In the other wing are Japan productions four hundred years old, showin'
the state of the country when Columbus sot out to discover their
country; for it wuz stories of a wonderful island--most probable
Japan--that wuz one thing that influenced Columbus strong.
In the main buildin' are sights and sights of goods from Japan at the
present day.
All of the north part of the island is a marvellous show of their skill
and ingenuity in landscape gardenin', and dwarf trees, and the wonderful
garden effects for which they are noted.
They make a present of the temple and all of these horticultural works
to Chicago.
To remain always a ornament of Jackson Park, which I call very pretty in
'em.
Take it all together, the exhibits of Japan are about as interesting as
that of any country of the globe.
In some things they go ahead of us fur. Now in some of their
meetin'-houses I am told they don't have much of anything but a
lookin'-glass a-hangin', to show the duty and neccessity of lookin' at
your own sins.
To set for a hour and a half and examine your own self and meditate on
your own shortcomin's.
How useful and improvin' that would be if used--as it ort to be--in
Jonesville or Chicago!
But still the world would call it queer.
I leaned up hard on that thought, and wuz carried safe through all the
queer sights I see there.
I see quite a number of the Japans there, pretty, small-bonded folks,
with faces kinder yellowish brown, dark eyes sot considerable fur back
in their heads, their noses not Romans by any means--quite the
reverse--and their hair glossy and dark, little hands and feet. Some on
'em wuz dressed like Jonesvillians, but others had their queer-shaped
clothin', and dretful ornamental. Josiah wuz bound to have a sack
embroidered like one of theirn, and some wooden shoes, and caps with
tossels--he thought they wuz dressy--and he wanted some big sleeves that
he could use as a pocket; and then sez he--
"To have shoes that have a separate place for the big toe, what a boon
for that dum old corn on that toe of mine that would be!"
But I frowned on the idee; but sez he--
"If you mind the expense, I could take one of your old short night-gowns
and color it black, and set some embroidery onto it. I could cut some
figgers out of creton--it wouldn't be much work. Why," sez he, "I could
pin 'em on--no, dum it all," sez he, "I couldn't set down in it, but I
could glue 'em on."
But I sez, "If you want to foller the Japans I could tell you a custom
of theirn, and I would give ten cents willin'ly to see you foller it."
"What is that?" sez he, ready, as I could see, to ornament himself, or
shave his hair, or dress up his big toe, or anything.
But I sez, "It is their politeness, Josiah Allen."
"I'd be a dum fool if I wuz in your place," sez he. "What do I want to
foller 'em for? I am polite, and always wuz."
I looked coldly at him, and sez I--
"Japans wouldn't call their wives a dum fool no quicker than they would
take their heads off."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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