Sponge-Fishing and Japanese House - Literature PDF

Okay, here is the conversion of the provided text into a structured markdown format. I have done my best to transcribe accurately, maintain the original formatting, and include relevant details. ## Sponge-Fishing ### Chapter 51 Sponges, as perhaps you know are sea animals. Those which are suitabl...

Okay, here is the conversion of the provided text into a structured markdown format. I have done my best to transcribe accurately, maintain the original formatting, and include relevant details. ## Sponge-Fishing ### Chapter 51 Sponges, as perhaps you know are sea animals. Those which are suitable for human use are gathered from the sea-bed in the Mediterranean and round the Bahama Islands in the West Indies. This chapter is taken from a description of the Bahama Islands sponge-fisheries. Nassau is the capital and chief port of the islands. 1. It would be difficult to imagine a more pleasing sight than that of the sponge-fishing fleet setting out from Nassau on a day of bright sunshine. 2. The schooners are graceful crafts, built like wooden yachts and laden with sail. As they leave the harbor they scatter, each one making for its own fishing-ground many miles away. Often a single voyage will last from six to eight weeks, according to the skill of the fishermen and the state of the weather. 3. The schooner cruises over the shallow banks where sponges are known to grow and anchor at a favorable spot. Then it sends out small boats with a man and a boy in each. The boy stands in the stern to scull and steer the tiny craft, and the man lies in the bows, holding a glass-bottomed bucket in one hand and a long staff with a pronged hook in the other. 4. The sea around the Bahamas is as clear as crystal, and all the creatures of the ocean bottom are plainly to be seen through the glass. Sponges do not live by themselves in lonely groups but are often surrounded by many kinds of sea plants and animals. Brown and purple seaweeds grow in tall clumps like ocean forests and wave to and fro with the current. Fish of the queerest shapes and colors, blazing orange and brilliant green, blue, gold, and crimson, dart ## A Japanese House – I ### Chapter 57 A Japanese house is one of the simplest of buildings. Its main features are the roof of tiles or thatch and the posts which support the latter. This structure is divided into rooms by sliding doors, and shut off from the outside by screens called *shoji*. The sliding doors are a wooden framework covered with thick paper or cloth on both sides of it and packed with paper between the layers. They are sometimes decorated with writings or paintings. No light can pass through them. On the other hand, the *shoji* are a wooden framework divided into sections, each section being covered by a sheet of thin white paper through which light can pass. They are never therefore painted. As a rule, the house is of but one storey, and its flimsiness comes from two reasons, both very good ones. The first is that Japan is a home of earthquakes, and when an earthquake starts to rock the land and topple the houses about the people's ears, then a tall strong house of stone or brick would be both dangerous in its fall and very expensive to put up again. The second is that Japan is a land of frequent fires. The most dangerous part of an earthquake is when the fire boxes and stoves are overturned by the shaking of the houses; and it is in this way that fires are started in a hundred places until a whole town is ablaze. The rebuilding of such a simple structure is not, of course, either difficult or expensive. A house among the poorer sort of Japanese consists of one large room in the daytime. At night it is formed into as many bedrooms as its owner requires. Along the floor, which is raised about a foot from the ground, and along the roof run a number of grooves, lengthways and crossways. The wooden framework, called *karakami*, slides along these grooves and forms the wall between chamber and chamber. The front of the house is, as a rule, open to the street; but if the owners wish for privacy they slide a paper screen into Description of Image of the inside of a home in Japan and words "Describe the house structure of poorer sort of Japanese" position. At night wooden shutters cover the screen. Each shutter is held in place by the next, and the last shutter is fastened by a wooden bolt. The Japanese are very fond of fresh air and sunshine. Unless the day is too wet or stormy, the front of the house always stands open. If the sun is too strong, a curtain is hung across for shade, and very often this curtain bears a huge white symbol representing the owner's name, just as an Englishman puts his name on a brass