Yone Santo: A Child of Japan

XIX.

DIVERGENT PATHS.

MILTON stumbled forth, across the threshold and into the street, in a dazed and bewildered manner, and before the next evening he had transferred himself and his belongings to Yokohama, as I took sure measures to discover. This, then, was the end of the sorrowful drama, so far as that heartless miscreant was concerned. But for Yone, who could tell what the end might be ? The day following the scene at my office was Saturday, when she usually came to me, if on no other errand than to ask instruction as to the treatment of some new invalid whom she had added to her private list of patients ; but as she did not appear, I started on Sunday morning to walk to her residence, fearing she might have been prostrated by the excitement she had undergone, or by her endeavors to stifle and overcome it.

Near the Philipson school I overtook a small group of missionaries, including the ladies at the head of that establishment ; Miss Gibson, the neophyte mentioned in the earlier pages of this narrative ; and a few others, of both sexes. I was about to pass them with a silent, salutation, but the leader of the party called me back.

“ Doctor,” she said, “ I believe Miss Jackman looked in upon you the day before yesterday.”

“ She did, madam,” I replied.

“ I understand that she left you before she could explain the particular object of her visit. Do you know what it was ? ”

“ It is not always possible to know what Miss Jackman’s particular object may be. Her general object seems to be to make herself disagreeable.”

“ She knows her duty,” testified the earnest spinster, “ and she fulfills it, no matter what suffering it may cost her.”

“ Or anybody else,” I supplemented, ironically.

“ Or anybody else,” she assented, with matter-of-fact composure.

The younger sister now pressed forward.

“ Pray tell me, Dr. Charwell,” she began, “ was not Mr. Milton also at your house ? ”

“ I was about to make the inquiry,” said the elder, in a tone of mild reproof. “ But first I would ask the doctor if his protégée, Mrs. Santo, was in Tsukiji yesterday.”

“ I do not know, madam ; I have not seen her since Friday.”

“ Oh, Friday,” she repeated, significantly ; “ dear me, yes. I am aware that you saw her on Friday. Many persons saw her ; too many, I might say.”

“ I am convinced of that, madam,” I responded.

“ Oh, quite too many,” exclaimed Miss Kezia, obtuse to my fling of sarcasm, and intent upon her own point only, — “ altogether too many ; there can be no doubt of that, poor creature.”

“ As to ‘ poor creature,’ I am not so sure,” said the sour senior. “ But — well, yes ; on the whole, as we are in Japan, we will say ‘ poor creature.’ ”

“ Good-morning, ladies,” said I, endeavoring to move forward, out of range of their pestilent tongues. But they were walking in the same direction, and I could not escape them.

“ Excuse me, doctor ; one moment, I beg of you. I trust you will ease my mind on a serious matter. You cannot possibly know all that has happened, but I assure you we have learned sufficient to justify us in excluding that young woman from our habitation, hereafter.”

“ Indeed ; and from whom have you learned it, madam, may I ask ? ”

“ From the best authority, sir, — from her own self.”

“ Her own self,” iterated the younger sister ; “ she confessed everything.”

“ Confessed ! ” I ejaculated. “ That ’s an extraordinary word to use in connection with a stainless woman. Do you pretend to say that she confessed in the sense of having a fault to reveal ? ”

They both hesitated.

“ Pray answer ; did she not come to acquaint you with a heavy misfortune that had befallen her, and to ask your sympathy and assistance ? ”

“ Really, doctor, you put it in so singular a way.”

“ Was not that the way she put it ? ”

“ I dare say she did ; she was always a designing girl, — they all are,” said the elder sister, who never lacked resources for a retort. “ But what I more particularly wanted to say was, that I hope the severity we have found it necessary to exercise with her will not have the effect of depriving us of the service you have always so generously tendered.”

“ Oh, I will do what I can for the little ones,” I answered ; “ but you have deprived yourselves of a healer who can do more for your sick than a dozen men like me.”

“ Ah, doctor, you do exaggerate so.”

“ Not I. Yone has kept life in many a drooping body which I could never have revived. She alone knew the secret of counteracting your ” —

“ Our what, doctor, if you will be so kind ? ”

“ Well, your carelessness, your neglect, your ignorant treatment, your improper food, if you must be told. You can’t build up sickly infants on imperfect nourishment and bad temper. Yone kept their little heads above water, in spite of all, God bless her. In rejecting her you do more mischief to them than to the girl you persecute.”

The exemplary lady was speechless with ire ; not wholly to the dissatisfaction of Miss Kezia, whose opportunities for eloquence were few, and who promptly availed herself of the occasion.

“ As to that, we do not know,” she said ; “ that is in the hands of a higher power. Better, perhaps, that their sinful bodies should perish than that their immortal souls be corrupted by evil communication. We only know our duty. The inward monitor indorses our resolution not to receive her.”

Murmurs of approbation affirmed the general confidence in so responsible a backer as the Philipsons’ inward monitor.

“ Not to receive her,” I repeated. “ That seems to recall a familiar phrase. ‘Whosoever shall receive this child ’ — How does it run ? I am a bad hand at quotation. You know all about it. Miss Philipson. It belongs to ancient literature.”

Though still palpitating with indignation at my arraignment of her domestic system, she was not insensible to the flattery of being appealed to as a historical authority.

“ To ancient literature,” she echoed, — " to ancient literature. Let me consider. Classic, I presume.”

An ominous whisper rustled through the procession. Heads were bent together, and a subdued warning buzzed along the line, until it reached the ear of Miss Sophia.

“ Gracious Heaven ! ” she cried, as I suppose she might have cried if a scorpion had stung her. “ This is too horrible ! Much I could expect, and much I would endure ; but that blasphemy should be thrown into my face, straight into my open face, on this sacred day, almost under the shadow of that sacred steeple at the next corner, — rank blasphemy, and in the public streets, — it is too much ! ” She sought relief, as was her frequent habit when unduly excited, in a maze of metaphorical confusion. “ The line is drawn, Dr. Charwell. A gulf rises between us. Here I cross over to the Rubicon. We will turn now, sister, and friends. Miss Gibson, I think you will do well to come with us.”

