he Flowery Kingdom. Just at dusk the pilot boarded
the vessel and directed her safely through the narrow channel into the
land-locked harbor. Next morning all the soldiers were given shore leave
for the day and San-pans--the native craft--were provided to take the
men ashore. Here the Utahn explored the country in the jin-rickisha--a
two-wheeled vehicle which is drawn by the cabby himself, who as soon as
he has settled to his satisfaction the price to be paid, ambles off at a
gentle speed. If the Island of Kiusiu appeared beautiful as the boat
approached it in the waning twilight it seemed doubly so in the glory of
the morning sun. It is a land where poetry breathes as freely as the
gentle zephyrs blow from the summit of Mount Olympus; it is a land where
women are as fair as the daughters of Niobe. The pretty terraced hills
adorned with Pagan temples are rich in the odor of the spice and pine;
the pellucid lakes and bays gather a silver purity from the very crest
of the mountain; and as one gazes upon this beauty and simple grandeur
he imagines that it was just such influences as these that stirred the
soul of Hellas when she pictured Aphrodite springing out of the sea or
Neptune riding in his chariot of shells with a gay company of Tritons
and Nymphs. Three days, owing to a raging typhoon, the vessel was
delayed in coaling, but after the storm had spent its force the coaling
was resumed and the transport put to sea. On the 11th the ships arrived
at Muji, the key to the southern end of the inland sea. Here Japan's
military power is fully shown. Huge guns bristle from every hill, dark
warships stud the clear waters of the ocean and soldiers deck the peaks.
The sharp green cliffs in the inland sea chop off into the water and
from every one of these of any importance a cannon menacingly points.
Both entrances to the place are controlled by powerful fortresses which
command the open sea for a distance of twelve miles. In such a way has
the Mikado prepared for any war emergency. Two days after sighting Muji
the "Hancock" dropped anchor in the harbor of Yokahama. The visit here
lasted three days, during which the Utahns took a trip to Tokio and saw
of what the outside wall of the Emperor's palace is composed. At
Yokahama the batterymen spent the time in visiting the European portion
of the town and learning all they could about the flavor of the Japanese
foods. On the 16th the vessel lifted her ponderous anchor and pointed
her