JAPANESE BABIES.                   13
A prejudice is arising amongst some of the Japanese against the practice of strapping babies on their mothers' backs; but I am inclined to think that, to a great extent, this custom may account for the good temper of the people, since Japanese babies are always kept amused and happy, and it is well known that the principles of a child's future life are instilled into it during the earliest years. A working mother has no anxiety about the safety of her baby, for in winter it is kept warm and cosy within her wadded kimono, and peeps over her shoulder with its bright beady eyes, apparently taking in all the mysteries of household duties. When it gets tired, it falls to sleep on its mother's back, the funny little head bobbing about from side to side, and often hanging down in what would seem to us a most uncomfortable fashion.    I once saw