ereign whose representative I was, the barge was
towed by a long line of boats, decorated with flags,
the voices of the rowers rising and falling in meas-
ured cadence as they announced to all Japan the
honor about to be conferred upon her. I sat on a
chair of state in the central compartment of the
barge, and quite alone; my suite standing on a
raised deck beyond. Before me on a table, mar-
vellously inlaid, were my credentials. I was sur-
rounded by curtains of sky-blue silk and panels of
polished lacquer inwrought with the Imperial arms
in gold. The awning of blue and white silk was
lined with a delicate and beautiful tapestry, and the
reverse sides of the silken partitions were of canvas
painted by the masters of the country. The pol-
ished floor was covered by a magnificent carpet
woven with alarming dragons whose jaws pointed
directly at my chair of state. And such an escort
and such a reception, both of ceremony and of
curiosity, no Russian had ever boasted before.
Flags waved, kettledrums beat, fans were flung into
my very lap to autograph. The bay, the hills, were
a blaze of color and a confusion of sound. The
barracks were hung with tapestries and gay silks. I,
with my arms folded and in full uniform, my fea-
tures composed to the impassivity of one of their
own wooden gods, was the central figure of this
magnificent farce; and it may be placed to the ever-
lasting credit of the discipline of courts that not
one of my staff smiled. They stood with their arms