has new ideas to express, at variance with the habits -of his time, _has to meet the same sort of opposition_. It is valuable -to him. It is valuable _to the world at large_. Weakness can't work -or burst through it. Only strength can succeed. The man who does get -through has a right to be proud, and to say: "I am strong." With -health and time, I shall get through,--but I do feel afraid sometimes -of physical disaster. Of course I have black moments; but they are -also foolish moments--due to disordered nerves. I must just hammer -on steadily and let money quarrels go to the deuce, and sacrifice -everything to success. When you are in the United States you may be -able to help me with the business part of the thing--providing that -you understand exactly the circumstances, and don't imagine me to be a -possible Kipling or Stevenson. Not only am I a mere mite in literature, -but a mite that has to be put forward very, very cautiously indeed. -"Overestimate" me! well, I should rather say you did. - -And now we'll leave theory for practice. I don't think you can do -anything now--anything at all. You _might_--but the chances are not -worth taking. You will be surprised to hear, I fancy, that the author -must see his proofs--not for the purpose of assuring himself that -the text is according to the copy, but for the purpose of making it -_different_ from the MS. Very few writers can perfect their work in -MS.; they cannot see the _colour_ and line of it, till it gets into -type. When a statue is cast, it is cast exactly according to the mould, -and shows the lines of the mould, which have to be removed: then the -polishing is done, and the last touches are given. Very slight work--but -everything depends upon it. So with artistic writing. It is by changes -in the printed form that the final effect is obtained. Exactness -according to the MS. means nothing at all; that is only the casting,--a -matter of course; and another man can no more look after your proofs -than he can put on your hat. Did you ever try the experiment of letting -a friend try to fit your hat comfortably on your own head? It can't be -done. - -Health is good; sprain about well; book nearly through--sixteen chapters -written. Only, the flavour is not yet quite right. - -Finally, dear friend, don't think, because I write this letter, that -I am very blue, or despondent, or anything of that sort. I am feeling -to-day unusually well,--and remember something said to me ten years -ago by a lady who at once detested me after our introduction. She said: -"A man with a nose like you should not worry about the future--he will -_bore_ his way through the world." I trust in my nose. With true love to -you, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am very, very sorry that you had that accident,--and -I fear that you are worse off than you let me know. I must get down -to-morrow (Saturday), and see how you are--though I fear I can do no -more than chatter to you like an _usots'ki_. Well, we've both had -accidents lately--my foot isn't quite well yet. We must have extra good -luck to make up for these mishaps. - -Yes, I should be glad to know your friend Bedloe,--or any of your naval -friends: they are _men_ as well as gentlemen, and I feel quite at home -with them. - -Ah! I had almost forgotten. I _have_ Kipling's "Day's Work" already. -It is great--very great. Don't mistake him, even if he seems too -colloquial at times. He is the greatest living English poet and English -story-teller. Never in this world will I be able to write one page -to compare with a page of his. He makes me feel so small, that after -reading him I wonder why I am such an ass as to write at all. Love to -you, all the same, for thinking of me in that connection. - -Term's over--all but a beastly "dinner." D--n dinners! I'll _see_ you -presently. - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Do you know we talked uninterruptedly the other day for -ten hours,--for the period that people are wont to qualify when speaking -of the enormity of time as "ten _mortal_ hours"? What a pity that they -could not be made _im_mortal! They will be always with me,--though I -really fear that I must have tired you, in spite of protests. Every time -I can get such a chat with you, you become much dearer to me--so that I -really cannot feel as sorry as I ought for keeping you engaged that long. - -Well, I don't quite know what I shall do about the "Ghostly Japan." I -shall think a little longer. My duty, I feel, is to sacrifice it: only -I don't want to have any tricks played upon me,--just because tricks -annoy. Nevertheless I ought to accept the annoyance cheerfully: it is -part of the price one must pay for success. Huxley says that one of the -things most important for anybody to learn is that a heavy price must be -paid for success. - -I got a letter from a Yale lad, which I enclose, and a magazine which -I am sending you. The wish is for an autograph; but there the case is -meritorious and I want the sympathy of boys like that--who must be the -writers and thinkers of 1900. So I wrote him as kind a letter as I -could,--assuring him, however, that I am not a Buddhist, but still a -follower of Herbert Spencer. It is a nice little magazine. I suppose -that H. M. & Co.'s advertisement had something to do with the matter; -but from the business point of view, it is an excellent idea to try to -work a book through the universities. Those lads are thinkers in their -own way. See the poem on page 90,--also on page 83: both show thinking. -I ventured to advise the writer of "Body and Soul" to make a new -construction of the thought. The conditions might be reversed. First the -man is the body; the woman the soul. But the woman's soul is withered -up by the act of the man; and the body only remains. Then the man gets -sorry, and gets a soul through the sorrow of the wrong that he has done. -Then _she_ becomes the Flesh, and _he_ the Ghost. I did not explain all -this--only suggested it. A case of vicarious sacrifice. How many women -have to lose their own souls in order to give souls to somebody else! - -Wish I was with you to-day, and to-morrow, and many days in succession. -But if we have plum pudding every day--! I mean not _you_ by the plum -pudding, but the circumstantial combination. I wanted to say that -pleasure spoils the soul for working purposes,--but I am afraid to -attempt to carry the simile further, lest you should turn it round, and -hit me with it. I shall see you erelong, anyhow. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - -[Illustration: MR. HEARN'S LATER HANDWRITING] - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--"I've gone and been and _done_ it." This wise:--You see I -kept thinking about things--discounts and money-profits and bargains, -and publishers playing into each other's hands,--and the possible -worthlessness of the work,--and the necessity of improving it much more -before insisting upon high prices,--and the wisdom of recopying half -of it,--and the risks of shipment and shipwreck and fire and dishonest -post-office clerks--till I got nearly crazy! If I listened much more -to the echoes of your suggestions and advice, I should have gone -_absolutely_ crazy. Therefore in fifteen minutes I had the whole thing -perfectly packed and labelled and addressed in various languages, and -shot eastward by doubly-registered letter--dedicated to Mrs. Behrens, -but entrusted largely to the gods. And to save myself further trouble -of mind, I told the publishers just to do whatever they pleased about -terms--and not to worry me concerning them. And I feel like a man -liberated from prison,--smelling the perfumed air of a perfect spring -day. "Ghostly Japan" will concern me no more--unless the ship is -wrecked, or the manuscript lost in some way: which must not be thought -about. The book is gone, and the illustrations go by next mail. Pray to -the gods for the book--that's all that we can do now. - -I hope the foot is not any worse. You are an impatient boy, too, you -know--when it comes to sitting still, instead of rushing things. Please -take all good care of yourself till I run down, which will be very soon. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ERNEST FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -MY DEAR PROFESSOR,--I have been meditating, and after the meditation I -came to the conclusion not to visit your charming new home again--not at -least before the year 1900. I suppose that I am a beast and an ape; but -I nevertheless hope to make you understand. - -The situation makes me think of Béranger's burthen,--_Vive nos amis les -ennemis!_ My friends are much more dangerous than my enemies. These -latter--with infinite subtlety--spin webs to keep me out of places where -I hate to go,--and tell stories of me to people whom it would be vanity -and vexation to meet;--and they help me so much by their unconscious -aid that I almost love them. They help me to maintain the isolation -indispensable to quiet regularity of work, and the solitude which is -absolutely essential to thinking upon such subjects as I am now engaged -on. Blessed be my enemies, and forever honoured all them that hate me! - -But my friends!--ah! my friends! They speak so beautifully of my work; -they _believe_ in it; they say they want more of it,--and yet they would -destroy it! They do not know what it costs,--and they would break the -wings and scatter the feather-dust, even as the child that only wanted -to caress the butterfly. And they speak of communion and converse and -sympathy and friendship,--all of which are indeed precious things -to others, but mortally deadly to me,--representing the breaking-up -of habits of industry, and the sin of disobedience to the Holy -Ghost,--against whom sin shall not be forgiven,--either in this life, or -in the life to come. - -And they say,--Only a day,--just an afternoon or an evening. But _each_ -of them says this thing. And the sum of the days in these holidays--the -days inevitable--are somewhat more than a week in addition. A week of -work dropped forever into the Abyss of what might-have-been! Therefore -I wish rather that I were lost upon the mountains, or cast away upon a -rock, than in this alarming city of T[=o]ky[=o],--where a visit, and the -forced labour of the university, are made by distance even as one and -the same thing. - -Now if I were to go down to your delightful little house, with my -boy,--and see him kindly treated,--and chat with you about eternal -things,--and yield to the charm of old days (when I must confess -that you fascinated me not a little),--there is no saying what the -consequences to me might eventually become. Alas! I can afford -friends only on paper,--I can occasionally write,--I can get letters -that give me joy; but visiting is out of the possible. I must not -even _think_ about other people's kind words and kind faces, but -work,--work,--work,--while the Scythe is sharpening within vision. -Blessed again, I say, are those that don't like me, for they do not fill -my memory with thoughts and wishes contrary to the purpose of the Æons -and the Eternities! - -When a day passes in which I have not written--much is my torment. -Enjoyment is not for me,--excepting in the completion of work. But I -have not been the loser by my visits to you both--did I not get that -wonderful story? And so I have given you more time than any other person -or persons in T[=o]ky[=o]. But now--through the seasons--I must again -disappear. Perhaps _le jeu ne vaudra pas la chandelle_; nevertheless I -have some faith as to ultimate results. - -Faithfully, with every most grateful and kindly sentiment, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR [=O]TANI,--To-day I received the gift sent from Matsue,--and the -very nice letter with which you accompanied it. I think that a better -present, or one which could give me sincerer pleasure will never be -received. It is a most curious thing, that strange texture,--and a most -romantic thing also in its way,--seeing that the black speckling that -runs through the whole woof is made by characters of letters or poems -or other texts, written long ago. And I must assure you that I shall -always prize it--not only because I like it, but particularly because -your mother wove it. I am going to have it made into a winter _kimono_ -for my own use, which I shall always wear, according to season, in my -study-room. Surely it is just the kind of texture which a man of letters -ought to wear! My best thanks to you and your family,--most of all to -your kind mother,--and my earnest wishes for a fortunate year to come. - -Your collection of poems this month interested me a great deal in a new -way--the songs separately make only a small appeal to imagination; but -the tone and feeling _of the mass_ are most remarkable, and give me a -number of new ideas about the _character of the "folk-work."_ ... - -With renewed best wishes for a happy and fortunate New Year to you and -yours, - - Sincerely, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO ---- - -DEAR FRIEND,--I am afraid this letter which I am now writing will not -please you altogether. Forgive anything in it which you do not like--for -the sake of the friendship behind it. - -The matter is difficult; and I cannot at this moment report any -progress. I understand something of the matter. It is not any use to try -to do anything further until I explain things as well as I can, and have -heard your answer. Before I can do anything more, I want you to make -some promises to _me_, your friend. After that you can make them to her, -if you love her well enough. - -To begin with, in regard to explanation, I think you are wrong, and that -your wife and her father are quite right. Under the same circumstances, -if I were her father, I should take her away from her husband if I could. - -You are not wrong by _heart_--you are wrong only because you do not -understand, do not know the conditions. Women of different classes -cannot be all treated alike. Your wife is a refined, gentle lady--very -sensitive and very easily hurt by harsh words or neglect. You cannot -expect to treat such a lady like a farm-servant or a peasant-woman. It -would kill her. But I have heard (_not_ from your wife, but from other -persons) that she was allowed by you to work in the garden, under a hot -sun, thirty days after childbirth and the loss of her child. This seems -to me a _terrible_ thing, and you cannot have known what it means to a -woman's constitution. - -A refined lady will not submit to be treated like a servant--unless she -has no spirit at all. Your wife's action shows that she has self-respect -and spirit; and you want the mother of your children to be a woman of -spirit and self-respect. Do not be angry with her because she shows this -honourable pride. It is good. - -I do not think that you can expect your wife to act as a daughter to -your parents, or to live with them as a daughter exactly in the old -way. Meiji has changed many things. Girls who have passed through the -new schools are no longer hardy and strong like the Samurai women of -old days. Observe how many of them die after a year of marriage. -Then your parents and your wife belong to different eras,--different -conditions,--different worlds. If they should expect your wife to be all -to them that a daughter-in-law might have been in the old days, I fear -that would be impossible. She has not the strength for that; and her -whole nature is differently constituted. - -I think you could only be happy by living alone with each other in your -own house. Perhaps this seems wrong to you,--but that is Meiji. The -fault is in the times, not in hearts. - -If you marry another educated lady of the new school, you will have -exactly the same trouble. The old conditions cannot be maintained under -the new system of change. - -But the chief trouble, of course, would be your attitude to your wife. -You have not, I think, been considerate to her--regarded her too much -as one bound to serve and obey. It will not do in _her_ case. She has -spirit, and she wants different treatment. It is better for a strong -man to treat a wife exactly as he would treat a child that he loves. -By her weakness and delicacy every educated woman is a child, and -must be petted and loved like a child. If she be harshly treated, and -have no pleasure--even if she be treated as well as you would treat a -_man_-friend--then the result is unfortunate always, and the children -born will show the mother's pain. - -Your wife is evidently afraid of the future--thinks it impossible that -she can get from you the treatment or the consideration she ought to -have, and must have in order to be happy. She will not say anything -definite; but I am sure of this. She will not tell you her troubles--you -should know them without being told. Not to know them _shows_ the want -of consideration. - -The higher you go in society and in educated circles, the more the woman -differs from the man. She cannot be judged or understood as a man. She -becomes a distinct being with a distinct character, and very, very -delicate feelings. - -Well, this is enough to give you an idea of how I see the matter. _Can -you honestly promise to treat your wife in a completely new way,--with -such delicacy as you never did before, and always?_ If you can, I -_think_ we can manage to do something. There is also something important -to consider in regard to family matters. Can you not make this matter -smooth also? Please answer before three o'clock. Do not come to the -house until late this evening, or to-morrow. In haste, - - Affectionately, your friend, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO ---- - -DEAR FRIEND,--After you bid us good-bye, I began to think about things, -and resolved to write you a little letter about my conclusions. Of -course, because I am a foreigner, I cannot pretend to make absolutely -correct conclusions; but I should like to be of use to you as a friend, -and therefore believe that I cannot do any harm by presenting both sides -of the question, as they appear to me. - -It seems that there is one view of the matter which might not have been -fully thought over yet. The woman's side, I mean. It is true she has not -stated it; but I imagine it might be this:-- - -A woman of cultivation, although seeming very strong, may be very -sensitive and delicate--and may suffer more than a strong man can -imagine possible, by reason of very little matters. When about to become -a mother, her capacity for suffering greatly increases, and after -childbirth it remains intense. These are natural conditions; but after -the loss of a child, the condition is a very serious one, especially for -a lady who has been well educated. I know this chiefly by some knowledge -of medical physiology.--Now, what I mean is this: Anything that a wife -does during or after pregnancy should, I believe, be not only forgiven, -but _lovingly_ forgiven,--because _then_, what she suffers no man can -really understand. And the more educated she is, the more refined she -is, the more she suffers. - -Suppose now we look at her view,--or at what might be her view. She has -a very affectionate and true husband; but he is very strong, has never -been nervous or nervously sick, cannot understand what she suffers. She -is ashamed to confess her weakness and her pain. So she does not tell -him. She smiles and tries to make it appear that she is strong. The -loss of her child is a very great pain to her--more than any man could -understand; but she tries to forget it. Still, her husband does not -know all this. She is not able to be quick and active and ready, and -he does not understand why. Even a woman's memory weakens during this -painful period. Her mind is not so strong, and can only become as before -after the weaning of her child, or many months after childbirth. To the -strong peasant-woman this is a small trial; but to the educated lady it -is a question of life and death, and not a few even lose their reason -after losing a child--become insane. The physiologist knows this; but -many do not. And the wife, in such a case, may seem not to be kind to -the parents--simply because she _cannot_ be. She has the will,--not the -physical power. She is in the position of one who needs a servant--needs -all the help and comfort she can get--all the love she can obtain. She -cannot give help and do service; because neither body nor mind is strong -enough. And neither is strong enough--_because_ she has been strained -to her uttermost by her years of education. It is the same way the -world over. The lady cannot do or suffer as much as the woman who has -not passed her youth at schools. Mind and body have been transformed by -education. - -Now, dear friend, I imagine that this must be the state of affairs. -Your wife and her parents do not wish to do wrong, in my opinion. She -feels that she is not strong enough to remain your wife under the same -conditions. She cannot bear hardship, or do many things which seem to a -man mere trifles, while in a delicate condition. And she fears that she -would be unhappy and sick and lose another child. But she will never -_tell_ you. A woman will not tell those things. Unless a husband can -understand _without being told_,--the two cannot live together long. -The result must be, for the wife, death! - -I think, dear friend, that this is the truth of the matter. Now you can -separate good friends, or else--what could you do? - -If I were in your place, perhaps I should try to prevent the separation. -I should let the wife have her own gentle way. I should try to make her -comfortable, and not ask her to help me or my parents in any way,--but -only to bear my children and to love me, and to make home happy. But -_unless_ she has a good heart, I should be wrong. - -There is no question, I think, about the good heart. Your wife has that, -surely. It seems to me only a case of misunderstanding. Remember, dear -friend, that you are a very strong man, and that you can afford to be -very considerate to a weak woman, after the torture of childbirth and -the loss of the love--the child-love--for which Nature has been changing -the whole body. Remember also, that even your parents--not knowing the -strain of this new education on the physical system of the girl--might -judge her a little severely. Certainly she must love you, and wish that -she could be to you all you wish. - -Forgive this long letter. What I want to say is this: If it be not too -late, let us try whether a reconciliation is not possible. If you can -make allowances, and change conditions a little, all would be well, -perhaps. If _not_,--if you want a stronger woman for a wife,--perhaps it -is better to separate. But it would be a great pity to separate simply -because of a misunderstanding. So let us try to make things as they were -before. - - Affectionately your friend, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I got home safe and early,--thanks to your carriage! But -I feel a little uneasy about you; and when you get perfectly right again -in that strong back of yours, I want to hear from you--_not_ before. -Don't imagine that I must have an answer to every scrawl. I don't know -what to say to you and the doctor,--except that you are both spoiling -me. T[=o]ky[=o] seems unusually tristful this rainy evening; and I feel -that it is because you and the doctor are both far away,--and that the -world is not really anything like what you make it appear to be. - -I came up with three Americans, all of whom talked about Manila, -Aguinaldo, "the people at home," Boston, the Pennsylvania Central, -Baldwin's locomotives, the Pacific Coast,--and the commanders of the -various iron-clads at Manila. It did me good to hear them. They cocked -up their heels on the seats, home-fashion; and I felt sort of pulled -towards them,--but we didn't get acquainted. They knew everything about -everything in the whole world; and it did one good to hear them. Wish we -had a few men of that sort in the university. - -It will feel lonesome in Japan after you go back: I think I should like -to be one of those small eaglets that you used to supply with fish on -the voyage,--and have a hen wander occasionally within reach of my rope. - -Only a line before going to sleep. A stupid note--just to show that I am -thinking of you. My wife is delighted with the photo, and says it is the -best of all by far--in which I agree with her. - -Love to you, and _do_ take every care of your dear self. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I suppose you have heard of a famous old drama which -has for its title, "The Woman Killed with Kindness." Presently, if you -do not take care, you will be furnishing the material for a much more -modern tragedy, to be called, "The Small Man Killed with Kindness." Here -I have been waiting three days to write you,--and have not been able -to write, because of the extravagant and very naughty things which you -have done. That whiskey! Those cigars! That wonderful beefsteak! Those -imperial and sinfully splendid dinners! Those wonderful chats until -ghost-time, and beyond it! And all these things--however pleasing in -themselves--made like a happy dream by multitudes of little acts and -words and thoughts (all observed and treasured up) that created about -me an atmosphere not belonging at all to this world of Iron Facts and -Granite Necessities. "Come soon again"--indeed! Catch me down there -again this winter! Steep a man's soul in azure and gold like that again, -and you will utterly spoil him for those cold grey atmospheres under -which alone good work can be done. It is all tropical down there at -No. 20 Bund; and I must try to forget the tropics in order to finish -No. 8. The last time I had such an evening was in 1889,--in a flat of -Fifth Avenue, New York, where a certain divine person and I sat by a -fire of drift-wood, and talked and dreamed about things. There was this -difference, however, that I never could remember what passed as we -chatted before that extraordinary fire (which burned blue and red and -green--because of sea-ghosts in it). _That_ was largely witchcraft, but -at No. 20 Bund, without witchcraft, there is more power than that. And -if I am afraid of it, it is not because I do not like it even more than -the magic of Fifth Avenue, but because--No. 8 must be done quickly! - -You must really promise to be less good to me if you want to see me -again before the Twentieth Century. I wish I knew how to scold you -properly;--but for the moment I shall drop the subject in utter despair! - -I hope what you say about my being still a boy may have a grain of truth -in it,--so that I can get mature enough to make you a little bit proud -of encouraging me in this out-of-the-way corner of the world. But do -_you_ please take good care of that health of yours, if you want to see -results: I am just a trifle uneasy about you, and you strong men have -to be more careful than midges and gnats like myself. Please think twice -over these little remarks. - -I have no news at all for you;--there is no mail, of course, and nothing -interesting in this muddy place. I can only "report progress." I have a -very curious collection of Japanese songs and ballads, with refrains, -unlike any ever published in English; and I expect to make a remarkable -paper out of them. - -By the way, I must tell you that such enquiries as I tried to make for -you on the subject of waterfalls only confirm what I told you. The -mere idea of such a thing is horribly shocking to the _true_ Japanese -nature: it offends both their national and their religious sense. The -Japanese love of natural beauty is not artificial, as it is to a large -degree with us, but a part of the race-soul; and tens of thousands of -people travel every year hundreds of miles merely to enjoy the sight and -sound of a little waterfall, and to please their imagination with the -old legends and poems concerning it. (The Japanese heart never could -understand American willingness to use Niagara for hydraulic or electric -machinery--never! And I must confess that I sympathize altogether with -them.) But that is not all: the idea of a _foreigner_ using a waterfall -for such a purpose would seem to millions of very good, lovable people -like a national outrage. The bare suggestion would excite _horror_. Of -course there are men like---- who have suppressed in themselves all -these feelings,--but they represent an almost imperceptible minority. -They regard the ruin of Fairy-land as certain;--but the mass are still -happy in their dreams of the old beauty and the old gods. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Our scare is pretty nearly over;--the fever was broken -to-day, and we had a consultation of doctors. It seems to have been -pneumonia of the nasty, sudden kind. The little fellow never lost his -senses; but for part of yesterday he lost all power to speak. I think he -will get strong from now. The other boy got laid up about the same time, -but much less severely. The night they caught cold, the thermometer went -down to 26°, and the change was too much for them. By constant care for -a few days, I think we shall have them all right again: then I shall -hope, either to coax you up here, or go down to see you--if only to -shake hands. So far I am lucky; for I have been working like a Turk, and -keeping well. Work is an excellent thing to keep a fellow from worrying, -and my "self-confidence" is growing in the proper cautious way again. - -What a funny, funny episode is that story of Lieutenant Hobson, shipped -to Manila to keep him from being kissed to death by pretty girls! Wonder -if he would not prefer to face the Santiago forts again? The incident -is quite peculiarly American, and pretty in its way: it ought to make -heroes multiply. There is something to be a hero for,--to have one's -pick of the finest girls in the country. Still I have been thinking -that most of us would feel shy about marrying the woman who would stand -up and ask for a kiss in a theatre. It is the same sort of enthusiasm -that makes women tear out their earrings, and throw them on the stage -when a Liszt or a Gottschalk is improvising. I see no reason why -heroism should arouse less enthusiasm and affection than musical skill; -but don't you think that in either case we should prefer the silent -admiration of the giver that doesn't lose her head, but remains strongly -self-controlled--"all in an _iron glow_," as Ruskin calls it? When the -brave lieutenant wants a wife, I fancy he will be looking for that kind -of woman, rather than the other. - -There is no news for me by mail,--but we shall have another mail next -week, I suppose. The university course runs smoothly: this is my third -year; and my subject happens to be the 19th century, in which I feel -more at home than in the other branches of the subject. Fancy! I am -lecturing now on Swinburne's poetry. They would not allow me to do -this in a Western university perhaps--yet Swinburne, as to form, is -the greatest 19th century poet of England. But he has offended the -conventions; and they try to d--n him with silence. I believe you can -trust me to do him justice here, when I get the chance. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD. - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Everything is bright and sunny with us again: we have -to keep the boys in a warm room, and nurse them carefully, but they are -safe now. I shall never forget your kindest sympathy, and the doctor's -generous message. Am I bad for not writing sooner? To tell the truth I -was a little tired out myself, and got a touch of cold; but I'm solid -and shipshape again, and full of hope to see you. I shall have no more -duties until Tuesday morning (31st); so, if you will persist in risking -a bad lunch and an uncomfortable room, and the trouble of travelling -to T[=o]ky[=o], I shall be waiting for you. I think you ought to come -up _once_ more, anyhow. I want you to see yourself _vis-à-vis_ with -Elizabeth. I want to chat about things. (No mail yet at this writing.) -If you cannot conveniently come this week, come just when you please any -_afternoon_ between Fridays (inclusive) and Mondays. - -Odin said, in the Hávamál,--"_I counsel thee, if thou hast a trusty -friend, go and see him often; because a road which is seldom trod gets -choked with brambles and high grass._" - -This is a case of "don't-do-as-I-do,--but-do-as-I-tell-you"--isn't it? -Besides, I am not worth a d--n as a friend, anyhow. I quote these most -ancient verses only because you expressed an interest in them during our -last delightful chat;--but whether you come or no, brambles will _never_ -grow upon the pathway. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have just got your dear letter: don't think me -neglectful for not writing to you sooner;--this is the heavy part of the -term; and the weather has been trying me. - -Well, I am glad to hear that you have read a book called "Exotics and -Retrospectives." I have not seen it. Where did it come from? How did -you get it? When was it sent? Did the doctor get his copy? (Don't -answer these questions by letter in a hurry: I am not asking very -seriously,--as I suppose I shall get my copies by the _Doric_.) - -I have been doing nothing to speak of lately: too tired after -a day's work,--and the literary jobs on hand are mechanical -mostly,--uninteresting,--mere ruts of duty. I hate everything -mechanical; but romances do not turn up every day. - -Thanks for your interest in my lecture-work; but you would be wrong -in thinking the lectures worth printing. They are only dictated -lectures--dictated out of my head, not from notes even: so the form -of them cannot be good. Were I to rewrite each of them ten or fifteen -times, I might print them. But that would not be worth while. I am not -a scholar, nor a competent critic of the best; there are scores of men -able to do the same thing incomparably better. The lectures are good for -the T[=o]ky[=o] University, however,--because they have been adapted, by -long experience, to the Japanese student's way of thinking and feeling, -and are put in the simplest possible language. But when a professor -in Japan prints his lectures, the authorities think they have got all -that he knows in hand, and are likely to look about for a new man. It is -bad policy to print anything of the kind here, and elsewhere the result -would be insignificant. I had better reserve my force for work that -other people _cannot_ do better,--or at least won't do. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - February, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--You should never take the pains to answer the details of -my letters: it is very sweet of you to do it,--but it means the trouble -of writing, as it were, with a sense of affectionate obligation, and it -also means the trouble of re-reading, line by line, letters which are -not worth reading more than once--if even once. Please forget my letters -always, and write whatever you like, and don't think that I expect you -to take me very seriously. Why, I cannot even take myself always very -seriously!--By the way, that was a very pretty simile of yours about the -nebula condensing into a sun. But the nucleus, to tell the truth, has -not yet begun to integrate: there is a hardening here and there upon the -outermost edges only,--which is possibly contrary to the law that makes -great suns. - -It is pleasant to know that the sickness was not very severe. Still, I -am inclined to suspect that you underrate it. Naval men always call a -typhoon "a gale," or "a smart breeze"--don't they? - -I did receive a book and various letters, and I have had by this -mail four requests for autographs--two from England. The book I -would send you if it were worth it, but it is a very stupid attempt -at an anti-Christian-Spiritist-Theosophico-Buddhist novel, written -anonymously. I don't like this kind of thing, unless it be extremely -well done, and does not meddle with "astral bodies," "luminiferous -ether," and "sendings." There has been so much disgusting nonsense -written about Buddhism by Theosophists and Spiritists that ridicule is -unjustly sprinkled upon the efforts of impartial men to explain the real -beauties and truths of Eastern religion. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Now don't give yourself all that trouble about coming up -to T[=o]ky[=o]. It would have been an ugly trip for you last Saturday or -Sunday, anyhow: wait till the fine days, and till you don't know what -else to do. I think I shall see you before you go to the U. S. anyhow, -in T[=o]ky[=o]; but I don't think you will be able to manage the trip -very often. If I telegraph, "Dying--quick--murder:" then I know that you -will even quit your dinner and come;--isn't that pleasant to be sure of? - -I was thinking the other day to ask you if you ever knew my dead -friend,--W. D. O'Connor (U. S. Signal Service), Washington. He was very -fond of me in his way--got me my first introduction to the Harpers. I -believe that he died of overwork. I have his portrait. He was Whitman's -great friend. Thinking about him and you together, I was wondering how -much nationality has to do with these friendships. Is it only Irish or -Latin people who make friends for friendship's sake? Or is it that I am -getting old--and that, as Balzac says, men do not make friends after -forty-eight? Coming to think of old times, I believe a man is better off -in a very humble position, with a very small salary. He has everything -then more or less trustworthy and real in his surroundings. Give him -a thousand dollars a month, and he must live in a theatre, and never -presume to take off his mask. - -No, dear friend, I don't want _your_ book. I should not feel comfortable -with it in hand: I cannot comfortably read a book belonging to another -person, because I feel all the time afraid of spoiling it. I feel -restrained, and therefore uncomfortable. Besides, _your_ book is where -it ought to be doing the most good. Nay! I shall wait even until the -crack of doom, rather than take your book. - -There is to be a mail sometime next week, I suppose. Ought to come -to-day--but the _City of Rio de Janeiro_ is not likely to fly in -a blizzard, except downward. If she has my book on board she will -certainly sink. - -By the way, you did not know that I am fatal to ships. Every ship -on which I journey gets into trouble. Went to America in a steamer -that foundered. Came to Japan upon another that went to destruction. -Travelled upon a half-dozen Japanese steamers,--every one of which was -subsequently lost. Even lake-boats do not escape me. The last on which I -journeyed turned over, and drowned everybody on board,--only twenty feet -from shore. It was I who ran the _Belgic_ on land. The only ship that I -could not wreck was the _Saiky[=o]-Maru_, but she went to the Yalu on -the next trip after I had been aboard of her,--and got tolerably well -smashed up; so I had satisfaction out of her anyhow. If ever I voyage -on the Empress boats, there will be a catastrophe. Therefore I fear -exceedingly for the _Rio de Janeiro_; she is not strong enough to bear -the presence of that book in a typhoon. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1899. - -DEAR FRIEND,--I really felt badly at not being able to see more of you -yesterday,--especially to see you off to Shimbashi: I could not even -slip down to the gate without putting on shoes that take a terrible time -to lace. On the other hand, you left in the house a sense of warmth and -force and sun,--that were like a tonic to me,--or like a South-wind from -the sea on a summer's day; and I felt in consequence better satisfied -with the world at large. - -Do you recognize this pen: a U.S. pen, contributed to my pen-holder by -a U.S.N. officer whom I know a little, and like very much. - -I hope by this time that the Gordian knot shows some inclination to -unravel; and that the worry is diminishing. I remember, with much quiet -laughter, your story of the bear. I think I have found nearly as good -a simile--in an Indian paper. The fat Baboo got into a post-carriage, -with many furious steeds, which the driver was accustomed to drive after -the manner of the driving of Jehu,--and the driver was given further to -meditation, during which he had no consciousness of the base facts of -earth. And the bottom of the carriage fell out; and the Baboo landed -feet first, and ran,--with the carriage round him,--and the horses were -rushing at a speed not to be calculated. For the Baboo, it was death or -run,--because the driver neither heard nor saw; and the exertions made -are said to have been stupendous. The Baboo got off with a large amount -of hospital, caused--or rather necessitated--by the unusual exercise.... - -Well, I hope I shall some day again see you. I feel, however, that -something has been gained: you have been up; and I can't find -fault--even should you never again visit Tomihisa-ch[=o]. - -By the way, you are a bad, bad boy to have given a present to those -_kurumaya_. You spoil them. Talk again to me about ruining the morals of -your "boy"! Won't I be revenged! Affectionately, - - - LAFCADIO. - -Boy sends love to Ojisan McDonald. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I don't know what to say about "Cyrano de Bergerac" as a -poem, except that as for fine workmanship, it is what we should expect -the best dramatic French prosody of this sort to be. The verse-smith -is certainly a great craftsman. But was the subject worth the labour -spent upon it? I have no doubt that upon the French stage the effect -would be glorious,--exciting,--splendid: all that sort of thing; and -the story is "Frenchy,"--wrap-me-up-in-the-flag-of-honour style of -extravagance. It isn't natural--that is a great fault. Why it should -please English and American readers I can't quite see: I don't believe -the approbation is quite genuine,--any more than the admiration for -Bernhardt was genuine on the part of those who went to see her without -knowing a word of her language. I can understand why Frenchmen should -enthusiastically praise the book, but not why Americans should. The -heroine is a selfish, uninteresting little "chit;" the other characters -are without any sympathetic quality that I can find. Cyrano wanting to -fight with everybody about his nose--to impose his nose on the world -at the point of the sword, while perpetrating rhymes the while--surely -is not a very grand person. No poet could make such a nose attractive. -We can forget the nose of Mephistopheles because his wit and force -dazzle us; but Mephistopheles has no weaknesses,--not at least in the -first part of "Faust." Cyrano has many; and one even suspects that his -virtues are the outgrowth of his despair about his nose. But I am glad -to have read the wonderful thing; and I shall prize the book as long as -I live,--because it came up here in your coat-pocket, and was given me -with a smile and a twinkle of the eye that were (in my poor judgement) -incomparably more beautiful than the writer's best lines; for these -latter are not quite out of the heart, you know. - -Speaking of an ugly subject for heroic treatment, I was thinking to-day -about something that you would have done better than the man who did -it,--the ugly subject being a hairy caterpillar in a salad at a banquet. -The lady of the palace had ladled the salad and the caterpillar into -the plate of some admiral or commodore, and saw what she had done when -it was too late. The seaman caught her horrified eye, held it, and, -smiling, swallowed the caterpillar unseen by the other guests. After -the banquet, the beauty came to thank him--out of the innermost rosy -chamber of her heart--when he is reported to have said: "Why, Madam, -did you think that I would permit your pleasure of the evening to be -spoiled by a miserable G--d d--d caterpillar!" Yes, you would have -consumed the caterpillar; but you would not have "cussed" in the closing -scene--though that was a lovable profanity in a man of the older school. -Well, I think that commodore, or whatever his title may have been, a -better man out and out than Cyrano. He would have done just as much, and -made no fuss at all about it. Affectionately, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MRS. FENOLLOSA - - APRIL, 1899. - -DEAR MRS. FENOLLOSA,--To say that you have sent me the most beautiful -letter that I ever received--certainly the one that most touched me--is -not to say anything at all! Of course I hope to see more of the soul -that could utter such a letter,--every word a blossom fragrant like the -lovely flower to which the letter was tied. - -And yet--strange as it may seem--I feel like reproaching you!--It is -not _good_ for a writer to get such a letter;--he ought to be severely -maintained rather in a state of perpetual self-dissatisfaction. You -would spoil him! Nevertheless, how pleasant to know that there is -somebody to whom I can send a book hereafter with a tolerable certainty -of pleasing! I shall not even try to thank you any more now; and I shall -not dare to _re_read your letter for at least a month. But I hope that -my next publication--which is all new--will not have a less welcome in -your heart. - -Ever with kindliest sympathies,--and unspoken gratitude for the -delicious letter and the delicious flower, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am sending you the address of the great silk house, -or rather dry-goods house, in T[=o]ky[=o]; but a word in addition. If -you and the consul are not afraid of taking cold by walking about in -stocking-feet awhile, I strongly advise you to visit also the Japanese -show-rooms,--just to see the crêpe-silks, spring goods, embroidered -screens, etc.,--the things made to suit Japanese taste, according -to real art principles. You will find them much more interesting, I -imagine, than the displays made to please foreigners. Even the _towels_ -and the _yukata_ stuffs ought to tempt you into a trifling purchase or -two in spite of yourselves; but nobody will grumble even if you do not -buy at all. It is just like a bazaar, you need only go upstairs and walk -through, from room to room, looking at the cases. - -I was delighted with the little book which good Consul Bedloe so kindly -gave me--I read it in the train. Please thank him with the best thanks -in your capacity (which is practically unlimited) for the picture: -it will be always a souvenir for me of one of the most, if not the -absolutely most, delightful days that I passed in Yokohama. If you -think he would care for the enclosed shadow of this old owl, please -kindly give it him. I would I had at the moment some better way of -acknowledging the rare pleasure which his merry good fellowship and his -inimitable stories and everything about himself filled me with. I can't -help feeling as if I had made a new friend--though that would not do to -say, you know, upon such short acquaintance, to him. I only want to tell -_you_ just how the experience affected me. - -I shall not thank you for my happy two days with you, and all the -beautiful things that you "so beautifully _did_." But I felt as if the -sky had become more blue and the grass more green than could really be -the case. You know what that means. - - With hope to see you soon again, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am still, o' nights, holding imaginary conversations -with you from the windows of a waiting train,--or listening to -wonderful stories from a delightful phantom-consul. In other words, the -impressions of my last days in Yokohama are still haunting me, and--I -fear--creating too much desire after the flesh-pots of Egypt. But in -spite of these moral and intellectual debaucheries, I have been doing -fair work,--and have in hand a ghost-story of a new and pathetically -penetrating kind. - -Speaking of ghosts, the design for the cover is to be plum-blossoms -against a grey-blue sky. Can't say this is appropriate--the plum-blossom -being the moral emblem of female virtue. A lotus in a golden lake,--a -willow in rainy darkness,--would be better. But so long as I am not -consulted, exact appropriateness cannot be expected; besides, it would -be lost upon the public. - -I've been thinking over all your plans and hopes for me, and I am going -to blast them unmercifully. I am quite convinced that you can do nothing -at all, until the day when I make a hit on my own spontaneous account. -_Then_ you can do anything. For the interval, I must be very careful -not to seem anxious to want attention of any sort, and do better work -than I ever did before. You will only be able to find me a literary -agent--or something of that sort,--and to talk nicely about me to -personal friends. - -Give my most grateful, most sincere, most unchangeable regards to Dr. -Bedloe. I think more on his subject than I am going to put on paper just -now. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - -[Illustration: Beauties of the landscape--scenery between T[=o]ky[=o] - and Yokohama.] - - - TO MRS. FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1899. - -DEAR MRS. FENOLLOSA,--You will be shocked, I fear, when I tell you -that I was careless enough to lose the address given me in your last -charming letter. Your letters are too precious to be thus mislaid; -and I am ashamed of negligence in this case. But though I forgot the -address, I forgot no word of the letter,--nor of the previous charming -letter, with its quotation from that very clever friend of yours (Miss -Very)--the Emerson quotation from the Brahma-poem. I hope you will tell -me more about your friend some day; for she seems to be intellectually -my friend also. I liked very much what she said, as quoted by you,--who -know curiously well how to give pleasure, and do it so generously, -notwithstanding such meagre return. - -I was struck by the paragraph in your last letter concerning the -_feeling_ of understanding a writer better than anybody else in the -whole world. You seemed to think it presumptuous to make such a -declaration about any writer; but the feeling, I believe, is always -_true_. I have it in regard to all my favourite authors,--especially -in regard to certain pages of French writers, like Anatole France, -Loti, Michelet, Gautier, Hugo. And I know I am right--though I never -can be a critic. The fact is that the greatest critics, each of them, -think likewise; and their criticisms prove them correct. No two feel or -appreciate an author in exactly the same way: each discerns a different -value in him. For no two personalities being the same, and no personal -understanding the same, the "equation" makes the judgement unique in -this world, and so incomparably valuable, when it is a large one.... - -The missionaries are furthermore wrong in sending women to -the old-fashioned districts. The people do not understand the -maiden-missionary, and if she receives a single foreign visitor not of -her own sex, the most extraordinary stories are set in circulation. Of -course, the people are not malicious in the matter; but they find such -a life contrary to all their own social experience, and they judge it -falsely in consequence. - -For myself I could sympathize with the individual,--but never with the -missionary-cause. Unconsciously, every honest being in the mission-army -is a destroyer--and a destroyer only; for nothing can replace what they -break down. Unconsciously, too, the missionaries everywhere represent -the edge--the _acies_, to use the Roman word--of Occidental aggression. -We are face to face here with the spectacle of a powerful and selfish -civilization demoralizing and crushing a weaker and, in many ways, a -nobler one (if we are to judge by comparative ideals); and the spectacle -is not pretty. We must recognize the inevitable, the Cosmic Law, if you -like; but one feels and hates the moral wrong, and this perhaps blinds -one too much to the sacrifices and pains accepted by the "noble army." -... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I reached my little Japanese house last night, carrying -with me a sort of special tropic atmosphere or magnetic cloud--composed -of impressions of hearts, hands, and minds dearer and altogether -superior to the things of this world. Are you not as Solomon who "made -silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as the sycamore-trees -that are in the lowland for multitude"? - -Presently I squatted down before my _hibachi_, and smoked and viewed the -landscape o'er--inverted in the pocket-lens of Dr. Bedloe, and invested -thereby with iridescences of violet and crimson and emerald. And it -occurred to me that the prismatic lights in question symbolized those -fairy-tints and illusions which the two of you wove around me while I -remained in the circle of your power. Spell it must have been--for I -cannot yet assure myself that I left T[=o]ky[=o] only yesterday morning, -and not a month ago. The riddle reverses the case of Urashima;--I have -been trying to argue out the question whether happiness does really -make the hours shorter, or does rather stretch time infinitely, like -the thread of a spider. No doubt, however, the true explanation lies in -contrasts--the contrasts of the extraordinary change from real Japanese -existence to the American colonial circle of the year of grace 1899. It -is really, you know, like taking a single stride of a thousand years -in measure,--and the result is, of course, more bewildering than the -striding of Peter Schlemihl. He could only go from the Pole to the -Tropics in an afternoon--just now you are like old acquaintances who -come back at night to talk to us as if they had not been under the -ground for thirty years and more. Are you all quite sure down there that -you are alive? I believe _I_ am,--though I have to pinch myself betimes -to make sure. Then I have the evidence of that magnifying glass; and my -shoes tell me that I must have been out. - -Yet more--I have two letters to send you. (They need no comment, other -than that which I have inscribed upon them.) I enclose them only because -I know that you want to see them. - -By the way, I feel otherwise displeased with you. I could forgive you -for much besides getting off a moving train. _There was a pillar right -behind you_ as you stepped off. What would the not impossible Mrs. -Mitchell McD. of my wishes say to you for that! - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--Your delightful letter is with me. I did not get through -that examination work till Sunday morning--had about 300 compositions -to look through: then I had nearly a day's work packing and sending -out prizes which I give myself every year--not for the best English -(for that depends upon natural faculty altogether), but for the best -_thinking_, which largely depends upon study and observation. - -Lo! I am a "bloated bondholder." I am "astonished" and don't know -what to say--except that I want to hug you! About the semi-annual -meeting, though--fear I shall be far away then. Unless it be absolutely -necessary, I don't think I shall be able to come. Can't I vote by -letter, or telegraph? If you make out a form, I'll vote everything -that you want, just as you want it. (By the way, I _might_ be able to -come--in case I am not more than fifty miles off. Perhaps I can't get -to where I want to go.) We'll take counsel together. Yet, you ought to -know that I hate meetings of all kinds with hatred unspeakable. - -So it was a Mrs.----, not a Mr.----. I am afraid of Scotch people. -However, that was a nice letter. Perhaps I ought to send her a copy -of "Ghostly Japan." But one never can tell the exact consequences of -yielding to these impulses of gratitude and sympathy. My friends are -enough for me--they are as rare as they are few; rare like things from -the uttermost coasts,--diamonds, emeralds and opals, amethysts, rubies, -and topazes from the mines of Golconda. What more could a fellow want? -_All_ the rest is useless even when it is not sham--which it generally -is. - -Haven't been idle either. Am working on "The Poetry and Beauty -of Japanese Female Names." Got all the common names I want into -alphabetical order, and classified. Aristocratic names remain to be -done,--an awful job; but I think that I shall manage it before I get -away. - -Perhaps I shall not finish that dream-work for years,--perhaps I might -finish it in a week. Depends upon the Holy Ghost. By the way, a thing -that I had never been able to finish since I began it six years ago, and -left in a drawer, has suddenly come into my present scheme,--fits the -place to a "T." So it may be with other things. I leave them to develop -themselves; and if I wait long enough, they always do. - -I have heard from the Society of Authors. The American public is good to -me. I have only a very small public in England yet. I fancy at present -that I shall do well to become only an _associate_ of the Authors' -Society,--pay the fees,--and wait for fame, in order to take the -publishers privately recommended to me. We shall see. - -What a tremendous, square, heavy, settled, immoveable, mountainous thing -is the English reading public! The man who can bore into the basalt of -that mass must have a diamond-drill. I tell you that I feel dreadfully -minute,--microscopic,--when I merely read the names of the roll of the -Authors' Society. Love to you from all of us, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Do you know that I felt a little blue after you went -away the other day,--which was ungrateful of me. A little while ago, -reading Marcus Aurelius, I found a quotation that partially explains: -"One man, when he has done a service to another, is ready to set it down -to his account. Another is not ready to do this.... A third in a manner -does not even know what he has done, but he is like a vine which has -produced grapes, and seeks for nothing more after it has once produced -fruit." And I feel somewhat displeased at the vine--inasmuch as I know -not what to do in regard to my own sense of the obligation of the grapes. - -The heat is gorgeous and great. I dream and write. The article on -women's names is dry work; but it develops. I have got it nearly two -thirds--yes, fully two thirds done. I am going to change the sentence -"lentor inexpressible" which you did not like. It is a kind of old trick -word with me. I send you a copy of the old story in which I first used -it,--years and years ago. Don't return the thing--it has had its day. - -I feel queerly tempted to make a Yokohama trip some afternoon, towards -evening, instead of morning: am waiting only for that double d--d -faculty meeting, and the finishing up of a little business. "Business?" -you may bewilderingly exclaim. Well, yes--business. I have been paying -a student's way through the university--making him work, however, -in return for it. And I must settle his little matters in a day or -so--showing him that he has paid his own way really, and has discharged -all his obligations. Don't think he will be grateful--but I must try to -be like the vine--like Mitchell--and though I can't be quite so good, I -must pretend to be--act as if I were. The next best thing to being good -is to imitate the acts and the unselfishness of Vines. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - YAIDZU, August, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am writing to you under _very_ great difficulties, and -on a floor,--and therefore you must not expect anything very good. - -Got to Yaidzu last night, and took a swim in a phosphorescent sea. - -To-day is cold and grey--and not a day for you to enjoy. I saw an -immense crowd of pilgrims for Fuji at Gotemba, and wondered if you would -go up, as this time you would have plenty of company. - -Sorry I did not see dear Dr. Bedloe; but I hope to catch him upon his -way back to the Far East. - -How I wish you could come down some fine day here--only, I _do_ fear -that you could not stand the fleas. I must say that it requires patience -and perseverance to stand them. But you can have glorious swimming. When -I can get that--_fleas_ and all other things are of no consequence. - -Also I am afraid that you would not like the odours of fish below -stairs, of _daikon_, and of other things all mixed up together. _I_ -don't admire them;--but there is swimming--nothing else makes much -difference. - -You would wonder if you saw how I am quartered, and how much I like it. -I _like_ roughing it among the fisher-folk. I love them. I am afraid -that you not only couldn't stand it, but that you would be somewhat -angry if you came down here--would tell me that "I ought to have known -better," etc. Nevertheless I want you to come for one day--see if you -can stand it. "Play up the Boyne Wather softly till I see if I can stand -it." Ask Dr. Bedloe the result of playing the Boyne Wather softly. But I -am warning you fairly and fully. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - -P. S. I am _sure_ that you could not stand it--perfectly sure. But -then--think of the value of the _experience_. I had a Japanese officer -here last year and _he_ liked it. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - YAIDZU, August, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--Went to that new hotel this afternoon, and discovered -that the people are all liars and devils and.... Therefore it would -_never_ do for you to go there. Then I went to an ice and fruit seller, -who has a good house; and he said that after the fourteenth he could let -you have sleeping room. The village festival is now in progress, so that -the houses are crowded. - -If this essay fails, I have the alternative of a widow's cottage. She is -a good old soul--with the best of little boys for a grandson, and sole -companion; the old woman and the boy support themselves by helping the -fishermen. But there will be fleas. - -Oh! d--n it all! what is a flea? Why should a brave man tremble before -a nice clean shining flea? You are not afraid of twelve-inch shells -or railroad trains or torpedoes--what, then, is a flea? Of course by -"a flea" I mean fleas _generically_. I've done my best for you--but -the long and the short of it is that if you go anywhere outside of the -Grand Hotel you _must_ stand fleas--piles, multitudes, _mountains_ and -_mountain-ranges_ of fleas! There! Fleas are a necessary part of human -existence. - -The iceman offers you a room breezy, cool,--you eat with me; but by -all the gods! you've _got_ to make the acquaintance of some fleas! Just -think how many unpleasant acquaintances _I_ run away from! yet--I have -Buddha's patience with fleas. - -At this moment, a beautiful, shining, plump, gathered-up-for-a-jump flea -is walking over my hand. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am sending you two documents just received--one from -Lowder's new company, I suppose; the other, which makes me rather vexed, -from that---- woman, who has evidently never seen or known me, and who -spells my name "Lefcardio." (Wish you would point out to her somebody -who looks small and queer,--and tell her, "That is Mr. Hearn--he is -waiting to see you.") At all events, these folks have simply been -putting up a job to amuse themselves or to annoy me;---- has apparently -been putting up a job to annoy _you_. We are in the same boat; but you -can take much better care of yourself than I can. I do wish that you -could find out something about those ---- people: I am very much ashamed -at having left my card at the hotel where they were stopping. - -One thing sure is that I shall not go down to the Grand Hotel again -for ages to come--I wish I could venture to say "never"--nevermore. It -is one more nail in my literary coffin every time I go down. If I am -to be tormented by folks in this way, I had better run away from the -university and from T[=o]ky[=o] at once. - -That ---- woman is a most damnable liar. I wonder who she can be. - -Well, so much for an outburst of vexation--which means nothing very -real; for I only want to pour my woes into your ear. I can't say how -good I think you are, nor how I feel about the pleasure of our last too -brief meeting. But I do feel more and more that you do not understand -some things,--the immense injury that introductions do to a struggling -writer,--the jealousies aroused by attentions paid to him,--the loss to -him of creative power that follows upon invitations of any kind. You -represent, in a way, the big world of society. It kills every man that -it takes notice of--or rather, every man that submits to be noticed by -it. Their name is legion; and they are strangled as soon as they begin -to make the shadow of a reputation. Solitude and peace of mind only -can produce any good work. Attentions numb, paralyze, destroy every -vestige of inspiration. I feel that I cannot go to America without -hiding--and never can let you know where I go to. I shall have to get -away from T[=o]ky[=o],--get somewhere where nobody wants to go. You see -only one side--what you think, with good reason, are the advantages of -being personally known. But the other side,--the disadvantages,--the -annoyances, the horrors--you do not know anything about; and you are -stirring them up--like a swarm of gnats. A few more visits to Yokohama -would utterly smash me--and at this moment, I do wish that I never had -written a book. - -No: an author's instincts are his best guide. His natural dislike to -meet people is not shyness,--not want of self-appreciation: it is -empirical knowledge of the conditions necessary to peace of mind and -self-cultivation. Introduce him, and you murder his power,--just as you -ruin certain solutions by taking out the cork. The germs enter; and the -souls of him rot! Snubs are his best medicine. They keep him humble, -obscure, and earnest. Solitude is what he needs--what every man of -letters knows that an author needs. No decent work was ever done under -any other conditions. He wants to be protected from admiration, from -kindnesses, from notice, from attentions of any sort: therefore really -his ill-wishers are his friends without knowing it. - -Yet here I am--smoking a divine cigar--out of my friend's gift-box,--and -brutally telling him that he is killing my literary soul or souls. Am -I right or wrong? I feel like kicking myself; and yet, I feel that I -ought never again in this world to visit the Grand Hotel! I wonder if -my friend will stand this declaration with equanimity. He says that -he will never "misunderstand." That I _know_. I am only fearing that -_understanding_ in this case might be even worse than misunderstanding. -And I can't make a masterpiece yet. If I could, I should not seem to be -putting on airs. That is the worst of it. - -Hope you will forgive and sympathize with - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--No news up here, to interest you. - -I am not doing anything much at present. Don't know whether I shall -appear in print again for several years. Anyhow, I shall never write -again except when the spirit moves me. It doesn't pay; and what you -call "reputation" is a most damnable, infernal, unmitigated misery and -humbug--a nasty smoke--a foretaste of that world of black angels to -which the wicked are destined. (Thanks for your promise not to make any -more introductions; but I fear the mischief has been done; and Yokohama -is now for me a place to be shunned while life lasts.) - -Six hundred pages (about) represent my present quota of finished -manuscript. But I shall this time let the thing mellow a good deal, -and publish only after judicious delay. While every book I write costs -me more than I can get for it, it is evident that literature holds no -possible rewards for me;--and like a sensible person I am going to try -to do something really good, that won't sell. - -In the meanwhile, however, I want not to think about publishers and -past efforts at all. That is waste of time. I shall prepare to cross -the great Pacific instead,--unless I have to cross a greater Pacific in -very short order. I should like a chat with you soon; but I am not going -down to Yokohama for an age. It is better not. When I keep to myself -up here, things begin to simmer and grow: a sudden change of milieu -invariably stops the fermentation. Wish you were anywhere else that is -pleasant except--at the G. H. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I cannot quite tell you how sorry I felt to part from -you on the golden afternoon of yesterday: like Antæus, who got stronger -every time he touched the solid ground, I feel always so much more of a -man after a little contact with your reality. Not more of a _literary -man_, however; for I try to shut the ears of my mind against your praise -in that direction, and I close the door of Memory upon the sound of it. -If I didn't, I should be ruined by self-esteem. - -And to think that you will be eight, ten or twenty thousand miles away, -after next year! - -Woke up this morning feeling younger--not quite fifty years of age. -Gradually the sense of age will return: when I feel about sixty -again--which will be soon--I shall run down to see you. - -Want to say that those cigars of the doctor's are too good for me: -luxury, luxury, luxury. The ruin of empires! But I like a little -of it--not _too_ often--once in a year. It makes me buoyant, -imponderable--fly in day dreams. - -And I want to see Bedloe. Do not, if you can help it, fail to come up -again, once anyhow, before the good year dies. Only this word of love to -you. - - In haste, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO PROFESSOR FOXWELL - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1899. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--I had given up all expectation of seeing you again in -Japan,--as a letter received from Mr. Edwards gave me to understand -that you were on your way back to England. To-day, however, I learned -by chance that you were still in T[=o]ky[=o],--though no longer an -inhabitant of the Palace of Woe. Therefore I must convey to you by this -note Mr. Edwards's best regards, and express my own regret that you will -not again help me through with a single one of those dreary quarters -between classes. However, I suppose that the day of my own emancipation -cannot be extremely remote. - -I have had a number of pleasant letters from that wonderful American -friend of ours. He has been in Siam,--where he sold to the King's people -more than two tons of dictionaries without emerging from the awning -of his carriage; and I suppose that the books were carried by a white -elephant with six tusks. He has been since then in Ceylon, Madras, -Calcutta,--all sorts of places, too, ending in "bad,"--doing business. -But he will not return to Japan--he goes to the Mediterranean. He sent -me a box of cigars of Colombo: they are a little "sharp," but very -nice--strange in flavour, but fine. - -No other news that could interest you. Excuse me for troubling you with -this note--but the idea of seeking you at the Metropole would fill me -with dismay. If you do go to England, please send me a good-bye card. If -you do not go very soon, I shall probably see you somewhere "far from -the madding crowd." - - Best regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PROFESSOR FOXWELL - - NOVEMBER, 1899. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Nay! I return into my shell for another twelve -months at least. You see--I thought you were going away, and felt a -little sorry, and therefore went to that dreadful hotel and let you -hand me over for an afternoon to your American friend who quotes -Nordau's "Degeneration," but that was really, for me, supreme heroism -of self-sacrifice.... (By the way, I have seen too much of that type -of man elsewhere to be altogether delighted with him: superficies of -bonhomie, studied suggestions of sympathy, core hard as Philadelphia -pressed brick: he _swarms_ in America; and I much prefer the Gullman -brand.) As for a party of four,--"_Compania de cuatro, compania del -diablo!_" The only way I can have a friend in these parts is to make -this condition: "Never introduce me; and never ask me to meet you in -a crowd." You ought to recognize, surely, that I couldn't afford to -be known and liked, even if that were possible. I can "keep up my end" -only by strictly following the good maxim: _Tachez de n'avoir besoin de -personne_. Now, really, dear Professor, why should I lose an evening of -(to me) precious work, and tire myself, merely to sit down with Mr. G. -and Mr. M.? What do I care for Mr. G. or Mr. M.? What do I care for the -whole foreign community of T[=o]ky[=o]? Why should I go two steps out of -my way for the sake of men that I know nothing about, and do not want -to know anything about? "Life is too short," as the Americans say. With -thanks all the same, - - Crankily yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -Next time--next two times we meet--it is my turn to play host, remember. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1900. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Memories of handwriting must have become -strong with me; for I recognized the writing before I opened the letter. -And thereafter I did not do more than verify the signature--and put the -letter away, so that I might read it in the time of greatest silence and -serenity of mind. During the interval there rose up reproachfully before -me the ghost of letters written and rewritten and again rewritten to -you, but subsequently--I cannot exactly say why-- posted in the fire! -(This letter goes to you in its first spontaneous form--so much the -worse for me!) - -"Indifferent" you say. But you ought to see my study-room. It is not -very pretty--a little Japanese matted room, with glass sliding windows -(upstairs), and a table and chair. Above the table there is the portrait -of a young American naval officer in uniform--he is not so young -now;--that is a very dear picture. On the opposite wall is the shadow of -a beautiful and wonderful person, whom I knew long ago in the strange -city of New Orleans. (She was sixteen years old, or so, when I first met -her; and I remember that not long afterwards she was dangerously ill, -and that several people were afraid she would die in that quaint little -hotel where she was then stopping.) The two shadows watch me while the -light lasts; and I have the comfortable feeling of monopolizing their -sympathy--for they have nobody else to look at. The originals would not -be able to give me so much of their company. - -The lady talks to me about a fire of wreckwood, that used to burn with -red and blue lights. I remember that I used to sit long ago by that -Rosicrucian glow, and talk to her; but I remember nothing else--only the -sound of her voice,--low and clear and at times like a flute. The gods -only know what _I_ said; for my thoughts in those times were seldom in -the room,--but in the future, which was black, without stars. But all -that was long ago. Since then I have become grey, and the father of -three boys. - -The naval officer has been here again in the body, however. Indeed, I -expect him here, upstairs, in a day or two,--before he goes away to -Cavite,--after which I shall probably never see him again. We have sat -up till many a midnight,--talking about things. - -Whether I shall ever see the original of the other shadow, I do not -know. I must leave the Far East for a couple of years, in order to -school a little son of mine, who must early begin to learn languages. -Whether I take him to England or America, I do not yet know; but America -is not very far from England. Whether the lady of the many-coloured -fires would care to let me hear her voice for another evening, sometime -in the future, is another question. - -Two of the boys are all Japanese,--sturdy and not likely to cause -anxiety. But the eldest is almost altogether of another race,--with -brown hair and eyes of the fairy-colour,--and a tendency to pronounce -with a queer little Irish accent the words of old English poems which he -has to learn by heart. He is not very strong; and I must give the rest -of my life to looking after him. - -I wish that I could make a book to please you more often than once -a year. (But I have so much work to do!) Curiously enough, some of -the thoughts spoken in your letter have been put into the printer's -hands--ghostly anticipation?--for a book which will probably appear -next fall. I cannot now judge whether it will please you--but there are -reveries in it, and sundry queer stories. - -I think that you once asked me for a portrait of my boy. I send -one--but he is now older than his portrait by some two years. I shall -send a better one later on, if you wish. I should like to interest you -in him--to the simple extent of advising me about him at a later day; -for you represent for my imagination all the Sibyls, and your wisdom -would be for me as the worth of things precious from the uttermost -coasts. - -Perhaps something of _me_ lives in that collie you describe: I think -that I can understand exactly what she feels when the Invisible gathers -about,--that is what she feels in regard to her mistress. A collie -_ought_ to recognize the ghostly, anyhow: her ancestors must have sat -at the feet of Thomas of Ercildoune. By the way, my poor dog _did_ get -murdered after all,--killed by men from a strange village. They were -chased by the police; but they "made good their escape." She left behind -her three weird little white puppies. We fed them and nursed them, and -saved two. It is painful being attached to birds and dogs and cats and -other lovable creatures: they die before us, and they have so many -sorrows which we cannot protect them from. The old gods, who loved human -beings, must have been very unhappy to see their pets wither and perish -in a little space. - -Good-bye for the moment. It was so kind to write me. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1900. - -MY DEAR OTANI,--I suppose that, when you ask me to express my "approval" -or non-approval of a society for the study of literature, etc., you want -a sincere opinion. My sincere opinion will not please you, I fear, but -you shall have it. - -There is now in Japan a mania, an insane mania, for perfectly useless -organizations of every description. Societies are being formed by -hundreds, with all kinds of avowed objects, and dissolved as fast as -they are made. It is a madness that will pass--like many other mad -fashions; but it is doing incomparable mischief. The avowed objects of -these societies is to do something useful; the real object is simply to -waste time in talking, eating, and drinking. The knowledge of the value -of time has not yet even been dreamed of in this country. - -The study of literature or art is never accompanied by societies of -this kind. The study of literature and of art requires and depends upon -individual effort, and original thinking. The great Japanese who wrote -famous books and painted famous pictures did not need societies to help -them. They worked in solitude and silence. - -No good literary work can come out of a society--no original work, at -least. Social organization is essentially opposed to individual effort, -to original effort, to original thinking, to original feeling. A society -for the study of literature means a society organized so as to render -the study of literature, or the production of literature, absolutely -impossible. - -A literary society is a proof of weakness--not a combination of force. -The strong worker and thinker works and thinks by himself. He does not -want help or sympathy or company. His pleasure in the work is enough. No -great work ever came out of a literary society,--no great original work. - -A literary society, for the purpose of studying literature, is utterly -useless. The library is a better place for the study of literature. The -best of all places is the solitude of one's own room. - -I should not say anything against a society organized for the -translation and publication of the whole of Shakespeare's plays,--for -example. But translation is a practical matter--not original work, nor -even literary study in the highest sense. - -Even in the matter of making a dictionary, no society, however, can -equal the work of the solitary scholar. The whole French Academy could -not produce a dictionary such as Littré produced by himself. - -I have said that I think these Japanese societies mean a mischievous -waste of time. Think of the young scholars who go from Japan to Europe -for higher study. They are trained by the most learned professors in -the world,--they are prepared in every way to become creators, original -thinkers, literary producers. And when they return to Japan, instead -of being encouraged to work, they are asked to waste their time in -societies, to attend banquets, to edit magazines, to deliver addresses, -to give lectures free of charge, to correct manuscripts, to do -everything which can possibly be imagined to prevent them from working. -They cannot do anything; they are not allowed to do anything; their -learning and their lives are made barren. They are treated, not like -human beings with rights, but like machines to be used, and brutally -used, and worn out as soon as possible. - -While this rage for wasting time in societies goes on there will be no -new Japanese literature, no new drama, no new poetry--nothing good of -any kind. Production will be made impossible and only the commonplace -translation of foreign ideas. The meaning of time, the meaning of work, -the sacredness of literature are unknown to this generation. - -And what is the use of founding a new journal? There are too many -journals now. You can publish whatever you want without founding a -journal. If you found a journal, you will be obliged to write for it -quickly and badly; and you know that good literary work cannot be -done quickly,--cannot be made to order within a fixed time. A new -journal--unless you choose to be a journalist, and nothing but a -journalist--would mean not only waste of time, but waste of money. - -I am speaking in this way, because I think that literature is a very -serious and sacred thing--not an amusement, not a thing to trifle and -play with. - -Handicapped as you now are,--with an enormous number of -class-hours,--you cannot attempt any literature work at all, without -risking your health and injuring your brains. It is much more important -that you should try to get a position allowing you more leisure. - -And finally, I have small sympathy with the mere study of English -literature by Japanese students and scholars. I should infinitely prefer -to hear of new studies in Japanese literature. Except with the sole -purpose of making a new _Japanese_ literature, I do not sympathize with -English or French or German studies. - -There is my opinion for you. I hope you will think about it,--even if -you do not like it. Work with a crowd, and you will _never_ do anything -great. - -Many years ago, I advised you to take up a scientific study. It would -have given you more leisure for literary work. You would not. You will -have future reason to regret this. But if you want advice again, here it -is: _Don't_ belong to societies, _don't_ write anything that comes into -your head, _don't_ waste the poor little time you have. Take literature -seriously,--or leave it alone. - - Yours very truly, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO YASUKOCHI - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1901. - -DEAR MR. YASUKOCHI,--Not the least of my pleasure in looking at the fine -photograph, so kindly sent to my little son, was in observing how very -well and strong you appear to be. Let me also have the privilege of -thanking you--though my boy, of course, sends his small recognition of -the favour. - -Your letter of September 3d interested me very much; for I had not heard -anything about you at all since the last visit you made to my little -house in Tomihisa-ch[=o]. For example, I had not heard of your going to -Kumamoto Ken; and although I often wondered about you, I knew nobody who -could inform me. (I had, indeed, one Kumamoto pupil, Mr. G[=o]sh[=o]; -but I quite forgot about his having been in my class at Kumamoto, until -he came to see me after graduating--to say good-bye.) The experience of -army-life which you have had must have been somewhat hard as discipline; -but I imagine that, after all those years of severe study and mental -responsibility, the change to another and physical discipline must have -been good from the point of health. I think that it probably made you -stronger; and I am glad you were in the artillery-corps,--where one has -an opportunity to learn so many things of lasting value. But I trust -that many years will elapse before Japan again needs your services in a -military capacity. - -It was kind of you to remember Numi. A curious thing happened after the -last time we saw him. One in my household dreamed that he came back, in -his uniform, looking very pale, and speaking of a matter concerning his -family. The next day, the papers began to print the first accounts of -the ship being missing. The coincidence was curious. The matter of which -he seemed to have spoken was looked after, as he would have wished. - -I have no doubt at all of good things to come for you, if you keep as -strong as your picture now proves you to be. The rest will be, I think, -only a question of time and patience. I look forward with pleasure to -the probability of seeing you again. (Except that I have got greyer, I -fear you will find me the same as of old,--somewhat queer, etc.) I have -been working very steadily, rather than hard; but by systematically -doing just exactly so much every day, neither more nor less, I find -that I am able to do a good deal in the course of a year. I mean "good -deal" in the sense of "quantity"--the quality, of course, depends upon -circumstances rather than effort. - -Thanks, again, for your kindness in sending the photograph, and for the -pleasant letter about yourself. May all good fortune be yours is the -earnest wish of - - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO YRJÖ HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1902. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--About a week ago I received from Messrs. Wahlstrom and -Weilstrand--how strangely impressive these Northern names!--the dainty -"Exotica," with its sunrise and flying-swallows-design, and--my name -and private address in Japanese thereon!... I have sent a book for Mrs. -Hirn. If there are any of my books that you do not know, and would like -to have,--such as "Gleanings in Buddha-Fields" or "Youma"--I shall be -glad to have them sent you from America. - -Thanks indeed for the photograph. I had imagined a face with the same -strong, precise lines, but in a blond setting. Yet some shades of fair -hair come out dark in photographs--so that I am not yet quite sure how -far my intuition miscarried. You are what I imagined--but a shade or two -stronger in line. - -As for myself, I have no decent photograph at present.... I am horribly -disfigured by the loss of the left eye--so get photographed usually in -profile, or looking downward. I am a very small person; and when young, -was very dark, with the large alarming eyes of a myope. - -I imagine that you have been tactfully kind in your prefatory notice of -me. I could only guess; but your letter confirms a number of my guesses. -The article by Zilliacus, to which you refer, I do not know: I cannot -read German in any event. The paper by Dr. Varigny in the _Revue des -Deux Mondes_ was a mere fantasy,--unjust in the fact that it accredited -me with faculties and knowledge which I do not possess. The mere truth -of the matter is that I have had a rather painful experience of life, -for lack of the very qualities ascribed to me. (In American existence -one must either grind or be ground--I passed most of my time between the -grindstones.) - -As for the choice of the subjects translated, it gave me most pleasure -to find some of my "Retrospectives" in that stern and sturdy tongue: it -was a bracing experience. The selections from "Glimpses" I should not -have advised; for the book is disfigured by faults of "journalistic" -style, and was written before I really began to understand, not Japan, -but how difficult it is to understand Japan. Nevertheless your judgement -in this particular was coincident with the general decision: the story -of the Shirabyoshi has, for example, appeared in four languages. It is -a story of the painter Bunch[=o],--and the merit is in no wise mine, as -I merely paraphrased a Japanese narrative. Don't think me ungrateful, -please, because I express my preferences thus. Really the experience of -trying to follow in Swedish the meaning of my "Serenade," etc., was more -than a delight,--and I imagined that the translator had successfully -aimed at reproducing in Swedish the rhythm of the English sentences. - -I am happy in reading your words about the Japanese dances: as you have -seen a living example of one kind, you will not judge them all severely -hereafter. Of course there are dances and dances. I wish that you could -see the dancing of a pair of _miko_,--little Shint[=o] maid-priestesses: -it is a simple performance, but as pleasing as a hovering of butterflies. - -Your "Origins of Art" is a book that seems to have proved above the -range of some small critics; but you have been felt and appreciated in -higher spheres, I think. I was amused by the dullardism of some English -critics, evidently incapable of perceiving that the sterling value of -such a book is suggestive,--that it was intended to make men think, not -to furnish some intellectual lazy-bones with ready-made ideas.... - -Finland I know only through Léouzon Le Duc's delicious -prose-translation. I think of forests of birch, and lakes interminably -opening into lakes, and rivers that roar in lonely places, and -"liver-coloured earth." Wonder if the earth is really that colour?--the -ground of my garden, after a shower, is exactly "liver-colour"--a rich -reddish brown. - -Please convey my humble thanks to Mrs. Hirn, and believe me - - Yours most sincerely, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO YRJÖ HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1902. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Many thanks for the archæological treatise, and for -your kindness in sending me the "critical" news. (I think that I can -appreciate the good will that can impel so busy a professor to give me -so much of his time.) And please to convey my thanks to Mrs. Hirn for -her charming letter. - -Concerning your project for another volume of "Exotica," kindly assure -Mrs. Hirn that she is as fully authorized as I can authorize her to -translate whatever she pleases to select from my books. - -By the way, you appear to have been deceived by some bookseller; for -none of my books are out of print, except "Some Chinese Ghosts," and -that by my own will and desire.... - -Far from being uninterested in the social and political changes of -Finland, I feel, as every generous thinker ought to feel, sincere regret -at the probable disappearance of a national civilization, and the -inevitable loss of intellectual freedom. I think of the "absorption" -as a great political crime.... Here in Japan, I watch, day by day, -the destruction of a wonderful and very beautiful civilization, by -industrial pressure. It strikes me that a time is approaching in which -intellectual liberty will almost cease to exist, together with every -other kind of liberty,--the time when no man will be able to live as -he wishes, much less to write what he pleases. The future industrial -communism, in its blind dull way, will be much less liberal than Russian -rule, and incomparably more cruel. By that time, Russia herself will -be getting less conservative; and I imagine that the Englishman and -the American of the future may flee to the new Russia in search of -intellectual freedom! - -At present, however, the United States offers great opportunity to -merit, and every latitude to mental liberty. If you should ever have -to leave your own beloved country, I think you would be most happy in -America. - -The Far East is not impossible--if you wish very much to visit it. -Government service anywhere is not a bed of roses; and T[=o]ky[=o] is -said to be the most "unsympathetic" place in the world. But salaries are -fair; and a three years' sojourn would furnish rich experience. If you -ever want _very_ much to see Japan, perhaps you may be able to obtain a -Government post--especially if you have friends in legations, and "high -places." Then I can write more to you about the matter. But at present -you are fortunate enough to be envied in a brotherly way. I wish you -every happiness on your European journey. - -How much I should like to see Europe again!--I have three boys to look -after, however, and all things are uncertain. I am glad that you have -a bright little son;--you know what hopes and fears the possession -involves. His travels with you will be of priceless advantage to him. -The best of all education is through Ear and Eye--while the senses are -most fresh and plastic. - - Sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO DR. AND MRS. YRJÖ HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1902. - -DEAR FRIENDS,--I am a little disappointed in being able to send -you to-day only "Kokoro" and "Gleanings in Buddha-Fields"--these being -the only books of mine, not in your possession, that I could lay hands -on. However, they are the best of the earlier lot; and I imagine that -you will be interested especially in the latter. Japan is changing so -quickly that already some of the essays in "Kokoro"--such as the "Genius -of Japanese Civilization"--have become out-of-date. By the way, have you -seen Bellesort's "La Société Japonaise?"--a wonderful book, considering -that its author passed only about six months in Japan! - -A few days ago I had the delightful surprise of your album-gift: I have -lived in Finland! It is very strange that some of the pictures are -exactly what I dreamed of--after reading the "Kalewala." In fact, the -book illustrates the "Kalewala" for me: even the weird expression in -the eyes of the old Kantele-singers seems to me familiar. Of course, -the views of city streets and splendid buildings were all surprises and -revelations; but the hills and woods and lakes looked like the Finland -of my reveries. Of all the views, that of Tmatia seemed to me most like -the scenery of the Runoia: there was something in it of _déjà vu_, most -ghostly, that gave me particular delight. My affectionate thanks to you -both. I shall ever treasure the book and remember the kind givers. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1902. - -DEAR MRS. HIRN,--I have received the copy of _Euterpe_, so kindly sent -me, containing your translation,--which gave me much pleasure. - -What a nice little paper _Euterpe_ is! Long ago we used to have good -papers like that--real literary papers, in nearly the same format--in -America. Now, alas! they have become impossible. The taste for good -literature in America is practically dead: vulgar fiction has killed -the higher fiction; "sensationalism" and blatant cheap journalism have -murdered the magazines; and poetry is silent. I wish there could be -another paper in America like _Euterpe_.... - -I have been wondering, in reading your translation, whether there is no -better word for the English "ghostly" than _mystika_--surely, they are -not alike in meaning. The old English name for a priest, you know, is -"a _ghostly_ father." And I am wondering whether "_ewigt_" really has -the sense of "infinitely." The Buddhist thought is that the innermost -eternal life in each of us becomes "infinite" by union with the One, -when the shell of Karma is broken. Individuality and personality exist -only as passing phenomena: the Reality is One _and_ infinite. - -Please pardon these little observations, which are not intended as -criticisms, but only as suggestions. - -Believe me ever most sincerely yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1902. - -MY DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Perhaps you can remember having said, twelve -years ago, "I want you to go to Japan, because I want to read the books -that you will write about it." As my tenth volume on the subject is now -in press,--you ought to be getting satisfied. - -I am writing--not without some difficulty--to ask whether you would or -could play the part of a fairy god-sister, in helping me to find, for -the time of a year or two years, some easy situation in America. - -As my eyes are nearly burnt out, I should have to depend upon quality -rather than quantity of work. Some post upon a literary weekly--where -I could employ a typewriter--would be good. I doubt whether the -universities would give me a chance at English literature. - -So much for the want. I must bring my boy with me: it is chiefly for -his sake. Once that he learns to speak English well, the rest of his -education will not disturb me. I am his only teacher and want to -continue to teach him for a few years more.--South or West I should -prefer to East--"where only a swordfish can swim." - -As you are a queen of fairies, you might touch with your wand the _only_ -thing that would exactly help me. England is hopeless, of course: I have -no chance of earning anything in that "awful orderliness." My family -will be well provided for during my absence; but the provision will -leave me under the necessity of earning something abroad.... - -What is worse still, I have been so utterly isolated here that I have no -conception of the actual tone and state of things abroad. I do not know -"how I stand." - -You should try to think of your old acquaintance as a small grey -unpleasant "old man." ... - - Yours very sincerely, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - YAIDZU, August, 1902. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Your kindest letter of July 23d reached me -on the 15th of August,--at this little fishing-village of Yaidzu, where -I am staying with my boy. - -What you say about my finding you a "grey-haired woman of forty" is, -of course, impossible. Even if my eyes said so, I should say that they -were telling untruth. It is quite certain that you are a fairy,--capable -of assuming myriad shapes,--but I know the shapes to be each and -all--_Maya_! I never really saw any of the magical forms but two--no, -three--in photograph; and they were all different persons, belonging to -different centuries, and containing different souls. About you I should -not even trust the eyes of the X-rays. My memory is of a Voice and a -Thought,--multiple, both, exceedingly,--but justifying the imagination -of _une jeune fille un peu farouche_ (there is no English word that -gives the same sense of shyness _and_ force) who came into New Orleans -from the country, and wrote nice things for a paper there, and was so -kind to a particular variety of savage that he could not understand--and -was afraid. - -I am half-sorry already for not having written you more fully. I fear -you think that I am in a very _immediate_ hurry. No: if a fair chance -can come to me in the course of a year, or even fifteen months, I can -easily wait. My people have their own homes now, and I have some little -means; and nothing presses. Even if the---- s should find ways and means -to poke me out of the Government service (they have tried it--in oh! so -many ways--for four years past), I should feel quite easy about matters -for a twelvemonth. Please do not think that I would dream of giving you -any hurry-scurry trouble. But, perhaps in a year's time, something might -offer itself. - -I am _afraid_ of New York City for my boy's sake. I should not like -to let him risk one New York winter. Besides, what exercise can a boy -have in New York--no trees, fields, streams. Awful place--New York. If -anything were to happen to _him_, the sun would go out. I can't take -risks--must be sure what I am doing.... Oh, if I were by myself--yes: -twenty dollars a month in America would suit me anywhere. I have no -longer any wants personal. - -Every year there are born some millions of boys cleverer, stronger, -handsomer than mine. I may be quite a fool in my estimate of him. I -do not find him very clever, quick, or anything of that sort. Perhaps -there will prove to be "nothing in him." I cannot tell. All that I -am quite sure of is that he naturally likes what is delicate, clean, -refined, and kindly,--and that he naturally shrinks from whatever is -coarse or selfish. So that he _might_ learn easily "the things that are -most excellent"--and most useless--in the schooling of civilization. -Anyhow, I must do all I can to feed the tiny light, and give it a chance -to prove what it is worth. It is ME, in another birth--with -renewed forces given by a strange and charming blood from the Period of -the Gods. I must not risk the blowing out of the little lamp. - -[Illustration: KAZUO AND IWAO, MR. HEARN'S OLDER CHILDREN] - -I heard that in the Stanford University in California, there are -somewhat romantic conditions,--"no ceremonies," no humbug,--estimates -only of "efficiency." Long ago I wrote the letter of application, -and--like many a letter to you--posted the same in the ravening -stove. "Too idyllic,"--I thought to myself,--"in the present state of -evolution, no human institution could be suffered to realize the ideals -of that university!" If I were wrong or right--I should like to know. - -But sufficient for this writing is the perfect selfishness thereof. My -dear fairy god-sister, please do not take any painful trouble for me, -_but_--if you can hit something with your moonshiny wand, during the -next year or so, I shall be so glad! Even though I be not glad, I shall -always be grateful for the last kind letter. - -My best wishes to you in everything that you can imagine, you will be -always sure of. "If wishes"--but, after all, there _is_ some human -sweetness in these conventional phrases. They help one to utter a mood, -or a sense of gratefulness for pleasure given. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -[Illustration] - - - TO YRJÖ HIRN - - YAIDZU, August, 1902. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Your kind letter of July 20th is with me.... - -I am so glad to hear that you are not likely to be obliged to leave -Europe. It is perhaps the greatest possible misfortune for a man of -culture to find himself obliged to withdraw from intellectual centres -to a new raw country, where the higher mental life is still imperfectly -understood. There are certain compensations, indeed,--such as larger -freedom, and release from useless conventions, but these do not fully -make up for the sterility of that American atmosphere in which the more -delicate flowers of thought refuse to grow. I am delighted to think of -your prospective pleasure in the Italian paradise. - -I am writing to you from the little fishing-village of Yaidzu--where -there are no tables or chairs. - -Bellesort's book is a surprisingly good book in its way. It describes -_only_ the disintegration of Japanese society--under the contact of -Western ideas--the social putrefaction, the _dégringolade_ of things. As -a book dealing with this single unpleasant phase of Japanese existence, -it is a very powerful book; and there are some touching pages in it. -It was I who gave Bellesort the story of the little boy who committed -suicide when falsely accused of stealing a cake,--and he made good use -of it.... I don't think that he is able to see the beautiful out of -conventional limits; and he mostly confines himself to the directions in -which he is strong. I am inclined to believe that his sympathies are -clerical--that he presents Brunetière and the Jesuit side of things. -However, his book is the best thing of its kind yet produced--the -critical kind. It requires a special nervous structure, like that of -Pierre Loti, to see the strange beauty of Japan. Let me, however, advise -you to read many times the charming book of the American, Percival -Lowell,--"The Soul of the Far East." It is strange that Lowell should -have written the very best book in the English language on the old -Japanese life and character, and the most startling _astronomical_ book -of the period,--"Mars,"--more interesting than any romance.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1902. - -MY DEAR HENDRICK,--I had to wait several days before answering your -letter,--as I felt too much pleased to venture writing for that length -of time. And now, in answering, I shall have to talk a great deal about -myself, and my own affairs,--which seems to me rather graceless. - -All that you proposed, except two things, appear to me very good. But -to put the question in the best _general_ way, I am convinced by long -experience that I can do nothing profitable with publishers, except -at such serious cost to health and to literary reputation as would be -utterly prohibitive. What I have been able to do so far has been done -mostly in dead opposition to publishers, and their advisers; and in the -few cases where I tried to do what publishers wished I have made very -serious mistakes. - -Editorial work on a monthly or weekly paper, with a sympathetic head, -who would let me have my own way, and use a typewriter--let me agree -to furnish at fixed intervals certain material, while free to use the -over-time as I pleased--would be good.... - -Of course, the main trouble about any kind of newspaper work is that it -kills all opportunity for original literary work--but I could afford the -sacrifice. - -Certain branches of teaching admit of opportunity for literary -work,--particularly those in which teaching rises to the dignity of the -lecture.... - -The main result of holding a chair of English literature for six -years has been to convince me that I know very little about English -literature, and never could learn very much. I have learned enough, -indeed, to lecture upon the general history of English literature, -without the use of notes or books; and I have been able to lecture upon -the leading poets and prose-writers of the later periods. But I have not -the scholarship needed for the development and exercise of the critical -faculty, in the proper sense of the term. I know nothing of Anglo-Saxon: -and my knowledge of the relation of English literature to other European -literature is limited to the later French and English romantic and -realistic periods. - -Under these circumstances you might well ask how I could fill my chair. -The fact is that I never made any false pretences, and never applied -for the post. I realized my deficiencies; but I soon felt where I might -become strong, and I taught literature as the expression of emotion and -sentiment,--as the representation of life. In considering a poet I tried -to explain the quality and the powers of the emotion that he produces. -In short, I based my teaching altogether upon appeals to the imagination -and the emotions of my pupils,--and they have been satisfied (though the -fact may signify little, because their imagination is so unlike our own). - -Should I attempt to lecture on literature in America, I should only -follow the same lines--which are commonly held to be illegitimate, but -in which I very firmly believe there are great possibilities. Subjects -upon which I think that I have been partly successful are such as -these:-- - -The signification of Style and Personality. - -Respective values of various styles. Error of the belief that one method -is essentially superior to another. - -Physiological signification of the true Realism--as illustrated by -the Norse writers and, in modern times, by Flaubert and Maupassant. -Psychological signification of Romantic methods. - -Metaphysical poetry of George Meredith: illustrating the application of -the Evolutional Philosophy to Ethics. - -D. G. Rossetti and Christina Rossetti. - -The Poetical Prose and the Poetry of Charles Kingsley. - -Four great masters of modern prose: Carlyle, Ruskin, De Quincey, Froude. - -The mystical element in modern lyric verse. (I use the term "mystical" -in the meaning of a blending of the religious with the passional -emotion.) - -Of the truth and the ideal beauty in Tolstoi's Theory of Art. - -"Beyond man:"--a chapter upon the morality of -insect-communities,--suggesting the probable lines of ethical evolution. - -Very heterogeneous, this list; but I have purposely made it so. I have -had to lecture upon hundreds of subjects, without ever having had the -time to write a lecture. (I have to lecture here twelve hours a week, on -four different subjects--and to do one's best is out of the question. -The authorities never pay the slightest attention to what the professor -does; _but they hold him strictly responsible for the success of his -lectures!_) ... - -I think that I have hinted ways in which I might be able to make myself -useful--i. e., in the teaching of certain literary values.--There is -also the subject of Composition (method, independently of grammatical -and rhetorical rules). The hard experience of writing certain kinds of -books ought to be of some practical worth. The art of what _not_ to -say,--the art of focussing effects,--the means of avoiding imitation -(even of the unconscious order), and of developing a literary -personality;--these can be talked of, I think, without a knowledge of -Greek or Sanscrit. I really think that I could do some good by lecturing -on these things--though conscious of having often failed in the very -directions that I should recommend. - -One thing more, I must not forget to say. I cannot be separated from my -boy--not even for twenty-four hours. I have taught him about three hours -a day every day for several years. When he becomes a little older, I may -be able to let him attend a _day_-school; but at present, I imagine that -this would be difficult. I feel handicapped; but it can't be helped, and -the race is for him. - -Summary: As a cog in a wheel I should probably break off. As a personal -equation I might have some worth. And I can wait a full year for a -chance. - -Your letter was a wonderful event for me--a great and happy surprise. -The Fairy Queen also wrote me a beautiful letter (I suppose that all she -does is beautiful): I had to read it many times to learn the full charm -of it. I have lost all power to write a nice letter of thanks--feel -stupid. - -We have a nice home a little out of T[=o]ky[=o]--to which I should not -be ashamed to invite you, or even the Fairy Queen: only, you would have -to take off your shoes, for it is a Japanese house. - -I shall try to atone later on for the great length of this weary scrawl: -how tired you must be after reading it! All happiness to you. Be sure -that, whether I win or fail, I shall never be able to even tell you how -sincerely and deeply I remain grateful for that letter. - - Y. KOIZUMI, LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1902. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I am glad to hear that you are a strong and successful -swimmer in that awful sea of struggle, and that your home is happy. -Having two little ones, you can understand now what the Japanese call -_Mono no aware_,--weirdly translated by Aston as "the Ah-ness of -things."[3] - - [3] More literally, "the pity of things." - -Thanks for the Martinique clippings. The Swede's account seems to me -possibly apocryphal,--for his localizations are all wrong. The other man -did, apparently, visit Saint-Pierre, and explore the vicinity.--I opened -and re-read that black day a letter from Saint-Pierre, enclosing a spray -of arborescent fern, labelled "From the sunny garden." - -The time is approaching in which I must go abroad, for my boy's sake. -To Queen Elizabeth I wrote, asking for a possible smoothing of the way; -and if you can put a spoke in my wheel any time about next spring, or -during the summer, I should be as grateful as I can--which is nothing to -brag of, I need scarcely say. I should like some easy post, for about -two years. "Easy posts" must be in sharp demand; and I am not sure that -I am asking for the possible. New York is, of course, the place where I -do not want to go--for my lad's sake; but I shall probably make a flying -trip there,--if the gods allow. - -For the time being, I am with Macmillan. But I fancy really that all -publishers regard authors merely as units in a calculation,--excepting -the great guns who, like Kipling, can force strong respect. I need -scarcely tell you that my books do not make me rich. In fact, I have -given up thinking about the business side of literature, and am quite -content to obtain the privilege of having my book produced according -to my notion of things. Still, by reason of various translations into -Swedish, Danish, German and French, I have some literary encouragements. - -I believe you know that I have three boys: they are sturdy lads -all--though the eldest is rather too gentle up to date. I live -altogether in Old Japan, outside of lecture-hours; and might think -myself lucky, but for that "Ah-ness of things." Of course, I have become -somewhat old--it is more than twelve years since I saw you! And then I -have had to learn a multitude unspeakable of unpleasant things. But, as -they say here, _Shikata ga nai_! There's no help for that! - -Japan is changing rapidly, as you can imagine; and the changes are not -beautiful. I try to keep within fragments of the old atmosphere--that -linger here and there, like those bands of morning-coloured mist which -you have seen spanning Japanese pictures. Within these wreaths of the -lifting mirage, all is Fairy-land still; and my home will always have -its atmosphere of thousands of years ago. But in the raw light outside, -the changings are ugly and sad. - - Ever faithfully, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1902. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,-- ... I have had your beautiful letter in my drawer -for about a week, before daring to re-read it. And I have been thinking -in circles,--about how to answer it. - -For--O fairy! what have you dared to say? I am quite sure that I do -_not_ know anything about Japanese art, or literature, or ethnology, -or politics, or history. (You did not say "politics" or "history," -however, and that seems to be what is wanted.) But perhaps you know -_what_ I know better than I myself know,--or perhaps you can give me to -eat a Fairy Apple of Knowledge. At present I have no acquaintance even -with the Japanese language: I cannot read a Japanese newspaper; and I -have learned only enough, even of the _kana_, to write a letter home. -I cannot lie--to my Fairy: therefore it is essential that I make the -following declaration:-- - -_I have learned about Japan only enough to convince me that I know -nothing about Japan._ - -Perhaps your kind professor suspects as much;--for has he not plainly -said that no (American) university would hire me to teach English or -French literature? That means accurate perception of my range, in one -direction. Possibly, therefore, he would not expect from me any attempts -at a pretence of exact knowledge. - -I have held a chair of English literature here for nearly seven -years, by setting all canons at defiance, and attempting to teach -only the emotional side of literature, in its relations to modern -thought;--playing with philosophy, as a child can play with the great -sea. I have been allowed to do just as I pleased,--on the condition -of being interesting (which condition the students take care shall be -fulfilled). Should I attempt to lecture about Japan, I imagine that it -would be necessary to allow me nearly the same liberty in America. I -might hope to be suggestive,--to set minds dreaming or darkling in new -directions. But I could not pretend to impart exact knowledge. I could -not afford to fail: that would be ... a great shame to my good name -at home. So I cannot answer "Yes" without being certain of my ability -to perform all that could be reasonably expected of me,--as a small -"man-of-letters" (not as anything else). - -What I could do would be about thus:-- - -I could attempt a series of lectures upon Japanese topics,--dealing -incidentally with psychological, religious, social, and artistic -impressions,--so as to produce in the minds of my hearers an idea of -Japan different from that which is given in books. Something, perhaps, -in the manner of Mr. Lowell's "Soul of the Far East" (incomparably the -greatest of all books on Japan, and the deepest),--but from a different -point of view. - -What I could _not_ do would be to put myself forward as an authority -upon Japanese history, or any special Japanese subject. The value of -my lectures would depend altogether upon suggestiveness,--not upon any -crystallizations of fact. - -Again, there is a doubt to be solved--concerning _quantity_ as well -as quality. To do my best, I should hope that quantity were not too -strongly insisted upon. How many lectures would be wanted during one -term--distinct lectures? and how many hours would be demanded for a -lecture?... You see, the conditions in T[=o]ky[=o] are monstrous: I have -to lecture twelve hours a week on _four_ different subjects;--that means -for lecturing what reporter's work means in relation to literature!... I -imagine that I could endeavour to do something about equal to the work -of Professor Rhys-Davids in his American lectures,--as to bulk. The six -lectures represent a volume of about 225 pages. Lectures to represent, -in printed form, a carefully made book of about 250 or 300 pages would -represent my best effort. - -For I have reached that time of life at which "the state of the weather" -becomes a topic of enormous importance. - -And the rest of what has to be said I shall put into a letter, which I -pray you to read, and to poke into the fire if it is not satisfactory. - -To fail, after being recommended by you, would be an unpardonable sin -against all the higher virtues. Can't risk it. - -Well, if President Schurman can make good use of me, and arrange things -within my capacity, I will go straight to your Palace of Faery before -going elsewhere. Only to see you again--even for a moment,--and to hear -you speak (in some one of the Myriad Voices), would be such a memory -for me. And you would let me "walk about gently, touching things"?... - -It is an almost divine pleasure and wonder to watch the unfolding of a -soul-blossom, as you say,--providing that one is strong enough not to -be afraid. I am, or have been, always afraid: the Future-Possible of -Nightmare immediately glooms up,--and I flee, and bury myself in work. -Absurd? - -And your book--of course that will be some opportunity for a delightful -chat. You will find me as good as I can be in expressing an opinion,--if -the subject be within my range. I know that the work of such a person -as--Mrs. Deland, for example--is beyond my limit; and I imagine that you -would write of highly complex existences.... - -Excuse my anxiety about my chicken. I want to feel sure that I can make -him comfortable and warm if I do go to Cornell. I want to make all the -money, too, that I honestly can earn, for his sake and the mother's. -She will have some trying moments in the hour of parting with him. But -there is no other future chance for him, and no educational place here -to which I could trust him--least of all, the Jesuits. Very different it -is with my second sturdy boy, who has no trace of European blood. His -way is straight and smooth. I send his picture, that you may see the -difference. And my third boy--sturdiest of all--will have other friends -to help him, I fancy.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--It was a shock to receive your beautiful letter, -because I had waited so long and anxiously,--fearing that the last gleam -of hope in my Eastern horizon had been extinguished. It would be of no -use whatever to tell you half my doubts and fears--they made the coming -of your letter an almost terrible event. - -Well, what _you_ say about my work (always seizing upon the best in it, -and showing such penetrant sympathy with its effort or aim) counts for -more than a myriad printed criticisms. - -My boy is accustomed to kissing--_from_ his father only, who always so -dismisses him at bed-time; and he understands very well the charm of -Lady Elizabeth's sweet message, after hearing from me what the privilege -signifies. But I have fairly given up the idea of taking him with me to -America for the present. The risk is too great. I must try to make a -nest for him first, and be sure of keeping alive myself. - -In the mean time, I have been treated very cruelly by the Japanese -Government, and forced out of the service by intrigues,--in spite of -protests from the press, and from my students, who stood by me as long -as they dared. To make matters worse, I fell sick;--I have been sick -for months. About three weeks ago, I burst a blood-vessel, and I am -not allowed to talk. So I fear that the lecture-business is out of the -question; and I am not altogether sorry, because I do not know enough -about the subject. I would wish never again to write a line about any -Japanese subjects: all my work has only resulted in making for me -implacable enemies. - -The problem with me now is simply how I shall be able to live, and -support my family. I must try to do something in America,--where the -winter will not kill me off in a hurry. Literary work is over. When one -has to meet the riddle of how to live there must be an end of revery and -dreaming and all literary "labour-of-love." It pays not at all. A book -brings me in about $300,--after two years' waiting. My last payment on -four books (for six months) was $44. Also, in my case, good work is a -matter of nervous condition. I can't find the conditions while having -to think about home--with that fear for others which is "the most -soul-satisfying" of fears, according to Rudyard Kipling. However, we are -all right for the time being; and I can provide for the home before I go. - -Thank you for telling me the name of your book. I had hard work to get -your little volume of travel when it came out: ages pass here before an -"ordered" book comes. But in America I can keep track of you. I want -very much to see your book. It will either tell me very, very much about -you--or it will tell me nothing of you, and therefore have the charm of -the Unknowable. Oh! do read the divine Loti's "L'Inde sans les Anglais!" -No mortal critic--not even Jules Lemaître or Anatole France--can explain -that ineffable and superhuman charm. I hope you will have everything of -Loti's. Sometime ago, when I was afraid that I might die, one of my -prospective regrets was that I might not be able to read "L'Inde sans -les Anglais." - -Much I should wish to see you in Japan--but human wishes!... Yet I think -I could make you feel pleased for a little while--though our cooking be -of the simplest. My little wife knows your face so well--your picture -hangs now in her room. We have a garden, and a bamboo grove. - -Now you must be tired reading me. As soon as I can feel well, I shall -go to some fishing-village with my boy; and, if lucky, perhaps I shall -leave for America in the fall. But nothing is yet certain. - -With all grateful thought from - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -You cannot imagine how hungry and thirsty I have become to see you -again,--or how much afraid I feel at times that I may not see you: -though a season is short. - -By waiting a few months more in Japan, I can, of course, make the -lectures much better. But the time will seem long. Here the winter is -very mild--but damp, as in New Orleans. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--You will probably have heard by this time that -President Schurman cancelled the offer made me--by reason of the trouble -at Cornell University. As I had taken several steps in connection with -that prospect,--the blow was rather heavy; and this you will better -understand in view of the following facts:-- - -On the 31st March, as I anticipated, I was forced out of the -university--on the pretext that as a Japanese citizen I was not entitled -to a "foreign salary." The students having made a strong protest in my -favour, I was offered a reëngagement at terms so devised that it was -impossible for me to reëngage. I was also refused the money allowed to -professors for a nine-months' vacation after a service of six years. Yet -I had served seven years. - -So the long and the short of the matter is that after having worked -during thirteen years for Japan, and sacrificed everything for Japan, -I have been only driven out of the service, and practically banished -from the country. For while the politico-religious combination that has -engineered this matter remains in unbroken power, I could not hold any -position in any educational establishment here for even six months. - -At my time of life, except in the case of strong men, there is a great -loss of energy--the breaking-up begins. I do not think that I should be -able to do much that would require a sustained physical strain. But if I -could get some journalistic connection, assuring a regular salary,--for -example, an engagement to furnish signed or unsigned articles, once or -twice a week, or even three times,--I believe that I could weather the -storm until such time as a political reaction might help me to return to -Japan. For my boy's sake these events may prove fortunate,--if I find -an opportunity to take him abroad for two years. - -At all events, O Fairy Queen, your gifts have "faded away"--even as in -the Song,--and I am also fading away. I do not know whom else I should -pray to, for the moment. - -I have material evidence also that certain religious combinations want -to prevent my chances in America; if you can help me to something -journalistic, I imagine that it were better to let the matter remain -unknown for the time being. - -Perhaps I shall be able to leave Japan with McDonald (that would be -nice!)--but only the gods know when _he_ will return. Meantime, however, -he gives me much comfort and promises me the fortunes of Aladdin. He -seems to think I am quite safe and certain. But I am exercised about -home--that is the chief trouble. - -Please pardon this fresh appeal,--with all thanks for past kindness, and -for those delightful letters. - - Ever sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Your most kind letter is with me,--and I do not know -what to say to thank you for the extraordinary interest and trouble that -you have taken in my poor case. It is too bad that, having only one -Fairy-Sister in the world, I should prove to her such a Torment. Perhaps -I may be able to be at some future time a pleasure-giver--I shall pray -to all the gods to help me thereunto. - -Please do not worry about that Cornell matter: I suppose that President -Schurman must have been in great anxiety and trouble when he wrote that -letter. - -You will be glad to hear that I am now much better than when I last -wrote to you, and that I have finished most of the lectures--in rough -draft. To polish them for publication will be at least a year's work, I -fear; but I am now able, I think, to give a cultured audience a new idea -of Japan, in large outline. - -I have to be careful of my health for some time. Perhaps I shall get -quite strong by the end of summer. But I am now only allowed to walk in -the garden.... - -I cannot write you a pretty letter: I have tried for two days,--but I -feel so stupid. - -What I want much is to get a little human sympathy and something quiet -to do. Of course, I should like a university of all things,--but ... is -it possible? I have a new book in MS.; but as I was expecting to go to -America, I did not send it to the publisher. It will chiefly consist of -ghost-tales. - -My dear Fairy-Sister, I now am writing only to reach you as soon as -possible,--to thank you, and to reassure you about myself. So please -excuse this poor effort, and believe me most gratefully worshipful. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Your letter from Virginia came, and made fires of -hope burn up again, with changing vague colours,--like the tints of a -fire of wreck-drift remembrance from the snowy winter of 1889. It has -given me a great deal to think about--not merely as regards myself, but -also as regards another and very dear person.... - -I am delighted to read President Jordan's kind words. I shall write him -a letter to-day, or to-morrow, enclosing it to you. From Johns Hopkins I -have a reply, enclosed,--which does not promise much. I shall see what -can be done there. But the Lowell Institute affair promises better. -As for President Jordan, I should be glad to speak at Leland Stanford -independently of salary, on the way going or coming--could no other -arrangement be made. It strikes me, however, that there is danger of any -and every arrangement being broken up. The power of certain religious -bodies is colossal. - -Spring would be the best time for me to go to America, if I can get -through the spider-web now spun all around me. It would be the best -time, because those lectures are taking handsome shape, towards a volume -of 500 to 600 pp.; and it were a pity to leave anything unfinished -before I go. Spring again would be the best time, because I am not yet -so strong that I can face a down-East winter without some preparation. -Spring would be the best time, because my fourth child is coming into -the world. Spring would be the best time, because I am getting out a -new book of ghost-stories, and would like to read the proofs here, in -Japan. I think it were imprudent to go before spring. - -I have to think seriously about the money-question--at 53, with a -large family. To go to America alone means $500 U.S., and as much to -return--that signifies 2000 yen; with which I can live in Japan for two -years. Then there are the necessary expenses of living. To take my boy -were a great risk. Had the Japanese Government been willing to pay me -the vacation money they morally owed me (about 5600 yen), I could have -done it. (They told me that I ought to be satisfied to live on rice, -like a Japanese.) Then I must be sure of being able to send money home. -At present there is no money _certainly_ in sight. But here I can live -by my pen. Since I was driven out of the university, I have not been -obliged to drop even one sen of my little hoard. The danger is the risk -to sight of incessant work; but that danger would exist anywhere, except -perhaps in a very hot country. And sooner or later the Government must -wake up to the fact that it was wicked to me. - -To go to America with some sense of security would be mental medicine; -and any success that I could achieve there would make a good impression -here with friends. It would mean larger experience. It would mean -also an opportunity to enter some society that would protect liberal -opinions. I have not said much as to the pleasure I could look -forward to--that goes without saying. But I cannot be rash on the -money-question, or trust to my luck as in old days. To use a Japanese -expression, "my body no longer belongs to me,"--and I have had one -physical warning. - -Anxiety is a poison; and I do not know how much more of it I could -stand. It was a friend's treachery that broke me up recently: I worked -hard against the pain--only to find my mouth full of blood. With a boy -on my hands, in a far-away city, and no certainties, I don't know that -being brave would serve me much--the bodily machine has been so much -strained here. - -With a clear certainty ahead of being able to make some money, I could -go, do good things, and return to Japan to write more books,--perhaps to -receive justice also. In a few years more my boy will be strong enough -to study abroad. - -Very true what you say--no one can save him but himself, and -unfortunately, though the oldest, he is my Benjamin. My second boy is -at school, captain of his class, trusted to protect smaller boys. My -eldest, taught only at home, between his father's knees, is everything -that a girl might be, that a man should not be,--except as to bodily -strength,--sensitive, loving pretty things, hurt by a word, always -meditating about something--yet not showing any great capacity. I taught -him to swim, and make him practise gymnastics every day; but the spirit -of him is altogether too gentle. A being entirely innocent of evil--what -chance for him in such a world as Japan? Do you know that terribly -pathetic poem of Robert Bridges'--"Pater Filio"? - -That reminds me to tell you of some obligations. You are never tired of -telling me that I have been able to give you some literary pleasure. -How many things did you not teach me during those evening chats in New -York? It was you that first introduced me to the genius of Rudyard -Kipling; and I have ever since remained a fervent worshipper. It was -you who taught me to see the beauty of FitzGerald's translation, by -quoting for me the stanza about the Moving Finger. And it was you who -made me understand the extraordinary quaint charm of Ingelow's "High -Tide"--since expounded to many a Japanese literary class.... - -But this is too long a letter from - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,-- ... I am getting quite strong, and hope soon to -be strong, or nearly as strong, as before. The bleeding was from a -bronchial tube,--so I have to be careful about getting cold. But my -lungs are quite sound. For the sake of the lectures, it is better that -I should wait a little longer in Japan. Most of them have been written -twice; but I must write them all once more--to polish them. They will -form a book, explaining Japan from the standpoint of ancestor-worship. -They are suited only to a cultivated audience. If never delivered, they -will still make a good book. The whole study is based upon the ancient -religion. I have also something to say about your proposed "Juvenilia." - -I think this would be possible:-- - -To include in one volume under the title of "Juvenilia"--(1) the -translations from Théophile Gautier, revised; (2) "Some Chinese Ghosts;" -(3) miscellaneous essays and sketches upon Oriental subjects, formerly -contributed to the _T.-D_.; (4) miscellaneous sketches on Southern -subjects, two or three, and fantasies,--with a few verses thrown in. - -For this I should need to have the French texts to revise, etc. Perhaps -I shall be able to make the arrangement, and so please you. But I badly -need help in the direction of good opinion among people of power. The -prospect of "nothing" in America is frightening. I should be glad -to try England; but scholars are there plentiful as little fleas in -Florida;--and the power of convention has the force of an earthquake. -When one's own adopted country goes back on one--there is small chance -at the age of fifty-three. - - Ever most gratefully, - L. H. - -I tried to join the Masons here--but it appears that no Japanese citizen -is allowed to become a Mason--at least not in Japan. The Japanese -Minister in London could do it; but he could not have done it here. - - - TO MRS. HIRN - - JULY, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. HIRN,--Your very kind letter from Italy is with me. -I am sorry to know that you have met with so painful a trial since I -last wrote to you. Indeed, I hope you will believe that I am sincerely -and sympathetically interested in the personal happiness or sorrow of -any who wish me well,--and you need never suppose me indifferent to the -affairs of which you speak so unselfishly and so touchingly. - -By this time, no doubt, you will have seen much of the fairest land of -Europe, and will scarcely know what to do with the multitude of new -impressions crowding in memory for special recognition. Perhaps Italy -will tempt you to do something more than translate: one who becomes -soul-steeped in that golden air ought to feel sooner or later the -impulse to create. I wish I could find my way to Italy: when a child I -spoke only Italian, and Romaic. Both are now forgotten. - -Thanks for the magazine so kindly sent me, and thanks for your -explanation of that rendering of "ewigt" as signifying endlessness in -space as well as time. That, indeed, settles the matter about which I -was in doubt. - -It is a pleasure to know that you received "Kotto," and liked some -things in it. I thought your list of selections for translation very -nice,--with one exception. "The Genius of Japanese Civilization" is a -failure. I thought that it was true when I wrote it; but already Japan -has become considerably changed, and a later study of ancient social -conditions has proved to me that I made some very serious sociological -errors in that paper. For example, in feudal times, up to the middle of -the last century, there was really no possibility of travelling (for -common people at least) in Japan. Iron law and custom fettered men to -the soil, like the serfs of mediæval Europe. My paper, unfortunately, -implied the reverse. And that part of the paper relating to the -travelling of Japanese common people is hopelessly wrong as regards the -past. As regards the present, it requires modification. - -Your remark about the hard touch in Bellesort's book is very just.... He -was accompanied by his wife,--born in Persia, and able to talk Persian. -She was keener even than he,--a very clever silent woman, attractive -rather than sympathetic.... Bellesort has been travelling a great deal; -and "La Société Japonaise" is his best volume of travel. His book on -South America is cruel. - -I am not sure whether you would care for Nitôbé's book "Bushid[=o]"--a -very small volume, or rather treatise upon the _morale_ of Samurai -education. From a literary standpoint it would not tempt you: it is only -a kind of "apology." But it is to some extent instructive.... - -I suppose that Dr. Hirn will meet Domenico Comparetti, the author of -"The Traditional Poetry of the Finns." I gave a lecture lately on the -poetical values of the "Kalewala," and I found that book of great use to -me. - -Please excuse my loquacity, and let me wish you and the doctor every -happiness and success. Perhaps I shall write you again--from America. -Only the gods know. - - Sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--I am sorry for my dismal letter of the -other day. I feel to-day much braver, and think that I can fight it out -here in Japan. Anyhow, I have discovered that I have a fair chance of -being able to live by my work--providing my health is good; and if I -_must_ live by my pen, there is no place in the world where I can do so -more cheaply than here. When my boy is bigger, I may be able to send him -abroad. Unless I could make money in America, it were little use to drop -two thousand dollars (Japanese money) for going and coming. Besides, out -of those lectures in book-form I shall make some money.... - -For the present, I think that I shall simply sit down, and work as hard -as Zola,--though that is to compare a gnat to an eagle. It only remains -for me to express to you all possible devotion of gratitude. If I had -dreamed of the real state of things, I should long ago have begged you -to do nothing for me in high places. I have tried to break out of my -chrysalis too soon,--but, with the help of the gods, my wings will grow. -To have even one well-wisher like you in America, is much;--and I have -a friend or two in England, some in France, some in Denmark, Sweden, and -Russia. _Non omnis moriar_ thus. - -You will hear from me in print:--there I can give you pleasure, perhaps: -I am not fit to write letters. But I am getting very strong again. - - With reverential gratitude, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--I have your kindest note of June 16th, and am -returning, with unspeakable thanks, the letters forwarded. I have -written also to President Remsen and to President Taylor, as you wished -me to do, directly. - -You will be glad to hear that I am almost strong again; but I fear that -I shall never be strong enough to lecture before a general public. -Before a university audience I could do something, I believe; but the -strain of speaking in a theatre would be rather trying. The great and -devouring anxiety is for some regular employ--something that will assure -me the means to live. With that certainty, I can do much. Lecturing -will, I fear, be at best a most hazardous means of living. But it may -help me to something permanent. I have now nearly completed twenty-one -lectures: they will form eventually a serious work upon Japan, entirely -unlike anything yet written. The substantial idea of the lectures is -that Japanese society represents the condition of ancient Greek society -a thousand years before Christ. I am treating of religious Japan,--not -of artistic or economical Japan, except by way of illustration. Lowell's -"Soul of the Far East" is the only book of the kind in English; but I -have taken a totally different view of the causes and the evolution of -things. - -I am worried about my boy--how to save him out of this strange world -of cruelty and intrigue. And I dream of old ugly things--things that -happened long ago, I am alone in an American city; and I have only ten -cents in my pocket,--and to send off a letter that I must send will -take three cents. That leaves me seven cents for the day's food. Now, -I am not hard up, by any means: I can wait another six months in Japan -without anxiety. But the horror of being without employ in an American -city appalls me--because I remember. All of which is written in haste -to catch the mail. How good you are! I ought not to tell you of any -troubles of mine--but _if_ I could not, what would have happened me? - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--I have had a charming letter from -Vassar,--indicating that the president must be a charming person. - -I have also--which surprised me--the most generous of letters from Sir -William Van Horne, President of the C. P. R. R., agreeing to furnish me -with means of transportation, both ways, to Montreal and back to Japan. -I shall have to do some writing, probably; but that is a great chance, -and I am grateful. - -French friends have taken up the cudgels for me against the Japanese -Government--unknown friends. The _Aurore_ had a 2-col. article entitled -"_Ingratitude Nationale_," which somebody sent me from Italy. I am too -much praised; but the reproach to Japan is likely to do me good. For -I have really been badly treated, and the Government ought to be made -ashamed. - -I am _nearly_ quite well, though not quite as strong as I should -wish. My lectures, recast into chapters, will form a rather queer -book--perhaps make a quite novel impression. - -I have a little daughter; and all that anxiety is past. (If I could -only get quite strong, I could make a good fight for myself later on.) -Anyhow, I see no great difficulty about an American trip, once the -sharp cold is over; and I think you will be glad of this note from your -troublesome but always grateful - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,-- ... Of course your critics have been kind. -Other things of yours seemed to have a distinct quality; but this is -your Self, the clearest and dearest best of you. It is so much alive -that I cannot believe I have been reading a story: I thought that I knew -and remembered all the people and all that they said--surely none of -the life in those pages could have been imagined! I am puzzled by the -brightness of the memories and the freshness of the feeling: the real -world of self-seeking has such power to dull and numb that I cannot -understand how you could have conserved the whole delightfulness of -child-experience in spite of New York.... - -With me all the past is a blur--except the pain of it. It is not so -much what one sees in your story, or what one hears folk say, that -makes the thing so pleasing: it is rather the soft appeal made to one's -moral understanding. I mean that I never imagined how good and brave -and lovable those people were till you made me comprehend. And I felt -about as "home-sick" as it is lawful for a Japanese citizen to feel. -But I am afraid that your very own South is now of the past:--wherefore -we can appreciate it incomparably more than when it was our every-day -environment.