Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1858-12-10

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Christianity, III oyerthr1wing iolatrv il
Greece. in Ron, nisthough out the world
and thu account f.r Is tem,s1rLr. dafllt il
these charming Islands, and this great en-
pire, by q condensed narration ut the intro
dueiion Of the Gospel by the Portuguese
about the year ISIS and its final exquisite,
in lGio, partly on account o the quarrel.
and mutual ordinations of tho Portuguese
and Spanish merchants trading here. but
mainly by reason Of tho rivalries and iatri
CUES Of the Catholic missionaries of different
oiders. the j suits, the Franciscans and D..
minieans. who not only were found interior.
ing with the affairs oi State, but brought the
heaviest accusations against each other before
the Pagan EmI error himself Two letters
also wert accidentally detected on their way
u 4 'ne.in which there WAS an acknowledg-
ueut Of the P0pss rights and supremacy
over the " hole world, which naturally led
tnth- suspicion that the Catholic mission
.sI-t-s were plottiu. the sahversion of the
throne and the annexation Of the empire to
that 81 8 distant and unknown power. The
eei -5rated Francis Nayi4r and among the
fr-t Catholic missionariea to these islands
where he was honored with a pers nal inter
view with the Emperor at Mako, then the
capital OF the empire. where he established
churches and founded q college. the govern
ment not only tolera:ing the preaching of
the Gospel, but aiding him in establishin.
permanent institutions. This was the great
held OF his labors and success, and more mis-
sionaries being needed to cultivate the soil aad
reap the sudden harvest, he If. Ja5ap in the
year i53i on this err.nd home but, boins
taken sick near anton, died on his way and
was buried at Macao. He might have prca-
cheu n the large town before u, or even in
the Wage whore we were now worshipping
Irtut success attended the labors ot the
Catholic missionaries. especially in the most
southern island, kin-Sin and in the southern
portion OF Nilsson the largest fall the islands
and the most populous, Two kings became
CONVEX Is and u great numbers of princes and
mobiles.
In the year 1851, there were net less than
three hundred Catholic missionaries in Japan
two hundred and fifty churches, and three
hundred thousand native Christians, while
the missionaries asserted that they exceeded
even this large figure. Besides two colleges,
hey had two Summaries for the education
OF yeung mobiles for the priesthood. In the
city OF Mako, there were f. ON five thousand
10 sly thousand native Christians, and in
Nagasaki about forty thousand. Everything
was in the most hopeful way, the entire
seeming to be waiting for an
10 profess Christianity in a body
when this misconduct and shame occurred,
lAi the torch Of persecution was lit. and
persisted at the stake or on the cross
or We're cut in pieces, or subjected to the
az h tl,,,,
At length every missionary was expelled or
put to death, and the last n4tiva Christian
disappeared. Since then no effort has been
made by Protcstsats or Catholics to restore
Christianity. the kingdom being sealed up
to cenmence and intercourse as well as to
and long since had been given
up ss unapproachable and hopeless.
Singalarly, the same year, 1870, that
was baniShed from Japan, it 7
was introduced INTO the new world by the
Pilgrims; and now the sons of these Pilgrims
bring it back and plant it again in the soil
from which it had been rooted out. What
a charming cou ntry How dense the pop
ulation How peculiar in character excell- |
ing ali nations in some Of the arts, eul;iya- t
ting their valleys and steep hill and noun
tain slopes as no other people could do, in
quisitiye, apt to learn, nearly all of them
able to read, universally courteous, kind
hearted, far from tigotry and ready to listen
to argument on any subject, and without
offence, however much to conflict with their
own opinions. How admirable field for
Christian culture And how, as if by d. +
rect influence from Heaven upon the Japan
Csc mind. is "a great and eifectual door
opened to every village and hamlet, and
even to the two imperial cities. So that Pro-
testant missionaries may yet erect ihei
churches on the very foundations Of those
built by Francis Sayier at Mako AMI else
where And yet how perilous and iic4te
One false step Of a wrong headed MISSIONARY
might blast this bright prospect for ages
and Professionalism repeat the history of Po-
perry.
It aided strong interest - the occasion
to look around and remember that tie very
place in which We were worshirpng the
true God, aud teaching the way of salvation
through the cross, and singing these sweet
hymns to tunes as sweet, was but lately .
heather temple, from which our worthy
Consul General had expelled the monster
idols, q row OF which, cut in stone, and hid
eous and disgusting in form, was planted
along the walls in front and at one end Of
the house, which grinnej horribly upon US
for trenching on their ground, and casting
out the old devils most discourteously as well
Is irreverently. Still before them were yotiye
offerings, and twigs of green myrtle and
flowers placed in urns filled with water, and
thus kept fresh and tiourishing. In such
place was the first Protestant worship cele-
brated in the empire of Japan under such