[1. The foreign legations left Osaka to take shelter at Kobe in 1868, during the civil war; for they could not be very well protected by their men-of-war in Osaka. Kobe once settled, the advantages offered by its deep harbor settled the fate of the Osaka Concession.]

doing is indubitable. There will be no speculation in such constructions, as there has been at Tokyo: Osaka "goes slow" and invests upon certainties. When there is a certainty, her merchants can make remarkable offers,--like that to the government two years ago of $56,000,000 for the purchase and reconstruction of a railway. Of all the houses in Osaka, the office of the "Asahi Shimbun" most surprised me. The "Asahi Shimbun" is the greatest of Japanese newspapers,--perhaps the greatest journal published in any Oriental language. It is an illustrated daily, conducted very much like a Paris newspaper,--publishing a feuilleton, translations from foreign fiction, and columns of light, witty chatter about current events. It pays big sums to popular writers, and spends largely for correspondence and telegraphic news. Its illustrations--now made by a woman--offer as full a reflection of all phases of Japanese life, old or new, as Punch gives of English life. It uses perfecting presses, charters special trains, and has a circulation reaching into most parts of the empire. So I certainly expected to find the "Asahi Shimbun" office

one of the handsomest buildings in Osaka. But it proved to be an old-time Samurai-yashiki,-- about the most quiet and modest-looking place in the whole district where it was situated.

I must confess that all this sober and sensible conservatism delighted me. The competitive power of Japan must long depend upon her power to maintain the old simplicity of life.

III

Osaka is the great commercial school of the empire. From all parts of Japan lads are sent there to learn particular branches of industry or trade. There are hosts of applications for any vacancy; and the business men are said to be very cautious in choosing their detchi, or apprentice-clerks. Careful inquiries are made as to the personal character and family history of applicants. No money is paid by the parents or relatives of the apprentices. The term of service varies according to the nature of the trade or industry; but it is generally quite as long as the term of apprenticeship in Europe; and in some branches of