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO TANABE - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1904. - -DEAR MR. TANABE,--I received your kind New Year's greeting, and your -good letter; and if I have delayed so long in replying, it has been only -because, for some weeks past, I have not had five minutes to spare. - -I was much touched by the sad news about your little girl,--and I -can understand all that one does not write about such matters. Some -nine years ago, I very nearly lost my little boy: we sat up with him -night after night for weeks, always dreading that he was to be taken -from us. Fortunately he was saved; but the pain of such an experience -is not easily forgotten. As a general rule, the first child born to -young parents is difficult to bring up. With the next, it is very -different;--perhaps you will be more fortunate later on. One has to be -brave about such matters. When Goethe was told of the death of his only -son, he exclaimed: "Forward--over the dead!" and sat down to write, -though the blow must have been terrible to him,--for he was a loving -father. - -I suppose that Mr. Ibaraki will soon be coming back to Japan. He -deserves much success and praise;--for he had great obstacles to -overcome as a student, and triumphed over them. I do not know who -told him that I was going to England; but several persons were -so--incorrectly--informed. Whether I shall go or not remains for the -present undecided. - -Of course the real philosophy of "Undine" is the development of what -Germans call "the Mother-Soul" in a young girl. By marriage and -maternity certain beautiful qualities of character are suddenly evolved, -which had remained invisible before. The book is a parable--that is why -it has become a world-classic. - -What you tell me about your reading puzzles me a little. One must -read, I suppose, whatever one can get in the way of English books at -Kanazawa. Still, if my advice be worth anything, I should especially -recommend you to avoid most of the current novel literature--except as -mere amusement. The lasting books are few; but one can read them over -so many times, with fresh pleasure every time. I should think, however, -that Stevenson would both please and profit you,--the last of the great -nineteenth-century story-tellers. - -May all happiness and success come to you is the sincere wish of - - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO ERNEST CROSBY - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1904. - -DEAR MR. CROSBY,--A namesake of yours, a young lieutenant in the United -States Army, first taught me, about twenty years ago, how to study -Herbert Spencer. To that Crosby I shall always feel a very reverence -of gratitude; and I shall always find myself inclined to seek the good -opinion of any man bearing the name of Crosby. - -I received recently a copy of _The Whim_ containing some strictures upon -the use of the word "regeneration," in one of my articles, as applied -to the invigorating and developing effects of militancy in the history -of human societies. I am inclined to agree with you that the word was -ill-chosen; but it seems to me that your general attitude upon the -matter is not in accordance with evolutional truth. Allow me to quote -from Spencer:-- - -"The successive improvements of the organs of sense and motion, and of -the internal coördinating apparatus, which uses them, have indirectly -resulted from the antagonisms and competitions of organisms with one -another. A parallel truth is disclosed on watching how there evolves the -regulating system of a political aggregate, and how there are developed -those appliances for offence and defence put in action by it. Everywhere -the wars between societies originate governmental structures, and are -causes of all such improvements in these structures as increase the -efficiency of corporate action against environing societies." - -The history of social evolution, I think, amply proves that the -higher conditions of civilization have been reached, and could have -been reached, only through the discipline of militancy. Until human -nature becomes much more developed than it is now, and the sympathies -incomparably more evolved, wars will probably continue; and however -much we may detest and condemn war as moral crime, it will be scarcely -reasonable to declare that its results are purely evil,--certainly not -more reasonable than to assert that to knock down a robber is equally -injurious to the moral feelings of the robber and to the personal -interest of the striker. As for "regeneration"--the Reformation, the -development of European Protestantism and of intellectual liberty, -the French Revolution, the Independence of the United States (to -mention only a few instances of progress), were rendered possible -only by war. As for Japan--immediately after her social organization -had been dislocated by outside pressure,--and at a time when serious -disintegrations seemed likely,--the results of the war with China were -certainly invigorating. National self-confidence was strengthened, -national discords extinguished, social disintegrations checked, the -sentiment of patriotism immensely developed. To understand these -things, of course, it is necessary to understand the Japanese social -organization. What holds true of one form of society, as regards the -evil of war, does not necessarily hold true of another. - - Yours faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I have reopened the envelope to acknowledge your interesting sketch of -Edward Carpenter.... What an attractive personality. - -But I fear that I must shock you by my declaration of non-sympathy with -much of the work of contemporary would-be reformers. They are toiling -for socialism; and socialism will come. It will come very quietly and -gently, and tighten about nations as lightly as a spider's web; and then -there will be revolutions! Not sympathy and fraternity and justice--but -a Terror in which no man will dare to lift his voice. - -No higher condition of human freedom ever existed than what America -enjoyed between--let us say, 1870 and 1885. To effect higher conditions, -a higher development of human nature would have been necessary. Where -have American liberties now gone? A free press has ceased to exist. -Within another generation publishers' syndicates will decide what the -public shall be allowed to read. A man can still print his thoughts in a -book, though not in any periodical of influence; within another twenty -years he will write only what he is told to write. It is a pleasure -to read the brave good things sometimes uttered in prints like the -_Conservator_ or _The Whim_; but those papers are but the candlesticks -in which free thought now makes its last flickering. In the so-called -land of freedom men and women are burnt at the stake in the presence -of Christian churches--for the crime of belonging to another race. -The stake reëstablished for the vengeance of race-hatred to-day, may -to-morrow be maintained for the vengeance of religious hate--mocking -itself, of course, under some guise of moral zeal. Competition will soon -be a thing of the past; and the future will be to your stock-companies, -trusts, and syndicates. The rule of the many will be about as merciful -as a calculating-machine, and as moral as a lawn-mower. What socialism -means really no one seems to know or care. It will mean the most -insufferable oppression that ever weighed upon mankind. - -Here are gloomy thoughts for you! You see that I cannot sympathize with -the Whitmanesque ideal of democracy. That ideal was the heart-felt -expression of a free state that has gone by. It was in itself a generous -dream. But social tendencies, inevitable and irresistible, are now -impelling the dreamers to self-destruction. The pleasure that in other -times one could find in the literature of humanity, of brotherhood, of -pity, is numbed to-day by perception of the irresistible drift of things. - - Ever faithfully yours, - L. HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1904. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--To see your handwriting again upon the familiar blue -envelope was a great pleasure; and what the envelope contained, in the -same precious text, was equally delightful ... excepting some little -words of praise which I do not deserve, and which you ought not to have -penned. At least they might have been altered so as to better suggest -your real meaning--for you must be aware that as to what is usually -termed "life" I have less than no knowledge, and have always been, and -will always remain, a dolt and a blunderer of the most amazing kind.... - -I left the dedication of the "Miscellany" untouched,--because the book -is not a bad book in its way, and perhaps you will later on find no -reason to be sorry for your good opinions of the writer. I presume -that you are far too clever to believe more than truth,--and I stand -tolerably well in the opinion of a few estimable people, in spite of -adverse tongues and pens. - -That little story of which you tell me the outline was admirable as -an idea. I wish that you had sent me a copy of it. But you never sent -me any of your writings, after I departed from New York--except that -admirable volume of memories and portraits. Of course, that paper about -the morals of the insect-world was intended chiefly (so far as there -was any intention whatever) to suggest to some pious people that the -philosophy of Evolution does not teach that the future must belong to -the strong and selfish "blond beast," as Nietzsche calls him--quite the -contrary. Renan hinted the same fact long ago; but he did not, perhaps, -know how English biologists had considered the ethical suggestion of -insect-sociology. - -In spite of all mishaps, I did tolerably well last year--chiefly through -economy;--made money instead of losing any. I have a professorship in -Count Okuma's university (small fees but ample leisure); and I was able -to take my boys to live with the fishermen for a month--on fish, rice, -and sea-water (with sake, of course, for their sire). I have got strong -again; and can use the right arm as well as ever for swimming.... - -The "rejected addresses" will shortly appear in book-form. The book -is not what it ought to be--everything was against me--but it ought -to suggest something to somebody. I don't like the work of writing a -serious treatise on sociology. It requires training beyond my range; and -I imagine that the real sociologist, on reading me, must smile-- - - "as a Master smiles at one - That is not of his school, nor any school, - Save that where blind and naked Ignorance - Delivers brawling judgement, unashamed, - On all things, all day long."... - -I ought to keep to the study of birds and cats and insects and flowers, -and queer small things--and leave the subject of the destiny of empires -to men of brains. Unfortunately, the men of brains will not state the -truth as they see it. If you find any good in the book, despite the -conditions under which it was written, you will recognize your share in -the necessarily ephemeral value thereof. - -May all good things ever come to you, and abide. - - Yours faithfully always, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO H. FUJISAKI - - SEPTEMBER 26, 1904.[4] - -DEAR CAPTAIN,--Your most welcome letter reached us to-day. It was a -great pleasure to receive it, and to know that you are well and strong. -You have often been in my thoughts and dreams. And, of course, we have -been anxious about you. But the gods seem to be taking good care of you; -and your position is, from our point of view, supremely fortunate. That -a bright future is before you, I cannot doubt,--in spite of the chances -of war. - - [4] The day of Hearn's death. - -As you see the papers here, it will not be worth while to send you any -general news. As for local news,--things are very quiet, just as when -you were here. But many men of [=O]kubo-mura have been summoned to the -front. Nearly all the young gardeners, fruit-sellers, _kurumaya_, etc., -have been called. So the district is, perhaps, a little more lonesome. -We had regiments stationed here for a while. When the soldiers were -going away, they gave toys to the children of the neighbourhood. To -Kazuo they gave a little clay-model of a Russian soldier's head, and one -said: "When we come back, we will bring you a real one." We prize that -funny little gift, as a souvenir of the giver and the time. - -Summer was dry, hot, and bright--we had very little rain after July. But -during July,--the early part,--it used to rain irregularly, in a strange -way;--and with the rain there was much lightning. Several persons in -T[=o]ky[=o] were killed by the lightning. I imagined that the war had -something to do with the disturbed state of the atmosphere. After a -heavy rain we generally had the news of a victory; so, when it began to -rain hard, I used to say, "Ah! the Russians are in trouble again!" - -We went to Yaidzu for about twenty days, and got strong and brown. Iwao -was positively black when he returned. He learned to swim a little, and -was able to cross the river on his back--where it was quite deep;--but -the sea was rather too rough for him. We found that seventeen men -of Yaidzu had been summoned to the war,--including several pleasant -acquaintances. - -Your good mother writes to us; and all your household seem to be as well -and as happy as could be expected,--considering the natural anxieties -of the war. Even for me, a stranger, the war has been trying; it was a -long time before I could get used to the calling of the newspaper-lads, -selling extras (_gogwai_). But the people of T[=o]ky[=o] have been -very cheerful and brave. Nobody seems to have any doubt as to the -results of the campaign. - -[Illustration: LAFCADIO HEARN'S GRAVE] - -I am still hoping to see you next spring, or at latest in summer. For -this hope, however, I have no foundation beyond the idea that Russia -will probably find, before long, that she must think of something else -besides fighting with Japan. The commercial powers of the world are -disturbed by her aggression; and industrial power, after all, is much -more heavy than all the artillery of the Czar. Whatever foreign sympathy -really exists is with Japan. In any event Russia must lose Manchuria, I -fancy. - -What strange and unimagined experiences you must have been passing -through. Since the time of the great war between France and Germany, -there were never such forces opposed to each other as those that met -at Liaoyang. It seems to me a wonderful thing that I am able to send a -letter to the place of so vast a contest. - -I shall try to send you something to read of the kind you mention. My -boys are writing to you--Kazuo in English; Iwao in his native language. -May all good fortune be with you is the sincere wish of your friend, - - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - - - CONCLUSION - - -With Mrs. Hearn's quaint and tender record of Lafcadio Hearn's last -days, his "Life and Letters" may fitly conclude. - - * * * * * - -About 3 P. M. Sept. 19th, 1904, as I went to his library I found him -walking to and fro with his hands upon the breast. I asked him: "Are -you indisposed?" Husband: "I got a new sickness." "What is your new -sickness?" Husband: "The heart-sickness." I: "You are always over -anxious." At once I sent for our doctor Kizawa with a jinrikisha -furnished with two riksha men. He would not let myself and children -see his painful sight, and ordered to leave him. But I stayed by him. -He began writing. I advised him to be quiet. "Let me do as I please," -he said, and soon finished writing. "This is a letter addressed to Mr. -Ume. Mr. Ume is a worthy man. He will give you a good counsel when any -difficulty happen to you. If any greater pain of this kind comes upon -me I shall perhaps die," he said; and then admonished me repeatedly and -strongly that I ought to keep myself healthy and strong; then gave me -several advices, hearty, earnest, and serious, with regard to the future -of children, concluding with the words, "Could you understand?" Then -again he said: "Never weep if I die. Buy for my coffin a little earthen -pot of three or four cents worth; bury me in the yard of a little temple -in some lonesome quarter. Never be sorry. You had better play cards with -children. Do not inform to others of my departure. If any should happen -to inquire of me, tell him: 'Ha! he died sometime ago. That will do.'" I -eagerly remonstrated: "Pray, do not speak such melancholy things. Such -will never happen." He said: "This is a serious matter." Then saying "It -cannot be held," he kept quiet. - -A few minutes passed; the pain relaxed. "I would like to take bath," he -said. He wanted cold bath; went to the bath-room and took a cold bath. -"Strange!" he said, "I am quite well now." He recovered entirely, and -asked me: "Mamma San! Sickness flew away from me. Shall I take some -whiskey?" I told him: "I fear whiskey will not be good for heart. But -if you are so fond of it I will offer it to you mixed with some water." -Taking up the cup, he said: "I shall no more die." He then told me for -the first time that a few days ago he had the same experience of pain. -He lay down upon the bed then with a book. When the doctor arrived at -our house, "What shall I do?" he said. Leaving the book, he went out to -the parlour, and said "Pardon me, doctor. The sickness is gone." The -doctor found no bad symptom, and jokes and chattering followed between -them. - -He was always averse to take medicine or to be attended by a doctor. He -would never take medicine if I had not been careful; and if I happen to -be late in offering him medicine he would say: "I was glad thinking you -had forgot." If not engaged in writing, he used to walk in meditation -to and fro in the room or through the corridor. So even in the time of -sickness he would not like to remain quiet in confinement. - -One day he told me in gladness: "Mamma San! I am very pleased about -this." I asked him what it was. "I wrote this newspaper article: -'Lafcadio Hearn disappeared from the world.' How interesting! The world -will see me no more--I go away in secret--I shall become a hermit--in -some remote mountain, with you and with Kazuo." - -It was a few days before his departure. Osaki, a maid, the daughter of -Otokitsu of Yaidzu, found a blossom untimely blooming in one of the -branches of cherry-tree in the garden. She told me about that. Whenever -I saw or heard anything interesting I always told it to him; and this -proved his greatest enjoyment. A very trifling matter was in our home -very often highly valued. For instance, as the following things:-- - -To-day a young shoot appeared on a musa basjoo in the garden. - -Look! an yellow butterfly is flying there. - -In the bamboo bushes, a young bamboo-sprout raised its head from the -earth. - -Kazuo found a mound made by ants. - -A frog is just staying on the top of the hedge. - -From this morning the white, the purple, and the red blossoms of the -morning-glory began to bloom, etc., etc. - -Matters like those had great importance in our household. These things -were all reported to him. They were great delight for my husband. -He was pleased innocently. I tried to please him with such topics -with all my heart. Perhaps if any one happened to witness, it would -have seemed ridiculous. Frogs, ants, butterflies, bamboo-sprouts, -morning-glory,--they were all the best friends to my husband. - -Now, the blossom was beautiful to look. But I felt all at once my bosom -tremble for some apprehension of evil, because the untimely bloom is -considered in Japan as a bad omen. Anyhow I told him of the blossom. He -was interested as usual. "Hello!" he said, and immediately approaching -to the railing, he looked out at the blossom. "Now my world has come--it -is warm, like spring," said he; then after a pause, "but soon it will -become cold and that blossom will die away." This blossom was upon the -branch till the 27th, when toward the evening its petals scattered -themselves lonesomely. Methought the cherry-tree, which had Hearn's -warmest affection for these years, responded to his kindness and bade -good-bye to him. - -Hearn was an early riser; but lest he should disturb the sleep of -myself and children, he was always waiting for us and keeping quiet -in the library, sitting regularly upon the cushion and smoking with a -charcoal-brazier before him, till I got up and went to his library. - -In the morning of Sept. 26th--the sad, last day--as I went to his -library about 6.30 A. M., he was already quietly sitting as -usual on the cushion. "Ohay[=o] gozaimasu" (good-morning) I said. He -seemed to be thinking over something, but upon my salutation he said his -"good-morning," and told me that he had an interesting dream last night, -for we were accustomed to tell each other when we had a pleasant dream. -"What was it," I asked. He said: "I had a long, distant journey. Here I -am smoking now, you see. Is it real that I travelled or is it real that -I am smoking? The world of dream!..." Thus saying he was pleased with -himself. - -Before going to bed, our three boys used to go to his library and say in -English: "Papa! Good-night! Pleasant dream!" Then he says in Japanese: -"Dream a good dream," or in English: "The same to you." - -On this morning when Kazuo, before leaving home for school, went to him, -and said a "good-morning," he said: "Pleasant dream." Not knowing how to -say, Kazuo answered: "The same to you." - -About eleven o'clock in the morning, while walking to and fro along the -corridor, he looked into my sitting-room and saw the picture hung upon -the wall of alcove. The picture entitled "Morning Sun," represented a -glorious, but a little mistic, scene of seashore in the early morning -with birds thronging. "A beautiful scenery! I would like to go to such a -land," he remarked. - -He was fond of hearing the note of insects. We kept _matsu mushi_ (a -kind of cricket) this autumn. Toward evening the plaintive notes -which matsu mushi made at intervals made me feel unusually lonesome. I -asked my husband how it sounded to him. He said: "That tiny creature -has been singing nicely. It's getting cold, though. Is it conscious -or unconscious that soon it must die? It's a pity, indeed." And, in a -lonesome way, he added: "Ah, poor creature! On one of these warm days -let us put him secretly among the grasses." - -Nothing particularly different was not to be observable in all about him -that day through. But the single blossom of untimely cherry, the dream -of long journey he had, and the notes of matsu mushi, all these make me -sad even now, as if there had existed some significance about them. At -supper he felt sudden pain in the breast. He stopped eating; went away -to his library; I followed him. For some minutes, with his hands upon -his breast, he walked about the room. A sensation of vomiting occurred -to him. I helped him, but no vomiting. He wanted to lie on bed. With his -hands on breast, he kept very calm in bed. But, in a few minutes after, -he was no more the man of this side of the world. As if feeling no pain -at all, he had a little smile about his mouth. - - - - - APPENDIX - - -The following was one of Hearn's general lectures at the University -of T[=o]ky[=o] as it was taken down at the time of its delivery by -T. Ochiai, one of his students. It contains, together with some -characteristic literary opinions, striking evidence of the curious -felicity of Hearn's method of approach to the Japanese mind. - - - NAKED POETRY - -Before beginning the regular course of literary lectures this year, -I want to make a little discourse about what we may call Naked -Poetry--that is, poetry without any dress, without any ornament, the -very essence or body of poetry unveiled by artifice of any kind. I -use the word artistically, of course--comparing poetry to an artistic -object representing either a figure or a fact in itself, without any -accessories. - -Now for a few words about poetry in general. All the myriad forms -of verse can be classed in three divisions without respect to -subject or method. The highest class is the poetry in which both the -words, or form, and the emotion expressed are equally admirable and -super-excellent. The second division in importance is that kind of -poetry in which the emotion or sentiment is the chief thing, and the -form is only a secondary consideration. The third and least important -class of poetry is that in which the form is everything, and the emotion -or sentiment is always subordinated to it. Now scarcely any modern -poem of great length entirely fulfils the highest condition. We have -to go back to the old Greek poetry to find such fulfilment. But the -second class of poetry includes such wonderful work as the poetry of -Shakespeare. The third class of poetry is very fairly represented in -English literature by the work of Pope and the dead classic school. -To-day--I mean at this moment in England--the tendency is bad: it is -again setting in the direction of form rather than of sentiment or -thought. - -This will be sufficient to explain to you what I shall [mean] in future -lectures by speaking of perfect poetry, or second class poetry, or -inferior poetry, independently of qualifications. But I must also ask -you to accept my definition of the word poetry--though it is somewhat -arbitrary. By poetry, true poetry, I mean, above all, that kind of -composition in verse which deeply stirs the mind and moves the heart--in -another word, the poetry of feeling. This is the true _literary -signification_ of poetry; and this is why you will hear some kinds of -prose spoken of as great poetry,--although it is not in any way like -verse; an important difference of the kind above referred to has been -recognized, I am told, by Japanese poets. - -They have, at all events, declared that a perfect poem should leave -something in the mind,--something not said, but suggested,--something -that makes a thrill in you after reading the composition. You will -therefore be very well able to see the beauty of any foreign verses -which can fulfil this condition with very simple words. Of course when -academic language, learned words, words known only to Greek or Latin -scholars, are used, such poetry is almost out of the question. Popular -language, in English at least, is the best medium for emotional poetry -of certain kinds. But even without going to dialect, or descending to -colloquialisms, great effects can be produced with very plain common -English--provided that the poet sincerely feels. Here is a tiny but very -famous little verse, which I would call an example of naked poetry--pure -poetry without any kind of ornament at all. It has only rhymes of -[one] syllable; but even if it had no rhymes at all it would still be -great poetry. And what is more, I should call it something very much -resembling in quality the spirit of Japanese poetry. However, you can -judge for yourselves:-- - - Four ducks on a pond, - A grass-bank beyond, - A blue sky of spring, - White clouds on the wing: - What a little thing - To remember for years-- - To remember with tears! - -It reads like nothing in particular until you get to the last -line;--then the whole picture comes suddenly into your mind with a -shock, and you understand. It is an exile's memory of home, one instant -of childhood shining out in memory, after all the rest of memory has -become dark. So it is very famous, and really wonderful--although there -is no art in it at all. It is simple as a song. - -Now English poetry contains very few inspirations like that--which, by -the way, was the work of an Irishman, William Allingham. The remarkable -thing about it is the effect made by so small a thing. But we have a few -English poets who touched the art of divine simplicity--of pure emotion -independent of form; and one of these was Kingsley. You know several of -his songs which show this emotional power; but I am not sure whether you -know "Airly Beacon." - -"Airly Beacon" is a little song; but it is the story of the tragedy of -life--you never can forget it after once reading it. And you have no -idea what you are reading until you come to the last line. I must tell -you that the place for "Airly Beacon" is a high place in Scotland,--from -the top of which a beautiful view can be obtained,--and it is called -Airly Beacon because in ancient time a signal-fire, or beacon-fire, used -to be lighted upon it. Bearing this in mind you will be better able to -judge the effect of the poem. I must also remind you that in England and -America young girls are allowed a great deal of liberty in regard to -what is called "courtesy" [courting?], that is to say, being wooed, or -made love to under promise of marriage. The idea is that a girl should -have sufficient force of will to be able to take care of herself when -alone with a man. If she has not--then she might have [to] sing the -song of Airly Beacon. But _perhaps_ the girl in this case was not so -importunate [unfortunate?]; we may imagine that she became a wife and -very early a widow. The song does not say. - - Airly Beacon, Airly Beacon; - Oh, the pleasant sight to see - Shires and towns from Airly Beacon - While my love climbed up to me. - - Airly Beacon, Airly Beacon; - Oh, the happy hours we lay - Deep in fern on Airly Beacon, - Courting through the summer's day! - - Airly Beacon, Airly Beacon; - Oh, the weary haunt for me, - All alone on Airly Beacon, - With his baby on my knee! - -The great test as to whether verse contains real poetry, emotional -poetry, is this: Can it be translated into the prose of another language -and still make it appear emotional? If it can, then the true poetry is -there; if it cannot, then it is not true poetry, but only verse. Now -a great deal of famous Western poetry will really bear this test. The -little poem that I have just quoted to you will bear it. So will some -of the best work of each of our greatest poets. Those of you who study -German know something about the wonderful poems of Heine. You know they -are very simple in form and musical. Well, the best foreign translation -of them is a translation into French prose. Here, of course, the rhyme -is gone, the muse is gone, but the real, essential poetry--the power to -touch the heart--remains. Do you remember the little poem in which the -poet describes the soldier, the sentry on guard at the city-gate? He -sees the soldier standing in the light of the evening sun, performing -the military exercises all by himself, just to pass the time. He -shoulders his gun as if in receiving invisible orders, presents, takes -aim. Then, the poet suddenly exclaims,--"I wish he would shoot me dead!" - -The whole power of the little composition is in that exclamation; he -tells us all that he means, and all that he feels. To a person unhappy, -profoundly unhappy, even the most common sights and sounds of life give -him thoughts and wishes in relation to death. Now, a little poem like -that loses very little, loses scarcely anything by a littler [_sic_] -translation; it is what I have called naked poetry;--it does not depend -upon the ornaments of expression, all the decoration of rhyme, in order -to produce its effect. Perhaps you will say that this essence of poetry -may also be found occasionally in prose. That is true;--there is such -a thing as poetry in prose, but it is also true that measure and rhyme -greatly intensify the charm of emotional expression. - -Suppose we now take something more elaborate for an example--this -celebrated little poem written many years ago by an Oxford student, -and now known everywhere. I call it more elaborate, only because the -workmanship as to form is much more: - - The night has a thousand eyes, - And the day but one; - Yet the light of the whole world dies - With the dying sun. - - The mind has a thousand eyes, - And the heart but one; - Yet the light of a whole life dies - When love is done. - FRANCIS BOURDILLON. - -An ancient Greek might have written something like that; it has the -absolute perfection of some of those emotional little pieces of [the] -Greek anthology--two thousand and even three thousand years old. The -comparison of stars to eyes is very old. In every Western literature the -stars have been called the eyes of the night; and still we call the sun -the Eye of the Day, just as the Greeks did. Innumerable as are the stars -of the night, they cannot be seen at all when the sun has well risen. -They are not able to make light and joy in the world; and when the sun -sets, everything becomes dark and colourless. Then the poet says that -human love is to human life what the sun is to the world. It is not by -reason, but by a feeling that we are made happy. The mind cannot make -us happy as the heart can. Yet the mind, like the sky, "has a thousand -eyes"--that is to say, a thousand different capacities of knowledge and -perception. It does not matter. When the person that we really love is -dead the happiness of life ceases for us; emotionally our world becomes -dark as the physical world becomes when the sun has set. - -Certainly the perfect verse and rhyme help the effect; but they are -not at all necessary to the beauty of the thing. Translate that into -your own language in prose; and you will see that very little is lost; -for the first two lines of the first stanza exactly balance the first -two lines of the second stanza; and the second two lines of the first -stanza balance the second two lines of the second stanza; therefore even -in prose the composition must assume a charming form, no matter what -language it is rendered in. - -But it does not follow at all that because a short composition in -verse contains a great deal of meaning or happens to be very cleverly -constructed, you can call it a real poem. Verses that only surprise by -cleverness, by tricks of good words, have a very little value. They may -be pretty; they give you a kind of pleasure, that is a small graceful -object. But if they do not touch the heart as well as the head, I should -never call them real poetry. For example, there is a French verse which -has been translated into English more than a thousand times--always -differently and yet never successfully. The English _Journal of -Education_ this year asked for translations of it, and more than five -hundred were sent in. None of them were satisfactory, though some of -them were very clever. - - La vie est vaine: - Un peu d'amour, - Un peu de haine, - Et puis--bonjour! - - La vie est brêve: - Un peu d'espoir, - Un peu de rêve, - Et puis--bonsoir! - - Life is vain: a little love, a little hate, and then--good-bye! - Life is brief: a little hope, a little dreaming, and then--good-night! - -Of course, this requires no explanation, the French work is -astonishingly clever, simple as it looks: the same thing cannot be done -in the English language so well. As I have told you, at least a thousand -English writers have tried to put it into English verse. So you will see -that it is very famous. But is it poetry? I should certainly say that it -is not. It is not poetry, because it consists only of a few commonplaces -stated in a mocking way--in the tone of a clever man trifling with a -serious subject. They do not really touch us. And they do not bear the -test of translation. Put into English, what becomes of them? They simply -dry up. The English reader might well exclaim, "We have heard of that -before, in much better language." But let us take one verse of a Scotch -song by Robert Burns which is known the whole world over, and which was -written by a man who always wrote out of his own [heart]. - - - "We two have paddled in the brook - From morning sun till noon, - But seas between us broad have roared - Since old lang syne." - -When I put that into English, the music is gone, and the beauty of -several dialect-words, such as "dine" (meaning the dinner hour, -therefore the midday), and the melody have disappeared. Still the poetry -remains. Two men in some foreign country, after years of separation, -and one reminds the other of childhood days when both played in the -village brook from the sunrise until dinner-time--so much delighted by -the water! Only a little brook, one says;--but the breadth of oceans, -the width of half the world, has been between us since that time. Now, -anybody who, as a boy, loved to play or swim in the stream of his native -village with other boys, can feel what the poet means; whether he be a -Japanese or a Scotchman makes no difference at all. That is poetry. - -And now, so much having been said on the subject of the emotional -essence of poetry, I want to tell you that in the course of such -lectures on poetry as we shall have in the course of the academic year, -I shall try always to keep these facts before you and to select for our -reading only those things which contain the thought of poetry that will -bear the test of translation. Much of our English poetry will not do -this. I think, for example, that it is a great mistake to set before -Japanese students such 18th century birth [work?] as the verse of Pope. -As verse it is perhaps the most perfect of the English language, as -poetry it is nothing at all. The essence of poetry is not in Pope, nor -is it to be found in most of the 18th century school. - -That was an age in which it was the fashion to keep all emotion -suppressed. But Pope is a useful study for English classes in England, -because of what English students can take from it through the mere -study of form, of compact and powerful expression with very few -words. Here, the situation is exactly converse. The value of foreign -poetry to you cannot be in the direction of form. Foreign form cannot -be reproduced in Japanese any more than French can be produced into -English. The value of foreign poetry is in what makes the soul, the -heart, the heart of all poetry:--feeling and imagination. Foreign -feeling and foreign imagination may help to add something to the beauty -and the best quality of future Japanese poetry. There I think the worth -of study may be very great. But when foreign poetry means nothing but -correct verse, you might as well waste no time upon it; as there is much -great poetry which has good form as well as strong feeling. - - - - - INDEX - - - Adulteration, in food and morals, II: 139-141. - - Æsthetics, Y. Hirn's study of, II: 20, 21. - - Africa, musical aptitudes of races of, I: 284, 353; - transplantation of melodies of, to America, 356, 380, 411. - - Ahriman, the Persian Spirit of Darkness, II: 118, 126. - - Akizuki, teacher of Chinese at Kumamoto, I: 125; II: 66, 67, 73, 119, - 177. - - Albee, John, I: 83; - letters from Hearn to, I: 276,277; II: 358-361; - his Prose Idyls, 360. - - Albee, Mrs. John, I: 358, 359, 360. - - Alden, Henry Mills, I: 286, 378, 405, 428. - - Alexander the Great, I: 161. - - Allen, Grant, Hearn's comment on, I: 394. - - Allen, James Lane, II: 377. - - Allingham, William, II: 522; - a verse by, 521. - - Amaron, lyrics of, I: 368. - - Ama-terasu-Omi-Kami, II: 25. - - Amenomori, Nobushige, I: 128, 139, 159; II: 217, 346, 353, 380, 390, - 391, 392, 394; - photograph of, 376. - - Amicis, Edmondo de, his Cuore, I: 456; II: 102. - - Amiel, Henri Frédéric, his Journal Intime, II: 400. - - Ancestors, worship of, II: 28. - - Andersen, Hans, Hearn's comment on, II: 251. - - Angelinus, I: 256. - - Anglo-American alliance, II: 384. - - Anglo-Saxon race, future of, II: 137. - - Antæus, II: 454. - - Antilles. _See_ West Indies. - - Apes, treatment of, on board ship, I: 413, 414. - - Apollo, Temple of, at Levkas, I: 3. - - Apollonius of Tyana, I: 321, 322. - - Arabia, hero-stories of, I: 234, 237. - - Aristocracies, value of, II: 248. - - Arnold, Edwin, I: 282, 335, 454; - his Light of Asia, 291; - Hearn's opinion of, 319; - his translation of the story of Nala, 402. - - Arnold, Matthew, Hearn's comments on, I: 318, 319. - - Arnoux, ----, I: 465, 466; II: 347. - - Arrows, used in Japanese rice-fields, II: 6. - - Arrows of prayer, II: 6. - - Art, nature of antique, I: 211; - standards of, 216-218; - sacrifices and rewards of, 237-239, 242, 243; - return to antique, 254; - money considerations should not enter into, 336; - ghostliness of, II: 19, 20; - use of the distorted in, 125-127 - secret of literary, 345, 346. - - Asai, Mr., II: 298, 299. - - Assyria, ghost-stories of, II: 251. - - Aston, William George, II: 484. - - Atlantic City, N. J., I: 451. - - Atlantic Monthly, I: 293, 317, 321, 397. - - Aubryet, Xavier, I: 340. - - Augustin, Jean, I: 70, 71, 363; II: 294. - - Austin, Alfred, II: 302. - - Azan, the muezzin's call, I: 280, 281, 283, 309, 317, 321. - - Azukizawa, one of Hearn's pupils, II: 68. - - - Bacon, Francis, his idea of love, I: 316; - Hearn's opinions of his Essays, 328. - - Bagpipe, introduced by Romans into Scotland, I: 182. - - Baker, Constance, II: 256, 259, 287, 288, 292. - - Baker, Page M., I: 265, 267, 268, 280, 289, 321, 323, 334, 346, 361, - 370; - Hearn's description of, 70, 71; II: 203; - letters from Hearn to, I: 87; II: 43-46, 90-95, 174-176, 253-256, - 257-265, 285-289, 292-296. - - Baker, Mrs. Page M., II: 265. - - Ball, Rev. Wayland D., I: 83; - letters from Hearn to, 250-267, 342-348; - Hearn's advice to, regarding literary work, 265, 266, 267, 343, 346. - - Ballads, a Japanese singer and seller of, II: 220; - customs regarding, 221. - - Balzac, Honoré de, II: 432; - his Le Succube, I: 201. - - Bamboula, music of, I: 325, 359. - - Bangor, North Wales, a private museum in, I: 171, 172. - - Banja, an African word, I: 339. - - Banjo, I: 310, 311; - use of, by Southern negroes, 337. - - Baring-Gould, Sabine, his chapter on the Mountain of Venus, I: 279. - - Barrera, Enrique, I: 228. - - Barrie, James Matthew, II: 301; - his Sentimental Tommy, 318. - - Basutos, music of, I: 353. - - Bath, the Japanese, II: 94. - - Bathing, at Grande Isle, I: 90, 91, 92. - - Batokas, multiple pipe of the, I: 297. - - Bats, adventures with, I: 465-467. - - Baudelaire, Pierre Charles, I: 197, 211; - his phrase regarding Gautier, 82; - Hearn's desire to translate his Petits Poëmes en Prose, 362. - - Beaulieu, Anatole Henri de, I: 317. - - Beauty, hatred of the many for, I: 27; - nature of the first perception of, 28-30; - Hearn's early love of, 29, 32, 48. - - Bedloe, Edward, II: 408, 438, 439, 440, 443, 448, 454. - - Beecher, Henry Ward, I: 52. - - Beetles, Japanese, II: 143. - - Behrens, Alice von, II: 411. - - Belief, Hearn's philosophy of, I: 296; - origin of religious, 347, 348. - - Bellamy, Edward, II: 184. - - Bellesort, André, II: 352, 353; - his Société Japonaise, 471, 478, 479, 502. - - Bellesort, Mme., II: 352, 353, 502. - - Bennett, James Gordon, I: 54. - - Béranger, Pierre Jean de, II: 412. - - Bergerat, Auguste Emile, I: 222, 227. - - Berlioz, Hector, I: 168. - - Bernhardt, Sarah, II: 435. - - Bhagavad-Gita, I: 316, 402. - - Bible, revised version of the Old Testament, I: 350; - grammatical usages in, II: 75, 76; - Japanese hatred of some passages in, 320. - - Bìlâl, I: 280, 281, 282; - Hearn's article on, 283, 284, 286, 295; - biography of, 331. - - Bisland, Elizabeth. _See_ Wetmore, Elizabeth (Bisland). - - Bizet, Georges, I: 385. - - Björnson, Björnstjerne, I: 46. - - Black, William, II: 301. - - Blouet, Paul (Max O'Rell), I: 445. - - Blue, significance of the colour, I: 394. - - Boccaccio, Giovanni, his Decameron, I: 256. - - Bodhisattvas, Japanese and Indian, II: 78. - - Bon-odori, a Japanese dance, II: 37, 38, 46, 47, 52, 54. - - Book of Golden Deeds, as a reading-book in a Japanese school, II: 102. - - Books, Hearn's dislike of borrowing, II: 432. - - Borrow, George, I: 205, 206, 459; - his Gypsies of Spain, 201, 202. - - Bourdillon, Francis, verses by, II: 525. - - Bourgault-Ducoudray, Louis Albert, his Souvenirs d'une mission - musicale en Grèce, I: 386. - - Bourget, Paul, II: 84. - - Bowditch, Thomas Edward, I: 354. - - Brachet, Auguste, I: 374. - - Brahma, I: 210. - - Brahmins, example of magic given by, I: 322. - - Brain, in civilized man and savages, II: 245. - - Brantôme, Pierre de Bourdeilles, Seigneur de, I: 256. - - Brenane, Mrs., Hearn adopted by, I: 8, 11, 12, 16; - disposition of her property, 36, 37. - - Bridges, Robert, his Pater Filio, II: 498. - - Brittany, songs of, I: 189, 190. - - Broca, Pierre Paul, I: 339; II: 245. - - Brownell, William Crary, Hearn's comment on his French Traits, I: 457. - - Browning, Robert, II: 190. - - Brunetière, Ferdinand, II: 479. - - Buddhas, Japanese and Indian, II: 78. - - Buddhism, monistic idea in, strengthened by education, I: 112; - introduction of knowledge of, into America, 265; - the possible religion of the future, 291, 292; - Christianity and, 347; - in the light of modern science, 400; - false teaching of, 401; - Hearn's study of, II: 4; - his love of, 26; - suppression of, in hotels of Kizuki, 47; - difficulty of study of, for foreigners, 82; - effect of, on the foreigner, 85, 86; - some tenets of, 135; - theosophical and spiritualistic writers on, 431. - _See also_ Nichiren. - - Buddhist catechism, projected by Hearn, II: 269, 270. - - Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, first Baron Lytton, his The - House and the Brain, II: 371. - - Bulwer-Lytton, Edward Robert Lytton, first Earl of Lytton (Owen - Meredith), his The Portrait, II: 294. - - Bunch[=o], Japanese painter, II: 468. - - Buonarroti, Michelangelo, I: 275. - - Burke, Edmund, his Essays as a reading-book in a Japanese school, - II: 102. - - Burns, Mrs., II: 368. - - Burns, Robert, a verse of, II: 527, 528. - - Burthe, Honoré, I: 70, 71. - - Business, hypocrisy of, II: 109; - morality of modern men and methods of, 169-174, 177-179, 293; - Hearn's hatred of, 294, 353, 354; - extraordinary incidents of, 303. - - Byron, George Gordon Noel, Baron Byron, French prose translations of, - I: 245. - - Byzantium, wind organs invented at, I: 166. - - - Cable, George Washington, I: 212; - his study of Creole music, 175, 337, 359; - his Grandissimes, 228, 229; - character of his work, 289, 295, 296; - negro Pan's pipe described by, 355. - - Cæsar, Julius, I: 161. - - Carlyle, Thomas and Jane, I: 139. - - Carmen, the opera, I: 201, 202. - - Carpenter, Edward, II: 511. - - Castelar, Emilio, I: 275. - - Castrén, Matthias Alexander, his work on Finnish mythology, I: 233, - 235, 236. - - Caterpillar, Hearn's story of a, II: 436. - - Catholicism, Latin feeling surviving in, II: 312. - _See also_ Roman Catholic Church. - - Cats, Japanese, II: 55, 56, 58, 59. - - Cephalonia, Island of, I: 7. - - Ceram, Island of, II: 211, 213. - - Cerigo, Island of, I: 6. - - Cerigote, Rosa. _See_ Hearn, Rosa (Cerigote). - - Chalumeau, or multiple pipe, I: 297. - - Chamberlain, Basil Hall, I: 53; II: 63, 107, 306; - his explanation of Hearn's inconstancy to his friends, I: 57-59; - aid given to Hearn by, 110, 136; - letters from Hearn to, 130, 131; II: 5-18, 23-43, 46-60, 198-251, - 256, 257, 266-270, 273, 274, 276-278; - his Kojiki, 6, 9; - his Things Japanese, 60, 76-79, 90, 212; - Hearn's suggestion for an illustrated edition of Kojiki, 58; - his knowledge of the Japanese language, 117; - project for a book on Japanese folk-lore by Hearn and, 129; - Japanese appreciation of, 201; - his version of the Kumamoto R[=o]j[=o], 220, 221; - his paper on the Loochoo Islands, 273, 274. - - Charcot, Jean Martin, I: 441; - story based on researches of, 399. - - Châteaubriand, François René Auguste, Vicomte de, I: 191. - - Châteauneuf, Agricole Hippolyte de Lapierre de, I: 256. - - Chatto and Windus, I: 251, 253. - - Chenières, Les, destruction of, I: 96. - - Chinese gongs, I: 171, 172. - - Choctaw Indians, I: 188; - no longer a musical people, 166. - - Ch[=o]zuba-no-Kami, II: 32, 33. - - Christening ceremony, Shint[=o], II: 59. - - Christern, F. W., I: 189. - - Christian Band, The, II: 142. - - Christianity, Buddhism and, I: 347; - Oriental characteristics of, 400, 401; - moral value of, II: 87; - courtesy and, 132, 133; - the higher, 146. - - Cincinnati, Ohio, Hearn sets out for, I: 45; - his first employment in, 49; - his departure from, 63, 66; - as an art centre, 182. - - Cincinnati Enquirer, Hearn's work on, I: 50-52, 154. - - Civilization, immoral side of Occidental, II: 111, 112; - transmission of, from one race to another, 245; - effect of American, on literature, 301. - - Clapperton, Hugh, I: 354. - - Clarke, James Freeman, sectarian purpose of his work on religions, - I: 345. - - Clifford, William Kingdon, II: 152, 190, 221. - - Clive, Robert, Baron Clive of Plassey, I: 160. - - Coatlicue, Mexican goddess of flowers, I: 436. - - Cockerill, John, Hearn's sketch of, I: 53, 54. - - Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, I: 377. - - Colombat, Marc (Colombat de l'Isère), his work on diseases of the - voice, I: 363. - - Colour, æsthetic symbolism of, I: 394; - sense of, 397. - - Columbian Exposition, Chicago, II: 150, 152. - - Comparative mythology, results of a study of, I: 345. - - Comparetti, Domenico, author of The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, - II: 502. - - Concept, analysis of a mathematical, II: 241, 242. - - Conder, Josiah, II: 117, 118. - - Confession, Hearn's account of an experience at, I: 32, 33. - - Confucianism, II: 27. - - Congo, a Creole dance, I: 336. - - Congo tribes, a superstition of, I: 313. - - Coolies, West Indian, I: 415, 416, 433. - - Corinthians, strait between Santa Maura and Greece cut by, I: 3. - - Cornell University, lectures by Hearn proposed and abandoned by, - II: 487-489, 490, 492, 495. - - Cornilliac, Jean Jacques, I: 441. - - Cosmopolitan, The (magazine), I: 452, 455. - - Coulanges, Numa Denis Fustel de, I: 202. - - Courtesy, Oriental and Occidental, II: 180; - effect of industrialism on, 183. - - Crawford, Francis Marion, II: 301, 377. - - Creole sketches, Hearn's project for, I: 224. - - Creoles, Hearn's collection of proverbs of, I: 83; - patois of, 83, 189, 232, 417; - music and songs of, 175, 188, 189, 337, 338, 356, 357, 359; - of Louisiana, 188; - Hearn's project for collecting legends of Louisiana, 193; - cruelty of French, 203; - dances of, 297, 307, 336. - - Crosby, Ernest, I: 85; - letter from Hearn to, II: 509-513. - - Crosby, Oscar, I: 85. - - Cruise of the Marchesa, II: 218, 219. - - Cuba, African influence on music of, I: 380. - - Curiosités des Arts, extract translated from, I: 165, 166. - - Curtis, George William, his Howadji in Syria, I: 196. - - Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand's, II: 435, 436. - - - Dai sen, mountain, II: 23. - - Daikoku, Japanese deity, identified with Oho-Kuni-nushi-no-Kami, - in Matsue, II: 13. - - Daikon, II: 57. - - Daily Item (New Orleans), Hearn's work on, I: 68. - - Daimy[=o]s, downfall of, in Japan, I: 116. - - Dances, Creole, I: 297, 307, 336; - Greek choral, 385, 386; - Japanese, II: 21, 22, 31, 468. - _See also_ Bon-odori, H[=o]nen-odori, Mika-kagura. - - Dancing-girls, Japanese. _See_ Geisha. - - Dardanas, I: 167. - - Darfur, Africa, I: 277. - - Darwin, Charles Robert, I: 292; II: 266; - his hypothesis as to sexual æsthetic sensibilities in animals, - II: 20; - his contribution to the theory of evolution, 235. - - Davitt, Michael, I: 361. - - Death, Hearn's feeling about, II: 379. - - Decadent school, II: 187, 188. - - Deir-el-Tiu, monastery of, I: 328. - - Deland, Margaret, II: 301, 489; - her Philip and his Wife, 167, 222; - her Story of a Child, 222. - - Delpit, Albert, I: 361. - - Demerara, gold-mines of, I: 413. - - Dening, Walter, II: 77. - - De Quincey, Thomas, his mastery of English, I: 132, 135; - his Flight of a Tartar Tribe, 329. - - Dictionaries, etymological, I: 374. - - Dimitris, The, of Russia, I: 329. - - Divinity, weight of the popular idea of a, II: 78. - - Dobson, Austin, I: 253; II: 215. - - Don Juan, not an Oriental type, II: 114. - - Doré, Paul Gustave, Hearn's article on, I: 80, 268; - his knowledge of gipsies, 201, 202; - his illustrations for Poe's Raven, 317. - - Dozy, Reinhart Pieter, I: 374. - - Draper, John William, I: 326. - - Drawing, Hearn's defence of Japanese methods of, II: 331. - - Dreams, I: 442, 469. - - Dublin, Ireland, Hearn family removes to, I: 7. - - Du Maurier, George, II: 302; - his Trilby, 187, 221. - - Dumez, ----, I: 205. - - Durham, Eng., Roman Catholic College at, I: 34. - - Dutch East Indies, II: 218, 219. - - Dutt, Toru, her translation of the story of Nala, I: 402. - - Duveyrier, Henri, his Les Touâreg du Nord, I: 353. - - - Earthquakes, in Japan, II: 83, 84. - - East, Shadows of the, II: 85, 87. - - Ebers, Georg, I: 226. - - Ebisu, Japanese deity, temple of, at Nishinomiya, II: 8; - identified with Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami, in Matsue, 13; - in Mionoseki, 37. - - Education, of the emotions, I: 456; - Hearn's attitude toward scientific, II: 163, 164, 275; - decline of, in Japan, 216; - ecclesiastical, 310. - - Edwards, Bryan, his History of the West Indies, I: 297, 339. - - Edwards, Osman, II: 402, 455; - his Theatre in Japan, 222. - - Eggs, eating of, in Japan, II: 96, 97. - - Egypt, sistrum introduced into Italy by, I: 166; - musical instruments of, 211, 212, 213, 311, 353; - stories of the antique life of, 226; - an ancient melody of, 286; - ghost-stories of, II: 251. - - Eitel, Ernest John, his identification of Japanese and Indian - divinities, II: 78. - - Electric light, G. M. Gould's paper on, I: 439. - - Electricity, story based on evolution of, by the human body, I: 399. - - Eliot, George, her Silas Marner used as a reading-book in Kumamoto, - II: 79. - - Emancipation, religious and political, II: 206. - - Emerson, Ralph Waldo, I: 265; II: 174, 183, 441; - his suggestiveness, I: 432; II: 190. - - Emotions, education of, I: 456. - - Endemann, Carl, music of the Basutos preserved by, I: 353, 354. - - Enemies, value of, I: 153; II: 412, 414. - - Engelmann, Willem Herman, I: 374. - - England, distrust of American literary work in, I: 361; - revision of treaty between Japan and, II: 185, 186; - action of, after Chinese-Japanese War, 262; - effect of religious conservatism on education in, 275; - the reading public of, 446. - - Environment, II: 239, 240; - moral adaptation to, 136. - - Erse tongue, I: 190. - - Eskimo music, I: 330. - - Estes and Lauriat, I: 250. - - Etymological dictionaries, I: 374. - - Euterpe, a periodical, II: 472. - - Evolution, physical, Spencer's conservatism regarding further, I: 397; - physical and moral, 432, 434-436; - brain-growth a striking fact of, II: 245; - psychological, 231-233, 238-243; - popular effect of psychological, on fiction, 267. - - - Fairy-tales, Hearn's project for a set of philosophical, II: 339, 340. - - Family, Oriental and Occidental ideas of the, II: 112, 113, 116, 117, - 147. - - Farny, H. F., I: 52, 53, 55, 280, 448. - - Fashion, deformities of, I: 438. - - Fauche, Hippolyte, his translation of the Ramayana, I: 402. - - Feldwisch, ----, I: 221, 232, 292, 293. - - Fenollosa, Ernest, letters from Hearn to, II: 381-384, 412-414. - - Fenollosa, Mary McNeil, I: 153; II: 381, 383; - letters from Hearn to, II: 401-403, 437, 440-442. - - Feuillet, Octave, his M. de Camors, II: 84. - - Fiction, Hearn's desire to write, I: 338, 339, 350, 352, 371, 372, - 375, 430; II: 246, 341, 342, 348, 349, 378; - Hearn's theory of that which lives, I: 454, 455; - popular effect of evolutional psychology on, II: 267; - Hearn's taste in, 276; - requirements for the writing of, 341. - - Figs, Louisiana, I: 170, 177, 178. - - Finck, Henry Theophilus, his Romantic Love and Personal Beauty, - II: 193. - - Finland, music of, I: 191, 200; - two epics of, 235; - seen through the Kalewala, II: 469; - social and political changes in, 469, 470; - views in, sent to Hearn, 471, 472. - - Fire-drill, for lighting the sacred fire, II: 10, 12, 13, 15, 23, 26, - 29. - - Fiske, John, II: 107, 190, 221. - - FitzGerald, Edward, his translation of Omar Khayyám, II: 499. - - Flameng, Léopold, I: 185. - - Flammarion, Camille, his Astronomie populaire, I: 385. - - Flaubert, Gustave, his Salammbô, I: 226, 248, 249; - Hearn's translation of his Tentation de Saint Antoine, 247, 249, - 251, 362; - his literary generosity, 341. - - Fleas, II: 448, 449, 450. - - Flight into Egypt, a French painting of, I: 318. - - Floods, in Japan, II: 307. - - Florenz, Karl Adolf, II: 284, 311, 329. - - Florida, Hearn's visit to, I: 341. - - Flower, Sir William Henry, I: 438; - his Hunterian Lectures, 314. - - Flutes, antique, I: 185; - double, 213. - - Food, Japanese, II: 32, 91, 92; - not suited to strain of higher education, 103, 104, 292. - _See_ Daikon; Sake. - - Force, Oriental theory of the nature of, II: 339. - - Forces, our knowledge limited to, II: 243, 244. - - Fort-de-France, Martinique, I: 453. - - Fox-superstition, II: 24, 29, 30. - - Foxwell, E. E., II: 384; - letters to, 455-457. - - France, Anatole, I: 361; II: 491; - Hearn's translation of his Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, I: 102; - quotation from, II: 345. - - Freedom, love of Northern races for, II: 229. - - Freemasons, Hearn's effort to join, II: 500. - - Free will, I: 435. - - Friends, the danger from, I: 153; II: 412-414. - - Friendship, college, II: 197; - basis of, 332, 333; - nationality and, 432. - - Fuji-san, climbing of, II: 375, 390, 391, 392; - effect of a typhoon upon, 394; - pilgrims to, 448. - - Fujisaki, H., letter from Hearn to, II: 515-517. - - Funeral rite, Shint[=o], II: 59. - - - Gaelic tongue, I: 190. - - Galton, Francis, II: 229. - - Gate of Everlasting Ceremony, II: 33, 317. - - Gautier, Judith, II: 362. - - Gautier, Théophile, I: 227, 231; - Hearn's admiration for, 61, 82, 394, 430, 431; II: 44, 221, 222; - translations of, I: 61, 62, 72, 73, 80-82, 213, 245, 248, 252, 253, - 268, 269, 275, 276, 376, 396; - Hearn's comment on his poetry, 253, 255, 269; - pantheism of, 255, 256; - his style, 269, 275, 324; - his portrait, 318; - posthumous poetry of, 327; - his services ignored by Hugo, 340; - his literary generosity, 341; - his idea of art, 437; - his Avatar, 252, 362, 442, 443; - his Emaux et Camées, 82, 259, 260, 275; - his Histoire du Romantisme, I: 317; II: 222; - his Mademoiselle de Maupin, 248, 251, 254, 256, 257, 258, 259; - his Roman de la Momie, 226, 253; - his Spectre de la Rose, 244. - - Geisha, II: 22, 73, 82, 94, 95, 114. - - Gell, Sir William, his Pompeiana, I: 213. - - Genghis Khan, I: 329. - - Germans, in Japan, II: 199, 206, 207. - - Germany, musical instruments furnished to the Romans by, I: 166; - education in, II: 271. - - Gessner, Salomon, I: 184. - - Ghostology, Egyptian and Assyrian, II: 251. - - Ghosts, Hearn's interest in, I: 15. - - Gibb, George Duncan, I: 339. - - Giglampz, Ye, Hearn's work on, I: 52, 53. - - Gilder, Richard Watson, I: 342. - - Gipsies, Hearn's interest in, I: 201, 205, 206; - language of, 202. - - Girls, liberty allowed to, in England and America, II: 522. - - Gita-Govinda, I: 327. - - Go-Daigo, Emperor of Japan, II: 186, 187. - - Gods, pagan, teaching of the early church regarding, I: 26; - Hearn's early interest in, 26, 27. - - Goethe, II: 173, 266, 508. - - Gongs, Chinese, I: 171, 172. - - Gorresio, Gaspare, his translation of the Ramayana, I: 402. - - G[=o]sh[=o], one of Hearn's pupils, II: 465. - - Goto, II: 119. - - Gottschalk, Louis Moreau, I: 229, 356; - his Bamboula, 325, 337; - Creole musical themes used by, 359. - - Gould, George Milbry, I: 97, 102; - letters from Hearn to, 393-403, 421-443, 457-468; - his pamphlet on the Colour-Sense, 394; - Hearn's advice as to literary work, 426; - his capacity for work, 457, 458. - - Gould, H. F., wife of G. M., I: 468. - - Gould, Jay, II: 173, 353; - Hearn's defence of, 109, 110. - - Government positions, exacting nature of, I: 383. - - Gowey, John F., II: 369. - - Grace, a savage quality, I: 438. - - Grand Anse, Martinique, I: 422, 423, 465. - - Grande Isle, I: 350, 414, 446; - Hearn's description of, 87-95; - destruction of, 96; II: 155. - - Grant, Ulysses Simpson, I: 52. - - Greece, musical instruments furnished to the Romans by, I: 166. - - Greeks, Hearn's love of the mythology of, I: 26, 27, 28, 31; - chastity of, 219, 220; - sculpture of, 227; - legends of, 227, 228; - poetry of, II: 520. - - Griffith, Ralph Thomas Hotchkin, his translation of the Ramayana, - I: 402. - - Griots, music of, I: 354, 355, 356, 377. - - Grueling, ----, I: 282. - - Guiana, British, Hearn's visit to, I: 97; - a mocking-bird of, 357, 358. - - Gulf of Mexico, Creole archipelagoes of, I: 333; - bathing in, 341. - - Gulistan, Saadi's, I: 280. - - - Hadramaut, I: 356. - - Hadrian, Roman emperor, I: 328. - - Hahaki, ancient name of modern H[=o]ki, II: 58. - - Halévy, Ludovic, II: 395. - - Hall, Dr., II: 347, 348, 350, 374, 389, 405, 422, 428, 429. - - Handwriting, Hearn's efforts to read character from, I: 340, 349. - - Harper, Hearn's recollections of a Welsh, I: 13-15. - - Harper and Brothers, their commissions to Hearn, I: 97, 102; - Hearn severs his contracts with, 109; - his series of Southern sketches for, 268; - their encouragement to Hearn, 338. - - Harper's Magazine, Hearn's contributions to, I: 381. - - Harps, of the Nyam-Nyams, I: 310. - - Harris, Joel Chandler, I: 337. - - Harris, Mrs. Lylie, I: 80. - - Hart, Jerome A., his first acquaintance with Hearn, I: 80; - letters from Hearn to, 244-250. - - Harte, Francis Bret, II: 41. - - Hartmann, Eduard, II: 235. - - Hartmann, Robert, I: 297; - his studies of African music, 353, 354. - - Hastings, Warren, I: 160. - - Hastings, battle of, I: 191. - - Hat, highest evolution of, I: 94. - - Hatakeyama, Yuko, story of, II: 142, 181, 268, 269; - monument to, 277. - - Hauck, Minnie, I: 201. - - Havana, Cuba, music of, I: 202. - - Health, influence of, on spiritual life, II: 34, 35. - - Hearn, Surgeon-Major Charles Bush, father of Lafcadio, I: 5, 6, 9, - 429; - opposition to his marriage, 6; - his elopement, 7; - his return to Dublin, 7; - his separation from his wife, 7, 8, 8_n._; - his second marriage, 8. - - Hearn, Elizabeth (Holmes), grandmother of Lafcadio, I: 6. - - Hearn, James, brother of Lafcadio, I: 7; - letter from Hearn to, 9-11. - - Hearn, Lafcadio, a native of Santa Maura, I: 3, 7, 429; - influence of the place upon, 4, 5; - his ancestry, 5, 6; - removes to Wales, 8, 12; - effect of domestic conditions upon, 8, 9; - his memory of his mother, 9, 10, 11; - of his father, 11; - his youthful characteristics, 15; - autobiographical fragments left by, 15-32, 37-39, 41-45, 45-49, 100, - 101, 159, 160; - his interest in the weird, 15, 16, 17, 18; - his experience with "Cousin Jane," 18-25; - his love of beauty, 29, 32, 148; - his early religious instruction, 16, 17, 19, 20, 32, 33; - his interest in mythology, 26, 27, 28, 31; - his education, 34, 34_n._, 35, 36; - becomes blind in one eye, 35, 36, 429; - his poverty, 36, 37, 40, 100, 102; - goes to New York, 39, 40; - an incident of his early New York life, 42-45; - goes to Cincinnati, 45, 49; - an incident of the journey, 46-49; - becomes type-setter, proof-reader, private secretary, 50; - his work on the Cincinnati Enquirer, 50-52, 53; - on Ye Giglampz, 52, 53; - character of his newspaper work, 55; - his friendships, 55-59; - his admiration for Spencer, 58, 85, 86, 365, 374, 375, 392, 394, - 430, 431, 438, 459; II: 20, 26, 44, 221, 222; - for Gautier, I: 61, 82, 394, 430, 431; II: 44, 221, 222; - goes to New Orleans, I: 65, 66, 67; - his letters to Krehbiel, 67; - his work in New Orleans, 68, 72, 73, 167, 176, 197, 280, 363; - his investments, 69, 198, 199, 230, 336; II: 353; - his library, I: 70, 278, 283, 290, 314, 336, 339, 350, 352, 364; - II: 305, 308; - his associates on the Times-Democrat, I: 70, 71; - his personal appearance and characteristics, 77-80, 428; II: 466; - his visit to Grande Isle, I: 87-95; - his visits to and descriptions of the French West Indies, 97, 98, - 100, 101, 409-419, 422-424; - goes to Japan, 102; - his early impressions of Japan, 103, 104, 107-109, 115; II: 35; - his love of the tropics, I: 105, 415, 420, 425, 449, 469; II: 64, - 211, 213, 217, 281; - his work for Japan, I: 106; II: 281; - severs contracts with his publishers, I: 109; II: 4; - his friendship with M. McDonald, I: 109, 110, 153; II: 107; - his work at Matsue, I: 110-113; II: 16, 30, 43, 46; - his kindness of heart, I: 114, 118; - his marriage, 116, 117; II: 44, 60; - his visits to Kizuki, I: 115, 122; II: 7-11, 43; - his Japanese name, I: 117; II: 270, 292, 293, 299; - his obligations as a Japanese citizen, I: 117, 136; II: 44, 64, 81, - 158, 191, 265, 270, 278, 279, 298; - his household pets, I: 117, 118, 119; II: 460; - his popularity, I: 119, 120; - his disregard of money, 122, 148, 336; - his dislike of forms and restraints, 122, 123, 148; - his study of Japanese with his wife, 123, 124; - his appointment at Kumamoto, 124; II: 63, 65; - his life and work there, I: 125-128; II: 93, 94, 100, 102, 103, 110; - birth of his first child, I: 127; II: 115, 116, 128, 149, 150, 156; - enters the service of the K[=o]be Chronicle, I: 128, 129; - his growing indifference to externals, 129-131, 137; II: 194, 195; - his mastery of English, I: 132; - facsimile of a first draft of his MS., 133, 134; - goes to the University of T[=o]ky[=o], 136-138, 283; - his methods of writing, 140, 141, 239, 373, 391; II: 89, 272, 273, - 396; - his private life in T[=o]ky[=o], I: 141-152; II: 295, 309; - gives up his professorship, I: 154; II: 368, 490, 493; - lectures at Cornell proposed and abandoned, I: 154; II: 487, 488, - 490, 492, 495; - accepts chair of English in Waseda University, I: 156; - lectures in London and Oxford proposed, 156; - his death, 156; - buried according to Buddhist rites, 157-159; - tributes to, 158, 159; - his interest in primitive music, 165-167, 190, 231, 330, 339, 353, - 354, 358-360, 380, 411; II: 15; - effect of Southern climate upon, I: 169, 170, 177, 195, 196, 288, - 319, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 427, 440, 445; - descriptions of his home in New Orleans, 172-174, 196, 222; - his interest in gipsies, 201, 202, 205, 206; - his fantastics, 220, 221, 226, 230, 231, 278; - his proposed series of French translations, 252, 362, 363; - of Oriental stories, 278, 295; - of musical legends, 286; - of strange facts, 298; - of Arabesque studies, 321, 328, 331, 396, 403; - of legends of strange faiths, 328; - his ambition regarding his style, 276, 324, 364, 374, 379, 383, 393; - II: 359; - his dread of cold, I: 279, 298, 379, 448; II: 188, 211; - his pursuit of the odd, I: 290, 291, 294; - change in his literary inclinations, 293, 294; - his desire to travel, 294, 295, 398, 424; II: 351; - his outline of an imaginary series of musical volumes, I: 299-304, - 309; - his use of classic English literature, 328; - his ignorance of modern history, 329; - his visits to the Gulf archipelagoes, 333; - his study of Spanish, 334; - thinks of studying medicine, 338; - his desire to write fiction, 338, 339, 350, 352, 371, 372, 375, 430; - II: 246, 341, 342, 348, 349, 378; - his visit to Florida, I: 341; - his health, 344, 348, 366, 367, 371, 406, 407; II: 14, 24, 25, 67, - 73, 74, 129, 196, 197, 280, 292, 303, 304, 490, 493, 495, 506; - result of his study of comparative mythology, I: 345; - his admiration for Viaud (P. Loti), 377, 378, 396, 427, 452, 453; - his efforts to learn Chinese, 404; - his dread of New York, 405; II: 182, 476, 484; - his desire to return to America, II: 4, 175, 176, 202, 203, 473, - 474,475, 476, 477, 480-482, 484, 490, 493, 496, 497, 498, 499, - 504, 505; - translations of his books, 22, 466, 467, 468, 469, 472, 473, 485; - finds literary work in Japan difficult, 35, 60, 63, 89; - his attitude toward missionaries, 44, 45, 68, 109, 110, 311, 442; - his legal seal, 46; - difficulties of his position in Japan, 107-110, 175, 202, 252, 348, - 490, 493, 497; - his project for a book with B. H. Chamberlain, 129; - his dislike of New Japan, 154, 161; - his method of teaching, 159, 160; - his literary success, 193, 277, 296, 297, 398; - his dissatisfaction with his work, 246, 277, 286, 333, 356, 375, - 377, 380; - criticisms of his work, 256, 257, 377, 466, 490; - dislike of women for, 265; - his work at the University of T[=o]ky[=o], 283, 298, 305, 306, 310, - 311, 314, 327, 328, 357, 427, 429, 444, 481, 482, 486, 487; - his ignorance of every-day life, 340, 341, 399; - a manuscript history of his eccentricities, 350; - his avoidance of foreigners, 395, 397, 406, 456, 457; - forces arrayed against, 404, 405, 493, 494, 496; - his nose, 408; - necessary conditions of work for, 412-114, 424, 451, 452; - his method of teaching, 481, 486, 487; - protests against his treatment in T[=o]ky[=o], 490, 493, 506; - profits from his books, 491; - birth of a daughter to, 506. - _Writings_: - Chita, I: 69, 86, 101, 371, 378, 393, 394, 396, 403, 404, 405, 411, - 422, 430, 451; - first form of, 96; - actual incidents related in, 96, 97, 426, 427; - success of, 96, 97; - criticisms of, 98, 99, 445. - Dead Love, A, I: 74-76. - Dream of a Summer Day, quoted, I: 4, 5. - Exotics and Retrospectives, I: 139; II: 333, 401, 429; - translations of, 467. - Gleanings in Buddha-Fields, I: 129, 131, 139; II: 466, 471. - Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan II: 217, 270, 356, 359; - quoted I: 103, 111-113, 114, 115, 124, 125; - criticisms of, II: 187, 198, 209, 223; - translations of, 467, 468. - Gombo Zhêbes, a dictionary of Creole Proverbs, I: 83, 278, 295, - 335, 346. - Idolatry, quoted, I: 26-32. - Illusion, an autobiographical fragment, I: 159, 160. - In Ghostly Japan, I:139; II: 409, 411, 445. - In Vanished Light, an autobiographical fragment, I: 100, 101. - Intuition, an autobiographical fragment, I: 41-45. - Japan: an Interpretation, I: 115, 141, 155, 156; II: 499, 504, - 505, 506, 514, 515. - A Japanese Miscellany, I: 140; II: 513. - Jiujutsu, I: 126. - Juvenilia (proposed), II: 500. - Kokoro, I: 129, 131; II: 193, 279, 289, 299, 300, 359, 471. - Kotto, I: 140, 146; II: 501. - Kwaidan, I: 141; - quoted, 12, 156, 157. - Mountain of Skulls, II: 383. - My First Romance, an autobiographical fragment, I: 45-49. - My Guardian Angel, an autobiographical fragment, I: 16-25. - Naked Poetry, his lecture on, I: 137; - text of, as taken down by T. Ochiai, II: 519-529. - Notebook of an Impressionist (proposed), I: 364, 383. - Out of the East, I: 127; II: 360; - quoted, I: 107, 108, 125, 126, 209; - impression made by, in England, II: 193; - its title, 212. - Pipes of Hameline, I: 274. - Rabyah's Last Ride, I: 388, 389, 396. - Retrospectives. _See_ Exotics and Retrospectives. - Romance of the Milky Way, I: 159. - Shadowings, I: 140. - Some Chinese Ghosts, II: 43, 367, 469; - dedication of, I: 60, 371; - characteristics of, 61, 73, 381, 388, 389, 405; - difficulties regarding publication of, 83-85, 364, 370, 371, - 375, 378; - reception of, 407. - Stars, an autobiographical fragment, I: 37-39. - Stray Leaves from Strange Literature, I: 73, 83, 335, 340, 344, - 346, 371, 376. - Torn Letters, afterward expanded into Chita, I: 96, 333. - Two Years in the French West Indies, I: 98, 102; - criticisms of, 98, 99; - his difficulties in writing it, II: 58. - With Ky[=u]sh[=u] Students, I: 126. - Youma, II: 347, 466. - _Translations_: - Flaubert's Tentation de Saint Antoine, I: 247, 249, 278. - France's Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, I: 102; II: 347, 348. - Gautier's Une nuit de Cléopâtre, etc., I: 61, 62, 73, 213, 245, - 269, 275, 376, 396, 442, 443; - estimates of, 80-82, 248, 268, 276. - - Hearn, Richard, painter, I: 6. - - Hearn, Rosa (Cerigote), mother of Lafcadio, I: 9; - her meeting with Dr. Hearn, 6; - her marriage, 7; - her separation from her husband, 7, 8, 8 _n._; - her second marriage, 8, 429. - - Hearn family, I: 5, 6; - physical characteristics of, 11, 12. - - Hearnian dialect, II: 62, 63, 81, 82. - - Heck, Emile, a Jesuit priest, II: 284, 285, 310, 311, 312, 316, 320. - - Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, I: 438. - - Heine, Heinrich, French prose translations of, I: 245; II: 529; - Weill's reminiscences of, I: 341; - poems of, II: 523. - - Hell-shoon, superstition regarding, I: 313. - - Hendrick, Ellwood, I: 102; - letters from Hearn to, II: 60-65, 80-90, 98-101, 106-118, 120-129, - 134-141, 149-152, 167-174, 177-180, 182-186, 187-191, 193-198, - 251, 252, 270-273, 280-285, 299-303, 305-327, 332-340, - 386-388, 398-401, 479-485; - his marriage, 358. - - Hendrick, Josephine, II: 332, 336. - - Heracles, I: 316. - - Heredity, Hearn's reflections on, I: 131, 399, 400; - in the tropics, 429; - law of, II: 227-231, 232, 234, 237-243. - - Heretic, fate of the modern, II: 107. - - Herodias, I: 249. - - Hershon, Paul Isaac, his Talmudic Miscellany, I: 287. - - Hideyoshi, II: 77. - - Hindola, I: 388. - - Hindoos, legends of, I: 227, 228. - - Hirata, I: 6. - - Hirn, Yrjö, II: 502; - letters to, 19-23, 466-472, 478, 479; - his Origins of Art, 19-21, 468; - his personal appearance, 467. - - Hirn, Mrs., her translations of Hearn, II: 22, 466, 467, 468, 469, - 501, 502; - letters to, 472, 473, 501-503; - Hearn's comments on one of her translations, 472, 473. - - Hiruko, Japanese deity, II: 7, 8, 37. - - Hobson, Richmond Pearson, II: 426, 427. - - Hoffman, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm, I: 200. - - H[=o]ki, the modern name of ancient Hahaki, II: 58. - - Hokusai, I: 103; II: 4. - - Holmes, Edmund, I: 6. - - Holmes, Elizabeth. _See_ Hearn, Elizabeth (Holmes). - - Holmes, Rice, I: 6. - - Holmes, Sir Richard, I: 6. - - Homer, I: 272. - - Homing instinct, G. M. Gould's paper on, I: 439, 440. - - Hommy[=o]ji, Nichiren temple of, II: 186. - - H[=o]nen-odori, a Japanese dance, II: 38. - - Hoppin, James Mason, his Old England, I: 234. - - Houses, furnishings of Japanese, II: 93, 94. - - Houssaye, Arsène, I: 361. - - Howard, ----, and the Louisiana lottery, I: 205. - - Howells, William Dean, I: 332. - - Hueffer, Francis, his Troubadours, I: 361. - - Hugo, Victor, his style, I: 269, 275; - his selfishness, 340, 341; - his Chant de Sophocle à Salamine, II: 215, 216. - - Hugolâtres, I: 168. - - Huxley, Thomas Henry, II: 190, 204, 221, 234, 235, 266, 404, 409; - his Evolution and Ethics, II: 189. - - Hy[=o]go, K[=o]be, Japan, II: 192; - Governor of, 191. - - Hypocrisy, in religion, II: 87; - in business and religion, 109. - - - Ibaraki, a Japanese student, II: 508. - - Ibn Khallikan, I: 234, 331. - - Iceland Spar, prediction concerning, II: 240, 241. - - Ichibata, Japan, II: 15; - Buddhist temple at, 17, 18. - - Immorality, moral results of, II: 136, 137. - - Immortality, Buddhist conception of, II: 473. - - Improvisation, negro's talent for, I: 353. - - Inada-Hime, Shint[=o] deity, II: 8, 25; - statue of, 105. - - Inari, temple to, at Matsue, II: 24; - no shrine of, at Yabase, 47; - representations of, 77. - - Inasa beach, II: 5, 6. - - Individuality, Occidental theories of, II: 40. - - Industrialism, its effect on good manners, II: 183; - on liberty, 470, 511, 512. - - Ingelow, Jean, her High Tide, II: 499. - - Inomata, Teizabur[=o], I: 113; II: 291; - letters from Hearn to, I: 64, 65; II: 131-133, 146-148, 160-162, - 186, 187; - his records of Hearn's T[=o]ky[=o] lectures, I: 137, 138; - his resolve to study medicine, II: 289, 290; - text of one of Hearn's lectures as taken down by, 519-529. - - Ionian Islands, I: 3; - hatred toward England in, 6; - ceded to Greece, 7. - - Insects, caging of, in Japan, II: 335; - ethical suggestions of the sociology of, 514. - - Irish, similarities between faces of Mongolians and, I: 190; - language of, 190. - - Ise, Japan, II: 10, 29, 38; - modernization of, 297. - - Isle Dernière, L'. _See_ Last Island. - - Italian, Hearn's study of, II: 217, 218. - - Italy, Spencer's theory of the education of the emotions in, I: 456; - atmospheric influence of, II: 501. - - Iwami, fox-superstition in, II: 29. - - Izumo, Japan, II: 6, 10, 11, 13; - Hearn's speech before the educational association of, 14; - fox-superstition in, 29; - Hearn plans a permanent home in, 270; - an alternate name for Koizumi, 293. - - - James, Henry, II: 301, 396; literary criticisms of, I: 432, 434; - obstacles to his popularity, II: 377. - - Janet, Paul, II: 235. - - January customs, Japanese, II: 80. - - Japan, Hearn's commission to, I: 102; - his early impressions of, 103, 104, 107-109, 115; II: 35; - his work for, I: 106; II: 281; - rigidities under the charm of, I: 107, 108; - secret of the charm of, 108; - absence of personal freedom in, 108, 109; - position of foreign teachers in, 128; II: 68, 275, 283, 313, 316, - 317; - certain duties of subjects of, I: 136; - Western influences in, 149, 150; II: 115, 154, 161, 177-179, 180, - 199, 219, 291, 296, 485; - art of, I: 405, 406, 407, 408; II: 3; - nature in, 3; - prices in, 4, 5, 43, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70; - some bathing resorts of, 6; - music of, 15; - dances of, 21, 22, 31, 268, 297, 468; - country people of, 31; - prevalence of Shint[=o] in interior of, 31, 32; - food of, 32, 91, 92, 103, 104, 292; - law of life in, 35; - women of, 35, 36, 61, 87, 88, 90, 91; - difficulties of literary work in, 35, 60, 63, 89; - literature of, 40, 41, 114, 343, 344, 415; - laws regarding marriage with a foreigner in, 44, 64; - frankness of life in, 45; - protracted labour uncommon in, 48, 49; - cats in, 55, 56, 58, 59; - English reading-books for students in, 79, 102, 105, 106, 283, 328; - celebration of the New Year in, 80, 81, 82; - drinking in, 82, 92, 93; - earthquakes in, 83, 84; - colourlessness of, 89; - houses of, 93; - children of, 99, 190, 191, 288, 306, 307; - obstacles to higher education in, 103, 104, 291, 292, 307, 308; - disintegration of, 144, 145, 323, 478; - pay of native officials of, 158, 259, 265, 308; - need of scientific men in, 163, 164, 275; - politics in the public schools of, 166; - war between China and, 175, 181, 182, 185, 186, 251, 258, 262, 281, - 511; - foreign treaties of, 185, 186, 262; - naturalization of foreigners in, 191, 192; - open ports of, 199, 298, 315, 341, 342; - anti-foreign feeling in, 201, 223, 252, 258, 262, 281; - decline of education in, 216; - girls' and boys' dress in, 253-255, 259, 260; - songs of, 267, 268; - floods in, 307; - intrigue in, 321-323; - Occidental indifference to stories of real life of, 362, 363; - demands upon University professors in, 370; - the educated woman in, 416-422; - Occidental aggression in, 442; - mania for organizations in, 461; - Government service in, 470; - rapidly changing conditions in, 471, 502; - protests against Hearn's treatment by, 490, 493, 506; - Hearn's proposed series of lectures on, 487, 495, 496, 499, 504, - 505, 506, 514, 515; - travelling of the common people in, 502; - war between Russia and, 515, 516, 517. - - Japan, Emperor of, II: 317. - _See also_ Go-Daigo. - - Japanese, natural charm of, II: 4, 207; - their genius for eclecticism, 28; - unemotional nature of, 35, 60, 63, 85, 332; - strange power of, 56; - harder side of, 61; - their fear of foreigners, 82; - impossibility of friendship with, 99, 100, 159, 217; - probable future characteristics of, 104; - their reserve, 122, 123; - their attitude toward nature, 125, 425, 426; - their trickiness, 201, 202; - deficiency of the sex instinct among, 209, 210; - development of the mathematical faculty among, 210; - psychology of, 214, 215; - satire of, 217; - their loyalty, 236, 237; - an essentially military race, 258; - their stature, 260; - their chastity, 269; - their affected religious indifference, 274; - their hardihood, 292; - their longevity, 324; - management of, impossible to Occidentals, 386, 387, 388. - - Jeannest, Charles, I: 313, 357; - his Au Congo, 354. - - Jerome, St., his letter to Dardanas, describing an organ, I: 166, 167. - - Jesuits, animosity of, toward Hearn, II: 213. - - Jesus y Preciado, José de, I: 334. - - Jewett, Sarah Orne, II: 301. - - Jews, ancient life of, I: 287; - lost musical instruments of, 311. - - Jiz[=o], a festival in honour of, I: 126; - legend of, II: 6. - - Johns Hopkins University, II: 496. - - Johnson, Charles, I: 307, 312, 314, 341. - - Jordan, David Starr, president of Stanford University, II: 496. - - Josephine, Empress of the French, anecdote of statue of, in - Martinique, I: 417-419. - - Journalism, rewards of, I: 169, 181; - demands of, 242; - restraints of, 271, 275; - Hearn's desire to escape from, 274, 276, 363, 397; - literary work and, 324; II: 222, 480; - Hearn's abandonment of, I: 425; - his proposal to return to, II: 493, 494. - - Judæa, musical instruments furnished to the Romans by, I: 166. - - - Kabit, I: 388. - - Kaka, Japan, II: 6. - - Kalewala, II: 472, 502; - its operatic possibilities, I: 233, 235-237, 239, 307, 308, 388; - Hearn's translations from, 403. - - Kalidasa. _See_ Sakuntala. - - Kamakura, II: 346. - - Kano, II: 73, 104, 119, 279; - his knowledge of English, 66; - a teacher of j[=u]jutsu, 70. - - Kanteletar, I: 235. - - Katayama, Mr., II: 66, 68, 73, 291. - - Kath[=a]-sarit-s[=a]gara, I: 237, 402. - - Kazimirski, A. de Biberstein, his translation of the Koran, I: 327. - - Keats, John, II: 215. - - Keightley, Thomas, his Fairy Mythology, I: 279. - - Kichij[=o]ji, temple of, II: 328. - - Kihei, Masumoto, his charities, II: 309, 327. - - Kikujir[=o], Wadamori, his exhibitions of memory, II: 279. - - Kimi ga yo, II: 236. - - Kingsley, Charles, his Greek Heroes, II: 102; - Airly Beacon, 522, 523. - - Kipling, Rudyard, II: 83, 190, 301, 336, 337, 348, 362, 363, 405, 485, - 491; - his morbidness, 84; - his Jungle Book, 187, 189, 196; - his story of Purim Bagat, 196; - Hearn's admiration for, 319, 408, 499; - his royalties, 377; - his Day's Work, 408. - - Kishibojin, worship of, II: 16, 17. - - Kissing, different significance of, in Turanian and Aryan races, - II: 263, 264. - - Kiyomasa, Kat[=o], legend regarding, II: 186. - - Kiyomizu, Kwannon temple at, II: 28; - scenery at, 30; - Inari shrine at, 30. - - Kizuki, Japan, II: 7, 11, 297; - Hearn's visit to the temple at, I: 115, 122; II: 9, 10, 43; - deity of, 8; - society for preserving buildings at, 13; - an entertainment given to Hearn at, 37, 38; - custom regarding Sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune in, 38, 39; - Buddhist temple (Rengaji) at, 42; - revival of Shint[=o] in, 47. - - Kobe, Japan, Hearn's work in, I: 128, 129, 132, 139; - disagreeable characteristics of, II: 197, 198, 199; - flood in, 307. - - Kobu-dera, Buddhist temple in T[=o]ky[=o], I: 142, 143. - - Koeber, Raphael von, II: 284, 311, 315, 316. - - Koizumi, Iwao, Hearn's son, II: 516, 517. - - Koizumi, Kazuo, Hearn's eldest son, I: 127, 128, 150, 154; II: 165, - 166, 175, 181, 190, 191, 196, 198, 231, 252, 255, 260, 275, - 276, 280, 288, 291, 295, 305, 306, 307, 309, 351, 373, 374, - 426, 434, 459, 460, 464, 474, 483, 485, 489, 490, 493, 497, - 503, 505, 508, 516, 517; - plans for his scientific education, 181, 270, 271; - his sensitiveness, 300, 476, 498. - - Koizumi, Setsu, II: 68, 74, 77, 81, 82, 90, 95, 96, 97, 110, 119, - 128, 157, 159, 181, 190, 191, 192, 193, 276, 278, 279, 288, - 295, 298, 317, 329, 336, 337, 386, 397, 489, 491; - Hearn's marriage to, I: 116; - her notes regarding their life, 117, 118, 119-124, 127, 138, - 142-152, 155; - her study of English, II: 106. - - Koizumi, Yakumo, Hearn's Japanese name, I: 117; II: 270, 292, 293, - 299. - - Kompert, Leopold, his Studies of Jewish Life, I: 287. - - Kompira, Japan, II: 153, 165. - - Koran, various editions of, I: 327. - - Koteda, Viscount Yasusada, Governor of Izumo, I: 119, 120: II: 14, 18, - 104. - - Koteda, Miss, II: 104; - her gift to Hearn, I: 118; II: 19. - - Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami, legend of, II: 7, 8, 97; - identified with Ebisu, in Matsue, 13; - in Mionoseki, 37. - - Krehbiel, Henry Edward, I: 469; - Hearn's friendship with, 55, 60; - Hearn's letters to, 67, 73; - text of the letters, 84, 85, 86, 165-244, 277-289, 292-314, 320-325, - 330-339, 351-364, 367-380, 384-388, 405-408, 409-411; - his Fantaisie Chinoise, 168, 171, 187; - his musical essays, 187; - his talks, 192; - Hearn's comment on his style, 234, 240, 293, 372, 373; - his work on the New York Tribune, 241; - his musical criticisms, 386. - - Krehbiel, Mrs. Henry Edward, I: 191, 223. - - Krishna, I: 316. - - K[=u]kedo, visit to cave of, I: 121, 122. - - Kumamoto, Japan, Hearn's removal to, I: 124; - his life at, 125-128; - shrines of, II: 65; - climate of, 66, 69, 73; - Hearn's fellow teachers at, 66, 67, 70, 73; - his household at, 67, 74, 81, 110; - appearance of, 69, 70, 81; - the Dai Go K[=o]t[=o]-Ch[=u]gakk[=o] at, 70, 71, 100; - students at, 70, 79; - religion in, 76; - reading books used in, 79, 102. - - Kwannon, temple of, at Kiyomizu, II: 28; - representations of, 77, 78. - - Ky[=o]t[=o], Japan, II: 130; - middle school in, 142; - Hearn's fondness for, 192; - exhibition in, 257. - - Ky[=u]sh[=u], Japan, II: 91; - Europeanized, 99; - students of, 129, 130. - - - La Beaume, Jules, his translation of the Koran, I: 327. - - La Bédollière, Emile de, I: 200. - - Labrunie, Gérard (Gérard de Nerval), I: 254, 255, 317; - Hearn's desire to translate his Voyage en Orient, 362. - - Lakmé, Delibes's opera of, I: 377. - - Lamarck, Jean Baptiste de, II: 266. - - Lang, Andrew, II: 215; - his translation of Gautier's Contes, I: 62. - - La Selve, Edgar, I: 353, 354. - - Last Island, I: 95; - destruction of, 96; - the scene of Hearn's Chita, 96. - - Latin races, cruelty of, I: 203; - probable future absorption of, II: 300, 385. - - Layard, Sir Austen Henry, I: 213. - - Le Duc, Léouzon. _See_ Léouzon Le Duc. - - Lee, Charles, I: 168. - - Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan, his Bird of Passage, I: 201; II: 41. - - Lefcada. _See_ Santa Maura. - - Le Gallienne, Richard, II: 299. - - Legends, Greek and Hindoo, I: 227, 228; - Talmudic, 287. - - Leloir, Louis Auguste, I: 319, 320. - - Lemaître, Jules Elie François, I: 434; II: 491. - - Léouzon Le Duc, Louis Antoine, his edition of the Kalewala, I: 235, - 236; II: 468, 469. - - Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim, I: 211: - his Laocoön, 269. - - Letter-writing, different methods of, II: 247, 248. - - Leucadia. _See_ Santa Maura. - - Levkas. _See_ Santa Maura. - - Lewes, George Henry, II: 190, 221; - his recognition of Spencer, 235. - - Liberty, effect of industrialism on, II: 470, 511, 512. - - Life, law of modern, II: 134, 135; - an intellectual battle, 135, 136; - cost of, to the white races, 137; - wastefulness of, 249. - - L'Isère, Colombat de. _See_ Colombat, Marc. - - Lissajous, Jules Antoine, I: 385. - - Literature, rewards of, I: 393, 430; - Japanese, II: 40, 41, 344, 415; - plan for a study of comparative, 271; - teaching of English, 271; - German, 290; - American and English, 301, 302; - Russian and French, 302; - conditions of success in, 351; - the personal equation in judgements of, 441; - seriousness of, 463, 464; - Hearn's theory of the study of English, in Japan, 464; - no taste in America for good, 472; - Hearn's equipment for, and method of teaching English, 480, 481-483, - 486, 487; - Hearn's advice about modern, 509. - - Livingstone, David, I: 297. - - Loennrot, Elias, his edition of the Kalewala, I: 235, 403. - - Lombroso, Cesare, II: 276, 277. - - London, University of, plan for Hearn to lecture at, I: 156. - - Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, I: 190; - his Spanish Student, 205, 206. - - Loochoo Islands, II: 91, 214; - B. H. Chamberlain's monograph on, 273, 274. - - Loti, Pierre, pseud. _See_ Viaud. - - Lotus, an article of diet, II: 45, 63. - - Louisiana, some newspapers of, I: 204, 205. - - Love, power of, I: 315, 316; - decline of, 316; - its effect upon literature, 326; - varying attributes of, 438; - a Buddhist view of, II: 138. - - Lowell, Percival, II: 33, 117, 160, 200, 310, 317; - his Soul of the Far East, I: 460, 461; II: 28, 30, 39, 150, 208, - 479, 487, 505; - his Chosön, I: 457, 461; II: 30; - his papers on Mars, 202, 203, 204, 208, 479; - his Occult Japan, 200, 204, 207, 208. - - Lowell Institute, Boston, II: 496. - - Loyalty, Japanese ideas of, II: 236, 237. - - Lyall, Sir Alfred Comyns, I: 388. - - - Macassar, Celebes, II: 219. - - Macaulay, Thomas Babington, Baron, his Lays of Ancient Rome as a - reading-book in Japanese schools, II: 102. - - McDonald, Mitchell, I: 153; II: 458, 459; - Hearn's friendship with, I: 109, 110; - letters from Hearn to, II: 340-342, 347-358, 361-381, 384, 385, - 388-397, 403-412, 422-436, 437-440, 442-455; - Hearn's proposal to, regarding a book of short stories, 341, 342, - 348, 349, 350, 356; - his Highbinder story, 348, 364; - his belief in Hearn's work, 351, 375, 379, 494. - - Mackintosh, Sir James, II: 136. - - Magazine work, labour of, I: 283, 285; - some effects of, 293; - discouragements of, 317; - Hearn's willingness to resume, II: 480. - - Magic, musical, an example of, I: 322. - - Mahabharata, I: 402. - - Mahan, Alfred Thayer, II: 374. - - Maiko. _See_ Geisha. - - Maine, battle-ship, destruction of, II: 358. - - Malatesta, Giovanni, I: 271. - - Mallock, William Hurrell, II: 196, 301; - his opinion of Gautier, I: 254, 256; - his translation of Gautier, 257; - his morbidness, II: 84. - - Malta, Island of, I: 7; II: 217; - Hearn's recollections of, II: 213, 214. - - Manila, P. I., II: 213; - expedition against, 369. - - Mantegazza, Paolo, II: 277. - - Marche, Antoine Alfred, his Afrique Occidentale, I: 354. - - Marcus Aurelius, II: 446. - - Margot, ----, I: 91, 94, 95. - - Marie Galante, island, I: 413. - - Marimba, musical instrument, I: 411. - - Marion, ----, I: 88, 89, 90, 92. - - Marriage, II: 98, 99; - deity of, 8; - Japanese law regarding marriage with a foreigner, 44, 64; - Occidental views of, 120; - the educated woman and, in Japan, 416-422. - - Martinique, I: 97; - costume colours of, 98; - doll dressed as woman of, 410, 411; - action in, after fall of Second Empire, 418, 419; - physicians of, 441. - - Masayoshi, Kumagoe, II: 116, 130. - - Massachusetts, application of Spencer's educational theories in, - II: 275. - - Mates, Rodolfo, I: 97, 263, 371, 380, 395, 445. - - Mathematicians, indifference of, to poetry, I: 461, 462. - - Matsue, Japan, II: 154, 155, 330, 331; - Hearn's appointment at, I: 110-113, 137; - situation and character of, 110, 111, 114, 115; - Hearn's first residence in, 113; - his departure from, 124,125; - ascendency of Shint[=o] in, II: 13, 15; - climate of, 23, 25; - geisha at, 95; - Hearn's desire to return to, 298. - - Matsushima, Japanese flag-ship, II: 258. - - Maupassant, Guy de, I: 72, 361; II: 348, 392. - - Mazois, Charles François, I: 213. - - Medical novels, I: 399, 437, 441. - - Medicine, study of, II: 289, 290. - - Medusa, legend of, I: 185. - - Megara, choral dance of Greek women in, I; 385. - - Meiji Maru. Japanese ship, II: 304. - - Mélusine, periodical, I: 170, 284; - death of, 189. - - Memory, transmutation of inherited, II: 338. - - Memphis, Tenn., I: 66. - - Mephistopheles, Goethe's, II: 435. - - Meredith, Owen. _See_ Bulwer-Lytton. - - Mérimée, Prosper, I: 205; - his Carmen, 200, 201. - - Métairie, the, New Orleans, I: 205. - - Mexico, music of, I: 231; - African influence on, 380. - - Michelet, Jules, I: 227, 256; - his L'Amour, II: 277. - - Middle Ages, musical instruments of, I: 165-167; - literary renascence in, 342. - - Miko, Shint[=o] priestesses, II: 21, 22, 31, 268, 297, 468. - - Miko-kagura, Japanese dance, II: 38, 42. - - Miller, Ed., I: 221. - - Millet, Jean François, I: 6. - - Milton, John, his Paradise Lost used as a reading-book in T[=o]ky[=o], - II: 283, 328. - - Mionoseki, Japan, II: 6; - deity of, 7, 8, 37, 97. - - Missionaries, Hearn's attitude toward, II: 44, 45, 68, 109, 110, 311; - unmarried women as, in Japan, 441, 442. - - Mississippi River, dangers to swimmers in, I: 176, 177. - - Mocking-bird, of Guiana, I: 357, 358. - - Mohammed, I: 280, 281. - - Mombush[=o] Readers, II: 105. - - Money, power of, I: 348. - - Mongolians, similarities between faces of Irish and, I: 190. - - Moon-of-Autumn. _See_ Akizuki. - - Moral development, immorality a force in, II: 136, 137. - - Moral sense, nature of, I: 434-436. - - Morris, William, his Wood beyond the World, II: 196. - - Morrow, William C., II: 363, 364. - - Mothers, II: 190, 191. - - Motoori, II: 7. - - Mountains, sadness produced by sight of, II: 151. - - Mud-dauber, I: 89. - - Muir, John, I: 388. - - Müller, Friedrich Max, his Sacred Books of the East, I: 327. - - Muezzin, call of the. _See_ Azan. - - Mukden, Manchuria, I: 106. - - Mulock, Dinah, her John Halifax used as a reading-book in Kumamoto, - II: 79. - - Murderer, Hearn's description of a, I: 322, 323. - - Murger, Henri, philosophy of his Bohemianism, I: 242. - - Murray, John, guide-book published by, II: 37, 43. - - Music, infinity of, I: 179; - demands of, 180; - opportunities for studying, 182; - antique, 211, 213; - in the Talmud, 287; - Spencer's essay of musical origination, 325; - mathematics of, 385. - _See also_ Brittany, Creoles, Cuba, Eskimo, Finland, Griots, Havana, - Japan, Mexico, Negro, Scandinavia, Timbuctoo, Wales, West - Indies. - - Musical instruments, I: 165-167, 211-213, 311, 353. - _See also_ Bagpipe, Chalumeau, Egypt, Flute, Greece, Harps, Judæa, - Marimba, Negro, Sistrum, Syrinx. - - Musset, Alfred de, I: 254, 255. - - Mystic number, Japanese, II: 80. - - - Nakamura, Mr., II: 68. - - Nala, story of, I: 402. - - Names, of Japanese women, Hearn's article on, II: 445, 446, 447. - - Nanji-umi, II: 30. - - Naples, museum of, I: 213. - - Napoleon I, II: 160, 173. - - Natural selection, only one factor of evolution, II: 235. - - Naturalism, in art and literature, I: 228. - - Nature, in Japan, II: 3; - attitudes toward, in East and West, 123-125, 131, 425, 426; - immorality of, 189. - - Negro, vocal chords of, I: 313, 339, 356; - West Coast races and, 332; - their talent for improvisation, 353; - temperature of blood of, 356; - music of the American, 358; - musical instruments played by, in West Indies, 411. - - Neith, Egyptian divinity, I: 315. - - Neptune, festival of, I: 386. - - Nerval, Gérard de, pseud. _See_ Labrunie, Gérard. - - Nervous system, weight of, II: 245. - - New Orleans, La., Hearn removes to, I: 65, 66, 67; - conditions in, after the war, 68, 69; - yellow fever in, 69, 185, 186, 195; - Hearn leaves, 97; - description of an old Creole house in, 172-174; - a Chinese restaurant in, 203, 204; - maladministration in, 215; Hearn's disappointment in, 224, 225. - _See also_ Métairie. - - New York City, Hearn goes to, I: 39, 40, 101, 102; - his dislike of, 288, 405, 425, 443, 444; II: 182, 476, 484. - - Newts, tradition regarding, at Sakusa, Japan, II: 26. - - Nichiren, followers of, II: 27; - prevalence of, at Yabase, 47; - temple of, at Yabase, 55. - - Nid[=a]nakath[=a], I: 287. - - Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, II: 325, 514. - - Nishida, Sentar[=o], I: 116, 122; II: 9, 23, 33; - letters from Hearn to, II: 18, 19, 54, 55, 65-69, 72-76, 95-98, - 101-106, 118, 119, 141-145, 153-160, 165-167, 180-182, - 191-193, 274-276, 278-280, 291, 292, 296-299, 303-305, - 327-332; - his knowledge of English, 101; - his ballad of Shuntoku-maru, 130. - - Nishinomiya, Japan, II: 8. - - Noguchi, Yone, I: 159. - - Nordau, Max, false theories of, II: 277; - his Degeneration, 456. - - North, stimulus to literary production in, I: 194; - conceptions of beauty in, 211; - intellectual vigour of, 423; - struggle for life in, 424. - - Nude, the, in art, I: 30, 31. - - Numi, a Japanese friend of Hearn, II: 465. - - - Occident, possible future domination of, by Orient, II: 29; - indifference in, to stories of the real life of the Orient, 362, - 363. - - Ochiai, T. _See_ Inomata, Teizabur[=o]. - - O'Connor, William D., Hearn's letters to, I: 73; - his first acquaintance with, 80; - text of the letters, 268-275, 290-292, 315-320, 326-329, 340, 341, - 348-351, 364-367, 380-384; - Hearn's advice regarding an illness, 365-367; - his death, II: 432. - - Odd, Hearn's pursuit of the, I: 290, 291, 294, 328, 329. - - Odin, the Hávamál of, II: 428. - - [OE]dipus, II: 168. - - Offenbach, Jacques, I: 222. - - Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, Japanese deity identified with Daikoku, in - Matsue, II: 13. - - Ohokuni, legend of the son of, II: 6. - - [=O]iso, Japan, II: 6. - - Oki, Japan, II: 96, 187. - - Okuma, Count, university founded by, I: 156; II: 514. - - [=O]-Kuni, story of, II: 42, 43. - - Olcott, Henry Steel, his Buddhist Catechism, I: 265. - - Old Semicolon, nickname given to Hearn, I: 50. - - Omar, Caliph, I: 281. - - Omiki dokkuri no kuchi-sashi, form of, II: 80. - - [=O]namuji-no-Mikoto, Japanese deity, II: 9. - - Opposition, value of, II: 406. - - O'Rell, Max, pseud. _See_ Blouët. - - Organization, tyranny of, II: 169, 170. - - Organs, wind, adopted by Christians from Byzantium, I: 166; - one described by St. Jerome, 167. - - Orient, intellectual barriers between Occident and, I: 104, 105; - possible future domination of the Occident by, II: 29. - - Ormuzd, the Persian God of Light, II: 118, 126. - - [=O]saka, Japan, II: 297, 298. - - Osgood, James R., I: 320, 321. - - [=O]tani, Masanobu, I: 113, 118; II: 68; - Hearn's aid to, I: 137, 138; - his notes on Hearn, 137, 138; - letters from Hearn to, II: 69-72, 79, 80, 162-165, 342-346, 414, - 415, 461-464; - advice to, regarding study of philology, 162, 164; - Japanese poems collected by, 343, 415; - a gift to Hearn from, 414, 415. - - [=O]tsu, flood in, II: 307. - - [=O]tsuka, Japan, Hearn's treatment in, II: 52, 53, 54, 55. - - Ouadây, Africa, I: 277. - - Overbeck, Johannes Adolf, his Pompeii, I: 213. - - Overwork, penalties of, I: 241, 242; results of, 367, 383. - - Oxford, University of, plan for Hearn to lecture at, I: 156. - - [=O]zawa, a teacher at Kumamoto, II: 66. - - - Pain, infliction of, II: 111; - results of, 136; - moral, 168; - a factor in evolution, 243; - results of, on Hearn's work, 272, 273, 393. - - Paine, Thomas, I: 345. - - Palmer, Edward Henry, his translation of the Koran, I: 351. - - Parvati, Indian divinity, I: 210. - - Patate-cry, I: 360. - - Pater, Walter, II: 215. - - Patti, Adelina, I: 240, 405. - - Pearson, Charles Henry, his National Character, II: 137. - - Pelée, Mt., I: 98. - - Perron, Dr. A., his Femmes Arabes, I: 277, 315, 468. - - Personality, invisible, I: 447; - multiple, 474, 475. - - Peterson Brothers, I: 250. - - Petronius Arbiter, I: 256. - - Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart. _See_ Ward. - - Philadelphia, Pa., Hearn's liking for, I: 449, 452, 469, 470. - - Philistine, The, periodical, II: 369. - - Philostratus, I: 321. - - Photograph, scientific test of, II: 83. - - Physicians, Hearn's regard for the career of, I: 436; - women as, in France, 441; - of Martinique, 441. - - Physiology, effect of, upon the history of nations, I: 330. - - Pickpockets, an adventure with, II: 391. - - Pipes, ancient Samurai, II: 48; - modern Japanese, 48-51. - - Plato, II: 173. - - Pleasure, changes in Hearn's ideas of, II: 194, 195. - - Plympton, ----, I: 360, 361. - - Poetry, translations of, I: 245; - value of form in, 271, 272, 294; - indifference of mathematicians to, 461; - vulgar, II: 343, 344; - translation the test of, 344, 523, 526, 527, 528; - three forms of, 519, 520; - true literary signification of, 520; - best medium of, 521. - - Politeness. _See_ Courtesy. - - Politics, public schools and, II: 166. - - Pompeii, musical instruments discovered in, I: 213. - - Pontchartrain, Lake, I: 169, 176. - - Poole, Captain, II: 304. - - Pope, Alexander, II: 520, 528, 529. - - Port of Spain, Trinidad, a silversmith at, I: 416. - - Poseidon, festival of, I: 386. - - Pott, Mrs. Henry, I: 364. - - Prayer, the dilemma of the gods, II: 394. - - Pre-Raphaelites, I: 211. - - Professions, Hearn's estimate of, I: 398. - - Proof, printer's, relation between copy and, II: 407. - - Proof-reader, Hearn's terror of the, I: 387. - - Prose, poetical, II: 529; - Hearn's ambition regarding, I: 364, 374, 379, 383, 393. - - Protestantism, II: 311, 312. - - Provençal literature and song, Hueffer's treatment of, I: 361. - - Public schools, politics in, II: 166. - - Publishers, Hearn's opposition to the views of, II: 479, 480; - their attitude toward authors, 484, 485. - - Punctuation, Hearn's efforts to reform, I: 50. - - - Quacks, success of, I: 180, 181. - - Quatrefages de Bréau, Jean Louis Armand de, I: 235, 236. - - - Rabyah, operatic possibilities of, I: 388. - - Race expansion, intellectual, cost of, II: 98. - - Ramayana, translations of, I: 402. - - Raphael, I: 211. - - Ravine-les-Cannes, I: 191. - - Rawlinson, Sir Henry Creswicke, I: 213. - - Regeneration, Hearn's use of the word, II: 509. - - Rein, Johannes Justus, his work on Japan, II: 36. - - Religion, the conservator of romanticism, II: 208, 209; - Norse, 228; - sects and, 131; - characteristics common to all religions, 146, 147; - science and, 148. - - Rembrandt, I: 211. - - Remsen, Ira, president of Johns Hopkins University, II: 504. - - Renan, Ernest, II: 514. - - Rengaji, Buddhist temple at Kizuki, II: 42. - - Rhys-Davids, Thomas William, II: 380, 488. - - Riess, Ludwig, professor at the University of T[=o]ky[=o], II: 312, - 316. - - Rights and duties, II: 115. - - Rink, Henry John, I: 330. - - Robert Clarke Company, Cincinnati, I: 50. - - Robinson, ----, I: 187. - - Roche, Louise, I: 357. - - Roget, Peter Mark, his Thesaurus, I: 374. - - Roland, Song of, I: 190, 246. - - Rollins, Alice Wellington, I: 389; II: 299, 300. - - Roman Catholic Church, Hearn's bitterness against, I: 33, 34. - - Romanes, George John, I: 292, 439. - - Romans, musical instruments adopted by, I: 165, 166. - - Romanticism, religion the conservator of, I: 208, 209; - Baudelaire on, 211. - - Romanticists, pantheism of, I: 255. - - Romany descent, mark of, I: 5. - - Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, I: 211; II: 221. - - Rouquette, Adrien, Indian missionary, I: 169, 188, 191, 206, 212. - - Routine, merits of, I: 326. - - Roy, Protap Chunder, I: 335. - - Rufz de Lavison, Etienne, I: 442; II: 248, 347. - - Ruskin, John, his comment on the Medicean Venus, I: 31. - - Russia, feeling against, in Japan, II: 258, 262; - war between Japan and, 515, 516, 517. - - Rydberg, Viktor, I: 227. - - Ry[=u]ky[=u], II: 219. - - - Saadi. _See_ Gulistan. - - Sacher-Masoch, Leopold Ritter von, his Mother of God, I: 233. - - Sadness, certain causes of, II: 150-152. - - St. Augustine, Florida, I: 70. - - St. Peter's Cathedral, Cincinnati, Hearn's description of a view from - the spire of, I: 51. - - St. Pierre, Martinique, I: 97; II: 347, 484; - Hearn's record of, I: 98, 100, 101, 412, 413, 415. - - Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin, I: 396; II: 222. - - Saintsbury, George, II: 371. - - Saionji, II: 279. - - Sakai, Japan, II: 297, 304. - - Sake, II: 57, 82, 92, 93. - - Sakuma, his knowledge of literary English, II: 66. - - Sakuntala, operatic possibilities of, I: 308. - - Sakurai, headmaster at Kumamoto, II: 66. - - Sakusa, Japan, Shint[=o] shrine at, II: 15, 25, 26. - - Sakusa-no-Mikoto, Shint[=o] deity, II: 25. - - Sale, George, his translation of the Koran, I: 327. - - Samurai, I: 116. - - San Francisco, Cal., Hearn's search for a publisher in, I: 246, 247. - - Sanskrit, derivation of Greek and Latin from, I: 202. - - Santa Maura, Island of, Hearn's birth-place, I: 3, 7, 429; - situation and character of, 3, 4; - its influence upon Hearn, 4, 5. - - Sanza, Nagoya, II: 42. - - Sanzo, Tsuda, II: 142, 143. - - Sappho, I: 3, 238. - - Sasa, a Japanese priest, II: 7, 8. - - Satire, Japanese, II: 217. - - Satni-Khamois, Egyptian romance, I: 238. - - Sato, Mr., II: 68. - - Sattee, a Hindoo, sent by Hearn to Krehbiel, I: 367-370, 393. - - Scandinavia, music of, I: 190. - - Schiefner, Franz Anton, his German translation of Kalewala, I: 235. - - Schlemihl, Peter, II: 443. - - Schopenhauer, Arthur, I: 447, 459, 460; II: 151, 235; - basis of his philosophy, 266, 267. - - Schurman, Jacob Gould, president of Cornell University, II: 488, 492, - 495. - - Schwab, Moïse, his translation of part of the Talmud, I: 287. - - Schweinfurth, Georg August, I: 310, 354. - - Science, influence of, upon literary style, I: 263, 264; - unsatisfactoriness of, II: 338, 339. - - Scientific education, II: 163, 164, 275. - - Scotland, bagpipe and kilt introduced by Romans into, I: 182, 183. - - Secret Affinities, Hearn's translation of the pantheistic madrigal - from Gautier's Emaux et Camées, I: 259-261. - - Sects, religion and, II: 131. - - Self-interest, the basis of most human relations, II: 188, 189. - - Sensation, hereditary, II: 223, 225-227, 230, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, - 241, 250. - - Senses, training of the, II: 86. - - Sensibility, moral and physical, I: 434-436. - - Serpent worship, II: 29. - - Sex, influence of, on history, I: 256; - a mystery of, 401; - standards regarding the relations of, 438; - Oriental and Occidental views regarding - questions of, II: 112, 113, 114, 121, 122, 123; - instincts of, deficient in Japanese, 209, 210. - - Shakespeare, II: 520. - - "Shall" and "will," Hearn's use of the words, II: 224, 225, 246. - - Shelley, Percy Bysshe, II: 215. - - Shimane, ken of, I: 115. - - Shimbashi, II: 433; - Hearn's adventures with pickpockets at, 391. - - Shimo-ichi, II: 37, 41, 46. - - Shinsh[=u], a sect, II: 27. - - Shint[=o], I: 112; - ascendency of, in Matsue, II: 13, 15; - nature of, 26, 27, 30; - prevalence of, in interior of Japan, 31, 32; - revival of, in Kizuki, 47; - rituals, 59; - Hearn's questions regarding Shint[=o] home-worship in Izumo, 71, 79. - - Ships of the Souls. _See_ Sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune. - - Shiva, the Hindoo god of destruction, I: 210, 211. - - Sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune, II: 8, 38, 39, 41. - - Simpson, Walter, his History of the Gipsies, I: 201, 202, 459. - - Sinnett, Alfred Percy, I: 265. - - Sistrum, introduced by Egypt into Italy, I: 166. - - Siva. _See_ Shiva. - - Skeat, Walter William, I: 374. - - Small-pox, in Martinique, I: 422. - - Smoking, paraphernalia of, in Japan, II: 49-51. - - Smyrna, I: 8. - - Snake, sacred, II: 29. - - Socialism, tyranny of, II: 184, 185, 205, 511, 512. - - Societies, literary, Hearn's opinion of, II: 461-463. - - Society, the nature of polite, II: 400; - injury inflicted upon writers by, 451. - - Society of Authors, London, II: 445, 446. - - Society of Finnish Literature, I: 235. - - Socrates, I: 41. - - Solomon, Song of, I: 227. - - Souls, sacrifice of, II: 410. - - Souls, velvet, Hearn's definition of the phrase, II: 326. - - Soulié, Melchior Frédéric, II: 231. - - South, difficulty of literary production in, I: 194; - conceptions of beauty in, 211. - - Spanish-American War, II: 369, 373, 374, 376, 379, 380, 384, 385. - - Specialization, necessity of, I: 263. - - Spencer, Herbert, II: 108, 190, 207, 208, 221, 236, 247; - Hearn's admiration for, I: 58; II: 44, 409, 509; - his influence upon Hearn, I: 85, 86, 365, 374, 375, 392, 394, 430, - 431, 438, 459; II: 20, 26, 221, 222; - his Sociology, I: 312; - his essay on musical origination, 325; - his conservatism regarding further physical evolution, 397; - his theory of education, 456; - his criticism of the Mombush[=o] Readers, II: 105; - his theory of moral evolution, 137; - history of good manners traced by, 183; - socialism defined by, 184, 205; - on heredity, 223, 226, 228, 234; - on psychological evolution, 231; - Darwin and, 235; - his paper on the Method of Comparative Psychology, 249; - application of his educational theories, 275; - his views on eccentricity, 277; - on war, 510. - - Sphinx, riddle of the, II: 168. - - Spinoza, Baruch, II: 173. - - Stamboul, black population of, I: 355. - - Stanford University, II: 476, 477; - plans for Hearn to lecture at, 496. - - Stauben, Daniel, his Scènes de la Vie Juive, I: 287. - - Steamships, Hearn's account of the fatal effect of his presence upon, - II: 433. - - Stedman, Edmund Clarence, I: 332, 446. - - Stevenson, Robert Louis, II: 190, 336, 383, 405, 509. - - Strength, misuse of, II: 160, 161. - - Sturdy, E. T., II: 380. - - Style, literary, helps to formation of, I: 263, 264, 372, 373, 374; - Hearn's ambition regarding his own, 276, 364, 374, 379, 383, 393; - labour of acquiring an ornamental, 324. - - Success, some requisites of, I: 431; II: 135. - - Suicide, a Japanese, II: 273. - - Susa-no-o, Japanese deity, II: 8. - - Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto, Shint[=o] deity, II: 16, 25. - - Swimming, Hearn's fondness for, I: 176, 333, 334, 341; II: 47, 63, - 303, 304, 448; - of Japanese boys at Yabase, 48. - - Swinburne, Algernon Charles, I: 432, 433; II: 427. - - Sword-Dance, in Léon dialect, I: 305; - prose and metrical translations of, 305-307. - - Swords, legends concerning, I: 185. - - Symonds, John Addington, I: 220, 227; - his praise of Whitman, 292; - his Greek Poets, 329; - his Wine, Women, and Song, 342. - - Syrinx, musical instrument, I: 297. - - - Taillefer, I: 191. - - Taine, Hippolyte Adolphe, his Art in Italy, II: 271. - - Taka o gami-no-Mikoto, II: 25. - - Takahashi, Dr., II: 304. - - Takahashi, Sakué, II: 330, 331. - - Takaki, Japanese boy, II: 278; - head of, on title-page of Kokoro, 300. - - Takamori, Senke, I: 115, 116; II: 7, 9, 10, 38, 145, 297; - his gift to Hearn, 153; - courtesy of, 180. - - Takata, Dean, I: 150. - - Talmud, I: 237, 311; - legends of the, 287. - - Tampa, Florida, I: 376. - - Tam-tam, I: 411. - - Tanabe, one of Hearn's pupils, II: 68; - letter from Hearn to, 508, 509. - - Tannery murder, Cincinnati, I: 51. - - Taylor, Bayard, I: 266, 324; II: 215. - - Taylor, James Monroe, president of Vassar College, II: 504, 505. - - Tennessee, Hearn's account of an incident in, I: 67. - - Tenn[=o]ji, II: 297. - - Tennyson, Alfred, Baron Tennyson, I: 221, 333; II: 190, 221, 302; - his Princess used as a reading-book in T[=o]ky[=o], II: 283, 328. - - Terminus, the god of boundaries, I: 184, 185. - - Tetsujir[=o], Inoue, II: 284, 313. - - Thomas, Theodore, I: 180, 182. - - Thought, physiologically considered, II: 244. - - Ticknor, William D., I: 332, 372. - - Timbuctoo, music of desert nomads of, I: 353. - - Time, value of, II: 194; - no knowledge of the value of, in Japan, 461, 463. - - Times-Democrat (New Orleans); - Hearn's associates on, I: 70, 71; - Hearn's work on, 72, 73, 176, 280, 363; - letters to, afterward expanded into Chita, 96; - purpose of its proprietors, 288. - - Tison, Alexander, professor at the University of T[=o]ky[=o], II: 284, - 312, 316. - - Togo-ike, Japan, II: 53. - - T[=o]ky[=o], Hearn's private life in, I: 141-152; II: 295, 309, 327, - 329; - his dislike of, II: 192, 193; - the foreign element in, 321, 456, 457; - cheap living in, 329; - appearance of, 333, 334; - climate of, 366, 372, 385; - lack of literary inspiration in, 378; - work done by students in, 387; - a silk-house at, 437, 438; - Government service in, 470. - - T[=o]ky[=o], University of, Hearn becomes Professor of English - Literature at, I: 136-138; - resigns this position, 154; II: 368, 490, 493; - students of, II: 282, 283, 314, 315, 328, 388; - the gate to public office, 282; - Hearn's work at, 283, 298, 305, 306, 310, 314, 327, 328, 357, 427, - 429, 444, 481, 482, 486, 487; - professors at, 284, 285, 311, 312, 313, 315, 316; - architecture of, 311; - one reason for Hearn's appointment at, 313, 314. - - Torio, Viscount, his theories of Western civilization, II: 36, 40. - - Toyokuni, II: 77. - - Toyoma, Masakazu, I: 122; II: 298, 328, 329. - - Tradesmen, enviable position of, I: 398, 399. - - Translations, from the French, obstacles to publication of, I: 247, - 248, 250, 251. - - Trata, La, Greek choral dance, I: 385. - - Trinidad, babies of, I: 416, 417. - - Trinity, the Hindoo, I: 210. - - Tropics, difficulty of reproducing the charms of, in literature, - I: 99; - Hearn's love for the, 105, 415, 420, 425, 449, 469; II: 64, 211, - 213, 217, 281; - nature and human nature in the, I: 436; - difficulty of literary work in, 422, 423, 424, 425, 449; - heredity in, 429. - - Trübner & Co., I: 325. - - Trygvesson, Olaf, II: 228. - - Tunison, Joseph Salathiel, I: 288, 361, 405, 411; - his comment on Hearn's work and characteristics, 54, 55, 62, 63, 64, - 65, 66; - Hearn's friendship with, 55; - his comment on Hearn's friendships, 56; - his book on the Virgilian Legend, 351; - letter from Hearn to, 443, 444. - - Turiault, J., his Etude sur la Langage Créole de la Martinique, - I: 357. - - Twins, Japanese, II: 326, 327. - - Tylor, Edward Burnett, II: 8, 41, 57; - an Australian chant quoted by, I: 312, 313; - its construction similar to a Greek chorus, 312; - his book on anthropology, II: 14. - - Tyndall, John, II: 235. - - Typography, Hearn's interest in, I: 50. - - - Uguisi, gift of, to Hearn, I: 118, 119; II: 19. - - Ukioye exhibition, II: 382. - - Undine, philosophy of, II: 508. - - United States, intellectual sterility in, II: 478; - liberty in, 511, 512; - race-hatred in, 512. - - Ushaw, Roman Catholic College, I: 34, 37. - - Ushigome. _See_ T[=o]ky[=o]. - - - Value, close connection between ideas of weight and, II: 74, 75, 76. - - Van Horne, Sir William, his offer to Hearn, II: 505. - - Varigny, Dr., II: 467. - - Vedantic philosophy, II: 236. - - Venus, Medicean, Ruskin's comment on, I: 31. - - Venus of Milo, I: 227. - - Verlaine, Paul, II: 187. - - Very, Mary, II: 441. - - Viaud, Julien (Pierre Loti), I: 72, 334, 361, 431, 432; II: 479; - his L'Inde sans les Anglais, I: 72; II: 491, 492; - his Mariage de Loti, I: 249, 377; - his Roman d'un Spahi, 249, 427; - his Aziyadé, 250; - Hearn's desire to translate some of his novels, 362; - Hearn's admiration for, 377, 378, 396, 427, 452, 453; - his Un Rêve, 434, 452, 453; - his Madame Chrysanthemum, 434; - his account of the French attack on the coast of Annam, II: 373; - offers his services to Spain, 385. - - Vickers, Thomas, I: 50, 214. - - Victoria, Queen of England, I: 164. - - Vignoli, Tito, I: 292. - - Villoteau, Guillaume André, I: 283; - his Mémoire sur la Musique dans l'antique Egypte, 285. - - Virchow, Rudolf, II: 312, 316. - - Vishnu, I: 210. - - Voice, Colombat de l'Isère's work on diseases of the, I: 363. - - Voudoo, the word, I: 360. - - Voudoo songs, I: 192, 193. - - - Wagner, Richard, I: 236; II: 15. - - Wales, Hearn removes to, I: 8, 12; - music of, 190; - language of, 190. - - Wall Street, New York City, romance of, II: 182. - - Wallace, Alfred Russel, I: 438; II: 211, 213, 221. - - War, developing effects of, II: 509, 510, 511. - - Ward, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, II: 301. - - Warner, Charles Dudley, I: 342, 392, 451. - - Waseda University, professors of, I: 149, 150; - Hearn accepts chair of English at, 156. - - Watson, William, II: 215, 402. - - Weight, close connection between ideas of value and, II: 74, 75, 76. - - Weill, Alexander, his reminiscences of Heine, I: 341. - - Weiss, John, I: 265, 432. - - West Indies, dances of, I: 297, 307; - transplantation of negro melodies to, 356, 360, 411; - Hearn's plan to visit, 382; - letters relating to, 409-419, 422-424; - literary material in, 410, 414, 422, 426; - formative influences of climate of, 441. - - Wetmore, Elizabeth (Bisland), II: 65, 82, 83, 167, 333, 484; - letters from Hearn to, I: 82, 388-392, 403, 404, 408, 409, 412-421, - 445-457; II: 3-5, 457-460, 473-477, 486-500, 503-507, 513-515; - Hearn's belief in her ability, I: 391, 414, 450; - her marriage, II: 62. - - White, Richard Grant, I: 350. - - Whitman, Walt, II: 432; - Hearn's opinion of, I: 271-274, 320, 432, 433; - Symonds's praise of, 292; - his ideal of democracy, II: 512. - - Whitney, Charles, I: 70, 71. - - Wilde, Oscar, his comment on the plagiarizations of life and nature, - I: 96. - - Wilkins, Peter, his Voyages, I: 212. - - "Will" and "shall," Hearn's use of the words, II: 224, 225, 246. - - Williams, Sir Monier, his translation of the story of Nala, I: 402. - - Winckelmann, Johann Joachim, I: 211, 227. - - Windward Islands, Hearn visits, I: 97. - - Women, physical magnetism of, I: 401; - as physicians, in France, 441; - Japanese, II: 35, 61, 87, 88, 90, 91; - compared with American, 36; - intellectual, 98, 99; - Occidental attitude toward, 112, 123; - revelations made by men to, 189; - marriage and the educated woman, in Japan, 416-422; - emotional, 427. - - Wordsworth, William, II: 215. - - World, smallness of the, I: 472. - - World, The (New York paper), J. Cockerill's work on, I: 54. - - Worship, phallic, II: 32. - - Worthington, Richard, I: 246, 248, 253, 276, 321, 376. - - Wundt, Wilhelm Max, his colour-theory, II: 320. - - Wüstenfeld, Heinrich Ferdinand, his edition of Al-Nawawi, I: 331. - - Wycliffe, John, I: 350. - - - Yabase, Japan, II: 46, 47, 48, 54, 55. - - Yaegaki san, deities worshipped at Sakusa, II: 25. - - Yaidzu, Japan, II: 478, 516; - Hearn's warning to M. McDonald regarding a visit to, 447, 448, - 449, 450. - - Yakushi Nyorai, Hearn's visits to the temple of, II: 17, 18. - - Yasukochi, letter to, II: 464-466; - his military experience, 465. - - Yellow fever, in New Orleans, I: 185, 186, 195; - in Martinique, 440. - - Yokogi, death of, II: 72. - - Yokohama, Japan, Hearn's visits to M. McDonald at, II: 346, 366, 367, - 371, 388, 389, 390, 392, 393, 409, 422, 423, 438, 439, 442, - 443. - - Yriarte, Charles Emile, his life of Giovanni Malatesta, I: 271. - - Yucatan, significance of darkness to ancient inhabitants of, I: 468. - - - Zilliacus, Konni, II: 467. - - Zola, Emile, I: 228; II: 503; - his L'Argent, II: 65; - his Rome, 392. - - THE END - - - - - Transcriber's Note: - -Minor punctuation errors in the Index have been silently corrected. - -The word 'consciousness' appears twice as 'conciousness' in a letter -to Basil Hall Chamberlain (pp. 234, 236). It frequently appears -correctly spelled elsewhere. It has been corrected in both places here, -assuming a printer's error. - -Page references in the Index remain as printed. There are two entries -('Prose, poetical' and 'Heine, Heinrich, French prose translation of') -referencing p. 524 of the present volume, which is a blank page. -Both seem to be errors for p. 529, where both topics are found. These -have been corrected. Other than these instances, no systematic attempt -was made to verify the accuracy of the Index. - -The following list contains special situations where corrections -were in order: - - p. 156 "And they clanked at his girdle like Close Shelley's - _manacles_["] line. - - p. 207 it often[s] does Removed. - - pp. 234, con[s]ciousness Added. - 236. - - p. 428 vi[v/s]-à-vis Corrected. - - p. 470 I[t/f] you ever want Corrected. - - p. 519 tell him: ["/']Ha! he died sometime The nested quotation - ago. That will do.["/']["] was not properly - closed. - - p. 534 in the course of [the] academic year Added. Could be 'an'. - - p. 542 Mik[a/o]-kaguri Corrected. - - p. 556 St. Pierre, Mart[i]nique Added. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Letters of Lafcadio -Hearn, Volume 2, by Elizabeth Bisland - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - -***** This file should be named 42313-8.txt or 42313-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/3/1/42313/ - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2 - -Author: Elizabeth Bisland - -Release Date: March 23, 2013 [EBook #42313] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - - - - - -</pre> - - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42313 ***</div> <div class="transnote"> <p class="titlepage">Transcriber’s Note</p> @@ -21123,382 +21084,6 @@ were in order:</p> </table> </div> - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Letters of Lafcadio -Hearn, Volume 2, by Elizabeth Bisland - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - -***** This file should be named 42313-h.htm or 42313-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/3/1/42313/ - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2 - -Author: Elizabeth Bisland - -Release Date: March 23, 2013 [EBook #42313] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - - - - -Transcriber's Note - -Footnotes have been placed at the end of the paragraph in which they -are referenced. - -There are several captioned photographs, which are indicated as -[Illustration: Caption]. Hearn also included in his letters small -sketches and Japanese script, which cannot be reproduced here. -Their approximate positions are indicated with [Illustration]. Any -handwritten text in those sketches is included here as captions. No -translations of the Japanese were made, since they normally appear in -Hearn's text. - -Italic text is denoted with underscores as _italic_. The characters 'o', -'a' and 'u' appear with a macron, a straight bar atop the letter. These -use the '=' sign as 'T[=o]ky[=o]'. Any text which is printed in small -capitals has been rendered as all UPPERCASE, with the exception of -'McDONALD'. - -There are two instances of the 'oe' ligature which are given as 'amoeba' -and 'OEdipus'. - -Some corrections were made where printer's errors were most likely, -as described in the Note at the end of the text. Other than those -corrections, no changes to spelling have been made. Hyphenation of -words at line or page breaks are removed if other instances of the word -warrant it. - -This book was published in two volumes, of which this is the second. -The first volume was released as Project Gutenberg ebook #42312, -available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42312. - - - - - LIFE AND LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN - - VOLUME II - - [Illustration] - - - - - THE LIFE AND LETTERS - OF - LAFCADIO HEARN - - BY - - ELIZABETH BISLAND - - _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - IN TWO VOLUMES - - VOL. II - - [Illustration] - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - The Riverside Press Cambridge - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1906 BY ELIZABETH BISLAND WETMORE - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - _Published December 1906_ - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - LAFCADIO HEARN IN JAPANESE COSTUME (photogravure) - _Frontispiece_ - - THE CITY OF MATSUE, SEEN FROM CASTLE HILL 40 - - 1. The Prefecture Office. The Middle School, in which Mr. - Hearn was a teacher, is hidden from view by the Prefecture - Office Building. - - 2. The Normal School. Mr. Hearn also taught here. - - 3. Here on the beach of Lake Shinyi Mr. Hearn lived for some time. - - THE SHINT[=O] TEMPLE OF KIZUKI DESCRIBED IN "GLIMPSES - OF UNFAMILIAR JAPAN" 104 - - Lafcadio Hearn was the first foreigner who was allowed to - enter the inner part of this temple. - - A GROUP OF GRADUATES OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL 162 - - 1. Mr. Hearn. - - 2. Mr. Nishida. - - 3. The old teacher of Chinese Classics. - - LAFCADIO HEARN'S FAVOURITE DWELLING-HOUSE 192 - - This house, an old Samurai's residence, is situated in - front of a castle. The river before the house is an - outer moat of the castle. - - - MR. HEARN'S GARDEN IN T[=O]KY[=O] 282 - - WRITING-ROOM IN MR. HEARN'S T[=O]KY[=O] HOUSE 344 - - His three sons on the verandah. In this house he died. - - FACSIMILE OF MR. HEARN'S LATER HANDWRITING 410 - - KAZUO AND IWAO, LAFCADIO HEARN'S OLDER CHILDREN, - EXERCISING AT J[=U]-JUTSU 476 - - LAFCADIO HEARN'S GRAVE 516 - - - - - LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN - - - - - LETTERS - - 1890-1904 - - - TO ELIZABETH BISLAND - - - 1890. - -DEAR ELIZABETH,-- ... I feel indescribably towards Japan. Of course -Nature here is not the Nature of the tropics, which is so splendid and -savage and omnipotently beautiful that I feel at this very moment of -writing the same pain in my heart I felt when leaving Martinique. This -is a domesticated Nature, which loves man, and makes itself beautiful -for him in a quiet grey-and-blue way like the Japanese women, and the -trees seem to know what people say about them,--seem to have little -human souls. What I love in Japan is the Japanese,--the poor simple -humanity of the country. It is divine. There is nothing in this world -approaching the naive natural charm of them. No book ever written -has reflected it. And I love their gods, their customs, their dress, -their bird-like quavering songs, their houses, their superstitions, -their faults. And I believe that their art is as far in advance of our -art as old Greek art was superior to that of the earliest European -art-gropings--I think there is more art in a print by Hokusai or those -who came after him than in a $10,000 painting--no, a $100,000 painting. -_We_ are the barbarians! I do not merely _think_ these things: I am -as sure of them as of death. I only wish I could be reincarnated in -some little Japanese baby, so that I could see and feel the world as -beautifully as a Japanese brain does. - -And, of course, I am studying Buddhism with heart and soul. A young -student from one of the temples is my companion. If I stay in Japan, we -shall live together.--Will write again if all goes well. - -My best love to you always. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELIZABETH BISLAND - - 1890. - -DEAR MISS BISLAND,--Do you think well enough of me to try to get me -employment at a regular salary, somewhere in the United States. I have -permanently broken off with the Harpers: I am starved out. My average -earnings for the last three years have been scarcely $500 a year. Here -in Japan prices are higher than in New York,--unless one can become a -Japanese employee. I was promised a situation; but it is now delayed -until September. - -I shall get along somehow. But I am so very tired of being hard-pushed, -and ignored, and starved,--and obliged to undergo moral humiliations -which are much worse than hunger or cold,--that I have ceased to be -ashamed to ask you to say a good word for me where you can, to some -newspaper, or some publishing firm, able to give me steady employ, later -on. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELIZABETH BISLAND - - 1890. - -MY DEAR SISTER ELIZABETH,-- ... Now, as for myself,--I am going -to become country school-master in Japan,--probably for several long -years. The language is unspeakably difficult to learn;--I believe it can -only be learned by ear. Teaching will help me to learn it; and before -learning it, to write anything enduring upon Japan would be absurdly -impossible. Literary work will not support one here, where living costs -quite as much as in New York. What I wish to do, I want to do for its -own sake; and so intend to settle, if possible, in this country, among a -people who seem to me the most lovable in the world. - -I have been living in temples and old Buddhist cemeteries, making -pilgrimages and sounding enormous bells and worshipping astounding -Buddhas. Still, I do not as yet know anything whatever about Japan. I -have nothing else worth telling you to write just now, and no address to -give,--as I do not know where I am going or what I shall be doing next -month. - -Later on, I shall write again. - - Best wishes and affection from - L. H. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - KIZUKI, July, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I am writing to you from the little beach -of Inasa, mentioned in the "Kojiki,"--the etymology of which name, as -given by Hirata, I think you say is incorrect, or at least fantastic. -But I think you may not know that Inasa beach is in some respects the -nicest bathing-place imaginable--certainly by far the best I have ever -visited in Japan. The hotels face a beach without a pebble in its -sand, and when the water is not rough, it is clear as a diamond; when -roughened by a west wind, however, the water sometimes becomes dirty -with seaweed, drift and such refuse. This is the great bathing resort -of Izumo. But it is much more quiet and pleasant than other Japanese -bathing resorts I have seen--such as [=O]iso. After the bath, moreover, -one can have a hot salt water bath or a cold fresh-water douche. And -there is plenty of deep water for swimming. Right opposite our window is -the "thousand draught rock" which the son of Ohokuni, etc., lifted on -the tips of his fingers. - -Kaka is famous for its sea cave, and legend of Jiz[=o]. I think I wrote -you of this beautiful legend of the child ghosts and the fountain of -milk. But it is really too pretty to publish in a matter-of-fact record. - -The term "arrows of prayer" which I use, might deceive the reader. The -arrows put into the rice-fields to scare away crows are very different -in appearance and purpose. I hope to send you some of the former from -Mionoseki. - -I will stay here some weeks--the sea-bathing is too good to lose. Will -write again soon. - - Most truly ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - KIZUKI, July, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--We are still at Kizuki--enjoying exquisite -weather and delicious sea-bathing. Last evening I dined with the -Kokuz[=o]; and I never ate so much dinner or drank so much sake anywhere -in Japan. It was a royal feast. I also saw some things that would -interest you. A series of letters of Motoori's,--also two MSS. of -flute-music made by him, and the brushes with which his commentaries -were written. One of the Senke family, who was his pupil, received these -as bequests, and they are preserved in the family. - -The conversation turned upon you; and I was asked many questions about -you, which I answered as best as I could. From the extreme interest -shown, I am sure that Kizuki would be turned inside out to please you if -you come down here. - -I asked about the deity of Mionoseki; and the learned priest Sasa and -others state positively that deity is not Hiruko. The legend concerning -him would prove the same fact. The deity detested the cock, and no hens -or chickens or eggs or feathers are allowed to exist in Mionoseki. No -vessel would take an egg to Mionoseki. It is wrong even to eat eggs -the day before going to Mionoseki. A passenger to Mionoseki was once -detected smoking a pipe which had the figure of a cock upon it, and that -pipe was immediately thrown into the sea. The dislike of the god for the -cock is attributed to some adventure of his youthful days,--when the -cock had been instructed to wake him up, or call him at a certain hour. -The cock did not perform his duty, and Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami, had his -hand bitten by a crocodile in hurrying to get back home. - -There is a temple of Ebisu in Nishinomiya near [=O]saka, where the deity -is believed to be identical with Hiruko, but this is not the case at -Mionoseki. - -Regarding the Deity of Marriage, I must correct an error in my last. -The learned priest Sasa states (quoting many ancient poems and authors -to prove the fact) that the ancient Deity of Marriage was the Deity of -Kizuki. But at Yaegaki Jinja, where there is a tree with two trunks, or -two trees with trunks grown into one, and other curious symbolic things, -the popular worship of the Deities Susa-no-o and Inada-Hime gradually -centred and finally wrested away the rights and privileges of the Kizuki -deity in favour of the gods of Yaegaki. - -I have had some fine _sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune_ made. And I can send you one -if you would like. There is a special kind of _sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune_ -made here. Mine, though of straw, is an elaborate model of a junk -and could sail for miles. Would you like to send one to Dr. Tylor? -Anthropologically, these little boats in which to send the souls home -have a rare interest. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, September, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--I have just returned from my first really -great Japanese experience,--a trip to Kizuki. The two trips were -beautiful. From Sh[=o]bara the route lies through a superb plain of rice -fields, with mountain ranges closing the horizon to left and right. - -Reaching Kizuki at night, I sent a letter of introduction from Mr. -Nishida of the Ch[=u]gakk[=o] to Senke Takamori,--the princely person -whose family for 82 generations have been in charge of the great temple. -I paid a visit to the grounds the same evening, and was amazed by the -great scale and dignity of the buildings, and the nobility of the -approaches to them, under succession of colossal _torii_. - -Next morning a messenger came from Mr. Senke, announcing that I would be -received at the temple. My attendant had, however, to put on _hakamas_ -and perform other personal corrections of dress before entering the -august presence. - -We were then received with a courtesy and kindness impossible to -praise sufficiently or to qualify too gratefully. After performing the -requisite ablution of hands, we were received into the inner shrine -of the chief deity--(my baggage not yet having arrived, I have not -your "Kojiki" by me to correct misspelling, but I think the name is -[=O]namuji-no-Mikoto). I was told that I was the first European ever -allowed to enter the shrine, though seven or eight other foreigners had -visited the grounds. - -There are some 19 shrines not consecrated to any particular deities,--in -which the Kami are supposed to assemble during the Kami-ari-zuki,--after -a preliminary visit to a much smaller temple erected on the -seashore,--where, it is said, the sovereignty of Izumo was first -divinely guaranteed by the great deity. - -We were received by the G[=u]ji (Senke) in ceremonial costumes. His -robes were white, those of the attendant priests purple with gold -figuring--very beautiful. I acknowledge that I felt considerable awe in -the presence of these superb Japanese, who realized for me all that I -had imagined about the daimy[=o]s, and grandees of the past. He who used -to be called the Iki-gami--said to descend from Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto--is -a fine portly man, with a full beard. The ceremonial was imposing, and -the sense of the immense antiquity and dignity of the cult, and of -the generations of its officiants, might have impressed even a more -unbelieving mind than my own. - -The temple is really very noble, with its huge pillars, and the solidity -of its vast beamwork. Since the prehistoric era it has been rebuilt 28 -times. It is said to be the oldest of all Shint[=o] places of worship, -and holier than Ise. There are many curiosities and valuable historical -documents. The chief shrine faces west,--unlike others. - -We were shown the primitive method of lighting the sacred fire--a simple -board in holes of which a rapidly revolving stick kindles the spark. -Also we saw the hierophantic dance, and heard the strange old song -sung--_An-un_--to the accompaniment of sticks tapped on curiously shaped -wooden boxes, or drums. - -Subsequently we were invited to the house of Mr. Senke, where other -curious things were shown to us. I have had a rare and delightful -experience, and I hope to write of it for one of the English reviews -later on. - -My attendant--unwarrantably, perhaps--mentioned me as a friend of yours; -and the statement provoked a murmur of pleasure. Your name is held, I -can assure you, in very great reverence at Kizuki; and I feel assured, -should you go there, that you would be received as if you were the chief -of the Kami. And I am also sure you would like these really fine and -noble men. - -I have written enough to tire you perhaps, but I believe the subject -may, at least, suggest questions of value from you, if not otherwise -interesting. Kizuki is certainly the chief place of interest in Izumo; -and I have all details and documents. They will take me some months to -digest, but I shall do something pretty. - -The jinrikisha ride is a little tiring. Kizuki is very, very pretty. -From 200,000 to 250,000 pilgrims go there yearly. All day the sound of -the clapping of hands is unbroken, like the sound of a cataract. At -least it was when I was there. - -Best regards to you. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, September, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--On second thought I have set to work to -obtain the information you wish as fully as possible from trustworthy -Japanese,--as I fear it could only be gathered by my own exertions -alone, too late to be serviceable. I shall send as soon as possible, and -if there be time I will supplement the notes with some observations of -my own. - -I think I shall be very happy in Matsue, and every one assures me it is -not so cold as in T[=o]ky[=o] in winter, although there is more snow. - -On the way here I stopped at a very primitive village where there are -volcanic springs, and nearly every house has a "natural bathtub" always -hot and fresh. And the good old man in whose house I stopped said he -only once before in all his life saw a European,--but he did not know -whether the European was a man or a woman. The European had very long -hair, of a curious colour, and wore a long dress reaching its feet, -and its manners were gentle and kind. I found out afterwards it was a -Norwegian missionary-girl, having the courage to travel alone. