“You shouldn’t censure my penury in writing, knowing that I am a musume from such a source.
“Oscar, are your windows clean?
“Every window of my Willow Cottage was washed yesterday. Is there anything more happy to see (your beautiful eyes excepted) than a shiny window? I pressed my cheek to the window mirthfully, when Mr. Poet tried to pinch it from the outside. My dearest, if he had been my very Mr. Ellis!
“I made a discovery while I was trimming about the kitchen.
“Can you guess what it was?
“‘Love-Letter Writer!’
“‘Gift from Heaven!’ I said, trusting it would help me in my composition.
“I lit a candle last night. I hid it behind the cover of such a huge bible which I had borrowed for the purpose. I was heedful of two old men who might disturb me, mistaking the light for a sign that something had happened. Poor Mrs. Heine almost cried, she was so pleased to think that I loved the Bible. Do I love it? Oho, ho, ho——
“Bakabakashi, how sad!
“The whole bunch of letters wasn’t fit for my taste at all, at all.