Return Westward 



foreign customs and ideas than are the more sophis- 

 ticated seaports and university centers. There we 

 were the guests of Dr. and Mrs. J. D. Pettee, Ameri- 

 can missionaries, in whose hospitable home we passed 

 the night. My address in the evening was presided 

 over by the mayor, Mr. Okamoto. 



At Kyoto we again made a brief visit, grateful for 

 the stolen opportunity to see somewhat more of its 

 treasures. Uji came next, with its marvelous though uji and 

 faded "Phoenix Hall" and its busy plantations for Otsu 

 the growing of choice teas; then Otsu on Lake Biwa, 

 where we climbed to the noted temple of Miidera, 

 and afterward crossed the double "*long bridge of 

 Seta," Seta no magahashi, one of "the seven won- 

 ders of Omi" as distinguished from the "eight 

 beauties" of the same picturesque province. 



Arriving after nightfall at Hikone, farther down Delightful 

 the lake, we put up at the Raku-raku-en, "garden haoen 

 of rest," my fishing headquarters in I9OO. 1 On an 

 open balcony by the light of a superbly full moon, we 

 were served with a good supper in native fashion. 

 This was Mrs. Jordan's only experience in a purely 

 Japanese hostelry, and one more pleasing could 

 hardly have been found. There is a satisfying beauty 

 about all typically Japanese interiors. Within, Raku- 

 raku-en has a special charm of age and old-time ele- 

 gance, while its exterior setting of gardens, forested 

 slope, and dominating white-walled donjon tower 

 made it seem like an enchanted retreat. It is true that 

 during the night the rats were noisy between ceiling 

 and roof. Some even invaded our sleeping apart- 

 ments, tempted by sweetmeats placed on the floor 

 beside the futon on which we slept. For those incur- 



1 See Chapter xxvi, page 42. 



C 397 3 



