to set armed guards over their houses, even though they had espoused the parliamentary cause.

9. Such was a day in the metropolis, but the night was confusion worse confounded. After the twilight had deepened into darkness, and the throngs of links and torches had given place to the solitary twinklings of the watchmen's lanterns, Alsatia disgorged its refugees, and the taverns their inmates: the sons of Belial, "flown with insolence and wine," took possession of the lanes and corners of streets; stray passengers were insulted, wounded, and often killed; and the roofs of rich citizens were untiled for the purposes of plunder.

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10. A set of midnight ruffians, also peculiar to this period, are described as persons prodigal, and of great expense, who, having run themselves into debt, were constrained to run into factions to defend themselves from the danger of the law." In such a state of things the sword of justice required to be something more than a metaphor; and a sheriff's officer, in making a civil arrest, had frequently to be backed by a posse of well-armed followers.

1. Mercantile, community, acquired, aristocracy, traffickers, lieu, rehearsed, commodities, heterogeneous, scrupulous, eschewed, espoused, parliamentary, metropolis, disgorged, roysterers.

2. Who was king of England at this time? In what century was it? How do the present times differ from those times?

XCII. A YOKOHAMA TEA HOUSE.

1. After a long day's shopping, we went to dine, in real Japanese fashion, at a Japanese tea house. The establishment was kept by a very pleasant woman, who received us at the door, and who herself removed our exceedingly dirty boots before allowing us to step upon her clean mats. This was all very well as far as it went; but she might as well have supplied us with some substitute for the objectionable articles, for it was a bitterly cold night, and the polished passages and steep staircases felt very cold to our shoeless feet.

2. The apartment into which we were shown was so exact a type of a room in any Japanese house that I may as well describe it. The woodwork of the roof and the framework of the screens were all made of a handsome, dark, polished wood not unlike walnut. The exterior walls under the verandah, as well as the partitions between the other rooms, were simply wooden lattice screens covered with white paper, and sliding in grooves: so that you could walk in or out at any part of the wall you might wish, and it was in like manner impossible to say whence the next comer would make his appearance.

3. Doors and windows are, by this arrangement, rendered unnecessary and do not exist. You open a bit of your wall if you want to look out, and a bigger bit if you want to step out.

4. The floor was covered with several thicknesses of very fine mats, each about six feet long by three broad, deliciously soft to walk upon. All mats in Japan are of the same size, and everything connected with house building is measured by this standard. When once you have prepared your foundations and woodwork, of the size of so many mats, it is the easiest thing in the world to go to a shop and buy a house ready made, which you can then set up and furnish in the scanty Japanese fashion in a couple of days.

5. On one side of the room was a slightly raised daïs about four inches from the floor. This was the seat of honor. On it had been placed a stool, a little bronze ornament, and a china vase, with a branch of cherry blossoms and a few flag leaves gracefully arranged. On the wall behind hung pictures, which are changed every month and are appropriate to the season of the year. There was no other furniture of any sort in the room.

6. Four nice-looking Japanese girls brought us thick cotton quilts to sit upon, and braziers of burning charcoal to warm ourselves by. In the center of the group another brazier was placed, protected by a square, wooden grating, and over the whole they laid a large silk eiderdown quilt to retain the heat. This is the way in which all rooms are warmed in Japan, and the result is that fires are

of frequent occurrence; the brazier is kicked over by some restless or careless person, and in a moment the whole place is a blaze.

7. The eiderdown and brazier were presently removed, and our dinner was brought in. A little lacquer table, about six inches high, on which were arranged a pair of chopsticks, a basin of soup, a bowl for rice, a saki cup, and a basin of hot water, was placed before each person. The four Japanese maidens sat in our midst, with fires to keep the saki hot and to light the tiny pipes with which they were provided, and from which they wished us to take a whiff after each dish. Saki is a sort of spirit distilled from rice, always drunk hot, out of small cups.

8. The following was the bill of fare:

Soup.

Shrimps and Seaweed.

Prawns, Egg Omelette, and Preserved Grapes. Fried Fish, Spinach, Young Rushes, and Young Ginger. Raw Fish, Mustard and Cress, Horseradish, and Soy. Thick Soup of Eggs, Fish, Mushrooms, and Spinach. Grilled Fish.

Fried Chicken and Bamboo Shoots.

Turnip Tops and Root Pickled.

Rice ad libitum in a large bowl.

Hot Saki, Pipes, and Tea.

9. Everything was well cooked and served,

though the ingredients of some of the dishes were rather strange to our ideas. Still, all were eatable, and most of them really palatable. We managed very well with chopsticks as a substitute for spoons and forks, the knack of using which to a certain extent is soon acquired.

10. The long intervals between the dishes were beguiled with song, music, and dancing, performed by professional singing and dancing girls. Their music was somewhat harsh and monotonous, but the songs were harmonious and the dancing was graceful. It was rather posturing than dancing, great use being made of the fan and the long trailing skirts. The girls were simple, light-hearted, cheery creatures, who appeared to enjoy immensely the childish games they played among themselves between whiles.

11. After dinner we had some real Japanese tea, tasting exactly like hot water poured on very fragrant new-mown hay. Then, after a brief visit to the kitchen, which, though small, was beautifully clean, we received our boots, and were bowed out by our pleasant hostess and her attentive handmaidens.

1. Japanese, establishment, substitute, objectionable, polished, verandah, partitions, rendered, foundations, appropriate, braziers, eiderdown, lacquer, maidens, palatable, acquired, intervals, beguiled, professional, monotonous, posturing, immensely, daïs