Japan -- History -- Meiji period, 1868-1912 -- Fiction
You must forgive me if the letters have been few and far between
lately. After my little "wobble" I plunged into work with might and
main, and I am still at it for all I am worth. First I house-cleaned,
and the old place must certainly be surprised at its transformation.
Fresh curtains, new paper, cozy window seats, and bright cushions have
made a vast difference. Then I tackled the kindergarten, and the
result is about the prettiest thing in Japan. The room is painted
white with buff walls and soft muslin curtains, the only decoration
being a hundred blessed babies, in gay little kimonas, who look like
big bunches of flowers placed in a wreath upon the floor.
As for my training class, I have no words to express my
gratification. I can scarcely believe that the fine, capable, earnest
young women that are going out to all parts of Japan to start new
Kindergartens, are the timid, giggling, dependent little creatures
that came to me four years ago.
Goodness knows I was as immature in my way as they were in theirs, but
in my desperate need, I builded better than I knew. I recklessly
followed your advice and hitched my little go-cart to a star, and the
star turned into a meteor and is now whizzing through space getting
bigger and stronger all the time, and I am tied on to the end of it
unable to stop it or myself.
If I only had more sense and more ability, think what I might have
done!
The work at the hospital is still very heavy. The wards are bare and
repellant and the days are long and dreary for the sick men. We do all
we can to cheer them up, have phonograph concerts, magic lantern
shows, with the magic missing, and baby organ recitals. The results
are often ludicrous, but the appreciation of the men for our slightest
effort is so hearty that it more than repays us.
I saw one man yesterday who had gone crazy on the battlefield. He
looked like a terror stricken animal afraid of everybody, and hiding
under the sheet at the slightest approach. When I came in he cowered
back against the wall shaking from head to foot. I put a big bunch of
flowers on the bed, and in a flash his hands were stretched out for
them, and a smile came to his lips. After that whenever I passed the
door, he would shout out, "Arigato! Arigato!" which the nurse said was
the first sign of sanity he had shown.
In the next room was a man who had fallen from a mast on one of the
flag ships. He had landed full on his face and the result was too
fearful to describe. The nurse said he could not live through the
night so I laid my flowers on his bed and was slipping out when he
called to me. His whole head was covered with bandages except his
mouth and one eye, and I had to lean down very close to understand
what he said. What do you suppose he wanted? To look at my hat!! He
had never seen one before and he was just like a child in his
curiosity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account