The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-01-04
rhe UnvalIet. Atlantic.

3
members of Lord Elgin's suite, rivals that of
the enchanted island, in the Arabian Nights:
"Nothing can exceed the picturesque beauty
of the Bay of Nagasaki, and the situation
of the city at its extremity. Swelling hills,
covered with verdure, rise from the waters
edge. The thatched roofs of snug cottages
peep from out the dense foliage amid which
they nestle PERCEPTIONS walls of rock are
mirrored in the azure blue of the waters at
their base. The Japanese are courteous,
affable, gentlemanlike, and good natured,
quite different from the description our dis
interested friends, the Dutch, gave of theIa,
Jeddo, the capital, is larger than London,
and contains three millions of people. The
leading street is ten miles long, and closely
packed with stuceoed houses Hero are the
palaces of three hundred and sixty of the
hereditary princes, each sovereign in his
own dominions, but compelled to reside in
the capital for six months in the year.
Some of the mansions are made to hold ten
thousand retainers. The palace of secular
king is surrounded by triple wall, and
gives lodging to forty thousand people. The
streets are spacious, clean, and airy; no dirt,
no smells, no street Instructions. In the
country, every cottage, temple, and tea
house is surrounded by gardens, laid out in
most exquisite taste. Tea-houses are found
in every shady nook or by pleasant rivers.
The tea is served by the ministrations of
fair damsels, who glide rapidly and noise
lessly about suspecting no indecorum and
meaning none
Strange that we should have known so
little of this modern Atlantic, this beautiful
isle set in the silver sea! Stranger still that
we should have worked out SO perfect and
yet so grotesque species of civilization,
like the devices on their own ware, odd and
startling, but minutely finished off. Here
we have two kings, one spiritual, who can
trace up his lineage for twenty-five hundred
years; the other secular, who commands the
forces, both dwelling in the city like broth
ers. The Japanese seem to be the most im
pressible nation on earth whatever they
see they initiate, telescopes, aneroides, steam
engines, spy-glasses, &c.-and yet they have
hitherto locked themselves up within an i'm
penetrable barrier.
They have, however, one curious institu-
ton which prevails to slight degree among
ourselves. 1t is what they call g Nayboen,"
or "make believe" 1t is as man disbe-
leves the evidence of his senses and acts ac-
cordingly. If man dies in debt he is sup
posed to be alive, and his family draws his
income regularly to pay his creditors. If
man commits suicide on being insulted, he
is not supposed to be dead until some time
has elapsed when he is said to have depart
ed from disease. So when Lord Elgin
boldly dashed into the prohibited precincts
of the harbor of Jeddo, after a little puzzled
amazement, the japanese authorities deter
mined to practice "Neyboen," and believe
he was somewhere else.
Among other branches of useful education
taught at the schools, the young patricians
are instructed in the forms and ceremonies
of hd'i hiri; that is, of ripping oneself up
If q noble is out of favor at court, if supe-
rior insult him, if he have committed an er-
ror in diplomacy, he invites all his friends
to grand banquet, and when all are well
fed and comfortable, he performs the hdri
k1ri gracefully before them. Ever since the
Americans gained footing in Japan this
curious ceremony has been performed. We
! hope that Lord Elgin's treaty with this inn
perturbable nation will not be celebrated by
such extraordinary performances.
Our exports to Japan, last year. amounted
to &200. Surely this wonderful people
must have something to export and some
thing to import too. They will not export
any manufactured articles, but they will
readily import them. Our warm woolens
and stout cottons are just the thing for the
northern districts. We trust our manufac-
turers are awake to this new market, and
will not allow themselves to be beaten, as
they were in China, by the Americans and
Russians, even in our staple manufactures
LtrerpoOI Courier.