The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-10-30
The Wind in the Trees.
BY SEAMAN BRIGHT
&

touched his shaven cheek, as he rose
and began to pace the floor. at is
their secret, not mine," he went on,
after a moments rause, pointing to
the two flags opposite. "All can say
at present is that l am here on a poll
tical mission of great secrecy and i'm
portance, the ultimate issue of which
may be largely influenced by the
promise you made me some years
ago."
Il am ready, your excellency," said
Pelham, simply; and his visitor
bowed in acknowledgement.
well, then, to begin with, want
radical clew to your national
opinion on Anglo-Japanese relations.
l don't want your good humored,
superficial opinion, but the one you
hold deep down-the one you would
really express if suddenly faced with
a grave issue. All, yes," as Pelham
would speak, you will tell me, of
course, that English opinion is as
solid now as it ever was on the alli-
ance, and it may be so. Personally
I think it is, but there is just little
doubt. There are people in Japan
who say that King Edwards diplo-
macy has rendered you Independent
of our friendsh!p-that these coali-
tions with Italy, France and Spain
no longer leave you isolated"
"Oh! But that is sheer nonsense,
your excellency," broke in Pelham,
Indignantly.
: Il think it is, but we Japanese are
a proud race, and before | make my
final decision on a matter that grave
ly affects my country, want to be
quite sure. At the present moment, :"
he continued, with grave earnestness,
Il personally stand for the whole
spirit of Japan. The Emperor has
intrusted to my decision a question
that will determine our national fu-
ture, and as this question centres
around English public opinion, l am
anxious to apply to the latter a Ger
tain test. Now, when people test a
thing, Mr.. Pelham" he went on,
they don't as rule test the entire
bulk-they are content with sam
pie. You remember the wind in the
trees? Well, l want you to create
a second wind in the trees, and the
way l propose to do it is through
your newspaper, The Rapier The
latter stands for the largest sample
of public opinion available, and to it
1 propose to apply the following test:
Here" and he drew packet of pa
pers from his pocket and handed
them to Pelham, "is a series of three
newspaper articles which l wish you
to publish in your newspaper-the
first to appear tomorrow, the others
consecutively for three days. They
are, as you see, wholly unfriendly
to the present happy understanding
between our countries, and my aim in
publishing them is to probe the great
section of Englishmen who read your
paper, and, if possible, force them
to express an opinion"
"To put it crudely, your excellency
wants to twist sample of the Lions
tail, and see il he will roar?" said
Pelham, grimly, as he glanced
through the typewriter sheets in his
hand.
THAT is the point-will he roar?"
smiled his excellency. But your
paper? The publication of these ar
tinlac NAV offont ifc colaov bo ,Jdad
a moment latter, as he rose to go.
Perhaps, your eXcellency, but a
promise is a principle" said Pelham,
shaking hands, "and, like you, l be-
lieve that the gods, in some way or
other, take care of the principles"
The words, almost unconsciously
uttered, seemed to have a strange
solemnity, and long after the Japa-
nese statesman had driven away they
fingered like an echo in Pelham's s
brain, and gave him the confidence
he needed at the end of second and
more deliberate perusal of the arti-
cles.
The latter were brilliant, incisive,
and evidently written by a political
expert Of the first rank, but they ran
counter to everything on the Japa-
nese question that had hitherto ap-
peared in Pelham's newspaper.
In essence they resolved them
selves into a violent attack on the po-
litical relationship his readers held
most sacred, and, but for this theory,
that the carrying out of a principal
never yet permanently injured a man
Pelham would have been appalled, at
the prospect that awaited his Japa-
nese excellency's curious test.
Nor were his anticipations falsified
when The Rapier appeared the fol-
lowing morning, for soon kilograms
and letters from all quarters began
to herald the coming storm.
These, one and all. demanded the
unequivocal withdrawal of tho arti-
cles begun that morning, and con-
tinued at a rate which left Pelham
with no doubt of the unqualified sue
cess of his excellency's experiment;
hour by hour the commotion gath
cred volume, and next day, when the
second article appeared. attacking
the spontaneity of the welcome then
being extended by London to the