to the position of a clerk, whose work it is to translate cypher telegrams which make of himself a mere cypher. The field is no longer open for original thought and daring action; there is no longer any responsibility to take, for every point must be referred home. Only the outward show survives,—the grand house, the elaborate dinners to les chers collégues, the congratulatory visits on various august occasions, perhaps an occasional chance of snatching some snippet of a "concession" for railway iron, or what not, for his nationals. But that is all, and Sir Harry Parkes himself, if brought to life again, could scarcely do more. What has happened in Japan has happened simultaneously all over the world. In time, we suppose, the fate which has overtaken so many other venerable institutions will overtake the diplomatic career: it will die a natural death, drop out of modern life, because no longer suited to modern conditions.
Book recommended. The Life of Sir Harry Parkes, by S. Lane-Poole and F. V. Dickins.
Perry (Commodore). Matthew Calbraith Perry, Commodore in the United States Navy, was born at Newport, Rhode Island, in the year 1794, and died at New York in 1858. In the naval circles of his day, Perry's name was well-known as that of an upright and energetic officer; but his title to lasting fame rests on his having been the man who opened Japan to the world. Various attempts, American and others, had been previously made in order to attain an end so desirable on commercial grounds, so necessary for the protection of shipwrecked mariners. Liberalism, too, was then in the air. Unrestricted international intercourse was at that time regarded by all Christian nations as an indisputable right, a sacred duty. Americans could with some good grace, or at least without breach of logic, insist on the door of Eastern Asia being flung open to them; for they had not yet begun to barricade themselves behind a Chinese wall of exclusiveness.
In July, 1853, Commodore Perry's fleet anchored off Uraga, a port at the entrance of Yedo Bay. Setting aside all the obstacles
