Eight Years in Japan, 1873-1881. By E. G. Holtham. (Kegan
Paul, Trench, and Co.)—Mr. Holtham went out from England to assist in the making of Japanese railways, and he recounts in this volume the experiences of eight years spent in this work, and of occa- sional holidays which he took from it. We cannot say that we have found it much more interesting than the story of as many years' work in England would have been. The writer certainly does not exaggerate ; he seems to regard everything with a truly British com- posure, and consequently produces an account of the country which is in the strongest contrast to the romantic descriptions which some travellers have given of it. The most interesting and novel part of the volume is that which tells us something about earthquakes :—" The Japanese have a regular earthquake drill, with which they are acquainted from childhood. At the first agitation, they rush out of doors, if their houses are open, as in summer ; but if it is the cold season, or their houses are closed for the night, each man, woman, or child of sufficient size to act independently seizes one leaf of the abutters that slide in grooves on the edges of the verandahs, lifts it traywise on to the head, as a protection from falling tiles or clibris, and so gaining the nearest open space, lays it down on the ground and sits in the middle of it, to minimise the liability to fall into cracks or rents in the earth's surface. The sadden galvanising into life of a sleeping village is a very funny sight, resembling a pantomime trick in its conception and execution. Resort is also had to bamboo groves, as the interlacing tough roots certainly bind the earth together, so as to render it extremely unlikely that any fissure will open in such a locality for choice."
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