METAL BUCKLES. 
Chap. IL 
downright laughter as you examine them. There 
is one figure of a man timidly venturing to coax a 
snarling dog, which is inimitable in its funny ex- 
pression ; and so also is the expression on another’s 
face who is frightened by a ghost. And all these 
works, the reader must remember, are not mere 
sketches, but are solid little pieces of metal-work, 
the background being of bronze, and the raised 
figures in relief being either gold, silver, steel, or 
platinum, or, as in most cases, of all four metals 
intermixed. It is evident, from the platinum 
being so freely used here, that the metal must be 
much more common with the Japanese than with 
us ; and that the secret of melting it, to which our 
chemical knowledge has only just attained, has 
long been known to them. ... In the side of the 
case where the metal buckles are shown we find in 
a collection of ivory carvings fresh proofs of the 
art, skill, and comic genius of the people. Let any 
one examine the litter of puppies sprawling over 
each other, the grotesque look of pain on the face 
of the woman who has been startled by a fox, and 
tumbled forward with her fingers under the edge 
of a basin; the triumphant aspect of the com- 
panion figure, who has succeeded in clapping his 
basin down on the fox ; yet, notwithstanding their 
wonderful finish, all these figures are so small that 
they might be worn as brooches.” 
The modern lacquer-ware is good, but not to be 
compared to the fine old Miaco ware, which is 
extremely beautiful. There are a number of shops 
