As was to be expected, her suggestion to run a store caused her re-Tatives and friends to hold up thei! hands high up in holy horror. A member of the peerage to become! Sullied with sordid commercialism, All manner of argument was. marshaled to dissuade her. She was told that it way not at all necessary that she should have to earn her! livelihood, while such a step as she Proposed " taking, others insisted, would reflect on the prestige noi only of her own noble house, but also on that of other titled families.
Viscountess Inougé was obdurate, however, and declared that she would work out her own destiny and lead her own life. The result was this modest perfumery store in Shitaya.
"The desire to do something instead of leading an idle life," she told your correspondent, "came to me when I realized how empty was my existence, how I was living te! no purpose. I had many trials and tribulation and believed that the best. way to be happy would be to work and be independent Viscountess Inouye is a woman of handsome lineaments and. fully Tooks the daughter of "a family claiming to have blue blood in its veins. She is of medium height and has well-chiselled features. Her! Tooks belie her age and her talk a interesting and. attractive as is her face.
"This store of mine is not the result of a fad, one of there notions to do something unusual and. talked about," she continued as shel offered me a cup of tea und motioned to me to be seated. "My old life wis unhappy and 'I wanted something to take my mind off i gnd to enable me to forget Peeress amd Geisha her lithe shop single-handed." No Viscountess Inouye looks after
maid or sales girl assists her, although there are several in Tokio who would just jump at the idea of working with and for her, without any Yemuneration whatsoever.—A\ Blanco round showed me. that. the Potions and lotions that womankind the world over deems to be absolute-
Ly necessary were mostly imported from France. "Yes," she replied in answer toa question, "French powders, "perfumes and" cosmetics are- what the Japanese young. women demand. now. They are no. thing if not Parisian' in their powder-and-perfume tastes." {ooked to sco whether there was not tinge of sarcasm, but the lips did! Rot twitch a bit. "Anything: from Paris," continued the Viscountess, "is accepted without the slightest lemur."
'Needless to add, there is a constant stream of people visiting the store"every day. The Viscountess' Mriends alone would make quite 2 tidy number of customers. Then] tore are those who are attracted because a titled Indy serves then and the-number of these increases ry day.
The place is becoming busier as day succeeds day and is also thus too small," she remarked. Just then a treble "Good Afternoon", was heard, the voice of a customer in the main room. Excusing herself she hurried to attend to her Intest customer. I took a look at the Inter. Te was a geisha,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.