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populous portion of Yedo lies beyond these hills, but that was now hidden from our view.

Such is the appearance which Yedo presents when viewed from the summit of Atango-yama. This hill now bears the modern title of "Grande Vue," and well it deserves the name. After we had enjoyed this magnificent view for some time, we descended by the stone steps and resumed our ride. Our road now skirted a hill clothed with noble timber-trees and surrounded with walls. This was the Imperial cemetery. A short distance beyond this we crossed the first or outer moat, and were then in the "official quarter," amongst the residences of the Daimios and their retainers. Here the streets are wide, straight, and cleanly kept, and altogether have quite a different appearance from those we had already passed through. Good drains are carried down each side to take off the superfluous water. All we saw of the houses of the Daimios was the outer walls, the grated windows, and the massive-looking doors, many of them decorated with the armorial bearings of their owners. These buildings were low-generally two stories high; their foundations and lower walls were formed of massive stonework, and the upper part of wood and chunam. Judging from the general length of the outer street walls, the interior of these places must be of great size; indeed such must necessarily be the case, to enable them to accommodate the large number of retainers which these princes always keep about them. As we rode along,

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many of these retainers showed themselves at the grated windows. It might be only fancy on my part, but I thought I could discern little good-will or friendly feeling towards ourselves in their coun

tenances.

I have just stated that we crossed a bridge over a deep moat before entering the Daimios' quarter. In order to give an idea of the plan of this part of the city, I may compare the moat to a rope loosely coiled; the end of the outer coil dipping as it were into the river, and supplying the whole with water. It is not correct to say, as is sometimes said, that there are three concentric circles, each surrounded by a moat. The Tycoon's palace and the offices of his ministers are situated in the centre of the coil, while the outer and wider portion encircles the mansions of the feudal princes.

The second or inner moat and enclosure was now in view in front of us, with its houses and palaces on rising ground. On the inner side of this circling-moat there are high walls on the water's edge formed of large blocks of stone, of a polygonal form, and nicely fitted into each other without the aid of lime or cement. This is a favourite mode of building in Japan in all cases in which stone is used. The plan is probably adopted in order to render such structures more secure in a country like this which is so subject to earthquakes. In some places sloping banks of green turf rise steeply from the edge of the moat, and are crowned at the top with a massive wall. A landslip in these banks,

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however, showed that the wall which apparently crowned their summits had its foundation far below, and that the banks themselves had been formed in green banks front of the wall. On many of these there are groups of juniper and pine trees, while inside the wall itself tall specimens of the same trees rear their lofty heads high above the ramparts. No embrasures or places for guns were observed in these walls, although one would imagine they had been erected for the purposes of defence. Kæmpfer, however, assigns another reason; "Yedo is not enclosed with a wall, no more says, than other towns in Japan, but cut through by many broad canals, with ramparts raised on both sides, and planted at the top with rows of trees, not so much for defence as to prevent the fires-which happen here too frequently-from making too great a havoc."

my visit, A few months previous to the time of the Gotiro, or Regent of the Empire, had been waylaid and murdered in open day, as he was proceeding from his residence to his office in the inner quarter. The scene of this tragedy was pointed out to me. A writer in the Edinburgh Review' gives the following graphic account of

this horrid murder :

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"Within the second moated circle facing the bay, the causeway leads over a gentle acclivity, near the summit of which, lying a little backward, is an imposing gateway, flanked on either side with a range of buildings, which form the

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