arkly, surely he ought not to be condemned. At any
rate I will pass no condemnation on him. Outside the accretions which
have undoubtedly come upon Buddhism and Shintoism in the many
centuries they have existed in Japan, I desire once more to emphasise
the fact, to which I have previously made reference, that both these
religions have had, and I believe still have, a beneficial effect,
from a moral point of view, on the Japanese people. There is nothing
in their ethical code to which the most censorious person can raise
the slightest objection. They have inculcated on the Japanese people
through all the ages, not only the necessity, but the advisability of
doing good. Buddhism, in particular, has preached the doctrine of
doing good, not only to one's fellow-creatures but to the whole of
animate nature. These two religions have, in my opinion, placed the
ethical conceptions of the Japanese people on a high plane.

In my remarks on the people of Japan I do not think I can more
effectually sum up their salient characteristics than has been done by
the writer of a guide to that country. "The courtly demeanour of the
people," he says, "is a matter of remark with all who visit Japan, and
so universal is the studied politeness of all classes that the casual
observer would conclude that it was innate and born of the nature of
the people; and probably the quality has become somewhat of a national
characteristic, having been held in such high esteem, and so
universally taught for so many centuries--at least, it seems to be as
natural for them to be polite and formal as it is for them to breathe.
Their religion teaches the fundamental tenets of true politeness, in
that it inculcates the reverence to parents as one of the highest
virtues. The family circle fosters the germs of the great national
trait of ceremonious politeness. Deference to age is universal with
the young. The respect paid to parents does not cease when the
children are mature men and women. It is considered a privilege as
well as an evidence of filial duty to study the wants and wishes of
the parents, even before the necessities of the progeny of those who
have households of their own."

I do not think that it is necessary for me to add much to these wise
and pregnant remarks. The more one studies the Japanese people, the
more I think one's admiration of them increases. They have, in my
opinion, in many respects arrived, probably as the result of the
accumulated