Madame Chrysanthème | Page 6

opened to our view through an
enchanted fissure, allowing us to penetrate into her very heart.
Nagasaki, as yet unseen, must be at the extremity of this long and
peculiar bay. All around us was exquisitely green. The strong sea-
breeze had suddenly fallen, and was succeeded by a calm; the
atmosphere, now very warm, was laden with the perfume of flowers. In
the valley resounded the ceaseless whirr of the cicalas, answering one
another from shore to shore; the mountains reechoed with innumerable
sounds; the whole country seemed to vibrate like crystal. We passed
among myriads of Japanese junks, gliding softly, wafted by
imperceptible breezes on the smooth water; their motion could hardly
be heard, and their white sails, stretched out on yards, fell languidly in
a thousand horizontal folds like window-blinds, their strangely
contorted poops, rising up castle- like in the air, reminding one of the
towering ships of the Middle Ages. In the midst of the verdure of this
wall of mountains, they stood out with a snowy whiteness.

What a country of verdure and shade is Japan; what an unlooked-for
Eden!
Beyond us, at sea, it must have been full daylight; but here, in the
depths of the valley, we already felt the impression of evening; beneath
the summits in full sunlight, the base of the mountains and all the
thickly wooded parts near the water's edge were steeped in twilight.
The passing junks, gleaming white against the background of dark
foliage, were silently and dexterously manoeuvred by small, yellow,
naked men, with long hair piled up on their heads in feminine fashion.
Gradually, as we advanced farther up the green channel, the perfumes
became more penetrating, and the monotonous chirp of the cicalas
swelled out like an orchestral crescendo. Above us, against the
luminous sky, sharply delineated between the mountains, a kind of
hawk hovered, screaming out, with a deep, human voice, "Ha! Ha!
Ha!" its melancholy call prolonged by the echoes.
All this fresh and luxuriant nature was of a peculiar Japanese type,
which seemed to impress itself even on the mountain-tops, and
produced the effect of a too artificial prettiness. The trees were grouped
in clusters, with the pretentious grace shown on lacquered trays. Large
rocks sprang up in exaggerated shapes, side by side with rounded,
lawn- like hillocks; all the incongruous elements of landscape were
grouped together as if artificially created.
When we looked intently, here and there we saw, often built in
counterscarp on the very brink of an abyss, some old, tiny, mysterious
pagoda, half hidden in the foliage of the overhanging trees, bringing to
the minds of new arrivals, like ourselves, a sense of unfamiliarity and
strangeness, and the feeling that in this country the spirits, the sylvan
gods, the antique symbols, faithful guardians of the woods and forests,
were unknown and incomprehensible.
When Nagasaki appeared, the view was rather disappointing. Situated
at the foot of green overhanging mountains, it looked like any other
ordinary town. In front of it lay a tangled mass of vessels, flying all the
flags of the world; steamboats, just as in any other port, with dark

funnels and black smoke, and behind them quays covered with
warehouses and factories; nothing was wanting in the way of ordinary,
trivial, every-day objects.
Some time, when man shall have made all things alike, the earth will be
a dull, tedious dwelling-place, and we shall have even to give up
travelling and seeking for a change which can no longer be found.
About six o'clock we dropped anchor noisily amid the mass of vessels
already in the harbor, and were immediately invaded.
We were visited by a mercantile, bustling, comical Japan, which rushed
upon us in full boat-loads, in waves, like a rising sea. Little men and
little women came in a continuous, uninterrupted stream, but without
cries, without squabbles, noiselessly, each one making so smiling a
bow that it was impossible to be angry with them, so that by reflex
action we smiled and bowed also. They carried on their backs little
baskets, tiny boxes, receptacles of every shape, fitting into one another
in the most ingenious manner, each containing several others, and
multiplying till they filled up everything, in endless number. From
these they drew forth all manner of curious and unexpected things:
folding screens, slippers, soap, lanterns, sleeve-links, live cicalas
chirping in little cages, jewelry, tame white mice turning little
cardboard mills, quaint photographs, hot soups and stews in bowls,
ready to be served out in rations to the crew;--china, a legion of vases,
teapots, cups, little pots and plates. In one moment, all this was
unpacked, spread out with astounding rapidity and a certain talent for
arrangement; each seller squatting monkey-like, hands touching feet,
behind his fancy ware--always smiling, bending low with the most
engaging