252 SPORT AND TRAVEL 



on the lawn around which ran the stands containing 

 the splendid exhibition of imperial chrysanthemums. 

 The Japanese aim rather at cultivating the whole 

 plant than the individual flower, the date of the 

 garden-party being left indefinite until the last mo- 

 ment, so that the plants may be at their best. It 

 would be difficult to describe the effects they secure, 

 and I can only say that finer combinations of shape, 

 size, and color would be impossible to find, the world 

 over. One stalk alone bore one thousand seven hun- 

 dred and fifty blossoms, most of them in full bloom, 

 while two others had over one thousand. The Em- 

 peror was absent, but at three o'clock, to the solemn 

 music of the Japanese hymn, the Empress entered 

 and walked down the aisle that had been cleared, 

 the women curtsying and the men bowing to the 

 very ground. 



A day or two before our departure a dance was 

 held on the U. S. S. Oregon in Yokohama harbor. 

 The scene at sunset I shall not soon forget: Fuji, 

 beautiful, solitary old Fuji, stood out against the 

 red glow in the west, the big British, French, Italian, 

 Japanese, and American warships vaguely defined 

 in the harbor's purple haze, while every man on 

 board faced aft as the flag was lowered to the music 

 of our national hymn. 



At six o'clock on the evening of November 26, 



