UPON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT. 
239 
enable the paper to adhere. They work back and forth 
in the side of a house like folding-doors, and give more 
light than one would imagine. They are so strong that 
I have snapped my finger against the centre of the (paper) 
pane with considerable force and had it rebound from it 
as from a tightly-snared drum-head. 
Of course the inmates cannot see what is going on in 
the streets, but then they have the satisfaction of know- 
ing that they are equally protected. If they want air or 
are curious, all they have to do is to slide the frames side- 
ways. The dwelling-houses are generally from twenty 
to thirty feet square ; but some of the temples, with their 
outbuildings, cover upward of two acres. These latter 
are not used solely as places of worship, but are often 
appropriated as the quarters of the retainers of powerful 
princes during their journeys. 
Some of the more pretending houses have piazzas, 
which are tiled over as usual, and slatted up along the 
sides so that the passion-flower and other creepers may 
protect them from the sun. I was once passing one of 
those cozy-looking two-story establishments toward the 
end of a solitary ramble, when, hearing music overhead, 
I was suddenly seized with a desire to see what was going 
on, and, without stopping to consider upon the breeding 
of the procedure, at once climbed up to the roof of the 
porch and looked into the open window of a room on the 
second floor. There I saw three musicians seated on the 
inner side of the matted floor, while in the centre of the 
room was a large lacquer-ware tray of viands, around 
which were seated a middle-aged Japanese and a young, 
highly-dressed, and very pretty girl. They were attacking 
