of Fujiyama and lays fresh
glowing charcoal against it. Instead of tongs she uses a pair of small
iron rods.

Bedsteads are not used in Japan, and the bedding, which consists of
thick padded quilts of rustling silk, is simply spread out on the mats
on the floor. All the service and attendance is performed by women. They
are dressed in their becoming and tasteful national costume, the
"kimono," a close-fitting coloured garment, cut out round the neck, a
broad sash of cloth round the waist, and a large rosette like a cushion
at the back. Their hair is jet black, smooth, and shiny, and is arranged
in tresses that look as if they were carved in ebony. Japanese women are
always clean, neat, and dainty, and it is vain to look for a speck of
dust on a silken cuff. If they did not giggle sometimes, you might think
that they were dolls of wax or china. They are treated like princesses
with the greatest politeness and consideration, for such is the custom
of the country. They do their work conscientiously, and are always
cheerful, contented, and friendly.

[Illustration: PLATE XIX. A JAPANESE RICKSHA.]

We sit down on our cushions for breakfast. The serving-girls bring in a
small red-lacquered table, not larger or higher than a footstool. Every
guest has his own table, and on each are five cups, bowls, and small
dishes of porcelain and lacquer, all of them with lids like teapots.
These contain raw fish and boiled fish in various forms, omelettes and
macaroni, crab soup with asparagus in it, and many other strange
viands. When we have partaken of the first five dishes, another table is
brought in with fresh dishes; and if it is a great banquet, as many as
four or five such tables may be placed before one before the dinner is
over. We eat with two chopsticks of wood or ivory not larger than a
penholder, drink pale, weak tea without sugar and cream, and a kind of
weak rice spirit called _sake_. When a bowl of steaming rice cooked dry
is brought in, it is a sign that the meal is ended.

* * * * *

The streets of Kobe are not paved. They are narrow roads, too narrow for
the large, clumsy vehicles, which are, however, few in number, and are
mostly used for the transport of goods. The people ride in
"rickshas"--neat, smart, two-wheeled gigs drawn by a running bare-legged
man with a mushroom-shaped hat on his head (Plate XIX.). The road
westwards along the coast runs through a succession of animated an