212 A COLLECTING TRIP | 
Oriental Palaee Hotel. 
Yokchama, July 4, 1907. 
Dear Fred : 
I wrote Cousin Lizzie the other day what I 
thought of you all not writing to us for weeks, but, 
in ease she does not mention my wrath to you, I shall 
just remind you of it. Think of it, a month ago 
since we have heard, and we more than saintly — 
writing I do not know how often. I read of Constance 
Bacon’s wedding in the New York Herald yesterday 
evening, also Caroline Morgan’s. I tell you that we 
have been sight seeing the last ten days. Kyoto was 
an attractive place, despite the narrow streets with 
open drains. Tom secured passes and so we went 
through the imperial gardens and palaces. This 
sounds grand — but the palace was rather a dis- 
appointing sight. It is a large, low, rambling build- 
ing, composed of sliding doors and paper windows, 
and carpeted with straw matting. We had to take off 
our shoes before entering. The walls are covered with 
painted panels and the rooms are all tiny. The audi- 
ence hall lacked dignity and grandeur, but was most 
interesting; the throne which I had seen with my 
mind’s eye as a most magnificent object, was merely 
a raised and black lacquered platform with a very 
inferior chair on it and draped with heavy every day 
silk. But the palace of the old Shoguns is fine, all 
black and gold lacquer, floors and all, with beautiful 
paintings and carvings everywhere, and fine, large 
rooms, light and airy. We went to many temples and 
shrines and fascinating shops where they make lacquer 
and damascene ware, and bamboo boxes and baskets 
and things. Then we bought some superb iris bulbs, 
