The world was astonished by the news that on Friday
week, when the first gun was fired announcing the departure of the Emperor's body from the palace at Tokyo, Count Nogi and his wife had committed suicide. General Nogi was the capturer of Port Arthur and the most honoured soldier in Japan, a man of faultless bravery and honour. It is impossible for a Westerner to understand, and therefore quite impossible for him to appreciate, this example of the working of the code and traditional spirit of old Japan. When General Nogi cut his throat and his wife stabbed herself they were dressed in full Japanese costume, and were in the presence of portraits of the late Emperor and the present Emperor, and of their own sons, both of whom were killed at Port Arthur. The deed excited profound, if somewhat regretful, admiration throughout Japan.
