d in
the place. Why, sometimes one hull side of their housen would be made
of a mat of braided bamboo. Bamboo is used by them for food, shelter,
war implements, medicine, musical instruments, and everything else.
Their housen wuz made in Japan, and brung over here and set up by native
workmen. They have thatched ruffs and kinder open-work sides, dretful
curious-lookin', and on the wide porticos of these housen little native
wimmen set and embroider, and wind skeins of gay-colored cotton, and
play with their little brown black-eyed babies.

The costumes of the Japanese look dretful curious to us; their loose
gay-colored robes and turbans, and sandals, etc., look jest as strange
as Josiah's pantaloons and hat, and my bask waist duz to them, I spoze.

They're a pleasant little brown people, always polite--that is learnt
'em as regular as any other lesson. Then there is another thing that our
civilized race could learn of the heathen ones.

Missionaries that we send out to teach the heathen let their own
children sass 'em and run over 'em. That is the reason that they act so
sassy when they're growed up. Politeness ort to be learnt young, even if
it has to be stomped in with spanks.

The Japanese are a child-like people easily pleased, easily
grieved--laughin' and cryin' jest like children.

They work all day, not fast enough to hurt 'em, and at nightfall they go
out and play all sorts of native games.

That's a good idee. I wish that Jonesvillians would foller it. You'd
much better be shootin' arrers from blowpipes than to blow round and jaw
your household. And you'd much better be runnin' a foot race than
runnin' your neighbors.

They've got a theatre where they perform their native dances and plays,
and one man sets behind a curtain and duz all the conversation for all
the actors. I spoze he changes his voice some for the different folks.

Wall, I led Josiah off towards the church, where all the articles of
furniture is a big bamboo chair, where the priest sets and meditates
when he thinks his people needs his thought.

I d'no but it helps 'em some, if he thinks hard enough--thoughts are
dretful curious things, anyway.

Josiah and I took considerable comfort a-wanderin' round and seein' all
we could, and noticin' how kind o' turned round things wuz from
Jonesville idees.

Now, they had some queer-lookin' little store-housen, and for all the
world they opened at the top instead of the sides, to keep the snake