The romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir - Khamkoo

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AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH JAPAN
PRESS NOTICES
continued
commentary
is found in the statistics of the
divorce court, the registrar, and the coroner.
For instance, 124,000 divorces, 107,000
illegitimate children, and nearly 9000 suicides
might give the thoughtful Japanese food for
reflection ;
but the Japanese has not a
mathematical mind, and no appreciation of
statistics. Moreover, he sees no reason for
adopting the elastic moral code of the West.
The concluding pages give hints to travellers,
but the volume as a whole, provided with
excellent photographs, affords ample compensation
to the stay-at-home."
London Globe
"To China he assigns four chapters, to
Japan as many as nineteen. To Japan, indeed,
he accords 240 of his 425 pages, and it is on
that country that he is at once most readable
and most instructive. In this respect his
book may be recommended as a gentle but
effective corrective to those numerous volumes
in which Japan and the Japanese have been
painted in couleur de ' rose. '
Mr. Del Mar,
if he nothing extenuates, sets down naught
in malice. We see no sign of prejudice in
his account of the Frenchman of the '
East.'
The only regard in which he differs from so
many of his predecessors is in his desire to
be accurate and just. It is easy to cast a
glamour over life in Japan, but it is much
more to the purpose that we should know
the exact truth about it, and especially about
its everyday, social, and domestic side."
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The Field
Mr. Del Mar made the usual trips to
Canton, Macao, and Shanghai, and describes
all that came under his notice. Japan was
the next country visited, and here a stay of
more than three months was made. This
portion of the book is by tar the most interesting,
as the author remained long enough in
the country to form an accurate opinion of
the real state of affairs, and had evidently
made himselt acquainted with the best
authorities on the subject."
Liverpool Post
"Apart from political and international
considerations, there has always been an
interest taken in our new allies in Dai Nippon,
and Mr. Walter Del Mar furnishes in Around
the World through Japan a vast store of
information regarding the features of the
country and the manners of its people. There
is
nothing political in the handsome volume,
nor does the author profess to give anything
beyond a fully annotated itinerary of his long
journey but he has made the diary deeply
;
interesting, and his hope that it may be of
service to other travellers is not without
foundation. Throughout the little history
there is
conspicuous a vein of what is transatlantically
known as good horse sense."
Birmingham Post
Mr. Del Mar has the rare knack of
noting and inquiring into actualities : he
takes cognisance of living issues, and is freer
from gush than most chroniclers of travel ;
he has also the courage to touch upon
phases of life usually suppressed by other
writers. Taken altogether, this book, which
is embellished with some effective illustrations,
may be recommended for its frank, interesting,
and absorbing quality. It furnishes
delightful, amusing, and instructive reading."
Yorkshire Herald
"Mr. Walter Del Mar's book, Around the
World through Japan, is full of interest.
That he has used his eyes and understanding
is
abundantly demonstrated in the volume
before us. There is much that is
amusing
in Mr. Del Mar's book. Mr. Del Mar
leaves little or nothing to be inferred he
;
speaks plainly of the social customs of the
Japanese, and herein the chief merit of his
interesting work lies. The book is lavishly
illustrated. The author contrives to impart
useful information on every page, and we
have no hesitation in commending his work
to students and lovers of travel and adventure
whom necessity or lack of suitable
opportunity keeps at home."
Glasgow Herald
"Of extreme interest and never dull.
Altogether we have here a most charming
book of travels, written in a bright and
pleasant style."
Scotsman
"Unusually
full of solid information,
acute observation, and frank impressions of
the lands and countries visited."
Westminster Gazette
' '
Thoroughly modern and not a little
popular. ' '
St. James' Gazette
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Contains a great deal of careful information."
Yorkshire Post
"It is bright and readable and full of
information."
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