in travelling in this solitary way than I should otherwise. I. L.
B.



LETTER XXIII



"A Plague of Immoderate Rain"--A Confidential Servant--Ito's Diary-
-Ito's Excellences--Ito's Faults--Prophecy of the Future of Japan--
Curious Queries--Superfine English--Economical Travelling--The
Japanese Pack-horse again.

KUBOTA, July 24.

I am here still, not altogether because the town is fascinating,
but because the rain is so ceaseless as to be truly "a plague of
immoderate rain and waters." Travellers keep coming in with
stories of the impassability of the roads and the carrying away of
bridges. Ito amuses me very much by his remarks. He thinks that
my visit to the school and hospital must have raised Japan in my
estimation, and he is talking rather big. He asked me if I noticed
that all the students kept their mouths shut like educated men and
residents of Tokiyo, and that all country people keep theirs open.
I have said little about him for some time, but I daily feel more
dependent on him, not only for all information, but actually for
getting on. At night he has my watch, passport, and half my money,
and I often wonder what would become of me if he absconded before
morning. He is not a good boy. He has no moral sense, according