The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1868-01-04

peculiarly careless and dangerous way OF smoking ooacco
constant occurrence and their fire brgades
kept in full practice Their remen as well trained and
fearless own and expose their lives with even greater
reckessness The engines in made OF Wood and
seem be of very little in extnguishing large fire.
They chiefly employed, it appears to pump upon the
remen whose business it is to pull down the burning houses
and who, being clothed in full suits of armor would oher
wise be literally baked 1t is thought however, that this
primitive practice will long be superseded by the intro
ducon of the English method and English engines. An
other thing in which the japanese rather behind the
western world is wrestling. This is very popular sport
with the whole peoples and champion wrestler there is an
object of much admiration Tom Crib and Owen Swift
among ourselves The mistake of the Japanese
in practcing kind of wrestling wherein weight rather
than strength agility must win the day. The wreste
raised PLATFORM which wide circular marked
and it is the object of each athlete push his antagonist
beyond the ring fall counts but still the victory is
until least great toe thumb has been thrust over
the boundary ne the result being that when both men are
the ground of dragging and pushing and heav
ing commences in which stone of extra weight is
obviously very advantageous The wresters aten them
selves up for their work. and they do neglect their
muscular development the time their bulk is
thing quite astonishing But of the oldest the
minor oddities of this people is their practice with regard to
public singers. The japanese delight in singing and a
of singers to belong to the household OF each OF
the emperor and perhaps also to the households of the
wealthier nobility Yet spite of this public appreciation
Of the these singers do enter their profession
because of any natural aptness for it, They mostly de-
graded gentlemen whose property has been forfeited to the
State for some high crime or misdemeanor and who
reduced to this method of earning livelihood. Why they
should all take to singing-why good voice and bad
character should in Japan always togehers than
!
ing the general love of song japanese gentleman
sings He would be thought to have disgaced himself by
such action that the profession and pursuit of this art
for money esteemed light punishment in ITSELF
and above the forfeiture ogoods Seeing however, that
cupr unless mseraby Indifferent to the requirements of
his high position could have had any practice beforehand
confess considerable feeling of curiosity to what
japanese resemble The japanese live much in
public and the theater is very favorite with
them. 1t is open from half past ten in the morning till late
in the evening" and the plays proporionaby long One
drawing an interior which is more like that of an
Syle than Mo
of is divided into square boxes like pew which gen
orally taken by families who bring their dinners with them
Down each side long open galleries, above and
between the middle boxes and the sides raised panks
from which dispensing refreshments Next
the theaer wrestling and concerts the eahouses and
bathng-rooms both institutions which have given ground
for reflections japanese morality but which
facts hardly to warrant OF the "teahouse different
travellers give different accounts representing 1T
merely japanese CremOrne Others ordinary place
of refreshments like suburban "teagardens jap
ane gentlemen take their wives and daughters to these
places but used English gentlemen take their wives and
daughters Vauxhall within the memory of living
The mattresses at the suspcousy
numerous and pretty But Mr. Silver says nothing against
teahouses and his drawing represents private party of
ladies and gentlemen at of them, slightly elevated
sa with of the cavaliers flirting with his neighbours
wife if rather more noisiy quite innoceny perhaps
in Belgravia. The bahingtub however, is a scandal
European which cannot be CLOSED Not only do
the battle promscuousy but the bathrooms open
to the street and it is certainly long time since have
anything comic the picture of of them in Mr.
Svers book The figures the ladies have all
faered Seated their launches, they look like
kangaroos than human beings. Mr. Silver maintains and
he very likely to be right that long habit and familiarity
make the system of promscuous bathing quite harmless;
and that young ladies and walk about together only
in the costume but in all the innocence of Eden. The
political constitution of japanese society perhaps the best
known thing about the people The government specifically
least is very like the feudal system it fourshed five
hundred years ago. powerful and wealthy aristocracy he
Damos) presided by temporal sovereign (the
Tycoon) and spiritual sovereign he Mikador The lat
office is strictly hereditary and said have descended
through the present family for thousand five hundred
years. The Tycoon is both elective and in here
dtay He is chosen by the damios but their choice is
restricted the members of three families The idea of
gentleman to have taken deep in the Japanese
mind We have yet great deal to learn of their
cpe obesse obge further than it has been carried
by those with whom the maxim originated Hence the
strange institution called hara-k which is an Ingenious
Continuance for saving the honor of ones family The only