POETRY: THE UTA" (Clarendon Press), as are many of the classical
poems placed at the head of the chapters.




CHAPTER I

AN ANGLO-JAPANESE MARRIAGE

_Shibukaro ka
Shiranedo kaki no
Hatsu-chigiri_.

Whether the fruit be bitter
Or whether it be sweet,
The first bite tells.


The marriage of Captain the Honourable Geoffrey Barrington and Miss
Asako Fujinami was an outstanding event in the season of 1913. It
was bizarre, it was picturesque, it was charming, it was socially
and politically important, it was everything that could appeal to
the taste of London society, which, as the season advances, is apt to
become jaded by the monotonous process of Hymen in High Life and by
the continued demand for costly wedding presents.

Once again Society paid for its seat at St. George's and for its
glass of champagne and crumb of cake with gifts of gold and silver and
precious stones enough to smother the tiny bride; but for once in a