code, based on the Code Napoleon-on which a commission, assisted by an able barrister from Paris, is now at work at Yedo-we shall recognize her right to claim the sole administration of justice within her realm. The augmentation of the customs dues is another important point; they are at present extremely low, and bring in a totally insufficient sum; but the real interest in the matter for Japan lies in the fact that an increase of the import duties would enable her to proportionately decrease the rice-tax, and to shift the burden in some degree on to other shoulders. The awkward question of admitting Christian missionaries, of authorising foreigners to travel freely in the interior of the country, to intermarry with Japanese, and to hold landed property, are all of the gravest interest. The future of Japan will certainly be influenced, morally and politically, by the solution which may be given to them. They are not, however, quite ripe for settlement, and it would probably be wise to postpone them altogether for the present. An arrangement between the Treaty Powers, in order to establish uniformity of conditions, would evidently be advantageous, for it would simplify negotiations, and would enable the Japanese delegates to avoid a wearisome repetition of the same arguments to each one of the parties; but it is perhaps scarcely likely that European Governments will take the trouble of consulting each other on the subject; it is more probable that they will separately try to make a good bargain for themselves. But, this time, Japan knows what Europe is, and it cannot be expected that if unjust demands are made upon her she will yield to them as she did before. She has learnt what the power of the press is; she is well aware that her duties and her rights will, if necessary, be publicly discussed; and she will confidently look to public opinion for protection, if she should need it.

The members of the Embassy will not, however, confine their labors to diplomatic dealings; the great object of their presence in the West is to thoroughly examine the principles and details of our Governments, our religions, our commerce, and our society. They will study, as they have already largely done in the United States, the institutions of European countries, for this purpose their mission which includes about fifty persons of different ranks

and occupations, is already dividing itself into sections, each one of which pursues a special object. Nothing escapes their curious eye; even the ceremonial of our Courts is under their investigation — a Chamberlain and a Master of the Ceremonies of the Mikado being delegated to examine and report upon that element of royal habits. Their main attention is directed-as might be expected, with the views they have to education, to the bases of taxation, to the organisation of municipalities and parishes, to the relations between Church and State, to the influence of religion as an element of the art of governing, to political economy, to the nature and the causes of our laws, and to a variety of other questions of a similarly grave and complex nature. If any of them should write a book about us, it will be worth reading. Their object is not, however, to aid us by their observations and advice, but to aid themselves by extracting from us all which seems to be susceptible of practical and useful applications in their own country. When we go on a long journey, we do so usually with the conviction that we have nothing to learn abroad: the Japanese are more modest and more wise; their attitude amongst us proves it. It is to be hoped that we shall behave to them in a manner which will justify them in carrying away a good opinion of us.

On their return home they will set to work to put in practice the lessons which they may learn here, by adopting on a still larger scale than hitherto, measures calculated to develop their people morally, intellectually, and commercially. We shall watch them with keen interest, for they are trying a grave experiment, of which the world offers no other example. The introduction of European education, laws, and usages amongst a population which has just seen all its models destroyed, which is fast losing the respect of class which has held in it for 2500 years, which has no longer the example of exaggerated honor from above (suicide has gone out of fashion lately), which sees its upper strata losing their position, and changing their convictions and occupations, which has no religious faith to guide it towards abstract duty,-may lead to revolutions still more thorough than those which have already taken place. The statesmen who are now governing Japan are fully awake to this not unlikely danger; and the de

sire of the best of them is to moderate the present movement, to restrict it within safe limits, to control, if possible, the enthusiasm which threatens to go too fast, and to let in new ideas and new means of action only as the population may become fit to utilise them wisely. The task is difficult; reactions rarely listen to the voice of prudence: converts are generally disposed to rush along without calculating consequences, and without heeding counsel; and this is doubly true of such a race as the Japanese, who are as emotional, as impulsive, and as wayward as the French. Still there are good grounds for hoping that all will go on well. The improvement which has been attained during the last few years, extends in many cases to character as well as to the outward signs of progress. Old defects are disappearing; mistrustfulness-that peculiarly Japanese disposition-is fading fast, and is being replaced by the confidence which exists in our societies, amongst people who respect each other; the thirst for knowledge is not diminishing the capacity of appreciating truth; the nation's deepset pride is taking another form, but is in

