Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER HI: BARON TAZUMI SID FOOTRIDGE dined at Aunt Julia's table on Wednesday night, and afterward sat with the ladies in their discreetly sheltered box at the Cherry Blossom Society's dinner. They arrived just before the speechmaking began, and Anna's restless mind was divided between her anxiety for Sid's and Zudie's happiness and her admiration for the talented Japanese who was to deliver the address of the evening. It was due to the baron's thoughtfulness, they felt, that their box was so cleverly screened in artificial cherry blossoms that they could see without being seen. The banquet room upon which they looked was splendid with decorations which successfully symbolized the occasion. Several important Americans—capitalists, politicians, clergymen— were on the eve of departure for Japan, where they were to spend several weeks as guests of the Imperial Government. "How well the Japanese do everything!" cried Aunt Julia, looking down from her flowery balcony. How well indeed! From floor to cornice the walls were masked in boughs of pinkish bloom which framed tall temple paintings of Nippon's mighty gods. Enormous fish-skin lanterns, yellow as harvest moons and adorned with Chinese characters, glowed from the ceiling. In the center of every table was a little Japanese garden with crooked streams, rocky shores and midget cherry trees on the banks. A life-size garden with four-foot pines, a tortuous gold-fishpond, arched bridges, stone lanterns and woodland images stood centered before the speakers' table. "They're irresistible!" whispered Aunt Julia. "Aren't they?" said Footridge. He, too, was leaning curiously forward. The president had risen and was rapping for order. At the long table several famous men were recognizable—a world financier, a retired dip...