Volume II Part 24 (1/2)

(The as beautiful in its way, of course, but the way!) After all, it seems to me that japanese life is essentially chaste: its ideals are chaste I can feel now exactly how a japanese feels about certain foreign tendencies I know all about japanese picture-books of a certain class--innocent things in their very frankness: there is more real evil, or at least more moral weakness in any number of certain French public prints It strikes me also that the charm even of the _joro_ to the japaneseShe figures siraces cultivated in her, and the costume donned, are those of an ideal past

The aniestions of whole exposures is not any hty picture-books were intended for i of catechis a Buddhist catechism of a somewhat fantastic sort

”How old are you?”

”I am millions of millions of years old, as a phenomenon As absolute I am eternal and older than the universe,” etc

Faithfully ever, LAFCADIO HEARN

TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK

KOBE, Septe every day for the sanction of the e my name; and I think it will co the personal and faht clouds” is theof ”Yakumo,” and is the first part of the e (You will find the whole story in ”Gliaki”) Well, ”Yakumo” is a poetical alternative for Izu of Clouds” You will understand how the naed to return to America, I shall next year probably return to Izu as I can travel in winter, I need not care about the weather When h, if I live, I shall take hiive hies if possible, no waste of time on Latin, Greek, and stupidities (Literature and history can be best learned at horeatest land or Aht turn out to be very coed; but I suspect he will not be stupid He says, by the way, that he was a doctor in his former birth It is quite possible, for he has ard to what you asked lish literature business, I think there is no way of teaching English literature except by selections,--joined together with an evolutional study of English emotional life, illustrated after the manner of Taine's ”Art in Italy,” etc But such work, co history with literature, would involve the use of an immense library, and would be very costly to the teacher By the way, I _hate_ English literature French literature isWhat I should most like would be toSanscrit, Finnish, Arabic, Persian,--systes on the evolutional plan That _would_ be worth doing; for it means a study of the evolutional develops, I fear, are for the extremely rich

LAFCADIO HEARN

TO ELLWOOD HENDRICK

KOBE, Autumn, 1895

DEAR HENDRICK,--It has often occurred to me to ask whether you think other s--you yourself, for example Work with me is a pain--no pleasure till it is done It is not voluntary; it is not agreeable It is forced by necessity The necessity is a curious one The , you hts wander, and the gnawing goes on just the sas and recollections of unpleasant things said or done _Unless so horribly mean to me, I can't do certain kinds of work_,--the tireso The exact force of a hurt I canit: ”This will be over in six ht for two years;” ”This will be rein to think about the e of vagaries, metaphysical, eo to work rewriting thein to define and arrange themselves into a whole,--and the result is an essay; and the editor of the _Atlantic_ writes, ”It is a veritable illumination,”--and no mortal man knohy, or horitten,--not even I myself,--or what it cost to write it

Pain is therefore tovalue beti indirectly does ht I wonder if anybody else works on this plan The benefit of it is that a _habit_ is for in a way I should otherwise have been too lazy-et one burn, new caustic from some unexpected quarter is poured into my brain: then the new pain forces other work It strikespossibly a peculiar morbid condition If it is, I trust that so really extraordinary--Ia morbid sensitive spot, if it cannot be utilized to so?

There was a funny suicide here the other day A boy of seventeen threw himself on the railroad track and was cut to pieces by a train He left a letter to his e that the death of the employer's little son had made the world dark for him The child would have nobody to play with: so, he said, ”I shall go to play with him But I have a little sister of six;--I pray you to take care of her”

Ever affectionately, LAFCADIO HEARN

TO BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN

SEPTEMBER, 1895

MY DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Your paper on Luchu gave me more pleasure, I am sure, than it even did to the president of the society before whos said of you

Of course this paper--being a raph than the other--differs froestiveness

Tooff the direction of character-tendencies, language, customs, to the uttermost li in the Archipelago--your own field of research by unquestionable right

If I ever go down there I shall certainly atte out of theleft for another e about an unfaion

There is one expression of opinion in the rowing upon me, more and more each day I live, that the supposed indifferentisious matters is affected indifferentisners I see too much of the real life, even here in Kobe, to think the indifferentises far than our comfortable modern proselytizers, never accused the japanese of indifference However, this is but suggestive: I think that should you ever find time to watch the incidents of conize the Jesuits as the keenest observers As for the educated classes, I have also reason to know that in ned This will show you how ed in five years' time