e
of which must be at the best second-hand he is almost certain to
perpetrate some flagrant mistakes, and occasionally indite the most
egregious nonsense. I shall not particularly apply these remarks, but
I think it necessary to utter this word of warning as the literary
effusions of some very estimable men and women in regard to Japan have
given occasion for many false misconceptions being entertained in
regard to that country.

[Illustration: A MINISTERING ANGEL
FROM A PRINT BY TOSHIKATA]

The cry of "Japan for the Japanese" has undoubtedly been heard in that
land, and during the agitation over the revision of the treaties the
foreign community appeared to be under the impression that the policy
emphasised in that cry was the one which Japan desired to attain. For
myself I do not believe it. I am positive that Japan to-day has no
desire to exclude foreigners, or to revert into her old position of
isolation. I believe, on the contrary, that she desires to welcome
foreigners and to give them every facility within proper limits for
pursuing their enterprises. At the same time she has no desire for the
foreign adventurer, prospector, or embryo company promoter. She
does not wish, in fact, that Japan shall be exploited either in
respect of minerals or any other purpose with the object of directly
or indirectly pouring wealth into London or any other city. The
enterprising gentlemen from England and other countries who have
sought to obtain concessions of various kinds in Japan have failed in
their object. Their efforts would probably only have brought discredit
on the country, and could hardly by any possibility have aided in its
material advancement. There is only one word of advice that I should
feel inclined to proffer the European in Japan, and that is to refrain
less from exercising his caustic wit at the expense of the Japanese
people. A nation which has passed through such drastic changes as have
characterised Japan in the last two or three decades can no doubt
furnish abundant opportunities for the jibes of the flippant, and the
humour of those who consider they are endowed with a pretty wit. But
the exercise of sardonic humour and an excessive sarcasm tends to
promote ill-feeling and serves no useful purpose. The right spirit, in
my opinion, for any man to regard Japan is as a nation struggling to
obtain and assimilate all that is best in the world and aspiring to be
in fact an eclectic power. It can at