CHAPTER XL. ARRIVAL AT YOKOHAMA-HONORS TO GENERAL GRANT— Of the visit to Yokohama, the correspondent of the New York Herald thus writes:-Yokohama has a beautiful harbor, and the lines of the city can be traced along the green background. The day was clear and warm — a home July day tempered with the breezes of the sea. There were men-of-war of various nations in the harbor, and as the exact hour of the General's coming was known, everybody was on the lookout. At ten o'clock, our Japanese convoy passed ahead and entered the harbor. At halfpast ten, the Richmond steamed slowly in, followed by the Ashuelot. As soon as the Monongahela made out our flag, and especially the flag at the fore, which denoted the General's presence, her guns rolled out a salute. For a half-hour the bay rang with the roar of cannon, and was clouded with smoke. The Richmond fired a salute to the flag of Japan. The Japanese vessels, the French, the Russian, all fired gun after gun. Then came the official visits. Admiral Patterson and staff, the admirals and commanding officers of other fleets, Consul-General Van Buren, officers of the Japanese navy, blazing in uniform; the officers of the Richmond were all in full uniform, and for an hour the deck of the flagship was a blaze of color and decoration. General Grant received the various dignitaries on the deck as they arrived. noon. It was arranged that General Grant should land at The foreign residents were anxious that the landing should be on the foreign concession, but the Japanese preferred that it should be in their own part of the city. At noon the imperial barge and the steam-launch came alongside the Richmond. General Grant, accompanied by Mrs. Grant, his son, Prince Dati, Judge Bingham, Mr. Yoshida, Captain Benham, Commander Johnson, Lieutenant Stevens, Dr. Bransford, Lieutenant May, and Paymaster Thomson—the naval officer specially detailed to accompany him passed over the side and went on the barge. As soon as General Grant entered the barge, the Richmond manned yards and fired a salute. In an instant, as if by magic, the Japanese, the French, the Russians manned yards and fired salutes. The German ship hoisted the imperial standard, and the English vessel dressed ship. Amid the roar of cannon and the waving of flags, the General's boat slowly moved to the shore. As he passed each of the saluting ships, the General took off his hat and bowed, while the guards presented arms and the bands played the American national air. It was rather a long way to the Admiralty pier, but at half-past twelve the General's boat came to the wharf. There in waiting were the princes, ministers, and the high officials of the Japanese Government. As the General landed, the Japanese band played the American airs, and Iwakura, one of the prime ministers, and perhaps the foremost statesman in Japan, advanced and shook his hands. The General had known Iwakura in America, and the greeting was that of old friends. There were also Ito, Inomoto, and Tereshima, also members of the Cabinet; two princes of the imperial family, and a retinue of officials. Mr. Yoshida presented the General and party to the Japanese, and a few moments were spent in conversation. Day fireworks were set off at the moment of the landing - representations of the American and Japanese flags entwined. That, however, is the legend that greets you at every doorsill-the two flags entwined. The General and party, accompanied by the ministers and officials and the naval officers, drove to the railway-station. There was a special train in waiting, and at a quarter-past one the party started for Tokio. The ride to Tokio, the capital of Japan, was a little less than an hour, over a smooth road, and through a pleasant, well-cultivated, and apparently prosperous country. Our train being special made no stoppage, but I observed, as we passed the stations, that they were clean and neat, and that the people had assembled to wave flags and bow as we whirled past. About two o'clock our train entered the station. A large crowd was in waiting, mainly the merchants and principal citizens of Tokio. As the General descended from the train, a committee of the citizens advanced and read an address, to which the General made a very pleasing reply. At the close of the address, the General was led to his carriage the private carriage of the Emperor. As he stepped out, several Japanese officials met him; among others was His Excellency J. Pope Hennessy, the British Governor of Hong Kong, whose guest the General had been. The General shook hands warmly with the Governor, who said he came as a British subject to be among those who welcomed General Grant to Japan. The General's carriage drove slowly in, surrounded by cavalry, through lines of infantry presenting arms, through a dense mass of people, under an arch of flowers and evergreens, until, amid the flourish of trumpets and the beating of drums, he descended at the house that had been prepared for his reception - the Emperor's summer palace of Eurio Kwan. This is a low, one-story building, with wings. The main building is a series of reception-rooms, in various styles of decoration, notably Japanese. There are eight different rooms in all, in any one of which you may receive your friends. General Grant uses the small room to the left of the hall as you enter. On ceremonial occasions he uses the main saloon, which extends one-half the length of the palace. Here a hundred people could be entertained with ease. This room is a beautiful specimen of Japanese decorative art, and you never become so familiar with it that there are not constant surprises in the way of color or form or design. Each of the rooms is decorated differently from the others. The apartments of General Grant and party are in one wing, the dining-room, billiard-room, and the apartments of the Japanese officials in attendance, in the other wing. Around the palace is a veranda, with growing flowers in profusion, and swinging lanterns. The beauty of the palace is not in its architecture, which is plain and inexpressive, but in the taste which marks the most minute detail of decoration, and in the arrangement of the grounds. The Japanese, with a refinement of courtesy quite French in its way, were solicitous that General Grant should not have any special honors in Japan until he had seen the Emperor. It was felt that, as the General was the guest of the nation, he should be welcomed to the nation by its chief. The hour for our reception was two in the afternoon. The day was very warm, although in our palace on the sea we have whatever breeze may be wandering over the |