Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-07-10
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

Elaborate preparations are being
made in Japan for the celebration ten
days hence of the great metropolitan
festival of Kawabiraki, in which the
entire population of high and low de-
gree takes part. 1t is not a very
ancient festival. Indeed, 1t dates
from 1874 years ago. when the first
great bridge across the river Sumida,
dividing the capital. was thrown open
to the people. It is essentially a
water celebration, the broad river
Sumida, which is to Toxic what the
Thames is to London, the Seine to
Paris, the Danube TO Vienna and the
Hudson to New York, is crowded with
myriads of boats and sampans OF
every shape and form, each brilliantly
illuminated with muiti-colored Japa-
nese lanterns and freighted with
laughing and singing men, women and
children, while the teahouses and
restaurants that line the banks are
still more brilliantly lighted and gay
with sounds Sof reveiry. Kawablraki
may indeed be described as the Feast
of Lanterns, and Is made the occasion
of the grandest display of fireworks
during the year--of those fireworks
which the Japanese describe as Fire
F1owers-and in the contrivance and
devising of which they have deyel-
oped an altogether marvellous pyro-
technical skill. Boats on the night OF
this festival command fancy prices
and are. engaged weeks ahead, as are
also the rooms and balconies. of the
teahouses and gardens lining the
river, and those of the people who
have not the wherewithal to secure
accommodations of this kind throng
the shores and feast, on food. and
above all !. the drink puryeyed by
itinerant vendors. dancing and sing
ing to the ubiquitous strains OF music
and of song. Toxic indeed becomes
on this night namely. July "a: a
species OF oriental Venice at the time
of the latter's annual carnival. Little
work is done during the week. The
entire huge metropolis which. with
It's near 100000 population housed
stored buildings. extends over CO.
lossal area, is given up to merriment,
and about the only persons who
dream of serious work on the occa-
sion are those clever artists who seek
to portray the varied scenes and to
tndf inspiration for their most sue
cessful and characteristic pictures.
The food and drink consumed during
this night of nights is something GO
lossal and when 1t is mentioned that
Japanese dinners consist sometimes
Of as many as sixty separate courses
of food that, while agreeable to the
palate. is exceedingly indfgestible and
that the sake" or national Japanese
home brew made of rice Jig terribly
Intoxicating, it will readily be under-
stood that it takes a patriotic Japa-
nese a matter of several days to
recover from the jollifieation OF the
festival kawabiraki
X Is X e.
Prince Talleyrand, when in charge
Of the foreign relations of France, at
the beginning of the nineteenth CEN
fury intrusted Joseph Bonaparte-
then merely an ordinary citizen and
who was only much later on raised
by his brother Napoleon 1 to the
throne of Naples and then to that of
Spain-with the duty of meeting and
negotiating with the United states
commissioners. William Vans Murray,
oliver Ellsworth and William r.
Dayis, whom President Adams had
sent to France with a view" OF putting
an end to the temporary estrangement
that had arisen between the two
countries, an enlargement that had
actually led to several armed encoun-
ters at yea, notably that between the
CONSTELLATION, under Commodore Trux-
tun. and. the French frigates LInsur-
genie and La Vengeance. The differ
ences were largely of misunderstand-
.ings that could have been avoided.
and for which the glazing lack of
knowledge of diplomatic and inter-
national procedure of the early revo-
lutionary regime in Paris was largely
responsible. When Prince Talleyrand
assumed the. direction of Frances
foreign affairs new methods were
adopted by France in dealing with
other nations. He quickly realized
the necessity of restoring the old
time friendship between France and
the United States, which owed so
much to it's alliance with France at
the time of its'w of independence.
The instructions given to Joseph
Bonaparte by the prince-that past
ma ster In the. arts .of international
statecraft and 4diplomacy--were very
much to the point. He declared In
his written Instructions. THE discus
sion of differences between two peo-
ples present two distinct points of
view; first, that which is an affair OF
pure irritation or of diplomatic 'sus-
ceptibility; second that which is an
affair of national interest. of policy.
and of commerce." BY keeping the
second point of view steadily before
him, and by subordinating It's con-