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diff --git a/old/62121-8.txt b/old/62121-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5a32dce..0000000 --- a/old/62121-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5083 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of John L. Stoddard's Lectures, Vol. 3 (of 10), by -John L. Stoddard - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: John L. Stoddard's Lectures, Vol. 3 (of 10) - -Author: John L. Stoddard - -Release Date: May 14, 2020 [EBook #62121] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHN L. STODDARD'S LECTURES, VOL 3 *** - - - - -Produced by Tom Cosmas utilizing materials provided at The -Internet Archive. - - - - - - - - - - JOHN L. STODDARD'S LECTURES - - - JAPAN I JAPAN II - - CHINA - - - _Norwood Press_ - - _F. S. Gushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co._ - - _Norwood, Mass., U.S.A._ - - - _Boston Bookbinding, Co., Cambridge, Mass._ - -[Illustration: FRIENDS IN COUNCIL.] - - -John L. Stoddard's - -LECTURES - -[Illustration] - - -_COMPLETE IN TEN VOLUMES_ - -_VOLUME THREE_ - - - -BOSTON - -BALCH BROTHERS CO. - - -MCMVIII - - -CHICAGO: GEO. L. SHUMAN & CO. - - -Copyright, 1897 - -By John L. Stoddard - - - -Entered at Stationers' Hall, London - -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - * * * * * - - - - -JAPAN - -I - - -[Illustration: FOREST SOLITUDE] - - - - -JAPAN - - -LECTURE I - - -[Illustration: EMPEROR.] - - -It is now nearly four hundred years since the brave discoverer, -Magellan, first sailed around the world. Yet, till comparatively recent -times, three years were necessary to complete the circuit. To-day, -some Phineas Fogg can put a girdle round the earth in less than eighty -days, and messages are flashed to us from China and Ceylon in less than -eighty seconds. The old-time spirit of adventure amid unknown scenes, -which thrilled the traveler of former years, has, therefore, well-nigh -disappeared. Of all the surface of our globe, the Polar Seas alone still -bid defiance to the approach of man; though every year the ultimate -capitulation of those ice-bound areas, lit by the aurora, becomes less -remote. - -[Illustration: MOUNT STEPHEN.] - -The broad Atlantic has now dwindled to an ocean ferry. Europe is -measured, not by weeks, but by hours. Constantinople, once so remotely -Oriental, is but five days from London,--Cairo only six. Even the vast -Pacific glides beneath our keel in thirteen days. Two centuries ago, the -man who had achieved a journey around the globe would have been called -a hero. One century since, he would have been remarkable. To-day the -name he earns is merely--"Globe-trotter." In consequence of this, to -certain minds our vanquished earth seems like a squeezed and juiceless -orange. Material forces have deprived it of romance, as age has robbed -the moon of atmosphere and life. And yet, the fact that we move rapidly -from point to point need not lessen our interest in the places that we -visit. The wondrous beauty of the Taj Mahal and the incomparable majesty -of the Himalayas are not less enjoyed because we can make a pilgrimage -to them with comparative comfort. Japan's awakened empire, China's four -hundred millions, the toiling myriads of India, with history, customs and -religions antedating those of Christendom, present the same stupendous -problems, whether we visit them in an antique sailing-craft or in a -modern steamer. Despite the speed with which we flit from continent to -continent, the actual distance is still there. Let but the steamer's -shaft become disabled in mid-ocean, and the fact will not be doubted. But -of whatever size our earth may now appear to us, the time has never been -when travel upon its surface offered such attractions. Its countries now -are like a series of intensely interesting books--each the sequel of its -predecessor--which science, commerce, and navigation have laid open for -our scrutiny. - -A tour around the world, therefore, is vastly more instructive than a -journey through the principal European cities. Mere Occidental travel, -though delightful, is but fragmentary and one-sided. The unbroken circle -is alone the symbol of completeness; and only when the traveler has -sailed away from our Pacific coast, and journeyed on and on toward the -setting sun, until he sees the shores of our Republic (never before so -beloved) rise from the waves of the Atlantic, can he in truth exclaim, -with Monte Cristo, "The world is mine!" - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE PAGODA.] - -The route which we selected for our journey to Japan was the superbly -built and admirably equipped highway to the Orient, the "Canadian -Pacific." This magnificent transcontinental system comprises, first, -the gleaming path of steel which crosses Canada from sea to sea; and, -second, a fleet of steamers at the western terminus of the road--the -largest, swiftest, and most modern boats that ply between the North -American continent and the land of the Mikado. The various railway lines -from the Atlantic to the centre of the continent are too well-known -to require description; but since some starting-point is necessary, -we may well choose, as the most appropriate one, the vast plains of -Manitoba, midway between the Atlantic and Pacific, and only eighteen -hours by rail from Minneapolis. Mile after mile, and hour after hour, -we sped through these prairies as level as a tranquil sea. Sometimes, -like wreckage floating on the waves, we saw great sun-bleached heaps of -skulls and bones--pathetic relics of the herds of buffaloes which only -thirty years ago existed here in millions, but which man's cruelty and -recklessness have almost totally destroyed. At other times, the railroad -cut its silvery furrow through a boundless area of golden rod and -daisies,--apparently a shoreless ocean of red, green, and gold, upon the -verge of which the sky seemed to rest like an azure dome. But presently -we realized that the plains were being left behind us. In fact, between -these prairies and the vast Pacific rise three great mountain-ranges -almost parallel to one another. They are the Rocky, the Selkirk, and the -Cascade mountains. - -[Illustration: BANFF.] - -[Illustration: ON THE PORCH AT BANFF] - -[Illustration: A VIEW FROM THE HOTEL.] - -It was already evening when we approached the "Rockies." We tried to -catch their outline, but in vain. Behind a veil of impenetrable gloom, -the morrow's splendid spectacle awaited us. Accordingly, at five o'clock -in the morning, the subtle nervousness which usually heralds any long -anticipated pleasure woke me with a start. I raised the curtain of my -berth, and from my lips there came an exclamation of delight. There were -the "Rockies," as I had so often pictured them; no longer vague creations -of some other man's enthusiasm, but glorious realities awakening mine. A -rugged wall of granite met my gaze, seamed here and there with silver, as -the pure snow sparkled in its crevices; while all along its crest, five -thousand feet above our heads, the dawn had traced a parapet of gold. -I felt at once that thrill of satisfaction which every traveler prizes -more and more as years roll on and fewer famous sights are left him to -explore. It was the consciousness of one more conquest made, not merely -for the excitement of a first possession, but for the calmer and more -abiding pleasure of retrospection. - -[Illustration: THE THREE SISTERS.] - -An hour later, we had left the train to spend two days at Banff,--a -place unknown before the advent of the railroad, but forming now the -centre of a charming region, four thousand five hundred feet above the -sea, reserved by the Canadian Government as a national park. Above us, -in the morning light, like some old Rhenish castle on a wooded cliff, -appeared a picturesque hotel, within whose ample hall we found a huge -log blazing in the fireplace; while modern luxuries, such as bath-rooms -and electric-lights, assured us a delightful resting-place. Yet this is -but one of several hotels built by the railroad company at points of -special interest, so that the traveler by this route may halt and view -its scenery amid comfortable surroundings. - -[Illustration: VANCOUVER.] - -Soon after our arrival, we started on a tour of exploration, and found -the situation worthy of its fame. Over the best of roads Canadian ponies -whirled us along the windings of the Bow river, green as emerald. The -air was as pure as that of Norway. A breath of it was like a draught of -wine. So transparent was the atmosphere, that mountains miles away seemed -close at hand. Strange mountains these! Their color is an ashen gray, now -darkened by a passing cloud, now almost white with vivid sunlight. They -have no vegetation on their rugged slopes, save a few pine-trees, which -suggest the "forlorn hope" of an army struggling toward a citadel. - -[Illustration: HOTEL VANCOUVER.] - -Had time permitted, we should have gladly lingered in this glorious -region,--but with so much before us, we were compelled to take our leave -of Banff and enter on the last great section of our journey toward the -sea. In making this, we were for hours surfeited with grandeur. Our chief -desire was to retard the train, and check the rapid shifting of imposing -scenery. Our brains at last refused to receive additional impressions. -One could spend weeks upon this portion of the route alone. Sometimes our -train wound like a serpent around the mountain sides,--now on a narrow -ledge three hundred feet above a foaming torrent, now gliding through -a tunnel in the solid rock. Three million dollars' worth of snow-sheds -guard this railway from the avalanche, and rivers even have been forced -to turn aside and yield their immemorial pathways to the iron conqueror. - -But now farewell to railroads and to mountains! We have reached the sea. -Who that has ever crossed our mighty continent can quite forget the -moment when, after all the plains and mountains he has traversed, he -gains his first glimpse of the blue Pacific? It is at once a startling -revelation of the distance he has come, and a reminder of those Orient -lands whose misty shores still seem so fabulously tar away. - -[Illustration: THE EMPRESS OF JAPAN.] - -Our ocean gateway, and place of embarkation for Japan, was -Vancouver,--one of those marvels of the West, which, notwithstanding -all our previous reading, astonish us when actually seen. Ten years ago -Vancouver was a wilderness; a forest covered every portion of the present -city. To-day it has good streets and sidewalks, electric-lights and -trolley-cars, banks, churches, some extremely pretty houses, and a good -hotel. - -What an excitement marks the embarkation-day at this Hotel Vancouver! -What searching glances pass from one strange group of travelers to -another, as if to read the characters and dispositions of the men and -women who are to be their fellow-passengers for fourteen days,--aye, more -than that;--to be, perchance, their fellow-travelers for many months, -meeting on other steamers, or in Chinese streets, or possibly in the -palm-groves of Ceylon. No gaiety is yet discernible. It is the hour for -farewells. The reading-room is filled with busy scribes, whose scratching -pens and long-drawn sighs alone disturb the silence of the place. - -[Illustration: THE "EMPRESS" IN A STORM.] - -We saw, on the last day, at least a score of ladies, bent almost double -on divans or arm-chairs, using alternately their writing-tablets and -their handkerchiefs,--their tears apparently flowing much more freely -than the ink from their fountain pens. Telegraph boys were meanwhile -running to the various rooms with good-bye messages from eastern friends. -"No use in sending them out," the blase operator told me; "they are all -alike. Might just as well hoist a flag with the letters 'B. V.' on it; -for every message ends with the same words: 'Bon Voyage!'" - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE VILLAGE.] - -But now the actual sailing-time has come; the last fond messages have -been received; the gang-plank is thrown off; the huge propeller moves; -and we have left our native land to make the circuit of the world. Of -course some tears are shed; some cheeks grow paler at the thought of -all that lies before us in the twenty-five thousand miles of land and -water we must traverse; but these are soon forgotten in contemplation -of the ship itself,--the Empress of Japan. This is one of the finest -steamers in the world, and like her sister ships, the Empress of China -and the Empress of India, is a vessel of six thousand tons and of ten -thousand horse-power. Graceful and beautiful she looked,--her great hull -snow-white to the water's edge, to shield it better from the tropic sun. - -[Illustration: MISSISSIPPI BAY.] - -Aside, however, from the speed, strength, and comfort of the steamers, -the voyage across the North Pacific does not call forth enthusiastic -praise. It is a lonely, unfrequented route. We saw no sign of land or -life for thirteen days. The cold, too, was excessive. Unless wrapped up -with extra care, we could not sit on deck with any comfort, although -protected from the wind by canvas screens. Moreover, in its sudden -changes, this North Pacific rivals the Mediterranean in winter, and when -aroused, its billows are colossal. During our voyage there were some -hours, and even days, when all was reasonably calm; but there were others -when tremendous winds tore into shreds the crests of white-capped waves -and filled the air with blinding spray. Hours there were, when trunks -not merely slid, but bounded, clear across the room, and landed with -their casters in the air, like the hoofs of a rolling horse; hours when -even the pantry stove revolted at such treatment and hurled its glowing -coals about the floor. I recall an unusually stormy period when the diet -of at least two wretched passengers for an entire day consisted of one -grape,--and my companion ate the grape! - -The day which passed most quickly on this voyage was that which we -deliberately dropped from the calendar, on crossing the one hundred -and eightieth meridian of longitude, just half-way around the world -from London, and equidistant, east and west, from the observatory at -Greenwich. Some wicked passengers ascribed our stormy weather to the -missionaries on board, claiming that gales at sea are their invariable -attendants. However that may be, there certainly were times when all -the passengers (missionaries included) would have agreed with the old -Japanese proverb--"A stormy sea-voyage is an inch of hell." - -[Illustration: COMING TO MEET US.] - -Nothing stands out more clearly in my recollection of the Orient -than the bright, long anticipated hour when, after thirteen days of -dreary ocean travel, we suddenly beheld, emerging from the waves, that -strange, unique, and fascinating land, which promised so much novelty -and pleasure,--old Japan. Old, and yet new; for the fair sheet of water -which first greeted us was Mississippi Bay, named from the flagship of -Commodore Perry, which, with the remainder of his American fleet, dropped -anchor here in 1854. The coming of this envoy to the East was not for the -purpose of war or invasion, but to request that this important empire, -our nearest neighbor westward, lying directly in the path of commerce -between Asia and America, should, for the sake of mutual benefit, open -its doors (till then resolutely closed to foreigners) and become, to some -degree, accessible to the outer world. - -Impatient to explore this land, we swept the shore with field-glasses, -and saw, with much amusement, some natives hastening to launch their -boats and row out to us. But were they really coming in just that -economical style of dress? They were, and did; but in five minutes we -forgot their costumes (or rather their want of them) in admiration of the -men themselves. It was, however, not their faces, but their forms, which -so attracted us. Never in marble or in bronze have I seen finer specimens -of limbs and muscles than those displayed by the compactly built and -copper-colored boatmen of Japan. Some of them looked like masterpieces of -antiquity, suddenly endowed with life and motion. - -Taking the hotel steam-launch, in preference to the native boats, we -quickly reached the landing-pier of Yokohama. A slight examination of -our trunks was made by officers polite enough to beg our pardon for the -trifling delay. There is a duty in Japan on photographic cameras. One of -our party was, therefore, called upon to pay the stipulated sum. "I have -no Japanese money," he faltered; "I must leave my camera here, and call -again." - -[Illustration: THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, YOKOHAMA.] - -"Not at all," replied the official courteously; "I will lend you -the money; here it is." I thought my friend, accustomed only to the -refinements of the New York Custom-house, would faint away. At last he -gathered strength enough to ask: "But what security have you that I will -repay you?" - -"Ah!" replied the officer, smiling, "you are an American." - -[Illustration: AS THE NATIVES TRAVEL.] - -"Truly," he exclaimed, as we walked away, "the Japanese are the French of -Asia." - -[Illustration: A JINRIKISHA.] - -On leaving the Custom-house I laughed aloud to see awaiting us the almost -universal means of locomotion in Japan--the jinrikisha. Shades of our -childhood!--what are these? Big-wheeled baby-carriages surely, and yet -used altogether by adults. They looked as though a heavy man could crush -them to earth, or a strong wind might blow them against the wall. When -we stepped into ours, we did so cautiously, lest we should suddenly go -over backward; and at the sight of some of our more stalwart passengers -thus installed, the air was filled with peals of laughter. One portly -traveler, weighing at least two hundred pounds, wagged his head feebly at -an equally heavy comrade, and shook a "da-da" at him, as if they had both -gone back to the state of babyhood. Yet, incredible as it would at first -appear, the traveler soon comes to like these little vehicles. Their -running-gear, though light, is strong. A breakdown in them is practically -unknown. The steeds which draw them harness and unharness themselves, -never shy nor kick, and are obedient to the slightest command. -Jinrikishas are so cheap that one can hire them all day long and never -feel the expense. Ten cents an hour is the usual price, or seventy-five -cents for an entire day. One's packages and valises follow in another -jinrikisha. The speed at which one travels in them is astonishing. Even -with only one man in the shafts, the usual rate is at least five miles an -hour. With one man pushing, and two pulling tandem, you actually seem to -fly. On good roads with two men we sometimes made ten miles an hour. And -what is most delightful to the traveler, the runners themselves seem to -enjoy it thoroughly. Time and again in the country, when they had drawn -us twenty or thirty miles with but occasional halts, they actually raced -each other on the last half-mile, laughing and capering like boys at play. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE MACKINTOSH.] - -In stormy weather these human horses wore blankets that excited both our -laughter and amazement. They are a kind of Japanese mackintosh, composed -of grass and straw, which, though they are quite effectual in shedding -rain and snow, give to the wearer the appearance of a fretful porcupine. - -A certain patriotic feeling draws Americans to the jinrikisha; for this -convenient little chaise was the invention of a Yankee missionary. He -ought to have made a fortune by it, for in Yokohama alone there are -five thousand of these vehicles, and in Japan more than two hundred and -fifty thousand; while they are also numerous now in China, India, and -Singapore. But the missionary has had the usual fate of inventors, and is -said to be, at present, an inmate of an Old Men's Home near Philadelphia. - -[Illustration: PECULIAR TRAVELING.] - -[Illustration: "A BIG-WHEELED BABY-CARRIAGE."] - -The Japanese word, jinrikisha, is worth explaining, "jin" means man, -"riki" denotes power, and "sha" signifies wheel. A "man-power-carriage" -is therefore the correct translation; but the wittiest and most -appropriate title is the one given to it by an American tourist,--the -"Pull-man-car." Delighted with our first experiences in these little -vehicles, we left the Custom-house in Yokohama, and were quickly trundled -to the Grand Hotel. This is one of the best hotels in the entire East. -It fronts directly on the sea, and one can sit for hours on its long -verandas and watch the animated scenes of street-life in the foreground; -or else look off upon the lovely bay, where ships and steamers of all -nations lie at anchor, among which glide the native boats, propelled by -the bronzed athletes of Japan. My mind goes back with positive delight to -some cool morning hours at my window here, but oftener still to moonlit -evenings passed upon my balcony. At such a time, the scene recalled a -painting in some cyclorama,--so difficult was it to discern where fancy -ended and reality began; so smooth appeared the harbor's silvered breast; -so motionless the mighty steamers stationed there like sentinels; so -still their tapering masts, rising like minarets against the sky; while -here and there a red or green light on a steamer's side flashed like a -ruby or an emerald. Moreover, as the hours moved on, breaking the solemn -stillness of the scene, the ship's bells followed one another through the -watches of the night, and stole across the water like a silvery chime. - -[Illustration: WAITING FOR A "FARE."] - -[Illustration: A DISTANT VIEW OF FUJI-YAMA.] - -[Illustration: IN YOKOHAMA BAY.] - -Yokohama is divided into three sections. The first is the original -business settlement, where the hotels are located; the second is the -strictly Japanese quarter; the third lies on an eminence called "The -Bluff." The summit of this hill is reached, not merely by a winding -road, but also by a stairway commonly known as the "Hundred Steps." Upon -this height most of the foreigners reside; here also are the hospitals -of different nations, the foreign cemetery, and several consulates. -Wishing one day to make a call upon a resident on this hill, and being -unable to make our human pony understand his name, we asked the aid of -the hotel proprietor. To our astonishment, he said to us: "No name is -necessary. I shall merely tell him to take you to gentleman No. 35." A -moment's thought explained to us the reason for this custom; for "No. -35 gentleman" or "No. 76 lady" are terms which "'rikisha men" can much -more easily understand than foreign names. Yet even this system has its -difficulties; for all the houses on the Bluff are numbered, not in the -sequence of location, but in the order of their erection. Thus, the first -residence constructed there is No. 1, but the dwelling next to it, if -recently erected, may be called No. 500. - -[Illustration: AN OLD-FASHIONED CRAFT.] - -[Illustration: A RESIDENCE ON THE BLUFF.] - -Some of the houses on the Bluff are quite attractive; and life in them -must be in many respects delightful. We met here two American ladies, -who, having taken a furnished house for several months, were actually -housekeeping in Japan. They told us that they had never had so pleasant -an experience, and that the markets of Yokohama abounded in meat, fish, -fruit, and vegetables, all at reasonable prices, while their Japanese -servants had been so devoted and respectful that they were spoiled for -housekeeping with any others. The summer, they confessed, had been hot, -and varied by an occasional earthquake; but on the Bluff the air was pure -and cool, and they had at least been exempt from thunder-storms. - -Yet Yokohama's climate is not always tropical, or even mild. Winter also -can assert itself here, and boats and buildings sometimes wear a robe of -snow. Such a wintry temperature makes, of course, little difference in -the comfort of foreigners; but, to the Japanese themselves, one might -suppose the winter months would be a season of protracted misery, since -the vast majority of the natives have no fire in their houses save that -in a charcoal brazier; the partitions in their dwellings are mere paper -screens; and they themselves rarely wear woolen garments, much less -flannel ones. Yet the people are hardy. Jinrikisha men, we were told, -will run about the snow-covered streets with only cotton sandals on their -feet. - -"How can your people live thus thinly clad, and with so little fire?" we -asked our guide. - -"Oh, they become used to it," he answered. "You never cover up your face -in winter. It is accustomed to the cold. So we subject our bodies to the -same endurance." - -[Illustration: YOKOHAMA IN WINTER.] - -One day, in strolling through a street in Yokohama, we came upon two -little Japanese women doing laundry work and spreading garments out to -dry upon a smooth, flat board. Following the pleasant custom of the -country, they laughingly called out to us, "Ohaio--Ohaio,"--the Japanese -expression for "Good Morning!" One of our party, a judge from Covington, -Kentucky, did not understand the meaning of that word. Accordingly, when -one of these Japanese maidens smiled sweetly in his face, and said, with -a slightly rising inflection, "Ohaio!" he faltered, and replied, "Well, -not exactly; I come from Covington, just across the river!" - -[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO KAMAKURA.] - -The foreign cemetery of Yokohama is beautifully situated on the Bluff, -above the tumult of the town. It is well-kept, and many of its monuments -are elaborate. Numerous epitaphs in English, French, German, and Italian -attest the cosmopolitan character of the place. As we were walking there -one Sunday afternoon, we met a lady deeply veiled, leaning upon her -husband's arm, and giving way to uncontrollable grief. When they were -gone we ventured to approach the grave which they had left. The tombstone -bore a recent date, and on it were four lines that deeply moved us by -their sad simplicity; for, stooping down to a low headstone wreathed in -flowers, we read these words: - - "A little grave, but oh, have care, - For world-wide hopes are lying there; - How much of light, how much of joy - Are buried with a darling boy!" - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE CEMETERY.] - -[Illustration: PATH TO THE SHOGUN'S HOUSE.] - -[Illustration: THE FOREIGN CEMETERY, YOKOHAMA.] - - -The day after our arrival in Yokohama, we drove out into the surrounding -country. It was historically very interesting. Upon the plain where we -saw laborers harvesting their crops, once stood the ancient capital of -the empire,--Kamakura. It was then the residence of a million people, and -was, no doubt, a scene of splendor, war, and intrigue; yet of the men -and deeds which moved it centuries ago we know comparatively nothing. We -sometimes think ourselves familiar with the history of our race; and so -we are, along the lines of Egypt, Rome, and mediæval Europe. But when the -traveler visits China, India, and Japan, he realizes the fact that he has -come to the other side of the globe,--to lands whose histories are more -remote than those of even Greece and Rome, and yet utterly distinct from -all the streams of civilization which have flowed toward him. He begins -to feel as men might who, having always thought the Rhine to be the only -river of any magnitude on earth, should suddenly find themselves beside -the Nile, whose mighty volume has been rolling onward for unnumbered -ages, and over whose distant origin there hangs the halo of mystery. - -[Illustration: DOING LAUNDRY WORK.] - -[Illustration: A BUDDHIST PAGODA.] - -One thing, however, still remains at Kamakura to tell us of its -unrecorded past. It is the world-renowned statue of Buddha,--one -of the largest works in bronze that man has ever made. Upon a huge -stone pedestal, in the form of a lotus-flower, one hundred feet in -circumference, this monstrous figure has been seated here in solemn -contemplation for seven hundred years. It is a noble representation of -the man before whose shrines more knees are bent in prayer to-day than -before those of any other founder of religion whom this earth has known. -Close by, beneath the trees, are pedestals of enormous columns, the -relics of a splendid temple which once formed the canopy of the statue, -but which was swept away by a huge tidal wave, four hundred years ago. -The statue itself, however, was too immense and weighty to be thus -destroyed; hence, as it sits here now in solitary grandeur on a plain, -beneath which sleeps a vanished world, the only columns that surround -it are majestic trees, the only roof that shelters it is the arch of -the immeasurable sky, and the only tapers on its ruined altar are the -unchanging stars. - -[Illustration: THE BRONZE BUDDHA AT KAMAKURA.] - -It is easy to enumerate statistics here; to call to mind the fact that -this statue is fifty feet in height; that underneath its drooping lids -are eyes of purest gold; that the face alone is eighteen feet in length; -that the circumference of the thumb is three feet; and, finally, that -within this statue is a chapel for a hundred worshipers. But these are -not the things which most impress one here. We can find other statues -for statistics. This has something better. It is the indescribable, -passionless expression of the face, that grows upon the traveler as he -studies it, and haunts his memory forever more--a look which in some way -suggests the Sphinx, in its superiority to present evils, its dreamful -contemplation of the infinite, its calm appeal from time to all eternity. - -[Illustration: ENOSHIMA.] - -[Illustration: JACOB'S LADDER, ENOSHIMA.] - -Leaving the great Buddha to his meditations, we continued our homeward -journey by the sea,--that ocean which, although tranquil now, has more -than once sent tidal waves upon this shore to wreck the temples and the -homes of Kamakura, and in their swift retreat to leave a hideous trail of -death and devastation. A little distance from the land, we saw the pretty -island of Enoshima. It is a sacred island, said to have sprung, like -Venus, from the ocean in a single night. It is regarded, therefore, as a -gift from God. It may be that the legend has some truth in it, for almost -every portion of Japan is of volcanic origin; and mountains have arisen, -lakes have been produced, and landscapes wholly changed by earthquake -shocks, even within historical times. - -[Illustration: A FOREST MONARCH.] - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CAVERN TEMPLE.] - -[Illustration: THE SACRED CAVE.] - -Desiring to see some features of this island, we crossed the narrow -channel, and climbed to one of its numerous points of observation. It is -a fascinating place. Delightful paths wind up the wooded hills, marked -here and there by little stations, where one halts for tea. Beyond these -are long flights of steps, on which, that afternoon, Japanese girls, in -gaily-colored robes, were passing up and down, like angels upon Jacob's -ladder. Some were at work, while others were at play; others, again, were -returning from a place of prayer. They looked as curiously at us as we -at them. We seemed to them, no doubt, like beings from another world; -probably not a better one, for, when we had walked on, we heard them -merrily discussing us with peals of child-like laughter. One part of -Enoshima is deemed especially sacred. It is a natural cavern, somewhat -resembling the Blue Grotto on the Island of Capri. In stormy weather it -is inaccessible, for furious waves then thunder for admission here, and -fill the entrance with a mass of foam. But on a pleasant day, like that -which we enjoyed, it is not very difficult, on coming down the hill, to -cross a wooden bridge and a few slippery rocks, and finally pass beneath -a frowning arch to the interior. - -[Illustration: A RUSTIC BUDDHA.] - -It is a singular opening,--a crack in the volcanic cliff, three hundred -feet in length and thirty in height. From its obscure recesses, we gained -a charming telescopic vista of the broad Pacific. To our astonishment, -we found within this cave an altar to the goddess of Good Fortune, a -deity that from remotest ages has been worshiped here. It is a wonderful -situation for an altar, this rock-hewn temple built by Nature's -architect. A kind of mystery surrounds it, for mortals cannot always -worship here. When the divinity allows them to approach, this inlet of -the ocean lies in absolute tranquillity, extending inward to the shrine, -like a long path of malachite. But there are times when she excludes -all worshipers, bars the majestic portal with a watery wall, and hears, -instead of humanity's feeble voice, the awe-inspiring anthem of the sea. