Some of the visitors had no gloves, while others wore them
with fingers at least three inches too long. Certainly a court dresser
as well as a court tailor ought to be appointed to the Mikado's
establishment, before the European costume becomes generally adopted.
I could not help thinking that the two or three old conservative
Ministers who had stuck to their native dress must have congratulated
themselves on their firmness, when they saw the effect of the
unaccustomed garments upon their _confreres_. The old court dress of
the Daimios is very handsome, consisting of rich silks and brocades,
with enormously long loose trousers trailing two or three feet on the
ground, and with sleeves, like butterfly wings, of corresponding
dimensions. A small high-peaked black cap is worn on the head, to
accommodate the curious little cut-off pigtail, set up like a cock's
comb, which appears to be one of the insignia of a Daimio's rank in
Japan.
As soon as the people had arranged themselves into three sides of a
square, Sir Harry Parkes read an address, and presented his five
compatriots to the Mikado, who replied in inaudible but no doubt
suitable terms. Then the Governor of Kobe had to read an address, and
I pitied the poor man from the bottom of my heart. His knees shook,
his hands trembled, and his whole body vibrated to such an extent,
that his cocked hat fell and rolled on the floor of the dais, and
finally hopped down the steps, while the address nearly followed its
example.
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