kind of poverty, though—not so degraded, but more primitive. In Japan poverty does not arouse so much sympathy because it is not so definitely below the general condition. It is so common that one takes no more notice of it than of a poor horse.
Further on we were in alleys lined with cleaner, better, and more luxurious houses. This is where the geisha live. They have no homes, for a Japanese could not be gay in the presence of his parents or the parents of a geisha. The parents being older, he would have to sit still and be sober. Consequently, the geisha have their own quarters. The proprietors of these houses are all "respectable." They look after the girls with law-abiding interest.
When we found the appointed place, we entered. The clean, somewhat charming old woman brought out sheets of paper on which the names of at least eight hundred girls were printed. When a girl is hired, a hole is punched with a toothpick over her name; when she returns, a hole is punched beneath it. The girls are ordered from a central office—where a strict register is kept of their movements. To wander over to one of these offices, reminds one of a miniature stock-exchange. The atmosphere of intense activity, of the passing of great possessions from one to another, makes of it the most lively place in the quarters.
When the girls my friend favored arrived, we were well into the feast. The normal length of a Japanese meal is about three and a half hours. I sat with my friends watching the meat and the greens sizzling on the brazier, eating little pieces at set intervals. It was tantalizing. I could have devoured the whole of it post-haste, but had to wait each time for someone to take a chopstickful first. It was a delicious torture, for each mouthful was worth the waiting for. Sukiyaki, it is called, which means "enjoyable fry."
Six geisha came in and sat. Two of them talked, and my stammering Japanese formed part, if not all, of the amusement; but there was no dancing, playing, or singing. What they were being paid for under these circumstances I could not tell. It only indicated the real evil of the geisha habit. They were neither friends nor entertainers, just simply parasites, or, let us give them some place in life, wall flowers.
My friend asked what I thought of their looks; I indicated which I considered the prettiest. No, that was not his choice. "The one to my right,” he said, "forty-five per cent.; the next, thirty-five per
