THE KINGDOM OF SLENDER SWORDS BY HALLIE ERMINIE RIVES (MRS. POST WHEELER) SATAN SANDERSON Illustrated by A. B. Wenzell TALES FROM DICKENS Illustrated by Reginald B. Birch THE CASTAWAY Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy HEARTS COURAGEOUS Illustrated by A. B. Wenzell A FURNACE OF EARTH THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY INDIANAPOLIS [Illustration] THE KINGDOM OF SLENDER SWORDS BY HALLIE ERMINIE RIVES (MRS. POST WHEELER) _With a Foreword by His Excellency Baron Makino_ ILLUSTRATIONS BY A. B. WENZELL INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT 1910 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO. BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS BROOKLYN, N.Y. TO CAROLYN FOSTER STICKNEY FOREWORD It has been my happy fortune to have made the acquaintance of the gifted author of this book. From time to time she was kind enough to confide to me its progress. When the manuscript was completed I was privileged to go over it, and the hours so spent were of unbroken interest and pleasure. What especially touched and concerned me was, of course, the Japanese characters depicted, the motives of these actors in their respective roles, and other Japanese incidents connected with the story. I am most agreeably impressed with the remarkable insight into, and the just appreciation of, the Japanese spirit displayed by the author. While the story itself is her creation, the local coloring, the moral atmosphere called in to weave the thread of the tale, are matters belonging to the domain of facts, and constitute an amount of useful and authentic information. Indeed, she has taken unusual pains to be correctly informed about the people of the country and their customs, and in this she has succeeded to a very eminent degree.