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436 sometimes been asked. There are none, for the good reason that there is no one to live in them. Peasants live in the country, officials naturally live in the town, where their offices are. To go and bury themselves in the country, is an idea that never occurs to them. How should it? They do not walk, they are not sportsmen. As for any ties binding the rich to their lowly neighbours, that feudal or semi-feudal view of things has passed away. At the most, the high official and his family may go for a week or a fortnight to some mineral spring resort or to the seaside; but they are not really happy till they get back to town.

It would be interesting to follow out in detail the far-reaching results of a constitution of society differing so widely from that to which Anglo-Saxons—whether of the Kingdom, the States, or the Commonwealth are accustomed. One is that Japanese society is dull, because it is not continuous:—at least the non-continuity greatly aggravates that dullness which is rooted in the unfitness of Japanese ladies for social life, in our sense of the word. These sweet, retiring little creatures, who perform un complainingly all the duties of the home, lack influence over the men, and have (so far at least) acquired none of the arts of social leadership. What they might learn of such matters is subject to frequent interruption; for when a man is out of office, he is eclipsed utterly, and society sees him and his wife no more, as all invitations are issued according to official lists, and his own means of entertaining are conditioned by the drawing of his official salary. If you are not in office, those who are have no need of you, no room for you.

Curiously enough, even travellers are sometimes affected by this state of things. If we have heard one, we have heard a score of complaints somewhat to the following effect:—"Why! when the so-and-so's (mentioning some minister maybe, or consul-general, or head of commission and his wife) were in Europe, they dined with us over and over again, I helped Mme. so-and-so to choose her things, etc., etc.; and yet when I called