Some Features of Japanese Life. II

528 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

covers over, a person may be "as snug as a bug in a rug." Were I to express my feelings on this kind of comfort, I should say that I never slept better in my life, and I wish all the unfortunate poor could rest in such a warm and convenient bed. Alongside the bed of each person, there is placed a paper lantern from which the dull light of the flickering tallow-dip shines all night long. After invoking the blessings of Heaven upon us in our new home, we completed the lessons of the day by getting into our Japanese cradles on the floor, where sleep soon closed our eyes upon these scenes of the first twelve hours of real life in the Mikado's empire.