with the clear eyes of a believer in the Shinto faith. 66 Only very old womens and men believe in that."

Observations subsequently made over a wide extent of the interior convinced me that in such case "old womens and men" must form the largest proportion of the agricultural population of Japan. These charms were the rule rather than the exception.

Chinzenji is one of the most famous show places in Japan, attracting natives as well as foreigners. It was curious to note that the Japan 'Arry has the same passion as his brother from London for carving his imperishable name on memorial trees and stones. Only to the uninformed eye 'Arry's name traced in Japanese characters has a respectable, even an imposing appearance.

The last hour's climbing up to the level of the lake tests the strength of wind and limb; but the four kaga men, bearing their burden lightly, stepped it, murmuring a monotonous chant which, though not musical, helped them to keep step and in other more occult ways seemed to do them good. There is a splendid view of the lake from the tea-house, and a really big waterfall on the way back. We saw little but the rain, one gleam of sunshine fortuitously opening at a turn in the steep

descent showing what it might be in other circumstances of weather. As it was, it was well worth doing. We saw it in the green leaf, and cheerfully resolved to imagine what it would be in the dry.

After dinner we had the accustomed visit from the curio men, made the more exigent on their part by the knowledge that this was our last night in Nikko, and if we did not now buy a few carved ivories, a sword or two, an armful of lacquer boxes, and, above all, that exquisite little cabinet, inlaid, lacquered, and ivory-mounted, really not dear at £20, they would have no other chance. The curio men are one of the institutions of foreign travel in Japan. They live in the places principally resorted to by Europeans, and take note of every fresh arrival. On the afternoon of the Mikado's birthday, when we lunched at the British Embassy at Tokio, the drawing-room was crowded with curio men who had heard there were guests, and scented business from afar. They entered the house uninvited, but not unwelcome, for there are worse ways of spending an hour in the afternoon than in examining the varied stores of a Japanese pedler. They fully recognize the justice of the understanding that since no one asked them to come there is no compulsion of buying, and

they also know by experience that in the course of the season they get through a deal of trade.

At Mikko the curio men hunt in triplets. The panel of sitting-room or bedroom noiselessly draws back. A figure in Japanese costume glides in, bowing low and making that curious noise of sucking in the breath which with the Japanese is meant to be at once selfdepreciatory and exaltatory of the presence in which he stands. The first figure having deposited a bundle on the floor, a second glides in, and after due interval a third. A timid stranger, unaware of the custom, and recalling earlier habits of the Japanese in presence of the foreigner, might well suppose his last hour had come, and that these softlytreading, darkly-clad, mysterious personages with bundles were his executioners.

It is a matter of honour among curio men, and in accordance with the polite habits of the people, that one man shall not interfere with another's prospects by unduly thrusting his wares under notice. While ostensibly observing this rule one of the three curio men of Nikko, a tall, crafty-looking man, who always secured the central place of the group, had a notable way of pushing his goods. While you were looking at something submitted by No. 1

or No. 2, a brown hand, holding a piece of carved ivory or a lacquered box, would slowly move across the table, placing the article under the eyes of the purchaser. A violent sucking in of breath followed, and then a low voice solemnly intoning

"Ver-ry old; ver-ry cheap; num-ber one."

If you asked the price, the prefatory form of answer was always the same. Drawing himself up to full height, and holding up both hands, with fingers outstretched to assist in the enumeration, he began slowly and solemnly to intone

"Wa-an price-ve-ry old-num-ber one -ve-ry cheap "-(fingers beginning to work like a semaphore)-"twenty-four yen❞—(prolonged gust of indrawn breath)-" shifty sen."

"Shifty" was as near as he could get to the pronunciation of fifty, having just sucked in half the cubic measurement of air in the room. The "wa-an price was meant to indicate that, whereas other curio men, knowing the habit of foreigners promptly to offer half the price first named, stuck it on with deliberate intention to take it off if pressed, this paragon of perfection, this inexorably just dealer, had merely added a small commission on the amount of his original purchase, and was not to be beaten down.

CHAPTER XVIII.

ROADSIDE AND RIVER.

WE left Nikko at eight o'clock in the morning, our cavalcade as usual the centre of a dumbly staring throng comprising one-third of the population of the village. As we dashed down the uneven street with a stream of fresh water running in the middle, another third of the population, chiefly women, were kneeling on either side, washing pots, pans, kettles, dishes, everything but the children. These last were running about, hideous in their dirt, yet withal plump and well made.

In those reforms which the wise and farseeing statesmen who now rule Japan are pressing forward, it should not be difficult to introduce one on behalf of the children who swarm in the streets of country hamlets. When Mr. Ito (not our guide, but the Minister of State) recently made his journey to Nikko his quick eye noticed the condition of the