The man who has been sent for to fill the place in Ky[=o]to, will not, I imagine, be able to keep it. He is a rabid proselytizer; in Kumamoto, years ago, he formed a society of Christians, called the Christian Band (I forget the Japanese name): that is why the Ky[=u]sh[=u] folk nearly killed him. Privately--between you and me--I think there will be great changes in the Ky[=o]to middle school next year; _and I think that I shall get there_. But there is nothing sure. I will not go to T[=o]ky[=o] as long as I can help it.
Many thanks for your splendid letter about the legends of the ballads. I have put it away carefully to use in a future essay.--You say, if you were to tell me about the noble things the common people do, you would never get done. Indeed, _one_ strong fact would give me work for two or three months. The publishers wrote me to say they want stories of the life of the common people _to-day_,--showing the influence of moral teaching on _conduct_: that is, Buddhist, Shint[=o], and ancestor-teaching. I have been trying to get the facts about the poor girl who killed herself in Ky[=o]to because the Emperor "augustly mourned" after the crazy action of Tsuda Sanzo; but I have not yet succeeded. By the way, I think Tsuda Sanzo will be more kindly judged by a future generation. His crime was only "loyalty-run-mad." He was insane for the moment with an insanity which would have been of the highest value in a good cause and time. He saw before him the living representative of the awful Power which makes even England tremble;--the power against which Western Europe has mustered an army of more than 15,000,000 of men. He saw, or thought he saw (perhaps he really _did_ see: time only can show) the Enemy of Japan. Then he struck--out of his heart, without consulting his head. He did very wrong;--he made a sad mistake; but I think that man's heart was noble and true, in spite of all his foolishness. He would have been a hero under happier circumstances....
I have just heard that the name of one kind of those horrid beetles in Kumamoto is _gane-bun-bun_, and the _hyakush[=o]_ call them _gane-bu_; and people throw them out of the window, saying, "Come back the day-before-yesterday." Then they never come back at all.