M.Loti, who assures us that his book is merely some pages from a veritable diary, entertains us with some details preliminary to his launch into a singular kind of domestic existence, which are interesting as bearing on the morals of the opera and as indicative of the fact that he is a closer observer of Oriental life than his American confrere.

He lets us see how merchantable "wives" are chosen, permits M.Kangourou to exhibit his wares and expatiate on their merits.

There is the daughter of a wealthy China merchant, a young woman of great accomplishments who can write "commercially" and has won a prize in a poetic contest with a sonnet.
She is, consequently, very dear--100 yen, say $100--but that is of no consequence; what matters is that she has a disfiguring scar on her cheek.

She will not do.

Then there is Mlle.