Earlier in the year, after the ambassadors had completed their diplomatic mission to France, the matter of where the Embassy should then proceed had been discussed. It was decided that since it was the middle of winter the ambassadors should next carry out their mission to Spain and Portugal, warm countries of the south, and afterwards proceed to Belgium and Holland. On February IIth, however, King Amadeus of Spain abdicated and the Spanish people proclaimed a republic. In view of a number of reports received, including the information that even France would not recognise the new government immediately, we eventually decided to proceed eastwards to Belgium. As a result of these unavoidable circumstances, we would be unable to tour Spain to observe the lives of its people first-hand. It was further decided that on our homeward journey we would travel back through France to Bordeaux in order to sail to Portugal from there. However, while we were in Switzerland we received a telegraph from Japan, requiring us to set out on the homeward voyage immediately. Consequently, we were unable to tour Portugal, either.