Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's Note

Footnotes have been placed at the end of each paragraph in which they are referenced.

There are several captioned photographs, which are indicated as . Hearn also included in his letters small sketches. Their approximate positions are indicated with . Any handwritten text in those sketches is included here as captions.

Italic text is denoted with underscores as _italic_.

The occasional superscript is simply left inline (e.g., 'nth'). The use of subscripts is limited to a single instance. The underscore character indicates this: L_3 H_9 NG_4.

Some corrections were made where printer's errors were most likely, as described in the Note at the end of the text. Other than those corrections, no changes to spelling have been made. Hyphenation of words at line or page breaks are removed if other instances of the word warrant it.

This book was published in two volumes, of which this is the first. The second volume was released as Project Gutenberg ebook #42313, available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42313.

+--------------------------------------------------------+
| By Lafcadio Hearn |
| |
| THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY, AND OTHER STUDIES AND |
| STORIES. 12mo, gilt top, $1.25 _net._ Postage |
| extra. |
| |
| KWAIDAN: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. With |
| two Japanese Illustrations. 12mo, gilt top, $1.50. |
| |
| GLEANINGS IN BUDDHA-FIELDS. 16mo, gilt top, $1.25. |
| |
| KOKORO. Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life. 16mo, |
| gilt top, $1.25. |
| |
| OUT OF THE EAST. Reveries and Studies in New Japan. |
| 16mo, $1.25. |
| |
| GLIMPSES OF UNFAMILIAR JAPAN. 2 vols. crown 8vo, gilt |
| top, $4.00. |
| |
| STRAY LEAVES FROM STRANGE LITERATURE. 16mo, $1.50. |
| |
| |
| HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. |
| BOSTON AND NEW YORK. |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

LIFE AND LETTERS OF LAFCADIO HEARN

VOLUME I

THE LIFE AND LETTERS

OF

LAFCADIO HEARN

BY

ELIZABETH BISLAND

_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOL. I

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge

COPYRIGHT 1906 BY ELIZABETH BISLAND WETMORE

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

_Published December 1906_