Japan as We Saw It. By M. Bickersteth. (Sampson Low,
Mar- ston, and Co.)—The Bishop of Exeter, with his wife and daughter, visited Japan, where his son holds a see, and the daughter here gives a description of the country as she and her party saw it ; naturally, this would not be quite the same thing as what Sir Edwin Arnold or M. Pierre Lott, if he ever went there, would see. Missionary matters occupy a considerable portion of the volume. The writer of the book evidently received the impres- sion, which was shared, we presume, by the Bishop, that prospects in this direction are exceedingly hopeful. One of the most interesting passages in the book is the writer's experiences in the great earthquakes of October, 1891. The party was in Osaka, where earthquakes have hitherto been very rare, and the build- ings, consequently, were not adapted to stand the shocks. There are some curious photographs of the desolation wrought by the earthquakes. One, of the railway, suggests the thought that it is folly in a country liable to such catastrophes, to have bridges, &o., on the huge scale which does well enough for countries free from earthquakes.
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