Collected works > Edinburgh edition, 1894-98 - Works of Robert Louis Stevenson > Volume 5, 1895 - Miscellanies, Volume II

MEN AND BOOKS
of foreign teachers. He hoped, perhaps, to get the
good of other lands without their evil ; to enable
Japan to profit by the knowledge of the barbarians,
and still keep her inviolate with her own arts and
virtues. But whatever was the precise nature of his
hope, the means by which it was to be accomplished
were both difficult and obvious. Some one with
eyes and understanding must break through the
official cordon, escape into the new world, and
study this other civilisation on the spot. And who
could be better suited for the business ? It was not
without danger, but he was without fear. It needed
preparation and insight ; and what had he done since
he was a child but prepare himself with the best
culture of Japan, and acquire in his excursions the
power and habit of observing ?
He was but twenty-two, and already all this was
clear in his mind, when news reached Choshu that
Commodore Perry was lying near to Yeddo. Here,
then, was the patriot's opportunity. Among the
Samurai of Choshu, and in particular among the
councillors of the Daimio, his general culture, his
views, which the enlightened were eager to accept,
and, above all, the prophetic charm, the radiant
persuasion of the man, had gained him many and
sincere disciples. He had thus a strong influence
at th^, provincial Court ; and so he obtained leave
to q,uit the district, and, by way of a pretext, a
privilege to follow his profession in Yeddo. Thither
he hurried, and arrived in time to be too late : Perry
had weighed anchor, and his sails had vanished from
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