ly practised feats
of agility by passing over with the bell, and landing on the coping on
the opposite side. The tower being open, we could see the manoeuver
from the windows, and, as strangers, went there to look on. One day,
whilst at dinner, they began to ring, and as many of the officers
had not witnessed the fact, they sought the windows. This excited
the vanity of those in the belfry, who redoubled their exertions,
and performed the feat successfully many times, although in some
instances they narrowly escaped accident, by landing just within
the outside coping. This brought us all to the window, and the next
turn, more force having been given to the bell, the individual who
attempted the feat was thrown headlong beyond the tower, and dashed
to pieces on the pavement beneath. Although shocked at the accident,
I felt still more so when, after a few minutes, the bell was again
heard making its usual sound, as if nothing had occurred to interrupt
the course of its hourly peals.

[Monasteries.] In company with Dr. Tolben, I visited one of the
convents where he attended on some of the monks who were sick; he
seemed well acquainted with them all. I was much struck with the extent
of the building, which was four stories high, with spacious corridors
and galleries, the walls of which were furnished with pictures
representing the martyrdom of the Dominican friars in Japan. These were
about seventy in number, in the Chinese style of art, and evidently
painted by some one of that nation, calling himself an artist. From
appearances, however, I should think they were composed by the priests,
who have not a little taxed their invention to find out the different
modes in which a man can be put to death. Many evidently, if not all,
had been invented for the pictures. So perplexed had they apparently
been, that in one of the last it was observed that the executioner
held his victim at arms' length by the heels, and was about to let him
drop headforemost into a well. From the galleries we passed into the
library, and thence into many of the rooms, and finally we mounted to
the top of the monastery, which affords a beautiful view of the bay,
city, and suburbs. There I was presented to three of the friars,
who were pleasant and jolly-looking men. Upon the roof was a kind
of observatory, or look-out, simply furnished with billiard-tables
and shuffleboards, while the implements for various other games lay
about on small tables, with t