 Chapter 20 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassie This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Davy Cross, Taos, New Mexico. Kyoto, late Miyako. Manners with fortunes, humors change with climbs, tenants with books, and principals with times. Saturday, February 3rd. The occasional glimpses of the coast scenery through the sleet and snow were very fine. We passed Rocky Island, Lady English Rocks, and Matoya. But Maybell and I spent most of the day in bed, she suffering from a blow from the boom, which had produced slight concussion of the brain, and I having a wretched cold, which has been gradually getting worse the last few days, and which has quite taken away my voice. Sunday, February 4th. It was blowing hard all day, raining, snowing, and sleeting. The scenery appeared to be pretty, and we passed through crowds of picturesque junks. At 4.25, we rounded Tamangai Smya, and at 9pm anchored off the town of Kobe, or Hiago. These constant changes of names are very puzzling. Miyako and Yedo, which we did know something about, are quite cut out and replaced by Kyoto and Tokyo. Oddly enough, the same syllables reversed, mean capital of the Western Empire and capital of the Eastern Empire, respectively. Monday, February 5th. By 7 o'clock, a boat was alongside with letters from the consul and Sir Harry Parks, who had kindly made all the necessary arrangements for us to see the opening of the railway from Kobe to Kyoto, for the presentation of the gentleman to the Mikado. It certainly was a great opportunity for seeing a Japanese holiday crowd, all dressed in their best. Thousands and thousands of people were in the streets, who, though naturally anxious to see as much as possible, behaved in the most quiet and orderly manner. The station was beautifully decorated with evergreens, tamillas, and red berries. Outside, there was a most marvelous pavilion, the woodwork of which had been entirely covered with evergreens, and ornamented with life-sized dragons and venexes, the imperial insignia of Japan, all made in flowers. The roof was studded with large chrysanthemums, the private device of the Mikado, that of the tycoon being three holly-hock leaves. The sides of the pavilion were quite open, the roof being simply supported on pillars, so that we could see everything that went on both inside and out. The floor was covered with red cloth, the dais with an extremely ugly Brussels carpet, with a large pattern. On this, the Mikado's throne was placed with a second canopy above it. Tom, in R&R uniform, the other gentlemen in evening dress, accompanied the consul on to the platform to receive the Mikado, while the children and I went with Mrs. Ainsley to seats reserved for the foreign representatives. There were not many Europeans present, but the platform was densely crowded with Japanese, sitting on their heels and patiently waiting to see the extraordinary sight of their hitherto invisible spiritual emperor brought to them by a steam engine on an iron road. The men had all had their heads fresh-shaven, and their funny little pigtails rearranged for the occasion. The women's hair was elaborately and stiffly done up with light tortoiseshell combs and a large pin and decorated with artificial flowers. Some of the children were gaily dressed in red and gold undergarments, the prevailing color of the costumes being dark blue turned up with red. They also wore gay embroidered obis or large sashes, which are put on in a peculiar fashion. They are of great width and are fastened tightly round the waist while an enormous bow behind reaches from between the shoulders and far below the hips. The garments fit tightly in front while at the back they form a sort of huge bunch. On their high-heeled clogs the women walk with precisely the same gate as ladies in high-heeled boots. In fact, so exactly do the Japanese women, you never see Japanese ladies walking about in the streets, caricature the present fashionable style of dress in Europe that I have formed a theory of my own on the subject, and this is it. Three or four years ago, among other proposed reforms in Japan, the ministers wished the Empress and her court to be dressed in European fashion. Accordingly, a French milliner and dressmaker with her assistance was sent for from Paris and in due time arrived. The Empress and her ladies, however, would not change their style of dress. They knew better what suited them and in my opinion they were very sensible. This is what I hear. What I think is that the Parisian, being of an enterprising turn of mind, thought that she would not take so long a journey for nothing, that if the Japanese ladies would not follow European fashions, at least European ladies should adopt the Japanese style. On her return to Paris, I am convinced that she promulgated this idea and gradually gave it effect, hence the fashions of the last two years. Watching the crowd occupied the time in a most interesting manner till the firing of guns and the playing of bands announced the arrival of the Imperial train. The Mikado was received on the platform and after a very short delay he headed the procession along the covered way on to the dais. He is a young, not very good-looking man, with a rather selen expression and legs that look as though they did not belong to him. I suppose from using them so little and sitting so much on his heels, for until the last few years the Mikado has always been considered far too sacred a being to be allowed to set foot on the earth. He was followed by his highest minister, the foreign ministers, and a crowd of Japanese dignitaries, all with one or two exceptions in European official dress, glittering with gold lace. I believe it was the first time that many of them had ever worn it. At any rate they certainly had never learned to put it on properly. It would have driven to distraction the tailor who had made them to see tight-fitting uniforms either left unbuttoned altogether or hooked a skew from top to bottom and to behold the trousers turned up and disfigured by the projecting tags of immense side-spring boots generally put on the wrong feet. Some of the visitors had no gloves while others wore them with fingers at least three inches too long. Certainly a court dresser as well as a court tailor ought to be appointed to the Mikado's establishment before the European costume becomes generally adopted. I could not help thinking that the two or three old conservative ministers who had stuck to their native dress must have congratulated themselves on their firmness when they saw the effect of the unaccustomed garments upon their confrere. The old court dress of the Damios is very handsome, consisting of rich silks and brocades with enormously long loose trousers trailing two or three feet on the ground and with sleeves like butterfly wings of corresponding dimensions. A small high-peaked black cap is worn on the head to accommodate the curious little cut-off pigtail set up like a coxcomb, which appears to be one of the insignia of a Damios rank in Japan. As soon as the people had arranged themselves into three sides of a square, Sir Harry Parks read an address and presented his five compatriots to the Mikado, who replied in inaudible but no doubt suitable terms. Then the governor of Kobe had to read an address and I pitied the poor man from the bottom of my heart. His knees shook, his hands trembled, and his whole body vibrated to such an extent that his cocked hat fell and rolled on the floor of the dais and finally hopped down the steps while the address nearly followed its example. How thankful he must have felt when it was over. The proceedings in the pavilion being now at an end, the Mikado walked down the middle of the assembly, followed by all his ministers in single file, on his way to the lunch and tent. After they had gone, we inspected the Imperial Railway carriage, the soldiers, guns, etc. And just as we were leaving the station yard to look at the daylight fireworks they were letting off in honor of the occasion, a salute announced the departure of the Mikado for Kyoto. We lunched at the consulate, our gentlemen changed to more comfortable attire, and then we went to see a Buddhist temple supposed to be a rather fine specimen of woodwork. It is especially curious on account of some monkeys and a white horse, each kept in a sort of side shrine. Every worshiper of the temple stopped before these shrines and for a small coin bought rice or beans to feed them with, through the priest, whether it was an act of worship or simply of kindness, I could not discover, though I paid several visits to the spot during our stay at Kobe. From the temple we went to the shops in the main street of Hyago, and full of interest and temptation we found them. The town itself is quite Japanese and consists, as usual, of wooden houses, narrow streets, and quaint shops. Today all was unfair in preparation for the illuminations tonight. Kobe, the foreign settlement, is, on the contrary, brand new, spick and span, with a handsome parade and grass and trees planted boulevard fashion along the edge of the sea. It is all remarkably clean but quite uninteresting. Tonight, however, it looked very well, illuminated by thousands and thousands of colored paper lanterns arranged in all sorts of fanciful devices. It was dark and clear and there was no wind so that everything went off well. Tuesday, February 6th. My cold still being bad, Maybell by no means well yet, and Tom very busy. We at first thought of keeping quiet today, but our time is so short that we could not afford to waste it. So half our party started early for Kyoto. It being arranged that Tom and Maybell should follow us by an early train tomorrow. It was a wet, cheerless day and the country did not look its best. Still, the novelty of the scenes around could not fail to make them interesting. The Japanese have an intense horror of rain and it was ludicrous to see the peasants walking along with scarcely any clothes on except a pair of high clogs, a large hat, and a paper umbrella. We crossed several large bridges, stopped at a great many stations where heaps of native travelers got in and out, and finally reached Kyoto at half past two o'clock. It was still raining and all the Jinrakesha men wore their large rain hats and rain cloaks made either of reeds or of oiled paper. Most of the Jinrakesha's, too, had oiled paper hoods and aprons. The drive to our hotel through long, narrow, crowded, picturesque streets seemed long and wearisome. It was still a holiday and remains of the previous night's illuminations were to be seen on all sides. The large paper lanterns still remained fastened to the high poles with an open umbrella at the top to afford protection from the rain. Kyoto is a thoroughly Japanese town. I do not suppose it contains a single European resident so that the manners and customs of the natives may be seen in perfection. Its theaters and jugglers are famous throughout Japan. In the suburb where the two hotels are situated stand numberless tea houses and other places of entertainment. Our hotel is situated halfway up the hill called Maruyama. After about three quarters of an hour's ride in the Jinrakesha we were deposited at the bottom of a flight of steps which appeared to lead to a temple but by which we reached the hotel in about five minutes. We were received by servants who bowed to the ground but who did not speak a word which we could understand. The rooms looked clean and comfortable and the dining room boasted a table and six chairs besides several screens and hibaches. The bedrooms too had beds, screens and wash stands, quite an unexpected luxury. Still more so was a strip of glass about halfway up the screens through which we could admire the fine prospect. Anything in the shape of a transparent window is a complete novelty in a Japanese house where in winter you feel as if you were imprisoned. The view from the veranda of the hotel over the pretty fantastic garden, the temple grounds, the town of Kyoto and the mountains in the distance was an endless source of delight to me. The servants soon produced a luncheon excellently well cooked and directly we had finished it we sallied forth again to see what we could before dark. First we went to the temple