1898.] ESSAYS. 85 



hotel in the northern part of the empire, on the island of Yezo. 

 Just previous to our arrival there had been a terrible snow- 

 storm. We came to a Japanese hotel, and I was trying to ask 

 a man about a train that was to take us to our destination. All 

 the time that I was trying to talk to the man who had charge of 

 the hotel, a little boy was working at my shoestrings. At first 

 I took no notice of the little imp except to move my foot as 

 though I would push away an obstacle, but the boy kept at it, 

 and had crot one shoe almost unlaced when I looked down and 

 told him to stop. He didn't understand English, and kept on 

 and got them both unlaced and was going to pull off the shoes. 

 1 ol)jected very strongly and effectively to that, as I didn't care 

 to have my shoes taken off, because I intended to go out in the 

 snowy street. This, however, is the way in which you are 

 met at the entrance to the hotel, and usually there are plenty of 

 servants around that are trained to remove the visitor's shoes 

 with ease and expedition. 



Your first duty then on entering a Japanese hotel or house, if 

 you intend to stop, is to take off your shoes, because in their 

 houses the floors are covered with nice thick, straw mats, and 

 they do not expect you to come in and injure their rooms. 

 This is a picture of the hand-maiden. When you have been 

 told where your room is, she conducts you to it, and is at your 

 service. Here are some things that are typical of the Japanese 

 room. In the first place, you have here a little fireplace, and 

 this is where the heat comes from in most of the parts of Japan 

 that call for heat in the houses. You are supposed to sit down 

 by this little stove and keep warm, and the Japanese do it 

 beautifully, and succeed in keeping perfectly warm, as the only 

 thing they seem to want to keep warm is their hands. Their 

 feet do not trouble them if they are cold. They cover them- 

 selves with many " kimonas," and thus keep warm. One can 

 keep wonderfully warm with one of these little stoves in the 

 room. If you cannot keep warm with the ordinary clothing 

 you have only to call for a "futon," which is much like the old- 

 fashioned "comfortable" of New England, and you crawl under 

 this and go to sleep. Many a Japanese has done this, placing 