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, October, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I received your last kind letter -just after having posted a note to you. As for what information I could -send, I am surprised and delighted to find that it was of some use. I -never expected to be so kindly thanked for it,--deeming it too scanty. - -I do not think I shall have any difficulty in getting a model made of -the fire-drill, which at Kizuki is a thick board of dense white wood, -all the holes being drilled near one edge, in an almost parallel line. -Perhaps it may take some little time to arrange the matter; but if there -be no hurry, I am almost certain I can get the model made. I am a member -of the society now for the preservation of the Kizuki buildings, and am -sure my request will be kindly considered. - -There are coloured prints here enough: _Samurai-no-ehon_ they call the -old picture-books here. But they do not relate to Izumo. I hope to -procure some soon which will do. - -I am more and more impressed with the ascendency of Shint[=o] here. -Everybody is a Shint[=o]ist; and every house seems to have both its -_kamidana_ and its _butsudan._ One street is almost entirely composed -of Buddhist temples--the Teramachi; but all the worshippers also attend -the Shint[=o] services on certain days. The charms suspended over -doors, etc., are Shint[=o]. Most of the _mamori_ on the _kamidana_ of -a house are sure to be Shint[=o]. The Gods (1) Ebisu and (2) Daikoku, -here respectively identified with (1) Koto-shiro-nushi-no Kami and (2) -Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, are monopolized by Shint[=o]. Its signs and -mysteries are everywhere: the atmosphere is full of magic. - -I suppose some people would think this sort of worship shocking, -but I must say I could not laugh at it: the childish naivete of the -prayers and the offerings--the idea of a _kami_ in the tree, able -to heal--seemed to me rather touching than absurd, and delightfully -natural. One feels what pastoral life in the antique world must have -been, on studying the artless notions of these good country-folk, whom -no one could live among without loving,--unless he were strangely brutal -or bigoted. - -I had to make a speech before the educational association of Izumo the -other day, and in citing the labours of Darwin, Lubbock, Huxley, and -others, I quoted also Tylor's delightful little book on Anthropology. My -speech was on the Value of the Imagination as a Factor in Education. The -Governor ordered it to be translated and printed;--so that I am being -for the moment perhaps much more highly considered than I ought to be. - -I have become so accustomed to Japanese food and habits, that it would -now be painful to me to change them. The only extras, besides sake, -which I take, are plenty of fried and raw eggs. So far I am in better -health than I hoped to be in Japan. - -I am very sorry you are not quite well. Here the weather is what they -call "mad weather"--rain alternating with sun, and chilly winds. - -With best regards, - - Faithfully yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - NOVEMBER, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--You will remember having invited -humble me to make a few criticisms if I could, about "Things Japanese." -I am now going to pray you with all my heart and soul to change that -article about Japanese Music in the next edition of the book. I am, -and have been for months unspeakably charmed with Japanese music,--I -think it is as dainty and playfully sweet and pretty as the Japanese -girls who sing it and play it; and I feel sure there is a very fine -subtle art-feeling in it. I am sorry to say, however, that while making -this plea, I must in honesty confess that I am not an appreciant of -Wagner, and that I have always been much impressed and charmed by -primitive music. African music, and Spanish-American melodies I am quite -infatuated about, and neither of these would be considered as related to -the higher musical sense. But I feel sure if you were in Izumo, I could -make you hear some music, both instrumental and vocal, which you would -acknowledge to be more than "pretty." - -I think I will be able to get a model of the fire-drill made in a while. -I have arranged for a week at Kizuki during the coming vacation. - -The importance of Shint[=o] here as compared with Buddhism impresses -me more and more every day. Most of the _kakemono_ in the _tokonomas_ -are Shint[=o] rather than Buddhist. The story of the Sun-goddess is a -favourite theme with local artists. Here also the gods of Good-Fortune -have become after a fashion adopted by Shint[=o]. - -I expect to send you some _mamori_ shortly from two places--Ichibata -and Sakusa. The Shint[=o] shrine at Sakusa would probably interest -you. Lovers in doubt go there to pray to the _kami_ who set the single -in family, and who have decided in advance the coupling of all human -creatures. In this shrine are the spirits of Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto and his -wife enshrined,--his first wife whom he met accompanied by her father -before he went to kill the Serpent. The ghost of the father-in-law, -"Foot-stroking Elder," is supposed to reside in the same place,--also -that of the mother-in-law. Almost every spot in hill or valley here has -a shrine marking an act or footstep of Susa-no-o. Every place where the -Serpent (Orochi) could possibly have been, still holds a legend of it. - -I am no longer in a hotel, but have a very beautiful house, fronting -on the lake, and from my window I could see with a telescope almost to -Kizuki over a beautiful stretch of blue water. And every peak I see -has some divine story attached to it, and several are named after the -primaeval gods. - -I am perfectly treated here, and would be very, very happy if I had only -a little more time to work. It is now a busy season. The examinations -have come upon me; and I interrupted this letter twice before sending -it, in order to get some examination papers done. I have twelve large -classes to examine and give marks to on Dictation, Reading, Composition, -and Conversation. But now the trouble is over, and I shall have plenty -of time to write again. - -Hoping you will excuse silence, I am always - - Sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I enclose a few _mamori_ of Kishibojin,--the Sanscrit Harite,--to whom -wives pray for children. I suppose you know more about her worship -than I do. But in the Northern temples of her the votive offerings of -children dresses are large dresses. Here the dresses are only models -of dresses--doll size. The pregnant woman picks one out of a thousand, -keeping her eyes shut. When she looks, if she has picked out a girl's -dress, she is sure the child in her womb is a boy!--and vice versa. When -the child is born she makes another dress and brings it to the temple. I -am very fond of Kishibojin, and I think her worship beautiful. - -Verily I have become quite as much of an idolater as any of these. - - L. H. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I returned last Sunday from -Ichibata, but was too tired and busy to write at once. I have already -sent you some _mamori_ from the famed temple of Yakushi Nyorai. - -The little steamer--the very smallest I ever saw--which carries pilgrims -and others from Matsue to Kozakai--makes the trip to the latter village -in about two hours. Then the task of climbing the mountain is not -over-easy. The scenery, however, both on the lake and at Ichibata -is grand, and the peaks of the ranges have all their legends. There -are nearly 600 steps of stone to climb before the temple,--situated -on a windy summit whence the view extends for many luminous miles. -The temple is new,--the ancient one having been destroyed by fire. -There is a large hotel where guests are entertained upon a strictly -Buddhist diet--no fish, no eggs; but a little cheap sake is tolerated. -No girls,--only young men as servants and waiters. The priests made -some demonstrations at my appearance in their courts; but a few words -from the pilgrims with me settled me in their good opinions, and they -became kind, and showed me their _kakemonos_ of the Great Physician. All -afflicted with eye-troubles journey here and pray,--repeating always the -same prayer according to long established usage--"On koro-koro Sendai," -etc. Little water vessels are sold bearing the _mon_ of the temple, and -these are filled from the temple spring, and the sick bathe their eyes -therewith. The trip was altogether a very charming one for me, and not -the less interesting because I had to get back to Matsue in a sampan. - -I am becoming a good pilgrim. - -I do not think I am the first European to visit Ichibata, however: there -were some German naval officers here, according to tradition, eight or -ten years ago. - -With best regards, always yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - MATSUE, 1890. - -DEAR MR. NISHIDA,-- ... Last evening, the servant of -Governor Koteda came to the house with a curious-looking box, which -contained a present from Miss Koteda,--an uguisu: the bird which -sings "_Hokkeky[=o]_," and ought, therefore, for its piety, according -to the _sutra_ of the good law, to be endowed with six hundred good -qualities of Eye, six hundred good qualities of Hearing, twelve hundred -good qualities of Smelling power, and twelve hundred supernatural -excellences of the tongue, or of Speech. I am almost ready to believe -the last compensation has been given it,--for its voice is superlatively -sweet.--But what to say or do in the way of thanking the giver I don't -know: this is really too kind. - -So yesterday, despite the hideous weather, was a fortunate day: -it brought to my house the sacred bird and your delightful postal -news;--and for all things my grateful thanks and best wishes. - - Most faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO YRJOe HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1890. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--I have just finished the reading of your "Origins of -Art." ... Some years ago I remember that I wanted very much to produce -an ideal essay upon the "ghostliness" of fine art,--the element of -_thrill_ common to all forms of it: painting, sculpture, music, or -architecture. The notion is not original, I suppose,--but it came to -me with such an intensity that I imagined a general truth behind it. -This was the possible fact that no existing aesthetic sentiment had a -primarily aesthetic origin, and that all such sentiment must simply -represent emotional accumulation,--organic memory or inherited tendency. -But I could not develop my notion judiciously. Your fine book shows me -how such things should have been done, and it expresses convictions and -ideas which I lacked the scientific training to utter consistently. - -I found a particular satisfaction in your critique of the Darwinian -hypothesis as to sexual aesthetic sensibility in animals and birds. -Though I am an "extreme" evolutionist, this hypothesis always seemed to -me essentially wrong,--essentially opposed to the facts of psychical -evolution. You have more than convinced me of what I suspected. Also I -think that, even while occasionally diverging from Spencer's views, you -have reenforced his main positions, and shed fresh light upon various -shadowy regions of the new psychology. I liked very much your treatment -of the difficult topic of pleasure-pain: indeed, I like the whole book -more than I feel able to tell you. - -My own slight knowledge of these matters is based chiefly upon a study -of Spencer. Although I have played "aesthetically" with metaphysical -ideas in my books, I believe that I have a fair knowledge of the whole -system of Synthetic Philosophy, and that I may call myself a disciple -of its author. Therefore,--or rather by reason of this private study -only,--can I presume even to discuss your work as an admirer. You -place the study of aesthetics upon a purely natural and common-sense -basis, even while considering its multiple aspects; and I am persuaded -that this must be the system of the future. Psychophysics and -psycho-dynamics have of late years been applied to aesthetic problems -with the naked result of leaving the main question exactly where it was -before, or of landing the student in a _cul-de-sac_; and I imagine that -much intellectual labour has been wasted in such paths merely through -cowardice of conventions. It is a delight to meet with a book like this, -in which science quietly ignores cant, and opens a new clearing through -the blinding maze of mediaeval cobwebs. Again, I must say that a more -lucid, strong, and pleasing style I have not found in any modern work on -aesthetics. - -I want, however, to make a small protest about the second paragraph on -page 233. Perhaps in the second edition you might think it worth your -while to modify the statement as to the "gross" character of Japanese -dancing. I should question the fairness of classing together--except -as to probable emotional origins--Asiatic and African dances (i.e. -_negro_ dances). But I shall speak of the Japanese dances only. To -make any general statement about anything Japanese is always risky; -for customs here (differing in every province and every period) -exhibit a most bewildering variety. It is not correct to say that -the dancing is performed by "outcast women" mostly; for there are -many respectable forms of dancing. The _maiko_ is not perhaps a very -respectable person;--but the _miko_, or Shint[=o] priestesses (daughters -of priests), certainly are worthy of all respect. Well, there are the -temple-dances, before the old gods,--the dances of children at the -temples upon holidays,--the dances of the peasants, etc., etc. None of -these could be called gross,--however amorous their origin. Men dance as -well as women: all children dance; and in some conservative provinces -dancing is a part of female education. To come back to the _maiko_ or -_geisha_, however, let me assure you that although some of their dances -may be passionally mimetic, even the passionate acting could not be -termed "gross" with justice: on the contrary it is a very delicate bit -of refined acting,--acting of eyes and lips and hands,--which requires -a sharp eye to follow. There are in Japan, as everywhere else, dances -that would not bear severe moral criticism; but the fine forms of -Oriental dancing are really dramatic performances,--silent monologues of -a most artistic kind.--Perhaps you will be interested in a book which -an acquaintance of mine, Mr. Osman Edwards, is bringing out through Mr. -Heinemann of London, "The Theatre in Japan." The fact of the old lyric -drama seems to me to call for a modification of the statement on page -233. Of course I am not questioning the suggestion of origins. - -Excuse these hasty and insufficient expressions of appreciation. Now to -the question of a former letter received from you, on the subject of a -selection of papers translated from various books of mine, by Mrs. Hirn. - -You have my full consent to publish such a translation.... I should -certainly accept no pay either from translator or publisher; and a -single copy of such translation, when published, would be favour -enough.... - -On the subject of a photograph and biographical notice, however, will -you not excuse me for saying that I do not think the circumstances -justify such an introduction to a strange public?... - -With renewed thanks for your most precious book, believe me, dear -Professor, very sincerely yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, January, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I am sorry not to have heard -from you,--fearing you may have been ill. The weather here has become -something very disagreeable--I was going to say infernal; but I think -this word better describes the weather of the North Atlantic Coast. The -changes of temperature here are less extreme, the cold is milder, but -the temperature may change three times in twenty-four hours,--which -seems to me extraordinary. There is almost perpetual rain and gloom, and -I would almost dislike Izumo were it not that one lovely day in a month -is enough to make me forgive and forget all the bad weather. The "Izumo -Fuji"--Dai sen (which is not, however, in Izumo at all)--was beautifully -visible the day before yesterday, and the landscape was unspeakably -beautiful. - -I am now arranging, as best I can, to get the fire-drill model made in -Kizuki. My friends have been ill and my best friend, Mr. Nishida, is -still so ill that he cannot travel with me. But I think the drill can -be made very soon now. I have a passport for all Izumo; but the weather -is diabolical; and though my chest is very strong, I feel that it is -a severe strain to keep well even at home. So I shall not travel much -before the summer. - -I send you some clean new "fire-insurance mamori." I found out only two -weeks ago where they are sold,--at the great Inari temple in the grounds -of Matsue Castle, where there are enormous stone foxes, and perhaps -two thousand small foxes sitting all round the court with their tails -perpendicularly elevated. The most extraordinary thing of the kind I -ever saw. They showed me at the temple a _kakemono_ of a ghostly fox, -with a phosphoric jewel in its tail,--said to have been painted ages -ago. I think I shall buy it from them. It is not beautiful, but quite -curious. - -I wish you a very, very happy new year and many of them. - - Faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, January, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your kindness in sending me a -postal card while suffering so much yourself from sickness, is something -that touches me very much. I hope to thank you better later on. - -I myself am very sick. I boasted too soon about my immunity from cold. -I have been severely touched where I thought myself strongest--in -my lungs--and have passed some weeks in bed. My first serious -discouragement came with this check to my enthusiasm; I fear a few more -winters of this kind will put me underground. But this has been a very -exceptional winter, they say. The first snowstorm piled five feet of -snow about my house, which faces the lake, looking to Kizuki. All the -mountains are white, and the country is smothered with snow, and the -wind is very severe. I never saw a heavier snowfall in the United States -or Canada. The thermometer does not go so low as you might suppose, not -more than about 12 above zero; but the houses are cold as cattle barns, -and the _hibachi_ and the _kotatsu_ are mere shadows of heat,--ghosts, -illusions. But I have the blues now; perhaps to-morrow everything will -be cheerful again. The authorities are astonishingly kind to me. If they -were not, I do not know what I should do. - -I trust you are now strong again. I send you a few _mamori_ from the -famous shrine of Sakusa (county I-yu) where Yaegaki-san are worshipped, -the "Deities who couple and set the single in families." It is said that -these, so soon as a boy or girl is born, decide the future love and -marriage of the child,--betrothing all to all from the moment of birth. -Three Shint[=o] deities are the presiding gods: Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto, his -wife Inada-Hime-no-Mikoto, and their son Sakusa-no-Mikoto, from whom, I -suppose, the place takes its name. The mother of Inada-Hime and Taka o -gami-no-Mikoto, and Ama-terasu-Omi-Kami, are also there enshrined. - -Here, amid stone foxes and stone lions, a priest sells love-charms. Some -of these consist of the leaves of _Camellia Japonica_. - -There is a tree in the temple court (or rather two trees, which have -grown into one); this is considered both symbolical and magical. There -is also a pond in which newts live. The flesh of these newts, reduced to -ashes, is considered an efficacious aphrodisiac. It is also the custom -for lovers to throw offerings wrapped in bits of white paper into the -pond, and watch. If the newts at once run to it, the omen is good; if -they neglect it, it is bad. - -In the Middle Ages this temple used to be in the village of Ushio, on -the boundary of the counties of O hara and Ni ta, but was removed to its -present site many hundred years ago. There are curious traditions and -poems, mostly of an erotic character, regarding this shrine. - -Trusting you will soon be quite well, believe me always sincerely yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, April, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I am delighted to hear the fire-drill is at -last in your hands. - -About Shint[=o] ... Of course, as far as its philosophy is concerned -(which I am very fond of, in spite of my devotion to Herbert Spencer), -and romance of religious sentiment, and legends, and art,--my Izumo -experiences have not at all changed my love of Buddhism. If it were -possible for me to adopt a faith, I should adopt it. But Shint[=o] seems -to me like an occult force,--vast, extraordinary,--which has not been -seriously taken into account as a force. I think it is the hopeless, -irrefragable obstacle to the Christianization of Japan (for which -reason I am wicked enough to love it). It is not all a belief, nor all -a religion; it is a thing formless as a magnetism and indefinable as an -ancestral impulse. It is part of the Soul of the Race. It means all the -loyalty of the nation to its sovereigns, the devotion of retainers to -princes, the respect to sacred things, the conservation of principles, -the whole of what an Englishman would call sense of duty; but that this -sense seems to be hereditary and inborn. I think a baby is Shint[=o] -from the time its eyes can see. Here, too, the symbolism of Shint[=o] -is among the very first things the child sees (I suppose it is the same -in T[=o]ky[=o]). The toys are to a great extent Shint[=o] toys; and -the excursions of a young mother with a baby on her back are always to -Shint[=o] temples. How much of Confucianism may have entered into and -blended with what is a striking characteristic of Japanese boys in their -attitude toward teachers and superiors, I do not know; but I think that -what is now most pleasing in these boys is the outer reflection of the -spirit of Shint[=o] within them,--the hereditary spirit of it. - -The Shinsh[=u] sect is the only one, as far as I can learn, whose -members in Izumo are not also Shint[=o]ists; but the sect is very weak -here. Even the Nichirenites are Shint[=o]ists. The two religions are -so perfectly blended here that the lines of demarcation are sometimes -impossible to find. - -Well, I think we Occidentals have yet to learn the worship of -ancestors; and evolution is going to teach it to us. When we become -conscious that we owe whatever is wise or good or strong or beautiful -in each one of us, not to one particular inner individuality, but to -the struggles and sufferings and experiences of the whole unknown chain -of human lives behind us, reaching back into mystery unthinkable,--the -worship of ancestors seems an extremely righteous thing. What is -it, philosophically, but a tribute of gratitude to the past,--dead -relatively only,--alive really within us, and about us. - -With best regards, in momentary haste, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, May, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I have just returned from a pilgrimage to -the famous Kwannon temple of Kiyomizu--about 18 miles from Matsue--where -it is said that the sacred fire has never been extinguished for a -thousand years, to find your postal card. I do not wait to receive the -delightful gift in order to thank you for it; as I hope to have the -pleasure of writing you a letter on my impression of it after reading -it. You could have imagined nothing to send me more welcome. Mr. Lowell -has, I think, no warmer admirer in the world than myself, though I do -not agree with his theory in the "Soul of the Far East," and think he -has ignored the most essential and astonishing quality of the race: its -genius of eclecticism. The future holds many problems we cannot presume -to guess, in regard to the fate of races. But there is not wanting -foundation for the belief that the Orient may yet dominate the Occident -and absorb it utterly. China seems to many a far greater question than -Russia. - -About your kind question regarding books. I think I shall be able to -get all the books on Japan--in English--that I need; and your "Things -Japanese" is a mine of good advice on what to buy. But if I need counsel -which I cannot find in your book, then I will write and ask. - -I venture to say that I think you have underrated the importance of my -suggestion about the Sacred Snake,--of which I have not been able to -find the scientific name. If they have such a snake at Ise then I am -wrong. But, if not, I think the little snake would be worth having. -It does not--like the fire-drill of Kizuki--possess special interest -for the anthropologist; but it certainly should have interest for the -folk-lorist, as a chapter in one of the most ancient and widely spread -(if not universal) religious practices,--the worship of the Serpent. If -you ever want an enshrined snake, let me know. It is dried and put into -a little _miya_ for the _kamidana_. - -Speaking of folk-lore, I have been interesting myself in the -fox-superstition in Izumo. Here, and in Iwami, the superstition has -local peculiarities. It is so powerful as to affect the value of real -estate to the amount of hundreds of thousands of yen, and keen men have -become rich by speculating upon the strength of it. If you want any -facts about it, please tell me. - -The scenery at Kiyomizu is superb. But there is no clear water except -the view of Nanji-umi from the pagoda and the hills. The _mamori_, I -regret to say, are uninteresting. There is, however, a curious Inari -shrine. Beside it is a sort of huge trough filled with little foxes of -all shapes, designs, and material. If you want anything, you pray, and -put a fox in your pocket, and take it home. As soon as the prayer is -granted you must take the fox back again and put it just where it was -before. I should like to have taken one home; but my servants hate foxes -and Inari and _tofu_ and _azuki-meshi_ and _abura-gi_ and everything -related to foxes. So I left it alone. - -You will not be sorry to hear that I am to have the same publishers -as Mr. Lowell,--at least according to present indications. I am not -vain enough to think I can ever write anything so beautiful as his -"Chos[=o]n" or "Soul of the Far East," and will certainly make a poor -showing beside his precise, fine, perfectly worded work. But I am not -going to try to do anything in his line. My work will deal wholly with -exceptional things (chiefly popular) in an untilled field of another -kind. - -I gave 72 boys, as subject for composition the other day, the question: -"What would you most like in this world?" Nine of the compositions -contained in substance this answer: "To die for our Sacred Emperor." -That is Shint[=o]. Isn't it grand and beautiful? and do you wonder that -I love it after that? - -Most grateful regards from yours most sincerely, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I went to K[=o]be by rail, and thence -by jinrikisha across Japan over mountains and through valleys -of rice-fields--a journey of four days; but the most delightful -in some respects of all my travelling experiences. The scenery -had this peculiar effect, that it repeated for me many of my -tropical impressions--received in a country of similar volcanic -configuration,--besides reviving for me all sorts of early memories of -travel in Wales and England which I had forgotten. Nothing could be -more beautiful than this mingling of the sensations of the tropics with -those of Northern summers. And the people! My expectations were much -more than realized: it is among the country-people Japanese character -should be studied, and I could not give my opinion of them now without -using what you would call enthusiastic language. I felt quite sorry -to reach this larger city, where the people are so much less simple, -charming, and kindly,--although I have every reason to be pleased with -them. And in a mountain village I saw a dance unlike anything I ever saw -before--some dance immemorially old, and full of weird grace. I watched -it until midnight, and wish I could see it again. Nothing yet seen in -Japan delighted me so much as this Bon-odori--in no wise resembling the -same performance in the north. I found Buddhism gradually weaken toward -the interior, while Shint[=o] emblems surrounded the fields, and things -suggesting the phallic worship of antiquity were being adored in remote -groves. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, June, 1891. - -DEAR MR. CHAMBERLAIN,--I am horribly ashamed to confess my weakness; but -the truth must be told! After having lived for ten months exclusively -upon Japanese fare, I was obliged to return (for a couple of days -only!!!!) to the flesh-pots of Egypt. Having become sick, I could not -recuperate upon Japanese eating--even when reenforced with eggs. I -devoured enormous quantities of beef, fowl, and sausage, and fried solid -stuffs, and absorbed terrific quantities of beer,--having had the good -luck to find one foreign cook in Matsue. I am very much ashamed! But the -fault is neither mine nor that of the Japanese: it is the fault of my -ancestors,--the ferocious, wolfish hereditary instincts and tendencies -of boreal mankind. The sins of the father, etc. - -Do you know anything about Ch[=o]zuba-no-Kami? There are images of him. -He has no eyes--only ears. He passes much of his time in sleep. He is -angry if any one enters the _koka_ without previously hemming,--so as to -give him notice. He makes everybody sick if the place in which he dwells -is not regularly cleaned. He goes to Kizuki and to Sada with the other -gods once a year; and after a month's absence returns. When he returns, -he passes his hand over each member of the family as they go to the -Ch[=o]zuba,--to make sure the family is the same. But one must not be -afraid of the invisible hand. I think this kami is an extremely decent, -respectable person, with excellent views on the subjects of morality and -hygiene. I could not refuse him a lamp nor--for obvious reasons--the -worship of incense. - -I have not been able to travel yet far enough to find anything novel, -but hope soon to do so. Meanwhile I am planning to make, if possible, -not only a tour of Izumo, but also a very brief visit to T[=o]ky[=o] in -company with Mr. Nishida. Perhaps--I may be able to see both you and Mr. -Lowell for a tiny little while--you will always have a moment to spare. - -I am always haunted by a particularly sarcastic translation Mr. -Lowell, in one of his books, made of the name of a gate,--"The Gate -of Everlasting Ceremony." (Only an American could have dared to make -such a translation.) I have been through the Gate and into the Court of -Everlasting Ceremony; but the gate is a marvellous swarming of carven -dragons and water, and the court is full of peace and sweetness. Most -truly, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your welcome letter has just reached me, -on the eve of a trip to Kizuki, and--unless extraordinary circumstances -prevent--Oki islands. My guest has departed. He was so petted and made -much of here, that I could not help regretting you also would not come. -I think I could make you comfortable here,--even in regard to diet,--at -any time when you could make the trip; and, as far as the people go, -they would embarrass you with kindness. Your name here is--well, more -than you would wish it to be. - -Your last delightful letter I did not fully answer in my last, being -hurried. What you said about the influence of health or sickness -on the spiritual life of a man went straight to my heart. I have -found, as you have done, that the possessor of pure horse-health -never seems to have an idea of the "half-lights." It is impossible -to see the psychical undercurrents of human existence without that -self-separation from the purely physical part of being, which severe -sickness gives--like a revelation. One in good health, who has never -been obliged to separate his immaterial self from his material self, -always will imagine that he understands much which, even recorded in -words, cannot be understood at all without sharp experience. We are all -living two lives,--but the revelation of the first seems only to come -by accident. There is an essay worth reading, entitled "Sickness is -Health,"--dealing with the physical results of sickness only; but there -is a much larger psychological truth in the title than the author of -it, whose name I forget, ever dreamed of. All the history of asceticism -and self-suppression as a religion, appears to me founded upon a vague, -blundering, intuitive recognition of the terrible and glorious fact, -that we can reach the highest life only through that self-separation -which the experiences of illness, that is, the knowledge of physical -weakness, brings; perfect health always involves the domination of -the spiritual by the physical--at least in the present state of human -evolution. - -Perhaps it will interest you to know the effect of Japanese life upon -your little friend after the experiences of a year and a half. At first, -the sense of existence here is like that of escaping from an almost -unbearable atmospheric pressure into a rarefied, highly oxygenated -medium. That feeling continues: in Japan the law of life is not as -with us,--that each one strives to expand his own individuality at -the expense of his neighbour's. But on the other hand, how much one -loses! Never a fine inspiration, a deep emotion, a profound joy or a -profound pain--never a thrill, or, as the French say so much better -than we, a _frisson_. So literary work is dry, bony, hard, dead work. I -have confined myself strictly to the most emotional phases of Japanese -life,--popular religion and popular imagination, and yet I can find -nothing like what I would get at once in any Latin country, a strong -emotional thrill. Whether it is that the difference in our ancestral -history renders what we call soul-sympathy almost impossible, or whether -it is that the Japanese are psychically smaller than we, I cannot -venture to decide--I hope the former. But the experience of all thinking -persons with whom I have had a chance to speak seems to be the same. - -But how sweet the Japanese woman is!--all the possibilities of the race -for goodness seem to be concentrated in her. It shakes one's faith in -some Occidental doctrines. If this be the result of suppression and -oppression,--then these are not altogether bad. On the other hand, how -diamond-hard the character of the American woman becomes under the -idolatry of which she is the subject. In the eternal order of things -which is the highest being,--the childish, confiding, sweet Japanese -girl,--or the superb, calculating, penetrating Occidental Circe of our -more artificial society, with her enormous power for evil, and her -limited capacity for good? Viscount Torio's idea haunts me more and -more;--I think there are very formidable truths in his observations -about Western sociology. And the question comes: "In order to comprehend -the highest good, is it necessary that we must first learn the largest -power of evil?" For the one may be the Shadow of the other. - -I am very much disappointed with Rein. I got much more information -about my own particular line of study from your "Things Japanese" than -from Rein. Rein himself confesses, after seven or eight years' labour, -that he has only been able to make "a patchwork"! What, then, can a man -like myself hope to do,--without scientific knowledge, and without any -hope of even acquiring the language of the country so as to read even -a newspaper? Really it seems to me almost an impertinence on my part -to try to write anything about Japan at all, and the only fact which -gives me courage is that there exists no book especially devoted to the -subject I hope to consider. - -The deity of Mionoseki is called always by the people Ebisu, or -Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami;--in the guide the deity is said to be Hiruko, -who, I believe, has been identified by Shint[=o] commentators with -Hiruko, as I find in the article on the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, in -the Asiatic Transactions. But I am not sure what to say about Hiruko -being the deity of Mio Jinja, as a general statement. My friends say -that only a Shint[=o] priest can decide, and I am going to see one. - - Most truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I have just received and read your most -interesting letter on my return from Kizuki,--where I should have liked -to remain longer, but I must go to see the Bon-odori at Shimo-ichi, -where it is danced differently from anywhere else, so far as I can -learn, and in a thrillingly ghostly manner,--so that one thinks he is -looking at a Dance of Souls. - -Before leaving I had a copy of Murray's Guide sent to the Kokuz[=o], who -was more than pleased to see the picture of the great temple reproduced -and to hear what was said about it. Before I went away, he gave me -another singular entertainment, such as he alone could do--for he is -King of Kizuki. (By the way, the old reverence for the Kokuz[=o] is not -dead. Folks do not believe now that whoever he looks at immediately -becomes unable to move; but as I and my companion followed him to the -great shrine, the pilgrims fell down and worshipped him as he passed.) - -This was the entertainment he gave me:--Having invited me to the temple -grounds, where seats were prepared, and a supper got ready for us, Mr. -Senke gave some order, and the immense court immediately filled with -people,--thousands. Then at a signal began a round dance, such as I -had never seen before,--the H[=o]nen-odori, as anciently performed in -Kizuki. It was so fascinating that I watched it until two o'clock in -the morning. At least three hundred dancers were in the ring;--and the -leader, standing on a mochi-mortar turned upside down, with an umbrella -over his head, formed the axis of the great round, and turned slowly -within it upon his pedestal. He had a superb voice. The Kokuz[=o] also -got the beautiful _miko_ dances photographed to please me, and presented -me with many curious MSS., some of which I hope to show you later on. -They were written expressly for me. - -Now as to the sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune. Just as the Bon-odori differs in every -part of Japan, and just as everything at Kizuki is totally different -from everything at Ise, even to the Miko-kagura, so is the custom of -sending away the Ships of the Souls different here. In many parts the -ships are launched at two or three o'clock in the morning of the day -after the Bon; or if ships are not launched, then floating lanterns -are sent out by way of guiding the dead home. But in Kizuki the -sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune are launched only by day and for those who have been -drowned at sea, and the shapes of the ships vary according to the kind -of ship in which the lost man or woman perished. And they are launched -every year for ten years after the death:--and when the soul returns -yearly to visit the home, the ship is made ready, and a little stick of -incense is lighted before launching it to take the beloved ghost back -again, and a little stock of provisions is placed in it upon _kawarake_ -(principally _dango_). And the _kaimy[=o]_ of the dead is written upon -the sail. And these boats are launched,--not at night, as elsewhere, but -in the daytime. - -I have had the sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune boxed and addressed to you, and a -priest wrote for me the kaimy[=o] upon the sail and the date of death, -according to the usual custom. But you will not get the thing before -three weeks, as I am forwarding it by express, and you know how slow the -process is! - -As for my letters, use anything you wish, and, if you desire, my -name. The only matter is this: that I am so small a personage as an -author that I am much in doubt whether the use of my name attached -to any opinion would give the opinion more weight than if expressed -impersonally. Unless it should, it might not be good for the book. I -leave the decision entirely to you. - -I have been reading Mr. Lowell's book over again; for it is one thing to -read it in Philadelphia, and quite another thing to read it after having -spent a year and a half in Japan. And the power and the charm impress -me more than ever. But I am so much horrified by its conclusions--at -least a few of them--that I try very hard to find a flaw therein. I -think the idea that the degree of the development of individuality in -a people necessarily marks its place in the great march of mind is not -true necessarily. At least it may be argued about. For as the tendency -of the age is toward class specialization and interdependent subdivision -of all branches of knowledge and all practical application of that -knowledge, the development of the individuality of every integer of a -community would seem to me to unfit the unit to form a close part of any -specialized class. In brief, I doubt, or rather I wish to doubt, that -the development of individuality is a lofty or desirable tendency. Much -of what is called personality and individuality is intensely repellent, -and makes the principal misery of Occidental life. It means much that -is connected with pure aggressive selfishness: and its extraordinary -development in a country like America or England seems a confirmation -of Viscount Torio's theory that Western civilization has the defect of -cultivating the individual at the expense only of the mass, and giving -unbounded opportunities to human selfishness, unrestrained by religious -sentiment, law, or emotional feeling. - -[Illustration: THE CITY OF MATSUE] - -What you say about your experience with Japanese poetry is indeed very -telling and very painful to one who loves Japan. Depth, I have long -suspected, does not exist in the Japanese soul-stream. It flows much -like the rivers of the country,--over beds three quarters dry,--very -clear and charmingly beshadowed;--but made temporarily profound only -by some passional storm. But it seems to me that some tendencies in -Japanese prose give hope of some beautiful things. There was a -story some time ago in the _Asahi Shimbun_ about a _shiraby[=o]shi_ -that brought tears to my eyes, as slowly and painfully translated by a -friend. There was tenderness and poetry and pathos in it worthy of Le -Fanu (I thought of the exquisite story of Le Fanu, "A Bird of Passage," -simply as a superb bit of tender pathos) or Bret Harte--though, of -course, I don't know what the style is. But the Japanese poem, as I -judge from your work and the "Anthologie Japonaise," seems to me exactly -the Japanese coloured print in words,--nothing much more. Still, how the -sensation of that which has been is flashed into heart and memory by the -delicious print or the simple little verse. - -I go to-morrow or the next day to Shimo-ichi. If you get the -sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune, let me know. Any of your servants can, I think, -fix the little masts and pennons in place. A small incense vessel and -_kawarake_ with _dango_, or models of _dango_, might be added by Dr. -Tylor to the exhibit; but I suppose these are not essential. - -With sincerest regards, ever truly, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR MR. CHAMBERLAIN,--Before leaving, I must trouble you with another -note or two. - -For "Things Japanese," I would like to make a suggestion about the -article "Theatre." The reference to O-Kuni seems to me extremely -severe; for her story is very beautiful and touching. She was a _miko_ -in the Great Temple of Kizuki, and fell in love with a _ronin_ named -Nagoya Sanza, and she fled away with her lover to Ky[=o]to. On the way, -another _ronin_, who fell in love with her extraordinary beauty, was -killed by Sanza. Always the face of the dead man haunted the girl. - -At Ky[=o]to she supported her lover by dancing the Miko-kagura in the -dry bed of the river Kamogawa. - -Then they went to T[=o]ky[=o] (Yedo) and began to act. Sanza himself -became a famous and successful actor. The two lived together until Sanza -died. - -Then she came back to Kizuki. She was learned, and a great poet in the -style called _renga_. After Sanza's death she supported herself, or at -least occupied herself, in teaching this poetic art. But she shaved -off her hair and became a nun, and built the little Buddhist temple in -Kizuki called Rengaji, in which she lived, and taught her art. And the -reason she built the temple was that she might pray for the soul of -the _ronin_ whom the sight of her beauty had ruined. The temple stood -until thirty years ago. Nothing is now left of it but a broken statue -of Jiz[=o]. Her family still live in Kizuki, and until the restoration -the chief of the family was always entitled to a share of the profits of -the Kizuki theatre, because his ancestress, the beautiful _miko_, had -founded the art. - -So I would like to suggest that poor O-Kuni have a kind word said for -her. And I am sure we would both think very highly of her if she were -alive. - -There is a little Japanese book about her history; but I do not know the -title. With best regards, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PAGE,--I answer your dear letter at once, as you wished me to -do. It reached me to-day, on my return from Kizuki, the Holy City of -Japan,--where I have become something of a favourite with the high -pontiff of the most ancient and sacred shrine of the land,--which -no other European was ever permitted to enter before me. And I am -travelling now,--stopping at home only on my way to other curious and -unknown places. For this part of Japan is so little known that I was -the first to furnish Murray's Guidebook editors with some information -thereabout.... - -But I had unknown friends here who knew me through my "Chinese -Ghosts"--so they applied to the Government for me, and I got an -educational position under contract. The contract was renewed last March -for a year--the extreme term allowed by law. My salary is only $100 per -month; but that is equal here to more than double the sum in America. -So that I am able to keep up nearly the nicest house in town,--outside -of a few very rich men,--to have several servants, to give dinners, and -to dress my little wife tolerably nicely. Moreover, life in Japan is -something so placid and kindly and gentle--that it is just like one of -those dreams in which everybody is good-natured about everything. The -missionaries have no reason to like me,--for one had to be discharged to -secure me; and I teach the boys to respect their own beautiful faith and -the gods of their fathers, and not to listen to proselytism. However, -the missionaries leave me alone. We have a tiff about Spencer in the -_Japan Mail_ sometimes; but as a rule I am completely isolated from all -Europeans. It is only at long intervals one ever gets so far,--with -the exception of an austere female stationed here in the vague hope of -making a convert. - -Of course I will send you a photograph of my little wife. I must tell -you I am married only in the Japanese manner as yet,--because of the -territorial law. Only by becoming a Japanese citizen, which I think I -shall do, will it be possible to settle the matter satisfactorily. By -the present law, the moment a foreigner marries a native according to -English law, she becomes an English citizen, and her children English -subjects, if she have any. Therefore she becomes subject to territorial -laws regarding foreigners,--obliged to live within treaty limits, -and virtually separated from her own people. So it would be her ruin -to marry her according to English form, until I become a Japanese in -law;--for should I die, she would have serious reason to regret her loss -of citizenship. - -As for going abroad--I mean back to you all--I don't know what to -say. Just now, of course, I could not if I would; for I am under -legal contract. Then my plans for a book on Japan are but a quarter -finished. Then, my little woman would be very unhappy, I fear, away -from her people and her gods;--for this country is so strange that it -is impossible for any who have never lived here for a long time to -understand the enormous difference between the thought and feeling of -the Japanese and our own. But, later on, perhaps I _must_ go back for a -time to see about getting out a book. Then I will probably appeal to you -for a year's employ or something. The Orient is more fascinating than -you may suppose: here, remember, the people _really_ eat lotuses: they -form a common article of diet. But no human being can tell exactly what -the future has in store for him. So I cannot for the life of me say now -what I shall do.... - -We are many years behind you here. In Matsue there is a little newspaper -of which I must send you a copy as a curiosity. Every week or two there -is an article in it about me. For "the foreigner's" every act is a -subject for comment. There is no such thing in Japan as privacy. There -are no secrets. Every earthly thing a man does is known to everybody, -and life is extravagantly, astoundingly frank. The moral effect is, -in my opinion, extremely good,--though the missionaries, who lie hard -about this country, say the reverse. Think of nothing but a paper screen -dividing all your life from the lives about you,--a paper screen to poke -a hole through, which is not considered outrageous, unless the screen -be decorated with celebrated paintings. That is _common_ life here. -As for me, I have a secluded house, with three gardens round it. But, -according to popular custom, I must never shut the door, or lock myself -up except at night. One must not be nervous here, or impatient: it is -impossible to remain either in such an atmosphere, or to be ill-natured, -or to hide anything. And just think of it!--I having to give lectures -and make speeches through an interpreter, which lectures and speeches -are duly printed in a Japanese magazine! To speak before a Japanese -audience, however, is delightful. One look at all the placid smiling -faces reassures the most shrinking soul at once. - -Well, at all events, I shall write you often, and send you something -queer betimes. I must now get ready to take the little steamer by which -I start. - -With best regards to all, and to you best love, I remain, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -[Illustration: This is my legal seal.] - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - YABASE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--I have discovered Yabase. No European seems -to have ever been here before. On arriving at Shimo-ichi to see the -Bon-odori, I found I had come three days too soon, and the little town -is very hot and uncomfortable. - -Well, Yabase is an extremely quiet, pretty little town, with a much -better hotel than I have seen for quite a while,--and a superb beach. -Strange to say, there are no boats and nobody ever thinks of going -into the sea, except children. So whenever I go to swim, the entire -population crowd the beach to look on. Happily I am a very good -swimmer,--could swim for twenty-four hours without fatigue. Thus the -people have a _mezurashii mono_ to behold. Another queer thing about -Yabase is that it is the only place I have seen in Japan where there -is no shrine of Inari. It is a strictly Buddhist town, and Nichiren -prevails. There is a _yashiro_ on a neighbouring mountain, however. -There is no Bon-odori here, one must go to the next town to see it, -which I will do to-night. There has been much rough weather--tremendous -seas breaking along the coast. At Kizuki I thought the hotel was going -to be carried away; and all the approaches to it, bridges, etc., were -dashed to pieces. Here, the sea is opposed by a loftier coast, but it -becomes something one cannot laugh at on a windy day. - -I must tell you an incident of the revival of pure Shint[=o]. At Kizuki, -until very recently, two of the hotels were kept by families belonging -to some Buddhist sect, as well as to the Kizuki sect of Shint[=o], and -so in their establishments, as in nearly every Izumo household, there -was a _butsudan_ as well as a _kamidana_. But some pilgrims who came to -Kizuki, full of fiery Shint[=o] zeal, were wroth to see a _butsudan_ -in the inns of the Sacred City, and girded up their loins, and sought -out an hotel where no Buddha was, and went there,--and sent out word -to their fellow pilgrims. The result has been that all the hotels in -Kizuki have suppressed Buddhism, or at least its externals: they have -become pure Shint[=o]. This incident is rather anomalous, but it is -a confirmation of what I said before, regarding the predominance of -Shint[=o]. - -From Mionoseki, I hope to send you some _o fuda_ of interest. The -prospects of getting to Oki are growing small, however,--for the time -being. - - * * * * * - -P.S. Alas! I have not discovered Yabase! Some detestable missionary was -here before me--for one hour only, it is true, but he was here!--And -to-day, being a day of high surf, there came down to the beach with -planks, divers boys, who swam far out and came in, as the Americans say, -"a-kite-ing," on the crests of waves--swimming unspeakably well, after -the fashion of the Polynesian islanders. So that I feel small! I offered -to teach them what I know in exchange for instruction as to how to come -"a-kite-ing" on the top of a wave. - -As for the little Japanese pipe:-- - -I cannot think that its form and dimensions simply evidence the -Japanese fondness for "small things." The ancient Samurai pipes, of -which I have seen many fine specimens, were very much larger than the -modern _kiseru_. The pipe seems to me rather the natural evolution of -a utensil in its relation to the domestic life of Japan. The little -pipe is admirably adapted to the multifarious interruptions of Japanese -occupations. Long-sustained effort, protracted and unbroken study, are -things foreign to Japanese existence. The Western pipe is good between -the teeth of a man trained to remain on duty without remission of mental -labour or relaxation of muscle for five or six hours at a stretch. But -the Japanese idea of labour is blessed and full of interruptions as -his year is full of _matsuri_. Thus, the little pipe, with its three -conventional whiffs, exactly suits his wants. Its artistic evolution is -also a matter worthy of study. Some of the best metal-work has been done -upon it. From the pipe of 3 sen to the pipe of 30 yen, there is as great -a range of artistic design and finish as in the realm of _kakemono_. -Pipes of silver are the fashion. Without engraving, the silver must be -very heavy. If the two metal parts be elaborately engraved and inlaid, -the metal may be made as light as possible. A really fine pipe becomes -an heirloom. - -The introduction of European costume among the class of officials and -teachers necessarily produced a change in the smoking paraphernalia -which formed a part of the native Japanese outfit. The _tabako-ire_ -was reshaped, so as to accommodate itself to a breast or side pocket, -and the little pipe shortened so as to be enclosed without the tobacco -pouch, much as a pencil is enclosed in a pocket-book. Many beautifully -designed things thus came into existence. A nice small pipe of silver -may now be had to order for about 3 yen,--(designed). The _netsuke_ has, -of course, no place in this form of the _tabako-ire_. I have collected -over a hundred different forms of the new pipe. This has no bamboo: -the whole thing is one solid piece of metal. The best are inlaid or -engraved:--the bowl and mouthpiece (at least) being usually of silver, -worked into steel or brass. - -Pipes with long stems are preferable for house use. They do not burn the -tongue so quickly as the short pipe. However, the tobacco itself has -much to do with this matter. Those j[=o]ros, geishas, and others, who -smoke the greater part of the time, use a special tobacco which does not -blister the tongue or lips. - -With the pipe for an evolutionary centre, a whole intricate and complex -world of smoking-furniture has come into existence,--of which the -richest specimens are perhaps those lacquered _tabako-bon_ for the -use of aristocratic ladies, with plated or solid silver _hibachi_ and -_haifuki_. The winter _hibachi_ for smoking purposes has, of course, -many forms;--some of the daintiest being those invented for use in -theatres, to be carried in the hand. The smoker, who finds a handsome -bronze _hibachi_ placed before him on a winter's day, is not supposed to -empty his pipe into it by knocking the metal head of the pipe upon the -rim: if genteel, he will always insert the leather flap of his tobacco -pouch between the pipehead and the _hibachi_--so as to prevent the -tapping of the pipehead from causing a dent in the bronze. At present -the most genteel _tabako-bon_ for summer use has a small cup of bronze, -instead of the usual cup of porcelain. The smoker empties his pipe, not -into the _hibachi_ of bronze or porcelain, but into the bamboo _haifuki_ -which is an indispensable part of the summer _tabako-bon_. - -The foreigner who uses the Japanese pipe commences his experience -with that apparently simple article by burning small round holes in -everything near him--the _tatami_, the _zabuton_, and especially his -own _yukata_ or _kimono_. The small pellet of ignited tobacco contained -in the _kiseru_ becomes, after a few whiffs, a fiery pill, loose, and -ready to leap from the pipe at a breath. Wherever it falls, it pierces -holes like a red-hot shot. But the Japanese expert smoker rarely burns -anything. He draws from his pipe at the very most three whiffs and at -once empties it into the _haifuki_. To smoke a Japanese pipe to the -bottom, moreover, results in clogging up the pipe. The art of cleaning -it out afterwards is quite elaborate. A common plan is to heat the -pipehead in the charcoal of the _hibachi_, and then blow out the refuse. -But this method corrodes and spoils a fine pipe. The cleaning of the -fine pipe must be done with a twist of tough fine paper passed up the -stem and pulled out through the head. - -Besides smoking-furniture, a special code of politeness has been evolved -around the Japanese pipe. - -The pipe, I regret to say, is in vulgar circles used as a domestic rod. -The wife or child who is very naughty may receive a severe blow with the -_kiseru_, or even many. However, it is not so bad as the instruments of -punishment in vogue elsewhere. - -I am not sure if I have been able to say anything worth your while to -read about the pipe, but I think the Japanese pipe is really worth more -consideration than is usually given it. - -NOTE. Women's pipes have a special, delicate form--and are made -very small and dainty--also their _tabako-ire_. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - YURA, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--If you are not frightfully busy, which -I suppose nobody is at this time of the year, perhaps some of my -adventures will interest you. - -I found that the Bon-odori is different, not only in every village, but -even in every commune. So I was very anxious to see all the varieties -of this curious dance that I could. I heard that at [=O]tsuka, near -Yabase, there was a very remarkable kind of dance danced; and I went, in -Japanese costume, with a dozen citizens of Yabase, to see it. It turned -out to be not worth seeing at all: the people had no more knowledge of -dancing--or rather, much less, than Sioux or Comanches. - -[=O]tsuka is a stony, large, primitive-looking village,--full of rude -energy and, I am sorry to say, of bad manners,--a terrible thing to say -about any Japanese town. But I have been in about 50 Japanese villages, -where I loved all the people, and always made a few of them love me, -and [=O]tsuka is the first exception I found to the general rule about -the relation between foreigners and _hyakush[=o]-no-jin_. At [=O]tsuka -the people left their dance to pelt the foreigner with little pellets -of sand and mud,--crying out: "Bikki!--bikki!" What that means I do -not know. So both I and the whole of the Yabase people turned back. -The pelting was not very savage--it was just like the work of naughty -children: a foreign mob would have thrown stones, which these folk were -very careful not to do--in spite of the fact that there were no police. -I passed through this village twice since, and found the attitude of its -people peculiarly rough--bordering upon hostility. Compared with the -roughness of--say a Barbadoes mob--it was a very gentle thing, but it -gave me the first decidedly unpleasant sense of being an alien that I -have ever had in Japan. - -I have just returned from Togo-ike,--a place described in your Guide. - -Frankly, I detest Togo-ike. But it is extremely popular with travelling -Japanese--especially the _sh[=o]bai_. Imagine a valley of rice-fields, -ringed in by low jagged wooded hills, with a lakelet in the middle of -it about a mile and a quarter long (at most) by half a mile broad, and -hotels built out into the water. The coldest place I have yet been -in Japan. The hotels are supplied with hot water from the volcanic -springs through bamboo pipes, but the baths do not compare with those -of the much humbler Izumo resort--Tama-tsukuri. The cold air to me was -penetrating, sickly, but this may be idiosyncrasy. To one who has lived -in the tropics the chill of rice-fields means fever and death; and some -of my old tropical fears came up. Then the hotel has only _mishido_, no -_karakami_,--so that one is never alone. One hour of Yabase is worth -a season at Togo-ike--free of expense--to one who loves quiet and -simple ways. So I shall spend a couple more days there before going to -Mionoseki. - -I have given up Oki, until winter. The health and strength I get from -seawater bathing have made me delay too long. But I will get to Oki -later. - - Ever yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - YABASE, August, 1891. - -DEAR MR. NISHIDA,--I have had a pleasant time in different little drowsy -sea-villages,--sleeping, eating, drinking sake, and bathing. Yabase is -about the most pleasant place I ever stopped at here. - -But, alas!--_I saw no Bon-odori_ at all at Shimo-ichi. I seemed to have -gone too soon;--at Yabase, there is no Bon-odori; and at [=O]tsuka, -where I next travelled, on foot, to see the Bon-odori, I had an -adventure of a peculiar kind. - -[=O]tsuka seems to be a rough sort of place. Its folk are big hustling -noisy countrymen; and when they are full of sake inclined to be -mischievous. They stopped dancing to see the foreigner. The foreigner -took refuge from the pressure of the crowd in a house, where he sat -upon the floor, and smoked. The crowd came into the house and round -the house, and uttered curious observations and threw sand and water -at the foreigner. Therefore the people of Yabase, who had accompanied -the foreigner to [=O]tsuka, arose and made vigorous protests; and we -all returned to Yabase together. At Yabase, the police and some of -the principal people more than made up to me for the rudeness of the -[=O]tsuka folk,--they apologized for the [=O]tsuka folk until I was -really ashamed of being so kindly looked after; and I was entertained -very generously; and the police told me that anything in the world -I wished their advice or help about, only to send them word. (The -hostility of the [=O]tsuka folk was really a very childish sort of -thing, not worth making a fuss about;--a Western crowd would have thrown -stones or rotten eggs. Indeed I am not sure whether the crowd was really -hostile at all. I rather think that they wanted to see the foreigner -move,--so they tried to make him stir about,--like a _kedamono_ in a -cage.) - -To-morrow I return to Matsue, by way of Mionoseki;--I really regret -leaving Yabase: the people are the kindest, most honest, straightforward -folk imaginable. And I have made several friends;--at the temple of -Nichiren here, I got some beautiful _o fuda_. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - MATSUE, August, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR CHAMBERLAIN,--Having reached a spot where I can write -upon something better than a matted floor, I find three most pleasant -letters from you. The whole of the questions in them I cannot answer -to-night, but will do so presently, when I obtain the full information. - -However, as to cats' tails I can answer at once. Izumo cats--(and I -was under the impression until recently that all Japanese cats were -alike)--are generally born with long tails. But there is a belief -that any cat whose tail is not cut off in kittenhood, will become an -_obake_ or a _nekomata_, and there are weird stories about cats with -long tails dancing at night, with towels tied round their heads. There -are stories about petted cats eating their mistress and then assuming -the form, features, and voice of the victim. Of course you know the -Buddhist tradition that no cat can enter paradise. The cat and the snake -alone wept not for the death of Buddha. Cats are unpopular in Izumo, -but in H[=o]ki I saw that they seemed to exist under more favourable -conditions. The real reason for the unpopularity of the cat is its -powers of mischief in a Japanese house;--it tears the _tatami_, the -_karakami_, the _sh[=o]ji_, scratches the woodwork, and insists upon -carrying its food into the best room to eat it upon the floor. I am -a great lover of cats, having "raised," as the Americans say, more -than fifty;--but I could not gratify my desire to have a cat here. The -creature proved too mischievous, and wanted always to eat my uguisu. - - * * * * * - -The oscillation of one's thoughts concerning the Japanese--the swaying -you describe--is and has for some time been mine also. - -There are times when they seem so small! And then again, although -they never seem large, there is a vastness behind them,--a past of -indefinite complexity and marvel,--an amazing power of absorbing and -assimilating,--which forces one to suspect some power in the race so -different from our own that one cannot understand that power. And as -you say, whatever doubts or vexations one has in Japan, it is only -necessary to ask one's self:--"Well, who are the best people to live -with?" For it is a question whether the intellectual pleasures of social -life abroad are not more than dearly bought at the cost of social -pettinesses which do not seem to exist in Japan at all. - -Would you be horrified to learn that I have become passionately fond -of _daikon_,--not the fresh but the strong ancient pickled _daikon_? -But then the European Stilton cheese, or Limburger, is surely quite -as queer. I have become what they call here a _j[=o]go_,--and find -that a love of sake creates a total change in all one's eating habits -and tastes. All the sweet things the _geko_ likes, I cannot bear -when taking sake. By the way, what a huge world of etiquette, art, -taste, custom, has been developed by sake. An article upon sake,--its -social rules,--its vessels,--its physiological effects,--in short the -whole romance and charm of a Japanese banquet, ought to be written by -somebody. I hope to write one some day, but I am still learning. - - * * * * * - -As to Dr. Tylor and the anthropological institute. If he should want any -paper that I could furnish, I would be glad and consider myself honoured -to please him. As for your question about the _o fuda_, why, I should -think it no small pleasure to be mentioned merely as one of your workers -and friends. Though the little I have been able to send does not seem -to me to deserve your kindest words, it is making me very happy to have -been able to please you at all. Whatever I can write or send, make -always any use of you please. - -About "seeing Japan from a distance,"--I envy you your coming chance. -I could not finish my book on the West Indies until I saw the magical -island again through regret, as through a summer haze,--and under -circumstances which left me perfectly free to think, which the soporific -air of the tropics makes difficult. (Still the book is not what it -ought to be, for I was refused all reasonable help, and wrote most of -it upon a half-empty stomach, or with my blood full of fever.) But to -think of Japan in an English atmosphere will be a delicious experience -for you after so long an absence. I should not be surprised should the -experience result in the creation of something which would please your -own feelings as an author better than any other work you have made. Of -course it is at the time one is best pleased that one does one's real -best in the artistic line. - -By the way, since you like those Shint[=o] prints,--and I might get you -others,--what about a possible edition of your "Kojiki" illustrated by -Japanese conceptions of this kind, colours and all? Such work can be so -cheaply done in Japan! And an index! How often I wished for an index. I -have made an imperfect one of my own. It is believed here that Hahaki is -the ancient name of the modern H[=o]ki. I was told this when I wanted to -go to the legendary burial-place of Izanami. - -As usual, I find I have been too presumptuous in writing offhand about -cats' tails. On enquiring, I learn that there are often, born of the -same mother, Izumo kittens with short tails, and kittens with long -tails. This would show that two distinct species of cats exist here. The -long-tailed kittens are always deprived when possible of the larger part -of their caudal appendage. The short tails are spared. If an old cat be -seen with a short tail, people say,--"this cat is old, but she has a -short tail: therefore she is a good cat." (For the _obake_ cat gets two -tails when old, and every wicked cat has a long tail.) I am told that at -the recent _bon_, in Matsue, cats of the evil sort were seen to dance -upon the roofs of the houses. - -What you tell me about those Shint[=o] rituals and their suspicious -origin seems to me quite certainly true. So the _kara-shishi_ and the -_mon_ and the dragon-carvings and the _t[=o]r[=o]s_,--all stare me in -the face as pillage of Buddhism. But the funeral rite which I saw and -took part in, on the anniversary of the death of Prince Sanj[=o], struck -me as immemorially primitive. The weird simplicity of it--the banquet to -the ghost, the covering of the faces with white paper, the moaning song, -the barbarian music, all seemed to me traditions and echoes of the very -childhood of the race. I shall try to discover the genesis of the book -you speak of as dubious in character. The Shint[=o] christening ceremony -is strictly observed here, and there are curious facts about the funeral -ceremonies--totally at variance with and hostile to Buddhism. - -By the way, when I visited a _tera_ in Mionoseki after having bought _o -fuda_ at the Miojinja, I was told I must not carry the _o fuda_ into -the court of the _tera_. The Kami would be displeased. - -For the moment, good-bye. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MATSUE, 1891. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... My household relations have turned out to be -extremely happy, and to bind me very fast here at the very time that I -was beginning to feel like going away. It does not now seem possible -for me ever to go away. To take the little woman to another country -would be to make her extremely unhappy; for no kindness or comfort could -compensate for the loss of her own social atmosphere--in which all -thoughts and feelings are so totally different from our own. - -I find literary work extremely difficult here. The mental air about one -has a totally disintegrating effect upon Western habits of thinking;--no -strong emotion, no thrills or inspirations ever come to me, so I am -still in doubt how to work. Whether I shall ever be able to make a -really good book on Japan is still a question; but if I do, it will -require years of steady dry work, without one real flash in it. The -least fact in this Oriental life is so different from ours, and so -complex in its relationship to other facts, that to explain it requires -enormous time and patience. - -I was made a little homesick by your letter about New Orleans, -mentioning so many familiar names. It brought back many pleasant -memories. - -Ah! you are in a dangerous world now. You will meet some charming, -unsophisticated Southern girl, so much nicer than most Northern girls, -that the South may fascinate you too much. - -My correspondents have all dropped off except you. Sometimes a -letter wanders to me--six months old--announcing my nomination as -vice-president of some small literary society; but the outer world is -slowly and surely passing away. At the same time the harder side of -Japanese character is beginning to appear--in spots. The women are -certainly the sweetest beings I have ever seen, as a general rule: all -the good things of the race have been put into them. They are just -loving, joyous, simple-hearted children with infinite surprises of -pretty ways. About the men,--one never gets very close to them. One's -best friends have a certain far-offness about them, even when breaking -their necks to please you. There is no such thing as clapping a man -on the back and saying, "Hello! old boy!" There is no such thing as -clapping a fellow on the knee, or chucking a fellow under the ribs. -All such familiarities are terribly vulgar in Japan. So each one has -to tickle his own soul and clap it on the back, and say "Hello" to it. -And the soul, being Western, says: "Do you expect me always to stay in -this extraordinary country? I want to go home, or get back to the West -Indies, at least. Hurry up and save some money." As it is, I have two -hundred dollars saved up, even after dressing my little wife like a -queen. - -And now I am about to journey to outrageous places, among very strange -gods. Good-bye for a while. - - Ever most affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MATSUE, October, 1891. - -DEAR DEVILISHLY DELIGHTFUL OLD FELLOW,--I have been dancing an Indian -war-dance of exultation in my Japanese robes, to the unspeakable -astonishment of my placid household. After which I passed two hours in -a discourse in what my Japanese friends ironically term "The Hearnian -Dialect." Subject of exultation and discourse,--the marriage of Miss -Elizabeth Bisland. If she only knew how often I have written her name -upon the blackboard for the eyes of the students of the Normal School -to look upon when they asked me to tell them about English names! And -they pronounce it after me with a pretty Japanese accent and lisp: -"_Aileesabbet Beeslan_!" Well, well, well!--you most d--nably jolly -fellow!! - -... Civilization is full of deadly perils in small things,--isn't it? -and horrors in large things--railroad collisions, steamboat explosions, -elevator accidents,--all nightmares of machinery. How funny the quiet of -this Oriental life. The other day a man brought a skin to the house to -sell,--a foreign skin. Very beautiful the animal must have been, and the -price was cheap. But the idea of murder the thing conveyed was horrible -to me, and I was glad to find my folks of the same mind. "No, no!--we -don't like to see it," they said. And the man departed, and in his heart -pain was lord. - -Oh! as for vacation, I always get two months, or nearly two months,--the -greater part of July and all of August. This time I have been travelling -alone with my little wife, who translates my "Hearnian dialect" into -Japanese,--eating little dishes of seaweed, and swimming across all -the bays I could find on the Izumo coast. They take me to be a good -swimmer out here; but I am a little afraid to face really rough water -at a distance from shore.--About getting to you, I don't really see my -way clear to do it for another year or two--must wait till I feel very -strong with the Japanese. Just now friend Chamberlain is trying to get -me south, to teach Latin and English, at $200 per month, in a beautiful -climate. I would like it--but the Latin--"_hic sunt leones!_" I am -awfully rusty. Should I be offered the place and dare to take it, you -would find me at Kumamoto, in Ky[=u]sh[=u],--much more accessible than -Matsue. I think I have a better chance of seeing you here than you of -seeing me. But what a dear glorious chap you are to offer me the ways -and means;--I'll never forget it, old boy--never! - -Pretty to talk of "my pen of fire." I've lost it. Well, the fact is, -it is no use here. There isn't any fire here. It is all soft, dreamy, -quiet, pale, faint, gentle, hazy, vapoury, visionary,--a land where -lotus is a common article of diet,--and where there is scarcely any -real summer. Even the seasons are feeble ghostly things. Don't please -imagine there are any tropics here. Ah! the tropics--they still pull -at my heart-strings. Goodness! my real field was there--in the Latin -countries, in the West Indies and Spanish-America; and my dream was -to haunt the old crumbling Portuguese and Spanish cities, and steam -up the Amazon and Orinoco, and get romances nobody else could find. -And I could have done it, and made books that would sell for twenty -years yet. Perhaps, however, it's all for the best: I might have been -killed in that Martinique hurricane. And then, I think I may see the -tropics on this side of the world yet,--the Philippines, the Straits -Settlements,--perhaps Reunion or Madagascar. (When I get rich!) - -Besides, I _must_ finish my work on Japan, and that will take a couple -of years more. It is the hardest country to learn--except China--in -the world. I am the only man who ever attempted to learn the people -seriously; and I think I shall succeed. But there is work ahead--phew! -I have sent away about 1500 pp. MSS., and I have scarcely touched the -subject--merely broken ground. - -... Fact is, there is only one way to really marry a Japanese -legally,--to be adopted into a Japanese family after marrying the -daughter, and so become a Japanese citizen. Otherwise the wife loses -her citizenship--a terrible calamity to a good girl. She would have to -live in the open ports, unless I could always live in the interior. And -the children--the children would have no rights or prospects in Japan. -I don't see any way out of it except to abandon my English citizenship, -and change my name to _Koizumi_,--my wife's name. I am still hesitating -a little--because of the Japanese. _Would_ they try to take advantage, -and cut down my salary? I am thinking, and waiting. But meantime, I am -morally, and according to public opinion, fast married. - -By the way, she would very much like to see E. B. If E. has a yacht, -make her "sail the seas over" and come to this place; and she will be -much pleased and humbly served and somewhat amused. - -Well, so long, with best heart-wishes and thanks, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I have accepted a new position, in Southern Japan. - -Oh! read Zola's "L'Argent"--you will appreciate it. There are delicious -_financial_ characters in it. For goodness' sake, don't read a -translation. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, 1891. - -DEAR FRIEND NISHIDA,--Your very welcome letter came to-day. I -was beginning to be anxious about you, as my cook, who arrived here only -yesterday, said that it was extremely cold in Matsue; and I was afraid -the bitter weather might have given you cold. I am very glad you are -taking care of yourself.... - -I am now a little more reconciled to Kumamoto; but it is the most -uninteresting city I was ever in, in Japan. The famous shrines of -Kat[=o] Kiyomasa (the Kat[=o]-sha and the Hommy[=o]ji) are worth -visiting; they are at Akitagun, a little outside the town. The city is -packed with soldiers. Things are dear and ugly here--except silks. This -is quite a place for pretty silks, and they are cheaper than in Matsue: -but there is nothing pretty in the shape of lacquer-ware, porcelain, -or bronze. There is no art, and there are no _kakemonos_, and no -curio-shops. - -The weather here is queer--something like that of the Pacific slope, a -few hundred miles north of San Francisco. The nights and the mornings -are cold; and at sunrise, you see the ground covered with white frost, -and mists all over the hills. But by noon it gets warm, and in the -afternoon even hot; then after sundown it turns cold again. - -Mr. Kano was too modest when he told me there were other teachers who -spoke English better than he. There are not. He speaks and writes -better English than any Japanese I know. However, there is a Mr. Sakuma -here, from Ky[=o]to, who has a very uncommon knowledge of _literary_ -English: he has read a great deal, has a good library, and has made a -special study of Old English and Middle English. He teaches literature -(English) and grammar, etc. Mr. [=O]zawa (_I think_) is the second -English teacher: I like him the best personally. He has that fine -consideration for others which you have,--and which is not a common -quality of men anywhere. He speaks French. The Head-master, Mr. Sakurai, -a young and very silent man, also speaks French. Nearly all the teachers -speak English,--except the delightful old teacher of Chinese, who has -a great beard and a head like Socrates. I liked him at once,--just as -I liked Mr. Katayama at first sight. I wonder if there is anything -in the learning of Chinese which makes men amiable. Perhaps it is the -constant need of patience and the aesthetic sentiment also involved by -such studies, that changes or modifies character so agreeably. I don't -know much, however, about the teachers yet. I say good-morning and -good-evening, and sit in my corner, and smoke my pipe. So far they all -seem very gentle and courteous. I think I shall be able to get along -pleasantly with them; but I don't think I shall become as friendly with -any of them as I was with you. Indeed there is nobody like you here--no -chats in the ten minutes,--no curious information,--no projects and -discoveries. I often look at your pretty little tea-tray, with the -_semi_ and the dragonflies upon it,--and wish I could hear your voice at -the door.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I have become very strong, and weigh about 20 lbs. more than I did -last summer. But I can't tell just why. Perhaps because I am eating -three full meals a day instead of two. My house is not quite so large -as the one I had in Matsue. We are five here now--myself and wife, -the cook, the _kurumaya_, and O-Yone. It was very funny about O-Yone -when she first came. Nobody could understand her Izumo dialect (she is -from Imaichi); but both she and the _kurumaya_ can now get along. The -hotels here are outrageously expensive: at least some of them. I cannot -recommend the Shirakuin for cheapness. I paid, including tea-money, 24 -yen for 6-1/2 days. No more of that! - -About the boys? Yes, [=O]tani writes to me, and Azukizawa,--and I got a -charming letter from Tanabe, late of the 5th Class. - -I was surprised to hear of the decision of the Council. But I cannot -help thinking this is much better than that the boys should be taught -by a missionary; 99 out of 100 will not teach conscientiously and -painstakingly. And a clever Japanese teacher can do so much. I have now -no one to prepare some of my classes for the English lesson; and I know -what it means. The main use of a foreign teacher is to teach accent and -conversational habits. But I suspect that within another generation few -foreign teachers will be employed for English--except in higher schools -and for special purposes. There will be thousands of Japanese teachers, -speaking English perfectly well. I hope you will be the new Director. -Please kindly remember me to Mr. Sato, Mr. Katayama, Mr. Nakamura (I -wish I could hear him laugh now), and all friends. - - * * * * * - -P. S. Setsu insists that I shall tell you that the _kurumaya_ of this -town are _oni_, and that one must be careful in hiring them;--so that -if you should come down here when the weather is better, you must be as -careful as in T[=o]ky[=o],--where they are also _oni_. Also that rent is -high: my house is eleven yen. But with any Izumo cook, living is just as -cheap as in Matsue; and there is much good bread and meat and sake and -food of all kinds. - -I am sorry about that Tamatsukuri affair; for I wrote, as you will see, -words of _extreme_ praise,--never suspecting such possibilities. Why, -the first duty of gentlemen is to face death like soldiers,--not like -sailors on a sinking ship, who stave in the casks--sometimes. However, -don't such things make you wish for the chance to do the same duty -better? They do me. That is one good effect of a human weakness: it -makes others wish to be strong and to do strong things. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1891. - -MY DEAR [=O]TANI,--I have just received your most kind letter, for which -my sincerest thanks. But I don't want to correct it, and send it back to -you: I would rather keep it always, as a pleasant remembrance. - -It has been very cold in Kumamoto--a sharp frost came last night, with -an icy wind. Everybody says such cold is extraordinary here; but I -am not quite sure if this is really true, because they have told me -everywhere I have been during the last twenty years: "Really we never -saw such weather before." - -Kumamoto is not nearly so pretty a city as Matsue, although it is as -neat as Tenjin-machi. There are some very beautiful houses and hotels, -but the common houses are not so fine as those of Matsue. Most of the -old Shizoku houses were burned during the Satsuma war, so that there -are no streets like Kita-bori-machi, and it is very hard to find a nice -house. I have been fortunate enough to find one nearly as nice as the -one I had in Matsue, but the garden is not nearly so pretty; and the -rent is eleven dollars--nearly three times more than what I paid in -Matsue. There is, of course, no lake here, and no beautiful scenery like -that of Shinji-ko; but on clear days we can see the smoke rising from -the great volcano of Aso-san. - -As for the Dai Go K[=o]t[=o]-Ch[=u]gakk[=o], the magnificence of it -greatly surprised me. The buildings are enormous,--of brick for the most -part; and they reminded me at first sight of the Imperial University -of T[=o]ky[=o]. Most of the students live in the school. There is a -handsome military uniform; but all the boys do not wear it,--some -wear Japanese clothes, and the rules about dress (except during -drilling-time, etc.) are not very strict. There is no bell. The classes -are called and dismissed by the sound of a bugle. There are ten minutes -between class-hours for rest; but the buildings are so long, that it -takes ten minutes to walk through them to the teacher's room, which is -in a separate building. Two of the teachers speak French, and six or -seven English: there are 28 teachers. The students are very nice,--and -we became good friends at once. There are three classes, corresponding -with the three higher classes of the Jinj[=o] Ch[=u]gakk[=o],--and -two higher classes. I do not now teach on Saturdays. There are no -stoves--only _hibachi_. The library is small, and the English books -are not good; but this year they are going to get better books, and -to enlarge the library. There is a building in which _j[=u]-jutsu_ is -taught by Mr. Kano; and separate buildings for sleeping, eating, and -bathing. The bath-room is a surprise. Thirty or forty students can -bathe at the same time; and four hundred can eat at once in the great -dining-hall. There is a separate building also for the teaching of -chemistry, natural history, etc.; and there is a small museum. - -You have been kind enough to offer to find out for me something about -Shint[=o]. Well, if you have time, I will ask you to find out for me as -much as you can about the _miya_ of the household,--the household shrine -and _kamidana_ in Izumo. I would like to know what way the _kamidana_ -should face--north, south, east, or west. - -Also, what is the origin of the curious shape of the little stoppers of -the _omiki-dokkuri_? - -[Illustration] - -Also, whether the ancestors are ever worshipped before the _kamidana_ in -the same way as they are worshipped before the _butsudan_. - -Are the names of the dead ever written upon something to be placed in -the _miya_, in the same way, or nearly the same way, as the _kaimy[=o]_ -is written upon the _ihai_ or Buddhist mortuary tablet. - -In the Shint[=o] worship of _family_ ancestors (if there is any such -worship, which I doubt), what prayers are said? - -Are any particular _family_-prayers said by Buddhists when praying -before the _kaimy[=o]_, or do the common people utter only the ordinary -prayer of their sect--such as "_Namu Amida Butsu_," or, "_Namu -My[=o]h[=o] Rengeky[=o]_?" - -But do not give yourself too much trouble about these things, and take -your own time;--in a month, or two months, or even three months will -be quite time enough. And if you have no time, do not trouble yourself -about it at all; and write to me that you cannot, or would rather -not,--then I will ask some one who is less busy. - -I shall be hoping really to see you in Kumamoto next year. You would -like the school very much. Perhaps you would not like the city as well -as Matsue; but the school is not in the city exactly; it is a little -outside of it, and you would live in the school, probably,--or very -near it. The students make excursions to Nagasaki and other places, by -railroad and steamer. - -Now about your letter. It was very nice. You made a few mistakes in -using "_will_,"--and in saying "if I would have promote my school." It -ought to have been "if I should go to a higher school." - -"This will be a bad letter" ought to have been "I fear this _is_ ... -etc." But you and I and everybody learn best by making mistakes. - -With best remembrance from your old teacher, believe me - - Ever truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, December, 1891. - -DEAR FRIEND NISHIDA,--Your letter has just reached me. I am more -sorry than I can express to hear of the death of Yokogi. Nature seems -strangely cruel in making such a life, and destroying it before the -time of ripeness. And the good hearts and the fine brains pass to dust, -while the coarse and the cunning survive all dangers.... - -The name of the delightful old Samurai who teaches Chinese here, I think -you know,--Akizuki. He was at Aizu, and made a great soldier's name; -and he is just as gentle and quiet as Mr. Katayama,--and still more -paternally charming in his manner. He is sixty-three years old.... - -I have made no friends among the teachers yet. I attended my first -Japanese dinner with them the night before last; and, because _you_ were -not there, I think I made some queer mistakes about the dishes--when -to use chopsticks, etc. There were no _geishas_: the former director -had forbidden their employment at teachers' dinners; and I don't think -that Mr. Kano is going to revoke the order. The reason for it was not -prudery; but the opposition paper used to take advantage of the presence -of _geishas_ at the teachers' banquets to print nasty things against -the school. So it was determined not to give the paper a chance to say -anything more.... - -I have been very cautious in writing you about the climate, because I -wanted to be very sure that, in case you should come here, it would be -for the best. So far the climate is like this: every morning and night -cold, with white frost; afternoons so warm that one can go out without -an overcoat. Very little rain. No snow yet; but I am told that it will -come. - -As for me, I have become stronger than I have been for years. All my -clothes, even my Japanese _kimono_, have become too small!! But I -cannot say whether this be the climate or the diet or what. Setsu says -it is because I have a good wife;--but she might be prejudiced, you -know! My lungs are sound as a bell; I never cough at all. This is all -that I can tell you at present. - -No: O-Yone came with us. She took O-Yoshi's place, when O-Yoshi went -back to live with her mother. I am sorry to say I had to send the -_kurumaya_ away. He abandoned his wife in Matsue, and she went to the -house of the Inagaki, crying and telling a very pitiful story. When -I heard this, I told the man he must go back. But on the same days -later, I found he had been doing very wrong things,--trying to make -trouble among the other servants, and playing tricks upon us by making -secret arrangements with the shopkeepers. I had bought him clothes, -and given him altogether 14 yen and 50 sen, besides his board and -lodging--including 5 yen to go back with. But he had squandered his -little money and how he managed afterward I don't know. I could not -help him any more; for his cunningness and foolishness together made it -impossible to keep him a day longer in the house. The cook is from the -_Nisho-tei_,--to which you first introduced me. The _kurumaya's_ place -would have been a nice place for a good man. I shall be very careful -about employing another _kurumaya_ by the month. - -Now about the question you asked me. The words you underlined are -from the Jewish Bible. The ideas of VALUE and of WEIGHT were closely -connected in the minds of the old Semites, as they are still, to some -extent, in our own. Everything was sold by WEIGHT, and according to the -WEIGHT was the VALUE. The weighing was done with the SCALES or BALANCE, -of which there were several kinds. The balancing was done by suspending -a weight at one end of the "balance," or scales, as in Japan, and the -article to be sold in the other. If too light, the article was "found -wanting"--(i. e.: in weight). So in such English expressions as "to make -LIGHT of" (to ridicule, to belittle, to speak contemptuously of)--the -idea of WEIGHT thus estimated survives. Now, in the mythology of the -Jews God is represented as one who WEIGHS, in a scale or balance, the -good that is in a man--(his MORAL WEIGHT or VALUE)--and sends him to -hell if he proves too light. Public opinion is now the God with the -scales. If I am an author, for example, I (that is, my work) will be -WEIGHED in the BALANCE (of public or of literary opinion) and found -perhaps WANTING. Poor Ito was weighed many, many times, and found -wanting--before being expelled. I am afraid he will be found wanting -also by the world into which he must enter. - -As for the phrase, "not a hair of their _head_," the singular is often -used for the plural in the old English of the Bible, and other books. -(To-day, we should use only the plural,--as a general rule.) - -_Examples from the Bible:_ - - 1. "The fire had no power upon their bodies, nor - singular - was the hair of _their_ HEAD singed." - - --_Daniel, 3d Chap. 27th verse._ - - plural singular - 2. "But the very hairs of your HEAD are all numbered." - - --_Luke_ 12. 7. - - singular - 3. "And he bowed the HEART of _all the men of Judah_" - - --_II Samuel_ 19. 14. - -Poets to-day, or writers of poetical prose, may take similar liberties -with grammar as that in No. 3. - -There are very many quotations in the Bible about the words "weighed in -the balance;" the most famous being that in the story of Belshazzar, in -the book of Daniel. The first poetical use of the phrase is in the book -of Job--supposed, you know, to have been written by an Arab, not a Jew. - -Now I hope and pray that you will take good care of yourself, and not -allow your Samurai-spirit of self-denial to urge you into taking any -risks on bitterly cold days. Many, many happy new years to you and yours. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1891. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Your welcome postal to hand. One must travel out -of Izumo after a long residence to find out how utterly different -the place is from other places,--for instance, this country. Matsue -is incomparably prettier and better built and in every way more -interesting than Kumamoto. What Kumamoto is religiously, I have not -yet been able to find out. There are no shops here full of household -shrines of _hinoki_-wood for sale, no display of _shimenawa_ over -doors, no charms in the fields, no _o fuda_ pasted upon house-doors, -no profusion of Shint[=o] emblems, no certainty of seeing a _kamidana_ -or a _butsudan_ in every house, and a strange scarcity of temples -and images. Religiously, the place seems to be uninteresting; and -to-day it is infernally cold. Everything is atrociously dear, and the -charming simplicity of the Izumo folk does not here exist. My own -people--four came with me--feel like fish out of water. My little wife -said the other morning, with an amusing wonder in her eyes, that there -was a _mezurashii kedamono_ in the next yard. We looked out, and the -extraordinary animal was a goat. Some geese were also a subject of -wonder, and a pig. None of these creatures are to be seen in Izumo. - -About Inari. I may enquire again, but I think that the representation of -Inari as a man with a beard, riding upon a white fox, in the pictures -of Toyokuni, for instance, and in the sacred _kakemono_ is tolerably -good evidence. Also the relief carving I have seen representing him as a -man. Also the general popular idea concerning him, about which there is -no mistake. Also the letter of Hideyoshi to Inari Daimy[=o]jin cited in -Walter Dening's Readers, under the heading: "Hideyoshi's Letter to Gods." - -As to Kwannon, it is true that in Buddhist history she figures both as -a man and woman (as also does the daughter of the Serpent-King in the -astounding _sutra_ of the Lotus of the Good Law),--she is identified -with the Sanscrit Avalokitesvara,--about whose sex there may be -some doubt. I have a translation of her Japanese _sutra_, in which -she is female, however;--and in China and in Japan she has come to -be considered the ideal of all that is sweet in womanliness, and her -statues and the representations of her in the numerous pictures of the -Buddhist pantheon are of a woman,--maiden. And after all, the people, -not the scholars, make the gods, and the gods they make are the best. - -I cannot help thinking that the identification of the Japanese Buddhas -and Bodhisattvas with those of India is not sufficiently specified by -Eitel and others as an identification of origin only. They have become -totally transformed here,--they have undergone perfect avatars, and -are not now the same. Shaka, Amida, Yakushi, Fud[=o], Dainichi, etc., -may have been in India distinct personalities: in Japan they are but -forms of the One,--as indeed are the innumerable Buddhas of the Lotus -of the True Law. All are one. And Kshitigarbha is not our Japanese -Jiz[=o],--and Kwannon is not Avalokitesvara, and the Ni-[=o] are not the -figures of Indra, and Emma-O is not Yama. "They were and are not." Don't -you agree with me that the popular idea of a divinity is an element of -weight in such questions of doubt as we are chatting about? - -With every wish that you may enjoy your journey in Shikoku, I remain, -most truly ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S.... I have been teaching three days, and find no difference in the -boys from those of Izumo,--they are gentle, polite, manly and eager. -But I am greatly hampered by the books. There are not books enough, and -the reading-books chosen are atrociously unsuited for the students. -Fancy "Silas Marner" and "John Halifax," with the long double-compound -complex semiphilosophical sentences of George Eliot, as text-books -for boys who can scarcely speak in English! A missionary's choice! -Ye gods of old Japan! I think the Mombush[=o] is economical in the -wrong direction. Too much money cannot be spent on good reading-books. -Less money on buildings and more for books would give better results. -Buildings worth a quarter of a million (as building costs in America), -and "Lovell's Library" and "George Munro's" piracies bought for -text-books. I could scream!! - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1892. - -DEAR [=O]TANI,--Your long and most interesting letter gave me much -pleasure, as well as much information. I am very glad to have had my -questions so nicely answered; for I am writing an essay on Shint[=o] -home-worship in Izumo,--all about the _kamidana_, etc. I know a good -deal about general forms and rules, but very little about the reverence -paid _in the house_ to the family dead (forefathers, father, mother, -dead children, etc.)--in Shint[=o], which is very interesting to know. -I think much of the modern customs shows a Chinese origin, though the -spirit of pure Shint[=o] seems to be wholly Japanese. - -I think your first explanation of the form of the _omiki dokkuri no -kuchi-sashi_ is the correct one,--so far as this is concerned. I am -not sure, but the shape is strikingly like that of the mystic jewel of -Buddhist art. There is another form in brass, which I have, that seems -intended to represent a folded paper; but I am not sure what it means. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -Many thanks for your very valuable notes about the January customs. -You told me quite a number of things I did not know before,--such as -the rules about the twist of the straw-rope, and the symbolism of the -charcoal and many other articles. But I would like to know why the -pendent straws should be 3-5-7: is there any mystic signification in -those numbers? I thought the Japanese mystic number was 8.... - -Take good care of your health. - - Ever very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1892. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Your jolly letter just came--Jan. 3rd,--to find me -celebrating the new year after the Japanese fashion. There is not one -New Year's day here, but three. Over the gate, and all the alcoves of -each apartment, the straw rope (_shimenawa_), which is the Shint[=o] -emblem of the gods, is festooned; upon the _kamidana_, or "god-shelf," -lights are burning before the tablets of those deities who have -pledged themselves in Japanese ideographs to love and protect this -foreigner,--and I have given to them offerings of rice-cakes and sake. -For the guests are dishes of raw fish, and others which it would take -too long to describe, and hot sake. My little wife does the honours. -Before the gate are Japanese flags and pine-trees--emblems of green old -age and unflinching purpose. - ---Well, here I am in Ky[=u]sh[=u], a thousand miles and more south of -Yokohama, at a salary of 200 yen a month. All my Izumo servants came -with me. Our house is not nearly so beautiful as that in Matsue, and the -city is devilishly ugly and commonplace,--an enormous, half-Europeanized -garrison-town, full of soldiers. I don't like it; but Lord! I must -try to make money, for nothing is sure in Japan, and I am now so tied -down to the country that I can't quit it, except for a trip, whether -the Government employs me or not. I have nine lives depending on my -work--wife, wife's mother, wife's father, wife's adopted mother, wife's -father's father, and then servants, and a Buddhist student. How would -_you_ like that? It wouldn't do in America. But it is nothing here--no -appreciable burden. The _moral_ burden, however, is heavy enough. You -can't let a little world grow up around you, to depend on you, and then -break it all up--not if you are a respectable person. And I indulge -in the luxury of "filial piety"--a virtue of which the good and evil -results are only known to us Orientals. - -I translated into Hearnian dialect all you said. And my wife, whose name -is Setsu, or Chi-yo (alternative), knows you well by your photograph, -and said such nice things about that photograph that I dare not tell -you. Which is all the more extraordinary because when I showed her some -pictures of "distinguished foreigners" she and the girls all said that -if they should ever meet such people they would "become Buddhas for -fear"--i. e., die of fright. American and English faces--their deep-set -eyes--terrify unsophisticated Japanese. Children cry with fear at the -sight of a foreigner. So your photo must reveal exceptional qualities to -make such an impression.... - -Everybody gets drunk here to-day; but a cultivated Japanese is never -offensively drunk. To get _properly_, politely drunk upon sake is the -_summum bonum_.... Although a gentleman knows how to act, however drunk, -it is the custom, when your host makes you drunker than usual (which -delights him), to call at the house next morning, and thank him for the -entertainment--at the same time apologizing for any _possible_ mistakes. -Of course, there are no ladies at men's dinners--only professional -dancing-girls, _maiko_ or _geisha_. - -Work progresses; but the barrier of language is a serious one. My -project to study Buddhism must be indefinitely delayed on that account. -For the deeper mysteries of Buddhism cannot be explained in the Hearnian -dialect. - -What some people say about Miss Bisland--ah! I mean Mrs. Wetmore--being -only beautiful when she wants to be is, I think, perfectly true. She -can change into seventeen different women. She used to make me almost -believe the stories about Circe and Lilith. She laughed to scorn the -terrible scientific test of the photograph--of the science which reveals -new _nebulae_ and tells a man in advance whether he is going to get the -small-pox or not. No two photos of her ever represented the same human -being. In ordinary mortals the sort of thing called _Ego_, which is not -"I" but "They," is worked up into a recognizable composite photo. But -in her case, 'tis quite otherwise. The different dead that live in her, -live quite separately from each other, in different rooms, and receive -upon different afternoons. And yet--if even Rudyard Kipling were to -write the truth about that person--or rather that ghostly congregation -of persons called Elizabeth Bisland,--who but a crazy man would believe -that truth? Assuredly Mr. W. ought to think himself lucky. Ever to -get tired of Elizabeth is out of human possibility. There are too -many different Elizabeths, belonging to different historical epochs, -countries, and conditions. If he should tire of one Elizabeth,--lo! -there will appear another. And there is one very terrible Elizabeth, -whom I had a momentary glimpse of once, and whom it will not be well for -Mr. W. or anybody else to summon from her retirement. But I am glad for -the compound Elizabeth that she has this Protector in reserve.--Lord! -how irreverently I have been talking! But that is because you can read -under the irreverence.... - -What can't be insured against is earthquake. I have become afraid. -Do you know that the earthquake the other day in Gifu, Aichi, etc., -destroyed nearly 200,000 houses and nearly 10,000 lives? My house in -far-off Matsue rocked and groaned like a steamer in a typhoon. It isn't -the quake one's afraid of: it is being held down under a ton of timber -and slowly burned alive. That is what happened to most of the dead. Five -millions of dollars will scarcely relieve the distress.... - -Well, here's a thousand happy New Years to you and yours,--all luck, all -blessings, all glorious sensations. - - Ever from your old disoccidentalized chum, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1892. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Just had a long and delightful letter from you, and -Mallock's book. I hate the Jesuit; but he has a particular cleverness -of his own indeed. I hate him first because he is insincere, as -you suggest; then I hate him because he is morbid, with a priestly -morbidness--sickly, cynical, unhealthy. I like Kipling's morbidness, -which is manly and full of enormous resolve and defiance in the teeth of -God and hell and nature,--but the other--no! This book is not free from -the usual faults. It is like Paul Bourget boiled into thin soup, and -flavoured with a dash of M. de Camors. The Markham girl was certainly -Feuillet's imagination; but she is excellently done. Really, I don't -know;--I asked myself: "If it was I?" ... And conscience answered: "If -it was _you_, in spite of love and duty and honour and hellfire staring -you in the face you would have gone after her,--and tried to console -yourself by considering the Law of Attraction of Bodies and Souls in -the incomprehensible cosmical order of things, which is older than the -gods." And I was very much inclined to demur; but conscience repeated: -"Oh! don't be such a liar and quibbler;--you know you would! That was -the only part of the book you really liked. Your ancestors were not -religious people: you lack constitutional morality. That's why you are -poor, and unsuccessful, and void of mental balance, and an exile in -Japan. You know you cannot be happy in an English moral community. You -are a fraud--a vile Latin--a vicious French-hearted scalawag." - -And I could not say anything, because what conscience observed was -true--to a considerable extent. "_Vive le monde antique!_" ... - -I have been thinking a heap, because of being much alone. (The Japanese -do not understand Western thought at all--at least not its emotional -side. Therefore devour time and devour thought even while they stimulate -it.) ... - -Now about these Shadows. Yes, there are forces about one,--vague, -working soundlessly, imperceptibly, softening one as the action of air -softens certain surfaces of rock while hardening others. The magnetism -of another faith about you necessarily polarizes that loose-quivering -needle of desire in a man that seeks source of attraction in spite of -synthetic philosophy. The general belief in an infinite past and future -interpenetrates one somehow. When you find children who do wrong are -always warned, "Ah! your future birth will be unhappy;" when you find -two lovers drinking death together, and leaving behind them letters -saying, "This is the influence of our last birth, when we broke our -promise to become husband and wife;" and last, but not least, when -some loving woman murmurs, laughingly: "In the last life thou wert a -woman and I a man, and I loved thee much; but thou didst not love me at -all,"--you begin to doubt if you do not really believe like everybody -else. - -About the training of the senses. The idea is admirable, but _alas!_--a -very clever Frenchman five years ago, in the _Revue Politique et -Litteraire_, almost exhausted it. He represented a man who had -cultivated his eye so that he could see the bacteria in the air, and the -grain of metals,--also being able to adjust his eyes to distance. He had -trained his ear so as to hear all sounds of growth and decomposition. He -had trained his nose to smell all substances supposed to have no smell. -He made a diagram of the five senses thus:-- - -The way impressions come to-- - -YOU [Illustration] ME [Illustration] - -I translated it for the _T.-D._ - -For a little while, good-bye and best happiness. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, 1892. - -DEAR E. H.,-- ... Your thoughts about the Shadows of the East are -touching. You ought to be able to write something beautiful and quite -new if you had time.... - -You have been seized by the fascination of monstrous cities built up -to heaven, and eternally sending their thunder to the smoke-blacked -sky,--cities where we live by machinery. I can shudder now only to think -of walking down a street between miles of houses two hundred feet high, -with a roaring of traffic through them as of a torrent in a canon. And -that fascination means elegance, fashion, social duties.... I have been -trying to deal with these two problems: "What has been the moral value -of Christianity to mankind?" and "Why is Western civilization still in -slavery to religious hypocrisy?" The answer to the former seems to be -that without the brutal denial of the value of life and pleasure by -Christianity, we could never have learned that the highest enjoyments -are, after all, intellectual, and that progress can be effected only by -self-sacrifice to interest and indifference to physical gratifications. -And the latter question, though I have not yet solved it, seems to -suggest that the hypocrisy itself may have large hidden value,--may be -in process of transmutation into a truth. - -Yes, Japanese women are all that your question implies you would wish -them to be. They are children, of course. They perceive every possible -shade of thought,--vexation, doubt, or pleasure,--as it passes over -the face; and they know all you do not tell them. If you are unhappy -about anything, then they say: "I will pray to the Kami-sama for my -lord,"--and they light a little lamp, and clap their hands and pray. -And the ancient gods hearken unto them; and the heart of the foreign -barbarian is therewith lightened and made luminous with sunshine. And -he orders the merchants of curious textures to bring their goods to the -house, which they do--piling them up like mountains; and there is such -choice that the pleasure of the purchase is dampened by the sense of -inability to buy everything in this world. And the merchants, departing, -leave behind them dreams in little Japanese brains of beautiful things -to be bought next year. - -Also Japanese women have curious Souls. The other day in Nagano, a -politician told a treacherous lie. Whereupon his wife robed herself all -in white as those are robed who are about to journey to the world of -ghosts, and purified her lips according to the holy rite, and, taking -from the storeroom an ancient family sword, thereupon slew herself. -And she left a letter, regretting that she had but one life to give in -expiation of the shame and the wrong of that lie. And the people do -now worship at her grave, and strew flowers thereupon, and pray for -daughters with hearts as brave.... But the worms are eating her. - -Because you sent me that horrid book, I revenge myself. I send you a -much more horrid book. But if you do not enjoy it, I shall commit _hara -kiri_, or _seppuku_, which is the polite name. And a woman wrote it--a -woman! Christopher Columbus! what a _terrible_ woman she must be!... - -The "tract" you sent is giving much amusement to friends here. Send -anything _really_ good of that sort you can find: it makes life happier -for the exile. - -I am not easy about my book, of which I now await the proofs. It lacks -colour--it isn't like the West Indian book. But the world here is not -forceful: it is all washed in faint blues and greys and greens. There -are really gamboge, or saffron-coloured valleys,--and lilac fields; but -these exist only in the early summer and the rape-plant season, and -ordinarily Japan is chromatically spectral. My next book will probably -be on Buddhism in common life. - -You write me delightful letters, which, alas! I can't answer. Well, they -are not answerable in themselves. They are thinking. I can only say -this about one point: the isolation ought--unless you are physically -tired by the day's work--to prove of value. All the best work is done -the way ants do things--by tiny but tireless and regular additions. I -wouldn't recommend introspection,--except in commentary. You _must_ see -interesting life. Of course only in flashes and patches. But preserve -in writing the memory of these. In a year you will be astounded to find -them self-arranging, kaleidoscopically, into something symmetrical,--and -trying to live. Then play God, and breathe into the nostrils,--and be -astonished and pleased. - - Lovingly ever yours - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - KUMAMOTO, June, 1892. - - DEAR PAGE,--To-day, second of June, your kind letter came, - enclosing a draft for L163; and I write in haste to catch the mail.... -And now, ten thousand thanks, from the bottom of my much-scarified heart. - -I am sorry I did not get the _T.-D._, as it would have helped me to get -out my book quicker,--my first book. It ought to be out this Fall; and -I think it will be tolerably large,--a little larger than "Two Years in -the French West Indies;" but it is only an introductory book. - -Really, it is very queer; but you seem to be the best friend I've got -outside of Japan. You really do things for a fellow--great big things; -and nobody else seems inclined to do much of anything.... - -I send you to-day a better photo of my little wife, and some other -things; and you will shortly get a copy of Chamberlain's "Things -Japanese" I have ordered for you.... As for making a present to Setsu -(that is her name in Japanese; in Chinese Chi-yo, or Tchi-yo[1]), I -don't think you could send her anything Western she would understand. -And I would not wish you to take so much trouble. The best thing you -can do to please her is to be good to me. She has really everything she -wants (you know Japanese women wear no earrings, necklaces, or jewelry -as ours do); and what she really wants is only made in Japan; and I am -wickedly trying to keep her as innocent of foreign life as possible. -So whenever she shows a liking even for foreign textures (many are now -thrown on the market) I persuade her that Japanese goods are twice as -pretty and durable, and for fear she might not believe me I usually -manage to find some Japanese stuff that really is much better than the -foreign article on sale.... - -[1] (Like Tchi-Nim?)--It means "Life-for-a-Thousand-Years,"--a - name of good omen. - -Oh, about distances. I am in Ky[=u]sh[=u], the southern island, you -know,--very far from T[=o]ky[=o], and by the route much farther than as -the crow flies. What I meant by 2000 miles south of T[=o]ky[=o] was the -Loochoo Islands. You know they belong to Japan, but perhaps I am wrong -as to distance. The Loochoo Islands compose what is called _Okinawa Ken_ -(ken is province).... I find I shall not be able to go to Loochoo this -summer, however; I must make studies somewhere else for a new book. Of -course you will get my book as soon as it comes out. - -In that book you will find a good deal about what you ask in relation -to my way of living, etc. But as to eating, I have said very little. -The fact is I lived for one year exclusively on Japanese food, which -Europeans, among others Mr. Chamberlain, consider almost impossible. -I must confess, however, that it broke me down. After twelve months -I could not eat at all. You know Japanese food is raw fish and fresh -fish, rice, bean-curds (they look like custard), seaweed, dried -cuttle-fish,--rarely chicken or eggs. In short, of five hundred -Japanese dishes, the basis is rice, fish, beans, lotus, various -vegetables, including bamboo shoots, and seaweed. Confectionery is -eaten between meals only, and sparingly. Tea is never allowed to become -strong: it is a pale straw-colour, without sugar or milk, and once used -to it, you cannot bear the sight of European tea any more. But I had to -return to the flesh-pots of Egypt. I now eat Japanese food only once a -day; and morning and evening indulge in beefsteak, bread, and Bass's Ale. - -One becomes fond of Japanese sake (rice-wine); but it can only be eaten -with Japanese food. A barrel of the best costs about $3.50. It is -extremely deceiving. It looks like lemonade; but it is heavy as sherry. -Happily it has not the after-effects of sherry. There is no liquor in -the world upon which a man becomes so quickly intoxicated, and yet none -of which the effects last so short a time. The intoxication is pleasant -as the effect of opium or hasheesh. It is a soft, pleasant, luminous -exhilaration: everything becomes brighter, happier, lighter;--then you -get very sleepy. At Japanese dinners it is the rule to become slightly -exhilarated; but not to drink enough to talk thickly, or walk crooked. -The ability to drink at banquets requires practice--long practice. With -European wines, the rule is, I believe, that hearty eating prevents the -drink from taking too much effect. But with Japanese sake it is exactly -the opposite. There are banquets of many kinds, and the man who is -invited to one at which extensive drinking may be expected is careful -to start in upon an empty, or almost empty, stomach. By not eating one -can drink a good deal. The cups are very small, and of many curious -shapes; but one maybe expected to empty fifty. A quart of sake is a good -load; two quarts require iron nerves to stand. But among the Japanese -there are wonderful drinkers. At a military officer's banquet a captain -offered me a tumbler holding a good pint of sake,--I almost fainted at -the sight of it; for it was only the first. But a friend said to me: -"Only drink a little, and pass it back"--which I did. Stronger heads -emptied cup after cup like water. "Oh, that is nothing," my friend said; -"wait till you see an old-fashioned cup." He showed me something like -a wash-basin for size,--a beautiful lacquered bowl, holding, I should -guess, at the very least a quart and a half. "A valiant warrior was -expected," he said, "to swallow this at one draft, and wait for more." I -should not like to attempt it, unless I were suffering very badly from -chills and fever. When very tired and cold, one can drink a great deal -of sake without harm. - -About my every-day life. Well, it is the simplest and most silent of -lives,--in a simple Japanese house. I use one chair, only for writing at -a high table on account of my eyes. Most of my life I spend squatting -on the floor. Europeans can seldom get used to this; but it has become -second nature to me. - -I always wear Japanese clothes in the house, of course. We rest, eat, -talk, read, and sleep on the floor. But then, you do not know, perhaps, -what a Japanese floor is. It is like a great soft mattress: the real -floor is covered by heavy mats, fitted to one another like mattresses -set edge to edge; and these cannot be lifted up except by a workman: -they are really part of the building. Then this floor is spotlessly -clean. No dust is ever suffered upon it,--not a speck. Therefore we -live barefooted in summer, or wearing only stockings in winter. The -bed consists of a series of heavy quilts of pretty colours--like very -thick comforts, piled one upon the other on the floor. By day these are -rolled up and stowed out of sight. So in a Japanese house you see no -furniture,--only in some recess, a graceful vase, and one _kakemono_, -or hanging picture painted on silk. That is all--except the smoking-box -(_hibachi_) in the middle of the room, surrounded by kneeling-cushions. -In the evening the Japanese bath is ready. It is _almost_ scalding -always--hard to get used to; but the best in the world because you can't -take cold after it. It consists of an immense tub, with a little furnace -_in_ it which heats the water. For amusements we have the Japanese -theatres, the street-festivals, visits of friends, Japanese newspapers, -occasional pilgrimages to curious places, and--delight of delights in -some cities--_shopping_, Japanese shopping. - -Bad boys,--and not obliged to give good and great moral -examples,--people who are not strictly moral in their virtues like you -and me,--sometimes hire _geisha_ or dancing girls to amuse them.... - -At all banquets--except those of teachers here--there are _geisha_. When -you sit down (I mean kneel down) to eat, a band of beautiful girls come -in to wait upon you, with exquisite voices, and beautiful dresses, etc. -These are _geisha_. After a while they dance. If you wish to fall in -love with them, you may.... - -In Matsue I often saw _geisha_ dance: they were at all banquets. But at -teachers' banquets in Kumamoto they are not allowed. We are strictly -moral in Ky[=u]sh[=u].... - -Lo!--it's nearly time to close the mail for the outgoing steamer. So, -dear Page, I must conclude for the moment in great haste. - -With best regards to Mrs. Baker, best remembrances and gratitude to you, -excuse this scrawl, and believe me ever faithfully - - Your friend, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -Really, it seems to me as if I hadn't thanked you at all. You are simply -divine about doing kind things. My little wife sends you this greeting -with her own hand,-- - -[Illustration] - -It means: "_May you live a thousand years!_" - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KAGAWA, SAKAI, August, 1892. - -DEAR NISHIDA,-- ... It made us both very happy to hear you had been -persuaded to stop at our little house; for although it is hot and small, -still you would feel more homelike there, with Izumo folk, than at the -big dreary hotels of Kumamoto. I hope you will be able to stop a little -while with us now at Mionoseki. - -I like Oki very, very much--much better than Kumamoto. I like country -people, fishermen, sailors, primitive manners, simple ways: all these -delight me, and they are in Oki. To watch the life and customs of those -people is very pleasant, and would be profitable to me in a literary way -if I had time to spare. Oki is worth six months' literary study for me. -I hope to see it again. The only unpleasant thing is the awful smell of -the cuttle-fish. But I will tell you all my impressions when we meet.... - -With kindest regards from myself and Setsu,--hoping to see you soon, as -ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - MIONOSEKI, August, 1892. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--We felt quite lonesome after you went away, and -especially at supper-time,--when there were only two mats, instead -of three, laid upon the _suzumi-dai_, overlooking the bay, and the -twinkling of the Golden Dragon. - -Next morning the water was rough, and made a great noise; and I -said, "That is because Nishida San has sent us some eggs." But in -the afternoon the bay again became like a mirror; and I succeeded in -teaching Masayoshi to lie on his back in the water. Quite late in the -afternoon the little Sakai Maru came in, and brought a magnificent box -of eggs, and your letter, and a copy of the _Nippon_. - -You are too good; and I felt not less pleased to find myself so kindly -remembered than sorry to think of the trouble you took for us. But -the eggs were more than welcome. The landlord cooked them in a little -quadrangular pan; and each one looked like a Japanese flag, with the -Red Sun in the middle. A thousand thanks to you, and to your kindest -mother,--and to all your family warmest regards. - -By the way, speaking of the Great Deity of Mionoseki, last evening we -had a good laugh at the arguments of a clever barber, who came to cut -my _kappa_-hair. I noticed he had a soldier's belt instead of an _obi_. -I questioned him, through Setsu; and found he had been many years in -the army. In the army they gave the soldiers eggs; and he hated eggs -at first. But he learned to eat them, and found that they made him -stronger. Whenever he ate many eggs, he could blow his bugle much -better. Then he became fond of eggs. Still he gets his friends secretly -to send him eggs; and the Great Deity of Mionoseki is not angry. He -says: "What nonsense! Suppose the Cock _did_ crow at the wrong hour, -is not Koto-shiro-nushi no Mikoto a _Kami sama_?--and how are we to -believe that a _Kami sama_ does not know the right time? And suppose the -_wanizame_ did bite him,--then it is at the _wanizame_ he ought to have -been angry,--not at the Cock. I don't believe Koto-shiro-nushi no Kami -could be so foolish. Indeed it is very wrong to tell such a story about -him. I like eggs. I pity the people of Mionoseki, who do not know the -rare pleasure of eating a well-cooked egg" (etc., etc.). "If the Deity -was angry with the Cock, he should have eaten him." ... - - With many grateful regards, - Ever most truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - November, 1892. - -DEAR OLD FELLOW,-- ... What a beastly nightmare that woman who -married the preacher! High-pressure civilization only produces these -types.--But, Lord! what is to be the end?... The race will still be -to the mentally strong as well as to the physically strong. But the -women fit for fertile maternity, and equally fit to discuss the fourth -dimension of space, are yet rare,--and apt to be a little terrible. The -cost of intellectual race-expansion is more terrible,--is frightful; and -then the expansion cannot _ever_ become universal. The many must profit -by the few. To make 1 of the few, there must be, I suppose, at least -111,111 of such monstrosities created as that one you wrote of. - -Isn't the hunger for the eternal feminine much like the other -hunger?--to be completely exorcised in the same way. Marriage seems -to me the certain destruction of all that emotion and suffering,--so -that one afterwards looks back at the old times with wonder. One -cannot dream or desire anything more after love is transmuted into the -friendship of marriage. It is like a haven from which you can see the -dangerous sea-currents, running like violet bands beyond you out of -sight. It seems to me (though I'm a poor judge of such matters) that it -doesn't make a man any happier to have an intellectual wife--unless he -marries for society. The less intellectual, the more lovable: so long as -there is neither coarseness nor foolishness. For intellectual converse a -man _can't_ have really with women: womanhood is antagonistic to it. And -emotional truth is quite as plain to the childish mind as to the mind of -Herbert Spencer or of Clifford. The child and the god come equally near -to the eternal truth. But then marriage in a complex civilization is -really a terrible problem: there are so _many_ questions involved. - -Oh!--_you_ talk of being without intellectual companionship! O ye Eight -Hundred Myriads of Gods! What would you do if you were me. Lo! the -illusion is gone!--Japan in Ky[=u]sh[=u] is like Europe;--except I have -no friend. The differences in ways of thinking, and the difficulties -of language, render it impossible for an _educated_ Japanese to find -pleasure in the society of a European. Here is an astounding fact. The -Japanese child is as close to you as the European child--perhaps closer -and sweeter, because infinitely more natural and naturally refined. -Cultivate his mind, and the more it is cultivated, the _further you push -him_ from you. Why? Because there the race-antipodalism shows itself. -As the Oriental thinks naturally to the left where we think to the -right, the more you cultivate him the more strongly will he think in -the opposite direction from you. Finis sweetness, sympathy, friendship. -Now, my scholars in this great Government school are not boys, but -men. They speak to me only in class. The teachers never speak to me -at all. I go to the college (two miles away) by jinrikisha and return -after class,--always alone, no mental company but books. But at home -everything is sweet. - -At the college there is always a recess of half an hour at noon, for -dining. I do not dine, but climb the hill behind the college. There -is a grey old cemetery, where "the rude forefathers of the hamlet -sleep." From between the tombs I can look down on the Dai Go K[=o]t[=o] -Ch[=u]gakk[=o], with its huge modern brick buildings and its tumultuous -life, as in a bird's-eye view. I am only there never alone. For -Buddha sits beside me, and also looks down upon the college through -his half-closed eyelids of stone. There is moss on his nose and his -hands,--moss on his back, of course! And I always say to him: "O Master, -what do you think of all this?--is it not vanity? There is no faith -there, no creed, no thought of the past life nor of the future life, nor -of Nirvana,--only chemistry and cube-geometry and trigonometry,--and the -most damnable 'English language.'" He never answers me; but he looks -very sad,--smiles just like one who has received an injury which he -cannot return,--and you know that is the most pathetic of all smiles. -And the snakes twist before my feet as I descend to the sound of the -bell.--There is my only companion for you! but I like him better than -those who look like him waiting for me in the classroom. Ever with best -regards, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I do not know how to thank you enough for your last -letter;--indeed I must tell you frankly that I felt ashamed of having -put you to such trouble involuntarily, for I had no idea how complicated -the matter was when I wrote to you for information about the origin of -the belief. And now let me beg of you never to take so much trouble -again on my account. I think I can hear you protesting that it was only -a pleasure. I am sure it was a pleasure to help me; but I am too much of -a literary man not to know exactly the time-cost of the work, especially -in a language not your own. So I will again beg you not to take so much -trouble for me at any future time--as it would cause me pain. - -And now let me say something else about other letters. You spoke of -_mistakes_. Do you know that I think your letters are very wonderful? -There are extremely few mistakes; and there are very seldom even -incorrectnesses in the use of idioms. This is rare in Japan. Very few -Japanese, even among those who have been abroad, can write an informal -letter without mistakes of a serious kind. You write letters much as a -well-educated German or Frenchman would--showing only rarely, by some -unfamiliar turn of expression, by the elision of a preposition, or -(but this is very seldom indeed) by a sudden change of tense, that it -is not an Englishman who writes. And in a few years more, even these -little signs will disappear. It is very wonderful to me to see how a few -Japanese have been able to master English without ever leaving Japan. - -A point of much value to me in your explanation was the fact that too -many souls are held to be as bad as too few. I had imagined the opposite -to be the case, and had so written. But as I put the statement into -the mouth of a story-teller, it will read all right enough; and I can -correct the erroneous impression by a footnote. - -There is rejoicing here over the non-abolition of the school. Your -predictions have been well fulfilled. Several new books I recommended -have been adopted; but there were changes made in my list, I think for -the worse. Kingsley's "Greek Heroes" (Ginn, Heath & Co.'s school-text -edition) has been adopted for the younger class. I recommended this book -for the extreme purity and simplicity of its English, which reads like -a song. I tried to get "Cuore" adopted, but could not succeed: they -said it was "too childish." I tried Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome;" -and that I think they will get. Then some classic texts--Burke's Essays -(selected) were adopted instead of a volume of stories I proposed. They -adopted also "The Book of Golden Deeds," a volume of anecdotes of virtue -and courage. As for my own classes, they still give me no books at all; -and I teach entirely by word of mouth and chalk. Still, considering the -short time given to each class, I believe this is best. The main thing -is to teach them to express themselves in English without books to help -them. I have noticed that at one period of the course there is always a -sudden improvement, as if there had been also a sudden development of -intelligence,--between the third and fourth class. It corresponds to a -change of capacity I noticed also in the Jinj[=o] Ch[=u]gakk[=o]. It -might be indicated by lines, thus:-- - -[Illustration] - -Between 3 and 4 the increase of power is like a leap. But after that (in -the higher schools) I don't think there is much progress. Thereafter -I fancy that in most cases the highest capacity has been reached, and -then the strain comes. The students attempt to do on rice and gruel -what foreign students can only do on beef, eggs, puddings, heavy -nutritious diet. In the eternal order of things the overstrain comes. -The higher education will not give the desired results for at least -another generation,--because the physique of the student must be raised -to meet it. The higher education requires a physiological change,--an -increase of brain capacity in actual development of tissue, an increase -of nervous energy, and consequently a higher standard of living. That -there have been wonderful exceptions in Japanese scholarship makes -no difference: it is a question of general averages. The student of -to-day is not sufficiently strong and sufficiently nourished to bear -the tremendous strain put upon him at the higher schools and the -university. Wherefore he loses some of his best qualities in mere -effort. The higher schools don't feed their boys well--not so well by -half as the Government feeds the soldiers. At least so I have been -assured.... Yours faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Your charming letter has just come, full of news and -things to be grateful for. There is some news here too. Mr. Kano is -gone! We are all very, very sorry.... - -Perhaps I might go to Niigata during the summer. Setsu is always, -always, always talking about T[=o]ky[=o]. I suppose I shall have to -take her there. And I want to visit Kompira, and Zenk[=o]ji in Nagano -(?)--where all the Souls of the Dead go,--and one might do all that -and see Niigata too. I am very anxious to see the dear kind Governor -and his daughter again. That kind of Governor is rare, and I think -will soon cease to exist in Japan. He always seemed to me a delightful -type of the old days,--like the princes of the _ehon_: the modernized -Governor scarcely seems to belong to the same race. And the Japanese of -the next generation will not be kind and open-hearted and unselfish, I -fear: they will become hard of character like the Western people,--more -intellectual and less moral. For old Japan, in unselfishness, was as far -in advance of the West as she was materially behind it. - -[Illustration: THE SHINT[=O] TEMPLE OF KIZUKI] - -The curling-up of the toe in the statue of Inada-Hime is not according -to the canons of Western sculpture (which is still generally governed by -the Greek spirit),--because it shows the member in what is considered an -ungraceful position. But I thought after looking awhile at it, that it -was really natural. Not natural from the standpoint of a modern people -whose toes have lost both symmetry and flexibility owing to the wearing -of leather shoes; but natural among a people whose feet are well shaped -and whose toes remain supple, and to some degree, prehensile. Among -tropical races the toes retain extraordinary flexibility; but I don't -think any English girl could put her great-toe into the attitude taken -by that of Inada-Hime. I imagined that this movement represented in the -statue a little nervous feeling,--the involuntary shrinking of a woman -from sharp cold steel. But that is only a guess. What it really means I -should like to know. - -I forgot in another letter to tell you that Herbert Spencer, in one -of his recent volumes ("Individual Life") severely criticized some of -the Mombush[=o] Readers and other publications as immoral,--because -appealing to the desire of revenge and the passion of hatred and -bloodshed.... One thing is certain, that Readers for Japanese students -ought to be edited in Japan, and edited in a particular manner -with especial reference to national character and feeling. I prize -the Mombush[=o] Readers, because I learn so much from them; but as -text-books they are not well written, and they do not appeal to the -student's natural love of novelty. It is hopeless to interest boys in -stories they know already by heart in their own language. They want what -is new and strange and beautiful.