their
dear children recently. They cannot with heart and brain accept their
loss, and they ask my direction."

_Myself_: "In the New Testament one thing is taught, God is Love. We
can be composed if we feel that God is love. The Gospel of John is the
most tender story in the world."

_Governor_: "It may be difficult for all people to come to the same
point and agree altogether. We must solve a great problem by
ourselves."

_Myself_: "We have opportunities of doing some good works in this
life. Therefore we must go on till we die and we must be content at
being able to do something good, directly or indirectly, in however
small measure. 'Earth is not as thou ne'er hadst been,' wrote an
Englishwoman poet of great scientific ability[171] who died while yet
a young woman."

_Governor_: "I think of Napoleon dying tormented on St. Helena, and
the peaceful attitude of Socrates though being poisoned by enemies.
But Socrates had done many good things, yet he was poisoned."

_Myself_: "Socrates had done what he could for his country and the
world, yet by his brave death he could add one thing more."[172]

The Governor said that he "got comfort from our talk," but this did
not perfectly reassure me. The next evening, however, I found a
parboiled Governor alone in the bath and he greeted me very warmly.
Without our interpreter we could say nothing that mattered, but we
were glad of this further meeting in the friendly hot water. It seemed
that our midnight talk would be memorable to both of us.

It is convenient to copy out here the following dicta on religion and
morals which were delivered to me at various times during my journeys:

A. "The weakest deterrent influence among us is, 'It is wrong.' A
stronger deterrent influence is, 'Heaven will punish you.' The
strongest deterrent influence of all is, 'Everybody will laugh at
you.'"

B. "In Japan all religions have been turned into sentiment or
aestheticism."

C. (_after speaking appreciatively of the ideas animating many
Japanese Christians_): "All the same I do not feel quite safe about
trusting the future of Japan to those people."

D. "We Japanese have never been spiritually gifted. We are neither
meditative and reflective like the Hindus nor individualistic like the
Anglo-Saxons. Nevertheless, like all mankind we have spiritual
yearnings. They will be best stirred by impulses from without."

E. (_in answer to my enquiry whether a Quakerism which compromised on