. The mikado's empire. r were guards necessary. Iwon the hearts of the people, and among the happiest memories arethose of Fukui. Among those whom I learned to love was the little son of the dai-mio, a sprightly, laughing little fellow, four or five years old, with snap-ping eyes, full of fun, and as livelyas an American boy. Little Mat-sudaira wore a gold-hilted shortsword in his girdle; while a ladof thirteen, his sword-bearer, at- -tended him, to carry the longerbadge of rank. His head wasshaved, except a round space likea cap, from which a tiny cue pro-jected. The photograph whichhis fathe
. The mikado's empire. r were guards necessary. Iwon the hearts of the people, and among the happiest memories arethose of Fukui. Among those whom I learned to love was the little son of the dai-mio, a sprightly, laughing little fellow, four or five years old, with snap-ping eyes, full of fun, and as livelyas an American boy. Little Mat-sudaira wore a gold-hilted shortsword in his girdle; while a ladof thirteen, his sword-bearer, at- -tended him, to carry the longerbadge of rank. His head wasshaved, except a round space likea cap, from which a tiny cue pro-jected. The photograph whichhis father gave me and the wood-cut do but scant justice to theexquisitely delicate brown tintof his skin, flushed with health,his twinkling black eyes, his rosycheeks, and his arch ways, that 1 -1 . , , 4. 1, A Little Daimio. (From a photograph.) convmced his mother that he was ^ « i / the most beautiful child ever born of woman. I often met him inFukui and, later, in Tokio. He is to be educated in the United States. 28. 430 THE MIKADOS EMPIRE. As yet I had seen little of the city in which I expected to dwell forthree years. I had reached the goal of my journeyings. Hitherto, inall my travels, Fukui loomed up in my imagination, and, spite of myactual experience of Japanese towns, the ideal Fukui was a grand the excitement of travel was now over, and I was to see the actualFukui. I rode around the castle circuit, and out into the city, and fora long distance through its streets. I was amazed at the utter pover-ty of the people, the contemptible houses, and the tumble-down lookof the city, as compared with the trim dwellings of an American rode through many streets, expecting at last to emerge into somesplendid avenue. I rode in vain; and, as I rode, the scales fell frommy eyes. There was no more excitement now to weave films of gla-mour before my vision. I saw through the achromatic glasses of act-uality. I realized what a Japanese—an Asiatic city—was. All the
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Keywords: ., bookauthorgriffisw, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1894
