attle being used as beasts of draught and
burden, it is thought improper to kill them, or to deprive the young
calves of their milk; the Japanese, therefore, refrain from milk and
beef. They eat great quantities of fish, poultry, and venison. In the
country gardens we see quinces, pears, plums, cherries, peaches,
oranges, and citrons too; bean-fields abound, and farms, of which the
hedges are all tea. Where soil and climate favor, many a hillside in
Japan is cultivated as a tea plantation; but beyond this the tea-plant
is used by the farmers generally as a hedge from which they gather their
own leaves, and dry tea for home use, just as our farmers brew their own
October beer. Now we are flitting under cedar groves, now under firs,
now under mulberry plantations for the silkworm; every good point in the
landscape is occupied by a temple, which is composed of one large
edifice and many little ones. The little ones are used by
pleasure-parties. There is a snake, and there you see in the tree a
long-tailed monkey (_Inuus speciosus_); there is no other kind of monkey
in these islands, and the snakes are all of a species found nowhere
else. The tree frog and the eatable frog live in the north of Nippon.
Here we have squirrels. There are no lions and tigers; there is not a
single animal of the cat tribe known upon these islands; you can meet
with nothing worse than a wild boar. Great pains are taken to destroy
the foxes. Here are pheasants without game-laws, and the peacock yonder
looks as if he felt himself at home. Several palanquins have passed us
on the road, varying much in shape and minor details. The shape of the
palanquin, the length of the poles, their position, the way in which
they are held, and the number of holders, all are fixed so as to accord
precisely with the rank of the good gentleman inside. The number of
attendants in the train, even of an inconsiderable man, is startling;
and as for a prince, he might be setting out to conquer China. The roads
are good, and there is no lack of horsemen, but we have not seen draught
carriages; perhaps these hills are an impediment to travelling by such
conveyance; roads over hills and mountains being simply flights of
steps.

Hollo! What couple scampers by in such a hurry? 'Tis the post: the
greatest princes must get out of its way. One man runs with the letters,
and another keeps pace with him, to supply his place in case of illness
or accident; if both posts fail, the ne