40 THE SEA. 



four o'clock in the afternoon we suddenly find ourselves amidst colossal waves; and yet 

 there is not a breath of wind. They tell us that this was probably yesterday the 

 centre of the typhoon. It has exhausted itself or gone elsewhere ; but the sea which 

 it lashed into fury is still agitated, like the pulse of a fever patient after the fit is 

 over." 



Yokohama, whose very name signifies " across the sea and shore/' has been before briefly 

 described in these pages. Travellers have given some interesting accounts of it, and as 

 in a tour round the world it would form one of the leading stopping-places, some further 

 allusion to it may be permitted. 



Baron Hiibner says in effect that at every step one takes there one asks if it be not 

 all a dream, a fairy tale, a story of the thousand-and-one nights. Arriving there from San. 

 Francisco, the step from American to Oriental civilisation is particularly noticed. The Baron 

 refers particularly to the courtesy and extreme cleanliness of the people. Even the coolies, 

 bearing great cases or baskets slung on bamboos resting on their athletic shoulders, stop 

 to chatter and laugh so pleasantly that labour seems to have lost half its curse. " Misery," 

 says he, "is unknown amongst them; so also is luxury." If the Japanese have arrived at 

 this happy mean it would be a great pity to disturb their peaceful condition by the 

 introduction of a so-called civilisation, and its attendant expenses and new wants. 



" What adds to the charm of the scene," says the same authority, " is the smiling look of 

 the country, and the intense beauty, at this season (summer), of the setting sun. The sky is 

 positively crimson, with great clouds of Sevres blue ; the long promontory of Thanagawa is 

 inundated with mother-of-pearl ; and on the purpled violet sea the pale shadows of the ships 

 and junks stand out against the sky, the one rocked by the swell, the others gliding across the 

 water like phantoms." The winter in Japan is cold enough, as Mrs. Brassey discovered ; * 

 for icicles were hanging from the shrouds and riggings of the Sunbeam. 



Mrs. Brassey gives some life-like pictures from Yokohama. 



" Having landed," says she, "we went with the Consul to the native town to see the curio 

 shops, which are a speciality of the place. The inhabitants are wonderfully clever at making 

 all sorts of curiosities, and the manufactories of so called ' antique bronzes ' and ' old china ' 

 are two of the most wonderful sights in Yokohama. The way in which they scrape, crack, 

 chip, mend, and colour the various articles, cover them with dust, partially clean them, and 

 imitate the marks and signatures of celebrated makers, is more creditable to their ingenuity 

 than to their honesty. Still, there are a good many genuine old relics from the temples and 

 from the large houses of the reduced Daimios to be picked up, if you go the right way to work, 

 though the supply is limited. 



"Dealers are plentiful, and travellers, especially from America, are increasing in numbers. 

 When we first made acquaintance with the shops we thought they seemed full of beautiful 

 things, but even one day's shopping, in the company of experienced people, has educated our 

 taste and taught us a great deal ; though we have still much to learn. There are very 

 respectable-looking lacquer cabinets, ranging in price from 5s. to 20. But they are only 

 made for the foreign market. No such things exist in a Japanese home." 



* "A Voyage in the Sunbeam." 



