Volume II Part 22 (2/2)

As for ht of foreign faces and the hearing of English voices Not quite happy, though--I am alorried for the future I drew the lots of the Gods: they replied yesterday at Kiyomizu in Holy Kyoto: ”All you wish you shall have, but not until you are very old” H'm! Is that Delphic? Can I beco of Lafcadio It signifies only ”First of the Excellent,” or ”Best of the Peerless Ones,” but it does serve for both purposes to the i, all the diue sensations of my own childhood seem to come back to me I comprehend by unexpected retrospection!

My eye is not yet quite well But I expect it will last for some years more

Best thanks for that admirable and timely letter of advice Of course I shall follow it absolutely Wish I had the advantage of being closer to my loved adviser,--for more reasons than one

L H

TO PAGE M BAKER

KOBE, April, 1895

DEAR PAGE,--I paid 35c postage the other day on a huge envelope the superscription whereof filled my soul with joy I know it is mean to mention the 35c; but I do this on purpose,--that Ithe envelope I found a very dear letter, for which I arateful,--_and two pieces of pasteboard, for which I arateful at all_ The promised photo had never been put into the envelope,--only the envelope,--only the pasteboards The two envelopes had never been opened And the why and the wherefore of the thing I a the paper to kue of address, I suppose that you siot in both cases

About the little japanese dress Now the irl's dress is much more co Do you wish for a winter, spring, summer, or autumn dress?--for these are quite necessary distinctions Do you wish for a holiday dress?--a ceremonial dress?--an every-day dress? The winter cereood family is very expensive, for it consists of silk skirt, _koshi+maki_ (body under-petticoat), and four or five heavily wadded silk robes one over the other,--with _obi_, etc The _obi_ is the most costly part of the dress--ht to cost at least 20 The suet a suit for about (yen) 60-70 Of course, no suits are ready-irdle worked up To tie the girdle will be difficult,--unless a japanese shows you the method

If you want only a common cotton suit, which is very, very pretty, it would be quite cheap But I suppose you want the fashi+onable dress, and that is as dear as you care to pay Prices e up into the hundreds Boys' dresses--even winter dresses--are not so dear, but my little fellow's cere the adjuncts Boys' soft _obi_ cost, however, only 3 or 4 yen; and girls' _obi_ five or six tieta_ could scarcely be ed by a Western child The straw sandal (_zori_), with velvet thong, is easy and pleasant to wear I have heard of _silk tabi_, but never saw any, and I think they are worn only by _geisha_, etc White cotton _tabi_ are the prettiest; and I have heard that white silk _tabi_ never look really white,--so the coloured _tabi_ would be better in silk But everybody wears the white cotton _tabi_, and nothing could be prettier than a little foot in this cleft envelope

The colours of the dress of a girl are hter than those of boys'

dresses; but they change every additional year of the girl's life They are covered with designs, generally syless to Western eyes The finest textures used--crape--silk, etc--shrink and suffer i; for such dresses as you would want are not worn every day--nor at school or in play

You see the subject is really very complex, and requires years to learn much about Only a native in any case can be relied on for choice, etc The suits of ”japanese clothes” usually bought by foreigners in japan, to take honers, and are not japanese at all--no japanese would wear them

For the man as for the woman the rules of dress are very strict, and vary precisely according to the age of the wearer

For a little girl two years old, you would not need a _hakairls, and are usually sky-blue They are not, like the men's fashi+onable _hakah official ot for about 40 (A all costs), unless you want a winter dress It would be very heavy, and likely to make the little one too warm, for this climate is not like that of New Orleans The chief cost is the _obi_,--the broad stiff heavy silk girdle

Thanks for the sweet things you said about er than your little angel by four or five ht Trust a mother's eye to decide all such probles you can to Mrs Baker for her kindest e

LAFCADIO HEARN

P S What you wrote about Constance is very beautiful No man can possibly knohat lifemeans, until he has a child and loves it And then the whole universe changes,--and nothing will ever again seem exactly as it seemed before

TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN

KOBE, May, 1895

DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--I received your kind letter shortly after returning fro in an old samurai _yashi+ki_ transformed into a hotel

I a you; and indeed I should sincerely advise you to get away fro for so how nified in the matter of personal kindness under such circuh you will not be sorry to hear that you er,” sent to H M & Co towards the construction of a new book now under way