The day of the 22nd was spent in paying official visits, the chief interest of which lay in the fact that we were entering into relations with men who had never set eyes upon foreigners before, nobles who, like their fathers for many centuries before them, had lived in a cloistered seclusion hardly less strict than that of the Emperor himself, and upon whom the light of the last weeks, even of the last days, had burst like a flash of electricity in a cave of Stygian darkness. One great man told us quite frankly that he, like the rest of the Court, had been bitterly opposed to any intercourse with foreigners—now all was changed, and he was glad of it. He afterwards apologized, saying that he was afraid that he had spoken too freely, and that, at any rate, he felt grateful to the English for having been the first to recognize the true position of the Mikado. A little later in the day Prince Daté and Gotō Shōjirō came to discuss the ceremonial for the audience on the morrow. They seemed very anxious as to how the boy-Emperor would play his part. It was all so new to him. It must be remembered that only a very few of the highest nobles were privileged to see their Sovereign face to face. Even the Shōgun did not see him, but only knelt in front of the red lattice-curtain behind which he heard the Son of Heaven issuing his commands. For the last ten days the rigid etiquette had been so far broken that certain Daimios had been allowed to see him. I could not help sympathizing with the poor young Mikado in this prospective ordeal. It was arranged that he should learn his speech by heart and try to repeat it, the copy being then handed to Yamashina no Miya, who would read it out and hand it in turn to Ito to be translated, the document itself ultimately remaining with Sir Harry, who would reply directly to the Mikado. As for me, I was to be presented by Yamashina no Miya to his Majesty, who would greet me with the formula “Kuro” (“I am glad to see you”). The reception of M. Roches on the 22nd was the last of his Japanese experiences. As will have been gathered, I was no great admirer of his policy or of his proceedings, but I am bound to say that his final act was marked by all the courtesy of his chivalrous nation. The fifth of the demands made by him in regard to the Sakai massacre was that all Tosa Samurai should be excluded from the foreign settlements. In answer to Prince Yōdo, who desired to be informed how long this was to hold good, M. Roches very graciously replied that he would leave that to the Prince, who was far more capable than himself of being the judge in such a matter. It was the answer of a gentleman.