Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-05-24

One OF THE No KAMIs DIsEMBowELs HIM
SELF IN A MARBLE BATH.
Paris Correspondent of the London Court Journal
The Japanese ambassadors left
us yesterday to proceed to London. The last
days Of their stay at the Hotel du Louvre
were marked by most extraordinary and i'm
pressive occurrence. One of the officers be-
longing to the suite of the ENJOYS received the
order, which had been dispatched almost i'm
mediately after his departure from Japan to
commit the act of suicide, or self-destruction,
known as the hdri, described by Bayard Tay-
Tor and other travellers in Japan as the only
method of avoiding the disgrace and torture
accompanying public execution. What the
offence committed by the miserable man be-
fore his departure from Japan was, or what
the means whereby it was discovered must
forever remain a secret. But what is certain
is the fact of the act of the suicide having been
faithfully performed by the victim, and, ac-
cording to official form, in presence of the
representative of the spiritual majesty of
Japan, and by stabbing himself in the
bowels with the broad yataghan which
every Japanese officer of distinction wears
upon his bosom, and which is suspended
by thick gold chain round his neck. 1t APP
pears that it has been the custom daily of an
afternoon for the four-and-twenty chief offic-
ers of the expedition to take their bath in a
large marble, basin which has been expressly
fitted up for their purpose on the first floor of
the hotel. In this, the water being renewed
and let off at pleasure, it was easy to accom-
plish the work of vengeance; and here alone,
with the minister of imperial wrath, the shad-
ow appointed to watch every movement of his
companions and report every action to his
sovereign, did a miserable being put an end
to his existence, at the word of command is
sued from the other side of the globe. The
bath walters of the hotel had reported on the
suspicious appearance of the water which re-
manned at the bottom of the bath on a certain
day, and the evident attempts which had been
made to cleanse the floor of the room with
unusual care. But so strange are considered
the customs of these people, and so utterly
impossible to understand their language, in
spite OF the numerous Swans in Paris paid
by the government, not only to learn but to
teach it, but who, although proclaimed per-
fectly conversant with all its dialects until the
ambassadors arrived, seem suddenly so struck
with awe, perhaps at the sight oftheir eXcellen-
cies, that they lost their memory entirely, and
could not understand nOrutter single world
that it was deemed by the persons consulted
on the subject that the disorder must have
been created by some religious or superstit-
inns custom, and no further inquiry was
therefore deemed necessary. After the lapse
of day or two, however, it was observed
that one of the officers was missing; the wal
tiers noticed, moreover that the room occu-
MED by one of them remained undisturbed,
although his vestments of ceremony renamed
extended on his bed and at last many little
circumstances and sundry religious obseryan-
ces, which seemed to have no adequate eX-
nlonotion. occasioned an inquiry to be insisted
pn The result of this inquiry seems to have
beer the discovery of the corpse Of the vic
fin. rudely embalmed and placed with great
care in a large wooden chest, all ready packed
10 20 il away. The embalmment merely
consisted Of the most careful bandagiing in
silken wrappers, tightly compressed 9y leath-
ern thronps. As far as gesture and lntona-
t;on can convey the impressions Of the mind
it soon became easy to perceive that no CON
cealment was sought, and that the occurrence
was greatly regretted by the victims eompa an
ions. although tregarded as stern necessity