Questions which are raised by the recent evolution in Japan—Can the Japanese assimilate the civilization of peoples of a different race?—Precedents and analogies—Up to what point does Japan wish to resemble Europe?—Character and degree of the changes which have taken place in Japan from the social, political, and economical point of view—Adaptation of Western institutions in Japan—Feeling of the Japanese towards foreigners—The revision of treaties with foreign Powers—The absolute necessity for Japan to enter into intimate relationship with the rest of the world if she wishes to retain her newly-acquired civilization. To one who has studied Japan on the spot, a very serious question presents itself for solution, one of vast importance, not only to the inhabitants of that island Empire, but to the entire human family, _i.e._, Will the evolution which this country has undergone prove permanent and not likely to collapse at a given moment, bringing with it the ruin of the State? In a word, the question is, whether it be possible for a people so suddenly to assimilate the old-established and elaborate civilization of another race. Let us, to begin with, remember that the Japanese have already afforded precedents proving that they possess powers of assimilation in a rare degree. From the third to the sixth century of our era they introduced Chinese civilization into their dominions, and from the ethnographic point of view, whether the Japanese belong to the Mongol or to the Malay family, they are not so far removed from the Chinese as the whites; nevertheless they are quite as distinct from them as are the Aryans from the Semites, and as the French or the Germans from the Arabs. The example of Russia is perhaps less marked, because more intimate affinities unite the Slavs to the Western races, and yet the Russians are the least Slav of any of the Slavs, being in reality for the most part Finns who have submitted to Slav influences. The Finns are related to the Mongols, and Muscovy, moreover, was under the Tatar yoke for three centuries, a dominion which has left a very profound impression on the race. Peter the Great’s enterprise was therefore not an easy one. The principal objection, however, which can be brought against the example of Russia is that her evolution was never completed, and did not influence the lower strata of society sufficiently for it to become completely Europeanized. Hungary offers a better field of investigation in this direction, for the peoples who originally invaded her were distinctly Oriental, but now this country has become absolutely European, the result probably of an intimate connection between its inhabitants and their neighbours. But beyond these facts, there is one point which we should not overlook. Our own civilization is not the monopoly of one race, but was constructed by the concurrence of many people. It results directly from Roman and Greek