Identifier: aroundworldwith02youn (find matches)
Title: Around the world with General Grant: a narrative of the visit of General U.S. Grant, ex-president of the United States, to various countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in 1877, 1878, 1879. To which are added certain conversations with General Grant on questions connected with American politics and history
Year: 1879 (1870s)
Authors: Young, John Russell, 1841-1899
Subjects: Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885 Voyages around the world
Publisher: New York : The American News Co.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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raiment. In China music always attended ourvisits to princes and viceroys. Have you read what Confu-cius says about music? He liked bells and drums and harpsi-chords. When, he said, affairs are not carried on to suc-cess, propriety and music will not flourish, and if that is notthe case punishments will not be properly awarded. Even inthis seat of an antique civilization music reigns, and althoughthe harmony is jarring to our modern ears, and you feel thewant of expression and poetry, it has expression and poetry.One of the most intelligent Brahmins I met in India told methat if I once came to appreciate the music of India I wouldnot care for any other. There was no difficulty in assentingto such a proposition, because I can conceive nothing moredifficult than to find harmony in these discordant sounds.While our hosts are passing around the strange dishes, a sig-nal is made and the musicians enter. They are maidens, withfair, pale faces, and small, dark, serious eyes. You are pleased
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CENTRAL JAPAN. AN HISTORICAL DINNER. 495 to see that their teeth have not been blackened, as was the cus-tom in past days, and is even now almost a prevalent customamong the lower classes. We arc told that the maidens whohave come to grace our feast are not of the common singingclass, but the daughters of the merchants and leading citizensof Nagasaki. The first group is composed of three. Theyenter, sit down on the floor, and bow their heads in salutation.One of the instruments is shaped like a guitar, another is some-thing between a banjo and a drum. They wear the costumeof the country, the costume that was known before the newdays came upon Japan. They have blue silk gowns, whitecollars, and heavily brocaded pearl-colored sashes. The prin-cipal instrument was long and narrow, shaped like a coffin lid,and sounding like a harpsichord. After they had played anoverture another group entered—fourteen maidens similarlydressed, each carrying the small, banjo-like instrument, rang-ing the

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