15 APRIL 1893, Page 25

ilyamesan : a Japanese Romance. By " A. M." (Walter Scott.)

—.Japanese romance goes hack to very early times indeed, This, however, is a story of the present day, with an Anglo-American artist for hero, a half-bread of mixed Irish and Japanese parentage for hero's friend, and a Japanese bmuty for heroine. This heroine is no common person. She talks in a way that gives the reader a high estimate of female education in her country. The story is a curious one, not wholly edifying, but then, edification is not the invariable characteristic of Japanese manners.