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE RAILWAY.] - -One beautiful October morning, leaving the Grand Hotel, we drove to -the railway station to take a train for the Japanese capital, Tokio, -eighteen miles distant. It seemed a wonderful transition to whirl through -Yokohama streets in baby-carriages drawn by half-naked natives, and in a -moment more to find ourselves in railroad cars, better arranged in some -respects than most trains that run in Europe. Such sudden contrasts -between the past and present are now found only in Japan. Twenty-five -years ago there were no railways here, and hardly a jinrikisha. To-day, -throughout this sea-girt empire is spread a network of two thousand miles -of well-built paths of steel, which have stone ballast, massive bridges, -fine rolling-stock, and well-appointed stations. And yet one travels -first-class in Japan almost as cheaply as third-class in Europe. Nor is -traveling in the Mikado's realm confined to foreigners. Never in any -portion of the world have I seen trains so uniformly thronged as here, -and ninety out of every hundred of the passengers were Japanese. - -[Illustration: THE IMPERIAL HOTEL, TOKIO.] - -Tokio is the same old Yeddo that figured in our school-books--no matter -how many years ago. The first thing to impress me in the place was its -enormous size. It is, in truth, a city of magnificent distances, for -its area surpasses that of London. Together with its suburbs, it has -a population of one million eight hundred thousand. Save for its vast -extent, however, the Japanese capital is not imposing. Seen from an -elevation Tokio displays an almost limitless expanse of wooden roofs, -whose trifling inequalities recall the undulating surface of a cold, gray -sea. From this there rises, here and there, a solitary tower or pagoda, -like a lighthouse from the waves. - -[Illustration: A TORII.] - -Four hundred years ago Tokio was a fishing hamlet. Not until 1603 did -it become the military capital; and since that time it has been so -frequently burned down and rebuilt, that it may be compared to the human -body, the particles of which are said at certain intervals to be entirely -renewed. In fact, statistics prove that, on an average, the city every -thirty years has risen anew from its ashes. In 1895, at a single fire, -four thousand houses were destroyed. - -[Illustration: LOOKING DOWN UPON TOKIO.] - -It is no easy task to explore thoroughly the Japanese labyrinth -called Tokio, but one great central object forms, at least, a -starting-point,--the imperial palace. Around it, like a warrior's belt, -is drawn a moat so broad and deep that it might easily be deemed a river. -The vast extent of this enclosure, its highly finished wall of stone, -the silent, waveless stretch of water which surrounds it,--all these add -mystery to one whose residence is so secluded from the eyes of men. Yet -it is only recently that the Mikado has lived here. Thirty years ago the -residence of Japanese sovereigns was a retired palace in the ancient city -of Kioto. It may well be called "retired," for previous to the revolution -of 1869 (which may be called the new birth of Japan) the Japanese for -centuries had never seen the face of the Mikado. In giving audiences, -even to his priests and nobles, he sat invisible behind a screen. When -he walked out within his garden, carpets were spread before him to keep -his sacred feet from contact with the earth. If he drove out, it was in a -covered carriage, closed by screens, and as he passed along his subjects -knelt in the attitude of prayer. Thus, century after century, these -sovereigns lived,--each one in turn a monarch yet a captive, a god and -yet a slave. - -[Illustration: BRIDGE TO THE EMPEROR'S PALACE, TOKIO.] - -Meanwhile, in one of the stately castles of Japan there lived the -Mikado's representative, or viceroy; for, of course, the Japanese -emperors did not govern. How could they? They were imprisoned by their -own divinity. A mediator between the monarch and his subjects had -to be appointed, to act as overseer of the realm. Previous to 1869 -therefore--for nearly seven hundred years--two rulers had existed in -Japan. One was the theoretical sovereign, to whom all gave allegiance, -but who accomplished nothing,--the Mikado; the other was the practical -executive,--the military regent, called the Shogun. - -[Illustration: SHOGUN'S PALACE, OSAKA.] - -[Illustration: THE MOAT AROUND THE PALACE, TOKIO.] - -In the small town of Shizuoka we saw the modest house where was still -residing, like a country gentleman, the last of the once powerful Shoguns -of Japan; for a change has taken place in the Mikado's empire. The -Shoguns, who for centuries had been the actual sovereigns of the realm, -and one of whom was in full power when the American fleet arrived in -Yokohama, have now completely disappeared. Less than thirty years ago, -from the secret precincts of his palace in Kioto, the lawful ruler, the -present Mikado, was brought to light, like one who had been immured -within a dungeon. In 1872, for the first time in a thousand years, a -Japanese emperor freely appeared before his subjects. He was at that time -a young man, twenty-two years of age, and was actually traveling by -rail from Yokohama to Tokio, thenceforth to make that city his abode and -capital. On that occasion, we are told, the loyalty and enthusiasm of his -subjects knew no bounds. As the train moved off with the young emperor, -restored to his ancestral power, there rang out on the air a melody which -thrilled all hearts. It was the national anthem of Japan, the strains of -which were first heard when savage tribes were hunting by the Thames and -Rome was mistress of the world. - -[Illustration: HOME OF THE RETIRED SHOGUN, SHIZUOKA.] - -[Illustration: WHERE SOME OF THE SHOGUNS ARE BURIED.] - -[Illustration: NEAR A HERO'S GRAVE.] - -[Illustration: SHOGUN'S RESIDENCE, NAGOYA.] - -[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE SHOGUNS TEMPLE, TOKIO.] - -One might suppose that such a sudden rise in power, combined with the -amazing changes in his empire, would have been ruinous to this young -sovereign, for at the time of the restoration he was but sixteen years -old. But he was evidently the man for the occasion, and has since proved -himself an assiduous student and enlightened ruler. This man, who, as a -youth, knew almost nothing of the existence of such foreign lands, now -reads the literatures of England, France, and Germany. - -[Illustration: OLD FEUDAL RESIDENCE, TOKIO.] - -Moreover, this hundred and twenty-first Mikado of his line--the -representative of the oldest dynasty on earth, whose founder reigned -here five hundred years before the death of Julius Cæsar,--has not only -adopted European dress and customs, but has favored the introduction -of all the great inventions of the present age. Nevertheless, he had -the wisdom to restrain his subjects in their first eagerness to adopt -everything European, when they were even ready to destroy, as worthless, -some of their ancient castles, shrines, and statues. And now that a -reaction has set in, and the Japanese are once more proud to cherish -the memorials of their ancestors, they are sincerely grateful to their -emperor, because at the great national crisis he showed sufficient tact -and independence to steer between the rocks of servile imitation on the -one side and dull conservatism on the other, and, while the ship of state -was trembling in the rapids of that flood of progress, he maintained a -firm hand on the helm. - -[Illustration: A MODERN CASTLE.] - -[Illustration: A LADY OF TOKIO.] - -The houses of the old Japanese nobles in Tokio recall many other striking -contrasts between the past and the present. Until recently, for nearly a -thousand years, Japan had many feudal lords, called Daimios. Most of them -lived in Tokio for at least six months of every year, under the Shogun's -watchful eye. But the great revolution of 1869 completely swept away the -feudalism of centuries, and one by one, at the command of the Mikado, the -Daimios gave up their swords, dismissed their armed retainers, renounced, -to some extent, their vast estates and revenues, and, as a rule, retired -to private life. - -Yet one must not suppose that the Japan of the present day has no -nobility. Some years ago there was a grand revision of all ranks and -titles. The old, distinguished families still form the nucleus of the -aristocracy; but to their ranks have been added many men conspicuous -for their talents, or for their loyalty to the new _régime_. We had the -pleasure of meeting one who lives in close relations with the emperor. We -found him a refined and courteous gentleman, dressed in a faultless suit -of broadcloth, and speaking French and English fluently. As we conversed -with him, however, our thoughts would stray from his appearance to that -which his own father, doubtless, had presented, when Commodore Perry -moored his fleet in Mississippi Bay. For his father had been one of those -warriors of old Japan, called Samurai. - -[Illustration: AN OLD-TIME SWORDSMAN.] - -[Illustration: AN OLD-FASHIONED DUEL, AND UMPIRE.] - -[Illustration: CENTENARIAN TREES.] - -A certain number of these men adhered to every Daimio, lived at his -castle, fought his battles, and, not content with one sword, always -carried two, as distinctive symbols of their rank. Yet now the old-time -swordsman, if alive, has no doubt ceased to shave his head, has laid -aside his singular costume, and has even put his swords away as relics of -his youthful days, since no civilian is at present allowed to wear them. -It is said that this class of Japanese suffered most from the revolution, -for they suddenly found their occupation completely gone. Untrained for -work and ill-adapted to the sudden change, their situation was at first -deplorable. Hence it is little short of marvelous that such a radical -transformation could have been effected in Japan without frequent -insurrections. The sight of this great nation turning from feudalism to -a constitutional monarchy, at the cost of rank, fame, wealth, and even -livelihood, for tens of thousands of its foremost citizens, gives proof -of a wide-spread, unselfish patriotism, perhaps unequaled in the world's -history. - -[Illustration: THE PRINCIPAL THEATRE IN TOKIO.] - -Not less remarkable is the recent progress of education in this "Land -of the Rising Sun." The educational systems of all other nations have -ripened slowly, and rest on centuries of experience. But twenty-five -years ago, Japan had practically nothing of the kind. Accordingly, her -brightest and most promising youths went forth to gather knowledge in -the western world. She was eclectic in her method. Some were sent -to England, some to Germany, others to France, and many to America. -Accomplished foreign teachers also were induced to come and give -instruction in Japanese schools; and how astonishing has been the result! -In Tokio the buildings of the Imperial University cover fifteen acres of -ground, and include admirable class-rooms, dormitories, laboratories, -a hospital, and residences for the faculty. Here, in one department, -are taught mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and geology; in another, -civil and electrical engineering, naval architecture and metallurgy; -in another, philosophy and the modern European languages; in still -another, Japanese and Chinese history and literature. The University -has also a Law School and a College of Medicine and Pharmacy, in each -of which a four years' course is required. There are in all one hundred -and twenty-three professors in the institution, fifteen of whom are -foreigners, while more than fifty lecturers are also in the employ of the -directors. Nor is this all, for in addition to this splendid University, -there are in Tokio private colleges, commercial schools, military and -naval academies, and a school of fine arts, besides an educational -institution for the dumb and the blind; and not the least noteworthy is -a common school system whereby the poorest child in Japan may obtain at -least a rudimentary education. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE ACTOR.] - -[Illustration: A SACRED GATE.] - -Let no one think, however, that all these changes, surprising though -they are, have wholly done away with "old" Japan. The contrary is proved -by countless characteristic sights, even in modernized Tokio. In their -houses, theatres, shops, and festivals, and in their modes of bathing, -eating, drinking, sleeping, and working, the vast majority of Japanese -are to-day what they were centuries ago. - -[Illustration: IN WINTER COSTUME.] - -[Illustration: A DAIMIO'S HOME, TOKIO.] - -On our first day in Tokio, as we descended from the hill where we had -gained a comprehensive view of the great city, we paused to note, at the -foot of a long stone staircase, a singular gateway built of granite. The -tourist may well observe such structures closely, for one of the most -common architectural features of Japan is this peculiar style of portal, -called a _torii_. In granite, wood, or bronze, such gateways usually mark -the approach to a temple, shrine, or sacred statue. Nothing could be more -simple. Two upright shafts are met and crossed by horizontal bars, the -higher ones curving slightly upward at the ends. This is in one sense -all, and the beholder at first sees little in them to admire; but, after -a time, the foreigner in Japan expects them as essential features of -every landscape, and welcomes them, like some sweet refrain, which, first -heard in the overture, repeats itself in various disguises through the -music of an opera. - -[Illustration: A TORII OR SACRED GATE.] - -There are two theories in regard to the origin of these sacred portals. -The first maintains that they were intended originally for perches, -upon which birds (which are occasionally liberated even now at Japanese -temples) might pause before they took their heavenward flight to bear -aloft the prayers of those who gave them freedom. The second theory -affirms that these straight columns, with their curving cross-pieces, are -derivative forms of the Chinese letter, or ideograph, which signifies -Heaven. - -[Illustration: A RUSTIC TORII.] - -The latter explanation appears to be the more probable one; at all -events, whatever may have been their origin, the architectural design -of these peculiar structures is of immense antiquity. Such gateways, -tradition hints, were extant twenty centuries ago; and it is worthy of -remark that, despite the marvelous changes that have recently transformed -Japan, no hand has ever been raised to mutilate these memorials of the -past, or even to change a line of that mysterious hieroglyph which they -so sharply outline against the sky. - -[Illustration: GROUP OF TORII.] - -In the immediate vicinity of these sacred arches, one usually sees a -multitude of monuments, from five to seven feet in height. Sometimes -these line, for a considerable distance, the avenues of approach to tombs -and temples, and are compactly ranged in serried ranks, like soldiers at -a dress parade, or people waiting for some grand procession. They are -called lanterns, from the fact that, on special festivals, a lamp is -placed in each of them, in honor of the hallowed dead. But the chief part -they play is ornamental. Most of them are of stone; but some consist of -beautifully decorated bronze,--real masterpieces of that art in which -the Japanese excel. To many are attached bronze bells and circular -medallions, bearing the crests of the imperial family or those of the -military chieftains of Japan. With few exceptions, the finest ones have -been presented by Japanese nobles, as proofs of their devotion to the -shrine itself, or their esteem for those who are buried there. - -[Illustration: JAPANESE LANTERNS.] - -[Illustration: APPROACH TO THE TEMPLES, NIKKO.] - -[Illustration: IN SERRIED RANKS.] - -[Illustration: A BRONZE LANTERN.] - -[Illustration: BLOSSOM-LADEN BANKS.] - -One of the principal pleasure-resorts of Tokio is Ueno Park. It is -especially attractive in the month of April, when all its cherry-trees -are radiant with blossoms. These lovely flowers are usually pink in -color, and grow in clusters several inches wide. Poets have sung their -praises here for centuries. They are to Japan what roses are to western -nations. Their blooming-time is one of the national festivals. Some -avenues in the Mikado's capital are lined with these resplendent trees, -and are famous throughout the country for their wealth of coloring. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE TEMPLE.] - -There is a little stream in Tokio which, every year, about the middle of -April, flows for two miles between blossom-laden banks. Crowds gather -then from miles around, to gaze upon its beauty. The newspapers announce -each day the progress of the coloring, and maps of the city are sold, on -which are indicated in pink the groves of cherry-trees. Old Mother Earth -grows young again, and every heart, however sad, becomes rejuvenated too, -at the sight of thousands of these huge bouquets, lifting their clouds of -pale pink blossoms toward the light blue sky. Hundreds of pleasure-boats -also then float along the stream, which mirrors the gorgeous spectacle -above. A Japanese poet says: "I wish to cross the river, but fear to cut -the brocade upon its surface." Meanwhile, along the banks are thousands -of other admirers, on foot or in jinrikishas; and not infrequently a -mischievous breeze plucks handfuls of the dainty petals and scatters them -upon the upturned faces, like flakes of tinted snow. - -[Illustration: A TEA-HOUSE ORNAMENTED WITH WISTARIA.] - -As we might expect from such a refined and artistic race, the Japanese -are enthusiastic in their love of flowers. One of their favorite deities -is called "The Goddess who causes the blossoms to open." With them, to -make up parties for a floral exhibition is just as fashionable as for -us to arrange box-parties for the theatre. Even in winter they will -not allow themselves to be deprived of some enjoyment of this sort. -Hence they call snow-crystals a kind of flower, and expeditions to see -snow-displays form one of the regular amusements of the season. - -[Illustration: A DWARF MAPLE.] - -[Illustration: THE GREAT TREE NEAR LAKE BIWA.] - -The land of the Mikado is with reason often called the Land of Flowers, -for each month of the year has its special blossoms which the Japanese -admire, and which together form an unbroken garland for the brow of -Time. Particularly beautiful is the Japanese wistaria, which blooms in -May, soon after the departure of the cherry-blossoms. This lovely vine -is trained on trellises, and covers bridges, canopies, and arbors with -magnificent purple clusters, two, and even three feet long. Japanese -tea-houses find it extremely profitable to decorate their gardens thus, -as thousands are attracted thither, who, as a matter of course, drink tea -upon the premises. It is precisely of such exhibitions that this peculiar -nation is most fond. With one or two exceptions, they do not seem to care -for cultivated flowers, preferring flowering trees and vines, like the -wistaria, plum, and cherry. In all the gardens that we visited in Japan, -we never saw a flower-bed. In fact, Japanese gardens differ from our own -as completely as a jinrikisha differs from a tally-ho coach. They are all -essentially alike, whether they cover several acres or only a tiny court -behind the house. If possible, an artificial lake is formed; large, if -the space permits; if not, a little tank of water containing half-a-dozen -goldfish must suffice. Rocks are heaped up to take the place of cliffs. - -[Illustration: FOREST SOLITUDE.] - -[Illustration: JAPANESE LANDSCAPE GARDENING.] - -A path of pebbles represents a river-bed. A tiny beach of smooth, white -sand is made along the shore. Islands are also manufactured, with -fantastic bridges; and here and there among the trees we see a quaint -display of garden lanterns, miniature pagodas, fountains, grottoes, and -occasional statues. But of smooth lawns and ornamental flowers, like our -own, we find in Japanese gardens not a trace. What seems to take their -place in the affections of the Japanese is the cultivation of dwarf -trees. These are among the marvels of Japan. At first, we could hardly -believe our eyes, when we saw maples, pines, and oaks, from sixty to -one hundred years old, possessing crooked limbs and gnarled and twisted -trunks, though they were scarcely more than two feet high, and had their -roots confined within the limits of a flower-pot! Just what the secret -is of limiting the growth of these old monarchs of the forest, while -yet preserving their vitality, we did not learn. It is, however, an art -of which the Japanese are passionately fond, and which an experience -of centuries has brought to perfection. These hardy dwarfs are often -looked upon as precious heirlooms, and are carefully watched and tended -by the family from generation to generation. What a strange notion -this,--of dwarfing landscapes to the limit of a courtyard, and stunting -noble trees till they appear like a forest looked at through the large -end of a telescope! Sometimes, however, the taste of the Japanese in -arboriculture goes to the other extreme, and large trees are chosen -as objects of regard. These are often trained and trimmed, till they -resemble mammoth fans, pagodas, or stately boats with curving prows and -lofty masts adorned with tiny sails. Although ingenious, this seemed to -us like trifling with nature,--a parody of the sublime,--a burlesque of -the beautiful. - -[Illustration: A TREE TRIMMED TO REPRESENT A SHIP.] - -[Illustration: A LOTUS BED.] - -The glory of the month of August in Japan is the sacred lotus-flower, -with whose broad leaves the moats in Tokio are filled. Growing from -muddy, stagnant water, yet holding up to heaven its flowers always -fresh and pure, the lotus is regarded as the symbol of the religious -life,--aspiring from unfavorable conditions to a state of purity. The -Buddhist writings say: "Though thou be born in a hovel, if thou hast -virtue, thou art like the lotus growing from the slime." Accordingly the -lotus is, _par excellence_, the flower of the Buddhist faith, associated -with the mysteries of death and immortality. Bronze vases, filled with -lotus-flowers made of metal, stand on all Buddhist altars, and statues of -Buddha have usually, as an appropriate pedestal, a smooth lotus-leaf in -stone or bronze. - -[Illustration: STATUES OF BUDDHA WITH LOTUS PEDESTALS.] - -[Illustration: THE NATIONAL FLOWER.] - -Early November brings still another source of pleasure to the Japanese -in the chrysanthemum. Opinions differ as to whether this, or the -cherry-blossom, should be regarded as the Japanese national flower. To -us it seemed that the chrysanthemum should have that proud distinction; -for it is used as the crest of the imperial family; and the Mikado's -birthday, the third of November, is usually made the opening day for all -chrysanthemum exhibitions. - -[Illustration: AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE.] - -In cultivating this flower, the Japanese have shown extraordinary skill. -Some of their bushes are said to bear as many as four hundred perfect -flowers at one time. Five or six varieties sometimes grow upon a single -plant, and there are claimed to be, in all, two hundred and sixty-nine in -the Mikado's empire. Moreover, since it blossoms longer than most other -flowers, it is associated with the idea of longevity. One Japanese river, -into whose limpid waters great showers of chrysanthemum petals fall, is -thought to insure to a good old age the lives of those who drink from its -invigorating flood. - -[Illustration: THE MODERNIZING RAILWAY.] - -But perhaps the most gorgeous of the natural displays, which in Japan -adorn with a continuous brilliancy the path of the revolving year, is its -autumnal foliage. Then, as the Japanese poets say, the maple-trees put -on their damask robes. This also is thought to be a floral exhibition, -for bright-colored leaves are looked upon by the Japanese as flowers. The -subjects of the Mikado have, like ourselves, that most delicious season -of the year when the warm breath of summer still retards the frost. -We call it Indian Summer: their name for it is Little Spring. It is a -pretty--almost a pathetic--thought, to connect thus the deep, strong, -passionate hues that mark the year's maturity with the faint blushes of -the cherry-blossoms, which betoken youth. The year has lived through -much since that pink blush adorned its cheeks. The autumnal colors may -be richer and more effective, but that first bloom of hope and innocence -will never come again. - -[Illustration: A WRESTLING MATCH.] - -During our stay in Tokio, we one day visited a wrestling match. The -scene of its occurrence, though in the heart of the city, resembled the -enclosure of a country circus. On pushing through the crowd, we saw, in -the centre, an elevated platform covered with sand. Above this was a -highly decorated canopy, supported by tall bamboo poles, and gathered -round it was the expectant populace. The second story of the structure -consisted of a gallery made of bamboo rods, which, tied together, formed -a floor resembling an enormous grid-iron. This gallery was divided into -little areas, which served as private boxes for the entertainment. - -[Illustration: A WRESTLER.] - -We climbed up into one of these by means of a ladder, and tea and cakes -were subsequently brought to us; but we could not have eaten a mouthful, -unless fed by our attendant, for we were fully occupied in clinging to -the bamboo poles, like canary birds to their perches. There presently -appeared upon the stage a human monster, who seemed to have a gorgeous -lambrequin tied about his waist. This giant was a great surprise to -us. The Japanese are usually small their women seem like girls; their -children look like dolls their dwellings have the appearance of magnified -bird-cages their vehicle of transportation is a baby-carriage. Their -wrestlers, however, are enormous. Such mountainous displays of fat and -muscle we had never seen. One after another, fifty such giants stood -fronting us for a moment with uplifted arms, while an official read their -names to the admiring spectators. Twenty-five wrestlers were then chosen -to contend on one side and as many on the other. The prize was to be -given to whichever side should win the greatest number of single combats. - -[Illustration: LIKE MAMMOTH BULL-FROGS.] - -A moment later, the "lambrequins" were laid aside. A couple of huge -wrestlers squatted on the sand, like mammoth bull-frogs ready for a jump. -They had already rubbed their hands in the sand to make them gritty and -tenacious. Beside them stood the umpire, holding in his hand a fan. With -this he gave his signal to the wrestlers, much as a musical director -leads his orchestra. His word is law, and he decides whether the start -is properly made and whether the rules have been observed. A few false -springs were made at first, and the great crowd became impatient. At -last, however, the wrestlers fairly caught each other, and began the -struggle. For several minutes they tugged and strained, until it seemed -that neither could possibly gain the advantage. Meantime the Japanese -grew more and more excited, for all these wrestlers are well-known, and -have their patrons and admirers. One whom we saw is famous for having -thrown three rivals in succession. This is, of course, a proof of great -endurance; for by the time the third encounter comes, the victor must -necessarily be much exhausted. - -[Illustration: "THEY TUGGED AND STRAINED."] - -In the first match, however, the wrestlers whom we watched had no easy -task; but, presently, one of them saw his opportunity, and caught his -enemy under the left leg. The other instantly reached over his shoulder -and clutched his opponent's belt. For a few seconds neither moved. Then, -with a fearful lurch, the giant who had gained the advantage lifted his -rival off the ground, and swung him headlong over his shoulder clear off -the platform to the sand below. We felt our bamboo perch in the gallery -shake when the body struck. The conqueror was, of course, hailed with -shouts of triumph, and in five minutes all was ready for another contest. - -[Illustration: AN ACROBAT.] - -At the conclusion of the spectacle, as we were making our exit through -the crowd, we stopped to watch some Japanese acrobats, one of whom danced -upon a swinging rope with more agility and skill than we had ever seen. -"By the way," said a friend at my side, "do you know that once in the -history of this country the Japanese throne itself was wrestled for? It -happened just a thousand years ago. The Mikado died and left two sons, -each of whom claimed to be the rightful heir. Instead of plunging the -nation into civil war, they submitted their rival claims to a couple -of famous wrestlers, each agreeing to abide by the result! Who shall -say that there are not worse methods than this old Japanese mode of -arbitration?" - -[Illustration: VILLAGE OF NIKKO.] - -One of the most renowned and sacred places of resort, alike for pilgrims -and for tourists in Japan, is Nikko. "Nikko!" How little that brief name -suggests to those whose feet have never trod its hallowed paths; but, oh, -how much to those whose recollections of it are a joy forever! The mere -approach to it is astonishing. It is a sacred road, over twenty miles in -length, and lined for the most part on both sides with the grand cedars -of Japan. These trees, called cryptomerias, frequently attain a height of -two hundred feet, and are probably unsurpassed in size save by the giants -of our own Yosemite. - -[Illustration: THE SACRED BRIDGE, NIKKO.] - -[Illustration: TIER UPON TIER AND TERRACE UPON TERRACE.] - -[Illustration: CHARACTERISTIC ARCHITECTURE.] - -It was late in the afternoon when we reached the terminus of this avenue. -Before us rose a densely wooded mountain, around which swept a wild, -impetuous stream. Spanning this foaming torrent is the sacred bridge of -Nikko, whose floor and sides are covered with beautiful red lacquer, as -smooth to the touch as polished mahogany, and which is ornamented here -and there with tips of brass. In ancient times, none but the Shoguns -ever stepped upon this bridge; none but the emperor may do so now. When -General Grant, however, was traveling in Japan, the Mikado paid him the -unusual compliment of ordering this bridge to be thrown open for his -passage. But, from a delicate appreciation of the people's feelings, the -General modestly declined the honor and took the regular, frequented path. - -[Illustration: THE ROAD TO NIKKO.] - -Leaving behind us this ornate but untrodden bridge, we began to ascend -the hill itself. From time to time we halted, astonished and bewildered. -Imagine a mountain, covered with thousands of the most magnificent -cedar-trees that the Creator ever caused to grow; then realize that upon -this mountain and among these trees there is what may be called a sacred -citadel, rising tier above tier, and terrace upon terrace, each covering -several acres. Toward each plateau ascends a flight of broad stone steps. -In front of each is placed the characteristic gateway of Japan,--the -sharp-cut, mysterious _torii_, hewn out of massive stone or made of -polished bronze. In one place there is a beautifully decorated fountain, -at which all pilgrims wash their hands and mouths before approaching more -closely to the temples of their gods. - -[Illustration: THE PILGRIMS' FOUNTAIN, NIKKO.] - -[Illustration: ON ONE OF THE TERRACES.] - -Ascending one of the staircases of stone, we stood in an extensive area, -where structures met our gaze so unlike all that we had elsewhere seen -that we were fain to believe our senses were deceiving us, and that it -was all an illusion,--a cunning trick for stage effect, which, when the -play was over, would completely vanish. Along the terraces, like jewels -darkened by the forest gloom, were belfries which appeared encased with -precious stones; fountains adorned with ornaments of gilded bronze; -picturesque temples bright with every color of the rainbow; lacquered -pagodas, rivaling the trees in height; and huge bronze bells, whose -solemn tones, in rhythmic waves of sound, roll on in grand reverberations -through these sacred avenues. But how powerless is language to portray a -place like this! Words impotently creep before the grand impressiveness -of Nikko, as insects crawl beneath its cryptomerias. - -[Illustration: A GATEWAY AT NIKKO.] - -[Illustration: A QUIET CORNER.] - -[Illustration: PRIESTLY VESTMENTS.] - -[Illustration: A PROCESSION AT NIKKO.] - -[Illustration: AMONG THE SHRINES.] - -As we advanced still farther through these wonderful enclosures, it -seemed like walking through a village whose buildings still remained in -symmetry and beauty, yet whose inhabitants had disappeared. The silence -of these courts was most impressive. Apparently, they have no guardians. -Only the moss-grown lanterns stand about each shrine, like sentinels -transformed to stone. Astonished and perplexed, we asked the meaning of -these structures, and learned that some are treasure-houses, where are -preserved the personal relics of the Shoguns and many of the gorgeous -robes, embroidered banners, and superb insignia which still, on festal -days, are borne in solemn state along these paths beneath a boundless -canopy of shade, just as they have been borne for centuries. For the old -trees of Nikko have looked down for nearly a thousand years on lines of -richly decorated priests and pilgrims moving in solemn pageantry along -these shadowy pathways consecrated to the gods. The individuals may come -and go, but the processions never fail--much as the bright-tinted leaves -fall here in autumn, to return no more, while the old trees live on. - -[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO TEMPLE, NIKKO.] - -[Illustration: A TARGET FOR MASTICATED PRAYERS.] - -At last we stood before one of the many sacred gates which lead to -Nikko's shrines or sepulchres. Each displays against the foliage beyond -a mass of variegated color. In every case the roof curves slightly -upward at the base, and has a covering of copper, marked with ornaments -in brass. To the right and left of all such passageways are massive -wooden columns, lacquered red, and in the alcoves thus constructed at -this gate we saw, to our amazement, two grotesque statues of colossal -size. They seemed a startling union of Hercules and Mephistopheles. Yet -these repulsive figures represent gods, whose special duty is to scare -demons from the temple gates. We have no certain information about the -nervous temperament of demons, but one could well believe that these -unearthly shapes, with blood-red bodies, gaping mouths, and bulging eyes, -would throw most children into convulsions. Upon their forms and faces -are visible small marks resembling scars. These are in reality dried -paper-balls, which worshipers have first chewed into a pulp, and then -hurled at the statues, though not by any means in contempt. The pilgrim, -in the first place, writes his petition on a slip of paper; this he rolls -into a wad, which he deposits in his mouth; and, finally, when it is -softened by saliva, he throws it at the god. If it adheres to the idol's -face, the omen is propitious. If it sticks to any part of the body, there -is still some hope; but if it falls off on the ground, a favorable answer -is impossible. This custom is peculiar to Japan. One sees, of course, -numberless strange rites connected with religion in traveling about the -world, but Japan is the only land I have ever visited where deities serve -as targets for masticated prayers! - -[Illustration: A GUARDIAN OF THE GATE.] - -When, turning from these sculptured monsters, one looks with admiration -on the exquisitely carved and beautifully furnished temples of this -sacred citadel, one naturally exclaims: "How is it possible that the -same race, which has produced such beautiful, artistic works as these, -should also have created, and should still retain, such hideous, uncouth -statues as we have just beheld?" But one asks many such questions -in traveling through Japan. No race on earth is so astonishingly -contradictory and so full of puzzling surprises as the Japanese. "The -longer I live here," a resident of Tokio once said to me, "the less -I understand these people. A superficial knowledge of them is easily -acquired; but there is always at the last a mental gulf between the -Orient and the Occident, across which I perceive that their past is not -our past, and that their ideas on art, religion, government, the finite -and the infinite, are radically different from our own." - -[Illustration: THE BRONZE PORTAL.] - -[Illustration: THE PATH TO THE SHOGUN'S GRAVE.] - -Leaving at length the shrines of Nikko, we climbed still farther up the -sacred mountain, by one of its great staircases of stone. It led us to a -place of which the temples are but antechambers and accessories. For this -magnificent forest is a vast sepulchral grove, in which are buried some -of the greatest statesmen of Japan. - -[Illustration: NATURE'S CATHEDRAL.] - -[Illustration: THE SHOGUN'S TOMB.] - -[Illustration: NEAR ENOSHIMA.] - -[Illustration: NEGLECTED SHRINES.] - -It has been stated that previous to 1869, Japan, for seven hundred -years, had always had two sovereigns at the same time: one the ideal -and secluded monarch,--the Mikado; the other, the actual regent, known -as the Shogun. Bearing this fact in mind we reached the summit of the -staircase. Before us was a portal of black bronze, inscribed with -Sanskrit characters in gold. Behind it was a small enclosure, surrounded -by a massive wall. Only two dragon-headed dogs were stationed here as -guardians; but no one dares set foot within the sacred area,--none save -a priest may pass beneath the low-browed arch. But, standing on the -steps, we obtained at least a glimpse of what is here enshrined. It is -the tomb of Ieyasu, the most powerful military ruler of Japan. It is a -simple cylinder of bronze, six feet in height, the roof of which curves -upward like a miniature pagoda. In front, upon a pedestal of stone, are -the Japanese emblems of immortality. Here, then, the mightiest of the -Shoguns rests, in death exalted, as in life, above his subjects. It is an -awe-inspiring burial-place. Above him wave, like funeral plumes, majestic -cryptomerias; beneath him are the temples where his spirit is adored; -while, close beside him, in a deep ravine, the mountain torrent moans an -endless requiem. - -[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN TORRENT.] - -Yet it was when we left the Shogun's grave, and came down through the -forest by that foaming stream, that we best appreciated the grandeur -and sublimity of Nikko. Nowhere in the world, not even on the Alhambra -hill, have I been so profoundly moved and thoroughly enchanted by a walk -as by the one which winds about the sacred mountain of Japan. For miles -above and around us stretched a cryptomerian cathedral, whose columns -were the colossal trees, whose stained glass was the autumnal foliage, -whose altar-covering was the green velvet of the forest, whose surpliced -choristers were the white-robed and sweet-voiced rivers and cascades. One -may well liken it to a cathedral, for its shadowy expanse is tenanted -by countless rustic monuments and altars. Most of them looked abandoned -both by gods and men; yet, here and there, we saw that worshipers had not -forgotten them entirely, since fragrant flowers lay upon the thresholds -of the few. - -[Illustration: A CRYPTOMERIAN CATHEDRAL.] - -[Illustration: THE SACRED GROVE.] - -[Illustration: THE LAST STRONGHOLD OF ROMANTIC PAGANISM.] - -Lingering among these moss-grown emblems of an ancient faith, and -treading pathways deepened by the feet of millions long since turned to -dust, I shall never forget the impression made upon me. I felt that I was -assisting at the last hours of a great religion. "Young Japan" has no -more use for these ancestral shrines. It guards them merely as historic -souvenirs: its faith in them is gone. In one sense, I was glad of this; -but in another, I experienced here a feeling of regret. It seemed to me -that this was earth's last strong-hold of romantic paganism, and that its -life was ebbing fast. - -Its sylvan gods, its nymphs and dryads of the hills, had left these -immemorial shrines; and I could easily fancy that the drops of rain which -fell that day from these old trees were in reality Nature's tears of -grief that Pan was dying. Another generation, and he will be dead. - - -[Illustration] - - - * * * * * - - - - -JAPAN - -II - - -[Illustration: WRITING A LETTER.] - - - - -Japan - -LECTURE II - - -[Illustration: PRINCE ITO.] - - -The most important dramas of the coming century will probably be enacted -on the shores of the Pacific. Neither the European coast, nor yet our -own, can now materially change; but over the mightiest ocean on our globe -new constellations have arisen. Another Oriental horoscope must now be -cast. Dormant so long, the East is re-awakening from her sleep of ages. -Russia, the grim Colossus of the North,--facing, Janus-like, both east -and west,--is making there a depot for her navy. Meantime she pushes on -by day and by night her trans-Siberian railway, whose bars of steel will -soon unite the Baltic and Pacific and revolutionize the commerce of the -world. In the Northern Pacific, England and France have interests which -are steadily increasing. Southward, Australia, and New Zealand too, -must be considered carefully in any forecast of the future. Last, but -not least, our own Pacific coast, with its magnificent shore-front of -California and Alaska, and the boundless possibilities of Puget Sound, -will fifty years hence have enormous interests at stake. Meanwhile, -Japan, central to all these various lands, keen, bold, and active, both -in war and peace, has suddenly surpassed all records in her wonderful -development, and even now can almost keep step with the great Western -Powers. - -[Illustration: A DISTANT MARKET FOR CONNECTICUT CLOCKS.] - -In 1892, the writer visited the Mikado's empire, and on his return spoke -enthusiastically of its people. But what he said of China was precisely -the reverse. On this account, some thought that he exaggerated the -virtues of the one and the vices of the other. But the events of 1895 -verified his words. China has sunk still lower in the estimation of -mankind, while Japan has risen far above the expectations of her warmest -friends. In fact, Japan, in many ways, is now the most interesting -country in the world. She is the pioneer of progress in the Orient. -Consider her amazing growth in manufactures. By these she may ere long -control the commerce of the entire East. Look at her admirable schools -and universities. They can be favorably compared with not a few in -Europe. Think of her government, which in less than twenty-five years -has achieved what it took Europe centuries to accomplish,--to rid herself -of feudalism and become a constitutional monarchy. Regard her army, which -accomplished marvels in the recent war; and her navy, which elicited the -admiration of the world. - -[Illustration: THE EDWIN BOOTH OF JAPAN.] - -In all these respects we find a national transformation, which in -rapidity at least has had no parallel in history. It is, then, this -extraordinary land, which has a long and brilliant past, and is -apparently to have a still more brilliant future, that we are now to -explore still farther. - -However novel and attractive the cities of the Mikado's empire may be, -it is from traveling through the country of Japan that one derives the -greatest pleasure and instruction. For it is not what Japan has borrowed -from the western world that most delights the foreign tourist. On the -contrary, the more he sees of their artistic, happy, natural life, away -from foreign contact, the better he likes it. - -It was on a beautiful October morning, that, leaving cities and railways -for a time behind us, we began our journey through a few of the Mikado's -provinces. Seating ourselves in jinrikishas, we dashed across a little -bridge and up a mountain gorge which led to Miyanóshita. There are few -things more thoroughly delightful than traveling through a mountainous -country in a carriage or on horseback. On a former trip I had thought -that nothing could approach in pleasure this mode of traveling in Norway. -But here it proved fully as enjoyable. It is true, the grandeur of -Norwegian scenery is not met with in Japan; but, on the other hand, the -charming novelty of everything one sees makes such excursions peerless in -the traveler's memory. - -[Illustration: APPROACHING MIYANÓSHITA.] - - -At first, our road was an embowered lane winding along a mountain-side, -green to the summit with luxuriant foliage. There was no parapet -along the edge, as on the mountain roads of Switzerland; but, as a -reassuring compensation, we had no horses here to back or shy or roll -us down the precipices. The steeds that drew us up the narrow path were -copper-colored athletes, driven tandem, and without need of rein or -whip. On, on they went with ceaseless energy, their splendid muscles -working like machinery. Insensible to fatigue, they laughed and talked -incessantly, asking only one favor of their drivers,--that of being -allowed to reduce their clothing to the scantiest limits. Below us, as -we rode along, was an impetuous stream, which lured from time to time -adventurous water-falls to join its course. We halted to admire one of -these at our leisure. Its special charm was not its height, though it -descends several hundred feet: it was the wealth of colored foliage that -made for it a frame of green and gold. A little to the left, an opening -in the trees revealed a tiny shrine, and in the foreground stood an aged -priest, who had stopped to gaze in wonder at such strange intruders. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE VILLAGE NEAR MIYANÓSHITA.] - -[Illustration: A BIT OF JAPAN.] - -What pictures thus disclose themselves at every turn throughout this -marvelous country! Anywhere else you would pronounce them stage -effects--the cataracts which resemble tangled skeins of silken floss; the -miniature pagodas interspersed among the trees; and, brightening all with -life and color, the Japanese women with their brilliant sashes, as if the -vanished nymphs and dryads of the place had now assumed material shapes, -intending to be worshiped somehow, even by the skeptics. - -[Illustration: RURAL SCENERY IN JAPAN.] - -[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN STREAM.] - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE FAIR.] - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE BRIDGE.] - -Yet this is what one sees continually in Japan. What would in other lands -seem artificial, is here only natural. Accordingly, the charm of Japanese -scenery is enhanced by the surroundings given it by man. Picturesque -figures, clad in robes as multicolored as the trees themselves; bridges, -temples, and pagodas, often as brilliant as the autumnal leaves around -them--these make the landscapes irresistibly attractive, as if both man -and Nature had agreed to wear at the same time their holiday attire. One -feels that he is traveling through a land where Nature is adored, where -animals are kindly treated, and where such pleasing and poetic myths as -we associate only with ancient Greece and Rome are still believed by -many faithful souls, and make each forest the abode of rural deities and -every mountain rivulet a place of prayer. - -[Illustration: A FARMER IN HIS WORKING SUIT.] - -As we moved farther up the valley, we found at every turn some new source -of enjoyment; first, in the vivid foliage, which made the mountains seem -like huge bouquets of ferns; then, in the silvery stream whose voice -would shout a welcome to us as it hurried on; and lastly, in the little -Japanese inns, along whose carved-wood balconies were hung red paper -lanterns, that glowed at night like monster rubies, and gave to the whole -scene that charmingly unreal, or theatrical effect, so characteristic of -Japan. - -[Illustration: A RUSTIC BRIDGE.] - -Seeing some buildings on the opposite bank, we asked: "How do you -cross here from shore to shore? Boats surely are not possible; nor are -there any bridges, unless--but certainly those tiny structures yonder, -stretched like a spider's web across the flood, cannot be bridges!" Yet -closer scrutiny revealed the fact that they are really used as a means -of transportation. Long poles of bamboo, bound about with reeds, and -supported in the centre by a rough-hewn tripod,--such are the structures -often spanning mountain-torrents in Japan! If swept away, they can easily -be replaced; and, while they last, the peasants cross them fearlessly. - -[Illustration: A CHARACTERISTIC VIEW.] - -"But how about wagons, carriages, and horses?" we inquired, only to be -again reminded, with a laugh, that no provision need be made for them, -for carriage-roads do not yet exist in these mountain regions, and -horses are almost as rare as centaurs. In fact, one of the first things -to impress us in these rural districts was the absence of animals. We -saw no oxen, sheep, or donkeys, and only in rare instances a pony. -Japanese farmers hardly know what meat, milk, and butter are, and -when one recollects that they have never eaten bread, and have no word -for it in their language, one naturally asks, "On what do they live?" -Through our interpreter, we questioned a young laborer who was returning -homeward from the fields in his everyday working-suit of clothes. He was -well-formed and looked well-nourished, like most of his fellows, yet he -assured us that only fish, rice, and vegetables formed his diet. When, -therefore, one considers how much hard work the Japanese perform, and -thinks of all the thousands here, who, in lieu of horses, haul heavy -loads of wood and stone, it cannot be denied that they derive from their -food quite as much strength as we do from ours. It is true, doctors -declare that Japanese food, while good for peasants working in the open -air, is bad for those who lead a sedentary life. But is anything good for -those who lead a sedentary life? - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE MEAL.] - -[Illustration: A POSTMAN.] - -[Illustration: GATHERING SEA FOOD.] - -"What," we inquired somewhat impatiently, "is the meaning of this dearth -of animal life,--here, where a million acres on these verdant hills would -give the best of pasturage for cattle?" The explanation given us was a -religious one; for the Buddhist faith declares that to destroy any living -creature is a sin. This doctrine, through successive centuries, has had a -great effect upon the people. It practically forbids them to eat meat. If -the United States, therefore, should ever become Buddhistic, a colossal -industry of the West would disappear. No doubt, in time, stock-farms will -be established in Japan, as foreigners create a large demand for beef, -butter, milk, and cream; but agricultural customs are always slow to -change. One might have supposed that catching fish would also have been -prohibited by Buddhism, since that involves the sacrifice of life. But, -as the waters around the Japanese islands fairly swarm with them, to -have forbidden the people fish would have removed their staple article of -diet, and caused a positive hatred for the new religion. It is probable, -therefore, that the Buddhist priests knew (just as well as the Japanese -fishermen) where to draw the line. - -[Illustration: HOTEL AT MIYANÓSHITA.] - -One day, as we were rolling through the country in jinrikishas, we saw -approaching us an extraordinary apparition. - -"What is it," we exclaimed, "a winged Mercury, or a Coney Island bather -rushing to the beach?" - -"That is the letter-carrier," was the reply; "and the small waterproof -paper bag at the end of his bamboo pole contains the mail." - -[Illustration: TATTOOED MAN.] - -[Illustration: A POST-OFFICE.] - -In fact, where villages are not reached by a railroad, the old system -of swift couriers still prevails. Let us not laugh, however, at Japan's -postal service. It was only started in 1871; but it is already extended -over the entire country, with more than five thousand post-offices and -postal savings-banks. In 1881, after only ten years' growth, it carried -ninety-five million letters and postal-cards, and its rate of postage -is the cheapest in the world. A country postman, it is true, is rather -oddly dressed. One thinks, at first, perhaps, that he is wearing a -gaily-colored jersey. Not at all--his only garment is a cloth about -the waist, with a kerchief around his head to keep the perspiration -out of his eyes, and he has straw sandals on his feet. He is tattooed. -It seems impossible, at a first glance, that such elaborate decoration -is produced by sepia and vermilion alone, carefully pricked in with -needles; nevertheless it is a fact. These brilliant hues are proof -against the greatest amount of washing, tattooed man could no more -change his colors than could an Ethiopian his skin or a leopard his -spots. In feudal times this style of ornamentation was resorted to by -the Japanese for the same reason that their hideous masks were worn in -battle,--in order to inspire fear. Even now, although the custom is -prohibited, some wonderful specimens of tattooing can be seen; and from -actual observation we were forced to believe the statement that artists -in that line are able to prick into the skin a fairly faithful likeness -of the man himself, or perchance of a friend. Such workmen now complain -that they have little opportunity to practice their profession. Some -patronage, however, still comes to them from youthful foreigners. Two -sons of the Prince of Wales, for example, as well as Prince George of -Greece, have on their bodies specimens of this ornamentation; and if some -travelers whom we met here could be induced to raise their sleeves they -would display to their astonished friends one or two very pretty Japanese -views,--"colored,"--though not "dissolving." - -[Illustration: AT MIYANÓSHITA.] - -[Illustration: RURAL SCENERY.] - -One of the first and most delightful halting-places in our trip across -Japan was the hotel at Miyanóshita. It is as dainty as a lacquered box, -with floors, chairs, and balustrades as neat as wax and beautifully -polished. The rooms are furnished simply, but in European style; the food -is specially prepared for foreigners; and in cold weather the corridors -can be enclosed in glass. What wonder, then, that tourists resort to -Miyanóshita? For, in addition to its good hotel, it has the best of -mountain air and delightful hot baths from a natural spring, and is a -starting-point for many notable excursions. On most of these, however, -jinrikishas cannot be used. - -From this point on, the beaten roads are left, and only narrow paths -ascend the hills. Hence, on the morning after our arrival, we found -ourselves confronted by the most novel style of conveyance we had thus -far seen. "What under heaven is this?" I cried, as I caught sight of -it. "Must I get into this thing, and haven't you any blankets for these -horses?" - -[Illustration: A KAGO.] - -My friend sat down upon a rock and vowed he would not go. "Give me a -jinrikisha," he moaned; "I'd rather be once more a baby-jumper in my -little carriage than a mere stone in a sling, as you will be in that!" -He finally compromised on an armchair, hung on bamboo poles and carried -by four men; but I resolved to give this vehicle a thorough trial. So -crawling in, like a dog into its basket, I crossed my legs after the -fashion of a Turk who had fallen over backward, and told my well-groomed -steeds to go ahead. The unique and novel instrument of torture to which -I thus subjected myself is called a "kago." It is a shallow basket, -suspended from a bamboo pole, on which it swings irregularly like an -erratic pendulum. Two men take this upon their shoulders, while a third -follows as a substitute; for they change places usually every fifteen -minutes. - -[Illustration: 1. A RAIN-COAT. 2. AMONG THE FLOWERS. 3. A KAGO.] - -Mine changed every five. The man who invented the iron cage, within which -the unhappy prisoner could neither stand up nor lie down, must have heard -of a Japanese kago. The basket is too near the pole to let the occupant -sit erect, and much too short for him to extend his feet without giving -the bearer in front a violent prod in the small of the back. After many -frantic experiments, I found that the easiest fashion of kago-riding was -to lie upon my side, my head lolling about in one direction, and my feet -in the other. Even then, the lower half of my body kept falling asleep, -and I was frequently obliged to get out and walk, to avoid curvature of -the spine. Yet, incredible though it seems, Japanese women often travel -by these kagos. They certainly looked a thousand times more comfortable -than I felt; but then, the Japanese are short, and, moreover, are used to -bending up their limbs like knife-blades when they seat themselves. - -[Illustration: SWINGING LIKE A PENDULUM.] - -On a broad road, one experiences no sense of danger in these swinging -cars; but, once in a while, when I was being carried thus along a path -two feet in width,--a mountain grazing my right elbow, and a ravine one -thousand feet in depth just under my left shoulder-blade, I used to -wonder just what would happen if one of these men should stumble; or if, -becoming weary of their load, they should suddenly shoot me outward into -space like a stone from a catapult. I prudently kept on good terms with -my kago-men, and never refused them when they asked the privilege of -halting to take a smoke. - -[Illustration: HUMAN PONIES.] - -Almost everything in Japan is small; nor is a Japanese pipe an exception -to the rule. It is about as large as a lead-pencil with a child's thimble -at the end. Three whiffs are all that any man can take from them, and -the wad of tobacco thus consumed is just about the size of a two-grain -quinine pill. Hence, the long inhalations of our smokers, the drooping -backward of the head, the languid lifting of the eyes to watch the rings -of perfumed smoke float lazily away,--all these are unknown to the -Japanese. With them,--three little puffs, and all is over. This seems, -however, to satisfy them completely, and with the air of one who has -dined well, they knock the ashes from the tiny thimbles, and resume their -march. After about four hours of this kago-riding we reached the summit -of a mountain pass, called Otemetoge. From this point a glorious vista -met our gaze. - -[Illustration: STOPPING FOR A SMOKE.] - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE LADY EN ROUTE.] - -Behind us, in the distance, lay Miyanóshita and its neighboring villages, -resembling a group of islands in an ocean of green foliage. Far off -upon the heights a line of sunlit buildings gleamed like whitecaps -on a bright-green sea. Nearer, and almost at our feet, some objects -glittering in the noonday light attracted our attention, and these, -examined through a field-glass, proved to be a foaming mountain stream -and silvery cascade. At first we hardly dared to look on the other side -of the pass, lest we should experience disappointment. But fortune -favored us. The sky was clear; and gazing eagerly toward the west, we -saw, directly opposite our point of observation, the grand old sacred -mountain of Japan,--the world-renowned Fuji-yama. - -[Illustration: FUJI-YAMA.] - -It made me fairly catch my breath to look for the first time upon this -noble peak, whose form had been portrayed on almost every specimen of -Japanese art that I had seen from childhood. I felt as if I had been -ushered into the presence of some mighty sovereign, whose name and deeds -and splendid court had from my earliest years called forth my admiration. -A score of interesting traits render a study of this mountain valuable. -It is, in the first place, a volcano,--the tallest of those fiery -furnaces whose devastations cast a lurid light along the path of Japanese -history. Its last eruption was in 1707, when all the plain around its -base was buried deep with cinders, and ashes fell fifty miles away. Yet -even now, although no wreathe of smoke surrounds its brow, it sends forth -steam through several apertures, much as a captive serpent hisses though -its fangs are drawn. The little spur upon its southern slope is due to -the last eruption. Before that, both of its curving sides were perfectly -symmetrical. - -The ascent of Fuji involves a long, hard climb for weary miles through -lava-ashes, sometimes ankle-deep. The violence of the wind on certain -portions of the mountain is proverbial, and by some travelers has been -described as so appalling that they were fearful lest some furious -blast might blow them into space and scatter their remains over a dozen -provinces. - -[Illustration: THE SACRED PEAK.] - -[Illustration: APPROACH TO A SHRINE.] - -[Illustration: THE GOD OF WIND.] - -One cannot wonder that the Japanese have always deemed this mountain -sacred. A perfect, silver-crested pyramid, over twelve thousand feet -in height, rising in one majestic sweep from sea to sky; changing its -color constantly from dawn to dusk, like some officiating priest, a -mediator between God and man, assuming consecrated robes of purple, -orange, violet, green, and gold,--how could man help regarding it as a -glorious shrine inhabited by Deity itself? To its mighty base, as to -some incense-burning altar, more than ten thousand reverent pilgrims -annually come to make the arduous ascent; and to relieve their hardships, -"rest-houses" have been built at intervals along the path, while, even on -the summit, the three entrances to the volcano's crater, which is four -hundred feet deep, are marked by sacred gateways. - -[Illustration: MENDICANT PILGRIMS.] - -Most of these pilgrims wear upon their shoulders the garments almost -universally worn in stormy weather by the Japanese peasants,--a kind of -water-proof, made of straw or grass, to shed the rain and snow. These -vary from a finely-plaited matting to the cheaper, rougher grades, -which make the wearer's back look like the roof of a thatched cottage. -Upon their heads are hats of split bamboo or straw, that bear a comical -resemblance to enormous mushrooms, and serve as sunshades or umbrellas, -according to the condition of the weather. We met such pilgrims -everywhere throughout Japan. At least a hundred thousand people thus -become, in summer-time, religious tramps, and make their way to sacred -islands, holy mountain-tops, and shrines whose names would fill a lengthy -catalogue. - -[Illustration: THE PILGRIM GARB.] - - -[Illustration: STATUE OF JIZO] - -[Illustration: CROSSING THE TEN-PROVINCE PASS.] - -[Illustration: VILLAGE STREET.] - - -[Illustration: A LOVELY WALK NEAR HAKONE.] - -Many of these itinerant worshipers solicit alms to help them on their -way; but there are also associations of these pilgrims, whose members -pay one cent a month into a common treasury. From such a tax as that, -however, the treasury never becomes congested, and hence the number of -those who travel is necessarily limited. When, therefore, the pilgrim -season opens, a certain number of the wanderers, chosen by lot, visit -the shrines and represent those whose circumstances compel them to -remain at home. These pilgrimages, it is said, are on the wane, but they -are still popular. Only five years ago, at the festival of one famous -shrine, twenty-one thousand