123 Emperors

At Hayama the black chariot of Death waited last week to speed heavenward the Son of Heaven, Yoshihito, the 123d Emperor of Japan.

The long illness of His Majesty recently aggravated (TIME, Sept. 27), had reached a crisis. Sympathetic, troubled, alarmed, the geisha girls of Hayama sensed the ghostly presence of the Emperor's imperial ancestors who gathered at his bedside and impalpably permeated Hayama. Pious, respectful, the geisha, passed an entire week in seemly inactivity, without music.

At last His Imperial Majesty rallied. His health and appetite improved. Devout Nipponese gave thanks, rejoiced, disported themselves.