s
out of the rice in their native land, so they said.

Josiah wuz jest crazy to have one made like it.

"Why," sez he, "think of the safety on't, Samantha! Who'd ever think of
goin' into a corn house on top if they wanted to steal some corn?"

But I sez, "Foreign customs have got to be adopted with megumness,
Josiah Allen." Sez I, "With your rumatiz, how would you climb up on't a
dozen times a day?"

He hadn't thought of that, and he gin up the idee.

Then the ideal figger of the Japanese wimmen is narrer shoulders and big
waist.

And though I hailed the big waist joyfully, I drawed the line at the
narrer shoulders.

They have long poles about their housen, with holes bored in 'em,
through which the wind blows with a mournful sort of a voice, and they
think that that noise skairs away evil sperits.

When they come here each of their little verandas had a cage with a
sacred bird in it to coax the good sperits; they all died off, and now
they've got some pigens for 'em, and made 'em think that they wuz sacred
birds.

And Josiah, as he see 'em, instinctively sez, "Dum 'em, I'd ruther have
the evil sperits themselves round than them pigens, any time."

He hates 'em, and I spoze they do pull up seeds considerable.

Them Japanese wimmen are dretful cheerful-lookin', and Josiah and I
talked about it considerable.

Sez Josiah, "It's queer when, accordin' to their belief, a man's horse
can go to Heaven, but their wives can't; but the minute they leave this
world another celestial wife meets him, and he and his earth wife parts
forever. It is queer," sez he, "how under them circumstances that the
wimmen can look so happy."

And I sez, "It can't be that they hail anhialation as a welcome rest
from married life, can it?"

Josiah acted mad, and sez he, "I'd be a fool if I wuz in your place!"

And bein' kinder mad, he snapped out, "Them wimmen don't look as if they
knew much more than monkeys; compared to American wimmen, it's a sight."

But I sez, "You can't always tell by looks, Josiah Allen." Sez I, "As
small as they be, they've showed some of the greatest qualities since
they've been here--Constancy, Fidelity, Love."

Now one of them females lost a baby while she wuz here. Did she act as
some of our fashionable American wimmen do? No. They own twenty Saritoga
trunks, and wear their entire contents, but they do, as is well known,
commit crime to evade the cares of motherhood.

But this little woman right her