of Zhiyun, a fine building standing in extensive grounds and surrounded by smaller temples and houses for the priests. The Dutch envoys used to stay here when they were brought through the country like prisoners to pay their annual tribute for being allowed to trade with Japan. They were subjected to all kinds of indignities and used to be made to dance and sing, pretend to be drunk and play all sorts of pranks for the amusement of the whole court as well as for the Mikado and the Empress hidden behind a grating. From Zhiyun we went to see other temples and wandered about under the large conifers of all kinds trying to find out the quarters of the British legation for some time until Sir Harry and the rooms at his residence were comfortable but cold looking. For mats and paper screens do not look nice in a frost. There were tables and chairs and paraffin lamps but no bedsteads only about a dozen cotton and silk quilts some of which were supposed to serve as a couch while others were to be used as coverings. Sir Harry has had, I fear, a great deal of trouble about the yacht. She is the first vessel man with the exception of the one sent out in 1858 as a present from the Queen to the then Tycoon and now used by the Mikado. The officials it seems cannot make the sun beam out. Is she a man of war? We know what that is. No. Is she a merchant ship? No, she is a yacht. But what can be the object of a vessel without guns is quite beyond their comprehension. At last it has been settled that in order to be like other nations the Japanese officials will not force us to enter at the custom house or to pay a fine of $60 a day for not doing so. As a matter of precedent it was important that the point should be settled, though I hardly imagine that many yachts will follow our example and come out to Japan through the Straits of Magellan and across the Pacific. As it was now growing late we returned to the hotel for dinner. The night was cold and the trees and lamps alike failed to warm the thinly walled and paper screened room. Sir Harry Parks came and spent the evening with us and taught us more about Japan in two or three hours than we could have learned by much study of many books. The fact is that in this fast changing country guidebooks get out of date in two or three years. Besides which Sir Harry has been one of the chief actors in many of the most prominent events we have recently been reading about. To hear him describe graphically the wars of 1868 and the Christian persecutions in 1870 with the causes that led to the Revolution and the effect it has had on the country was indeed interesting. Still more so was his account of his journey hither to force the newly emerged Mikado and his ministers to sign the treaty which had already received the ascent of course valueless of the deposed tycoon. Wednesday February 7th a misty but much warmer morning succeeded a wet night. At 8.30 Sir Harry Parks and two other gentlemen arrived and we all started at once in Jinrakesha to see what could be seen in the limited time at our disposal. We went first to the Temple of Zhiyan Shiosu described elaborately in books by other travelers. It is especially interesting to Europeans as it was the temple assigned to the foreign envoys when they paid their first visit to the Mikado in 1868. Sir Harry Parks showed us all their apartments and the large those subsidiary temple once used as a hospital and we afterwards went to see the service performed in the temple. A dozen bonzas or priests were sitting round in a circle chanting monotonously from ponderous volumes with an occasional accompaniment from a gong or drum. Incense was being burned, ornaments worn, processions formed and prayers offered to Buddha to intercede with a supreme being. The accessories and surroundings were of course different but the ceremonial struck me as being much the same as that in use at Roman Catholic places of worship. Mr. Simpson however thinks differently. He says, I was only a month in Japan and that is far too short a time for anything like serious study but I was much struck by the temples and I find I have some notes in my book comparing them with the Jewish. How any direct connection could possibly exist is far beyond my powers of conjecture but I will state the points of resemblance and leave others to inquire further and collect additional information. Wood and bronze to this day furnish the material of which temples are constructed in Japan with stone as a base. Such also were the materials of Solomon's temple. There are enclosures round each court or shrine and sometimes these courts are three in number. Hills or groves are usually sites for a temple the ascent to which is by a long flight of steps usually two flights give access to the shrine. One is long straight and steep for the men the other less steep but curved is for the women. It will be remembered that it was the great stairs at Solomon's temple that so impressed the Queen of Sheba. Small shrines are miniature temples called Tenosama or Heaven's Lord are carried on staffs like the Ark of the Covenant at their religious ceremonies. The inner shrine or Holy of Holies is small and a cube or nearly so in proportion. It is usually detached behind the other portions of the temple the door being closed so that it cannot be seen into and it generally contains not an image but a tablet or what the Japanese call a gohe or a piece of paper cut so that it hangs down and folds on each side. In the early days of writing a tablet was a book a stylus the pen the stone on which the law was inscribed was only a form of the book and the Chinese ancestral tablet or other tablet in a temple is only a variety of this book form. These gohes are so common in Japan and occupy so important a place in all their temples that I had a great desire to know what they originally meant but as on so many questions of this kind I could get no information the only suggestion which presented itself to me was that it might be some form of the book for the book was a very sacred thing in past time and that which is yet called the Ark in a Jewish synagogue contains now nothing but a book. There is a distinct priesthood who wear vestments and they use incense music and bells there are two religions in Japan Buddhism and Shintoism the latter being the primitive faith and the former and importation from China the forms of the two have become slightly mixed both in the construction of their temples and in the ceremonial but the remarks I have just made apply particularly to the Shinto religion. One of the late acts of the government has been to declare the Shinto as the old religion of the country to be the only state faith this is the disestablishment of Buddhism but it does not imply its suppression the Buddhist priests complain very much saying that their temples are not now so popular and many are being closed speculators are buying up their fine bronze bells and sending them home to be coined into English pennies and half pennies Shintoism and faith present many strange aspects and this is certainly a curious one we strolled about the temple grounds and ascended the hill to see the famous bell which is the second biggest in Japan the immense beam which strikes it was unlashed from the platform for our edification and the bell sent forth a magnificent sound peeling over the city and through the woods at one of the gates there is a curious staircase leading up to the top where over the gate is seated a figure of Buddha surrounded by 12 disciples all carved in wood and colored they are quite worth a scramble up to see from Chiyosu we went right across the city to the temple of Nishinidhunggangi on our way we were more than once stopped and turned off the direct road which was kept by soldiers for the passage of the Mikado to worship at the tombstone of his innumerable ancestors real or imaginary being a spiritual emperor he has to be well kept up to his religious duties and is always being sent off to worship at some shrine or another in order to maintain his popularity with the people his ministers meanwhile managing the affairs of state Tanjo and Ikawara went off in haste today to Tokyo as there are rumors of a rebellion in the south Nishinidhunggangi is one of the largest and finest temples we have yet seen even in spite of a large portion having been destroyed by the disastrous fire of 1864 the gates are splendidly ornamented with carved chrysanthemum flowers the center temple is very fine and is surrounded by smaller rooms all decorated by the best Japanese artists of about 200 years ago notice had been sent that the English minister was coming with a party of friends and everything had accordingly been prepared for our reception in some places they had even put down carpets to obviate the necessity of our having to take off our boots the abbot was out which I much regretted for he belongs to the Montos the most advanced sect of Buddhism and has more than once remarked to English visitors that he thought their own principles were so enlightened that they were paving the way for a higher form of religion in the shape of Christianity rather a startling confession to come from the lips of a Buddhist priest after spending a long time among the paintings wood carvings, lacquers, bronzes, and gardens we left the temple and crossed several courtyards before the main street was reached then after a short walk we came to another beautiful garden laid out like a miniature park with lakes, bridges, rocks, streams, canals, pavilions, etc all these surround a house built by the celebrated in the 15th century here again everything was prepared for our reception fires were lighted, flowers arranged carpets laid down and fruit and cakes placed in readiness with hibacis to warm each and all of us we went all over the house which differs little from a Japanese house of the present day except that a higher style of art was employed in its construction and decoration from here we went to quite another quarter of the city to see what was formerly the tycoon's palace now used as sort of police office it is built on the same plan of three enclosures as all the Yashkis though on a very different scale from the one in Tokyo there the tycoon reigns in undisturbed sovereignty here he appears as a humble servant of his rightful master really his prisoner the late tycoon after the last battle fought at this place fled to his castle at Osaka where though he might have held out for an indefinite period he preferred to surrender two of his ministers came to him and represented that he must not only think of himself but of the party who supported the shogunate and that as he had betrayed them by false hopes he had no choice but to perform Harakiru this he refused to do although they set him the example and he is now living as a private individual on an estate in the country not far from Tokyo where he amuses himself with hunting, shooting, and fishing it is said that it is possible he may one day join the ministry of the present Mikado from the tycoon's palace we drove to the Toshio or court quarter of the town where the Mikado and all his relatives live in palaces surrounded by large gardens enclosed in whitewashed walls we saw the whole of Takosama's household furniture and wearing apparel and swords of Yoritomi called the knee cutter and the beard cutter from their wonderful sharpness and many other interesting objects here we said goodbye to Sir Harry Parks and returned to cross the town by another route to our hotel to lunch after which we made another expedition to one or two more temples and then to a pawnbroker's shop in the heart of the city which had been strongly recommended to us the exterior did not look promising the shop itself was small and dirty and they had to take some very filthy garments out of the way before we could enter once inside however it was a very different story they showed us splendid old embroideries and quantities of second hand court dresses embroidered in gold, silver, and colors with exquisite designs the Empress has 13 ladies of honor who wear their best dresses only twice and then sell them hence the pawnbroker's abundant stock wherever we went a large but perfectly civil crowd followed us and people ran on before to tell others