The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-05-10

OF 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
UNCONVENTIONAL 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 a par with
the cottages in the resorts l have
named. The buildings are plain wood
en- structures, generally implanted 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,
it they never knew it at home; and
manifestly these are homes of real re-
finement, since four-fifths of the mis-
slonaries are college bred The num-
Der 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
coming here have had no occasion to
blush for my countrymen, which was
not the case in Yokohama
The Easy Life of the Orient.
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
tor servants are plentiful and cheap
mere. Housekeeping in Japan does
not entail the domestic drudgery com.
mon in the west, and altogether life ia
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 ia
a 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, I see no reason for the
fearful pity and sympathy so frequent
1y extended to the missionary. Life
In the Sunrise kingdom may be as en-
1oyable as life anywhere else.
One less pleasant aspect of the mis-.
s1onary's lot was brought to mind at
the first Sunday service I attended. in
the new Auditorium, which is situated
within 80 yards of an old Shintc
shrine. The seating capacity is about
$50, and the building was filed with
Europeans (as all white folk are called
out here), interested brown faces
peeplng 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 a 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 off 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 Q mission
ary.. =.
The Missionary's Worst hardship i
Even worse. as may as we'll men