d. Here is a cavern stretching 500 feet straight below
high-water mark, with a shrine to Benton Sama, the Lucina of Japan;
and having been provided with candles, we proceeded a few hundred feet
through another cave, running at right angles to the first.

As it would have been a long steep walk back, and I was very tired, we
called to one of the numerous fishing boats near the shore, and were
quickly conveyed round to our original starting place. Before we said
good-bye, one of the old priests implored to be allowed to dive into
the water for half-a-dollar. His request was complied with, and he
caught the coin most successfully.

[Illustration: A Boatman]

We lunched at a tea-house, our meal consisting of fish of all kinds,
deliciously cooked, and served, fresh from the fire, in a style worthy
of Greenwich; and as we had taken the precaution to bring some bread
and wine with us, we were independent of the usual rice and _saki_.

[Illustration: Our Luncheon Bill.]

After this we proceeded on our way towards the Daibutz, or Great
Buddha, situated within the limits of what was once the large city of
Kama-kura, now only a collection of small hamlets. As all Japanese
cities are built of wood, it is not wonderful that they should in time
entirely disappear, and leave no trace behind them. But there still
remain some of the columns of the temple which once existed in the
gardens surrounding the idol. Now he is quite alone; and for centuries
has this grand old figure sat, exposed to the elements, serenely
smiling on the varying scene beneath him. The figure is of bronze, and
is supposed to have been cast about the year 1250 or 1260.

It is some 50 ft. high, with golden eyes and a silver spiral horn on
the forehead. It is possible to sit or stand on the thumb, and within
the hollow body an altar is erected, at which the priests officiate.
Sitting there, amidst a grove of enormous cryptomerias and bamboos,
there is an air of ineffable silent strength about that solitary
figure, which affords a clue to the tenacity with which the poorer
classes cling to Buddhism. The very calmness of these figures must be
more suggestive of relief and repose to the poor weary worshippers
than the glitter of the looking-glass and crystal ball to be found in
the Shintoo temples. The looking-glass is intended to remind believers
that the Supreme Being can see their innermost thoughts as clearly as
they can perceive their own reflection; while th