Sapporo, 4th August. We Leave Mororan.
I am not writing a statistical report and cannot therefore pretend to absolute accuracy, but it nther strikes me that Mo-oran exports a good deal of coal and railway sleepers. There was an Enslish steamer loading up with sie-pers at the time of my visit, and along the railway line there? was every evidence that a brisk export of coal and sleepers was going on. Our guide to the inu village had told us of fine sulphur springs at Nob -ribetou, about an hoar along the Mororan-S "pporo railway line, and though we afterwards found out that his desire that we should visit those springs, which were, he better then the famous ones at Ari ma, near Kobe, may have been mainly owing to the fact that his hotel, the Maruichi, had a branch there, the event proved that he spoke truly, an' that Noborib-tsu was furthermore a deligh: ful place to visit owing to its great natural beauty.
Noboribetsu.
The hotel having duly provided us, after the Japinese fashion, wish a letter of into duction to the un at Noborib tsu, we set forth, well <a'isfied with our freit: ment at the Maruich T may here paus> a moment to remark that we did not always, during the course of our tour, visit the places best worth visiting, and that on this account the Shanghai resident who intends to see Hokka'do this autumn ing or autumn is the best time to visit Yezo, it beng. generally too hot in summer, during which season, moreover, there blows the diswrevabl+ wint of which T hwe already spoken, th" Yamase, that makes one feel quite miserable if he ix at all subject ty "nerves,"—can greatly improve on the journeys we made. In the first_pl-ce he should' by all means visit the Lakes, the favorite holiday resort in the neighbourhood of Hakodate, and the volcanic mountains of Koma-gs-take and Esau, A Japan-se gentleman whom I met has depicted in glowing colours the natural beauties of Lake Un, which is sivuiled at no grea' distance from Mororan. This gentleman was intensely interested in the development of Hokkaido intact he was one of the delegates to the Agricultural and Comme: cial Conzress at Sapporo of which I have already spoken; and it was characteristic of thx modern Japanese that after drawing for my benefit a map of the lake and expatia ing on the beauty of the island it contained and the lofty mountains which surrounded it, he wrote on the perks of these mountains the names of the important minerals they had been found to contain.
The Tanka Railway.
The Tanka Railway Company, into one of whose carriages I now entered for the first time, is a fairly good railway, built on the broad guage and provided with corridor cars on the American plan. The first-class curriaves are fairly comfortable. being provided with little tables where one can eat rice and cakes and dri-k beer, a'lof which and many other articles of food and luxury are to be hid at stations along the Me, all the Sapporo. There isa plac- in the cam for the winter stove. and hot Jap: te. is provided gratis by an attendant yees of the Tanka Railway zo n band on their ps, and are attentive if one sp-aks Japanese. Very few of them understand any European language.
The hanging oil lamps used_in_ the first-class carriages are of an antique pattern and their brass fittings give them the air of ancient chandeliers from some old inn at home. Tue English of the notice to passen: ers which is hung up in each carriage is funny reiding, und minkes one wonder why a well-: o-do company should not casu t xn Englishman or an American about the wording of permanent notices of this kind, English as she is Japped.
The Japanese are evidently very fond of having signs ani directions written in Eazlsh, even when there is not the slightest need for it. I have even seen, on: of the streets behind the Ginza' Tok'o, a small dust-bax with the word dust-box painted on it, although there are no European houses in the vicinity; and several of those street stal's where jinriccoolies buy their rice and hot soup "mi consume it standing are ornamented with the words Restaulant; meal very cheape." Tt is not to be wonder at that these signs are badly sjelt and that letters are oftes turnel the wrong way. What surprises me is that wealthy commercial stablishments often have thole signs, notices and adver'isoments written in equil'y execrable English. F.r instance, one large bazar on the Ginza bears the singular sign Looking free," which mans that anybody can enter to lovk at the gools exposed for sale even though he dos not intend to make any purchases. It seems to me tha. this inco.- rect Eng ish ix mostly due to stud-nts who, if they do know a litre of the language, are by no mens shy of putting their knowledge to practical use, especially if their father or any vf their relatives owns a shop.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.