people alighted in two days at a country -railway station where the daily average is three hundred and fifty; and -to another sacred shrine about two hundred and fifty thousand pilgrims -annually come. - -[Illustration: APPROACH TO THE TEMPLE AT NARA.] - -Another charming excursion in Japan led us across the "Ten-province pass" -to Atami on the southern coast. Of course it had to be made in chairs -or kagos; but such slight hardships sink to insignificance when one -recalls delightful days spent in enjoying lovely scenery, inhaling pure, -invigorating air, and riding over mountain-paths on which the sunlight, -filtering through the trees, traced tremulous mosaics of alternate light -and shade. - -[Illustration: ON THE SHORE OF HAKONE LAKE.] - -Occasionally on this journey we came upon the sculptured effigy of some -protecting deity. We were especially impressed by one that was colossal -in dimensions, and had been carved laboriously from the natural cliff -eleven hundred years before. It represents the Buddhist god, Jizo, who -is the especial guardian of travelers and little children. Around -the base of this extraordinary figure were heaps of pebbles which had -been placed there, one by one, by wayfarers for centuries. This custom -originated in one of the most singular myths which religion has ever -produced, and is a striking proof of the fondness of the Japanese for -children. Upon the banks of the river, in the lower world, is said to -live a demon who catches little children as they try to cross, and makes -them work for him at his eternal task of piling stones upon the shore. -Every pebble laid at the statue's feet is thought to lighten the burden -of some little one below! Smilingly yielding to the influence of this -pathetic superstition, we ourselves left some pebbles, and then moved -onward down the mountain-side, in the same path pursued by all the -thousands who had here preceded us, like little boats upon the stream of -Time. - -[Illustration: THE MIKADO'S PALACE, HAKONE.] - -[Illustration: ATAMI.] - -[Illustration: THE GEYSER AT ATAMI.] - -Presently a sudden turn revealed to us Hakone Lake,--a lovely sheet -of water surrounded by densely wooded hills. This is a summer resort -that rivals even Miyanóshita in popularity. The air is delightfully -invigorating here, twenty-four hundred feet above the sea, and in the hot -season, not only are all the Japanese tea-houses filled with guests, but -families from Tokio and Yokohama rent all the available cottages around -the lake. To some extent, indeed, this region has imperial patronage, -for, on a pretty hill which overlooks the water, is a palace built for -the Mikado. It must be said, however, that he has never occupied it, -since he rarely leaves his residence in Tokio, but we were told that the -Crown Prince, a lad of fourteen, had been here several times. In almost -every other country in the world the public is now permitted to enter -the abodes of royalty when their distinguished occupants are absent; but -not so here. These palace doors are closed inexorably to all travelers. -We were not allowed even to step within the grounds. - -[Illustration: BY LAKE HAKONE.] - -At length, descending to the level of the sea, our faithful bearers -brought us to Atami--a pretty town, famous for the manufacture of that -Japanese paper which seemed to me one of the most astonishing products -of the country. It is so fine and soft that it is used for handkerchiefs -and napkins, and takes the place of lint in surgery; yet is so firm -that it is manufactured into lantern-screens, brooms, air-cushions, and -umbrellas. Torn into strips, it also takes the place of string, while all -the inner walls of Japanese houses consist of screens of paper, divided -into squares, like panes of glass. - -[Illustration: A MIXTURE OF STYLES.] - -As we were one day walking through Atami, a sudden outburst of steam, on -the other side of a fence, came very near stampeding our entire party. -When we recovered sufficient breath to ask the cause of the explosion, we -learned that it was occasioned by a small geyser, which has a species of -convulsion every four hours, and each time pours out sulphurous vapor for -a space of fifteen minutes. It would appear that the people of Atami are -living on the lid of a volcanic tea-kettle, but evidently they have no -fear. They have enclosed the geyser with a fence like a wild animal in a -cage, and close beside it is a sanitarium, where patients with diseases -of the throat and lungs inhale the steam. It may be an excellent place -for sufferers from pulmonary troubles, but we concluded that nervous -occupants of this retreat must feel like the traditional darky on the -safety-valve of a Mississippi steamboat. The old-style doctors of Japan -are still in vogue in certain rural districts, though they are being -rapidly superseded by the young practitioners who have received a medical -education, in Europe or America. With the old Japanese physicians a -favorite mode of cure was sticking a long needle into the part of the -body supposed to be diseased. Another universal panacea was branding the -body with a burning weed called _moxa_. This was prescribed for troubles -as unlike as rheumatism and toothache. Women, at certain critical moments -in their lives, were thought to be relieved by having the little toe of -their right foot burned three times. We often noticed scars upon the -naked backs and limbs of our jinrikisha men, and learned that they had -been produced by this strange medical treatment. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE DOCTOR OF THE OLD STYLE.] - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE LADY.] - -[Illustration: DRESS AND UNDRESS.] - -In traveling through the rural districts of Japan, the tourist soon -becomes accustomed to the peasant's lack of clothing. It is not the -exception here to be undressed--it is the rule. Even in the streets of -Tokio one will behold, on rainy days, thousands of men wearing neither -trousers nor stockings, walking about with tucked-up clothes and long -white limbs, which gives them the appearance of storks upon a river-bank. -Even those who have adopted the European dress will frequently, on -a muddy day, practice economy by discarding their trousers, and, -unconscious of any incongruity, will take their "constitutional" on -wooden clogs, with bare legs and feet, though having the upper part of -their bodies covered with a frock-coat and a Derby hat! - -Among these scantily-clad people one often sees a somewhat better dressed -but melancholy man, who, with his downcast eyes and shaven head, appears -to have lost his friends together with his hair. He represents a useful -class of people in Japan--the masseurs, or professional manipulators -of the body. One should not hastily conclude that he is smoking. It is -true, the article between his lips is usually a pipe, but it is not the -kind that holds tobacco. It is a reed-like instrument, on which he blows -two plaintive notes to advertise his presence. In every Japanese town -we always heard at night the mournful call of the masseur. The laughter -which their appearance at first provokes, gives place to pity when one -learns that nearly all of these men are blind. It is a calling which, -notwithstanding their infirmity, they can follow, and they are said to be -adepts at it. - -[Illustration: A MASSEUR.] - -[Illustration: MASSAGE.] - -To appreciate a Japanese masseur, it is necessary to see one of them -at work. This, it is true, is more than he himself can do, since he -is blind; but our pity is soon diverted from him to the person he is -treating, not so much because of the pinching to which he subjects his -victim as on account of the pillow on which the patient's head reclines. -It makes one think of Anne Boleyn or Mary Stuart, with their necks upon -the fatal block; for a Japanese pillow is a wedge-shaped piece of wood, -about a foot in length, on top of which is tied a wad of cloth, about the -size of a Bologna sausage. To try to sleep with neck supported in this -fashion would seem to most Americans as hopeless as to woo slumber with a -fence-rail for a pillow. One shudders to consider the discomfort, under -these conditions, of turning over in bed, and trying to locate the neck -on such a diminutive support. - -[Illustration: JAPANESE COIFFURE.] - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE PILLOW.] - -[Illustration: IN THE BOUDOIR.] - - -Yet, after all, we are creatures of habit, and forty million people -in Japan use just such pillows every night, without suffering from -insomnia. It is even claimed that Japanese women delight in them, since -they do not disarrange the hair. Nor does this appear strange, when one -scrutinizes their methods of coiffure. They are something marvelous. The -hair of Japanese women is, with few exceptions, as black as ebony, and -very abundant. Moreover, it is usually profusely oiled, and glistens -like a raven's wing. Through these polished tresses are invariably drawn -hairpins of gold, strings of coral, or ornaments of tortoise-shell. But -as to how the ladies of Japan produce in their coiffures their black -crescendos and diminuendos, their sharp staccato puffs and portamento -water-falls, the writer dares not hazard a conjecture. Yet of one thing -we may be sure: if we were to venture into a Japanese lady's boudoir, we -should find that help is needed to produce them. The toilette-stand and -looking-glass might seem to us a trifle low; but we must bear in mind -that Japanese domestic life is regulated by a level three feet lower -than our own: in other words, where we use chairs, they seat themselves -on the floor. This furnished us a key to much that hitherto had seemed -puzzling in their habits. Whether a thing be sensible or not depends upon -the point of view,--in this case, the height at which we seat ourselves. -Once regard an exquisitely clean floor of cushioned matting as an immense -divan, and taking off our muddy boots becomes a matter of course; and -tables and lamps and mirrors will be placed at a height adapted to our -needs. - -[Illustration: THE LAST TOUCHES.] - -[Illustration: THE OBI.] - -When a foreigner beholds for the first time a Japanese lady seated on her -heels, as is the custom, he fancies that she has the small of her back -supported by an enormous cushion. But when he subsequently sees this lady -walking down the street, attended by her maid, he perceives that what -appeared to him a sofa-pillow is really a regular part of her costume. -It is a heavy silken sash, extremely long and often very elegant, which -keeps the robe itself in place. This _obi_, as it is called, is the most -precious article of a Japanese lady's wardrobe. Its usual length is -fourteen feet, and when its material is silk or gold brocade it will be -seen that it has some value. These sashes exhibit, of course, a great -variety of color, and one can scarcely find a prettier sight than that -of several well-dressed Japanese ladies, grouped together in the vivid -sunlight. They look as radiant and attractive as a bouquet of flowers. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE BEAUTY.] - -American ladies who have tried the Japanese dress say that the tying -of the _obi_ is extremely difficult. But here, as in the art of -hair-dressing, a lady's maid is almost indispensable. The bow, although -arranged in different styles, is always worn behind, thus spoiling, in -some measure, the outline of the form. When a Japanese lady becomes a -widow, she makes no change in the position of the _obi_, unless she -wishes publicly to announce that she will never marry again. In that -case, it is said, she ties the bow in front. Whether this wards off all -proposals may be doubted; but gossip relates that, once in a while, the -widow comes to look at life a little differently, and then the bow works -gradually round again to its original position. - -[Illustration: TYING THE OBI.] - -[Illustration: FRIENDS IN COUNCIL.] - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE SHOP.] - -Japanese ladies make a serious mistake when they exchange their national -style of dress for that of foreigners, for, as a rule, their charm and -beauty leave them when they appear in European garments. On two occasions -we saw some thus arrayed, and the effect was painful. If most of them had -put on each other's dresses by mistake, they would have looked about as -well; and in the absence of corsets their little figures seemed as much -out of place as children in their mother's wrappers. - -[Illustration: A BOAT-RIDE IN JAPAN.] - -[Illustration: GEISHA GIRLS.] - -Some years ago a letter signed by Mrs. Cleveland and many other prominent -women of America was addressed to their sisters in Japan, urging them -not to risk their health and comfort by adopting European dress. It was -of little avail. The die was cast. In 1885 the Japanese Empress and her -suite appeared for the last time in public in the tasteful costumes -of the past. Since then, the order has gone forth that all ladies who -present themselves at court must do so in European dress; and it is -to be feared that, ere a score of years have passed, the lovely and -appropriate robes of old Japan will have disappeared forever. Until quite -recently, the universal rule for Japanese women, when they married, was -to shave their eyebrows, pull out their eye-lashes, and stain their teeth -jet-black. Even the present empress did these things at her marriage. The -idea seems to have been to make themselves look hideous, so as to have no -more admirers, despite the fact that the average husband, as we all know, -appreciates his wife better if he perceives that other men are aware of -her attractions. But under the new _régime_ this sad disfigurement is -rapidly disappearing, and at present the younger ladies of Japan, at -least, show rows of pearly teeth when laughter parts their lips. - -[Illustration: A DANCING-GIRL.] - -[Illustration: A TEA-HOUSE.] - -The richest toilettes that we saw in the land of the Mikado were worn -by _geisha_ girls, without whom Japanese festivals are incomplete. Some -of these dainty creatures form an orchestra while others dance. Their -instruments of sound (one can hardly call them instruments of music) -consist usually of two kinds of drums and a long, three-stringed banjo, -called the _samisen_. Sometimes a flute also is used. We frequently -disputed as to which of these was the least excruciating, but on the -whole we preferred the drums. When to this combination a human voice was -added, our teeth were set on edge. - -Young as they look, these _geishas_ are professionals, and -training-schools exist in Tokio and Kioto, where they are sometimes -taught when only seven years of age. A Japanese dancing-girl forms a -charming picture. Her long _kimono_ of the richest silk is beautifully -embroidered with such a wealth of lovely flowers, that she herself -resembles a bouquet in motion. Her broad _obi_ is of the heaviest crape, -and falls upon a petticoat of gorgeous color. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE FAMILY MOVING.] - -[Illustration: ON THE JAPANESE COAST.] - -Black lacquered sandals half conceal her tiny, white-socked feet, and -in each hand she holds a decorated fan. Do not expect from her the -slightest approach to Lottie Collins. The dance of "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay," -performed by a _geisha_ girl, would make a subject of the Mikado, if he -were unprepared for it, faint away. Nor will the spectator see the least -exposure of her personal charms. For, strangely enough, the Japanese, who -will at other times dispense with all the clothing possible, conceal a -dancer's form with rigid severity. There is not much expression in these -dancers' faces. One feels that they are not women, but girls to whom -intense emotions are as yet unknown. They merely represent in graceful -pantomime some song or story, flitting about like pretty butterflies, or -swaying back and forth like flowers in a summer breeze. Leaving Atami, -we had a charming ride of seven miles beside the ocean. The road (which -may be called the Japanese Cornice) is passable for jinrikishas; and -while on one side we looked off upon the Pacific, on the other we found -that every valley had a background of well-rounded mountains, covered -with verdure soft as velvet, from which at intervals a stream of crystal -water rushed to meet the sea. The scenery of Japan may not be grand, -but for a charming combination of the elements which make a country -beautiful, enlivened constantly by natives in their novel occupations, -the seven-mile drive from old Atami can hardly be surpassed. - -[Illustration: LOVERS OF NATURE AND ART.] - -Moreover, the people, as we met them on these journeys, pleased us -greatly. They were invariably courteous and gentle in their manners, and -no boorishness was visible, even among the lower classes. They always -seemed to be good-natured. However stormy the weather, however heavy the -load, however bad the roads, we never heard a Japanese complain, nor saw -one in a bad humor. If the foreigner becomes angry with them, they laugh -as if he were making himself ridiculous; and presently he feels that they -are right, and that violent anger is in truth absurd. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE AT PRAYER.] - -Yet, just as beneath the smiling landscapes of Japan still lurk the -terrible volcanic forces of destruction, so underneath the sunny -dispositions of the Japanese are all the characteristics of the warrior. -Their history has thoroughly established that they are a manly, -patriotic, martial race. Their gentleness, therefore, comes not from -servility, but is the product of inborn courtesy and refinement. - -[Illustration: THE GUARDIANS OF TRAVELERS AND LITTLE CHILDREN.] - -The Japanese are naturally of a happy disposition. A smile illumines -every face. Apparently their past has no regrets, their present no -annoyances, their future no alarms. They love the beautiful in nature -and in art. They live simply; and how much that means! Their wants are -few. The houses of the wealthy do not differ much from those of the -poor. Hence life for them is free from almost all those harrowing cares -and worriments which sometimes make existence in the Occident a long, -incessant struggle to keep up appearances. If they are sad, they seldom -show their sadness in public. They evidently believe with the poet: - - "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; - Weep, and you weep alone." - -In some provinces of Japan, when a new bridge is opened, not the richest, -but the happiest, persons in the community are chosen to pass over it -first, as a favorable omen. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE HEARSE.] - -Strange as it may appear, however, these qualities of the Japanese have -been regarded by some travelers as faults. A tourist once solemnly -remarked to me: "The great trouble with the Japanese is that they are too -happy." - -"What!" I exclaimed, "can any one be too happy in this world?" - -"Certainly," was the reply; "the Japanese are too light-hearted to learn -with advantage the lessons of adversity. If a calamity befalls them, they -often smile and say, 'Well, it can't be helped,' and then try to think no -more about it. Worst of all," he continued, "they do not worry about the -future, but actually meet death fearlessly and calmly." - -[Illustration: A BARBER SHOP.] - -"My friend," I answered, "if to enjoy as much as possible this world that -God has given us, if to smile bravely in adversity, and if to die without -fear, are faults, it would be well if many other people possessed them, -too. You remind me of the old lady in New Hampshire, who exclaimed sadly, -'The Universalists tell us that all men are to be saved, but--we hope for -better things!'" - -In fact, a remarkable characteristic of the Japanese is the cheerful, -almost jovial, way they have of announcing a calamity. An English -resident of Japan called our attention to this fact soon after our -arrival, and our experience confirmed his testimony. Whether the cause -be nervousness or a dislike to give one pain, the fact remains that the -Japanese will often preface a bit of dreadful news with laughter, or at -least with a chuckle. Thus, whenever our guide called our attention to a -funeral, his face would wreathe itself in smiles. - -Still more extraordinary was the manner of a barber in the hotel -at Yokohama. As he was shaving me one morning, after a moderate -earthquake-shock the night before, he suddenly remarked, with what -appeared to be a burst of unpremeditated merriment: "Oh, last night's -shock was nothing. Why, a few years ago, in Tokio, my father and mother -were killed outright by an earthquake (Ha! Ha!); the house fell right on -top of them (He! He!), and crushed them both to death (Ha! Ha! Ha!)." - -[Illustration: A RUINED VILLAGE.] - -It is difficult to explain this peculiarity otherwise than by supposing -it to be a nervous mannerism; for, as a race, the Japanese are very -affectionate, and filial reverence is a religious duty. In this instance -I was so astonished at the man's hilarity, that I very nearly fell out of -his chair. We thought of this incident again, when, some weeks later, we -found ourselves in the Japanese province which had suffered most from the -calamitous earthquake of October, 1891. Thousands of houses, we found, -had been wrecked by that catastrophe, and in one place the railway tracks -had been violently bent and twisted, like a chain irregularly thrown upon -the ground. The motion lasted less than a minute; but what cannot an -earthquake do in forty seconds? There came one mighty shock,--and over -an extent of many miles the buildings fell like packs of cards. Great -blocks of solid masonry were tossed about like dice. Trees lay around -like jackstraws. - -[Illustration: SCATTERED BY AN EARTHQUAKE.] - -[Illustration: TWISTED BY AN EARTHQUAKE.] - -Large manufacturing towns were ruined. Thousands of husbands, wives, -and children who, but an instant previous, had been happy at their -work or play, were suddenly crushed by falling roofs, mangled by heavy -timbers, buried alive in the debris, or burned to ashes by fires caused -by overturned braziers. By chance we traveled through this region on the -first anniversary of that great calamity, and many people, we were told, -felt anxious till the day was over. But earthquakes in Japan, alas! are -limited to no special dates. Their visits are extremely numerous and -quite impartial as to months and days. Our earth is said to be quieting -down in its subterranean disturbances; but poor Japan still has no less -than fifty-one volcanoes labeled "active," and experiences every year, -on an average, five hundred seismic shocks, besides numerous destructive -typhoons or hurricanes. Most of them are, of course, mere tremors; but -once in a while there comes a stroke that causes fearful devastation, -as when in Tokio, in 1703, thirty-seven thousand lives were lost. -Such terrible manifestations of volcanic power remind one of the more -appalling scenes that must have been enacted here, when Nature brought -these islands from the sea, pouring them from her fiery crucible. - -[Illustration: EFFECT OF A TYPHOON AT KOBE.] - -In planning a journey through the interior of Japan, the tourist -naturally inquires where and with what accommodation he is to spend -the nights upon the trip. He need not have the least anxiety. In -the four prominent cities,--Tokio, Yokohama, Kobe, and Kioto,--there -are first-class hotels, with rooms and food adapted to the tastes of -foreigners. In many smaller places, too, like Miyanóshita and Atami, -the hotels, although simpler, are both comfortable and well-managed. -One suffers no discomfort in any of these localities. But in the -country villages (which need not be included in the traveler's route -unless he so desires), he must adopt the Japanese mode of sleeping in a -tea-house--that is to say, in a regular Japanese hotel. - -[Illustration: HOTEL AT KOBE.] - -[Illustration: THREE OF A KIND.] - -As our jinrikishas drew up before one of these, we saw a pretty, modern -building of two stories, adorned as usual with paper lanterns. At -intervals, on the edge of every balcony, were tall, rectangular boxes -reaching from floor to ceiling. These upright cases contain wooden -shutters, about as large as the leaves of a dining-table, which are at -night taken out, and pushed along in grooves, to make an outside wall for -the entire house. When that is done, each balcony of course becomes an -inside corridor. Thus every Japanese dwelling consists, as it were, of -two houses, one within the other, enclosed in separate cases,--the inside -one of paper, the outer one of wood. As we alighted here, the landlord -and his servants hurried out to greet us, dropped on their knees, and, -with their hands spread out, palms downward, and their foreheads almost -touching the floor, they bowed repeatedly, like the "three little maids -from school." What a contrast was here between the Orient and the -Occident. Imagine a hotel clerk in America down upon his knees! In our -hotels the traveler's first duty is to register his name. Here there is -something even more important to attend to, namely, removing his shoes. -Off they must come before he steps upon the delicate mattings and the -glistening floor, just as with us a muddy overshoe would not be tolerated -on a parlor carpet. In fact, on entering the hall, one sees what in -America would be called a hat-rack, but which is here designed for -holding shoes. - -[Illustration: A TEA-HOUSE.] - -The tourist, therefore, should invariably carry with him in Japan a pair -of soft, felt slippers, for otherwise he will be frequently obliged to -walk about in hotels, shops, and temples, with merely stockings on his -feet. - -[Illustration: A TEA-HOUSE VESTIBULE.] - -In nearly all Japanese dwellings one usually finds, hung in conspicuous -places, some handsomely framed mottoes and proverbs, much as in many of -our own country houses we read upon the walls such a comforting assurance -as "The Lord will provide," or the melancholy conundrum "What is home -without a mother?" To Occidental eyes, Japanese ideographs do not appear -beautiful. They look like the meanderings of intoxicated flies that have -been immersed in ink. As for their meaning, one motto was translated to -us as signifying: "May Buddha bless this house!" Others were words of -praise which princely visitors had left; while not a few were epigrams or -proverbs, for which the Japanese are famous. Some of them ran as follows: -"The absent get farther away every day;" "Clever preacher, short sermon;" -"A woman's tongue three inches long can kill a man six feet high;" "Live -under your own hat;" "Don't make a long call when the husband is not at -home." And yet we send missionaries to Japan! - -[Illustration: WRITING A LETTER.] - -[Illustration: AT THE TEA-HOUSE DOOR.] - -[Illustration: JAPANESE MOTTOES.] - - -With many bows and smiles the landlord of the tea-house led the way up -a flight of exquisitely polished stairs, and showed us our apartments. -We looked around us with astonishment, for no furniture was visible. The -floor, it is true, was covered with fine matting, but, with that one -exception, the rooms, which opened into each other, were as bare as an -unfurnished flat. Their number and extent depended largely on ourselves. -Did we desire an entire story? We had but to push back the paper screens, -and it was ours. Did we insist on having separate rooms? Close up the -little screens again, and each could sleep in his own paper box, exactly -twelve feet square. Unfortunately there are no locks upon these paper -screens; hence, just as one is getting out of bed in the morning, the -whole side of his room will sometimes disappear with the rapidity of a -liberated Holland shade! Moreover, Japanese servants, urged by curiosity, -will often poke a moistened finger through a square of paper, to study -foreign toilettes at their leisure. During the daytime, in the summer, -even the screens are removed, to give free access to the breeze, and the -house then becomes the empty skeleton of its former self. - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A TEA-HOUSE.] - -But what most puzzled us at first was where to hang our clothes. There -were no hooks upon the walls, there was not even a table for our toilet -articles. It seemed too bad to put our coats and hair-brushes on the -floor. But one must recollect that Japanese floors are not like ours, -since no boots ever touch them. For native guests a beautiful, square, -lacquered box is usually provided, in which they lay the carefully -folded robes which they remove before retiring. To us, however, no -limited receptacle like that was given. We had the unrestricted floor. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE BED.] - -The beds in which we slept afforded us the most amusement. When bedtime -comes in Japanese homes, quilts are brought out from a closet and spread -upon the floor. Within five minutes all is ready for the night, and with -the morning light they disappear again. Occasionally, in the larger -tea-houses, we, as foreigners, had special luxuries,--such as cotton -sheets, a couch of seven comforters, instead of the usual two, and, for a -bolster, an extra quilt rolled up as with a shawl-strap. Thus altogether, -including what we used for coverings, our most luxurious couches in Japan -consisted of from ten to a dozen comforters. - -[Illustration: THE COMMON WASHSTAND IN A TEA-HOUSE.] - -We found some difficulty in getting sufficient sleep in Japanese tea-houses; not -from the composition and arrangement of our beds, but from the noise -about us, which seldom ceased before the hour of midnight, and always -woke us with the dawn. Even our "summer hotels," with their distressingly -thin partitions, are delightfully tranquil compared with the country inns -of Japan. For sliding screens of paper are practically no barrier at -all to sound, and, as if that were not sufficiently aggravating, these -paper walls rarely reach the top of the room, but leave a ventilating -space of a foot or two, through which the mingled snoring, prayers, and -conversation of the guests, and the matutinal clatter of the servants, -roll and reverberate like distant thunder. - -[Illustration: JAPANESE TEA-HOUSE.] - -[Illustration: CARRYING TEA FROM THE FIELD.] - -The morning after my arrival, I pushed aside a screen with my forefinger, -and lo! half of my room stood open to the rising sun. Descending to the -courtyard, I beheld a Japanese servant hurrying toward me on her wooden -clogs, to give me tea. - -[Illustration: BRINGING TEA.] - -What shall be said of these attractive little waitresses, who make the -dullest tea-house gay with laughter, brighten the darkest day with -brilliant colors, and sweeten every tea-cup with a smile? They are not -usually beautiful, or even womanly, in the sense of being dignified. They -rather seem like well-developed school-girls, just sobered down enough -to wear long dresses, but perfectly unable to refrain at times from -screams of merriment. Yet search the world through, and where will you -find servants such as these? From the first moment when they fall upon -their knees and bow their foreheads to the floor, till the last instant, -when they troop around the door to call to you their musical word for -farewell,--"_Sayonara_,"--they seem to be the daintiest, happiest, and -most obliging specimens of humanity that walk the earth. - -[Illustration: PLAYING GAMES.] - -We were particularly pleased with one agreeable trait of all these -Japanese girls--their exquisitely clean and well-shaped hands. One -would, of course, expect them to be small, for delicate frames are a -characteristic of the race, but almost without exception the hands of all -the waitresses who served us in Japan looked as if they had just emerged -from a hot bath, and had been manicured besides. "A trifle," some would -say, but, after all, such trifles help to make perfection. When one has -traveled through a country for two months, and from one end of it to the -other has seen pretty, well-kept hands extended to him fifty times a day, -he feels respect and admiration for a race so neat and delicate to their -finger-tips. The Japanese, according to our Occidental standard, may not -have much godliness, but they possess what comes next to it--personal -cleanliness. And I am sure that, at any time, I would rather associate -with a nice, wholesome sinner than with an uncleanly saint! - -[Illustration: TWO MODES OF TRAVEL IN JAPAN.] - -[Illustration: DOMESTIC ETIQUETTE.] - -It was while we were taking our breakfast here, that we beheld, in a -neighboring room, a lady being served with tea by her domestic, who -was approaching her mistress on her knees. Nothing amazed us more than -this, for in the United States these positions are usually reversed. In -free America it is the lady who, figuratively speaking, has to "go down -on her knees" before her cook. When we consider the serious drawbacks -to domestic happiness and comfort, occasioned by the insolence and -inefficiency of servants in America, who, as a rule, are better lodged, -clothed, and fed than any other class of laborers in the world, one -questions if in this, and many other respects, Japan will be improved by -contact with the Occident. - -[Illustration: A STREET IN KIOTO.] - -What Moscow is to the Russians, Kioto is to the Japanese, their present -capital, Tokio, corresponding rather to St. Petersburg. Kioto is the -ancient capital,--the sacred city of the empire,--hallowed by countless -shrines and endeared by centuries of classic memories. It was for -a thousand years the home of the Mikado, and is still the centre of -old Japanese art. Here also, till the revolution of 1869, lived many -nobles of the highest rank, together with distinguished poets, priests, -and artists. Its name, Kioto, denotes the City of Peace, and its best -citizens were thought to be the most refined and polished of a race whose -gentle manners are still unsurpassed. - -[Illustration: IN KIOTO.] - -Our hotel in Kioto was unlike the inns of other Japanese cities, being -neither a European structure, like the hotels at Tokio and Yokohama, nor -yet a tea-house, such as we had lately seen. It was a compromise between -the two, with comfortable rooms and foreign furnishings. Its situation is -far above the city, upon a wooded hill that has been sacred to Buddha for -a thousand years. Around it are old temples, monasteries, and pagodas, -among which one can walk in shaded paths the livelong day. Often, while -seated on the spacious hotel balcony which overlooks the town, we heard -a strangely fascinating sound rolling toward us through the sacred -groves in solemn, silvery vibrations. We discovered after a short walk -the cause of this. It was a huge bronze bell,--no less than seventy-four -tons in weight,--whose sweet-voiced call to prayer has echoed over this -hill for nearly three hundred years. There are few sounds more pleasing -to the ear than the vibrations of a distant, deep-toned bell. Except in -Russia I had never heard such notes as those that issue from the bells -of old Japan. Their solemn strokes swell through the forest like the -crescendo of an orchestra. These bells, however, are not rung, like -ours, by wrenching them from side to side, until a pendant tongue falls -sharply on their inner rim. Ah, no! the Japanese treat them far more -cleverly. Suspended from the belfry roof is a large, rounded shaft of -wood, attendant swings this to one side, and lets it fall, to strike the -inverted bowl of bronze one mighty blow. The difference in sound produced -by using wood instead of metal, is astonishing. There is no grating jar, -no sharpness in the tone, but one stupendous boom of sound, as though -a musical cannon were discharged. This instantly resolves itself into -slow-moving, ever widening circles of reverberation, which fall upon the -ear more and more faintly, till they die away like the last murmur of the -surf upon the sand. - -[Illustration: YAAMI'S HOTEL, KIOTO.] - -[Illustration: BRONZE HORSE.] - -[Illustration: A MONSTER BELL, KIOTO.] - -[Illustration: A TEMPLE IN KIOTO.] - -Accepting the invitation which that bell conveyed to us, we strolled -toward one of Kioto's many temples. In the one we entered, five bells, -with long white cords attached, were hanging in the lacquered porch. The -worshiper pulls one of these, to call the attention of the god; then, -having said a prayer, he drops a coin into a grated box and goes his -way. On one occasion, we saw a pretty baby, three months old, brought -hither in its mother's arms, and made to pull the bell-rope with its tiny -hand. Then the great-grand-mother of the child, herself almost eighty-six -years old, advanced with trembling limbs and rang it for the second time. -It was a suggestive picture,--this vision of old age and infancy, like -opposite poles of an electric battery, completing here a circuit of four -generations; pathetic emblems of the past and future,--the smiling infant -looking forward to anticipated blessings, the feeble matron thankful for -the gifts received. - -[Illustration: A JAPANESE BELFRY.] - -The Japanese have really two religions, in some respects rivals of each -other. The elder, or original faith, is Shintoism; the younger, which has -struggled to supplant it for twelve hundred years, is Buddhism. - -It is difficult to comprehend exactly what Shintoism is. The name means, -literally, "The way of the gods," but it is the vaguest known religion. -It has no bible, no dogmas, and not even a moral code. It dimly hints at -immortality, but has no definite heaven or hell. Its gods, are either -deified national heroes or else personifications of nature, such as the -glorious sun, the all-surrounding ocean, and the innumerable deities -of mountains, rivers, rocks, and trees. Its shrines for worship, with -their gray stone lanterns and majestic _torii_, are severely plain, its -services extremely simple, and all its priests appear like laymen in the -streets, donning their clerical robes only when they officiate in the -temples. - -[Illustration: A SHINTO PRIEST.] - -[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO A JAPANESE TEMPLE.] - -[Illustration: BUDDHIST PRIESTS.] - -[Illustration: BUDDHIST PRIESTS IN A CEMETERY.] - -Not so the Buddhist priests. Their costume, like their ritual, is -imposing. While Shinto priests may marry, the Buddhists take the vow -of celibacy. In fact, though wholly different in its creed from the -great Roman Catholic communion, some of the ceremonials of Buddhism -remind us of it; such as their richly-mantled priests, their altars -bright with candles and adorned with flowers, their clouds of incense, -grand processionals, and statues of the gods and saints. What wonder, -then, since it has such attractions, that this religion, when it came -hither from India, about six centuries after Christ, achieved at once a -remarkable success? The colder Shinto faith lost ground, and even the -Mikados gave to Buddha's doctrines favor and support for centuries; but -Shintoism has now once more become the state religion. - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A JAPANESE TEMPLE.] - -The furnishings of the Buddhist temples in Japan are often marvels of -artistic beauty, comprising tables, columns, doors, and even floors, -composed of ruby red or jet-black lacquer, which is so thick and -smooth as to produce the effect of rosewood or solid ebony. Here, -too, are altars loaded down with ornaments of gold and bronze, silken -screens inscribed with sacred characters, exquisite bronze lanterns, -incense-burners, gilded gongs, tall lotus-flowers with leaves of gold, -and beautiful lacquered boxes placed on stands about the floor, within -which are the precious manuscripts of Buddhist scriptures. In a word, -recall the richest specimens of Japanese art that you have ever seen, and -know that with such adornment the finest temples in Japan are filled. - -[Illustration: A BUDDHIST TEMPLE.] - -In some of the less important Buddhist shrines, however, "all that -glitters is not gold." Some temples are repulsive from their shabby -ornaments, hideous idols, and gaudy paper lanterns. Some of their deities -are enthroned behind a wooden grating, and worshipers tie to the latter -a bit of cloth on which has been inscribed a petition. One such deity, -we were assured, has for his special function the assisting of women to -obtain good husbands. He is immensely popular. We saw, in half an hour, -at least a dozen women knock on the grating to rouse him and entreat his -services. One old woman, who evidently knew from experience how rare -good husbands are, led two of her daughters to the gate, and pounded on -it savagely three times. Yet even in that temple we found a proof of -how the western world has invaded the customs of Japan; for here, amid -the grotesque deities, was hung an eight-day clock, which proved on -examination to have come from Ansonia, Connecticut! - -A singular feature of many of these Buddhist temples is a line of votive -tablets, erected by pious souls, who wished either to show by means of -pictures the dangers from which God had rescued them, or else to certify, -in written words, to miraculous answers to their prayers. The Buddhist -religion, however, despite its age and its indubitable hold upon the -people, is not to-day, as we have said, the official religion of Japan. -Since 1869 the Government has favored Shintoism, and many Buddhist -temples have been stripped of their magnificent decorations and dedicated -to the Shinto faith. - -[Illustration: VOTIVE PICTURES.] - -Accordingly, the contributions that once came freely from the people are -now falling off, and it is difficult to keep in good repair the costly -lacquer-work and gilding of the temples. Some shrines already look shabby -and neglected. However, an occasional exception to this rule shows how -dangerous it is to make unqualified statements about Japan. - -In Kioto, for example, we found a most astonishing proof of the vitality -of Japanese Buddhism in the new and splendid temple of Higashi Hongwanji, -which at the time of our visit was in process of construction. We saw -it on the occasion of a special festival, when popular recognition and -acclaim were manifested in profuse and elaborate decorations. But, the -truth is, the temple is continually receiving the support of untold -thousands of the Japanese. All the surrounding provinces have given it, -not only money, but timber, metals, and stone, besides the transportation -of materials free of cost. It seems as if conservative and faithful -Buddhists, indignant at the prevalent idea that their religion is -declining, were making this stupendous effort to show the world their -strength and their devotion. - -[Illustration: A PYRAMID WITH SILVER CREST.] - -[Illustration: NEW BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN KIOTO.] - -One object in this shrine especially impressed us. This was a pile of -rope,--each strand as long and large as a ship's cable,--made of women's -hair, twisted and spliced with hemp! These ropes are the offerings of -poor but devout women, thousands of whom, in nine Japanese provinces, -having nothing else to give, contributed their hair, to be woven into -cables for hoisting beams and tiles in the construction of the temple. -One rope, two hundred and fifty feet in length, was the gift of three -thousand five hundred women in one province alone. This seems at first, -perhaps, a trifling thing; but when one recollects the pride which -Japanese women take in their abundant hair, the care they show in its -arrangement, and the entire absence in Japan of hats or bonnets to -conceal the sacrifice, their action is remarkable. And when we perceived -among the usual black strands occasional streaks of white and gray, -proving that this enthusiasm extended from youth to age, it seemed to us -the most touching proof of popular devotion to a sacred cause that we had -ever seen. - -[Illustration: ROPES OF WOMEN'S HAIR.] - -We witnessed a number of _matsuris_, or religious festivals in Japan, -when all the principal streets were thronged with people, and even the -house-tops held their private box-parties. On every such occasion there -would appear, in the centre of the thoroughfare, an object that never -failed to fill us with amazement. Think of a hundred men pulling madly -on two ropes, and drawing thus a kind of car, mounted on two enormous -wooden wheels. Resting on this, and rising far above the neighboring -roofs, imagine a portable shrine, resembling a pagoda, with roof of -gold, and gorgeously decorated with silken tapestries, which are so -richly embroidered and heavily gilded as to be valued at many thousands -of dollars. This structure had two stories, on each of which were many -life-size figures,--some being actual men and women, while others were -mere painted statues, hideous and grotesque. Behind this came another -car, shaped like a huge bird with crested head. Upon this second vehicle -also stood an edifice, three stories high, resplendent 'with magnificent -tapestries and gilded ornaments, and bearing statues of old Japanese -deities, so laughably grotesque, that had not their surroundings been -so rich the whole procession would have seemed a farce. Some of these -statues, which were made to open their mouths and wag their heads like -puppets, were especially applauded. Men, women, and children rode upon -these cars, blowing horns and beating drums. If we had closed our eyes, -we might have thought that we were listening to a Fourth of July parade -of the "Antiques and Horribles." What most impressed us was the absence -of what we should consider religious feeling. It was a show, a brilliant -pageant--nothing more; though, as such, it was heartily enjoyed by -thousands. - -[Illustration: A RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL.] - -[Illustration: A MATSURI.] - -The streets in Kioto, like those of most Japanese cities, are usually -much alike. No heavy teams disturb their rounded surfaces. Few vehicles, -save light jinrikishas, pass over them. Almost no animals are ever seen -in them. They are as clean as sidewalks are with us. In most of them -we can perceive some groups or individuals, arrayed in varied colors, -moving about like brilliant fragments in a long kaleidoscope. On either -side extends a line of little houses, which, in point of architectural -effect, appear monotonous, but since their lower stories are all open to -the street, and from the fact that most of them are shops with all their -goods on exhibition two feet from the thoroughfare, they really offer -infinite variety. - -[Illustration: A CHARACTERISTIC STREET.] - -Approaching one of these shops, one first encounters a wooden platform, -two feet from the ground. On this the Japanese purchaser usually seats -himself, as he prepares to bargain. Most foreigners, however, being -unable to fold comfortably their limbs beneath them for a cushion, assume -a different attitude, and allow their feet to hang over the side. If -they ascend the platform and really enter the shop, they are supposed -to leave their shoes below, and walk in stocking feet; for the shops of -the Japanese are, like their houses, paved with polished wood or covered -with spotless matting. The goods displayed by no means constitute the -merchant's entire stock. The choicest articles are often in a fire-proof -store-house, close at hand, and can be sent for at a moment's notice. As -for the contents of these street bazaars, they comprise every article of -clothing, ornament, and furniture conceivable by the Japanese mind. - -[Illustration: STYLES OF JAPANESE SANDALS.] - -The shoe shops in particular were, at first, a source of great surprise -to us. "These surely are not shoes," we said, as we beheld their great -variety of foot-coverings. And yet the Japanese are shod, though sandals -is a better name than shoe for what they wear. A Japanese gentleman, -who has not yet adopted European dress, wears in the house a cotton sock, -which has a separate compartment for the great toe, like the thumb of -a mitten. When he walks out, he plants his foot on a straw sandal, or, -if the streets be muddy, on a wooden clog that rises three inches from -the ground. In doing so, he thrusts the apex of a V-shaped cord between -his great toe and the smaller ones, and, holding on his sandals thus, he -marches off. - -[Illustration: SHOPPING MADE EASY.] - -[Illustration: A FLOWER MERCHANT.] - -[Illustration: JAPANESE HANDIWORK.] - -But not all the merchants of Kioto are content to stay in shops; and, in -this respect, human nature is much the same the world over. The gorgeous -vehicles of American country peddlers, which we admired in our childhood -days, are reproduced here on a smaller scale, though without wheels; -and as the Japanese are sure to be artistic in everything, we were not -surprised to find their brooms and dusters grouped in clusters like a -huge bouquet. The peddlers themselves are pictures of human placidity. It -is true, their eyes will open somewhat at the sight of foreigners, but -most of the beardless faces that one sees beneath their mushroom hats of -straw might easily serve an artist as models for a Japanese grandmother. - -[Illustration: MAKING CLOGS.] - -In strolling through the streets, we often paused to watch the natives -at their work. If, for example, it chanced to be a cobbler making wooden -clogs, we saw, to our astonishment, that his great toe could hold a block -of wood as firmly as a thumb, and we began to ask ourselves if western -workmen had gained much by covering up the feet and losing a third hand. -The methods of Japanese laborers seem to us, at first, a little clumsy, -because they are unlike our own. But one soon comes to marvel at their -skill. No nation is superior to them in dexterity, fineness of touch, -and delicacy of finish. In great things, as in small, one finds the -same perfection. Japanese carpenters, for example, will use few nails -in building a house, but they will make mortises so exact that water -cannot penetrate between the joints; and they will decorate a fan or -paint a photographic slide with touches so delicate that they will bear -inspection with a magnifying-glass. To watch them is like watching our -own motions in a mirror, for everything appears reversed. Our carpenters -push the plane from them; the Japanese pull it toward them. The threads -of our screws turn to the right; theirs turn to the left. Our keys turn -outward; theirs turn inward. Nor is this difference true of handicraft -alone. Their way of doing hundreds of familiar things is so directly -opposite to ours, that one is almost tempted to believe the cause to be -their relative position on the other side of the globe, and that they are -really living upside down. The only question is: "Which side is up, and -which is down?" - -[Illustration: CHILD AND NURSE.] - -[Illustration: JAPANESE CARPENTERS.] - -The Japanese think our ways just as strange as we do theirs. We, for -example, carry our babies in our arms; in Japan, however, they are -strapped on the backs of children not much larger than themselves, their -little heads being left to flop about like flowers half-broken from -the stem. Nor is this custom the exception. It is the universal rule, -alike in city streets and country lanes. Whole pages could be filled in -mentioning points of difference between Japanese and European customs. -Thus, we stand erect before distinguished men, in token of respect; the -Japanese, on the contrary, sit down. We take off our hats when we enter -a house, while they remove their shoes. Our books begin at the left; -theirs at the right; and if they have any "foot-notes," they are placed -at the top of the page. We write across a sheet of paper horizontally; -they write vertically down the page, like we make a column of figures. -Our color for mourning is black; theirs is white. The best rooms in -our houses are in front; theirs are in the rear. We mount our horses -from the left; they from the right. We put a horse head foremost into a -stall; they back him in and fasten him in the front. On seeing this, we -laughingly recalled the showman's trick of getting people to "come and -see a horse's head where his tail should be." - -[Illustration: MAT-MAKERS.] - -But if the Japanese are proficient in the ordinary industries of life, -what shall be said of those finer proofs of their artistic skill which -charm the world? At first, the foreigner hardly comprehends the value of -their work or the amount of time and labor it has cost. Their articles -of _cloisonné_ are unsurpassed. In everything relating to handicraft in -bronze the Japanese are unexcelled. Their flowered lacquer-work, also, -with figures raised in gold, has been perfected for a thousand years; -while in the realm of silk embroidery and gold brocade the Japanese -have been said to paint with the needle as other artists do with the -brush. In brief, they have produced among themselves and for themselves, -for centuries, unnumbered masterpieces of artistic excellence, and -this without a particle of outside help save that which came to them -originally from China. Not, therefore, as uncultured mendicants have they -appeared upon the threshold of the western world; but rather as people -who, while accepting much that we have gained, have also not a little -of value to impart. Hence they are a nation that elicits, not merely -interest and astonishment, but also admiration and respect. - -[Illustration: CLOISONNÉ VASES.] - -[Illustration: ONE OF JAPAN'S HUGE BELLS.] - -[Illustration: "IN THE GLOAMING."] - -There is a fascination in watching a Japanese artist engaged in -_cloisonné_ work. Taking a copper vase, he traces on its surface certain -figures, such as flowers, birds, and trees. Then, from a roll of brass, -one-sixteenth of an inch in breadth, he cuts off tiny pieces which, with -consummate skill, and by eye-measurement alone, he twists into a mass of -lines which correspond exactly to the figures he has drawn. Holding these -bits of brass between the points of tweezers, he touches them with glue, -and deftly locates them upon the rounded surface of the vase. At length, -when all the figures are outlined, as it were, in skeleton, the flesh -has to be applied. In other words, the thousands of interstices between -the lines of brass are filled up with enamel of all shades and colors. -When this is done the jar is put into a furnace, then touched with more -enamel, then fired again, and so on, till it has been brought to the -required degree of artistic finish. Then it is polished with great care, -until the shining edges of the brass show through the enamel like the -veins of a leaf. The colors also, by this time, are perfectly distinct -and permanent, and the entire work stands forth,--a marvelous combination -of delicacy, strength, and beauty. - -[Illustration: A SERENADE.] - -[Illustration: A WAYSIDE MONUMENT.] - -The scene, at evening, on the river-bank at Kioto is charming. Along the -water' sedge are numerous little tea-houses, in front of which are many -wooden piers. These are divided off into little squares, like private -boxes in a theatre, and in them groups of Japanese are seated,--smoking, -or taking supper in the open air. Meantime, a thousand colored lanterns -gleam like fireflies on either shore and fleck the river with a dust of -gold. - -One cannot, however, praise the music which is here produced. It would -be highly amusing, if one were deaf; but when one's hearing is acute, -a little of such music goes a long way. None of the most enthusiastic -admirers of the Japanese has dared, as yet, to praise their music. To -Occidental ears the twanging of their banjo strings, and, above all, -their caterwaulings, are positive torture. And yet, it must be said that -to the Japanese our music seemed at first no less absurd than theirs to -us. At the first opera given in Tokio by a European company, the Japanese -audience was convulsed with laughter, and when the prima donna sang her -highest notes, some men and women could no longer control themselves, -and were seen stuffing their handkerchiefs into their mouths to avoid -uttering shrieks of merriment. - -[Illustration: PRIESTLY MUSICIANS.] - -In the immediate vicinity of Kioto is a bamboo grove possessing an extent -and beauty unusual even in Japan, where the plant grows luxuriantly. -The various ways in which the Japanese use the bamboo stalk afforded -us continual amusement and surprise, while it challenged admiration -for their ingenuity. Bridges and scaffolding supports, water-pipes and -fences, furniture, umbrellas, baskets, fans, hats, pipe-stems, sandals, -screens, and walking-sticks,--are all constructed from that jointed, -hollow stem, which looks so light and delicate, yet in reality is strong -and durable. A thing of beauty and utility, the bamboo is certainly one -of the greatest blessings that Nature has bestowed upon her children in -the Land of the Rising Sun. - -[Illustration: GROVE NEAR KIOTO.] - -A pretty sight in traveling through the province of Uji, near Kioto, -are its tea-plantations, consisting of acres of evergreen bushes, two -or three feet high. Among these move and sparkle in the sun odd bits of -color, which prove to be the scanty robes of women and children crouching -among the plants and picking their leaves. Most of these tea-plants are -left unsheltered from the sun and storm, but the more valuable shrubs, -producing tea worth six or seven dollars a pound, are covered by a -trellis of bamboo, on which straw mats are placed. Sometimes the floor of -an entire valley will be concealed beneath these mattings, which resemble -a gigantic tent. - -[Illustration: A TEA-PLANTATION.] - -It is a curious fact that, unlike teas from India and China, Japanese -tea must not be made with boiling water, as that gives it a bitter -flavor. Indeed, the finer the quality of the tea the cooler must be -the water. Tea is the national beverage of Japan, and has been largely -used there for nearly a thousand years. The Japanese hotels are known -as "tea-houses," which correspond also to the _cafés_ of Europe. The -_cha-no-yu_, or fashionable ceremony of serving and drinking tea, has -been for seven hundred years a national institution, governed by the -minutest etiquette, each action and each gesture being regulated by -a code of rules. It is said to have originated in a formal style of -tea-drinking among the Buddhist priests, who found the beverage an easy -means of keeping themselves awake during their nocturnal vigils. Japan -may be said, therefore, not only to owe the introduction of the tea-plant -to a celebrated Buddhist saint, who imported it from China, but for her -elaborate ceremony of tea-drinking to be still further indebted to the -priests of Buddhism. - -While walking one day in Kioto, we met a fellow-passenger from Vancouver. - -[Illustration: TEA-PICKERS.] - -"What places have you visited?" he asked. - -We told him. - -"Have you not been to Haruna, beyond Ikao?" he inquired. - -"No," we replied. "We thought of going there, but finally decided to omit -it." - -"You made a great mistake!" he cried. "Why not retrace your steps and go -there now? It is not too late." - -"That means," we said, "in all, six hundred miles of extra travel." - -[Illustration: SACRED ROCKS AND TREES.] - -"No matter," he insisted. "You had better do it." - -"Are you quite serious?" - -"Not only serious, but enthusiastic. You will never regret it. Go!" - -[Illustration: IKAO] - -We followed his advice, and a few days later, one afternoon in late -October, we found ourselves almost the only guests in a well-kept -tea-house in Ikao. Swift 'rikisha men had brought us hither from the -railway station, sixteen miles away. The air was most exhilarating, for -we were three thousand feet above the sea, which we had left eight hours -before at Yokohama. Around us on all sides were lofty mountains, whose -hidden treasures could not be explored in jinrikishas, for this was -another point where all roads terminate, and only paths lead inward to -the fabled homes of mountain deities. - -[Illustration: THE PATH THROUGH THE FOREST.] - -It was four o'clock the next morning when we started. It was still dark. -The stars were glorious. We knew the coming day would be superb. It was -as yet too cold for riding, so, followed by our kago-bearers, we set -forth on foot. For some time we walked on in silence, enraptured with the -splendor of the sky. Above us gleamed the Dipper's seven diamond points; -Orion's belt hung radiant amid a galaxy of other suns; while, just above -a lofty mountain range, flashed with unwonted brilliancy the herald of -approaching day. At length the stellar light began to pale. The east -became first white, then golden, as the sun advanced, and then there came -an hour's scenery that can never be effaced from my memory. - -[Illustration: LAKE BIWA.] - -The colors on the mountains were magnificent. Autumnal foliage mantled -them with glory. Thousands of oaks and maples lined the slopes with every -shade of orange, red, vermilion, green, and purple. In any light these -varied tints would have been beautiful; but to behold them changing -into glory, tree by tree, as the first touch of dawn awakened them from -sleep, was such a vision as we had never hoped to look upon. Some of this -radiant foliage bedecked the ground, and sometimes we walked ankle-deep -through multicolored leaves. - -[Illustration: THE STAIRCASE AT HARUNA.] - -Moreover, the pathway was all white with frost, and stretched away in -glittering perspective through the trees, like an avenue of silver -between mountains of jewels. Intoxicated with such sights and with the -crisp, aromatic air of that October dawn, we walked for miles without -fatigue, unable to repress at times our exclamations of enthusiasm. - -After a time, we found ourselves at the entrance to a deep ravine, shaded -by giant trees, which at that early hour were still unburnished by the -sun. In view of the reverence felt by the Japanese for massive rocks and -time-gnarled trees, it is not strange that this wild gorge of Haruna has -been for ages looked upon as sacred. A feeling of solemnity stole over -us. Instinctively we spoke in softer tones. I felt as once before, when -sailing into a Norwegian fjord. It was a place for Dante to describe and -for Dore to illustrate. - -At length we saw, wedged in between two mighty rocks, a flight of stone -steps leading to a lacquered gate. Our Japanese attendant immediately -bowed his head, removed his sandals, and knelt down to pray. Nor was -this strange. Who could resist, in such a place, the impulse to revere -that Power of which these forms of nature were imperfect symbols? At -all events, whatever may have been the difference in our creeds, both -traveler and native worshiped here that day,--one standing in the forest -shade, the other kneeling on the moss-grown steps. - -[Illustration: "HUGE CRYPTOMERIAS LIKE THOSE OF NIKKO."] - -[Illustration: THE HEART OF OLD JAPAN.] - -After some moments' silence, our attendant arose and began the ascent. We -followed him. On passing the first gateway, we perceived another smaller -portal, which seemed to lead directly into the cliff. Above it was a -rock, a hundred and fifty feet in height, and shaped like a gigantic -obelisk. Around it rose huge cryptomerias, like those of Nikko, wrinkled -with age, and solemn in their sanctity and shade. The mountain-side so -overhung the place that it seemed kept from falling only by a caprice -of nature. We almost feared to speak, lest, like some Alpine avalanche, -the monstrous mass might fall and overwhelm us. Finally, however, we -passed beneath the second arch; and, lo! before us, on a shelf of rock, -completely isolated from the outer world, and guarded by these sentinels -of stone, we saw a sacred shrine. Even at that early hour one pilgrim -was already here, and, as the radiance of the rising sun stole through -the twilight of the holy grove and turned the temple steps to gold, -unconscious of the picture he produced, he knelt in prayer. - -[Illustration: SACRED PORTAL.] - -That scene can never be forgotten. An interval of centuries seemed to -separate us from the Japan of Yokohama. No whisper of approaching change -had yet penetrated these peaceful solitudes. No earthquake-shock of doubt -had sent a tremor through this mountain altar. The faith which chose this -immemorial forest for its temple still reigned here supreme. And as we -stood by this illumined portico, in which a ray of sunlight glittered -like a sacred fire, we felt that we had reached the Heart of Old Japan. - -[Illustration] - - - * * * * * - - - - -CHINA - - -[Illustration: HONG-KONG.] - - - - -CHINA - - -[Illustration: EMPEROR OF CHINA.] - - -China defies the world to equal her in three important respects: age, -population, and industries. As for the first, she undoubtedly has the -oldest Government on earth. Even the Papacy is young compared with it; -and as for our republic, it is a thing of yesterday. A Chinaman once said -to an American: "Wait till your Government has been tried before you -boast of it. What is a hundred years? Ours has stood the test of forty -centuries. When you did not exist, we were. When you shall have passed -away, we still shall be." - -In point of numbers, too, the Chinese empire leads the world. Its area is -nearly twice as large as that of the United States, and it has six times -as many people. The governor of one Chinese province rules over sixty -million souls. Have we a definite conception of what four hundred million -human beings are? Arrange the inhabitants of our globe in one long line, -and every fourth man will be a Chinaman. - -As for her industries, Musa, the Saracen conqueror of Spain, once aptly -said that Wisdom, when she came from heaven to earth, was lodged in -the head of the Greeks, the tongue of the Arabs, and the hands of the -Chinese. China was once what the United States is now--the birthplace of -inventions. Paper was manufactured there in the third century of our era. -Tea was produced a century later. If Europe had enjoyed communication -with China, it would have learned the art of printing many centuries -before it did; and who can say what might have been the result? A -thousand years ago the Chinese made designs on wood. Printing from stone -was a still earlier industry among them. In China, also, gunpowder was -first invented--a thought by which, alas! so many thoughts have been -destroyed. This same astonishing race produced the mariner's compass -in the fourth century, porcelain in the third, chess and playing-cards -in the twelfth, and silk embroideries in almost prehistoric times. An -empire, therefore, of such vast antiquity, overwhelming population, and -great achievements must be, despite its faults, a country of absorbing -interest. