hat the Japanese are very dirty
people. This remark seems non-coherent and requires, I am afraid, some
explanation.

"How can they be dirty if they bathe every day? I call that being very
clean," I fancy I hear you reply.

So they would undoubtedly be, if they bathed in clean water; but,
unfortunately, this is just what they do not do, and, to my uncivilised
mind, bathing in filthy water seems ten times more dirty than not bathing
at all. Just imagine a small tank of water in which dozens, if not
hundreds, of people have been already boiled before you in your turn use
it, and upon which float large "eyes" of greasy matter. Well, this is
what every good Japanese is expected to immerse himself in, right up to
his nose, for at least half an hour at a time! I cannot but admire them
for their courage in doing it, but, certainly, from the point of view of
cleanliness my view is quite different; for, really and truly, I have
always failed to see where the "cleanliness" comes in. Persons belonging
to the wealthier classes have small baths of their own, in the steaming
hot liquid of which bask in turns the family itself, their friends, the
children and servants; and probably the same water is used again and
again for two or three days in succession.

I remember well how horrified I was one evening, in the Land of the
Rising Sun, when, on visiting a small village, I was, as a matter of
politeness on their part, requested to join in the bath. Being a novice
at Japanese experiences, and as their request was so pressing, I thanked
them and accepted; whereupon, I was buoyantly led to the bath. Oh what a
sight! Three skinny old women, "disgraces," I may almost call them, for
certainly they could not be classified under the designation of "graces,"
were sitting in a row with steaming water up to their necks, undergoing
the process of being boiled. What! thought I, panic-stricken--am I to
bathe with these three ... old lizards? Oh no, not I! and I made a rush
for the door, greatly to the annoyance of the people, who not only
considered me very dirty, but also very rude in not availing myself of
their polite invitation! The next morning as I took my cold bath as usual
in beautifully clean spring water, I was condemned and pitied as a
lunatic! Such are the different customs of different people.

[Illustration: THE PEKIN PASS]

When visiting Seoul, it is well worth one's while to take a walk to the
Pekin Pass, a _li_ or two outside th