The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1907-05-09

or the missionary's opulence are rap
idly being dissipated. The mission
aries here are unquestionably repre-
sentative of those throughout the orr
ent; they are of all ages, are of all
denominational names, are engaged
in every branch of mission work, and
come from every part of Japan, as well
as from three or four other countries,
All alike dress most inexpensively,
and one does not have to look closely
to see the evidences of enforced eco
nomy familiar in the case of the coun-
try parson in the home land. The
summer homes hereabouts can boast
little except fine views and plenty Of
fresh air; they are not on par with
the cottages in the resorts l have
named. The buildings are plain wood
en- structures, generally unpainted or
else an ugly red color, and each
dwelling seems to be crowded, in the
approved summer resort fashion; for
expenses diminish by division. There
is always room for the hospitality
which missionaries learn in the east,
II they never knew it at home; and
manifestly these are homes of real re-
, iinement, since four-fifths of the mis-
Bionaries are college bred. The num-
ber of Phi Beta Kappa keys worn, stand
ing as they do, for highest rank in the
best American colleges, impresses one
interested in such matters. Since
siTOO I ho1 ko
blush for my countrymen, which was
not the case in Yokohama.
Il The Easy Life of the Orient.
M There are more servants here than
in any similar resort over seas. Each
household has from two to five native
servants, depending generally on the
number of children in the family. This
is not quite so luxurious as it sounds.
for servants are plentiful and CHEAP
here. Housekeeping in Japan does
not entail the domestic drudgery com.
mon in the west, and altogether life is
smoother and more comfortable. Al
ready it has been made plain that the
commonly entertained notion concern
ing the hardships of missionary life, in
Japan, at least, is erroneous. This is
civilized land. Most of the convent.
ences and comforts of life in America
are obtainable here, plus many not
known to the occident. So far as the
material aspects of residence in Japan
are concerned. see no reason for the
fearful pity and sympathy so frequent
ly extended to the missionary. Life
in the Sunrise kingdom may be as en-
joyable as life anywhere else.
One less pleasant aspect of the mis-.
sionary's lot was brought to mind at
the first Sunday service attended, in
the new Auditorium, which is situated
within SO yards of an old Shintc
shrine. The seating capacity is about
450, and the building was filled with
Europeans (as all white folk are called
out here), interested brown faces
peeping in at doors and windows. Dur.
ing the first hymn many persons
even to little child in front of me,
were affected to tears. could not un-
derstand why anybody should weep
over the hearty singing of familiar
hymn until it was explained that the
sight and sound of so many Christians
singing together was too much for
the missionaries, who, for at least
year, had been shut or In the interior
towns and villages, seeing only Japa-
nese faces and hearing only Japanese
speech. Then | began to realize the
loneliness which is often one Of the
heaviest taxes laid upon mission.
ary.
The Mlssionary's Worst Hardship.
Even worse. as may as well mon