JAPANESE FACTORY. 
must have been fully appreciated by men who 
were cooped up on a little mud-bank like the 
island of Desima. 
Such was the state of affairs only three or four 
years ago. At the time of my visit in the autumn 
of 1860 all this had undergone a wonderful change 
certainly wonderful for Japan. The old bridge 
which connects the island with the town of Naga- 
saki is still there, and presents a venerable and 
somewhat ruinous aspect ; the guardhouse is now 
empty, the gate has been removed, a part of the 
wall has been thrown down, and the Dutch are no 
longer the prisoners they once were. Like other 
foreigners, they can now visit the town when they 
choose, and roam about the surrounding country 
to any distance within twenty-five or thirty miles, 
without any interference from the Japanese. 
In my wanderings in Desima I stumbled upon a * 
large rough piece of rock, on which were carved 
the words “ JLempfer ” and “ Thunberg.” No 
other eulogy was necessary. It is pleasing to 
note that the modem Dutch reverence the names 
of these men of science who have done so much to 
make us acquainted with the people and natural 
productions of Japan. 
Opposite Desima, and on the other side of the 
bay, the Japanese have a large factory in active 
operation. The machinery has been imported 
from Europe, and the superintendents are Dutch. 
The Japanese workmen appear to be most expert 
hands at moulding and casting, and in the general 
