no ornaments in their hair, nothing fine or brilliantly colored in their clothing, no rouge on the face, but the teeth black as ebony, in accordance with Japanese usage. The young girls, on the contrary, increase the natural whiteness of the teeth by a coat of carmine on the lips, rouge their cheeks, braid bands of scarlet crape among their black hair, and wear a broad girdle of brilliant colors. As to the children, their costume consisted of gay plaid robes and girdles; their heads were shaved, but, according to age or sex, several tufts of greater or less length were left, some loose, some bound together in a sort of chignon.

at once,

3. After the usual salutations and bows, the orators of the deputation, for there were two or three who spoke made me many handsome compliments in Japanese, to which I replied in French, inviting them to enter the parlor. Certainly, I had been understood; for I heard expressions of thanks which I had already learned; and yet, instead of ascending the steps, they appeared to ask some further explanation.

4. Finally, the graceful company perceived my ignorance; adding gesture to words, they asked, "Shall we take off our shoes in the garden, or will it answer to do so on the veranda? I decided in favor of the latter. place; whereupon they mounted the steps, took off their sandals, and joyously trod the carpets of the parlor, the children with bare feet, the grown persons with cotton stockings divided at the end by a thumb for the great

toe.

5. Their first feeling was a naïve admiration of what they saw, followed immediately by a general hilarity; for the tall pier-glasses, descending to the floor, reflected and repeated their forms, from head to foot, behind as well as in front. While the younger visitors continued to contemplate this phenomenon, so new and attractive to

them, the married women asked me to explain the meaning of the pictures on the walls. I stated that they represented the Tycoon of Holland and his wife, together with several distinguished members of the reigning family.

6. They respectfully bowed; but one of them, whose curiosity was not satisfied, timidly expressed the opinion that the portrait of the groom of his Dutch Majesty had been included in the royal company. I did not enlighten her, for she could never have comprehended the noble fashion of representing a prince on foot, beside his saddle-horse, and even holding the bridle, like a Japanese groom.

7. Others, after having carefully examined the velvet of the chairs and sofas, came to me for the decision of a question which had arisen among them, concerning the use of those pieces of furniture. They agreed that the chairs were made to be sat upon; but the sofas - did we not crouch upon them, with crossed legs, when the meals were served? They heartily commiserated the ladies and gentlemen of the West, who were obliged to use such an inconvenient piece of furniture, always sitting with their feet painfully resting on the floor.

8. My bedroom, opening from the parlor, was next invaded. I cannot describe all the subjects of astonishment, discovered by the curious troop. Being Japanese, they were none the less daughters of Eve; and the forbidden fruit which tempted them the most was an assortment of uniform buttons with the Swiss cross upon them. I was obliged to give them a few, although it was impossible to conjecture what use they would make of them, since all Japanese garments are simply bound with silk cords.

9. The gift of some articles of Parisian perfumery was well appreciated; but I could not make them understand the merits of Cologne, for the cambric handkerchief is

unknown to Japanese ladies. They informed me that the poorest girl would never degrade herself by carrying in her pocket an article with which she had wiped her nose. The little squares of paper which they carry for the purpose are not likely, therefore, to be easily supplanted.

10. I next exhibited to them a case containing an assortment of sewing thread, pins, and needles, and asked them to make use of it. They were unanimous in recognizing the imperfection of all their native implements for sewing. The needle by no means occupies the same place in their native society as in our family circles at home. Sewing, for example, is never seen during the visits and the long gossips of the Japanese women; even as men, in Europe, have recourse to the cigar, they employ only the pipe to season their hours of conversation. I gave to the children some small pictures of Swiss landscapes and costumes, and showed to the grown persons an album of family photographs, which they examined with an interest and expression of feeling which were truly touching. — M. Humbert.

XLV. THE PRAIRIE ON FIRE.

THE HE sleep of the fugitives lasted for several hours. Rising, just as the gray light of day began to brighten that portion of the studded vault which rested on the eastern margin of the plain, the trapper summoned his companions from their warm lairs, and pointed out the necessity of their being once more on the alert.

2. "See, Middleton!" exclaimed Inez, in a sudden burst of youthful pleasure, that caused her for a moment to forget her situation, "how lovely that sky is; surely it contains a promise of happier times!"

3. "It is glorious!" returned her husband. "Glorious and heavenly is that streak of vivid red; and here is a still brighter crimson. Rarely have I seen a richer rising of the sun."

4. Rising of the sun!" slowly repeated the old man, lifting his tall person from his seat, with a deliberate and abstracted air, while he kept his eye riveted on the changing and beautiful tints that were garnishing the vault of heaven. "Rising of the sun! I like not such risings of the sun. Ah's me! the Indians have circumvented us! The prairie is on fire!"

5. "Oh, dreadful!" cried Middleton, catching Inez to his bosom, under the instant impression of the imminence of their danger. "There is no time to lose, old man; each instant is a day. Let us fly!"

6. "Whither?" demanded the trapper, motioning him, with calmness and dignity, to arrest his steps. "In this wilderness of grass and reeds, we are like a vessel in the broad lakes without a compass. A single step on the wrong course might prove the destruction of us all. Danger is seldom so pressing that there is not time enough for reason to do its work, young officer; therefore, let us await its biddings. Follow me a little to the left, where there is a rising in the ground whence we may make our reconnoiterings."

7. An eye less practiced than that of the trapper might have failed in discovering the gentle elevation to which he alluded, and which looked, on the surface of the meadow, like a growth a little taller than common. When they reached the place, however, the stunted grass itself announced the absence of that moisture which had fed the rank weeds of most of the plain, and furnished a clue to the evidence by which he had judged of the formation of the ground hidden beneath.

8. Here, a few minutes were lost in breaking down the

tops of the surrounding herbage, to obtain a look-out that would command a view of the surrounding sea of fire. Huge columns of smoke were rolling up from the plain, and thickening in gloomy masses along the horizon. The red glow which gleamed upon their enormous folds,— now lighting their volumes with the glare of the conflagration, now flashed to another point, as the flame beneath glided ahead, leaving all behind enveloped in awful darkness, and proclaiming more loudly than words, the character of the imminent and rapidly approaching danger.

"But

9. "This is terrible!" exclaimed Middleton. we are men, and will make a struggle for our lives! How now, my brave and spirited friend;— shall we mount, and push across the flames?"

10. "Think you," returned the old man, pointing scornfully at the mazes of the dry and matted grass which environed them, "that mortal feet can outstrip the speed of fire on such a path?"

11. The old man, who had continued during the whole scene like one much at a loss how to proceed, suddenly assumed a decided air, as if he no longer hesitated as to the course it was most advisable to pursue.

12. "You have come to your recollection too late, miserable old man!" cried Middleton; "the flames are within a quarter of a mile of us, and the wind is bringing them down in this direction with dreadful rapidity.”

13. The flames! I care but little for the flames! Do you call this a fire? If you had seen what I have witnessed in the eastern hills, when mighty mountains were like the furnace of a smith, you would have known what it was to fear the flames, and to be thankful that you were spared. Come, lads, come; 'tis time to be doing now, and to cease talking, for yonder curling flame is truly coming on like a trotting moose. Put hands