to come to their doors and look at us though we were under the charge of an officer and two men it was now getting dark and we were very tired so we at last turned back and once more climbed those weary steps to our hotel tonight there is some fit going on in this suburb and the whole place is alive with lights dancing, music, and tum-tums after dinner all our purchases arrived each accompanied by at least four or five men other people had heard of our visit and had brought more things for us to look at so that the room soon resembled a bazaar at last we got rid of them having settled that they should pack our things and take them down to Kobe where they would be paid for the Japanese shopkeepers though difficult to deal with are incorruptible when once the bargain is made they pack most carefully frequently adding boxes, bags, and baskets not originally included in the purchase in order that the articles may travel more safely the smallest article is sure to be put in and the greatest care is taken of everything even if they know you do not mean to open the cases for months if it were only warmer how delightful it would all be the cold spoils everything to a certain extent at night we have to choose whether to be half frozen in our beds or stifled with the fumes of charcoal from the Humbaches Thursday, February 8th the sunrise over the city with the river and mountains beyond was superb we breakfasted at 8 but even by that hour the courtyard and passage were crowded with vendors of curiosities of all sorts and no doubt great bargains might have been picked up but we had no time to lose for our train started at 9.30 and we had a delightfully rapid drive to the station through the sunny streets of Kyoto arrived at Kobe we went first to lunch with some friends and immediately after hastened on board to receive the foreign ministers and other friends and did not land again that evening Friday, February 9th we left by 10 o'clock train for Osaka which has been called the Venice of Japan it is intersected by innumerable rivers and canals and boats were continually making their appearance at points where they were least expected as Arjun Rakesha men hurried us along the narrow and not very sweet smelling streets we went so fast to that more than once before we reached the mint I thought we should have been tipped into one of the canals as we turned a sharp corner our men upset the baskets and stalls that encroached on the road in the most unceremonious manner but their proprietors did not seem to mind many of them quietly moving their wares out of the way as they heard the shouts that announced our approach the smell in the fish market was disgusting and enough to poison the air for miles around but the people did not seem to mind it in the least at last we left the river in town and climbing a slight eminence crossed the first moat by a stone bridge and reached the guard house on the other side there was some hesitation at first about admitting us that we knew not to come this castle the last stronghold of the tycoon is built on exactly the same plan as the yashkis we had already visited but much stronger being composed of enormous blocks of stone one wonders how human labor could ever have transported them from their quarry to this place for some measured 40 feet long by 20 feet high we crossed to the three moats and the three enclosures of barracks and soldiers in the very center the old well and a little square tower are still standing part of the tycoons original residence which was destroyed by fire the view from the top over the town and surrounding country is very fine you can see countless streams coming from the mountains and flowing into Ottawa on which Osaka is situated the course of the river itself could be traced to the bay and the line of the coast to Kobe and the far off mountains in the inland sea were plainly visible on returning to the we found luncheon awaiting us and afterwards spent a pleasant time looking at a wonderful collection of curios the imperial mint of Japan is a large handsome building in great force just now for the whole of the old money is being called in and replaced by the government the contrast between the two monies is very great the ancient coinage consisted of long thin oval obangs and showbangs worth from two dollars to 18 pounds each square silver eats booze and square copper pieces with a hole in the center while that which is taking its place is similar to European coinage and is marked in English characters and ornamented with Japanese devices such as the phoenix and the dragon it did not seem worthwhile to go minutely over the mint as it is arranged on exactly the same principle as the one in London and the processes are carried out in the same manner Osaka used to be the emporium of all the inland commerce and was considered the pearl of Japanese cities after the revolution and when the mint was built there was some intention of making it the capital of the empire that idea was however abandoned and the convenience of having the mint so far away from the seat of government is greatly felt all the bullion having to be sent backwards and forwards at great expense by sea commerce has now almost deserted Osaka owing to the difficulty experienced by large ships and anchoring near the town and the impossibility of their crossing the bar the foreign consuls and representatives have all left the place for the newly established settlement at Kobe where they feel safer with men of war and anchor just under their windows there was just time to go round some of the old streets and to some of the shops before the hour by which we were due at the station Osaka is famous for its wax works and theaters five of the best of these have however been burnt down within the last 18 months with terrible loss of life we heard that a short time ago there was nearly being serious trouble in consequence of one of the managers having produced on the stage in a most objectionable manner a representation of the cruel and unprovoked assassination of an officer and two men part of a boats crew of a friendship the English and French consuls went to the governor of the town who promised that the peace should be stopped and the obnoxious placards announcing the performance removed at once but his instructions were not complied with for the next day the peace was again performed and the placards were still there some French sailors luckily accompanied by their officers saw the ladder and wanted to tear them down but they were persuaded to wait while the consuls were telegraphed for they came at once and again saw the governor who sent some soldiers to stop the play and remove the bills and so the affair ended peaceably we reached Kobe about seven o'clock and went on board at once to dinner Saturday February 10th we were to have gone early this morning to Arima a village in the mountains situated among groves of bamboos where there are mineral springs and a hot water bath in which people bathe in the old style but the weather was impossibly bad for our intended expedition with showers of snow and sleet we waited till half past eleven and then landed and talked of going to Osaka again by train but finally decided that even this was not practicable and that we had better stay and potter about at Kobe and Hiago the children set out to buy toys whilst I went with a lady to pay another visit to the white horse and monkeys at the temple and then walked on to a waterfall prettily situated in a ravine a little way behind the town we afterwards visited several pawnbroker shops at all of which there was something interesting to be seen many are perfect museums but their proprietors never seem to care much to show you what they have unless you are accompanied by a resident or someone they know then they invite you into the iron fireproof gadwan or store at the back and out of funny little boxes and bags and parcels produce all sorts of rare and curious things which have been sent to them to be sold or which they may possibly have bought themselves it is not of the slightest use to go to the large shops full of things if you want anything really good for you will only find their articles specially prepared for the European and American market I am very glad to hear that Dr. Dresser is here collecting, lecturing and trying to persuade the Japanese to adhere to their own forms and taste in art and decoration it is a great pity to observe the decadence of native art and at the same time to see how much more the old things are than the new a true Japanese artist never repeats himself and consequently never makes an exact pair of anything his designs agree generally and his faces are more or less alike without being a precise match he throws in a spray of flowers a bird or a fan as the fancy strikes him and the same objects are therefore never placed in exactly the same relative position his articles are made precisely alike not only in pairs but by the dozen and the hundred there are beautiful bantams to be seen in some of the shops here they cannot be bought as they are private pets they seem generally very small and one I saw today had his head far behind his tail which divided in the middle outwards and fell forward on either side of his neck in the most extraordinary way how he picked up his food and thought through life I am sure I don't know there are plenty of little Japanese dogs but they are not seen to advantage this cold weather and there would be great difficulty in getting them home I bought some fine bantams at Yokohama and a whole cage full of rice birds they are the dearest little things and spend most of the day bathing and twittering occasionally getting all together in one nest with their 25 heads peeping out exactly like a magnified grain of rice with legs and a bill I hope I shall take them home alive as they have borne the cold very well so far we have also some mandarin ducks on board and some gold and silver fish with two tails our sailors have over a hundred birds of their own which never appear on deck except on very sunny days I don't know where they keep them unless they stow them away in their Japanese cabinets we went on board about dark and a few friends came to dinner Sunday, February 11th about 7 am two Japanese officers came on board with a message which nobody could understand when we went on deck we saw that all the ships were dressed and concluded that we had been asked to do the same but we thought it better to send ashore to ascertain positively the next difficulty was to get a Japanese flag Tom went on board the favor a Japanese ship to borrow one and found everything was in bustle and confusion news having arrived from Kyusu that the rebels were mustering in great force and that they had seized some ships the Thaibor Mihumaru and three others are therefore to go through the inland sea to Nagasaki this afternoon the Japanese admiral sent word early this morning that he would come on board at two o'clock with some of his captains and the French admiral also expressed for us to hope that it would be convenient to receive him and his captains at three their visits occupied nearly all the afternoon we afterwards landed with the French admiral paid some farewell visits and went to look at a collection of old lacquer and satsuma china before we returned to the yacht End of Chapter 20 Chapter 21 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassi the recording is in the public domain recording by Dewey Cross, Taos, New Mexico the inland sea dipped in the lines of sunset wreathed in zones the clouds are resting on their mountain thrones one peak alone exalts its glacier crest a golden paradise above the rest vivid the day with lingering steps, retires and in its own blue element expires Monday, February 12 fires were lighted at four a.m. and by six we were steaming slowly out of the beautiful bay of Kobe it was a cold bright morning with a strong headwind increasing every moment as we proceeded until in the straits of Akashi it became almost impossible to make any way against it there was not much sea but the wind impeded our progress so much that it was at last reduced to one mile instead of nine an hour the straits are very fine and the old castle presents an admirable specimen of the architecture