“ You know I cannot, madam,” replied that young lady, gravely.

“ Oh, good-day, then ; good-day ! ” exclaimed the others of the party, as they moved toward the little church which constituted their stronghold.

“ This is odd,” I remarked, on finding that Miss Gibson and I were left standing alone. “ May I ask if you are not taking their course ? ”

“ There ’s a double meaning in that question, I imagine,” she said, smiling faintly ; “ but at any rate, I am not taking their course now.”

“ If you are walking toward the river,” said I, “ I hope you will let me accompany you a little way.”

“ Certainly,” she answered ; “ and indeed I think I shall ask you for some information, if you please.”

I was so perplexed by the circumstance of her separation from her customary associates, and on a Sunday morning, too, that I failed to respond at once ; but, presently recollecting myself, I said abruptly : —

“ Yes, yes, by all means. Pray excuse me ; I was taken a little aback by your sudden secession from our friends yonder. It ’s no affair of mine, Miss Gibson ; I am well aware of that, and I won’t offend you by referring to it again.”

“ There is no offense, Dr. Charwell ; I may find it expedient to refer to it myself, rather openly. But I am more especially anxious to learn if Yone Santo’s visit to the Philipsons occurred as you just now stated it.”

“ How do you mean ? ”

“ Did she really go there in trouble, to ask for consolation and sympathy ? ” “ That is precisely the case. Will you tell me why you wish to know ? ”

“ Certainly I will. I have no idea of concealing that, or many other things. Those ladies have been telling everybody that she came in a wild, despairing state, to make a confession of depravity which she could no longer keep on her guilty soul ; and that she then ran away to rejoin her — her lover, I believe they said.”

“ Meaning Mr. Milton, no doubt.”

“ Yes, Mr. Milton, my fellow-townsman. But you are not to think I accepted the story as unvarnished truth. I am sorry to say I know the Philipsons better than I did.”

“ If I were not afraid of making a breach between you and the heads of your mission, I would tell you exactly what occurred ; for it all came authentically to my knowledge.”

“ There is no longer any question of making a breach,” she began, sadly ; but changing suddenly, she added, “ No harm can come from my learning the real truth, provided there is nothing that ought to be left untold, — as to which Miss Philipson expressed many doubts.”

“ You shall judge,” said I ; and as we walked to the river, crossed the bridge, and proceeded toward Santo’s house, I laid before her the incidents of the past few days, reverting also to a few details of Yone’s earlier life, illustrative of her candor and simple uprightness. More than once, the warmhearted American girl’s handkerchief was lifted to her eyes, and I began to hope that my lonely sufferer would at last win a friend better suited to her wants than a grim, rugged, and stormytempered bachelor, more than thrice her age.

XX.

A FRIEND IN NEED.

“ Perhaps you are going to her now ? ” suggested Miss Gibson, when I had ended.

“ I am ; she did not come to our part of the town yesterday, and I am anxious about her.”

“ You have reason to be, doctor. Will you let me go with you ? ”

“ Gladly — joyfully,” I replied ; but, thinking of Santo’s rough ways and Yone’s uncongenial surroundings, I considered it necessary to enlighten her on those points. This involved further allusions to Yone’s undeserved misfortunes, to which Miss Gibson listened with amazement and indignation.

“ The unhappy child ! ” she exclaimed ; “ her life seems to have been one continuous sorrow. But surely the case is most unusual.”

“ Do not think so,” I said ; “ it is only too common. The mass of the Japanese women are condemned to similar mental trials, if not to equal bodily hardship. It is true that those who are utterly untaught escape the worst misery. They accept their degradation without inquiry or complaint, as the natural accompaniment of their lot.”

“ But I have heard nothing of these things before,” she said, with startled eagerness.

“ You have not been here long,” I answered ; “ and as for the elders of your body, I conclude that they are dumb and blind because they have no wish to be otherwise.”

“ This is dreadful, Dr. Charwell ; if you are correct, the more we try to educate them, the more they must suffer.”

“ For a time, unfortunately, yes ; it may be for a long time. But that proves nothing against continuing to educate them as thoroughly and rapidly as possible. It is a tangled question, Miss Gibson, which we cannot unravel in a hasty conversation. You shall know, however, that my judgment is totally against the system of missionary culture ordinarily attempted with Japanese girls. It is more likely to lead to their ruin than their redemption. But I am teaching you rank rebellion. What would those best of ladies say, if they knew where I am leading your thoughts ? ”

“ They would have nothing to say,” she replied, sadly ; “ when I left them at that corner, I left them forever.”

“ Indeed ; was it so serious a matter ? ”

“ The matter itself was not serious. You would probably smile at it. But it was one in a series of difficulties which, sooner or later, would have worn me out. They were determined that numbers of Japanese laborers and mechanics — mostly of a low class, but none the worse, I dare say, for that — should join, each Sunday, in the musical part of our church service. Now I truly hope these converts are well-meaning people, and as full of good purpose as they say ; but their adoption of Christianity does not make musicians of them. They do not know, and in most cases never can know, one tone from another. To me, who have very strong feelings about religious music, it is an awful mockery that they should be allowed to turn the service into such utter ridicule as they do, merely to gratify some strange vanity of their own, or to indulge a wild fancy for making a senseless noise. It is profanation to think that the Deity can listen with approval to such barbarous uproar.”

I fancied that the young lady might not have taken the matter so much to heart if she had not herself been a musician of no mean ability, and thoroughly qualified to direct, without interference, the performances of the choir. But her objections were sensible enough, as might be attested by any listener to the vocal burlesques which she condemned.

“ You are quite right,” I said. “ Martin Luther protested against devoting good music to the devil. He would have flung his inkstand at anybody who said bad music was fit for the Almighty.”

