COVER OF JAPANESE BOWL. COVER OF JAPANESE BOWL. SEVEN-STROKE HORSE. SEVEN-STROKE HORSE.
ONE:"The coolie-trade," said he, "does not exist any more. It was very much like the slave-trade, of which you have read; in fact, it was nothing more than the slave-trade with the form changed a little. In the African slave-trade the slaves were bought as one might buy sheep and cattle. In the coolie-traffic the men were hired for a term of years at certain stipulated[Pg 394] wages, and were to be returned to their homes at the end of that term, provided all their debts had been discharged. The plan was all right on its face, but it was not carried out. When the period for which he was engaged was up, the coolie was always made to be in debt to his employer; and, no matter how hard he might work, he was not allowed to free himself. He was a slave to his master just as much as was the negro from Africa, and not one coolie in a thousand ever saw his native land again."What I want of you, Smith, is to tell you that I shall lose no such chance."
THREE:And did she see you? asked Alice, with a sort of idiotic eagerness. All the time there was ringing in her head, like a peal of baritone bells through{221} the quackings of the telephone, the lovely words, My dear little Helper! Bless you, my dear little Helper."I have a feeling," he continued, placing a finger to his nose, "that if I put on my top gear now I should be off like a shot."
THE DOCTOR'S BEDROOM. THE DOCTOR'S BEDROOM.I wish also to acquaint you as President with the fact that I have lately bought the freehold of your premises. I see that there is a break in your lease at Midsummer this year on both tenants and landlords side, and therefore beg to give you this formal notice that I do not intend to renew the lease hitherto held by your Club, as I shall be using the premises for some other purpose.Dont look at my feet, she said gaily. They{141} are officially invisible like the legs of the Queen of Spain."What's that noise?" he demanded thoroughly frightened by now."But they always get married," he said, suddenly. "The chaps in books, I mean. They always get married in the end."
荣誉榜
THREE:"The orchestra furnishes music by means of the guitar, or 'samisen.' It is played something like our guitar, except that a piece of ivory is used for striking the strings, and is always used in a concert that has any pretence to being properly arranged. There are two or three other instruments, one of them a small drum, which they play upon with the fingers; but it is not so common as the samisen, and I don't think it is so well liked. Then they have flutes, and some of them are very sweet, and harmonize well with the samisen; but the singers do not like them for an accompaniment[Pg 235] unless they have powerful voices. The samisen-players generally sing, and in the theatres the musicians form a part of the chorus. A good deal of the play is explained by the chorus; and if there are any obscure points, the audience is told what they are. I remember seeing the same thing almost exactly, or, at any rate, the same thing in principle, in the performance of "Henry V." at a theatre in New York several years ago, so that this idea of having the play explained by the chorus cannot be claimed as a Japanese invention.
THREE:All the more reason for getting home before there are two, said she.
