TEA-HOUSES. 
285 
freshments had been ordered, and we were invited to 
join ; but my alarm was great when I saw wbat was 
spread before us— lacquer bowls, containing such 
odd mixtures : fish, raw and cooked ; rice, seaweed 
and soy ; slices of strange-looking materials, whether 
flesh or fowl, it was difficult to say ; vegetables and 
saki. These dishes the pretty girls in attendance 
seemed delighted, with roguish fun, to press on us, 
apparently for the amusement our wry faces afforded 
them. It was a hazardous attempt at first, but, after 
all, some of the dishes were palatable enough. 
By way of dessert, oranges, apples, pears, and 
sweets were brought in ; so there was no difficulty 
in satisfying our hunger. 
Pipes, tea, and saki were afterwards served by our 
fair attendants, and after the long walk we were 
glad to stretch on the soft matting for repose, 
while imbibing the pleasant-flavoured tea, and 
inhaling through a short pipe the fragrant tobacco 
of Japan. 
Afterwards the dancers, the Greisha girls, with 
sam-i-sen, lute, and tom-toms, came tripping in ; but 
they elicited from their musical instruments such 
discordant sounds that we were glad to take refuge 
in the balcony, from which point nothing could have 
been more picturesque than the landscape presented ; 
the hillsides, dotted with temples and tea-houses, 
combining to form a scene of beauty that we could 
not fail to enjoy. 
