Connecticut western news., 1880-06-30
Japan Letter No. IA.
Written by MT. Thomas 0. Bradbury, to his family in Ashley Falls, Mass., and fur nished THE NEWS for publication.

KOBE, Japan, Dec. 26, 1879.
 Yesterday was Christmas, I felt pretty sor- " and homesiok in the morning, but the per | fectly fine day and the interesting services in
 the church made me feel better. dined with
 Mr; and Mrs. ". lAmericansl at ! o'clock,
 and spent the afternoon with them by invita- tion, and had very pleasant and homelike
 time.. They said when they came to invite
 me, they were going to have family party oi
 us three, and an Amerirap dinner, We dihed | on the versndah after dinner under umbrellas
 to keep of the sun. It was 8 beautiful day
 but little too warm to be in the sun. The W's. and myself were invited to dine with
 ming. We played chess, old maid muggins, | and whist. You see had quite . merry Christmas day. The church was beautifully ! trimmed the eveFgreena are 30 various and
 pretty. The chrysanthemNms are in such
 iy in the trimming. The iecturn was trimmed
 with . beautiful running ground pine and white japonioa, and very fine fern leaves frost-
 ed with Alum. It looked as though there were
 little sifts of snow among the greens and flow,
 ed with fine cotton batting, with the panelt
 cut out, and filled in with red. Upon the cot. ton was festooned very pretty trimming oI green Arbor Vitn of very fine species, and a profasion of wild chrysaptheInums. They are
 thought was, daisies at Christmas. Some are
 pure white, and others tinged with purple and pink. The trimmings we're full of them, and
 it gave them very lively appearance. There
 were large wreaths everywhere with red and yellow chrysanthemums all through them
 There Is . great variety of cedats and pines
 here. n9tioed one kind o{ cedar among the
 large wreaths which made # look ss though
 snow was sprihkled amohg the Rfeen. It
 there were so many single flowers to fasten in. Among the trimming around the upper edge of the pulpit and reading desk, was wreath of large rose buds which must have been
 three yards long. but there is no difficulty in
 getting rose buds, for they bloom in the open
 air. The ladies have plenty of time, and Christmas coming so late in the week, they made great display. The ladies here in this concession do nothing but eat and sleep. They
 keep nurse for every child, no matter how
 many there are. There is one English family
 where there are eight childrep, and . nurse
 for each child. You should see them out in | the street, there is quite Q flock of them. The
 nurses go about with the children on their backs.
 was in glen short time since where think the sun never shines, and such ferns. l monsters lin size, and 90 curious one kind | the leaves grow upon, the leaves spreading out
 most shady places. Away up among the sol emn stiffness of the mountains are large tenn ples built hundreds of years since. There they stand in that solitude and silence that makes the place. Occasionally . company of wor-
 shippers come. snd # is oHrions to listen te their voices. The ehildreh hpgh. shout and Very Very distinctly for while, but gradually the sound dies away as they go down the nioun-s tains, and soon you gre enyeloped in the same. gloomy silence. Thus 1t has been for over a. Thousand years. T0nrists visit the ruins of old castles. and monAstefies in Europe, but these temples were in their glory when Eng land and other European c0untries were the s"-'A- "s naked saysssss Most Of these tem-
 bnt exnect to Yisit one before I start for home, that is over eleYep hundred yssrB old.