220 
A GRAND CHANCE FOR “ FILLIBUSTERS/' 
that the people of Japan are as ripe for revolt as the most 
violent- flibustier could desire, while, at the same time, 
we were forced to acknowledge that they were kept under 
more eftectually than any nation under the sun. Pro- 
bably, a latent inclination to revolt among the masses 
first gave rise to extreme severity on the part of their 
rulers, as a precautionary measure. In speaking of the 
masses, I include merchants, (many of whom are worth 
more money than many of the nobles,) farmers, priests, 
artisans of every description, tailors, sailors, fishermen, 
publicans, and, in short, everybody in Japan whose birth 
or services to the state have not given him the right of 
wearing two swords stuck through his sash. 
So much for strolls through the country adjoining 
Si-mo-da. 