of Ademio's residence we proceeded across the Harimanada where we were more or less exposed to the open sea and where we took more water on board than we had done in the gale before arriving at Yokohama there were no big waves but we rolled tremendously and the spray came over us though the mere force of wind seemed to keep the sea down after struggling until 12 o'clock and having done but little good for the last three hours Tom determined to run back and in a short time we found ourselves once more at anchor in the harbor of Kobe it was a work of considerable difficulty owing to the strong wind and tide to steer safely among the numerous vessels and for a few minutes we thought we were aground as we did not make the slightest progress though the engines were working ahead full speed the providors boat came out to us as soon as we were perceived and we landed in her but it was as much as the six stout oarsmen could do to make way against the wind we went for a walk or rather a scramble to the waterfall halfway up to the temple of the moon much of the ground was covered with snow the streams were frozen at the sides and there were hanging icicles to be seen six feet in length and yet on either side were camellas and tea trees covered with red and white blossoms orange trees laden with fruit goldfish swimming about in ponds over hung with maiden hair fern besides terries and hot house ferns shaded by bamboo palms and castor oil plants the order of vegetation seems to be as much reversed as everything else in this strange country in england all those plants would require conservatories or at least sheltered spots and the greatest care instead of being exposed to frost and snow getting on board again was even a more difficult business than landing had been but we arrived at last without mishap Tuesday February 13th the wind dropped at sunset and as it continued calm all night Tom ordered fires to be lighted at 4 a.m. by 6 o'clock however it was blowing harder than ever and we therefore decided to make an excursion to Arima instead of attempting another start we went to shore to make the necessary arrangements and it was settled that we should start at 10 o'clock which we did with the consulate constable as our guide we had three men to eat shin rakisha and went along at a merry pace through the long straggling towns of Kobe and Hiago the cold was intense and before we started our poor shin rakisha men were shivering until they nearly shook us out of the vehicles soon they were streaming with perspiration and at our first halting place they took off almost all their garments though it was as much as we could do to keep warm in our furs and wraps we waited while they parted copiously of hot tea and bowls of rice and bought new straw shoes or rather sandals for less than a farthing a pair today being the Japanese New Year's Day all the little shrines in the houses and along the road were prettily decorated and had offerings of rice sake and fruit deposited upon them the spirits of the departed are supposed to come down and partake not of the things themselves but of the subtle invisible essence that rises from them the road now became very pretty winding through the valleys climbing up and dipping down the various hills and passing through picturesque villages where all the people leaving their meals or their games came out to look at us while some of the children scampered on to secure a good view of the foreigners and others ran away frightened and screaming they were all dressed in dark blue clothes turned up with red with bright embroidered obis and flowers and an elaborately dressed hair I have managed to get some dolls wigs which give a good idea of the various styles of hairdressing in rather more than three hours we reached Arima a village far more beautifully situated than any we had seen in the very center of the mountains where a dozen valleys converge into one center on one side are mineral springs on the other a river bamboo grow luxuriously on all sides and the inhabitants of the various valleys obtain their livelihood by manufacturing from them all sorts of articles boxes for every conceivable purpose baskets fine and coarse large and small useful and ornamental colored and plain brushes pipes battle doors and shuttle cocks sticks spoons knives and forks sauce ladles boats lamps cradles etc the first glimpse of the village is lovely that from the bridge that crosses the river is still more so we clambered up narrow streets with quaint carved houses and overhanging balconies till we reached a tea house kept by a closely shaven bonds or priest he seemed very pleased to see us and bowed and shook hands over and over again he placed his whole house at our disposal and a very clean, pretty and well arranged house it was with lovely little formal garden ornamented with mimic temples and bridges of ice fashioned by the hard frost with but little assistance from the hand of man bits of wooden stone a few graceful fern leaves and sprays of bamboo and a trickling stream of water produced the most very light crystalline effects imaginable if only some good fairy could with a touch of her wand preserve it all intact until a few months hence what a delight it would be in the hot summer weather today the paper house was indeed cold but even so slight a shelter from the bitter wind was acceptable though we regretted the screens could not be opened to enable us to admire the prospect on all sides the luncheon basket being quickly unpacked the good priest warmed our food and produced a bottle of port wine which he mulled for our benefit cheered and refreshed we proceeded on our way leaving him much delighted with what seemed to us but a small recompense for his courtesy every house and shop in those narrow picturesque streets was a study in itself and so were the quaint groups of people we met and who gazed eagerly at us we looked into the public baths two oblong tanks into which the mineral springs came bubbling up thick and yellow and strongly impregnated with iron temperature of 112 degrees they are covered in and there is a rough passage round them here in the bathing season people of both sexes stand in roads packed as tight as herrings in a barrel and there are just as many outside waiting their turn to enter today there were only two bathers immersed up to their chins in the steaming water they had left all their clothes at home and would shortly have to pass through the streets without any covering and not withstanding the cold from the baths we went to some of the best basket shops where the beauty and cheapness of the articles exposed for sale offered great temptations we had to disturb Arjun Rakeshka men who were enjoying their frugal meal at a separate tea house it was beautifully served and as clean and nicely cooked as possible though consisting of vians which we might not have fancied such as various kinds of fish seaweed, sea snails fish tamar, and rice each man had his own little table and eight or ten separate dishes a bottle of sake tea pipe and habachi arranged exactly as ours had been at the tea house at Yokohama how well they managed their chopsticks how quickly they shoveled the food down and how clean they left each dish habit is everything we were anxious to make the best of our way home and starting at four with but a short stop at the halfway tea house we reached the hotel soon after seven having taken less than an hour to come five miles over a very bad road an inch deep in mud so much for a manpower carriage the literal translation of the word Jinrakisha footnote or pull man car as it is sometimes called and footnote soon after an excellent dinner we returned on board so as to be ready for an early start tomorrow morning Wednesday February 14th we were called at four a.m. fires were lighted but before steam was up the wind had risen so our start was once more postponed to the afternoon we steamed out to the buoy from among the shipping in order to be able to get away more easily at night the wind generally goes down at sunset and Tom hoped that for a better future then we should get through the worst part of the inland sea before the wind again rose with the sun after breakfast we went to shore and dispersed in different directions to meet again at the hotel for luncheon then we all again separated the children going to the circus whilst I took a drive with a pair of black and white Hakodadi ponies to the foot of the hills behind the town it was a pleasant circuit in the town by a different road I went to pick up the children at the circus and found them just coming out with the lighted faces having most thoroughly enjoyed themselves they went on board to tea but Mabel and I went with the consul and Jin Rikishas to a Japanese theater at Hiago the streets were crowded with holiday makers for today is the first of the Chinese New Year as yesterday was the first of the Japanese New Year the floor of the theater was crowded with people all squatting on their heels each with his or her chow chow box and hibachi or a brazier of burning charcoal to keep themselves warm the performance frequently goes on for 10 or 12 hours with short intervals and whole families come and take up their boat at the theater for 12 hours at a time the acting was not at all bad and the performers were beautifully dressed we did not stay very long at the theater but were soon tearing back again the streets to the consulate these quick rides in a Jin Rikishas especially at night are very amusing you have the pleasure of going at a high speed and yet being on a level with the people you can see much more of them end of their manners than would be possible in a carriage when we reached the consulate we found the chief of the police of the foreign settlement waiting for the consul to inform him that Japanese soldiers were patrolling the town with fixed bayonets alleging that information had been sent to the governor that some of the rebels were in the hills at the back of the town and might appear at any moment the ships of war were to be communicated with at once for the protection of the inhabitants they do not expect a general attack here but seem to think the rebels plan is to creep up by degrees to Osaka where the Mikado is shortly expected to stay and take possession of his person and the imperial treasure at one blow when I got on board the sunbeam again I found that steam was up and all was ready for starting but the wind was still strong against us and it was evidently necessary again to wait until four o'clock tomorrow morning we were rolling a good deal and coming along the engine room passage my foot slipped a door banged too and my thumb was caught in the hinge and terribly crushed dressing it was a very painful affair as the doctor had to ascertain whether the bone was broken or not at last I was carried to my cabin and put to bed after taking a strong dose of choral to soothe the agonizing pain Thursday February 15th I wonder if anybody who has not experienced it can realize the stupefying helpless sensation of being roused up from a sound sleep in the middle of the night on board ship by the cry of fire and finding oneself enveloped in a smoke so dense as to render everything invisible at 2.30 a.m. I was awakened by a great noise and a loud cry of the ship is on fire followed by Mr. Bingham rushing into our cabin to arouse us at first I could hardly realize where we were or what was happening as I was half-stupid with choral pain and smoke which was issuing from each side of the staircase in dense volumes my first thought was for the children as they had not been forgotten rolled up in blankets they were already in transit to the deck house in the meantime Mr. Bingham had drenched the flames with every available jug of water and Tom had roused the crew and made them screw the hose on to the pump they were afraid to open the hatches to discover where the fire was until the hose and extinct chairs were ready to work as they did not know whether or not the hold was on fire and the whole ship might burst into a blaze and it was ready Alan soon appeared with an extinct chair on his back and the mate with the hose then the cupboard in Mr. Bingham's room was opened and burning cloaks dresses, boxes of curios portmanteaus, etc