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210 THE WONDERFUL CITY OF TOKIO.
nerves. To their amazement, the girl played both correctly
and with marked feeling. During her performance and those
that succeeded, the young Americans watched the face of the
kindly Professor, who regarded his pupils with fatherly in-
terest.
It was wonderful to hear little mites of children singing
Japanese words to familiar American airs, and Fitz whispered
to his mother, " That is ?
Old Folks at Home,' but our old folks
at Cromlech would never recognize it, would they?"
The progress made by the students was marvellous, though,
as a body, they naturally sang foreign music with less feeling
than they did their own.
After a wee bit of a girl had turned her back to the piano,
and correctly named every note struck by the professor, he
said, " Ladies and gentlemen, my pupil teachers will now give
you some Japanese music."
A hibachi (fire-box) was then brought in by servants and
placed upon the matted platform, a kettle and tea-pot set upon
the bars of the apparatus, and cups placed near it. Then the
attendants entered with the musical instruments, a koto, samisen
and biiva.
A brief interval ensued, during which, Mrs. Jewett looked
appealingly at her husband, after which, four Japanese ladies
rose from their chairs and ranged themselves in native fashion
behind the fire-box.
The one on the right at the koto slipped some ivory tsume
(points) upon her fingers. The second sipped a cup of tea, and
the third and fourth tuned their instruments. They bowed
gracefully and looked at the professor, who inclined his head
"
and said, The first piece will be solely instrumental, it is
called Tsuru-no Sugomori" (The stork and its young).
The leading performer swept the strings of the koto and