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Variety of Fashions in Shoes: Japanese

The shoes or slippers of the Japanese, as we are informed by Professor Thunberg, are made of rice-straw, woven; but sometimes, for people of distinction, of fine slips of ratan The shoe consists of a sole, without upper-leather or hindpiece: forwards, it is crossed by a strap, of the thickness of one's finger, which is lined with linen; from the tip of the shoe to the strap, a cylindrical string is carried, which passes between the great and second toe, and keeps the shoe fast on the foot. As these shoes have no hind-piece, they make a noise, when people walk in them, like slippers. When the Japanese travel, their shoes are furnished with three strings made of twisted straw, with which they are tied to the legs and feet, to prevent them from falling. Some people carry one or more pairs of shoes with them on their journeys, in order to put on new when the old ones are worn out. When it rains, or the roads are very dirty, these shoes are soon wetted through; and a great number of worn-out shoes are continually seen lying on the roads, especially near the brooks, where travellers have changed their shoes after washing their feet.

Instead of these, in rainy or dirty weather, they wear high wooden clogs, which underneath are hollowed out in the middle, and at top have a band across, like a stirrup, and a string for the great toe; so that they can walk without soiling their feet. Some of them have their straw shoes fastened to these wooden clogs. The Japanese never enter their houses with their shoes on; but leave them in the entry, or place them on the bench near the door, and thus are always barefooted in their houses, so as not to dirty their neat rats..

GREAT BELL OF Moscow. From Dr. Clarke's Travels. - "The great bell of Moscow, known to be the largest ever founded, is in a deep pit in the midst of the Kremlin. The history of its fall is a fable; and as writers are accustomed to copy each other, the story continues to be propagated. The fact is, the bell remains in the place where it was originally cast. It never was suspended; the Russians might as well attempt to suspend a first-rate line-of-battle ship, with all her guns and stores. A fire took place in the Kremlin; the flames caught the building erected over the pit where the bell yet remains; in consequence of this, the bell became hot, and water being thrown to extinguish the fire, fell upon the bell, causing the fracture which has taken place. The bell reaches from the bottom of the cave to the roof. The en trance is by a trap-door, placed even with the surface of the earth. We found the steps very dangerous; some were wanting, and others broken. In consequence of this, I had a severe fall down the whole extent of the first flight, and a narrow escape for my life, in not having my skull fractured upon the bell. After this accident, a sentinel was placed at the trap-door, to prevent people becoming victims to their curiosity. He might have been as well employed in mending the ladders, as in waiting all day to say they were broken. The bell is truly a mountain of metal. It is said to contain a very large proportion of gold and silver. While it was in fusion, the nobles and the people cast in, as votive offerings, their plate and money: I endeavoured in vain to assay a small part: the natives regard it with superstitious veneration, and they would not allow even a grain to be filed off. At the same time, it may be said, the compound has a white shining appearance, unlike bell-metal in general; and, perhaps, its silvery aspect has strengthened, if not excited, a conjecture respecting the costliness of its constituents. "On festival days, peasants visit the bell as they would resort to a church; considering it an act of devotion, and crossing themselves as they descend and ascena the steps. The bottom of the pit is covered with water, mud, and large pieces of timber; these, added to the darkness, render it always an unpleasant and unwholesome place; in addition to the danger arising from the ladders leading to the bottom. I went frequently there, in order to ascertain the dimensions of the bell with exactness. To my great surprise, during one of those visits, half a dozen Russian officers, whom I found in the pit, agreed to assist me in the admeasurement. It so nearly agreed with the account published by Jonas Hanway. that the difference is not worth notice. This is somewhat remarkable, considering the difficulty of exactly measuring what is partly buried in the earth, and the circumference of