“ Doctor, it may not be a very solemn subject, but I hope you will not laugh at it, for all that.”

“ By no means, my good young lady ; you will never find me laughing at anything genuinely religious. I understand your feelings, and respect them ; and I also understand the proceedings of the church managers, who in this instance desire to call attention to the increased number of Japanese in their congregations, — attendants whose sincerity, they will claim, is proved by their energetic participation in the singing.”

“ Energetic, indeed. But still it seems curious that these rough-grained Japanese should endure the tedium of a whole service — that is ” (she corrected herself, with haste and blushes), “ it must be tedium to them — solely for the sake of gratifying themselves in their extraordinary way for a few moments, now and then.”

“ It is not agreeable to break up your innocent illusions,” I replied ; “but you must remember there are many rival carpenters, shoemakers, grooms, applicants for domestic labor, and the like, in this neighborhood ; and the missionary corps is large. Now, one way, at least, to secure patronage ” —

“ Say no more,” she interrupted ; “ pray say no more. Can you discover nothing good to speak of the missionaries and those whom they strive to convert ? ”

I was silent.

“ Tell me,” she persisted, “ have you not one friendly word to say of them ? You would not, surely, venture to pronounce against them all.”

“ Miss Gibson,” I said, with as much earnestness as I could command, strongly desiring to efface the slightest suspicion that I was capable of sharing a certain vulgar tendency among numerous foreigners to revile and discredit missionary enterprises, “ I will tell you more on this head than I have latterly thought it desirable to tell any other person. During many of the years I have lived in Japan, I sought, with an earnestness I could hardly make you realize, for missionaries whom I could hold in honor, whose characters I could unqualifiedly respect, whose methods of dealing with the Japanese seemed to me worthy of approval. It was for a long period that I pursued this investigation, with unswerving persistence. My objects were not always such as you would sympathize with, — at least not now ; but I think they were disinterested and humane. I could have experienced no gratification equal to that of meeting a few good men, and especially a few good women, of your calling, in whom the loftier spirit of devotion, unselfishness, and willing sacrifice might be found. It seemed incredible that of all who came in this cause, none should be conscious of the broad and comprehensive duties that lay before them. But the inexorable fact was always staring me in the face.”

“ Do you mean that no single one of them equaled your hopes and wishes ? ”

“ Not one, Miss Gibson, not one. If I sometimes thought I had encountered a simple, upright, well-meaning soul, I soon learned that it was steeped in ignorance more befitting the rudest peasant than a pretended teacher of religion. It is astounding to think of the numbers of illiterate men and women who are sent to the East charged with functions demanding the highest learning and wisdom. I could not ask coöperation from persons of this stamp, or seek to coöperate with them. Then there were many who came plainly in pursuit of gain, and with no other view. They were not of the stock I wanted. Once or twice, indeed, I have believed myself approaching a point of contact with individuals who seemed fashioned in a nobler mould ; but they shrunk before such tests as I felt bound to apply, and their falling masks revealed the selfishness, or cowardice, or conceit which pervaded and dominated them. Hard disappointments, many of them, for me. It may be that I demanded greater virtues and capabilities than mankind is commonly endowed with. I certainly looked for qualities which I knew I could not, myself, even approximately supply. But I must acknowledge to you that some years have passed since I hopelessly abandoned my efforts to make friends with any missionaries, excepting those that come to do medical work, whose studies have in most cases enlarged their understanding and endowed them with broader human sympathies. Those who appear here as clergymen only have long ceased to attract my observation. It may therefore be true that a different and worthier class has taken the place of those among whose ranks I searched in vain. I can only say that, in my time of exploration, I never caught a glimpse of success. The good material with which I might have wished to ally myself was completely nullified by the superstition, ignorance, prejudice, vanity, and presumptuous arrogance that stood in the way. You are a later observer than I. You can say whether the same obstacles still bar the way to substantial missionary progress.”

In her turn, Miss Gibson was silent.

“ Let us hope, then,” I added, “ that a change has taken place. But it is too late, in any case, for me to begin my labors over again. They must be resumed by other hands, if at all.”

We were now drawing near Santo’s work-shop and dwelling.

“ Reflect, now,” said I ; “ if you once go in, you break with the Philipsons for good and all. They will never forgive you.”

“ I will go,” she answered.

“ I should be sorry to persuade you to any action which might injure your prospects, and this may be serious.”

“ Have no fear,” she rejoined ; “ I risk nothing. I am not irrevocably bound to them, like most of the others. I am only a volunteer, — quite free to leave and return home, if I find the work distasteful.”

“ Ah, then you are safe. And so, you will soon be going home. Poor Yone ! ”

“ Thank you for saying that, doctor ; but I am not sure about going home, just yet.”

“ My child,” said I, unconsciously adopting the paternal style of address, and not exactly understanding why she began to laugh, “ this is not the place for you. The real work that remains to be done in Japan is to emancipate the women and give them their rights, or a satisfactory share of them. All other tasks that women can take part in are now fairly provided for. Indeed, the Japanese have no claim to look for any more outside help, until they do justice to their own wives and sisters.”

“ Why cannot a woman like myself aid in bringing that about ? ”

“ No, no ; not for the present. The reform will hardly begin in my days. The most I hope is to see the foundations laid. Your youth can be given to other things, — perhaps to similar undertakings at home. When you reach a sturdy old age like mine, you may come again, and take on with the enterprise as it stands then.”

“ Doctor,” she said saucily, as we entered the gate, “ I do believe you want to do it all with your own hands, and get the whole of the glory yourself.”

We were received by Santo, who had seen us drawing near, and was ready with gruff greeting at his threshold.

“ You have come for Yone,” he said, as soon as the ordinary salutations had been exchanged. “ I will lead you to her. It is a new place, Doctor-san ; you cannot find the way. The house is turned upside down. I do not like it at all.”