were hauled out and by a chain of men sent on deck where they were drenched with seawater or thrown overboard moving these things caused the flames to increase in vigor and the extinct chair was used freely and with the greatest success it was a valuable invention especially for a yacht where there are so many holes and corners where it would be impossible to reach by ordinary means all this time the smoke was pouring in volumes from the cupboard on the other side and from under the nursery fireplace the floors were pulled up and the partitions were pulled down until at last the flames were got under the holds were next examined no damage had been done there but the cabin floor was completely burnt through the lead from the nursery fireplace was running about, melted by the heat the explanation of the cause of the fire is very simple being a bitterly cold night a roaring fire had been made up in the nursery but about half past ten the servants thought it looked rather dangerous and raked it out the ash pan was not large enough however to hold the hot embers which soon made the tiles red hot the woodwork caught fire and had been smoldering for hours when the nurse fortunately woke and discovered the state of affairs she tried to rouse the other maids but they were stupefied with the smoke and so she rushed off at once to the doctor and Mr. Bingham the former seized a child under each arm wrapped them in blankets and carried them off to the deck house Maybell and the maids following with more blankets and rugs hastily snatched up the children were as good as possible they never cried nor made the least fuss but composed themselves in the deck house to sleep for the remainder of the night as if it were all a matter of course when I went to see them little Muriel remarked if the yacht is on fire mama had not baby and I better get our Ulsters and go with Emma and the boat to the hotel to be out of the way it is the third time in their short lives that they have been picked out of bed in the middle of the night and carried off in blankets away from a fire so I suppose they are getting quite used to it there can be no doubt that the preservation of the yacht from very serious damage if not from complete destruction was due to the prompt and efficient manner in which the extinctures were used it was not our first experience of the value of this invention for not very long before we undertook our present expedition a fire broke out in our house in London on which occasion the extinctures we fortunately had at hand rendered most excellent service in subduing the flames by half past three all danger was passed and we began to settle down again though it took a long time to get rid of the smoke at four o'clock we weighed anchor and once more made a start from Kobe and passed through the straits of Akashi the wind was dead ahead but not so strong as when we made our previous attempts it was bitterly cold the thermometer in a sheltered place being only one degree above freezing and the breeze from the snowy mountains cutting like a knife we were all disappointed with our sail today perhaps because we had heard so much of the extreme beauty of the scenery and this is not the best time of year for seeing it the hills are all brown instead of being covered with luxuriant vegetation and all looked bleak and barren though the outlines of the mountain ranges were very fine we were reminded of the west coast of Scotland the Lofoten Islands and the Arctic Circle and the tamer portions of the scenery of the straits of Magellan after passing through the straits we crossed the Harimanada rather a wider portion of the sea and then entered the intricate channels among the islands once more there are 3,000 of them all together so one may take it for granted that the navigation is by no means easy the currents and tides are strong sunken rocks are frequent and the greatest care is requisite indeed many people at Yokohama urged Tom to take a pilot we had one lovely view in the afternoon of the island of Yokensan with its snowy mountain at the back and a pretty little village with a few picturesque junks in the foreground the yacht passed between Okisama and Lesama steering straight for the cone shaped little island of Odutsi towards dusk we made the light of Nabe Sanayon Yosina and steering past it had to take several sharp and awkward turns to avoid two reefs off Siako and Usisuria thus we threaded the Saint Vincent's channel and avoiding the conqueror bank by another sharp turn dropped anchor at Imoura in Hurusima precisely at 8.30 p.m Tom had been on the lookout since 5 a.m and we were all more or less worn out with the fatigue and excitement of last night Friday February 16th off again at 4 a.m the scenery was much finer than yesterday and the wind not quite so bitterly cold about 11 a.m I heard a hurrying to and fro and once more the cry of fire this time it was in the storeroom that it broke out the iron plates on which the saloon and galley grates are fixed had become red hot and the wooden deck below had consequently caught fire the boxes on both sides containing the stores were in flames but they were quickly removed water was poured down and the second and third fires were thus soon extinguished Saturday February 17th at 3.15 a.m. we began to slow at 3.45 the anchor was dropped near the lighthouse of Isaki and we waited until daylight before proceeding through the straits of Simonoseke about 9 o'clock a fresh start was made under steam but before long the wind freshened we let go once more near to Menifor who had preceded us from Kobe but who were now windbound like ourselves to our astonishment we also saw a large ship from Novoskosha at anchor the Mary Frazier although this is not a free port nor within treaty limits the gig was lowered at once and we rode alongside to gain what intelligence could be learned as well as to ascertain what likelihood there might be of our obtaining fresh supplies here the captain was very civil and kind and volunteered to go on shore with us and act as our interpreter we landed opposite a large tea house where we were immediately surrounded by a crowd of Japanese who stared at us eagerly and even touched us only through curiosity they pursued us wherever we went and when we entered a tea house or shop the whole crowd immediately stopped and if we retired to the back they surged all over the front premises and penetrated into the interior as far as they could a most amusing scene took place at one of the tea houses where we went to order some provisions for the yacht it was a rather tedious process and when we came out of the back room we found the whole of the front of the place filled by a gaping curious crowd the proprietor suggested that they should retire at once and an abrupt retreat immediately took place the difficulties of which were greatly augmented by the fact that everyone had left his high wooden shoes outside along the front of the house the street was ankle deep in mud and half melted snow into which they did not like to venture in their stockings but how the owners of two or three hundred pairs of clogs almost exactly alike ever found their own property again I do not understand though they managed to clear out very quickly I believe Muriel and I were the chief objects of attraction they told us that no European lady or child had ever been at Simono Seiki before it is not a treaty port so no one is allowed to land except from a man of war without special permission which is not often given it is besides the key to the inland sea and the authorities are very jealous about anyone seeing the forts there is only one European resident here connected with the telegraph and a dull time he must have of it the wire crosses the straights a few miles higher up the streets appeared to be full of soldiers patrolling singly and in pairs with fixed bayonets the temples were being used as barracks and the principal buildings seemed to be strongly guarded but otherwise everything appeared to go on as usual we waded through the mud and snow to the proverbial end of all things always followed by the same crowd and stared at by all the inhabitants of the houses we passed they seemed very timid and inclined to run away directly we turned around still their curiosity especially respecting my seal skin jacket and surge dress was insatiable and I constantly felt myself being gently stroked and touched we returned to the yacht and whilst we were at lunch some officers came on board to say that this not being a treaty port we could not purchase any provisions except through them and with special permission this was soon arranged and our visitors were rewarded for their trouble by being shown over the yacht Sunday, February 18th we were awakened in the night by a heavy gale with snow and sleet beating furiously on the deck in the morning the land was covered with snow the water froze as it was pumped on deck and the bitter wind howled and whistled through the rigging in the afternoon the wind even increased in violence the snowstorms became more frequent and the sky was dark and overcast we had service at 11 and again at 4 the sun set cold and stormy promising a wild night at times the shore was quite hidden by the snowstorms though only a few cables length off Monday, February 19th the wind and weather became worse than ever and as time was precious Tom decided to retrace our steps for a short distance and go through the Bungo Channel between the islands of Sikak and Kyusu instead of going out to sea through the Simonoseki Straits as in the latter case the gale would be right in our teeth and we should make but little progress now we shall be under the shelter of Kyusu and the Linshtokten and Luchu Islands for at least two days and so make a fair wind of it steering due south to we may hope to be soon out of this horrid weather the only drawback to this plan is that we shall miss seeing Nagasaki there are no great sights there but the scenery is pretty and the place is interesting owing to the fact that it was the first and for many years the only port open to foreigners and also the scene of the cruel murders of Christians and the sight of the beautiful island of Pappenburg Shanghai I do not think I regret so much though Tom would have been interested to talk with the merchants about their commerce and to see their houses and the perfect palaces it would be very cold there too at this time of year and I do so long to lose my cough and feel warm once more at 8.30 p.m. we weighed and proceeded under steam the views of the mountains between the snow storms were lovely with the fresh fallen snow shining in an occasional gleam of sunshine we soon passed the Isaki light with wind and tide in our favor and at sunset found ourselves in the open waters of the North Pacific Tuesday February 20th a lovely day the thermometer already 20 degrees higher than it was yesterday the wind had dropped and at 10 a.m. it had become so calm that fires were lighted it was delightful to see everybody and everything on board people, children, animals and birds all in each sunning themselves and trying to get thawed after the freezing they have had unfortunately lost one of the Hawaiian geese which I much regret as it is irreplaceable none have I believe ever been exported before the pig from Harp Island is very well we have not seen him all the cold weather as he has been buried in straw in a box but they say that the cold has stopped his growth we were continually passing islands throughout the day sometimes six or seven being in sight at one time some with active and more with extinct volcanoes we saw smoke issuing from three of the cones but by night we were too far off to notice the flames Wednesday February 21st the calm still continues the sun is bright the sky blue and the atmosphere warm during the night we passed Suwa Sima Aikusi Sima and Yoko Sima in the afternoon a light breeze spring up we stopped steaming and before nightfall we're bowling smoothly at the rate of 10 knots Thursday February 22nd the same delightful breeze continued throughout the night and most of the day by noon we had done 220 miles everybody had on summer clothes and we all felt ourselves gradually expanding after being shriveled up by the cold of the last