152 Japan at War with China [1894 



ment to Orientals everywhere to arm themselves and fight against it. 

 Old-fashioned China is a colossus, with feet of clay, interesting, but 

 doomed if it does not put its house in order, somewhat on European 

 lines. The Japanese stand towards China much as Arabi and the 

 Liberal party in Egypt stood towards Turkey twelve years ago. The 

 defeat of Japan by China would have meant immediate European in- 

 terference in Japan's affairs. 



" I am leaving home for Gros Bois, Tunis, and Egypt, and am making 

 arrangements to stay abroad over next summer, but I promise nothing 

 to myself. Anne and Judith will meet me in Egypt in the middle of 

 November, that is far enough ahead for my hopes to look, and so to 

 Crabbet I bid a long good-bye. I shall perhaps never go back to it as 

 my home, for I have plans of making Newbuildings my Sussex home 

 instead. We are so much abroad, that so large a house and establish- 

 ment are thrown away on us. Newbuildings would fulfil all our pur- 

 poses." 



My usual autumn visit to Gros Bois lasted till 18th October. While 

 there, there is one entry worth transscribing : 



" 14th Oct. (Sunday). — To Paris for the day and breakfasted with 

 General Faverot. He had with him General Descharmes, a young M. 

 de Sivry (a grandson, Wagram tells me, of the Duke of Brunswick), 

 and a son of General Fleury. Descharmes talked much of Japan, 

 where he was military instructor for some years, and in glowing terms 

 of their success in the war with China. He declares them to have 

 le diable dans le corps for fighting, and that it would take a European 

 Power all it knew to beat them. ' I would not,' he said, ' undertake to 

 land an army in Japan with less than 60,000 men, all Frenchmen.' " 