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE TEMPLE.] - -The most delightful portion of the voyage from Japan to China lies in -the Japanese Mediterranean, known as the Inland Sea. It is a miniature -ocean, practically land-locked for three hundred miles, with both shores -constantly in sight, yet strewn with islands of all shapes and sizes, -from small and uninhabited rocks to wave-encircled hills, terraced and -cultivated to their very summits. It seems as if volcanic action here -had caused the land to sink, until the ocean rushed in and submerged it, -leaving only the highest peaks above the waves. - -[Illustration: THE JAPANESE MEDITERRANEAN.] - -We lingered here all day upon the steamer's deck, like passengers on the -Rhine, fearing to lose a single feature of the varied panorama gliding -by on either side. By night it was more glorious even than by day; for -then, from every dangerous cliff flashed forth a beacon light; the -villages along the shore displayed a line of glittering points, like -constellations rising from the sea; and, best of all, at a later hour, -moonlight lent enchantment to the scene, drawing a crystal edge along -each mountain crest, and making every island seem a jewel on a silver -thread. - -[Illustration: WAVE-ENCIRCLED HILLS.] - -[Illustration: HUGE SAILS LIKE THE WINGS OF BATS.] - -When we emerged from these inland waters, we saw between us and the -setting sun the stretch of ocean called the China Sea. At certain -seasons of the year this is the favorite pathway of typhoons; and the -Formosa Channel, in particular, has been a graveyard for countless -vessels. Indeed, only three weeks before, a sister ship of ours--the -"Bokhara,"--had gone down here in a terrific cyclone. Yet when we sailed -its waters nothing could have been more beautiful. Day after day this sea -of evil omen rested motionless, like a sleek tigress gorged with food and -basking in the sun. - -[Illustration: THE HARBOR OF HONG-KONG.] - -After a three-days' voyage from the Japanese coast, we began to meet, in -constantly increasing numbers, large, pointed boats, propelled by huge -sails ribbed with cross-bars, like the wings of bats. Upon the bow of -each was painted an enormous eye; for of their sailing-craft the mariners -of China, in elementary English, say: "If boat no have eye, how can boat -see go?" We were assured that these were Chinese sailing-craft, and that -our destination was not far away; but it was difficult to realize this, -and I remember looking off beyond those ships and trying to convince -myself that we were actually on the opposite side of the globe from home -and friends, and in a few brief hours were to land in that vast Eastern -empire so full of mystery in its exclusiveness, antiquity, and changeless -calm. - -[Illustration: THE CITY OF VICTORIA.] - -That night the agitation that precedes one's first arrival in a foreign -land made sleep almost impossible. It seemed to me that I had not -closed my eyes when suddenly the steamer stopped. To my astonishment, -the morning light had already found its way into my state-room. We had -arrived! Hurrying to the deck, therefore, I looked upon the glorious -harbor of Hong-Kong. A hundred ships and steamers lay at anchor here, -displaying flags of every country on the globe. Although the day had -hardly dawned, these waters showed great animation. Steam-launches, -covered with white awnings, were darting to and fro like flying-fish. -Innumerable smaller boats, called sampans, propelled by Chinese men and -women, surrounded each incoming steamer, like porpoises around a whale. -On one side rose some barren-looking mountains, which were a part of the -mainland of China; but for the moment they presented little to attract -us. It was the other shore of this magnificent harbor that awoke our -interest; for there we saw an island twenty-seven miles in circumference, -covered with mountains rising boldly from the sea. Along the base of one -of these elevations, and built in terraces far up on its precipitous -slopes, was a handsome city. - -[Illustration: THE PUBLIC GARDENS.] - -"What is this?" we inquired eagerly. - -"The town itself," was the reply, "is called Victoria, but this imposing -island to whose flank it clings, is, as you may suppose, Hong-Kong." - -[Illustration: A STREET IN HONG-KONG.] - -The first impression made upon me here was that of mild astonishment -at the architecture. Almost without exception, the prominent buildings -of Victoria have on every story deep porticoes divided by columns into -large, square spaces, which from a distance look like letter-boxes in -a post-office. We soon discovered that such deep, shadowy verandas are -essential here, for as late as November it was imprudent not to carry a -white umbrella, and even before our boat had brought us from the steamer -to the pier, we perceived that the solar rays were not to be trifled with. - -As soon as possible after landing, we started to explore this British -settlement. I was delighted with its streets and buildings. The former -are broad, smooth and clean; the latter, three or four stories high, -are built of granite, and even on a curve have sidewalks shielded from -the sun or rain by the projection of the roof above. Truly, the touch -of England has wrought astounding changes in the fifty-five years that -she has held this island as her own. Before she came it was the resort -of poverty-stricken fishermen and pirates. But now the city of Victoria -alone contains two hundred thousand souls, while the grand aqueducts and -roads which cross the mountains of Hong-Kong are worthy to be compared -with some of the monumental works of ancient Rome. - -[Illustration: DEEP PORTICOES AND COLONNADES.] - -Along the principal thoroughfare in Victoria, the banks, shops, hotels, -and club-houses, which succeed each other rapidly, are built of the fine -gray granite of the adjacent mountains, and show handsome architectural -designs. Everything looks as trim and spotless as the appointments of -a man-of-war. Even the district of the town inhabited by Chinamen is -kept by constant watchfulness immeasurably cleaner than a Chinese city; -although if one desires to see the world-wide difference that exists -between the British and Mongolian races, he merely needs to take a short -walk through the Chinese quarter of Victoria. But such comparisons may -well be deferred until one reaches Canton. There one beholds the genuine -native article. - -[Illustration: THE BANK, HONG-KONG.] - -The police who guard the lives and property of the residents of -Hong-Kong, are for the most part picked men of English birth, and are -considered as trustworthy as regular troops. But several hundred of -these guardians of the peace are Sikhs--a race imported hither from -India--renowned for bravery, loyal to the British government, and having -no sympathy with the Chinese. These Sikhs have handsome faces, brilliant -eyes, and dark complexions, the effect of which is wonderfully enhanced -by their immense red turbans, conspicuous two or three blocks away, -not only by their startling color, but because their wearers exceed in -stature all other races in Hong-Kong. - -[Illustration: POLICEMEN.] - -Strolling one morning through the outskirts of the city, I came upon some -troops engaged in military manoeuvres, and attired in white from head to -foot, to shield them from the sun. What traveler in the East can forget -the ever-present soldiers of Great Britain, of whom there are nearly -three thousand in the garrison of Hong-Kong? I know it is frequently the -fashion to sneer at them and to question their efficiency in case of war. -I know, too, that in certain ways the vast extent of England's empire -constitutes her weakness. - -[Illustration: SOLDIERS DRILLING.] - -But I must say that in a tour around our planet I was impressed as never -before with what the British had accomplished in the way of conquest, -and with the number of strategic points they hold in every quarter of -the globe. We had but recently left the western terminus of England's -North American possessions, yet in a few days we discerned the flag of -England flying at Hong-Kong. Next we beheld the Union Jack at Singapore, -then at Penang, then at Ceylon, and after that throughout the length and -breadth of the vast empire of India, as well as the enormous area of -Burma. Leaving Rangoon, if we sail southward, we are reminded that the -southernmost portion of Africa is entirely in English hands, as well as -the huge continent of Australia. - -[Illustration: CHINESE COBBLER.] - -[Illustration: A BIT OF CHINATOWN IN HONG-KONG.] - -Returning northward, we find the same great colonizing power stationed -at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the British citadel of Aden. Again a -trifling journey, and we reach Egypt, via the Suez Canal, both virtually -controlled to-day by England. Then, like the three stars in Orion's belt, -across the Mediterranean lie Cyprus, Malta, and Gibraltar; in fact, we -find one mighty girdle of imposing strongholds all the way, bristling -with cannon, guarded by leviathans in armor, and garrisoned by thousands -of such soldiers as were drilling at Hong-Kong. - -[Illustration: CHAIR-COOLIES AT HONG-KONG.] - -One of the first desires of the visitor to Hong-Kong is to explore -the mountain which towers above the city of Victoria to a height of -nearly two thousand feet. To do this with the least exertion, each of -our party took a canvas-covered bamboo chair, supported by long poles, -which Chinese coolies carry on their shoulders. On level ground, two of -these bearers were enough, but on the mountain roads three or four men -were usually needed. To my surprise, I found the motion of these chairs -agreeable. The poles possess such elasticity that, leaning back, I was -rocked lightly up and down without the least unpleasant jar. In fact, -at times the rhythm of that oscillation gave me a sense of drowsiness -difficult to resist. - -But, alas! we had not here for carriers the cleanly natives of Japan. It -may be, as some residents of Hong-Kong assert, that Chinamen are more -trustworthy and honest than the Japanese, but certainly in point of -personal attractiveness the contrast between these races is remarkable. -The bodies of the lower classes of Chinese reveal no evidence of that -care so characteristic of the natives of Japan. Their teeth are often -yellow tusks; their nails resemble eagle's claws; and their unbecoming -clothes seem glazed by perspiration. Nor is there usually anything in -their manner to redeem all this. Where the light-hearted Japs enjoy their -work, and laugh and talk, the Chinese coolies labor painfully, and rarely -smile, regarding you meantime with a supercilious air, as if despising -you for being what they call "a foreign devil." - -[Illustration: THE MOUNTAIN ABOVE VICTORIA.] - -Nevertheless, despite the repulsive appearance of our bearers, we -thoroughly enjoyed our excursion up the mountain. At every step our -admiration was increased for the magnificent roads which wind about the -cliffs in massive terraces, arched over by majestic trees, bordered -by parapets of stone, lighted with gas, and lined with broad, deep -aqueducts, through which at times the copious rainfall rushes like a -mountain stream. It will be seen that such a comparison is not an -exaggeration, when I add that not many years ago, thirty-two inches of -rain fell here in thirty hours. This mountain is the favorite abode of -wealthy foreigners, and hence these curving avenues present on either -side, almost to the summit, a series of attractive villas commanding -lovely views. On account of their situation, the gardens of these -hillside homes are necessarily small; but in the midst of them, about -five hundred feet above the town, a charming botanical park has been laid -out. - -[Illustration: THE CABLE-ROAD TO VICTORIA PEAK.] - -Forgetful of our coolies at the gate, we lingered in this garden -for an hour or two, delighted with its fine display of semitropical -foliage. It is marvelous what skillful gardeners have accomplished -here, in transforming what was fifty years ago a barren rock into an -open-air conservatory. Palms, banyans, india-rubber trees, mimosas -with their tufts of gold, camellias with their snowy blossoms--all -these are here, with roses, mignonette, and jessamine, surrounded with -innumerable ferns. Occasionally we encountered in this fragrant area a -Chinese gentleman, indulging leisurely his love of flowers; for this -delightful park is open to all without regard to race or creed, although -the population of the island is extremely cosmopolitan. Englishmen, -Americans, Germans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Parsees, -Mohammedans, Jews, Hindus, and fully one hundred and fifty thousand -Chinamen, are residents of the city of Victoria alone. - -[Illustration: THE BOTANICAL PARK, HONG-KONG.] - -In this retired park one does not realize that Hong-Kong is such a -rendezvous for different nationalities; but frequently, while we were -walking here, the sharp report of a cannon forced a discordant echo from -the neighboring hills and told us that some foreign man-of-war had just -appeared within the bay; for here some ship or steamer is continually -arriving or departing, and many times a day there comes a deafening -interchange of salutes that sends a thrill through every window-pane upon -the mountain. - -[Illustration: AN OPEN-AIR CONSERVATORY.] - -One can well understand, therefore, that with so mixed a population and -in such close proximity to China, the officers sent out here by the -British government must be men of courage, the garrison of the island -strong, and its administration prompt and resolute. A single incident -revealed to me the crimes which would undoubtedly creep forth, like -vipers from a loathsome cave, were they not kept in check by vigorous -justice and incessant vigilance. In one of the residences on the height -above Victoria, I met one day at dinner the captain of a steamer anchored -in the bay. He asked me to come out some evening and pay a visit to his -ship. The following night, soon after dark, I walked down to the pier, -intending to embark on one of the many boats along the shore. I was about -to enter one, when a policeman rapidly approached. "Give me your name and -number," he said roughly to the Chinese boatman. Then turning to me, he -politely asked my name, address, and destination, and when I intended to -return, "I am obliged to do this," he explained, "for your protection. -There is a population of twenty thousand Chinese living in this harbor -upon boats alone, besides the usual criminals who drift to such a place. -Before we adopted this precaution, a foreigner would sometimes embark -on one of these craft and never be seen again. In such a case search -was useless. He had disappeared as quietly and thoroughly as a piece of -silver dropped into the bay." - -[Illustration: A HONG-KONG STREET--IN THE CHINESE QUARTER.] - -[Illustration: IN THE BUSINESS SECTION.] - -[Illustration: VIEW FROM VICTORIA PEAK] - -When I stood on the apex of Victoria Peak, I thought that I had never -seen a finer prospect. Nearly two thousand feet below us lay the renowned -metropolis of the East which bears the name of England's queen. From -this great elevation, its miles of granite blocks resembled a stupendous -landslide, which, sweeping downward from this rocky height, had forced -its cracked and creviced mass far out into the bay. Between this and the -mainland opposite, curved a portion of that ocean-girdle which surrounds -the island, and on its surface countless boats and steamers seemed, in -the long perspective, like ornaments of bead-work on a lady's belt. - -[Illustration: THE RACE-TRACK, HONG-KONG.] - -Around the summit of the mountain are several handsome villas and hotels, -whither the residents of Victoria come in summer to escape the heat; but, -as a rule, in riding over the island I saw outside of the city very few -houses, and little agriculture. The soil of Hong-Kong is not fertile; -but politically and commercially the island is immensely valuable, for -England has now made of it the great emporium of the Far East, and, -garrisoned by British troops, it guards completely the approaches to that -river, upon which, ninety-two miles inland from the ocean, lies the city -of Canton. - -One of the pleasantest excursions in Hong-Kong may be made in -sedan-chairs, some six miles over the hills, to the great reservoir -which supplies the city with water. The aqueduct which comes from it is -solidly constructed, and on its summit is a granite path protected by -iron railings. This winds along the cliffs for miles, and is in many -places cut through solid rock. It is an illustration of the handsome, -yet substantial character of everything accomplished here. One feels -that such works are not only artistic, but enduring. Here are no wooden -trestles, no hastily constructed bridges and no half-made roads to be -destroyed by mountain-torrents, but everywhere the best of masonry, -cyclopean in massiveness and perfect in detail. - -[Illustration: THE AQUEDUCT, HONG-KONG.] - -On reaching the terminus of this granite pathway we saw before us the -principal reservoir of Hong-Kong. Though largely artificial, it looks -precisely like a natural lake hidden away among the mountains. Before it -was constructed the island's water-supply was lamentably insufficient, -and the notorious "Hong-Kong fever" gave the place an evil name. But now, -in spite of its large native population, Victoria has as low a death-rate -as most European cities. The foreign residents are very proud of these -magnificent water-works; yet, after ten days' sojourn here, when I took -leave of several gentlemen by whom I had been entertained in private -houses and at clubs, candor compelled me to confess that, so far as I had -been able to observe, the foreign population makes very little use of -this water for drinking purposes. - -[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN ROAD, HONG-KONG.] - -[Illustration: AN EASY DESCENT.] - -On starting to descend the mountain, we found a shorter route than the -circuitous path by which we had come--an admirably managed cable-road. -In viewing this, the question naturally arises how the Chinese can look -on such conveniences as England has here introduced, and still remain -content to have in their enormous empire scarcely a decent road, and -only a few miles of railway, built to transport coal. Canals and rivers -are still the usual arteries of travel through the most of China. In the -northern provinces, where carts are used, the roads are often worn below -the surface of the adjacent land, and hence become, in the rainy season, -mere water-courses. Travelers are occasionally obliged to swim across -them; and cases have been known of people drowning in a Chinese roadway. -Moreover, the characteristic carts of China are of the most primitive -description, having no seats except the floor, and no springs save the -involuntary ones contributed by their luckless passengers. Yet, in many -districts, even such vehicles can find no path, and people travel about -in wheel-barrows propelled by coolies who are sometimes aided by a sail. -The Bishop of North China, for example, makes many of his parochial -visits in a wheelbarrow. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE ROAD.] - -[Illustration: A CHINESE VEHICLE.] - -[Illustration: CHINESE GRAVES.] - -There is now in China a small progressive party which favors building -railroads, as the Japanese have done, but the immense majority are -against it. Some years ago a foreign company built a railroad near -Shanghai, but the Chinese speedily bought it up at a great cost, -transported the rails and locomotives to the sea, and left them to rust -upon the beach. This opposition to railways is principally due to the -belief that the use of them would deprive millions of people of their -means of gaining a livelihood, and that they would, moreover, disturb -the graveyards of the country. This latter objection seems at first -incredible; but it must be remembered that Chinese cemeteries are strewn -broadcast over the land, - - "Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks - In Vallombrosa." - -[Illustration: HONG-KONG.] - -[Illustration: AN ELABORATE TOMB.] - -[Illustration: THE FOREIGN CEMETERY, HONG-KONG.] - -One sees them everywhere, usurping valuable tracts of territory needed -for the living. Outside the city of Canton, for example, there is -a graveyard thirty miles in length, in which are buried fully one -hundred generations. Yet the Chinese insist that not one grave shall be -disturbed, lest multitudes of avenging ghosts should be let loose upon -them for such sacrilege. In fact, the permanence and inviolability of -graves lie at the very foundation of Chinese life and customs, which is -ancestor-worship. From childhood to old age the principal duty of all -Chinamen is to propitiate the spirits of their ancestors, and to make -offerings to them regularly at their tombs. This custom cripples the -colossal empire of China as paralysis would a giant, and fear of doing -violence to their dead holds China's millions in an iron grasp. - -[Illustration: A FELLOW PASSENGER.] - -[Illustration: ON THE CANTON RIVER.] - -The discussion of this theme, as we were descending the mountain, -suggested to us the idea of visiting the foreign cemetery in Hong-Kong. -In this, as in the public garden, charming results have been obtained -by care and irrigation. We were accompanied by a gentleman who had -resided on the island nearly thirty years. "In spite of the beauty of -this place," he said, "I dread to think that I shall probably be buried -here--unable to escape from China even after death. For notwithstanding -many pleasant friends, my life, like that of many here, has been at -best a dreary banishment from all that makes your Occidental life so -stimulating to the intellect and so rich in pleasures. The world at -home," he added, "sometimes blames us for faults, the cause of which -is often only an intense desire to counteract the loneliness of our -existence; and foreigners in the East deserve some sympathy, if only from -the fact that in these cemeteries, kept with so much care, the graves -of those we love increase so rapidly." After a few days at Hong-Kong we -embarked on one of the American steamers which ply between Victoria and -Canton. These boats are modest imitations of the Fall River steamers on -Long Island Sound. We found the one that we took clean and comfortable -and its American captain cordial and communicative. During the trip he -related to us many incidents of his life in China. This he could easily -do, for there were only two other foreign passengers on board, and hence, -so long as we remained upon the promenade deck, the spacious vessel -seemed to be our private yacht. - -[Illustration: RIVER BOATS.] - -On passing, however, to the deck below, we found a number of Chinamen, -likewise going to Canton. Most of them were smoking, lying on their -backs, their heads supported by a bale of cloth. At first we thought -these constituted all the passengers; but presently we learned, to our -astonishment, that farther down, packed in the hold like sardines in a -box, and barricaded from us by an iron grating, were more than a thousand -Chinese coolies. A sentry, heavily armed, stood by the padlocked grating -constantly; while in the wheel-house and saloon were stands of loaded -muskets ready for emergencies. The danger is that Chinese pirates will -come on board in the disguise of coolies, and at a favorable moment -take possession of the ship. One naturally thinks this an impossible -occurrence; but only a few years ago this actually took place on one of -these boats. A well-armed band of desperadoes swarmed up from the hold, -shot down the captain in cold blood, and also some of the passengers who -tried to interfere. Then, taking command of the ship, they forced the -engineer and crew to do their bidding, steered to a lonely point where -their confederates awaited them, unloaded the valuable cargo into their -boats, disabled the engine so that the survivors could not give the -alarm, and finally made their escape. Such are the indisputable facts. -Yet, sailing up this peaceful river, reclining in our easy chairs, and -soothed by the soft, balmy air, the tragedy seemed so incredible that we -were obliged to put our hands upon the guns, in order to realize that -precautions were still needed. - -[Illustration: EXECUTION OF THE PIRATES.] - -As an additional proof, the captain showed us a photograph of the sequel -to that act of piracy. For, as a matter of course, the British Government -demanded satisfaction for this outrage, and in compliance nineteen -criminals were beheaded. Whether they were the actual pirates, however, -has been doubted. China always has scores of men awaiting execution--a -dozen here, a dozen there. What matters it if those who merit death -are said to have committed one crime or another? England had no way -of identifying them. Accordingly she shut her eyes, accepted what the -Chinese said of them, and took it for granted that the decapitated men -were the real culprits. At all events, as an eye-witness told us, the -deed itself was quickly done. In each case there was only one swing of -the executioner's arm, and one flash of the two-edged sword; then, like -a row of flowers clipped from their stems, the heads of all the kneeling -criminals were lying in the sand, with staring eyes turned upward toward -the sky. - -[Illustration: WITH STARING EYES TURNED UPWARD.] - -[Illustration: AN OLD CHINESE FORT, CANTON RIVER.] - -[Illustration: OPIUM-SMOKING.] - -[Illustration: SINGING GIRLS.] - -On leaving this repulsive picture in the captain's cabin, we found that -we were approaching the once important settlement of Whampoa. Its glory -is gone now, but formerly it played a prominent part in Eastern politics -and commerce; for previous to the Opium War of 1841 and the establishment -of the Treaty Ports, this was as far as foreign ships were permitted to -come, and Whampoa was then a kind of counter across which Cantonese and -Europeans traded. We now began to observe along the shore strange-looking -boats protected by a roof and filled with fruits and vegetables for -the Canton market. Moreover, on both sides of the river for many miles -we looked on countless little patches of rice, bananas, oranges, and -sugar-cane. At one point our attention was called to an island on which -are some old fortifications used by China fifty years ago in her attempt -to exclude opium from her territory. I suppose that no intelligent -student of the subject doubts that the real cause of the war of 1841 was -the attempt of England to force upon the Chinese a drug which no one -dares to sell in London, even now, unless it bears the label "poison." In -1840, the Commissioner of Canton thus addressed the Queen of England: - -"How can your country seek to acquire wealth by selling us an article so -injurious to mankind? I have heard that you have a generous heart; you -must be willing, therefore, to obey the motto of Confucius, and refuse to -do to others what you would not have others do to you." - -In an address to foreign traders, issued in 1840, the Chinese also said: -"Reflect that if you did not bring opium here, where could our people -obtain it? Shall, then, our people die, and your lives not be required? -You are destroying human life for the sake of gain. You should surrender -your opium out of regard for the natural feelings of mankind. If not, it -is right for us to drive every ship of your nation from our shores." - -[Illustration: A CHINESE BRIDGE.] - -Finding that these appeals were of no avail, the Chinese finally -compelled the British merchants in Canton to give up all the opium in -their possession. It amounted to twenty-one thousand chests, or about -three million pounds. This mass of poison the Chinese threw into the -river, chest after chest, much as Americans treated English tea in -Boston harbor. As it dissolved, it is said that a large number of fish -died. England retaliated by broadsides from her men-of-war, and in 1842, -after an unequal struggle, China was forced to pay her victorious enemy -twenty-one million dollars--six millions for the opium destroyed, and -fifteen millions as a war indemnity, besides giving to England as her -property forever, the island of Hong-Kong, and opening five new ports to -foreign trade. - -[Illustration: THE CURSE OF CHINA.] - -About a century ago opium was rarely used in China except as medicine. -To-day it enters through the openings made by English cannon, at the -rate of six thousand tons a year, and at an annual profit to the Indian -treasury of from thirty to forty million dollars. But this is not the -worst: the vice of opium-smoking has spread with such rapidity that in -one Chinese city alone, where thirty years ago only five opium dens -existed, there are now five thousand. In the minds of many Chinamen, -therefore, Christianity is principally associated with the gift of opium -and its attendant evils. China has now begun to cultivate the poppy for -herself, and in some provinces six-tenths of the land is given over to -producing opium, to the great detriment of agriculture. For the Chinese -argue that if they must have it anyway, they may as well profit by it -themselves, and let their own crop vie with that which England sends -from India. It should be said that earnest protests have often been made -by conscientious Englishmen against this conduct of their Government, -but all remonstrances have failed to change its policy. Hence, when our -British cousins sometimes humorously say