312 TEAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



some of them double-storeyed, others with verandahs 

 round, and steps leading up to them. Every turn of 

 our ship gave some new effect of scenery ; and the 

 chief impression conveyed was the beauty, the quiet- 

 ness, the peacefulness of this entrance to the Inland 

 Sea. Surely we had reached " the haunts of ancient 

 peace." 



" I stood upon a shore, a pleasant shore, 

 Where a sweet clime was breathed from a land 

 Of fragrance, quietness, and trees and flowers. 

 Full of calm joy it was . 

 Too full of joy and soft delicious warmth ; 

 So that I felt a movement in my heart 

 To chide and to reproach that solitude 

 With songs of misery, music of our woes. " 



Such were the lines which occurred to my recollection 

 in connection with this new sea and these pleasant 

 isles : for it is not likely that the Japanese will long 

 be left undisturbed in the happiness which they evi- 

 dently enjoy beyond any other people. The rude 

 music, not of our woes, but of Western activity, will 

 soon disturb, and are already disturbing, the ancient 

 arrangements of those happy isles. 



The town upon the right, on entering the channel, 

 is called Kokurna, and after passing it the sunken 

 rocks in the way are pointed out by tall erect stones, 

 hat-shaped at the top. Indeed, all through the In- 

 land Sea, sunken rocks are marked by stone shafts ; 

 and other means, such as lighthouses, have been em- 

 ployed to render navigation safe. After passing a 



