cea he sought; but that, in
order to obtain it, it was necessary to fit out a ship, with a certain
number of young virgins, and an equal number of young men of pure lives,
as a propitiatory offering to the stern guardian of the "elixir of
life." The ship sailed, freighted as desired, and after a few days
reached the western shores of Japan, from whence, you will readily
imagine, the wily sage never returned. These young men and maidens
became the ancestors of the Japanese race.

Their form of government was despotic in its character, and feudal in
its system. The country was governed by a powerful ruler with the title
of mikado--"son of the sun"--who was supported in his despotism by
tributary princes, or daimios. Of them the mikado demanded military
service in time of war, and also compelled them to reside a part of each
year in his capital, where quarters were provided for them and their
numerous retainers in the neighbourhood of the palace. The visitor may
still see whole streets in Tokio without a single inhabitant, the former
residences of the daimios' followers, and the aspect is dreary in the
extreme.

In addition to his temporal functions, the mikado has always been the
great high priest of the Sintor faith. On the breaking out of a war with
China, it was found that his attendance with the army would deprive the
religion of its spiritual head, and so indispensable was his presence in
the great temple, that such a deprivation would be little short of a
calamity. In this dilemma, he called to his aid the general of his
forces, an able warrior and a shrewd designing man, conferred on him the
hereditary title of shio-goon, or tycoon, and despatched him at the head
of the army to carry fire and sword into the coasts of China. This
prince's name was Tycosama, a name great in Japan's history, and
destined to become terrible to the Christians. As generally happens,
when a clever soldier with a devoted army at his back is placed in such
a position, he finds it but a step to supreme dominion, the army being a
pretty conclusive argument in his favor. His first act was the removal
of the mikado to the holy city, Kioto, where henceforth he was kept
secluded, and hemmed in by so much mystery, that the people began to
look upon their ancient ruler as little less than a god.

It will be readily imagined that the tycoons, by their arrogant
assumption to the imperial dignity, made for themselves many enemies
amongst the powerf