month I should never recommend anybody to come to Japan in the winter you do not see it at its best I am sure scanty protection afforded by houses and carriages makes traveling appennance rather than a pleasure travelers however who wish to see Japan should do so at once for the country is changing every day and in three years more will be so Europeanized that little will be left worth seeing or a violent anti-foreign revulsion of feeling may have taken place and then the ports will be closed more strictly than they were even before the execution of the first treaty nothing that we can give them do what they really want their exports are not large and they have learned nearly all they care to know from the foreigner we have seen many of the European engineers of Japanese vessels and they all agree in declaring that the natives learn to imitate anything they see done with wonderful quickness these men also have aired that in a few years there will not be a single foreigner employed in Japan as the Japanese will be quite in a position to have such aid and although the government pay foreigners in a high position exceedingly well their service offers no career to a young man his engagement is for so many years and when his subordinates have learned to do the work he may go where he likes I am bound to add that I have heard the contrary opinion equally strongly expressed but the facts I have mentioned make me lean rather to the former than to the latter side of the story Friday February 23rd another pleasant day the wind dropped fires were lighted and at 4 30 p.m. we proceeded under steam soon after 7 whilst we were at dinner the table gave a sudden lurch which was followed by the sound of rain on the deck above we found that a breeze had sprung up all at once and had carried away some of our head sails before they could possibly be taken in even under close reefed canvas we had a most uneasy night racing along at from 10 to 12 knots an hour Saturday February 24th we were rushing along literally through the water all day for there was plenty of it on deck not really any great quantity but sufficient to make everything wet and uncomfortable at 1.35 we made the island of Aksu a capital landfall and very satisfactory in every way for the sky was too much overcast to get an observation and the currents hereabouts are strong during the night the wind fell light but we maintained a speed of from 9 to 10 knots Sunday February 25th a much finer day at 8 a.m. we had run 299 knots since the same time yesterday we met a large steamer and passed a brigantine also several Chinese junks about 12 o'clock we saw a flag being waved frantically from a junk not far from us we thought something was wrong with them but soon a small boat put off with three men and we found on its arrival alongside that it contained a pilot anxious for a job he was very disappointed that we would not let him come on board but Tom always likes doing the pilotage himself the boat was a rough wash tub kind of affair not much better than those used by the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia about 2 o'clock we entered the tropics the weather is now colder again and not nearly so pleasant as it was 2 days ago I suppose it is owing to the northeast monsoon in the course of the afternoon we received several more offers of pilotage all of which were declined and at 7.45 we got up steam and lay to all night ready to go into Hong Kong harbor a daylight Monday February 26th at 4 a.m. we found ourselves close under the light on the eastern end of the island of Hong Kong we were surrounded by islands and the morning was dark and thick so we waited till 5.30 and then steamed on through the Kowloon passage up to the city of Victoria as it is really named though it is generally called Hong Kong the channel is long and in some places so narrow that it is like going through a mountain pass with barren hills and rocks on either hand but the combined effect of the blue waters and red brown and yellow hills is very fine off the town of Victoria the crowd of shipping is immense and it became a difficult task to thread our way between the fleets of sampans and junks the latter are the most extraordinary looking craft I ever saw with high overhanging sterns and roll or rather draw up sails sometimes actually made of silk and puffed like a ladies net ball dress then their decks are crowded with lumber live and dead that you wonder how the boats can be navigated at all but still they are much more picturesque than the Japanese junks and better sea boats the sampans are long boats pointed at both ends and provided with a small awning they have deep keels and underneath the floor there is one place for a cooking fire another for an altar and a third where the children are stowed to be out of the way in these sampans whole families sometimes five generations live and move and have their being I shall never forget my astonishment when going ashore very early one morning in one of these strange craft the proprietor lifted up what I had thought was the bottom of the boat and disclosed three or four children packed away as tight as herrings while under the seats were half a dozen people of larger growth the young mother of the small family generally rose with the smallest baby strapped onto her back and the next size one in her arms whom she is also teaching to row the children begin to row by themselves when they are about two years old the boys have a gourd intended for a life preserver tied around their necks as soon as they are born the girls are left to their fate a Chinaman thinking it rather an advantage to lose a daughter or two occasionally many of these sampan people have never set foot on shore in their lives and this water life of China is one of the most extraordinary features of the country it is what strikes all travelers and so has tempted me to a digression a lieutenant from the flagship came on board and piloted us into a snug berth among the men of war and close to the shore where we were immediately surrounded by sampans and pestered by pertinacious Chinese clambering on board the donkey engine with well-rigged and soon however cleared the decks bulwarks and gangways and we were not bothered anymore after breakfast we landed on the praia a fine key extending the whole length of the town on it are situated many of the large stores offices and markets of the city the streets are wide and handsome and the buildings in European style with deep verandas and arcades all built of stone the town is built on the side of the hill with ferny moss-covered banks overhung by tropical trees close to some of the principal offices at the back are the mountains the peak overhead with the signal station on the top always busily at work making and answering signals with flags as ships and junk enter or leave the harbor soldiers and sailors abound in the streets and if it were not for the sedan chairs and palanquins in which everybody is carried about by Chinese coolies with enormous hats one might easily fancy oneself a dear old jib so much to these dependencies of the crown in foreign countries resemble one another even in such opposite quarters of the globe we were very anxious to leave the yacht here and go up to Canton but we find there is no possible hotel at the latter place this is rather unfortunate as after our long residence on board about at sea the yacht requires repairing and refitting she looks very well painted white and the change is a great comfort in hot weather the white paint does not wear well and in order to maintain her good looks she ought to receive a fresh coat at every port we can only go up the pearl river at the very top of the tide for in several places there are not 14 feet of water over the shoals it will therefore take us two or three days to accomplish what the farmers do in six hours and a great waste of time will be involved today for the first time we have heard pidgin English seriously spoken it is very trying to one's composure to hear grave merchants in their counting houses giving important orders to clerks and compradors in what sounds until one gets accustomed to it like the silliest of baby talk the term really means business English certainly it is that most Chinamen you mean understand it perfectly though you might just as well talk Greek as ordinary English to them take PC Miss Issy one PC bag topside seems quite as difficult to understand as take the ladies bag upstairs would be but it is easier to a Chinamen's intellect from the praia we went up the hill to write our names in the governor's book it was a beautiful road all the way running between lovely gardens and beneath shady trees government house is a fine building situated on a high point of land commanding extensive views in every direction after a pleasant chat we descended the hill again and proceeded to the Hong Kong hotel for Tiffin it does not seem a very desirable abode being large dirty and ill kept at one o'clock a bell rang and the visitors all rushed in and took their places on the hill tables and were served with a scrambly sort of meal by Chinese boys after this a carriage was sent for us and we drove to the race course this is the fourth and last day of the races and there is to be a ball tonight to wind up with to which everybody seems to be going the drive was a very pleasant one the road presenting a most animated appearance with crowds of soldiers sailors Chinamen Parsis Jews all hurrying along by the side of the numerous sedan chairs and carriages we were puzzled to imagine where on this rocky hilly island there could possibly be found a piece of ground flat enough for a race course but the mystery was solved when we reached a lovely little valley about two miles from the town where we found a very fair course about the size of that at Chester but not so dangerous the grandstand is a picturesque object with its thatched roof and sun blinds the interior too looks comfortably arranged and certainly contains the most luxurious basket chairs one could possibly desire there are a lawn and a paddock attached and very good temporary stables over many of which are private stands and tiffin rooms Hong Kong races are a great event and people come down from Canton, Shanghai, Macau and all sorts of places for them everybody knows everybody and it seems to be all together a most pleasant social meeting many ladies were present some of the races were capital the little Chinese ponies scuttling along at a great pace under their big riders whose feet seemed almost to touch the ground there was also a race for Australian horses but the most amusing event of all was the last scramble for Chinese ponies written by Chinese boys in which horses and riders seemed to be exactly suited to one another the sun went down and it grew cold and dark before all was over the gentleman walked back to the town and I went down to the landing-place in solitary state in a carriage driven by an Indian coachman attended by a Chinese footman I was immediately surrounded by a vociferating crowd each individual member of which was anxious to extol the merits of his own sampan the carriage having driven off difficulty in dispersing them and being allowed to enter the sampan I had selected however I did succeed at last and making my boatmen understand that they were to take me to the white ship as the yacht is generally called returned on board to rest End of Chapter 21 Chapter 22 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassie this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Devy Cross Taos, New Mexico to Canton up the Pearl River sails of silk and ropes of sandal such as gleam and ancient lore and the singing of the sailors and the answer from the shore Tuesday, February 27th until half past 10 we were occupied in the pleasant task of reading news from home all good this time I am happy to say at 10.30 we landed and went up the hill to breakfast with Sir Arthur and Miss Kennedy and heard a good deal about the colony it is wonderful to think that 30 years ago it scarcely existed and now it is a large and flourishing place with splendid houses institutions roads and gardens we were also most agreeably surprised by the beauty of the scenery it is really lovely and though the hills