A curious book of poetry purporting to be by a Japanese without offering any evidence that the author had ever been to Yokohama. “The fact of his being frequently mistaken for one of the Japanese Commissioners who were visiting this country about the same time, will account for the peculiar point of view from which the subject has been treated.” (Note). The so-called letter is in fact addressed to “my dearest Fow Chow”, which happens to be a Chinese male name. It appears that Cockburn was a free-mason who toured the country to read from the book in order to raise money. He is variously described as a gentleman, church warden, police magistrate, the President of Montserrat, and the Attorney-General of Belize. COPAC only records the first edition of 1873 which ran to 59pp. The additional 12pp. record the reception the work was accorded in the press.
