The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-05-01
WHY JAPANESE ARE DWARFED



a Missionary says tho Mikado's People
Don't Sleep Enough.
A slight, fair young lady, with keen
gray eyes and a bright, intelligent face,
arrived in San Francisco recently from
Boston, registering at the Occidental
hotel as Miss Males, of Osaka, Japan.
Those who take an interest in mis-
sionary work in japan will at once
recognize this as the well-known Mary
Males who has done such noble work
in the remote districts of the mikado's
kingdom Over eight years ago she
started for Japan on behalf of the
Episcopalian church of Boston, de-
termined to devote the best years of her
life, and possibly all of it. to the en-
ightenment of the people in the in
terror of Japan Speaking of her work
to Chronicle reporter Miss Males
saidi "When landed in Japan in 1855
found that at Osaka and in the sur
rounding district had mammoth un-
dertaking on my hands, for the twin
sisters, ignorance and vice, held full
sway. / found many obstacles in my
way, but In time i made an impression
on the better sort of women, and before
hong had several converts. confined
my work entirely to the women, and
did not seek to go beyond religious
teaching. So far from cities where
Europeans congregate l determined
that the labor of giving an English
education to those people was unneces-
sary. Moreover, there are schools at
all points throughout japan where the
natives can procure European educa-
ton.
II used to find the remarkable polite
ness of the Japs quite trying, and 1t
took me considerable time to perfect
myself in the various matters of eti-
quette, to violate which is an unpardon-
able sin. Here are two instances. On
entering house it is essential that the
visitor shall sit meekly on the floor near
the door until requested by the hostess
to take the seat of honor opposite the
door, which is raised a few inches from
the ground. The invitation must be
politely refused twice and accepted on
the third asking, with a show of reluc-
tance. In asking the visitor to take
tea the same performance is gone
through. Only when the cups have
been proffered the third time doyou ac-
cept them. AS to the diminutiye stat
ufe of the japanese, my theory is that
II is the result of insufficient sheep and
rest when children. The babies and
little ones are allowed to remain up
just as long as their parents do, and
have seen numberless cases where fa-
theirs and mothers who do with little
sleep themselves will keep their children
up until two and three o'clock in the
morning. When / told them that it
was the custom in America to pack the
little ones off TO bed early in the even
ings they expressed great horror Of
what they called such cruelty.
Notwithstanding the statements
made by various travellers, do not
think that the Japanese are happy
people. How can they be when cruel
immortality forms the principal feature
Of their everyday existence? To give
his son an education or provide the
means of his advancement, father will
unhesitatingly sell his daughter to a
life of shame and degradation. This
sort of thing is quite the custom of the
country, and should a parent be in
want the daughters will voluntarily
sacrifice themselves TO provide the
means to relieve their necessities"