--But no thanks will ever be given -to the man who tries to do the work well; and his work itself will -almost certainly be spoiled by the emendations and interpolations of a -committee of men without knowledge or taste,--unless the thing should be -done quite independently of officialdom. - -I am trying to teach Setsu English by a fast memory-system. I can't tell -whether I will succeed or not: if I find it strains her too much I must -stop,--for the system is exhausting. In the course of teaching I notice -something of what you tell me about Izumo pronunciation. It makes the -difficulty much greater. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, February, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--This is not going to be a pleasant letter,--though it -may have interest for you. I don't hesitate to tell my friends about -shadows as well as lights, and I rather think the latter alone would -cease to be interesting. Besides, we are all most interested in what -most closely relates to the realities of life; and the realities of life -are ugly to no small degree. Dreams are realities--of desire for things -out of reach; but the diet of dreams is not substantial enough for the -sense of friendship to live upon. So here goes for the lamentations,--or -as a Frenchman would say, a _jeremiade_.... - -I might cite a fourth, a fifth;--but happily there are lights. I made -one delightful friend here, Professor Chamberlain, and I told you about -Major McDonald.... - -I am perfectly conscious that to a thorough man of the world I must be -only a contemptible fool. Even to a friend like you who are not spoiled -and cannot be spoiled by your _milieu_, I must seem something of a fool. -Be that as it may,--here I am. Now what is this fool to do?... - -Suppose I should seek a place as teacher of English literature. -Everybody thinks he can teach English literature, and the public doesn't -care particularly: it takes its pabulum largely on trust. On whose -trust? Oh! the trust of the trustees,--and the respectable people. -Now I am not respectable. I am under the _odium theologicum_ of every -Christian faith. Small and mean as I am, I am spotted. Don't imagine -this is vanity! It doesn't require any greatness to be spotted. It is -just like a prostitute trying to become an honest woman, or a convicted -thief endeavouring to get employment. There is nothing great about it. -If I had any position worth hunting up, the cry would be raised that -an atheist, a debauchee, a disreputable ex-reporter was corrupting the -morals of the young under pretence of teaching literature. That is -position No. 3. As Fiske says, the heretic is not now burned at the -stake; but there is an organized policy to starve him by injuring his -reputation and lying about him. And even Fiske (because he is poor) -dares not take the whole position of Spencer. - -But I don't want to pretend myself a martyr for any worthy cause. I -am not. I am _not respectable_: that is the whole matter,--and the -pardoning influence of women would never be exerted for me, because I -am physically disagreeable,--and what I could win by my own merit I -could not keep, because I have no aggressiveness and no cunning. And I -am only now learning all this,--with my hair grey. There is no chance -of becoming independent, as I will never be allowed to hold a position -that pays well. I shall never be able to do my best in literary matters; -for I shall never have the leisure, the means, or the opportunities of -travel I want.... - -To all this _jeremiade_, then, you must think for reply, in the words -of Herbert Spencer: "My dear friend, the first necessity for success in -life is to be a good animal. As an animal you don't work well at all. -Furthermore you are out of harmony mentally and morally with the life -of society: you represent broken-down tissue. There is some good in -the ghostly part of you, but it would never have been developed under -comfortable circumstances. Hard knocks and intellectual starvation have -brought your miserable little _animula_ into some sort of shape. It will -never have full opportunity to express itself, doubtless; but perhaps -that is better. It might otherwise make too many mistakes; and it has -not sufficient original force to move the sea of human mind to any storm -of aspiration. Perhaps, in some future state of--" But here Spencer -stops.... - -I think civilization is a fraud, because I don't like the hopeless -struggle. If I were very rich I should perhaps think quite -differently--or, what would be still more rational, try not to think -at all about it. Religion under an empire preaches the divinity of -autocracy; under a monarchy, the divinity of aristocracy. In this -industrial epoch it is the servant of the monster business, and is -paid to declare that religion is governed by God, and business by -religion,--"whoever says the contrary, let him be anathema!" Business -has its fixed standard of hypocrisy; everything above or below that is -to be denounced by the ministers of the gospel of God and business. -Hence the howl about Jay Gould, who, with splendid, brutal frankness, -exposed to the entire universe the real laws of business,--without any -preaching at all,--and overrode society and law and became supreme. -Wherefore I hold that a statue should be erected to him. Here we have -been having a newspaper fight. All the missionaries are down on "that -anonymous writer" as usual. I wrote an article to prove that Gould was -the grandest moral teacher of the century. Even sermons were preached -in T[=o]ky[=o] denouncing the writer of that article. I was accused of -declaring that the end justified the means. I had not said so; but I -quoted American authorities to show Gould had created and made effective -the railroad-transportation system of the West; and then I quoted -English financial authorities to prove that that very transportation -system alone was now saving the United States from bankruptcy. The facts -were unanswerable (at least by the clerics); and they proved that in -order to get power to save a whole nation from ruin,--Gould had to ruin -a few thousand people. Wherefore I am called "immoral, low, beastly." -Nobody _knows_ it is I; but some suspect. I am already deemed the "moral -plague-spot" of Japan by the dear missionaries. Next week I'll try them -with an article on "The Abomination of Civilization." ... - -But I have at home a little world of about eleven people, to whom I am -Love and Light and Food. It is a very gentle world. It is only happy -when I am happy. If I even look tired, it is silent, and walks on -tiptoe. It is a moral force. I dare not fret about anything when I can -help it,--for others would fret more. So I try to keep right. My little -wife and I have saved nearly 2000 Japanese dollars between us. I think -I'll be able to make her independent. When I've done that, I can let the -teaching go, and wander about awhile, and write "sketches" at $10 per -page. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... You never wrote a more wonderful letter than that -last letter full of penetrating things. Now one of my shortcomings is -a total ignorance of practical worldly wisdom;--for instance, I could -not sit down and talk to a man in polite enigmas which both of us would -understand, at all. All that world of business is to me a mystery and -a marvel incomprehensible. Moreover, it is the revelation of mental -powers of a very subtle order, as much beyond me as mathematics,--so -that I cannot but respect the forces manifested, even if I deplore the -directions in which they are sometimes exercised. Your sketch of the two -men, and the interview, and the psychological relations was perfectly -delicious,--and like nearly everything you write to me, gave me the -pleasure of a novel sensation.... - -Your criticism about ----'s criticism was not exactly what I thought you -might make:--it _is_ true that we like to be thought, and to believe -ourselves, capable of doing vast harm, and credit ourselves more for our -goodness perhaps on account of that belief. But I don't agree with you -in thinking the remark uncomplimentary. I think it was true, and in the -sense I take it, beautiful. Ask yourself could you really do anything -you knew to be terribly cruel under any personal provocation,--at -least after the first burst of sudden anger was over? And you will -find you _could not_. Any nature sincerely sympathetic--with a complex -nerve-system--cannot inflict pain without receiving at least as much, -if not more pain than it gives. I believe you could kill a man, under -just provocation; but that is not bad, or cruel--indeed, it might be -a duty. The terrible men are the men who do everything in cold blood, -icily, with calculation, infinite patience, and infinite pleasure. But -the capacity to be thus dangerous means also a low development of those -qualities which give sweetness to character and amiability to life,--and -chivalry to a man's soul. - -Now here is the very immoral side of Western civilization. Being wholly -aggressive and selfish, the hard, cold qualities of character are -being prodigiously developed by it. The emotional qualities, you might -suggest, are also indirectly developed by the suffering the others -inflict;--there is action and reaction. Yes, that is true. But the -terrible men--the men of the type of that manager--represent not only -a constantly increasing class, but a leading one--the class whose name -is Power. Now Power multiplies. In wealth and luxury multiplication -is rapid and facile. They are less fertile comparatively than other -classes; but the cost of their individuality is infinitely greater, -and one type can outlive, outwork, outplan a hundred of the emotional -sort,--as a general rule. The ultimate tendency is to settle all power -in the hands of those without moral scruple. It may take another few -centuries to do this; but the tendency is obvious, and the danger is -steadily growing. I think the West can never become as moral as the -Orient. But it may become infinitely more wicked. - -This is one way of seeing the matter. Another I wrote you about in my -last letter,--the sexual question in the West,--something never dreamed -of in the East. What must be the ultimate results of this Western -worship of the Eternal Feminine? Must not one be, the contempt of old -age, and universal irreverence for things the most naturally deserving -of reverence? Already, in the West, the Family has almost ceased to -exist. - -To an Oriental it seems utterly monstrous that grown-up children should -not live with their father, mother, and grandparents, and support and -love them more than their own children, wives, or husbands. It seems to -him sheer wickedness that a man should not love his mother-in-law,--or -that he should love his own wife even half as well as his own father or -mother. Our whole existence seems to him disgustingly immoral. He would -deem worthy of death the man who wrote-- - - "He stood on his head on the wild seashore, - And joy was the cause of the act;-- - For he felt, as he never had felt before, - Insanely glad, in fact. - And why? Because on that selfsame day - His mother-in-law had sailed - To a tropical climate, far away, - _Where tigers and snakes prevailed_." - -He first most loves his father,--then his mother,--then his -father-in-law and mother-in-law,--then his children,--and lastly, his -wife. His wife is not of the family proper,--a stranger,--not of the -blood of the ancestors,--how can he love her like his own parents! - -Now I half suspect the Oriental is right. - -To him the people of the West with their novels and poems about love -seem a race of very lascivious people. If indeed he should think more -kindly of them at all, it would be through pity,--as a race of sexually -starved beings, frantic with nymphomania and all forms of erotomania, -through refusal to obey the laws of nature. "They talk about their -wives!--they write novels about their lusts!--they do not support -their parents!--they do not obey their mothers-in-law! Truly they are -savages!" Now they write love-stories in Japan. But who are the women -of these love-stories? Dancing-girls. "If one must write stories about -the passion of sex, let him at least not write such things about wives -and daughters of honest men--let him write about whores! A whore's -business is to excite passion. That of a pure woman is to quench it. -What horribly immoral people the Western people are!" - ---Don Juan is the imagination of the West. No Japanese Don Juan--no -Chinese Don Juan--ever existed or could exist. He is a common type at -home. But the Orient rejoices also in exemption from one of the most -terrible creations of Western life;--no Oriental is haunted by "the -Woman thou shalt never know." - -What a curse and a delusion is that beautiful spectre! How many lives -she makes desolate! How many crimes does she inspire, "the Woman thou -shalt never know!"--the impossible ideal, not of love, but of artistic -passion, pursued by warm hearts from youth till age, always in vain. -As her pursuer grows more old, she becomes ever more young and fair. -He waits for her through the years,--waits till his hair is grey. -Then,--wifeless, childless, blase, ennuye, cynical, misanthropic,--he -looks in the glass and finds that he has been cheated out of youth and -life. But does he give up the chase? No!--the hair of Lilith--just -one--has been twisted round his heart,--an ever-tightening fine -spider-line of gold. And he sees her smile just ere he passes into the -Eternal darkness. - -Then again, our social morals! We never in the West talk to people of -their duties. Do orators make speeches about duties? Do any, except -priests, talk about social duties? But what do we talk to the people -about? We talk to them about their _rights_,--"by G--d!" Always, -incessantly, _ad nauseam_, about their _rights_. Now to talk to people -who know nothing of social science, of political economy, of ethical -ideas in their relation to eternal truths,--to talk to such people -about their _rights_, is like giving a new-born baby a razor to play -with. Or putting a loaded revolver in the hands of a mischievous child. -Or inviting a crowd of urchins to make a bonfire in the immediate -vicinity of ten thousand barrels of gunpowder. And the Oriental knows -this. (Wherefore in China it was a law that he who should say or invent -anything new should be put to death,--an extreme view of the necessities -of the case, but not much more extreme than our own philistinism.) - -The Japanese of the new school do not, however, keep to the Chinese -wisdom. They show evidence now of a desire to put to death those who -say anything older than yesterday. They are becoming infected with the -Western moral poison. They are beginning to love their wives more than -their fathers and mothers;--it is much cheaper.... - -By the way, I am in a world of new sensations. My first child will be -born, I expect, about September next. The rest of my family have come -from Matsue,--father-in-law, father's father also, a nice old man of 84. -We are now all together. There is universal joy because of the birth -in prospect. And I am accused of not seeming joyful enough. I am not -sorry. But I hope my little one will never have to face life in the -West, but may always dwell in a Buddhist atmosphere. - - Ever most faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Your most welcome lines of March 1 came to me during a -lonesome spring vacation--to brighten it up. Your wish about a Japanese -love-story has been partly answered in the March _Atlantic_; and in -the June number, you will have a paper of mine, entitled the "Japanese -Smile," which you will find as philosophical as you could wish.--No, I -have been working well, but for a book only; and of that book only five -or six chapters can be published in a magazine. I am not yet sure if the -book will be published in the shape I want,--although the publishers -show some signs of yielding. - -So much for me. I was too egotistic last time, and will not be so much -so again, unless I get a very awful attack of the blues within the next -five years.... - -To return to Japan and Japanese life. What do you think of the -following? It happened near Kumamoto. A peasant went to consult an -astrologer what to do for his mother's eyes: she had become blind. The -astrologer said that she would get her sight back if she could eat a -little human liver,--taken fresh and from a young body. The peasant -went home crying, and told his wife. She said: "We have only one boy. -He is beautiful. You can get another wife as good, or better than I, -very easily, but might never be able to get another son. Therefore, you -must kill me instead of the son, and give my liver to your mother." They -embraced; and the husband killed her with a sword, and cut out the liver -and began to cook it, when the child awoke and screamed. Neighbours -and police came. In the police court, the peasant told his tale with -childish frankness and cited stories from the Buddhist scriptures. The -judges were moved to tears. They did not condemn the man to death;--they -gave only nine years in prison. Really the man who ought to have been -killed was the astrologer. And this but a few miles off from where they -are teaching integral calculus, trigonometry, and Herbert Spencer! -yet Western science and religion could never inspire that idolatrous -self-devotion to a mother which the old ignorant peasant and his wife -had. She thought it her sacred duty to die for her mother-in-law.... - -I am going to have the delight of a visit from the author of "The Soul -of the Far East." He is a lucky man,--wonderful genius, strength, youth, -and plenty of money. He spends six months of each year in the Orient. -Professor Chamberlain, my other friend, spent a few days with me last -week. He speaks Japanese better than the Japanese;--in fact, he is -_Professor of Japanese in the Imperial University of Japan_. He mentions -me in his books; and Conder, who writes those beautiful books about -Japanese flower arrangement and Japanese gardens, has just written a -book with a kindly reference to me. - -Enough to tire you, I fear, already. Well, _au revoir_, till the next -mail. Affectionately ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -MY DEAR NISHIDA,--About the sentence that puzzles you (as it well might -puzzle anybody unaccustomed to what we call "rant"),--the phrase simply -signifies the Bible. It is based on the idea that Christ is the "_Light_ -of the World" (Light and Glory being used synonymously); and the origin -of this expression again goes back beyond Christianity into ancient -Gnostic ideas,--_probably_ based on the Iranian belief of Ormuzd, the -(Persian or Iranian) God of _Light_, as distinguished from Ahriman, the -Spirit of Evil and Darkness. The common Christian people know nothing of -this; but from childhood, they are accustomed to hear the word "Bible" -coupled with the words "light" and "glory" and "illumination,"--and -to see pictures representing a Bible surrounded with rays of light -beaming from it as from a sun. "The glory of the mechanic's shop," i. -e., illuminating the darkness of labour, the suffering and gloom, by -light of consolation, etc.--But I must say that all this is what we call -"rant" (worse than "cant");--it is of no earthly use to let the boys -read it. I used always to skip it. The article is not even good English: -it is fanatical "gush" and humbug. If I were you, I would not bother -with it at all,--except for your own amusement, as a study of queer -ideas. I don't mean to say _all_ writing of this sort is bad;--some -of it is very beautiful, although the ideas be false. But that stuff -in Sanders's Reader is the sort we call "_cheap_ rant,"--such as any -uneducated Sunday-school teacher can spout by the mile.... - -I do not think Setsu can travel again this year. I expect to become a -father about September, or perhaps even sooner. So we shall not see -T[=o]ky[=o] in 1893, at all events. And the chances are that I shall not -be able to travel very far;--as I shall have to be in constant weekly -communication with the mail-steamers for America. The preparation of the -printed proofs will be hard work. - -I am sorry about Goto. You summed him up, however, very keenly a long -time ago.--We have a wonderful drawing-master here, who painted a -wonderful oil-portrait of Mr. Akizuki. And that man is only getting $12 -a month (counting the deduction of his salary for building warships)! -Yet he is really a fine artist. - -Besides the letter of introduction I gave you to Mr. Kano, I also wrote -him a long letter about you last year. Should you go to T[=o]ky[=o], -therefore, remind him of that. Or, if you wish, I will write you at once -a third letter to take with you. You will like Mr. Kano at sight. He -charms even the most reserved foreigners, and still he is perfectly easy -and simple in his manners. Faithfully yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... I hear rarely from America, and have no definite -news from Boston up to date. They send me a paper--the Sunday edition, -full of poetry about love, woodcuts of beauties of fashion, and all -sorts of chatter about women and new styles of undergarments. To-day, -after three years in the most Eastern East, when I look at that paper, -I can hardly believe my eyes. The East has opened my eyes. How affected -the whole thing seems! Yet it never seemed so to me before. My students -say to me, "Dear Teacher, why are your English novels all filled with -nonsense about love and women?--we do not like such things." Then I -tell them partly why. "You must know, my dear young gentlemen, that in -England and America, marriage is a most important matter,--though it is -something you never even speak about in Japan. For in Japan, it is as -easy to get married as it is to eat a bowl of rice. But for educated -young men in the West, it is very difficult and dangerous to marry. It -is necessary to be rich to marry well,--or to be, at least, what _you_ -would call rich. And the struggle for life is very bitter and very -terrible--so bitter and terrible that you cannot possibly imagine what -it means. It is hard to live at all,--made harder to marry. Therefore -the whole object of life is to succeed _in order to get married_. And -the parents have nothing to do with the matter, as in Japan; the young -man must please the girl, and must win her away from all other young -men who want to get her. That is why the English and others write all -that stuff about love and beauty and marriage, and why everybody buys -those books and laughs or weeps over them--though to you they are simply -disgusting." - -But that was not all the truth. The whole truth is always suggested to -me by the Sunday paper. We live in the musky atmosphere of desire in -the West;--an erotic perfume emanates from all that artificial life of -ours;--we keep the senses perpetually stimulated with a million ideas -of the eternal feminine; and our very language reflects the strain. The -Western civilization is using all its arts, its sciences, its philosophy -in stimulating and exaggerating and exacerbating the thought of sex. An -Oriental would almost faint with astonishment and shame to see a Western -ballet. He would scream at the sight of a French nude. He would be -scandalized by a Greek statue. He would rightly and instantly estimate -all this as being exactly what it is,--artificial stimulus of dangerous -senses. The whole West is steeped in it. It now seems, even to me, -almost disgusting. - -Yet what does it mean? Certainly it pollutes literature, creates and -fosters a hundred vices, accentuates the misery of those devoted by the -law of life as the victims of lust. It turns art from Nature to sex. -It cultivates one aesthetic faculty at the expense of all the rest. And -yet--perhaps its working is divine behind all that veil of vulgarity and -lustfulness. It is cultivating also, beyond any question, a capacity for -tenderness the Orient knows nothing of. Tenderness is not of the Orient -_man_. He is without brutality, but he is also without that immense -reserve force of deep love and forgiving-power which even the rougher -men of the West have. The Oriental is intellectually, rationally capable -of all self-sacrifice and loyalty: he does the noblest and grandest -things without even the ghost of a tender feeling. His feeblest passion -is that of sex, because with him the natural need has never been starved -or exasperated. He marries at sixteen or seventeen perhaps,--is a father -of two or three children at twenty. All that sort of thing for him -belongs to the natural appetites: he would no more talk about his wife -or tell you he had a child born, than he would tell you that his organs -performed their function regularly at 6.30 A.M. He is ashamed -of appearing to have any sexual love at all in public;--and his family -live all their lives in the shadow--do not appear to visitors. Well, his -nature may lose something by this. It loses certainly in capacities that -mean everything for us--tenderness, deep sympathy, a world of sensations -not indeed sexual with us, yet surely developed out of sexualism to no -small extent,--just as the sense of moral beauty developed out of the -sense of physical beauty. - -I guess this must bore you, however. More anon of other matters. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, June, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I am not quite sure that you are right about the -Oriental view of things. It is very difficult to understand at first. -It is not want of refinement or sensibility to beautiful things. It -is rather a tendency to silence and secrecy in regard to the highest -emotions. So that a cultivated Japanese never even speaks of his wife -and family, or hints of his fondness for them. Of course, our idea is -nobler and higher. But it is a question with me whether it cannot be, -and has not been, developed to excess. I think we have filled the whole -universe with an ideal of woman. Star-swarms and all cosmical glories -exist for us only in an infinity of passional pantheism. I suspect -that we see Nature especially through the beauty of woman. A splendid -tree, a fragrant bud, delicacy of petals, songs of birds, undulations -of hills, mobility of waters, sounds of foliage, murmur of breezes -and their caress, laughter of streamlets, even the gold light--do not -all these things remind us of woman? You might cite the ruggedness of -oaks and the grimness of crags as masculine. True, we have visions of -Nature as masculine--for rugged and mighty contrasts. But how enormously -preponderant is the eternal feminine! Even our language is a language of -gender,--in which I think the feminine predominates. But in our thought -the masculine at once suggests the feminine, and creates a new idea. All -precious things, too, remind us of what is not masculine, because "far -and from the uttermost coasts is the price of _her_." - -Now the Oriental sees Nature in no such way. His language has no gender. -He does not think of a young girl when he sees a palm, nor of the -lines of a beautiful body when he sees the undulations of the hills. -Neither does he see Nature as masculine. He sees it as _neuter_. His -geographical nomenclature shows this. He sees things as they are. The -immediate inference would be that he finds less enjoyment in them. But -his art shows that he finds _more_. He sees in Nature much that we can't -see at all. He sees beauty in stones,--in common stones,--in clouds, -fogs, smoke, curling water, shapes of trees, shapes of insects. In -my friend's alcove is a stone. When you can learn that that stone is -more beautiful than a beautiful painting, you can begin to understand -that there is another way of seeing Nature. In my own garden there -are a number of large stones. Their value is seven hundred dollars. -No American would give five cents for them--no! he would not dream of -taking them as a gift--no! he would consider himself highly insulted by -the offer! Then why are they worth seven hundred dollars? Because they -are beautiful. You would say: "I can't see it!" You can't see it because -you see all Nature through the idea of woman. And it is just faintly -possible (I don't say certain) that our way--your way of seeing Nature -is all wrong. It is like peeping through an atmosphere which makes -everything iridescent and deflects the lines of forms. - -Now, why do I suspect that our way of looking at Nature may not be the -highest,--besides the plain fact that it is not according to the Eternal -order of things? I suspect it because the evolution of the ideal has -been chiefly physical. It has not been an ideal of soul. Is the soul -of a woman more beautiful than that of a man--outside of maternal -tenderness? You have just had a divine glimpse of two souls--excuse the -personal question (for it is a highly important one): which seemed to -you the largest and deepest?--in which were the glories more profound -and radiant? And is it not essential that the woman-beauty of soul must -be the lesser; for its scope must be limited by its eternal duty. We -are in the presence, however, of the undeniable fact that we rarely get -glimpses of the higher possibilities of the man-soul. Life is too hard -and bitter. But in the twilight of every home one sees the woman-souls -glowing like fireflies. We think only of the lights we see. The circling -darknesses are opaque to us,--like burnt-out suns. - -Reading over the list of things in your notebook I was impressed by -several facts. It is well to set down everything that impresses you. -But--I cannot help thinking that you do not look for the highest,--that -you miss a universe of beautiful things. The obtrusive, the eccentric, -the sharply bitter, the "Distorted Souls" as you call them, naturally -compel attention first,--just as in real life the forward, the selfish, -the aggressive, force themselves upon us. It is of the highest possible -value, as a means of self-preservation, to understand them. But I -suspect that it is of no value at all to draw them, to photograph them, -to give them artistic treatment _except in a contrast-study_. They are -not beautiful. They are not good. They are, using the word in the -Miltonic sense, obscene--like owls. On the other hand the beautiful -in life must be sought, and coaxed, and caressed to make it show its -colours. It does not appear very often spontaneously. Yet I feel -convinced it is all about us. It travels on railroads too, and lodges at -hotels. It fights for life against ugliness and wickedness and apathy -and selfishness: it is Ormuzd against Ahriman. Now what is the artist's -moral duty? (Of course he may take any subject he pleases and be great -in it.) But what is his duty in the eternal order of things, to art and -to ethics? Is it not to extract the gold from the ore,--the rubies and -emeralds from the rubble? I think it is--though many may laugh at me. -Thus newer and higher ideals are created. We advance only by new ideals. -I don't mean to say we should make statues of pure gold, or a table, -like that of some Caliph, out of a single emerald. But I think that in -modern life we should use the dross and slag only when their lightness, -worthlessness, or rudeness brings out in higher relief the light of the -pure jewel, the weight of the pure metal, the value of that which gives -the radiance or the gravity. And in the order of research I would seek -the lodes and veins first;--the rest is always easy to find and handle, -though requiring much scientific skill, of course, to use artistically. - -There _is_ a world, I suppose, almost as barren as the Alkali Plains, -where convention has strangled all feeling, and where the development of -selfish capacities has choked the other growths. But either below this -world or above it there are Americas to discover--full of warmth, light, -and beauty--continents chained to each other by snow-peaks, watered by -Amazons and Mississippis. - -Below, I think, more than above,--for the nearer to Nature, the nearer -to truth. And the value, artistically, of our high-pressure civilization -seems to me to be that its monstrosities and glooms and tragedies -infernal give an opportunity for the grandest contrasts ever made. What -I would pray you to do is "to put a lily in the mouth of Hell"--using -one of Carlyle's phrases. Then the petals of the lily will change into -pure light, like those of the Lotus of Amida Buddha.... - -Good-bye, with affectionate wishes, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, July, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--To continue from my last:-- - -It seems to me you might have mistaken my meaning in my half-criticism -of the contents of your notebook. I don't wish you should think I -find any fault with them _per se_. Indeed you cannot set down too -much. Only I think you have been collecting only shadow-and-fire -material. You have no sky-blues,--no rose and violet and purple and -gold-yellow,--no cadmium, no iridescences. You have that which will give -them all value--artistic value. Even if you have only one light for ten -darknesses, it will be enough to illume them all. - -And now for Ego and Egotisms. In my home the women are all making -baby-clothes,--funny little Japanese baby-clothes. All the tender -Buddhist divinities, who love little children, have been invoked except -one,--he who cares for them only when they are dead, and plays little -ghostly games with them in the shadowy world. Letters of congratulation -come from all directions, and queer, pretty presents; for the -announcement of pregnancy is a subject of great gladness in Japan. And -one theme of rejoicing is that the child will look more like a Japanese -than the children of other foreigners, because the father is dark. -Behind all this, of course, there is a universe of new sensations,--new -ideas,--revelations of things in Buddhist faith and in the religion of -the more ancient gods, which are very beautiful and touching. About -the world an atmosphere of delicious, sacred naivete,--difficult to -describe, because resembling nothing in the Western world.--Some doubts -and fears for me, of course; but they are passing away gradually. I have -only some anxiety about _her_: still she is so strong that I trust the -gods will be kind to us.... - -This summer I shall not be able to travel far. First, of course, I can't -leave my little woman too long alone; second, I have proofs to correct; -third, I am economizing. We have now nearly $3500 between us; and I want -to try to provide for her as soon as I can,--so that once the chances of -ill luck are off my mind, I can make a few long voyages to other places -east of Japan. The Chinese ports are only a few days distant; and there -is Manila, there is the French Orient to see. I hope to be able to do -this in a few years more. You will be glad to hear I am very strong, -though getting grey,--much stronger than I was at thirty. - -Professor Chamberlain and I have a secret project in hand,--a book on -Japanese folk-lore. Whether we can carry it out I do not know; but if -the dear Professor's health keeps up we shall do something together.... - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I got your kind letter,--and the money,--and the -ballads; for all of which a thousand thanks. I feel you have been very, -very kind in all this, even while you were sick: so that my poor thanks -signify little of what I really feel towards you. It has given me much -pleasure to hear of your being better; but I am disappointed at your -being unable to travel,--very much disappointed, as I fear I will not be -able to leave Kumamoto again this vacation.... - -I see that, as regards Ky[=u]sh[=u] compared with T[=o]ky[=o], you take -the moral aspect of the question, while I have possibly been ruled too -much by the artistic side. I cannot fully understand the moral side, -of course: I can only perceive that the Ky[=u]sh[=u] students are -allowed to dress as simply as possible,--are encouraged to be frugal -and frank, and rough in their sports,--and are generally said to be -extremely independent and what you call _katai_, isn't it? But whether -they are really any better than Matsue students, I don't know. Certainly -they have no pleasures to soften their minds. There is nothing to see, -and nowhere to go. And Ky[=o]to is the most delightful city in the whole -of Japan. However, I suppose it has also temptations for students of a -dangerous sort.... - -I had no luck with Kumagae Masayoshi, and was obliged to send the boy -back to Oki, after he had worried and made unhappy everybody in the -house. He was an extraordinarily clever boy,--both at school, and at -everything he undertook,--extremely skilful with his hands, and almost -diabolically intelligent. But he had no affection at all, and seemed -to be naturally very cruel and cunning. He was strictly honest, and -trustworthy,--for all that. But his character was supremely selfish and -malignant. He made nasty songs about people, and sang them, and gave us -the impression of being a small devil. - -I am trying to do some literary work. Your ballad of Shuntoku-maru -proved quite useful to me in the course of an essay I wrote on the -difficulty experienced by Japanese in understanding a certain class -of English poetry and fiction. It revealed a popular conception of -things,--that ballad, which I took for an illustration, in showing the -total unlikeness of Western to Oriental society--especially in the -family relation; the absence of flirting and kissing and woman-worship -which we have in the West. Indeed I think the great difficulty of -mutual comprehension between the Japanese and the English is chiefly due -to the predominance of _a feminine idea_ in our language, our art, and -our whole conception of Nature. Therefore the Oriental can see aspects -of Nature to which we remain blind.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -MY DEAR OCHIAI,--It has given me much pleasure to hear of your success -at the examinations. I wish you all good fortune for the coming year, -and good health to aid you. - -I want also to talk to you about another matter very much to your -interest. Please pay attention to my words, and think about them. I only -wish your happiness;--therefore remember that what I say deserves your -attention and your thought. - -I want to talk to you about Christianity, as a religion,--not as a -_sh[=u]_, or sect. I hope you will understand the distinction I make. -A religion is a moral belief which causes men to live honestly and to -be kind and good to each other. A sect is made by a _difference_ of -belief as to what is true religious teaching. Thus in Buddhism there -are many sects or _sh[=u]_; and in Christianity, there are also many -sects or _sh[=u]_. But it is not what makes the sects that has made -Buddhism. Neither is it what has made the Christian sects that has made -Christianity. Truth makes a religion--moral truth; sects are made by -differences of opinion about the meaning of _ky[=o]_, or the meaning of -other sacred texts. - -So much for this. I want now to tell you, as your friend, that it is -_not_ Christianity to refuse to bow before the portrait of the Emperor, -or before the tombs of the great dead. If anybody tells you that is -Christianity,--that person is not a Christian, but a bigot, and an -enemy of his country. Whenever we sing the English national anthem, we -take off our hats. Whenever we enter into the presence of one of Her -Majesty's representatives, we take off our hats. We stand up to drink -Her Majesty's health. We are taught that the Queen rules by divine -command. It is the same in Germany, in Austria, in Italy, in Spain,--in -all except republican countries. So much for that. It is quite right, -even for a Christian, to bow before the Emperor's picture;--it is loyal, -noble, and good to do it. To refuse to do it is ignorant and vulgar. It -is not Christian at all. - -Now about the question of tombs and temples. What is the Christian -custom? The Christian custom is to pay proper and just respect to -the religion which other people believe in. If I go into a Christian -church,--although I am not a Christian,--I must take off my hat. If I -go into a Mohammedan mosque, I must take off my shoes. Such tokens of -respect are purely social,--they are just and right. In Mexico, for -example, when a religious procession passes, everybody who is polite -takes off his hat. That means,--"Although I am not of your religion, -I respect your religion,--your prayers to heaven, and your wish to be -good." - -Again, when a funeral goes by, we take off our hats. That means, -"Although none of _my_ friends have died, I sympathize with your -sorrow." It is courteous and it is right. - -Whatever you believe, my dear Ochiai, you need never refuse to show -respect to the tomb of an Emperor, to the memory of an ancestor, or the -religion of another people or another country. Christianity teaches -no such discourtesy. Only bigots teach it,--and even they teach it -for reasons you are not able to understand. I do not want to question -your religious belief at all;--that is not my duty. I want only to -talk to you about social action in reference to _real_ religion. No -honest religion ought to cause you any unhappiness, or to cause you -to be blamed by others. Religion ought to be of the heart. It is not -a question of hats and shoes. Do not refuse to show respect to honest -customs and honest reverence for ancestors, by a bow, or a removal of -the hat. It will injure your prospects in life to make ill will for -yourself by refusing to show respect to the beliefs of your nation -and country. Such respect has nothing to do with your faith;--it is a -question of social politeness and gentlemanliness. And when you refuse, -you will not be judged for your belief,--not at all. You will simply be -thought vulgar,--not a true gentleman. - -A true gentleman respects _all_ religions. That is the real Western -idea. Do not deceive yourself. - -This from your true friend and teacher, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... And now for a letter. Your last two letters were -full of curious things that call for no answer, but, in connection with -foregoing ones, certainly invite comment. More and more, reading your -lightning-flash glimpses of life, I think how terribly tragical modern -life is becoming. What is its law? Is it not something like this?-- - - General: (1) Theoretically, you must be good. (2) Practically you must - be not very good,--unless you wish to starve or live in the - slime. (3) Reconcile these facts very intelligently, without - making any blunders. - - Special: (1) If you are not more intelligent than the average man, you - must be both theoretically and practically good,--and resign - yourself to remaining poor and despised all your blessed - life. Don't kick: if you do, you'll die! (2) In proportion - as you are more intelligent than your fellow man, the more - to your interest to depart from abstract moral rules;--the - more, indeed, you _must_. It is quite true that vice and - crime lead to ruin. Still, you must perform your part of - both without getting into trouble. If you don't, you will - die. (3) Reconcile intelligently these seeming - contradictions. - -The contradictions can only be fully recognized and reconciled -through a profound knowledge of social conditions, not in the abstract -only, but in the most complex operation. This is the theoretical -recognition. But the practical recognition requires special hereditary -gifts,--intuitions,--instincts,--powers. Mere education in business -alone won't do. That only makes servants. Masters must be _natural_ -masters of men. Life is an intellectual battle, but not a battle to -be fought out by mere chess-combinations. It is also a battle of -characters. The combinations required for success are of the most -difficult--comprising force, perception, versatility, resource,--and -enough comprehension of morals as factors in sociology to avoid fatal -mistakes. He who has all this, and strong health, goes to the top. But -he has there to fight for his standing-room. Besides all other fighting, -he has to fight against himself. - -In the Buddhist system, the soul, by self-suppression and struggle -against temptation, obtains Light and effects progress. The Past begins -to be remembered, the Future to be foreseen. But always in proportion -to the progress and the enlightenment, the temptations increase. For -example, one reward of virtue is beauty and high sexual power (!) The -more indulgence is despised, the greater these gifts. The Soul reaches -heaven. Then is the greatest of all temptations. Life for thousands of -ages,--supreme beauty and power,--supreme loveliness of celestial beings -offered to feast upon. And here can be no _sin_: it is only a question -of further progress. Indulgence means retrogression. The wise only pass -to Nirvana.--Now I fancy the battle of life has the same moral. - -It is a terrible battle now, though; and is becoming fiercer every -year,--and aggravating with a velocity beyond all precedent. (I see -there is a falling-off in the birth-rate of the U.S.--which means -increased difficulty of living.) And ultimately what must come out of -all this? Pain is certainly the only reliable creator,--the only one -whose work endures. Extraordinary intelligence and, mental dynamical -power will be results, of course,--up to a certain time. I do not see -much likelihood, however, of _moral_ development. Indeed, as Mackintosh -long ago said, morals have been at a standstill since the beginning -of history: we have made no apparent progress in that. Then comes the -question, Are we not developing immorally? - -I have begun to think immorality must be, in the eternal order of -things, a _moral_ force. That is, some kinds of it,--the aggressive -kinds: those which the whole world agrees to call immoral. For the -physical value and excellence of a life in its relation to other lives -is primarily in its capacity to meet all hostile influences by changes -correspondingly effected within itself. This is called adaptation to -environment. If this be the physical side of the question, what is the -moral side? That the perfect character must be able to oppose or to meet -all hostile influences by corresponding changes within itself. This -necessarily involves a prodigious experience of evil,--a deep, personal, -intimate, artistic, loving knowledge of evil. I see a frightful dualism -only in prospect. No love or mercy outside of the circle of each -active life. As Spencer holds, absolute morality can only begin where -the struggle for existence has ceased. This is not new. The appalling -prospect is this,--How infinitely worse the world must become before it -begins to improve at all!--And surely education ought to be conducted -with a knowledge of these things. - -But will the existing state of things continue indefinitely? Surely, it -can't! It is too monstrous, and the suffering too infernal! There must -be social smashings, earthquakes, chaos-breakings-up, recrystallizations -to lighten the burthen. And what will these be? - -I cannot send you, because there is no copy here, but I recommend you a -book,--Pearson's "National Character," a study. He takes the ground that -the future is not to the white races,--not to the Anglo-Saxon. I think -this almost certain. I think of the awful cost of life to the white -races,--the more awful cost of character. I think of the vast races -of creatures--behemoths and megatheriums and ichthyosaurians--which -have disappeared from the earth simply because of the cost of their -physical structure. But what is the physical cost of even the structure -of an ichthyosaurus to the cost of the structure of a master of applied -mathematics! It costs one educated European,--receiving, say, a salary -of $100 a month,--exactly as much as it costs twenty educated Orientals -to live--each with a family of at least three persons,--or in other -words 1 European = 120 Orientals. There is an instinctive knowledge, -perhaps, of the future, in the instinctive hatred of the Chinese in -America. There is an instinctive sense of the same kind in the feeling -which prompts the Oriental to exclude Europeans. The latter _over_live -the former; the former underlive the latter. But in all this there are -complicated physiological questions extraordinary. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... "Thou shalt not love" is of Buddha. "He who hath -wife and child hath taken upon him fear. Such a fear is greater than -that which the man should feel who, unarmed and alone, entering a -cavern, meets a tiger face to face." It is true, the greatest of all -fear is the fear for another,--the pity for another,--the frightful -imaginings of sorrow or want or despair for another. But there might -be perfect conditions. That is true;--but then,--beware the jealousy -of the gods. A Rossetti finds his Ideal Maiden, weds, loses, maddens, -and passes the rest of his nights in tears of regret, and his days in -writing epitaphs. Children may console and they may shame,--and they -may die just when they have become charming,--and they may ruin us; and -at best, in the world of the West, they separate from us, and we can -keep only memories of them. Some woman or some man gets hold of their -heart and bites it, and the poison spreads a veil between parents and -offspring for all time. Finally, in any conditions, the burthen of life -is enormously increased. How much more must a man bear, and how much -less can he assert himself, when he has ever to remember that he has -ceased to belong to himself. Such is a Buddhist view of the thing. It is -not all wrong.... - - L. H. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - AUGUST, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--What you wrote about the charming person "_flirting_ -with her maternal instincts" is delicious. I recognized the portrait in -a most fantastic past experience,--but of that anon. The thought sent me -off into a reverie about--adulteration. - -There is a philosophy about adulteration I don't know much about. I -have not sufficiently learned the main facts about the practical and -utilitarian side of adulteration,--though I read the "petit dictionnaire -des falsifications," and other things. However, let's try. Most of what -we sell now is adulteration. We used to feel angry, when I was a boy, -at the mere thought that leather-composition should be sold for genuine -leather,--shoddy for wool,--cotton mixed with silk for pure silk, -etc. We wanted our spoons to be genuine silver, and our claret quite -trustworthy. Since then we have had to resign ourselves to margarine, -glucose, and other products which have become vast staples of commerce. -In some cases the genuine has been altogether supplanted by the false; -and the false has been universally accepted with full knowledge of its -origin. There have been advantages enormous to industry and manufacture, -of course; and the public health has not been ruined, according to -prediction. On the contrary it has been improving, and the nervous -system developing. - -Now may not the same thing be going on in our morals? Or rather, must -it not go on? We are substituting the sham for the real. It is very -sorrowful and excites awful surmises; but nevertheless the sham seems to -do very well. The trouble with the original article was its cost and its -enormous solidity. It was not malleable. It resisted pressure. It was -not adapted at all to the new life of cities and science. For example, -absolute veracity interfered with business,--absolute love became a -nuisance, took up too much space, and proved too incompressible. Just -as we have become too sensitive to bear the rawness of pure colour, so -have we become too sensitive to bear the rawness of pure affection. -We consider persons vulgar who wear blood-red, grass-green, burning -yellows and blues--persons of undeveloped feeling and taste. So also -we begin to think people vulgar who are prone to live by any simple -emotions. We hold them undeveloped. We don't want the real thing. No: -we want shades, tones,--imperceptible tones, ethereal shades. Even in -books the raw emotion has become distasteful, savage. Pure passion is -penny-theatrical. Isn't all this a suggestion of fact? And isn't the -fact founded upon necessary physiological changes? Existing life is too -complex for pure emotions. We want mixed tonics,--delicately flavoured -and tinted. - -All of which means that the primal sources of life are becoming -forgotten. Love, honour, idealism, etc., these can no longer be supreme -or absorbing motives. They interfere with more serious necessities, -and with pleasure. We have first to learn how to live inside the -eight-day clock of modern life without getting caught in the cogs. This -learned,--and it is no easy lesson,--we may venture to indulge in some -falsifications of emotion, some shot-silk colours of love. Such seems -to me the drift. The most serious necessity of life is not to take the -moral side of it seriously. We must play with it, as with an _hetaira_. - -The genuine is only good for the agricultural districts. - -And is this progress in a durable sense, or morbidness in evolution? -Really I am not sure. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I have missed you very much this long vacation; but, as I -anticipated, it could not be helped. Another bundle of proofs has been -keeping me at work; and I find the book promises to be bigger than I -told you in my last letter. They are using type that will spread it out -to probably 750 pp. I send you one specimen proof--just to show you the -size of the type. - -The man who has been sent for to fill the place in Ky[=o]to, will not, -I imagine, be able to keep it. He is a rabid proselytizer; in Kumamoto, -years ago, he formed a society of Christians, called the Christian -Band (I forget the Japanese name): that is why the Ky[=u]sh[=u] folk -nearly killed him. Privately--between you and me--I think there will -be great changes in the Ky[=o]to middle school next year; _and I think -that I shall get there_. But there is nothing sure. I will not go to -T[=o]ky[=o] as long as I can help it. - -Many thanks for your splendid letter about the legends of the ballads. -I have put it away carefully to use in a future essay.--You say, if -you were to tell me about the noble things the common people do, you -would never get done. Indeed, _one_ strong fact would give me work for -two or three months. The publishers wrote me to say they want stories -of the life of the common people _to-day_,--showing the influence -of moral teaching on _conduct_: that is, Buddhist, Shint[=o], and -ancestor-teaching. I have been trying to get the facts about the poor -girl who killed herself in Ky[=o]to because the Emperor "augustly -mourned" after the crazy action of Tsuda Sanzo; but I have not yet -succeeded. By the way, I think Tsuda Sanzo will be more kindly judged -by a future generation. His crime was only "loyalty-run-mad." He was -insane for the moment with an insanity which would have been of the -highest value in a good cause and time. He saw before him the living -representative of the awful Power which makes even England tremble;--the -power against which Western Europe has mustered an army of more than -15,000,000 of men. He saw, or thought he saw (perhaps he really _did_ -see: time only can show) the Enemy of Japan. Then he struck--out of -his heart, without consulting his head. He did very wrong;--he made -a sad mistake; but I think that man's heart was noble and true, in -spite of all his foolishness. He would have been a hero under happier -circumstances.... - -[Illustration: [Japanese]] - -I have just heard that the name of one kind of those horrid beetles in -Kumamoto is _gane-bun-bun_, and the _hyakush[=o]_ call them _gane-bu_; -and people throw them out of the window, saying, "Come back the -day-before-yesterday." Then they never come back at all. - -[Illustration: [Japanese]] - -[Illustration: [Japanese]] - -I have made a mistake again. The _gane-bun-bun_ is not the greatest -plague I was complaining of,--but the _fu-mushi_. There is yet another -small one, I have not found out the name of. They make a whole room -smell horribly. Some, however, call both the big _fu-mushi_ and the -small creature by the same name--distinguishing them only as the green -and the black. By the way, I will put a _fu-mushi_ in this letter, -because they keep coming on the table so that I think it may be well to -send one to Izumo, in the hopes of inducing the rest to emigrate. - -All send kindest regards to you, and pray you to take good care of your -health. - -With every best wish, believe me ever, - - Most faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, 1893. - -[Illustration] - -DEAR NISHIDA,--It gave me much pleasure to get your last -kind letter. There was much depth in your statement of the present -instability being consequent upon the stagnation of three hundred -years. As to the consequence, however, only two theories are possible. -The instability means--however it end--disintegration. Is the -disintegration to be permanent?--or is there to be a re-integration? -That is what nobody can say. There is this, however. Usually a movement -of disintegration represents something like this line,--the undulations -signifying waves of reaction. This movement is downward, and ends in -ruin. However, so far, the undulations in Japan have been, I think, of -a very different character,--something like this:--which would mean -restoration of national solidity upon a much higher plane than before. -The doubt is whether a much larger movement of disintegration is not -going on,--whose undulations are too large to be seen in a space of -thirty years. - -[Illustration] - -You have noticed that under all the surface waves of a sea, far vaster -waves move--too large to be seen. They are only _felt_--upon _long_ -voyages. - -Mr. Senke has sent me a letter which I think is the most wonderfully -kind and gracious letter anybody ever received in this whole world, and -how to answer it at all, I don't know. He has also promised to send some -souvenir; I am not quite sure what it is: I must _try_ to write him a -nice letter when it comes. But Mr. Senke writes as an Emperor would -write--with a grace for which there is no equivalent in Western speech -at all; and whatever I try to do, it must seem vulgar and common beside -the splendid courtesy of Mr. Senke's style. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR OCHIAI,--I was very glad indeed to get your letter. It came while -the school was closed--all the students having gone upon an excursion to -[=O]ita, so that I did not receive it until to-day (the 11th), when I -went to the school to see if there were any letters for me. - -Don't think any more about any mistakes you may have made;--everybody -will forget them quickly: only think about what makes you happy. But as -for Christianity, of course that is a matter for your own conscience; -and I would not advise you at all unless you are in doubt. I can only -tell you this,--that there are a great many different forms of what is -called the Christian religion--a very great many. But what is called the -"higher Christianity" is a pure code of ethics; and that code of ethics -recognizes that in all civilized religions,--whether of Japan, India, -China, Persia, or Arabia,--there is _some_ eternal truth; because all -religions agree in the deepest teaching about duty and conduct to one's -fellow men; and therefore all are entitled to the respect of good men. -But in all religions also there are some things which even very good men -cannot approve: that is not the fault of the true part of religion, but -only the fault of social conditions--that is, the state of society. No -state of society is yet perfect; and there can be no perfect religious -system until all men become perfectly good. How to become good is, -nevertheless, taught by all civilized religions. Nearly everything -which is eternally true is taught by one as well as by the other; and -therefore a society cannot throw away its religion on account of some -errors in it. And each religion represents the experience of a nation -with right and wrong--its knowledge of morality. But as society is -constructed quite differently in different countries, the religion of -one country may not be suited to another. That is why the introduction -of a foreign religion may often be opposed by a whole people. For some -things which are right in one country may not be right in another. It is -not right in China or in Japan to leave one's parents, and to neglect -them when they are old. But in England and America and other countries, -sons and daughters go away from their parents, and do not think it -a duty to support them;--and there is no family relation in those -countries such as there is in the Orient. And therefore many things -in Western religion are not suited to the kinder and more benevolent -life of Japan. Also, some religions teach loyalty, and some do not. For -Japan to become strong, and to remain independent, it is very necessary -that her people should remain very loyal. Her ancient religion teaches -loyalty;--therefore it is still very useful to her. And that is why -there is anger shown against some Christians who show no respect to that -religion. They are not blamed for not believing in dogmas, but only for -what seems to be not loyal. - -Perhaps it is better that you should not think a great deal about -religious questions until you become old enough to study scientific -philosophy--because these questions ought to be studied in relation -to society, in relation to history, in relation to law, in relation -to national character, and in relation to science. Therefore they are -very difficult. But if you should like to read the highest thoughts -of Western people about _modern_ religious ideas, I can send you some -little books which will show you that the highest religion agrees with -the highest science. What I mean by the highest religion is the belief -in eternal laws of right conduct. However, as I said, to think about -these questions at all requires great study and much knowledge. I think -the best advice I can give you in a general way is this,--Do not believe -a new thing told you because it is told you; but think for yourself, and -follow your own heart when you are in doubt. But remember that the _old_ -things taught you have been valuable to society--and have been useful -for thousands of years--so that we cannot despise them. - -I send you a book of old Greek stories to read. Perhaps it will interest -you. You will see from the stories how different the old Greek life was -from modern life in many things. You must tell me, too, what books you -like to read--novels, history, etc.; perhaps I shall be able to send you -some from time to time. - -Study well, and never be discouraged;--think only how to make yourself -a noble and perfect man. And remember the best men in public life have -generally been those who made plenty of mistakes and got into plenty of -trouble when they were boys. - -And never, _never_ be afraid--except of your own heart. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have been waiting several weeks to tell you of an -event which occurred later than I expected. Last night my child was -born,--a very strong boy, with large black eyes; he looks more like a -Japanese, however, than like a foreign boy. He has my nose, but his -mother's features in some other respects, curiously blended with mine. -There is no fault with him; and the physicians say, from the form of -his little bones, that he promises to become very tall. A cross between -European and Japanese is nearly always an improvement when both parents -are in good condition; and happily the old military caste to which -my wife belongs is a strong one. She is quite well.--Still, I had -my anxiety, and the new experience brought to me for a moment, with -extraordinary force, the knowledge of how sacred and terrible a thing -maternity is, and how even religion cannot hedge it about sufficiently -with protection. Then I thought with astonishment of the possibility -that men could be cruel to women who bore their children; and the world -seemed very dark for a moment. When it was all over, I confess I felt -very humble and grateful to the Unknowable Power which had treated us so -kindly,--and I said a little prayer of thanks, feeling quite sure it was -not foolish to do so. - -If ever you become a father, I think the strangest and strongest -sensation of your life will be hearing for the first time the thin -cry of your own child. For a moment you have the strange feeling -of being double; but there is something more, quite impossible to -analyze--perhaps the echo in a man's heart of all the sensations felt -by all the fathers and mothers of his race at a similar instant in the -past. It is a very tender, but also a very ghostly feeling. - -Now the kind dull veil that Nature keeps during most of a life stretched -between it and such extraordinary glimpses of the Unknown, is drawn -again. The world is the same nearly as before; and I can plan. The -little man will wear sandals and dress like a Japanese, and become a -good little Buddhist if he lives long enough. He will not have to go to -church, and listen to stupid sermons, and be perpetually tormented by -absurd conventions. He will have what I never had as a child,--natural -physical freedom. - -Your two late letters were full of interest and beauty, and you are -getting most surprising glimpses of life. I have long had in my mind the -idea of a chapter on "Morbid Individuality"--taking issue with Lowell's -position in "The Soul of the Far East." Instances like those you have -cited are very telling as proofs. The story of the father also is -wonderful--absolutely wonderful,--a beautiful surprise of human nature. - -What also much impressed me in your letter was the feeling of sadness -the spectacle of the great Exposition gave you. But I scarcely think -it was due to any reminiscences of boyhood--not simply because of its -being certainly a feeling infinitely too complex to have sprung out of a -single relative experience in the past (your confession of inability to -analyze it, and the statement of others who had the same feeling, would -show that),--but also because, if you reflect on other experiences of a -totally different kind, you will find they give the same sensation. The -first sight of a colossal range of mountains; the awful beauty of a peak -like Chimborazo or Fuji; the majesty of an enormous river; the vision -of the sea in speaking motion; and, among human spectacles, a military -sight, such as the passing-by of a corps of fifty thousand men, will -give also a feeling of sadness. You will feel something like it standing -in the choir of the Cathedral of Cologne; and you will feel something -like it while watching in the night, from some mighty railroad centre, -the rushing of glimmering trains,--bearing away human lives to unknown -destinies beyond the darkness. - -Probably, as Schopenhauer said, the vision of mountains has the effect -of producing sadness, because the sense of their antiquity awakens -sudden recognition of the shortness of human life. But I do not think it -is a mere individual feeling. It is a feeling we share with countless -dead who live in us, and who saw the same mountains,--perhaps felt -the same way. Besides, there should be a religious ancestral feeling -there--since mountains have ever been the abode of gods, and the -earliest places of worship and of burial. And I think there is. You do -not laugh when you look at mountains--nor when you look at the sea. - -What effect does the sudden sight of an extraordinarily beautiful -person have upon you? I mean the very _first_. Is it not an effect of -sadness? Analyze it; and perhaps you will find yourself involuntarily -thinking of _death_. - -What has the effect of any great beauty--of art, or poetry or -utterance--no matter what the subject? Is it cheerful? No, it is very -sad. But why? Perhaps partly because of the consciousness of the -_exceptional_ character of that beauty,--therefore the sudden contrast -between the tender dream-world of art and goodness, and the hideous -goblin realities of the world we know. At all events the sadness is -certainly the ancient sadness,--the sadness of life, which must, for -reasons we cannot learn, begin and end with an agony. - -Now at the Exposition you had all the elements for what Clifford would -call a "cosmic emotion" of sadness. Vastness, which forced the knowledge -of individual weakness; beauty, compelling the memory of impermanency; -force, suggesting weakness also; and prodigious effort,--calling for the -largest possible exertion of human sympathy, and love, and pity, and -sorrow. That you should feel like crying then, does you honour: that is -the tribute of all that is noblest in you to the eternal Religion of -Human Suffering. - -Dear H., I have not slept last night: I am going to rest a -little;--good-bye for a short time, with love to you. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--A few days ago there came from Kizuki a little box -addressed to me,--from Mr. Senke; and opening it, I found therein the -robe of a _Kokuz[=o]_--all black silk with the sacred _mon_ of the -temple worked into the silk. Accompanying the robe were two poems, very -beautifully written upon vari-coloured paper. The robe was very curious -in itself, and of course most precious as a souvenir. I hesitated to -write at once; for I could not answer Mr. Senke's magnificent letter in -a worthy way at all. It was a very long letter, written on fine paper -and in large handsome characters. I have now tried to reply, but my -answer reads very shabbily compared with Mr. Senke's gracious style. - -I found I had forgotten, in writing you the other day, to speak about -Kompira, as you asked me. What a pity I had not known about the real -temple of Kompira, which I did not see at all. Yes, I did find the place -interesting and very beautiful. But it was interesting because of the -quaint shops and streets and customs; and it was beautiful _because -the day happened to be very beautiful_. The vast blue light coloured -everything,--walls, timbers, awnings, draperies, dresses of pilgrims; -and the cherry-trees were one blaze of snowy blossoms; and the horizon -was clear as crystal. In the distance towered Sanuki-Fuji,--a cone of -amethyst in the light. I wished I could teach in some school at Kompira -_uchimachi_, and stay there always. - -I like little towns. To live at Tadotsu, or at Hishi-ura in Oki, or at -Yunotsu in Iwami, or at Daikon-shimain Naka-umi, would fill my soul with -joy. I cannot like the new Japan. I dislike the officials, the imitation -of foreign ways, the airs, the conceits, the contempt for Temp[=o], etc. -Now to my poor mind, all that was good and noble and true was Old Japan: -I wish I could fly out of Meiji forever, back against the stream of -Time, into Temp[=o], or into the age of the Mikado Y[=u]riaku,--fourteen -hundred years ago. The life of the old fans, the old _by[=o]bu_, the -tiny villages--that is the _real_ Japan I love. Somehow or other, -Kumamoto doesn't seem to me Japan at all. I hate it. - - Ever with best regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Both of your letters were as interesting as they -were kind. They revealed to me much more than I had been able to learn -from the newspapers. I am more than sorry for that terrible destruction -and suffering in the _Ken_; but when I think of Okayama, again, I cannot -help thinking that the good fortune, which seems especially to belong -to Matsue, has not yet deserted her. And the Governor seems to be a -first-class man. I like that story of his action with the rice-dealers. -But really, the people are very patient. In some Western countries, -notably in parts of America, it would have been more than dangerous for -men to have acted so selfishly; and they would be in any case afterwards -"boycotted," and obliged perhaps to leave the city. It is a great pity -they were not made to suffer for such atrocious meanness. When I think -of the chrysanthemums in your garden, and read your extraordinary -story about catching fish in it, I can realize what a tremendous loss -there must have been through all the rice-country. Certainly Matsue is -fortunate to have escaped as she did. - -Almost at the same time there came to me news from the Gulf of Mexico. -Perhaps you will remember that I wrote a novel about some islands there. -I used to pass my summers in those islands. They were about sixty miles -from the city of New Orleans. Well, on October 4th, a storm burst over -that coast, killing more than 2000 people. The island of Grand Isle was -covered by the sea in the night; and everything--houses, trees, and -people--carried away. Hundreds I used to know are dead. It is a year of -storms and calamities, surely, in all parts of the world. - -I will write a better letter later: I am writing now to answer your -questions about those sentences:-- - -(i) "Choppy"--"chopped" or "chapped" by cold: "chapped hands"--hands of -which the skin is _cracked_ by frost. "His hands are all chapped"--that -is, all _roughened_ by frost. "Choppy" is not so often used as -"chapped:" it is a poetical use of the word. - -(ii) "He had torn the cataracts from the hills." You must remember here -Winter is personified as a monstrous giant. "Cataracts" is used in the -sense of "waterfalls." The waterfalls are frozen into solid masses of -ice. Winter, the giant, breaks them off, and hangs them round his waist. - -[Illustration] - -(iii) "And they clanked at his girdle like _manacles_" (from Latin -_manus_, "hand") (you spelled the word wrong: it is "manacles"). -"Manacles," iron fetters for the hands;--handcuffs. They are made -in pairs, fastened together by a chain, and closed by a key. They -_clank_ when they strike together,--(i. e.) make a ringing metallic -noise--because they are of fine steel usually. The sound made by iron -is "clank"--"_to_ clank" (verb), "_a_ clank" (noun). Why does Shelley -use such a simile? Because Winter is like a jailer, like the keeper of a -prison. He fastens up, or imprisons, the rivers, lakes, and ponds with -ice. So he is described as a keeper of prisoners,--with manacles or -handcuffs hanging to his waist, ready for use. Ice striking against ice -makes a ringing noise, very much like iron--sometimes. The comparison is -very strong. - -And why does he put his chapped finger to his lip? To put the first -finger on the lips is a sign for "Be silent!" "Do not speak!" In winter -the world becomes silent. The birds are gone; the insects are dead. - -P. S. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I waited over last night to hunt up the -quotation for you; and during the night my child was born. A very strong -boy,--dark eyes and hair; he has some of my features, some of Setsu's. -Setsu is well enough to send kind words, and to tell you what I was -intending to tell you myself,--how delighted we have all been to hear of -your good health this year. - -I intended to write more, but I am too tired for the moment,--as I have -not been in bed for more than 24 hours. So for a little, good-bye,--best -regards to you and yours always from - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, November, 1893. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Everybody is well up to date: the little boy looks -prettier every day, and gives very little trouble. He scarcely cries at -all. Many people come to look at him, and express surprise that he looks -so much like a Japanese. But he is going to have a nose something like -mine, certainly, when he grows up. - -Setsu advises me to write you about another matter. I wanted, and tried -several times since coming to Kumamoto, to have Setsu registered as my -lawfully married wife, but the answer was always the same--that it was -a difficult matter, and would have to be arranged in T[=o]ky[=o], if at -all. The day before yesterday, I made another attempt when registering -the birth of the boy. The registry people said that as the parties came -from Matsue, Izumo, they would only make the statement of the marriage -by Matsue authority,--and that I had better write to Matsue. But at the -same time, they said words to this effect: "The law is difficult for -you. If you wish the boy to remain a Japanese citizen, you must register -him in the mother's name only. If you register him in the father's name, -he becomes a foreigner." - -Of course we all want the child to be a Japanese citizen, as he will -be the heir and stay of the old folks after I am dead--whether he goes -abroad for a few years' study or no. Prudence seems to dictate the -latter course. Yet the whole thing is a puzzle. By becoming myself a -Japanese citizen, everything would be settled. Even that, however, -is more difficult than it at first seemed. Again, I believe that I -could become a Japanese citizen by making direct application to the -Government;--but at the present time the result might not be for the -best. An Englishman in Yokohama, who became a Japanese citizen, had his -salary immediately reduced to a very small figure, with the observation: -"Having become a Japanese citizen, you must now be content to live like -one." I don't quite see the morality of the reduction; for services -should be paid according to the market-value at least;--but there is no -doubt it would be made. As for America, and my relatives in England, I -am married: that has been duly announced. Perhaps I had better wait a -few years, and then become a citizen. Being a Japanese citizen would, of -course, make no difference whatever as to my relations in any civilized -countries abroad. It would only make some difference in an uncivilized -country,--such as revolutionary South America, where English or French -or American protection is a good thing to have. But the long and the -short of the matter is that I am anxious only about Setsu's and the -boy's interests; my own being concerned only at that point where their -injury would be Setsu's injury. I suppose I must trust to fate and the -gods. If you can suggest anything good to do, however, I will be very -grateful. - -Every day, it strikes me more and more how little I shall ever know -of the Japanese. I have been working hard at a new book, which is now -half-finished, and consists of philosophical sketches chiefly: It will -be a very different book from the "Glimpses," and will show you how -much the Japanese world has changed for me. I imagine that sympathy and -friendship are almost impossible for any foreigner to obtain,--because -of the amazing difference in the psychology of the two races. We only -guess at each other without understanding; and it is only a very keen -guesser, indeed, of large experience, who can ever guess correctly. I -have met no one else like you. Nothing is so curious as to sit down and -talk for hours with a Japanese of the ordinary T[=o]ky[=o] modernized -class. You understand all he says, and he understands all you say,--but -neither understands more than the words. The ideas behind the words are -so different, that the more we talk the less we know each other. In the -case of the students, I found myself obliged to invent a new method of -teaching. I now teach my higher classes psychologically. I give them -lectures and dictations on various difficulties of the preposition, for -example, starting out with the announcement that they must not allow -themselves to think of the Japanese preposition at all.... - -I have followed this plan with great success in teaching the articles, -the value of English idioms, etc., and the comparative force of verbs. -But it shows how hopeless for a stranger to see deeply into the Japanese -mind. I am taking almost exactly the opposite ground to that of Lowell. - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, January, 1894. - -DEAR OCHIAI,--Many thanks for your kind letter, with its kind -wishes,--and many happy New Years to you. - -I have been very glad to hear of your success at school, and all the -news about your reading. I think Mr. Nishida's plan is very wise and -good. It is true that the lives of such men as Clive and Hastings--and -above all Napoleon--are full of interest and romance, because they show -the wonderful things that can be achieved by force of character united -with great intellect,--Clive being the best man, morally, of the three. -But, on the other hand, it is sadly true that the genius and the courage -of those three wonderful men were not employed in the noblest way, -but most often in a bad cause. Strong characters are very attractive, -because those who read about them take pleasure in imagining what -they would do if they had the same power and opportunity. But strong -characters are only really admirable when they are employed in a good, -just, noble cause. And of such characters, the number in Western history -is few. Pericles, Miltiades, Epaminondas, were nobler than Alexander; -yet people like to read about Alexander, who was not a good man. Marcus -Aurelius was nobler than Caesar; but people like to read more about -Caesar, because he was a great conqueror. And so on through all Western -history. There is splendour and honour in brave fighting for what is -right; but I do not think we ought to allow ourselves to praise brave -fighting for what is wrong. Bravery is noble only when the object is -noble. As a quality, it is not peculiar to man at all;--a wild bull is -braver than any general. It is very noble to sacrifice one's life for -a good cause--for love of parents, country, duty; but we ought not to -admire the throwing away of life for an unjust cause. The real rule by -which to measure what is admirable and what is despicable is the rule of -Duty. - -That is why I admire very, very much, all that was noble in the old -Japanese life,--its moral code, its household religion, and its -unselfishness. Everything is now passing away. By the time you are as -old as I now am, all Japan will have been changed; and I think you will -remember with regret the kindness and the simplicity of heart and the -pleasant manners of the Old Japan, that used to be all about you. The -New Japan will be richer and stronger and in many things wiser; but it -will neither be so happy nor so kindly as the old. - -Well, I trust you will have all possible success,--not only in your -school-life, but in all your life to come. I have hopes you will do -great and good things, and that I will hear of them. - - Ever affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - KUMAMOTO, March, 1894. - -MY DEAR [=O]TANI,--To study philology, with the idea of becoming a -philologist, scarcely seems to me a hopeful undertaking for you. -Philology means a great deal, including the comparative study of -languages; and it requires a very special natural gift in acquiring -languages, to be of any very practical value to you. It would also -require, I think, years of study in foreign universities. I am not quite -sure what you mean by philology, and what your purpose in following that -course would be. You might, of course, do as many do--take the literary -and philological course at the university. But the question, to my mind, -seems to be this: "What would be the practical value of such studies -afterwards?" Do you wish to become a Professor of Philology? Do you wish -to give your life to the scientific study of languages? If you do, are -you quite sure you have the particular kind of talent required (for, -remember, everybody cannot become a philologist any more than everybody -can become a mathematician)? - -[Illustration: A GROUP OF GRADUATES OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL - - 1 Mr. Hearn 2 Mr. Nishida 3 The old teacher of Chinese - Classics] - -The truth is, I do not know enough about your circumstances and -intentions and abilities to advise you well. I can only tell you _in a -general way_ what I think. - -I think you ought not to study what would not be of _practical_ use -to you in after-life. I am always glad to hear of a student studying -engineering, architecture, medicine (if he has the particular moral -character which medicine requires), or any branch of applied science. -I do not like to see all the fine boys turning to the study of law, -instead of to the study of science or technology. Of course much depends -upon the mathematical faculty. If you have that faculty, I would -strongly advise you to direct all your studies toward a scientific -profession--something really practical,--engineering, architecture, -electricity, chemistry, etc. If you should ask which, I could not -tell you, because I do not know your own highest capacities in such -directions. I would only say,--"Whatever you are most sure of loving as -a practical profession." - -Japan wants no more lawyers now; and I think the professions of -literature and of teaching give small promise. What Japan needs are -scientific men; and she will need more and more of them every year. -To-day you are fortunate; but nothing in this world is sure. Suppose you -were obliged suddenly to depend entirely on your own unassisted power to -make money,--would it not then be necessary to do something practical? -Certainly it would. And _according to the rarity of your abilities_ -would be your remuneration,--your money-making power. Even the Queen of -England obliged her children to learn professions. - -Now scientific men are still comparatively rare in Japan. The -science-classes in the colleges are small. Many students begin the -study,--but they find it hard for them, and give it up. Nevertheless, it -is _just because it is hard_ that it is so important and of such high -value to the person who masters it. If you were my son, or brother, -I would say to you, "Study science,--applied science; study for a -practical profession." As for languages and other subjects, you can -study them whenever you please. The practical knowledge is the only -important knowledge now,--and your whole life will depend upon your -present studies. - -You asked whether philology was difficult. Science _is_ -difficult,--really difficult; but everything worth having in this world -is difficult to get, exactly in proportion to its value. The only -question, I think, should be, "What study will be most useful to me all -through life?" But not whether it is difficult. What is important to -know is always difficult to learn. Philology is difficult; practical -science is difficult;--both are very difficult. But philology would -never be of much use to you, unless you have a natural genius for -language-study. And science would be of immense value to you, whether -you have any genius or not. You will need, however, as I said before, -mathematical study to fit you for that. And I would also remind you of -this:-- - -Hundreds of students leave the university without any real profession, -and without any practical ability to make themselves useful. All -cannot become teachers, or lawyers, or clerks. They become _soshi_, or -they become officials, or they do nothing of any consequence. Their -whole education has been of no real use to them, because it has not -been _practical_. Men can succeed in life only by their ability to -_do_ something, and three fourths of the university students can _do_ -nothing. Their education has been only _ornamental_. - - Faithfully yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, April, 1894. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--You are becoming a very _indifferent_ correspondent, if -one should judge by scarcity of letters,--so I suppose I am not to hear -from you again until something extraordinary happens. So runs the world -away from a man. But never shall I be able to understand the people of -"the most Eastern East." - -Well, I have been to Kompira,--in a _fune-fune_ to Tadotsu, thence -by rail to the wonderful, quaint old town. We took Kaji along. He -never cries now, and behaved so well that on all the railroads and -steamers people fell in love with him and played with him. He made the -acquaintance of many politicians, of surveyors, of some silk merchants, -of two captains, of a naval surgeon, of many gentle women, of the _miko_ -at Kompira, and--I am sorry to say--of some geisha. However, that was -because he was very young, and did not know. I hope when he gets bigger -he will be more reserved with his smiles. One thing showed his good -taste: he was especially attracted by the two young _miko_, who were -really very sweet and pretty,--the prettiest I ever saw, and he made one -of them smile even during her dance. I have sent a better picture of him. - -I should much rather be in a country-school again. However, so far -as I can see, the same trouble is going to find its way into all the -public schools, and stay there, until some means be devised of removing -schools altogether from the domain of politics by something like the -American system. The American system is imperfect; but it has at least -this merit,--that the leading citizens and merchants of a place can act -as boards of directors, and that the temporary officials proper cannot -meddle directly in school matters at all. Thus the school interests are -taken care of by those most directly concerned in their welfare, and not -by strangers. Each community supports its own school by a general tax. -Of course in so corrupt a country as America the pecuniary side of the -question is attended with some ugly stealing; but that is done before -the money is placed in the hands of the directors, and is done at a -serious risk. In some American States, too, the text-books are meddled -with by politicians. But I think it might be quite possible in Japan to -adopt a system of school-support, which, while removing the schools from -the power of the Kench[=o] to meddle with them, would also establish -something like permanency in their management and method. At present -everything is so unpermanent and unsteady that one feels the tendency is -to dissolution rather than integration. - - Ever very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. I forgot your question about the summer vacation. I have not yet -been able to decide exactly what to do, but it is at least certain that -I go to T[=o]ky[=o], and that I hope to meet you there. Should anything -prevent you from going, I may try to meet you elsewhere. I should like -to see you, and hear some more of the same wonderful things you used to -tell me,--which you will read in that much-delayed book. By the way, I -did not tell you that the publishers concluded to delay it again, on -account of what they call the trade-season. I suppose they are right, -but it is very provoking. Including the index the book makes about 700 -pages, in two volumes. Meantime I have half written a philosophical book -about Japanese life. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, Spring, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Are you reading the _Atlantic_ at all? There is a -wonderful story by Mrs. Deland, "Philip and his Wife." Philip's wife -makes me think always of E. B. - -The problem of merely being able to live. What a plague it is! And the -pain of life isn't hunger, isn't want, isn't cold, isn't sickness, -isn't physical misery of any kind: it is simply moral pain caused by -the damnable meanness of those who try to injure others for their -own personal benefit or interest. That is really all the pain of the -struggle of life. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, May, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... I think there was one mistake in the story of -OEdipus and the Sphinx. It was the sweeping statement about the Sphinx's -alternative. It isn't true that she devoured every one who couldn't -answer her riddles. Everybody meets the Sphinx in life;--so I can -speak from authority. She doesn't kill people like me,--she only bites -and scratches them; and I've got the marks of her teeth in a number -of places on my soul. She meets me every few years and asks the same -tiresome question,--and I have latterly contented myself with simply -telling her, "I don't know." - -It now seems to me that I was partly wrong in a former letter to you -about business morality: I took much too narrow a view of the case, -perhaps. The comparison between the Western and Oriental brain--which -everybody is forced to make after a few years' sojourn here--now appears -to me appalling in its results. The Western business man is really -a very terrible and wonderful person. He is the outcome, perhaps, of -a mediaeval wish. For types are created by men's wishes--just as men -themselves are created. The greatest teaching of science is that no -Body made us,--but we made ourselves under the smart stimulus of pain. -Well, as I was saying, the business man is an answer to a wish. (You -know about the frogs who asked Jupiter for a King.) In the age of -robber-barons, racks, swordmills, and _droit de cuissage_,--men prayed -Jupiter for Law, Order, System. Jupiter (in the shape of a very, very -earnest desire) produced the Business man. He represents insatiate -thirst of dominion, supreme intellectual aggressive capacity, faultless -practical perceptivity, and the art of handling men exactly like pawns. -But he represents also Order, System, Law. He is Organization, and is -King of the Earth. The pawns cry out, "We are not pawns." But he always -politely answers, "I am sorry to disagree with you, but I find it -expedient for our mutual interest to consider you pawns; besides, I have -no time to argue the matter. If you think you are not pawns, you must -show the faculty of Organization." - -The tyranny of the future must be that of Organization: the monopoly, -the trust, the combination, the associated company--representing -supremely perfect mathematical unification of Law, Order, and System. -Much more powerful than the robber-baron, or Charlemagne, or Barbarossa, -these are infinitely less human,--having no souls, etc. (What would -be the use of souls!--souls only waste time.) Business is exact and -dangerous and powerful like a colossal dynamo: it is the extreme of -everything men used to pray for,--and it is _not_ what they did _not_ -pray for. Perhaps they would like the robber-baron better. - -We little petty outsiders--the gnats hovering about life--feel the world -is changing too quickly: all becoming methodical as an abacus. There -isn't any more room for us. Competition is of no use. Law, Order, and -System fill the places without consulting us,--the editorial desks, the -clerkships, the Government posts, the publishers' offices, the pulpits, -the professorships, the sinecures as well as the tough jobs. Where a -worker is unnecessary, a pawn is preferred. (Oh, for a lodge in some -vast wilderness!--provided with a good table and a regular supply of -reading from Murray's circulating library!) One thing is dead sure: in -another generation there can be no living by dreaming and scheming of -art: only those having wealth can indulge in the luxury of writing books -for their own pleasure.... - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, May, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--So far from your letters not being interesting, -they are always full of interest--first, simply because they are _your_ -letters; secondly, because they tell the evolution of you--showing -how, after all, we are made by the eternal forces. That you become a -business man, in every sense of the word, is inevitable. It would be -wrong if you did not. It would be wrong not to love your profession. The -evil of becoming a business man exists only for small men--dries small -men up. Surely you are not small! There is nothing to regret--except -perhaps a temporary darkness which may yield to enormous light later on. -Some would say to you, "Always keep one little place in your heart from -hardening." I would say nothing of the kind now: I think you are too -large to be talked to in that way. - -[Illustration] - -Suppose I try to illustrate by reference to the scope of human thinking -in general. Ethical theology might be represented then as an inverted -pyramid,--thus [Illustration: inverted triangle]; hard, skeptical -science by a larger figure, pressing it down; the highest philosophy -by a circle,--something like this figure. The largest thought accepts -all, surrounds all, absorbs all,--like light itself. The ugly and the -beautiful, the ignorant and the wise, the virtuous and the vile,--all -come within its recognition; nature and sins as well as societies and -clubs,--prisons and churches, brothels and houses. The very duties of -observation forced upon you compel two things: the study of all moral -and material details; the study of all combinations and wholes. And the -larger the grasp of the whole the larger must become your power and -value; for you will have to see eternal laws working down out of the -unknown and thereafter ramifying and inter-ramifying into innumerable -actions, reactions, disintegrations, and crystallizations. The horrible -thing about business, men say, is that it considers men as pawns. But if -your sight becomes large enough,--if your thought widens enough,--you -_must_ look upon men as pawns. To be a brother to all you cannot. To be -a friend to many you cannot. You become the agent--not of the Commercial -Union Assurance Co. only,--but the special agent of infinite laws; and -if you act efficiently in that capacity, you cannot do very wrong. The -Cosmos will be responsible for you. - -The business man to-day is the king of the earth; merchants and bankers -are the rulers, and will for all time be, while industrialism continues -necessary. They seek and win power, and all the good things of life; -they also prevent others from getting either. They may not be poets, -philosophers, didactic teachers, artists; but their mental organization -is undoubtedly the highest,--because its achievements represent the -mastery of the highest difficulties, the deepest problems, the most -intricate riddles. Certainly this higher organization is obtained -at a heavy cost in the majority of cases. The emotions dry up in -the evolution of it, and the moral sense weakens. But because this -must happen in the majority of cases when any _new_ faculty is being -developed, it is far from happening in all. The man whose vision is vast -enough can scarcely do more evil than a god. He cannot injure his world -voluntarily without suffering from his own action. He must study his -world as a naturalist his ant-hill. And even as a God he must feel the -ultimate evil and good is not of him; but is being forever viewlessly -woven in Shadow by the Fates of the Infinite,--whose distaff twists the -thread of his own life, and whose will guides his own courses. - -The great desire would be for the combination of emotion with knowledge, -of philosophy with mathematics, of Plato with a Napoleon, or Spinoza -with a Gould. This will come. Now it is very rare.... - -You might reply, "In the present order of things the combination would -ruin the working-power of the man. The Gould could not act the Gould if -combined with the Spinoza,--nor could the Napoleon _se foule de la vie -d'un million d'hommes_ if crossed with a Plato." - -I would answer, "Not in the elder generation, but why not to-day? If -the moral laws that in a Spinoza would have checked a Gould, or in a -Plato checked a Napoleon, were essentially limited in other years, are -they so to-day? If the two philosophers had had larger horizons of -thinking, would they have recognized a tether,--or would they not rather -have viewed themselves as mere force-atoms in an infinite electric -stream? Are there not now recognitions of laws transcending all human -ethics?--laws of which Goethe threw out such weird suggestions?--and -must not business, from its very nature, drift into the knowledge of -these laws?" - -To-day, it is true, the highest possible type of business man would -have to follow the small policy of the majority. But certainly he can -be like one of those compound double-engines,--whereof the best half is -kept idle in reserve,--always oiled and speckless and ready for rare -emergencies or opportunities. If something within you regrets something -else that is passing away, that need not be any alarming sign. The mere -fact that the regret exists, indicates higher possibilities. Don't you -remember Emerson's extraordinary lines,-- - - "Though thou love her as thyself-- - As a self of purer clay,-- - Though her parting dim the day - Stealing grace from all alive,-- - _Heartily know, - When half-gods go - The Gods arrive!_" - -The dear little psyche is going? Well, let her go! Regret her a -little--that is sweet and good. Feel lonesome for her awhile. Wait. Then -make yourself a new soul, large enough to wrap round the whole world, -like the AEther. - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - KUMAMOTO, 1894. - -DEAR PAGE,--Though I never hear from you directly, the _T.-D._ brings -me occasionally very emphatic proof that I am not forgotten, and am -perhaps forgiven. So I venture a line or two, hoping you will not show -the letter to anybody. - -I told you some years ago I was married; but I did not tell you I had -a son,--who is, of course, dearer than my own life to me. Curiously, -he is neither like his mother nor like me: he takes after some English -ancestor,--for he is grey-eyed, fair-haired (curly chestnut), and -wonderfully strong: he is going, if he lives, to be a remarkably -powerful man; and, I hope, a more sensible man than his foolish dad. - -Well, now two perils menace me. First, the immense reaction of -Japan,--reasserting her individuality against all foreign influence, -which has resulted in the discharge of most of the high-paid foreign -employees; secondly, the war with China. The Japanese--essentially a -fighting race, as Bantams are--will probably win the battles every -time; but if China be in dead, bitter earnest, _she_ will win the -war. (Probably her chances will be snatched from her by foreign -intervention.) But whatever be the end of this enormous complication, -Japan is going to empty her treasury. The chances for Government -employees are dwindling: my contract runs only till March, and the -chances are 0. - -Of course, I can peg along somehow,--getting odd jobs from newspapers, -etc., doing a little teaching of English, French, or Spanish. I can't -help thinking I would do better to go abroad--especially at a time when -every American 100 cents is worth nearly 200 Japanese cents. - -Here goes. Could you get me anything to do if I started in the spring -for America? I mean something good enough to save money at. I am past -all nonsense now, and for myself only would need very little. But it -would not be for myself that I should go. I should want to be sure of -being able to send money to Japan, by confining my own wants to good -living and an occasional book or two. If you could get me something -anywhere south of Mason and Dixon's line, I should try to be practically -grateful in some way. I am not in the least desirous of seeing Boston -or New York or Philadelphia--or being obliged to exist by machinery. -I would rather infinitely be in Memphis or Charleston or Mobile -or--glorious Florida. - -Or can you get me anything educational in Spanish-America? I could -scarcely take my people to the U.S.,--but to South America I might try -later on. I am now 44, and all grey as a badger. Unless I can make -enough to educate my boy well, I don't know what I am worth,--but I feel -that I shall have precious little time to do it in. Add 20 to 44,--and -how much is left of a man? - -Perhaps you will think--if I am worth thinking about at all: "Well, why -were you such a d----d fool as to go and have a son?" Ask the gods! -Really _I_ don't know. - -Ever faithfully--or, as the Japanese would say, _un_faithfully,--yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, June, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... We were chatting last time about the morality of -business. Now let me tell you how the question strikes an intelligent -Japanese student. - -"Sir, what was your opinion when you first came to our country about the -old-fashioned Japanese? Please be frank with me." - -"You mean the old men, who still preserve the old customs and -courtesy,--men like Mr. Akizuki, the Chinese teacher?" - -"Yes." - -"I think they were much better men than the Japanese of to-day. They -seemed to me like the ideals of their own gods realized. They seemed to -me all that was good and noble." - -"And do you still think as well of them?" - -"I think better of them, if anything. The more I see the Japanese of the -new generation, the more I admire the men of the old." - -"But you must have, as a foreigner, also observed their defects." - -"What defects?" - -"Such weaknesses or faults as foreigners would observe." - -"No. According as a man is more or less perfectly adapted to the society -to which he belongs, so is he to be judged as a citizen and as a man. To -judge a man by the standards of a society totally different to his own -would not be just." - -"That is true." - -"Well, judged by that standard, the old-fashioned Japanese were perfect -men. They represented fully all the virtues of their society. And that -society was morally better than ours." - -"In what respect?" - -"In kindness, in benevolence, in generosity, in courtesy, in heroism, in -self-sacrifice, in simple faith, in loyalty, in self-control,--in the -capacity to be contented with a little,--in filial piety." - -"But would those qualities you admire in the old Japanese suffice for -success in Western life--practical success?" - -"Why, no." - -"The qualities required for practical success in a Western country are -just those qualities which the old Japanese did not possess, are they -not?" - -"I am sorry to say they are." - -"And the old Japanese society cultivated those qualities of -unselfishness and courtesy and benevolence which you admire at the -sacrifice of the individual. But Western society cultivates the -individual by a competition in mere powers--intellectual power, power of -calculating and of acting?" - -"Yes." - -"But in order that Japan may be able to keep her place among nations, -she _must_ adopt the industrial and financial methods of the West. Her -future depends upon industry and commerce; and these cannot be developed -if we continue to follow our ancient morals and manners." - -"Why?" - -"Not to be able to compete with the West means ruin; yet in order to -compete with the West, we must follow the methods of the West,--and -these are contrary to the old morality." - -"Perhaps--" - -"I do not think there is any 'perhaps.' To do any business on a large -scale, we must not be checked by the idea that we should never take -any advantage if another be injured by it. Those who are checked by -emotional feeling, where no check is placed upon competition, must fail. -The law of what you call the struggle for existence is that the strong -and clever succeed, and the weak and foolish fail. But the old morality -condemned such competition." - -"That is true." - -"Then, sir, no matter how good the old morality may seem to be, we can -neither make any great progress in industry or commerce or finance, -nor even preserve our national independence, by following it. We must -forsake our past, and substitute law for morality." - -"But it is not a good substitute." - -"It seems to me that it has proved a good substitute in Western -countries--England especially--if we are to judge by material progress. -We will have to learn to be moral by reason, not by emotion. Knowledge -of law, and the reasons for obeying law, must teach a rational morality -of some sort at last." - -Pretty good reasoning for a Japanese boy, wasn't it? He goes to the -university next month,--a splendid fellow. Later the Government is to -send him abroad. - - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - KUMAMOTO, August, 1894. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Many, many best thanks for the excellent photograph of -yourself, and your kindest letter. The photograph brought so vividly -before me again the kind eyes that saw so much for me, and the kind lips -that told me so many wise, good things, and advised me and helped me so -much,--that I could not but feel more sorry than ever at having missed -you. - -Mr. Senke has sent me the most beautiful letter, which I hope to answer -by this same mail. What a divine thing the old Japanese courtesy was! -and how like _Kami sama_ the dear old men who remember it, and preserve -it. Of course Mr. Senke is a young man, but _his_ courtesy is the old -courtesy. The high schools seem to me to be ruining Japanese manners, -and therefore morals--because morals are manners to a certain extent. -Those who lose the old ways never replace them; they cannot learn -foreign courtesy, which is largely a matter of tone,--tone of voice, -address, touch of minds, and benevolence in small things, which is our -politeness. So they remain without any manners at all, and their hearts -get hardened in some queer way. They cease to be lovable, and often -become unbearable. I hope the great reaction will bring back, among -other things, some of the knightly old ways. - -I send a reprint of my last Japanese story. Hope my book will reach you -soon, and will not displease you. Of course, you will find in it many -mistakes--as any book written by a foreigner must be rich in errors. But -the general effect of the book will not be bad, I think. I am now trying -to write a sketch about Yuko Hatakeyama, the girl who killed herself at -Ky[=o]to in May, 1891, for loyalty's sake. The fact is full of wonderful -meaning--as indicating a national sentiment. - -Kazuo is crawling about, opening drawers, and causing much trouble. His -eyes have again changed colour,--from blue to brown, like my own; but -his hair remains chestnut. His upper teeth are well out, and everybody -wonders how strong he is. He has one Japanese virtue: he does not cry, -and keeps his self-control even when hurt. I hope he will keep all -these traits. My whole anxiety is now about him: I must send him, or, -if possible, take him abroad--for a scientific education, if he prove -to have a good head. That will be expensive. But I hope to do it. I do -not think a father should leave his son alone in a foreign school, if it -can be helped: he ought to be always near him, until manhood. And Setsu -would feel at home soon in France or in Italy,--at least at home enough -to bear the life until Kazuo could get through a course or two. - -The foreign community sorrows about the war,--naturally. Business is -paralyzed. Every one feels the Japanese will win the fights. But who -will win the war? That might be a question of money. Japan is daring -to do what the richest country in Europe fears to do--because it costs -so much to fight China. And some of the Izumo boys are out there in the -rice-fields of Chosoen. I trust they will pass safely through all perils. -Please send me any news of them you can. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MATSUE, September, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--If ever I must go to America, I hope I can keep out -of New York. The great nightmare of it always dwells with me,--moos -at me in the night, especially in the time of earthquakes. Of London -I should be much less afraid. But in such great cities I do not think -a literary man can write any literature. Certainly not if he has to -stay in the heart of the clockwork. Society withers him up--unless he -have been born into the manner of it; and the complexities of the vast -life about him he never could learn. Fancy a good romance about Wall -Street,--so written that the public could understand it! There is, of -course, a tremendous romance there; but only a financier can really know -the machinery, and his knowledge is technical. But what can the mere -litterateur do, walled up to heaven in a world of mathematical mystery -and machinery! Your own city of Albany is a paradise compared to the -metropolis: you are really very fortunate--very, very happy to be able -to live at home. - -Of course, there is a philosophy of good manners--too much of it, eh? -There is Emerson, all suggestive,--but touching eternal truths in his -essays on conduct, behaviour, etc.; and there is Spencer, who traces -back the history of nearly all good manners to the earliest period of -savagery and perpetual war. (You know about the origin of the bow, of -our forms of address, and of the forms of prayer.) Politeness survives -longest and develops most elaborately under militant conditions, and -diminishes in exact proportion as militancy decreases. That there -should be less politeness in America than in other countries, and less -in the Northern States than in the Southern, might be expected. This -was true as to both conditions: it is now true probably only as to the -first. With the growth of industrialism,--the sense of equal chances, -at least of equal rights before the law,--the abolition of class -distinctions,--fine manners vanish more or less. Nevertheless I fancy -that under all the American roughness and lack of delicacy, or of that -politeness which means "benevolence in small things," there is growing -up a vast, deep feeling of human brotherhood,--of genuine kindliness, -which may show itself later under stabler conditions. All now is -unsettled. It is said that nearly all our _formal_ politeness must -eventually disappear under conditions of industrialism, and be replaced -by something more real and more agreeable,--kindly consideration, and -natural desire to please. But that will be in ages and ages only after -we are dead. There must be an end of all fighting first,--of cruelty in -competition, and this cannot happen until with intellectual expansion, -population ceases to so increase as to enforce competition without mercy. - -The tendency now (referring to what you said about trusts) seems to -point indeed to what Spencer calls "The Coming Slavery." Monopolies -and trusts must continue to grow and multiply,--must eventually tend -to coalesce,--must ultimately hold all. Bellamy's ideas will be partly -carried out, but in no paradisaical manner. The State itself will -become the one monstrous trust. Socialism will be promised all, and -be compelled to work against its own ends unconsciously. The edifice -is even now being reared in which every man will be a veritable slave -to the State,--the State itself a universal monopoly, or trust. Then -every life will be regulated to infinitesimal details, and the working -population of the whole West find themselves situated just as men in -factories or on railroads are situated. The trust will be nominally -for the universal benefit, and must for a time so seem to be. But just -so surely as human nature is not perfect, just so surely will the -directing class eventually exploit the wonderful situation,--just as -some Roman rulers exploited the world. Assuredly anarchy will eventuate; -but first,--in spite of all that human wisdom can do,--nations will -pass under the most fearful tyranny ever known. And perhaps centuries -of persistent effort will scarcely suffice to burst the fetters which -Socialism now seeks to impose on human society;--the machinery will be -too frightfully perfect, too harmonious in operation, too absolutely -exact and of one piece,--to be easily attacked. As well try with -naked hands to pierce the side of an iron-clad. The law, the police, -the military power, religious influence, commercial and industrial -interests,--all will be as One, working to preserve the form of the new -socialism. To seek redress, to demand change, were then sheer madness. -And even the power to flee away out of the land, to dwell among beasts -and birds, might be denied. Liberty of opinion, which we all boast -of now, would be then less possible than in the time of the sway of -Torquemada.... - -You have heard of the Japanese facile victories by land and sea. I -should not be surprised to hear of their winning every engagement, and -capturing Pekin. But what the end will be for the country, who can -say? The whole thing is the last huge effort of the race for national -independence. Under the steady torturing pressure of our industrial -civilization,--being robbed every year by unjust treaties,--Japan has -determined to show her military power to the world by attacking her old -teacher, China. At the same time she has asked and obtained from England -such revision of the treaty as would not only protect her against -the danger of large fresh investments of foreign capital, but would -probably result in driving existing capital away. I cannot think that -the United States will be short-sighted enough to grant the same terms. -For instance, though the country is to be opened to foreign settlement, -no Englishman can hold land except on lease; and the lease, by Japanese -law, expires with the death of the lessor. So that if I build a stone -house, and my landlord die in twenty years after, I must be at the -mercy of his heir, or carry away my house on my back. - -It is an ugly business, this war. It may leave Japan absolutely -independent, as in the days of Ieyasu. But will that be best for her? -I am no longer sure. The people are still good. The upper classes are -becoming corrupt. The old courtesy, the old faith, the old kindness are -vanishing like snow in sun. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - KUMAMOTO, September, 1894. - -DEAR MR. OCHIAI,-- ... I was much interested in what your letter related -about the doves leaving Kizuki, and about the _O mamori_. It is a -curious fact that nearly the same story is told in Kumamoto, in regard -to Kat[=o] Kiyomasa. At the Nichiren temple of Hommy[=o]ji the helmet, -armour, and sword of the great Captain were always preserved. Lately -they disappeared, and some say they were sent to Korea,--to stimulate -the zeal of the army. But some of the people say that in the night -horse-hoofs were heard in the temple court; and that a great shadowy -horseman, in full armour, was seen to pass. So it is whispered that -Kiyomasa rose up from his grave, and buckled on his armour, and departed -to lead the Imperial Armies to glory and conquest. - -Thanks also for the very interesting note about the Emperor Go-Daigo. -You know I visited the place where he lived at Oki, and the little -village--Chiburi-mura--from which he made his escape in the fishermen's -boat. - -What you said about the _mamori_ of the soldier reminds me that at the -_ujigami_ here little charms are being given to thousands of soldiers. -They are very narrow, and contrived so as to be slipped into the lining -(_ura_) of a uniform. - -Thanks for your two kindest letters. I shall write you again another -day,--this is only my answer to one of your two letters; the other I -still owe you for. - -Best wishes and regards to you always. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, December, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--So it was _you_ that sent me "Trilby"--the -magical thing! I never knew till the Spencer came, and Kipling's "Jungle -Book." And the joke is that I thanked another man for the gift of -"Trilby," and the beast never let on. And I wrote a two and one-half -column review of "Trilby" to please _him_. Oh! you rascal! why didn't -you tell me? Love to you for "Trilby." ... - -Glad you liked my first book on Japan. The _Tribune_ essay vexed me.... -The curious fact of the article was the statement about the influence -of the _decadents_ and of Verlaine being "apparent." Never read a line -of Verlaine in my life,--and only know enough of the decadent school to -convince me that the principle is scientifically wrong, and that to -study the stuff is mere waste of time. - -I am writing one article a day for 100 yen a month. Exchange is so low -now that the 100 represents something less than 50 in American money. -And my eyes, or eye, giving out. Curious!--cold seriously affects my -remnant of sight. If I had a few thousand I should go to a hot climate -during the winter months. Heat gives me good vision. Even a Japanese hot -bath temporarily restores clearness of sight.... - -Of course, we shall never see each other again in this world. And what -is the use of being unkind--after all? Life to us literary folk--small -and great--is so short, and we are never in competition, like business -men who _must_ compete--_what_ is the use of meanness? I suppose -there must be some use. The effect is certainly to convince a man -of "fourty-four" that the less he has to do with his fellow men the -better,--or, at least, that the less he has to do with the so-called -"cultured" the better.... - -The other day you told me of some queer changes in your inner life -wrought by the influences of the outer. In my case the changes are very -unpleasant. I can't feel towards men generally any longer as I used -to--I feel, in short, a little misanthropic. The general facts seem to -be that all realities of relations between men are of self-interest in -the main; that the pleasures of those relations are illusions--dependent -upon youth, power, position, etc., for degree of intensity. No man, as -a general rule, shows his soul to another man; he shows it only to a -woman,--and then only with the assurance that she won't give him away. -As a matter of fact, she can't:--the Holy Ghost takes care of that! No -woman unveils herself to another woman--only to a man; and what she -unveils he cannot betray. He can only talk of her body, if he is brute -enough to wish to: the inner being, of which he has had some glimpses, -can be pictured only in a language which he cannot use. But what a -fighting masked-ball the whole thing is! - -Have you read Huxley's views on Ethics and Evolution? They have been -a great revelation to me. They make it perfectly plain why men cannot -be good to one another on general principles without causing trouble -in the order of the universe. They also explain the immorality of -Nature. Cosmic principles afford explanations of--but not consolations -for--individual experiences. - - L. H. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - KUMAMOTO, December, 1894. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Of course I shall teach the "Jungle Book" to the little -fellow, when he gets big enough. How pretty of you to send it. I sent -some little prints--don't know if you like them; in an album they would -perhaps interest your friends who have not been in Japan. I shall look -out for seeds for you regularly hereafter. - -About Emerson. Last spring I got a pretty edition of him from H. M. -& Co. and I digested him. He is only suggestive, but wondrously so at -times, as in his poems. As a suggester he will always be great. The talk -about his truisms must depend upon the knowledge of the speaker. Emerson -will be large or small,--commonplace or profound,--according to the -reader's knowledge of the thought of the age. - -My reading out here has been pretty heavy. I have had to digest a -good deal of Buddhist and Chinese stuff, of course. My philosophical -favourites are still Spencer and Huxley, Lewes and Fiske and Clifford. -I made Kipling's acquaintance out here (I mean his books), and told you -what I think of him. Next to Kipling I like Stevenson. But I have really -read very little of anything new. Browning is a pet study still. Somehow -I have tired of Tennyson--don't exactly know why. - -The labour of a mother is something which, I imagine, no man without a -child can understand. We big folks forget what our own mothers did for -us,--and we have no real chance to see all that other mothers do. My -whole family are always caring for the boy: his interest and necessities -rule the whole house,--but the mother!! for a single hour she has no -rest with him (Japanese give the breast for two years)--no sleep except -when he allows it,--and yet it all is joy for her. How they have already -taught him Japanese politeness, how to prostrate himself before his -father the first thing in the morning and last at night,--to ask for -things, putting his hands in the proper way,--to smile,--to know the -names of things before he can pronounce them,--I can't understand. -Angel-patience and love alone could have done it. I want her to wean -him--but she won't hear of it; and the old grandmother gets angry at the -mere idea. It is only in home-relation that people are true enough to -each other,--show what human nature is--the beauty of it, the divinity -of it. We are otherwise all on our guard against each other. I cannot -say how happy I think you are--you can see Souls without armour or -mail,--loving you. That is the joy of life, after all--isn't it? - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I have just written to Mr. Senke, to apologize for delay -in sending my annual contribution--which I had hoped to be able to do as -a Japanese citizen. But this may give me a chance to write again, when I -get naturalized. - -The Governor of Hy[=o]go did a very strange thing--informed the British -Consul that I was to make a declaration in writing, presumably before -the Consul, that I intended to be faithful to the Emperor of Japan, and -to obey the laws. I did make the declaration; and the Consul is kind -enough to forward it. But I believe he is doing this out of personal -kindness; for I do not think it is according to English ideas, much less -English laws, for a Consul to accept such a declaration at all. Indeed, -what was asked was equivalent to requesting the English Consul to accept -an English subject's renunciation of allegiance to Queen Victoria,--and -I am astonished that the Consul, who is a rigid disciplinarian, in -this case allowed me to submit to him any declaration on the subject. -One thing is sure, that others who want to become Japanese subjects -are going to have plenty of trouble. These measures are entirely new, -and quite different to anything ever before exacted--for example, in -the case of Warburton and other K[=o]be residents who became Japanese -subjects, perhaps for business reasons. - -I am thinking of building Setsu a house, either in K[=o]be or Ky[=o]to. -When I say K[=o]be, I mean Hy[=o]go, really; for I cannot well afford to -buy land at $40 to $70 per _tsubo_ in the back streets of K[=o]be. In -Hy[=o]go, I can do better. Setsu and I both agree that K[=o]be is warmer -than Ky[=o]to; but, except for the winter months, I should rather live -in Ky[=o]to than in any part of Japan. T[=o]ky[=o] is the most horrible -place in Japan, and I want to live in it just as short a time as -possible. The weather is atrocious;--the earthquakes are fearsome;--the -foreign element and the Japanese officialism of T[=o]ky[=o] must -be dreadful. I want to feel and see _Japan_: there is no Japan in -T[=o]ky[=o]. But in spite of all I say, Setsu thinks of T[=o]ky[=o] -just as a French lady thinks of Paris. After she has passed a winter -there, perhaps she will not like T[=o]ky[=o] so much. I imagine that she -thinks the T[=o]ky[=o],--the really beautiful T[=o]ky[=o]--of the old -picture-books, and the bank-bills, still exists. Then she knows all -the famous names--the names of the bridges and streets and temples,--and -these are associated in her mind with the dramas and the famous stories -and legends of Japan. Perhaps I should love T[=o]ky[=o] just as much as -she does, if I knew the history and the traditions of the country as -well. - -[Illustration: LAFCADIO HEARN'S FAVOURITE DWELLING-HOUSE] - -You will be pleased to hear that my books are attracting considerable -attention now in England. It is very hard to win attention there, but -much more important than to win it in America. "Out of the East" has -made more impression in England than my first book did. I don't know -what will be said of "Kokoro:" it is a terribly "radical" book--at -variance with all English conventions and beliefs. However, if you and -my few Japanese friends like it, I shall be happy. - -I wish you were here to eat some plum-pudding with me. - -Oh! I forgot to tell you that Finck, who wrote that book about Japan, is -rather celebrated (perhaps celebrated is too strong a word--_well known_ -is better) as the author of a book called "Romantic Love and Personal -Beauty." - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK:--Three books and a catalogue reached me--Mallock, -Kipling, and a volume by Morris--for which more than thanks the value -much exceeding, I fear, the slight difference between us. - -It now seems to me that time is the most precious of all things -conceivable. I can't waste it by going out to hear people talk -nonsense,--or by going to see pretty girls whom I can't marry, being -married already,--or by playing games of cards, etc., to kill time,--or -by answering letters written me by people who have neither real fine -feeling nor real things to say. Of course I might on occasion do some -one of these things,--but, having done it, I feel that so much of my -life has been wasted--sinfully wasted. There are rich natures who can -afford the waste; but I can't, because the best part of my life has been -wasted in wrong directions and I shall have to work like thunder till I -die to make up for it. I shall never do anything remarkable; but I think -I have caught sight of a few truths on the way. - -I might say that I have become indifferent to personal pleasures of -any sort,--except sympathy and sympathetic converse; but this might -represent a somewhat morbid state. What is more significant, I think, is -the feeling that the greatest pleasure is to work for others,--for those -who take it as a matter of course that I should do so, and would be as -much amazed to find me selfish about it as if an earthquake had shaken -the house down. Really I am not affecting to think this; I feel it so -much that it has become a part of me. - -Then of course, I like a little success and praise,--though a big -success and big praise would scare me; but I find that even the little -praise I have been getting has occasionally unhinged my judgement. And I -have to be very careful. - -Next, I have to acknowledge to feeling a sort of resentment against -certain things in which I used to take pleasure. I can't look at a -number of the _Petit Journal pour Rire_ or the _Charivari_ without -vexation, almost anger. I can't find pleasure in a French novel written -for the obvious purpose of appealing to instincts that interfere with -perception of higher things than instincts. I would not go to see the -Paris opera if it were next door and I had a free ticket--or, if I did -go, it would be for the sake of observing the pleasure given to somebody -else. I should not like to visit the most beautiful lady and be received -in evening dress. You see how absurd I have become--and this without any -idea of principle about the matter, except the knowledge that I ought to -avoid everything which does not help the best of myself--small as it may -be. Whenever by chance I happen to make a deviation from this general -rule, work suffers in consequence. - -I think that on the whole I am gaining a little in the path; but I -have regular fits of despondency and disgust about my work, of course. -One day I think I have done well; the next that I am a hideous ass and -fool. Much is a question of nervous condition. But I feel sure that a -long-continued period of self-contentment would be extremely injurious -to me; and that checks and failures and mockeries are indispensable -medicine. - -I read the books you sent me--Mallock only because _you_ wished me to -read it. I suppose it is the very best thing he ever did. How immensely -clever and keen and--immoral! It is a wonderful thing. - -"The Wood beyond the World" astounded me. Its value is in the study of -the quaint English; but you know that such a thing could not be written -in modern English prose very well; and I must say that I feel like -disputing the _raison d'etre_ thereof. It is simply a very naughty story. - -Kipling is priceless,--the single story of Purim Bagat is worth a -kingdom; and the suggestive moral of human life is such a miracle! I -can't tell you what pleasure it gave me. Indeed the three books--as -representing three totally distinct fields of literary work--were a -great treat. - -My boy is quite well again, though we were very frightened about him. -He suffers from the cold every winter (you know the Japanese never have -fire in winter), but he is getting hardier, I trust. He is very fond of -pictures and says funny things about the pictures in the "Jungle Book." -I am off to the Southern Islands shortly,--so you may not hear from me -for some weeks. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -Since I wrote you last, you dear old fellow, I've been through some -trouble. Indeed, the very _day_ after writing you, I broke down, and had -to remain three weeks with compresses over my eyes in a dark room. I am -now over it--able to write and read for a short time every day, but have -been warned to leave routine newspaper work alone. Which I must do. - -Your letter was--well, I don't just know what to call its -quality:--there was a bracing tenderness in it that reminded me of a -college friendship. Really, in this world there is nothing quite so holy -as a college friendship. Two lads,--absolutely innocent of everything -wrong in the world or in life,--living in ideals of duty and dreams of -future miracles, and telling each other all their troubles, and bracing -each other up. I had such a friend once. We were both about fifteen when -separated, but had been together from ten. Our friendship began with a -fight, of which I got the worst;--then my friend became for me a sort -of ideal, which still lives. I should be almost afraid to ask where he -is now (men grow away from each other so): but your letter brought his -voice and face back,--just as if his very ghost had come in to lay a -hand on my shoulder.... - -K[=o]be is a nice little place. The effect on me is not pleasant, -however. I have become too accustomed to the interior. The sight of -foreign women--the sound of their voices--jars upon me harshly after -long living among purely natural women with soundless steps and softer -speech. (I fear the foreign women here, too, are nearly all of the -savagely _bourgeoise_ style--affected English and affected American ways -prevail.) Carpets,--dirty shoes,--absurd fashions,--wickedly expensive -living,--airs,--vanities,--gossip: how much sweeter the Japanese life -on the soft mats,--with its ever dearer courtesy and pretty, pure -simplicity. Yet my boy can never be a Japanese. Perhaps, if he grows -old, there will some day come back to him memories of his mother's -dainty little world,--the _hibachi_,--the _toko_,--the garden,--the -lights of the household shrine,--the voices and hands that shaped his -thought and guided every little tottering step. Then he will feel very, -very lonesome,--and be sorry he did not follow after those who loved -him into some shadowy resting-place where the Buddhas still smile under -their moss.... - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I'm able now to write and read a little every -day--not much, as to reading: writing tires the eyes less. Glad you like -"Glimpses," as I see by your last kind letter. Of course it is full of -faults: any work written in absolute isolation must be. It's taking, -though: the publishers announce a third edition already, and the notices -have been good--in America, enthusiastic. _The Athenaeum_ praised it -fervidly; but a few English papers abuse it. The mixture of blame and -praise means literary success generally. - -The earthquakes are really horrible. I can sympathize with you. - -The sensation of foreign life here is very unpleasant, after life in -the interior. A foreign interior is a horror to me; and the voices -of the foreign women--China-Coast tall women--jar upon the comfort -of existence. Can't agree with you about the "genuine men and women" -in the open ports. There are some--very, very few. (Thank the Gods I -shall never have to live among them!) The number of Germans here makes -life more tolerable, I fancy. They are plain, but homely, which is a -virtue, and liberal, which commercial English or Americans (the former -especially) seldom are. They have their own club and a good library. But -life in Yunotsu or Hino-misaki, or Oki, with only the bare means for -Japanese comfort, were better and cleaner and higher in every way than -the best open ports can offer. - -The Japanese peasant is ten times more of a gentleman than a foreign -merchant could ever learn to be. Unfortunately the Japanese official, -with all his civility and morality rubbed off, is something a good -deal lower than a savage and meaner than the straight-out Western -rough (who always has a kernel of good in him) by an inexpressible per -cent. Carpets--pianos--windows--curtains--brass bands--churches! how I -hate them!! And white shirts!--and _y[=o]fuku!_ Would I had been born -savage; the curse of civilized cities is on me--and I suppose I can't -get away permanently from them. You like all these things, I know. I'm -not expecting any sympathy--but thought you might like to know about -the effect on me of a half-return to Western life. How much I could hate -all that we call civilization I never knew before. How ugly it is I -never could have conceived without a long sojourn in old Japan--the only -civilized country that existed since antiquity. Them's my sentiments! - -I have not yet been able to read Lowell's new book through. But he must -have worked tremendously to write it. It is a very clever book--though -disfigured by absolutely shameless puns. It touches truths to the -quick,--with a light sharp sting peculiar to Lowell's art. It is -painfully unsympathetic--Mephistophelian in a way that chills me. It is -scientific--but the fault of it strikes me as being that the study is -applicable equally to Europe or America as to Japan. The same psychical -phenomena may be studied out anywhere, with the same result. The race -difference in persons, like the difference between life and not-life in -biology, is only one of degree, not of kind. Still, it is a wonderful -book. - - Ever truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, January, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--To-day is a spring day and I can add a little to my -screed. The weather brightens up my eyes. - -I was thinking just now about the difference between the Japanese -_hyakush[=o]_ and the English merchant. - -My servant girl from Imaichi--who cannot read or write--saw you at -Kumamoto and said words to this effect: "He speaks Japanese like a -great man. And he is so gentle and so kind." Vaguely something of the -intellectual and moral side of you had reached and touched her simple -mind. The other day a merchant said of you: "Chamberlain--Oh, yes. Met -him at Miyanoshita. Tell you, he's a gentleman--plays a good game of -whist!" There 's appreciation for you. Which is the best soul of the -two--my servant girl's or that merchant's? - -A merchant, however, has inspired me with the idea of a sketch, to be -entitled "His Josses"!... - -On the other hand it strikes me that in another twenty years, or perhaps -thirty, after a brief artificial expansion, all the ports will shrink. -The foreign commerce will be all reduced to agencies. A system of small -persecutions will be inaugurated and maintained to drive away all -the foreigners who can be driven away. After the war there will be a -strong anti-foreign reaction--outrages--police-repressions--temporary -stillness and peace: then a new crusade. Life will be made wretched -for Occidentals--in business--just as it is being made in the -schools--by all sorts of little tricky plans which cannot be brought -under law-provisions, or even so defined as to appear to justify -resentment--tricks at which the Japanese are as elaborately ingenious -as they are in matters of etiquette and forms of other kinds. The -nation will show its ugly side to us--after a manner unexpected, but -irresistible. - -The future looks worse than black. As for me, I am in a perpetual -quandary. I suppose I'll have to travel West,--and console myself with -the hope of visiting Japan at long intervals. - -Well, there's no use in worrying--one must face the music, - -I am sorry your eyes are weak, too. What the devil of a trouble physical -trouble is!