igii] Presentations at the Palace 



where. I replied that as a naturahst I had formerly 

 traversed all parts of Japan and was therefore quite 

 familiar with the beauty of its landscapes — that I 

 was also acquainted with the universities, having 

 spoken in all of them, and that the late Dean Mitsu- 

 kuri of the Imperial University was one of my 

 valued friends. 



The short interview over, I was next conducted to The 

 the reception room of the Empress, a tiny but digni- ^'^t^'" 

 fied figure in white satin, to whom Mrs. Jordan had 

 in the meantime been presented. Here, however, I 

 had a distinct impression that my untoward size was 

 slightly intimidating to the little lady. As we passed 

 out through the court, the Crown Prince, now the 

 Mikado, Yoshihito, entered in a carriage. An eager- 

 looking youth, he glanced at us with a sort of bird- 

 like curiosity. 



After our return home the Emperor sent me a dec- a heami- 

 oration, the Second Class of the Order of the Sacred /«'*'"'*'^ 

 Treasure of the Meiji, or Era of Enlightenment, that 

 being the designation of Mutsuhito's long reign. This 

 was presented through Mr. Numano, the excellent suc- 

 cessor of Nagai as Consul-general in San Francisco. 

 The ornament consists of a silver chrysanthemum 

 with thirty-two ray flowers, the imperial form, and 

 a center of rubies. My personal interest in official 

 decoration, I may add, is very slight, but I value the 

 gift a,s a symbol of friendly respect. 



A variety of other courtesies were now extended to 

 us; of these, the first in order — a luncheon given by 

 Mr. and Mrs. Asano — led to an interesting result. 

 On that occasion, a discussion having arisen as to 

 how to make things Japanese better understood in 



C 373 3 