plate on his front door. The furniture in these houses is very simple. The floor is covered with thick mats, which serve for chairs and bed, as people both sit and sleep on them. For a table a low stool suffices, and for a young couple to set up housekeeping in the Japanese manner is a very simple matter. In more affluent houses the same simplicity prevails, though the building may be of costly materials, with posts and ceilings ebony inlaid with gold, and floors of rare polished wood. The sliding doors still separate the room; the shutters enclose them at night. There are neither doors nor passages. When you wish to pass from one room to the next you slide back one of the doors and shut it after you. So you go from room to room until you reach the one of which you are in search. The sliding doors are often beautifully painted, and in each room is hung a *kakemono* (a wall picture, a painting finelly executed on a strip of silk). A favourite subject is a branch of blossoming cherry, and this painted upon white silk, gives an effect of wonderful freshness and beauty. **Exercises** Long of a Japanese house? ## A Japanese House – II ### Chapter 38 There is no chimney in a Japanese house, for it has no such thing as a fireplace. The simple cooking is done over a stove burning charcoal, the fumes of which wander through the house and disperse through the hundred openings afforded by the loosely fitting paper walls. In the rooms there are neither tables nor chairs. The floor is covered with mats as white as snow and as soft as a cushion; for they are often a couple of inches thick. They are woven of fine straw; and on these the Japanese sit, with their feet tucked away under them. At dinner time, small, low tables are brought in, and when the meal is finished, the tables are taken away again. Chairs are never used, and any Japanese who wishes to follow Western ways has to practise carefully how to sit on a chair. When bedtime comes, there is no change of room. The sitting room by day becomes the bedroom by night. A couple of wooden pillows and some quilts are fetched from a cupboard; the quilts are spread on the floor, the pillows are placed in position, and the bed is ready. The pillows would strike us as most uncomfortable things. They are mere wooden neck-rests and European travellers who have tried them declare that it is like trying to go to sleep with your head hanging over a wooden door-scraper. As they both sit and sleep on their matting-covered floors, we now see why the Japanese never wear any boots or clogs in the house. To do so would make their beautiful and spotless mats dirty; so all shoes are left at the door, and they walk about the house in the *tabi*, the thick glove-like socks. Even supposing that a well-to-do Japanese has a good deal of native furniture such as beautifully painted screens, handsome vases, tables of ebony inlaid with gold or with fancy wood, and so forth- yet he does not keep them in the house. He stores them away in a special building, and fetches whatever may be wanted. When the article has served its purpose, it is taken back again. The building is called a 'godown'. It is built of cement, is painted black, and bears the owner's monogram in a huge white design. It is considered to be fire-proof, though it is not always so, and is meant to preserve the family treasures in case of one of the frequent fires. A Japanese does not fill the house with all the decorations he may own and live with them constantly. If he has a number of beautiful porcelain jars and vases, he has one out at one time, another at another. A certain vase goes with a certain screen, and every time a change is made, the daughters of the house receive new lessons in the art of placing the articles and decorating them with flowers and boughs of blossoms in order to gain the most beautiful effect If a visitor is present in the house, the guest-chamber will be decorated afresh every day, each design showing some new and unexpected beauty in screen, flower-decked vase, or painted *kakemono*. There is one vase which is always carefully supplied with freshly cut boughs or flowers. This is the vase which stands before the *tokonoma*. The *tokonoma* is a very quaint feature of a Japanese house. It means a place in which to lay a bed; in theory it is a guest-chamber in which to lodge the Mikado, the Japanese Emperor. So loyal are the Japanese that every house is supposed to contain a room ready for the Emperor in case he should come to the door and need a night’s lodging. The Emperor, of course, never comes; and so the *tokonoma* is no more than a name. **6** **Exercises** ## Three Meals Shorten the Day ### Chapter 39 Once upon a time Hans Hannekemaaier, with a scythe on his back, came to the land near Edam Town in Holland where they make cheese. How he stared his eyes out! The meadows were so lush and green and the cows so big! The farmers, long pipes in their mouths, were strolling about the fields with a lordly air. Hans shook his head and felt his empty stomach. 