--a dead weight check on will! Still, you have good luck in -other ways, and after all, eye-trouble is only a warning in both our -cases. - - Ever truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, February, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I had mailed you the American letter before your own -most kind enclosure came, with the note from Makino. Of course this -is beyond thanks,--and I can't say very much about it. Since then I -received from you also Lowell's six papers on Mars,--which I have read, -and return by this mail,--and your friendly lines from Atami. - -Just as you suggested in the Atami letter, I was feeling about matters. -There would be special conditions in New Orleans, on the paper of which -I was ten years a staff-writer. I should have to work only a couple of -hours a day in my own room, and would have opportunities of money-making -and travel. There are risks, too,--yellow fever, lawlessness, and -personal enemies. But to leave Japan now would, of course, be like -tearing one's self in two,--and I am not sure but the ultimate nervous -result would destroy my capacity for literary work. The best thing, I -imagine, will be to ask my friend to keep the gate open for me, in case -I have to go. The great thing for me is not to worry: worry and literary -work will not harmonize. The work always betrays the strain afterward. - -You say my friend writes nicely. He is about the most lovable man -I ever met,--an old-time Southerner, very tall and slight, with a -singular face. He is so exactly an ideal Mephistopheles that he would -never get his photograph taken. The face does not altogether belie the -character,--but the mockery is very tender play, and queerly original. -It never offends. The real Mephistopheles appears only when there are -ugly obstacles to overcome. Then the diabolical keenness with which -motives are read and disclosed, and the lightning moves by which a plot -is checkmated, or made a net for the plotter himself, usually startle -people. He is a man of immense force--it takes such a one to rule in -that community, but as a gentleman I never saw his superior in grace or -consideration. I always loved him--but like all whom I like, never could -get quite enough of his company for myself. - -The papers on Mars are quite weirdly suggestive--are they not? Just -how much of the theories and the discoveries were Lowell's very own, -I can't make out--though the papers are things to be thankful for. You -know the physiological side of his psychology in "Occult Japan" is no -more original than the "Miscellany" of a medical weekly. - -By the way, I must point out a serious mistake he makes on page -293,--when he says that the absence of the belief in possession by other -living men is a proof of the absence of personality in Japan. As a -matter of fact there is no such absence. I alone know of three different -forms of such belief--and know that one is extremely common. So that all -the metaphysical structure of argument built upon the supposed absence -of that belief vanishes into nothingness! - -As Huxley says, that man who goes about the world "unlabelled" is sure -to be punished for it. So I can't help thinking that I ought to have -a label. Fancy the man who makes his bear drink champagne seeking -my company on the ground that "Neither of us are Christians." The -Ama-terasu-[=O]mi-kami business first aroused my suspicions, but the -phrase itself was so raw! - - Compania de uno - 1 Compania de ninguno; - Compania de dos - 2 Compania de Dios; - Compania de tres - 3 Compania es (but never for me); - Compania de cuatro - 4 Compania del diablo. - -This old Spanish hymn might have been made expressly about me,--except -in No. 3. I should feel more at home with you if I knew you would share -my letters with nobody. This is all for yourself only. Ever gratefully, -with more than regards, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, February, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I never liked any letter I got from you more -than the last--which brings us closer together. I suppose I have often -misread you--being more supersensitive than I ought to be,--and also -finding certain of my best friends so differently soul-toned that I am -often at a loss to understand hows and whys. But it is curious that we -are absolutely at one, after all, on sociological questions, as your -letter shows. Undoubtedly the "coming slavery," predicted by Spencer, -will come upon us. A democracy more brutal than any Spartan oligarchy -will control life. Men may not be obliged to eat at a public table; -but every item of their existence will be regulated by law. The world -will be sickened for all time of democracy as now preached. The future -tyranny will be worse than any of old,--for it will be a regime of moral -rather than physical pain, and there will be no refuge from it--except -among savages. But, for all that, the people are good. They will be -trapped through their ignorance, and held in slavery by their ignorance; -and made, I suppose, in the eternal order, to develop a still higher -goodness before they can reach freedom again. - -I believe there is no point of your letter in which we are not -thoroughly at accord. I have also been inclined to many schools of -belief in these matters: I have been at heart everything by turns. It -is like the history of one's religious experiences. And just as when, -after emancipating one's self from the last mesh of the net of creeds, -one sees for the first time the value-social and meaning of all, and -the moral worth of many,--so in sociological questions, it is by -emancipation from faiths in politics that one learns what lies behind -all politics,--the necessity of the Conservative vs. the Radical, of the -pleb. vs. the aristo. Then, if sympathetic with popular needs one still -recognizes the aesthetic and moral value of ranks and orders; or, if -belonging to the latter, one learns also to understand that the great, -good, unhappy, moral, immoral, vicious, virtuous people are the real -soil of all future hope,--the field of the divine in Man. - -But for all that, when conditions jar on me, I sometimes grumble and see -only evil. What matter? I never look for it as a study. My work--though -"no great shakes"--must show you that. At the end of all experiences, -bitter and pleasant, I try to sum up good only. - -What I said about the Germans you may not have understood. I did -not explain. There is, I think, a particular German characteristic -which has its charm. Accustomed for generations to a communal form -of life--totally different from that of the English--there has been -developed among them a certain spirit of tolerance and a social -inclination essentially German. Also the poverty of their country has -nourished a tendency to sobriety of life, while the causes developing -their educational system on a wonderful level of economy have brought -the race, I believe, to a higher general plane than others. I don't -mean that the top-shoots are higher than French or English; but I think -the middle growth educationally is. At all events a German community in -America or in Japan, while it remains German--has a peculiar charm--an -independence of conventions, as distinguished from the religious and -social codes,--and an exterior affability,--quite different from the -individualism of other communities. Perhaps, however, the friendship -never goes quite as deep as in those isolated natures so much harder to -win. - -The essay by Spencer you will find in a volume sent you by mail, and -sent to me by my American friend. It did not appear in the old editions. -Perhaps I may try the feat some day of a Japanese study on those -lines,--though I must acknowledge that I now perceive several of my -views entirely wrong. I also perceive how closely Lowell reached the -neighbourhood of truth without being able, nevertheless, (or willing?) -to actually touch it. My conclusion is that the charm of Japanese life -is largely the charm of childhood, and that the most beautiful of all -race childhoods is passing into an adolescence which threatens to prove -repulsive. Perhaps the manhood may redeem all,--as with English "bad -boys" it often does. - -I fear I can scarcely finish "Occult Japan," and that I praised it -too much in my late letter, after hasty examination. It strikes me -only as a mood of the man, an ugly, supercilious one, verging on the -wickedness of a wish to hurt. When my eyes improve, I should like better -to see his work on Mars. I don't wish to say that my work is as good as -Lowell's "Soul of the Far East;" but it is a curious fact that in at -least a majority of the favourable criticisms I have been spoken of as -far more successful than Lowell. Why? Certainly not because I am his -equal, either as a thinker or an observer. The reason is simply that -the world considers the sympathetic mood more just than the analytical -or critical. And except when the critic is a giant like Spencer or -his peers,--I fear the merely critical mood will always be blind to -the most vital side of any human question. For the more vital side is -feeling,--not reason. This, indeed, Spencer showed long ago. But there -was in the "Soul of the Far East" an exquisite approach to playful -tenderness--utterly banished from "Occult Japan." - - Ever yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, February, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Thanks for the curious historical envelopes. My eyes -are nearly well: there is still one small black spot in the centre of -the field of vision; but I trust it will go away as soon as the weather -becomes warm. - -I am delighted to know you like the book. A curious fact is that out -of fifty criticisms sent me, in which the critics select "favourites," -I find that almost every article in the book has been selected by -somebody. It thus seems to appeal to persons of totally different -temperament in different ways, and this fact suggests itself,--that -perhaps no book written entirely in one key can please so well as a book -written in many keys. However, the work must be unconscious. If you -are curious about any of the "inside facts," I shall be glad to tell -you. The "Teacher's Diary" is, of course, strictly true as to means and -facts; and the artistic work is simply one of "grouping." The cruiser -at Mionoseki was the Takachiho,--since become famous. Hino-misaki and -Yaegaki ought to contain something you would like,--so I trust you -will peep at them some time. The G[=u]ji of Hino-misaki is my wife's -relative, and the story of his ancestor is quite true. - -As for Japanese words, you might like "Out of the East" better. I don't -think there are five Japanese words in the book. But it is chiefly -reverie--contains little about facts or places. Perhaps you will be less -pleased with it in another way. - -As for changing my conclusions,--well, I have had to change a good many. -The tone of "Glimpses" is true in being the feeling of a place and time. -Since then I've seen how thoroughly detestable Japanese can be, and -that revelation assisted in illuminating things. I am now convinced, -for example, that the deficiency of the sexual instinct (using the term -philosophically) in the race is a serious defect rather than a merit, -and is very probably connected with the absence of the musical sense and -the incapacity for abstract reasoning. It does not follow, however, that -the same instinct may not have been overdeveloped in our own case. To an -Englishman, it would appear that such overdevelopment among Latin races -would account for the artistic superiority as well as the moral weakness -of French and Italians in special directions;--and the fact that even -certain classes of music are now called sensual (not sensuous), and -that there is a tendency to abjure Italian music in favour of the more -aspirational German music,--would seem to show that the largest-brained -races are reaching a stage in abstract aesthetics still higher than -the highest possible development of the aesthetics based on the sexual -feeling. That the Japanese can ever reach our aesthetic stage seems to me -utterly impossible, but assuredly what they lack in certain directions -they may prove splendidly capable of making up in others. Indeed the -development of the mathematical faculty in the race--unchecked and -unmollified by our class of aesthetics and idealisms--ought to prove a -serious danger to Western civilization at last. At least it seems to me -that here is a danger. Japan ought to produce scientific, political, and -military haters of "ideologists,"--Napoleons of practical applications -of science. All that is tender and manly and considerate and heroic in -Northern character has certainly grown out of the sexual sentiment: -but the same class of feelings in the far East would seem to have -been evolved out of a different class of emotional habits, and a -class bound to disappear. Imagine a civilization on Western lines with -cold calculation universally substituted for ethical principle! The -suggestion is very terrible and very ugly. One would prefer even the -society of the later Roman Empire. - -I am sorry your eyes are not all you could wish. Do you not think it may -be the weather? The doctor tells me my eyes will be all right in summer, -but that I have to be careful in cold weather. And the tropics did me -wonderful good. I want to get to the warm zones occasionally--perhaps -shall be able to. There are some tropics bad for the eyes,--lacking -verdure. I have been unable to get facts about tropical conditions -on this side of the world,--except through Wallace. Ceram suggests -possibilities. But one must be well informed before going. Then there -are the French Marquesas. A French colony ought to be full of romance, -and void of missionaries. But all these are dreams. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--It was very comforting to get a letter from you; -for I wanted an impulse to write. I have been blue--by reason partly -of the weather; and partly because of those reactions which follow all -accomplished work in some men's cases. Everything done then seems like -an Elle-woman,--a mere delusive shell; and one marvels why anybody -should have been charmed. - -Of course I did not ask point-blank for criticisms, because you told me -long ago, "Every man should make his own book,"--and, although it is -the literary custom in America to consult friends, I could see justice -in the suggestion. The title "Out of the East" was selected from a -number. It was suggested only by the motto of the Oriental Society, "Ex -Oriente lux." The "Far East" has been so monopolized by others that I -did not like to use the phrase. "Out of the Uttermost East" would sound -cacophonously,--besides suggesting a straining for effect. I thought -of Tennyson's "most eastern east," but the publishers didn't approve -it. The simpler the title, and the vaguer--in my case--the better: -the vagueness touches curiosity. Besides, the book is a vague thing. -Sound has much to do with the value of a title. If it hadn't, you would -have written "Japanese Things" instead of "Things Japanese"--which is -entirely different, and so pretty that your admirers and imitators -snapped it up at once. So we have "Things Chinese" by an imitator, and -"Things Japanese" is a phrase which has found its recognized place in -the vocabulary of critics of both worlds. Your criticism on "Out of -the East," though, would have strongly influenced me, if you had sent -it early enough. I noticed the very same suggestion in the _Athenaeum_ -regarding the use of the word "Orient" and the phrase "Far East" -by Americans. For our "Orient" is, as you say, still the Orient of -Kinglake, of De Nerval, etc. But why should it be? To Milton it was the -Indian East with kings barbaric sitting under a rain of pearls and gold. - -Manila was long my dream. But, although my capacity for sympathy with -the beliefs of Catholic peasantry anywhere is very large,--the ugly -possibility exists that the Inquisition survives in Manila, and I have -had the ill-fortune to make the Jesuits pay some attention to me. You -know about the young Spaniard who had his property confiscated, and -who disappeared some years ago,--and was restored to liberty only -after heaven and earth had been moved by his friends in Spain. I don't -know that I should disappear; but I should certainly have obstacles -thrown in my way. Mexico would be a safer country for the same class of -studies,--Ceram ought to be interesting: in Wallace's time the cost of -life per individual was only about 8s. 6d. a year! A moist, hot tropical -climate I like best. The heat is weakening, I know, but that moisture -means the verdure that is a delight to the eyes, and palms, and parrots, -and butterflies of enormous size;--and no possibility of establishing -Western conditions of life. I should like very much to see the book you -kindly offered to lend me. It might create new aspirations: I am always -at night dreaming of islands in undiscovered seas, where all the people -are gods and fairies. - -Of course I cannot know much about it now, but I am almost sure of -having been in Malta as a child. At a later time my father, who was long -there, told me queer things about the old palaces of the knights, and -a story about a monk who, on the coming of the French, had the presence -of mind to paint the gold chancel-railing with green paint. Southern -Italy and the Mediterranean islands are especially fitted for classical -scholars, like Symonds; but what a world of folk-lore also is there -still ungathered! I should think that, next to Venice, Malta must be the -most romantic spot in Europe. - -I see your paper on Loochoo must have been much more than what you said -of it,--viz., that only some snuffy German would read it. Or was the -London report about the paper on Loochoo which I have? (There must be a -wonderful ghost-world in those islands,--though it would be quite hard -to get at: probably three years' work.) - -You can't imagine my feeling of reaction in the matter of Japanese -psychology. It seems as if everything had quite suddenly become clear -to me, and utterly void of emotional interest: a race primitive as -the Etruscan before Rome was, or more so, adopting the practices of a -larger civilization under compulsion,--five thousand years at least -emotionally behind us,--yet able to suggest to us the existence of -feelings and ideals which do not exist, but are simulated by something -infinitely simpler. Wonder if our own highest things have not grown -up out of equally simple things. The compulsion first--then the -sense of duty become habit, automatic, the conviction expanding into -knowledge of ethical habit,--then the habit creating conviction,--then -relations,--then the capacity for general ideas. But all the educational -system now seems to me farcical and wrong,--except in mere dealing -with facts apparent to common sense. There are no depths to stir, no -race-profundities to explore: all is like a Japanese river-bed, through -which the stones and rocks show up all the year round,--and is never -filled but in time of cataclysm and destruction. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Of course send back the Taylor and Pater--if you -don't care for them. I myself was very much disappointed in Pater. -Perhaps my liking for Taylor is connected with boyish recollections of -his facile charm: even Longfellow cannot greatly thrill me now. And may -I make a confession?--I can't endure any more of Wordsworth, Keats, -and Shelley--having learned the gems of them by heart. I really prefer -Dobson and Watson and Lang. Of Wordsworth Watson sings,-- - - "It may be thought has broadened since he died!" - -Well, I should smile! His deepest truths have become platitudes. - -This reminds me that I have wanted to talk to you about a magical bit of -Hugo's, "Chant de Sophocle a Salamine." It is such a striking instance -of Hugo's greatness and littleness. You know it, I suppose. It opens -thus:-- - - Me voila! Je suis un Ephebe,-- - Mes seize ans sont d'azur baignes, - Guerre, Deesse de l'Erebe,-- - Sombre Guerre _aux cris indignes_. - -The italicized words make me mad. It is a bathos, the fourth -line--shrieking bathos; while the first part of the verse is like a -Greek frieze. But let us go on:-- - - Je viens a toi, la nuit est noire! - Puisque Xerces est le plus fort, - Prends-moi pour la lutte et la gloire, - Et pour la tombe,--mais d'abord,-- - -(Now for the magnificence!) - - Toi dont le glaive est le ministre, - Toi que l'Eclair suit dans les cieux, - Choisis-moi de ta main sinistre - Une belle fille aux doux yeux. - -What makes the splendour of this verse? Not only the tremendous -contrast,--apocalyptic. It is especially, I think, the magnificent dual -use of "sinistre." How Hugoish the whole thing is!... - -I fear that what I said long ago is likely to come true: the first -fire is burnt out,--the zeal is dead,--the educational effort (one of -the most colossal in all history, surely) having served its immediate -purpose (the recovery of national autonomy) is dead. Hence there is a -prospect of decay. - -Now I should like to protest against this danger in a review-article: -say, "History of the Decline and Fall of Education in Japan;" or, -"History of Foreign Teaching in Japan." Could I get documents?--just -a skeleton at least; of statistics, rules, details, numbers. The -article has been in my mind for two years. And I notice the Japanese -don't object to healthy criticisms at all,--rather like them. They hate -petting-talk, however,--and stupid misinterpretations. I should like to -try the thing. - -I think it is Amenomori who is writing rather savage things in the -_Chronicle_ just now, about the Mombush[=o], and threatens to write -more. There is a something unpleasant in the tone of Japanese satire to -me,--however clever, it shows that they have not yet reached the same -perception of sensibility as we have. Of course I refer only to the best -of them--masters. The sympathetic touch is always absent. I feel unhappy -at being in the company of a cultivated Japanese for more than an hour -at a time. After the first charm of formality is over, the man becomes -ice--or else suddenly drifts away from you into his own world, far from -ours as the star Rephan. - -You will be pleased to hear that I have not yet dropped money. I have -made nothing to speak of, but have lost none so far. By fall I suppose -I shall have made something, though no fortune, out of "Glimpses." If I -can clear enough to justify a tropical trip, I shall be satisfied. - -Malta must be delightful. But I am not enough of a scholar to use such -an opportunity as Malta would give. I should do better with Spain and -gipsies, or Pondicherry and Klings. - -By the way, my child-tongue was Italian. I spoke Romaic and Italian by -turns. In New Orleans I hired a teacher to teach me,--thinking memory -would come back again. But it didn't come at all, and I quarrelled with -the teacher, who looked exactly like a murderer and never smiled. So I -know not Italian. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--About three days ago came the welcome books. -"The Cruise of the Marchesa" it would be difficult to praise too -highly. There are a few touches here and there slightly priggish, or -snobbish,--but the fine taste of the writer as a rule, his modesty as -a man of science, his compact force of expression, his appreciation of -nature, his astonishing capacity for saying a vast deal in a few words, -are indubitable, and give the book a very high literary place. The -engravings are lovely. The other book is an amazement. How any man could -seriously make such a book I can't possibly imagine. It is the most -disgraceful attempt of the sort I ever saw,--absolutely unreadable as -a whole: an almanac is a romance by comparison. Still I found a lot of -interesting facts by groping through it. I should scarcely like to trust -myself in Manila. - -The Marchesa book is a delight, and will bear many readings. The general -impression is that both Sulu and the Celebes are paradises; but that -Dutch order is highly preferable to the condition of the isles under -Spanish domination (in theory). The necessity of dress-coats and _de -rigueur_ habits is the chief drawback, I should imagine, at a place like -Macassar. But the Malayan Dutch colonies must be delightful places. I -fear, however, that as in Java, the Christianization of the natives has -spoiled the field for folk-lore work. - -The Ry[=u]ky[=u] chapters, with the illumination of your own pamphlet, -make a very pleasant, dreamy, gentle sensation. Half-China and -half-Japan under tropical conditions should create a particular -queerness quite different from our Dai Nippon queerness. I hardly -believe that the conditions will change so rapidly as those of Japan -proper. In such latitudes and such isolation changes do not come -quickly. There are little places on the west coast I know of where the -conditions must be still pretty near the same as they were a thousand -years ago. - -I fear, however, my travelling days (except for business and monotonous -work) are nearly over. I'm not going to get rich. Some day I may hit the -public; but that will probably be when I shall have become ancient. I -feel just now empty and useless and a dead failure. Perhaps I shall feel -better next season. At all events I have learned that, beyond all doubt -and question, it is absolutely useless for me to try to "force work." -If the feeling does not come of itself from outside, one had better do -nothing. - -I had a sensation the other day, though, which I want to talk to you -about. I felt as if I hated Japan unspeakably, and the whole world -seemed not worth living in, when there came two women to the house, to -sell ballads. One took her _samisen_ and sang; and people crowded into -the tiny yard to hear. Never did I listen to anything sweeter. All the -sorrow and beauty, all the pain and the sweetness of life thrilled and -quivered in that voice; and the old first love of Japan and of things -Japanese came back, and a great tenderness seemed to fill the place -like a haunting. I looked at the people, and I saw they were nearly all -weeping, and snuffing; and though I could not understand the words, -I could feel the pathos and the beauty of things. Then, too, for the -first time, I noticed that the singer was blind. Both women were almost -surprisingly ugly, but the voice of the one that sang was indescribably -beautiful; and she sang as peasants and birds and _semi_ sing, which -is nature and is divine. They were wanderers both. I called them in, -and treated them well, and heard their story. It was not romantic at -all,--small-pox, blindness, a sick husband (paralyzed) and children to -care for. I got two copies of the ballad, and enclose one. I should be -very glad to pay for having it translated literally:--if you think it -could be used, I wish you would some day, when opportunity offers, give -it to a Japanese translator. As for price, I should say five yen would -be a fair limit. - -Would you not like me to return some day your version of the Kumamoto -R[=o]j[=o], and admirable translation? I preserve it carefully; and have -used some of the lines for a sketch in the forthcoming book. I rendered -nearly the whole into loose verse, but in spite of my utmost efforts, I -could do nothing with the best part of it; I could put no spirit into -the lines. My suggestion about it is because it is a very curious if not -a very poetical thing; and should you ever make an essay upon modern -Japanese military songs, it would be a pity not to include it. So it is -always carefully kept, not only for its own sake, but also in view of -such possible use. - -I find it is still the custom when a _shinj[=u]_ occurs to make a ballad -about it, and sing the same, and sell it. This reminds one of London. -Ballad customs seem to be the same in all parts of the world. - -I shall soon return the books, with a copy of the next _Atlantic_. What -could I send you that you would like? I should suggest Rossetti, if -you do not know him well--for I think he ranks as high as Tennyson. I -have only Wallace among travellers. I have all of Fiske and Huxley and -Spencer and Clifford and the philosophy of Lewes. By the way, have you -read "Trilby"? I have read it several times over. It is a wonderful -book. The art of it escapes one at first reading, when one reads only -for the story. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I warned you not to get Gautier's complete works--so -you have been disappointed against my desire. Gautier's own opinion -was adverse to the publication of his complete poems in this shape. -He selected and published separately those which satisfied him, in -the "Emaux et Camees." (I once translated "Les Taches Jaunes,"--isn't -it?--in the other volume; a bit of weird sensualism quite in the -Romantic spirit.) Gautier's work is often uneven. He was a journalist, -and lived by the newspaper. His life's complaint was that he could -never find time for perfect work: the effort merely to live finally -worried him to death during the siege, I think. Still, writing merely -for a newspaper,--in haste,--without a chance to think and polish,--his -feuilletons remain treasures of French literature. (You are very -unjust to his prose; for it is the finest of all French prose.) His -complete works are worth having--they run to about 60 vols., but they -cannot all be had from one publisher. So he has become a subject for -book-collectors. Sainte-Beuve, like Gautier, existed as a journalist. In -France a journalist used to have literary chances. In English-speaking -countries literary work is still outside of the newspapers; and our -would-be litterateurs have therefore a still harder struggle. (See that -article in the _Revue_. No English prose could accomplish those feats of -colour and sensation--delicate sensation the most difficult to produce. -English as an artistic tongue is immeasurably inferior to French.) - -"Philip and His Wife" was finished in the October number. I know I sent -all the numbers containing it. Mrs. Deland is a great genius, I think. -Her "Story of a Child" was one of the daintiest bits of psychology I -ever read. - -Sorry you deny hereditary sensation. The idea of the experimentalists -that the mind of the newly born child is a _tabula rasa_, and that -all sensations are based on individual experiences, is no longer -recognized--not at least by the evolutional school of psychology, the -only purely scientific school. Spencer especially has denied this idea. -In the life about us we see every day proofs of inherited capacity for -pleasures we know nothing of, and incapacity for pleasures normal to -us and to our whole race. Indeed, I can prove the fact to you at any -time.... - - Faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. I have been out for a walk. As usual the little boys cried "Ijin," -"T[=o]jin,"--and, although I don't go out alone, the changed feeling of -even the adult population toward a foreigner wandering through their -streets was strongly visible. - -A sadness, such as I never felt before in Japan, came over me. Perhaps -your pencilled comments on the decrease of filial piety, and the -erroneous impressions of national character in "Glimpses," had something -to do with it. I felt, as never before, how utterly dead Old Japan is, -and how ugly New Japan is becoming. I thought how useless to write about -things which have ceased to exist. Only on reaching a little shrine, -filled with popular _ex-voto_,--innocent foolish things,--it seemed to -me something of the old heart was beating still,--but far away from me, -and out of reach. And I thought I would like to be in the old Buddhist -cemetery at Gessh[=o]ji, which is in Matsue, in the Land of Izumo,--the -dead are so much better off than the living, and were so much greater. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, March, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--You will scarcely be able to believe me, I imagine; -but I must confess that your letter on "shall" and "will" is a sort of -revelation in one sense--it convinces me that some people, and I suppose -all people of fine English culture, really feel a sharp distinction -of meaning in the sight and sound of the words "will" and "shall." I -confess, also, that I never have felt such a distinction, and cannot -feel it now. I have been guided chiefly by euphony, and the sensation -of "will" as softer and gentler than "shall." The word "shall" in the -second person especially has for me a queer identification with English -harshness and menace,--memories of school, perhaps. I shall study the -differences by your teaching, and try to avoid mistakes, but I think -I shall never be able to feel the distinction. The tone to me is -everything--the word nothing. For example, the Western cowboy says "Yes, -you will, Mister," in a tone that means something much more terrible -than the angry educated Englishman's "you shall." I know this confession -is horrid--but there's the truth of the matter; and I feel angry with -conventional forms of language of which I cannot understand the real -spirit. I trust the tendency to substitute "will" for "shall" which -you have noticed, and which I have always felt, is going eventually to -render the use of "shall" with the first person obsolete. I am "colour -blind" to the values you assert; and I suspect that the majority of the -English-speaking races--the raw people--are also blind thereunto. It -is the people, after all, who make the language in the end, and in the -direction of least resistance. - -You did not quite catch my meaning on the subject of inherited feeling. -I did not hint you denied heredity (though your last letter embodies -several strong denials of it, I think). I believe it is an accepted -general rule, for example, that only a child having parents of different -races can learn even two languages equally well: in other cases, one -language gains at the expense of the other. Creoles exemplify this -rule. Toys are related to the aesthetic faculty, to the play-impulse, -to the imaginative capacity. These differ really in different races; -and represent, not individual education at all, but the sum of racial -experiences under certain conditions. I cannot believe for a moment -that an English child born in Japan could feel the same sensation on -looking at a Japanese picture as the sensation felt by a Japanese child -when looking at the same picture. (With food, the matter is different: -English children in many cases disliking greasy cooking, and in other -cases showing a decided preference for fat. Only a very large number of -instances--many thousand--could really show any general rule in the -case of English children born in Japan. The evidence you cite seems to -me a contradiction, or exception to general tendencies.) The psychical -fact about feelings and emotions is that they are inheritances, just -as much as the colour of hair, or the size of limbs; and tastes--such -as a taste for music or painting--are similarly inherited. They are -outside of the individual experience as much as a birthmark. To explain -fully why, would involve a lot of neurological scribbling,--but it is -sufficient to say that as all feelings are the result of motions in -nervous structure, the volume and character and kind of feeling is -predetermined in each individual by the character of nerve-tissue and -its arrangement and complexity. In no two individuals are the nervous -structures exactly the same; and the differences in races or individuals -are consequent upon the differences in quality, variety, and volume of -ancestral experience shaping each life. - -"The experience-hypothesis," says Spencer, "is inadequate to account for -emotional phenomena. It is even more at fault in respect to the emotions -than in respect to the cognitions. The doctrine that all the desires, -all the sentiments, are generated by the experiences of the individual, -is so glaringly at variance with facts that I wonder how any one should -ever have entertained it." And he cites "the multiform passions of the -infant, displayed before there has been any such amount of experience as -could possibly account for them." - -In short, there is no possible room for argument as to whether each -particular character--with all its possibilities, intellectual or -emotional--is not predetermined by the character of nervous structure, -slowly evolved by millions of billions of experiences in the past. As -the differences in the ancestral sums of experiences, so the differences -in the psychical life. Varying enormously in races so widely removed -as English and Japanese, it is impossible to believe that any feeling -in one race is exactly parallelled by any feeling in the other. It is -equally impossible to think that the feelings of a Japanese child can be -the same as those of an English child born in Japan. Amazing physical -proof to the contrary would be afforded by a comparative study of the -two nervous structures. - -To say, therefore, that the sight of a toy--adjusted exactly by the -experience of the race to the experience of the individual--produces on -the mind of a Japanese child the same impression it would produce on the -mind of an English child born in Japan and brought up by Japanese only, -would be to deny all our modern knowledge of biology, psychology, and -even physiology. The pleasure of the Japanese child in its toy is the -pleasure of the dead. - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--"The law of heredity is unlimited in its application" -(Spencer, "Biology," vol. I, chapter "Heredity"). "Some naturalists -seem to entertain a vague belief [like yours?] that the law of heredity -applies only to main characters of structure, and not to details; or -that though it applies to such details as constitute differences of -species, it does not apply to smaller details. The circumstance that the -tendency to repetition is in a slight degree qualified by the tendency -to variation (which ... is but an indirect result of the tendency -to repetition) leads some to doubt whether heredity is unlimited. A -careful weighing of the evidence ... will remove the ground for this -skepticism." ("Biology," vol. I, p. 239.) - -Your statement that the "weak person will always remain weak," but that -"the manifestations of his weakness will surely depend on the nature of -the obstacles in his way," is a proof that you do not perceive the full -reach of the explanation. The manifestations of weakness may be evoked -by obstacles, but the nature of those manifestations cannot possibly -have anything in common with the nature of the obstacles. The weakness -being hereditary, the nature of the obstacle cannot change it. - -The case of the Northern nations seems to me direct proof of the -contrary to what you suggest. Olaf Trygvesson and others never really -changed the national religion, except in name,--no such rapid change -would have been possible. The worship of Odin and Thor continued under -the name of Christ and the Saints,--and still continues to some extent -to influence English life. The shaking-off of ecclesiastical power at a -later day,--the protestantizing of the Northern races,--is certainly the -manifestation in history of the same fierce love of freedom that founded -the Icelandic Republic. So with English limitation of monarchical power, -the history of the constitution, etc. So with the superiority of English -and Norse seamanship to-day,--Vikings still command our fleet. The -changes you cite as evidence of the non-influence of heredity really -prove it: they are, moreover, mere surface-shiftings of colour, and do -not reach down into the national life. Variations are the result of -heredity, not the exceptions to it. The explanation of this fact would -necessitate, however, a long discussion on the deepening or weakening -of those channels of nerve-force which are the river-courses of life -and thought. Similarly, growth--of brain and thought as well as of -body--is the consequence, not the contradiction, of inheritance. So with -instinct,--which is organized memory,--and with genius, which represents -accumulations of capacity (often at the expense of other growths). - -I fear you think of Galton only when you limit the word heredity. -Universal life and growth is touched by the larger meaning: Galton's -wonderful books represent merely a domestic paragraph of the subject. -The underlying principles of evolution--the deep laws of physiological -growth and development--involve far vaster and profounder consideration -of the subject. Inheritance is no "fad:" it means you and me and the -world and our central sun. - -My text was plain,--but you have forgotten it. I spoke of "ancestral -pleasure," "hereditary delight." You deny their possibility. The toys -are not ancestral, of course, nor did I say they were,--but they -appealed to ancestral feeling. Why? All pleasure is hereditary--every -feeling is inherited. Why, then, say so? Because in this case we are -considering race-feelings widely differentiated from our own. - -But all this is surface,--the ghostly side of the question is the -beautiful one, and one which you would not deny without examining -the evidence? Perhaps you think that the first time you saw Fuji or -Miyanoshita, you had really a new sensation. But you had nothing of -the kind. The sensations of that new experience in your own life -were millions of years old! Far from simple is the commonest of our -pleasures, but a layer, infinitely multiple, of myriads of millions -of ancestral impressions. Try to analyze the sensation of pleasure in -a sunrise, or the smell of hay, and how soon we are lost. We can only -classify the elements of such a pleasure "by bundles," so to speak. - -It might at first sight shock a strong soul to perceive itself not -individual and original, but an infinite compound. But I think one's -pride in one's good should subsequently expand. The thought that one's -strength is the strength of one's ancestors--of a host innumerable and -ancient as the race--has its larger consolation. And here is the poetry -of the thing. You are my friend B. H. C. But you are much more--you are -also Captain B. H., and a host of others--doubtless Viking and Norman -and Danish--a procession reaching back into the weird twilight of the -Northern gods. - -So much for the fun of our discussion. I won't send the long screed: -it is too full of dry stuff, and on reading it over I find that my -enthusiasm betrayed me into several wild misstatements. - -I am sorry about your cold, and I can sympathize; for I also have been -ill, and my boy, and I find spring very trying. I am all right to-day, -and so are we all. - -Wish I were nineteen years old, and, like Ben, going to sea. As a boy, I -cried and made a great fuss because they told me, "You can't go to sea: -you are too near-sighted." Perhaps I was saved from disillusions. - -You know Frederick Soulie's "Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait." -There was an unconscious recognition of heredity,--before modern biology -had been synthetized. - - Ever with best wishes and regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--On re-reading your letter I find it necessary -to assure you positively (pardon me if I am rude) that you have no -conception whatever, not the least, of the scientific opinions as to -psychological evolution held by Spencer. It is necessary I should say -this,--otherwise the mere discussion of details would leave you under -the impression that I recognize your understanding of the subject. It -is quite obvious that you do not understand evolution at all. You do -understand natural selection,--but that is quite another matter. - -To comprehend psychological evolution, it is first necessary to -banish absolutely from the mind every speck of belief that the -individual can be changed in character, or intrinsically added to, -by any influence whatever, to any perceptible degree. There may be -modifications or increments, just as there may be decrements, but these -remain imperceptible. The race is visibly modified in the course of -centuries--not the individual, whether by education, environment or -anything else. The millions of years required for the development of a -body are much more required for the development of a mind. Could the -individual be really changed to the degree imagined by the soul-theory, -a few generations would suffice to form a perfectly evolved race. - -Education and other influences only develop or stimulate the -preexisting. There is an unfolding (possibly also a very slight -increment of neural structure), but the unfolding is of that formed -before birth. There are no changes such as seriously affect character. -The evolution of the race is perceptible,--not that of the individual, -except as the individual life is that of the race in epitome. - -Besides emotions, passions, etc., certain ideas are necessarily -inherited. Otherwise mental development in the individual even could not -take place. Such is the idea of Space, and other ideas which form the -canvas and stage of thought. Simple as they seem, they are complicated -enough to have required millions of years to form. - -Evolution includes not merely the shaping and modification of existing -matter, but the development of visible matter itself out of the -invisible. The evidence of chemistry is that all substances we call -elements have been evolved by tendencies out of something infinitely -simpler and massless. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -Precisely for the same reason that the majority of men in all countries -live more by feeling than by reason, and that the emotions, which are -inheritances, play a greater part in the individual life than the -reasoning faculties, which need training and experience for their -development and use,--so is the study of heredity of larger importance -in the study of emotional life. And therefore your suggestion that -one factor should not be dwelt on rather than others would be bad to -follow,--first, because all are not equal either in importance or -interest, and secondly because the circumstance related or studied must -be considered especially in relation to the principal factor of the -psychological state which that circumstance has evoked. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--The factors of evolution are multitudinous beyond -enumeration, and no one with a ghost of knowledge of the modern -scientific researches on the subject could hold (as you suggest I do) -that heredity is a first cause and "exclusive"(!) Heredity is a result, -and the vehicle of transmission, as well as the "Karma" (which Huxley -calls it). Degeneration, atrophy, atavism, are quite as much factors in -evolution as variation and natural selection and development;--but the -flowing of the eternal stream, the river of life, is heredity,--whatever -form the ripples take. As I have given some twenty years' study -to these subjects, I am not likely to overlook any such thing as -environment or climate or diet. You cannot, however, get a grasp of -the system by reading only a digest of results--a study of biology and -physiology is absolutely necessary before the psychology of the thing -can be clearly perceived. Now you say you will accept anything Spencer -writes on the subject. Well, he writes that "a child" playing with its -"toys" experiences "presentative-representative feelings." What are -presentative-representative feelings? They are feelings chiefly "deeper -than individual experience." What are feelings deeper than individual -experience? Mr. Spencer tells us they are "inherited feelings,"--the sum -of ancestral experiences,--the aggregates of race-experience. Therefore -when I said the child's delight in its toys was "hereditary-ancestral," -I said precisely what Spencer says, but what you would never acknowledge -so long as "only I" said it. - -On this subject of emotions inherited as distinguished from others, -and from those changes in states of consciousness generally which we -call reasoning or constructive imagination, the definite utterances of -Spencer as physiologist are electrically reenforced by the startling -theory of Schopenhauer, by the system of Hartmann, and by the views of -Janet and his rapidly growing school. Indeed, the mere fact that a child -cries at the sight of a frowning face and laughs at a smiling one could -be explained in no other manner. - -You are not quite correct in saying that Spencer could not obtain -a hearing before Darwin. Before Darwin, Spencer had already been -recognized by Lewes as the mightiest of all English thinkers, with -the remarkable observation that he was too large and near to be -justly estimated even in his lifetime. Darwin did much, of course, to -illuminate one factor of evolution; but I need hardly say that one -factor, though the most commonly identified with evolution, is but one -of myriads. Natural selection can explain but a very small part of -the thing. The colossal brain which first detected the necessity of -evolution as a cosmic law,--governing the growth of a solar system as -well as the growth of a gnat,--the brain of Spencer, discerned that law -by pure mathematical study of the laws of force. And the work of the -Darwins and Huxleys and Tyndalls is but detail--small detail--in that -tremendous system which has abolished all preexisting philosophy and -transformed all science and education. - -I need scarcely say, however, that I should not be able, as a literary -dreamer, to derive the inspiration needed from Spencer alone: he is best -illuminated, I think, by the aid of Schopenhauer and the new French -school which considers the so-called individual as really an infinite -multiple. These men have said nothing of value which Spencer has not -said much better scientifically,--but they are infinitely suggestive -when they happen to coincide with him. So, after a fashion, is the -Vedantic philosophy (much more so than Buddhism), and so also some few -dreams of the old Greek schools. - -Your criticisms also show that you take me as confusing changes -of relation of integrated states of consciousness with inherited -integrations of emotional feeling. These are absolutely distinct. But -don't think that I pretend to be invariably a state of facts: without -theory, a very large part of life's poetry could never be adequately -uttered. - -I knew that the music of the "_Kimi ga yo_" was new,--though I did not -know the story of the German bandmaster. But I did not know that the -words once had no reference to the Emperor. I was more careful, however, -than you give me credit for,--since I wrote only "the syllables made -sacred by the reverential love of a century of generations," which, -allowing for poetical exaggeration, seems to be all right anyhow, even -if the words did not refer to the Emperor. Of course the implication to -the foreign reader would, however, be wrong. - -Still, on the subject of loyalty, I cannot see that the existence of -the feeling as inborn is invalidated by the fact of transference. -The feeling is the thing,--not the object, not the Emperor nor the -Daimy[=o],--which, I imagine, must have survived all the changes. -Trained from the time of the gods to obedience and loyalty to somebody, -the feeling of the military classes would not have been instantly -dissipated or annihilated by the change of government, but simply -transferred. Indeed, that strikes me as having been what the Government -worked for. It could not afford to ignore or throw away so enormous -a source of power as the inherited feeling of the race offered, and -attempted (I think very successfully) to transfer it to the Emperor. The -fact in no way affects the truth or falsehood of the sketch "Y[=u]ho." - -Your criticism is only a re-denial of inherited feeling as a possibility. - - Ever very truly, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - APRIL, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Excuse me if I don't reply more fully to your letter, -because my eyes are a little tired. I can only say I wish I were sick, -somewhere near you: then perhaps you would come and see me, and talk -more of these queer things. You would not find the time heavy. For the -subject is a romance. - -In order to convey by a diagram any picture-idea of what heredity means, -one should have to draw a series of inverted cone-figures representing -a reticulation of millions of cross-lines. This could only be done well -under a microscope, and on a very limited scale. Because the thing goes -by arithmetical progression. The individual is the product of 2, the 2 -of 4, the 4 of 8, the 8 of 16--well, you know the tale of the smith who -offered to shoe a horse with 32 nails, to receive 1 cent on the first -nail, and to double the sum upon every nail! The enormity of inheritance -is at once apparent. But to produce another individual, another life is -needed, which represents the superimposition in the child of another -infinitely complex inheritance. The fact is only worth stating as -suggesting that under normal circumstances the child would necessarily -represent an increment. He should receive not only the experience of his -father's race, but all that of his mother's race superimposed upon it. -The fact that he does very nearly do so is evidenced by the reappearance -in his descendants of parental traits always invisible in himself. Mere -multiplication ought therefore to account for a larger mental growth and -progress than exists or could ever exist. - -Why doesn't it? Simply because in the brain the same selective -process goes on as in the vegetable world. As out of 10,000,000 -seeds scarcely one survives: so out of a million mental impressions -scarcely one survives. Indeed, not so many. For the inheritance -is of repetitions,--rarely of single impressions. It is only when -an impression has been repeated times innumerable that it becomes -transmissible,--that it affects the cerebral structure so as to -become organic memory. The inheritance is of a very compound nature, -therefore,--requiring either enormous time for development, or enormous -experience. There is reason to believe, however, that in the case of -very highly organized brains,--such as those of the modern musician, -linguist, or mathematician,--the multiple experiences of even one -lifetime may produce structural modifications capable of transmission. -This is not the case except in men as much larger than common men as -Fuji is larger than an ant-hill. And the reason is that such a brain can -daily receive billions of impressions that common minds cannot receive -in a whole lifetime. The thinking is of the constructive character,--the -most highly complex form possible; and the extreme sensitiveness of the -structures renders habitual conceptions which represent combinations of -conscious states never entered into before. Measured by mere difference -of force, the brain of the mathematician is to the brain of the ordinary -man as the most powerful dynamo to the muscles of an ant. - -Happily for mankind, not only is inheritance something more than -repetition, it is also something less than repetition. Between these two -extremes of plus and minus the physiology of mental activities in any -lifetime represents a fierce struggle for the survival of the best or -worst. Here is where the environment comes in,--determining which of a -million tendencies shall have freest play or least play. According to -circumstances the impulses of the dead are used or neglected. The more -used, the more powerful their active potentialities, and the more apt -to increase by transmission. But their vitality is racial--measurable -only by millions of years. They may lie dormant for twenty centuries, -and be suddenly called into being again--sinister and monstrous-seeming, -because no longer in harmony with the age. (Here is the point of the -selective process.) - -Here comes in the consideration of a very terrible possibility. Suppose -we use integers instead of quintillions or centillions, and say that -an individual represents by inheritance a total of 10--5 of impulses -favourable to social life, 5 of the reverse. (Such a balance would -really occur in many cases.) The child inherits, under favourable -conditions, the father's balance plus the maternal balance of 9,--four -of the number being favourable. We have then a total which becomes -odd, and the single odd number gives preponderance to an accumulation -of ancestral impulse incalculable for evil. It would be like a pair -of scales, each holding a mass as large as Fuji. If the balance were -absolutely perfect, the weight of one hair would be enough to move -a mass of millions of tons. Here is your antique Nemesis awfully -magnified. Let the individual descend below a certain level, and -countless dead suddenly seize and destroy him,--like the Furies. - -In all cases, however, except those of the very highest forms of -mental activity, the psychological life consists of repetitions,--not -of originalities. And environment, chance, etc., simply influence the -extent and volume of the repetitions. In the case of constructive -imagination, on the other hand, there are totally new combinations made -independently of environment or circumstances: there is almost creation, -and in certain cases absolute faculty of prediction. Instance the case -of the mathematician who, without having ever seen the Iceland Spar, -but knowing its qualities, said: "Cut it at such an angle, and you will -see a coloured circle." They cut it, and the circle was seen for the -first time by human eyes. - -Properly, however, there is no such thing as an individual, but only -a combination,--one balance of an infinite sum. The charm of a very -superior man or woman is the ghostliest of all conceivable experiences. -For the man or woman in question can in a single evening become fifty, a -hundred, two hundred different people--not in fancy, but in actual fact. -Here the character of the ancestral experience has been so high and rare -that a different part of the race's mental life is instantly resurrected -at will to welcome and charm, or to master and repel, the various sorts -of character encountered, haphazard, in the salon of the aristocratic -milieu. - -It would be natural to ask: If the emotions and passions are -inheritances, why are not these higher faculties inherited en masse -as well? Because feeling is infinitely older than thinking, developed -millions of years before thinking. Also because the reasoning powers -have been grown out of the feelings--as trees from soil. Those forms of -consciousness most connected with the animal life of the race are, of -course, the first to develop, and the first to become transmissible. -But the time may come when higher faculties will be also similarly -transmissible. - -Taking the highest possible form of human thought,--a mathematical -concept,--and analyzing it, we find a whole volume is required for the -mere statement of the analysis. The flash of the thought took less than -a second; to write all the thinking it involved requires years. We take -it to pieces by bundles of concepts and bundles of experiences,--which -are changes in relations of compound states of consciousness. The -relations of those states of consciousness are resolvable into simpler -ones, and those into simpler, and at last we come down to mere -perceptions, and the perceptions are separated into ideas, and the ideas -into compound sensations, and the compound sensations into sensations -simple as those of the am[oe]ba, or the humblest protozoa. - -Thus we can also trace up the history of any thought from the state -of mere animalcular sensation. The highest thought is resolvable into -infinite compounds of such sensations. Beyond that we cannot go. The -Universe may be sentient, but we don't know it. All we know is sensation -and combinations of sensations in the brain. The highest spiritual -sentiment is based upon the lowest animal sensations. But what is -sensation? No one can tell. On this subject very awful discoveries are -perhaps awaiting us. - -Now heredity is the most wonderful thing of all things, because it is -utterly incomprehensible. - -A mathematical calculation has established beyond all question the fact -that the number of ultimate units in a sperm-cell and germ-cell combined -is totally insufficient to account for the number of impressions and -tendencies transmitted--supposing a change in the ultimate units -possible. Therefore in order to have a working theory, we are obliged -to use the term polarity,--which only means physical tendency to -relationships. But the mystery of the transmission of the impulse -remains just as far away as ever. - -Of course I can't agree with you as to the statement of culture from -outside, except in the poetical sense. Scientifically the culture -movement is internal,--the responses of innumerable dead to exterior -influence,--the weirdest resurrections of buried faculties. - -As for evolution being caused by outer influences, I think the idea -leads to misconception of an intelligent power working and watching -things. We have no need of such a theory. Pain is the chief mental -factor. The elements of life are remarkable in being chemically -unstable,--astonishingly unstable, and the mere working of the -universal forces on such elements quite sufficiently accounts for all -changes. But the fact that there is no line between life and not-life, -no line between the animal and vegetable world, no line between the -visible and invisible, no assurance that matter has any existence -in itself--that is a very awful truth. It is otherwise incorrect to -think of evolution being caused by outer influences, because the inner -forces are the really direct ones,--answering to the outer. Moreover, -the thing evolved, and the power evolving, and the forces internal and -external,--the visible and the non-visible,--are (so far as human reason -permits us to judge) all one and the same. We know only phenomena; and -modern thought recognizes more and more the Indian thought that the -Supreme Brahma is only playing a chess game with himself. Absolutely -we know only forces--pure ghostliness. The individual substance is -but a force combination,--its changes are force combinations,--the -powers outside are but force combinations,--the universe is a force -combination--and we can know nothing more than vibrations. - - Ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. I forgot to notice your statement--"not through the physical fact -of nerve-tissue," etc. - -All thinking--all, without exception--is alteration of nerve-substance; -either temporary motion or motion making by countless repetition -alterations that are permanent. Physiologically, "thought" is a very -complex vibration in nerve-tissue. There is no other meaning whatever -in science for "thought." For "thought" is a perception of relations -in preexisting states of consciousness, and those are bundles of -sensations. What "sensation" is, no man knows. That is the dark spot in -the retina of consciousness. But there is no proof that sensation exists -apart from cell-substance. - -To speak of an "ideal process" outside of vibration in nervous substance -is therefore like saying that 5 times 5 = 918. It is a total denial -of all science on the subject. An idea is a bundle of sensations, and -a sensation is coincident with a movement in cerebral cells. Without -the movement there is no sensation,--not at least in the brain. We do -not know the ultimate of sensation, but thoughts and ideas only mean -complex combinations of sensations impossible outside of nerve-substance -so far as we know. - -Of course if you mean by culture from outside the transmission of -civilization from one race to another,--then there has been enormous -alteration of cerebral structure. Such alteration is even now going on -in Japan, and causes yearly hundreds of deaths. - -The brain of the civilized man is 30 p.c. heavier than that of the -savage; and the brain of the 19th century much larger than that of the -16th (see Broca). A striking fact of evolution is brain-growth. The -early mammals were remarkable for the smallness of their brains. Man's -nervous structure is, of course, the most powerful of all. Cut out of -the body, it is found to weigh, as a total, double that of a horse. For -mind signifies motion, force,--the more powerful the mind the greater -the forces evolved. Perhaps the nervous system of a whale might weigh -more than that of a man as a total mass, but not nearly so much in -parts corresponding with mental differences. Nevertheless the changes -effected by progress in the brain are chiefly visible in the direction -of increasing complexity rather than in bulk. The study of brain-casts -promises to develop some interesting facts. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--In one of your recent letters, which charmed me by -its kindness,--though I did not dwell on the pleasure given me, because -I was so immediately occupied in discussing my psychical hobby,--you -asked me: "How could I expect to hit the public more than I have done?" - -Well, not with a book on Japan, perhaps; but I must do better some day -with something, or acknowledge myself a dead failure. I really think I -have stored away in me somewhere powers larger than those I have yet -been able to use. Of course I don't mean that I have any hidden wisdom, -or anything of that sort; but I believe I have some power to reach the -public emotionally, if conditions allow. - -One little story which would never die, might suffice,--or a volume of -little stories. Stories, fiction: that is all the public care about. -Not essays, however clever,--nor vagaries, nor travels,--but stories -about something common to all life under the sun. And this is just the -very hardest of all earthly things to do. I might write an essay on some -topic of which I am now quite ignorant,--by studying the subject for the -necessary time. But a story cannot be written by the help of study at -all: it must come from outside. It must be a "sensation" in one's own -life,--and not peculiar to any life or any place or time. - -I have been studying the "will" and "shall" carefully, and think that -I shall be able to avoid serious mistakes hereafter. It is difficult, -however, for me to get the "instantaneous sense"--so to speak--of their -correct use. The line between "intention" and "future sequence" I can't -well define. - -I can't help fearing that what you mean by "justice and temperateness" -in writing means that you want me to write as if I were you, or at least -to measure sentence or thought by your standard. This, of course, would -render frank correspondence impossible,--as it does even now to some -extent. If I write well of a thing one day, and badly another--I expect -my friend to discern that both impressions are true, and solve the -contradiction--that is, if my letters are really wanted. For absolute -"justice and temperateness," one can find them in the pages of Herbert -Spencer--but you would then discern that even _la raison peut fatiguer -a la longue_. I should suppose the interest of letters not to be in the -text, but in the writer. Am I wrong? - - L. H. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--In writing to you, of course, I've not been writing -a book--but simply setting down the thoughts and feelings of the moment -as they come. I write a book exactly the same way; but all this has to -be smoothed, ordinated, corrected, toned over twenty times before a page -is ready. It strikes me, however, that the first raw emotion or fancy, -which is the base of all, has its value between men who understand -each other. You, on the other hand,--differently constituted,--write -a letter as you would write a book. You collect and mould the thought -instinctively and perhaps unconsciously before setting it on paper. - -I'm not quite such an American radical as you think in consequence; -for I confess to a belief in the value of aristocracies--a very strong -belief. On the other hand, the reality of the thing to the man is -its relation to him personally. Don't you think your comfort in all -sorts and conditions may be due to your personal independence of those -sorts and conditions? It is like Rufz's statement that "the first -relations between men are delicious"--so long as you are in nobody's -way, and have capacity to please, you have the bright side turned to -you. (Again, there is this question: Are you sure the side you see -and like is not the artificial side? I don't say it is, but there are -possibilities.) My own dislike of mercantile people in all countries -is based upon experiences of the contrary sort. But how can men, -trained from childhood to watch for and to take all possible advantage -of human weakness, remain a morally superior class. That they don't, -needs no argument; and that the poorest people in all countries are -the most moral and self-sacrificing needs no argument either. Both are -acknowledged and indisputable facts in sociology,--in the study of -civilized races, at least. When to this marrow-bred sense of morality is -superadded the courtesy you yourself in a former letter declared without -parallel, I see nothing extravagant in the statement that a Japanese -_hyakush[=o]_ is more of a gentleman than an English merchant can be--if -gentleness means delicate consideration for others, by means of which -virtue no man can succeed in life. - -I should like to know any story of heroism--sorry not to be near you to -coax you for an outline of it. Every fact of goodness makes one better, -and an author richer, to know it. There are good heroes and heroines in -all walks of life, indeed,--though all walks of life do not necessarily -lead to goodness. Indeed, there are some which teach that goodness is -foolishness,--but all won't believe it is true. - -The extraordinary wastefulness of foreign life is a fact that strikes -one hard after life in the interior. Men work like slaves for no other -earthly reason than that conventions require them to live beyond their -means; and those who are free to live as they wish live on a scale that -seems extravagant in the extreme. All goes right in the end, but I have -not yet escaped the sensation of imagining one life devouring a hundred -for mere amusement. Here is a man who spends, to my knowledge, more -than $500 a week for mere amusement. He lives, therefore, at the rate -of more than 1000 Japanese lives. I'm not disputing his right: but in -the eternal order of things the whirligig of time must bring in strange -revenges.... - -A paper read by Spencer before the Anthropological Society, on the -subject of the Method of Comparative Psychology, came into my hands the -other day. It was only four or five pages--so I could read it. What -a magnificent teaching for an essay on Japanese psychology! I may try -to take up the theme some day. There are some terrible suggestions, -however--such as that the Japanese indifference to abstract ideas is not -indifference, but incapacity to form general ideas. The language would -seem to confirm the suggestion. - -P. S. I should like to discuss the "heredity and evolution" topic of -child-feeling, but fear to weary you with my scribble. Indeed I wrote a -long letter, but concluded not to send to-day. You are quite right about -the inherited feeling of the impulse to martial play: the new toy would -represent subjectively some slight modifications of inherited pleasure -as regards colour, form, and noise,--but the inherited feeling remains -the chief factor in the matter. A mask of _o tafuku_ as a toy would not -effect modifications in the quality of certain inherited impressions, -but only accentuate them, and accentuate others innumerable faintly -connected with them. - -Ever, with regret that I cannot write more for the moment, yours -faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I might one of these days get a job in Loochoo, when -the country becomes richer,--and explore ghostology. The ghost-business -must be simply immense: it must be immense anywhere that the dead are -better housed than the living. Of old I felt sure that if the Egyptian -demotic texts were translated, the ghostly side of that literature would -be amazing--for just the same reason. Well, they have been translated; -and the ghost-stories are without parallel. Assyrian ghostology is also -very awful; but we don't know much about their necropoles,--for whatever -those were, they were of perishable stuff. - -As I told the Houghton firm I had a volume of philosophical fairy-tales -in mind, and wanted to read Andersen again, they sent me four volumes; -... the old charm comes back with tenfold force, and makes me despair. -How great the art of the man!--the immense volume of fancy,--the magical -simplicity--the astounding force of compression! This isn't mere -literary art; it is a soul photographed and phonographed and put, like -electricity, in storage. To write like Andersen, one must be Andersen. -But the fountain of his inspiration is unexhausted, and I hope to gain -by drinking from it. I read, and let the result set up disturbances -interiorly. Disturbances emotional I need. I have had no sensations -since leaving Ky[=u]sh[=u]. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Apparently the war is over; and we -are glad,--with due apprehension. Possibilities are ugly. The doom -of foreign trade in Japan has, I think, begun to be knelled. In -twenty-five years more the foreign merchants will be represented here by -agents chiefly. The anti-foreign feeling is strong. I am not sure but it -is just. Only--the innocent pay, not the guilty. - -As for me, I must confess that I am only happy out of the sight of -foreign faces and the hearing of English voices. Not quite happy, -though--I am always worried for the future. I drew the lots of the gods: -they replied yesterday at Kiyomizu in Holy Ky[=o]to: "All you wish you -shall have, but not until you are very old." H'm! Is that Delphic? Can I -become very old? - -No: Kazuo is not a Japanese rendering of Lafcadio. It signifies only -"First of the Excellent," or "Best of the Peerless Ones," but it does -serve for both purposes to the imagination. - -As I watch the little fellow playing, all the dim vague sensations of -my own childhood seem to come back to me. I comprehend by unexpected -retrospection! - -My eye is not yet quite well. But I expect it will last for some years -more. - -Best thanks for that admirable and timely letter of advice. Of course I -shall follow it absolutely. Wish I had the advantage of being closer to -my loved adviser,--for more reasons than one. - - L. H. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, April, 1895. - -DEAR PAGE,--I paid 35c. postage the other day on a huge envelope the -superscription whereof filled my soul with joy. I know it is mean to -mention the 35c.; but I do this on purpose,--that I may be properly -revenged. Opening the envelope I found a very dear letter, for which I -am more than grateful,--_and two pieces of pasteboard, for which I am -not grateful at all_. The promised photo had never been put into the -envelope,--only the envelope,--only the pasteboards. The two envelopes -had never been opened. And the why and the wherefore of the thing I -am at a loss to discern. But as you did not stop sending the paper to -Kumamoto for eight months after I had vainly prayed for a change of -address, I suppose that you simply forgot in both cases.... - -About the little Japanese dress. Now the matter of a little girl's dress -is much more complicated than I can tell you--if you want the real -thing. Do you wish for a winter, spring, summer, or autumn dress?--for -these are quite necessary distinctions. Do you wish for a holiday -dress?--a ceremonial dress?--an every-day dress? The winter ceremonial -dress for a girl of good family is very expensive, for it consists of -silk skirt, _koshimaki_ (body under-petticoat), and four or five heavily -wadded silk robes one over the other,--with _obi_, etc. The _obi_ is the -most costly part of the dress--may run to 30 or even 50 yen: it ought to -cost at least 20. The summer dress is light, and much cheaper. I think -you ought to get a suit for about (yen) 60-70. Of course, no suits are -ready-made. The dress must be made to order; and even the girdle worked -up. To tie the girdle will be difficult,--unless a Japanese shows you -the method. - -If you want only a common cotton suit, which is very, very pretty, it -would be quite cheap. But I suppose you want the fashionable dress, -and that is as dear as you care to pay. Prices may range up into the -hundreds. Boys' dresses--even winter dresses--are not so dear, but -my little fellow's ceremonial dress,--the overdress alone,--cost $27 -without counting the adjuncts. Boys' soft _obi_ cost, however, only 3 or -4 yen; and girls' _obi_ five or six times as much. Shoes (sandals) and -stockings are cheap. The _geta_ could scarcely be managed by a Western -child. The straw sandal (_z[=o]ri_), with velvet thong, is easy and -pleasant to wear. I have heard of _silk tabi_, but never saw any, and I -think they are worn only by _geisha_, etc. White cotton _tabi_ are the -prettiest; and I have heard that white silk _tabi_ never look really -white,--so the coloured _tabi_ would be better in silk. But everybody -wears the white cotton _tabi_, and nothing could be prettier than a -little foot in this cleft envelope. - -The colours of the dress of a girl are much brighter than those of boys' -dresses; but they change every additional year of the girl's life. They -are covered with designs, generally symbolical,--full of meanings, but -meaningless to Western eyes. The finest textures used--crape--silk, -etc.--shrink and suffer immensely by washing; for such dresses as you -would want are not worn every day--nor at school or in play. - -You see the subject is really very complex, and requires years to learn -much about. Only a native in any case can be relied on for choice, -etc. The suits of "Japanese clothes" usually bought by foreigners in -Japan, to take home to their friends, are made to order just to sell to -foreigners, and are not Japanese at all--no Japanese would wear them. -For the man as for the woman the rules of dress are very strict, and -vary precisely according to the age of the wearer. - -For a little girl two years old, you would not need a _hakama_,--divided -skirt. Such _hakama_ are worn by little school-girls, and are usually -sky-blue. They are not, like the men's fashionable _hakama_, made of -Sendai silk. The _hakama_ of a high official may be very expensive. - -I think what you want could be got for about $40 (American money, -including all costs), unless you want a winter dress. It would be very -heavy, and likely to make the little one too warm, for this climate is -not like that of New Orleans. The chief cost is the _obi_,--the broad -stiff heavy silk girdle. - -Thanks for the sweet things you said about my little boy. He was born -November 16th, '93;--so he is younger than your little angel by four or -five months. Mrs. Baker was right. Trust a mother's eye to decide all -such problems! And say all the kindest and wisest and prettiest things -you can to Mrs. Baker for her kindest message.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -P. S. What you wrote about Constance is very beautiful. No man can -possibly know what life means, what the world means, what anything -means, until he has a child and loves it. And then the whole universe -changes,--and nothing will ever again seem exactly as it seemed before. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, May, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I received your kind letter shortly after returning -from Ky[=o]to, where I have been living in an old samurai _yashiki_ -transformed into a hotel. - -I am quite sorry your eyes are troubling you; and indeed I should -sincerely advise you to get away from all temptation to reading or -writing for some months. Considering how much your translation of -that ballad signified in the matter of personal kindness under such -circumstances, I cannot but feel pain,--though you will not be sorry to -hear that you made a sketch possible, entitled "A Street-Singer," sent -to H. M. & Co. towards the construction of a new book now under way. - -I have not written you before because feeling under the weather--hungry -for sympathy I cannot get, and have no reason really to expect. It -is only long after one gets credit as a writer that one wins any -recognition as a thinker. My critics are careful to discriminate. One -assures me that as a poet I am impeccable, and "a great man," but that I -must remember my theories can only be decided by the "serious student." -Or in other words that I am never to be taken seriously. The men taken -seriously get $10,000 a year for trying to do what I could do much -better. Poor myself must try to live on "dream-stuff." - -I am sorry you cannot read. But still you are fortunate, because you are -able to live without being at the mercy of cads and clerks. That alone -is a great happiness. I am pestered with requests to do vulgar work for -fools at prices they would not dare to offer, if they did not imagine me -an object of charity. Happily I can get away from them all, and keep the -door locked. - -What a privilege to live in Ky[=o]to. I should be glad of a very small -post there. The Exhibition is marvellous--showing how Japan will revenge -herself on the West. Artistically it is very disappointing. There are -funny things--a naked woman (not a "nude study," but simply a naked -woman in oil) for which the artist insolently asks $3000. It is worth -about three rin. The Japanese don't like it, and they are right. But I -fear they do not know why they are right. - - Ever with best regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, May, 1895. - -DEAR PAGE,--It was _almost_ unkind, after all to have sent the very dear -picture, because it brought back too vividly hours of pleasant talk and -kind words and great projects and all sorts of things which have forever -passed away. But there was a pleasure in the pain too,--for it is quite -a help in life to feel that ever so far away there is somebody who loves -you, and whom Time will not quickly change. You look just the same. I--I -should scare you were I to send you a picture--you would think Time was -much faster than he is. For I am very ancient to behold. - -Well, love to you for the picture.... - -Of news little to tell you that you do not get from other sources. -Japan has yielded the Liao-tung Peninsula; but the nation is full of -sullen anger against Russia and the interference-powers. The press is -officially muzzled; but there is no mistaking the popular feeling. Even -an overthrow of the existing Government is not impossible, and a return -to that military autocracy which is really the natural government of an -essentially military race. If the Japanese house of representatives had -not interfered seriously and idiotically with naval expansion, Russian -interference would have been almost impossible. - -I was on the Matsushima yesterday, the flag-ship. She has few scars -outside; but she must have been half torn to pieces inside. Her decks -were covered only a few months back with blood and brains. She is only -4280 tons; and she had to fight with two 7400 ton battle-ships and -European gunners. She lost half her crew, but won gloriously. (The -Japanese really never lost one ship--only a torpedo-boat that got -run aground.) The people are proud of her with good reason; and the -officers let them come with their babies to look at the decks where -stains still tell of the sacrifices for Japan's sake. - - Ever faithfully and affectionately, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER. - - K[=O]BE, July, 1895. - -DEAR PAGE,--Your kindest letter has come. Of course my mention of the -postage-payment was only playful spite; for I should be glad to get -letters from you upon those conditions. The Japanese P.O. people don't -seem to do things after our fashion just now, since discharging all -their foreign employes. The new clerks get about $10.00 a month ($4.50 -American money), and most of them are married on that! - -No: I do not see the newspapers. The clubs have them; but I take -infinite care to avoid the vicinity of clubs. Sometimes a friend sends -me a paper (the _Herald_, for example); and the publishers sent me only -a few notices this time,--about three, I think. That _Herald_ I saw, -through kindness of a man whom I don't even know. - -I don't know that you are wrong about not ordering the dress just now. -The taller the little Constance gets, the better she will look in one. I -fancy that the summer dress will be best,--it shows the figure a little: -the winter dress, for a cold day, makes one look a little bit roly-poly. -Perhaps a little school-girl's dress would please you;--though it is -not very dear, but rather very cheap, it is pretty,--quite pretty and -of many colours. The Japanese robes bought in Japan by foreign ladies -are especially made for them;--they are not the real thing. No pretty -grown-up American girl would feel comfortable in the Japanese girdle, -which is not tied round the waist, but round the hips,--so that Japanese -women, well dressed, look shorter-limbed then they really are, and they -are short of limb compared with the women of Northern races. Much stuff -has been written, however, about the short-legged Japanese. I have -seen as well-limbed men as one could care to see:--they are shorter of -stature than Northern Europeans or Americans, but they would make a very -good comparison with French, Spanish, or Italians--the dark types. They -are heavily built, too, sometimes. The Kumamoto troops are very sturdy; -and the weight of the men surprised me. But the finest men, except -labourers, that I have seen in Japan are the men-of-war's-men,--the -blue-jackets. They are picked from the sturdiest fishing population of -Southern Japan, where the men grow big, and I have seen several over six -feet. - -But I have been digressing. It was very sweet,--your little picture -of home life with the darling _fillette_. She is much more advanced -than my boy. He is younger, of course; but girls mature intellectually -so much quicker than boys. He is puzzled, too, by having to learn -two languages,--each totally different in thought construction; but -he knows, when the postman gives him a letter, which language it is -written in. I think, though it is not for me to say it, that the whole -street loves him;--for everybody brings him presents and pets him. At -first he worried me a little by calling out to every foreigner,--some -rough ones into the bargain,--"Hei, papa!" But the old sea-captains and -the mercantile folk thus addressed would take him up in their arms and -pet him; and there is a big captain with a red face who watches for him -regularly, to give him candies, etc. We are going soon to another house; -and we shall miss the good kind captain. - -I'm still out of work, and going to stay out of it. I think I can live -by my pen. I am not sure, of course; but I can hang out here a couple -of years more, anyhow,--and trust to luck. My publishers seem to be all -right. - -Infinite thanks about the syndicate project. I can certainly undertake -the matter for the figure named,--for I won't be away more than six -months. I have written my publishers to ask if I can get certain proofs -of a new book (not quite finished yet--so please don't mention it) -early enough to start about October. I should like one provision,--that -I may choose another point, such as Java, in preference to Manila or -Ry[=u]ky[=u],--supposing ugly circumstances, such as cholera, intervene. -I might try a French colony,--Tonkin, Noumea, or Pondicherry. At all -events this would not hurt the syndicate's interests. I should hope to -be back in spring; and I would not disappoint you as to quality. Perhaps -the more queer places I go to, the better for the syndicate. - -I don't know what to tell you about war-matters. The unjust interference -of the three powers has to be considered, though, from two points of -view. The first is, that the anger of the nation may create such a -feeling in the next Diet as to provoke a temporary suspension of the -constitution. The second is that most of us feel the check to Japan -was rather in the interest of foreign residents. The feeling against -foreigners had been very strong, not without reason, as the foreign -newspapers, excepting the _Mail_ and the _K[=o]be Chronicle_, had mostly -opposed the new treaties, and criticized the war in an unkindly spirit. -Besides, there never had been any really good feeling between foreigners -and Japanese in the open ports. Now there was really danger that after -a roaring triumph, without check, over China, the previous feeling -against foreigners would take more violent form. The sympathetic action -of England improved the feeling very much; and really I think the check -will in the end benefit Japan. She will be obliged to double or triple -her naval strength, and wait a generation. In the meantime she will gain -much in other power, military and industrial. Then she will be able to -tackle Russia,--if she feels as she now does. The army and navy were -furiously eager to fight Russia. But Russia has enormous staying power; -and the fleets of three nations stood between the 150,000 men abroad and -the shores of Japan. Of course it was a risk. England might have settled -the naval side of the matter in Japan's favour. But war would have had -sad consequences to industry and commerce. The Japanese statesmen were -right. Besides, what does Japan lose?--Nothing, except a position; for -the retrocession must be heavily paid for. The anger of the people is -only a question of national vanity wounded;--and though they would -sacrifice everything for war, it is better that they were not suffered -by the few wise heads to do so. - -I was sorry about your having to slap that fellow. But you will always -be the old-style Knight--preferring to give a straight-out blow, than -simply to sit down at a desk and score a man every day, unwearyingly, as -Northern editors do. - -I am glad to hear of Matas. I used to love him very much.... - -As to kissing in Japan, there is no kissing. Kissing is not "forbidden" -at all;--there is simply no impulse to kiss among the Turanian races. -All Aryan races have the impulse, as an affectionate greeting. Children -do not kiss their parents;--but the pressing of cheek to cheek is -nearly the same thing--as a demonstration. Mothers lip their little -ones;--but--how shall I explain? The kiss, as we understand it in the -Occident, is considered not as an affectionate, but as a _sexual_ -impulse, or as of kin to such an impulse. Now this is absolutely true. -Undoubtedly the modern kiss of the cultivated West may have no such -meaning in 99,997 cases out of 99,998. But the original primitive -signification of pressing lip to lip, as Aryan races do, or even lip -to cheek, is physiologically traceable to the love which is too often -called _l'amour_, but which has little to do with the higher sense -of affection. With us the impulse of a child to kiss is absolutely -_instinctive_. The Japanese child has no such impulse whatever; but his -way of caressing is none the less delicious. - -On the other hand, it is significant that the Japanese word for -"dear," "lovable" is also used to signify "sweetness" of the material -saccharine kind. But perhaps this is offset by the fact that Japanese -confectionery, though delicious, never nauseates through over-sweetness; -and that the quantity of sugar used is very much less than with us. -One never gets tired of _kwashi_; but plumcake and bonbons in the -West need to be sparingly used. Perhaps we want too much sweetness of -all kinds. The Japanese are in all things essentially temperate and -self-restrained--as a people. Of course, Western notions and examples -begin to spoil them a little. - -It is possible by the time this reaches you that I shall have become a -Japanese citizen,--for legal reasons. (Say nothing yet about it.) If I -marry my wife before the consul, then she becomes English, and loses -the right to hold property in her own country. Marrying her by Japanese -custom will not be acknowledged as legal, without special permission -of the minister of foreign affairs,--but if I get the permission, then -she becomes English, and the _boy_ too. So my marriage, though legal -according to every moral code, and according to the old law, becomes -illegal by new law, and the wife and family--as I really follow the -Japanese code, supporting father, mother, and grandparents--have no -rights except through a will, which relatives can dispute. I therefore -cut the puzzle by changing nationality, and becoming a Japanese. Then -I lose all chance of Government employ at a living salary; for the -Englishman who becomes a Japanese is only paid by the Japanese scale. -Also I lose the really powerful protection given to Englishmen by their -own nation. Finally I have to pay taxes much bigger than consular fees, -and my boy becomes liable to military service. (But that won't hurt -him.) I hope in any case to give him a scientific education abroad. -The trouble is I am now forty-five. I'll be sleeping in some Buddhist -cemetery before I can see him quite independent.... - -I have lost friends because their wives didn't like me--more than -once;--as Chamberlain says, "No: you'll never be a ladies' man." But the -kindly spirit of Mrs. Baker shows even through your own letters;--and -if I can ever see you again, I know that, although not a ladies' man, -I won't be disliked in one friend's home as a fugitive visitor. Say -everything grateful to her for me that you can. - -Good-bye, with love to your pretty gold-head,--and regards to all -friends. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, July, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--In reading Schopenhauer (I believe -you have the splendid Haldane & Kemp version in three volumes: it -is said to preserve even the remarkable sonority of the German -original), you may notice where Schopenhauer failed, only through -want of knowledge undeveloped in his time. While highly appreciating -Lamarck,--the greatest of the evolutionists before Darwin, greater -even than Goethe,--he finds fault with his theory as not showing -proof of the prototype formless animal from which all organic forms -existing are derived. Therefore Schopenhauer insisted on the potential -prototype existing in the Will only. But since Schopenhauer's day, the -material formless prototypal animal has been found; and the theory of -Schopenhauer as to forms falls back into a region of pure metaphysics. -He is none the less valuable on that account. He represents the soul -(psyche) of an enormous fact, or at least a soul which can be fitted -to the body of science for the time being. He has been justly called a -German Buddhist; and his philosophy is entirely based on the study of -Brahmanic and Buddhist texts. The only absolutely novel theory in his -book is the essay on sexual love,--vol. 3 in your edition. There is one -defect in it, but that does not hurt the value of the whole. And then -the splendour of style, of self-assertion, of imagery Huxley equalled -only, I think twice, in all of his essays. Of course Schopenhauer -belongs to the evolutional school; that is the reason why he has -been taken up to-day after long neglect. His work gives new force to -evolutional psychology of the new school. The most remarkable popular -effect of the newer school has not, I think, yet been noticed. It is in -fiction; and the success of a work taken in this line recently has made -a fortune for publishers and author. Unfortunately, poor I have not the -constructive art necessary to attempt anything of the kind--not yet! -Perhaps in twenty years more. - - Very faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, August, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--A delicious surprise,--though one that gave some -pain; for I suffered to think you should have used your eyes to such -an extent for my sake. Mason, too, one day actually wrote me that he -would copy something for me if I needed it (which luckily I had got from -another source): I should be pained to have either of you try your eyes -for my poor vagaries. Please don't think me too selfish;--it was simply -lovable of you, but don't do it again. - -I think I may be able to use a fragment or two effectively: what I want -now to get is the rhythm used in the singing,--and that none of my -people can remember. They said it was very wonderful, but very difficult -to catch: so that it would seem some melodies are as hard for the -Japanese themselves to learn by ear, as they are for us to so learn. -I had the same curious experience at Sakai and in Kizuki; yet I asked -persons who had been listening to the singing for several hours, and -were natives of the place. They all said, "Ah! that is very difficult. -So a good _ondo tori_ is hard to find; and they are paid well to come to -our festivals." But when the woman comes again I shall try to syllabify -the measure on paper. - -I can feel the popular mind in the peasant songs: in the military songs -I cannot. But there is a queer variation in tone used in military -singing which is very effective. The leader suddenly turns down his -voice nearly a full octave, and all the chorus follow: it is like a -sudden and terrible menace,--then all go back to high tenor notes again. -What you tell me about Ry[=u]ky[=u] priests' songs surprised me. You -must have got everything that could be got there in an astonishingly -short time. I sent you the Nara _miko_-songs,--mystical hymns about -sowing, etc.,--very artless. The Nara and Kompira _miko_ are really -virgins. _Entre nous_ I am sorry to say that the _miko_ of Kizuki are -not: but, as they ought to be, there is no use specifying in any public -way. It would be like denying the virtue of nuns in general, because -one or two sisters fall from grace. While the ideal lives anywhere it -strikes me as wrong to insist too much on realism. - -I know you make a collection of everything relating to Japan, so I must -send you a photo of Yuko Hatakeyama. I had it copied from a badly faded -one--so it does not come out well. You are not of those who refuse -to see beyond the visible; and though there is nothing beautiful or -ideal in this figure, it was certainly the earthly chrysalis of a very -precious and beautiful soul, which I have tried to make the West love a -little bit. So you may prize it. - -Some one, thinking to please me, sent me by this mail a large French -periodical, full of gravures porno-or semi-pornographiques, Saint -Anthony and French courtesans and angels mixed up together. I burned the -thing,--astonished at the revulsion of feeling it produced in myself. -(The work was beautiful in its way, of course, but the way!) After all, -it seems to me that Japanese life is essentially chaste: its ideals -are chaste. I can feel now exactly how a Japanese feels about certain -foreign tendencies. I know all about Japanese picture-books of a certain -class--innocent things in their very frankness: there is more real -evil, or at least more moral weakness in any number of certain French -public prints. It strikes me also that the charm even of the _j[=o]ro_ -to the Japanese mind is quite different from any corresponding Western -feeling. She figures simply as an ideal lady of old time, and the graces -cultivated in her, and the costume donned, are those of an ideal past. -The animalism of half-exposures and suggestions of whole exposures -is not any more Japanese than it was old-Persian. Even the naughty -picture-books were intended for imitations, catechism. - -Talking of catechism, I have been thinking of making a Buddhist -catechism of a somewhat fantastic sort. - -"How old are you?" - -"I am millions of millions of years old, as a phenomenon. As absolute I -am eternal and older than the universe," etc. - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, September, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... I am waiting every day for the sanction of the -minister to change my name; and I think it will come soon. This will -make me Koizumi Yakumo, or,--arranging the personal and family names -in English order,--"Y. Koizumi." "Eight clouds" is the meaning of -"Yakumo," and is the first part of the most ancient poem extant in the -Japanese language. (You will find the whole story in "Glimpses"--article -"Yaegaki.") Well, "Yakumo" is a poetical alternative for Izumo, my -beloved province, "the Place of the Issuing of Clouds." You will -understand how the name was chosen. - -If all goes well, and I am not obliged to return to America, I shall -next year probably return to Izumo, and make a permanent home there. So -long as I can travel in winter, I need not care about the weather. When -my boy grows big enough, if I live, I shall take him abroad, and try to -give him a purely scientific education--modern languages if possible, -no waste of time on Latin, Greek, and stupidities. (Literature and -history can be best learned at home; and the greatest men are not the -products of schools, not in England or America, at least: Germany is an -exception.) He might turn out to be very commonplace, in which case all -plans must be changed; but I suspect he will not be stupid. He says, by -the way, that he was a doctor in his former birth. It is quite possible, -for he has my father's eyes. - -In regard to what you asked me about the English literature business, -I think there is no way of teaching English literature except by -selections,--joined together with an evolutional study of English -emotional life, illustrated after the manner of Taine's "Art in -Italy," etc. But such work, combining history with literature, would -involve the use of an immense library, and would be very costly to the -teacher. By the way, I _hate_ English literature. French literature -is much more interesting. What I should most like would be to make a -study of comparative literature--including Sanscrit, Finnish, Arabic, -Persian,--systematizing the best specimens of each into kindred -groupings on the evolutional plan. That _would_ be worth doing; for it -means a study of the evolutional development of all mankind. But such -undertakings, I fear, are for the extremely rich. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, Autumn, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... It has often occurred to me to ask whether you -think other men feel as I do about some things--you yourself, for -example. Work with me is a pain--no pleasure till it is done. It is not -voluntary; it is not agreeable. It is forced by necessity. The necessity -is a curious one. The mind, in my case, eats itself when unemployed. -Reading, you might suggest, would employ it. No: my thoughts wander, -and the gnawing goes on just the same. What kind of gnawing? Vexation -and anger and imaginings and recollections of unpleasant things said -or done. _Unless somebody does or says something horribly mean to me, -I can't do certain kinds of work_,--the tiresome kinds, that compel a -great deal of thinking. The exact force of a hurt I can measure at the -time of receiving it: "This will be over in six months;" "This I shall -have to fight for two years;" "This will be remembered longer." When I -begin to think about the matter afterwards, then I rush to work. I write -page after page of vagaries, metaphysical, emotional, romantic,--throw -them aside. Then next day, I go to work rewriting them. I rewrite and -rewrite them till they begin to define and arrange themselves into a -whole,--and the result is an essay; and the editor of the _Atlantic_ -writes, "It is a veritable illumination,"--and no mortal man knows why, -or how it was written,--not even I myself,--or what it cost to write it. -Pain is therefore to me of exceeding value betimes; and everybody who -does me a wrong indirectly does me a right. I wonder if anybody else -works on this plan. The benefit of it is that a _habit_ is forming,--a -habit of studying and thinking in a way I should otherwise have been too -lazy-minded to do. But whenever I begin to forget one burn, new caustic -from some unexpected quarter is poured into my brain: then the new pain -forces other work. It strikes me as being possibly a peculiar morbid -condition. If it is, I trust that some day the power will come to do -something really extraordinary--I mean very unique. What is the good of -having a morbid sensitive spot, if it cannot be utilized to some purpose -worth achieving? - -There was a funny suicide here the other day. A boy of seventeen threw -himself on the railroad track and was cut to pieces by a train. He left -a letter to his employer, saying that the death of the employer's little -son had made the world dark for him. The child would have nobody to play -with: so, he said, "I shall go to play with him. But I have a little -sister of six;--I pray you to take care of her." - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - SEPTEMBER, 1895. - -MY DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your paper on Luchu gave me more pleasure, I am -sure, than it even did to the president of the society before whom -it was read; and I was delighted with the nice things said of you. -Of course this paper--being a much more elaborate monograph than the -other--differs from its predecessor in the matter of suggestiveness. -To me it is like a graded anthropological map,--shading off the -direction of character-tendencies, language, customs, to the uttermost -limit of the subject. I had no idea how much you had been doing in -the Archipelago--your own field of research by unquestionable right. -If I ever go down there I shall certainly attempt nothing out of the -much humbler line which I can follow: there is really nothing left for -another man to do in the way of gathering general knowledge about an -unfamiliar region. - -There is one expression of opinion in the monograph which I may venture -a remark about. The idea is growing upon me, more and more each day I -live, that the supposed indifferentism of the Japanese in religious -matters is affected indifferentism--that it is put on like _yofuku_, -only for foreigners. I see too much of the real life, even here in -K[=o]be, to think the indifferentism real. And I believe the Jesuits, -who are better judges far than our comfortable modern proselytizers, -never accused the Japanese of indifference. However, this is but -suggestive: I think that should you ever find time to watch the -incidents of common life minutely, you will recognize the Jesuits as the -keenest observers. As for the educated classes, I have also reason to -know that in most cases the indifference is feigned. This will show you -how my own opinions have changed in five years' time. - - Very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, October, 1895. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Kazuo knows your picture, always hanging on the wall by -my desk, and your name--so that if you see him soon, he will not think -you a stranger. He talks well now, but is getting naughty, like his -father used to be--very naughty. I see my own childish naughtiness all -over again. I think he will be cleverer than his father. If he shows -real talent, I shall try to take him to France or to Italy, later on -in life. English schools I don't like: they are too rough. New England -schools are better; especially for the earlier teaching. The systems -of Spencer and others have been much better followed out in Eastern -Massachusetts than in England, where religious conservatism persists -in loading the minds with perfectly useless acquirements. The future -demands scientific education--not ornamented; and the thoroughly -trained man never needs help. I remember a friend in the United States -Army,--engineer and graduate of West Point (a splendid institution): -he was coaxed out of the army by an electrical company because of his -knowledge of applied mathematics. What wonderful men one meets among -the scientifically educated to-day one must go abroad to know. Such -men, unfortunately, do not come to Japan. If _they_ had been chosen for -teachers, I fancy that education would have felt their influence. It -does not feel the influence of common foreign teachers. But, a student -said to me, "We must cultivate our own powers through our own language -hereafter,"--and I think he expressed the sensible general feeling of -the day. - -Ever with kindest hopes and wishes for you, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN - - K[=O]BE, November, 1895. - -DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your more than gracious flying visit, having set in -motion the machinery of converse, left me long continuing a phantom talk -with a phantom professor across a real table,--which I touched to make -sure. - -Then my wife's delight with her Miyako-miyage, and the boy's with the -pictures, you can imagine,--though not perhaps my own feeling of mingled -pleasure and sorrow. Whatever you do is done so delicately and finely -that I fear I could show no appreciation of it in writing. - -It was lucky that we had returned from Ky[=o]to just so as to be here -for your visit. What pleased me most of all, perhaps, was your seeing -my boy. I have often thought if I can realize my dream of taking him -to Europe, which now seems quite possible, I might some day have the -pleasure of presenting him as a man. - -You wanted a thinking book; and I must confess that is now my own want: -I care only for a novel when it illustrates some new philosophical idea, -or when it possesses such art that it can be studied for the art alone. -Perhaps Lombroso would interest (and revolt) you at the same time: -Nordau is only a new edition of Lombroso, I think--a journalistic one. -I detest his generalizations, so far as I know them through extracts: -all being false that I have seen. Progress depends on variation; and the -morale of Nordau would lead to, or accentuate, already existing Chinese -notions in the conventional world, that all departures from formality -and humbug are to be explained by degeneration. Without having read it, -I should judge the book a shallow one,--much at variance with Spencer's -views on eccentricity and its values. Of the Italian school, Mantegazza -most appeals to me, and would, I think to you--though he is sentimental -as Michelet in "L'Amour." ... - -You think me too dissatisfied, don't you? It is true I am not satisfied, -and already unable to look at my former work. But the moment a man can -feel satisfied with himself, progress stops. He can only move along a -level afterwards; and I hope the level is still some years off. (I see -a possibility to strive for; but I am afraid even to speak of it--so -well out of reach it now is.) But what you will be glad to hear is that -my publishers are treating me well enough. I have up to September made -about 2000 yen (Japanese money), and prospects of making about 4000 in -1896. It is now largely a question of eyes. - -I visited the grave of Yuko Hatakeyama last week at Ky[=o]to,--and -saw all the touching relics of her, and of her suicide: also secured -copies of her letters, etc. A nice monument has been erected over her -resting-place by public subscription; and there was a little cup of tea -before the _sekito_ when I arrived. - -Needless to say that I am asked to send messages which could only be -spoiled by putting them into English, and my wife is ashamed, or at -least shy, of writing what she would like to write if possessing more -self-confidence in matters epistolary. But you will understand without -more words. - - Most gratefully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, December, 1895. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I suppose we have both been very busy--you with the -winter school-term, and I with my new book. I trust you got my last -letter, and that you know how grateful we feel to you for the advice and -help given to Mr. Takaki, and for smoothing matters. We are also anxious -to hear that you are well, and are hoping to see you this coming summer. - -As for the naturalization business, it seems to hang fire.[2] A couple -of months ago, there came to the house an official, who asked us -many questions. What he asked me was not important or interesting; -but his questions to Setsu were amusing. He enquired how long we had -been together--whether I had always been kind--whether she thought -I would always be good to her--whether she would be content always -to have such a husband--whether she was in earnest--whether she -had made the application of her own free will, or under pressure -from relations--whether I had not forced her to make such an -application--whether she held any property in my name. Afterwards -she had to go to some office where she was asked the same questions -over again. Since that time we have heard nothing. I am wondering -if my request (or her request, I should say) will be refused. I -suppose it could be; and I have not been over-prudent, for I did -not reply respectfully to the offer of a place of some sort in the -university--what kind of place I don't know--made through Kano,--and I -think Saionji has charge of the foreign business just now. Perhaps it is -all right;--the delay, however, has its legal vexations:--money-orders -having been made out, for example, in a Japanese name,--a little too -soon. What a funny thing it all is. - - [2] I am not sure if you know this expression;--it is said of a - gun or pistol which does not go off when the trigger is pulled. - -I made the acquaintance some ten days ago of Wadamori Kikujir[=o],--the -memory-man. He is a native of Shimane. I did all I could to please -him, and hope to do more. He gave me an exhibition of his wonderful -power,--and another exhibition to a small circle of foreigners to whom I -was able to introduce him. They were very much pleased. - -I think I told you that "Kokoro" is printed,--that is, in type. I am -waiting only for the proofs. I think you will get a copy in March or -April. Half of another Japanese book has been written, and part of -another book (not on Japanese subjects)--so you will see how hard I have -been working. Also my eyes are very much better. It seems to have been -a case of blood to the eyes; and a doctor told me that if I took violent -exercise I should get well. I did so,--and got quite well. I have only -now to be careful. - -Exercise was difficult at first; but now I am used to it. By exercising -every day, I have kept quite well. - -Kazuo, except for a cold, is all a father can imagine. He talks very -well now, and tries to draw a little. I must get rich for his sake if I -have any brains to make money. My friends in America and England predict -good fortune for me. I am not too hopeful; but I think it is much better -that I hereafter devote all my efforts to writing--until I find whether -I can do well by it. Should I succeed I can travel everywhere, and -Kazuo's education abroad would not be a cause of anxiety. - - Ever with warmest regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, December, 1895. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Eyes a little better, and courage reviving. Moreover I -enclose letter showing prospects in a better light. The book is to be -out in spring. - -My boy is beginning to talk, and to look better. He walks now. He has -much changed,--always growing fairer. I shall send a photo of him as -soon as I think the difference from his first chubby aspect becomes -apparent enough to interest you.... - -What succeeds like force?--eh? See what Japan has now become in the eyes -of the world! Yet that war was unjust, unnecessary. It was forced upon -Japan. She knew her strength. Her people wished to turn that strength -against European powers. Her rulers, more wisely, turned the storm -against China,--just to show the West what she could do, if necessary. -Thus she has secured her autonomy. But let no man believe Japan hates -China. China is her teacher and her Palestine. I anticipate a reaction -against Occidental influence after this war, of a very serious kind. -Japan has always hated the West--Western ideas, Western religion. She -has always loved China. Free of European pressure, she will assert her -old Oriental soul again. There will be no conversion to Christianity. -No! not till the sun rises in the West. And I hope to see a United -Orient yet bound into one strong alliance against our cruel Western -civilization. If I have been able to do nothing else in my life, I have -been able at least to help a little--as a teacher and as a writer, and -as an editor--in opposing the growth of what is called society and what -is called civilization. It is very little, of course,--but the gods -ought to love me for it. They ought to make me rich enough to go every -year for six months to uncivilized lands--such as Java, Borneo, etc. If -I have good luck with my books, I'll make a tropical trip next spring. - - Love to you, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--It is really queer, you know--this university. It is -imposing to look at,--with its relics of feudalism, to suggest the -picturesque past, surrounding a structure that might be in the city of -Boston, or in Philadelphia, or in London, without appearing at all out -of place. There is even a large, deserted, wood-shadowed Buddhist temple -in the grounds! - -The students have uniforms and peculiar caps with Chinese letters on -them; but only a small percentage regularly wear the uniform. The old -discipline has been relaxed; and there is a general return to sandals -and robes and _hakama_,--the cap alone marking the university man. - -About seventy-five per cent of the students ought not to be allowed in -the university at all for certain branches. Some who know no European -language but French attend German lectures on philosophy; some who -know nothing of any European language attend lectures on philology. -What is the university, then?--is it only a mask to impose upon the -intellectual West? No: it is the best Japan can do, but it has the -fault of being a gate to public office. Get through the university, and -you have a post--a start in life. Fancy the outside Oriental pressure -to force lads through--the influences intercrossing and fulminating! -Accordingly, the power within is little more than nominal. Who rules in -fact? Nobody exactly. Certainly the Directing President does not,--nor -do the heads of colleges, except in minor matters of discipline. -All, or nearly all, are graduates of German, English, or French or -American universities;--they know what ought to be--but they do only -what they can. Something nameless and invisible, much stronger than -they,--political perhaps, certainly social,--overawes the whole business. - -[Illustration: MR. HEARN'S GARDEN IN T[=O]KY[=O]] - -I ought not to say anything, and won't _except to you_. No foreign -professor says much,--even after returning home. None have had just -cause to complain of treatment received. Besides, if things were as they -are in the West, I wouldn't be allowed to teach (there would be a demand -for a "Christian" _and_ gentleman). I lecture on subjects which I do not -understand; and yet without remorse, because I know just enough to steer -those who know much less. After a year or two I shall probably be more -fit for the position. - -Studying in one class, for a university text, Tennyson's "Princess" -(my selection); in another, "Paradise Lost,"--the students wanted it, -because they heard it was difficult. They are beginning to perceive that -it is unspeakably difficult for them. (Remember, they know nothing of -Christian mythology or history.) I lecture on the Victorian poets, etc., -and on special themes,--depending a good deal on dictation. - -Only two and one half miles from the university. Seas of mud between. -One hour daily to go, and one to return by jinrikisha!--agony -unspeakable. But I have one joy. No one ever dreams of coming to see -me. To do so one should have webbed feet and be able to croak and to -spawn,--or else one should become a bird. It has rained for three months -almost steadily;--some of the city is under water: the rest is partly -under mud. And to increase the amphibious joy, half the streets are torn -open to put down Western water-mains. They will yawn thus, probably, for -years to come. - -The professors I have seen few of. I send you two books; notice the -charming pictures to "Inoshima." Florenz is a Magister Artium Liberalium -of Heidelberg, I think,--fat and good-natured and a little--odd. There -is a Russian professor of philosophy, Von Koeber,--a charming man and a -divine pianist. There is a go-and-be-damned-to-you American professor -of law.... There is a Jesuit priest, Emile Heck,--professor of French -literature. There is a Buddhist priest, professor of Buddhism. There -is an anti-Christian thinker and really great philosopher, Inoue -Tetsujir[=o],--lectures against Western Christianity, and on Buddhism. -There is an infidel,--a renegade,--a man lost to all sense of shame -and decency, called Lafcadio Hearn, professing atheism and English -Literature and various villainous notions of his own. - -The Jesuit I did not want to know. I am afraid of Jesuits. Out of the -corner of mine cyclops-eye I looked upon him. Elegantly dressed,--with a -beard enormous, bushy, majestic, black as hell,--and a small keen bright -black caressing demoniac eye. The Director, who knows not, introduced -me!--oh! ah! Embarrassed at the thought of my own thoughts contrasted -with the perfect courtesy of the man. Blundered;--spoke atrocious -French; gave myself away; got questioned without receiving any idea in -return except an idea of admiration for generous courtesy and very quick -piercing keenness. Felt uncomfortable all day after--talked to myself -as if I had still before me the half-shut Jesuit eye and the vast and -voluminous beard. _Et le fin au prochain numero,--ou plus tard._ - - L. H. - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, January, 1896. - -DEAR PAGE,--What a pleasure your letter was--in spite of the -typewriting! How shall I answer it? From the end backwards,--as the last -was the most pleasant. - -Of course it was _really_ long ago that we used to sit -together--sometimes in your office, sometimes upon a doorstep, -sometimes at a little marble-topped table somewhere over a glass of -something,--and talk such talk as I never talked since. It is very -nearly ten years ago. That is quite true. But you say that my flitting -has been my gain, and that I have made myriads of friends by my books. -That is not quite so true as you think. You think so only because you -have still the heart of the old Southern gentleman,--the real aristo. -and soldier,--the man who said exactly what he thought, and expected -other people to do the same, and lived in a world where people did so. -That is why also you remain for me quite distinct and different from -other men: you have never lost your ideals--therefore you can remain -ideal to others, as you will always do to me. But you are enormously -mistaken in supposing that I have made myriads of friends, or gained -anything--except what one gains by disillusion, and the change that -comes with the care and love of others: this, of course, is gain. But -book-success! No: it seems to me just the reverse. The slightest success -has to be very dearly paid for. It brings no friends at all, but many -enemies and ill-wishers. It brings letters from autograph-hunters, -and letters enclosing malicious criticisms, and letters requesting -subscriptions to all sorts of shams, and letters of invitation to -join respectable-humbug societies, and requests to call on people who -merely want to gratify the meanest sort of curiosity,--that which -views a fellow creature _only_ as a curiosity. Then, of course, there -are uncounted little tricks and advertising dodges to be avoided like -pitfalls,--and extravagant pretences of sympathy, often so clever as to -seem really genuine, made for utilitarian purposes. Then there are all -sorts of little snobberies and patronizings and disappointments. And -after the work is done, it soon begins to get shabby and threadbare in -memory; and I pick it up and wonder how I could have written it, and -marvel how anybody could have bought it, and find that the criticisms -which I didn't like were nearly all true. Sometimes I feel good, and -think I have really done well; but that very soon passes, and in a day -or two I find I have been all wrong, and sure never to write anything -quite right. - -The fact seems to be that when ideals go away, writing becomes mere -downright hard work; and the reward of the pleasure of finishing it is -not for me, because I have nobody to talk to about it, and nobody to -take it up, and read it infinitely better than I could do myself. The -most delightful criticisms I ever had were your own readings aloud of my -vagaries in the _T.-D_. office, after the proofs came down. How I should -like to have that experience once more--just to hear you read something -of mine quite fresh from the composition-room,--with the wet sharp inky -smell still on the paper! - -But I suppose I have gained otherwise. You also. For there is something -in everybody--the best of him, too, isn't it?--which only unfolds in him -when he has to think about his double,--the other self to which he has -given existence; and then he sees things differently. I suppose you do. -I imagine you must now be ever so much more lovable than you used to -be--but that you have less of yourself proportionately to give away. If -I were in New Orleans I don't think that I could coax you to talk after -a fixed hour: you would say, "--! it's after twelve o'clock: I must be -off!" - -What you write about little Miss Constance is very sweet. I hope soon to -send her some Japanese fairy-tales written by your humble servant;--that -is, I _hope_; for the T[=o]ky[=o] publisher is awfully slow in getting -them out. You have had anxiety, I find. But the delicacy that causes it -means a highly complex nervous organization; and the anxieties will be -well compensated, I fancy, later on. She will become, judging from the -suggestion of that gold-head in the photograph, almost too beautiful: -I hope to see another photograph later on. I shall send one of Kazuo -in a few days. We were terribly frightened about him,--for he caught a -serious cold on the lungs; but after a few weeks he picked up well. He -gets taller, and every day surprises us with some new observation. He -seems to get fairer always instead of darker--nobody now ever takes him -to be a Japanese boy. He is very jealous of his mother,--won't allow -me to monopolize her for even five minutes; and I am no longer master -in my own house. Servants and relatives and grandparents, they all -obey him,--and pay no attention at all to my wishes unless they happen -to be in harmony with his own. Certainly Japanese people are kinder -to children than any other people in the world,--too good altogether. -Still, they do not spoil children,--for as a general rule they manage -to make them grow up strangely, incomprehensibly obedient. I don't -understand it,--except as heredity: indeed, I may as well frankly say -that the longer I live in Japan, the less I know about the Japanese. -"That is a sign," says one Oriental friend, "that you are beginning to -understand. It is only when a foreigner confesses he knows nothing about -us that there is some reason to expect he will understand us later on." - -About the letters, I need only say, perhaps, that I shall give you the -best of what I write this year (excepting, of course, essays on Buddhist -philosophy, or stuff of that sort, which would be out of place, no -doubt, in a newspaper). I may include a few little stories.... - -"Kokoro" ought to reach you next March. It is rather a crazy book; but I -wish I could hear you _read_ one or two pages in it.... - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO OCHIAI - - K[=O]BE, February, 1896. - -DEAR OCHIAI,--I am delighted that you have taken up medicine, for two -reasons. First, it will assure your independence--your ability to -maintain yourself, and to help your people. Secondly, it will change all -your ideas about the world we live in, and will make you large-minded -in many ways, if you study well. For in these days, you cannot study -medicine without studying many different branches of science--chemistry, -which will oblige you to understand something of the nature of the -great mystery of matter,--physiology, which will show you that the -most ordinary human body is full of machinery more wonderful than any -genius ever invented,--biology, which will give you perceptions of the -eternal laws which shape all form and regulate all motion,--histology, -which will show you that all life is shaped, after methods that no -man can understand, out of one substance into millions of different -forms,--embryology, which will teach you how the whole history of a -species or a race is shown in the development of the individual, as -organ after organ unfolds and develops in the wonderful process of -growth. The study of medicine is, to a large extent, the study of the -universe and of universal laws,--and makes a better man of any one who -is intelligent enough to master its principles. Of course you must -learn to love it,--because no man can do anything really great with a -subject that he does not like. There are many very horrible things in -it which you will have to face; but you must not be repelled by these, -because the facts behind them are very beautiful and wonderful. There -is so much in medicine--such a variety of subjects, that you will have -a wide choice before you in case some particular branch should not be -attractive to you. - -Also do not forget that your knowledge of English will be of great use -to you in medicine, and that, if you love literature, medicine will give -you plenty of chance to indulge that love. (Some of our best foreign -authors, you know, have been practising physicians.) In K[=o]be I find -that some of the best Japanese doctors find English very useful to them, -not only in their practice, but also in their private studies. But you -will also have to learn German; and that language will open to you a -very wonderful literature, if you like literature--not to speak of the -scientific advantages of German, which are unrivalled. - -Well, I trust to hear good news from you later on. Take great care of -your health, I beg of you, and believe me ever anxious for your success. - - Very truly always, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, February, 1896. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--I should have answered your kindest letter before now -but for illness,--so I only sent a photo of Kazuo, as I had a cold in -my eyes, nose, chest, back; a most atrocious and damnable cold, which -rendered any work out of the question. - -Mr. Katayama--dear Mr. Katayama--wrote a charming little poem. I am -going to have a large copy made of it, and have it mounted as a little -_kakemono_, for a souvenir. I love all these funny little things: they -are the real Japan--the humour and the kindness and the grace of it. As -for the so-called New Japan,--with its appearance of Occidentalism, and -its utter loss of the old poetry and the old courtesy--well, however -necessary it may be, it is certainly as much of a moral loss as it is a -material advance. I wish I could live somewhere out of the sight and the -sound of all that is new. - -I had a letter from Ochiai, which I shall answer in a day or so;--for -the moment I am behind with all my correspondence. What can be the -matter with the lad? He did not tell me the nature of his sickness. -I am really sorry for him. Strangely enough, on the very same day, -I had a letter from one of the cleverest of the Kumamoto students, -who seemed a tower of strength, but who has broken down after a year -at the university. Some students I liked have gone mad; numbers have -died; numbers have had to give up. The strain is too great because -the hardship is too great,--the cold, the poor cheap food, the poor -thin clothes. "Hardy" the lads claim to be. So naturally they are--much -hardier than Europeans in certain respects. But some knowledge of -physiology seems to be needed in Government schools. No man--however -strong--can keep hardy while the heavy strain of study is unsupported -by good living. I think most of the lads I know who died or went mad -would never have even fallen sick if they had had only hard physical -labour. Physical labour is not dangerous, but strengthening. And in the -Government schools there is no feeling for the lads: everybody has to do -the best he can for himself. Those who do get through the mill are not -always the best--though they may be the strongest. - - Ever, with best regards of all of us, - LAFCADIO HEARN (KOIZUMI YAKUMO). - - - TO PAGE M. BAKER - - K[=O]BE, March, 1896. - -DEAR PAGE,--I have your exquisite photo of Constance--like a bit -of marble it is.... And I have your letter--a very dear letter, -though--excuse me--I cannot help hating the typewriter! - -I have been very sick with inflammation of the lungs, and unable to -move until recently. But I shall soon, I hope, be able to send you -something.... - -About my name. Koizumi is a family name: I take my wife's name as -her husband by adoption--the only way in which I could become a -Japanese citizen. Koizumi means "little spring" or "little source." -The other name means "many clouds," and is an alternate poetical -name for Izumo, the "Place of the Issuing of Clouds." For I became a -citizen of the province of Izumo, where I am officially registered. The -word is also the first word of the most ancient poem in the Japanese -language--referring to a legend of the sacred records. _Please do not -publish this!_ it is a little private matter, and the whole explanation, -though read at a glance by a Japanese, would require many pages to make -clear. As to your other question, I always wear the Japanese dress at -home or in the interior. In K[=o]be or the large cities I wear Western -clothes when I go on the street; because it does not do there for a man -with a long nose to be too "Japanesey"--there has been a surplus of -"Japanesey" display on the part of foreigners of the jocose class. I am -Japanese only among Japanese.... - -And you have been very sick too. Do you know that I am often worried by -the fear that one of us might die before we meet again? I very often -think about you. Please take every care of yourself,--all the outing -you can. I think, though, you are a long-lived tough race--you Bakers; -and that Page M. Baker will be writing some day an obituary of Lafcadio -Hearn that was,--with many pleasant observations which the said Lafcadio -never deserved and never will deserve. - -You think I am misanthropic--no, not exactly; but I do feel an intense -hatred for the business class of Northern mankind. You know I never -could learn much about them till I was ass enough to go North.... And -you will remember that settled dislikes or likes come to this creature -at intervals--never thereafter to depart. My last horror--one that I can -scarcely bear--is what is called "business correspondence." That is why -I say that I dislike the sight of typewriting--though I assure you, dear -Page, I am glad to get a line from you written or printed in any way, -shape, or form. - -Ghosts! After getting your letter last night I dreamed. Do you remember -that splendid Creole who used to be your city editor--whose voice seemed -to come up from a well, a lover of music and poetry and everything -nice? John----? Is it not a sin that I have forgotten his name? Next -to yourself I see him, however, more distinctly than any other figure -of the old days. He recited "The Portrait" of Owen Meredith in that -caressing abysmal voice of his. Last night I was talking to him. He sat -in a big chair in the old office, and told me wonderful things,--which I -could not recall on waking; but I was vaguely annoyed by the fact that -he "avoided the point." So I interrupted, and said: "But you do not tell -me--you are dead--is there ..." I only remember saying that. Then the -light in his eyes went out, and there was nothing. I woke up in the dark -and wondered. - -For six years in Japan I have been walking up and down--over matted -floors--by myself, just as I used to do in that room you wrote me from. -Curiously, my little boy has the same habit. It is very difficult to -make him keep still at meal-time. He likes to take a nibble or sup of -something, then walk up and down, or run, then another nibble, etc.--I -hope the gods will save him from adopting other former habits of mine, -which are less innocent, when he grows up:--for example, if he should -take a foolish fancy to every damozel in his path. However, I expect -that his mother's strong common-sense, which he seems to inherit, will -counterbalance the fantasticalities bequeathed him by me.... It has only -been since his entrance into this world that I fully realize what a -"disgraceful person" I used to be. - -I live pretty much alone--have no foreign friends and very few Japanese -friends outside of my family, which numbers, however, a good many dear -souls. How isolated I have managed to be you can imagine from the fact -that sometimes for months no one sees me except home-folks. I work -when I can; and when I cannot I bury myself in studies--philosophical -studies: you can scarcely believe how they interest me now, and I find -worlds of inspiration in them--new perceptions of commonplace fact. I -try not to worry, and let things take their course. Probably next year -I shall be leading a busier life; but I don't know whether Japanese -officialism can be endured for any great length of time. I had one -dose of it too much already. The people are the best in the world; the -military and naval men are _men_, and generally _braves garcons_.... - -The old men are divine: I do not know any other word to express what -they are. When you meet a horrid Japanese, though, there is a distorted -quality about him that makes him a unique monster--he is like an awry -caricature of a Western mean fellow, without the vim and push--solid -contemptibility _in petto_. You can scarcely imagine what he may be. -Every transition period has its peculiar monsters. - -I wonder, wonder, wonder whether I shall see you again,--and walk -up and down on that cocoanut matting,--and make noises through the -speaking-tube leading to the composing-room. Perhaps I could make some -sketches of American life better now--after having looked back at it -from this distance of eight thousand odd miles.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - K[=O]BE, April, 1896. