was simply drawn down through a trap door, another time what had
looked like a canvas mat in front of the curtain was pulled up and it
turned out to be painted on one side. But they had a different method
every time.

The mayor has invited me to speak to the teachers Saturday afternoon,
and afterwards we are invited by the municipality to a Japanese dinner.
They are also putting the city auto--the only one apparently--at our
disposal, when they aren't using it, and have arranged to take us to a
porcelain and a weaving factory next Monday. This town is the
headquarters of Japan for artistic production, ancient and modern. The
University authorities also telephoned to Tokyo and got permission for
us to visit the palaces here, but they are said not to be equal to the
Nagoya ones which we missed. While at Nara we spent most of our time at
the Horiuji temples, some miles out. I won't do the encyclopedia act
except to say that they are the headquarters of the introduction of
Buddhism into Japan thirteen hundred years ago, which meant
civilization, especially art, and have the wall frescoes, unfortunately
faint, of that period, and lots of sculpture; this means wood carving,
as of course there is no marble here. Well, it happened that it was the
birthday of Prince Shotoku, who was the gentleman responsible for the
aforesaid introduction, and of whom there are many statues, age of two,
twelve and sixteen being favorites; his piety was precocious.
Consequently, everything was wide open. Every kind of peep show and
stall, and more than the usual hundreds of pilgrims who combine pleasure
with piety in a way that beats even the Italian peasants; when they have
money here they spend it; tightwadism is not a Japanese vice. Well, we
were taken into the garden of the chief priest to eat our luncheon; of
course, he was very busy, but greeted us in gorgeous robes and then sent
out tea and rice cakes. The contrast between this lovely little garden
and the drums and barkers just beyond the walls and the wonderful old
artistic shrines beyond the barkers and ham and egg row was as
interesting as anything in Japan.

You may remember Miss E---- is rather tall for an American woman, even.
Mamma is something of an object to the country people, but Miss E---- is
a spectacle. Curiosity is the only emotion the Japanese are not taught
to conceal apparently. They gather around in scores, literally. I don't
know how many times I have seen parents ma