Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-10-25

Will be recOiiecJe0s went into the mlSSlonaF.
field of japan, from this place. She hat
been connected as teacher in the publ,
schools. Of course, she went out unde
the general auspices Of the Board Of Com
misSiOners of Foreign Missions, but tn,
ladies of the Ashtabula Auxiliary Soeiet!
agreed to take the responsibility of hel
maintenance. She is, therefore, intimate
ly identified with this place and people
and her letters are sought with deep inter
est and widely read. Her STATEN is Yoke
hama. This letter, which we are. permitted
to copy, was addressed 10 the Correspond
ing Secretary of the Ladies' Missionar!
Society. InclOsed in the letter are severs
samples Of lichens in the tree form, and o
unusual beauty, taken from the tomb Of I
canonized saint.
NIKKO, Aug. IA, 1873.
Dear Mrs. R: You know I am very
busy, and every day brings more work, o.
at least finds me able to undertake little
more. have come to this grand old plae'
for little rest, aud breath of pure air
The town like all japanese towns, is grand
only in its noble old trees, as old and a.
grand-it may be--as the eedars Of Leb
anon. Miles and miles Of our road hert
lay through an avenue of these trees. brok-
on occasionally by wretched little villa ges,
Close to the road, on either side, ran &
mad little mountain stream. These noisy
little streams run in every direction, max
ing such roar, dashing over their rocky
beds, that we must shout to make ourselves
heard. 1 wish l could give you some ides
of this old, old place, so sacred to the jap
anese. The very seat OF idolatry-here
are the tombs Of the two first great Sho-
guns, and the temples erected in their hon
or. These are said to be the most splendid
heathen temples in the world.
On every hand are moss covered stone
steps leading to some shrine. We find long
avenues with stone images of Buddha on
one side-on the other the sacred river.
The streets are full of white-robed pilgrims
on their way to Nautaizan-the sacred
mountain. A little way below US is the
red bridge that is crossed only by the Mix
adoS and the high priests on their return
from their pilgrimage. The legend says,
'.when the holy Shodi Shonin first visited
NikkO and arrived at this spot, he found
the rocks so steep and the food so full Of
whirlpOols that it seemed impossible to
cross over. Appalled, at the sight he fell
upon his knees and called upon the gods
for aid. In answer to his prayers the fig
ure of god holding two green and red
snakes appeared on the opposite bank, and
these be cast across the river. Instantly
long, bright bridge was seen to span the
stream, and while the saint stood doubling
the reality Of the miracle, the bridge be-
came covered with long green grass. No
sooner had he and his disciples safely
crossed over than the bridge, the snakes,
and the god disappeared.
We witnessed the ceremonies in the tenn
pie of JyeYsser yesterday. Seven priests
with pasteboard caps on their heads, were
seated in row. with their musical instru-
meuts in the large outer room. IN an in
ner apartment seven other priests of high
er rank knelt with their faces to the east.
And while the musicians drew forth the
most heartrending, deafening, appalling
shrieks from their instruments, the seven
priests fastened strip Of white paper oyer
their mouths. This was to prevent their
breath from polluting their offering to the
spirit. This is ShintO Temple and the
spirits of the departed, only, are worship
ed here. Then the seven higher priests
rose and passed to two still higher priests,
in an inner apartment, great many dish
es containing food of all kinds. These
were placed reyerently upon low table
and the highest priest of all-who- is a
prince royal-knelt before it and recited a
long eulogy to the spirit of the departed
soyereigns; and then the offerings were all
brought back to be quietly eaten by the
priests. l think it was the most impress
sive, and at the same time, the saddest
scene ever beheld. 1t seemed to me that
these people were just ready for the gos-
pei. There was none of the grossnesS of
the Buddhist worship. But the granduer
Of.the temple, the slow, solemn movements
of the priests, and above all, the prayer in
the exact forms we Use in Christian wor-
ship, impressed me wonderfully. There is
danger of our becoming so accustomed to
heather worship that We forget the sad=
ness of it. We see it constantly. In Yo-
kohama we often hear, all night, the beat
ing of drums and the voice of prayer. and
scarcely notice it. sometimes think il
we could realize to the full extent the dan
ger of those around US we could not bear
it. We are holding meetings here for
the women and children, but it is not en-
eouraging.
YOKoHAMA, Sept. 18th.
A whole month has passed since l began
this letter and we have been at home some
time. have not commenced school yet
but will do so in few days. 1t will be q
great relief to begin regular work again.
The Japanese are very social people
very fond of visiting-and now that am
known to be at home all day my friends ell
come to.pay their respects. They bring a
little box Of eggs or sponge cake with q
very peculiar favor. Then they want to
see everything in the house, and stay till
/ have exhausted my, not very large vo-
cabulai This is not the most encourage
ing part of our work, but we are anxious
TO gain as strong an influence over them as
possible, and allow nothing to prevent our
being polite and patient with them. This
morning priestess from across the bay
paid US visit. We showed her over the
house, gave her dinner, sc. She wished
very much to hear the organ, but we told
her she must come to church on Sunday
and I would play for her then. She said
she should certainly eOme-and probably
will-to hear the organ, but she will hear
the gospel tOO-God grant she may listen
and take it in.
l am conscious that my letters must
sound very strange and disconnected, for
they are always written by snatches. l
take up my desk and rap at the door calls
me away. 1 often leave in the midst of a