He guided us through a passage with which I was unacquainted, and drew aside the door of a little chamber, at one end of which Yone lay upon a bed of cushions. Excusing herself for not rising, she begged us to occupy a couple of cane chairs, to which she pointed with an air of peculiar satisfaction, at the same time inviting our attention, by a significant glance, to the unusual adornments by which she was surrounded. A table, covered with English books, was within her reach ; a tiny desk stood in a corner ; pictures hung upon the walls in what looked like profusion for a Japanese interior, and a mirror, ingeniously set in a silken frame, reflected a variety of dainty objects seldom gathered together in an Oriental dwelling.

“ What part of the world are we in ? ” I exclaimed, perceiving that a recognition of all this grandeur was expected.

“ My husband allows it,” she remarked, sedately ; “ I have not thanked him enough. Indeed, he gives me no opportunity. Will it please you to enter, dana-san ? ” she added, addressing him directly.

He stood at the entrance, a statue of stolidity, his countenance exhibiting various shades of doubt, distrust, and defiance. For a dull man, he certainly possessed a marvelous faculty of twisting his features into combinations of disagreeable expression. Before responding to Yone’s invitation, he cast his eyes about the room, surveying the details with what I conceived to be an air of scornful superiority.

“ Where shall I put myself ? ” he demanded. “ Do I look like a man who has learned to dance among eggs ? If I go in, I shall break something. It is like a foreign furniture shop. I suppose there was never such foolishness since the gods were on the earth.”

“ If you object ” — I began, nettled at his manner.

“ He does not object,” Yone interposed, hastily. “ If he objected, it would not be so. Why, doctor, is not that easy to see ? ”

As I was not ready with an answer, she looked inquiringly at her other visitor, between whom and herself some signal of intelligent appreciation was probably exchanged. It was too subtle for my capacity, but I observed that the girls smiled confidentially, without a shadow of annoyance at Santo’s roughness. When I turned, in some bewilderment, to speak with him again, he had disappeared, and his heavy footsteps presently resounded, as he hobbled away, along the dark corridors.

“ Joy go with you ! ” I cried ; at which the young folks smiled more contentedly than before.

“ You take things very amiably,” I grumbled.

“ There is nothing to complain of, Dr. Charwell,” said Miss Gibson, — “ nothing at all.”

Since they saw no cause of offense, it was not for me to incite sedition. Giving heed to the serious purpose of my call, I speedily discovered that Yone had fallen into a sad state of depression and feebleness. She had not left her couch upon the matting since her return home, two days before, and this unusual suspension of her active pursuits proved the severity of the shock she had undergone. But the coming of Miss Gibson was a better remedy than I could have provided for her. These two young persons were in closer acquaintanceship with one another than I had imagined, their meetings at the school having been frequent and their association almost intimate. For a little while I watched, with unspeakable gratification, Yone’s reviving glow under the cheering influence, and then, leaving them together,

I went into the boat-yard, where Santo was superintending his laborers with severity of language and gesture. It was his pleasure to assume a bearing of extreme and indiscriminate bad humor.

“ This is a fine piece of work,” he shouted, as I approached him. “ Where is the young American man, and what am I to do with that ? ” He pointed to the unfinished boat.

“ Well, Santo, the American young man has gone to visit his mother in China, like a dutiful son ; and the boat is to be finished with all the taste and skill and experienced judgment which distinguish the products of Santo Yorikichi’s renowned manufactory.”

“ Yes, that is very ticklesome to the ear ; but who is to pay for it, I should like to know ? ”

“ He is to pay for it, Santo of the strong and dexterous right hand ; he is to pay for it, through me, your humble servant, in good paper money, which will be very ticklesome to the fingers.”

“ But he kept ordering alterations, which will make the bill very high. Do you know that ? ”

“ I know it very well. Everything will be paid.”

“ He is a strange man, that young American man. I do not understand him.”

“ As you say, Santo Yorikichi, he is strange, and probably it is not worth while trying to understand him. Therefore, the less we say about him, the better for us all. But everything will be paid, and if he does not return to take the boat, I shall know what to do with it. So I hope you are satisfied.”

“ No, I am not at all satisfied,” he retorted. " There is my wife. She has been sick for a week, and the house is going to destruction.”

“ Pardon me, she has been sick only two days ; which I know particularly well, because I am her doctor. As to the house, it is, as usual, the neatest and cleanliest house in the empire of the Rising Sun.”

“ Why should she be sick, even for two days ? It is the most ridiculous thing.”

“ Of course, of course, Santo ; sickness is always a ridiculous thing. You were sick yourself, you know, desperately sick, not very long ago, and nothing could be more ridiculous than you were then.”

The cross-grained fellow gave no other response than one of his comprehensive grunts, charged, in his estimation, with as much meaning as a nod of the approved Lord Burleigh pattern. On this occasion it appeared to signify that while it might be perfectly legitimate and defensible that men should sometimes fail and droop in health, no justification could be pleaded for similar eccentricity on the part of women.

“ Well, she is sick, Santo ; and she must have rest and change of some sort. Don’t interrupt me ; I say she must. Now I know a party that is going to Hakone and thereabout, and Yone can go with them. She talks English excellently.”

“ And what good is that to me ? ” said this pillar of contumacy.

“ Why, she will be paid, no doubt ; you know she always is.”

“ I know she is not paid much, and I know she always wants half the money for children’s reading-books, or medicine for strangers.”

“ This time,” I urged, “ she shall have double payment ; and I guarantee that she shall not ask for more than one third of the money, for the frivolous and unwarrantable purposes which you mention.”

“ I do not understand,” he persisted, “ why you all make so much disturbance about my wife. Look at the American miss, — what is it to her ? I might be on my back several tens of weeks, and nobody would be anxious for me, or cross the Sumida to inquire.”

