Things Japanese, being Notes on various subjects connected with Japan for the use of Travellers and others. By Basil Hall Chamberlain. 8vo., Limp cloth, 470pp. With a map. Third edition, revised. London: John Murray. Yokohama, Shanghai, Hongkong, Singapore, Kelly and Walsh, Ld. 1898.
When Mr. Chamberlain compiled that delightful book Things Japanese, out of the stores of his own knowledge and his notebooks and the works of such delightful writers as Sara Jeannette Duncan, he was probably hardly conscious himself of the benefit he was conferring on generations of visitors to Japan, and still larger gencrations of those who would like to go to Japan but are restrained by an implacable fate. Heaps of books have been written on Japan, heaps more will be written by globe-trotters who have the money to engage a photographer, a printer, and a publisher; but there are only two books indispensable to the intelligent visitor to Traing Sun-land, Murray's Guide and Things Japanese. We learn from the preface, though this does not seem possible, that seven years have lapsed since the printing of the second edition these seven years have seen many changes and necessitated many additions and corrections, and Mr. Chamberlain has conscientiously brought his third edition up to date. We can never entirely forgive him for not including in subsequent editions Miss Danean's account of " Interviewing Japan," which appeared in his first issue.
But it is what there is in this third edition that interests us uow, not what there isn't. There is something about nearly everything that you want to know about Japan, told in the pleasantest manner, exceedingly trustworthy, and with a list of books recommended " after every important article. There is one drawback to the book; it is so fascinating that when you go to find a particular subject something else attracts you, and something will attract you wherever you open it, and you go on reading, and forget about what you wanted to find. You want to learn something about Agriculture Japan, and you come across an article on the Amos, and find a story that explains why dogs cannot speak "Formerly dogs could speak. Now they, cannot, The rosen is. that a dog belong: ing to a certain' man a long time ago, inveigled his master into the forest under the pretext of showing him game, and there caused him to be devoured by a hear. 'Then the dog went home to his master's widow, and lied to her, saying: 'My master has been killed by a hear. But when he was dying, he comnianded me to tell you to marry me in his stead'! 'The widow knew that the dog was lying. But he kept on urging her to marry him. So at last, in her grief and rage, she threw a handful' of dust into his open mouth. This made him unable to speak any more, and therefore no dogs can speak even to this very day."
It suddenly strikes you that you ought to know something about the Geology of Inpan; but, alas on the same page is an article on Globe-trotters, to which you switch off at once, and find a faithful translation of a description of the genus from 'Mr. Netto's Papicrschmetterlinge aus Japan, in which the different species are portrayed. They are (1) Globe-trotter communist; (2) Globe-trotter' scientific us; (8) Globe-trotter elegant; (4) Globe-trotter' independent; (5) Globe-trotter princeps; and in addition the GT. desperatus, dolores, locusts, and amabilis, Who can resist a book like this? Te costs only five yen, and it is made more useful by the possession of a most readable introductory chapter and a good index,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.