120 
SINGING BIRDS. 
Chap. VIII. 
CHAPTER VIII. 
Residence of the Abb<5 Girard -Singing-birds -Commercial quarter 
of Yedo — Shops — Paper, and the uses to which it is applied — 
Articles of food — Monkeys eaten — Fire-proof buildings — Nipon 
Bas — Ah-sax-saw — Its bazaars, temples, and tea-gardens — Fine 
chrysanthemums — Tea-plant — The Yedo river — The city oppo- 
site Yedo— Temple of Eco-ying — Its origin— Crowds of people — 
Curious scene in the temple — Earthquakes — Their frequency — 
. “^ s they dreaded by the stives -Straw shoes of men and 
On the 23rd of November I had an appointment 
with the Abbe Girard, who was formerly a mis- 
sionary in Loochoo, and was now interpreter to 
M. de Bellecourt, the French Consul-General, or 
Charge <f Affaires, in Japan. The Abbe, who was 
well acquainted with Yedo, was good enough to 
offer to take me to some places of interest which 
I had not yet seen. I found him residing in a 
little temple near the French Legation, and well 
guarded with yaboneens. He had in his house 
some rare specimens of Japanese singing-birds, 
particularly one known to foreigners as the 
Japanese nightingale. This is a curious bird, if 
the stones which are told about its habits are true. 
It is said to inhabit the recesses of dark woods, and 
to shun the light of day. Hence in a domestic 
state it is usually kept in comparative darkness, a 
