development along this line. The Japanese nation is not merely a nation of fighters,—it has no mean skill in agriculture and commerce, for the statistical tables which are available show that the national wealth has increased six or sevenfold during the last thirty years, and if one compares the present revenue of the country with what it was at the conclusion of the Japan-China War only ten years ago it is seen to have already more than trebled itself. In 1899 Count Okuma expressed himself publicly as being very anxious for Great Britain’s co-operation with Japan, and the Anglo-Japanese Agreement of 1902 had no more zealous supporter of the policy involved, nor is there a more thorough admirer of British institutions, though he has never visited our shores, than Count Okuma. Indeed he has not, so far, quitted his own land, yet he knows from close study of contemporary literature as much about the countries and peoples of the Occident as he would probably have acquired in years of travel. In private life his hobby is horticulture. At Waseda he has a magnificent collection of orchids and tropical plants in general, sheltered within huge conservatories which stand in the spacious gardens attached to his residence, and he is a great lover of the chrysanthemum, of which he cultivates many new varieties. The mansion itself is in two parts, one purely Japanese in style and construction, the other European, and he entertains his friends accordingly, the privileged visitor being received in the Japanese apartments even though he may be a foreigner. In adopting this plan of building Count Okuma has followed a practice that is becoming almost general among the Japanese nobility. XV FIELD-MARSHAL MARQUIS IWAO OYAMA