The Empire of the East. By H. B. Montgomery. (Methuen
and Co. 7s. 6d. net.)—This "Empire" is Japan, and it is Japan which our author seeks "to depict as it really is, not the Japan seen through glasses of various colours." Very good. But we must not forget that one of the colours is rose. Mr. Montgomery is, indeed, an enthusiast; he is full of admiration for what he halo seen, and he mounts on wings of prophecy. He sees many virtues in this people, and he predicts that they will be lasting and will be developed into something still more noble. The one thing, we might almost say, that does not satisfy him is the status of woman. The State of which this can be said is, as Aristotle tells us, ill-ordered as to one of its halves. He laments, too, the decay of the best Japanese wit. We do not set ourselves against his optimistic views. Much that he says is true beyond all question. Whether the Japanese will be good masters is a thing about which one can hardly escape some serious doubt. What is going on in Korea scarcely tends to a favourable answer. And that they will be a conspicuous race can hardly be doubted. However this may be, Mr. Montgomery has written a very interesting book.
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