that we Americans worship only -the almighty dollar, it may be well to ask if any deity under the sun is -more devoutly reverenced than the omnipotent pounds, shillings, and pence. - -[Illustration: A VILLAGE SCENE.] - -When we had steamed about five hours from Hong-Kong, we came in sight -of our first Chinese pagoda. It is a hollow tower of brick about three -hundred feet in height, and resembles, on an enormous scale, one of -those tapering sticks which jewelers use for sizing rings. At first, I -thought that the nine circular terraces which mark its different stories -were adorned with flags or tapestry, but closer scrutiny revealed the -melancholy fact that weeds and bushes are now growing here. Indeed, like -most of the sacred buildings that I saw in China, it looked both dirty -and dilapidated. - -[Illustration: PAGODA, NEAR CANTON RIVER.] - -Soon after leaving this neglected edifice, we found ourselves amid a -constantly increasing throng of Chinese boats, and I began to realize -that these were specimens of that "floating population" of Canton of -which we have all read, but of which nothing but a visit to it can give -an adequate idea. - -Hardly was our steamer anchored in the stream before the city, when -hundreds of these boats closed in upon us on all sides, like cakes of -floating ice around a vessel in the Arctic sea. Wedging and pushing -frantically, the boatmen almost swamped themselves. They fought for -places near the ship like men and women in a panic. The din of voices -sounded like the barking of five hundred canines at a dog-show; -and Chinese gutturals flew through the air like bullets from a -_mitrailleuse_. It seemed impossible to disembark in such a mob. - -But suddenly I felt a pressure on my arm. I turned and saw apparently -three laundrymen from the United States. A glance assured me they were -father and sons. "Good morning, sir," said one of them in excellent -English, "do you know Carter Harrison, of Chicago?" - -[Illustration: NEARING CANTON.] - -This question, coming in such a place and at such a time, rendered me -speechless with astonishment. - -"He mentioned us in his book, 'A Race With the Sun,'" continued the -young Chinaman. "This is my father, the famous guide, Ah Cum. This is my -brother, and I am Ah Cum, Jr. The others are engaged for to-morrow, but I -can serve you. Will you take me?" - -"So you are Ah Cum?" I rejoined; "I have heard much of you. Your -reference book must be a valuable autograph album of distinguished -travelers. Yes, we will take you; and, first of all, can you get us -safely into one of those boats? And if so, who will guarantee that we -shall not be murdered?" - -"Ah Cum." - -Accordingly we "came," and presently found ourselves in a boat. I cannot -relate how we got there. I do not know, myself. I think of it now as one -recalls the pulling of a tooth when under the influence of laughing-gas. -I have a dim remembrance of jumping from one reeling skiff to another, -of stumbling over slippery seats, of holding on to Ah Cum, Sr., and -being pushed by Ah Cum, Jr., and now and then grabbing frantically at -a Chinese queue, as a drowning man catches at a rope. The only reason -that I did not fall into the water is that there was not space enough -between the boats. At last, however, bruised and breathless, we reached a -place of refuge, and watched our boatmen fight their way out through the -crowd, until we landed on the neighboring island of Shameen. After the -pandemonium around the steamer, this seemed a perfect paradise of beauty -and repose. It is about a mile and a quarter in circumference, and is -reserved exclusively for foreigners. - -[Illustration: CHINESE BOATS, CANTON.] - -Shaded by drooping banyan trees, stand many handsome houses inhabited -by Englishmen, Germans, and Americans whom the necessities of business -keep in banishment here. Their social life is said to be very pleasant, -and I should think, indeed, that in so small a settlement the members -of this little colony (if they did not hate) would love each other -cordially. This pretty place, before the capture of Canton, in 1857, was -nothing but a hideous mud-bank. But foreigners have transformed it almost -as completely as they have Hong-Kong, and have built around it broad -embankments made of solid granite, which form an agreeable promenade. - -[Illustration: THE FLOATING HOMES OF THOUSANDS, CANTON.] - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A EUROPEAN'S HOUSE.] - -Unfortunately, however, Shameen boasts of only one hotel, and of this -such dismal stories had been told us that we had half made up our -minds to eat and sleep on the American steamers, changing from one to -another every morning as they came and went. This seemed, however, so -difficult, that we resolved to try the accommodations here. We did so, -and discovered that in this case "the devil is not so black as he is -painted." At all events, clean, comfortable rooms made some amends for a -meager bill of fare. - -I cherish no delightful recollections of our meals on the island of -Shameen. In fact, when a "globe-trotter" has reached India or China, the -time has come for him to eat what he can get, and be devoutly thankful -that he can get anything. Misguided souls who live to eat should never -make a journey around the world. Of course, the foreign residents here -live better than travelers at hotels; but a gentleman who entertained us -apologized for his poor table, and said that it was especially difficult -to get good beef, since Chinamen consider it extravagant to kill such -useful animals as cows and oxen. "Accordingly," he added, "we classify -the so-called beef that we consume as 'donkey beef,' 'camel beef,' and -'precipice beef.' - -"Precipice beef!" I exclaimed, "what in the world do you mean by -'precipice beef?'" - -"That," he replied, "is nearest to the genuine article, for it is the -product of a cow that has killed herself by falling over a precipice." - -[Illustration: THE JINRIKISHA IN CHINA.] - -On one side of this island flows the Canton river, and on the other -is a small canal which separates it from the city. Two bridges span -this narrow stream, each having iron gates which are invariably closed -at night and guarded by sentinels. No Chinese, save employees of the -foreigners, may come within this reservation. In 1883, however, a -Chinese mob attacked it fiercely, and swarmed across the bridges, as the -legendary mice invaded Bishop Hatto's tower on the Rhine. The English, -French, and German families escaped to steamers in the river, leaving -their houses to be plundered or burned. During my stay here, every -evening when this bridge was closed, and every morning when it was -reopened, I heard a hideous din of drums and horns, concluding with the -firing of a blunderbuss. Our consul told me that the object of all this -was to inspire fear. "Tremble and obey!" are the words which close all -Government proclamations in the Chinese empire. - -[Illustration: STARTING FOR CANTON.] - -[Illustration: BRIDGE AT CANTON.] - -The morning after our arrival, we found awaiting us outside the hotel -door some coolies with the sedan-chairs in which we were to make our -first excursion through Canton. Another party also was about to start, -including several ladies, each of whom held in her hand either a flask of -smelling-salts or a piece of camphor wrapped in a handkerchief. In fact, -the druggists of Hong-Kong do quite a business in furnishing visitors -to Canton with disinfectants and restoratives. Some of these ladies -feared being insulted by the Canton populace, and told exciting stories -of an English lady who had been recently spat upon, and of American -ladies who had been followed by a hooting crowd. Ah Cum, however, smiled -complacently. - -"There is no danger," he assured us; "my father will take care of you -ladies, as I will of these gentlemen. Every one here knows us. Our people -are always safe." - -[Illustration: A CANTON STREET.] - -[Illustration: ALONG THE SHORE, CANTON.] - -Accordingly we started, crossed the bridge, and two minutes later found -ourselves engulfed, like atoms in a sewer, in the fetid labyrinth of -Canton. One should not be surprised that illustrations of its streets -are not clearer. The marvel is that they are visible at all! "Streets," -as we understand the word, they cannot be truthfully called. They are -dark, tortuous alleys, destitute of sidewalks, and from four to eight -feet wide, winding snake-like between long lines of gloomy shops. -Comparatively little daylight filters through them to the pavement, not -only by reason of their narrow limits, but from the fact that all these -passageways are largely filled up, just above the people's heads, with -strips of wood, which serve as advertising placards. Many of them are -colored blue, red, white, or green, and bear strange characters, gilded -or painted on their surfaces. These in the dark perspective of a crowded -alley look like the banners of some long procession. - -[Illustration: TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS, CANTON.] - -These letters do not give the merchants' names, but serve as trade-marks, -like the dedicatory words above the doors of shops in France. How any one -can read them is a mystery; not merely on account of the twilight gloom, -but from the fact that here at every step one comes in contact with a -multitude of repulsive Chinamen, many of them naked to the waist, who -seem compressed within this narrow space like a wild torrent in a gorge. -To stop in such a place and read a sign appeared to me as difficult as -studying the leaves of the trees while riding through a forest on a Texas -broncho. - -[Illustration: A CANTON COOLIE.] - -As our bearers pushed their way through these dark, narrow lanes, the -people squeezed themselves against the walls to let us pass; then closed -about us instantly again, like sharks around the stern of a boat. At any -moment I could have touched a dozen naked shoulders with my hand, and -twice as many with my cane. Meanwhile, to the noise of the loquacious -multitude were added the vociferations of our bearers, who shouted -constantly for people to make way, ascribing to us, we were told, -distinguished titles that evidently excited curiosity even among the -stolid Chinamen. Occasionally we met a sedan-chair coming in the opposite -direction. Both sets of bearers then began to yell like maniacs, and we -would finally pass each other with the utmost difficulty, our coolies -having frequently to back the chair-poles into one shop, and then run -them forward into a doorway on the opposite corner, thereby blocking the -noisy, surly crowd until the passage could be cleared. - -[Illustration: A WHEELBARROW FOR FREIGHT.] - -The faces packed about us, while not positively hostile, were as a -rule unfriendly. An insolent stare was characteristic of most of them. -Some disagreeable criticisms were pronounced, but Ah Cum's expression -never changed, and we, of course, could not understand them. Once a -banana-skin, thrown probably by a mischievous boy, flew by my head; and I -was told that China's favorite exclamation, "foreign devils," was often -heard. But I dare say that if a Chinese mandarin, in full regalia, were -to walk through some of our streets, he would not fare as well as we did -in Canton; and that if he ever went to the Bowery, "he'd never go there -any more." - -[Illustration: ONE OF THE BROADEST STREETS.] - -[Illustration: CHINESE TEA-PICKERS.] - -As we kept passing on through other alleys teeming with half-clad -specimens of the great unwashed, I called to mind the fact that this -low class in China has been deliberately taught to hate, despise, and -thoroughly distrust all foreigners. The unjust opium war with England, -the recent territorial war with France, the stories told them of the -treatment of their countrymen in the United States,--all these would, -of themselves, be enough to make them hostile; but they are as nothing -to the effect produced upon an ignorant, superstitious populace by the -placards posted on the walls of many Chinese cities. I read translations -of a few of these, and I believe they cannot be surpassed in literature -for the vulgarity and infamy of their accusations. They are in one sense -perfectly absurd; but when we recollect the riotous acts to which they -have frequently incited their deluded victims, they challenge serious -consideration. - -[Illustration: CHINESE MERCHANTS DRINKING TEA.] - -On entering some of the shops that line these passageways, I was -astonished at the contrast they presented to the streets themselves. The -latter are at times no more than four feet wide. Not so the shops. Many -of them have a depth of eighty feet, and in the centre are entirely open -to the roof. In the corner of each is placed a little shrine. A gallery -extends around the second story, and on that floor, or in the rear of -the building, the owners live. Some of these shops are handsomely adorned -with fine wood-carving and bronze lamps, and on the shelves is stored a -great variety of goods, frequently including articles as dissimilar as -silk and cotton fabrics, fans, jewelry, umbrellas, Waterbury clocks, and -Chinese shoes. - -[Illustration: HALL IN A CHINESE HOUSE.] - -[Illustration: A CHINESE BED AND FURNITURE.] - -Among these shops we saw a building used partly as a temple and partly as -the Guild Hall for the Canton silk merchants. Guilds, or trade-unions, -have existed here for centuries. They permeate every branch of Chinese -industry, legal and illegal. Even the thieves form themselves into a -guild, and I suppose there is "honor" among them. The origin of these -unions is partly due to unjust taxation. Canton contains a vast amount -of wealth, but those possessing it are careful to conceal all trace of -any superabundance. On this account disputes between the various guilds -are settled by arbitration. To allow their affairs to go into court -would show too plainly to the tax-collectors their financial status. -Accordingly litigation is almost unknown. Moreover, when a case is -settled by arbitration, the losing party not only pays the disputed sum, -but is obliged to give a supper to the victor. - -[Illustration: EXORCISING SPIRITS.] - -In another building that we passed I saw a curious ceremony, which Ah Cum -explained as that of three Buddhist priests who were clearing a house -of evil spirits. It appears that, two weeks before, a man had committed -suicide on the premises, in order to avenge himself on the proprietor. -For in China a man, instead of killing his enemy, sometimes kills -himself, the motive being a desire that the hated one shall be regarded -as responsible for his death, and be pursued by evil spirits here and -in the world to come. To be annoyed by ghosts must be exceedingly -unpleasant, but, on the whole, I hope that all my enemies will try the -Chinese method. - -Occasionally we discovered in these streets an itinerant barber. These -Chinese Figaros carry their outfits with them. First in importance comes -a bamboo pole, which is the immemorial badge of their profession. To -this is usually attached one solitary towel,--free to every customer. -From one extremity of this pole hangs a small brass basin, together -with a charcoal stove for heating water; the other end is balanced by a -wooden cabinet, which serves the patient as a seat during the operation, -and contains razors, lancets, tweezers, files, and other surgical -instruments. - -[Illustration: LADY AND MAID.] - -[Illustration: CHINESE BARBER.] - -It matters not where one of these tonsorial artists practises his -surgery. A temple court, a flight of steps, a street, or a back-yard, -are quite the same to him. He takes his queue where he can find it. -One of his commonest duties is to braid that customary appendage to a -Chinaman's head, without which he would be despised. It is comical to -estimate the thousands of miles of Chinese queues which even one barber -twists in the course of his career--enough, if tied together, end to -end, to form a cable between Europe and America. Yet this singular style -of hair-dressing (now so universal) was introduced into China only two -hundred and fifty years ago. Before that time the Chinese wore full heads -of hair, and the present fashion of shaved crowns and twisted queues is -of Tartar origin, and was imposed by a conquering dynasty as a badge of -servitude. The wearing of a mustache in China is an indication that he -whose face it adorns is a grandfather. In fact, until he is forty-five -years old, a Chinaman usually shaves his face completely; but this fact -does not prove that after that time he can dispense with the services -of a barber. For the tonsorial art in China is exceedingly varied; and -Chinese barbers not only braid the queue; they also shave the eyebrows, -clean the ears, pull teeth, and massage. Moreover, they scrape the inside -of their victim's eye-lids--a custom which is believed by foreigners to -be the cause of much of the ophthalmia in China. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE MERCHANT.] - -Chinese fortune-tellers had for me a singular fascination. I found -them everywhere--in temple courts, at gateways and beside the -roads--invariably wearing spectacles, and usually seated at a table -decorated with huge Chinese characters. Their services seemed to be in -great demand. In every case the ceremony was the same. Each applicant in -turn approached, and stated what he wished to know; for example, whether -a certain day would be a lucky time for him to buy some real estate, or -which of several girls his son would better marry. Upon the table stood -a tin box full of bamboo sticks. One of these slips the customer drew -at random, and from the sentence written on it the fortune-teller gave -his answer in oracular words--which could, as usual, be interpreted in -various ways. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE FORTUNE-TELLER.] - -[Illustration: A WALL OF CANTON.] - -At length, however, leaving for a time the shops and dimly-lighted -alleys, we found ourselves approaching a huge gate. For Canton, like most -other Chinese cities, is divided into certain districts, each of which is -separated from the adjoining one by a wall. The gateways in these walls -are always closed at night, and are of special use in case of fires or -insurrections, since they are strong enough to hold in check a surging -crowd till the police or soldiers can arrive. - -[Illustration: THE FIVE-STORIED PAGODA.] - -Passing through this portal, we made our way along the wall until we -arrived at a prominent point of observation, known as the Five-storied -Pagoda. Whatever this may once have been, it is to-day a shabby, -barn-like structure, marked here and there with traces of red paint, like -daubs of rouge on a clown's face. All visitors to Canton, however, will -recollect the building, with a certain amount of pleasure, as being the -resting-place in which one eats the lunch brought from the steamer or -hotel. Not that there is not food of certain kinds obtainable in Canton -itself, but somehow what one sees of Chinese delicacies here does not -inspire him with a desire to partake of them. In one of Canton's streets, -for example, I entered a cat-restaurant. Before the door was a notice -which Ah Cum translated thus: "Two fine black cats to-day, ready soon." -On stepping inside, I heard some pussies mewing piteously in bamboo -cages. Hardly had I entered when a poor old woman brought the proprietor -some kittens for sale. He felt of them to test their plumpness, as we -might weigh spring chickens. Only a small price was offered, as they -were very thin, but the bargain was soon concluded, the woman took her -money, and the cadaverous kittens went to swell the chorus in the cages. -Black cats, by the way, cost more in China than cats of any other color, -for the Chinese believe that the flesh of dark-coated felines makes good -blood. - -[Illustration: A WAYSIDE RESTAURANT.] - -To some Chinamen, dogs fried in oil are also irresistible. In one untidy -street, swarming with yellow-skinned humanity, we saw a kind of gipsy -kettle hung over a wood fire. Within it was a stew of dog-meat. Upon a -pole close by was hung a rump of uncooked dog, with the tail left on, to -show the patrons of this open-air restaurant to what particular breed the -animal had belonged. For it is said there is a great difference in the -flesh of dogs. Bull-terriers, for example, would probably be considered -tough. Around this kettle stood a group of coolies, each with a plate and -spoon, devouring the canine stew as eagerly as travelers eat sandwiches -at a railway restaurant after the warning bell has rung. Some hungry ones -were looking on as wistfully as boys outside a bun-shop. One man had -such a famished look that, through the medium of Ah Cum, I treated him -at once. Moreover, hundreds of rats, dried and hung up by the tails, are -exposed for sale in Canton streets, and shark's fins, antique duck eggs, -and sea-slugs are considered delicacies. - -[Illustration: CHINAMEN OUT ON A PICNIC.] - -We tried to bring back photographic proofs of all these horrors, but -it was impossible. Whenever we halted in the narrow lanes, in fifteen -seconds we would be encircled by a moving wall of hideous faces, -whose foremost rank kept closing in on us until the atmosphere grew -so oppressive that we gasped for breath and told our bearers to move -on. Nor is this all. These crowds were sometimes positively hostile. -A superstitious fear of being photographed by "foreign devils" made -them dangerous. This fact was several times made disagreeably evident. -Thus, in a garden adjoining a Chinese temple, I wished to photograph -some sacred hogs which were attached to the sanctuary in some unknown -capacity. But scarcely had the exposure been made, when a priest gave the -alarm, and in three minutes a mob of men and boys were rushing toward -us, uttering yells and throwing stones. Ah Cum himself turned pale. He -sprang in front of us, and swore (may heaven forgive him!) that not a -picture had been taken. Of course we offered money as indemnity, but the -priests rejected it with scorn, claiming that by the pointing of the -camera we had stopped the growth of the hogs. I do not think I exaggerate -the situation when I say that if the politic Ah Cum had not been there to -defend us, we should have suffered personal injury. - -[Illustration: THE SACRED HOGS.] - -[Illustration: SORTING TEA.] - -[Illustration: CHINESE MERCHANTS.] - -[Illustration: A CHINESE FARM-HOUSE.] - -Standing up on the summit of the Five-storied Pagoda, we looked out over -the city of Canton. For wide-spread, unrelieved monotony, I never saw -the equal of that view in any place inhabited by human beings. True, -the confusion of the foreground was to be excused, since a tornado had -recently blown down many of the native houses. But far beyond this mass -of ruins, stretching on and on for miles, was the same monotonous, -commonplace vista of low, uninteresting buildings, seamed with mere -crevices in lieu of streets. Meantime, from this vast area came to us -a dull, persistent hum, like the escape of steam from a locomotive, -reminding us that here were swarming nearly two million human beings, -almost as difficult for a foreigner to distinguish or identify as ants in -a gigantic ant-hill. - -[Illustration: THE FLOWERY PAGODA, CANTON.] - -The exact population of Canton is hard to determine. The number arrived -at depends upon where one leaves off counting the three hundred suburban -villages, each of which seems a part of the city. Bishop Harper, who -lived here for forty years, says, that if one should plant a stake in -the centre of Canton, and count all around it within a radius of ten -miles, one would find an aggregate of three-and-a-half million people. -One village, for example, eleven miles away, noted for silk and other -manufactures, is thought to contain eight hundred thousand inhabitants. - -[Illustration: CANTONESE PAWN-SHOPS.] - -Out of this wilderness of mediocrity there rose in one place a pagoda, -which by contrast seemed to possess prodigious height; but such objects -are exceptional. To understand what Canton is like, one must picture to -himself a city which, with its suburbs, is larger and more populous than -Paris, yet has not one handsome avenue, one spacious square, or even one -street that possesses the slightest claim to cleanliness or beauty. Worse -than this, it is a city without a single Chinese building in its whole -extent that can be even distantly compared in architectural elegance -with thousands of imposing structures in any other city of the civilized -world. "But are there no European edifices in Canton?" the reader may -perhaps inquire. Yes, one, which makes the contrast only more apparent. -It is the Roman Catholic cathedral, whose lofty towers are, strangely -enough, the first objects in the city which the traveler sees in sailing -up the river from Hong-Kong. This handsome Gothic structure, built -entirely of granite, rising from such a sea of architectural ugliness, at -once called forth our admiration. To the Chinese, however, these graceful -towers are objects of the utmost hatred. It angers them to see this area, -which French and English conquerors obtained by treaty, still occupied -by a Christian church. So far, it has escaped destruction; but there are -those who prophesy its doom and say that the time will come when not one -stone of it will be left upon another. - -[Illustration: CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL, CANTON.] - -There are, however, five or six other buildings in Canton, which rival -the pagoda and the Catholic church in height. These hideous objects, -which look like monstrous granite boxes set on end, are pawn-shops. One -might conclude from their enormous size that half the personal property -of the Cantonese was in pawn. They certainly are well patronized, for -pawning clothes is such a common thing in China that hundreds of the -Cantonese send here for safe-keeping their furs and overcoats in summer, -and their thin summer clothes in winter, receiving money for them as -from any pawn-broker. The Chinese mode of guarding these tall structures -against thieves is certainly unique. Upon the roofs are piled stones to -be dropped upon the heads of robbers, and also reservoirs of vitriol, -with syringes to squirt the horrible acid on invaders. - -[Illustration: TEMPLE OF FIVE HUNDRED GODS.] - -Astonished at this lack of imposing architecture, we asked if there -were no temples in Canton, Assuredly there were--eight hundred of them, -all more or less defaced and incrusted with dirt. One of the oldest -and most sacred is called the "Temple of Five Hundred Gods," because -within its walls are seated five hundred life-size images of gilded -wood, representing deified sages of the Buddhist faith. But they are -all coarse specimens of sculpture, and many are amusing caricatures. In -front of each is a small jar of ashes, in which the worshiper burns a -stick of incense in honor of his favorite god. Offerings of money, too, -are sometimes made--but not of genuine money. The Chinese are usually -too practical to use anything but imitation money made of gilded paper. -I do not know what the gods think of this Oriental style of dropping -buttons in the contribution-box, but the priests do not like this sort of -currency. They are all "hard money" men. - -[Illustration: AN OLD TEMPLE, CANTON.] - -But, if we accept the ancient Proverb that "To labor is to pray," then -are the Chinese devout indeed. Whatever other faults they may possess, -idleness is not one of them. The struggle for existence keeps them -active. Yet they live on almost nothing. A German merchant told me that -one of his coolies, after twenty-five years of service, had recently had -his salary raised to ten dollars a month. The laborer was, of course, -delighted. "Now," he exclaimed, "I intend to marry another wife. For -years I have longed to have two wives, but have never been able to afford -it; but now, with ten dollars a month, I can indulge in luxuries!" - -[Illustration: APPROACH TO A SHRINE.] - -In strolling about among these Chinese coolies, I found that life in -China is indeed reduced to its lowest terms. In some of the Canton shops, -for example, I saw potatoes sold in halves and even in quarters, and -poultry is offered, not only singly, but by the piece--so much for a leg, -so much for a wing. Second-hand nails are sold in lots of half-a-dozen. -A man can buy one-tenth of a cent's worth of fish or rice. I understood, -at last, how Chinese laundrymen can go home from the United States after -a few years' work, and live upon their incomes. When one perceives -under what conditions these swarming myriads live, one naturally asks -how pestilence can be averted. One source of safety is, no doubt, the -universal custom of drinking only boiled water in the form of tea. If it -were not for this, there would be inevitably a terrible mortality, for -the coolies take no precautions against infection. A gentleman in the -English consular service told us that he had seen two Canton women in -adjoining boats, one washing in the river the bedclothes of her husband -who had died of cholera, the other dipping up water in which to cook the -family dinner! - -[Illustration: ONE OF THE MANY.] - -If, perchance, these people should fall ill, I fear they would not be -greatly benefited by any Chinese doctor whom they might employ. Chinese -physicians are thought to be ignoramuses, unless they can diagnose a -case by merely feeling the pulse. Hence, if they are called to attend a -lady, they see of her usually nothing but her wrist, thrust out between -the curtains of the bed. Those who prescribe for internal diseases are -called "inside doctors," while others are "outside" men, just as some of -our medicines are labeled "for external use only." A story is told of a -man who had been shot through the arm with an arrow. He first applied -to an "outside" doctor, who cut off the two ends of the weapon and put -a plaster on each wound. "But," said the patient, "the remainder of the -arrow is still in my arm." "Ah!" replied the "outside" doctor, "that is -not my affair. To have that removed, you must go to an 'inside' man." - -[Illustration: A CHINESE DOCTOR.] - -One day, in passing through a temple gate, a half-clad Chinaman offered -me for sale a box of grasshoppers, which, when ground into a powder, -make a popular remedy for some ailments. In fact, aside from ginseng -and a few other well-known herbs, the medicines used in China seem -almost incredible. A favorite cure for fever, for example, is a soup -of scorpions. Dysentery is treated by running a needle through the -tongue. The flesh of rats is supposed to make the hair grow. Dried -lizards are recommended as a tonic for "that tired feeling," and iron -filings are said to be a good astringent. Chinese physicians say that -certain diseases are curable only by a decoction whose chief ingredient -is a piece of flesh cut from the arm or thigh of the patient's son or -daughter. To supply this flesh is thought to be one of the noblest proofs -of filial devotion. This is not an exaggeration. In the Pekin _Official -Gazette_ of July 5, 1870, is an editorial, calling the emperor's -attention to a young girl who had cut off two joints of her finger and -dropped them into her mother's medicine. The mother recovered, and the -governor of the province proposed to erect a monument in honor of the -child. - -[Illustration: A MEMORIAL GATE.] - -[Illustration: BEGGARS ON THE TEMPLE STEPS.] - -[Illustration: A CHINESE FUNERAL PROCESSION.] - -In view of such a pharmacopoeia, it is a comfort to learn that in -the Chinese theology a special place in hell is assigned to ignorant -physicians. All quacks are doomed to centuries of torture, the worst -fate being reserved for doctors who abuse their professional skill for -purposes of immorality. Their punishment is the cheerful one of being -boiled in oil. Another curious, and not altogether absurd, custom of the -Chinese is to pay a physician so long as they continue in health, but if -they fall ill, the doctor's salary ceases until they recover, whereupon -it commences again. - -[Illustration: A GROUP OF CHINESE WOMEN.] - -Chinese women seemed to me, as a rule, exceedingly plain, but, even were -they Venuses, one of their characteristics would make my flesh creep. I -refer to their claw-like finger-nails, which are so long that apparently -they could be used with equal ease as paper-cutters or stilettoes. Gloves -cannot possibly be worn upon these finger-spikes, so metal sheaths have -been invented to protect them. To show what can be done in nail-growing, -the following lengths were measured on the left hand of a Chinese belle: -thumb nail, two inches; little finger nail, four inches; third finger, -five and one-quarter inches. Under these circumstances we cannot wonder -that in China it is not the custom to shake hands: otherwise, painful -accidents might occur. Accordingly, the Chinese clasp their own hands and -shake them gently at each other. - -[Illustration: LILY FEET.] - -[Illustration: MOTHER AND CHILD.] - -A still more repulsive peculiarity of Chinese women is their stunted -feet, which for the purposes of locomotion are little better than hoofs. -All Chinese ladies of the better class must have these "lily feet," as -they are called. Sometimes a Chinaman will have two wives; the first an -ornamental one with "lily feet," the second, a large-footed woman for -business. The origin of this barbarous custom of preventing the growth -of the foot is unknown. Perhaps it sprang from a sentiment which Ah Cum -graphically expressed by saying: - -"A small foot is much safer to live with. A big foot runs about too -easily and gets into mischief. Moreover," he added, with a smile, "a -big-footed woman sometimes kicks." One Chinaman assured me with great -pride that his wife's foot was only two and a half inches long. There -is a class of women here whose regular business it is to bind the feet -of little girls when about six years of age. The process of repressing -the natural growth of the foot lasts for seven years--the four smaller -toes being bent under until they lose their articulations and become -identified with the sole of the foot. When this has been accomplished, -the second and severer operation commences--of bringing the great toe -and the heel as nearly together as possible. The bandage is drawn -tighter, month by month, until the base of the great toe is brought into -contact with the heel, and the foot has become a shapeless lump. By this -unnatural treatment the leg itself becomes deformed, and its bones are -made not only smaller in diameter, but shorter. The circulation also is -obstructed, and the large muscles are soon completely atrophied from -disuse. The agony caused by such interference with nature can be only -faintly imagined. It made the tears come to my eyes to hear a Chinese -gentleman describe the methods taken to console his suffering children -and help them forget their misery. The poor little creatures scream and -moan from the incessant pain, and often lie across the bed with their -legs pressed against the edge, in the hope that this will lessen their -distress; but nothing can relieve them but freedom from the torturing -bandage, which is never relaxed. It makes one sick at heart to think that -such a custom has prevailed in China for more than a thousand years. - -[Illustration: A DISTORTED FOOT.] - -Should we approach a group of Chinese merchants in Canton, and ask any -one of them "How many children have you?" we could be almost certain -that he would not think of counting his daughters, or that he would at -least make this distinction--"I have two children, and one girl." For -to a Chinaman nothing in life is so important as to have a son to offer -sacrifices for him after death and worship at his grave, since, in -their opinion, a daughter is not capable of doing this. When a boy is -born, therefore, the father is overwhelmed with congratulations, but if -the newcomer be a girl, as little reference as possible is made to the -misfortune. Friends are informed of the birth of a child by strips of -paper carried through the street. If it be a boy, yellow paper is used, -but in case of a girl any color will do. This feeling, intensified by -poverty, is the cause of the infanticide which has been, and still is, in -certain provinces, so dark a blot on the domestic history of China. It is -said, for example, that in the vicinity of Amoy thirty per cent, of all -new-born girls are strangled or drowned, as unwelcome kittens sometimes -are with us. