438 



The Review of Reviews. 

 POTENTATES AND PEOPLES. 



THE EMPEROR MUTSUHITO. 



The September number of the Japan Maga- 

 zine gives us several interesting articles on the 

 late Emperor Mutsuhito. 



SECOND FOUNDER OF THE EMPIRE. 



By the death of Mutsuhito, the 122nd 

 Emperor of Japan, not only has the world lost 

 one of the greatest monarchs of the modern 

 world, but Japan has lost one of the most illus- 

 trious that ever graced the throne : so writes Dr. 

 J. Ingram 

 Bryan. It is 

 safe to say, 

 he adds, that 

 no Sovereign 

 has laid down 

 the sceptre 

 amid a grief 

 so universal 

 and profound. 

 More than 

 any other, the 

 late Emperor 

 was the living 

 sign and sym- 

 bol of the 

 a c hievements 

 of Japan dur- 

 ing the last 

 half century, 

 and he will 

 ever be looked 

 upon as the 

 s e c o n il 

 founder o f 

 the Empire. 

 Compared 

 with the past, 

 Japan under 

 his rule is as 

 the light com- 

 pared with 

 the dawn. 

 When he 

 ascended the 

 throne in 

 1867, a youth 

 of sixteen, 



the country was in the throes of rebirth 

 from expiring feudalism to the life of a modern 

 State. Under his enlightened rule the shackles 

 of feudalism were shaken off and the people 

 became free, and the thirty millions of ignorant 

 and unhappy subjects have become a population 

 of over sixty millions, and the country is ranked 

 amongst the Great Powers of the world. Well, 



indeed, 

 poems : 



did he live the spirit of one of his 



The new Emperor of Japan. 

 Field-Marshal Vamaf'ata. 



Whether it rain or shine, 



I have one only care ; 

 The burden of this heart of mine 



Is how my people fare ! 

 DAILY LIFE OF THE EMPEROR. 



Another article tells us something about the 

 daily life of the Emperor. Unlike European 

 monarchs, the Imperial person in Japan is 

 accorded a sanctity too profound for public gaze 

 and gossip. It is therefore all the more interest- 

 ing now to 

 get a glimpse 

 of the private 

 life of the 

 Emperor. 

 One of the 

 most remark- 

 able of his 

 characteristics 

 was his extra- 

 ordinary in- 

 dustry. Not 

 only did he 

 take a great 

 interest in the 

 affairs of 

 State, but also 

 in the smaller 

 details of 

 personal life. 

 Practically, he 

 never took a 

 holiday. Duty 

 being his first 

 CO nsideration 

 he naturally 

 found enough 

 of it to occupy 

 most of his 

 time. Every 

 morning he 

 rose at six. 

 After per- 

 forming his 

 ablutions he 

 rested awhile, 

 and then took 

 breakfast at 

 seven. Later the doctor arrived, and having 

 satisfied himself aliout the health of his august 

 patient, the Emperor would don his official 

 uniform, usually that of a Generalissimo of the 

 Imperial Guards. From ten till noon he was 

 to be found in the Imperiiil study, then he 

 retired for luncheon, after which he enjoyed 

 a siesta till two o'clock. From two to half-past 



Prince Katsura. 