“ You are entirely wrong, Santo, my friend ; it is undoubtedly out of respect to you that so many persons are interested in your wife. And you should consider that you might, indeed, fall ill again. What would happen to you, in that case ? Yone is in no condition to take care of you, as she did before. On your own account, you had better let her go and get well.”

“ There is reason in that. I do not altogether like it, but I will let her go. I should get no good of her, any way, lying idle there,” he grunted, in what might be the tone of a deeply injured and reluctantly resigned bear.

XXI.

AMONG THE WOODS AND MOUNTAINS.

The party of which I had spoken, in a sudden inspiration, was intended to consist of no others than Miss Gibson, Yone, and myself. I found less difficulty in putting it into practical shape than I had expected, since Miss Gibson was not sorry to have a reason for abruptly leaving her associates without apparent ill-will, and Yone needed no persuasions to cause her to cling with tender affection to the first friend of her sex, and proximately near her age, whom she had ever known.

In the lovely groves and valleys which lie at the base of the Hakone hills, my poor child passed the first hours of peaceful and unbroken enjoyment she had ever known. Miss Gibson, too, was delighted with her new companion, and set herself to playing a semi-maternal part with immense enthusiasm. For a beginning, she insisted that Yone should lay aside the garments of her people, as being cumbersome and ill suited to intricate sylvan explorations, and invested her with a loose robe of her own ; protesting that the transformation was in the highest degree improving. Convenient it certainly was, but harmoniously becoming it did not appear to me, until the progressive American wrought a more complete change by abolishing the elaborate capillary structure which surmounted her friend’s head. Intending at first to replace this by a foreign coiffure, she was restrained by the sight of Yone’s descending rush of dark hair, which fell quite to her knees, and enveloped her like a mantle. Then the decree went forth that, during the country sojourn at least, the wavy mass should flow loose and unconfined, without subjection to any of the fetters of an artificial civilization.

“ Now, Yone,” said Miss Gibson, “at last you are a pretty girl.”

Yone accepted the eulogy with demure complacency. She had received similar assurances, on various occasions, from the same source, so that the value of the qualification implied by the words “ at last ” was not distinctly apparent. She was always pleased that those whom she liked should think her pretty. As a rule, she was not much interested in the question of her personal appearance. The women of Japan, for various reasons, give less heed to such matters than their sex in Western communities. The trivial consideration she had bestowed upon the subject probably led her to the conclusion that she was not, in strict truth, especially comely. It is next to certain that she had never been told so by any of her own race ; and, indeed, the style which belonged to her was not at all in accordance with the Japanese traditional type of beauty. Even her hair, which just now called forth Miss Gibson’s encomium, was slightly curly, — a defect which any Japanese girl who wishes to think well of herself will employ all sorts of expedients to remove. And it was not densely black, as it should have been by the native standard, but in certain lights exhibited the reddish under-tinge which so often puzzles foreign observers. As to her features and the outlines of her face, she conceived that it was necessary only to compare them with the ideals of feminine loveliness depicted by skilled Japanese artists, to discover that her endowments were not of a kind to merit approbation. On the other hand, she knew that her friends from afar must find some quality of fairness in her, as otherwise they would not put themselves to the trouble of saying so ; and she was frankly gratified that anything about her was attractive to them. If we really liked it, she would be delighted to wear Marian’s dress, and let her hair swing free, until we should return to regions where conventional propriety exercised its critical sway.

It was with no superficial purpose that Miss Gibson desired to effect these changes of external appearance. She wished to make use of every expedient by which the afflicted girl’s thoughts might be turned from the channels in which they had recently run, and to divert her, by various devices, from the contemplation of her past identity. The energies of the zealous American were presently devoted to awakening new interests in Yone’s mind, and persuading her to look upon pure recreation and amusement as entitled to occasional consideration. In course of time she succeeded in developing a sense of humor in her companion, who, I presume, had never in her life before emitted a hearty laugh, and who, being incited thereto by her instructress, first fell into reflective astonishment at finding herself capable of such demonstrative mirth, and subsequently yielded unreservedly to the merry contagion, her voice ringing lightly through the woods, like the soft-toned bell-bird of the Japanese wilds.

But she could not be led to forego entirely the pursuits for which nature seemed to have designed her. Wherever we wandered, she found means of making herself acquainted with objects upon which to lavish thoughtful and kindly attention. Many of her busiest hours were passed in the village schools, and there was scarcely an afternoon when she was not called upon to administer solace to invalid pilgrims, who were quite as eager to secure a listener to the recital of their woes as to submit themselves to the healing influences of the baths. As we made the round of the watering-places, it was not long before Yone came to be regarded as the informal adviser and consoler of each little sojourning community ; and I was sometimes under the necessity of organizing excursive expeditions, solely to get her beyond the range of the popular sanitary resorts, and to free her from importunities which she was wholly incapable of resisting.

The days went blithely by, and we saw with delight that as our patient gathered bodily vigor and animation, her spirits rose to an even placidity which encouraged us in bright hopes for the future. I think that she was more clearly aware of our solicitude than we then supposed, and that some part of the vivacity which gratified us may have been assumed ; but that was all to her advantage, in a way, since the consciousness of affording pleasure was sure to act upon her as a direct restorative. She enlivened our intervals of rest and leisure, often making them exuberantly merry by describing her personal adventures among the rustic populace and her interviews with health-seeking tourists, whose selfish garrulity did not by any means impose upon her good sense, though she was always tolerant of even their imaginary tribulations. Sometimes she had matter of graver interest with which to entertain us, for the region in which we traveled was rich in historical associations, and enabled her to recall many a tale of mediæval gallantry and daring. With all her gentleness, she was not insensible to the warlike glory which was once the revelry of her race, and the flash of her eye, the thrill of her voice, as she repeated the ancient legends of heroism and devotion, told us that in the depths of her quiet little spirit there were still some sparks of the fire that had burned in the souls of her ancestors.