around are barren whenever cultivation has been attempted vegetation appears to flourish luxuriantly the climate cannot be very bad judging by the healthy look of the residents and troops typhoons seem to be the greatest drawback they come without any warning and it is impossible to guard against them in their disastrous effects thousands of lives and millions of pounds worth of property are destroyed in a few hours we have been shown some of the effects of a very severe typhoon that occurred in 1874 it seems almost incredible that the mere force of the wind can snap iron posts into break granite columns and blow off heavy roofs after breakfast the ceremony of presenting the departing governor with a state umbrella took place it was a token of respect from 10,000 Chinese inhabitants of Hong Kong and is the greatest compliment that can be paid to any official it arrived in a large camphor wood box and the address beautifully embroidered in gold thread and silk was enclosed in a magnificent sandalwood box about 4 feet long covered with the richest carving precisely at 12 some 40 vermilion colored visiting cards were handed in with the name of each member of the deputation written in Chinese English characters the visitors were all received in a large drawing room whilst we ladies observed the proceedings through the doors leading from a smaller room it is not considered etiquette by the Chinese for ladies to appear at these public ceremonies after it was all over a stroll through the town and a look at the shops filled up the rest of the time in the morning until we went on board to fetch the children for an expedition up the peak of the signal station as usual many visitors came on board the yacht and it was later than we had intended before we could make a start I had to be carried up the steep ascent in a chair but the children and dogs thoroughly enjoyed themselves scampering about the little ones picked heaps of flowers and ferns the dogs had not been allowed to land before as everybody told me they would be sure to be stolen directly we returned on board before sunset until rest before some friends arrived to dinner we have shipped two Chinese boys here to work in the pantry and kitchen they are excellent servants as a rule but how they will get on with the others and how they will like the sea life remains to be proved Wednesday February 28th I was up and off at half past six to the market and returned to a late breakfast on board after which a large party of China merchants came as a deputation to invite Tom to fix a day to dine with them I think they proposed to pay him what is for them an unusual compliment partly because they were pleased with some remarks he made yesterday at government house and partly because they think so much of his enterprise in making a voyage around the world in a yacht with his wife and family they examined everything on board and seemed to be specially interested in Tom's board of trade certificate which one of their number translated in full for the benefit of the rest the Chinese part of the town stands quite away from the foreign settlement it is dirty and crowded in spite of its wide streets and the large gaily colored houses have the names and advertisements of their proprietors painted all across them the theater is in the middle of the city and was densely crowded a box had been reserved for us for the ordinary seats are like a carpenter's bench on the floor of the house men and women set together but in the galleries the men set apart and there were separate boxes for the women the acting was rough and accompanied by the most discordant music the scenery seemed of an excessively rudimentary description as you may imagine when I tell you that a steep hill up which the hero and heroine climbed with great difficulty was composed of five kitchen chairs arranged in a pyramid on the top of three kitchen tables held in position by men in their ordinary dress the fugitives were supposed to be a tartare general and his wife escaping from their enemies after a great battle the fighting was renewed at intervals with great noise and spirit some of the costumes were very fine and cost from 30 pounds to 40 pounds a piece from the theater we drove to the Chinese hospital and then to the Chinese recreation ground where we saw sundry itinerant quacks and vendors of all sorts of rubbish as we were walking along having left our chairs for a few minutes to look at the Chinese shops a man picked my pocket of a $1 note Mr. Freer and the doctor saw pursued and caught him he vehemently protested his innocence but to no avail they proceeded to strip him, found the note gave him a good shaking and told him to go Thursday, March 1st a most lovely morning ushered in the new month which having come in like the most peaceable of lambs will we hope not end like a roaring lion just as we expect to be in the middle of the Bay of Bengal we left the yacht at 7.30 and went on board the Kinshan which is a regular American river steamer with beam engines and many deck houses which are painted white the lower deck is crowded with the most inferior class of Chinese some 800 of them being on board it gave us rather a turn to see them all padlocked in under the hatchways and iron gratings at each opening is posted an armed sentinel ready to fire among the crowd in case of any disturbance in the saloon also is a stand of pistols and rifles with fixed bayonets ready for the European passengers to defend themselves with in case of emergency these are very necessary precautions on account of the numerous pirates who occasionally ship into skies among the crowd murder the passengers and crew and take possession of the steamer not quite two years ago a vessel belonging to this same company was assailed in that way everyone on board was murdered and the ship taken to Macau footnote I have since been told that only the captain and one or two passengers were killed and the vessel run ashore near not at Macau and footnote the voyage was more prosperous the captain was most kind and polite and the boat clean and comfortable an excellent breakfast and an elaborate tiffin were served at noon all for the sum of four dollars ahead including wine, beer and spirits add libytum on first leaving Han Cal the course lies between islands and through fine mountain passes later on the country becomes flat and uninteresting till the Bogue forts are reached here are to be seen the remains of the old forts knocked down by the French and English guns about one o'clock we reached Wampoa the leading port of Canton the Pearl River is too shallow for large steamers to go up any higher so we stopped here only a few minutes to disembark some of the Chinese passengers and from this point the interesting part of the voyage began the river as well as all the little supplementary creeks was alive with junks and sampans masts and sails stuck up in every direction gliding about among the flat patty fields such masts and sails as they are the Mandarin's boats especially are so beautifully carved painted and decorated that they look more as if they were floating about for ornament than for use just about two o'clock our large steamer was brought up close alongside the wooden pier as easily as a skiff but it must require some skill to navigate this crowded river without accident on the shore was an excited, vociferating crowd but no one came to meet us and we had begun to wonder what was to become of us what we should do and whether should we go in a strange city where we did not know a soul when we were relieved from our embarrassment by the appearance of the vice consul who came on board to meet a friend told us that, owing to unexpected ball, all the houses were unusually full and that not one of the people who had been written to could take us in this was rather bad news but we felt sure that something would turn up we landed and after proceeding a short distance along the dirty street came to a bridge with iron gates which were thrown open by the century after crossing a dirty stream we found ourselves in the foreign settlement which is called walking on nice turf under the shade of fine trees the houses of the merchants which line this promenade are all fine handsome stone buildings with deep verandas at the back there are compounds with kitchen gardens and under the trees dairy cows are grazing every household appears to supply itself with garden and farm produce and the whole scene has a most English home like appearance first to the vice consul and then to the jardin Hong all the business houses retain the names of the firms to which they originally belonged even when they have passed into entirely different hands after a little chat we went on to the deacon Hong where we found they had just done tiffin and where we met some old friends by the kindness of various people to whom we were introduced we all found ourselves gradually installed in luxurious quarters as for us we had a large room comfortably furnished in English fashion with a bathroom attached all the houses are very much alike and are fitted up in an equally comfortable style about three o'clock we started in five chairs with man look chin for our guide tom vigorously protested against not being allowed to use his own legs but everybody assured him that it was impossible in the crowded streets of the city so he had to submit to being carried no China man except those employed by foreigners is allowed to cross any of the bridges over the stream which completely surrounds the foreign settlement and makes the suburb of Shamin a perfect island there are iron gates on each bridge guarded by centuries the contrast in the state of things presented by the two sides of the bridge is most marvelous from the quiet country park full of large villas and pretty gardens you emerge into a filthy city full of a seething dirty population and where smells and sights of the most disgusting description meet you at every turn people who have seen many Chinese cities say that Canton is the cleanest of them all what the dirtiest must be like is therefore beyond my imagination the suburbs of the city where all sorts of cheap eating shops abound where the butchers and fishmongers use the most untempting looking morsels for sale and where there are hampers of all sorts of nasty looking compounds done up ready for the buyer of the smallest portion to take home are especially revolting the Chinese however poor like several courses to their meals which are served in little bowls on a small table to each person and eaten with chopsticks as in Japan it is to gratify this taste think a very minute fish or a tiny chicken is cut up into half a dozen pieces and sold to several purchasers the Chinese are very fond of fish and are most ingenious in propagating rearing and keeping them the dried fish and seaweed shops are not at all picturesque or sweet smelling especially as all the refuse is thrown into the streets in front men go about the streets carrying pails of manure suspended boob holes across their shoulders and clear away the rubbish as they go I was very glad when we got through all this to the better part of the town and found ourselves in a large shop where it was cool and dark and quiet the streets of the city are so narrow that two chairs can scarcely pass one another except at certain points the roofs of the houses nearly meet across the roadway and in addition the inhabitants frequently spread the lights overhead rendering the light below dim and mysterious every shop has a large vermilion colored board with the name of its occupant written in Chinese characters together with a list of the articles which he sells hung out in front of it so that the view down the narrow streets is very bright and peculiar these highways and byways are not unlike the bazaars at Constantinople and Cairo and different wares are also sold to localities after the eastern fashion this is in some respects a great advantage as if you are in search of any particular article you have almost an unlimited choice of whatever the town has to offer but on the other hand if you want a variety of articles it is an inconvenient arrangement as you have to go all over the place to find them and probably have to visit the most opposite quarters we saw