428 THE SAND^YICIi ISLANDS. 



The illustrations in many of the Japanese Zoological books 

 are very interesting to a naturalist and remarkably complete. 

 Even Land Planarians {Bipalium) are figured in some of them. 



In a book in my collection, representing the doings of the 

 Ainos, the Ainos are represented as hunting Seals, or Sea Otters, 

 with bows and arrows from canoes. Some of the men are 

 shown as provided with foxes' brushes tied by strings to the 

 ends of short rods. The foxes' brushes are being caused to 

 dance about on the surface of the water as a lure to the Seals, 

 who are following them in a shoal. Seals, or Sea Otters, must 

 be attracted by lures of this kind, though it seems most 

 improbable that they should. The figure almost certainly 

 represents an actual occurrence. 



I often visited the Japanese theatres. Besides the ordinary 

 stage there is a second stage, consisting of a narrow platform, 

 which lies on the left side of the audience, and extends from 

 the side of the main stage, the whole length of the theatre, to 

 a point close to the entrance door. Actors go round to the 

 door behind the box seats, and appearing at the end of the 

 long platform, approach the stage along it, acting their parts as 

 they go. 



In this way journeys are acted. A man may be represented 

 as on a journey home, and at the same time his family are seen 

 awaiting his return on the main stage, and he may be waylaid 

 and murdered, for example, on the way ; two separate but 

 connected scenes being acted at once. 



It is a curious fact, which I have not seen mentioned else- 

 where, that the customary drink of Japanese women is simple 

 hot water. I imagined that the Japanese were the only race 

 that drink hot water ; but I have lately been told, to my sur- 

 prise, that it is the customary beverage of some old women in 

 England. Hot water is also a common drink among the 

 Chinese. 



The ship left Japan on June i6th for Honolulu. Notwith- 

 standing all that has been written on Japan, the country and 

 its people still remain almost as great a source of interest and 

 as good a field for investigation as does European civilisation 

 to the educated Japanese themselves. The English and 

 German Asiatic Societies at Japan, showing, as they do, a most 

 remarkable activity, and constantly producing papers of the 

 greatest value and interest in all branches of inquiry, have still 

 probably the most fascinating field of research in the world 

 before them. 



The Sandwich Islands, July 27th to August 19th, 1875.— 

 The ship reached Honolulu on July 27th, after an unsuccessful 

 dredging between the Islands of Oahu (pronounced with stress 



