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CHAPTER XXVIII. LIKE THE BREATH OF A CLAM. AS happy as a clam at high water " is the fisherman's account of himself when his fancy is tickled for the moment by something pleasant and he is filled with delight. But to the far Orientals the idea seems to be reversed. The clams, which are called " chestnuts of the shore," enter into rapture and day-dreams when the tide recedes. Then from the open mouth of the giant clam rises a vapor which creates a mirage of wonders. The clam's breath forms all the gorgeous things which to human imagination appear in dreams. Palaces of delight are thus built in the air in unsubstantial majesty. Until Perry and the American ships appeared off the obscure village of Yokohama, or " cross strand," it lay on the bay of Yedo scarcely better known than a chestnut dropped by chance into the forest, or a clam living in the sandy mud of the sea-shore. But if a farmer from the Echizen rice-fields had looked upon the scene that revealed itself on the first day of July, 1859, he would surely have thought he was looking upon the deceptive mirage of the clam's breath. Instead of the little hamlet of thatch, wattle, and mud, with a few fishermen's nets spread out to dry, and brown children wading 338
LIKE THE BREATH OF A CLAM. 339 in the water, there was a bustling town full of quickly moving foreigners, busy merchants, carpenters sawing and pounding as if for dear life or double wages, porters carrying bundles, and muscu- lar fellows pushing with guttural shouts their loaded carts. Out in the bay a fleet of war and merchant ships, flying a variety of flags, steam launches and lighters, sail and row and scull boats by the hun- dreds, made almost a floating city. For days and weeks beforehand the government of Yedo had been busy building a causeway run- ning from Kanagawa over to the " cross strand," and in laying out streets and places for the consu- lates and other buildings. Large jetties had been built out into the water from which the ships could unload their cargoes. Hundreds of merchants were already on the ground. To build the grand new houses hundreds of carpenters had been summoned from Yedo and other cities. The phenomenon was more like a growth of one of the American cities on the prairies, for it required but a few days and weeks for this wonderful treaty port to spring up as by the touch of a wand. On this day, July 1, 1859, there were Americans, Englishmen, Frenchmen, and several other kinds of Europeans, who were bargaining with and buying from the Japanese, changing round dollars for square coins, and each one endeavoring to get the best of the other in mercantile exchange. The lacquered cabinets, the choice silks, the carved ivories, the tea, and all the varied produce of Japan were being
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CHAPTER XXVIII.<br />
LIKE THE BREATH OF A CLAM.<br />
AS happy as a clam at high water " is the fisherman's<br />
account of himself when his fancy is<br />
tickled for the moment by something pleasant and<br />
he is filled with delight. But to the far Orientals<br />
the idea seems to be reversed. The clams, which<br />
are called " chestnuts of the shore," enter into rapture<br />
and day-dreams when the tide recedes. Then<br />
from the open mouth of the giant clam rises a vapor<br />
which creates a mirage of wonders. The clam's<br />
breath forms all the gorgeous things which to human<br />
imagination appear in dreams. Palaces of delight<br />
are thus built in the air in unsubstantial majesty.<br />
Until Perry and the American ships appeared off<br />
the obscure village of Yokohama, or " cross strand,"<br />
it lay on the bay of Yedo scarcely better known<br />
than a chestnut dropped by chance into the forest,<br />
or a clam living in the sandy mud of the sea-shore.<br />
But if a farmer from the Echizen rice-fields had<br />
looked upon the scene that revealed itself on the<br />
first day of July, 1859, he would surely have thought<br />
he was looking upon the deceptive mirage of the<br />
clam's breath. Instead of the little hamlet of<br />
thatch, wattle, and mud, with a few fishermen's<br />
nets spread out to dry, and brown children wading<br />
338