When I was shown into the drawing-room at the Legation residence, the
Minister himself greeted me. He is a not unattractive man--past
middle life, rather stout, with many of the familiar mannerisms of the
prosperous man of business who has reached a point in life where he
feels he can afford to indulge and, perhaps, educate the gentler side of
his nature.
I suppose his present position is a reward for generous contributions
to the expenses of his party. Though I should personally regard it as a
punishment.
He and his lady (a person of some real charm) have surrounded
themselves with attractive objects of Oriental art. The large rug in the
drawing-room is as fine an example of Chinese blue and white weaving as
I remember having seen. I had an opportunity--when the Minister stepped
out of the room for a moment, and before the ladies came in--of turning
back a corner and counting the threads. They ran twenty and twenty-one
to the inch, using my thumb-joint as a rough measurement; which is
pretty close weaving, especially when you consider that the rug is at
least sixteen feet by twenty-four in size.
The chairs and tables were all of carved blackwood and teak stained
black, very elaborate, and pleasing in an ornate way. One nest of
tables, in the corner, was far and away the finest example of Chinese
carving I have seen, barring small objects of ivory and such, where the
work is all on a minute scale and therefore more delicate in design and
workmanship. There were two exquisitely carved wooden screens, and
a great number of small vases, each on its wooden stand. The most
beautiful objects in the room were two immense blue and white vases,
standing all of seven to eight feet high on their pedestals. The
Minister says they are of the Ming period. And while he did not exactly
speak of them in terms of money value, as we Americans are prone to do,
he did refer casually to another pair, similar to these except that
the glaze was distinctly inferior, that sold in New York for sixteen
thousand dollars.
I mean to give more time to the study of Chinese porcelains later
on, when settled down in my work, as well as to the history of their
painting and draw ing. The early musical forms of a people are so
inextricably linked with all their other folk-habits that one must
understand something of all of them in order to arrive at a really
thorough knowledge of any one. Otherwise one would be a mere narrow-rut
scientist, like an oculist who git es no thought to the general health
of a patient or the stomach specialist who has no regard for the
condition of the teeth.
I fear I was a little stiff at first, even severe, when tea was served.
The talk was general. But I could not forget that somewhere on that
nan's shelves stood von Westfall's work. Of course though, the Minister
is the merest dilettante. I saw that right away. The sort of man who
uses his money to build up an atmosphere of understanding and refinement
about himself, without being altogether successful at it.
Some other outsiders had come in, ladies from the hotel, and officers
of the Legation Guard; and when these rose to go, and of course I with
them, the Minister asked me to stay. He led me to his office, seated me
comfortably, and gave me a cigar--the best cigar, in fact, I have
smoked since landing at Yokohama. Out here, it is impossible to get much
besides the rather rank Manila article that comes wrapped in tinfoil.
This was a real Havana, however, carefully preserved in a humidor. Then
he said:
“I have known for some time of the work your Foundation is doing in the
study of primitive music, Dr. Eckhart. And it is, I may say, a subject
that greatly interests me.”
I would not speak what was in my mind. Not yet--for he had not yet
thrown that book at my head. It was not yet the time to insult him.
It would be distinctly unreasonable to insult him at this stage. So I
inclined my head, and waited.
“I have read some of the older works on the subject of Chinese
music--Van Haalst, Elton, Avard, Pegrew, and so on--and have looked
forward rather eagerly to the more complete results of modern research.
A book was recommended to me when I was home last year--a book by von
Westfall, of Bonn.”