THE GAN-KE-RO. 
Chap. II. 
Little dogs were plentiful, and particularly noisy 
when a foreigner approached them. Then there 
were examples of deer, the eagle of the country, 
and singing birds of various kinds in cages. But 
the different varieties of fowls struck me more 
than anything else. The kind which I had 
already seen at Nagasaki was here also, and in 
addition & pure white bird with a fine long arched 
tail and long silky feathers hanging down from 
each side of the back. This is a very beautiful 
bird, and well worth being introduced into Europe 
if it is not already here. 
The Gan-ke-ro, to which I have already alluded, 
is a large building at the back of the town, erected 
by the Government for the amusement of foreigners. 
Here, dinners, suppers, and plays, can always be 
“got up on the shortest notice.” In other re- 
spects this and the buildings in the surrounding 
neighbourhood are much like the tea-houses in the 
town of Nagasaki. Scenes of debauchery and 
drunkenness are common, and even murder is not 
infrequent. Over such matters one would will- 
ingly draw a veil ; but truth must be told in order 
to correct the impression which some persons have 
of Japan — namely, that it is a very Garden of 
Eden, and its inhabitants as virtuous as Adam and 
Eve before the fall. 
The country in the vicinity ofYokuhama is very 
beautiful in its general features. It is evidently 
of volcanic origin. It consists of low hills and 
small valleys : the former having- their sloping 
