ON THE JAPANESE. 225 



with difficulty support their bodies is common 

 to both nations. Indeed, every woman who 

 wishes to be thought handsome must have her 

 feet so small that they can easily enter the shoe 

 of a child of six years of age. 



The best and one of the most recent accounts 

 of Japan is to be derived from a report made by' 

 Commodore Perry to the American Senate. He 

 commanded a small squadron sent by the Ame- 

 rican Government to take presents to, and 

 establish commercial relations with, the Japan- 

 ese. His report is highly interesting, and 

 accompanied by numerous coloured drawings 

 of the scenery, habitations, customs, and natural 

 history of the country. He appears to have 

 met with but few hindrances in his inspection 

 of it ; and on presenting his report to the 

 American Senate, they had it printed for them- 

 selves in three thick quarto volumes, fully 

 illustrated. It is, in fact, so expensive a work 

 that it is almost as little known in America as 

 it is in this country. As I, however, happen to 

 possess a copy, a few extracts will be made 

 from it which cannot fail to be interesting to 

 you. 



Amongst the American presents which chiefly 



Q 