no way growing weaker; the lower classes, in which the eventual danger lies, are gentle and accustomed to obedience. The question is, whether these dispositions will suffice to keep the people quiet when they have once learnt from Europe what the power of the people really is. Levelling tendencies may do their work; and with all the prudence of the Government, and all the present good intentions of the inferior population, the latter may perhaps some day imitate the example which their superiors have already set them; may let themselves, in their turn, be run away with by feeling, and by the thirst for novelty, and may try Socialism and an Eastern International. None of this, however, is to be feared at present; years must pass before any real damage can be done; and possibly Japan may find out the secret which France has vainly sought for during eighty years-how to change the whole tendencies and objects of a nation without simultaneously destroying the convictions and the principles which make it one and strong. [From Blackwood's Magazine.

AT midnight on the 9th of July, 1872, Saturn being at the time due south and not far above the horizon, we set forth on our voyage across the depths of space which separate this earth from the Ringed Planet. The voyage we were now undertaking was of far greater extent than that to the sun which I have already described. Nearly nine times as far we were to travel, and that not towards the glorious centre whence light and heat are dispersed to the members of the planetary scheme, but to regions where his influence is diminished a hundredfold, where for aught that we as yet knew an unendurable degree of cold may prevail, and where life must exist under conditions altogether different from those with which we were familiar. Yet I must confess that, deeply as I had been interested when we set forth on our journey to the sun, I was yet more interested on this occasion. Wonderful are the mysteries of the sun, stupendous his bulk and might, past conception his glory; yet the human sympathies are more directly affect

ed by the thought of what may exist in worlds resembling our own. The grandeur of the universe is incomprehensible, "the glory of God is insufferable;" but in other worlds we may find creatures as imperfect as ourselves; there we may witness phenomena that we can understand because they are comparable with these already known to us-in such worlds, in fine, we may find safety from “the persecution of the infinite."

It was with a strange feeling that we watched the earth gradually passing from our view. It was night. Our course was directed towards the darkest region of the heavens, and as the faint lights which shone from towns and villages beneath us grew undiscernible with distance, we were immersed in a profound darkness, which seemed so much the more awful that around us was almost vacant space. As in our former journey the sounds of earth gradually subsided into perfect stillness; though again as we passed the confines of the air what had seemed stillness appeared

to us as uproar by contrast with the silence of interplanetary space. We passed rapidly onwards, directing our course almost exactly towards Saturn, (now shining very conspicuously in a somewhat barren portion of the constellation Sagittarius), but giving our attention chiefly to the orb which we had so lately left. For we were curious to know how the earth would appear when viewed from its night-side. We could readily recognize the earth's shape because the stars were now shining with great splendor, in numbers enormously exceeding those which can be seen from the earth on the darkest and clearest night; and there was a vast circular disc of darkness where stars were blotted from view by the earth's globe. We could see this dark disc gradually contracting like the pupil of an eye, as we travelled onwards, and we could in some sort estimate our position by noting the dimensions of this gigantic eye, whose iris was the star-bespangled sky, while its pupil was the great globe itself which men inhabit.

Presently, as we travelled onwards, the moon appeared on the left of the earth. So soon as her full.disc was uncovered we saw her as a fine sickle of light. But to our astonishment the rest of her disc was parti-colored. The part farthest on the left was perfectly black, its outer outline only distinguishable because projected on the starlit sky. This part formed a black sickle almost exactly opposite to the sickle of true moonlight. But between the white and black sickles lay a half-lit space of a bluish green color. This color was well marked, and we were at some loss to account for it, until X. pointed out that this part of the moon's surface was illuminated by earthshine chiefly coming from the Pacific Ocean, whence doubtless proceeded the beautiful tint which was spread over the middle of the lunar disc.

Passing farther away, we saw that the left side of the earth's disc began to be illuminated by a faint light received from the moon. Elsewhere, however, the disc of the earth continued perfectly dark, until we began to approach the orbit of the moon, when we could perceive that all round the earth's disc a deep red light was making its appearance. Before long we saw that this was actual sunlight. The earth's globe at this time presented a marvellous appearance. Its apparent diameter was about four times as great as the NEW SERIES.-VOL. XVI., No. 5.