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE LADY.] - -[Illustration: THE HOMES OF THOUSANDS.] - -On our second day in Canton we investigated another phase of Chinese -life, in some respects stranger than anything we had thus far seen. -Along the shores of the Canton river, and in its various canals, is -a population of a quarter of a million souls, living on thousands of -peculiar boats crowded together side by side, and forming streets, and -even colonies, of floating dwellings. Moreover, these conditions prevail -in every river-town throughout the empire. - -[Illustration: A CHINESE PATERFAMILIAS.] - -Each of these "sampans," as they are called, though only about twenty -feet in length, constitutes the home of an entire family. Eight people -frequently live on one boat--grandpa and grandma, father and mother, -uncle and aunt, two or three children, and a baby. The latter is tied -to the back of its mother, even when she is rowing. As for the other -children, their parents fasten around them pieces of bamboo, like -life-preservers, and tie them to the rail by a cord. If they tumble -over, they float until some one gets a chance to pull them in. Upon these -little boats thousands are born, eat, drink, cook, and sleep, and finally -die, having known no other home. Under the flooring are stored their -cooking utensils, bedding, clothing, provisions, oil, charcoal, and other -requisites of their aquatic life. Above them, usually, are movable roofs -of bamboo wicker-work, to give protection from the sun and rain. - -[Illustration: A MARKET-PLACE.] - -Some of these families even take boarders! I verified this by going at -night among this floating population, and found that sleeping space on -the boats is rented to those who have no fixed abode. Planks are laid -over the seats to form a floor, and on these lie the numerous members of -the household and the lodgers. Conspicuous figures in this boat-life -are the itinerant barbers and physicians, who go about in tiny sampans, -ringing a bell and offering their services. - -[Illustration: A FLOWER-BOAT.] - -Occasionally, however, we beheld a boat much larger and finer than the -craft around it. It proved to be one of the Chinese flower-boats, which -are the pleasure resorts of China's _jeunesse dorée_. By day they are -conspicuous by their size and gilded wood-work, and in the evening by -their many lights. Never, while memory lasts, shall I forget an excursion -made at night with our hotel-proprietor among these flower-boats and -their surroundings. Many of them were anchored side by side, and planks -were stretched from one to the other, like a continuous sidewalk. As -we walked along, we passed by countless open doors, each of which -revealed a room handsomely furnished with mirrors, marble panels, -and blackwood furniture. Here were usually grouped a dozen or more -hilarious Chinamen, who were eating, drinking, and smoking, together -with professional singing-girls, who are hired by the owners of these -flower-boats to entertain their guests with songs and dances. We could -not pause to observe them carefully, for foreigners are not wanted -here, either as visitors or patrons. Meanwhile, at the very doorways of -these handsome rooms, beggars in greasy garments crowded around us and -almost threateningly demanded alms. "Look out for your pockets," was the -proprietor's constant warning. - -[Illustration: CHINESE MUSICIANS.] - -I have an indistinct remembrance of thus passing row after row of lighted -boats, room after room of painted girls, group after group of sleek, -fat Chinamen at tables, and then, on leaving these, of seeing miles of -loathsome boats containing half-clad men stretched out on bunks and -stupefied by opium, hag-like females cooking over charcoal braziers, and -ragged children huddled in dark corners. I have a vivid recollection, -too, of walking over slimy planks, of breathing pestilential odors, and -of looking down on patches of repulsive water, so thick with refuse -that they resembled in the lamp-light tanks of cabbage-soup. We also -shudderingly passed some leper-boats, whose inmates are afflicted with -that terrible disease, and who are forced to live as outcasts, begging -for alms by holding out a little bag suspended from a bamboo pole. But -finally shaking off the beggars who had followed us, and fleeing from -this multitudinous life, as one might turn with horror from a pool of -wriggling eels, I staggered into the boat belonging to the hotel. As it -moved out into clearer water, I drew a long breath and looked up at the -stars. There they were--calm and glorious as ever--scattered in countless -numbers through measureless space. At any time, when one looks off into -the vault of night, our little globe seems insignificant, but never -did it seem to me so tiny and comparatively valueless, as when I left -these myriads of Chinamen, swarming like insects in their narrow boats, -apparently the reduction of humanity to the grade of microbes. - -[Illustration: A TYPICAL CHINESE CRAFT.] - -The gentleman who had accompanied me on this occasion was a Wall street -broker. "Well," he exclaimed at last, "I have spent fifteen years among -the Bulls and Bears, and I think my nerves are pretty strong, but for -experiences which unnerve a man, and things which (glad as I am to have -seen them once) I never wish to see again, nothing can compare with the -sights and smells discovered in a trip to Chinatown!" - -What impressed me most, however, in this experience was the idea that -the millions in and around Canton are but an insignificant fraction of -the Chinese race. It filled me with horror to reflect that all I had -witnessed here was but a tiny sample of the entire empire. For Canton is -said to be superior to many Chinese cities. - -One writer has declared that, after walking through the Chinese quarter -of Shanghai, he wanted to be hung on a clothes-line for a week in a -gale of wind. Tientsin is said to be still worse for dirt and noxious -odors. Even Pekin, from all accounts, has horribly paved and filthy -thoroughfares, and its sanitary conditions are almost beyond belief. If -such then be the state of things in the capital, what must it be in the -interior towns, so rarely reached by foreigners? - -[Illustration: A WHEELBARROW BUILT FOR TWO.] - -It may, however, be objected that in the open ports, where they encounter -foreign influence, the people are at their worst. But Chinamen are not -impressionable, like the North American Indians or the aborigines on the -islands in the Pacific, who eagerly adopt the vices of their conquerors, -and speedily succumb to them. - -China is one of the oldest countries in the world. Most of her ideas, -customs, as well as the personal habits of her people are of immemorial -antiquity, and her inhabitants are too conservative to change them. What -one beholds in Canton, therefore, may be fairly supposed to exist from -one extremity of the empire to the other. - -But now, among so much that is disagreeable, one naturally inquires, "Are -there not some redeeming features in this Chinese life?" I must confess -there are not many discernible to the passing traveler, but I will gladly -mention one about which I made careful inquiry. It is their honesty in -business. It is the almost invariable custom for Chinese merchants every -New-Year's day to settle their accounts, so that no errors may be carried -over into the coming year; and I was told that if a tradesman fails to -meet his liabilities at that time, he is considered a defaulter and his -credit is forever lost. English and German merchants spoke to us of -Chinese commercial honor in the highest terms, and drew comparisons in -this respect between them and the Japanese which were not flattering to -the latter. - -[Illustration: A MARRIAGE PROCESSION.] - -Even in Japan, I found at all the foreign banks, in some of the shops, -and in the Grand Hotel, that the cashiers were not Japanese, but -Chinamen. Of course, one who has never traded with them cannot judge of -their comparative abilities in a business way, but merchants in Yokohama, -Shanghai, and Hong-Kong, as well as on the island of Shameen, told us -that Chinamen were more trustworthy than the Japanese, and could be -usually depended on to live up to their contracts, whether they proved -favorable or unfavorable. - -An English gentleman who had resided both in China and Japan for years, -once said to me: "The more you see of the Japanese the less you will like -them. The more you see of the Chinese the less you will dislike them. You -will always like the Japanese; you will always dislike Chinamen; but the -degree in which you cherish and express these sentiments will constantly -diminish." - -[Illustration: A CHINESE JUNK.] - -Besides the numerous differences between Oriental and Occidental customs -noticed in Japan, we found in China many other proofs of what has been -well called a state of topsy-turvydom. Thus, our tailors draw the needle -inward; Chinese tailors stitch outward. With us military men wear their -swords on the left side; in China they are worn on the right. In boxing -the compass a Chinaman says "East, West, South, North." To mark a place -in a book we turn the corner of a page inside; a Chinaman bends it the -other way. We print the title of a volume on the back; the Chinese on the -front. We play battledore and shuttlecock with our hands; the Chinese use -their feet for a battledore and catch the shuttlecock on their foreheads. -We use our own names when engaged in business; in China fancy names are -taken. We carry one watch hidden in our pocket; a Chinese gentleman -sometimes wears two outside his clothes, with their faces exposed. We -black our boots; the Chinese whiten theirs. With us it is considered -impolite to ask a person's age; in China it is a high compliment, -and there a man is congratulated if he is old. Men, at least in the -Occident, have plenty of pockets; the Chinaman has none, and uses his -stockings as receptacles for papers, and at the back of his neck inserts -his folded fan. At our weddings youthful bridesmaids are desired; at -Chinese nuptials old women serve in that capacity. We launch our vessels -lengthwise; the Chinese launch theirs sidewise. We mount a horse from the -left; they mount their horses from the right. We begin dinner with soup -and fish, and end with dessert; they do exactly the reverse. Finally, the -spoken language of China is never written, and the written language is -never spoken. - -[Illustration: SACRED ROCKS, INTERIOR OF CHINA.] - -[Illustration: LI HUNG CHANG'S VISITING-CARD.] - -[Illustration: A JOSS-HOUSE.] - -After all, however, we should remember that Chinamen who travel in our -own country think that our customs are as strange as theirs appear to -us. A prominent official of the Flowery Kingdom, who made the tour of -Europe several years ago, took notes of what he saw, and published them -on his return. Among them are the following: "Women, when going to the -drawing-room of Queen Victoria regard a bare skin as a mark of respect." -"When people meet and wish to show affection, they put their lips and -chins together and make a smacking sound." This is not so difficult to -understand, when we recollect that, like most Orientals, the Chinese do -not kiss, and that even a mother does not kiss her own baby, although she -will press it to her cheek. Again, he thus describes our dancing parties: -"A European skipping match is a strange sight. To this a number of men -and women come in couples, and enter a spacious hall; there, at the -sound of music, they grasp each other by both arms, and leap and prance -backward and forward, and round and round, till they are forced to stop -for want of breath. All this," he adds, "is most extraordinary;" and when -we Occidentals think of it, perhaps it is. A Chinese youth, after eating -for the first time a European dinner, wrote of his experience: "Dishes -of half-raw meat were served, from which pieces were cut with sword-like -instruments and placed before the guests. Finally came a green and white -substance, the smell of which was overpowering. This, I was informed, -was a compound of sour milk, baked in the sun, under whose influence -it remains until it becomes filled with insects; yet the greener and -livelier it is, the greater the relish with which it is eaten! This is -called _Che-sze_." - -[Illustration: WATERING-PLACE FOR ANIMALS.] - -[Illustration: PLACE OF EXECUTION, CANTON.] - -[Illustration: A PAGODA.] - -[Illustration: DRAWING WATER.] - -The object of most gruesome interest to me in Canton was its place of -execution. On entering this, I looked about me with astonishment; for -almost all the space between the rough brick walls was filled with -coarse, cheap articles of pottery. Ah Cum explained, however, that when -a batch of heads are to be cut off, the jars are all removed, much as a -hotel dining-room is cleared for dancing. The condemned prisoners are -always brought in baskets to this place, and are compelled to kneel -down with their hands tied behind their backs. Their queues are then -thrown forward, and they are beheaded at a single stroke. Traces of -blood were visible on the ground, and from a mass of rubbish close at -hand a grinning Chinaman pulled out several skulls which he had hidden -there, and claimed a fee for exhibiting them. I was presented to the -executioner, and asked him how many men he had himself decapitated, but -he could not tell. He kept no count, he said--some days six, some days -ten, in all probably more than a thousand. As he was resolutely opposed -to having his picture taken, we placed his two-edged sword against the -wall, and photographed that. When I was told that, once a week, twenty -or thirty men are brought into this filthy court to die like cattle in -a slaughter-house, I stood aghast, but when I subsequently learned that -this is the only execution-place in a great province with a population -of twenty millions, the number did not seem so appallingly excessive. -This is, however, merely the average in ordinary times. After certain -insurrections, such as the Taiping rebellion, this hideous square has -seemed almost a reservoir of human blood. The venerable missionary, -Dr. Williams, states that he saw here one morning at least two hundred -headless trunks, and stacks of human heads piled six feet high. Careful -estimates place the number executed here during fourteen months, at -eighty-one thousand,--or more than thirteen hundred every week! - -[Illustration: FEMALE CULPRITS.] - -[Illustration: A PRISONER.] - -I doubt if many criminals beheaded here feel much regret at leaving life, -so horrible has been their previous condition in the Canton prison. We -visited this institution, but to obtain a picture of it was impossible. -Within an ill-kept, loathsome area, we saw a crowd of prisoners wearing -chains, while around their necks were heavy wooden collars, which, being -from three to five feet square, were so wide that the poor wretches -wearing them could never possibly feed themselves, but must depend on -others for their nourishment. How they lie down to sleep with them on I -do not know. Yet they must wear such collars for weeks, and even months, -at a time. I have no sentimental sympathy for criminals, and thoroughly -believe in the enforcement of just laws, but I was shocked at the sight -of these poor creatures. Whatever may have been their guilt, such -treatment is a degradation of humanity. - -[Illustration: JUDGE AND PRISONERS.] - -Leaving the place of execution, we made our way to one of the criminal -courts of Canton. It was in session when we entered it, and I never can -forget the sight that met my gaze. Before the judge was a prisoner on his -knees, pleading for mercy and protesting innocence. Chains were around -his neck, waist, wrists, and ankles. Beside him knelt an aged woman, -whose gray hair swept the floor as she rocked back and forth, imploring -vengeance on her son's assassin. At last the culprit confessed his crime -of murder, and was led back to prison. How sincere his confession was, it -would be hard to say; for if, in the face of powerful adverse testimony, -an accused man still asserts his innocence, he is often punished in the -court-room till he does confess. Around the hall were various instruments -of torture--bamboo rods to flog the naked back; hard leather straps with -which to strike the prisoner on the mouth, thus sometimes breaking the -teeth and even the jaw; thumb-screws and cords by which he is suspended -by his thumbs and toes; and heavy sticks with which to beat his ankles. -I did not happen to see these used, because in the three trials I -witnessed all of the prisoners confessed. But they are used; and just as -I was entering the court, I met a criminal being led back to prison, so -weak and crippled by his punishment, that he could hardly step without -assistance. Curiously enough, after the torture has been administered, -the culprit is required to fall upon his knees and thank the judge. This -I should think would be "the most unkindest cut of all." - -[Illustration: A CHINESE COURT.] - -It seems impossible to say anything in defense of such a system as this; -for in China a man is not only looked upon as guilty till he is proved -innocent, but is kept in loathsome confinement, and may be even put upon -the rack, in spite of the established fact that torture is never a test -of truth. And yet a foreign resident made, as an apology, the following -statement: "You must remember that testimony here amounts to nothing, and -that, by paying sixpence apiece, you can pack the court-room with men -who will swear that black is white. Hence, where a man can easily bribe -false witnesses to ruin his enemy, the Chinese law provides that no one -shall under any circumstances be put to death unless he has confessed his -crime. But since a prisoner on trial for his life will usually protest -his innocence to the last, the court attempts by torture to force him to -confess." - -We visited finally an object in Canton far pleasanter than its scenes of -punishment, yet equally characteristic of the national life. It is the -place where natives of this province take the first step in the only path -which in China leads to political and social rank. It is the scene of the -competitive examinations, the fame of which has filled the world. - -[Illustration: THE EXAMINATION GROUND, CANTON.] - -[Illustration: THE GREAT WALL AT A PRECIPICE.] - -[Illustration: A STUDENT.] - -The courtyard where the contest takes place is by no means inviting. It -is an area of sixteen acres, covered with nearly nine thousand rough -brick sheds. At the time of an examination each of these is occupied by -a candidate. Before he enters it, his person is carefully searched, and -soldiers and policemen guard all passageways to prevent communication. -"Each in his narrow cell," these applicants for office then remain for -three consecutive days and nights, about as pleasantly lodged, I should -imagine, as Jonah was for the same length of time; for these dirty dens -of brick are only four feet long, three feet wide, and possibly six feet -high. One of the horse-sheds in the rear of a New England meeting-house -would be a far more comfortable place in which to eat and sleep. Perhaps -they are meant, however, to emphasize the triumph of mind over matter. -Their only furniture consists of two small planks, one for a seat, the -other for a table. Rest is, of course, impossible in such a cage, and -candidates have sometimes died here from physical and mental strain. -All this seems inexcusably cruel; yet the Chinese government may have -good reasons for maintaining this severity. For instance, such a system, -if introduced at Washington, would rid the District of Columbia of -nine-tenths of its office-seekers within twenty-four hours. While some -of these students persevere in their attempts till they are seventy or -eighty years of age, others are quite young; but the fact of youth is not -considered discreditable, for Confucius said: "A youth should always be -regarded with respect. How do we know that his future may not be superior -to our present?" At all events, the highest place is open to them, if -their brains will take them there; for every village in China has its -school, and every free-born citizen may qualify for this struggle, the -governing principle of which is "Let the best man win!" It is the law of -the "survival of the fittest" exemplified in politics. - -[Illustration: FISHING ON THE RIVER.] - -[Illustration: A CHINESE GENERAL AND HIS ATTENDANTS.] - -In all the provinces of China, on the appointed day, thousands of -candidates assemble, eager for the contest. Subjects are given them on -which they must produce a poem and original essays. Their work is then -examined by officials appointed by the Government, and so extremely rigid -is the test, that out of every thousand applicants only about ten gain -the first, or "District," degree. There are, however, three degrees to -be attained by Chinese aspirants for fame. Those who come out as victors -in the first receive no office, but are at least exempt from corporal -punishment, and may attempt the examination for the next degree. Even the -few who pass the second, or "Provincial," test (about one in a hundred) -receive no government appointment. Yet they are distinguished among their -countrymen by wearing a gold button in their hats, and by a sign over -their houses signifying "Promoted man." - -[Illustration: LI HUNG CHANG.] - -Those who succeed in standing the third, or "Imperial," test at -Pekin,--severer even than the other two,--have reached the apex of -the pyramid. They are now mandarins, and have acquired all they can -desire,--social distinction, office, wealth, and (what is sometimes still -more highly prized) great national fame. For in the results of this -examination the entire country takes the greatest interest. The names -of the successful men are everywhere proclaimed by means of couriers, -river-boats, and carrier-pigeons, since thousands of people in the empire -have laid their wagers on the candidates, as we might do on horses at the -Derby. Strange, is it not, to think that this elaborate Chinese system -was practised in the land of the Mongols substantially as it is to-day, -at a time when England was inhabited by painted savages? - -Moreover, the honors of successful candidates in China cannot be -inherited. Young men, if they would be ennobled, must surpass their -competitors and win their places as their fathers did. Even the youthful -son of Li Hung Chang, whom General Grant considered, next to Bismarck, -the most remarkable man he met with in his tour around the world, is -not entitled, because of his father's office, to any special rank. -Hence, China, though an absolute monarchy, has no privileged class -whose claims rest merely on the accident of birth. Her aristocracy -consists of those who have repeatedly proved themselves intellectually -superior to their rivals. Among no people in the world, therefore, have -literary men received such honors as in China; and it is a remarkable -fact that this vast nation has worshiped for two thousand years, not a -great warrior, nor even a prophet claiming inspiration from God, but a -philosopher,--Confucius. - -[Illustration: LI HUNG CHANG AND SUITE ON THEIR TOUR AROUND THE WORLD.] - -I have often thought that were I asked to compare the Chinese empire of -to-day with some material object, I would select for such comparison the -Great Wall on its northern frontier. This mighty work has hardly been -surpassed in the whole history of architecture, not even by the builders -of the Pyramids. It is no less than twenty-five feet high and forty feet -broad, with watch-towers higher still, at intervals of three hundred -feet. And yet it has a length of nearly fifteen hundred miles, a distance -exceeding that from Boston to St. Paul, and in its uninterrupted march -spans deep ravines and climbs to lofty mountain crests, in one place -nearly five thousand feet in height. Although it was built three hundred -years before the birth of Christ, it still exists, and during fourteen -centuries sufficed to hold in check the savage tribes of Tartars from the -north. It has been calculated that if the Great Wall were constructed -at the present time, and with Caucasian labor, its cost would pay -for all the railroads in the United States. One hundred years ago an -English engineer reckoned that its masonry represented more than all the -dwellings of England and Scotland put together, and, finally, that its -material would construct a stone wall six feet high and two feet thick -around the entire globe. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.] - -[Illustration: A GATEWAY IN THE GREAT WALL.] - -In many respects this great rampart is typical of China. Both have a vast -antiquity, both have an enormous extent, and both have had their periods -of glory,--China her age of progress and invention, and this old wall -a time when it was kept in perfect order, when warriors stood at every -tower, and when it stretched for fifteen hundred miles--an insurmountable -barrier to invasion. But just as this leviathan of masonry has outlived -its usefulness, and is at present crumbling to decay, so the huge Chinese -empire itself now seems decrepit and wholly alien to the nineteenth -century. Her roads, once finely kept, are now disgraceful; her streets -are an abomination to the senses; her rivers and canals are left to choke -themselves through want of dredging; and even her temples show few signs -of care. Stagnation and neglect are steadily at work on her colossal -frame, as weeds and plants disintegrate this mouldering wall. Will this -old empire ever be aroused to new activity, and can fresh life-blood be -infused into her shrunken veins to animate her inert frame? There is, I -think, a possibility that, in the coming century, the new, progressive -party here will overcome the dull conservatism of the nation, connect -her vast interior with the sea, utilize her mineral wealth, develop her -immense resources, and make her one of the great powers of the world. -Napoleon once warned England that if the Chinese should learn too well -from her the art of war, and then acquire the thirst for conquest which -has characterized other nations, the result might be appalling to the -whole of Europe. For think what inexhaustible armies they could raise, -and what great fleets they could build and launch upon their mighty -rivers! But this is a problem of the future, about which no man can -predict with certainty. - -[Illustration: A LEVIATHAN OF MASONRY.] - -Many have asked me if I am glad that I went to China, and I have always -answered that, as a unique and useful study of humanity, I think it one -of the most valuable experiences of my life. Still I am bound to say, -that when I stood upon the deck of an outgoing steamer, and felt it move -beneath my feet responsive to the engine's stroke, I drew a breath of -pleasure and relief. For I was assured that the swarming millions of the -Chinese empire were being left behind me, and that my face was turned -toward that historic land where, lighted by the Southern Cross, I was to -visit Hindu shrines and Mogul palaces, and gaze on the Himalayas and the -Taj Mahal. - - -[Illustration] - - - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber Note - - -Illustrations were repositioned so as to not split paragraphs. Some -extremely long paragraphs were split so that illustrations might remain -close to the original position in the text. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of John L. Stoddard's Lectures, Vol. 3 -(of 10), by John L. Stoddard - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHN L. 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