fashion. At all the houses without exception we were waited upon by
the host and his son, son-in-law or brother, and for some time after
our arrival our host and the members of his family would kneel, not in
the apartment in which our _zabuton_ (kneeling cushions) were
arranged, but in the adjoining apartment with its screens pushed back.
Even when the time of sweets and tea had passed and a regular meal was
served, all the little tables of food were brought in not by servants
but by the master of the house and such male relatives as were at
home.

When the duration of a Japanese meal is borne in mind, some idea may
be gained of the fatigue endured by the head of a house in serving
many guests. The host sometimes honours his guests still further by
eating apart from them or by partaking of a portion only of the meal.
The name of a feast in Japanese is significant, "a running about." The
ladies of the house are usually seen for only a few minutes, when they
come with the children to welcome the guests on their arrival; but on
the second day of the visit the ladies may bring in food or tea or
play the _koto_.

The foreigner, though on his knees, feels a little at a loss to know
how to acknowledge politely the repeated bows of so many kneeling men
and women. He watches with appreciation the perfect response of his
Japanese travelling companions. It is difficult to convey a sense of
the charm and dignity of old courtesies exchanged with sincerity
between well-bred people in a fine old house. Although all the
_shoji_[30] are open, the trees of the beautiful garden cast a pensive
shade. The ancient ceremonial of welcome and introduction would seem
ludicrous in the full light of a Western drawing-room, but in the
perfectly subdued light of these romantically beautiful apartments,