moon's (not as then appearing to us, but as she appears when seen from the earth); but all round this large dark disc we could see a ruddy light of extreme brightness, and growing gradually brighter as we receded. At length, while the earth's disc was still ten or twelve times larger than that of the sun or moon as seen from the earth, we could perceive that the red light was as bright as the rising sun. It was indeed actually the sun, rising into our view; but instead of rising opposite one part only of the earth's dark disc, the sun was rising (if I may use the expression) all round the earth; only in one or two places the bright red ring was interrupted, and opposite these regions the red glare beyond was somewhat fainter. But what seemed to us an amazing circumstance was to see the sun actually transformed into a red ring of light, having an apparent diameter more than three times greater than that he ordinarily presents. This must appear so incredible, that I fear many may be disposed to consider that we were in some way deceived; or even, in consequence of the doubts thus suggested, to disbelieve this narrative altogether; but it is my intention to describe what we actually witnessed, without inquiring how far it may seem likely or unlikely to those whom this narrative may reach.

I would willingly enter upon X.'s ingenious explanation of the spectacle now presented to us, as well as of the varying aspect presented by the sun as our distance gradually increased. But I am told that it is desirable for me to turn from the narrative of these phenomena, in order to present the record of that part of our journey which relates more particularly to the planet Saturn. Let it suffice, then, to mention that the bright ring of light which was for the nonce our sun, contracted gradually in diameter as we receded, increasing continually in brightness. Later we reached a stage on our journey when the earth began to be presented as a vast black disc upon the solar face, now no longer magnified by the effect of the earth's atmosphere. This black disc grew smaller and smaller, until presently another smaller disc-the moon's-appeared along with it on the sun's face. At this time we had passed somewhat beyond the path of Mars, and we turned from the further contemplation of the earth and moon, in order to give all our attention to the circumstan

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ces of our journey toward the ringed planet.

Saturn now appeared much brighter than we had ever before beheld him. Our course thus far had carried us almost directly towards him, though a very slight deviation northwards had to be made so soon as we ceased to direct our path by keeping the earth on the middle of the sun's face. We had had a special object in this, as X. was very desirous of studying the varying appearance of the earth as we so travelled. Now, however, we travelled directly towards the rich golden orb of Saturn. We could not at present see the ring, nor, indeed, any sign that the planet is not like other planets. Saturn shone there before us, distinguished only from the stars by his superior brightness, and a certain indescribable contrast between his light and theirs. For though the stars were not twinkling, but shining with "purest ray serene," yet was there something in the stellar light which caused it to differ unmistakably from that of Saturn. It may have been partly, perhaps, that, owing to the exceeding swiftness of our onward flight, we unconsciously recognized the comparative nearness of Saturn; and were thus impressed by the distinction between the light from suns millions of times farther from us, and that from an orb which, vast though it is, is yet insignificant compared with the least of the suns which people space.

We passed through the zone of asteroids and I could tell you much that would interest you respecting these small bodies; but it will be better to reserve such details for another occasion. Let it suffice to mention that astronomers have not yet discovered the thousandth part of this family of small planets. Even crossing the zone at, one particular point we saw more asteroids than astronomers have yet counted; though certainly hundreds of those we saw were so small that astronomers could not hope to see them with the telescopes at present in use. Not even the largest that we passed presented any signs of being inhabited or fit for habitation. But the asteroids are not fragments of a larger planet. Every one of these bodies is as well rounded an orb as the earth on which you live.

Swiftly we traversed the enormous gap separating the outermost part of the zone of asteroids from the path of Jupiter. Although this planet was on the opposite

We

part of his orbit, we could recognize our approach to his course by a circumstance which caused us no little surprise. found many small comets travelling slantwise across our path in this neighborhood. Probably they belong to a system or family of comets which have been attracted from their former course round the sun by the mighty energy residing in Jupiter's mass, and have thenceforth continued to circle in paths crossing that of the giant planet. If so, their real number must be enormous; for, of course, we only saw a few of those which happened at the time to be rounding the part of their path near Jupiter's orbit, or rather, near that part of Jupiter's orbit which we crossed in journeying to Saturn.

When we were within about ninety millions of miles from Saturn, we began to recognize the shape of the Saturnian rings. The planet was now a glorious object. It was shining far more brightly than Jupiter or Venus when at their brightest; and its rich golden yellow hue distinguished it from all that we had hitherto seen in the heavens. There was no orb within our view, save the sun alone, which could be compared with this golden oval in splendor, though the whole of the celestial sphere, spread over with a hundred thousand stars, was open to our contemplation. Behind us lay the sun, whose disc was barely equal to the seventieth part of the orb he shows to the earth. Directly in front lay Saturn, looking nearly as large as the sun, though infinitely less brilliant. Besides these two orbs, the heavens presented only bright points of light; and the earth we had so lately left was now altogether undiscernible.

