ed
some vegetable impressions, by means of which I became acquainted
with the remarkable locality for fossil plants at Mogi, of which I
shall give an account farther on.

[Illustration: JAPANESE HOUSE IN TOKIO. ]

On the evening of the 18th September I was invited by the Danish
consul, Herr BAVIER, to a boat excursion up the river which
debouches at Tokio. At its mouth it is very broad and deep, and it
branches somewhat farther up into several streams which are
navigable by the shallow boats of the Japanese. With the present
limited development of roads and railways in Japan, this river and
its tributaries form the most important channels of communication
between the capital and the interior of the country. During our row
we constantly met with boats laden with provisions on their way to,
or with goods on their way from, the town. The pleasant impression
of these and of the remarkable environs of the river is sometimes
disturbed by a bad odour coming from a passing boat, and reminding
us of the care with which the Japanese remove human excreta, the
most important manure of their well-cultivated land. Along the banks
of the river there are numerous restaurants and tea-houses. At long
intervals we see a garden on the banks, which has belonged to some
of the former Daimio palaces. The restaurants and tea-houses are
generally intended only for the Japanese; and Europeans, although
they pay many times more than the natives, are not admitted. The
reason of this is to be found in our manners, which are coarse and
uncultivated in the eyes of the natives. "The European walks with
his dirty boots on the carpets, spits on the floor, is uncivil to
the girls, &c." Thanks to the letters of introduction from natives
acquainted with the restaurant-keepers, I have been admitted to
their exclusive places, and it must be admitted that everything
there was so clean, neat, and orderly, that even the best European
restaurants cannot compare with them. When a visitor enters a
Japanese restaurant which is intended exclusively for the Japanese,
he must always take off his boots at the stair else he gets
immediately into disfavour. He is received with bended knee by the
host and all the attendants, male, but principally female, and then
he is almost always surrounded by a number of young girls constantly
laughing and chattering. These girls have commonly sold themselves
to the restaurant-keeper for a certain time, during which they carry
on