'Here is where one can earn something,' he thought. He stepped up to a certain farmer, who was standing in his door, and said: 'I am Hans Hannekemaaier. What wages do you pay here?' 'Is your work good, Hans?' asked the farmer. 'Is my work good? That I will leave to you, Boss, to see!' The hot porridge was standing on the table, and Hans looked toward it with longing eyes. Oh, how it steamed! 'Do I get something to eat, Boss, if I work?' The farmer laughed. 'Of course, Hans, of course.' 'How many meals a day?' 'Three meals, Hans-breakfast, dinner at noon, and supper.' 'May I ask if you give breakfast now?' 'Yes, Hans. Sit down and begin. Eat all you want.' A 'good luck!' thought Hans. Here I can always get a snack.' A trencher filled with hot porridge was set before him. Description of image of a man with scythe to farmer on the porch of his home. With spoon, with fist, and with smacking lips he ate it all. Then he shut his eyes and nodded with delight. 'Now to work, Hans,' smiled the farmer. 'Well said, Boss!' answered he and got up from his chair. At the door he stood looking like a trusting puppy, who had never been beaten. 'Boss,' he said, 'will you let me ask one little thing more?' 'Go ahead, Hans. Say what is on your mind. But make it short and sweet.' 'Boss, this is what I thought. Why must I wait for dinner? Why not have dinner now?' 'Dinner, Hans! Why, it is early in the morning!' The farmer's wife stood near, and she gave her husband a poke in the ribs and beckoned him into a corner. She laid her fingers on her lips and whispered: 'If he eats dinner now, he will not have to eat it at 12 o'clock. Then, if he does not have to come all the way to the house, we shall save much time. Do you understand that, you donkey?' 'Are you sure about that?' asked the farmer with wonder. Then, turning to Hans, he said, 'Sit down. My wife will give you your dinner.' The farmer's wife had the potatoes already peeled, and she set them on the fire. When they were done, she added a piece of fat as big as her fist and some solid chunks of meat. Hans, even in his dreams, had never seen anything like that. He rubbed his eyes and fell to eating. He clawed and he gnawed. It went quicker with the dinner than with the breakfast, though he had eaten a big trencherful of porridge. At last, he wiped his mouth with the flat of his hand and, looking at the empty trencher, sighed. Not a crumb of potato, not a drop of fat, not a tiny morsel of meat was left there. With slow steps he went to the door. There he turned again and again like someone saying farewell to his country. 'Have you had enough, Hans?' laughed the farmer. 'Boss,' said Hans in his honest voice, 'have you not spoken of supper?' 'Why, yes, I did mention it,' answered the farmer. 'We eat supper here in the evening. How is it at your house?' Hans scratched his ear. Just then the farmer's wife came again to the rescue. She drew the farmer into the corner and playfully poked him in the ribs. 'Let him have his supper now,' she whispered. 'It is a long way from the field to the house. If he has his supper, we shall save still more time.' Then she began to cut bread, and to spread the slices with plenty of sweet-smelling butter. Hans watched her as a child watches someone about to give him a treat. And when she cut a big lump of golden-yellow rich Edam cheese, the eyes of the poor fellow fairly watered with happiness. Oh! if his wife and children could have seen him then, it would have been the most joyful moment of his life. He sat down like a prince at the table and filled his cheeks full, hardly taking time to chew. The next moment the mountain of bread and butter and cheese was gone. The farmer watched from the doorway. 'Are you done, Hans?' he asked patiently. 'I am coming! I am coming!' answered Hans. As soon as they were out of doors, Hans began to look around and draw in breaths of the fresh morning air. 'Now you must feel like a good day's work, Hans,' said the farmer, 'since you have eaten so heartily.' 'Work?' said Hans in surprise. 'Work, Boss? Do you expect me to work?' 'Yes; of co 'But I ha Where is And no to the was sn songs The thras on, Har 'Yes; of course; the day is only begun.' 