Memories (volume 2 of 2)

"Memories (volume 2 of 2)" by Baron Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale is a memoir written in the early 20th century. It presents an eyewitness account of diplomatic life and travel, especially in Japan during the fall of the shogunate and the rise of imperial government, alongside later episodes from the author’s public career. Expect energetic on-the-ground narratives—journeys, negotiations, and close shaves—featuring figures like Sir Harry Parkes, Ernest Satow, and future leaders such as Ito and Gotō. The opening of this memoir follows the author on a perilous overland mission with Ernest Satow from the west coast into Kaga, where hospitality gives way to hostility in Echizen and a planned ambush near Ōtsu is narrowly avoided by a last-minute detour via Uji. Back in Ōsaka, the murder of two British sailors heightens tensions as the author meets Gotō Shōjirō and accompanies official visits that mix diplomacy with theatricals, then returns to Yedo to face nighttime intruders and the everyday violence of late-Tokugawa streets. Reassigned to prepare the opening of Ōsaka and Hiōgo, he witnesses mass religious festivities, the ex-Shōgun’s dispirited withdrawal to Ōsaka, and an audacious storm-bound dash at sea with Admiral Keppel and Captain Stanhope. Civil war breaks out around Fushimi; Ōsaka Castle burns, the Legation evacuates, and the author rides his mounted escort to safety through hostile country.

Memories (volume 2 of 2), by Baron Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #76183.