thousands of wine vases and bowls and tea and dinner services some very handsome but many extremely poor there were a few specially made for the French exhibition next year which were exceedingly handsome we visited an ivory shop and saw some splendid specimens of carving one man had been for 15 months employed in carving on one side of an enormous elephant's tusk the representation of a battle scene and the other that of a Thanksgiving procession it will take him at least another year to finish the job it is for the Paris exhibition it will be quite interesting to look for our old Japanese and Chinese friends and their products on that occasion from ivory carving we went to a black wood furniture shop where we saw some very handsome things by no means dear considering the amount of time and labor bestowed upon them finished up with the temple of the 500 genie whose 500 carved wooden statues thickly gilt all very ugly and all in different attitudes stand round the statue of a European in sailors costume said to be meant for Marco Polo but whoever it may be evidently considered an object at least of veneration if not of worship we now returned through the dirty city to Chamin and the relief after crossing the bridge into an open space where one could breathe freely and see the blue sky was indescribable Friday, March 2nd before we had finished breakfast the other gentlemen strolled in from their various quarters and the drivers and guides arrived from the vice consuls a long morning's work had been mapped out for us 13 sites before luncheon then a visit to the French consulate followed by 8 more objects of interest to be seen before we finally crossed the Pearl River to visit the Hone and Temple quitting the pretty cool suburb by another bridge we passed through streets quite as dirty as those of yesterday until the heart of the city had been reached we went first to the wedding chair shop where they keep sedan chairs of four qualities for hire whenever a wedding occurs even the commonest are made gorgeous by silver gilding and lacquer while the best are really marvels of decorative art completely covered with the blue lustrous feathers of a kind of kingfisher in shape they are like a square pagoda and round each tier are groups of figures the dresses are also made of expensive feathers but then they last for generations there are no windows to these strange conveyances in which the bride is carried to her future home closely shut up with just sticks burning in front of her suddenly there have been two sad accidents in one case the journey was long there was no outlet for the smoke of the just sticks and when they arrived and opened the chair the bride was found dead from suffocation the other accident occurred through the chair catching fire while it was passing through some narrow street under an archway the bearers became frightened put down their burden and ran away leaving the poor bride locked up inside to be burnt to death from the chair shop they went to the embroiderers to see them at work their productions are exquisite and it is a pity that better specimens are not seen in England the process of lacquer making too is very interesting we had however to go from house to house to witness it as only one portion of the process is carried on at each from the gradual coating of the roughest wood with three coatings of varnish until it is finally ornamented with delicate designs and polished ready for sale in appearance price and length of wear there is a vast difference the next thing to see was the weaving of silk which is done in the most primitive manner one man throws the shuttle while another forms the pattern by jumping on the top of the loom and raising a certain number of threads in order to allow the shuttle to pass beneath them then came a visit to the temple of longevity a large Buddhist temple with a monastic establishment of about 90 priests attached to it it contains three shrines with large figures but nothing specially interesting there is a large pond in the midst of the garden covered with duckweed and full of beautiful gold and silver fish of many kinds the Chinese certainly excel in producing gold and silver and red fish they are the pets of every household and are of all colors some being striped and spotted and boasting any number of tails from one to five outside the temple stands the jade stone market where incredible quantities of this valuable stone change hands before ten o'clock every morning both in its rough and its polished state the stalls are the simplest wooden stands and the appearance of the vendors is poor in the extreme the contents of the stalls however are worth from 500 pounds to a thousand pounds not dollars and there are hundreds of these stalls besides an entire jade stone street which we afterwards visited we saw several of the shops and asked the prices as we wish to take home a small specimen but they had no good carved cups which were what we wanted and for what they had they asked an enormous price jade stone is a material very difficult to work and in many cases the result attained is not worth the labor expended upon it it is more a tour de force than a work of art for a good stone green as glass as it ought to be they ask from twenty five hundred to three thousand dollars for a necklace of beads five thousand dollars a set of mandarins buttons one large and one small fifty to one hundred fifty dollars after looking at the gold beaters at work we next made our way to the temple of the five geni who are supposed to be founded the city of canton being a tartar temple all the gods have a totally different cast of features and are represented as tartars with long beards it is much frequented by women of all classes and up and down the numerous flights of steps leading from one shrine to another poor little women tottered and tumbled on their crippled feet holding on to one another or leaning on a stick this temple is interesting as having the headquarters of the allied forces during their occupation of canton from eighteen fifty eight to eighteen sixty one the great bell in front of its principal shrine has been broken by a shot we then went to see the flowery pagoda built ad five twelve but now deprived of many of its decorations the brilliant pagoda to so called from having once been covered with snow white porcelain is now only a tall brick pointed tower nine stories high by this time we all felt hungry and began to wind our way towards the almond on the outskirts maybe seen prisoners in chains or wearing the canway imprisoned in a cage or else suffering one of the numerous tortures inflicted in this country I did not go to see any of these horrors neither did I visit the execution ground but some of the party did and described it as a most horrible sight skulls were lying about in all directions one of which had been quite recently severed from its trunk the ground still being moist and red whilst luncheon was being prepared we were taken over many of the rooms and through several of the enclosures within the fortified gate the meal was excellently served by Chinese servants in a charmingly picturesque tartar room and after it we wandered about the park looked at the deer and admired the Nagasaki bantams then it was time to start on a fresh sightseeing expedition armed with fresh directions we set out first to the temple of the sleeping Buddha where there is a large fat reclining figure then to the temple of horrors most rightly named for in a suite of rooms built round three sides of a large yard are represented all the tortures of the Buddhist faith such as boiling and oil sawing in pieces and other horrible devices the yard itself is crowded with fortune tellers charm sellers deputy prayer sayers beggars and all sorts of natural horrors exhibiting various deformities all together it is a most unpleasant place but still it is one of the characteristic sights of Canton we saw the hotel today for the first time it certainly looks very hopeless we were anxious to get in there if possible as we were such a large party but everybody assured us it was quite out of the question one gentleman told me he never could fancy using his portmanteau again after even laying it down on the floor for a few minutes the absence of a decent hotel renders Canton an inconvenient place to visit the European inhabitants are so very kind however that you are sure to find somebody who knows somebody else who will hospitably take you in the temple of the sleeping Buddha we went up the height to breathe a little fresh air and to see the five storied pagoda at the spot where the allied forces had encamped the Chinese groves and the white cloud mountains beyond and to gain a general view of the densely crowded city beneath it is all too flat however to be picturesque the three yamans at our feet with their quaint towers grand old trees flags and the broad pearl river on the other side of the city are the only elements of positive beauty in the landscape we soon descended the heights again and passing the Cantonese viceroy's yamans paid our promised visit to the French consul his residence is if possible more quaint and beautiful than that of the English representative the trees are finer especially one grand avenue leading from the outer gates to the private apartments we were received and shown a wonderful collection of embroideries in China it was a delightful visit but we could not remain so long as we wished for we had to see the water clock the tower in which it stands is approached by a flight of steps and was built between the years AD 624 and 907 but it has been repaired destroyed and repaired again several times having suffered in the bombardment of the town by the allied fleets 1857 in the next street said to be the finest in Canton you can buy burning sticks measured to mark the time they are extremely cheap but perfectly accurate and there seems little doubt that they have been used by the Chinese for thousands of years before the Christian era here too were the large spectacles so much worn opium pipes with all the paraphernalia for cleaning and smoking them and there were pipes in pretty little shag green cases and many other curious articles in common use of which we purchased specimens in the feather street are innumerable shops containing nothing but feathers of all kinds for mandarins actors and ordinary mortals but the great ambition of every Chinaman is to have a feather from the emperor they are all called peacocks feathers one-eyed, two-eyed or three-eyed many are pheasants feathers some of these are from six to eight feet in length beautifully marked I bought two pairs over seven feet long they are rather rare as each bird has only two long feathers and these are in perfection for about one month in the year in this part of the town stands a Chinese restaurant where only cats and dogs flesh is served we passed through innumerable streets and at last reached the site of the old factories now only occupied by a large and comfortable house we were to have embarked in the consul's boat to visit the temple of Honan across the river but it was getting late and everyone felt tired so we went back through more crowded streets to rest awhile before dressing to go out to dinner at eight o'clock the dinner was quite English in its style and the table looked bright with tea roses, heliotrope and mignonette the tables had been charmingly decorated by the Chinese servants and even the menu had been arranged by them they seemed to save their employer all trouble even that of thinking provided the services of really good ones can be secured we have had one for only a few days and he does everything for Tom and May he appears to know exactly what we want to do or to wear and to foresee all our requirements but to return to this famous repast it began with Mandarin bird's nest soup with plover's eggs floating about in it this is a most delicious and dainty dish and is invariably given to strangers on their first arrival I had no idea how expensive the nests were $54 a piece weighing something under a pound and it takes two or three ounces to make enough soup for ten people we had a very pleasant evening talking over our experiences and exchanging news as to our mutual friends end of chapter 22