While in the vein of martial reminiscence, she narrated, one evening, as we sat in the garden of an old inn at Dogashima, the story which for nearly three hundred years had been the pride of her family, and in which the valorous traditions of her forefathers had culminated. Through many centuries the house of Yamada had held conspicuous rank, its foundation and rise being authentically recorded in the remote ages preceding Nara. It was from an offshoot of this ancient stock that our Yone was directly descended. Her own pedigree dated from the memorable battle of Sekigahara, in 1600, when the privilege of creating a new line was conferred upon a cadet of the name, in reward for an act of precocious bravery. The Yamada of that day, a captain of prowess, on setting out at nightfall for the field upon which the fortunes of the illustrious chieftain Iyeyasu were to be finally established, left his youngest son at a village hard by, in charge of the few retainers who could be spared from the coming engagement. The lad had pleaded for permission to follow and observe the conflict, if he might not join in it ; but his tender years — he was but thirteen — forbade the expectation that he could possibly be of service, and made it probable that his presence would be an incumbrance. His entreaties were disregarded, but as a solace to his disappointment he was authorized to proceed cautiously, on the following day, starting after the noon meal, to a point at which he might hope to meet his sire, returning victorious.

In the early hours of the eventful morning, the neighborhood was excited by divergent rumors from the scene of strife, but as the sun ascended reports of unvaried disaster began to spread dismay among the adherents of the Tokugawa champion. When these grew more darkly ominous, the child’s anxiety became uncontrollable. With all his youthful energy he urged the little body of attendants to anticipate the time of departure, and to advance with him at once to the fighting-ground. Their inclination was as keen as his own, but the word of the master was their law, and they dared not to stir. Still the portentous tidings continued to expand, until, in desperation, the boy flung out reproaches and taunts, accusing his loyal servitors of selfish indifference, and inflaming them with vehement appeals to the loftier sense of honor, beside which the merit of tame obedience was a dull and spiritless virtue. He pictured their lord in an extremity of peril from which a single bold stroke might rescue him, and warned them that if calamity should result from their inaction the shame would rest upon them and their memory forever. At last his passionate prayers prevailed. Mounting their horses in haste, they rode forth with shouts of fierce acclamation ; and long before the tide of combat had finally turned, the chivalrous stripling had led them to the heart of the fray, where, with a silent obeisance, he placed his small reserve at his father’s disposal.

The relief came at a critical moment, when the strength of half a dozen fresh men-at-arms was eagerly welcomed. An hour later, the enemies of Iyeyasu were flying in disorder to their strongholds, and numbers of his officers were directing the division of the spoils, and distributing rewards among their deserving followers. In the centre of a sombre group stood Yamada, his countenance wearing an expression of sorrowful dejection, in place of the proud exultation that had lighted it in the moment of triumph. Before him knelt his son and the four survivors of the party who had come to aid him in his greatest need. To them he owed perhaps his life, and assuredly the augmented glory which the issue of that day would bring to his house. But the rule of domestic discipline was not less rigorous, in that stern age, than the military law which governed public actions. Both had been violated when the paternal injunction was set at naught. The fame of the youthful hero and his gallant band would descend to the latest generations, but their bodies must be sacrificed to the immutable decree. They had known, even while starting upon their errand of devotion, that, whatever service they might render their master, they were riding to their own doom. Death thus encountered, and inflicted by their own hands, had no terror for them. It was inevitable, and they asked only for authority to immolate themselves upon the field of valor, that their renown might be mingled everlastingly with that of the mighty victory. Already the swords were bared, when a messenger dashed into the circle, bringing orders from the supreme commander to arrest the proceedings. Seated on his camp-chair, at a little distance, and exchanging pleasantries with the nobles, as was his habit after each successful contest, the conqueror of all Japan had caught the story as it flew from mouth to mouth, and, with the impulsive generosity that nobly distinguished his character, resolved to interpose his fiat against the exaction of a penalty which, though demanded by conventional usage, he had the undoubted power to remit. At his command the harsh ordinance was suspended, and it was proclaimed that the four samurai should be held guiltless of the sin of insubordination ; while the daring boy was further distinguished, after the manner of the times, by the award of a separate crest, and by elevation to independent knighthood. From this incident sprang the secondary branch of the family, whose sole remaining representative was now our gentle friend.

“ Look at her ! ” cried Miss Gibson, as Yone stood erect in the moonlight, her whole bearing animated in an unusual degree by the emotions which her recital had kindled. “ Look at her ! She wants only a suit of armor to be the living image of the young cavalier, I do believe.”

“ You must not say that,” Yone objected, in a tone from which all the vibrant resonance was suddenly banished, and smiling in deprecation. “ I am only a woman.”

“ Only a woman, indeed ! And what am I, madam, if you please ? ”

“ You, Marian ? Oh, it is different. You are an American. If I were like you ” —

“ Listen to her, doctor,” laughed the cheerful Bostonian ; “ it sounds vastly like ambition, that little ‘ if.’ The world is moving swiftly in this part of Asia.”

“ Ambition,” repeated Yone, softly, — “ may such a word be spoken by a Japanese girl ? ”

“ Why not, my dear, — why not by you as well as by me ? ”

“ Can you ask that ? If I felt in my heart the wish to rise a little from the earth, how could I ever do it ? You do not know, but I think the doctor has sometimes guessed — for he sees everything that is in me — that I have had my foolish dreams, my pictures of a real life, perhaps a useful life. Yes, I have thought what it must be to feel truly free, to have the right to be fearless, to look for a path of noble action and try to walk in it. You will not chide me, Marian ; I know it is only my wandering, vain fancy. You would not tell it to anybody.”

Understanding her character and her present needs better than her new companion, I took to myself the privilege of intruding.

“ Who can say ? ” I suggested, in a matter-of-fact strain. “ Your chance might come, some day. If you wait patiently, we may find a way for you to do something of the kind you wish.”

