The New York herald., 1879-10-01
AROUND THE WORLD
General Grant Takes Leave
Of Japan.
N A LONG SPEECH.
Farewell TO the MikadO and Last
Night in EnriOkwan.
LEAVING TOXIC IN STATE.
Draping the Engine with Amer
lean and Japanese Flags.
TOXIC. Sept. .. 1879.

TOXIC Sept 2. 1879.
Among the most pleasing incidents OF our last
days in Toxic was dinner with Sanjo. the Prime
Minister who entertained Partisan STYLE every
thing being would have found it ON the
Champs Eysees-the perfection of French decoration
in the appointments OF the house. and of French
taste in the appointments of the table, Mr.. Mori.
who formerly japanese Minister to the United
States. and is Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs,
and OF the strong and rising in the Empire.
gave dinner and reception. Here the General
met most of the noted in literary and scientific
pursuits Mr.. Terashima. the Foreign Minister,
also gave a dinner, which Parisian
in its appointments. Mr. Yoshida entertained
portion of our party-the General not being
able to attend-in japanese style. Among the guests
were Saigo Ito and Kawamura of the Cabinet and
our good friends and daily companions, Tateno
and Ishibashi, of tho Emperor's household, who
have boon sent by His Majesty to attend upon tho
General and give him the advantage of their knowl-
edge Of English. We had had stately Japanese
dinner in Nagasaki. when woro entertained after
the of the old daimios. but with Mr..
Yoshida we dined as we would have dined
with any Japanese gentleman of distinction if
had been asked to his house in
social way. Mr.. Yoshida lives distance
from Enriokwan. i'll of group of houses
built ridge overlooking the sea. the road
toward Yokohama. There grounds where the
master of the house INDUCES fancy for gardening,
fancy which in place you it perfect
In Sapan. The gardener in Japan is poet. He
loves his trees and shrubs and flowers, and brings
about results in his treatment OF them that show
new possibilities and new power of expression in
nature.
JAPANESE DINNER
Mr.. Yoshida had a few lanterns among his trees.
but beyond this modest bit of decoration-just
there display. Dinner served in Japan
style. Our host Japanese costume. and the
room in which we dincd was open three sides and
looked out on the gardens. When you enter u Jap
auese house you expected TO take off your Shoes
This is not alone mark of courtesy. but OF ceani-
ness The floors spotless and covered with fine
mating which would crack under the grinding
edges of your European shoes. We took off shoes
and stretched ourselves tho floor. and partook of
food from small tables few inches high. Tho
tables of lacquer and the dishes mainly of
lacquer. There is no plan, no form, in Japanese
dinner simply to dino with comfort. OF the quality
Of the food have not confidence enough in my
Judgment to give an opinion. Dining has always
Appeared to be OF the misfortunes that
with Adams fall. and have been able to think
Of it with enthusiasm. know that this is painful
confession. the display of ignorance and want of
taste but icannot be helped Igave myself seriously
TO my dinner because am fond of Mr. Yoshida, and
wanted to pay him the compliment OF enjoying his
gracious and refined hospitality. Then thought
that it would be something that might want to
write about. But the dinner beyond me. I
cannot say that disliked it. and liked it about
well as nineteen of twenty Of the dinners you
have in New York. 1t picturesque and pleasing
and in all its appointments unlike anything in
our close and compact way of living that you felt
somehow that you were having good time; you
felt like laughing. and if you gave way to your i'm
pulse il would have bocn to roll about the floor in
tho delight and abandon of boyhood. Ii you did
not want to cat you could smoke and if not to smoke
to drnk--and there was drinking, smoking and eat
ing all the time. Your attendants maidens.
comely and fair, who knelt in the middle
OF the floor and watched you with amusing
features. tanning you and noiselessly slipping
away your dishes and bringing They
were so modest, graceful. that you became uncon-
scious of their presence. They became. it were,
one of the decorations of tho dinner. They watched
tho guests and followed their Wishes far
fort concerned. Beyond that l word
glance of recognition. At home your servants
personagcs with all the attributes of human NATURE
and sometimes in n form aggravated that they
become serious care. and you dine under fear in
the presence OF oppressive responsibility. But
onr maidens might have been sprites they wcro
far from us. and at the time their grace and
quickness made tho mechanism of dinner
smooth and noseless.
uosrITALIrna
have been trying to think of something
corning this dinner that would DO regarded useful
Information. am conscious of the absence of that
quality in all that 1 have written about Japan. 1
would give the world IL 1 could only tell you how
some of the soups made and how the ragouts
seasoned. But IL had been told never would
have remembered and would have certainly written
IL wrong. and so / am compelled to fall back upon
my impressions. My main impression that
were having good time. that amusing
ourselves. playing. romplng-not dining. 1 have
never been upon the stage, but fancy that IL
had taken part in q comedy should have had the
same sensations with which enjoyed Mr.. Yoshidas
dinner-that was having merry time
and giving others a merry time. To chat and
listen. to lie prone tho floor and the red Ian
terms among the trees, TO the universe beyond,
the calm and infinite stars. to into light and
airy talk about music and books and songs and folk
lore to hear friends tell OF tho martial songs
OF Japan. and chant for somo of their stirring
strains; to try aid tell them something of our own
martial songs. what soldier boys sang during
tho TO note the energy and conscientious desire
to please and give instruction with which the Colonel
sang John Brown" and "Shcrman's March Through
Georgia" and Johnny Comes Marching Homo"--
these arc the impressions 1 recall. Neither the
Colonel nor myself know anything about the
words music of these songs, about music
in general, and would have givon large
part of fortunes IL for that ing
at least had had any musical faculty. But
what could wc do? our friends curious tho
subject and there way of changing the theme,
aud told all know--who john Brown was and
what Sherman marched for, and who Johnny
supposed to BE-. There line in the Sherman
song-somothing about the soldiers marching OF
with the turkey gobblers-which amused our
friends. although it difficult to explain to them
the exact meaning OF the word "gobblers." The
soionels singing mainly in heroic measure, and
his tunes seemed TO run into the same key; but our
friends Interested and in this fashion tho
ing passed good deal of the pleasure of the
evening. doubt. from the fact that wo wero