Impressed with a sense of utter loneliness,-for save where some vagrant meteor flashed past us, we saw no created thing within ninety millions of miles,—we exercised the powers we possessed to their utmost, in order to reach the planet which we recognized for the time being as a home prepared for us. Saturn grew under our view, so swift was our onward flight; his ring-system became more and more clearly discernible; and his satellites could now be clearly distinguished from the starbespangled background over which hitherto all but the two brightest had been lost. We had determined to pass straight to the planet's globe, a course which would carry us above the nearest part of the ring-system. I say I say "above," though in reality

"above was below, and below was above," stripped as we were of gravitating body. We were in fact to pass athwart the northern face of the rings.

As we neared the planet, though as yet we were far beyond the path of the outermost satellite, we could perceive that the golden color which had formed so beautiful a feature of Saturn, came from certain parts only of his globe; or rather, a much deeper tint, a burning cinnamon (so to describe at once the intensity of the color and its peculiar hue), came from certain zones of the planet. Even these zones seem mottled, insomuch that we were prepared to find that on a nearer approach their tint would be found to result from a mixture of various colors. But between them were zones quite differently tinted. The actual aspect of the planet may be thus described: the great central zone, occupying the position of the planet's equator, was of a bright yellow, so flecked with spots of pure white that when we had been somewhat farther away it had appeared almost perfectly white. Then came on either side zones of a rich purple flecked with yellow spots, between which were the "burning cinnamon" bands already mentioned. But the purple of the zones became more and more bluish the farther the zones were

from the equatorial belt. Close by, the north pole were several narrow zones of a delicate blue; and the pole itself was occupied by a wide region of rich cobalt blue, flecked with purple and olive-green spots. The southern polar regions were as yet concealed from our view by the rings. There was a symmetry and beauty in the whole aspect of the planet which cannot be described. The rings added largely to the effect; they also presented a singularly charming arrangement of color. We could already perceive that the outer ring was divided into two distinct rings, and also by several circular gaps not extending completely round, while the chief ring (the second great ring inwards) appeared very singularly striped by a series of dark concentric markings. Both these rings shone with a yellow light, the dark markings presenting a sepia tint, while the great division between the two rings, instead of being black as we expected, was of a deep brown-purple color. Somewhat similar, but more richly purple, was the so-called dark ring, except that where it crossed the planet's disc it appeared to shine with at

full brown color. The shape of the globe, and even the figure of certain markings upon it, could be distinctly seen through the dark ring. We even thought that we could trace the shape of the globe through the inner part of the second bright ring, and subsequently we found that we had not been deceived in this respect.

In order to avoid confusion it will be well that I shall omit further reference at present to what in reality occupied no small share of our attention as we approached Saturn's globe. The marvellous aspect of the rings must be described farther on. For the present I shall speak only of the globe of the planet.

To our amazement we found, as we drew nearer to Saturn, that his whole surface presented a scene of indescribable agitation. The white clouds on the equatorial belt appeared and changed in shape and vanished with startling rapidity. And the whole of this belt seemed opalescer t, the color and brightness of the different parts varying continuously. These changes had not been noticed by us when we were at a greater distance, because they did not affect the general lustre or color of the zone, or even of large portions of its extent. But now they were perfectly distinct, and each moment growing more marked in character. I do not know how I can better illustrate the nature of the changes taking place in the great equatorial belt, than by comparing its appearance to that of shifting clouds of steam strongly illuminated by concealed fires. The neighboring belts were equally changeful in aspect; but they presented at all times a much greater depth and variety of color. It was as though not white steam clouds, but clouds of colored gas were illuminated by a continually changing glow. The colors were even more variegated near the planet's poles; though here the changes were less rapid and remarkable. The general blue color of these regions seemed to be due to the presence of an overhanging pall of blue vapor, through which from time to time a purplish glow could be recognized in certain spots.

These appearances were so remarkable, and seemed so obviously to belong to the planet itself, and not to be caused by the varying effects of the sun's light, that we determined as we drew near the planet (and when we were already past the inner edge of the dark ring) to circle round Saturn's globe