“ Why, doctor, I shall be provoked at you ! ” exclaimed Miss Gibson, impetuously. “ What is she doing now, from morning till night, wherever she goes ? ”

“ Playing, surely,” said Yone, opening her big eyes. “ I think of nothing but to enjoy myself, all the day long.”

“ Playing, you dear child ! ” responded Miss Gibson. “ Oh, Yone, I would be more than content if my whole existence were made up of such play as yours.”

“ Yone is all right,” I interjected ; “ she has her fashion of amusing herself, and she is satisfied, I presume. She will have to be satisfied while we are here, for there shall be no hard work if I can prevent it.”

But now our patient chose to be afflicted with compunctions.

“ No, Marian, it is not fair,” she protested. “ How can you speak so of yourself ? Think of where you are, and what you are here for. You have come thousands of miles from your American home to labor for the good of strangers, who can offer you nothing in return, and who hardly know how to thank you. It is beautiful to do that. No woman of my country can have such happiness.”

She reflected a moment, during which we said nothing.

“ I am sure it must be a happiness,” she continued. “ Why should so many come, if it is not their best pleasure to bring wisdom and learning from distant lands, and plant them among our people ? And to give all so graciously, — what is there more noble in the world ? ”

I did not care to oppose her, and it was not easy to acquiesce in these ardent eulogies, so I bethought me of Santo’s inarticulate vocabulary, and, borrowing his method, evaded responsibility by grunting, — a form of expression not at all satisfactory to Miss Gibson, who turned upon me with vivacity.

“ If it gratifies her to believe so,” she remonstrated, “ why should we seek to harden her ? For my part, I am thankful that she is willing to shut her eyes to unpleasant things.”

“ As you like,” I replied, not in the most lenient humor. “ Let us make a Juggernaut of the entire foreign system, and prostrate ourselves before it. How many would you wish to see crushed ? ”

Miss Gibson perceived that further discussion would vex me, and was considerately disposed to abandon the topic ; but Yone’s mind had long been overcharged, and, with a fervor which betrayed itself in the unsteadiness of her utterance, she presently broke the silence, addressing her words more directly to me.

“ It grieves me,” she said, " that any troubles of mine should cause my best friends to differ, even in the smallest trifle. I would far rather have them all forgotten. Nothing would make me speak of them but the fear that they are too harshly remembered by you who care so much for me. It is not right or respectful to set my judgment against that of one who has been my teacher and protector since childhood, and I should not dare to do it in any case ; but as he is always indulgent, he will let me ask if it may not be that his generous affection — which is the most precious of all his gifts — makes him more pitiful to me than he is just to others. These are bold things to say ; I am not used to be so forward. Do I displease you, doctor ? ”

“ No, child, no,” I answered ; “ but this is holiday time. I wish you would bear that in mind.”

“ If I do not displease you,” she resumed, “ I hope I may tell you how I feel. It seems that you mean never to forgive those persons who have been ruthless to me ; that your anger will not die, but burns stronger every day. And I am the cause. If it were another who had been unkindly treated, you would not be so unrelenting.”

“ Come, Yone,” I expostulated ; “ if we must talk about them, let us keep within reason. There is no justice in straining charity so far as to cover the misdeeds of the Philipsons. That is my conviction, at any rate. You ’ll not expect me to overlook what they have done.”

“ That is not to be expected, truly,” she admitted. “ Have I not said that I should enter their house no more ? It is a great support, it gives me courage and strength, that you do not overlook what they have done to me ; and if I ever ceased to be grateful I should not be fit to live. But I am only one. Though they did indeed harm me, they have helped others. Many I know whom they have sheltered, and fed, and taught ; lifting them from ignorance and wretchedness ; nursing them when they were sick ; saving them from suffering, sometimes from disgrace. Shall I make myself blind to what has been done for them ? I look often with great wonder at those ladies, and all like them, who come across the oceans to offer comfort and knowledge and happiness to our poor and humble. You have no need to wonder, you and Marian, for you also are here for the same purpose. It is not marvelous in your sight, but it fills me with amazement and reverence. They may make mistakes ; oh, yes, who is there that can be always sure of doing right ? I am not likely to forget what has happened to me, but you would be the first to reprove me if I denied the charities and the blessings that they have lavished upon the children of my people. And yet you will acknowledge none of them now, because I have been hurt. It is as if I were to blame.”

“ I could answer you in many ways,” I rejoined ; “ but you are an obstinate infant, and I might never convince you. Certainly I shall not permit you to convince me. Cruelty is too ugly a thing for me to countenance or commend.”

“ Doctor, are you quite fair to me ? ” she pleaded. “ That is so much more than I have ever said or thought. To commend cruelty ! I do not know what it means. But for many actions that cannot be commended it is possible to find excuses, — to explain them in ways which make us judge them less severely. I do not wish to oppose you. It is not becoming that I should doubt anything you tell me, but you must let me believe that those who seem to show too little feeling for others are often moved by their ideas of duty, and not by a desire to cause injury or pain.”

“ Oh, if you reason on that line, you can trace most of the crimes of history to false doctrines of duty.”

“ I have heard so ; and does not that take from them their worst sinfulness ? If duty governs, perhaps there is no crime. The wickedness should be in the intention.”

“ We know pretty well what wickedness is, Yone, and we can recognize suffering when we feel it or see it. I shall not tolerate the notion of a duty that goes against my honest convictions.”

