Out of the old castle of Hara came the last' of the rebels, driven like cattle through the gates. The prisoners shuffled along-prodded by the Emperor's blood. thirsty soldiers-a long column of misery. Only when they had reached the edge of the cliff were they allowed to halt, shaking with terror.

Suddenly there was a flurry among the crowd and a tall man in friar's robes struggled free. Fra Fidel faced the silent Japanese. He held a cross high above his head and began to walk slowly backwards, his gait sure and unhurried. For an instant, he was outlined against the sky. Then his brown robes fluttered against the cliff, swirling down and down to the razor-sharp rocks below ...

VENTURE IN THE EAST brings to vivid life the ferocious and primitive ways of medieval Japan. The color and cruelty of despotic rule, the terrible fear and hatred of European civilization are all here, leaving little to the imagination, making this novel a stirring account of the half-forgotten attempt to open Japan to the West centuries before Admiral Perry's treaty.