. Nine years in Nipon. Sketches of Japanese life and manners. a short distance, a pair of gentlemanly andsubstantial-looking gens darmes, with revolvers andsabres, are keeping calm eyes on the soldiers. A pair of enor-mous black spectacles, accompanying a squat little police-man in dark blue, with naval cap adorned with white cottonsun-shade, and what looks like a window roller under hisarm, are glaring fiercely at the crowd, and giving emphasisto the frequent gruff command in Japanese to move onthere ! We obey the order meekly, to the shopkeepers disgust,and turn our eyes to the street again,
. Nine years in Nipon. Sketches of Japanese life and manners. a short distance, a pair of gentlemanly andsubstantial-looking gens darmes, with revolvers andsabres, are keeping calm eyes on the soldiers. A pair of enor-mous black spectacles, accompanying a squat little police-man in dark blue, with naval cap adorned with white cottonsun-shade, and what looks like a window roller under hisarm, are glaring fiercely at the crowd, and giving emphasisto the frequent gruff command in Japanese to move onthere ! We obey the order meekly, to the shopkeepers disgust,and turn our eyes to the street again, which is crowdedwith jinrikishas, cavalry, ricketty busses of the mostprimitive construction ; neat and well-appointed tramwaycars; a rare kago or sedan chair, with a yellow flag carriedin front, denoting that a case of cholera or small-pox is being conveyed tothe hospital; water-men with bucketsof water, full ofholes, like Paddysstocking, which di-vide the misery ofdormant dust intoone of flying dust,plus mud. Thesemen carry their loadacross the Japanese Waterman. by means of a pole laid 54 Nine Years in Nipon. To each end of the pole a bucket is attached, but theoriginahty of the Japanese mode of distributingthe burden is this—a shorter pole is placed acrossthe other shoulder nearly at right angles to the longpole, and one end of it is used to lever up the weight onone side, the other end being grasped by the free hand. Theweight is thus thrown more evenly over both sides of thebody. Immense loads are carried in this way, and withgreat agility, as a certain springiness which aids quickwalking, is thus imparted. A little further along, at a point where the main streetforks, a great display of some kind is being made. Anewly-finished building is gaily decorated with flowersand flags—not the uniform glare of turkey red with whichthe British householder lavishly resolves to let the worldknow he wishes to be thought happy on some festiveoccasion, not that, but a re
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidnineyearsinn, bookyear1888
