. Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's mission to China and Japan in the years 1857, '58, '59 . ASTRONOMICAL SYSTEM. masks and sham head-dresses of both sexes. Enoughabsurd contrivances were here exhibited to create arevolution in the nurseries of England. When wegot back into the business part of the town, we stoppedat a watchmakers to buy jewellery and clocks ; theformer consisted chiefly of the sword ornamentsalready described, but the latter were of variousdescriptions, some constructed on European models,others fashioned upon a principle peculiar to Japan,and supposed to be more convenient fo
. Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's mission to China and Japan in the years 1857, '58, '59 . ASTRONOMICAL SYSTEM. masks and sham head-dresses of both sexes. Enoughabsurd contrivances were here exhibited to create arevolution in the nurseries of England. When wegot back into the business part of the town, we stoppedat a watchmakers to buy jewellery and clocks ; theformer consisted chiefly of the sword ornamentsalready described, but the latter were of variousdescriptions, some constructed on European models,others fashioned upon a principle peculiar to Japan,and supposed to be more convenient for the registra-tion of the sinoular division of their time. o The twenty-four hours are divided in Japan into twelve periods oftime, six of whichare appropriatedto darkness andsix to the day beingcalculated fromsunrise to sunset,there is a neces-sary variation inthe length of thesix day and sixnight hours, thelatter being thelongest in winter,the former in sum- Japaiiese Astronomers (from a native drawing.) . mCr. Tho clOCkS are altered periodically to suit the seasons of the. MOUNTAIN PILGRIMS. 219 year. As I never succeeded in comprehending thesystem by which these hours are numbered, I shallnot venture upon any attempt at explanation. Someof the old Dutchmen have, however, mastered themystery, and the reader, curious in the Japanesedivision of time, can consult Kaempfer or whole chronological system is in the highestdegree complicated ; one set of cycles is fixed arbi-trarily by the Mikado, another depends upon thelength of his reign ; while a third, called the astro-nomical cycle, is a wonderful combination of the ten elements with the twelve signs of the Zodiac. We returned home by a different route, passingone quarter dedicated to the sale of china, at whichwe would fain have stopped. The shops were upona more extensive scale and more abundantly sup-plied than any we had yet seen. Unfortunatelythe Commissioners w^ere waiting for us, so we pushedon,
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