Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-12-20
'HIO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1873.

request that he be granted leave to at.
tend his grandma's, or his papa's, or his
cousins funeral, as the case NAV be. A,
the dear departed has often gone "on
the hooks" before, the master is never
much startled or fearful that his servant
may go into decline from grief
On the 7th inst, our new minister
Mr.. Bingham, was received by the
Iemo Tor Mikado) in person. The au.
dience was set for 2 o'clock in the after.
noon and was permitted to witness the
ceremony. At II o'clock they repaired
to Yeddo to the Legation" as it is call.
ed there--an old building, once Budd-
INST temple, and at one time rented by
the Japanese Government to former
minister. About half an hour before the
time OF the audience, a mounted officer
rode up to the gate of the temple and
announced that carriages from the pal
ace were in waiting. There were two.
one for Mr.. Bingham and DE Long. and
the other for the two Secretaries-the
former and the newly appointed Sccre-
tary. The palaces of the Temo was re-
Gently burned, and he is now living in
the Queen DOwager's palace. The car.
riages were preceded by the mounted
officer of whom j have spoken, on each
side of whom ran "bettoes'' (runners) i'm
the japanese Imperial uniform. There
were four "bettoes" with each carriage
also. In front of the officer was a squad
OF mounted policemen to clear the way
and warn the people of the minister's
approach. The streets of Yeddo are
narrow, and usually crowded with Pc
destrlans, bullock carts and street hawk
ers OF all kinds, but these were all gone
when the procession proceeded through
them. Fer the whole distance--some
three miles-the way was lined on both
sides by policemen in uniform, who were
careful to keep the road perfectly clear.
On the approach to the Palace two lines
OF japanese soldiers were drawn up, be-
tween which the procession passed.
Passing through an immense stone arch
way, a large courtyard was entered,
paved with great square blocks
of granite, and scrupulously neat; then
on through another archway to an inner
court, strewn with gravel and shaded
here and there with immense trees,
whose wide-spreading branches and
gnarled trunks betokened the growth of
CENTURIES. Then came the garden, or
more properly, park, of the Palace 1t
Is surmonnted, as were each of the
courtyards, with a large stone wall not
less than thirty feet in height, and
about fifteen feet in thickness. | have
read of English landscape gardening,
and of the grand old parks that sur
round the ancient manors and castles of
that country, but never expect to see,
even in England, more tasteful orna-
mentation, or greater in extent, than is
visible i'll this park about the Temo's
Palace. For miles you walk through
perfect fairy land. 1t is like page
from the Arabian Nights, with its trees
trimmed in every fantastic shape, its ar
tificial mounds and lakes, and Its wealth
of foliage and flower. The Palace it.
self is not visible from the park en-
trance. 1t is low and built in the Jap
anese fashion, and so ingeniously CON
cealed that you do not suspect its pres
ence until you suddenly come upon it
from turn in the road. Like other
japanese buildings it is deceptive in ap-
pearance, and it is not until you have
travelled day or so through its long
corridors and its innumerable rooms
that you begin to suspect its true size.
Mr.. Bingham, Mr. De Long, and their
attaches were received at the entrance of
the Palace by the Prime Minister and
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the
Grand Chamberlain, and other dignita-
ries and hidalgos, all clad in court dress
which included an immense amount of
gold and silver lace. They conducted
the party into large finely furnished
room, where refreshments were served.
The line of march was then taken up
from the reception room, the two Amer
lean Ministers leading, the Prime and
Foreign Ministers on their right and
lett, the two Secretaries of Legation
next. the small fry stringing after
Passing through large folding doors we
came into the room where His Imperial
Maj 'ty stood to receive. He is a very in
telligent looking young man, of medium
height, and was dressed in dragoon
uniform of red and white. He stood
still as a statue, while the rest performed
their congees, three times in solemn sue
cession, when he recognized onr pres
ence by slight bow. Mr.. De Long was
the first to speak making his final adieux
to which the Temo responded briefly.
Mr.. Bingham was then introduced and
addressing the Temo, said:
"Your Imperial Majesty has already
been advised, through your Majesty's
illustrious Minister for Foreign Affairs,
that have been appointed and com
missioned Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America, to reside near your
Majesty's Government. Obedient to
the instructions of my Government and
to my own sense of duty, as we'll, it
shall be my endeayor by good Offices to
strengthen, so far as l may be able, the
friendship now happ ly subsisting be-
tween your Majesty's Government and
my own, and to advance the interest of
both. 1t is pleasure to me to say,
that but obey the instructions of the
President who commissioned me, when
l assure your Majesty thatyou have the
good viii of the President and of the
United States of America, and their
best wishes for the prosperity of your
Majesty and of the people of Japan
The 1aeonla wbom / re,lresant are not |