Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, he was welcomed to our country by the President.

In the short time he could remain in the United States he visited a few of our great cities; he examined with care many forms of machinery and the latest marvels of electricity, in all of which he took a special interest.

Almost as soon as Li Hung Chang arrived in New York he visited the tomb of General Grant, and thus showed his deep regard for the man he had long admired.

The long journey by rail across the continent must have impressed this keen man with the advantages of railroads to a great land, and shown him how they develop all the resources of a nation.

It is hoped the many things he learned in this journey around the world will be impressed upon the emperor by Li Hung Chang, and that he may live to see the railroad, the telegraph, and many other improvements introduced into all parts of The Middle Kingdom.

There was a time when China was the equal, if not the rival, of the rest of the world. She built mighty walls, great canals, and led the way to some of the world's greatest inventions. To this day some of her manufactures have never been surpassed. She has within her borders almost boundless resources, great rivers, fertile plains, and mines of untold wealth. We can but wonder what her future is to be!

Her hatred of foreigners; her rejection of all modern improvements and labor-saving machines; and her evident belief that she can learn nothing from the outside world, are impassable barriers to progress.

But the time must come when China, no longer content with the wheelbarrow and the palanquin, the paper lantern and the clumsy junk, will welcome the more modern inventions of the Western World and strive to take a place among the leading nations of the earth.

"Builders of the mighty wall,

Bid your mountain barriers fall!
So may the girdle of the sun
Bind the East and West in one."

CHAPTER XVI.

THE SUNRISE KINGDOM.

LYING far, far to the East, in the path of the rising sun, is the Island Kingdom of Japan.

"Cradled and rocked in the Eastern seas

The islands of the Japanese

Beneath me lie; o'er lake and plain

The stork, the heron, and the crane,

Through the clear realms of azure drift;
And on the hillsides I can see

The villages of Imari."

This land is sometimes called the "Land of Flowers," and the “Chrysanthemum Empire." It can lay good claim to these titles, for nowhere else do we hear of the "Feast of the Chrysanthemums" or the "Feast of the Cherry Blossoms."

No country on the globe is more interesting than

Japan. Shut away from the rest of the world, the Japanese developed a civilization far superior, in many respects, to that of the Hindus, the Chinese, or any other Oriental peoples. Many useful arts, which have won the admiration of the whole world, were invented by the Japanese.

Until the year 1854, but little of the Japanese Empire was known to Americans. This old nation was then suddenly forced, at the cannon's mouth, to open its ports to the people of the United States. There were many causes which led to the sending of an American expedition to Japan at this particular time.

For a number of years the whaling industry had attracted many American ships to the north Pacific. The stories of cruelty and imprisonment told by sailors who had been wrecked upon the shores of Japan were the first cause in deciding our government to compel the Japanese to recognize the rights of shipwrecked American sailors.

There were other important reasons for seeking at this time to arrange a treaty with Japan. The discovery of gold in California and the growing trade with China caused a larger number of steamships to be sent to the Pacific. This made it necessary to have coaling stations and ports of shelter on the Japanese coast.

At length an expedition was fitted out and intrusted to Commodore Perry, who sailed for Japan with a proposal from the United States government for a treaty. When the squadron appeared in the Bay of Yeddo it caused the greatest commotion on shore.

Rumors of a foreign invasion spread among the people and created the wildest excitement.

Commodore Perry proved to be the right man for the occasion. Leaving the proposed treaty to be examined and discussed by the Japanese rulers, Commodore Perry sailed for China to protect Americans there during the Taiping Rebellion, which was in progress at the time.

After many months of conference and hesitation on the part of the Japanese, the treaty was made, and a little later similar treaties were exchanged with other nations. The Japanese soon saw that their unwelcome visitors were their superiors. Since that time the people of Japan have made the most rapid advance in modern civilization ever witnessed in any country. Railroads have been built, telegraph lines extended to all parts of the empire, steamship routes established, electric lights introduced, and all the latest improvements in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing have been adopted. Because of this progressive spirit Japan now stands as the leading power in the Far East.

What a contrast to China, with her inveterate hostility to foreigners and her rejection of all modern improvements and labor-saving machines!

Four large islands form the main part of the Empire of Japan. Besides these there are four thousand small islands within its territory. This island empire, with an extensive coast line of more than seventeen thousand miles, is about the size of California.

From north to south it measures a distance as great