Year: 1860

Extract of letter dated Nagasaj, Oct 10, 1851


We were fortunate ia arriving here Nag
aSaki) just before their greatest national feS-
tvel, which lasted three days during which
work was at a stand still aud frolicking the
order of the day The whole of Tuesday morn.
ing was devoted to kind of procession and
theatrical enterta Emcnt performed by children
the streets there were great many different
small companies, each one carrying its own
stage, scenery and dresses aud from this fact
YOU NAV Judge, it was not very elaborate but
most amusing, and some Of the children per-
formed extremely well, throwing into their
gestures aud looks so much expression, that
although we could not understand the lam
guage wecouId make out the plot by some of
their antics We witnessed the performances
from a temporary booth or stand erected for
the accommodation of the foreigners and each
little company came and performed its rcspcc-
tive piece before US, which gave also an op-
lortuulty of seeiog fair sample crowd Of
japanese men aud woman aud | don't know
whether | was more interested IN their appear
ance than they were in mine, for they have nOt
vet seen a sufficient number OF foreign ladies
for our attraction to have worn of. On the
afternoon Of the same day we took a walk
through the city, accompanied by the Captain
cousiguces, two very agreeable young Hoau-
derS, but was the cynoSurc, aad collected
crowd wherever ! went the boys sometimes
running ahead and then turning around to
have a good look and if we stopped a few
minutes to examine anything novel We were
soon hemmed in by staring audience. At
one place, where we made a halt a young
japanese girl gave me throughout scrutiny,
and after examining my skin, hands fingers,
rings, bracelets brooch, &c, gave it as her
opinion that the Captain was a lucky man in
aaving me for a wife the hoops puzzled her.
and had not put a stop to her proceedings |
do not know how minute her investigation
might have been but must say that, aIth0
very curious, they are not rude and are rcadi.
II checked if too familiar We had another
rare frol;c on Thursday. We were invited in
to a merchants house, where a regular feast
was set on. There we're also present several
Americans and here We bad en- opportunity
of seeing the japanese at home, and moreover
the gentlemen Informed me that | was proba.
biy the first foreign lady (for here we must
call ourselves fOreigners) who had visited a
japanese merchants house for our host is
one of the first merchants in this place, hold.
ing among his countrymen position equiya-


lent to Russell d Co. in China There was
great variety of edibles; some Of the dishes
were strange ones to our paIates and as the
only implements to work with we're chOp-sticks,
you may imagine we had to take a lesson in
using them, and from our experience Of the
feast will not oe inclined to adopt japanese
cooking. There was neither table nor chairs


the food being distributed OF the floor in dish
eS and bowls, and eaten from small cups and
pates-By the bye, there were few chairs
but the japanese do not use them, as they al


WAYS sit on the floor The house was beaut-
fully clean and neat and the people truly kind
and good hearted | underwent a good eX-
animation here also, and even the hoops were
not forgotten mantila, bonnet, bracelets, all
were scrutnzed, ard The question was asked


what | might be sold for This was rich
You must imagine the whole YVES fine fun for
us, aud the pleasure seemed mutual, for they
were apparently as pleased in entertaining as
We in being entertained and SO unexpected,
as we did not know where we were going when
We went on shore. Some of the girls have
very pleasing faces, but generally the eyes
have the pointed shape peculiar to the Chinese


The dress of the women seems to differ from
the other sex only in the sash being much
broader and differently arranged in the back


The city itself presents no beauty of appear
ance, the houses being ordinary looking frame
buildings, but at the same time very neat and
clean inside, and generally pretty little gar
den III the rear. The country about Nagasaki