The life and letters of Lafcadio Hearn . j TO MRS. WETMORE 477 ** no ceremonies, no humbug, — estimates only ofefficiency. Long ago I wrote the letter of appli-cation, and — like many a letter to you — postedthe same in the ravening stove. Too idyllic, —I thought to myself,—*in the present state ofevolution, no human institution could be sufferedto realize the ideals of that university! If I werewrong or right — I should like to know. But sufficient for this writing is the perfect self-ishness thereof. My dear fairy god-sister, pleasedo not take any painful trouble for me, but — ifyou can hit
The life and letters of Lafcadio Hearn . j TO MRS. WETMORE 477 ** no ceremonies, no humbug, — estimates only ofefficiency. Long ago I wrote the letter of appli-cation, and — like many a letter to you — postedthe same in the ravening stove. Too idyllic, —I thought to myself,—*in the present state ofevolution, no human institution could be sufferedto realize the ideals of that university! If I werewrong or right — I should like to know. But sufficient for this writing is the perfect self-ishness thereof. My dear fairy god-sister, pleasedo not take any painful trouble for me, but — ifyou can hit something with your moonshiny wand,during the next year or so, I shall be so glad! Eventhough I be not glad, I shall always be grateful forthe last kind letter. My best wishes to you in everything that you canimagine, you will be always sure of. If wishes— but, after all, there is some human sweetness inthese conventional phrases. They help one to uttera mood, or a sense of gratefulness for pleasuregiven. Lafcadio H 478 LAFCADIO HEARN TO YRJO HIRN Yaidzu, August, 1902. Dear Professor, — Your kind letter of July20th is with me. . I am so glad to hear that you are not likely to beobliged to leave Europe. It is perhaps the greatestpossible misfortune for a man of culture to findhimself obliged to withdraw from intellectual centresto a new raw country, where the higher mental lifeis still imperfectly understood. There are certaincompensations, indeed, — such as larger freedom,and release from useless conventions, but these donot fully make up for the sterility of that Americanatmosphere in which the more delicate flowers ofthought refuse to grow. I am delighted to thinkof your prospective pleasure in the Italian paradise. I am writing to you from the little fishing-villageof Yaidzu — where there are no tables or chairs. Bellesorts book is a surprisingly good book inits way. It describes only the disintegration ofJapanese society — under the contact o
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