ish; rice, flour, and sugar made up the
constituents of the other parts of it. Saki (rice spirit) and the
ever-present tea were then served round. The second course consisted of
soup, into which were shredded hard-boiled eggs. This was served in
bowls, but without spoons. I had, however, my purchased spoon, fork, and
knife always with me, and so escaped trouble. Then came a very strange
dish: it was a collop cut from a living fish wriggling on the sideboard.
The Japs are a great fish-eating folk, and this raw fish-eating is quite
common. The steak cut for Bruce from the living ox, told of in his
Abyssinian travels, occurred to one's memory. The live tidbit is
supposed to be eaten with the Japanese "Soy"--a sauce that makes
everything palatable--but I let my portion of it pass. It is not
possible to comply with all Japanese fashions at once. Time is necessary
to the acquirement of taste. Cooked fish was next served, and that in
great variety, including shell-fish. A sort of lime or small lemon was
used as the flavoring to this dish. Then came boiled beans, with ginger
roots, and some fried fish and horse-radish. To follow that came boiled
fish and clams, the latter cut up, and served with pears. Rice in
tea-cups followed, and then a salad, and the dishes were ended. The hot
saki and tea cups were sent round after each course. The health of our
landlord was proposed in Japanese, and drunk in saki. He then rose to
reply. I thought that he would never have done bowing before he began to
speak. He appeared to speak very well, and easily.

MR. HARVEY'S HOUSEKEEPERS, AND NAN'S EXAMINATION-DAY.

BY E. COOMBS.

Of the four little housekeepers, Patty, the eldest, who was fifteen, was
chief. Johnny came next. He was housekeeper number two. And then there
was Katie, who was eleven, and Nan, nine. Their mother had died two
years before, and when the housekeeper left, about a year afterward,
Patty, in all the dignity of her fourteen years, decided to dispense
with help in future, and that they could do the work among themselves.
Mr. Harvey was absorbed in his business, and never greatly disturbed by
any irregularities in his household, provided the children were
generally peaceable and happy.

So Patty's decision was allowed to stand. Housekeeping had seemed a very
easy thing to her, as she had seen her mother go about quietly doing one
thing after another, without hurry or confusion. But she found doing the
same things h