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--It made me happy to get your letter, and to hear -from you that you think I am beginning to understand the Japanese a -little better. My other books have had success in Europe as well as -America;--the leading French review (_Revue des Deux Mondes_) had a -long article about me; and the _Spectator_, the _Athenaeum_, the _Times_ -and other English journals have been kind. Still, I am not foolish -enough to take the praise for praise of fact,--feeling my own ignorance -more and more every day, and being more pleased with the approval of -a Japanese friend than with the verdict of a foreign reviewer, who, -necessarily, knows nothing to speak of about Japan. But one thing _is_ -encouraging,--namely, that whatever I write about Japan hereafter will -be widely read in Europe and elsewhere,--so that I may be able to do -good. My first book is being translated into German. - -I got a beautiful letter from Mr. Senke the other day, to which he has, -I trust, by this time the answer,--in which I told him that I hope to -see Matsue and Kizuki again in about another month. Setsu, mother, and -the boy come with me. Kazuo is now much better--except morally;--he is -more mischievous than ever. I want him to have as much of the sea this -summer as he can bear. And I want to swim at Kizuki and Mionoseki, and -to talk to you all I can--without tiring you. - -I have been away. I have been at Ise, Futami, and nearly a week in -[=O]saka. Ise disappointed me a little. The scenery is superb; but -I like Kizuki better. At Ise there is so much money,--such enormous -hotels,--such modernization: the place did not _feel_ holy to me, as -Kizuki did. Even the _miko_ won't show their faces for less than five -yen. Besides, it was bitterly cold, and hurt my lungs. I came back sick. -[=O]saka delighted me beyond words. Excepting Ky[=o]to, it is certainly -the most interesting city on this side of Japan. And I could never -tell you how Tenn[=o]ji delighted me--what a queer, dear old temple. -I went to Sakai, of course,--and bought a sword, and saw the grave of -the eleven samurai of Tosa who had to commit _seppuku_ for killing some -foreigners,--and told them I wished they could come back again to -kill a few more who are writing extraordinary lies about Japan at this -present moment. I would rather live a month in [=O]saka than ten years -free of rent in T[=o]ky[=o]. - -Speaking of T[=o]ky[=o] reminds me to tell you that my engagement with -the university is not yet assured. Day before yesterday I had a letter -from Professor Toyama that my becoming a Japanese citizen had raised -a difficulty "which," he wrote, "we must manage to get over somehow." -I wrote him that I was not worried about the matter, and had never -allowed myself to consider it very seriously,--hinting also that I would -not accept any low salary. What he will next write I don't know, and -don't very much care. If Matsue were a little warmer in winter I should -rather be teaching there. Indeed I think that even after a few years in -T[=o]ky[=o], I should be asking to get back to Matsue; and in any event -I hope to make a home there. If I can get such a _yashiki_ as I had--I -mean buy one for my own home--Matsue would be a very happy place to work -and study in. Besides, if my health keeps fair, I can hope eventually -to be able to travel in the coldest winter months, and then the Matsue -climate would make no difference for me. In summer it is delicious. Even -Setsu now thinks it better to live in the interior; and I shall be glad -to escape from the open ports. I have seen enough of the foreigners -here, and like them less than ever. - -I should certainly like Mr. Asai very much, from your charming account -of him; and, at any rate, I expect to see both you and him within -forty days from this writing. If you think he would like a copy of -"Kokoro" it will make me very happy to send him one. As he has studied -philosophy, however, I don't know what he will think of the chapters -on the Idea of Preexistence and the Worship of Ancestors. You know the -school of thought that I follow is bitterly opposed; and I believe it is -not honestly taught in any English establishment. In one or two American -universities it is partly taught; but only the French have given it -really fair attention abroad. - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - -P. S. It made me feel queer to be addressed by Prof. Toyama as "Mr. -Yakumo Koizumi"! - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Somebody (who, I do not know) has been sending me -books. Did you send me a book by Richard LeGallienne? I thought Mrs. -Rollins had sent it, and I wrote to her nice things about it, which -vexed her into sending me a very sharp criticism of it (she _is_ a -critic), and proving me to have praised a worthless book out of liking -for the sender! Where am I? I am certainly wrong. I did think the -book nice because of my belief that she sent it; and I am now equally -convinced that it isn't nice at all, because she proved that it was -not. I should certainly make a bad critic if I were acquainted with -authors and their friends. One sees what does not exist wherever one -loves or hates. As I am rather a creature of extremes, I should be an -extremely crooked-visioned judge of work. I have not tried to answer -Mrs. Rollins's letter--fact is, I _can't_. - -No: the head on the title-page of "Kokoro" is not Kazuo, but the head -of a little boy called Takaki. The photograph was soft and beautiful, -and showed an uncommonly intellectual type of Japanese head. The -woodcut is rather coarse and hard.--But I enclose a third edition of -Kazuo: he is growing a little better-looking, but is not so strong -as I could wish; and he is so sensitive that I am very much worried -about his future. Physical pain he bears well enough; but a mere look, -a careless word, a moment of unconscious indifference is fire to his -little soul. I don't know what to do with him. If he shows the artistic -temperament I shall try to educate him in Italy or France. With an -emotional nature one is happier among Latins. I confess that I can only -bear the uncommon types of Englishmen, Germans, and Americans,--the -conventional types simply drive me wild. On the other hand, I can feel -at home with even a villain, if he be Spaniard, Italian, or French. -According to evolutionary doctrine, however, it seems not unlikely -that the Latin races will be squeezed out of existence in the future -pressure of civilization. They cannot hold their own against the -superior massiveness of the Northern races,--who, unfortunately, have no -art-feeling at all. They will be absorbed, I suppose. In the industrial -invasion of the barbarians, the men will be quietly starved to death, -and the women taken by the conquerors. History will repeat itself -without blood and shrieks. - -What is the present matter with American civilization? Nearly all the -clever American authors seem to be women, and most of them have to go -"out of town" for their studies of life. American city-life seems to -wither and burn up everything. There is something of the same sort -noticeable in England--the authors have to go out of England. Of -course, there are some great exceptions--like James and Mallock. But -how many great writers deal with civilized life as it is? They go to -the Highlands, like Black and Barrie,--or to Italy, like Crawford,--or -to strange countries, like Kipling;--but who to-day would write "A -London Romance"? This brings up another question. What is the meaning -of English literary superiority? It is all very well to howl about the -copyright question, and the shameful treatment of American authors; but -what American authors have we to compare with the English? Excepting -women like Mrs. Deland and Miss Jewett and Mrs. Phelps, etc.,--what -American writers can touch English methods? James is certainly our -best;--so London steals him; but he stands alone. America has no one -like a dozen,--nay, a score of English writers that might be named. -It certainly is not a question of remuneration; for real high ability -is always sooner or later able to get all it asks for. It must be an -effect of American city-life, and American training, and American -environment;--perhaps over-education has something to do with it. -Again--English work is so massive--even at its worst: the effort made is -always so much _larger_. Perhaps we do things too _fast_. The English -are slow and exact. I am told that the other Northern races are still -somewhat behind--always excepting great Russia. But in the France of -1896, what is doing? The greatest writers of the age are dead or silent. -Is not our horrible competitive civilization at last going to choke all -aspirational life into silence? After the Du Maurier school, what will -even England be able to do? Alfred Austin after Alfred Tennyson! - -These are my thoughts sometimes;--then, again, I think of a possible -new idealism,--a new prodigious burst of faith and passion and song -greater than anything Victorian;--and I remember that all progress is -rhythmical. But if this comes, it will be only, I fear, after we have -been dust for a century. - -I feel this is an awfully stupid letter. But I'll write a better one -soon. My best wishes for your big, big, _big_ success. They will be -realized, I think. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - MIONOSEKI, IZUMO, July, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have just had a most delightful letter from you. Your -letters are full of witty flashes and curious observation. As they -contain personal portraits, I make it a duty to burn them; but I regret -it--like a destruction of the artistic. The rapid sketches they give -of the most extraordinary bits of character, in the midst of the most -extraordinary and complicated life of the century, are such as only one -having your own most peculiar opportunities could make. - -Do you ever reflect how much more of life you are able to see in one -month than the ordinary mortal in twenty-five years? You belong to a -purely modern school of travelling observers. Fifty years ago such -experiences were not possible--at least upon any scale to speak of. - -But why is it that the most extraordinary experiences of business men -are never written? Is it because, like the scholarly specialist who -knows too much about literature to make any literature, they see too -much of the wonderful to feel it? The astounding for others is for them -the commonplace,--perhaps. Or perhaps they are not sympathetic like your -friend Macy,--have no inclination to apply the philosophy of relations -to what they see and study? - -I have been sick--eyes and lungs;--and now I am in an Izumo -fishing-village to recruit. I swim in the harbour every day for about -five hours, and am burnt all over in all colours, and getting thinner -and stronger. There are no tables here, and I have to write on the floor. - - With best love and felicitations, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - AUGUST, 1896. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--We got back on the night of the twenty-third. We had -to wait a couple of days at Sakai; and I had some more swimming. Dr. -Takahashi was very much surprised at my condition. He said that my lungs -had become perfectly well, and that the swimming had brought out all -the chest-muscles again in an extraordinary way--considering the time -in which it had happened. He tells me to go to the sea whenever I feel -pulled down again. - -Sakai is a queer place for swimming. The currents change three times -every day, and twice at least become very strong. One who cannot swim -far has to be careful. Straws in the water show the way of the current -near shore; but in the middle there are cross-currents going the other -way. - -There were eight foreign officers on the Meiji Maru. They were very kind -to us. The captain (his name is Poole) was decorated with the 3d Order -of the Rising Sun (I think) and got a present of $2000 for services -during the war,--the transport-service, of course. He told me some very -interesting things about the behaviour of the soldiery,--very nice -things. - -I felt unhappy at the [=O]hashi, because you waited so long, and I had -no power to coax you to go home. I can still see you sitting there -so kindly and patiently,--in the great heat of that afternoon. Write -soon,--if only a line in Japanese,--to tell us how you are. - -Kaji-_chan_ remembers you, and sends his little greeting to Nishida-San -no Oji-San. We all hope to have another summer with you next year. - -Ever faithfully, with warmest regards of all, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I still see you sitting at the wharf to watch us go. I think I shall -always see you there. - -[Illustration] - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I am in immediate and awful need of books, and -am going to ask you to put me into communication with a _general -book-dealer_ to whom I can send P. O. orders, and who will mail me books -directly on receipt of cash. It is hopeless ordering through local -book-dealers,--not simply because of charges and errors, but because -of enormous delays. On a separate sheet I enclose some titles of what -I badly want for the moment; and I am sending some cash. This said, I -promise not to trouble you further _except when I can't help it_. See -what a nuisance I am! - -You may well believe me in a hurry when I send a letter with such -a beginning. Imagine my position:--a professor of literature -without books, improvising lectures to students without books. I -reached T[=o]ky[=o] about seven days ago, and have not yet got a -house,--but am living in a hotel. At present I can give you no valid -impressions:--everything is a blur. But so far the position does not -seem disagreeable--rather the reverse. In fact I am afraid to express -my satisfaction,--remembering Polyxenes. The salary is 400 yen,--and in -Japan, a yen is a dollar though it is only fifty-odd cents in America. -Old pupils of Izumo and elsewhere gather round me, welcoming me, -delighted--some needing help and winning it--some needing only sympathy. -Professors far off, moving in separate and never-colliding orbits. I can -teach for years--if I please--without ever seeing any of my colleagues. -But Government favour, you know, is uncertain. The chances are that I -shall hold on for three years at least. - -When I heard last from you I was in Izumo. There I became very strong by -constant swimming and starving,--Japanese diet takes all the loose flesh -from a man in short order. My lungs got quite sound, and my miserable -eye _nearly_ well. - -I suppose that I partly owe this place to my books, and partly to -Professor Chamberlain's kind recommendation. The Japanese seldom notice -literary work,--but they have paid considerable attention to mine, -considering that I am a foreigner. My ambition, though, is independence -in my own home,--an old-fashioned _yashiki_, full of surprises of -colour and beauty and quaintness and peace. And a few years abroad -with my boy,--who is very mischievous now, and beats his father -occasionally.--Curious, how much better the Japanese understand children -than we do. You remember as a boy the obligatory morning _dip_ in the -sea, no doubt. This no Japanese parents would inflict on their child. -I tried it with mine, but the folks said, "That is wrong: it will only -make him afraid of the water." Which proved true. Moreover, he would not -allow me to come near him any more in the sea,--but used to order me to -keep away. "Go away, and don't come back any more." Then the grandmother -took him in charge; and in a week he was as fond of the water as I,--had -overcome his fear of it. But it requires great patience to treat -children Japanese-style,--by leaving them _almost_ free to follow their -natural impulses, and coaxing courage by little and little. - -Awful weather,--floods, wreckings, ruinings, drownings. I think the -deforestation of the country is probably the cause of these terrible -visitations. In K[=o]be just before I left, the river, usually a dry -sandbed, burst its banks after rain, swept away whole streets, wrecked -hundreds of houses, and drowned about a hundred people. Then you know -the tidal wave in the north--it was _only_ 200 miles long--destroyed -some 30,000 lives. A considerable part of East Central Japan is still -under water at this moment--river water. Lake Biwa rose and drowned the -city of [=O]tsu. - -Isn't it almost wicked of me to have fought for a foreign salary -under such circumstances?--especially while students come to tell -me: "My father and mother have educated me thus far by selling all -their property,--piece by piece,--even mother's dresses and our -lacquer-ware had to be sold. And now we have nothing, and my education -is unfinished--and unless it is finished I cannot even hope for a -position. Teacher, I shall work six years to pay the money back, if you -will help me." Poor fellows!--their whole expense is only about $120 -(Japanese) a year. But if I did not take the salary, another foreigner -would ask even more; and I am working for a Japanese community of my -own. Buying books is rather extravagant, but my literary work pays for -that. - -Well, here's love to you. (If the book-business does not bother you too -much, please tell the book-dealer to mail _everything_,--not to send by -express.) - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - (Y. KOIZUMI.) - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - OCTOBER, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have two unanswered letters from you--delayed in -reaching me because of my change of residence. One is only a glorious -shout of joy and sympathy;--the other describes charmingly the incidents -and sensations of your Nova Scotia days. It struck me while reading it -that the great pleasure each of you had was in watching the display of -the powers and the graces of the other, in the new field,--and from -thinking about that I began to think of my own experiences. I believe -that my happiest glows of sympathetic admiration have been felt under -somewhat like circumstances. If one's friend is a fine keen man, and -one is proud of him, what greater enjoyment than to see him face the -unfamiliar and watch him dealing with it _en maitre_,--turning it this -way and that with symmetrical ease,--and winning all he wants with a -smile or a bright jest? The pleasure of watching a play is nothing to -it. And again, what _novel_ (it is always new, you know)--what novel -delight that of seeing a soldier, a man of business, or even a "man of -God," turning into a boy under the mere joyous bath of air and sun and -summer air out of town! It gives one a larger sense of humanity, and a -sort of awe at the omnipotent magic of Nature. - -Well, I have a house,--a large, but, I regret to say, not beautiful -house in T[=o]ky[=o]. There is no garden,--no surprises,--no -delicacies,--no chromatic contrasts: a large bald utilitarian house, -belonging to a man who owns eight hundred Japanese houses, and looks -after them all at seventy-eight years of age. He was a sake-brewer: he -is now good to the poor,--buries free of charge the head of any family -unable to pay the expenses of a Buddhist funeral. He looked at my boy -and played with him and said: "You are too pretty,--you ought to have -been a girl. When you get a little older you will be studying things you -ought not to study,--pulling girls about, and doing mischief." (Because -he used to be an old rascal himself.) But he set me thinking. I don't -think K. will be very handsome; but if he feels like his father about -pretty girls,--what shall I do with him? Marry him at 17 or 19? Or send -him to grim and ferocious Puritans that he may be taught the Way of the -Lord? I am now beginning to think that really much of ecclesiastical -education (bad and cruel as I used to imagine it) is founded upon the -best experience of man under civilization; and I understand lots of -things which I used to think superstitious bosh, and now think solid -wisdom. Don't have children (Punch's advice is the same, you know) -unless you want to discover new Americas.... - -In haste to give a lecture on _ballad_ literature(!). - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I have had several delightful letters from you, some of -which were not answered in detail, though deserving to be. Let me see -about my deficiencies in acknowledging your letters during recent hurry -and flurry:--That sermon, belonging to the 13th--or perhaps the 10th -century--was really an amazement. Thanks for kindly note about Lowell's -words of praise.... - -As for the university. Because the shadow of the Jesuit, broadening back -through the centuries, is very black, and because I saw stake-fires in -it, I didn't relish the idea of his acquaintance. But that _had_ to -come, you know. There was a weary matriculation ceremony at which all -of us had to be present; and it was purely Japanese, so that we could -not understand it. We had to sit for three hours and listen. So I and -the Jesuit, for want of anything else to do, got into a religious -discussion; and I found him charming. Of course, he said that every -thought which I thought was heresy,--that all the philosophy of the -19th century was false,--that everything accomplished by free thought -and Protestantism was folly leading to ruin. But we had sympathies -in common,--the contempt of religion as convention, scorn of the -missionaries, and just recognition of the sincerely and profoundly -religious character of the Japanese,--denied, of course, by the -ordinary class of missionary jackasses. Then we were both amused by the -architecture of the university. It is ecclesiastical, of course,--and -the pinnacles and angles are tipped with cruciform ornaments. "C'est -tout-a-fait comme un monastere," said my comrade of the beard;--"et -ceci,--on en fera une assez jolie eglise. _Et pourtant ce n'est pas -l'esprit Chretien qui_," etc. His irony was delicious, and the laughter -broke the ice. - -Now comes a queer fact. The existing group of professors in the Library -college who keep a little together are the Professor of Philosophy -(Heidelberg), the Professor of Sanscrit and Philology (Leipsig), the -Professor of French Literature (Lyons), and the Professor of English -Literature--from the devil knows where. There is little affiliation -outside. Now all this group is--including myself--Roman Catholic -by training. Why it is, I can't say, except the Jesuit, we are not -believers,--but there is a human something separating us from the -_froid protestantisme_, or the hard materialism of the other foreign -professors,--something warmer and more natural. Is it not the _Latin_ -feeling surviving in Catholicism,--and humanizing paganly what it -touches?--penetrating all of us--the Russian, the German, the Frenchman, -and L. H., through early association? Really there is neither art nor -warm feeling nor the spirit of human love in the stock Protestantism -of to-day.--I regret to say, however, that I have no Spencerian -sympathizer. In my beliefs and tendencies I stand alone; and the Jesuit -marvels at the astounding insanity of my notions. He, like all of his -tribe, does not quite know how to take the American. The American -Professor of Law--enormously self-sufficient, and aggressive--rather -embarrasses him. I saw him wilt a little before him; and I like him all -the better for it,--as he is certainly very delicate, and his shrinking -was largely due to this delicacy. But all these are only impressions of -the moment. - -As a member of the faculty, I have to sometimes attend faculty meetings, -called for various purposes. One of the purposes was to decide the -fate of a certain German Professor of History--not nominally for the -purpose, but really. I could not help the professor, and I felt that -he was really unnecessary--not to speak of $500 per mensem. I do not -think his contract will be renewed. I did not like the man very much: -he is a worshipper of Virchow and an enemy of English psychology, etc., -_ipso facto_. We could have no sympathies. But I was startled by the -fashion in which those who professed to be his friends suddenly went -back upon him, when they saw the drift of things. The drift was given -by the Japanese Professor of Philosophy (Buddhist and other),--a fine, -lean, keen, soft-spoken, persistent champion of Japanese national -conservatism, and a good honest hater of sham Christianity. I like him: -his name is Inoue Tetsujir[=o]. He very sensibly observed that he saw -no reason why foreign professors should forever teach _history_ in a -Japanese university,--or why students should be obliged to listen to -lectures not in their native tongue. I felt he was right; but it meant -the doom of nearly all foreign teaching. (Perhaps I shall last for some -years more, and the professors of foreign _languages_--but the rest will -certainly go before long.) - -I said to my little self: "Don't expect any love from those quarters, -old fellow: the Japanese themselves will treat you more frankly, even -if they get to hate you." I have no doubt whatever that there will -be as much said against _me_ as _dare_ be said. Happily, however, my -engagement is based on Japanese _policy_--kindly policy--with a strong -man behind it; and mere tongue-thrusts will do me no harm at all in the -present order of things. - -"Sufficient for the day is," etc. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1896. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I fear--I suspect that this position has been given unto -me for a combination of reasons, among which the dominant is that I may -write at ease many books about Japan. This has two unfortunate aspects. -Firstly, the people who do not know what labour literary work is imagine -that books can be written by the page as quickly as letters, and keep -asking me why I don't get out another book--that means the Influence of -Hurry-Scurry. Secondly, I am plunged into a world of which the highest -possible effort in poetry seems to be this:-- - - "_Sometimes I hear your flute, - But I never can see your face, - O beautiful Oiterupe!_" - -Who is Oiterupe? Euterpe, of course. And this represents, I do assure -you, the very highest possible result of a Western education at -Goettingen, etc., upon the mind of the modern Japanese poet. Formerly -he would have said something. Now he is struck dumb by--Heidelberg or -Goettingen. - -I have only twelve hours a week in which to teach; but, as I told -you before, there are no text-books, and the university will not buy -any; and the general standard of English is so low that I am sure not -half of my classes understand what I say. Worst of all, there is no -discipline. The students are virtually the masters in certain matters: -the authorities fear their displeasure, and they do things extraordinary -which fill European professors with amazement and rage--such as -_ordering_ different hours for their lectures, and demanding after a -menacing fashion subscriptions for their various undertakings. Fancy the -following colloquy:-- - -Professor--"But this is not a case of distress: I don't think a -professor should be asked for money where money is not needed--and -then--" - -Student--"The question is simply, will you pay or will you not?" - -Professor--"I have told you my ideas about--" - -Student--"I am not interested in your ideas. Will you or will you not?" - -Professor (flushing with anger, like Sigurd the Bishop)--"No." - -Student turns his back upon professor, and walks away with the air of -one going to prepare for a vendetta. - -I have told you before that the first, second, and third year classes -are mixed together. But that makes no matter. The matter is that the -students can change the subjects of their studies when they please, and -do so occasionally by way of showing their disapproval of the professor. -"You must not teach that subject: I wish you to teach us about Greek -mythology instead" is a specimen observation. - -I cannot write to you about such delightful friends as the one described -in your last letter, for the simple reason that I haven't any. (You know -that it is very difficult for me to find sympathizers in such a frogpond -as the foreign community of an open port.) The Russian professor of -philosophy, although boasting a Heidelberg degree, acknowledges to me -that he believes heretics ought to be burnt alive ("for the saving of -their souls"), and that he hopes to see the whole world under Catholic -domination. I fancy he dreams of the Russian conquest to come; and the -Panslavic dream is not impossible! He is a queer man,--about fifty at -least,--a bachelor. Soft and cold--snowy in fact. The Jesuit improves on -acquaintance--gentle, courteous, half-sympathetic, but always on guard, -like a man afraid of being struck by some human affection. The American -lawyer, hard and grim, has a rough plain goodness about him--providing -that he be put to no trouble.... And the German, Dr. R----, of whom I -spoke rather unsympathetically before, seems to me now the finest man of -the lot. There can be no question of his learning, and his dogmatism; -but he gives me the solid feeling of a man honest like a great rock of -black basalt--huge, hard, direct--one of those rare German types with -eyes and hair blacker than a coal. His hand is broad, hard, warm always, -and has something electrical in its grasp. I think I shall get fond of -him, if he doesn't talk Virchow to me. (For Virchow is my _bete noir_! -I hate his name with unspeakable hatred.) At all events, to my great -surprise, I find this grim dark German takes absolute pleasure in doing -a kindness, and in speaking well of others. Wherefore I feel that I am -unreasonable and wrong to feel repelled by his liking for Virchow. - -Of course, we must all go some day, if the university doesn't go first. -But as all have big salaries, all prepare for the rainy day. I shall not -complain if allowed to finish my three years--though I should prefer -six. But you can imagine how unstable everything looks--with changes in -the ministry of education about every twelve months,--and the political -influences behind the students. I am reposing upon the safety-valves of -a steam-boiler,--much cracked, with many of the rivets loose,--and the -engineers studying how to be out of the way when the great whang-bang -comes around. - -And when it does come, may it blow me, for a moment at least, in the -immediate vicinity of Ellwood Hendrick. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1896. - -DEAR OLD FELLOW,-- ... The Emperor paid us a visit the other day; and -I had to don a frock-coat and a thing which inspired the Mohammedan -curse,--"May God put a HAT on you!" We stood in sleet and snow--horribly -cold (no overcoats allowed) and were twice permitted to bow down before -His Majesty. I confess I saw only _les bottes de S. M._ He has a deep -commanding voice--is above the average in height. Most of us got cold, I -think--nothing more for the nonce. Lowell discovered one delicious thing -in the Far East--"The Gate of Everlasting Ceremony." But the ancient -ceremony was beautiful. Swallow-tails and plugs are not beautiful. My -little wife tells me: "Don't talk like that: even if a robber were -listening to you upon the roof of the house, he would get angry." So -I am only saying this to you: "I don't see why I should be obliged to -take cold, merely for the privilege of bowing to H. M." Of course this -is half-jest, half-earnest. There is a reason for things--for anything -except--a plug-hat!... - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--"Sentimental Tommy" is marvellous. Gives me a very great -idea of Barrie. The question with me is whether such a _milieu_ and such -a suggested ancestry could produce such types as Grizel and Tommy. I am -not quite sure of it: I am still under the impression that blood _will_ -tell, and that children of drunkards and whores are not apt to prove -angels--though there must be exceptions when the better inheritance -dominates. However, the book has a good meaning as well as a great -art, and the tendency is to recognitions of truths deeper than those -of "Philistia." You were awfully good to send it; but I feel rather -small--my last sending being so poor a sprat to your salmon. - -Never mind. I'll send you my own book sometime this year--I _think_. It -ought to be in the printer's hands by the time you get this letter. It -will probably be called "A Living God, and Other Studies"--or something -of that sort. But only the gods exactly know. - -Half of my psychological book--or nearly half--is also written. I -shall dedicate it probably to the Lady of a Myriad Souls--whose photo -in a black frame decorates my Japanese alcove. Provided--I don't -die or worse before it is finished. Any suggestions? I'm trying -to explain all mysterious things which philosophers, etc., call -_inexplicable_ feelings. Have you any? Please turn some over to me, -and let me digest them. I've managed the _frisson_ (woman's touch), -some colour-sensations, sublimities, etc. I want some mysterious -feelings--some exquisitenesses,--normal only. _Parfum de jeunesse_ -suggests experiences. Do you know any?... - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - K[=O]BE, February, 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... Oh! have you read those two marvellous things of -Kipling's last--"McAndrews' Hymn," and "The Mary Gloster"? Especially -the "Mary Gloster." I have no more qualified ideas about Kipling. He is -to my fixed conviction the greatest of living English poets, and greater -than all before him in the line he has taken. As for England, he is her -modern Saga-man,--skald, scop, whatever you like: lineal descendants of -those fellows to whom the Berserker used to say: "Now you just stand -right here, and see us fight so that you can make a song about it." - -Meanwhile the Holy Ghost has become temporarily (perhaps) disgusted -with me; and I am doing nothing for three days past. Simply can't--no -feelings. I can _grind_; but what's the use? I want to do something -remarkable, unique, extraordinary, audacious; and I haven't the -qualifications. I want sensations--dreams--glimpses. Nothing! Will I -ever get another good idea? Don't know. Will I ever have any literary -success?--So swings the pendulum! I fear my next book won't be as good -as it ought to be.... - -After all, the Jesuit _is_ really the most interesting person. We are -close to each other because we are so enormously far away,--just as in -Wundt's colour-theory the red and violet ends of the spectrum overlap -after a fashion.... - - Ever faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - (Y. KOIZUMI.) - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1897. - -DEAR E. H.,--I have been reading your last over and over again--because -it is very pretty indeed, one of the very prettiest letters I ever read. -There is altogether something so deliriously _assured_ about it--so full -of happy confidence, that I feel quite comfortable and jolly about you -... notwithstanding the fact that I am tolerably sure you will be taken -utterly away from me in the end. For this shall a man leave not only his -friend, but his father and his mother,--saith the Sacred Book. You know -that particular passage makes the Japanese mad,--but not quite so mad as -the observation: "Unless a man shall hate his father and his mother," -etc., which has knocked the wind out of much missionary enterprise. - -I can't write much more about yourself, because I don't know anything -yet. So I shall talk about T[=o]ky[=o]. - -As you know, I have been somewhat idle--for a month at least. And the -loneliness thickens. And certain gentlemen make it a rule to spit upon -the ground with a loud noise when I pass by. I believe the trick is not -confined to the Occident, having found Japanese skilful at it; but these -be nevertheless manners of Heidelberg doctors! Nevertheless, it won't -work. - -But really the conditions are very queer. I felt instinctively before -going to T[=o]ky[=o], that I was going into a world of intrigue; but -what a world I had no conception. The foreign element appears to live -in a condition of perpetual panic. Everybody is infinitely afraid of -everybody else, afraid to speak not only their minds, but to speak -about anything except irrelevant matters, and then only in a certain -formal tone sanctioned by custom. They huddle together sometimes at -parties, and talk all together loudly about nothing,--like people in -the expectation of a possible catastrophe, or like folks making a noise -to drive away ghosts, or fear of ghosts. Somebody, quite accidentally, -observes--or rather drops an observation about facts. Instantly there is -a scattering away from that man as from dynamite. He is isolated for -several weeks by common consent. Then he goes to work to reform a group -of his own. Gradually he collects one--and rival groups are formed. But -presently some one in another party or chat talks about something as it -ought to be. Bang-fizz--chaos and confusion. Then all the groups unite -to isolate that wicked tongue. The man is dangerous--an intriguer--ha! -And so on--_ad lib_. - -This is panic, pure and simple, and the selfishness of panic. But -there is some reason for it--considering the class of minds. We are -all in Japan living over earthquakes. Nothing is stable. All Japanese -officialdom is perpetually in flux,--nothing but the throne is even -temporarily fixed; and the direction of the currents depends much upon -force of intrigue. They shift, like currents in the sea, off a coast of -tides. But the side currents penetrate everywhere, and _clapotent_ all -comers, and swirl round the writing-stool of the smallest clerk,--whose -pen trembles with continual fear for his wife's and babies' rice. -Being good or clever or generous or popular or the best man for the -place counts for very little. Intrigue has nothing at all to do with -qualities. Popularity in the biggest sense has, of course, some value, -but only the value depending upon certain alternations of the rhythm of -outs-and-ins. That's all. - -In the Orient intrigue has been cultivated as an art for ages, and it -has been cultivated as an art in every country, no doubt. But the result -of the adoption of constitutional government by a race accustomed to -autocracy and caste, enabled intrigue to spread like a ferment, in -new forms, through every condition of society,--and almost into every -household. It has become an infinite net--unbreakable, because elastic -as air, though strong enough to upset ministers as readily as to oust -clerks. - -Future prospects--? _Degringolade_. - -I feel sorry to say that I think I have been wrong about a good many -of my sincere hopes and glowing predictions. T[=o]ky[=o] takes out -of me all power to hope for a great Japanese future. You know how -easily a society in such a state can be manipulated by shrewd foreign -influence. The race must give evidence of some tremendous self-purifying -and self-solidifying power, before my hopes can be restored to their -former rainbow hues. At present I think it can truthfully be said that -every official branch of service shows the rapidly growing weakness -that means demoralization. The causes are numerous--too numerous to -mention,--inadequate pay being a large one, as the best men will not -take positions at $15 or $20 a month. But the great cause is utter -instability and discouragement. The P. O., the telegraph-service, the -railroads, etc., all are in a queer state. - -And I--am as a flea in a wash-bowl. My best chance is to lie quiet and -wait the coming of events. I hope to see Europe, with my boy, some day. - -Well, this is only private history to amuse E. H., to make Western by -contrast to Eastern life seem more beautiful to him. Affectionately, - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1897. - -DEAR E. H.,--I am still alive in alternations of gloom and sun. I -anticipate now chiefly a national bankruptcy, or a war with Russia to -upset my bank-account. There is a Buddhist text (Saddharma-Pundarika, -chap. III, verse 125):--"The man whom they happen to serve is unwilling -to give them much, and what he gives is soon lost. Such is the fruit -of sinfulness." It would be impossible, I imagine, that I should -escape some future extraordinary experience of calamity. It is simply -ridiculous,--can't help seeing the absurdity of it. Otherwise I have -sorrow. - -For my friends have been dying quickly. Some years ago, one said to -me: "You will outlive us: foreigners live longer than Japanese." This -I did not think true, as I know many Japanese over eighty, and the -longevity of the western farmers is sometimes extraordinary--110 years -being not very rare, and 100 plentiful, as examples. But my friend was -doubtless referring to the more delicate classes--the hot-house plants, -conservatory-growths, moulded by etiquette and classical culture and -home-law. And I fear he was right. Nearly all my Japanese friends are -dead. The last case was three or four days ago,--the sweetest of little -women,--a creature not seemingly of flesh and blood, but made of silk -embroidery mixed with soul. She was highly accomplished--one of my -wife's school friends. Married to a good man, but a man unable to care -for her as she ought to have been cared for. No force to bear children: -the pretty creature had never been too strong, and over-education had -strained her nerves. She ought never to have been married at all. She -knew she was dying, and came to bid us good-bye, laughing and lying -bravely. "I must go home," she said, "but I'll soon be well and come -back." She must have suffered terribly for more than a year--but she -never complained, never ceased to smile, never broke down. Died soon -after reaching home. - -Another friend, a man, dying, tells his wife: "Open the windows -(_sh[=o]ji_) wide, that my friend may see the chrysanthemums in the -garden." And he watches my face, laughing, while I pretend to be -pleased. The beauty of his soul is finer than any chrysanthemum, and it -is flitting. He wakes up in the night and calls: "Mother, did you hear -from my friend? is his son well?" Then he goes to sleep again--his last -words--for he is dead at sunrise. These lives are too fine and frail -for the brutal civilization that is going to crush them all out--every -one of them,--and prove to the future that sweetness is immoral _a la -Nietzsche_: that to be unselfish is to sentence one's self to death and -one's beloved to misery and probable extermination. - -But then imagine beings who never, in their lives, did anything which -was not--I will not say "right," that is commonplace--any single thing -which was not _beautiful_! Should I write this the world would, of -course, call me a liar, as it has become accustomed to do. But I could -not now even write of them except to you--the wounds are raw. - -I am thinking about Velvet Souls in general, and all ever known by me in -particular. Almost in every place where I lived long, it was given me to -meet a velvet soul or two--presences (male or female mattered nothing) -which with a word or look wrapped all your being round in a softness and -warmth of emotional caress inexpressible. "Velvet" isn't a good word. -The effect is more like the bath of tropical light and warmth to the -body of a sick voyager from lands of consumption and rheumatism. These -souls are intellectual in many cases, but that is not the interest of -them--the interest is purely emotional. A purely intellectual person is -unpleasant; and I fancy our religion is chiefly hateful because it makes -its gods of the intellectual kind now-a-days. I should like to write -about such souls--but how difficult. A queer thing for me is that in -memory _they unite_, without distinction of sex, into one divine type -of perfect tenderness and sympathy and knowledge,--like those Living -Creatures of Dante's Paradise composed of many different persons. I have -found such souls also in Japan--but only Japanese souls. But they are -melting into the night. - - - LAFCADIO. - -P.S. A very sad but curious story. A charming person, of high rank, -bore twins. A Western woman would be proud and pleased. Shame struck -the Japanese mother down. She became insane for shame. All Japanese -life is not beautiful, you see. Imagine the cruelty of such a popular -idea,--a peasant would have borne the trouble well,--but a daughter of -princes--no! - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1897. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--Your last kind letter came just after I had -posted mine to you. Since then I have been horribly busy, and upset, -and confused,--and even now I write rather because feeling ashamed at -having been so long silent, than because I have time to write a good -letter. We got a house only on the 29th, and are only half-settled now. -The house is large--two-storied, and new--but not pretty, and there is -no garden (at least nothing which deserves to be called a garden). We -moved into it _before it was finished_, so as to make sure of it. It is -all Japanese, of course--ten rooms. It belongs to a man who owns seven -hundred and eighty houses!--a very old man, a _Sakeya_, named Masumoto -Kihei. (Somebody tells me I am wrong,--that he has more than eight -hundred houses.) He buries poor people free of charge--that is one of -his ways of showing charity. He has one superintendent who, with many -assistants, manages the renting of the houses. The house is very far -from the university--forty-five minutes by _kuruma_--in Ushigome, and -almost at the very end of T[=o]ky[=o]. But it was a case of _Shikata ga -nai_. - -I teach only twelve hours. I have no text-books except for two -classes,--one of which studies Milton's "Paradise Lost" and the other -Tennyson's "Princess" (at my suggestion). I did not suggest "Paradise -Lost;" but as the students wanted in different divisions of the class -to study different books, made them vote, and, out of seventy-eight, -sixty-three voted for "Paradise Lost"! Curious! (Just because it was -hard for them, I suppose.) My other classes are special, and receive -lectures on special branches of English literature (such as Ballad -Literature, Ancient and Modern; Victorian Literature, etc.);--the -professor being left free to do as he pleases. Of course, the position, -as I try to fill it, will be an expensive one. I shall probably have -to buy $1000 worth of books before next summer. Ultimately everything -will be less expensive. The classes are very badly arranged (_badly_ -is a gentle word); for the 1st, 2d and 3d years of literature make -one class;--the 2d and 3d together another class;--the 3d by itself a -third class. You will see at once how difficult to try to establish a -systematic three-years' course. I am doing it, however,--with Professor -Toyama's approval;--hoping that the classes may be changed next year. - -The students have been very kind and pleasant. My old Kumamoto pupils -invited me to a meeting, and I made a speech to them. They meet in -the same temple where Yaoya-O-Shichi used to meet Kichizo Sama,--her -acolyte-lover. It is called Kichij[=o]ji.--I met some of my old pupils -who had become judges, others who were professors, others engineers. I -felt rather happy. - -Professor Toyama I like more and more. He is a curious man,--really -a _solid_ man and a man of the world,--but not at all unkind, and -extremely straightforward. He _can_ be very sarcastic, and is very -skilful at making jokes. Some of the foreign professors are rather -afraid of his jokes: I have heard him make some sharp ones. But he does -not joke yet with me directly--seems to understand me very well indeed. -He knows a great deal about English authors and their values,--but says -very little about his own studies. I do not understand how he found time -to learn as much about the English and American authors as he seems to -know. He gave me some kind hints about the students--told me exactly -what they liked, and how far to humour them. I had only one long talk -with him,--that was at the house of Dr. Florenz one evening. The doctor -had invited five of us to dinner. - -What else is there to tell you? I must not say too much about the mud, -the bad roads, the horrible confusion caused by the laying-down of those -new water-pipes. The weather is vile, and T[=o]ky[=o] is hideous in -Ushigome. But Setsu is happy--like a bird making its nest. She is fixing -up her new home, and has not yet had time to notice what ugly weather it -is. - -In T[=o]ky[=o] we find everything _very_ cheap,--except house-rent. And -even house-rent is much lower than in K[=o]be,--very much lower. I pay -only $25 for a very big house; but I expect to do even better than that. -Affectionate regards, - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - - - TO SENTAR[=O] NISHIDA - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1897. - -DEAR NISHIDA,--This morning (the 17th) Mr. Takahashi came with your -letter of introduction. He is a charming gentleman, and I felt unhappy -at not being able to talk Japanese to him. He brought a most beautiful -present--a tea-set of a sort I had never even seen before,--"crackled" -porcelain inside to the eye, and outside a chocolate-coloured clay -etched with pretty designs of houses and groves and lakes with boats -upon them. The cups were a great surprise and delight--especially as -they were made in Matsue. Mr. Takahashi gave me better news of you than -your last letter brought me: he thought you were getting stronger,--so -I have hopes of pleasant chats with you. He told us many things about -Matsue. He is a very correct, courteous gentleman; and I felt quite -clumsy, as I always do when I meet a real gentleman of the Japanese -school. I think I should like any of your friends. Mr. Takahashi had -something about him which brought back to me the happy feeling of my -pleasant time in Izumo. - -I don't feel to-day, though, like I used to feel in Izumo. I have become -very grey, and much queerer looking; and as I never make any visits or -acquaintances outside of my quiet little neighbourhood, I have become -also rather _henjin_. But I have written half a new book. I am not able -to say now what it will be like: for the things I most wish to put into -it--stories of real life--have not yet been written. I have finished -only the philosophical chapters. One subject is "Nirvana," and another -the study of matter in itself as unreality,--or at least as a temporary -apparition only. Then I have taken up the defence of Japanese methods of -drawing, under the title of "Faces in the Old Picture-Books." My public, -however, is not all composed of thinkers; and I have to please the -majority by telling them stories sometimes. After all, every public more -or less resembles a school-class. They say, just like my students always -used to say when they felt very tired or sleepy, hot days,--"Teacher, we -are tired: please tell us some extraordinary story." - -I can't just now remember when--at Matsue--a man came into the classroom -to watch my teaching. He came from some little island. I have quite -forgotten the name. He looked a little like Mr. Takahashi;--but there -was something different in his face,--a little sad, perhaps. When the -class was over he came to me and said something very good and kind, -and pressed my hand and went away to his island. It is a queer thing -that experiences of this kind are often among the most vivid of one's -life--though they are so short. I have often dreamed of that man. Often -and often. And the dream is always the same. He is the director of a -beautiful little school in a very large garden, surrounded by high white -walls. I go into that garden by an iron gate. It is always summer. I -teach for that man; and everything is gentle and earnest and pleasant -and beautiful, just as it used to be in Matsue,--and he always repeats -the nice things he said long ago. If I can ever find that school, with -the white walls and the iron gate,--I shall want to teach there, even -if the salary be only the nice things said at the end of the class. But -I fear the school is made of mist, and that teacher and pupils are only -ghosts. Or perhaps it is in _H[=o]rai_. - -Ever with best regards from all of us, faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--As for Miss Josephine's letter, I believe that I cannot -answer it at all: it was so sweet that I could only sit down quietly -and think about it,--and I feel that any attempt to answer it on paper -would be no use. There is only one way that it ought to be adequately -answered, and that way I hope that you will adopt for my sake. - -It was a more than happy little romance--that which you told me of, -and makes one feel new things about the great complex life of your -greater world. The poetry of the story makes a singular appeal to -me now--possibly because in this Far East such loving sympathy is -non-existent (at least outside of the household). Artistic life depends -a great deal upon such friendships: I doubt whether it can exist without -them, any more than butterflies or bees could exist without flowers. -The ideal is created by the heart, no doubt; but it is nourished only -by others' faith and love for it. In all this great T[=o]ky[=o] I doubt -if there is a man with an ideal--or a woman (I mean any one not a -Japanese); and so far as I have been able to hear and see there are -consequently no friendships. Can there possibly be friendships where -there is no aspirational life? I doubt it very much. - -I must eat some humble pie. My work during the past ten months has been -rather poor. Why, I cannot quite understand--because it costs me more -effort. Anyhow I have had to rewrite ten essays: they greatly improved -under the process. I am trying now to get a Buddhist commentary for -them--mostly to be composed of texts dealing with preexistence and -memory of former lives. I took for subjects the following:--Beauty is -Memory;--why beautiful things bring sadness;--the riddle of touch--i. -e., the _thrill_ that a touch gives;--the perfume of youth;--the reason -of the pleasure of the feeling evoked by bright blue;--the pain caused -by certain kinds of red;--mystery of certain musical effects;--fear of -darkness and the feeling of dreams. Queer subjects, are they not? I -think of calling the collection "Retrospectives." It might be dedicated -to "E. B. W.,"--I fancy that I should do well to use the initials only; -for some of the essays might be found a little startling. But when the -work will be finished I cannot tell. - -[Illustration] - -In this T[=o]ky[=o], this detestable T[=o]ky[=o], there are no Japanese -impressions to be had except at rare intervals. To describe to you the -place would be utterly impossible,--more easy to describe a province. -Here the quarter of the foreign embassies, looking like a well-painted -American suburb;--near by an estate with quaint Chinese gates -several centuries old; a little further square miles of indescribable -squalor;--then miles of military parade-ground trampled into a waste -of dust, and bounded by hideous barracks;--then a great park, full of -really weird beauty, the shadows all black as ink;--then square miles of -streets of shops, which burn down once a year;--then more squalor;--then -rice-fields and bamboo groves;--then more streets. All this not -flat, but hilly,--a city of undulations. Immense silences--green and -romantic--alternate with quarters of turmoil and factories and railroad -stations. Miles of telegraph-poles, looking at a distance like enormous -fine-tooth combs, make a horrid impression. Miles of water-pipes--miles -and miles and miles of them--interrupt the traffic of the principal -streets: they have been trying to put them underground for seven -years,--and what with official trickery, etc., the work makes slow -progress. Gigantic reservoirs are ready; but no water in them yet. City -being sued by the foreign engineer (once a university professor) for -$138,000 odd commission on plans! Streets melt under rain, water-pipes -sink, water-pipe holes drown spreeing men and swallow up playful -children; frogs sing amazing songs in the street.--To think of art or -time or eternity in the dead waste and muddle of this mess is difficult. -The Holy Ghost of the poets is not in T[=o]ky[=o]. I am going to try to -find him by the seashore. - -[Illustration] - -The other night I got into a little-known part of T[=o]ky[=o],--a street -all ablaze with lanterns about thirty feet high, painted with weird -devices. And I was interested especially by the insect-sellers. I bought -a number of cages full of night-singing insects, and am now trying to -make a study of the subjects. The noise made by these creatures is very -much more extraordinary than you could imagine; but the habit of keeping -them is not merely due to a love of the noise in itself. No: it is -because these little orchestras give to city-dwellers the _feeling_ of -the delight of being in the country,--the sense of woods and hills and -flowing water and starry nights and sweet air. Fireflies are caged for -the same reason. - -This is a refinement of sensation, is it not?--only a poetical people -could have imagined the luxury of buying summer-voices to make for them -the illusion of nature where there is only dust and mud. Notice also -that the singers are _night-singers_. It is no use to cage the cicadae: -they remain silent in a cage, and die. - -In this horrid T[=o]ky[=o] I feel like a cicada:--I am caged, and can't -sing. Sometimes I wonder whether I shall ever be able to sing any -more,--except at night?--like a bell-insect which has only _one_ note. - -What more and more impresses me every year is the degree to which the -writer is a creature of circumstance. If he can make the circumstance, -like a Kipling or a Stevenson, he can go on forever. Otherwise he is -likely to exhaust every motive in short order, to the same extent that -he depends on outer influence. - -There was a little under-ripple of premonition in that very sweet letter -from Miss Josephine,--just the faintest suggestion of a thought that the -future might hold troubles in its shadow. Now I suppose that for none -can the future be only luminous; but that you will have a smooth and -steady current to bear you along to the great sea appears to me a matter -of course. I do not imagine there will be rocks and reefs and whirlpools -for you. You have both such large experience of life as it is, and of -the laws and the arts of navigating that water, that I have no anxiety -about you at all. Such little disillusions as you may have should only -draw you nearer together. But there is the sensation of being afraid -for somebody else--one has to face that; and the more boldly, perhaps, -the less the terror becomes. It is worse in the case where one would be -helpless without the other. But I imagine that your union is one of two -strong independent spirits--each skilled in self-guidance. That makes -everything so much easier. - -One thing you _will_ have to do,--that is, to take extremely good care -of yourself for somebody else's sake. Which redounds to my benefit; for -I really don't know what I should do without that occasional wind of -sympathy wherewith your letters refresh me. I keep telling my wife that -it would be ever so much better to leave T[=o]ky[=o], and dwell in the -country, at a very much smaller salary, and have peace of mind. She says -that nowhere could I have any peace of mind until I become a Buddha, and -that with patience we can become independent. This is good; and my few -Japanese friends tell me the same thing. But perhaps the influence from -40 Kilby Street, Boston, is the most powerful and saving of all. - -An earthquake and several other things (I _hate_ earthquakes) -interrupted this letter. It is awfully dull, I know--forgive its -flatness.... - - Ever, dear H., your - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... You speak about that feeling of fulness of the -heart with which we look at a thing,--half angered by inability to -analyze within ourselves the delight of the vision. I think the feeling -is unanalyzable, simply because, as Kipling says in that wonderful -narrative, "The Finest Story in the World," "the doors have been shut -behind us." The pleasure you felt in looking at that tree, at that -lawn,--all the pleasure of the quaint summer in that charming old -city,--was it only _your_ pleasure? There is really no singular,--no -"I." "I" is surely collective. Otherwise we never could explain fully -those movements within us caused by the scent of hay,--by moonlight -on summer waters,--by certain voice tones that make the heart beat -quicker,--by certain colours and touches and longings. The law that -inherited memory becomes transmuted into intuitions or instincts is -not absolute. Only some memories, or rather parts of them, are so -transformed. Others remain--will not die. When you felt the charm of -that tree and that lawn,--many who would have loved you were they able -to live as in other days, were looking through you and remembering -happy things. At least I think it must have been so. The different ways -in which different places and things thus make appeal would be partly -explained;--the supreme charm referring to reminiscences reaching -through the longest chain of life, and the highest. But no pleasure of -this sort can have so ghostly a sweetness as that which belongs to the -charm of an ancestral home--in which happy generations have been. Then -how much dead love lives again, and how many ecstasies of the childhoods -of a hundred years must revive! We do not _all_ die,--said the ancient -wise man. How much of us dies is an unutterable mystery. - -Science is rather provoking here. She tells us we are advancing toward -equilibration, to be followed by dissolution, to be succeeded by another -evolution, to end in another disintegration--and so on forever. Why a -cosmos must be dissipated into a nebula, and the nebula again resolved -into a sun-swarm, she confesses that she does not know. There is no -comfort in her except the comfort of doubt,--and that is wholesome. But -she says one encouraging thing. No thought can utterly perish. As all -life is force, the record of everything must pass into the infinite. -Now what is this force that shapes and unshapes universes? Might it -be old thoughts and words and passions of men? The ancient East so -declares. There can be rest eternal only when--not in one petty world, -but throughout all the cosmos--the Good only lives. Here all is, of -course, theory and ignorance,--for all we know. Still the faith ought to -have value. How would the well-balanced man try to live if once fully -persuaded that his every thought would affect not only the future of -himself, but of the universe! The other day something queer happened. I -was vexed about something wrong that had been done at a distance. Some -days after, one said to me: "The other day, while you were so angry, -people were killed"--mentioning the place. "I know that," I said. "But -do you not feel sorry?" "Why should I feel sorry?--I did not kill -anybody." "_How do you know you did not? Your anger might have been -added to the measure of the anger that caused the wrong._" Unto this I -could not reply. Thinking over the matter, indeed, who can say what his -life may be to the life of the unseen about him? - - Ever very affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - 1897. - -DEAR HENDRICK,-- ... The idea of a set of philosophical fairy-tales -often haunts me. One doesn't need to go to the Orient for the material. -It is everywhere. The Elle-woman is real. So are the Sirens, Circe, and -the Sphinx and Herakles and Admetos and Alkestis. So are the Harpies, -and Medusa, and the Fates who measure and cut and spin. But when I try, -I find myself unable to create for want of a knowledge of every-day -life,--that life which is the only life the general reader understands -or cares about. - -Then the philosophical fairy-tales might deal with personal experiences -common to all men,--impulse and sorrow and loss and hope and discovery -of the hollowness of things. But the inclination only is with me,--the -pushing sensation,--the vague cloud-feeling of the thing. Can you -help--suggest--define--develop by a flash or two? If you can, be sweet, -and tell me; and the fairy-tales shall be dedicated unto you. Indeed -they shall in any case, if I can ever write them. In haste, with love, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1897. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I can only very poorly express my real feeling at the -true goodness shown me, not only in coming out to my miserable little -shanty, over that muddy chaos of street,--but in making me feel so -free-and-easy with you, in the charming way you accepted the horrid -attempt at entertainment, and in the hundred ways by which you showed -your interest and sympathy. It was more than nice--that is all I can say. - -But you set some mental machinery at work too. I believe almost your -first remark was your desire that I should write fiction,--and I believe -I understand why you wish this. It is because you wish me to make some -profit out of my pen; and, being well informed on all business matters, -you know, just as well as we literary men do, that fiction is about -the only material that really pays. And now I am going, after a little -thinking about the matter, to answer you in kind. - -Why do not men like myself write more fiction? For two reasons. -The first is because they have little knowledge of life, little -_savoir-vivre_, to help them in the study of the artificial and complex -growth of modern society. The second is that, unless very exceptionally -situated, they are debarred, by this very want of knowledge and skill, -from mixing with that life which alone can furnish the material. Society -everywhere suspects them; common life repels them. They can _divine_, -but they must have rare chances to do that. Men like the genius Kipling -belong to the great life-struggle, understand it, reflect it, and the -world worships them. But dreamers who talk about preexistence, and -who think differently from common-sense folk, are quite outside of -social existence. But--I can do this: You know all about the foreign -life of these parts,--the shadows and the lights. You can give me, -perhaps, in the course of three years, _suggestions_ for six little -stories--based upon the relations between foreigners and Japanese in -this era of Meiji: studies of the life of the "open ports." I should -need only real facts--not names or dates--real facts of beauty or -pathos or tragedy. There are hosts of these. All the life of the open -ports is not commonplace: there are heroisms and romances in it; and -there is nothing in this world nearly as wonderful as life itself. All -real life is a marvel--but in Japan a marvel that is hidden as much as -possible--especially hidden from dangerous chatterers like Lafcadio -Hearn. - -Of course I could not make a book in a few months,--not in less than two -or three years; but I _could_ make one, with the mere help of hints from -a man who knows. And if that book of short stories (six would be enough -to make a book) should ever be so written, I should certainly make a -dedication of it to M. McD. as prettily as I could. - -There is an answer to your wish so far as I can make one for the -present. I shall be down to see you the next month, probably, and we can -chat over matters if you have time. And I shall take care not to come -when you are _too_ busy. - -Faithfully, with affectionate regards and thanks, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1897. - -DEAR [=O]TANI,--I have your very nice letter, which gave me -much pleasure. This is just a line before I go away, in regard to the -subject for January, and relevant matters. - -First let me tell you that you are very, very much -mistaken--extraordinarily mistaken--in thinking that I do not care for -what you call "vulgar" songs. They are just what I care _most_ about. In -all the poems that you translated for me this month, I could find but -_one_ that I liked very much; and that was a _dodoitsu_. - -Now I am going to shock you by saying something that may surprise you; -but if I do not say it, you will _never_ understand what I want. In all -the great mass of student poetry that you collected for me, I found -only seventeen pieces that I could call poetry,--and on submitting -those seventeen pieces to higher tests, I found that nearly all were -reflections of thoughts and feelings from older poets. As for the book -that you translated, I could find no true poetry in it at all, and -scarcely anything original. - -And now let me tell you my honest opinion about this whole matter. The -_refined_ poetry of this era, and most of the poetry that you collected -for me of other eras, is of little or no value. On the other hand, the -"vulgar" songs sung by coolies and fishermen and sailors and farmers and -artisans, are very true and beautiful poetry; and would be admired by -great poets in England, in France, in Italy, in Germany, or in Russia. - -You will think, of course, that this only shows my ignorance and my -stupidity. But please reflect a little about the matter. A great poem -by Heine, by Shakespeare, by Calderon, by Petrarch, by Hafiz, by -Saadi, remains a great poem _even when it is translated into the prose -of another language_. It touches the emotion or the imagination in -every language. But poetry which cannot be translated is of no value -whatever in world-literature; and it is not even true poetry. It is a -mere playing with values of words. True poetry has nothing to do with -mere word-values. It is fancy, it is emotion, it is passion, or it is -thought. Therefore it has power and truth. Poetry that depends for -existence on the peculiarities of _one language_ is waste of time, and -can never live in people's hearts. For this reason there is more value -in the English ballad of "Childe Waters" or of "Tamlane," than in the -whole of the verse of Pope. - -Of course, I know there are some beautiful things in Japanese classical -poetry--I have translations from the _Many[=o]sh[=u]_ and _Kokinsh[=u]_ -which are beautiful enough to live forever in any language. But these -are beautiful because they do _not_ depend on word-values, but upon -sentiment and feeling. - -I fear you will think all this very foolish and barbarous; but perhaps -it will help you to understand what I want. "Vulgar" poetry is supremely -valuable, in my humble opinion. - -Please this month collect for me, if you can, some poems on the _Sound -of the Sea and the Sound of the Wind_. If there are not many poems on -these subjects, then you might add poems on the Sea and the Wind in any -other connection. What I want to get is the _feeling_ that the sound and -the mystery of Wind and Sea have inspired in Japanese Song. - -With best wishes ever, faithfully yours, - - Y. KOIZUMI. - -[Illustration: WRITING-ROOM IN MR. HEARN'S T[=O]KY[=O] HOUSE - _His three sons on the verandah_] - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1898. - -MY DEAR [=O]TANI,--I am pleased to hear that the incident was -imaginary,--because this gives me a higher idea of your sense of art. -True literary art consists very largely in skilful combination of real -or possible facts in an imaginary succession. Literature artistic never -can be raw truth, any more than a photograph can be compared with a -painting. Here is a little sentence from one of the greatest of modern -French writers:-- - -"_L'art n'a pas la verite pour objet._ Il faut demander la verite aux -Sciences, parce qu'elle est leur objet;--il ne faut pas la demander a la -litterature, _qui n'a et ne peut avoir d'objet_ que le beau." (Anatole -France.) - -Of course this must not be taken _too_ literally; but it is -substantially the most important of truths for a writer to keep in mind. -I would suggest this addition: "Remember that nothing can be beautiful -which does not contain truth, and that making an imagination beautiful -means also to make it partly true." - -Your English is poor still; but your composition was _artistic_, and -gave me both surprise and pleasure. You understand something about the -grouping of facts in the dramatic sense, and how to appeal by natural -and simple incidents to the reader's emotion. The basis of art is there; -the rest can only come with years of practice,--I mean the secret of -compressed power and high polish. I would suggest that when writing -in your own language, you aim hereafter somewhat in the direction of -compression. You are now somewhat inclined to diffuseness; and a great -deal is gained in strength by understanding how much of detail can be -sacrificed.... - - Yours faithfully, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I believe those three days, of mine in Yokohama were the -most pleasurable in a pilgrimage of forty-seven years. I can venture to -say little more about them _per se_. Such experience will not do for me -except at vast intervals. It sends me back to work with much too good -an opinion of myself,--and that is bad for literary self-judgement. -The beneficial result is an offsetting of that morbid condition,--that -utter want of self-confidence. On the whole, I feel "toned-up"--full -of new energy; that will not be displeasing to you. I not only feel -that I ought to do something good, but I am going to do it,--with the -permission of the gods. - -How nice of you to have invited Amenomori to our tiffin,--and the trip -to [=O]mori! I look forward in the future to a Kamakura day, under like -circumstances, when time and tide permit. I believe A. can surprise us -at Kamakura, which he knows better than any man living. He does not give -his knowledge to many people. - -I am sending you Knapp's book, as I promised, and that volume of mine -which you have not read. Excuse the shabbiness of the volumes. I think -Dr. Hall knows much about the curious dialect which I have used,--the -Creole. Please say to him for me what you feel ought to be said. - -I won't write any more now--and I settle down forthwith to work with -fresh vim and hope. - -With more than grateful remembrance, - - Affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have both of your kindest letters. It gave me no small -pleasure to find that you liked "Youma:" you will not like it less -knowing that the story is substantially true. You can see the ruins of -the old house in the Quartier du Fort if you ever visit Saint-Pierre, -and perhaps meet my old friend Arnoux, a survivor of the time. The girl -really died under the heroic conditions described--refusing the help of -the blacks, and the ladder. Of course I may have idealized _her_, but -not her act. The incident of the serpent occurred also; but the heroine -was a different person,--a plantation girl, celebrated by the historian -Rufz de Lavison. I wrote the story under wretched circumstances in -Martinique, near the scenes described, and under the cross with the -black Christ. As for the "Sylvestre Bonnard" I believe I told you that -that was translated in about ten days and published in two weeks from -the time of beginning--at the wish of the Harpers. Price $115, if I -remember rightly,--and no commission on sales,--but the work suffers in -consequence of the haste. - -How to answer your kind suggestion about pulling me "out of my shell," -I don't well know. I like to be out of the shell--but much of that kind -of thing could only result in the blue devils. After seeing men like you -and the other Guardsman,--the dear doctor,--one is beset with a foolish -wish to get back into the world which produced you both, back to the -U. S. A.,--out of Government grind, out of the unspeakable abomination -and dulness and selfishness and stupidity of mere officialism. And I -can't afford that feeling often--not _yet_. I have too many little -butterfly-lives to love and take care of. Some day, I know, I must get -back for a time. Meanwhile I must face the enemy and stand the music. - -Now I want you to tell me that Highbinder romance when I next meet you. -Perhaps your solitary experience could give me more than one good story. -Every good man's life is full of romances. The trouble is to get him to -tell them, and to understand them properly when told. Your "Prussian -officer" is delicious; but I fear my talent is not quite up to the mark -of telling it as it ought to be told. Maupassant--Kipling--they would -delight the world with such a thing. Never mind!--I am sure, _if_ you -want me to write stories, that you can give me all the material you -want or that I need. I shall sit again at the table, supporting that -beautiful cap with its silver-eagle,--and I shall talk and talk and talk -until you tell me more stories. - -Won't you be glad to hear that my new book will be finished this -month,--perhaps this week? Then for the "Stories from Many Lips"--or -something of that kind. - - Ever affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I got your kindest reply to my note of the other -day,--actually apologizing for not writing sooner. But I told you never -to bother yourself about writing me when you do not feel like it or when -you are in the least busy; and I shall never feel neglected if you be -silent, but only think that you have business on hand, and hope that you -will have good luck in the undertaking. - -Why, yes: I must get down some Saturday, or Friday afternoon--that would -be still better--so as to return to T[=o]ky[=o] Sunday night: for my -Saturdays are free. But not _too_ soon. It is only about two weeks since -I was with you--though I acknowledge that it seems to me like three -months. I wish I could see you more often;--then again, I think, you -would be tired of my chatter soon. (I know what you would protest; but -it doesn't matter.) Well, not to argue too much, I promise to make a -visit during February,--though I shall scarcely be able to name an exact -day in advance. - -I have never been in San Francisco, unfortunately. But that matters -little, if I can ask all the questions I want. The value in a literary -way of the scenes would be less the scenes themselves than the -impression which they made upon your own memory. I anticipate much -pleasure in asking you about it, as well as delight in hearing the story -itself. - -What will you think of my wickedness? I am going to tell you a bad -story about myself. The other day (I mustn't try to pretend it was -long ago, like I did about the Club-Hotel story in your carriage, for -fear of being questioned as to direct facts) my publishers sent me -some rather nasty newspaper clippings, together with what affected to -be a manuscript history of my personal eccentricities and weaknesses. -They suggested that I should correct, amend, or reject, but that they -should be glad to publish it with my approval. (About 19 pp. I think.) -Having read it with considerable anger, I laid it aside for a couple -of days,--during which time I effectually restrained the first impulse -to write a furious letter. Then I most effectually amended that MS.; I -corrected it as thoroughly as it could possibly be corrected--but not -with pencil or pen: such instruments being quite inadequate for the -purpose. In short, I corrected, amended, and rejected it all at the same -time--with the assistance of a red-hot stove. They shall never know; but -as murder will out, I must tell somebody, and that somebody shall be -you. With best regards to the doctor,--ever with hopes to see you _soon_, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--It would do me a great deal of harm if I could believe -your appreciations and predictions; but I am quite sure you are mistaken -about both. As to success, I think my greatest good fortune would -consist in being able occasionally to travel for about six months,--just -to pick up strange or beautiful literary material. If I can ever manage -that much--or even if I can manage to get so far independent that I can -escape from officialdom--I shall be very fortunate indeed. Want to get -to Europe for a time, in any case, to put my boy there. But all this is -dream and shadow, perhaps. - -Literary success of any enduring kind is made only by refusing to do -what publishers want, by refusing to write what the public want, by -refusing to accept any popular standard, by refusing to write anything -to order. I grant it is not the way to make money quickly; but it is the -way--and the only way--to win what sincerity in literary effort ought to -obtain. My publishers have frankly gone over to the Philistines. I could -not write for them further even if they paid me $100 per line. - -What a selfish letter I am writing! You are making me talk too much -about my own affairs, and you would really spoil me, if you could. -Talking to me of fame and hundreds of thousands of dollars! Of course -I should like to have hundreds of thousands, and to hold them at your -disposal; but I should also like to live in the realization of the life -of the Arabian Nights. About the truth of life seems to be this: You can -get what you wish for only when you have stopped wishing for it, and do -not care about keeping it. - -I see your name in the papers often now, and in connections that fill me -with gladness. You are a power again in the land--wish you could be here -for longer than you are going to stay. But, after all, that would not be -best for you--would it? - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--_After all_, instinct isn't a bad thing. Your -just-received excellent advice is precisely what my "blind instinct"--as -scientific men call it--told me. No: I shall do nothing without -consulting you. - -Well, I imagine that not _next_ Friday, but the Friday after will be -most convenient to you. I'll try the later date, therefore. (Friday need -not be a Black Friday in Japan--I used to hate to do anything on that -day--landed in Japan on Good Friday (!) but now I belong to the Oriental -gods.) - -Wonder if you know that the _Revue des Deux Mondes_ has sent a poet -here to write up Japan--M. Andre Bellesort. He is a man of big literary -calibre, and has a rare wife--who speaks Persian. About as charming a -Frenchwoman as one could wish to know. She speaks English, Italian, and -Spanish besides. Trying to get them interested in Amenomori. They are at -the Hotel Metropole,--perhaps on account of the Legation. - - Faithfully and affectionately yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I _ought_ to have answered you about the subject of -investment the other day; but I thought it would be better to wait. -However, now I think (I have just received your telegram, and I confess -it made me uncomfortable) that I had better write my feelings frankly. -I suppose that, being naturally born to bad luck, I shall lose my small -savings in the ordinary course of the world's events; but I would -prefer this prospect to the worry of mind that I should have about -any investment. In fact, rather than stand that worry again (I have -had it once) I should prefer to lose everything now. The mere idea of -business is a horror, a nightmare, a torture unspeakable. The moment I -think about business I wish that I had never been born. I can assure -you truthfully that I would rather burn a five hundred dollar bill than -invest it,--because, having burned it, I could forget all about it, and -trust myself to the mercy of the gods. Even if I had Jay Gould behind -me, to pull me up every time I fell, I should not have anything to do -with business. Even to have to write you this letter makes me wish that -all the business in the world could be instantly destroyed. I am afraid -to explain more. I think I won't go to Yokohama on Friday next--but -later,--well, what's the use of writing more--you will understand how I -feel. Ever most faithfully, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--When I saw that big envelope, I thought to myself, -"Lord! what a _lot_ of h--l I am going to get!" You see my conscience -was bad. I was wrong not to have told you long ago of my peculiar -'phobia. And inside that envelope there was only the kindest of kind -letters,--proving that you understood me perfectly well, and forthwith -putting me at ease. - -I read the prospectus with great interest (by the way, I am returning -it, because, as it is still in the state of a private document, I think -it is better that I do not keep it); and I am proud of my friend. _He_ -can do things! "Canst thou play with Leviathan like a bird? Or canst -thou bind him for thy handmaidens?" No, I can't, and I am not going to -try; but I have a friend in Yokohama--an officer of the U. S. Navy--_he_ -plays with Leviathan, and makes him "talk soft, soft words"--indeed he -even "presses down his tongue with a cord." Well, I should like you to -be as rich as you could be made rich, without having worry. But as for -_me_!--the greatest favour you can ever do me is to take off my hands -even the business that I have--contracts, and the like,--so that I need -never again remember them. Besides, if I were dead, you are the one I -should want to be profiting by my labours. Then every time you set your -jaw square, and made them "fork over," my ghost would squeak and chipper -for delight,--and you would look around to see where the bats came from. - -Well, next week I'll try to get down. In fact I feel that I must go to -Yokohama, for various reasons besides imposing upon a certain friend -there. To-day I have been packing up my book all the time from morning -until now--so as to send by registered letter. - -About "the best." You are a dreadful man! How could you think that I had -got even halfway to the bottom. I have only drunk three bottles yet; -but that is a shameful "only." Three bottles in one month is simply -outrageous; and I look into the glass often to observe the end of my -nose. That "best" is too seductive. - -With affectionate thanks for kindest letter, - - Faithfully ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Your telegram made me feel comfortable. I had been a -little uneasy,--especially because you never told me what really was -the matter;--and when a man like you cannot bend his back, the matter -could not have been a joke. Also the telegram convinced me that you were -really thinking about coming up, and possibly might come up during the -spring or the summer or the coming autumn season, and that I could squat -on the floor and talk to you--which made me comparatively happy. - -I have been otherwise disgracefully blue. When I want to feel properly -humble, I read "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan"--about half a page;--then -I howl, and wonder how I could ever have written so badly,--and find -that I am really only a very twenty-fifth-rate workman and that I -ought to be kicked. Then the weather has been trying;--the mails are -behind;--the afflictions of T[=o]ky[=o] manifold. Also I have been -provoked to think that there is no other person like you known to me -in the entire world,--and that you are by no means immortal,--and -that, even as it is, you think ever so much more of me than I deserve. -Also I have been meditating on the unpermanency of the universe, and -considering the possible folly of making books at all.--This must be the -darkness before the dawn: at least I ought to think so. - -I have partly in mind the plan for making the best part of number eight -out of stories adapted from the Japanese. Not sure that I can carry the -plan out satisfactorily;--but I am resolved that number eight must be -worthy of your hopes for me,--and that it shall prove an atonement for -the faults of the first book dedicated to you. - -Take all care of yourself, and believe me most grateful for that -telegram. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--Two or three mornings ago I woke up with a vague feeling -of pleasure--a dim notion that something very pleasant had occurred -the day before. Then I remembered that the pleasure had come from your -unanswered letter. I kept putting off writing, nevertheless, day after -day, in consequence partly of the conviction that such a letter should -not be answered in a dull mood, and partly because some of my college -work this past week has been more than usually complicated--involving -a study of subjects that I thoroughly hate, but must try to make -interesting--the literature and spirit of the eighteenth century. - -Well, even now, I do not quite know what to say about your letter. To -tell me that I have something of your father's spirit more than pleased -me--not because I could quite believe it, but because you did. Your -father must have been a very fine man, without any pettiness,--and -I have more smallness in me than you can suspect. How could it be -otherwise! If a man lives like a rat for twenty or twenty-five years, -he must have acquired something of the disposition peculiar to -house-rodents,--mustn't he? Anyhow, I could never agree to let you take -all the trouble you propose to take for me merely as a matter of "thank -you." I must contrive ways and means to better your proposal--not to -cancel the obligation, for that could not be done, but at least to make -you quite sure that I appreciate the extreme rarity of such friendship. - -I am writing with hesitation to-day (chiefly, indeed, through a sense of -duty to you),--for I fear that you are in trouble, and that my letter is -going to reach you at the worst possible time. However, I hope you have -not lost any very dear friends by that terrible accident at Havana. I -think you told me that you were once on that ship, nevertheless; and I -fear that you must receive some bad news. My sympathies are with you in -any event. - -My Boston friend is lost to me, certainly. I got a letter yesterday -from him--showing the serious effect upon friendship of taking to one's -self a wife,--a fashionable wife. It was meant to be exactly like the -old letters;--but it wasn't. Paymaster M. M. must also some day take a -wife, and ... Oh! I know what you are going to say;--they all say that! -They all assure you that they _both_ love you, and that their house -will be always open to you, etc., etc., and then--they forget all about -you--purposely or otherwise. Still, one ought to be grateful,--the -dropping is so gently and softly done. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MR. AND MRS. JOHN ALBEE - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -MY DEAR FRIENDS,--I am going to address you together, as that will save -me from the attempt to write in two keys corresponding to the differing -charm of your two letters. Certainly it gave me, as you surmised, -sincere pleasure to hear from you. Mrs. Albee surprised me at the same -time by a most agreeable, though I fear somewhat _generous_, reference -to a forgotten letter. I think I must have penned many extravagances in -those days. I _know_ it--in certain cases: anyhow I should be afraid -to read my own letters to Mr. Albee over again. As for my old ambition -then expressed, I don't quite know what to say. The attempt referred to -led me far at one time in the wrong direction--though whatever I have -learned of style has certainly been due rather to French and Spanish -studies than to English ones. I have now dropped theories, nevertheless; -and I simply try to do the best I can, without reference to schools. - -Do you know that I had a dim notion always that Mr. Albee was a -millionaire,--or at least a very wealthy dilettante?--which would be -the best of reasons for never sending him a book, notwithstanding my -grateful remembrance of his first generous encouragement. (_Here_ I use -"generous" in the strongest meaning possible.) I am, _selfishly_, rather -pleased to hear that the price of a book is sometimes for him, as for -me, a question worth thinking over--because the fact permits me to offer -him a volume occasionally. Otherwise indeed I wish he were rich as my -fancy painted him. - -You say that you have not read "all my books on Japan." Any that you -particularly care to read, I can send you--though I should not recommend -the "Glimpses," except for reference. "Kokoro" would probably best -please Mrs. Albee, and after it, "Out of the East." Hereafter I shall -send a copy of every "new book" to you. Of course I shall be glad to -have the pleasure of seeing Mr. Albee's "Prose Idyls"--many sincere -thanks for the kind remembrance! - -With kindest and best regards, faithfully ever, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO JOHN ALBEE - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1898. - -DEAR MR. ALBEE,--My best thanks for the "Prose Idyls." The book leaves -on the mind an impression of quiet brightness like that of a New -England summer sky thinly veiled. Three idyls especially linger in -my imagination,--each for a reason all its own. Hawthorne might have -written "The Devil's Bargain:" it is a powerful moral fancy, and the -touch of grotesque humour in it is just enough to keep it from being -out of tone in the gallery of optimist studies. "The Family Mirror" is -haunting: the whole effect, to my notion, being brought out by that -charming reference to the damaged spot at the back. Then "A Mountain -Maid" much appealed to me by its suggestion of that beautiful and -mysterious _sauvagerie_, as the French call it,--that wholly instinctive -shrinking from caress, which develops with the earliest budding of -womanhood, but which the girl could not herself possibly explain. -Indeed I fancy that only evolutional philosophy can explain it at all. -Analogous conditions in the boy of fourteen or fifteen are well worthy -of study--already I had attempted a little sketch on this subject, which -_may_ be printed some day or other: "A Pair of Eyes." - -My next volume will have a series of what I might call _metaphysical -idyls_, perhaps, at its latter end. I fear you will think them too -sombre,--now that I have felt something of the sunshine of your soul. -However, each of us can only give his own tone to the thread which he -contributes to the infinite warp and woof of human thought and emotion. -Is it not so? With kindest regards to Mrs. Albee, very gratefully yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN (Y. KOIZUMI). - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I must try to forget some of your beautiful letter -for fear that it should give me much too good an opinion of myself. A -reverse state of mind is, on the whole, much better for the writer,--I -mean for any professional writer. - -I believe all that you wish me to believe about your generous call--but, -if friend McDonald does not think my house a poor rat-trap, that is -because friend McDonald has not yet discovered what a beautiful Japanese -house is like. Let me assure him, therefore, that it is something so -dainty, so wonderful, that only by custom can one cease to be afraid to -walk about in it. - -Yes, as you surmised, one of your suggestions is wrong. The professional -writer, however small his own powers may be, generally knows the range -of literary possibilities; and I _know_ that what you wish cannot be -done by any Western writer with the least hope of success. It has -been extensively tried--always with the result of failure. The best -attempt, perhaps, was the effort of Judith Gautier,--a very delicate -French writer; but it did not succeed. As for "A Muramasa Blade," "Mito -Yashiki," etc., the less said the better. In any case, it is not so much -that the subject itself is immensely difficult for a foreigner, as that -even supposing this difficulty mastered, the Western public would not -care twopence about the result. Material is everywhere at hand. Yearly, -from the Japanese press are issued the most wonderful and thrilling -stories of Japanese feudal life; but a master-translation of these, -accompanied with illustrations of the finest kind, would fall dead in a -Western book-market, and find its way quickly into the ten-cent boxes of -second-hand dealers. And why? Simply because the Occidental reader could -not feel interested in the poetry or romance of a life so remote. - -No: the public want in fiction things taken raw and palpitating out of -life itself,--the life they know,--the life everybody knows,--not that -which is known only to a few. Stories from Japan (or India or China, -for that matter) must be stories about Western people among alien -surroundings. And the people must not be difficult to understand; they -must be people like the owner of the "Mary Gloster" in Kipling's "Seven -Seas." (You ought to buy that book--and love it.) Of course, I don't -mean to say that I could ever do anything of Kipling's kind--I should -have to do much humbler work,--but I am indicating what I mean by "raw -out of life." - -As for the other suggestion,--who ever was such a pretty maker of -compliments!--I can only say that I am happy to have a friend who thus -thinks of me. - -Gratefully, with much thanks for your charming letter, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I did not think much of the title of Morrow's book; -but your judgement of the stories interested me, and the selfsame -evening I began the volume--in bed. I read three quarters at a run, and -the rest early in the morning. They are queer and sometimes powerful -little stories--not less interesting because they are, most of them, -improbable. They have the charm of the now old-fashioned stories of -1850-70,--perhaps not finished to the same extent as the _Atlantic_ -stories used to be; but they make me think of them a little. (The -literary centres clamour for realism to-day; but I fancy that the taste -for the romantic will live a good while longer.) Then again there is a -little of the old-time gold light of California days here--that will -always have a charm for readers. I wonder if Morrow is a young man: if -he is, I should believe him likely to do still better in the future. If -he writes for money, he need not do much finer work; but if just for -love of the thing, I should say that he could finish his work better -than he does,--as in the study of the emotions of the man who finds -his wife untrue to him, and solves a moral problem after quite an -ideal fashion. The subject was splendid: it might have been made more -of.--But not to criticize things--especially things which I could not do -myself--I must say that I enjoyed the tales, and that they ought to have -a very good sale. - -Somehow your own story--the "Highbinder story"--kept riding on the back -of that gold dragon all the while I was reading. The real dominated the -romantic, and yet betimes made the romantic seem possible. I could feel -everything to be just as it was--my experience as a police-reporter gave -verisimilitude to the least detail. You are after all a knight-errant in -soul,--a real knight, tilting, not against shadows and windmills, but -against the dragons of corrupted law and the giants of fraud who haunt -the nineteenth century. You are a survival, I fear--there are few like -you: you ride alone: all the more reason that you should take every care -of yourself--care of your health; I fear you are not exercising enough, -keeping too confined. If you are really, as I believe, fond of your -little friend, don't forget his prayer that you make health your No. 1 -consideration. - -Hope to be down Friday about 2 P. M. or 2.30 at latest. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - MARCH, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I do not feel pleased at your returning to me -the money and giving me your own copy of the book. I feel mean over -it. But what can one do with a man who deliberately takes off his own -coat to cover his friend during a nine minutes' drive? I shall remember -the _feeling_ of that coat--warmth of friendship must also have been -electrical in it--until I die. - -Affectionately and somewhat reproachfully,--in haste, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I write _in haste_, so as not to keep your man waiting. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Just got your letter,--your more than kind letter. -Happily there is no occasion to send the telegram. I am getting well -fast, and think I shall be lecturing on Monday. No: I did not minimize -things. I have been laid up, but it was more painful than serious. Can't -tell what it was--a painful swelling of one side of the face, and nose. -My picturesque nose suffered most. That a square mile of solid pain -could be concentrated into one square inch of nose was a revelation! -Anyhow, it felt just like a severe case of frost-bite; but I suppose it -was only some sort of a cold. Going to Yokohama had nothing to do with -it; but the weather must have had. It was rather trying, you know, last -Tuesday. - -You are the one who tries to minimize things, my dear friend, by -assuring me that there are thousands of ... people like yourself. I -am glad to think that you _can_ believe thus well of the world; but I -can't, and I should not be glad to think you were right. I prefer the -exceptional. Then you will remember my philosophical theory that no two -living beings have even the same voice, and that it is the uniqueness -of each that has value. I should have to abandon my theories to accept -your opinion of things in general, and I am prejudiced in favour of my -theories. - -Perhaps next week I can run down, and if that be not a good time for -you, the week following. Anyhow the term will be over in about two weeks -more, and--I hope--the cold. Tuesday deceived even the creatures of the -spring. Hundreds of little frogs began to chant their song of birth, and -flowers were opening everywhere. Now there is no sound of a frog. They -woke up too soon, the creatures,--and the flowers look as if they were -dying of consumption. In your hotel you don't know all this--because you -keep up the atmosphere of the Bermudas under that roof. In Ushigome we -are practically in the country, and observe the seasons. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Wasn't I lucky in deciding to get back early last night? -It would have been no easy matter getting back this morning--everything -is drowned in snow! That was the reason of yesterday's atrocious cold. -Verily I was inspired by the gods--both as to going and returning. - -This morning I woke up with an extreme feeling of comfort and -lightness--which reminded me that something very pleasant must have -happened the day before,--and I heard the U.S.C. cynically observing -with a Mephistophelian smile, "Well, I guess our friend here will pull -your chestnuts out of the fire for you!" And then I thanked all the host -of heaven for that which had been, and also for that which would never -again be. After all, I _am_ rather a lucky fellow,--a most peculiarly -lucky fellow. Principally owing to the note written some eight years ago -by a certain sweet young lady whose portrait now looks down on me from -the ceiling of No. 21 Tomihisa-ch[=o], Ichigaya, Ushigome-ku, in the -city of T[=o]ky[=o], Japan. - -I send with this "Some Chinese Ghosts" in awfully bad condition. Early -work of a man who tried to understand the Far East from books,--and -couldn't; but then, the real purpose of the stories was only artistic. -Should I ever reprint the thing, I would change nothing,--but only -preface the new edition with a proper apology. - -You remember my anecdote yesterday of the Memphis man--"What! a d--d -nigger? I'd as soon shoot a nigger as I'd shoot a rat!" He was a very -pretty boy, too. I forgot to tell you something also about him that -occurs to me this morning. He was walking lame in a pair of top-boots -one morning, and I asked him what was the matter. "Only these d--d -boots," he said; "they've taken all the skin off my feet." "Haven't you -another pair?" I asked. "Lots of 'em," he answered; "but I'm not going -to _give in_ to these: I won't let 'em get the better of _me_!--I won't -let them get the better of _me_!" I rather admired this vengeful and -foolish pluck; and I am thinking now that I'd better follow the example. -Spite of all conditions I'm getting No. 6 book under way; and I won't -_give in_ either to publishers or to public. - -Loving thanks for yesterday's extraordinary enjoyableness and for all -things. In haste. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am looking and looking for your last kind letter; but -for the moment I cannot find it. So I must give it up for to-night, if I -am to write you. - -I'm through with the university; and I must get down to Yokohama, either -to-morrow or Monday, and try to bore you, and to coax that story from -Mrs. Burns (is that the name?),--but I shall make another visit later, -if the weather allows. This will be only an expedition--partly in search -of literary material. I feel I must get a few stories, to keep on the -surface. Otherwise I'll get heavy and sink. I have been rather heavy -lately. My dog-sketch has developed into such a nightmare that I myself -am afraid of it, and don't want to think about it for a few days. Then -I have just finished a short sketch, "In a Pair of Eyes"--considerably -metaphysical. Such things may interest; but they will not touch hearts; -and an author must try to get loved by his readers. So I shall forage. - -Consul General Gowey gave me an agreeable start the other day by sending -me a number of "The Philistine"--you know the little thing, very -clever--with a pretended quotation from one of my books. The quotation, -however, hit what I _think_,--though I never put the matter in just that -shape. It was nice of the consul to send it--made me feel jolly. I must -some day send him something to amuse him. Not to like him is impossible. - -I think you must have hosts of friends now calling on you,--since the -battle-powers of the great Republic are gathering out this way. I hope -you won't have to get yourself killed for Uncle Sam; but if you have, I -want to be in the conning-tower about the same time. I fancy, however, -that Manila would not be a mouthful if the navy is ordered to gobble it; -and that the chief result of the expedition to U. S. officers would be -an uncommonly large and fine supply of cigars. - -I have last week declined three dinners. It strikes me that the average -university professor is circumstanced about thus:-- - -1. Twelve to fourteen lectures a week. - -2. Average of a hundred official banquets per year. - -3. Average of sixty private society-dinners. - -4. Average of thirty to fifty invitations to charitable, musical, -uncharitable, and non-musical colonial gatherings. - -5. Average of a hundred and fifty social afternoon calls. - -6. Average of thirty requests for contributions to Japanese publications. - -7. Average of a hundred requests for pecuniary contributions from all -sources. - -8. Average of four requests per month for speeches or outside lectures. - -9. Average of a hundred calls from students "wanting" things--chiefly to -waste _the professor's_ time. - -This is only about half the list. I say "No" to _everything_--softly, -of course. Otherwise how should I exist, breathe, even have time to -think?--much less write books? Oh dear, oh dear!--What a farce it is! -When they first started, they wanted the professors to wear a uniform of -scarlet and gold. (I am sure about the gold--not quite sure about the -scarlet.) The professors kicked at the gold,--luckily for themselves! - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Sunshine, warmth, and beauty in the world to-day; and -sunshine and warmth of another sort in my heart--beautiful ghostly -summer made by words and thoughts in Yokohama. "When the earth is still -by reason of the South wind"--that is my mental world. - -I am sending the photo of our friend, which reminds me that I was -reproached very justly on reaching home last night. "But you did not -bring your American friend's picture?... Forgot to put it into the -valise?... Oh! but you _are_ queer--always, always dreaming! And don't -you feel just a little bit ashamed?" I do feel ashamed, but more than a -little bit. - -Also I send you a little volume containing "The House and the -Brain"--published in other editions under the title "The Haunted and -the Haunters." (Usually it is bound up with that tremendous story about -the Elixir of Life,--the "Strange Story" of Bulwer Lytton.) Professor -Saintsbury calls this the best ghost-story ever written. But you ought -to read it at night only--after the hotel becomes silent. - -By way of precaution I must make a confession. I shall not be able to -eat again until about Tuesday noon, I think. The tiffins, dinners, -"irresistibles," and above all that Blue Soul, were too much for me. -I am getting old, sure enough,--and when I go down again to Yokohama -I must live in the most ascetic manner. I feel constitutionally -demoralized by all that luxurious living. Still, I must say that I -suspect the sudden change of the weather is partly responsible for the -feeling. - -Now, really--don't you feel tired of all this talk? Of course I -know--but the conditions are so much like those of old college -friendships that they seem more of dreams than of reality. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Your kindest letter came last night. I must confess to -a feeling of remorse for transferring all my troubles to your broader -shoulders,--a remorse tempered somewhat, of course, by the certainty -that you find a pleasure in helping your friend, but nevertheless, a -remorse. So pray do not do anything more than you find it pleasant and -inexpensive to do. - -We are under the weather for the moment. We shall not be able to profit -by the holidays. I have escaped cold and all other troubles; but I could -not escape the generally depressing influence of this chilly, sunless, -muddy, slimy season. In other words, I feel too stupid to do anything. -Probably the sight of the sun will make us all feel happy again. - -Of course I shall be unhappy till I get your photos,--both military -and civilian. I fear to ask too many; but all I can get, I want. Don't -hurry; but--don't forget me, if you think I deserve to be remembered. - -I am a little anxious lest war take you away from Japan, which would -leave me less satisfied with this world than I now am. But I should like -indeed to accompany you in a descent on Manila, and to chronicle events -picturesquely. - -I should never be able, however, to do anything so wonderful as did -Loti in describing the French attack on the coast of Annam. It was the -greatest literary feat ever done by a naval officer; but it nearly cost -him his place in the navy, and did in fact suppress him for several -years. In his reissue of the narrative I see that he was obliged to -suppress the terrible notes on the killing. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--The holidays are over; and the winter is still dying hard. -We are all feeling pretty well now notwithstanding,--and my imp was -down yesterday to Ueno, in the sea of people, trying to get a glimpse -of things. Because he had a naval uniform on, he became quite angry at -the _kurumaya_ for proposing to lift him up to look over the heads of -the people. The K. wisely answered: "I know you are a man--but then you -must think that I am a horse only, and ride on my back. Even military -men ride horses, you know!" Subsequently, the imp had to submit to -circumstances,--swallowed his pride,--and got on the man's back. I liked -the pride, though: it was the first flash of the man-spirit in him. - -I wonder if you are ever tired simply of living! That is what the -weather made me for a time. Glimpses of sun now seem quite delicious. -Well, it is the same way with my Yokohama friend. If I saw him too -often, I should not feel quite so warm in the sunshine that he can -make--should begin to think the light a normal and usual, instead of -a most extraordinary condition. There is one thing, however, that I -hope to live to see: M. McD. in a private residence of his own, and a -beautiful young Mrs. McD. therein. - -If the quarrel with Spain does nothing else, perhaps it will stir up -the American people to make a good-sized navy in short order. With so -many thousand miles of coast to defend they are at a big disadvantage -compared with most European powers. I see that Captain Mahan has been -getting out a new book on the subject, just at the right time. What a -lucky author he has been on the whole; and all circumstances seem to -have actually bent themselves in his favour. - -Affectionately, with regards to the doctor and all friends, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Just after having posted my letter (dated 11th, but -mailed 14th) yours came, together with the most precious photographs. My -warmest thanks, not only for them, but also for the friend's inscription -upon them, which adds to their preciousness. But--see how mean I am!--I -hope for _at least_ one more,--the one with the full-dress hat _on_. You -don't like it; but I just love it, and I hope you will save one for me. -The two you sent are admirable: I am going to put the large one in a -frame. - -Shall I climb Fuji? Perhaps; but I know that at this blessed moment I -could not do it. I am too soft now. Must harden up first in the sea; and -then, please the gods, I'll climb with you. The climb is simply horrid; -but the view is a compensation. - -I don't know what to do with you--after that remark about Loti. Unless I -can manage in the next three years to write something very extraordinary -indeed, I fear you will be horribly disappointed some day. You should -try to consider me as a _tenth-rate_ author, until the literary world -shall have fixed my place. And don't for a moment imagine me modest in -literary matters. I am Satanically proud--not modest at all. If I tell -you that much of my work is very bad, I tell you so, not because I am -modest, but because, as a professional writer, I can see bad execution -where you would not see it unless I pointed it out to you. It is like -an honest carpenter, who knows his trade, and will tell his customer: -"That isn't going to cost you much, because the work is bad. See! this -is backed with cheap wood underneath! It looks all right only because -you don't know how we patch up these things." - - Ever most affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Your letter came this morning (Sunday), and it rejoiced -me to find that you are not yet in likelihood of being allowed to attend -the Asiatic side of the smash; while, as you suggest, before you could -join ... on the other side, the serious part of the campaign would be -over. That torpedo squadron at Porto Rico is apparently stronger than -any force of the same kind possessed by the U.S.; and although Northern -seamanship must tell in a fight, machinery in itself is a formidable -thing, even without anything more than mere pluck behind it. But just -think how a literary narrative of a battle would sell in America! -Wouldn't L. B. & Co. make money! - -How kind of you to send photo of Amenomori! (Yes; you returned the -little one.) This will not fade, and is a decided improvement. I need -scarcely tell you that out of a million Japanese heads, you could not -find another like this. It represents the cream of the race at its -intellectual best. - -In writing hurriedly the other day, I forgot to answer your question -about the _Athenaeum_ paper. Yes: the notice was hostile,--but not -directly so; for a literary work the book was highly praised. The critic -simply took the ground of denying that what I wrote about existed. I was -braced with a missionary, and while the missionary's book was accepted -as unquestionable fact, mine was pronounced a volume from Laputa. The -_Saturday Review_ knew better than that. - -As to the royalties given to Kipling, they are fancy rates, of course, -and probably never twice the same. Publishers bid against each other -for the right of issuing even a limited edition. Macmillan & Co. hold -the ultimate right in all cases; but they do not often print the first -edition. Jas. Lane Allen probably gets only ten per cent. He may get -more; but not much more--there is no American to compare with Kipling -in the market, except Henry James and Marion Crawford. Kipling probably -outsells both together. James is too fine and delicate a writer--a -psychological analogist of the most complex society--ever to become -popular. In short, any writer's chances of good terms, in England or -America, must depend upon his popularity,--his general market value. -Once that he makes a big success--that is, a sale of 20,000 copies of a -book within a year and a half, suppose--he can get fancy terms for his -next book. - -... As to when I shall have another MS. I don't know. To-day, I am -hesitating whether I ought or ought not to burn some MS. My work has -lately been a little horrible, a little morbid perhaps. Everything -depends upon exterior influence,--inspiration; and T[=o]ky=[o] is the -very worst place in all Japan for that. Perhaps within a year from now, -I shall have a new book ready; perhaps in six months--according to what -comes up,--suggestions from Nature, books, or mankind. At the very -latest, I ought to have a new book ready by next spring. - -But there is just one possibility. In case that during this year, or -any year, there should come to me a good idea for such a story as I -have been long hoping to write,--a single short powerful philosophical -story, of the most emotional and romantic sort,--then I shall abandon -everything else for the time being, and write it. If I can ever write -_that_, there will be money in it, long after I have been planted in -one of these old Buddhist cemeteries. I do not mean that it will pay -_because_ I write it, but because it will touch something in the new -thought of the age, in the tendencies of the time. All thought is -changing; and I feel within myself the sense of such a story--vaguely, -like the sense of a perfume, or the smell of a spring wind, which you -cannot describe or define. What divine luck such an inspiration would -be! But the chances are that a more powerful mind than mine will catch -the inspiration first,--as the highest peak most quickly takes the sun. -Whatever comes, I'll just hand or send the MS. to you, and say, "Now -just do whatever you please--only see that I get the proofs. The book is -yours." - -Ever so many thanks for kind advice, and for everything else. - -I read that war has begun. Hope it will soon end. Anyhow Uncle Sam does -not lose time: he knows too well that time is money. And after it is -over, he will probably start to build him the biggest fleet in creation; -for he needs it. Ever affectionately, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--Your kindest letter is with me. I cannot quite understand -your faith in my work: it is a veritable Roman Catholic faith,--for it -refuses to hear adverse arguments. I only say that I can see no reason -to suppose or even hope that I can ever be worth to publishers nearly as -much as the author of a blood-and-thunder detective story contributed to -a popular weekly. - -About getting killed:--I should like nothing so much if I had no one but -myself in the world to take care of--which is just why I would not get -killed. You never get what you want in this world. I used to feel that -way in tight places, and say to myself: "Well, I don't care: _therefore_ -it can't happen." It is only what a man cares about that happens. "That -which ye fear exceedingly shall come upon you." I fear exceedingly -being burned alive slowly, in an earthquake fire,--being eaten by -sharks,--being blinded or maimed so as to prove of no further use;--but -dying is probably a very good thing indeed, and as much to be desired -for one's self as dreaded for one's friends. - -But my work is not done yet: I can't afford luxuries till it is done, I -suppose--at least so the gods think. - -No: I shall not burn the MS. yet; but if I decided, after deliberation, -to burn it, I think I should be right. How much I now wish I had burned -things which I printed ten or twelve years ago! - -I think with you that the U.S.N. will sweep the Spaniards off the sea; -but still I feel slightly uneasy. - -I have met a most extraordinary man to whom I gave your address,--in -case he should need advice, or wish to see Amenomori. He is going to the -hotel, but is now at Nikko. His name is E. T. Sturdy. He has lived in -India,--up in the Himalayas for years,--studying Eastern philosophy; and -the hotel delicacies will do him no good, because he is a vegetarian. -He is a friend of Professor Rhys-Davids, who gave him a letter of -introduction to me; and has paid for the publication of several Eastern -texts--Pali, etc. Beyond any question, he is the most _remarkable_ -person I have met in Japan. Fancy a man independent, strong, cultivated, -with property in New Zealand and elsewhere, voluntarily haunting the -Himalayas in the company of Hindoo pilgrims and ascetics,--in search of -the Nameless and the Eternal. Yet he is not a Theosophist exactly, nor a -Spiritualist. I did not get very near him--he has that extreme English -reserve which deludes under the appearance of almost boyish frankness; -but I think we might become fast friends did we live in the same city. -He told me some things that I shall never forget,--very strange things. -I envy, not him, but his independence. Think of being able to live -where one pleases, nobody's servant,--able to choose one's own studies -and friends and books. On the other hand, most authors write because -they are compelled to find occupation for their minds. Would I, being -independent, become idle? I don't think so; but I know that some of my -work has been done just to keep the mind from eating itself,--as does -the stomach without food. _Ergo_, perhaps, I ought to be maintained in a -condition of "eternal torment"? - -Well, it is not impossible that you may eventually suggest to me -something of the great story that is eventually to be written--let -us hope. Assuredly if I once start in upon it, I shall be asking you -questions, and you will be able to help me very much. - - Ever affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ERNEST FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1898. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--It is too bad that I should twice have missed the -pleasure of seeing you,--and still worse that Mrs. Fenollosa should -have come into my wretched little street to find me absent. But it were -better always when possible to let me know in advance of any chances -for a visit--otherwise I can seldom be relied upon; especially in these -months, for I am over head and ears in work,--with the dreadful prospect -of examinations and the agonies of proof-reading to be rolled upon me at -the same moment. You are so far happy to be able to command your time: I -cannot often manage it. - -Well, even if I had been free, I do not think I should have cared -to go to the Ukioy-e exhibition again--except, of course, to hear -you talk about it. I am inclined to agree with one who said that -the catalogue was worth more than the view. It (not the catalogue) -left me cold--partly, perhaps, because I had just been looking at a -set of embroidered screens that almost made me scream with regret -at my inability to purchase them. I remember only three or four at -Ukioy-e,--the interesting Kappa; Sh[=o]ki diverting himself; a Listening -Girl--something of that sort: nothing excited in me any desire to -possess it, even as a gift, except the Kappa and the Sh[=o]ki. (I know -I am hopeless--but it were hopeless to try to be otherwise.) Verily -I prefer the modern colour-prints, which I can afford sometimes to -buy. What is more, I do not wish to learn better. While I know nothing -I can always follow the Shint[=o] code and consult my heart about -buying things. Were I to know more, I should be less happy in buying -cheap things. It is like the Chinese characters on the shop-fronts. -Once you begin to know the meaning of a few, the magical charm--- -the charm of mystery--evaporates. There's heresy for you! As for the -catalogues--especially the glorious New York catalogue--I think them -precious things. If they do me no other good, they serve the purpose of -suggesting the range and unfathomability of my ignorance. I only regret -that you do not use legends,--do not tell stories. If you did, Andersen -would be quickly superseded. We buy him only for the folk-lore and the -references. - -Now I must thank Mrs. Fenollosa for the exceeding kindness of bringing -those books so far for me. I fear I shall have little chance to read -within the next couple of weeks; but if I get the least opportunity, -I must try to read the "Cardinal" anyhow. I shall, whatever happens, -return the volumes safely before very long. As for the Stevenson, it was -not worth while thanking me for; besides, I do not candidly think it an -example of the writer at his highest. But one reads these things because -the times force you to. - -As for the Mountain of Skulls--yes: I have written it,--about seven or -eight times over; but it still refuses to give the impression I feel, -and can't define,--the impression that floated into my brain with the -soft-flowing voice of the teller. I shall try again later; but, although -I feel tolerably sure about the result, nothing but very hard work will -develop the thing. Had I only eleven more stories of such quality, what -a book could be made out of them! Still, it is quite impossible that a -dozen such tales could exist. I read all the Jatakas to no purpose: one -makes such a find only by the rarest and most unexpected chance. - -By the way, it puzzled me to imagine how the professor knew of my -insignificance having visited the exhibition! But a charming professor -who made three long visits there wants very much to make Professor -Fenollosa's acquaintance,--E. Foxwell, a fellow of Cambridge, and an -authority on economics. Quite a rare fine type of Englishman,--at once -sympathetic and severely scientific,--a fine companion and a broad -strong thinker. - -Faithfully, with best regards and thanks, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I wonder if you are perfectly disgusted with my silence -and general invisibility. But perhaps you have been far too busy to -think enough about me even to say, "D--n his lying little soul!" -(which is what I would have said under like circumstances); for I have -been reading about you,--and know that you have had some sad and very -important duties to perform, of an unexpected character. - -I got by the last steamer only two notices for you; they are amusing, -because they represent two entirely different religious points of view -in Methodist criticism. Perhaps you will think the favourable notice -very kindly under the circumstances. - -What to say about the Manila matter I don't know. My notion is that you -will not be likely to get the furlough so soon. Events are thickening, -and looking very dark as well as strange. What most delights me -is the prospect of an Anglo-American alliance. Then will come the -world-struggle of races--British and Yankee against the Slav and his -allies. Hope we shall not see that--it will be a very awful thing,--a -vast earthquake in all the world's markets. And the Latins, curiously -enough, are being drawn together by the same sense of their future -peril. Their existence is in danger. Loti offers his services to Spain, -after having been dropt from the French navy,--not because the moral -justice of the question is understood by him, or even felt by him; but -because his blood and ancestral feelings naturally attract him to Spain -rather than to America. I should be sorry to see the best writer of -prose of any country in this world blown to pieces for his chivalrous -whim; but he is very likely to get killed if he goes into this mess. All -men of letters will feel then very sorry; and a marvellous genius will -have been thrown away for nothing--since there is no ghost of a hope for -Spain. - -I shall get down to Yokohama unexpectedly, I suppose, very soon--if I -feel well enough: the weather has been so atrocious that I had fire in -my room up to last week. I hope you have not felt any the worse for -these abominable changes of temperature. Another such "spring" would -drive me wild! In spite of it I have nearly completed a sixth chapter or -essay for book Number Six. I am full of projects and suggestions; but -cannot yet decide which among the multitude are strong enough to survive -and bear development. - -Ever affectionately, with faint hopes of forgiveness, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1898. - -DEAR WIZARD, MAGICIAN, THAUMATURGIST,--Your letter was wonderful. It -made things quite vivid before me; and I can actually see G. and M. -and the others you speak of (including myself, under the influence of -demophobia). Also you cannot imagine how much good such a letter does -a fellow in my condition. It is tonicky,--slips ozone of hope into a -consumptive soul. I must now keep out of blues for at least another -seven years. - -Anyhow, things are about right. My little wife is getting strong again; -my eyes are all right; the examinations are over; the vacation begins; -Little, Brown & Company send me heaps of books; and we go to the seaside -as soon as I can manage it,--with an old pupil of mine,--an officer now -of engineers. - -Speaking of pupils reminds me that just as you keep me from follies, -or mischief, by a bit of sound advice at times,--not to say by other -means,--so here I have learned to be guided by K.'s mamma. Indeed, -no Occidental-born could manage a purely Japanese household, or -direct Japanese according to his own light. Things are so opposite, -so eccentric, so provoking at times,--so impossible to understand. A -foreign merchant, for example, cannot possibly manage his own Japanese -clerks--he must trust their direction to a Japanese head clerk. And this -is the way all through the Orient,--even in Aryan India. Any attempt -to control everything directly is hopelessly mischievous. By learning -to abstain therefrom, I have been able to keep my servants from the -beginning, and have learned to prize some of them at their weight in -gold. - -What I was going to say especially is in reference to pupils and -students. In T[=o]ky[=o] students do everything everywhere for -or against everybody. They are legion,--they are ubiquitous. The -news-vender, the hotel-clerk, the porter of a mansion, the man-servant -of any large house is sure to be a student, struggling to live. (I have -had one for a year--a good boy, and inconceivably useful, who soon -enters the army.) A T[=o]ky[=o] resident is _obliged_ to have students -about him. They are better guards than police, and better servants than -any servants. If you don't have a student or two, you may look out for -robbers, confidence-men, rowdies, trouble of all kinds at your house. -Students _police_ T[=o]ky[=o]. - -Well, I found I could not be familiar with my students. It spoiled -matters. I had to be a little unpleasant. Then reserved. As a -consequence all is admirable. Direct interference won't do. I have to -leave that to the lady of the house; and she can manage things without -ever getting angry. But another student, whom I am educating, _did_ give -me much heart-burning, until I became simply cruel with him. I should -have dropped him; but I was told: "You don't understand: have patience, -and wait." "But," I said, "his work is trash--worthless." "Never mind," -was the answer, "wait and see!" At the end of the year, I am surprised -by the improvement and the earnestness. "You see," I am told, "that boy -was a spoiled child while his family were rich; but his heart is good. -He will do well yet." And I find this quite probable. How the Japanese -can manage with perfect gentleness and laughter what we cannot manage -by force or fraud or money, ought to be a lesson. And I sympathize with -this character--only, my own character is much too impatient and cranky -to allow of correct imitation. - -I am, or have been, the teacher of men who, although insignificant in -English, are literary celebrities in their own tongue. Their portraits -are known over Japan; their poems and stories celebrated. Naturally -they feel proportionately averse to being treated as mere boys. Still, -an appeal to their honour, gently made, will sometimes work wonders. I -tried it the other day, by advice of the director, when there had been a -refusal to obey. He said: "Don't write to them; don't _order_ them: just -go and talk to them. You know what to say." And they obeyed--_in spite -of the fact that the whole room laughed at them for their change of -resolve_. There is hope for this class of men: if the university system -were better managed, they would be splendidly earnest.... - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--We ran over somebody last night--and the train therefore -waited in mourning upon the track during a decorous period. We did not -see T[=o]ky[=o] till after eleven considerably. But the waiting was -not unpleasant. Frogs sang as if nothing had happened, and the breeze -from the sea faintly moved through the cars;--and I meditated about -the sorrows and the joys of life by turns, and smoked, and thanked the -gods for many things,--including the existence of yourself and Dr. -Hall. I was not unfortunate enough to see what had been killed,--or the -consequences to friends and acquaintances; and feeling there was no more -pain for that person, I smoked in peace--though not without a prayer to -the gods to pardon my want of seriousness. - -Altogether I felt extremely happy, in spite of the delay. The day had -been so glorious,--especially subsequent to the removal of a small h--l, -containing several myriads of lost souls, from the left side of my lower -jaw. - -Reaching home, I used some of that absolutely wonderful medicine. It was -a great and grateful surprise. (I am not trying to say much about the -kindness of the gift--that would be no use.) After having used it, for -the first time, I made a tactile investigation without fear, and found-- - -What do you think? - -Guess! - -Well, I found that--_the wrong one had been pulled_,--No. 3 instead of -No. 2. - -I don't say that No. 3 didn't deserve its fate. But it had never -been openly aggressive. It had struggled to perform its duties under -disadvantageous circumstances: its character had been modest and -shrinking. No. 2 had been, on the contrary, Mt. Vesuvius, the last great -Javanese earthquake, the tidal wave of '96, and the seventh chamber of -the Inferno, all in mathematical combination. It--Mt. Vesuvius, etc.--is -still with me, and although to-day astonished into quiescence, is far -from being extinct. The medicine keeps it still for the time. You will -see that I have been destined to experience strange adventures. - -Hope I may be able to see you again _soon_,--4th, if possible. Love to -you and all kind wishes to everybody. - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I mailed you this morning the raw proofs, and the _Revue -des Deux Mondes_. I fear you will find the former rather faulty in their -present unfinished state. But if you mount Fuji you will be a glorious -critic. - -I don't know how to tell you about the sense of all the pleasant -episodes of yesterday, coupled with the feeling that I must have seemed -too sombre toward the close,--instead of showing to you and friend -Amenomori the happiest face possible. I was unusually naughty--I -suppose; but I was worried a little. However, my sky is only clouded for -moments--and my friends know that appearances signify nothing serious. - -We had adventures at Shimbashi. I saw a well-dressed fellow getting -rather close to my wife while she was counting some small change; and -I pushed in between her and him--just in time; for she had found his -hand on her girdle, trying to get her watch. Then I had a hand poked in -my right side-pocket, and another almost simultaneously into my left -breast-pocket. The men got nothing from either of us. What interested -me was the style of the work. The man I noticed especially was a -delicate-looking young fellow, very genteelly dressed, and wearing -spectacles. He pretended to be very hot, and was holding his hat in -his left hand before him, and working under it with his right. The -touching of the pocket with the fingers reminded me of nothing so much -as the motion of a cat's paw in playing. You know the cat does not give -a single stroke, but a succession of taps, so quickly following each -other that you can scarcely see how it is done. The incident was rather -curious and amusing than provoking. - -I fear poor Amenomori was disappointed--after all his pains about Haneda. - -It was just as well that we made the trip yesterday. To-day the weather -is mean,--cloudy, hot, and dusty all at the same time. Yesterday we had -clear azure and gold,--and lilac-flashing dragonflies,--and a glorious -moon coming home. - -After seeing your shoulders I have no doubt about your finding Fuji -child's-play--even Fuji could not break such a back as that; but I think -that you will do well, on the climb, to eat very lightly. My experience -was that the less eating the easier climbing. I took one drink on the -stiff part of the climb,--contrary to the advice of the guides,--and I -was sorry for it. The necessity is to reduce rather than stimulate the -circulation when you get to the rarefied zone. Perhaps you will find -another route better than the Gotemba route; but Amenomori would be the -best adviser there. - -Ever affectionately, with countless thanks, - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am sending you two of Zola's books, and a rather -complex social novel by Maupassant--not, any of them, to be returned. I -recommend "Rome" only; the others will just do to lend to friends, or to -read for the sake of the French, when you have nothing better on hand. - -What a glorious day we did have! Wonder if I shall ever be able to make -a thumbnail literary study thereof,--with philosophical reflections. The -naval officer, the Buddhist philosopher, and the wandering evolutionist. -The impression is altogether too sunny and happy and queer to be forever -lost to the world. I must think it up some day. - -My back feels to-day as if those little sand-crabs were running over it; -but the pain is nearly all gone. I shall be ready for another swim in a -day or two. - -And that supper at the Grand Hotel! I am awfully demoralized -to-day--feeling gloriously well, but not in a working mood. A week -more of holidays would ruin me! Discomfort is absolutely necessary for -literary inspiration. Make a man perfectly happy, and what has he to -work for? Nothing shall disturb my "ancient solitary reign" excepting -the friends with whom I yesterday imposed upon the patience of certain -crabs,--who suddenly found themselves facing a problem for which all -their inherited experience had left them supremely unprepared. - -Too soon we shall have winter upon us again; and I shall be struggling -with problems of university-student peculiarities;--and I shall be -working wonderfully hard at a new book. There will be all kinds of -dull, dark, tiresome days; but whenever I want I can call back the -summer sun,--simply by closing my eyes. Then, in blue light, between -sand and sea-line, I shall discern a U.S. naval officer in Cape May -costume, and a Buddhist philosopher, busied making little holes in the -beach,--sapping and mining the habitations of small horrified crabs. -Also I shall see a lemon yellow sky, with an amethystine Fuji cutting -sharply against it. And many other things,--little dreams of gold. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I thought the house would go last night; but we had only -two trees blown down this time, and the fence lifted in a southwesterly -direction. Truly I was wise not to go to Shinano as I intended: it -would have been no easy thing to get back again. And you did well not -to try Fuji. It might have been all right; and it might have been very -dangerous work indeed. When a typhoon runs around Fuji, Amenomori tells -me that it blows the big rocks away like a powder-explosion. Judging -from the extraordinary "protection-walls" built about the hut at the -mountain-top, and from the way in which the station-house roofs are -purposely weighted down, I fancy this must be quite true. A lava-block -falling from the upper regions goes down like a bounding shot from a -cannon; and I should just about as soon stand in front of a 50-lb. steel -shell. - -The Japanese papers to-day are denouncing some rice-speculator who -has been praying to the gods for bad weather! The gods do wisely not -to answer anybody's prayers at all. City-dwellers would pray for fine -weather, while farmers pray for rain;--fellows like me would pray for -eternal heat, while others would pray for eternal coolness;--and what -would the gods do when begged by peace-lovers to avert war, and by -military ambitions to bring it about? Think of twenty people praying for -a minister's death; and twenty others pleading for his life. Think of -ten different men praying to the gods for the same girl! Why, really, -the gods would in any event be obliged to tell us to settle our own -little affairs in our own little way, and be d--d! One ought to write -something some day about a dilemma of the gods;--Ludovic Halevy did -something of the sort; but he did not exhaust the subject. