Niigata, July 9.

The “gorgeous east” is not a phrase which applies to anything in Japan except to a few of the temples. The cities, with their low, grey, wooden houses, are singularly mean, and the shops, as far as outward appearance goes, are as mean as all else; for the best textile goods cannot be exposed for fear of injury from damp, dust, and rain, and though there are a number of “curio,” or, as we should call them, second-hand shops, they only expose common things in the street. The china, confectionery, toy, and shrine shops, make the best show. If one has time and patience, by diving into a small back shop, or climbing by a steep ladder into a loft, one may chance to see priceless things in old lacquer; but each article is hidden away in its own well-made deal box and its many wrappings of soft silk, or crêpe-like paper. The coopers' and basket-makers' shops contain articles of exquisite neatness of workmanship and singular adaptability. I never pass a cooper's without longing to become a purchaser. A common tub, by careful choice of woods and attention to taste and neatness of detail, is turned into an objet d'art.