The morning times., 1896-05-03

expanding Its machinery under acres OF
roofing japanese city is still, as 1t
Was ten centurles-ago, little more than a
wilderness OF wooden shedS-pIcturesque in
deed. as paper lanterns are, but scarcely
less frGil-
And there is no great stir or noise
anywhere, says the narrator; no heavy
traffic, no booming and rumbling, no fu-
rious haste. In Toxic itself you may
enjoy, if you wish, the peace of n country
village. This want of visible or audible
signs of the new found force which Is now
mrnacng the markets. OF t..e West and
changing the maps OF the Tar East, gives
one a queer, even a weird feeling. 1t
is described as the sensation received when,
after climbing through miles OF silence
TO meet some Shinto shrine, you find
yoidnvss only ana solJude-an eiflsn, empty
little wooden structure, moldering in
shadows thousand years Old. TheSlrength
OF Japan, like the strength OF her ancient
fallh, needs little material display. Both
exist where the deepest real power of any
great people eXists-in the race ghost.
Is II not an odd commentary that we who
live Oh mlne OF insecurity, build for en-
uGrahce; the Japanese, in almost nfrangible
security, build for impermanenoy? Few
things Tor common use are made In Japan
with view OF durability. The straw san
dals, worn out and replaced al eaci stage
OF journey; the work consisting of
few simple widths loosely stitched to-
Eether for wearing, and unst;tched for
washing; the fresh chop-sticks served TO
each new guest at hotel; Tie light shoji
frames, serving at once for windows and
walls, ana repa pered twice year; the mat
tngs, renewed every autumn-all these are
but random examples OF countless small
things in daily life that Illustrate the ma
uonal contentment with impermanency.
In The period OF her written history Japan
has had more than sixty capitals. Every
city Is built within i generation. There
is the pSychical influence OF Buddhism in
this. Hence the nOmad, the tramp is a
great national character. But be takes
his hot bath daily if he has fraction of
Il cent to pay for it, or his Gold bath If
he has not In his little bundle there are
combs, toothpicks, razors, toothbrushes.
He never allows himself TO become un-
pleasant. Sir Edwin Arnold remarked
that u japanese crowd smells like ge-
ranium flower -(Ookoro. by Lafcadio
Hearn. Houghton. Mifflin & Co..
n NE OF the curiosities, which believe
las been Incorporated into literature
since DISraeli made his memorable
compilation OF these oddities. is the
library for the blind. A once familiar
sight was the blind man with stool, cane,
cup and ponderouS BOOK. who, for contribu-
tions. read the Bible with his finger tips
ffrom embossed pages that looked like sheets
OF passover crackers. But this branch Of
literature has developed into q large and
useful field. Now there are whole Ii
brarieS for the blind. At first only scho-
lastic and religious books were printed
with the raised letters primers and Bibles.
Then. during the next period, the library
was restricted. owing to the strong re-
ligious influence at work in the institutions
for the afflicted. TO the works OF Miss
Alcott. Mrs. Burnett. Edward Everett hale,
Bret Harte and Kate Douglas Wiggen. The
poets were next introduced and more lately
q half-dozen eXpurgated plays OF Shake
speare and the novels of Scott. Dickens,
George Eliot and Hawthorne. Full sets are
never attempted. the object being TO fur
nish as large a variety as possible OF the
most popular classics. Music is also pub
iished for the blind, who, in a number of
cases. are known to have attained rare
proficiency IN this art.
The cost of books for the blind preve nts
the rapid multiplication of such works,
and naturally the price is kept up by the
fsmaH demand. We can get a convenient
and attractive volume of Dickens for 81:
our blind brothers copy costs from $12
to S15- Some prices noted from the
prospectus of Boston concern who pub
liSh books for the blind furnish an idea
of relative values. Adam Bede," by
( George Eliot, is 10 he had fer So; Haw-
thome's Scarlet Letter" is oonsid-
cred a rare bargain al So. while MItons
Paradise Lost goes for So; an encyclc-
peda costs $50 and the New Testament
/ comes 10 $50. Music i s comparatively
cheap at from to rs cents apiece. Some
of the best classical music is sold It 81
and less. School works are cheaper than
standard literature.
The rational equation of all things is
found in this branch OF literature. II is in a
measure fortunate that price keeps the
size OF a library at a minimum, for blind
folks books are exceedingly cumbersome
volumes, and fill space in an unconsciona bly,
short time. For instance. a book printed
III ink from small plea type, and numbering
! $50 pages, expands in the embossed print
! ing TO two immense folio volumes, each
! four inches thick. Fancy set OF
| Dickens, each volume twice as large as
! Webster's Dictionary. To house H.
! brary of 500 volumes i'll embossed type
would require a space large enough 10
! hold more than 5000 volumes OF ordinary
/ printed books. The only approximately
! complete libraries are found in institutions
1 for the blind.