The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-25

tons. To another he gave marble, to
another sandalwood and SO on till enough
had been delivered to build the temple.
Then the great king himself followed
assembled the shining mountain to look
upon its mighty temple, But the man
who had set out first of all with the piece
of polished ivory had not yet arrived.
But at last, even as the king stood there
thanking the master builder and the many
who had safely and promptly brought
their burthens through a poor old man,
bent and broken, struggled up the noun
tain, bearing a stained and grimed piece OF
ivory in his palsied arms.
What is this?' demanded the king,
savagely.
"'1t is the piece of pure white ivory with
which you Entrusted me. | went the
wrong way. I met beautiful women and
careless men who Knocked at me for bear
ing load when / might rest and
revel. l was tempted and l disobeyed
you; but, oh, am so sorry! so sorryp
80 saying his head fell forward on his
arms and the piece of ivory and he shook
with sobs and tears fell On the ivory in
shower.
Come! comet cried the King gladly
and at once when he saw the tears OF re-
pentance. All is forgiven. Lift up your
face and pass into the beautiful white tenn
pie And as he lifted up his face behold
the ivory on which his tears OF pen,tence
mad fallen was white as snow"
Let me here add an original poem adj
dressed to myself by the elder brother.
The reverse side bears his signature, but as
he has since died l am advised by a STU
dent now with me that it would not be
etiquette or considered respectful to his
memory to give it public mention.
And here | must note, so unlike our
selves, that they have, all those of gentle
breeding, the most inconquerable aversion
to having their pictures or any mention OF
themselves in our prints. 1t is not super
stition, as with barbarlans, but modesty,
shyness, shrinking from notoriety. l
had made a magazine article out OF
material that from time to time fell into
my hands from these two first students,
and finally got their photographs. But
their horror amounted almost to rage
when they found they were to be pictured
in great magazine, and / had to give the
thing up.
have mentioned that the younger one
was i'll, dying from homesickuess, dying to
once more see his beautiful, beautiful
Japan So one day he asked through his
tears that | should show him the spot
where | hoped to rest after "life's fitful
fever" tried to divert his mind, but he
would not be put off, and so reluctantly l
took him up to a high, rough spot and
pointed out heap of stones and pile OF
wood He seemed shocked at the time,
but after few days he got mother to show
him the spot she had chosen for her grave,
and he then quietly selected fiat close by.
AS he grew worse he refused to have doc
tor. | explained that as l had already
burned one body and buried another with
out procuring doctors certificate or con-
sent of the Coroner | was in bad repute on
this score and might be indicted if kept
it up.
The boy was simply terrified. He would
not stay in the place or in the country
longer. Protest as his gentle brother
might he would go, and go at once, to
liberty to die without being forced to have
a strange doctor or coarse Coroner's jury
to sit on his remains. But here is the
poem by the elder brother. When | re-
fleet that not one of US all in million can
tell which end is up or down, while thou
sands OF them are writing and reading us
in every Japanese province, feel that they
must know much that is to Is ''as book
that is sealed"
The japanese gentlemen are not only all
poets but all those who have been with me
have held stoutly that their poets, es-
pecially their earlier ones, surpass all
others of the globe. They continually
insist that all the outside world knows
almost nothing of Japan. a young man
Lafcadio Hearn, diminutive half Greek
whom be knew in New Orleans, is the only
one who has any conception of the heart
and soul of Japan. Are the japanese stu
dents who are with US in such mum bers,
and still coming, Christians? Yes, and no,
They all agree that Jesus was and is the
one greatest teacher by far. They will tell
YOU quietly that the Japanese are better
Christians than the Christians. The one
intolerable thing about us or our religion
is theSnoise of it. Their religion is a sort
of meditative philosophy at home. They
enter a temple, always open, and mediate.
The Catholics will, for this reason if no
other, have the upper hand there as in the
Islands before long.
Nv little invalid, soon after being told
that he could not die without doctor very
well without making trouble, went, am
told, to Oakland to mediate in one of
our churches, as in temple at home. He
found them all tightly locked! This
seemed to bring things to crisis; besides
the war was coming on, and the elder
brother found in this fair excuse to take
the poor boy home. This modest and
most perfect little gentleman was found
dead in one of the sacred temples soon
after reaching Toxic. His elder brother
took his place as an officer of high rank in
the army: and before he died, in spite of
his aversion to honorable mention, soon
found his name and fame worldwide.
Here are two short poems, together with
their literal translations, which l have
begged from one of my present students.
He tells me that Bosho, of three centuries
back, is their Shakespeare and chiefest of
poets. OF course / knew not one thing
about Bosho, or Giata either. but must
say that these dainty little bits do not
strike me as great or particularly bright.
We can learn lot from japan if not too
full of conceit to receive further learning
from any source. By the way, in conclu-
sion let us have at least one more lesson
from the little Orientals. There came
once two American boys, professedly to
learn for day or two, but probably only