LETTER LVII

Summary

Three more days of travelling have brought us here, and in three hours we shall be in Kiyôto. I wish we were beginning our tour instead of ending it, or rather that we were starting on another. Everything has been so smooth and pleasant, and so unexpectedly interesting, and the people have been so kind and courteous, as they always are, away from the beaten track. Mrs. Gulick's cheerfulness and kindness have never varied, and, if I had ever felt inclined to grumble, the unwearied good nature, brightness, and kindness of my runner would have rebuked me. I cannot tell you how sorry I am to part with this faithful creature, or how I shall miss his willing services, hideous face, and blanket-swathed form. But no, he is not hideous! No face, beaming with honesty and kindness, can ever be so, and I like to look at his, and to hope that one day it may be said of him, as of a child, “of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

We left Yamada early on the 12th, retraced our route as far as Rokken, and reached the important town of Tsu, late in the afternoon, by a fine road leading through a very prosperous and populous country of rice-swamps of large size, between wooded hills and the sea. The evening was cold and clear, and the town looked its best.