'But I have just eaten supper. At home, Boss, we sleep after supper. Where is the haycock?' And no matter what the farmer said or did, as soon as they came to the first haycock, Hans threw himself down. In a twinkling he was snoring away so long and so loud that you could not hear the songs of the larks. The farmer whacked him and smacked him with his fists, and thrashed him and slashed him. It was of no use; Hans slept sweetly on, caring nothing for the troubles and pains of this life. For Hans Hannekemaaier had had his supper! **Exercises** Did Hans shake his head when he saw Edam Town? What did the farmer give Hans to eat for breakfast? How did eat it? ### The Windmill ### Chapter 40 Behold! A giant am I! Aloft here in my tower, With my granite jaws I devour The maize, and the wheat, and the rye, And grind them into flour. I look down over the farms; In the fields of grain I see The harvest that is to be. And I fling to the air my arms, For I know it is all for me! I hear the sound of flails Far off, from the threshing-floors In barns, with their open doors, And the wind, the wind in my sails, Louder and louder roars. I stand here in my place, With my foot on the rock below, And whichever way it may blow I meet it face to face, As a brave man meets his foe. And while we wrestle and strive, My master, the miller, stands And feeds me with his hands; For he knows who makes him thrive, Who makes him lord of lands. On Sundays I take my rest; Church-going bells begin Their low melodious din; I cross my arms on my breast, And all is peace within. -H. W. Longfellow ## A Visit to Ellora **(Robert and Carol are touring India in the company of Mr Gupta)** ### Chapter 56 A steep mountain-side rose in front of them, with waterfalls plunging down into the green valley in which they **stony**. Huge pillars and halls had been cut out of the rock. Broad stairways stretched before them. Carved figures-gods goddesses, lion, dwarf, very large creatures- stared at them in the sunshine Raising their eyes, they saw that in many places there were lofty upper changes with balconies, roofed by millions of tons of mountain. Description of important wallpaper. This was Ellora. They walked through the passage under the entrance tower. When they entered the inner courtyard, they saw a wonderful sight. Robert caught Carol's arm. "Look. That elephant!" (life sized elephant) It stood life- sized on its pedestal, sculpted from the same rock as the mountain and building. '"What a pity his trunk is broken", said Carol. "He looks such a quiet gentle old thing."' Mr Gupta laughed. Quiet yes. He hasn't moved for more than a thousand years! '"How old is this place?" Robert asked. "Who built it?" 'this part was built about 760 AD' said Mr Gupta. "It wasn't `built' strictly speaking. It sculptured. They simply cut away the rest of the mountain and left what you see."' Robert looked at the temple in the middle of the courtyard. 'I can see how they've made the entrances to the caves, but this temple here is standing out in the open by itself. This must have been built." 'Can you see any cement? Can you see any joints in the stone?' Description of important wallpaper 'No, Robert frowned 'It seems to be just one piece.' '"It is. This is the Kailasa, one of the true wonders of the world a single mass of stone, feet long and 160 feet wide." Carol gasped. They looked up again at the huge temple in the middle of the courtyard. All round its base was a row of elephants, which seemed to be carrying the temple of their backs. Many of them had broken trunks. They had been damaged by invaders. "I still I can't understand how this temple came here," said Robert 'I suppose it was a rock standing seperate from the man mountain." '"No" Mr. Gupta pointed to the precipice which rose a hundred and fifty feet above their heads. Once it all solid mountain. the oblong piece in the center. Then they hollowed you cutting there steps and bailmines, carving these elephants and... Robert Whistled. Goodness! The amount of rock they head to shine!" mr. Gupta led them into the dim interior of the Kailasa. They entered a central hall which measured about 50 feet on each side The walls were covered what big sometime frightening images. carol shivered as they groped their way Into a mall dark chamber, the innershrine of the god shiva. Description wallpaper - Kailasa said Mr Gupta. " its really the name of the mountain. heaven where his supposed to live high among the clouds in the Himalayas. king Krishna and conoured all this region. to celebrate there he decided to Build for copy of Kailasa, the decided to see it finished. here was much more at allora than could be seen in a single visit to the South to he hindon group of the Kalasa I'm sorry it was time to gey into the taxis and leave. From Geoffrey Trease's p The Young Traveller to India and Pakistan. 274 I hope this markdown conversion is helpful! Let me know if you have any other documents you would like me to convert.