Page:Japan - A Lecture.djvu/12

10 of their devoutness, seemed to fill the atmosphere of the busy railway station with a golden light of peace. Their language of silence drowned the noisy effusion of the newspapers. I felt that I saw something which was at the root of Japan's greatness. And, since then, I have had other opportunities of reaching the heart of the people; and I have come to the conclusion, that the welcome which flowed towards me, with such outburst of sincerity, was owing to the fact that Japan felt the nearness of India to herself, and realised that her heart has room to expand beyond her own boundaries and the boundaries of the modern time.

I have travelled in many countries and have met with men of all classes, but never in my travels did I feel the presence of the human so distinctly as in this land. In other great countries signs of man's power loomed large, and I saw vast organisations which showed efficiency in all their features. There display and extravagance in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, were startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a poor intruder at a feast; they are apt to make you envious, or take your breath away with amazement. There you do not feel man as supreme; you are hurled against the stupendousness of things that alienates. But in Japan it is not the display of power or wealth that is the predominating element. You see everywhere emblems of love and admiration, and not