customs are still in force, and every dwelling has its half-open
bath-house, whilst the people do as they like in the matter of
clothing.

After stopping twice on the road, to drink the inevitable tea, we
changed from our carriage to _jinrikishas_, each drawn and pushed by
four strong men, bowling along at a merry pace. The sun was very warm
in the sheltered valleys, and the abundance of evergreens of all kinds
quite deluded one into the belief that it was summer time, especially
as camellias grew like forest trees, covered with red and white bloom,
amidst a dense tangle of bamboos and half-hardy palms. There were many
strange things upside down to be seen on efther hand--horses and cows
with bells on their tails instead of on their necks, the quadrupeds
well clothed, their masters without a scrap of covering, tailors
sewing from them instead of to them, a carpenter reversing the action
of his saw and plane. It looked just as if they had originally learned
the various processes in 'Alice's Looking-glass World' in some former
stage of their existence.

We had not long left the town before our men began to undress each
other; for their clothes were so tight that it required no
inconsiderable effort to remove them. Some of them were beautifully
tattooed. My wheeler had the root of a tree depicted on one foot, from
which sprang the trunk and branches, spreading gradually, until on his
back and chest they bore fruit and flowers, amongst which birds were
perched. On his other leg was a large stork, supposed, I imagine, to
be standing under the shadow of the same tree. Another man had human
figures tattooed all over him, in various attitudes.

[Illustration: A Drag across the Sand in a Jinrikisha.]