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have your delightful letter and throw all else -overboard for the moment to send a few lines of greeting and chatter. - -I have sent word to Mr. ---- that I can receive no foreign visitors. I -run away from the house on days of danger from calls,--and nevertheless -I cannot entirely escape. Yet you would have me enter like Daniel into -that lions' den of the Grand Hotel, because you are the Angel of the -Lord. Well, I suppose I must get down soon,--but I cannot say exactly a -day. Better let me come after the fashion of the Judgement,--when no man -knoweth. - -I am right glad to hear you are well again.... - -Don't know what my book will turn out to be after a few more months -of work. It will be a queer thing anyhow: the Japanese part will be -interesting enough; but the personal-impression parts do not develop -well. And I must work very hard at it. You think that a day or two in -the Grand Hotel is good for me once in a while; but you can't imagine -what difficulty it is to find any time while the thing is still in -pupa-condition. - -But what most injures an author is not means and leisure: it is -_society_, conventions, obligations, waste of time in forms and -vanities. There are very few men strong enough to stand the life of -society, and to write. I can think of but one of importance,--that is -Henry James;--but his special study _is_ society. - -And now for a lecture. (In haste.) - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I find myself not only at the busiest part of the -term, the part when professors of the university don't find time to go -anywhere,--but also in the most trying portion of the work of getting -out a book,--the last portion, the finishing and rounding off. - -And I am going to ask you simply _not_ to come and see your friend, and -_not_ to ask him to come to see you, _for at least three months more_. -I know this seems horrid--but such are the only conditions upon which -literary work is possible, when combined with the duties of a professor -of literature. I don't want to see or hear or feel anything outside -of my work till the book is done,--and I therefore have the impudent -assurance to ask you to help me stand by my wheel. Of course it would be -pleasant to do otherwise; but I can't even think of pleasant things and -do decent work at the same time. Please think of a helmsman, off shore, -and the ship in rough weather, with breakers in sight. - -Hate to send you this letter--but I think you will sympathize with me in -spite of it. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am very glad that I wrote you that selfish letter,--in -spite of the protests of my little wife, who says that I am simply -a savage. I am glad, because I felt _quite sure_ that you would -understand, and that the result would be a very sweet note, which I -shall always prize. Of course, I mean three months at the outside: -I have vowed to finish by the year's end, and I think I can. As for -letters, you can't write too many. It takes me five minutes at most to -write a letter (that is, to you); but if it took an hour I could always -manage that. - -"Like the little crab,"--yes, indeed. Thursday, three enemies dug at my -hole, but I zigzagged away from them. I go in and out by the back way, -now, so as to avoid the risk of being seen from afar off. - -Ever most affectionately (with renewed thanks for that delicious letter), - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1898. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--Verily I think I ought to be apologizing for my -blues. But it is such a relief to write them betimes--when you are -sure of a patient hearing. Besides, it may interest you to hear of a -small professional scribbler's ups and downs. I used only to pray for -opportunity: if I could only get an audience! Now I have one--a small -one. An offer of $1200 from a syndicate, which would make for me nearly -$3000 here; and plenty of others. _And I can't write._ That is, I can -do nothing except what would lower the little reputation I have gained. -In such a case the duty is plainly not to try, but to wait for the Holy -Ghost,--or (as I am out of his domain) the coming of the gods. I am now -in a period of mental drought, but have written half of a book that -will probably be dedicated to E. H.,--or will certainly unless another -incomplete book should be ready first, a book to be called perhaps -"Thoughts about Feelings." - -I am quite uncertain, however, as to the realization of this latter -book. Looking back through my life I find that, with the exception -of West-Indian and a few New Orleans experiences, I remember nothing -agreeable. It was a rule with me from boyhood to try to forget -disagreeable things; and in trying to forget them I made no effort to -remember the agreeable,--just because "a sorrow's crown of sorrows -is remembering happier things." So the past is nearly a blank. Then -another queer thing is my absolute ignorance of realities. Always -having lived in hopes and imaginations, the smallest practical matters, -that everybody should know, I don't know anything about. Nothing, for -example, about a boat, a horse, a farm, an orchard, a watch, a garden. -Nothing about what a man ought to do under any possible circumstances. I -know nothing but sensations and books,--and most of the sensations are -not worth penning. I really ought to have become a monk or something -of that kind. Still, I believe I have a new key to the explanation of -sensations,--if I can find the incident to peg the essays upon,--the -dummies for the new philosophical robes. So far the book of reveries -consists of only two little chapters. The better part of my life might -just as well never have been lived at all. I am only waking up in the -hoariness of age, and my next birth will probably see me a mud-turtle or -a serpent, or something else essentially torpid and speechless. - -Of course, I can write and write and write; but the moment I begin to -write for money, vanishes the little special colour, evaporates the -small special flavour, which is ME. And I become nobody again; and the -public wonders why it ever paid any attention to so commonplace a fool. -So I must sit and wait for the gods. - -Yet a little while, I shall be all hope and pride and confidence; and -again a little while, up to my ears in the Slough of Despond. And the -beautifully milled dollars and exquisitely engraved notes you talk of -will stay in the pockets of practical people. - - - LAFCADIO. - - _Afterthought_ - -DEAR OLD MAN,--Speaking on the subject of "Life"--have you -read "Amiel's Journal" (_Journal Intime_)? If not, I would advise you -to, as its fine delicate analysis of things is in pure harmony with -your own way of thinking, so far as generalities go. In it there is a -paragraph about Germans, of precisely the same tenor as the paragraph in -your letter; and there is an admirable analysis of "society," with some -severe but just (just at the time written) animadversions upon American -society. - -It seems to me, however, that neither Amiel nor anybody else has exactly -told us what society means. Amiel comes very close to it. I think, -however, the real truth would be more brutal.... Is not the charm (and -its display) of womanly presence and power the real force? Because it -is not really intellectual, this society. Intellectual societies are -societies of artists, men of letters, philosophers, where absolute -freedom of speech and action and dress are allowed. The polite society -only delicately sniffs or nibbles at intellectual life, or else -subordinates it to its fairy shows and transformation scenes. I don't -suppose for a moment that I am suggesting even the ghost of anything -new,--but I wish only to suggest that I think (in view of all this) that -nobody has ever, in English, dared to say what society really is as a -system or display,--to cut boldly into the heart of things. I don't mean -to say it is shocking, or wrong, or anything of that sort. It is quite -proper in the existing order of things, or else it wouldn't be. But -there are evolutional illustrations in it.... - -By the way, a Japanese friend tells me I have only _one -soul_,--confirming the Oxford beast's revelation. "Why?" I asked. "You -have no patience. Those who have no patience have only one soul. I have -four souls." "How many souls can one have?" I enquired. "Nine," he said. -"Men who can make other men afraid of them, men of strong will: they -have nine souls, or at least a great many." - -Good-bye,--I think you have several souls. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MRS. FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1898. - -DEAR MRS. FENOLLOSA,--I see that my little word "sympathy"--used, of -course, in the fine French sense of fellow-feeling in matters _not_ of -the common--was as true as I could wish it.... - -_I_ am the one now to give thanks,--and very earnest thanks; for I -confess that I felt a little nervous about your opinion. Independently -of the personal quality which makes it so precious for me, I believe -that it must represent, in a general way, the opinion of a number of -cultured ladies whom I never have seen, and never shall see, but who -are much more important as critics than any editors,--for they _make_ -opinion, not in newspapers or magazines, but in social circles. And I -was a little bit afraid of my new venture in "Retrospectives." I picked -out the little piece sent you, because it had a Japanese subject as a -hanging-peg,--so that I thought you and the professor would feel more -inclined to take the trouble of reading it.... - -Well, you are one of my Rewards in this world: I don't know that I -can expect any better return than your letter for a year's work on a -book,--and I certainly do not want anything better. In this particular -case too, with a new venture, encouragement is positively a benefit as -well as a pleasure. In other cases, it might make me too well satisfied -with my work, and tempt me to be careless, or at least less careful.... - -I see Mr. Edwards has gone; and I am sorry to think that I may never see -him again,--for he is in every way a man and a gentleman. Probably we -shall have a book from him some day; and it will not be a common book, -for that man is incapable of the _common_: he will think hard, work -solidly, and put his own square-set Oxford self into every thought. It -will certainly be interesting. - -My best thanks for that volume of Watson.... I have a very strong liking -for Watson; and there are bits in that book of delightful worth. I shall -venture to impose on your good nature by keeping it just a "weeny" bit -longer,--to copy a verse or two. - -I sprained my foot nearly two weeks ago, and after a week in bed and -bandages, managed to hobble around the university again, but I am now -all over the main trouble. T[=o]ky[=o] roads are dangerous after dark -sometimes. The enforced homeing, however, did me good; for my next book -is almost ready for the publisher. - -And now that you understand my wishes to try to do something new--at -least understand them well enough to write me so very pleasant a -letter,--I am sure you won't think me too selfish for being so rare a -visitor. I am like a setting hen,--afraid to leave my eggs till the -hatching is done and the shells are broken. With all best wishes and -thanks, - - Very truly yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have your precious letter. It came all right. I -am very glad that I was mistaken about the registry-business being -neglected--but I thought it my duty to make the remark. As one of -my students says: "A friend is a man to whom you can tell all your -_suspicions_." - -Now I am going to tell you something much more than "suspicions." I -think it time;--and I want you to listen, and to think over it. - -You do not understand my situation. - -One reason that you do not understand is because you are a -bachelor. Another reason is because you are a naval officer _and_ a -bachelor,--consequently to a considerable degree independent of social -conventions of the smaller and meaner kind. - -I am in a somewhat critical position and time. Don't make any mistake -about it. Small as I am, I have mountains to lift; and if you do not -realize it, you cannot help it, but can only get your fingers crushed. -Only your fingers--mind! but that will hurt more than you think. - -Here is my fix: I have "down upon me"-- - -I. Society. Civilized society conspires to starve certain men to death. -It must do so in self-defence. There _are_ privileged men; I may become -one yet. - -II. I have down on me the Church. By Church, you must not think of the -Roman, Greek, Episcopalian, etc., persuasions,--but all Christendom -supporting missionary societies, and opposing free-thinking in every -shape. Do not be deceived by a few kindly notes about my work from -religious sources. They are genuine,--but they signify absolutely -nothing against the great dead weight of more orthodox opinion. As -Professor Huxley says, no man can tell the force of a belief until he -has had the experience of fighting it. Good! Church and Society together -are pretty vigorous, you will acknowledge. - -III. The English and American Press in combination,--the press that -represents critical opinion in London as well as in New York. Don't -mistake the meaning of notices. All, or nearly all, are managed by -the publishers. The policy is to praise the work--because that brings -advertisements. Society, Church, Press--that means a big combination, -rather. On my side I have a brave American naval officer--and the -present good will of the Japanese Government, which has been vaguely -aware that my books have been doing some good. - -Now you may say, "How important the little mite thinks himself,--the -cynosure of the world!" But that would be hasty thinking. I am pretty -much in the position of a book-keeper known to have once embezzled, -or of a man who has been in prison, or of a prostitute who has been -on the street. These are, none of them, you will confess, _important_ -persons. But what keeps them in their holes? Society, Church, and -public opinion--the Press. No man is too small to get the whole world's -attention _if_ he does certain things. Talent signifies nothing. Talent -starves in the streets, and dies in the ginhouse. Talent helps no one -not in some way independent of society. _Temporarily_, I _am_ thus -independent. - -At this moment the pressure is very heavy--perhaps never will be much -heavier. Why? Because I have excited some attention,--because there is a -danger that I might succeed. You must not think I mean that everybody in -general, or anybody in special, _thinks out these thoughts_. Not at all. -Society, Church, and Press work blindly, instinctively,--like machinery -set in motion to keep a level smooth. The machinery feels the least -projection, and tries to flatten it out of existence,--without even -considering what it may be. Diamond or dung makes no difference. - -But if the obstruction prove _too_ hard, it is lifted out of the way of -the machinery. That is where my one chance lies--in making something -solid that forces this kind of attention. - -You might ask me, if I think thus, why dedicate a book to our friend -the doctor? That is a different matter. My literary work _cannot_ be -snubbed; and it goes into drawing-rooms where the author would be -snubbed. Besides, a doctor can accept what other people can't. - -You see that there are many who come to Japan that want to see me; and -you think this is a proof of kindly interest. Not a bit of it. It is -precisely the same kind of curiosity that impels men to look at strange -animals,--a six-legged calf, for instance. The interest in the book is -in some cases genuine; the interest in the personality is of the New -York _Police Gazette_ quality. Don't think I am exaggerating. When I get -my fingers caught in the cogs, I can feel it. - -So much for the ugly side of the question. Let us take the cheerful one. - -_Every_ man who has new ideas to express, at variance with the habits -of his time, _has to meet the same sort of opposition_. It is valuable -to him. It is valuable _to the world at large_. Weakness can't work -or burst through it. Only strength can succeed. The man who does get -through has a right to be proud, and to say: "I am strong." With -health and time, I shall get through,--but I do feel afraid sometimes -of physical disaster. Of course I have black moments; but they are -also foolish moments--due to disordered nerves. I must just hammer -on steadily and let money quarrels go to the deuce, and sacrifice -everything to success. When you are in the United States you may be -able to help me with the business part of the thing--providing that -you understand exactly the circumstances, and don't imagine me to be a -possible Kipling or Stevenson. Not only am I a mere mite in literature, -but a mite that has to be put forward very, very cautiously indeed. -"Overestimate" me! well, I should rather say you did. - -And now we'll leave theory for practice. I don't think you can do -anything now--anything at all. You _might_--but the chances are not -worth taking. You will be surprised to hear, I fancy, that the author -must see his proofs--not for the purpose of assuring himself that -the text is according to the copy, but for the purpose of making it -_different_ from the MS. Very few writers can perfect their work in -MS.; they cannot see the _colour_ and line of it, till it gets into -type. When a statue is cast, it is cast exactly according to the mould, -and shows the lines of the mould, which have to be removed: then the -polishing is done, and the last touches are given. Very slight work--but -everything depends upon it. So with artistic writing. It is by changes -in the printed form that the final effect is obtained. Exactness -according to the MS. means nothing at all; that is only the casting,--a -matter of course; and another man can no more look after your proofs -than he can put on your hat. Did you ever try the experiment of letting -a friend try to fit your hat comfortably on your own head? It can't be -done. - -Health is good; sprain about well; book nearly through--sixteen chapters -written. Only, the flavour is not yet quite right. - -Finally, dear friend, don't think, because I write this letter, that -I am very blue, or despondent, or anything of that sort. I am feeling -to-day unusually well,--and remember something said to me ten years -ago by a lady who at once detested me after our introduction. She said: -"A man with a nose like you should not worry about the future--he will -_bore_ his way through the world." I trust in my nose. With true love to -you, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I am very, very sorry that you had that accident,--and -I fear that you are worse off than you let me know. I must get down -to-morrow (Saturday), and see how you are--though I fear I can do no -more than chatter to you like an _usots'ki_. Well, we've both had -accidents lately--my foot isn't quite well yet. We must have extra good -luck to make up for these mishaps. - -Yes, I should be glad to know your friend Bedloe,--or any of your naval -friends: they are _men_ as well as gentlemen, and I feel quite at home -with them. - -Ah! I had almost forgotten. I _have_ Kipling's "Day's Work" already. -It is great--very great. Don't mistake him, even if he seems too -colloquial at times. He is the greatest living English poet and English -story-teller. Never in this world will I be able to write one page -to compare with a page of his. He makes me feel so small, that after -reading him I wonder why I am such an ass as to write at all. Love to -you, all the same, for thinking of me in that connection. - -Term's over--all but a beastly "dinner." D--n dinners! I'll _see_ you -presently. - - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Do you know we talked uninterruptedly the other day for -ten hours,--for the period that people are wont to qualify when speaking -of the enormity of time as "ten _mortal_ hours"? What a pity that they -could not be made _im_mortal! They will be always with me,--though I -really fear that I must have tired you, in spite of protests. Every time -I can get such a chat with you, you become much dearer to me--so that I -really cannot feel as sorry as I ought for keeping you engaged that long. - -Well, I don't quite know what I shall do about the "Ghostly Japan." I -shall think a little longer. My duty, I feel, is to sacrifice it: only -I don't want to have any tricks played upon me,--just because tricks -annoy. Nevertheless I ought to accept the annoyance cheerfully: it is -part of the price one must pay for success. Huxley says that one of the -things most important for anybody to learn is that a heavy price must be -paid for success. - -I got a letter from a Yale lad, which I enclose, and a magazine which -I am sending you. The wish is for an autograph; but there the case is -meritorious and I want the sympathy of boys like that--who must be the -writers and thinkers of 1900. So I wrote him as kind a letter as I -could,--assuring him, however, that I am not a Buddhist, but still a -follower of Herbert Spencer. It is a nice little magazine. I suppose -that H. M. & Co.'s advertisement had something to do with the matter; -but from the business point of view, it is an excellent idea to try to -work a book through the universities. Those lads are thinkers in their -own way. See the poem on page 90,--also on page 83: both show thinking. -I ventured to advise the writer of "Body and Soul" to make a new -construction of the thought. The conditions might be reversed. First the -man is the body; the woman the soul. But the woman's soul is withered -up by the act of the man; and the body only remains. Then the man gets -sorry, and gets a soul through the sorrow of the wrong that he has done. -Then _she_ becomes the Flesh, and _he_ the Ghost. I did not explain all -this--only suggested it. A case of vicarious sacrifice. How many women -have to lose their own souls in order to give souls to somebody else! - -Wish I was with you to-day, and to-morrow, and many days in succession. -But if we have plum pudding every day--! I mean not _you_ by the plum -pudding, but the circumstantial combination. I wanted to say that -pleasure spoils the soul for working purposes,--but I am afraid to -attempt to carry the simile further, lest you should turn it round, and -hit me with it. I shall see you erelong, anyhow. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - -[Illustration: MR. HEARN'S LATER HANDWRITING] - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND,--"I've gone and been and _done_ it." This wise:--You see I -kept thinking about things--discounts and money-profits and bargains, -and publishers playing into each other's hands,--and the possible -worthlessness of the work,--and the necessity of improving it much more -before insisting upon high prices,--and the wisdom of recopying half -of it,--and the risks of shipment and shipwreck and fire and dishonest -post-office clerks--till I got nearly crazy! If I listened much more -to the echoes of your suggestions and advice, I should have gone -_absolutely_ crazy. Therefore in fifteen minutes I had the whole thing -perfectly packed and labelled and addressed in various languages, and -shot eastward by doubly-registered letter--dedicated to Mrs. Behrens, -but entrusted largely to the gods. And to save myself further trouble -of mind, I told the publishers just to do whatever they pleased about -terms--and not to worry me concerning them. And I feel like a man -liberated from prison,--smelling the perfumed air of a perfect spring -day. "Ghostly Japan" will concern me no more--unless the ship is -wrecked, or the manuscript lost in some way: which must not be thought -about. The book is gone, and the illustrations go by next mail. Pray to -the gods for the book--that's all that we can do now. - -I hope the foot is not any worse. You are an impatient boy, too, you -know--when it comes to sitting still, instead of rushing things. Please -take all good care of yourself till I run down, which will be very soon. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO ERNEST FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -MY DEAR PROFESSOR,--I have been meditating, and after the meditation I -came to the conclusion not to visit your charming new home again--not at -least before the year 1900. I suppose that I am a beast and an ape; but -I nevertheless hope to make you understand. - -The situation makes me think of Beranger's burthen,--_Vive nos amis les -ennemis!_ My friends are much more dangerous than my enemies. These -latter--with infinite subtlety--spin webs to keep me out of places where -I hate to go,--and tell stories of me to people whom it would be vanity -and vexation to meet;--and they help me so much by their unconscious -aid that I almost love them. They help me to maintain the isolation -indispensable to quiet regularity of work, and the solitude which is -absolutely essential to thinking upon such subjects as I am now engaged -on. Blessed be my enemies, and forever honoured all them that hate me! - -But my friends!--ah! my friends! They speak so beautifully of my work; -they _believe_ in it; they say they want more of it,--and yet they would -destroy it! They do not know what it costs,--and they would break the -wings and scatter the feather-dust, even as the child that only wanted -to caress the butterfly. And they speak of communion and converse and -sympathy and friendship,--all of which are indeed precious things -to others, but mortally deadly to me,--representing the breaking-up -of habits of industry, and the sin of disobedience to the Holy -Ghost,--against whom sin shall not be forgiven,--either in this life, or -in the life to come. - -And they say,--Only a day,--just an afternoon or an evening. But _each_ -of them says this thing. And the sum of the days in these holidays--the -days inevitable--are somewhat more than a week in addition. A week of -work dropped forever into the Abyss of what might-have-been! Therefore -I wish rather that I were lost upon the mountains, or cast away upon a -rock, than in this alarming city of T[=o]ky[=o],--where a visit, and the -forced labour of the university, are made by distance even as one and -the same thing. - -Now if I were to go down to your delightful little house, with my -boy,--and see him kindly treated,--and chat with you about eternal -things,--and yield to the charm of old days (when I must confess -that you fascinated me not a little),--there is no saying what the -consequences to me might eventually become. Alas! I can afford -friends only on paper,--I can occasionally write,--I can get letters -that give me joy; but visiting is out of the possible. I must not -even _think_ about other people's kind words and kind faces, but -work,--work,--work,--while the Scythe is sharpening within vision. -Blessed again, I say, are those that don't like me, for they do not fill -my memory with thoughts and wishes contrary to the purpose of the AEons -and the Eternities! - -When a day passes in which I have not written--much is my torment. -Enjoyment is not for me,--excepting in the completion of work. But I -have not been the loser by my visits to you both--did I not get that -wonderful story? And so I have given you more time than any other person -or persons in T[=o]ky[=o]. But now--through the seasons--I must again -disappear. Perhaps _le jeu ne vaudra pas la chandelle_; nevertheless I -have some faith as to ultimate results. - -Faithfully, with every most grateful and kindly sentiment, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1898. - -DEAR [=O]TANI,--To-day I received the gift sent from Matsue,--and the -very nice letter with which you accompanied it. I think that a better -present, or one which could give me sincerer pleasure will never be -received. It is a most curious thing, that strange texture,--and a most -romantic thing also in its way,--seeing that the black speckling that -runs through the whole woof is made by characters of letters or poems -or other texts, written long ago. And I must assure you that I shall -always prize it--not only because I like it, but particularly because -your mother wove it. I am going to have it made into a winter _kimono_ -for my own use, which I shall always wear, according to season, in my -study-room. Surely it is just the kind of texture which a man of letters -ought to wear! My best thanks to you and your family,--most of all to -your kind mother,--and my earnest wishes for a fortunate year to come. - -Your collection of poems this month interested me a great deal in a new -way--the songs separately make only a small appeal to imagination; but -the tone and feeling _of the mass_ are most remarkable, and give me a -number of new ideas about the _character of the "folk-work."_ ... - -With renewed best wishes for a happy and fortunate New Year to you and -yours, - - Sincerely, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO ---- - -DEAR FRIEND,--I am afraid this letter which I am now writing will not -please you altogether. Forgive anything in it which you do not like--for -the sake of the friendship behind it. - -The matter is difficult; and I cannot at this moment report any -progress. I understand something of the matter. It is not any use to try -to do anything further until I explain things as well as I can, and have -heard your answer. Before I can do anything more, I want you to make -some promises to _me_, your friend. After that you can make them to her, -if you love her well enough. - -To begin with, in regard to explanation, I think you are wrong, and that -your wife and her father are quite right. Under the same circumstances, -if I were her father, I should take her away from her husband if I could. - -You are not wrong by _heart_--you are wrong only because you do not -understand, do not know the conditions. Women of different classes -cannot be all treated alike. Your wife is a refined, gentle lady--very -sensitive and very easily hurt by harsh words or neglect. You cannot -expect to treat such a lady like a farm-servant or a peasant-woman. It -would kill her. But I have heard (_not_ from your wife, but from other -persons) that she was allowed by you to work in the garden, under a hot -sun, thirty days after childbirth and the loss of her child. This seems -to me a _terrible_ thing, and you cannot have known what it means to a -woman's constitution. - -A refined lady will not submit to be treated like a servant--unless she -has no spirit at all. Your wife's action shows that she has self-respect -and spirit; and you want the mother of your children to be a woman of -spirit and self-respect. Do not be angry with her because she shows this -honourable pride. It is good. - -I do not think that you can expect your wife to act as a daughter to -your parents, or to live with them as a daughter exactly in the old -way. Meiji has changed many things. Girls who have passed through the -new schools are no longer hardy and strong like the Samurai women of -old days. Observe how many of them die after a year of marriage. -Then your parents and your wife belong to different eras,--different -conditions,--different worlds. If they should expect your wife to be all -to them that a daughter-in-law might have been in the old days, I fear -that would be impossible. She has not the strength for that; and her -whole nature is differently constituted. - -I think you could only be happy by living alone with each other in your -own house. Perhaps this seems wrong to you,--but that is Meiji. The -fault is in the times, not in hearts. - -If you marry another educated lady of the new school, you will have -exactly the same trouble. The old conditions cannot be maintained under -the new system of change. - -But the chief trouble, of course, would be your attitude to your wife. -You have not, I think, been considerate to her--regarded her too much -as one bound to serve and obey. It will not do in _her_ case. She has -spirit, and she wants different treatment. It is better for a strong -man to treat a wife exactly as he would treat a child that he loves. -By her weakness and delicacy every educated woman is a child, and -must be petted and loved like a child. If she be harshly treated, and -have no pleasure--even if she be treated as well as you would treat a -_man_-friend--then the result is unfortunate always, and the children -born will show the mother's pain. - -Your wife is evidently afraid of the future--thinks it impossible that -she can get from you the treatment or the consideration she ought to -have, and must have in order to be happy. She will not say anything -definite; but I am sure of this. She will not tell you her troubles--you -should know them without being told. Not to know them _shows_ the want -of consideration. - -The higher you go in society and in educated circles, the more the woman -differs from the man. She cannot be judged or understood as a man. She -becomes a distinct being with a distinct character, and very, very -delicate feelings. - -Well, this is enough to give you an idea of how I see the matter. _Can -you honestly promise to treat your wife in a completely new way,--with -such delicacy as you never did before, and always?_ If you can, I -_think_ we can manage to do something. There is also something important -to consider in regard to family matters. Can you not make this matter -smooth also? Please answer before three o'clock. Do not come to the -house until late this evening, or to-morrow. In haste, - - Affectionately, your friend, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO ---- - -DEAR FRIEND,--After you bid us good-bye, I began to think about things, -and resolved to write you a little letter about my conclusions. Of -course, because I am a foreigner, I cannot pretend to make absolutely -correct conclusions; but I should like to be of use to you as a friend, -and therefore believe that I cannot do any harm by presenting both sides -of the question, as they appear to me. - -It seems that there is one view of the matter which might not have been -fully thought over yet. The woman's side, I mean. It is true she has not -stated it; but I imagine it might be this:-- - -A woman of cultivation, although seeming very strong, may be very -sensitive and delicate--and may suffer more than a strong man can -imagine possible, by reason of very little matters. When about to become -a mother, her capacity for suffering greatly increases, and after -childbirth it remains intense. These are natural conditions; but after -the loss of a child, the condition is a very serious one, especially for -a lady who has been well educated. I know this chiefly by some knowledge -of medical physiology.--Now, what I mean is this: Anything that a wife -does during or after pregnancy should, I believe, be not only forgiven, -but _lovingly_ forgiven,--because _then_, what she suffers no man can -really understand. And the more educated she is, the more refined she -is, the more she suffers. - -Suppose now we look at her view,--or at what might be her view. She has -a very affectionate and true husband; but he is very strong, has never -been nervous or nervously sick, cannot understand what she suffers. She -is ashamed to confess her weakness and her pain. So she does not tell -him. She smiles and tries to make it appear that she is strong. The -loss of her child is a very great pain to her--more than any man could -understand; but she tries to forget it. Still, her husband does not -know all this. She is not able to be quick and active and ready, and -he does not understand why. Even a woman's memory weakens during this -painful period. Her mind is not so strong, and can only become as before -after the weaning of her child, or many months after childbirth. To the -strong peasant-woman this is a small trial; but to the educated lady it -is a question of life and death, and not a few even lose their reason -after losing a child--become insane. The physiologist knows this; but -many do not. And the wife, in such a case, may seem not to be kind to -the parents--simply because she _cannot_ be. She has the will,--not the -physical power. She is in the position of one who needs a servant--needs -all the help and comfort she can get--all the love she can obtain. She -cannot give help and do service; because neither body nor mind is strong -enough. And neither is strong enough--_because_ she has been strained -to her uttermost by her years of education. It is the same way the -world over. The lady cannot do or suffer as much as the woman who has -not passed her youth at schools. Mind and body have been transformed by -education. - -Now, dear friend, I imagine that this must be the state of affairs. -Your wife and her parents do not wish to do wrong, in my opinion. She -feels that she is not strong enough to remain your wife under the same -conditions. She cannot bear hardship, or do many things which seem to a -man mere trifles, while in a delicate condition. And she fears that she -would be unhappy and sick and lose another child. But she will never -_tell_ you. A woman will not tell those things. Unless a husband can -understand _without being told_,--the two cannot live together long. -The result must be, for the wife, death! - -I think, dear friend, that this is the truth of the matter. Now you can -separate good friends, or else--what could you do? - -If I were in your place, perhaps I should try to prevent the separation. -I should let the wife have her own gentle way. I should try to make her -comfortable, and not ask her to help me or my parents in any way,--but -only to bear my children and to love me, and to make home happy. But -_unless_ she has a good heart, I should be wrong. - -There is no question, I think, about the good heart. Your wife has that, -surely. It seems to me only a case of misunderstanding. Remember, dear -friend, that you are a very strong man, and that you can afford to be -very considerate to a weak woman, after the torture of childbirth and -the loss of the love--the child-love--for which Nature has been changing -the whole body. Remember also, that even your parents--not knowing the -strain of this new education on the physical system of the girl--might -judge her a little severely. Certainly she must love you, and wish that -she could be to you all you wish. - -Forgive this long letter. What I want to say is this: If it be not too -late, let us try whether a reconciliation is not possible. If you can -make allowances, and change conditions a little, all would be well, -perhaps. If _not_,--if you want a stronger woman for a wife,--perhaps it -is better to separate. But it would be a great pity to separate simply -because of a misunderstanding. So let us try to make things as they were -before. - - Affectionately your friend, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I got home safe and early,--thanks to your carriage! But -I feel a little uneasy about you; and when you get perfectly right again -in that strong back of yours, I want to hear from you--_not_ before. -Don't imagine that I must have an answer to every scrawl. I don't know -what to say to you and the doctor,--except that you are both spoiling -me. T[=o]ky[=o] seems unusually tristful this rainy evening; and I feel -that it is because you and the doctor are both far away,--and that the -world is not really anything like what you make it appear to be. - -I came up with three Americans, all of whom talked about Manila, -Aguinaldo, "the people at home," Boston, the Pennsylvania Central, -Baldwin's locomotives, the Pacific Coast,--and the commanders of the -various iron-clads at Manila. It did me good to hear them. They cocked -up their heels on the seats, home-fashion; and I felt sort of pulled -towards them,--but we didn't get acquainted. They knew everything about -everything in the whole world; and it did one good to hear them. Wish we -had a few men of that sort in the university. - -It will feel lonesome in Japan after you go back: I think I should like -to be one of those small eaglets that you used to supply with fish on -the voyage,--and have a hen wander occasionally within reach of my rope. - -Only a line before going to sleep. A stupid note--just to show that I am -thinking of you. My wife is delighted with the photo, and says it is the -best of all by far--in which I agree with her. - -Love to you, and _do_ take every care of your dear self. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I suppose you have heard of a famous old drama which -has for its title, "The Woman Killed with Kindness." Presently, if you -do not take care, you will be furnishing the material for a much more -modern tragedy, to be called, "The Small Man Killed with Kindness." Here -I have been waiting three days to write you,--and have not been able -to write, because of the extravagant and very naughty things which you -have done. That whiskey! Those cigars! That wonderful beefsteak! Those -imperial and sinfully splendid dinners! Those wonderful chats until -ghost-time, and beyond it! And all these things--however pleasing in -themselves--made like a happy dream by multitudes of little acts and -words and thoughts (all observed and treasured up) that created about -me an atmosphere not belonging at all to this world of Iron Facts and -Granite Necessities. "Come soon again"--indeed! Catch me down there -again this winter! Steep a man's soul in azure and gold like that again, -and you will utterly spoil him for those cold grey atmospheres under -which alone good work can be done. It is all tropical down there at -No. 20 Bund; and I must try to forget the tropics in order to finish -No. 8. The last time I had such an evening was in 1889,--in a flat of -Fifth Avenue, New York, where a certain divine person and I sat by a -fire of drift-wood, and talked and dreamed about things. There was this -difference, however, that I never could remember what passed as we -chatted before that extraordinary fire (which burned blue and red and -green--because of sea-ghosts in it). _That_ was largely witchcraft, but -at No. 20 Bund, without witchcraft, there is more power than that. And -if I am afraid of it, it is not because I do not like it even more than -the magic of Fifth Avenue, but because--No. 8 must be done quickly! - -You must really promise to be less good to me if you want to see me -again before the Twentieth Century. I wish I knew how to scold you -properly;--but for the moment I shall drop the subject in utter despair! - -I hope what you say about my being still a boy may have a grain of truth -in it,--so that I can get mature enough to make you a little bit proud -of encouraging me in this out-of-the-way corner of the world. But do -_you_ please take good care of that health of yours, if you want to see -results: I am just a trifle uneasy about you, and you strong men have -to be more careful than midges and gnats like myself. Please think twice -over these little remarks. - -I have no news at all for you;--there is no mail, of course, and nothing -interesting in this muddy place. I can only "report progress." I have a -very curious collection of Japanese songs and ballads, with refrains, -unlike any ever published in English; and I expect to make a remarkable -paper out of them. - -By the way, I must tell you that such enquiries as I tried to make for -you on the subject of waterfalls only confirm what I told you. The -mere idea of such a thing is horribly shocking to the _true_ Japanese -nature: it offends both their national and their religious sense. The -Japanese love of natural beauty is not artificial, as it is to a large -degree with us, but a part of the race-soul; and tens of thousands of -people travel every year hundreds of miles merely to enjoy the sight and -sound of a little waterfall, and to please their imagination with the -old legends and poems concerning it. (The Japanese heart never could -understand American willingness to use Niagara for hydraulic or electric -machinery--never! And I must confess that I sympathize altogether with -them.) But that is not all: the idea of a _foreigner_ using a waterfall -for such a purpose would seem to millions of very good, lovable people -like a national outrage. The bare suggestion would excite _horror_. Of -course there are men like---- who have suppressed in themselves all -these feelings,--but they represent an almost imperceptible minority. -They regard the ruin of Fairy-land as certain;--but the mass are still -happy in their dreams of the old beauty and the old gods. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Our scare is pretty nearly over;--the fever was broken -to-day, and we had a consultation of doctors. It seems to have been -pneumonia of the nasty, sudden kind. The little fellow never lost his -senses; but for part of yesterday he lost all power to speak. I think he -will get strong from now. The other boy got laid up about the same time, -but much less severely. The night they caught cold, the thermometer went -down to 26 deg., and the change was too much for them. By constant care for -a few days, I think we shall have them all right again: then I shall -hope, either to coax you up here, or go down to see you--if only to -shake hands. So far I am lucky; for I have been working like a Turk, and -keeping well. Work is an excellent thing to keep a fellow from worrying, -and my "self-confidence" is growing in the proper cautious way again. - -What a funny, funny episode is that story of Lieutenant Hobson, shipped -to Manila to keep him from being kissed to death by pretty girls! Wonder -if he would not prefer to face the Santiago forts again? The incident -is quite peculiarly American, and pretty in its way: it ought to make -heroes multiply. There is something to be a hero for,--to have one's -pick of the finest girls in the country. Still I have been thinking -that most of us would feel shy about marrying the woman who would stand -up and ask for a kiss in a theatre. It is the same sort of enthusiasm -that makes women tear out their earrings, and throw them on the stage -when a Liszt or a Gottschalk is improvising. I see no reason why -heroism should arouse less enthusiasm and affection than musical skill; -but don't you think that in either case we should prefer the silent -admiration of the giver that doesn't lose her head, but remains strongly -self-controlled--"all in an _iron glow_," as Ruskin calls it? When the -brave lieutenant wants a wife, I fancy he will be looking for that kind -of woman, rather than the other. - -There is no news for me by mail,--but we shall have another mail next -week, I suppose. The university course runs smoothly: this is my third -year; and my subject happens to be the 19th century, in which I feel -more at home than in the other branches of the subject. Fancy! I am -lecturing now on Swinburne's poetry. They would not allow me to do -this in a Western university perhaps--yet Swinburne, as to form, is -the greatest 19th century poet of England. But he has offended the -conventions; and they try to d--n him with silence. I believe you can -trust me to do him justice here, when I get the chance. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD. - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Everything is bright and sunny with us again: we have -to keep the boys in a warm room, and nurse them carefully, but they are -safe now. I shall never forget your kindest sympathy, and the doctor's -generous message. Am I bad for not writing sooner? To tell the truth I -was a little tired out myself, and got a touch of cold; but I'm solid -and shipshape again, and full of hope to see you. I shall have no more -duties until Tuesday morning (31st); so, if you will persist in risking -a bad lunch and an uncomfortable room, and the trouble of travelling -to T[=o]ky[=o], I shall be waiting for you. I think you ought to come -up _once_ more, anyhow. I want you to see yourself _vis-a-vis_ with -Elizabeth. I want to chat about things. (No mail yet at this writing.) -If you cannot conveniently come this week, come just when you please any -_afternoon_ between Fridays (inclusive) and Mondays. - -Odin said, in the Havamal,--"_I counsel thee, if thou hast a trusty -friend, go and see him often; because a road which is seldom trod gets -choked with brambles and high grass._" - -This is a case of "don't-do-as-I-do,--but-do-as-I-tell-you"--isn't it? -Besides, I am not worth a d--n as a friend, anyhow. I quote these most -ancient verses only because you expressed an interest in them during our -last delightful chat;--but whether you come or no, brambles will _never_ -grow upon the pathway. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I have just got your dear letter: don't think me -neglectful for not writing to you sooner;--this is the heavy part of the -term; and the weather has been trying me. - -Well, I am glad to hear that you have read a book called "Exotics and -Retrospectives." I have not seen it. Where did it come from? How did -you get it? When was it sent? Did the doctor get his copy? (Don't -answer these questions by letter in a hurry: I am not asking very -seriously,--as I suppose I shall get my copies by the _Doric_.) - -I have been doing nothing to speak of lately: too tired after -a day's work,--and the literary jobs on hand are mechanical -mostly,--uninteresting,--mere ruts of duty. I hate everything -mechanical; but romances do not turn up every day. - -Thanks for your interest in my lecture-work; but you would be wrong -in thinking the lectures worth printing. They are only dictated -lectures--dictated out of my head, not from notes even: so the form -of them cannot be good. Were I to rewrite each of them ten or fifteen -times, I might print them. But that would not be worth while. I am not -a scholar, nor a competent critic of the best; there are scores of men -able to do the same thing incomparably better. The lectures are good for -the T[=o]ky[=o] University, however,--because they have been adapted, by -long experience, to the Japanese student's way of thinking and feeling, -and are put in the simplest possible language. But when a professor -in Japan prints his lectures, the authorities think they have got all -that he knows in hand, and are likely to look about for a new man. It is -bad policy to print anything of the kind here, and elsewhere the result -would be insignificant. I had better reserve my force for work that -other people _cannot_ do better,--or at least won't do. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - February, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--You should never take the pains to answer the details of -my letters: it is very sweet of you to do it,--but it means the trouble -of writing, as it were, with a sense of affectionate obligation, and it -also means the trouble of re-reading, line by line, letters which are -not worth reading more than once--if even once. Please forget my letters -always, and write whatever you like, and don't think that I expect you -to take me very seriously. Why, I cannot even take myself always very -seriously!--By the way, that was a very pretty simile of yours about the -nebula condensing into a sun. But the nucleus, to tell the truth, has -not yet begun to integrate: there is a hardening here and there upon the -outermost edges only,--which is possibly contrary to the law that makes -great suns. - -It is pleasant to know that the sickness was not very severe. Still, I -am inclined to suspect that you underrate it. Naval men always call a -typhoon "a gale," or "a smart breeze"--don't they? - -I did receive a book and various letters, and I have had by this -mail four requests for autographs--two from England. The book I -would send you if it were worth it, but it is a very stupid attempt -at an anti-Christian-Spiritist-Theosophico-Buddhist novel, written -anonymously. I don't like this kind of thing, unless it be extremely -well done, and does not meddle with "astral bodies," "luminiferous -ether," and "sendings." There has been so much disgusting nonsense -written about Buddhism by Theosophists and Spiritists that ridicule is -unjustly sprinkled upon the efforts of impartial men to explain the real -beauties and truths of Eastern religion. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], February, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Now don't give yourself all that trouble about coming up -to T[=o]ky[=o]. It would have been an ugly trip for you last Saturday or -Sunday, anyhow: wait till the fine days, and till you don't know what -else to do. I think I shall see you before you go to the U. S. anyhow, -in T[=o]ky[=o]; but I don't think you will be able to manage the trip -very often. If I telegraph, "Dying--quick--murder:" then I know that you -will even quit your dinner and come;--isn't that pleasant to be sure of? - -I was thinking the other day to ask you if you ever knew my dead -friend,--W. D. O'Connor (U. S. Signal Service), Washington. He was very -fond of me in his way--got me my first introduction to the Harpers. I -believe that he died of overwork. I have his portrait. He was Whitman's -great friend. Thinking about him and you together, I was wondering how -much nationality has to do with these friendships. Is it only Irish or -Latin people who make friends for friendship's sake? Or is it that I am -getting old--and that, as Balzac says, men do not make friends after -forty-eight? Coming to think of old times, I believe a man is better off -in a very humble position, with a very small salary. He has everything -then more or less trustworthy and real in his surroundings. Give him -a thousand dollars a month, and he must live in a theatre, and never -presume to take off his mask. - -No, dear friend, I don't want _your_ book. I should not feel comfortable -with it in hand: I cannot comfortably read a book belonging to another -person, because I feel all the time afraid of spoiling it. I feel -restrained, and therefore uncomfortable. Besides, _your_ book is where -it ought to be doing the most good. Nay! I shall wait even until the -crack of doom, rather than take your book. - -There is to be a mail sometime next week, I suppose. Ought to come -to-day--but the _City of Rio de Janeiro_ is not likely to fly in -a blizzard, except downward. If she has my book on board she will -certainly sink. - -By the way, you did not know that I am fatal to ships. Every ship -on which I journey gets into trouble. Went to America in a steamer -that foundered. Came to Japan upon another that went to destruction. -Travelled upon a half-dozen Japanese steamers,--every one of which was -subsequently lost. Even lake-boats do not escape me. The last on which I -journeyed turned over, and drowned everybody on board,--only twenty feet -from shore. It was I who ran the _Belgic_ on land. The only ship that I -could not wreck was the _Saiky[=o]-Maru_, but she went to the Yalu on -the next trip after I had been aboard of her,--and got tolerably well -smashed up; so I had satisfaction out of her anyhow. If ever I voyage -on the Empress boats, there will be a catastrophe. Therefore I fear -exceedingly for the _Rio de Janeiro_; she is not strong enough to bear -the presence of that book in a typhoon. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1899. - -DEAR FRIEND,--I really felt badly at not being able to see more of you -yesterday,--especially to see you off to Shimbashi: I could not even -slip down to the gate without putting on shoes that take a terrible time -to lace. On the other hand, you left in the house a sense of warmth and -force and sun,--that were like a tonic to me,--or like a South-wind from -the sea on a summer's day; and I felt in consequence better satisfied -with the world at large. - -Do you recognize this pen: a U.S. pen, contributed to my pen-holder by -a U.S.N. officer whom I know a little, and like very much. - -I hope by this time that the Gordian knot shows some inclination to -unravel; and that the worry is diminishing. I remember, with much quiet -laughter, your story of the bear. I think I have found nearly as good -a simile--in an Indian paper. The fat Baboo got into a post-carriage, -with many furious steeds, which the driver was accustomed to drive after -the manner of the driving of Jehu,--and the driver was given further to -meditation, during which he had no consciousness of the base facts of -earth. And the bottom of the carriage fell out; and the Baboo landed -feet first, and ran,--with the carriage round him,--and the horses were -rushing at a speed not to be calculated. For the Baboo, it was death or -run,--because the driver neither heard nor saw; and the exertions made -are said to have been stupendous. The Baboo got off with a large amount -of hospital, caused--or rather necessitated--by the unusual exercise.... - -Well, I hope I shall some day again see you. I feel, however, that -something has been gained: you have been up; and I can't find -fault--even should you never again visit Tomihisa-ch[=o]. - -By the way, you are a bad, bad boy to have given a present to those -_kurumaya_. You spoil them. Talk again to me about ruining the morals of -your "boy"! Won't I be revenged! Affectionately, - - - LAFCADIO. - -Boy sends love to Ojisan McDonald. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], March, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--I don't know what to say about "Cyrano de Bergerac" as a -poem, except that as for fine workmanship, it is what we should expect -the best dramatic French prosody of this sort to be. The verse-smith -is certainly a great craftsman. But was the subject worth the labour -spent upon it? I have no doubt that upon the French stage the effect -would be glorious,--exciting,--splendid: all that sort of thing; and -the story is "Frenchy,"--wrap-me-up-in-the-flag-of-honour style of -extravagance. It isn't natural--that is a great fault. Why it should -please English and American readers I can't quite see: I don't believe -the approbation is quite genuine,--any more than the admiration for -Bernhardt was genuine on the part of those who went to see her without -knowing a word of her language. I can understand why Frenchmen should -enthusiastically praise the book, but not why Americans should. The -heroine is a selfish, uninteresting little "chit;" the other characters -are without any sympathetic quality that I can find. Cyrano wanting to -fight with everybody about his nose--to impose his nose on the world -at the point of the sword, while perpetrating rhymes the while--surely -is not a very grand person. No poet could make such a nose attractive. -We can forget the nose of Mephistopheles because his wit and force -dazzle us; but Mephistopheles has no weaknesses,--not at least in the -first part of "Faust." Cyrano has many; and one even suspects that his -virtues are the outgrowth of his despair about his nose. But I am glad -to have read the wonderful thing; and I shall prize the book as long as -I live,--because it came up here in your coat-pocket, and was given me -with a smile and a twinkle of the eye that were (in my poor judgement) -incomparably more beautiful than the writer's best lines; for these -latter are not quite out of the heart, you know. - -Speaking of an ugly subject for heroic treatment, I was thinking to-day -about something that you would have done better than the man who did -it,--the ugly subject being a hairy caterpillar in a salad at a banquet. -The lady of the palace had ladled the salad and the caterpillar into -the plate of some admiral or commodore, and saw what she had done when -it was too late. The seaman caught her horrified eye, held it, and, -smiling, swallowed the caterpillar unseen by the other guests. After -the banquet, the beauty came to thank him--out of the innermost rosy -chamber of her heart--when he is reported to have said: "Why, Madam, -did you think that I would permit your pleasure of the evening to be -spoiled by a miserable G--d d--d caterpillar!" Yes, you would have -consumed the caterpillar; but you would not have "cussed" in the closing -scene--though that was a lovable profanity in a man of the older school. -Well, I think that commodore, or whatever his title may have been, a -better man out and out than Cyrano. He would have done just as much, and -made no fuss at all about it. Affectionately, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MRS. FENOLLOSA - - APRIL, 1899. - -DEAR MRS. FENOLLOSA,--To say that you have sent me the most beautiful -letter that I ever received--certainly the one that most touched me--is -not to say anything at all! Of course I hope to see more of the soul -that could utter such a letter,--every word a blossom fragrant like the -lovely flower to which the letter was tied. - -And yet--strange as it may seem--I feel like reproaching you!--It is -not _good_ for a writer to get such a letter;--he ought to be severely -maintained rather in a state of perpetual self-dissatisfaction. You -would spoil him! Nevertheless, how pleasant to know that there is -somebody to whom I can send a book hereafter with a tolerable certainty -of pleasing! I shall not even try to thank you any more now; and I shall -not dare to _re_read your letter for at least a month. But I hope that -my next publication--which is all new--will not have a less welcome in -your heart. - -Ever with kindliest sympathies,--and unspoken gratitude for the -delicious letter and the delicious flower, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am sending you the address of the great silk house, -or rather dry-goods house, in T[=o]ky[=o]; but a word in addition. If -you and the consul are not afraid of taking cold by walking about in -stocking-feet awhile, I strongly advise you to visit also the Japanese -show-rooms,--just to see the crepe-silks, spring goods, embroidered -screens, etc.,--the things made to suit Japanese taste, according -to real art principles. You will find them much more interesting, I -imagine, than the displays made to please foreigners. Even the _towels_ -and the _yukata_ stuffs ought to tempt you into a trifling purchase or -two in spite of yourselves; but nobody will grumble even if you do not -buy at all. It is just like a bazaar, you need only go upstairs and walk -through, from room to room, looking at the cases. - -I was delighted with the little book which good Consul Bedloe so kindly -gave me--I read it in the train. Please thank him with the best thanks -in your capacity (which is practically unlimited) for the picture: -it will be always a souvenir for me of one of the most, if not the -absolutely most, delightful days that I passed in Yokohama. If you -think he would care for the enclosed shadow of this old owl, please -kindly give it him. I would I had at the moment some better way of -acknowledging the rare pleasure which his merry good fellowship and his -inimitable stories and everything about himself filled me with. I can't -help feeling as if I had made a new friend--though that would not do to -say, you know, upon such short acquaintance, to him. I only want to tell -_you_ just how the experience affected me. - -I shall not thank you for my happy two days with you, and all the -beautiful things that you "so beautifully _did_." But I felt as if the -sky had become more blue and the grass more green than could really be -the case. You know what that means. - - With hope to see you soon again, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am still, o' nights, holding imaginary conversations -with you from the windows of a waiting train,--or listening to -wonderful stories from a delightful phantom-consul. In other words, the -impressions of my last days in Yokohama are still haunting me, and--I -fear--creating too much desire after the flesh-pots of Egypt. But in -spite of these moral and intellectual debaucheries, I have been doing -fair work,--and have in hand a ghost-story of a new and pathetically -penetrating kind. - -Speaking of ghosts, the design for the cover is to be plum-blossoms -against a grey-blue sky. Can't say this is appropriate--the plum-blossom -being the moral emblem of female virtue. A lotus in a golden lake,--a -willow in rainy darkness,--would be better. But so long as I am not -consulted, exact appropriateness cannot be expected; besides, it would -be lost upon the public. - -I've been thinking over all your plans and hopes for me, and I am going -to blast them unmercifully. I am quite convinced that you can do nothing -at all, until the day when I make a hit on my own spontaneous account. -_Then_ you can do anything. For the interval, I must be very careful -not to seem anxious to want attention of any sort, and do better work -than I ever did before. You will only be able to find me a literary -agent--or something of that sort,--and to talk nicely about me to -personal friends. - -Give my most grateful, most sincere, most unchangeable regards to Dr. -Bedloe. I think more on his subject than I am going to put on paper just -now. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - -[Illustration: Beauties of the landscape--scenery between T[=o]ky[=o] - and Yokohama.] - - - TO MRS. FENOLLOSA - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1899. - -DEAR MRS. FENOLLOSA,--You will be shocked, I fear, when I tell you -that I was careless enough to lose the address given me in your last -charming letter. Your letters are too precious to be thus mislaid; -and I am ashamed of negligence in this case. But though I forgot the -address, I forgot no word of the letter,--nor of the previous charming -letter, with its quotation from that very clever friend of yours (Miss -Very)--the Emerson quotation from the Brahma-poem. I hope you will tell -me more about your friend some day; for she seems to be intellectually -my friend also. I liked very much what she said, as quoted by you,--who -know curiously well how to give pleasure, and do it so generously, -notwithstanding such meagre return. - -I was struck by the paragraph in your last letter concerning the -_feeling_ of understanding a writer better than anybody else in the -whole world. You seemed to think it presumptuous to make such a -declaration about any writer; but the feeling, I believe, is always -_true_. I have it in regard to all my favourite authors,--especially -in regard to certain pages of French writers, like Anatole France, -Loti, Michelet, Gautier, Hugo. And I know I am right--though I never -can be a critic. The fact is that the greatest critics, each of them, -think likewise; and their criticisms prove them correct. No two feel or -appreciate an author in exactly the same way: each discerns a different -value in him. For no two personalities being the same, and no personal -understanding the same, the "equation" makes the judgement unique in -this world, and so incomparably valuable, when it is a large one.... - -The missionaries are furthermore wrong in sending women to -the old-fashioned districts. The people do not understand the -maiden-missionary, and if she receives a single foreign visitor not of -her own sex, the most extraordinary stories are set in circulation. Of -course, the people are not malicious in the matter; but they find such -a life contrary to all their own social experience, and they judge it -falsely in consequence. - -For myself I could sympathize with the individual,--but never with the -missionary-cause. Unconsciously, every honest being in the mission-army -is a destroyer--and a destroyer only; for nothing can replace what they -break down. Unconsciously, too, the missionaries everywhere represent -the edge--the _acies_, to use the Roman word--of Occidental aggression. -We are face to face here with the spectacle of a powerful and selfish -civilization demoralizing and crushing a weaker and, in many ways, a -nobler one (if we are to judge by comparative ideals); and the spectacle -is not pretty. We must recognize the inevitable, the Cosmic Law, if you -like; but one feels and hates the moral wrong, and this perhaps blinds -one too much to the sacrifices and pains accepted by the "noble army." -... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I reached my little Japanese house last night, carrying -with me a sort of special tropic atmosphere or magnetic cloud--composed -of impressions of hearts, hands, and minds dearer and altogether -superior to the things of this world. Are you not as Solomon who "made -silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as the sycamore-trees -that are in the lowland for multitude"? - -Presently I squatted down before my _hibachi_, and smoked and viewed the -landscape o'er--inverted in the pocket-lens of Dr. Bedloe, and invested -thereby with iridescences of violet and crimson and emerald. And it -occurred to me that the prismatic lights in question symbolized those -fairy-tints and illusions which the two of you wove around me while I -remained in the circle of your power. Spell it must have been--for I -cannot yet assure myself that I left T[=o]ky[=o] only yesterday morning, -and not a month ago. The riddle reverses the case of Urashima;--I have -been trying to argue out the question whether happiness does really -make the hours shorter, or does rather stretch time infinitely, like -the thread of a spider. No doubt, however, the true explanation lies in -contrasts--the contrasts of the extraordinary change from real Japanese -existence to the American colonial circle of the year of grace 1899. It -is really, you know, like taking a single stride of a thousand years -in measure,--and the result is, of course, more bewildering than the -striding of Peter Schlemihl. He could only go from the Pole to the -Tropics in an afternoon--just now you are like old acquaintances who -come back at night to talk to us as if they had not been under the -ground for thirty years and more. Are you all quite sure down there that -you are alive? I believe _I_ am,--though I have to pinch myself betimes -to make sure. Then I have the evidence of that magnifying glass; and my -shoes tell me that I must have been out. - -Yet more--I have two letters to send you. (They need no comment, other -than that which I have inscribed upon them.) I enclose them only because -I know that you want to see them. - -By the way, I feel otherwise displeased with you. I could forgive you -for much besides getting off a moving train. _There was a pillar right -behind you_ as you stepped off. What would the not impossible Mrs. -Mitchell McD. of my wishes say to you for that! - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--Your delightful letter is with me. I did not get through -that examination work till Sunday morning--had about 300 compositions -to look through: then I had nearly a day's work packing and sending -out prizes which I give myself every year--not for the best English -(for that depends upon natural faculty altogether), but for the best -_thinking_, which largely depends upon study and observation. - -Lo! I am a "bloated bondholder." I am "astonished" and don't know -what to say--except that I want to hug you! About the semi-annual -meeting, though--fear I shall be far away then. Unless it be absolutely -necessary, I don't think I shall be able to come. Can't I vote by -letter, or telegraph? If you make out a form, I'll vote everything -that you want, just as you want it. (By the way, I _might_ be able to -come--in case I am not more than fifty miles off. Perhaps I can't get -to where I want to go.) We'll take counsel together. Yet, you ought to -know that I hate meetings of all kinds with hatred unspeakable. - -So it was a Mrs.----, not a Mr.----. I am afraid of Scotch people. -However, that was a nice letter. Perhaps I ought to send her a copy -of "Ghostly Japan." But one never can tell the exact consequences of -yielding to these impulses of gratitude and sympathy. My friends are -enough for me--they are as rare as they are few; rare like things from -the uttermost coasts,--diamonds, emeralds and opals, amethysts, rubies, -and topazes from the mines of Golconda. What more could a fellow want? -_All_ the rest is useless even when it is not sham--which it generally -is. - -Haven't been idle either. Am working on "The Poetry and Beauty -of Japanese Female Names." Got all the common names I want into -alphabetical order, and classified. Aristocratic names remain to be -done,--an awful job; but I think that I shall manage it before I get -away. - -Perhaps I shall not finish that dream-work for years,--perhaps I might -finish it in a week. Depends upon the Holy Ghost. By the way, a thing -that I had never been able to finish since I began it six years ago, and -left in a drawer, has suddenly come into my present scheme,--fits the -place to a "T." So it may be with other things. I leave them to develop -themselves; and if I wait long enough, they always do. - -I have heard from the Society of Authors. The American public is good to -me. I have only a very small public in England yet. I fancy at present -that I shall do well to become only an _associate_ of the Authors' -Society,--pay the fees,--and wait for fame, in order to take the -publishers privately recommended to me. We shall see. - -What a tremendous, square, heavy, settled, immoveable, mountainous thing -is the English reading public! The man who can bore into the basalt of -that mass must have a diamond-drill. I tell you that I feel dreadfully -minute,--microscopic,--when I merely read the names of the roll of the -Authors' Society. Love to you from all of us, - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1899. - -DEAR McDONALD,--Do you know that I felt a little blue after you went -away the other day,--which was ungrateful of me. A little while ago, -reading Marcus Aurelius, I found a quotation that partially explains: -"One man, when he has done a service to another, is ready to set it down -to his account. Another is not ready to do this.... A third in a manner -does not even know what he has done, but he is like a vine which has -produced grapes, and seeks for nothing more after it has once produced -fruit." And I feel somewhat displeased at the vine--inasmuch as I know -not what to do in regard to my own sense of the obligation of the grapes. - -The heat is gorgeous and great. I dream and write. The article on -women's names is dry work; but it develops. I have got it nearly two -thirds--yes, fully two thirds done. I am going to change the sentence -"lentor inexpressible" which you did not like. It is a kind of old trick -word with me. I send you a copy of the old story in which I first used -it,--years and years ago. Don't return the thing--it has had its day. - -I feel queerly tempted to make a Yokohama trip some afternoon, towards -evening, instead of morning: am waiting only for that double d--d -faculty meeting, and the finishing up of a little business. "Business?" -you may bewilderingly exclaim. Well, yes--business. I have been paying -a student's way through the university--making him work, however, -in return for it. And I must settle his little matters in a day or -so--showing him that he has paid his own way really, and has discharged -all his obligations. Don't think he will be grateful--but I must try to -be like the vine--like Mitchell--and though I can't be quite so good, I -must pretend to be--act as if I were. The next best thing to being good -is to imitate the acts and the unselfishness of Vines. - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - YAIDZU, August, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am writing to you under _very_ great difficulties, and -on a floor,--and therefore you must not expect anything very good. - -Got to Yaidzu last night, and took a swim in a phosphorescent sea. - -To-day is cold and grey--and not a day for you to enjoy. I saw an -immense crowd of pilgrims for Fuji at Gotemba, and wondered if you would -go up, as this time you would have plenty of company. - -Sorry I did not see dear Dr. Bedloe; but I hope to catch him upon his -way back to the Far East. - -How I wish you could come down some fine day here--only, I _do_ fear -that you could not stand the fleas. I must say that it requires patience -and perseverance to stand them. But you can have glorious swimming. When -I can get that--_fleas_ and all other things are of no consequence. - -Also I am afraid that you would not like the odours of fish below -stairs, of _daikon_, and of other things all mixed up together. _I_ -don't admire them;--but there is swimming--nothing else makes much -difference. - -You would wonder if you saw how I am quartered, and how much I like it. -I _like_ roughing it among the fisher-folk. I love them. I am afraid -that you not only couldn't stand it, but that you would be somewhat -angry if you came down here--would tell me that "I ought to have known -better," etc. Nevertheless I want you to come for one day--see if you -can stand it. "Play up the Boyne Wather softly till I see if I can stand -it." Ask Dr. Bedloe the result of playing the Boyne Wather softly. But I -am warning you fairly and fully. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - -P. S. I am _sure_ that you could not stand it--perfectly sure. But -then--think of the value of the _experience_. I had a Japanese officer -here last year and _he_ liked it. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - YAIDZU, August, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--Went to that new hotel this afternoon, and discovered -that the people are all liars and devils and.... Therefore it would -_never_ do for you to go there. Then I went to an ice and fruit seller, -who has a good house; and he said that after the fourteenth he could let -you have sleeping room. The village festival is now in progress, so that -the houses are crowded. - -If this essay fails, I have the alternative of a widow's cottage. She is -a good old soul--with the best of little boys for a grandson, and sole -companion; the old woman and the boy support themselves by helping the -fishermen. But there will be fleas. - -Oh! d--n it all! what is a flea? Why should a brave man tremble before -a nice clean shining flea? You are not afraid of twelve-inch shells -or railroad trains or torpedoes--what, then, is a flea? Of course by -"a flea" I mean fleas _generically_. I've done my best for you--but -the long and the short of it is that if you go anywhere outside of the -Grand Hotel you _must_ stand fleas--piles, multitudes, _mountains_ and -_mountain-ranges_ of fleas! There! Fleas are a necessary part of human -existence. - -The iceman offers you a room breezy, cool,--you eat with me; but by -all the gods! you've _got_ to make the acquaintance of some fleas! Just -think how many unpleasant acquaintances _I_ run away from! yet--I have -Buddha's patience with fleas. - -At this moment, a beautiful, shining, plump, gathered-up-for-a-jump flea -is walking over my hand. - - Affectionately, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I am sending you two documents just received--one from -Lowder's new company, I suppose; the other, which makes me rather vexed, -from that---- woman, who has evidently never seen or known me, and who -spells my name "Lefcardio." (Wish you would point out to her somebody -who looks small and queer,--and tell her, "That is Mr. Hearn--he is -waiting to see you.") At all events, these folks have simply been -putting up a job to amuse themselves or to annoy me;---- has apparently -been putting up a job to annoy _you_. We are in the same boat; but you -can take much better care of yourself than I can. I do wish that you -could find out something about those ---- people: I am very much ashamed -at having left my card at the hotel where they were stopping. - -One thing sure is that I shall not go down to the Grand Hotel again -for ages to come--I wish I could venture to say "never"--nevermore. It -is one more nail in my literary coffin every time I go down. If I am -to be tormented by folks in this way, I had better run away from the -university and from T[=o]ky[=o] at once. - -That ---- woman is a most damnable liar. I wonder who she can be. - -Well, so much for an outburst of vexation--which means nothing very -real; for I only want to pour my woes into your ear. I can't say how -good I think you are, nor how I feel about the pleasure of our last too -brief meeting. But I do feel more and more that you do not understand -some things,--the immense injury that introductions do to a struggling -writer,--the jealousies aroused by attentions paid to him,--the loss to -him of creative power that follows upon invitations of any kind. You -represent, in a way, the big world of society. It kills every man that -it takes notice of--or rather, every man that submits to be noticed by -it. Their name is legion; and they are strangled as soon as they begin -to make the shadow of a reputation. Solitude and peace of mind only -can produce any good work. Attentions numb, paralyze, destroy every -vestige of inspiration. I feel that I cannot go to America without -hiding--and never can let you know where I go to. I shall have to get -away from T[=o]ky[=o],--get somewhere where nobody wants to go. You see -only one side--what you think, with good reason, are the advantages of -being personally known. But the other side,--the disadvantages,--the -annoyances, the horrors--you do not know anything about; and you are -stirring them up--like a swarm of gnats. A few more visits to Yokohama -would utterly smash me--and at this moment, I do wish that I never had -written a book. - -No: an author's instincts are his best guide. His natural dislike to -meet people is not shyness,--not want of self-appreciation: it is -empirical knowledge of the conditions necessary to peace of mind and -self-cultivation. Introduce him, and you murder his power,--just as you -ruin certain solutions by taking out the cork. The germs enter; and the -souls of him rot! Snubs are his best medicine. They keep him humble, -obscure, and earnest. Solitude is what he needs--what every man of -letters knows that an author needs. No decent work was ever done under -any other conditions. He wants to be protected from admiration, from -kindnesses, from notice, from attentions of any sort: therefore really -his ill-wishers are his friends without knowing it. - -Yet here I am--smoking a divine cigar--out of my friend's gift-box,--and -brutally telling him that he is killing my literary soul or souls. Am -I right or wrong? I feel like kicking myself; and yet, I feel that I -ought never again in this world to visit the Grand Hotel! I wonder if -my friend will stand this declaration with equanimity. He says that -he will never "misunderstand." That I _know_. I am only fearing that -_understanding_ in this case might be even worse than misunderstanding. -And I can't make a masterpiece yet. If I could, I should not seem to be -putting on airs. That is the worst of it. - -Hope you will forgive and sympathize with - - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--No news up here, to interest you. - -I am not doing anything much at present. Don't know whether I shall -appear in print again for several years. Anyhow, I shall never write -again except when the spirit moves me. It doesn't pay; and what you -call "reputation" is a most damnable, infernal, unmitigated misery and -humbug--a nasty smoke--a foretaste of that world of black angels to -which the wicked are destined. (Thanks for your promise not to make any -more introductions; but I fear the mischief has been done; and Yokohama -is now for me a place to be shunned while life lasts.) - -Six hundred pages (about) represent my present quota of finished -manuscript. But I shall this time let the thing mellow a good deal, -and publish only after judicious delay. While every book I write costs -me more than I can get for it, it is evident that literature holds no -possible rewards for me;--and like a sensible person I am going to try -to do something really good, that won't sell. - -In the meanwhile, however, I want not to think about publishers and -past efforts at all. That is waste of time. I shall prepare to cross -the great Pacific instead,--unless I have to cross a greater Pacific in -very short order. I should like a chat with you soon; but I am not going -down to Yokohama for an age. It is better not. When I keep to myself -up here, things begin to simmer and grow: a sudden change of milieu -invariably stops the fermentation. Wish you were anywhere else that is -pleasant except--at the G. H. - - Affectionately ever, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO MITCHELL McDONALD - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1899. - -DEAR MITCHELL,--I cannot quite tell you how sorry I felt to part from -you on the golden afternoon of yesterday: like Antaeus, who got stronger -every time he touched the solid ground, I feel always so much more of a -man after a little contact with your reality. Not more of a _literary -man_, however; for I try to shut the ears of my mind against your praise -in that direction, and I close the door of Memory upon the sound of it. -If I didn't, I should be ruined by self-esteem. - -And to think that you will be eight, ten or twenty thousand miles away, -after next year! - -Woke up this morning feeling younger--not quite fifty years of age. -Gradually the sense of age will return: when I feel about sixty -again--which will be soon--I shall run down to see you. - -Want to say that those cigars of the doctor's are too good for me: -luxury, luxury, luxury. The ruin of empires! But I like a little -of it--not _too_ often--once in a year. It makes me buoyant, -imponderable--fly in day dreams. - -And I want to see Bedloe. Do not, if you can help it, fail to come up -again, once anyhow, before the good year dies. Only this word of love to -you. - - In haste, - LAFCADIO. - - - TO PROFESSOR FOXWELL - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1899. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--I had given up all expectation of seeing you again in -Japan,--as a letter received from Mr. Edwards gave me to understand -that you were on your way back to England. To-day, however, I learned -by chance that you were still in T[=o]ky[=o],--though no longer an -inhabitant of the Palace of Woe. Therefore I must convey to you by this -note Mr. Edwards's best regards, and express my own regret that you will -not again help me through with a single one of those dreary quarters -between classes. However, I suppose that the day of my own emancipation -cannot be extremely remote. - -I have had a number of pleasant letters from that wonderful American -friend of ours. He has been in Siam,--where he sold to the King's people -more than two tons of dictionaries without emerging from the awning -of his carriage; and I suppose that the books were carried by a white -elephant with six tusks. He has been since then in Ceylon, Madras, -Calcutta,--all sorts of places, too, ending in "bad,"--doing business. -But he will not return to Japan--he goes to the Mediterranean. He sent -me a box of cigars of Colombo: they are a little "sharp," but very -nice--strange in flavour, but fine. - -No other news that could interest you. Excuse me for troubling you with -this note--but the idea of seeking you at the Metropole would fill me -with dismay. If you do go to England, please send me a good-bye card. If -you do not go very soon, I shall probably see you somewhere "far from -the madding crowd." - - Best regards, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO PROFESSOR FOXWELL - - NOVEMBER, 1899. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Nay! I return into my shell for another twelve -months at least. You see--I thought you were going away, and felt a -little sorry, and therefore went to that dreadful hotel and let you -hand me over for an afternoon to your American friend who quotes -Nordau's "Degeneration," but that was really, for me, supreme heroism -of self-sacrifice.... (By the way, I have seen too much of that type -of man elsewhere to be altogether delighted with him: superficies of -bonhomie, studied suggestions of sympathy, core hard as Philadelphia -pressed brick: he _swarms_ in America; and I much prefer the Gullman -brand.) As for a party of four,--"_Compania de cuatro, compania del -diablo!_" The only way I can have a friend in these parts is to make -this condition: "Never introduce me; and never ask me to meet you in -a crowd." You ought to recognize, surely, that I couldn't afford to -be known and liked, even if that were possible. I can "keep up my end" -only by strictly following the good maxim: _Tachez de n'avoir besoin de -personne_. Now, really, dear Professor, why should I lose an evening of -(to me) precious work, and tire myself, merely to sit down with Mr. G. -and Mr. M.? What do I care for Mr. G. or Mr. M.? What do I care for the -whole foreign community of T[=o]ky[=o]? Why should I go two steps out of -my way for the sake of men that I know nothing about, and do not want -to know anything about? "Life is too short," as the Americans say. With -thanks all the same, - - Crankily yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -Next time--next two times we meet--it is my turn to play host, remember. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1900. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Memories of handwriting must have become -strong with me; for I recognized the writing before I opened the letter. -And thereafter I did not do more than verify the signature--and put the -letter away, so that I might read it in the time of greatest silence and -serenity of mind. During the interval there rose up reproachfully before -me the ghost of letters written and rewritten and again rewritten to -you, but subsequently--I cannot exactly say why-- posted in the fire! -(This letter goes to you in its first spontaneous form--so much the -worse for me!) - -"Indifferent" you say. But you ought to see my study-room. It is not -very pretty--a little Japanese matted room, with glass sliding windows -(upstairs), and a table and chair. Above the table there is the portrait -of a young American naval officer in uniform--he is not so young -now;--that is a very dear picture. On the opposite wall is the shadow of -a beautiful and wonderful person, whom I knew long ago in the strange -city of New Orleans. (She was sixteen years old, or so, when I first met -her; and I remember that not long afterwards she was dangerously ill, -and that several people were afraid she would die in that quaint little -hotel where she was then stopping.) The two shadows watch me while the -light lasts; and I have the comfortable feeling of monopolizing their -sympathy--for they have nobody else to look at. The originals would not -be able to give me so much of their company. - -The lady talks to me about a fire of wreckwood, that used to burn with -red and blue lights. I remember that I used to sit long ago by that -Rosicrucian glow, and talk to her; but I remember nothing else--only the -sound of her voice,--low and clear and at times like a flute. The gods -only know what _I_ said; for my thoughts in those times were seldom in -the room,--but in the future, which was black, without stars. But all -that was long ago. Since then I have become grey, and the father of -three boys. - -The naval officer has been here again in the body, however. Indeed, I -expect him here, upstairs, in a day or two,--before he goes away to -Cavite,--after which I shall probably never see him again. We have sat -up till many a midnight,--talking about things. - -Whether I shall ever see the original of the other shadow, I do not -know. I must leave the Far East for a couple of years, in order to -school a little son of mine, who must early begin to learn languages. -Whether I take him to England or America, I do not yet know; but America -is not very far from England. Whether the lady of the many-coloured -fires would care to let me hear her voice for another evening, sometime -in the future, is another question. - -Two of the boys are all Japanese,--sturdy and not likely to cause -anxiety. But the eldest is almost altogether of another race,--with -brown hair and eyes of the fairy-colour,--and a tendency to pronounce -with a queer little Irish accent the words of old English poems which he -has to learn by heart. He is not very strong; and I must give the rest -of my life to looking after him. - -I wish that I could make a book to please you more often than once -a year. (But I have so much work to do!) Curiously enough, some of -the thoughts spoken in your letter have been put into the printer's -hands--ghostly anticipation?--for a book which will probably appear -next fall. I cannot now judge whether it will please you--but there are -reveries in it, and sundry queer stories. - -I think that you once asked me for a portrait of my boy. I send -one--but he is now older than his portrait by some two years. I shall -send a better one later on, if you wish. I should like to interest you -in him--to the simple extent of advising me about him at a later day; -for you represent for my imagination all the Sibyls, and your wisdom -would be for me as the worth of things precious from the uttermost -coasts. - -Perhaps something of _me_ lives in that collie you describe: I think -that I can understand exactly what she feels when the Invisible gathers -about,--that is what she feels in regard to her mistress. A collie -_ought_ to recognize the ghostly, anyhow: her ancestors must have sat -at the feet of Thomas of Ercildoune. By the way, my poor dog _did_ get -murdered after all,--killed by men from a strange village. They were -chased by the police; but they "made good their escape." She left behind -her three weird little white puppies. We fed them and nursed them, and -saved two. It is painful being attached to birds and dogs and cats and -other lovable creatures: they die before us, and they have so many -sorrows which we cannot protect them from. The old gods, who loved human -beings, must have been very unhappy to see their pets wither and perish -in a little space. - -Good-bye for the moment. It was so kind to write me. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MASANOBU [=O]TANI - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1900. - -MY DEAR OTANI,--I suppose that, when you ask me to express my "approval" -or non-approval of a society for the study of literature, etc., you want -a sincere opinion. My sincere opinion will not please you, I fear, but -you shall have it. - -There is now in Japan a mania, an insane mania, for perfectly useless -organizations of every description. Societies are being formed by -hundreds, with all kinds of avowed objects, and dissolved as fast as -they are made. It is a madness that will pass--like many other mad -fashions; but it is doing incomparable mischief. The avowed objects of -these societies is to do something useful; the real object is simply to -waste time in talking, eating, and drinking. The knowledge of the value -of time has not yet even been dreamed of in this country. - -The study of literature or art is never accompanied by societies of -this kind. The study of literature and of art requires and depends upon -individual effort, and original thinking. The great Japanese who wrote -famous books and painted famous pictures did not need societies to help -them. They worked in solitude and silence. - -No good literary work can come out of a society--no original work, at -least. Social organization is essentially opposed to individual effort, -to original effort, to original thinking, to original feeling. A society -for the study of literature means a society organized so as to render -the study of literature, or the production of literature, absolutely -impossible. - -A literary society is a proof of weakness--not a combination of force. -The strong worker and thinker works and thinks by himself. He does not -want help or sympathy or company. His pleasure in the work is enough. No -great work ever came out of a literary society,--no great original work. - -A literary society, for the purpose of studying literature, is utterly -useless. The library is a better place for the study of literature. The -best of all places is the solitude of one's own room. - -I should not say anything against a society organized for the -translation and publication of the whole of Shakespeare's plays,--for -example. But translation is a practical matter--not original work, nor -even literary study in the highest sense. - -Even in the matter of making a dictionary, no society, however, can -equal the work of the solitary scholar. The whole French Academy could -not produce a dictionary such as Littre produced by himself. - -I have said that I think these Japanese societies mean a mischievous -waste of time. Think of the young scholars who go from Japan to Europe -for higher study. They are trained by the most learned professors in -the world,--they are prepared in every way to become creators, original -thinkers, literary producers. And when they return to Japan, instead -of being encouraged to work, they are asked to waste their time in -societies, to attend banquets, to edit magazines, to deliver addresses, -to give lectures free of charge, to correct manuscripts, to do -everything which can possibly be imagined to prevent them from working. -They cannot do anything; they are not allowed to do anything; their -learning and their lives are made barren. They are treated, not like -human beings with rights, but like machines to be used, and brutally -used, and worn out as soon as possible. - -While this rage for wasting time in societies goes on there will be no -new Japanese literature, no new drama, no new poetry--nothing good of -any kind. Production will be made impossible and only the commonplace -translation of foreign ideas. The meaning of time, the meaning of work, -the sacredness of literature are unknown to this generation. - -And what is the use of founding a new journal? There are too many -journals now. You can publish whatever you want without founding a -journal. If you found a journal, you will be obliged to write for it -quickly and badly; and you know that good literary work cannot be -done quickly,--cannot be made to order within a fixed time. A new -journal--unless you choose to be a journalist, and nothing but a -journalist--would mean not only waste of time, but waste of money. - -I am speaking in this way, because I think that literature is a very -serious and sacred thing--not an amusement, not a thing to trifle and -play with. - -Handicapped as you now are,--with an enormous number of -class-hours,--you cannot attempt any literature work at all, without -risking your health and injuring your brains. It is much more important -that you should try to get a position allowing you more leisure. - -And finally, I have small sympathy with the mere study of English -literature by Japanese students and scholars. I should infinitely prefer -to hear of new studies in Japanese literature. Except with the sole -purpose of making a new _Japanese_ literature, I do not sympathize with -English or French or German studies. - -There is my opinion for you. I hope you will think about it,--even if -you do not like it. Work with a crowd, and you will _never_ do anything -great. - -Many years ago, I advised you to take up a scientific study. It would -have given you more leisure for literary work. You would not. You will -have future reason to regret this. But if you want advice again, here it -is: _Don't_ belong to societies, _don't_ write anything that comes into -your head, _don't_ waste the poor little time you have. Take literature -seriously,--or leave it alone. - - Yours very truly, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO YASUKOCHI - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1901. - -DEAR MR. YASUKOCHI,--Not the least of my pleasure in looking at the fine -photograph, so kindly sent to my little son, was in observing how very -well and strong you appear to be. Let me also have the privilege of -thanking you--though my boy, of course, sends his small recognition of -the favour. - -Your letter of September 3d interested me very much; for I had not heard -anything about you at all since the last visit you made to my little -house in Tomihisa-ch[=o]. For example, I had not heard of your going to -Kumamoto Ken; and although I often wondered about you, I knew nobody who -could inform me. (I had, indeed, one Kumamoto pupil, Mr. G[=o]sh[=o]; -but I quite forgot about his having been in my class at Kumamoto, until -he came to see me after graduating--to say good-bye.) The experience of -army-life which you have had must have been somewhat hard as discipline; -but I imagine that, after all those years of severe study and mental -responsibility, the change to another and physical discipline must have -been good from the point of health. I think that it probably made you -stronger; and I am glad you were in the artillery-corps,--where one has -an opportunity to learn so many things of lasting value. But I trust -that many years will elapse before Japan again needs your services in a -military capacity. - -It was kind of you to remember Numi. A curious thing happened after the -last time we saw him. One in my household dreamed that he came back, in -his uniform, looking very pale, and speaking of a matter concerning his -family. The next day, the papers began to print the first accounts of -the ship being missing. The coincidence was curious. The matter of which -he seemed to have spoken was looked after, as he would have wished. - -I have no doubt at all of good things to come for you, if you keep as -strong as your picture now proves you to be. The rest will be, I think, -only a question of time and patience. I look forward with pleasure to -the probability of seeing you again. (Except that I have got greyer, I -fear you will find me the same as of old,--somewhat queer, etc.) I have -been working very steadily, rather than hard; but by systematically -doing just exactly so much every day, neither more nor less, I find -that I am able to do a good deal in the course of a year. I mean "good -deal" in the sense of "quantity"--the quality, of course, depends upon -circumstances rather than effort. - -Thanks, again, for your kindness in sending the photograph, and for the -pleasant letter about yourself. May all good fortune be yours is the -earnest wish of - - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO YRJOe HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1902. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--About a week ago I received from Messrs. Wahlstrom and -Weilstrand--how strangely impressive these Northern names!--the dainty -"Exotica," with its sunrise and flying-swallows-design, and--my name -and private address in Japanese thereon!... I have sent a book for Mrs. -Hirn. If there are any of my books that you do not know, and would like -to have,--such as "Gleanings in Buddha-Fields" or "Youma"--I shall be -glad to have them sent you from America. - -Thanks indeed for the photograph. I had imagined a face with the same -strong, precise lines, but in a blond setting. Yet some shades of fair -hair come out dark in photographs--so that I am not yet quite sure how -far my intuition miscarried. You are what I imagined--but a shade or two -stronger in line. - -As for myself, I have no decent photograph at present.... I am horribly -disfigured by the loss of the left eye--so get photographed usually in -profile, or looking downward. I am a very small person; and when young, -was very dark, with the large alarming eyes of a myope. - -I imagine that you have been tactfully kind in your prefatory notice of -me. I could only guess; but your letter confirms a number of my guesses. -The article by Zilliacus, to which you refer, I do not know: I cannot -read German in any event. The paper by Dr. Varigny in the _Revue des -Deux Mondes_ was a mere fantasy,--unjust in the fact that it accredited -me with faculties and knowledge which I do not possess. The mere truth -of the matter is that I have had a rather painful experience of life, -for lack of the very qualities ascribed to me. (In American existence -one must either grind or be ground--I passed most of my time between the -grindstones.) - -As for the choice of the subjects translated, it gave me most pleasure -to find some of my "Retrospectives" in that stern and sturdy tongue: it -was a bracing experience. The selections from "Glimpses" I should not -have advised; for the book is disfigured by faults of "journalistic" -style, and was written before I really began to understand, not Japan, -but how difficult it is to understand Japan. Nevertheless your judgement -in this particular was coincident with the general decision: the story -of the Shirabyoshi has, for example, appeared in four languages. It is -a story of the painter Bunch[=o],--and the merit is in no wise mine, as -I merely paraphrased a Japanese narrative. Don't think me ungrateful, -please, because I express my preferences thus. Really the experience of -trying to follow in Swedish the meaning of my "Serenade," etc., was more -than a delight,--and I imagined that the translator had successfully -aimed at reproducing in Swedish the rhythm of the English sentences. - -I am happy in reading your words about the Japanese dances: as you have -seen a living example of one kind, you will not judge them all severely -hereafter. Of course there are dances and dances. I wish that you could -see the dancing of a pair of _miko_,--little Shint[=o] maid-priestesses: -it is a simple performance, but as pleasing as a hovering of butterflies. - -Your "Origins of Art" is a book that seems to have proved above the -range of some small critics; but you have been felt and appreciated in -higher spheres, I think. I was amused by the dullardism of some English -critics, evidently incapable of perceiving that the sterling value of -such a book is suggestive,--that it was intended to make men think, not -to furnish some intellectual lazy-bones with ready-made ideas.... - -Finland I know only through Leouzon Le Duc's delicious -prose-translation. I think of forests of birch, and lakes interminably -opening into lakes, and rivers that roar in lonely places, and -"liver-coloured earth." Wonder if the earth is really that colour?--the -ground of my garden, after a shower, is exactly "liver-colour"--a rich -reddish brown. - -Please convey my humble thanks to Mrs. Hirn, and believe me - - Yours most sincerely, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO YRJOe HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], April, 1902. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Many thanks for the archaeological treatise, and for -your kindness in sending me the "critical" news. (I think that I can -appreciate the good will that can impel so busy a professor to give me -so much of his time.) And please to convey my thanks to Mrs. Hirn for -her charming letter. - -Concerning your project for another volume of "Exotica," kindly assure -Mrs. Hirn that she is as fully authorized as I can authorize her to -translate whatever she pleases to select from my books. - -By the way, you appear to have been deceived by some bookseller; for -none of my books are out of print, except "Some Chinese Ghosts," and -that by my own will and desire.... - -Far from being uninterested in the social and political changes of -Finland, I feel, as every generous thinker ought to feel, sincere regret -at the probable disappearance of a national civilization, and the -inevitable loss of intellectual freedom. I think of the "absorption" -as a great political crime.... Here in Japan, I watch, day by day, -the destruction of a wonderful and very beautiful civilization, by -industrial pressure. It strikes me that a time is approaching in which -intellectual liberty will almost cease to exist, together with every -other kind of liberty,--the time when no man will be able to live as -he wishes, much less to write what he pleases. The future industrial -communism, in its blind dull way, will be much less liberal than Russian -rule, and incomparably more cruel. By that time, Russia herself will -be getting less conservative; and I imagine that the Englishman and -the American of the future may flee to the new Russia in search of -intellectual freedom! - -At present, however, the United States offers great opportunity to -merit, and every latitude to mental liberty. If you should ever have -to leave your own beloved country, I think you would be most happy in -America. - -The Far East is not impossible--if you wish very much to visit it. -Government service anywhere is not a bed of roses; and T[=o]ky[=o] is -said to be the most "unsympathetic" place in the world. But salaries are -fair; and a three years' sojourn would furnish rich experience. If you -ever want _very_ much to see Japan, perhaps you may be able to obtain a -Government post--especially if you have friends in legations, and "high -places." Then I can write more to you about the matter. But at present -you are fortunate enough to be envied in a brotherly way. I wish you -every happiness on your European journey. - -How much I should like to see Europe again!--I have three boys to look -after, however, and all things are uncertain. I am glad that you have -a bright little son;--you know what hopes and fears the possession -involves. His travels with you will be of priceless advantage to him. -The best of all education is through Ear and Eye--while the senses are -most fresh and plastic. - - Sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO DR. AND MRS. YRJOe HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], May, 1902. - -DEAR FRIENDS,--I am a little disappointed in being able to send -you to-day only "Kokoro" and "Gleanings in Buddha-Fields"--these being -the only books of mine, not in your possession, that I could lay hands -on. However, they are the best of the earlier lot; and I imagine that -you will be interested especially in the latter. Japan is changing so -quickly that already some of the essays in "Kokoro"--such as the "Genius -of Japanese Civilization"--have become out-of-date. By the way, have you -seen Bellesort's "La Societe Japonaise?"--a wonderful book, considering -that its author passed only about six months in Japan! - -A few days ago I had the delightful surprise of your album-gift: I have -lived in Finland! It is very strange that some of the pictures are -exactly what I dreamed of--after reading the "Kalewala." In fact, the -book illustrates the "Kalewala" for me: even the weird expression in -the eyes of the old Kantele-singers seems to me familiar. Of course, -the views of city streets and splendid buildings were all surprises and -revelations; but the hills and woods and lakes looked like the Finland -of my reveries. Of all the views, that of Tmatia seemed to me most like -the scenery of the Runoia: there was something in it of _deja vu_, most -ghostly, that gave me particular delight. My affectionate thanks to you -both. I shall ever treasure the book and remember the kind givers. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. HIRN - - T[=O]KY[=O], June, 1902. - -DEAR MRS. HIRN,--I have received the copy of _Euterpe_, so kindly sent -me, containing your translation,--which gave me much pleasure. - -What a nice little paper _Euterpe_ is! Long ago we used to have good -papers like that--real literary papers, in nearly the same format--in -America. Now, alas! they have become impossible. The taste for good -literature in America is practically dead: vulgar fiction has killed -the higher fiction; "sensationalism" and blatant cheap journalism have -murdered the magazines; and poetry is silent. I wish there could be -another paper in America like _Euterpe_.... - -I have been wondering, in reading your translation, whether there is no -better word for the English "ghostly" than _mystika_--surely, they are -not alike in meaning. The old English name for a priest, you know, is -"a _ghostly_ father." And I am wondering whether "_ewigt_" really has -the sense of "infinitely." The Buddhist thought is that the innermost -eternal life in each of us becomes "infinite" by union with the One, -when the shell of Karma is broken. Individuality and personality exist -only as passing phenomena: the Reality is One _and_ infinite. - -Please pardon these little observations, which are not intended as -criticisms, but only as suggestions. - -Believe me ever most sincerely yours, - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1902. - -MY DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Perhaps you can remember having said, twelve -years ago, "I want you to go to Japan, because I want to read the books -that you will write about it." As my tenth volume on the subject is now -in press,--you ought to be getting satisfied. - -I am writing--not without some difficulty--to ask whether you would or -could play the part of a fairy god-sister, in helping me to find, for -the time of a year or two years, some easy situation in America. - -As my eyes are nearly burnt out, I should have to depend upon quality -rather than quantity of work. Some post upon a literary weekly--where -I could employ a typewriter--would be good. I doubt whether the -universities would give me a chance at English literature. - -So much for the want. I must bring my boy with me: it is chiefly for -his sake. Once that he learns to speak English well, the rest of his -education will not disturb me. I am his only teacher and want to -continue to teach him for a few years more.--South or West I should -prefer to East--"where only a swordfish can swim." - -As you are a queen of fairies, you might touch with your wand the _only_ -thing that would exactly help me. England is hopeless, of course: I have -no chance of earning anything in that "awful orderliness." My family -will be well provided for during my absence; but the provision will -leave me under the necessity of earning something abroad.... - -What is worse still, I have been so utterly isolated here that I have no -conception of the actual tone and state of things abroad. I do not know -"how I stand." - -You should try to think of your old acquaintance as a small grey -unpleasant "old man." ... - - Yours very sincerely, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - YAIDZU, August, 1902. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Your kindest letter of July 23d reached me -on the 15th of August,--at this little fishing-village of Yaidzu, where -I am staying with my boy. - -What you say about my finding you a "grey-haired woman of forty" is, -of course, impossible. Even if my eyes said so, I should say that they -were telling untruth. It is quite certain that you are a fairy,--capable -of assuming myriad shapes,--but I know the shapes to be each and -all--_Maya_! I never really saw any of the magical forms but two--no, -three--in photograph; and they were all different persons, belonging to -different centuries, and containing different souls. About you I should -not even trust the eyes of the X-rays. My memory is of a Voice and a -Thought,--multiple, both, exceedingly,--but justifying the imagination -of _une jeune fille un peu farouche_ (there is no English word that -gives the same sense of shyness _and_ force) who came into New Orleans -from the country, and wrote nice things for a paper there, and was so -kind to a particular variety of savage that he could not understand--and -was afraid. - -I am half-sorry already for not having written you more fully. I fear -you think that I am in a very _immediate_ hurry. No: if a fair chance -can come to me in the course of a year, or even fifteen months, I can -easily wait. My people have their own homes now, and I have some little -means; and nothing presses. Even if the---- s should find ways and means -to poke me out of the Government service (they have tried it--in oh! so -many ways--for four years past), I should feel quite easy about matters -for a twelvemonth. Please do not think that I would dream of giving you -any hurry-scurry trouble. But, perhaps in a year's time, something might -offer itself. - -I am _afraid_ of New York City for my boy's sake. I should not like -to let him risk one New York winter. Besides, what exercise can a boy -have in New York--no trees, fields, streams. Awful place--New York. If -anything were to happen to _him_, the sun would go out. I can't take -risks--must be sure what I am doing.... Oh, if I were by myself--yes: -twenty dollars a month in America would suit me anywhere. I have no -longer any wants personal. - -Every year there are born some millions of boys cleverer, stronger, -handsomer than mine. I may be quite a fool in my estimate of him. I -do not find him very clever, quick, or anything of that sort. Perhaps -there will prove to be "nothing in him." I cannot tell. All that I -am quite sure of is that he naturally likes what is delicate, clean, -refined, and kindly,--and that he naturally shrinks from whatever is -coarse or selfish. So that he _might_ learn easily "the things that are -most excellent"--and most useless--in the schooling of civilization. -Anyhow, I must do all I can to feed the tiny light, and give it a chance -to prove what it is worth. It is ME, in another birth--with -renewed forces given by a strange and charming blood from the Period of -the Gods. I must not risk the blowing out of the little lamp. - -[Illustration: KAZUO AND IWAO, MR. HEARN'S OLDER CHILDREN] - -I heard that in the Stanford University in California, there are -somewhat romantic conditions,--"no ceremonies," no humbug,--estimates -only of "efficiency." Long ago I wrote the letter of application, -and--like many a letter to you--posted the same in the ravening -stove. "Too idyllic,"--I thought to myself,--"in the present state of -evolution, no human institution could be suffered to realize the ideals -of that university!" If I were wrong or right--I should like to know. - -But sufficient for this writing is the perfect selfishness thereof. My -dear fairy god-sister, please do not take any painful trouble for me, -_but_--if you can hit something with your moonshiny wand, during the -next year or so, I shall be so glad! Even though I be not glad, I shall -always be grateful for the last kind letter. - -My best wishes to you in everything that you can imagine, you will be -always sure of. "If wishes"--but, after all, there _is_ some human -sweetness in these conventional phrases. They help one to utter a mood, -or a sense of gratefulness for pleasure given. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -[Illustration] - - - TO YRJOe HIRN - - YAIDZU, August, 1902. - -DEAR PROFESSOR,--Your kind letter of July 20th is with me.... - -I am so glad to hear that you are not likely to be obliged to leave -Europe. It is perhaps the greatest possible misfortune for a man of -culture to find himself obliged to withdraw from intellectual centres -to a new raw country, where the higher mental life is still imperfectly -understood. There are certain compensations, indeed,--such as larger -freedom, and release from useless conventions, but these do not fully -make up for the sterility of that American atmosphere in which the more -delicate flowers of thought refuse to grow. I am delighted to think of -your prospective pleasure in the Italian paradise. - -I am writing to you from the little fishing-village of Yaidzu--where -there are no tables or chairs. - -Bellesort's book is a surprisingly good book in its way. It describes -_only_ the disintegration of Japanese society--under the contact of -Western ideas--the social putrefaction, the _degringolade_ of things. As -a book dealing with this single unpleasant phase of Japanese existence, -it is a very powerful book; and there are some touching pages in it. -It was I who gave Bellesort the story of the little boy who committed -suicide when falsely accused of stealing a cake,--and he made good use -of it.... I don't think that he is able to see the beautiful out of -conventional limits; and he mostly confines himself to the directions in -which he is strong. I am inclined to believe that his sympathies are -clerical--that he presents Brunetiere and the Jesuit side of things. -However, his book is the best thing of its kind yet produced--the -critical kind. It requires a special nervous structure, like that of -Pierre Loti, to see the strange beauty of Japan. Let me, however, advise -you to read many times the charming book of the American, Percival -Lowell,--"The Soul of the Far East." It is strange that Lowell should -have written the very best book in the English language on the old -Japanese life and character, and the most startling _astronomical_ book -of the period,--"Mars,"--more interesting than any romance.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1902. - -MY DEAR HENDRICK,--I had to wait several days before answering your -letter,--as I felt too much pleased to venture writing for that length -of time. And now, in answering, I shall have to talk a great deal about -myself, and my own affairs,--which seems to me rather graceless. - -All that you proposed, except two things, appear to me very good. But -to put the question in the best _general_ way, I am convinced by long -experience that I can do nothing profitable with publishers, except -at such serious cost to health and to literary reputation as would be -utterly prohibitive. What I have been able to do so far has been done -mostly in dead opposition to publishers, and their advisers; and in the -few cases where I tried to do what publishers wished I have made very -serious mistakes. - -Editorial work on a monthly or weekly paper, with a sympathetic head, -who would let me have my own way, and use a typewriter--let me agree -to furnish at fixed intervals certain material, while free to use the -over-time as I pleased--would be good.... - -Of course, the main trouble about any kind of newspaper work is that it -kills all opportunity for original literary work--but I could afford the -sacrifice. - -Certain branches of teaching admit of opportunity for literary -work,--particularly those in which teaching rises to the dignity of the -lecture.... - -The main result of holding a chair of English literature for six -years has been to convince me that I know very little about English -literature, and never could learn very much. I have learned enough, -indeed, to lecture upon the general history of English literature, -without the use of notes or books; and I have been able to lecture upon -the leading poets and prose-writers of the later periods. But I have not -the scholarship needed for the development and exercise of the critical -faculty, in the proper sense of the term. I know nothing of Anglo-Saxon: -and my knowledge of the relation of English literature to other European -literature is limited to the later French and English romantic and -realistic periods. - -Under these circumstances you might well ask how I could fill my chair. -The fact is that I never made any false pretences, and never applied -for the post. I realized my deficiencies; but I soon felt where I might -become strong, and I taught literature as the expression of emotion and -sentiment,--as the representation of life. In considering a poet I tried -to explain the quality and the powers of the emotion that he produces. -In short, I based my teaching altogether upon appeals to the imagination -and the emotions of my pupils,--and they have been satisfied (though the -fact may signify little, because their imagination is so unlike our own). - -Should I attempt to lecture on literature in America, I should only -follow the same lines--which are commonly held to be illegitimate, but -in which I very firmly believe there are great possibilities. Subjects -upon which I think that I have been partly successful are such as -these:-- - -The signification of Style and Personality. - -Respective values of various styles. Error of the belief that one method -is essentially superior to another. - -Physiological signification of the true Realism--as illustrated by -the Norse writers and, in modern times, by Flaubert and Maupassant. -Psychological signification of Romantic methods. - -Metaphysical poetry of George Meredith: illustrating the application of -the Evolutional Philosophy to Ethics. - -D. G. Rossetti and Christina Rossetti. - -The Poetical Prose and the Poetry of Charles Kingsley. - -Four great masters of modern prose: Carlyle, Ruskin, De Quincey, Froude. - -The mystical element in modern lyric verse. (I use the term "mystical" -in the meaning of a blending of the religious with the passional -emotion.) - -Of the truth and the ideal beauty in Tolstoi's Theory of Art. - -"Beyond man:"--a chapter upon the morality of -insect-communities,--suggesting the probable lines of ethical evolution. - -Very heterogeneous, this list; but I have purposely made it so. I have -had to lecture upon hundreds of subjects, without ever having had the -time to write a lecture. (I have to lecture here twelve hours a week, on -four different subjects--and to do one's best is out of the question. -The authorities never pay the slightest attention to what the professor -does; _but they hold him strictly responsible for the success of his -lectures!_) ... - -I think that I have hinted ways in which I might be able to make myself -useful--i. e., in the teaching of certain literary values.--There is -also the subject of Composition (method, independently of grammatical -and rhetorical rules). The hard experience of writing certain kinds of -books ought to be of some practical worth. The art of what _not_ to -say,--the art of focussing effects,--the means of avoiding imitation -(even of the unconscious order), and of developing a literary -personality;--these can be talked of, I think, without a knowledge of -Greek or Sanscrit. I really think that I could do some good by lecturing -on these things--though conscious of having often failed in the very -directions that I should recommend. - -One thing more, I must not forget to say. I cannot be separated from my -boy--not even for twenty-four hours. I have taught him about three hours -a day every day for several years. When he becomes a little older, I may -be able to let him attend a _day_-school; but at present, I imagine that -this would be difficult. I feel handicapped; but it can't be helped, and -the race is for him. - -Summary: As a cog in a wheel I should probably break off. As a personal -equation I might have some worth. And I can wait a full year for a -chance. - -Your letter was a wonderful event for me--a great and happy surprise. -The Fairy Queen also wrote me a beautiful letter (I suppose that all she -does is beautiful): I had to read it many times to learn the full charm -of it. I have lost all power to write a nice letter of thanks--feel -stupid. - -We have a nice home a little out of T[=o]ky[=o]--to which I should not -be ashamed to invite you, or even the Fairy Queen: only, you would have -to take off your shoes, for it is a Japanese house. - -I shall try to atone later on for the great length of this weary scrawl: -how tired you must be after reading it! All happiness to you. Be sure -that, whether I win or fail, I shall never be able to even tell you how -sincerely and deeply I remain grateful for that letter. - - Y. KOIZUMI, LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1902. - -DEAR HENDRICK,--I am glad to hear that you are a strong and successful -swimmer in that awful sea of struggle, and that your home is happy. -Having two little ones, you can understand now what the Japanese call -_Mono no aware_,--weirdly translated by Aston as "the Ah-ness of -things."[3] - - [3] More literally, "the pity of things." - -Thanks for the Martinique clippings. The Swede's account seems to me -possibly apocryphal,--for his localizations are all wrong. The other man -did, apparently, visit Saint-Pierre, and explore the vicinity.--I opened -and re-read that black day a letter from Saint-Pierre, enclosing a spray -of arborescent fern, labelled "From the sunny garden." - -The time is approaching in which I must go abroad, for my boy's sake. -To Queen Elizabeth I wrote, asking for a possible smoothing of the way; -and if you can put a spoke in my wheel any time about next spring, or -during the summer, I should be as grateful as I can--which is nothing to -brag of, I need scarcely say. I should like some easy post, for about -two years. "Easy posts" must be in sharp demand; and I am not sure that -I am asking for the possible. New York is, of course, the place where I -do not want to go--for my lad's sake; but I shall probably make a flying -trip there,--if the gods allow. - -For the time being, I am with Macmillan. But I fancy really that all -publishers regard authors merely as units in a calculation,--excepting -the great guns who, like Kipling, can force strong respect. I need -scarcely tell you that my books do not make me rich. In fact, I have -given up thinking about the business side of literature, and am quite -content to obtain the privilege of having my book produced according -to my notion of things. Still, by reason of various translations into -Swedish, Danish, German and French, I have some literary encouragements. - -I believe you know that I have three boys: they are sturdy lads -all--though the eldest is rather too gentle up to date. I live -altogether in Old Japan, outside of lecture-hours; and might think -myself lucky, but for that "Ah-ness of things." Of course, I have become -somewhat old--it is more than twelve years since I saw you! And then I -have had to learn a multitude unspeakable of unpleasant things. But, as -they say here, _Shikata ga nai_! There's no help for that! - -Japan is changing rapidly, as you can imagine; and the changes are not -beautiful. I try to keep within fragments of the old atmosphere--that -linger here and there, like those bands of morning-coloured mist which -you have seen spanning Japanese pictures. Within these wreaths of the -lifting mirage, all is Fairy-land still; and my home will always have -its atmosphere of thousands of years ago. But in the raw light outside, -the changings are ugly and sad. - - Ever faithfully, - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], November, 1902. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,-- ... I have had your beautiful letter in my drawer -for about a week, before daring to re-read it. And I have been thinking -in circles,--about how to answer it. - -For--O fairy! what have you dared to say? I am quite sure that I do -_not_ know anything about Japanese art, or literature, or ethnology, -or politics, or history. (You did not say "politics" or "history," -however, and that seems to be what is wanted.) But perhaps you know -_what_ I know better than I myself know,--or perhaps you can give me to -eat a Fairy Apple of Knowledge. At present I have no acquaintance even -with the Japanese language: I cannot read a Japanese newspaper; and I -have learned only enough, even of the _kana_, to write a letter home. -I cannot lie--to my Fairy: therefore it is essential that I make the -following declaration:-- - -_I have learned about Japan only enough to convince me that I know -nothing about Japan._ - -Perhaps your kind professor suspects as much;--for has he not plainly -said that no (American) university would hire me to teach English or -French literature? That means accurate perception of my range, in one -direction. Possibly, therefore, he would not expect from me any attempts -at a pretence of exact knowledge. - -I have held a chair of English literature here for nearly seven -years, by setting all canons at defiance, and attempting to teach -only the emotional side of literature, in its relations to modern -thought;--playing with philosophy, as a child can play with the great -sea. I have been allowed to do just as I pleased,--on the condition -of being interesting (which condition the students take care shall be -fulfilled). Should I attempt to lecture about Japan, I imagine that it -would be necessary to allow me nearly the same liberty in America. I -might hope to be suggestive,--to set minds dreaming or darkling in new -directions. But I could not pretend to impart exact knowledge. I could -not afford to fail: that would be ... a great shame to my good name -at home. So I cannot answer "Yes" without being certain of my ability -to perform all that could be reasonably expected of me,--as a small -"man-of-letters" (not as anything else). - -What I could do would be about thus:-- - -I could attempt a series of lectures upon Japanese topics,--dealing -incidentally with psychological, religious, social, and artistic -impressions,--so as to produce in the minds of my hearers an idea of -Japan different from that which is given in books. Something, perhaps, -in the manner of Mr. Lowell's "Soul of the Far East" (incomparably the -greatest of all books on Japan, and the deepest),--but from a different -point of view. - -What I could _not_ do would be to put myself forward as an authority -upon Japanese history, or any special Japanese subject. The value of -my lectures would depend altogether upon suggestiveness,--not upon any -crystallizations of fact. - -Again, there is a doubt to be solved--concerning _quantity_ as well -as quality. To do my best, I should hope that quantity were not too -strongly insisted upon. How many lectures would be wanted during one -term--distinct lectures? and how many hours would be demanded for a -lecture?... You see, the conditions in T[=o]ky[=o] are monstrous: I have -to lecture twelve hours a week on _four_ different subjects;--that means -for lecturing what reporter's work means in relation to literature!... I -imagine that I could endeavour to do something about equal to the work -of Professor Rhys-Davids in his American lectures,--as to bulk. The six -lectures represent a volume of about 225 pages. Lectures to represent, -in printed form, a carefully made book of about 250 or 300 pages would -represent my best effort. - -For I have reached that time of life at which "the state of the weather" -becomes a topic of enormous importance. - -And the rest of what has to be said I shall put into a letter, which I -pray you to read, and to poke into the fire if it is not satisfactory. - -To fail, after being recommended by you, would be an unpardonable sin -against all the higher virtues. Can't risk it. - -Well, if President Schurman can make good use of me, and arrange things -within my capacity, I will go straight to your Palace of Faery before -going elsewhere. Only to see you again--even for a moment,--and to hear -you speak (in some one of the Myriad Voices), would be such a memory -for me. And you would let me "walk about gently, touching things"?... - -It is an almost divine pleasure and wonder to watch the unfolding of a -soul-blossom, as you say,--providing that one is strong enough not to -be afraid. I am, or have been, always afraid: the Future-Possible of -Nightmare immediately glooms up,--and I flee, and bury myself in work. -Absurd? - -And your book--of course that will be some opportunity for a delightful -chat. You will find me as good as I can be in expressing an opinion,--if -the subject be within my range. I know that the work of such a person -as--Mrs. Deland, for example--is beyond my limit; and I imagine that you -would write of highly complex existences.... - -Excuse my anxiety about my chicken. I want to feel sure that I can make -him comfortable and warm if I do go to Cornell. I want to make all the -money, too, that I honestly can earn, for his sake and the mother's. -She will have some trying moments in the hour of parting with him. But -there is no other future chance for him, and no educational place here -to which I could trust him--least of all, the Jesuits. Very different it -is with my second sturdy boy, who has no trace of European blood. His -way is straight and smooth. I send his picture, that you may see the -difference. And my third boy--sturdiest of all--will have other friends -to help him, I fancy.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--It was a shock to receive your beautiful letter, -because I had waited so long and anxiously,--fearing that the last gleam -of hope in my Eastern horizon had been extinguished. It would be of no -use whatever to tell you half my doubts and fears--they made the coming -of your letter an almost terrible event. - -Well, what _you_ say about my work (always seizing upon the best in it, -and showing such penetrant sympathy with its effort or aim) counts for -more than a myriad printed criticisms. - -My boy is accustomed to kissing--_from_ his father only, who always so -dismisses him at bed-time; and he understands very well the charm of -Lady Elizabeth's sweet message, after hearing from me what the privilege -signifies. But I have fairly given up the idea of taking him with me to -America for the present. The risk is too great. I must try to make a -nest for him first, and be sure of keeping alive myself. - -In the mean time, I have been treated very cruelly by the Japanese -Government, and forced out of the service by intrigues,--in spite of -protests from the press, and from my students, who stood by me as long -as they dared. To make matters worse, I fell sick;--I have been sick -for months. About three weeks ago, I burst a blood-vessel, and I am -not allowed to talk. So I fear that the lecture-business is out of the -question; and I am not altogether sorry, because I do not know enough -about the subject. I would wish never again to write a line about any -Japanese subjects: all my work has only resulted in making for me -implacable enemies. - -The problem with me now is simply how I shall be able to live, and -support my family. I must try to do something in America,--where the -winter will not kill me off in a hurry. Literary work is over. When one -has to meet the riddle of how to live there must be an end of revery and -dreaming and all literary "labour-of-love." It pays not at all. A book -brings me in about $300,--after two years' waiting. My last payment on -four books (for six months) was $44. Also, in my case, good work is a -matter of nervous condition. I can't find the conditions while having -to think about home--with that fear for others which is "the most -soul-satisfying" of fears, according to Rudyard Kipling. However, we are -all right for the time being; and I can provide for the home before I go. - -Thank you for telling me the name of your book. I had hard work to get -your little volume of travel when it came out: ages pass here before an -"ordered" book comes. But in America I can keep track of you. I want -very much to see your book. It will either tell me very, very much about -you--or it will tell me nothing of you, and therefore have the charm of -the Unknowable. Oh! do read the divine Loti's "L'Inde sans les Anglais!" -No mortal critic--not even Jules Lemaitre or Anatole France--can explain -that ineffable and superhuman charm. I hope you will have everything of -Loti's. Sometime ago, when I was afraid that I might die, one of my -prospective regrets was that I might not be able to read "L'Inde sans -les Anglais." - -Much I should wish to see you in Japan--but human wishes!... Yet I think -I could make you feel pleased for a little while--though our cooking be -of the simplest. My little wife knows your face so well--your picture -hangs now in her room. We have a garden, and a bamboo grove. - -Now you must be tired reading me. As soon as I can feel well, I shall -go to some fishing-village with my boy; and, if lucky, perhaps I shall -leave for America in the fall. But nothing is yet certain. - -With all grateful thought from - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -You cannot imagine how hungry and thirsty I have become to see you -again,--or how much afraid I feel at times that I may not see you: -though a season is short. - -By waiting a few months more in Japan, I can, of course, make the -lectures much better. But the time will seem long. Here the winter is -very mild--but damp, as in New Orleans. