Chap. II. NATIVE PRODUCTIONS. 33 
are so combustible in their nature, and where fires 
are almost of daily occurrence in all the large towns. 
The native town is remarkable for one fine wide 
street which runs down its centre. Here are ex- 
posed for sale the various productions of the 
country in very large quantities. Bronzes, carv- 
ings in ivory, lacquer- ware, and porcelain, are all 
duly represented. The bronzes are mostly modern, 
of ugly shapes, and are chiefly remarkable for the 
large quantity of metal they contain, which one 
would think might have been applied to a more 
useful purpose. .The small ivory carvings and 
metal buckles for fastening the dress are great 
curiosities in their way. They are usually small, 
and represent men, women, monkeys, and all sorts 
of animals and plants. They exhibit the skill of 
the carver in a very favourable light, and are cer- 
tainly wonderful examples of patience and in- 
dustry. Some collections of these articles were 
shown in the late International Exhibition in 
London, and were much admired. A writer in the 
* Times ’ describes them in the following terms : — 
“ The designs in some of these [the metal buckles] 
are irresistibly grotesque, and at once recall to 
mind the little black woodcuts with which Mr. 
Leech began his connexion with ‘Punch/ Pro- 
bably every object in this collection is by a dif- 
ferent artist ; yet, though in some the designs are 
so minute as to require a magnifying glass to see 
them well, all are treated with the same broad 
humour, so that it is almost impossible to avoid 
