k of loyalty in the Japanese nature. Half-way down
the road to shame, it will halt of a sudden, and bungle back its way
to honour. Then there is the love of the _beau geste_ which is an even
stronger motive very often than the love of right-doing for its own
sake. The favorite character of the Japanese drama is the _otokodate_,
the chivalrous champion of the common people who rescues beauty in
distress from the lawless, bullying, two-sworded men. It tickled
Tanaka's remarkable vanity to regard himself as the protector of this
lonely and unfortunate lady. It might be said of him as of Lancelot,
that--

"His honour rooted in dishonour stood,
And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true."

Asako was glad on the whole that she had no visitors. The Fujinami
were busy with their New Year preparations. Christmas Day passed by,
unheeded by the Japanese, though the personality and appearance of
Santa Claus are not unknown to them. He stands in the big shop windows
in Tokyo as in London, with his red cloak, his long white beard
and his sack full of toys. Sometimes he is to be seen chatting with
Buddhist deities, with the hammer-bearing Daikoku, with Ebisu the
fisherman, with fat naked Hotei, and with Benten, the fair but frail.
In fact, with the American Billiken, Santa Claus may be considered as
the latest addition to the tolerant theocracy of Japan.

Asako attended High Mass at the Catholic Cathedral in Tsukiji, the old
foreign settlement. The music was crude; and there was a long sermon
in Japanese. The magnificent bearded bishop, who officiated, was
flanked by two native priests. But the familiar sounds and movements
of the office soothed her, and the fragrance of the incense. The
centre of the aisle was covered with straw mats where the Japanese
congregation was squatting. Chairs for the foreigners were placed in
the side aisles These were mostly members of the various Embassy
and Legation staffs. For a moment Asako feared recognition. Then she
remembered how entirely Japanese she had become--in appearance.

Mr. Ito called during the afternoon to wish a Merry Christmas. Asako
regaled him with thin green tea and little square cakes of ground
rice, filled with a kind of bean paste called "_an_." She kept Tanaka
in the room all the time; for Sadako's remarks about marriage with Ito
had alarmed her. He was most agreeable, however, and most courteous.
He amused Asako with stories of his experiences abroad. He admired the
p