LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA

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18 EARLY LIFE. shoot, how sad I should be, my dear. Do you suppose I am unkind to you by thus punishing you ? ' I re­mained speechless then, but I understood full well what he meant, and what kind intention he had for cor­recting me. I was really ashamed of my naughtiness, and thought that my grandfather was very kind in thus punishing me. I believe this talk made a deep impression on my young mind, and helped me to be­have much better than before. However, I was just gay and playful as other boys were. I was very fond of spinning tops, rolling hoops, and flying kites. I was especially fond of the latter play, and when I went out to fly my kite often forgot to come home at the regular mealtime, which troubled my mother ex­ceedingly. On that account my father refused to buy any more kites for me ; so I secured everything nec­essary for making one without his knowledge, and made a first-rate one myself. How gay I was then I can hardly describe, when I saw it going straight up toward the blue sky. I was also very fond of running and jumping. A scar on my left temple is a reminder of an accidental fall which was a great hu­miliation to me, and confined me at home nearly two months. " Since then I gave up those boyish rough plays, and became fond of staying at home, either for study­ing or writing. I took also some drawing lessons from our neighbor, and drew birds, flowers, trees, and moun­tains, after the regular Japanese style, without a per­spective. I was just over nine years old then. "Being the heir tJ the family, I was specially warned by my mother to make most profound bows to those higher officers employed by my prince. It was her ambition that through their favor I might be

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