“ If all people could be of one mind, it would be plain and simple,” she proceeded. “ The laws are so unlike in different cases. Yet if we may not trust the sense of duty that is strong within us, what is to be our guide ? There was Miura Kitasaburo. I did not tell you about him, the story was growing so long. He was the leader of the little guard that remained with my ancestor, and who left the place where he was ordered to remain. Will you listen to what befell him ? ”

We cried out against the suppression of any part of the romantic legend, and Yone then went on to relate the sequel : —

“ Miura was a hardy soldier, and had followed the flag of lyeyasu through many wars. He was famed for his loyalty, and it was the habit of his companions to measure their constancy by his example. His friends boasted that he had never suffered a rebuke, and that, of all the retainers of Yamada, he was known as one whose faith had been as spotless as his sword and as unswerving as the thrust of his lance. Until he rode, that morning, to Sekigahara, his face had never turned from the line of strict obedience, and for the first time his courage fell as he advanced to meet his chief, who received him with words of flaming anger, casting reproofs at him for bringing the last son of the house into deadly peril, from which it might happen that the proud family name would be blotted from the roll of living samurai. ‘ To you, Kitasaburo,’he cried, ‘I gave the keeping of my hopes for future ages ; and you have betrayed me ! ’ Then Miura knew that his honor could be redeemed only by a solemn and terrible expiation. He fought with strength and skill, and all men saw that his arm was mighty in hastening the hour of victory. With a heart free from care, and eager to repair the fault that had been charged upon him, he made ready to offer his life in atonement, knowing that he would thus regain the favor of his lord, and win back his place in the world’s esteem. When the command of great Iyeyasu came, relieving him and his comrades from the penalty, forbidding them to shed their blood, and declaring them free from guilt, he alone displayed no satisfaction. He stood apart, like one bearing a weight too heavy for mortal endurance. Throughout the afternoon he moved as if in a dark dream, — joyless, oppressed with gloom. At the moment of his expected doom his face had shone with cheerfulness and content, and it was only when the fatal decree was set aside that his spirit drooped and languished. For an hour, perhaps more, he disappeared into seclusion ; then as the day was about to end, he came to the front of his captain’s tent, and kneeling, with his eyes turned to the setting sun, he bowed his head, and swiftly passed from this earth, to join the brotherhood of stainless warriors whose renown could be dimmed by no breath of reproach, and whose glory would last unsullied so long as uprightness and fidelity should claim the homage of mankind. It was an act of rare nobleness, judged by the unflinching precepts of those days. Iyeyasu himself came to gaze upon the body, and the tradition says that tears were on his cheeks as he stood speechless beside it, for his soul was touched at the proof of such true manliness, — as it was then regarded. A scroll was found fastened to the dead man’s sword, upon which, in accordance with the practice on these grave occasions, he had written his last words, in poetic measure. The lines have not the form of Western verse, but this is their meaning : —

Thus, in giving up his existence, the sturdy soldier left to his descendants a legacy which they have never ceased to cherish as their most glorious possession. The name of Yanaada, which is my title to respect in my own province, had no surer foundation of merit than that of the more lowly born clansmen who served our house through all the years of peace, until the great earthquake of change came, a little after my birth-time, and the old ties of fellowship and vassalage were destroyed. While the feudal beliefs lingered, it was a custom in our part of Owari to connect my family with the remembrances of daring bravery which belonged to the past ; and Miura’s was associated with the sentiment of staunch and steadfast duty.”

“ Thank you for the tale, Yone,” I said, when she had finished. “ These recollections of old Japan give us plenty of matter for meditation. Are we to apply the moral to suit ourselves ? ”

“ It is only that the influence of duty is too powerful for any of us to resist. In the sight of foreigners the conduct of Miura would seem extravagant and strained, and even among my countrymen the spirit which prompted it is said to be fading away. Nevertheless, it was the highest chivalry three centuries ago, and it will be long before the principle is wholly forgotten. The message which the faithful samurai left did much to mould the character of those who succeeded him. The sword, which they have sacredly guarded, has been their symbol of integrity and devotion. I have myself known them to put it to fearful uses, in preservation of the family honor. No one has questioned the motives of their acts, and no suspicion of an unworthy purpose has fallen upon them, yet I have heard them condemned for carrying their convictions of what is right and needful to tragical extremities. I am an ignorant child ; I have moved in narrow circles ; my experience has no value. I can only think, and think again. I, too, must hearken to the bidding of my conscience, and submit to its instructions. Then, tell me, am I to say that others whom I meet in my little world are less honest, or true, or sincere than I ? Would you be content with me if this were my belief ? Dear doctor, you are learned and wise, and I look to you for the laws that rule my life ; but it will be an affliction if you gainsay me in this, for I do not feel that I can here be wrong.”

Her voice fell as she uttered these last words, and, for many minutes after, no sound but the gathering murmurs of the autumn night followed her pleading, tremulous tones. I did not attempt to answer her ; I could not. The faint rustle of the forest trees, the ripple of hurrying streams, the hum of the busy insects, the plaintive breathing of the winds, all the intense and thrilling whispers of the wilderness, seemed, in my softened imagination, to echo and prolong the tender human appeal with touching and persuasive eloquence. Miss Gibson, who had taken but little part in the conversation, rose without speaking, and folded her companion’s slender figure in her arms. It was with a strange mingling of emotions that I at length roused myself to give the reply which was awaited.

“ Let it pass, Yone. If I think you are wrong I shall not try to change you. Your own way is the best — for you ; and for me it does not matter. Follow your way, my dear, while you can. All I wish is that you shall be happy. You know that we depend upon that a great deal, Miss Gibson and I. You must not lead yourself into excitement and worry, — that disturbs me. You are discomposed because you fear I am tempted to be revengeful with the Philipsons. Well, I promise that I will do nothing in revenge, either on your account or mine. That ought to satisfy you ; and, in return, you will drive away all your anxious thoughts as quickly and completely as you can.”

She came and knelt by my side.

“ I was afraid, dear doctor, that I had made you offended with me, and now you are more kind than ever before. I think no other woman in the world has had such friends as I have, in you and Marian.”

“ When I first met Dr. Charwell,” said Miss Gibson, in little broken fragments of phrases, striving with very imperfect success to be firm and coherent, “ when he told me of you, Yone, what you were, what I should find in you, what I should learn from you, I did not dream how speedily and surely his prophecy would be fulfilled. He has been ray best friend, too, in this land, for he has given me you, to love me better than I deserve, and to be loved with all my humble heart, my own true darling.”

E. H. House .