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--You will probably have heard by this time that -President Schurman cancelled the offer made me--by reason of the trouble -at Cornell University. As I had taken several steps in connection with -that prospect,--the blow was rather heavy; and this you will better -understand in view of the following facts:-- - -On the 31st March, as I anticipated, I was forced out of the -university--on the pretext that as a Japanese citizen I was not entitled -to a "foreign salary." The students having made a strong protest in my -favour, I was offered a reengagement at terms so devised that it was -impossible for me to reengage. I was also refused the money allowed to -professors for a nine-months' vacation after a service of six years. Yet -I had served seven years. - -So the long and the short of the matter is that after having worked -during thirteen years for Japan, and sacrificed everything for Japan, -I have been only driven out of the service, and practically banished -from the country. For while the politico-religious combination that has -engineered this matter remains in unbroken power, I could not hold any -position in any educational establishment here for even six months. - -At my time of life, except in the case of strong men, there is a great -loss of energy--the breaking-up begins. I do not think that I should be -able to do much that would require a sustained physical strain. But if I -could get some journalistic connection, assuring a regular salary,--for -example, an engagement to furnish signed or unsigned articles, once or -twice a week, or even three times,--I believe that I could weather the -storm until such time as a political reaction might help me to return to -Japan. For my boy's sake these events may prove fortunate,--if I find -an opportunity to take him abroad for two years. - -At all events, O Fairy Queen, your gifts have "faded away"--even as in -the Song,--and I am also fading away. I do not know whom else I should -pray to, for the moment. - -I have material evidence also that certain religious combinations want -to prevent my chances in America; if you can help me to something -journalistic, I imagine that it were better to let the matter remain -unknown for the time being. - -Perhaps I shall be able to leave Japan with McDonald (that would be -nice!)--but only the gods know when _he_ will return. Meantime, however, -he gives me much comfort and promises me the fortunes of Aladdin. He -seems to think I am quite safe and certain. But I am exercised about -home--that is the chief trouble. - -Please pardon this fresh appeal,--with all thanks for past kindness, and -for those delightful letters. - - Ever sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], July, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Your most kind letter is with me,--and I do not know -what to say to thank you for the extraordinary interest and trouble that -you have taken in my poor case. It is too bad that, having only one -Fairy-Sister in the world, I should prove to her such a Torment. Perhaps -I may be able to be at some future time a pleasure-giver--I shall pray -to all the gods to help me thereunto. - -Please do not worry about that Cornell matter: I suppose that President -Schurman must have been in great anxiety and trouble when he wrote that -letter. - -You will be glad to hear that I am now much better than when I last -wrote to you, and that I have finished most of the lectures--in rough -draft. To polish them for publication will be at least a year's work, I -fear; but I am now able, I think, to give a cultured audience a new idea -of Japan, in large outline. - -I have to be careful of my health for some time. Perhaps I shall get -quite strong by the end of summer. But I am now only allowed to walk in -the garden.... - -I cannot write you a pretty letter: I have tried for two days,--but I -feel so stupid. - -What I want much is to get a little human sympathy and something quiet -to do. Of course, I should like a university of all things,--but ... is -it possible? I have a new book in MS.; but as I was expecting to go to -America, I did not send it to the publisher. It will chiefly consist of -ghost-tales. - -My dear Fairy-Sister, I now am writing only to reach you as soon as -possible,--to thank you, and to reassure you about myself. So please -excuse this poor effort, and believe me most gratefully worshipful. - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--Your letter from Virginia came, and made fires of -hope burn up again, with changing vague colours,--like the tints of a -fire of wreck-drift remembrance from the snowy winter of 1889. It has -given me a great deal to think about--not merely as regards myself, but -also as regards another and very dear person.... - -I am delighted to read President Jordan's kind words. I shall write him -a letter to-day, or to-morrow, enclosing it to you. From Johns Hopkins I -have a reply, enclosed,--which does not promise much. I shall see what -can be done there. But the Lowell Institute affair promises better. -As for President Jordan, I should be glad to speak at Leland Stanford -independently of salary, on the way going or coming--could no other -arrangement be made. It strikes me, however, that there is danger of any -and every arrangement being broken up. The power of certain religious -bodies is colossal. - -Spring would be the best time for me to go to America, if I can get -through the spider-web now spun all around me. It would be the best -time, because those lectures are taking handsome shape, towards a volume -of 500 to 600 pp.; and it were a pity to leave anything unfinished -before I go. Spring again would be the best time, because I am not yet -so strong that I can face a down-East winter without some preparation. -Spring would be the best time, because my fourth child is coming into -the world. Spring would be the best time, because I am getting out a -new book of ghost-stories, and would like to read the proofs here, in -Japan. I think it were imprudent to go before spring. - -I have to think seriously about the money-question--at 53, with a -large family. To go to America alone means $500 U.S., and as much to -return--that signifies 2000 yen; with which I can live in Japan for two -years. Then there are the necessary expenses of living. To take my boy -were a great risk. Had the Japanese Government been willing to pay me -the vacation money they morally owed me (about 5600 yen), I could have -done it. (They told me that I ought to be satisfied to live on rice, -like a Japanese.) Then I must be sure of being able to send money home. -At present there is no money _certainly_ in sight. But here I can live -by my pen. Since I was driven out of the university, I have not been -obliged to drop even one sen of my little hoard. The danger is the risk -to sight of incessant work; but that danger would exist anywhere, except -perhaps in a very hot country. And sooner or later the Government must -wake up to the fact that it was wicked to me. - -To go to America with some sense of security would be mental medicine; -and any success that I could achieve there would make a good impression -here with friends. It would mean larger experience. It would mean -also an opportunity to enter some society that would protect liberal -opinions. I have not said much as to the pleasure I could look -forward to--that goes without saying. But I cannot be rash on the -money-question, or trust to my luck as in old days. To use a Japanese -expression, "my body no longer belongs to me,"--and I have had one -physical warning. - -Anxiety is a poison; and I do not know how much more of it I could -stand. It was a friend's treachery that broke me up recently: I worked -hard against the pain--only to find my mouth full of blood. With a boy -on my hands, in a far-away city, and no certainties, I don't know that -being brave would serve me much--the bodily machine has been so much -strained here. - -With a clear certainty ahead of being able to make some money, I could -go, do good things, and return to Japan to write more books,--perhaps to -receive justice also. In a few years more my boy will be strong enough -to study abroad. - -Very true what you say--no one can save him but himself, and -unfortunately, though the oldest, he is my Benjamin. My second boy is -at school, captain of his class, trusted to protect smaller boys. My -eldest, taught only at home, between his father's knees, is everything -that a girl might be, that a man should not be,--except as to bodily -strength,--sensitive, loving pretty things, hurt by a word, always -meditating about something--yet not showing any great capacity. I taught -him to swim, and make him practise gymnastics every day; but the spirit -of him is altogether too gentle. A being entirely innocent of evil--what -chance for him in such a world as Japan? Do you know that terribly -pathetic poem of Robert Bridges'--"Pater Filio"? - -That reminds me to tell you of some obligations. You are never tired of -telling me that I have been able to give you some literary pleasure. -How many things did you not teach me during those evening chats in New -York? It was you that first introduced me to the genius of Rudyard -Kipling; and I have ever since remained a fervent worshipper. It was -you who taught me to see the beauty of FitzGerald's translation, by -quoting for me the stanza about the Moving Finger. And it was you who -made me understand the extraordinary quaint charm of Ingelow's "High -Tide"--since expounded to many a Japanese literary class.... - -But this is too long a letter from - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,-- ... I am getting quite strong, and hope soon to -be strong, or nearly as strong, as before. The bleeding was from a -bronchial tube,--so I have to be careful about getting cold. But my -lungs are quite sound. For the sake of the lectures, it is better that -I should wait a little longer in Japan. Most of them have been written -twice; but I must write them all once more--to polish them. They will -form a book, explaining Japan from the standpoint of ancestor-worship. -They are suited only to a cultivated audience. If never delivered, they -will still make a good book. The whole study is based upon the ancient -religion. I have also something to say about your proposed "Juvenilia." - -I think this would be possible:-- - -To include in one volume under the title of "Juvenilia"--(1) the -translations from Theophile Gautier, revised; (2) "Some Chinese Ghosts;" -(3) miscellaneous essays and sketches upon Oriental subjects, formerly -contributed to the _T.-D_.; (4) miscellaneous sketches on Southern -subjects, two or three, and fantasies,--with a few verses thrown in. - -For this I should need to have the French texts to revise, etc. Perhaps -I shall be able to make the arrangement, and so please you. But I badly -need help in the direction of good opinion among people of power. The -prospect of "nothing" in America is frightening. I should be glad -to try England; but scholars are there plentiful as little fleas in -Florida;--and the power of convention has the force of an earthquake. -When one's own adopted country goes back on one--there is small chance -at the age of fifty-three. - - Ever most gratefully, - L. H. - -I tried to join the Masons here--but it appears that no Japanese citizen -is allowed to become a Mason--at least not in Japan. The Japanese -Minister in London could do it; but he could not have done it here. - - - TO MRS. HIRN - - JULY, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. HIRN,--Your very kind letter from Italy is with me. -I am sorry to know that you have met with so painful a trial since I -last wrote to you. Indeed, I hope you will believe that I am sincerely -and sympathetically interested in the personal happiness or sorrow of -any who wish me well,--and you need never suppose me indifferent to the -affairs of which you speak so unselfishly and so touchingly. - -By this time, no doubt, you will have seen much of the fairest land of -Europe, and will scarcely know what to do with the multitude of new -impressions crowding in memory for special recognition. Perhaps Italy -will tempt you to do something more than translate: one who becomes -soul-steeped in that golden air ought to feel sooner or later the -impulse to create. I wish I could find my way to Italy: when a child I -spoke only Italian, and Romaic. Both are now forgotten. - -Thanks for the magazine so kindly sent me, and thanks for your -explanation of that rendering of "ewigt" as signifying endlessness in -space as well as time. That, indeed, settles the matter about which I -was in doubt. - -It is a pleasure to know that you received "Kotto," and liked some -things in it. I thought your list of selections for translation very -nice,--with one exception. "The Genius of Japanese Civilization" is a -failure. I thought that it was true when I wrote it; but already Japan -has become considerably changed, and a later study of ancient social -conditions has proved to me that I made some very serious sociological -errors in that paper. For example, in feudal times, up to the middle of -the last century, there was really no possibility of travelling (for -common people at least) in Japan. Iron law and custom fettered men to -the soil, like the serfs of mediaeval Europe. My paper, unfortunately, -implied the reverse. And that part of the paper relating to the -travelling of Japanese common people is hopelessly wrong as regards the -past. As regards the present, it requires modification. - -Your remark about the hard touch in Bellesort's book is very just.... He -was accompanied by his wife,--born in Persia, and able to talk Persian. -She was keener even than he,--a very clever silent woman, attractive -rather than sympathetic.... Bellesort has been travelling a great deal; -and "La Societe Japonaise" is his best volume of travel. His book on -South America is cruel. - -I am not sure whether you would care for Nitobe's book "Bushid[=o]"--a -very small volume, or rather treatise upon the _morale_ of Samurai -education. From a literary standpoint it would not tempt you: it is only -a kind of "apology." But it is to some extent instructive.... - -I suppose that Dr. Hirn will meet Domenico Comparetti, the author of -"The Traditional Poetry of the Finns." I gave a lecture lately on the -poetical values of the "Kalewala," and I found that book of great use to -me. - -Please excuse my loquacity, and let me wish you and the doctor every -happiness and success. Perhaps I shall write you again--from America. -Only the gods know. - - Sincerely yours, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--I am sorry for my dismal letter of the -other day. I feel to-day much braver, and think that I can fight it out -here in Japan. Anyhow, I have discovered that I have a fair chance of -being able to live by my work--providing my health is good; and if I -_must_ live by my pen, there is no place in the world where I can do so -more cheaply than here. When my boy is bigger, I may be able to send him -abroad. Unless I could make money in America, it were little use to drop -two thousand dollars (Japanese money) for going and coming. Besides, out -of those lectures in book-form I shall make some money.... - -For the present, I think that I shall simply sit down, and work as hard -as Zola,--though that is to compare a gnat to an eagle. It only remains -for me to express to you all possible devotion of gratitude. If I had -dreamed of the real state of things, I should long ago have begged you -to do nothing for me in high places. I have tried to break out of my -chrysalis too soon,--but, with the help of the gods, my wings will grow. -To have even one well-wisher like you in America, is much;--and I have -a friend or two in England, some in France, some in Denmark, Sweden, and -Russia. _Non omnis moriar_ thus. - -You will hear from me in print:--there I can give you pleasure, perhaps: -I am not fit to write letters. But I am getting very strong again. - - With reverential gratitude, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--I have your kindest note of June 16th, and am -returning, with unspeakable thanks, the letters forwarded. I have -written also to President Remsen and to President Taylor, as you wished -me to do, directly. - -You will be glad to hear that I am almost strong again; but I fear that -I shall never be strong enough to lecture before a general public. -Before a university audience I could do something, I believe; but the -strain of speaking in a theatre would be rather trying. The great and -devouring anxiety is for some regular employ--something that will assure -me the means to live. With that certainty, I can do much. Lecturing -will, I fear, be at best a most hazardous means of living. But it may -help me to something permanent. I have now nearly completed twenty-one -lectures: they will form eventually a serious work upon Japan, entirely -unlike anything yet written. The substantial idea of the lectures is -that Japanese society represents the condition of ancient Greek society -a thousand years before Christ. I am treating of religious Japan,--not -of artistic or economical Japan, except by way of illustration. Lowell's -"Soul of the Far East" is the only book of the kind in English; but I -have taken a totally different view of the causes and the evolution of -things. - -I am worried about my boy--how to save him out of this strange world -of cruelty and intrigue. And I dream of old ugly things--things that -happened long ago, I am alone in an American city; and I have only ten -cents in my pocket,--and to send off a letter that I must send will -take three cents. That leaves me seven cents for the day's food. Now, -I am not hard up, by any means: I can wait another six months in Japan -without anxiety. But the horror of being without employ in an American -city appalls me--because I remember. All of which is written in haste -to catch the mail. How good you are! I ought not to tell you of any -troubles of mine--but _if_ I could not, what would have happened me? - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], October, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--I have had a charming letter from -Vassar,--indicating that the president must be a charming person. - -I have also--which surprised me--the most generous of letters from Sir -William Van Horne, President of the C. P. R. R., agreeing to furnish me -with means of transportation, both ways, to Montreal and back to Japan. -I shall have to do some writing, probably; but that is a great chance, -and I am grateful. - -French friends have taken up the cudgels for me against the Japanese -Government--unknown friends. The _Aurore_ had a 2-col. article entitled -"_Ingratitude Nationale_," which somebody sent me from Italy. I am too -much praised; but the reproach to Japan is likely to do me good. For -I have really been badly treated, and the Government ought to be made -ashamed. - -I am _nearly_ quite well, though not quite as strong as I should -wish. My lectures, recast into chapters, will form a rather queer -book--perhaps make a quite novel impression. - -I have a little daughter; and all that anxiety is past. (If I could -only get quite strong, I could make a good fight for myself later on.) -Anyhow, I see no great difficulty about an American trip, once the -sharp cold is over; and I think you will be glad of this note from your -troublesome but always grateful - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], December, 1903. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,-- ... Of course your critics have been kind. -Other things of yours seemed to have a distinct quality; but this is -your Self, the clearest and dearest best of you. It is so much alive -that I cannot believe I have been reading a story: I thought that I knew -and remembered all the people and all that they said--surely none of -the life in those pages could have been imagined! I am puzzled by the -brightness of the memories and the freshness of the feeling: the real -world of self-seeking has such power to dull and numb that I cannot -understand how you could have conserved the whole delightfulness of -child-experience in spite of New York.... - -With me all the past is a blur--except the pain of it. It is not so -much what one sees in your story, or what one hears folk say, that -makes the thing so pleasing: it is rather the soft appeal made to one's -moral understanding. I mean that I never imagined how good and brave -and lovable those people were till you made me comprehend. And I felt -about as "home-sick" as it is lawful for a Japanese citizen to feel. -But I am afraid that your very own South is now of the past:--wherefore -we can appreciate it incomparably more than when it was our every-day -environment.... - - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO TANABE - - T[=O]KY[=O], January, 1904. - -DEAR MR. TANABE,--I received your kind New Year's greeting, and your -good letter; and if I have delayed so long in replying, it has been only -because, for some weeks past, I have not had five minutes to spare. - -I was much touched by the sad news about your little girl,--and I -can understand all that one does not write about such matters. Some -nine years ago, I very nearly lost my little boy: we sat up with him -night after night for weeks, always dreading that he was to be taken -from us. Fortunately he was saved; but the pain of such an experience -is not easily forgotten. As a general rule, the first child born to -young parents is difficult to bring up. With the next, it is very -different;--perhaps you will be more fortunate later on. One has to be -brave about such matters. When Goethe was told of the death of his only -son, he exclaimed: "Forward--over the dead!" and sat down to write, -though the blow must have been terrible to him,--for he was a loving -father. - -I suppose that Mr. Ibaraki will soon be coming back to Japan. He -deserves much success and praise;--for he had great obstacles to -overcome as a student, and triumphed over them. I do not know who -told him that I was going to England; but several persons were -so--incorrectly--informed. Whether I shall go or not remains for the -present undecided. - -Of course the real philosophy of "Undine" is the development of what -Germans call "the Mother-Soul" in a young girl. By marriage and -maternity certain beautiful qualities of character are suddenly evolved, -which had remained invisible before. The book is a parable--that is why -it has become a world-classic. - -What you tell me about your reading puzzles me a little. One must -read, I suppose, whatever one can get in the way of English books at -Kanazawa. Still, if my advice be worth anything, I should especially -recommend you to avoid most of the current novel literature--except as -mere amusement. The lasting books are few; but one can read them over -so many times, with fresh pleasure every time. I should think, however, -that Stevenson would both please and profit you,--the last of the great -nineteenth-century story-tellers. - -May all happiness and success come to you is the sincere wish of - - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - TO ERNEST CROSBY - - T[=O]KY[=O], August, 1904. - -DEAR MR. CROSBY,--A namesake of yours, a young lieutenant in the United -States Army, first taught me, about twenty years ago, how to study -Herbert Spencer. To that Crosby I shall always feel a very reverence -of gratitude; and I shall always find myself inclined to seek the good -opinion of any man bearing the name of Crosby. - -I received recently a copy of _The Whim_ containing some strictures upon -the use of the word "regeneration," in one of my articles, as applied -to the invigorating and developing effects of militancy in the history -of human societies. I am inclined to agree with you that the word was -ill-chosen; but it seems to me that your general attitude upon the -matter is not in accordance with evolutional truth. Allow me to quote -from Spencer:-- - -"The successive improvements of the organs of sense and motion, and of -the internal cooerdinating apparatus, which uses them, have indirectly -resulted from the antagonisms and competitions of organisms with one -another. A parallel truth is disclosed on watching how there evolves the -regulating system of a political aggregate, and how there are developed -those appliances for offence and defence put in action by it. Everywhere -the wars between societies originate governmental structures, and are -causes of all such improvements in these structures as increase the -efficiency of corporate action against environing societies." - -The history of social evolution, I think, amply proves that the -higher conditions of civilization have been reached, and could have -been reached, only through the discipline of militancy. Until human -nature becomes much more developed than it is now, and the sympathies -incomparably more evolved, wars will probably continue; and however -much we may detest and condemn war as moral crime, it will be scarcely -reasonable to declare that its results are purely evil,--certainly not -more reasonable than to assert that to knock down a robber is equally -injurious to the moral feelings of the robber and to the personal -interest of the striker. As for "regeneration"--the Reformation, the -development of European Protestantism and of intellectual liberty, -the French Revolution, the Independence of the United States (to -mention only a few instances of progress), were rendered possible -only by war. As for Japan--immediately after her social organization -had been dislocated by outside pressure,--and at a time when serious -disintegrations seemed likely,--the results of the war with China were -certainly invigorating. National self-confidence was strengthened, -national discords extinguished, social disintegrations checked, the -sentiment of patriotism immensely developed. To understand these -things, of course, it is necessary to understand the Japanese social -organization. What holds true of one form of society, as regards the -evil of war, does not necessarily hold true of another. - - Yours faithfully, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - -I have reopened the envelope to acknowledge your interesting sketch of -Edward Carpenter.... What an attractive personality. - -But I fear that I must shock you by my declaration of non-sympathy with -much of the work of contemporary would-be reformers. They are toiling -for socialism; and socialism will come. It will come very quietly and -gently, and tighten about nations as lightly as a spider's web; and then -there will be revolutions! Not sympathy and fraternity and justice--but -a Terror in which no man will dare to lift his voice. - -No higher condition of human freedom ever existed than what America -enjoyed between--let us say, 1870 and 1885. To effect higher conditions, -a higher development of human nature would have been necessary. Where -have American liberties now gone? A free press has ceased to exist. -Within another generation publishers' syndicates will decide what the -public shall be allowed to read. A man can still print his thoughts in a -book, though not in any periodical of influence; within another twenty -years he will write only what he is told to write. It is a pleasure -to read the brave good things sometimes uttered in prints like the -_Conservator_ or _The Whim_; but those papers are but the candlesticks -in which free thought now makes its last flickering. In the so-called -land of freedom men and women are burnt at the stake in the presence -of Christian churches--for the crime of belonging to another race. -The stake reestablished for the vengeance of race-hatred to-day, may -to-morrow be maintained for the vengeance of religious hate--mocking -itself, of course, under some guise of moral zeal. Competition will soon -be a thing of the past; and the future will be to your stock-companies, -trusts, and syndicates. The rule of the many will be about as merciful -as a calculating-machine, and as moral as a lawn-mower. What socialism -means really no one seems to know or care. It will mean the most -insufferable oppression that ever weighed upon mankind. - -Here are gloomy thoughts for you! You see that I cannot sympathize with -the Whitmanesque ideal of democracy. That ideal was the heart-felt -expression of a free state that has gone by. It was in itself a generous -dream. But social tendencies, inevitable and irresistible, are now -impelling the dreamers to self-destruction. The pleasure that in other -times one could find in the literature of humanity, of brotherhood, of -pity, is numbed to-day by perception of the irresistible drift of things. - - Ever faithfully yours, - L. HEARN. - - - TO MRS. WETMORE - - T[=O]KY[=O], September, 1904. - -DEAR MRS. WETMORE,--To see your handwriting again upon the familiar blue -envelope was a great pleasure; and what the envelope contained, in the -same precious text, was equally delightful ... excepting some little -words of praise which I do not deserve, and which you ought not to have -penned. At least they might have been altered so as to better suggest -your real meaning--for you must be aware that as to what is usually -termed "life" I have less than no knowledge, and have always been, and -will always remain, a dolt and a blunderer of the most amazing kind.... - -I left the dedication of the "Miscellany" untouched,--because the book -is not a bad book in its way, and perhaps you will later on find no -reason to be sorry for your good opinions of the writer. I presume -that you are far too clever to believe more than truth,--and I stand -tolerably well in the opinion of a few estimable people, in spite of -adverse tongues and pens. - -That little story of which you tell me the outline was admirable as -an idea. I wish that you had sent me a copy of it. But you never sent -me any of your writings, after I departed from New York--except that -admirable volume of memories and portraits. Of course, that paper about -the morals of the insect-world was intended chiefly (so far as there -was any intention whatever) to suggest to some pious people that the -philosophy of Evolution does not teach that the future must belong to -the strong and selfish "blond beast," as Nietzsche calls him--quite the -contrary. Renan hinted the same fact long ago; but he did not, perhaps, -know how English biologists had considered the ethical suggestion of -insect-sociology. - -In spite of all mishaps, I did tolerably well last year--chiefly through -economy;--made money instead of losing any. I have a professorship in -Count Okuma's university (small fees but ample leisure); and I was able -to take my boys to live with the fishermen for a month--on fish, rice, -and sea-water (with sake, of course, for their sire). I have got strong -again; and can use the right arm as well as ever for swimming.... - -The "rejected addresses" will shortly appear in book-form. The book -is not what it ought to be--everything was against me--but it ought -to suggest something to somebody. I don't like the work of writing a -serious treatise on sociology. It requires training beyond my range; and -I imagine that the real sociologist, on reading me, must smile-- - - "as a Master smiles at one - That is not of his school, nor any school, - Save that where blind and naked Ignorance - Delivers brawling judgement, unashamed, - On all things, all day long."... - -I ought to keep to the study of birds and cats and insects and flowers, -and queer small things--and leave the subject of the destiny of empires -to men of brains. Unfortunately, the men of brains will not state the -truth as they see it. If you find any good in the book, despite the -conditions under which it was written, you will recognize your share in -the necessarily ephemeral value thereof. - -May all good things ever come to you, and abide. - - Yours faithfully always, - LAFCADIO HEARN. - - - TO H. FUJISAKI - - SEPTEMBER 26, 1904.[4] - -DEAR CAPTAIN,--Your most welcome letter reached us to-day. It was a -great pleasure to receive it, and to know that you are well and strong. -You have often been in my thoughts and dreams. And, of course, we have -been anxious about you. But the gods seem to be taking good care of you; -and your position is, from our point of view, supremely fortunate. That -a bright future is before you, I cannot doubt,--in spite of the chances -of war. - - [4] The day of Hearn's death. - -As you see the papers here, it will not be worth while to send you any -general news. As for local news,--things are very quiet, just as when -you were here. But many men of [=O]kubo-mura have been summoned to the -front. Nearly all the young gardeners, fruit-sellers, _kurumaya_, etc., -have been called. So the district is, perhaps, a little more lonesome. -We had regiments stationed here for a while. When the soldiers were -going away, they gave toys to the children of the neighbourhood. To -Kazuo they gave a little clay-model of a Russian soldier's head, and one -said: "When we come back, we will bring you a real one." We prize that -funny little gift, as a souvenir of the giver and the time. - -Summer was dry, hot, and bright--we had very little rain after July. But -during July,--the early part,--it used to rain irregularly, in a strange -way;--and with the rain there was much lightning. Several persons in -T[=o]ky[=o] were killed by the lightning. I imagined that the war had -something to do with the disturbed state of the atmosphere. After a -heavy rain we generally had the news of a victory; so, when it began to -rain hard, I used to say, "Ah! the Russians are in trouble again!" - -We went to Yaidzu for about twenty days, and got strong and brown. Iwao -was positively black when he returned. He learned to swim a little, and -was able to cross the river on his back--where it was quite deep;--but -the sea was rather too rough for him. We found that seventeen men -of Yaidzu had been summoned to the war,--including several pleasant -acquaintances. - -Your good mother writes to us; and all your household seem to be as well -and as happy as could be expected,--considering the natural anxieties -of the war. Even for me, a stranger, the war has been trying; it was a -long time before I could get used to the calling of the newspaper-lads, -selling extras (_gogwai_). But the people of T[=o]ky[=o] have been -very cheerful and brave. Nobody seems to have any doubt as to the -results of the campaign. - -[Illustration: LAFCADIO HEARN'S GRAVE] - -I am still hoping to see you next spring, or at latest in summer. For -this hope, however, I have no foundation beyond the idea that Russia -will probably find, before long, that she must think of something else -besides fighting with Japan. The commercial powers of the world are -disturbed by her aggression; and industrial power, after all, is much -more heavy than all the artillery of the Czar. Whatever foreign sympathy -really exists is with Japan. In any event Russia must lose Manchuria, I -fancy. - -What strange and unimagined experiences you must have been passing -through. Since the time of the great war between France and Germany, -there were never such forces opposed to each other as those that met -at Liaoyang. It seems to me a wonderful thing that I am able to send a -letter to the place of so vast a contest. - -I shall try to send you something to read of the kind you mention. My -boys are writing to you--Kazuo in English; Iwao in his native language. -May all good fortune be with you is the sincere wish of your friend, - - Y. KOIZUMI. - - - - - CONCLUSION - - -With Mrs. Hearn's quaint and tender record of Lafcadio Hearn's last -days, his "Life and Letters" may fitly conclude. - - * * * * * - -About 3 P. M. Sept. 19th, 1904, as I went to his library I found him -walking to and fro with his hands upon the breast. I asked him: "Are -you indisposed?" Husband: "I got a new sickness." "What is your new -sickness?" Husband: "The heart-sickness." I: "You are always over -anxious." At once I sent for our doctor Kizawa with a jinrikisha -furnished with two riksha men. He would not let myself and children -see his painful sight, and ordered to leave him. But I stayed by him. -He began writing. I advised him to be quiet. "Let me do as I please," -he said, and soon finished writing. "This is a letter addressed to Mr. -Ume. Mr. Ume is a worthy man. He will give you a good counsel when any -difficulty happen to you. If any greater pain of this kind comes upon -me I shall perhaps die," he said; and then admonished me repeatedly and -strongly that I ought to keep myself healthy and strong; then gave me -several advices, hearty, earnest, and serious, with regard to the future -of children, concluding with the words, "Could you understand?" Then -again he said: "Never weep if I die. Buy for my coffin a little earthen -pot of three or four cents worth; bury me in the yard of a little temple -in some lonesome quarter. Never be sorry. You had better play cards with -children. Do not inform to others of my departure. If any should happen -to inquire of me, tell him: 'Ha! he died sometime ago. That will do.'" I -eagerly remonstrated: "Pray, do not speak such melancholy things. Such -will never happen." He said: "This is a serious matter." Then saying "It -cannot be held," he kept quiet. - -A few minutes passed; the pain relaxed. "I would like to take bath," he -said. He wanted cold bath; went to the bath-room and took a cold bath. -"Strange!" he said, "I am quite well now." He recovered entirely, and -asked me: "Mamma San! Sickness flew away from me. Shall I take some -whiskey?" I told him: "I fear whiskey will not be good for heart. But -if you are so fond of it I will offer it to you mixed with some water." -Taking up the cup, he said: "I shall no more die." He then told me for -the first time that a few days ago he had the same experience of pain. -He lay down upon the bed then with a book. When the doctor arrived at -our house, "What shall I do?" he said. Leaving the book, he went out to -the parlour, and said "Pardon me, doctor. The sickness is gone." The -doctor found no bad symptom, and jokes and chattering followed between -them. - -He was always averse to take medicine or to be attended by a doctor. He -would never take medicine if I had not been careful; and if I happen to -be late in offering him medicine he would say: "I was glad thinking you -had forgot." If not engaged in writing, he used to walk in meditation -to and fro in the room or through the corridor. So even in the time of -sickness he would not like to remain quiet in confinement. - -One day he told me in gladness: "Mamma San! I am very pleased about -this." I asked him what it was. "I wrote this newspaper article: -'Lafcadio Hearn disappeared from the world.' How interesting! The world -will see me no more--I go away in secret--I shall become a hermit--in -some remote mountain, with you and with Kazuo." - -It was a few days before his departure. Osaki, a maid, the daughter of -Otokitsu of Yaidzu, found a blossom untimely blooming in one of the -branches of cherry-tree in the garden. She told me about that. Whenever -I saw or heard anything interesting I always told it to him; and this -proved his greatest enjoyment. A very trifling matter was in our home -very often highly valued. For instance, as the following things:-- - -To-day a young shoot appeared on a musa basjoo in the garden. - -Look! an yellow butterfly is flying there. - -In the bamboo bushes, a young bamboo-sprout raised its head from the -earth. - -Kazuo found a mound made by ants. - -A frog is just staying on the top of the hedge. - -From this morning the white, the purple, and the red blossoms of the -morning-glory began to bloom, etc., etc. - -Matters like those had great importance in our household. These things -were all reported to him. They were great delight for my husband. -He was pleased innocently. I tried to please him with such topics -with all my heart. Perhaps if any one happened to witness, it would -have seemed ridiculous. Frogs, ants, butterflies, bamboo-sprouts, -morning-glory,--they were all the best friends to my husband. - -Now, the blossom was beautiful to look. But I felt all at once my bosom -tremble for some apprehension of evil, because the untimely bloom is -considered in Japan as a bad omen. Anyhow I told him of the blossom. He -was interested as usual. "Hello!" he said, and immediately approaching -to the railing, he looked out at the blossom. "Now my world has come--it -is warm, like spring," said he; then after a pause, "but soon it will -become cold and that blossom will die away." This blossom was upon the -branch till the 27th, when toward the evening its petals scattered -themselves lonesomely. Methought the cherry-tree, which had Hearn's -warmest affection for these years, responded to his kindness and bade -good-bye to him. - -Hearn was an early riser; but lest he should disturb the sleep of -myself and children, he was always waiting for us and keeping quiet -in the library, sitting regularly upon the cushion and smoking with a -charcoal-brazier before him, till I got up and went to his library. - -In the morning of Sept. 26th--the sad, last day--as I went to his -library about 6.30 A. M., he was already quietly sitting as -usual on the cushion. "Ohay[=o] gozaimasu" (good-morning) I said. He -seemed to be thinking over something, but upon my salutation he said his -"good-morning," and told me that he had an interesting dream last night, -for we were accustomed to tell each other when we had a pleasant dream. -"What was it," I asked. He said: "I had a long, distant journey. Here I -am smoking now, you see. Is it real that I travelled or is it real that -I am smoking? The world of dream!..." Thus saying he was pleased with -himself. - -Before going to bed, our three boys used to go to his library and say in -English: "Papa! Good-night! Pleasant dream!" Then he says in Japanese: -"Dream a good dream," or in English: "The same to you." - -On this morning when Kazuo, before leaving home for school, went to him, -and said a "good-morning," he said: "Pleasant dream." Not knowing how to -say, Kazuo answered: "The same to you." - -About eleven o'clock in the morning, while walking to and fro along the -corridor, he looked into my sitting-room and saw the picture hung upon -the wall of alcove. The picture entitled "Morning Sun," represented a -glorious, but a little mistic, scene of seashore in the early morning -with birds thronging. "A beautiful scenery! I would like to go to such a -land," he remarked. - -He was fond of hearing the note of insects. We kept _matsu mushi_ (a -kind of cricket) this autumn. Toward evening the plaintive notes -which matsu mushi made at intervals made me feel unusually lonesome. I -asked my husband how it sounded to him. He said: "That tiny creature -has been singing nicely. It's getting cold, though. Is it conscious -or unconscious that soon it must die? It's a pity, indeed." And, in a -lonesome way, he added: "Ah, poor creature! On one of these warm days -let us put him secretly among the grasses." - -Nothing particularly different was not to be observable in all about him -that day through. But the single blossom of untimely cherry, the dream -of long journey he had, and the notes of matsu mushi, all these make me -sad even now, as if there had existed some significance about them. At -supper he felt sudden pain in the breast. He stopped eating; went away -to his library; I followed him. For some minutes, with his hands upon -his breast, he walked about the room. A sensation of vomiting occurred -to him. I helped him, but no vomiting. He wanted to lie on bed. With his -hands on breast, he kept very calm in bed. But, in a few minutes after, -he was no more the man of this side of the world. As if feeling no pain -at all, he had a little smile about his mouth. - - - - - APPENDIX - - -The following was one of Hearn's general lectures at the University -of T[=o]ky[=o] as it was taken down at the time of its delivery by -T. Ochiai, one of his students. It contains, together with some -characteristic literary opinions, striking evidence of the curious -felicity of Hearn's method of approach to the Japanese mind. - - - NAKED POETRY - -Before beginning the regular course of literary lectures this year, -I want to make a little discourse about what we may call Naked -Poetry--that is, poetry without any dress, without any ornament, the -very essence or body of poetry unveiled by artifice of any kind. I -use the word artistically, of course--comparing poetry to an artistic -object representing either a figure or a fact in itself, without any -accessories. - -Now for a few words about poetry in general. All the myriad forms -of verse can be classed in three divisions without respect to -subject or method. The highest class is the poetry in which both the -words, or form, and the emotion expressed are equally admirable and -super-excellent. The second division in importance is that kind of -poetry in which the emotion or sentiment is the chief thing, and the -form is only a secondary consideration. The third and least important -class of poetry is that in which the form is everything, and the emotion -or sentiment is always subordinated to it. Now scarcely any modern -poem of great length entirely fulfils the highest condition. We have -to go back to the old Greek poetry to find such fulfilment. But the -second class of poetry includes such wonderful work as the poetry of -Shakespeare. The third class of poetry is very fairly represented in -English literature by the work of Pope and the dead classic school. -To-day--I mean at this moment in England--the tendency is bad: it is -again setting in the direction of form rather than of sentiment or -thought. - -This will be sufficient to explain to you what I shall [mean] in future -lectures by speaking of perfect poetry, or second class poetry, or -inferior poetry, independently of qualifications. But I must also ask -you to accept my definition of the word poetry--though it is somewhat -arbitrary. By poetry, true poetry, I mean, above all, that kind of -composition in verse which deeply stirs the mind and moves the heart--in -another word, the poetry of feeling. This is the true _literary -signification_ of poetry; and this is why you will hear some kinds of -prose spoken of as great poetry,--although it is not in any way like -verse; an important difference of the kind above referred to has been -recognized, I am told, by Japanese poets. - -They have, at all events, declared that a perfect poem should leave -something in the mind,--something not said, but suggested,--something -that makes a thrill in you after reading the composition. You will -therefore be very well able to see the beauty of any foreign verses -which can fulfil this condition with very simple words. Of course when -academic language, learned words, words known only to Greek or Latin -scholars, are used, such poetry is almost out of the question. Popular -language, in English at least, is the best medium for emotional poetry -of certain kinds. But even without going to dialect, or descending to -colloquialisms, great effects can be produced with very plain common -English--provided that the poet sincerely feels. Here is a tiny but very -famous little verse, which I would call an example of naked poetry--pure -poetry without any kind of ornament at all. It has only rhymes of -[one] syllable; but even if it had no rhymes at all it would still be -great poetry. And what is more, I should call it something very much -resembling in quality the spirit of Japanese poetry. However, you can -judge for yourselves:-- - - Four ducks on a pond, - A grass-bank beyond, - A blue sky of spring, - White clouds on the wing: - What a little thing - To remember for years-- - To remember with tears! - -It reads like nothing in particular until you get to the last -line;--then the whole picture comes suddenly into your mind with a -shock, and you understand. It is an exile's memory of home, one instant -of childhood shining out in memory, after all the rest of memory has -become dark. So it is very famous, and really wonderful--although there -is no art in it at all. It is simple as a song. - -Now English poetry contains very few inspirations like that--which, by -the way, was the work of an Irishman, William Allingham. The remarkable -thing about it is the effect made by so small a thing. But we have a few -English poets who touched the art of divine simplicity--of pure emotion -independent of form; and one of these was Kingsley. You know several of -his songs which show this emotional power; but I am not sure whether you -know "Airly Beacon." - -"Airly Beacon" is a little song; but it is the story of the tragedy of -life--you never can forget it after once reading it. And you have no -idea what you are reading until you come to the last line. I must tell -you that the place for "Airly Beacon" is a high place in Scotland,--from -the top of which a beautiful view can be obtained,--and it is called -Airly Beacon because in ancient time a signal-fire, or beacon-fire, used -to be lighted upon it. Bearing this in mind you will be better able to -judge the effect of the poem. I must also remind you that in England and -America young girls are allowed a great deal of liberty in regard to -what is called "courtesy" [courting?], that is to say, being wooed, or -made love to under promise of marriage. The idea is that a girl should -have sufficient force of will to be able to take care of herself when -alone with a man. If she has not--then she might have [to] sing the -song of Airly Beacon. But _perhaps_ the girl in this case was not so -importunate [unfortunate?]; we may imagine that she became a wife and -very early a widow. The song does not say. - - Airly Beacon, Airly Beacon; - Oh, the pleasant sight to see - Shires and towns from Airly Beacon - While my love climbed up to me. - - Airly Beacon, Airly Beacon; - Oh, the happy hours we lay - Deep in fern on Airly Beacon, - Courting through the summer's day! - - Airly Beacon, Airly Beacon; - Oh, the weary haunt for me, - All alone on Airly Beacon, - With his baby on my knee! - -The great test as to whether verse contains real poetry, emotional -poetry, is this: Can it be translated into the prose of another language -and still make it appear emotional? If it can, then the true poetry is -there; if it cannot, then it is not true poetry, but only verse. Now -a great deal of famous Western poetry will really bear this test. The -little poem that I have just quoted to you will bear it. So will some -of the best work of each of our greatest poets. Those of you who study -German know something about the wonderful poems of Heine. You know they -are very simple in form and musical. Well, the best foreign translation -of them is a translation into French prose. Here, of course, the rhyme -is gone, the muse is gone, but the real, essential poetry--the power to -touch the heart--remains. Do you remember the little poem in which the -poet describes the soldier, the sentry on guard at the city-gate? He -sees the soldier standing in the light of the evening sun, performing -the military exercises all by himself, just to pass the time. He -shoulders his gun as if in receiving invisible orders, presents, takes -aim. Then, the poet suddenly exclaims,--"I wish he would shoot me dead!" - -The whole power of the little composition is in that exclamation; he -tells us all that he means, and all that he feels. To a person unhappy, -profoundly unhappy, even the most common sights and sounds of life give -him thoughts and wishes in relation to death. Now, a little poem like -that loses very little, loses scarcely anything by a littler [_sic_] -translation; it is what I have called naked poetry;--it does not depend -upon the ornaments of expression, all the decoration of rhyme, in order -to produce its effect. Perhaps you will say that this essence of poetry -may also be found occasionally in prose. That is true;--there is such -a thing as poetry in prose, but it is also true that measure and rhyme -greatly intensify the charm of emotional expression. - -Suppose we now take something more elaborate for an example--this -celebrated little poem written many years ago by an Oxford student, -and now known everywhere. I call it more elaborate, only because the -workmanship as to form is much more: - - The night has a thousand eyes, - And the day but one; - Yet the light of the whole world dies - With the dying sun. - - The mind has a thousand eyes, - And the heart but one; - Yet the light of a whole life dies - When love is done. - FRANCIS BOURDILLON. - -An ancient Greek might have written something like that; it has the -absolute perfection of some of those emotional little pieces of [the] -Greek anthology--two thousand and even three thousand years old. The -comparison of stars to eyes is very old. In every Western literature the -stars have been called the eyes of the night; and still we call the sun -the Eye of the Day, just as the Greeks did. Innumerable as are the stars -of the night, they cannot be seen at all when the sun has well risen. -They are not able to make light and joy in the world; and when the sun -sets, everything becomes dark and colourless. Then the poet says that -human love is to human life what the sun is to the world. It is not by -reason, but by a feeling that we are made happy. The mind cannot make -us happy as the heart can. Yet the mind, like the sky, "has a thousand -eyes"--that is to say, a thousand different capacities of knowledge and -perception. It does not matter. When the person that we really love is -dead the happiness of life ceases for us; emotionally our world becomes -dark as the physical world becomes when the sun has set. - -Certainly the perfect verse and rhyme help the effect; but they are -not at all necessary to the beauty of the thing. Translate that into -your own language in prose; and you will see that very little is lost; -for the first two lines of the first stanza exactly balance the first -two lines of the second stanza; and the second two lines of the first -stanza balance the second two lines of the second stanza; therefore even -in prose the composition must assume a charming form, no matter what -language it is rendered in. - -But it does not follow at all that because a short composition in -verse contains a great deal of meaning or happens to be very cleverly -constructed, you can call it a real poem. Verses that only surprise by -cleverness, by tricks of good words, have a very little value. They may -be pretty; they give you a kind of pleasure, that is a small graceful -object. But if they do not touch the heart as well as the head, I should -never call them real poetry. For example, there is a French verse which -has been translated into English more than a thousand times--always -differently and yet never successfully. The English _Journal of -Education_ this year asked for translations of it, and more than five -hundred were sent in. None of them were satisfactory, though some of -them were very clever. - - La vie est vaine: - Un peu d'amour, - Un peu de haine, - Et puis--bonjour! - - La vie est breve: - Un peu d'espoir, - Un peu de reve, - Et puis--bonsoir! - - Life is vain: a little love, a little hate, and then--good-bye! - Life is brief: a little hope, a little dreaming, and then--good-night! - -Of course, this requires no explanation, the French work is -astonishingly clever, simple as it looks: the same thing cannot be done -in the English language so well. As I have told you, at least a thousand -English writers have tried to put it into English verse. So you will see -that it is very famous. But is it poetry? I should certainly say that it -is not. It is not poetry, because it consists only of a few commonplaces -stated in a mocking way--in the tone of a clever man trifling with a -serious subject. They do not really touch us. And they do not bear the -test of translation. Put into English, what becomes of them? They simply -dry up. The English reader might well exclaim, "We have heard of that -before, in much better language." But let us take one verse of a Scotch -song by Robert Burns which is known the whole world over, and which was -written by a man who always wrote out of his own [heart]. - - - "We two have paddled in the brook - From morning sun till noon, - But seas between us broad have roared - Since old lang syne." - -When I put that into English, the music is gone, and the beauty of -several dialect-words, such as "dine" (meaning the dinner hour, -therefore the midday), and the melody have disappeared. Still the poetry -remains. Two men in some foreign country, after years of separation, -and one reminds the other of childhood days when both played in the -village brook from the sunrise until dinner-time--so much delighted by -the water! Only a little brook, one says;--but the breadth of oceans, -the width of half the world, has been between us since that time. Now, -anybody who, as a boy, loved to play or swim in the stream of his native -village with other boys, can feel what the poet means; whether he be a -Japanese or a Scotchman makes no difference at all. That is poetry. - -And now, so much having been said on the subject of the emotional -essence of poetry, I want to tell you that in the course of such -lectures on poetry as we shall have in the course of the academic year, -I shall try always to keep these facts before you and to select for our -reading only those things which contain the thought of poetry that will -bear the test of translation. Much of our English poetry will not do -this. I think, for example, that it is a great mistake to set before -Japanese students such 18th century birth [work?] as the verse of Pope. -As verse it is perhaps the most perfect of the English language, as -poetry it is nothing at all. The essence of poetry is not in Pope, nor -is it to be found in most of the 18th century school. - -That was an age in which it was the fashion to keep all emotion -suppressed. But Pope is a useful study for English classes in England, -because of what English students can take from it through the mere -study of form, of compact and powerful expression with very few -words. Here, the situation is exactly converse. The value of foreign -poetry to you cannot be in the direction of form. Foreign form cannot -be reproduced in Japanese any more than French can be produced into -English. The value of foreign poetry is in what makes the soul, the -heart, the heart of all poetry:--feeling and imagination. Foreign -feeling and foreign imagination may help to add something to the beauty -and the best quality of future Japanese poetry. There I think the worth -of study may be very great. But when foreign poetry means nothing but -correct verse, you might as well waste no time upon it; as there is much -great poetry which has good form as well as strong feeling. - - - - - INDEX - - - Adulteration, in food and morals, II: 139-141. - - AEsthetics, Y. Hirn's study of, II: 20, 21. - - Africa, musical aptitudes of races of, I: 284, 353; - transplantation of melodies of, to America, 356, 380, 411. - - Ahriman, the Persian Spirit of Darkness, II: 118, 126. - - Akizuki, teacher of Chinese at Kumamoto, I: 125; II: 66, 67, 73, 119, - 177. - - Albee, John, I: 83; - letters from Hearn to, I: 276,277; II: 358-361; - his Prose Idyls, 360. - - Albee, Mrs. John, I: 358, 359, 360. - - Alden, Henry Mills, I: 286, 378, 405, 428. - - Alexander the Great, I: 161. - - Allen, Grant, Hearn's comment on, I: 394. - - Allen, James Lane, II: 377. - - Allingham, William, II: 522; - a verse by, 521. - - Amaron, lyrics of, I: 368. - - Ama-terasu-Omi-Kami, II: 25. - - Amenomori, Nobushige, I: 128, 139, 159; II: 217, 346, 353, 380, 390, - 391, 392, 394; - photograph of, 376. - - Amicis, Edmondo de, his Cuore, I: 456; II: 102. - - Amiel, Henri Frederic, his Journal Intime, II: 400. - - Ancestors, worship of, II: 28. - - Andersen, Hans, Hearn's comment on, II: 251. - - Angelinus, I: 256. - - Anglo-American alliance, II: 384. - - Anglo-Saxon race, future of, II: 137. - - Antaeus, II: 454. - - Antilles. _See_ West Indies. - - Apes, treatment of, on board ship, I: 413, 414. - - Apollo, Temple of, at Levkas, I: 3. - - Apollonius of Tyana, I: 321, 322. - - Arabia, hero-stories of, I: 234, 237. - - Aristocracies, value of, II: 248. - - Arnold, Edwin, I: 282, 335, 454; - his Light of Asia, 291; - Hearn's opinion of, 319; - his translation of the story of Nala, 402. - - Arnold, Matthew, Hearn's comments on, I: 318, 319. - - Arnoux, ----, I: 465, 466; II: 347. - - Arrows, used in Japanese rice-fields, II: 6. - - Arrows of prayer, II: 6. - - Art, nature of antique, I: 211; - standards of, 216-218; - sacrifices and rewards of, 237-239, 242, 243; - return to antique, 254; - money considerations should not enter into, 336; - ghostliness of, II: 19, 20; - use of the distorted in, 125-127 - secret of literary, 345, 346. - - Asai, Mr., II: 298, 299. - - Assyria, ghost-stories of, II: 251. - - Aston, William George, II: 484. - - Atlantic City, N. J., I: 451. - - Atlantic Monthly, I: 293, 317, 321, 397. - - Aubryet, Xavier, I: 340. - - Augustin, Jean, I: 70, 71, 363; II: 294. - - Austin, Alfred, II: 302. - - Azan, the muezzin's call, I: 280, 281, 283, 309, 317, 321. - - Azukizawa, one of Hearn's pupils, II: 68. - - - Bacon, Francis, his idea of love, I: 316; - Hearn's opinions of his Essays, 328. - - Bagpipe, introduced by Romans into Scotland, I: 182. - - Baker, Constance, II: 256, 259, 287, 288, 292. - - Baker, Page M., I: 265, 267, 268, 280, 289, 321, 323, 334, 346, 361, - 370; - Hearn's description of, 70, 71; II: 203; - letters from Hearn to, I: 87; II: 43-46, 90-95, 174-176, 253-256, - 257-265, 285-289, 292-296. - - Baker, Mrs. Page M., II: 265. - - Ball, Rev. Wayland D., I: 83; - letters from Hearn to, 250-267, 342-348; - Hearn's advice to, regarding literary work, 265, 266, 267, 343, 346. - - Ballads, a Japanese singer and seller of, II: 220; - customs regarding, 221. - - Balzac, Honore de, II: 432; - his Le Succube, I: 201. - - Bamboula, music of, I: 325, 359. - - Bangor, North Wales, a private museum in, I: 171, 172. - - Banja, an African word, I: 339. - - Banjo, I: 310, 311; - use of, by Southern negroes, 337. - - Baring-Gould, Sabine, his chapter on the Mountain of Venus, I: 279. - - Barrera, Enrique, I: 228. - - Barrie, James Matthew, II: 301; - his Sentimental Tommy, 318. - - Basutos, music of, I: 353. - - Bath, the Japanese, II: 94. - - Bathing, at Grande Isle, I: 90, 91, 92. - - Batokas, multiple pipe of the, I: 297. - - Bats, adventures with, I: 465-467. - - Baudelaire, Pierre Charles, I: 197, 211; - his phrase regarding Gautier, 82; - Hearn's desire to translate his Petits Poemes en Prose, 362. - - Beaulieu, Anatole Henri de, I: 317. - - Beauty, hatred of the many for, I: 27; - nature of the first perception of, 28-30; - Hearn's early love of, 29, 32, 48. - - Bedloe, Edward, II: 408, 438, 439, 440, 443, 448, 454. - - Beecher, Henry Ward, I: 52. - - Beetles, Japanese, II: 143. - - Behrens, Alice von, II: 411. - - Belief, Hearn's philosophy of, I: 296; - origin of religious, 347, 348. - - Bellamy, Edward, II: 184. - - Bellesort, Andre, II: 352, 353; - his Societe Japonaise, 471, 478, 479, 502. - - Bellesort, Mme., II: 352, 353, 502. - - Bennett, James Gordon, I: 54. - - Beranger, Pierre Jean de, II: 412. - - Bergerat, Auguste Emile, I: 222, 227. - - Berlioz, Hector, I: 168. - - Bernhardt, Sarah, II: 435. - - Bhagavad-Gita, I: 316, 402. - - Bible, revised version of the Old Testament, I: 350; - grammatical usages in, II: 75, 76; - Japanese hatred of some passages in, 320. - - Bilal, I: 280, 281, 282; - Hearn's article on, 283, 284, 286, 295; - biography of, 331. - - Bisland, Elizabeth. _See_ Wetmore, Elizabeth (Bisland). - - Bizet, Georges, I: 385. - - Bjoernson, Bjoernstjerne, I: 46. - - Black, William, II: 301. - - Blouet, Paul (Max O'Rell), I: 445. - - Blue, significance of the colour, I: 394. - - Boccaccio, Giovanni, his Decameron, I: 256. - - Bodhisattvas, Japanese and Indian, II: 78. - - Bon-odori, a Japanese dance, II: 37, 38, 46, 47, 52, 54. - - Book of Golden Deeds, as a reading-book in a Japanese school, II: 102. - - Books, Hearn's dislike of borrowing, II: 432. - - Borrow, George, I: 205, 206, 459; - his Gypsies of Spain, 201, 202. - - Bourdillon, Francis, verses by, II: 525. - - Bourgault-Ducoudray, Louis Albert, his Souvenirs d'une mission - musicale en Grece, I: 386. - - Bourget, Paul, II: 84. - - Bowditch, Thomas Edward, I: 354. - - Brachet, Auguste, I: 374. - - Brahma, I: 210. - - Brahmins, example of magic given by, I: 322. - - Brain, in civilized man and savages, II: 245. - - Brantome, Pierre de Bourdeilles, Seigneur de, I: 256. - - Brenane, Mrs., Hearn adopted by, I: 8, 11, 12, 16; - disposition of her property, 36, 37. - - Bridges, Robert, his Pater Filio, II: 498. - - Brittany, songs of, I: 189, 190. - - Broca, Pierre Paul, I: 339; II: 245. - - Brownell, William Crary, Hearn's comment on his French Traits, I: 457. - - Browning, Robert, II: 190. - - Brunetiere, Ferdinand, II: 479. - - Buddhas, Japanese and Indian, II: 78. - - Buddhism, monistic idea in, strengthened by education, I: 112; - introduction of knowledge of, into America, 265; - the possible religion of the future, 291, 292; - Christianity and, 347; - in the light of modern science, 400; - false teaching of, 401; - Hearn's study of, II: 4; - his love of, 26; - suppression of, in hotels of Kizuki, 47; - difficulty of study of, for foreigners, 82; - effect of, on the foreigner, 85, 86; - some tenets of, 135; - theosophical and spiritualistic writers on, 431. - _See also_ Nichiren. - - Buddhist catechism, projected by Hearn, II: 269, 270. - - Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, first Baron Lytton, his The - House and the Brain, II: 371. - - Bulwer-Lytton, Edward Robert Lytton, first Earl of Lytton (Owen - Meredith), his The Portrait, II: 294. - - Bunch[=o], Japanese painter, II: 468. - - Buonarroti, Michelangelo, I: 275. - - Burke, Edmund, his Essays as a reading-book in a Japanese school, - II: 102. - - Burns, Mrs., II: 368. - - Burns, Robert, a verse of, II: 527, 528. - - Burthe, Honore, I: 70, 71. - - Business, hypocrisy of, II: 109; - morality of modern men and methods of, 169-174, 177-179, 293; - Hearn's hatred of, 294, 353, 354; - extraordinary incidents of, 303. - - Byron, George Gordon Noel, Baron Byron, French prose translations of, - I: 245. - - Byzantium, wind organs invented at, I: 166. - - - Cable, George Washington, I: 212; - his study of Creole music, 175, 337, 359; - his Grandissimes, 228, 229; - character of his work, 289, 295, 296; - negro Pan's pipe described by, 355. - - Caesar, Julius, I: 161. - - Carlyle, Thomas and Jane, I: 139. - - Carmen, the opera, I: 201, 202. - - Carpenter, Edward, II: 511. - - Castelar, Emilio, I: 275. - - Castren, Matthias Alexander, his work on Finnish mythology, I: 233, - 235, 236. - - Caterpillar, Hearn's story of a, II: 436. - - Catholicism, Latin feeling surviving in, II: 312. - _See also_ Roman Catholic Church. - - Cats, Japanese, II: 55, 56, 58, 59. - - Cephalonia, Island of, I: 7. - - Ceram, Island of, II: 211, 213. - - Cerigo, Island of, I: 6. - - Cerigote, Rosa. _See_ Hearn, Rosa (Cerigote). - - Chalumeau, or multiple pipe, I: 297. - - Chamberlain, Basil Hall, I: 53; II: 63, 107, 306; - his explanation of Hearn's inconstancy to his friends, I: 57-59; - aid given to Hearn by, 110, 136; - letters from Hearn to, 130, 131; II: 5-18, 23-43, 46-60, 198-251, - 256, 257, 266-270, 273, 274, 276-278; - his Kojiki, 6, 9; - his Things Japanese, 60, 76-79, 90, 212; - Hearn's suggestion for an illustrated edition of Kojiki, 58; - his knowledge of the Japanese language, 117; - project for a book on Japanese folk-lore by Hearn and, 129; - Japanese appreciation of, 201; - his version of the Kumamoto R[=o]j[=o], 220, 221; - his paper on the Loochoo Islands, 273, 274. - - Charcot, Jean Martin, I: 441; - story based on researches of, 399. - - Chateaubriand, Francois Rene Auguste, Vicomte de, I: 191. - - Chateauneuf, Agricole Hippolyte de Lapierre de, I: 256. - - Chatto and Windus, I: 251, 253. - - Chenieres, Les, destruction of, I: 96. - - Chinese gongs, I: 171, 172. - - Choctaw Indians, I: 188; - no longer a musical people, 166. - - Ch[=o]zuba-no-Kami, II: 32, 33. - - Christening ceremony, Shint[=o], II: 59. - - Christern, F. W., I: 189. - - Christian Band, The, II: 142. - - Christianity, Buddhism and, I: 347; - Oriental characteristics of, 400, 401; - moral value of, II: 87; - courtesy and, 132, 133; - the higher, 146. - - Cincinnati, Ohio, Hearn sets out for, I: 45; - his first employment in, 49; - his departure from, 63, 66; - as an art centre, 182. - - Cincinnati Enquirer, Hearn's work on, I: 50-52, 154. - - Civilization, immoral side of Occidental, II: 111, 112; - transmission of, from one race to another, 245; - effect of American, on literature, 301. - - Clapperton, Hugh, I: 354. - - Clarke, James Freeman, sectarian purpose of his work on religions, - I: 345. - - Clifford, William Kingdon, II: 152, 190, 221. - - Clive, Robert, Baron Clive of Plassey, I: 160. - - Coatlicue, Mexican goddess of flowers, I: 436. - - Cockerill, John, Hearn's sketch of, I: 53, 54. - - Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, I: 377. - - Colombat, Marc (Colombat de l'Isere), his work on diseases of the - voice, I: 363. - - Colour, aesthetic symbolism of, I: 394; - sense of, 397. - - Columbian Exposition, Chicago, II: 150, 152. - - Comparative mythology, results of a study of, I: 345. - - Comparetti, Domenico, author of The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, - II: 502. - - Concept, analysis of a mathematical, II: 241, 242. - - Conder, Josiah, II: 117, 118. - - Confession, Hearn's account of an experience at, I: 32, 33. - - Confucianism, II: 27. - - Congo, a Creole dance, I: 336. - - Congo tribes, a superstition of, I: 313. - - Coolies, West Indian, I: 415, 416, 433. - - Corinthians, strait between Santa Maura and Greece cut by, I: 3. - - Cornell University, lectures by Hearn proposed and abandoned by, - II: 487-489, 490, 492, 495. - - Cornilliac, Jean Jacques, I: 441. - - Cosmopolitan, The (magazine), I: 452, 455. - - Coulanges, Numa Denis Fustel de, I: 202. - - Courtesy, Oriental and Occidental, II: 180; - effect of industrialism on, 183. - - Crawford, Francis Marion, II: 301, 377. - - Creole sketches, Hearn's project for, I: 224. - - Creoles, Hearn's collection of proverbs of, I: 83; - patois of, 83, 189, 232, 417; - music and songs of, 175, 188, 189, 337, 338, 356, 357, 359; - of Louisiana, 188; - Hearn's project for collecting legends of Louisiana, 193; - cruelty of French, 203; - dances of, 297, 307, 336. - - Crosby, Ernest, I: 85; - letter from Hearn to, II: 509-513. - - Crosby, Oscar, I: 85. - - Cruise of the Marchesa, II: 218, 219. - - Cuba, African influence on music of, I: 380. - - Curiosites des Arts, extract translated from, I: 165, 166. - - Curtis, George William, his Howadji in Syria, I: 196. - - Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand's, II: 435, 436. - - - Dai sen, mountain, II: 23. - - Daikoku, Japanese deity, identified with Oho-Kuni-nushi-no-Kami, - in Matsue, II: 13. - - Daikon, II: 57. - - Daily Item (New Orleans), Hearn's work on, I: 68. - - Daimy[=o]s, downfall of, in Japan, I: 116. - - Dances, Creole, I: 297, 307, 336; - Greek choral, 385, 386; - Japanese, II: 21, 22, 31, 468. - _See also_ Bon-odori, H[=o]nen-odori, Mika-kagura. - - Dancing-girls, Japanese. _See_ Geisha. - - Dardanas, I: 167. - - Darfur, Africa, I: 277. - - Darwin, Charles Robert, I: 292; II: 266; - his hypothesis as to sexual aesthetic sensibilities in animals, - II: 20; - his contribution to the theory of evolution, 235. - - Davitt, Michael, I: 361. - - Death, Hearn's feeling about, II: 379. - - Decadent school, II: 187, 188. - - Deir-el-Tiu, monastery of, I: 328. - - Deland, Margaret, II: 301, 489; - her Philip and his Wife, 167, 222; - her Story of a Child, 222. - - Delpit, Albert, I: 361. - - Demerara, gold-mines of, I: 413. - - Dening, Walter, II: 77. - - De Quincey, Thomas, his mastery of English, I: 132, 135; - his Flight of a Tartar Tribe, 329. - - Dictionaries, etymological, I: 374. - - Dimitris, The, of Russia, I: 329. - - Divinity, weight of the popular idea of a, II: 78. - - Dobson, Austin, I: 253; II: 215. - - Don Juan, not an Oriental type, II: 114. - - Dore, Paul Gustave, Hearn's article on, I: 80, 268; - his knowledge of gipsies, 201, 202; - his illustrations for Poe's Raven, 317. - - Dozy, Reinhart Pieter, I: 374. - - Draper, John William, I: 326. - - Drawing, Hearn's defence of Japanese methods of, II: 331. - - Dreams, I: 442, 469. - - Dublin, Ireland, Hearn family removes to, I: 7. - - Du Maurier, George, II: 302; - his Trilby, 187, 221. - - Dumez, ----, I: 205. - - Durham, Eng., Roman Catholic College at, I: 34. - - Dutch East Indies, II: 218, 219. - - Dutt, Toru, her translation of the story of Nala, I: 402. - - Duveyrier, Henri, his Les Touareg du Nord, I: 353. - - - Earthquakes, in Japan, II: 83, 84. - - East, Shadows of the, II: 85, 87. - - Ebers, Georg, I: 226. - - Ebisu, Japanese deity, temple of, at Nishinomiya, II: 8; - identified with Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami, in Matsue, 13; - in Mionoseki, 37. - - Education, of the emotions, I: 456; - Hearn's attitude toward scientific, II: 163, 164, 275; - decline of, in Japan, 216; - ecclesiastical, 310. - - Edwards, Bryan, his History of the West Indies, I: 297, 339. - - Edwards, Osman, II: 402, 455; - his Theatre in Japan, 222. - - Eggs, eating of, in Japan, II: 96, 97. - - Egypt, sistrum introduced into Italy by, I: 166; - musical instruments of, 211, 212, 213, 311, 353; - stories of the antique life of, 226; - an ancient melody of, 286; - ghost-stories of, II: 251. - - Eitel, Ernest John, his identification of Japanese and Indian - divinities, II: 78. - - Electric light, G. M. Gould's paper on, I: 439. - - Electricity, story based on evolution of, by the human body, I: 399. - - Eliot, George, her Silas Marner used as a reading-book in Kumamoto, - II: 79. - - Emancipation, religious and political, II: 206. - - Emerson, Ralph Waldo, I: 265; II: 174, 183, 441; - his suggestiveness, I: 432; II: 190. - - Emotions, education of, I: 456. - - Endemann, Carl, music of the Basutos preserved by, I: 353, 354. - - Enemies, value of, I: 153; II: 412, 414. - - Engelmann, Willem Herman, I: 374. - - England, distrust of American literary work in, I: 361; - revision of treaty between Japan and, II: 185, 186; - action of, after Chinese-Japanese War, 262; - effect of religious conservatism on education in, 275; - the reading public of, 446. - - Environment, II: 239, 240; - moral adaptation to, 136. - - Erse tongue, I: 190. - - Eskimo music, I: 330. - - Estes and Lauriat, I: 250. - - Etymological dictionaries, I: 374. - - Euterpe, a periodical, II: 472. - - Evolution, physical, Spencer's conservatism regarding further, I: 397; - physical and moral, 432, 434-436; - brain-growth a striking fact of, II: 245; - psychological, 231-233, 238-243; - popular effect of psychological, on fiction, 267. - - - Fairy-tales, Hearn's project for a set of philosophical, II: 339, 340. - - Family, Oriental and Occidental ideas of the, II: 112, 113, 116, 117, - 147. - - Farny, H. F., I: 52, 53, 55, 280, 448. - - Fashion, deformities of, I: 438. - - Fauche, Hippolyte, his translation of the Ramayana, I: 402. - - Feldwisch, ----, I: 221, 232, 292, 293. - - Fenollosa, Ernest, letters from Hearn to, II: 381-384, 412-414. - - Fenollosa, Mary McNeil, I: 153; II: 381, 383; - letters from Hearn to, II: 401-403, 437, 440-442. - - Feuillet, Octave, his M. de Camors, II: 84. - - Fiction, Hearn's desire to write, I: 338, 339, 350, 352, 371, 372, - 375, 430; II: 246, 341, 342, 348, 349, 378; - Hearn's theory of that which lives, I: 454, 455; - popular effect of evolutional psychology on, II: 267; - Hearn's taste in, 276; - requirements for the writing of, 341. - - Figs, Louisiana, I: 170, 177, 178. - - Finck, Henry Theophilus, his Romantic Love and Personal Beauty, - II: 193. - - Finland, music of, I: 191, 200; - two epics of, 235; - seen through the Kalewala, II: 469; - social and political changes in, 469, 470; - views in, sent to Hearn, 471, 472. - - Fire-drill, for lighting the sacred fire, II: 10, 12, 13, 15, 23, 26, - 29. - - Fiske, John, II: 107, 190, 221. - - FitzGerald, Edward, his translation of Omar Khayyam, II: 499. - - Flameng, Leopold, I: 185. - - Flammarion, Camille, his Astronomie populaire, I: 385. - - Flaubert, Gustave, his Salammbo, I: 226, 248, 249; - Hearn's translation of his Tentation de Saint Antoine, 247, 249, - 251, 362; - his literary generosity, 341. - - Fleas, II: 448, 449, 450. - - Flight into Egypt, a French painting of, I: 318. - - Floods, in Japan, II: 307. - - Florenz, Karl Adolf, II: 284, 311, 329. - - Florida, Hearn's visit to, I: 341. - - Flower, Sir William Henry, I: 438; - his Hunterian Lectures, 314. - - Flutes, antique, I: 185; - double, 213. - - Food, Japanese, II: 32, 91, 92; - not suited to strain of higher education, 103, 104, 292. - _See_ Daikon; Sake. - - Force, Oriental theory of the nature of, II: 339. - - Forces, our knowledge limited to, II: 243, 244. - - Fort-de-France, Martinique, I: 453. - - Fox-superstition, II: 24, 29, 30. - - Foxwell, E. E., II: 384; - letters to, 455-457. - - France, Anatole, I: 361; II: 491; - Hearn's translation of his Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, I: 102; - quotation from, II: 345. - - Freedom, love of Northern races for, II: 229. - - Freemasons, Hearn's effort to join, II: 500. - - Free will, I: 435. - - Friends, the danger from, I: 153; II: 412-414. - - Friendship, college, II: 197; - basis of, 332, 333; - nationality and, 432. - - Fuji-san, climbing of, II: 375, 390, 391, 392; - effect of a typhoon upon, 394; - pilgrims to, 448. - - Fujisaki, H., letter from Hearn to, II: 515-517. - - Funeral rite, Shint[=o], II: 59. - - - Gaelic tongue, I: 190. - - Galton, Francis, II: 229. - - Gate of Everlasting Ceremony, II: 33, 317. - - Gautier, Judith, II: 362. - - Gautier, Theophile, I: 227, 231; - Hearn's admiration for, 61, 82, 394, 430, 431; II: 44, 221, 222; - translations of, I: 61, 62, 72, 73, 80-82, 213, 245, 248, 252, 253, - 268, 269, 275, 276, 376, 396; - Hearn's comment on his poetry, 253, 255, 269; - pantheism of, 255, 256; - his style, 269, 275, 324; - his portrait, 318; - posthumous poetry of, 327; - his services ignored by Hugo, 340; - his literary generosity, 341; - his idea of art, 437; - his Avatar, 252, 362, 442, 443; - his Emaux et Camees, 82, 259, 260, 275; - his Histoire du Romantisme, I: 317; II: 222; - his Mademoiselle de Maupin, 248, 251, 254, 256, 257, 258, 259; - his Roman de la Momie, 226, 253; - his Spectre de la Rose, 244. - - Geisha, II: 22, 73, 82, 94, 95, 114. - - Gell, Sir William, his Pompeiana, I: 213. - - Genghis Khan, I: 329. - - Germans, in Japan, II: 199, 206, 207. - - Germany, musical instruments furnished to the Romans by, I: 166; - education in, II: 271. - - Gessner, Salomon, I: 184. - - Ghostology, Egyptian and Assyrian, II: 251. - - Ghosts, Hearn's interest in, I: 15. - - Gibb, George Duncan, I: 339. - - Giglampz, Ye, Hearn's work on, I: 52, 53. - - Gilder, Richard Watson, I: 342. - - Gipsies, Hearn's interest in, I: 201, 205, 206; - language of, 202. - - Girls, liberty allowed to, in England and America, II: 522. - - Gita-Govinda, I: 327. - - Go-Daigo, Emperor of Japan, II: 186, 187. - - Gods, pagan, teaching of the early church regarding, I: 26; - Hearn's early interest in, 26, 27. - - Goethe, II: 173, 266, 508. - - Gongs, Chinese, I: 171, 172. - - Gorresio, Gaspare, his translation of the Ramayana, I: 402. - - G[=o]sh[=o], one of Hearn's pupils, II: 465. - - Goto, II: 119. - - Gottschalk, Louis Moreau, I: 229, 356; - his Bamboula, 325, 337; - Creole musical themes used by, 359. - - Gould, George Milbry, I: 97, 102; - letters from Hearn to, 393-403, 421-443, 457-468; - his pamphlet on the Colour-Sense, 394; - Hearn's advice as to literary work, 426; - his capacity for work, 457, 458. - - Gould, H. F., wife of G. M., I: 468. - - Gould, Jay, II: 173, 353; - Hearn's defence of, 109, 110. - - Government positions, exacting nature of, I: 383. - - Gowey, John F., II: 369. - - Grace, a savage quality, I: 438. - - Grand Anse, Martinique, I: 422, 423, 465. - - Grande Isle, I: 350, 414, 446; - Hearn's description of, 87-95; - destruction of, 96; II: 155. - - Grant, Ulysses Simpson, I: 52. - - Greece, musical instruments furnished to the Romans by, I: 166. - - Greeks, Hearn's love of the mythology of, I: 26, 27, 28, 31; - chastity of, 219, 220; - sculpture of, 227; - legends of, 227, 228; - poetry of, II: 520. - - Griffith, Ralph Thomas Hotchkin, his translation of the Ramayana, - I: 402. - - Griots, music of, I: 354, 355, 356, 377. - - Grueling, ----, I: 282. - - Guiana, British, Hearn's visit to, I: 97; - a mocking-bird of, 357, 358. - - Gulf of Mexico, Creole archipelagoes of, I: 333; - bathing in, 341. - - Gulistan, Saadi's, I: 280. - - - Hadramaut, I: 356. - - Hadrian, Roman emperor, I: 328. - - Hahaki, ancient name of modern H[=o]ki, II: 58. - - Halevy, Ludovic, II: 395. - - Hall, Dr., II: 347, 348, 350, 374, 389, 405, 422, 428, 429. - - Handwriting, Hearn's efforts to read character from, I: 340, 349. - - Harper, Hearn's recollections of a Welsh, I: 13-15. - - Harper and Brothers, their commissions to Hearn, I: 97, 102; - Hearn severs his contracts with, 109; - his series of Southern sketches for, 268; - their encouragement to Hearn, 338. - - Harper's Magazine, Hearn's contributions to, I: 381. - - Harps, of the Nyam-Nyams, I: 310. - - Harris, Joel Chandler, I: 337. - - Harris, Mrs. Lylie, I: 80. - - Hart, Jerome A., his first acquaintance with Hearn, I: 80; - letters from Hearn to, 244-250. - - Harte, Francis Bret, II: 41. - - Hartmann, Eduard, II: 235. - - Hartmann, Robert, I: 297; - his studies of African music, 353, 354. - - Hastings, Warren, I: 160. - - Hastings, battle of, I: 191. - - Hat, highest evolution of, I: 94. - - Hatakeyama, Yuko, story of, II: 142, 181, 268, 269; - monument to, 277. - - Hauck, Minnie, I: 201. - - Havana, Cuba, music of, I: 202. - - Health, influence of, on spiritual life, II: 34, 35. - - Hearn, Surgeon-Major Charles Bush, father of Lafcadio, I: 5, 6, 9, - 429; - opposition to his marriage, 6; - his elopement, 7; - his return to Dublin, 7; - his separation from his wife, 7, 8, 8_n._; - his second marriage, 8. - - Hearn, Elizabeth (Holmes), grandmother of Lafcadio, I: 6. - - Hearn, James, brother of Lafcadio, I: 7; - letter from Hearn to, 9-11. - - Hearn, Lafcadio, a native of Santa Maura, I: 3, 7, 429; - influence of the place upon, 4, 5; - his ancestry, 5, 6; - removes to Wales, 8, 12; - effect of domestic conditions upon, 8, 9; - his memory of his mother, 9, 10, 11; - of his father, 11; - his youthful characteristics, 15; - autobiographical fragments left by, 15-32, 37-39, 41-45, 45-49, 100, - 101, 159, 160; - his interest in the weird, 15, 16, 17, 18; - his experience with "Cousin Jane," 18-25; - his love of beauty, 29, 32, 148; - his early religious instruction, 16, 17, 19, 20, 32, 33; - his interest in mythology, 26, 27, 28, 31; - his education, 34, 34_n._, 35, 36; - becomes blind in one eye, 35, 36, 429; - his poverty, 36, 37, 40, 100, 102; - goes to New York, 39, 40; - an incident of his early New York life, 42-45; - goes to Cincinnati, 45, 49; - an incident of the journey, 46-49; - becomes type-setter, proof-reader, private secretary, 50; - his work on the Cincinnati Enquirer, 50-52, 53; - on Ye Giglampz, 52, 53; - character of his newspaper work, 55; - his friendships, 55-59; - his admiration for Spencer, 58, 85, 86, 365, 374, 375, 392, 394, - 430, 431, 438, 459; II: 20, 26, 44, 221, 222; - for Gautier, I: 61, 82, 394, 430, 431; II: 44, 221, 222; - goes to New Orleans, I: 65, 66, 67; - his letters to Krehbiel, 67; - his work in New Orleans, 68, 72, 73, 167, 176, 197, 280, 363; - his investments, 69, 198, 199, 230, 336; II: 353; - his library, I: 70, 278, 283, 290, 314, 336, 339, 350, 352, 364; - II: 305, 308; - his associates on the Times-Democrat, I: 70, 71; - his personal appearance and characteristics, 77-80, 428; II: 466; - his visit to Grande Isle, I: 87-95; - his visits to and descriptions of the French West Indies, 97, 98, - 100, 101, 409-419, 422-424; - goes to Japan, 102; - his early impressions of Japan, 103, 104, 107-109, 115; II: 35; - his love of the tropics, I: 105, 415, 420, 425, 449, 469; II: 64, - 211, 213, 217, 281; - his work for Japan, I: 106; II: 281; - severs contracts with his publishers, I: 109; II: 4; - his friendship with M. McDonald, I: 109, 110, 153; II: 107; - his work at Matsue, I: 110-113; II: 16, 30, 43, 46; - his kindness of heart, I: 114, 118; - his marriage, 116, 117; II: 44, 60; - his visits to Kizuki, I: 115, 122; II: 7-11, 43; - his Japanese name, I: 117; II: 270, 292, 293, 299; - his obligations as a Japanese citizen, I: 117, 136; II: 44, 64, 81, - 158, 191, 265, 270, 278, 279, 298; - his household pets, I: 117, 118, 119; II: 460; - his popularity, I: 119, 120; - his disregard of money, 122, 148, 336; - his dislike of forms and restraints, 122, 123, 148; - his study of Japanese with his wife, 123, 124; - his appointment at Kumamoto, 124; II: 63, 65; - his life and work there, I: 125-128; II: 93, 94, 100, 102, 103, 110; - birth of his first child, I: 127; II: 115, 116, 128, 149, 150, 156; - enters the service of the K[=o]be Chronicle, I: 128, 129; - his growing indifference to externals, 129-131, 137; II: 194, 195; - his mastery of English, I: 132; - facsimile of a first draft of his MS., 133, 134; - goes to the University of T[=o]ky[=o], 136-138, 283; - his methods of writing, 140, 141, 239, 373, 391; II: 89, 272, 273, - 396; - his private life in T[=o]ky[=o], I: 141-152; II: 295, 309; - gives up his professorship, I: 154; II: 368, 490, 493; - lectures at Cornell proposed and abandoned, I: 154; II: 487, 488, - 490, 492, 495; - accepts chair of English in Waseda University, I: 156; - lectures in London and Oxford proposed, 156; - his death, 156; - buried according to Buddhist rites, 157-159; - tributes to, 158, 159; - his interest in primitive music, 165-167, 190, 231, 330, 339, 353, - 354, 358-360, 380, 411; II: 15; - effect of Southern climate upon, I: 169, 170, 177, 195, 196, 288, - 319, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 427, 440, 445; - descriptions of his home in New Orleans, 172-174, 196, 222; - his interest in gipsies, 201, 202, 205, 206; - his fantastics, 220, 221, 226, 230, 231, 278; - his proposed series of French translations, 252, 362, 363; - of Oriental stories, 278, 295; - of musical legends, 286; - of strange facts, 298; - of Arabesque studies, 321, 328, 331, 396, 403; - of legends of strange faiths, 328; - his ambition regarding his style, 276, 324, 364, 374, 379, 383, 393; - II: 359; - his dread of cold, I: 279, 298, 379, 448; II: 188, 211; - his pursuit of the odd, I: 290, 291, 294; - change in his literary inclinations, 293, 294; - his desire to travel, 294, 295, 398, 424; II: 351; - his outline of an imaginary series of musical volumes, I: 299-304, - 309; - his use of classic English literature, 328; - his ignorance of modern history, 329; - his visits to the Gulf archipelagoes, 333; - his study of Spanish, 334; - thinks of studying medicine, 338; - his desire to write fiction, 338, 339, 350, 352, 371, 372, 375, 430; - II: 246, 341, 342, 348, 349, 378; - his visit to Florida, I: 341; - his health, 344, 348, 366, 367, 371, 406, 407; II: 14, 24, 25, 67, - 73, 74, 129, 196, 197, 280, 292, 303, 304, 490, 493, 495, 506; - result of his study of comparative mythology, I: 345; - his admiration for Viaud (P. Loti), 377, 378, 396, 427, 452, 453; - his efforts to learn Chinese, 404; - his dread of New York, 405; II: 182, 476, 484; - his desire to return to America, II: 4, 175, 176, 202, 203, 473, - 474,475, 476, 477, 480-482, 484, 490, 493, 496, 497, 498, 499, - 504, 505; - translations of his books, 22, 466, 467, 468, 469, 472, 473, 485; - finds literary work in Japan difficult, 35, 60, 63, 89; - his attitude toward missionaries, 44, 45, 68, 109, 110, 311, 442; - his legal seal, 46; - difficulties of his position in Japan, 107-110, 175, 202, 252, 348, - 490, 493, 497; - his project for a book with B. H. Chamberlain, 129; - his dislike of New Japan, 154, 161; - his method of teaching, 159, 160; - his literary success, 193, 277, 296, 297, 398; - his dissatisfaction with his work, 246, 277, 286, 333, 356, 375, - 377, 380; - criticisms of his work, 256, 257, 377, 466, 490; - dislike of women for, 265; - his work at the University of T[=o]ky[=o], 283, 298, 305, 306, 310, - 311, 314, 327, 328, 357, 427, 429, 444, 481, 482, 486, 487; - his ignorance of every-day life, 340, 341, 399; - a manuscript history of his eccentricities, 350; - his avoidance of foreigners, 395, 397, 406, 456, 457; - forces arrayed against, 404, 405, 493, 494, 496; - his nose, 408; - necessary conditions of work for, 412-114, 424, 451, 452; - his method of teaching, 481, 486, 487; - protests against his treatment in T[=o]ky[=o], 490, 493, 506; - profits from his books, 491; - birth of a daughter to, 506. - _Writings_: - Chita, I: 69, 86, 101, 371, 378, 393, 394, 396, 403, 404, 405, 411, - 422, 430, 451; - first form of, 96; - actual incidents related in, 96, 97, 426, 427; - success of, 96, 97; - criticisms of, 98, 99, 445. - Dead Love, A, I: 74-76. - Dream of a Summer Day, quoted, I: 4, 5. - Exotics and Retrospectives, I: 139; II: 333, 401, 429; - translations of, 467. - Gleanings in Buddha-Fields, I: 129, 131, 139; II: 466, 471. - Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan II: 217, 270, 356, 359; - quoted I: 103, 111-113, 114, 115, 124, 125; - criticisms of, II: 187, 198, 209, 223; - translations of, 467, 468. - Gombo Zhebes, a dictionary of Creole Proverbs, I: 83, 278, 295, - 335, 346. - Idolatry, quoted, I: 26-32. - Illusion, an autobiographical fragment, I: 159, 160. - In Ghostly Japan, I:139; II: 409, 411, 445. - In Vanished Light, an autobiographical fragment, I: 100, 101. - Intuition, an autobiographical fragment, I: 41-45. - Japan: an Interpretation, I: 115, 141, 155, 156; II: 499, 504, - 505, 506, 514, 515. - A Japanese Miscellany, I: 140; II: 513. - Jiujutsu, I: 126. - Juvenilia (proposed), II: 500. - Kokoro, I: 129, 131; II: 193, 279, 289, 299, 300, 359, 471. - Kotto, I: 140, 146; II: 501. - Kwaidan, I: 141; - quoted, 12, 156, 157. - Mountain of Skulls, II: 383. - My First Romance, an autobiographical fragment, I: 45-49. - My Guardian Angel, an autobiographical fragment, I: 16-25. - Naked Poetry, his lecture on, I: 137; - text of, as taken down by T. Ochiai, II: 519-529. - Notebook of an Impressionist (proposed), I: 364, 383. - Out of the East, I: 127; II: 360; - quoted, I: 107, 108, 125, 126, 209; - impression made by, in England, II: 193; - its title, 212. - Pipes of Hameline, I: 274. - Rabyah's Last Ride, I: 388, 389, 396. - Retrospectives. _See_ Exotics and Retrospectives. - Romance of the Milky Way, I: 159. - Shadowings, I: 140. - Some Chinese Ghosts, II: 43, 367, 469; - dedication of, I: 60, 371; - characteristics of, 61, 73, 381, 388, 389, 405; - difficulties regarding publication of, 83-85, 364, 370, 371, - 375, 378; - reception of, 407. - Stars, an autobiographical fragment, I: 37-39. - Stray Leaves from Strange Literature, I: 73, 83, 335, 340, 344, - 346, 371, 376. - Torn Letters, afterward expanded into Chita, I: 96, 333. - Two Years in the French West Indies, I: 98, 102; - criticisms of, 98, 99; - his difficulties in writing it, II: 58. - With Ky[=u]sh[=u] Students, I: 126. - Youma, II: 347, 466. - _Translations_: - Flaubert's Tentation de Saint Antoine, I: 247, 249, 278. - France's Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, I: 102; II: 347, 348. - Gautier's Une nuit de Cleopatre, etc., I: 61, 62, 73, 213, 245, - 269, 275, 376, 396, 442, 443; - estimates of, 80-82, 248, 268, 276. - - Hearn, Richard, painter, I: 6. - - Hearn, Rosa (Cerigote), mother of Lafcadio, I: 9; - her meeting with Dr. Hearn, 6; - her marriage, 7; - her separation from her husband, 7, 8, 8 _n._; - her second marriage, 8, 429. - - Hearn family, I: 5, 6; - physical characteristics of, 11, 12. - - Hearnian dialect, II: 62, 63, 81, 82. - - Heck, Emile, a Jesuit priest, II: 284, 285, 310, 311, 312, 316, 320. - - Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, I: 438. - - Heine, Heinrich, French prose translations of, I: 245; II: 529; - Weill's reminiscences of, I: 341; - poems of, II: 523. - - Hell-shoon, superstition regarding, I: 313. - - Hendrick, Ellwood, I: 102; - letters from Hearn to, II: 60-65, 80-90, 98-101, 106-118, 120-129, - 134-141, 149-152, 167-174, 177-180, 182-186, 187-191, 193-198, - 251, 252, 270-273, 280-285, 299-303, 305-327, 332-340, - 386-388, 398-401, 479-485; - his marriage, 358. - - Hendrick, Josephine, II: 332, 336. - - Heracles, I: 316. - - Heredity, Hearn's reflections on, I: 131, 399, 400; - in the tropics, 429; - law of, II: 227-231, 232, 234, 237-243. - - Heretic, fate of the modern, II: 107. - - Herodias, I: 249. - - Hershon, Paul Isaac, his Talmudic Miscellany, I: 287. - - Hideyoshi, II: 77. - - Hindola, I: 388. - - Hindoos, legends of, I: 227, 228. - - Hirata, I: 6. - - Hirn, Yrjoe, II: 502; - letters to, 19-23, 466-472, 478, 479; - his Origins of Art, 19-21, 468; - his personal appearance, 467. - - Hirn, Mrs., her translations of Hearn, II: 22, 466, 467, 468, 469, - 501, 502; - letters to, 472, 473, 501-503; - Hearn's comments on one of her translations, 472, 473. - - Hiruko, Japanese deity, II: 7, 8, 37. - - Hobson, Richmond Pearson, II: 426, 427. - - Hoffman, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm, I: 200. - - H[=o]ki, the modern name of ancient Hahaki, II: 58. - - Hokusai, I: 103; II: 4. - - Holmes, Edmund, I: 6. - - Holmes, Elizabeth. _See_ Hearn, Elizabeth (Holmes). - - Holmes, Rice, I: 6. - - Holmes, Sir Richard, I: 6. - - Homer, I: 272. - - Homing instinct, G. M. Gould's paper on, I: 439, 440. - - Hommy[=o]ji, Nichiren temple of, II: 186. - - H[=o]nen-odori, a Japanese dance, II: 38. - - Hoppin, James Mason, his Old England, I: 234. - - Houses, furnishings of Japanese, II: 93, 94. - - Houssaye, Arsene, I: 361. - - Howard, ----, and the Louisiana lottery, I: 205. - - Howells, William Dean, I: 332. - - Hueffer, Francis, his Troubadours, I: 361. - - Hugo, Victor, his style, I: 269, 275; - his selfishness, 340, 341; - his Chant de Sophocle a Salamine, II: 215, 216. - - Hugolatres, I: 168. - - Huxley, Thomas Henry, II: 190, 204, 221, 234, 235, 266, 404, 409; - his Evolution and Ethics, II: 189. - - Hy[=o]go, K[=o]be, Japan, II: 192; - Governor of, 191. - - Hypocrisy, in religion, II: 87; - in business and religion, 109. - - - Ibaraki, a Japanese student, II: 508. - - Ibn Khallikan, I: 234, 331. - - Iceland Spar, prediction concerning, II: 240, 241. - - Ichibata, Japan, II: 15; - Buddhist temple at, 17, 18. - - Immorality, moral results of, II: 136, 137. - - Immortality, Buddhist conception of, II: 473. - - Improvisation, negro's talent for, I: 353. - - Inada-Hime, Shint[=o] deity, II: 8, 25; - statue of, 105. - - Inari, temple to, at Matsue, II: 24; - no shrine of, at Yabase, 47; - representations of, 77. - - Inasa beach, II: 5, 6. - - Individuality, Occidental theories of, II: 40. - - Industrialism, its effect on good manners, II: 183; - on liberty, 470, 511, 512. - - Ingelow, Jean, her High Tide, II: 499. - - Inomata, Teizabur[=o], I: 113; II: 291; - letters from Hearn to, I: 64, 65; II: 131-133, 146-148, 160-162, - 186, 187; - his records of Hearn's T[=o]ky[=o] lectures, I: 137, 138; - his resolve to study medicine, II: 289, 290; - text of one of Hearn's lectures as taken down by, 519-529. - - Ionian Islands, I: 3; - hatred toward England in, 6; - ceded to Greece, 7. - - Insects, caging of, in Japan, II: 335; - ethical suggestions of the sociology of, 514. - - Irish, similarities between faces of Mongolians and, I: 190; - language of, 190. - - Ise, Japan, II: 10, 29, 38; - modernization of, 297. - - Isle Derniere, L'. _See_ Last Island. - - Italian, Hearn's study of, II: 217, 218. - - Italy, Spencer's theory of the education of the emotions in, I: 456; - atmospheric influence of, II: 501. - - Iwami, fox-superstition in, II: 29. - - Izumo, Japan, II: 6, 10, 11, 13; - Hearn's speech before the educational association of, 14; - fox-superstition in, 29; - Hearn plans a permanent home in, 270; - an alternate name for Koizumi, 293. - - - James, Henry, II: 301, 396; literary criticisms of, I: 432, 434; - obstacles to his popularity, II: 377. - - Janet, Paul, II: 235. - - January customs, Japanese, II: 80. - - Japan, Hearn's commission to, I: 102; - his early impressions of, 103, 104, 107-109, 115; II: 35; - his work for, I: 106; II: 281; - rigidities under the charm of, I: 107, 108; - secret of the charm of, 108; - absence of personal freedom in, 108, 109; - position of foreign teachers in, 128; II: 68, 275, 283, 313, 316, - 317; - certain duties of subjects of, I: 136; - Western influences in, 149, 150; II: 115, 154, 161, 177-179, 180, - 199, 219, 291, 296, 485; - art of, I: 405, 406, 407, 408; II: 3; - nature in, 3; - prices in, 4, 5, 43, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70; - some bathing resorts of, 6; - music of, 15; - dances of, 21, 22, 31, 268, 297, 468; - country people of, 31; - prevalence of Shint[=o] in interior of, 31, 32; - food of, 32, 91, 92, 103, 104, 292; - law of life in, 35; - women of, 35, 36, 61, 87, 88, 90, 91; - difficulties of literary work in, 35, 60, 63, 89; - literature of, 40, 41, 114, 343, 344, 415; - laws regarding marriage with a foreigner in, 44, 64; - frankness of life in, 45; - protracted labour uncommon in, 48, 49; - cats in, 55, 56, 58, 59; - English reading-books for students in, 79, 102, 105, 106, 283, 328; - celebration of the New Year in, 80, 81, 82; - drinking in, 82, 92, 93; - earthquakes in, 83, 84; - colourlessness of, 89; - houses of, 93; - children of, 99, 190, 191, 288, 306, 307; - obstacles to higher education in, 103, 104, 291, 292, 307, 308; - disintegration of, 144, 145, 323, 478; - pay of native officials of, 158, 259, 265, 308; - need of scientific men in, 163, 164, 275; - politics in the public schools of, 166; - war between China and, 175, 181, 182, 185, 186, 251, 258, 262, 281, - 511; - foreign treaties of, 185, 186, 262; - naturalization of foreigners in, 191, 192; - open ports of, 199, 298, 315, 341, 342; - anti-foreign feeling in, 201, 223, 252, 258, 262, 281; - decline of education in, 216; - girls' and boys' dress in, 253-255, 259, 260; - songs of, 267, 268; - floods in, 307; - intrigue in, 321-323; - Occidental indifference to stories of real life of, 362, 363; - demands upon University professors in, 370; - the educated woman in, 416-422; - Occidental aggression in, 442; - mania for organizations in, 461; - Government service in, 470; - rapidly changing conditions in, 471, 502; - protests against Hearn's treatment by, 490, 493, 506; - Hearn's proposed series of lectures on, 487, 495, 496, 499, 504, - 505, 506, 514, 515; - travelling of the common people in, 502; - war between Russia and, 515, 516, 517. - - Japan, Emperor of, II: 317. - _See also_ Go-Daigo. - - Japanese, natural charm of, II: 4, 207; - their genius for eclecticism, 28; - unemotional nature of, 35, 60, 63, 85, 332; - strange power of, 56; - harder side of, 61; - their fear of foreigners, 82; - impossibility of friendship with, 99, 100, 159, 217; - probable future characteristics of, 104; - their reserve, 122, 123; - their attitude toward nature, 125, 425, 426; - their trickiness, 201, 202; - deficiency of the sex instinct among, 209, 210; - development of the mathematical faculty among, 210; - psychology of, 214, 215; - satire of, 217; - their loyalty, 236, 237; - an essentially military race, 258; - their stature, 260; - their chastity, 269; - their affected religious indifference, 274; - their hardihood, 292; - their longevity, 324; - management of, impossible to Occidentals, 386, 387, 388. - - Jeannest, Charles, I: 313, 357; - his Au Congo, 354. - - Jerome, St., his letter to Dardanas, describing an organ, I: 166, 167. - - Jesuits, animosity of, toward Hearn, II: 213. - - Jesus y Preciado, Jose de, I: 334. - - Jewett, Sarah Orne, II: 301. - - Jews, ancient life of, I: 287; - lost musical instruments of, 311. - - Jiz[=o], a festival in honour of, I: 126; - legend of, II: 6. - - Johns Hopkins University, II: 496. - - Johnson, Charles, I: 307, 312, 314, 341. - - Jordan, David Starr, president of Stanford University, II: 496. - - Josephine, Empress of the French, anecdote of statue of, in - Martinique, I: 417-419. - - Journalism, rewards of, I: 169, 181; - demands of, 242; - restraints of, 271, 275; - Hearn's desire to escape from, 274, 276, 363, 397; - literary work and, 324; II: 222, 480; - Hearn's abandonment of, I: 425; - his proposal to return to, II: 493, 494. - - Judaea, musical instruments furnished to the Romans by, I: 166. - - - Kabit, I: 388. - - Kaka, Japan, II: 6. - - Kalewala, II: 472, 502; - its operatic possibilities, I: 233, 235-237, 239, 307, 308, 388; - Hearn's translations from, 403. - - Kalidasa. _See_ Sakuntala. - - Kamakura, II: 346. - - Kano, II: 73, 104, 119, 279; - his knowledge of English, 66; - a teacher of j[=u]jutsu, 70. - - Kanteletar, I: 235. - - Katayama, Mr., II: 66, 68, 73, 291. - - Kath[=a]-sarit-s[=a]gara, I: 237, 402. - - Kazimirski, A. de Biberstein, his translation of the Koran, I: 327. - - Keats, John, II: 215. - - Keightley, Thomas, his Fairy Mythology, I: 279. - - Kichij[=o]ji, temple of, II: 328. - - Kihei, Masumoto, his charities, II: 309, 327. - - Kikujir[=o], Wadamori, his exhibitions of memory, II: 279. - - Kimi ga yo, II: 236. - - Kingsley, Charles, his Greek Heroes, II: 102; - Airly Beacon, 522, 523. - - Kipling, Rudyard, II: 83, 190, 301, 336, 337, 348, 362, 363, 405, 485, - 491; - his morbidness, 84; - his Jungle Book, 187, 189, 196; - his story of Purim Bagat, 196; - Hearn's admiration for, 319, 408, 499; - his royalties, 377; - his Day's Work, 408. - - Kishibojin, worship of, II: 16, 17. - - Kissing, different significance of, in Turanian and Aryan races, - II: 263, 264. - - Kiyomasa, Kat[=o], legend regarding, II: 186. - - Kiyomizu, Kwannon temple at, II: 28; - scenery at, 30; - Inari shrine at, 30. - - Kizuki, Japan, II: 7, 11, 297; - Hearn's visit to the temple at, I: 115, 122; II: 9, 10, 43; - deity of, 8; - society for preserving buildings at, 13; - an entertainment given to Hearn at, 37, 38; - custom regarding Sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune in, 38, 39; - Buddhist temple (Rengaji) at, 42; - revival of Shint[=o] in, 47. - - Kobe, Japan, Hearn's work in, I: 128, 129, 132, 139; - disagreeable characteristics of, II: 197, 198, 199; - flood in, 307. - - Kobu-dera, Buddhist temple in T[=o]ky[=o], I: 142, 143. - - Koeber, Raphael von, II: 284, 311, 315, 316. - - Koizumi, Iwao, Hearn's son, II: 516, 517. - - Koizumi, Kazuo, Hearn's eldest son, I: 127, 128, 150, 154; II: 165, - 166, 175, 181, 190, 191, 196, 198, 231, 252, 255, 260, 275, - 276, 280, 288, 291, 295, 305, 306, 307, 309, 351, 373, 374, - 426, 434, 459, 460, 464, 474, 483, 485, 489, 490, 493, 497, - 503, 505, 508, 516, 517; - plans for his scientific education, 181, 270, 271; - his sensitiveness, 300, 476, 498. - - Koizumi, Setsu, II: 68, 74, 77, 81, 82, 90, 95, 96, 97, 110, 119, - 128, 157, 159, 181, 190, 191, 192, 193, 276, 278, 279, 288, - 295, 298, 317, 329, 336, 337, 386, 397, 489, 491; - Hearn's marriage to, I: 116; - her notes regarding their life, 117, 118, 119-124, 127, 138, - 142-152, 155; - her study of English, II: 106. - - Koizumi, Yakumo, Hearn's Japanese name, I: 117; II: 270, 292, 293, - 299. - - Kompert, Leopold, his Studies of Jewish Life, I: 287. - - Kompira, Japan, II: 153, 165. - - Koran, various editions of, I: 327. - - Koteda, Viscount Yasusada, Governor of Izumo, I: 119, 120: II: 14, 18, - 104. - - Koteda, Miss, II: 104; - her gift to Hearn, I: 118; II: 19. - - Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami, legend of, II: 7, 8, 97; - identified with Ebisu, in Matsue, 13; - in Mionoseki, 37. - - Krehbiel, Henry Edward, I: 469; - Hearn's friendship with, 55, 60; - Hearn's letters to, 67, 73; - text of the letters, 84, 85, 86, 165-244, 277-289, 292-314, 320-325, - 330-339, 351-364, 367-380, 384-388, 405-408, 409-411; - his Fantaisie Chinoise, 168, 171, 187; - his musical essays, 187; - his talks, 192; - Hearn's comment on his style, 234, 240, 293, 372, 373; - his work on the New York Tribune, 241; - his musical criticisms, 386. - - Krehbiel, Mrs. Henry Edward, I: 191, 223. - - Krishna, I: 316. - - K[=u]kedo, visit to cave of, I: 121, 122. - - Kumamoto, Japan, Hearn's removal to, I: 124; - his life at, 125-128; - shrines of, II: 65; - climate of, 66, 69, 73; - Hearn's fellow teachers at, 66, 67, 70, 73; - his household at, 67, 74, 81, 110; - appearance of, 69, 70, 81; - the Dai Go K[=o]t[=o]-Ch[=u]gakk[=o] at, 70, 71, 100; - students at, 70, 79; - religion in, 76; - reading books used in, 79, 102. - - Kwannon, temple of, at Kiyomizu, II: 28; - representations of, 77, 78. - - Ky[=o]t[=o], Japan, II: 130; - middle school in, 142; - Hearn's fondness for, 192; - exhibition in, 257. - - Ky[=u]sh[=u], Japan, II: 91; - Europeanized, 99; - students of, 129, 130. - - - La Beaume, Jules, his translation of the Koran, I: 327. - - La Bedolliere, Emile de, I: 200. - - Labrunie, Gerard (Gerard de Nerval), I: 254, 255, 317; - Hearn's desire to translate his Voyage en Orient, 362. - - Lakme, Delibes's opera of, I: 377. - - Lamarck, Jean Baptiste de, II: 266. - - Lang, Andrew, II: 215; - his translation of Gautier's Contes, I: 62. - - La Selve, Edgar, I: 353, 354. - - Last Island, I: 95; - destruction of, 96; - the scene of Hearn's Chita, 96. - - Latin races, cruelty of, I: 203; - probable future absorption of, II: 300, 385. - - Layard, Sir Austen Henry, I: 213. - - Le Duc, Leouzon. _See_ Leouzon Le Duc. - - Lee, Charles, I: 168. - - Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan, his Bird of Passage, I: 201; II: 41. - - Lefcada. _See_ Santa Maura. - - Le Gallienne, Richard, II: 299. - - Legends, Greek and Hindoo, I: 227, 228; - Talmudic, 287. - - Leloir, Louis Auguste, I: 319, 320. - - Lemaitre, Jules Elie Francois, I: 434; II: 491. - - Leouzon Le Duc, Louis Antoine, his edition of the Kalewala, I: 235, - 236; II: 468, 469. - - Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim, I: 211: - his Laocooen, 269. - - Letter-writing, different methods of, II: 247, 248. - - Leucadia. _See_ Santa Maura. - - Levkas. _See_ Santa Maura. - - Lewes, George Henry, II: 190, 221; - his recognition of Spencer, 235. - - Liberty, effect of industrialism on, II: 470, 511, 512. - - Life, law of modern, II: 134, 135; - an intellectual battle, 135, 136; - cost of, to the white races, 137; - wastefulness of, 249. - - L'Isere, Colombat de. _See_ Colombat, Marc. - - Lissajous, Jules Antoine, I: 385. - - Literature, rewards of, I: 393, 430; - Japanese, II: 40, 41, 344, 415; - plan for a study of comparative, 271; - teaching of English, 271; - German, 290; - American and English, 301, 302; - Russian and French, 302; - conditions of success in, 351; - the personal equation in judgements of, 441; - seriousness of, 463, 464; - Hearn's theory of the study of English, in Japan, 464; - no taste in America for good, 472; - Hearn's equipment for, and method of teaching English, 480, 481-483, - 486, 487; - Hearn's advice about modern, 509. - - Livingstone, David, I: 297. - - Loennrot, Elias, his edition of the Kalewala, I: 235, 403. - - Lombroso, Cesare, II: 276, 277. - - London, University of, plan for Hearn to lecture at, I: 156. - - Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, I: 190; - his Spanish Student, 205, 206. - - Loochoo Islands, II: 91, 214; - B. H. Chamberlain's monograph on, 273, 274. - - Loti, Pierre, pseud. _See_ Viaud. - - Lotus, an article of diet, II: 45, 63. - - Louisiana, some newspapers of, I: 204, 205. - - Love, power of, I: 315, 316; - decline of, 316; - its effect upon literature, 326; - varying attributes of, 438; - a Buddhist view of, II: 138. - - Lowell, Percival, II: 33, 117, 160, 200, 310, 317; - his Soul of the Far East, I: 460, 461; II: 28, 30, 39, 150, 208, - 479, 487, 505; - his Chosoen, I: 457, 461; II: 30; - his papers on Mars, 202, 203, 204, 208, 479; - his Occult Japan, 200, 204, 207, 208. - - Lowell Institute, Boston, II: 496. - - Loyalty, Japanese ideas of, II: 236, 237. - - Lyall, Sir Alfred Comyns, I: 388. - - - Macassar, Celebes, II: 219. - - Macaulay, Thomas Babington, Baron, his Lays of Ancient Rome as a - reading-book in Japanese schools, II: 102. - - McDonald, Mitchell, I: 153; II: 458, 459; - Hearn's friendship with, I: 109, 110; - letters from Hearn to, II: 340-342, 347-358, 361-381, 384, 385, - 388-397, 403-412, 422-436, 437-440, 442-455; - Hearn's proposal to, regarding a book of short stories, 341, 342, - 348, 349, 350, 356; - his Highbinder story, 348, 364; - his belief in Hearn's work, 351, 375, 379, 494. - - Mackintosh, Sir James, II: 136. - - Magazine work, labour of, I: 283, 285; - some effects of, 293; - discouragements of, 317; - Hearn's willingness to resume, II: 480. - - Magic, musical, an example of, I: 322. - - Mahabharata, I: 402. - - Mahan, Alfred Thayer, II: 374. - - Maiko. _See_ Geisha. - - Maine, battle-ship, destruction of, II: 358. - - Malatesta, Giovanni, I: 271. - - Mallock, William Hurrell, II: 196, 301; - his opinion of Gautier, I: 254, 256; - his translation of Gautier, 257; - his morbidness, II: 84. - - Malta, Island of, I: 7; II: 217; - Hearn's recollections of, II: 213, 214. - - Manila, P. I., II: 213; - expedition against, 369. - - Mantegazza, Paolo, II: 277. - - Marche, Antoine Alfred, his Afrique Occidentale, I: 354. - - Marcus Aurelius, II: 446. - - Margot, ----, I: 91, 94, 95. - - Marie Galante, island, I: 413. - - Marimba, musical instrument, I: 411. - - Marion, ----, I: 88, 89, 90, 92. - - Marriage, II: 98, 99; - deity of, 8; - Japanese law regarding marriage with a foreigner, 44, 64; - Occidental views of, 120; - the educated woman and, in Japan, 416-422. - - Martinique, I: 97; - costume colours of, 98; - doll dressed as woman of, 410, 411; - action in, after fall of Second Empire, 418, 419; - physicians of, 441. - - Masayoshi, Kumagoe, II: 116, 130. - - Massachusetts, application of Spencer's educational theories in, - II: 275. - - Mates, Rodolfo, I: 97, 263, 371, 380, 395, 445. - - Mathematicians, indifference of, to poetry, I: 461, 462. - - Matsue, Japan, II: 154, 155, 330, 331; - Hearn's appointment at, I: 110-113, 137; - situation and character of, 110, 111, 114, 115; - Hearn's first residence in, 113; - his departure from, 124,125; - ascendency of Shint[=o] in, II: 13, 15; - climate of, 23, 25; - geisha at, 95; - Hearn's desire to return to, 298. - - Matsushima, Japanese flag-ship, II: 258. - - Maupassant, Guy de, I: 72, 361; II: 348, 392. - - Mazois, Charles Francois, I: 213. - - Medical novels, I: 399, 437, 441. - - Medicine, study of, II: 289, 290. - - Medusa, legend of, I: 185. - - Megara, choral dance of Greek women in, I; 385. - - Meiji Maru. Japanese ship, II: 304. - - Melusine, periodical, I: 170, 284; - death of, 189. - - Memory, transmutation of inherited, II: 338. - - Memphis, Tenn., I: 66. - - Mephistopheles, Goethe's, II: 435. - - Meredith, Owen. _See_ Bulwer-Lytton. - - Merimee, Prosper, I: 205; - his Carmen, 200, 201. - - Metairie, the, New Orleans, I: 205. - - Mexico, music of, I: 231; - African influence on, 380. - - Michelet, Jules, I: 227, 256; - his L'Amour, II: 277. - - Middle Ages, musical instruments of, I: 165-167; - literary renascence in, 342. - - Miko, Shint[=o] priestesses, II: 21, 22, 31, 268, 297, 468. - - Miko-kagura, Japanese dance, II: 38, 42. - - Miller, Ed., I: 221. - - Millet, Jean Francois, I: 6. - - Milton, John, his Paradise Lost used as a reading-book in T[=o]ky[=o], - II: 283, 328. - - Mionoseki, Japan, II: 6; - deity of, 7, 8, 37, 97. - - Missionaries, Hearn's attitude toward, II: 44, 45, 68, 109, 110, 311; - unmarried women as, in Japan, 441, 442. - - Mississippi River, dangers to swimmers in, I: 176, 177. - - Mocking-bird, of Guiana, I: 357, 358. - - Mohammed, I: 280, 281. - - Mombush[=o] Readers, II: 105. - - Money, power of, I: 348. - - Mongolians, similarities between faces of Irish and, I: 190. - - Moon-of-Autumn. _See_ Akizuki. - - Moral development, immorality a force in, II: 136, 137. - - Moral sense, nature of, I: 434-436. - - Morris, William, his Wood beyond the World, II: 196. - - Morrow, William C., II: 363, 364. - - Mothers, II: 190, 191. - - Motoori, II: 7. - - Mountains, sadness produced by sight of, II: 151. - - Mud-dauber, I: 89. - - Muir, John, I: 388. - - Mueller, Friedrich Max, his Sacred Books of the East, I: 327. - - Muezzin, call of the. _See_ Azan. - - Mukden, Manchuria, I: 106. - - Mulock, Dinah, her John Halifax used as a reading-book in Kumamoto, - II: 79. - - Murderer, Hearn's description of a, I: 322, 323. - - Murger, Henri, philosophy of his Bohemianism, I: 242. - - Murray, John, guide-book published by, II: 37, 43. - - Music, infinity of, I: 179; - demands of, 180; - opportunities for studying, 182; - antique, 211, 213; - in the Talmud, 287; - Spencer's essay of musical origination, 325; - mathematics of, 385. - _See also_ Brittany, Creoles, Cuba, Eskimo, Finland, Griots, Havana, - Japan, Mexico, Negro, Scandinavia, Timbuctoo, Wales, West - Indies. - - Musical instruments, I: 165-167, 211-213, 311, 353. - _See also_ Bagpipe, Chalumeau, Egypt, Flute, Greece, Harps, Judaea, - Marimba, Negro, Sistrum, Syrinx. - - Musset, Alfred de, I: 254, 255. - - Mystic number, Japanese, II: 80. - - - Nakamura, Mr., II: 68. - - Nala, story of, I: 402. - - Names, of Japanese women, Hearn's article on, II: 445, 446, 447. - - Nanji-umi, II: 30. - - Naples, museum of, I: 213. - - Napoleon I, II: 160, 173. - - Natural selection, only one factor of evolution, II: 235. - - Naturalism, in art and literature, I: 228. - - Nature, in Japan, II: 3; - attitudes toward, in East and West, 123-125, 131, 425, 426; - immorality of, 189. - - Negro, vocal chords of, I: 313, 339, 356; - West Coast races and, 332; - their talent for improvisation, 353; - temperature of blood of, 356; - music of the American, 358; - musical instruments played by, in West Indies, 411. - - Neith, Egyptian divinity, I: 315. - - Neptune, festival of, I: 386. - - Nerval, Gerard de, pseud. _See_ Labrunie, Gerard. - - Nervous system, weight of, II: 245. - - New Orleans, La., Hearn removes to, I: 65, 66, 67; - conditions in, after the war, 68, 69; - yellow fever in, 69, 185, 186, 195; - Hearn leaves, 97; - description of an old Creole house in, 172-174; - a Chinese restaurant in, 203, 204; - maladministration in, 215; Hearn's disappointment in, 224, 225. - _See also_ Metairie. - - New York City, Hearn goes to, I: 39, 40, 101, 102; - his dislike of, 288, 405, 425, 443, 444; II: 182, 476, 484. - - Newts, tradition regarding, at Sakusa, Japan, II: 26. - - Nichiren, followers of, II: 27; - prevalence of, at Yabase, 47; - temple of, at Yabase, 55. - - Nid[=a]nakath[=a], I: 287. - - Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, II: 325, 514. - - Nishida, Sentar[=o], I: 116, 122; II: 9, 23, 33; - letters from Hearn to, II: 18, 19, 54, 55, 65-69, 72-76, 95-98, - 101-106, 118, 119, 141-145, 153-160, 165-167, 180-182, - 191-193, 274-276, 278-280, 291, 292, 296-299, 303-305, - 327-332; - his knowledge of English, 101; - his ballad of Shuntoku-maru, 130. - - Nishinomiya, Japan, II: 8. - - Noguchi, Yone, I: 159. - - Nordau, Max, false theories of, II: 277; - his Degeneration, 456. - - North, stimulus to literary production in, I: 194; - conceptions of beauty in, 211; - intellectual vigour of, 423; - struggle for life in, 424. - - Nude, the, in art, I: 30, 31. - - Numi, a Japanese friend of Hearn, II: 465. - - - Occident, possible future domination of, by Orient, II: 29; - indifference in, to stories of the real life of the Orient, 362, - 363. - - Ochiai, T. _See_ Inomata, Teizabur[=o]. - - O'Connor, William D., Hearn's letters to, I: 73; - his first acquaintance with, 80; - text of the letters, 268-275, 290-292, 315-320, 326-329, 340, 341, - 348-351, 364-367, 380-384; - Hearn's advice regarding an illness, 365-367; - his death, II: 432. - - Odd, Hearn's pursuit of the, I: 290, 291, 294, 328, 329. - - Odin, the Havamal of, II: 428. - - [OE]dipus, II: 168. - - Offenbach, Jacques, I: 222. - - Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, Japanese deity identified with Daikoku, in - Matsue, II: 13. - - Ohokuni, legend of the son of, II: 6. - - [=O]iso, Japan, II: 6. - - Oki, Japan, II: 96, 187. - - Okuma, Count, university founded by, I: 156; II: 514. - - [=O]-Kuni, story of, II: 42, 43. - - Olcott, Henry Steel, his Buddhist Catechism, I: 265. - - Old Semicolon, nickname given to Hearn, I: 50. - - Omar, Caliph, I: 281. - - Omiki dokkuri no kuchi-sashi, form of, II: 80. - - [=O]namuji-no-Mikoto, Japanese deity, II: 9. - - Opposition, value of, II: 406. - - O'Rell, Max, pseud. _See_ Blouet. - - Organization, tyranny of, II: 169, 170. - - Organs, wind, adopted by Christians from Byzantium, I: 166; - one described by St. Jerome, 167. - - Orient, intellectual barriers between Occident and, I: 104, 105; - possible future domination of the Occident by, II: 29. - - Ormuzd, the Persian God of Light, II: 118, 126. - - [=O]saka, Japan, II: 297, 298. - - Osgood, James R., I: 320, 321. - - [=O]tani, Masanobu, I: 113, 118; II: 68; - Hearn's aid to, I: 137, 138; - his notes on Hearn, 137, 138; - letters from Hearn to, II: 69-72, 79, 80, 162-165, 342-346, 414, - 415, 461-464; - advice to, regarding study of philology, 162, 164; - Japanese poems collected by, 343, 415; - a gift to Hearn from, 414, 415. - - [=O]tsu, flood in, II: 307. - - [=O]tsuka, Japan, Hearn's treatment in, II: 52, 53, 54, 55. - - Ouaday, Africa, I: 277. - - Overbeck, Johannes Adolf, his Pompeii, I: 213. - - Overwork, penalties of, I: 241, 242; results of, 367, 383. - - Oxford, University of, plan for Hearn to lecture at, I: 156. - - [=O]zawa, a teacher at Kumamoto, II: 66. - - - Pain, infliction of, II: 111; - results of, 136; - moral, 168; - a factor in evolution, 243; - results of, on Hearn's work, 272, 273, 393. - - Paine, Thomas, I: 345. - - Palmer, Edward Henry, his translation of the Koran, I: 351. - - Parvati, Indian divinity, I: 210. - - Patate-cry, I: 360. - - Pater, Walter, II: 215. - - Patti, Adelina, I: 240, 405. - - Pearson, Charles Henry, his National Character, II: 137. - - Pelee, Mt., I: 98. - - Perron, Dr. A., his Femmes Arabes, I: 277, 315, 468. - - Personality, invisible, I: 447; - multiple, 474, 475. - - Peterson Brothers, I: 250. - - Petronius Arbiter, I: 256. - - Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart. _See_ Ward. - - Philadelphia, Pa., Hearn's liking for, I: 449, 452, 469, 470. - - Philistine, The, periodical, II: 369. - - Philostratus, I: 321. - - Photograph, scientific test of, II: 83. - - Physicians, Hearn's regard for the career of, I: 436; - women as, in France, 441; - of Martinique, 441. - - Physiology, effect of, upon the history of nations, I: 330. - - Pickpockets, an adventure with, II: 391. - - Pipes, ancient Samurai, II: 48; - modern Japanese, 48-51. - - Plato, II: 173. - - Pleasure, changes in Hearn's ideas of, II: 194, 195. - - Plympton, ----, I: 360, 361. - - Poetry, translations of, I: 245; - value of form in, 271, 272, 294; - indifference of mathematicians to, 461; - vulgar, II: 343, 344; - translation the test of, 344, 523, 526, 527, 528; - three forms of, 519, 520; - true literary signification of, 520; - best medium of, 521. - - Politeness. _See_ Courtesy. - - Politics, public schools and, II: 166. - - Pompeii, musical instruments discovered in, I: 213. - - Pontchartrain, Lake, I: 169, 176. - - Poole, Captain, II: 304. - - Pope, Alexander, II: 520, 528, 529. - - Port of Spain, Trinidad, a silversmith at, I: 416. - - Poseidon, festival of, I: 386. - - Pott, Mrs. Henry, I: 364. - - Prayer, the dilemma of the gods, II: 394. - - Pre-Raphaelites, I: 211. - - Professions, Hearn's estimate of, I: 398. - - Proof, printer's, relation between copy and, II: 407. - - Proof-reader, Hearn's terror of the, I: 387. - - Prose, poetical, II: 529; - Hearn's ambition regarding, I: 364, 374, 379, 383, 393. - - Protestantism, II: 311, 312. - - Provencal literature and song, Hueffer's treatment of, I: 361. - - Public schools, politics in, II: 166. - - Publishers, Hearn's opposition to the views of, II: 479, 480; - their attitude toward authors, 484, 485. - - Punctuation, Hearn's efforts to reform, I: 50. - - - Quacks, success of, I: 180, 181. - - Quatrefages de Breau, Jean Louis Armand de, I: 235, 236. - - - Rabyah, operatic possibilities of, I: 388. - - Race expansion, intellectual, cost of, II: 98. - - Ramayana, translations of, I: 402. - - Raphael, I: 211. - - Ravine-les-Cannes, I: 191. - - Rawlinson, Sir Henry Creswicke, I: 213. - - Regeneration, Hearn's use of the word, II: 509. - - Rein, Johannes Justus, his work on Japan, II: 36. - - Religion, the conservator of romanticism, II: 208, 209; - Norse, 228; - sects and, 131; - characteristics common to all religions, 146, 147; - science and, 148. - - Rembrandt, I: 211. - - Remsen, Ira, president of Johns Hopkins University, II: 504. - - Renan, Ernest, II: 514. - - Rengaji, Buddhist temple at Kizuki, II: 42. - - Rhys-Davids, Thomas William, II: 380, 488. - - Riess, Ludwig, professor at the University of T[=o]ky[=o], II: 312, - 316. - - Rights and duties, II: 115. - - Rink, Henry John, I: 330. - - Robert Clarke Company, Cincinnati, I: 50. - - Robinson, ----, I: 187. - - Roche, Louise, I: 357. - - Roget, Peter Mark, his Thesaurus, I: 374. - - Roland, Song of, I: 190, 246. - - Rollins, Alice Wellington, I: 389; II: 299, 300. - - Roman Catholic Church, Hearn's bitterness against, I: 33, 34. - - Romanes, George John, I: 292, 439. - - Romans, musical instruments adopted by, I: 165, 166. - - Romanticism, religion the conservator of, I: 208, 209; - Baudelaire on, 211. - - Romanticists, pantheism of, I: 255. - - Romany descent, mark of, I: 5. - - Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, I: 211; II: 221. - - Rouquette, Adrien, Indian missionary, I: 169, 188, 191, 206, 212. - - Routine, merits of, I: 326. - - Roy, Protap Chunder, I: 335. - - Rufz de Lavison, Etienne, I: 442; II: 248, 347. - - Ruskin, John, his comment on the Medicean Venus, I: 31. - - Russia, feeling against, in Japan, II: 258, 262; - war between Japan and, 515, 516, 517. - - Rydberg, Viktor, I: 227. - - Ry[=u]ky[=u], II: 219. - - - Saadi. _See_ Gulistan. - - Sacher-Masoch, Leopold Ritter von, his Mother of God, I: 233. - - Sadness, certain causes of, II: 150-152. - - St. Augustine, Florida, I: 70. - - St. Peter's Cathedral, Cincinnati, Hearn's description of a view from - the spire of, I: 51. - - St. Pierre, Martinique, I: 97; II: 347, 484; - Hearn's record of, I: 98, 100, 101, 412, 413, 415. - - Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin, I: 396; II: 222. - - Saintsbury, George, II: 371. - - Saionji, II: 279. - - Sakai, Japan, II: 297, 304. - - Sake, II: 57, 82, 92, 93. - - Sakuma, his knowledge of literary English, II: 66. - - Sakuntala, operatic possibilities of, I: 308. - - Sakurai, headmaster at Kumamoto, II: 66. - - Sakusa, Japan, Shint[=o] shrine at, II: 15, 25, 26. - - Sakusa-no-Mikoto, Shint[=o] deity, II: 25. - - Sale, George, his translation of the Koran, I: 327. - - Samurai, I: 116. - - San Francisco, Cal., Hearn's search for a publisher in, I: 246, 247. - - Sanskrit, derivation of Greek and Latin from, I: 202. - - Santa Maura, Island of, Hearn's birth-place, I: 3, 7, 429; - situation and character of, 3, 4; - its influence upon Hearn, 4, 5. - - Sanza, Nagoya, II: 42. - - Sanzo, Tsuda, II: 142, 143. - - Sappho, I: 3, 238. - - Sasa, a Japanese priest, II: 7, 8. - - Satire, Japanese, II: 217. - - Satni-Khamois, Egyptian romance, I: 238. - - Sato, Mr., II: 68. - - Sattee, a Hindoo, sent by Hearn to Krehbiel, I: 367-370, 393. - - Scandinavia, music of, I: 190. - - Schiefner, Franz Anton, his German translation of Kalewala, I: 235. - - Schlemihl, Peter, II: 443. - - Schopenhauer, Arthur, I: 447, 459, 460; II: 151, 235; - basis of his philosophy, 266, 267. - - Schurman, Jacob Gould, president of Cornell University, II: 488, 492, - 495. - - Schwab, Moise, his translation of part of the Talmud, I: 287. - - Schweinfurth, Georg August, I: 310, 354. - - Science, influence of, upon literary style, I: 263, 264; - unsatisfactoriness of, II: 338, 339. - - Scientific education, II: 163, 164, 275. - - Scotland, bagpipe and kilt introduced by Romans into, I: 182, 183. - - Secret Affinities, Hearn's translation of the pantheistic madrigal - from Gautier's Emaux et Camees, I: 259-261. - - Sects, religion and, II: 131. - - Self-interest, the basis of most human relations, II: 188, 189. - - Sensation, hereditary, II: 223, 225-227, 230, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, - 241, 250. - - Senses, training of the, II: 86. - - Sensibility, moral and physical, I: 434-436. - - Serpent worship, II: 29. - - Sex, influence of, on history, I: 256; - a mystery of, 401; - standards regarding the relations of, 438; - Oriental and Occidental views regarding - questions of, II: 112, 113, 114, 121, 122, 123; - instincts of, deficient in Japanese, 209, 210. - - Shakespeare, II: 520. - - "Shall" and "will," Hearn's use of the words, II: 224, 225, 246. - - Shelley, Percy Bysshe, II: 215. - - Shimane, ken of, I: 115. - - Shimbashi, II: 433; - Hearn's adventures with pickpockets at, 391. - - Shimo-ichi, II: 37, 41, 46. - - Shinsh[=u], a sect, II: 27. - - Shint[=o], I: 112; - ascendency of, in Matsue, II: 13, 15; - nature of, 26, 27, 30; - prevalence of, in interior of Japan, 31, 32; - revival of, in Kizuki, 47; - rituals, 59; - Hearn's questions regarding Shint[=o] home-worship in Izumo, 71, 79. - - Ships of the Souls. _See_ Sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune. - - Shiva, the Hindoo god of destruction, I: 210, 211. - - Sh[=o]ry[=o]-bune, II: 8, 38, 39, 41. - - Simpson, Walter, his History of the Gipsies, I: 201, 202, 459. - - Sinnett, Alfred Percy, I: 265. - - Sistrum, introduced by Egypt into Italy, I: 166. - - Siva. _See_ Shiva. - - Skeat, Walter William, I: 374. - - Small-pox, in Martinique, I: 422. - - Smoking, paraphernalia of, in Japan, II: 49-51. - - Smyrna, I: 8. - - Snake, sacred, II: 29. - - Socialism, tyranny of, II: 184, 185, 205, 511, 512. - - Societies, literary, Hearn's opinion of, II: 461-463. - - Society, the nature of polite, II: 400; - injury inflicted upon writers by, 451. - - Society of Authors, London, II: 445, 446. - - Society of Finnish Literature, I: 235. - - Socrates, I: 41. - - Solomon, Song of, I: 227. - - Souls, sacrifice of, II: 410. - - Souls, velvet, Hearn's definition of the phrase, II: 326. - - Soulie, Melchior Frederic, II: 231. - - South, difficulty of literary production in, I: 194; - conceptions of beauty in, 211. - - Spanish-American War, II: 369, 373, 374, 376, 379, 380, 384, 385. - - Specialization, necessity of, I: 263. - - Spencer, Herbert, II: 108, 190, 207, 208, 221, 236, 247; - Hearn's admiration for, I: 58; II: 44, 409, 509; - his influence upon Hearn, I: 85, 86, 365, 374, 375, 392, 394, 430, - 431, 438, 459; II: 20, 26, 221, 222; - his Sociology, I: 312; - his essay on musical origination, 325; - his conservatism regarding further physical evolution, 397; - his theory of education, 456; - his criticism of the Mombush[=o] Readers, II: 105; - his theory of moral evolution, 137; - history of good manners traced by, 183; - socialism defined by, 184, 205; - on heredity, 223, 226, 228, 234; - on psychological evolution, 231; - Darwin and, 235; - his paper on the Method of Comparative Psychology, 249; - application of his educational theories, 275; - his views on eccentricity, 277; - on war, 510. - - Sphinx, riddle of the, II: 168. - - Spinoza, Baruch, II: 173. - - Stamboul, black population of, I: 355. - - Stanford University, II: 476, 477; - plans for Hearn to lecture at, 496. - - Stauben, Daniel, his Scenes de la Vie Juive, I: 287. - - Steamships, Hearn's account of the fatal effect of his presence upon, - II: 433. - - Stedman, Edmund Clarence, I: 332, 446. - - Stevenson, Robert Louis, II: 190, 336, 383, 405, 509. - - Strength, misuse of, II: 160, 161. - - Sturdy, E. T., II: 380. - - Style, literary, helps to formation of, I: 263, 264, 372, 373, 374; - Hearn's ambition regarding his own, 276, 364, 374, 379, 383, 393; - labour of acquiring an ornamental, 324. - - Success, some requisites of, I: 431; II: 135. - - Suicide, a Japanese, II: 273. - - Susa-no-o, Japanese deity, II: 8. - - Susa-no-o-no-Mikoto, Shint[=o] deity, II: 16, 25. - - Swimming, Hearn's fondness for, I: 176, 333, 334, 341; II: 47, 63, - 303, 304, 448; - of Japanese boys at Yabase, 48. - - Swinburne, Algernon Charles, I: 432, 433; II: 427. - - Sword-Dance, in Leon dialect, I: 305; - prose and metrical translations of, 305-307. - - Swords, legends concerning, I: 185. - - Symonds, John Addington, I: 220, 227; - his praise of Whitman, 292; - his Greek Poets, 329; - his Wine, Women, and Song, 342. - - Syrinx, musical instrument, I: 297. - - - Taillefer, I: 191. - - Taine, Hippolyte Adolphe, his Art in Italy, II: 271. - - Taka o gami-no-Mikoto, II: 25. - - Takahashi, Dr., II: 304. - - Takahashi, Sakue, II: 330, 331. - - Takaki, Japanese boy, II: 278; - head of, on title-page of Kokoro, 300. - - Takamori, Senke, I: 115, 116; II: 7, 9, 10, 38, 145, 297; - his gift to Hearn, 153; - courtesy of, 180. - - Takata, Dean, I: 150. - - Talmud, I: 237, 311; - legends of the, 287. - - Tampa, Florida, I: 376. - - Tam-tam, I: 411. - - Tanabe, one of Hearn's pupils, II: 68; - letter from Hearn to, 508, 509. - - Tannery murder, Cincinnati, I: 51. - - Taylor, Bayard, I: 266, 324; II: 215. - - Taylor, James Monroe, president of Vassar College, II: 504, 505. - - Tennessee, Hearn's account of an incident in, I: 67. - - Tenn[=o]ji, II: 297. - - Tennyson, Alfred, Baron Tennyson, I: 221, 333; II: 190, 221, 302; - his Princess used as a reading-book in T[=o]ky[=o], II: 283, 328. - - Terminus, the god of boundaries, I: 184, 185. - - Tetsujir[=o], Inoue, II: 284, 313. - - Thomas, Theodore, I: 180, 182. - - Thought, physiologically considered, II: 244. - - Ticknor, William D., I: 332, 372. - - Timbuctoo, music of desert nomads of, I: 353. - - Time, value of, II: 194; - no knowledge of the value of, in Japan, 461, 463. - - Times-Democrat (New Orleans); - Hearn's associates on, I: 70, 71; - Hearn's work on, 72, 73, 176, 280, 363; - letters to, afterward expanded into Chita, 96; - purpose of its proprietors, 288. - - Tison, Alexander, professor at the University of T[=o]ky[=o], II: 284, - 312, 316. - - Togo-ike, Japan, II: 53. - - T[=o]ky[=o], Hearn's private life in, I: 141-152; II: 295, 309, 327, - 329; - his dislike of, II: 192, 193; - the foreign element in, 321, 456, 457; - cheap living in, 329; - appearance of, 333, 334; - climate of, 366, 372, 385; - lack of literary inspiration in, 378; - work done by students in, 387; - a silk-house at, 437, 438; - Government service in, 470. - - T[=o]ky[=o], University of, Hearn becomes Professor of English - Literature at, I: 136-138; - resigns this position, 154; II: 368, 490, 493; - students of, II: 282, 283, 314, 315, 328, 388; - the gate to public office, 282; - Hearn's work at, 283, 298, 305, 306, 310, 314, 327, 328, 357, 427, - 429, 444, 481, 482, 486, 487; - professors at, 284, 285, 311, 312, 313, 315, 316; - architecture of, 311; - one reason for Hearn's appointment at, 313, 314. - - Torio, Viscount, his theories of Western civilization, II: 36, 40. - - Toyokuni, II: 77. - - Toyoma, Masakazu, I: 122; II: 298, 328, 329. - - Tradesmen, enviable position of, I: 398, 399. - - Translations, from the French, obstacles to publication of, I: 247, - 248, 250, 251. - - Trata, La, Greek choral dance, I: 385. - - Trinidad, babies of, I: 416, 417. - - Trinity, the Hindoo, I: 210. - - Tropics, difficulty of reproducing the charms of, in literature, - I: 99; - Hearn's love for the, 105, 415, 420, 425, 449, 469; II: 64, 211, - 213, 217, 281; - nature and human nature in the, I: 436; - difficulty of literary work in, 422, 423, 424, 425, 449; - heredity in, 429. - - Truebner & Co., I: 325. - - Trygvesson, Olaf, II: 228. - - Tunison, Joseph Salathiel, I: 288, 361, 405, 411; - his comment on Hearn's work and characteristics, 54, 55, 62, 63, 64, - 65, 66; - Hearn's friendship with, 55; - his comment on Hearn's friendships, 56; - his book on the Virgilian Legend, 351; - letter from Hearn to, 443, 444. - - Turiault, J., his Etude sur la Langage Creole de la Martinique, - I: 357. - - Twins, Japanese, II: 326, 327. - - Tylor, Edward Burnett, II: 8, 41, 57; - an Australian chant quoted by, I: 312, 313; - its construction similar to a Greek chorus, 312; - his book on anthropology, II: 14. - - Tyndall, John, II: 235. - - Typography, Hearn's interest in, I: 50. - - - Uguisi, gift of, to Hearn, I: 118, 119; II: 19. - - Ukioye exhibition, II: 382. - - Undine, philosophy of, II: 508. - - United States, intellectual sterility in, II: 478; - liberty in, 511, 512; - race-hatred in, 512. - - Ushaw, Roman Catholic College, I: 34, 37. - - Ushigome. _See_ T[=o]ky[=o]. - - - Value, close connection between ideas of weight and, II: 74, 75, 76. - - Van Horne, Sir William, his offer to Hearn, II: 505. - - Varigny, Dr., II: 467. - - Vedantic philosophy, II: 236. - - Venus, Medicean, Ruskin's comment on, I: 31. - - Venus of Milo, I: 227. - - Verlaine, Paul, II: 187. - - Very, Mary, II: 441. - - Viaud, Julien (Pierre Loti), I: 72, 334, 361, 431, 432; II: 479; - his L'Inde sans les Anglais, I: 72; II: 491, 492; - his Mariage de Loti, I: 249, 377; - his Roman d'un Spahi, 249, 427; - his Aziyade, 250; - Hearn's desire to translate some of his novels, 362; - Hearn's admiration for, 377, 378, 396, 427, 452, 453; - his Un Reve, 434, 452, 453; - his Madame Chrysanthemum, 434; - his account of the French attack on the coast of Annam, II: 373; - offers his services to Spain, 385. - - Vickers, Thomas, I: 50, 214. - - Victoria, Queen of England, I: 164. - - Vignoli, Tito, I: 292. - - Villoteau, Guillaume Andre, I: 283; - his Memoire sur la Musique dans l'antique Egypte, 285. - - Virchow, Rudolf, II: 312, 316. - - Vishnu, I: 210. - - Voice, Colombat de l'Isere's work on diseases of the, I: 363. - - Voudoo, the word, I: 360. - - Voudoo songs, I: 192, 193. - - - Wagner, Richard, I: 236; II: 15. - - Wales, Hearn removes to, I: 8, 12; - music of, 190; - language of, 190. - - Wall Street, New York City, romance of, II: 182. - - Wallace, Alfred Russel, I: 438; II: 211, 213, 221. - - War, developing effects of, II: 509, 510, 511. - - Ward, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, II: 301. - - Warner, Charles Dudley, I: 342, 392, 451. - - Waseda University, professors of, I: 149, 150; - Hearn accepts chair of English at, 156. - - Watson, William, II: 215, 402. - - Weight, close connection between ideas of value and, II: 74, 75, 76. - - Weill, Alexander, his reminiscences of Heine, I: 341. - - Weiss, John, I: 265, 432. - - West Indies, dances of, I: 297, 307; - transplantation of negro melodies to, 356, 360, 411; - Hearn's plan to visit, 382; - letters relating to, 409-419, 422-424; - literary material in, 410, 414, 422, 426; - formative influences of climate of, 441. - - Wetmore, Elizabeth (Bisland), II: 65, 82, 83, 167, 333, 484; - letters from Hearn to, I: 82, 388-392, 403, 404, 408, 409, 412-421, - 445-457; II: 3-5, 457-460, 473-477, 486-500, 503-507, 513-515; - Hearn's belief in her ability, I: 391, 414, 450; - her marriage, II: 62. - - White, Richard Grant, I: 350. - - Whitman, Walt, II: 432; - Hearn's opinion of, I: 271-274, 320, 432, 433; - Symonds's praise of, 292; - his ideal of democracy, II: 512. - - Whitney, Charles, I: 70, 71. - - Wilde, Oscar, his comment on the plagiarizations of life and nature, - I: 96. - - Wilkins, Peter, his Voyages, I: 212. - - "Will" and "shall," Hearn's use of the words, II: 224, 225, 246. - - Williams, Sir Monier, his translation of the story of Nala, I: 402. - - Winckelmann, Johann Joachim, I: 211, 227. - - Windward Islands, Hearn visits, I: 97. - - Women, physical magnetism of, I: 401; - as physicians, in France, 441; - Japanese, II: 35, 61, 87, 88, 90, 91; - compared with American, 36; - intellectual, 98, 99; - Occidental attitude toward, 112, 123; - revelations made by men to, 189; - marriage and the educated woman, in Japan, 416-422; - emotional, 427. - - Wordsworth, William, II: 215. - - World, smallness of the, I: 472. - - World, The (New York paper), J. Cockerill's work on, I: 54. - - Worship, phallic, II: 32. - - Worthington, Richard, I: 246, 248, 253, 276, 321, 376. - - Wundt, Wilhelm Max, his colour-theory, II: 320. - - Wuestenfeld, Heinrich Ferdinand, his edition of Al-Nawawi, I: 331. - - Wycliffe, John, I: 350. - - - Yabase, Japan, II: 46, 47, 48, 54, 55. - - Yaegaki san, deities worshipped at Sakusa, II: 25. - - Yaidzu, Japan, II: 478, 516; - Hearn's warning to M. McDonald regarding a visit to, 447, 448, - 449, 450. - - Yakushi Nyorai, Hearn's visits to the temple of, II: 17, 18. - - Yasukochi, letter to, II: 464-466; - his military experience, 465. - - Yellow fever, in New Orleans, I: 185, 186, 195; - in Martinique, 440. - - Yokogi, death of, II: 72. - - Yokohama, Japan, Hearn's visits to M. McDonald at, II: 346, 366, 367, - 371, 388, 389, 390, 392, 393, 409, 422, 423, 438, 439, 442, - 443. - - Yriarte, Charles Emile, his life of Giovanni Malatesta, I: 271. - - Yucatan, significance of darkness to ancient inhabitants of, I: 468. - - - Zilliacus, Konni, II: 467. - - Zola, Emile, I: 228; II: 503; - his L'Argent, II: 65; - his Rome, 392. - - THE END - - - - - Transcriber's Note: - -Minor punctuation errors in the Index have been silently corrected. - -The word 'consciousness' appears twice as 'conciousness' in a letter -to Basil Hall Chamberlain (pp. 234, 236). It frequently appears -correctly spelled elsewhere. It has been corrected in both places here, -assuming a printer's error. - -Page references in the Index remain as printed. There are two entries -('Prose, poetical' and 'Heine, Heinrich, French prose translation of') -referencing p. 524 of the present volume, which is a blank page. -Both seem to be errors for p. 529, where both topics are found. These -have been corrected. Other than these instances, no systematic attempt -was made to verify the accuracy of the Index. - -The following list contains special situations where corrections -were in order: - - p. 156 "And they clanked at his girdle like Close Shelley's - _manacles_["] line. - - p. 207 it often[s] does Removed. - - pp. 234, con[s]ciousness Added. - 236. - - p. 428 vi[v/s]-a-vis Corrected. - - p. 470 I[t/f] you ever want Corrected. - - p. 519 tell him: ["/']Ha! he died sometime The nested quotation - ago. That will do.["/']["] was not properly - closed. - - p. 534 in the course of [the] academic year Added. Could be 'an'. - - p. 542 Mik[a/o]-kaguri Corrected. - - p. 556 St. Pierre, Mart[i]nique Added. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Letters of Lafcadio -Hearn, Volume 2, by Elizabeth Bisland - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAFCADIO HEARN *** - -***** This file should be named 42313.txt or 42313.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/3/1/42313/ - -Produced by KD Weeks, Ted Garvin, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (missing images -and alternates from TIA) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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