Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1909-04-30

eAAOo oA0soAtv ~ W0J VA 0AAA& &AVp hu
active volcano 1900 feet high. This
tramp In enough to test the religion
OF anybody, even a missionary, for 1t
Is entirely over mountains, and the
road is superlstively bad, though the
scenery Is superhtively beautiful.
riyaling Colorado's best.
The Polite Police.
The faithful Japanese preacher had
omitted the climb up Shirane and so
he reached Shibu another village
famous for It's milder baths, ahead Of
the main party OF sunburned and foot
sore missionaries, who arrived at sun
down, to and the town expectant Of a
meeting. all the preparations for which
had been made. Several rooms on the
nrst floor Of the native inn where the
visitors spent the night were thrown
into one, making 1oem for upwards Of
q hundred persons seated. while many
more could stand outside or sit in the
house across the alley. 10 nigh 10
neiGAbor to nei8hbor In the old Japan
ese villages.
Word came from the police that
should this meeting place be too small
for the foreignsrs' purpose. the police
themselves woeid provide Q larger
room. But some zoo men. women and
children crowded Asound when the
service began, and listened to the new
teachings with "a AeseotAon that could
not be surpassed In o Fifth avenue
church. The same speakers took part.
although WITH different addresses. A
considerable cascie Of young men,
mostly students, gathered about Mr..
Hail after the meeting, for further
conversation. Al this service native
Christian woman, who had moved into
the village from another town, took
delighted part. One OF the American
Bible Society's colporteurs was also
present; and, In general, Shibu seemed
somewhat more familiar with Chris
tianity than did KusAtsu. although
there are no Christian services held
! there.
@ Where Religion 10 Cheap.
The next morning the Americans,
who were quite accustomed to creating
a stir by their appearance In native
villages, went to Nagano. where is one
of the most celebrated Buddhist tenn
pies in Japan, dating back to $40 A. D..
although the Oldest portion of the pres
ent structure Is only six centuries old.
The high priestess Of this temple is an
aunt of the emperor. The temple area
| Is crowded with statues and buildings
OF absorbing interest, l noticed one
bronze Buddha Of heroic size holding
baby, and some dsvotee had put a
! modern bonnet, Of cheap calico, on
the latter's head! On several occa'
sions I have seen images thus incon'
| gruously adorned. t.-
Thousands of devout pilgrims visit
this temple, and the emperor himself
; has sumptuous suite OF apartments
| therein, although the Shintoists claim
him as one of their number. In fact
he has rather impartiaily patronized
! both faiths; and thousands OF his sub
! 1ects do likewise. Ordinary pilgrims
to the temple are kept outside the
{ wire screen before the altar, but the
missionaries, by the application of the
silver key which unlocks doors the
world over, were omitted TO a closer
view and q complete inspection. They
were even taken down through the
absolutely dark underground passage
where the keys of paradise may ba
found. attached to q huge padlocl:
! And assuredly those young American
/ found them. and ratified them LOUDLY
enough for all the celestial doorkeep
ers to hear. This trip In the dark is
supposed to purge the soul Of sin
though. paradoxicaliy enough. the
priest who was our guide warned us
that II We had any svil in our hearts
when we entered we would come ou'
changed into dogs. which 10 the com
mon belief. or course this party
emerged barking and growing ltks
cuYs with tin cans to their tails.
II must not be inferred that ths mis-
sionaries were disrespestful to the
temple or lie worshippers. They
moved about, uncovered and unshed
and were genuinely interested In che
bewilderinK explanations OF who's VINO
In this sect OF Buddhism. Among che
| more than 10000 ancestral tablets
n,aeed In one apartment, noticed ont
that was surmounted by the Harvard
| II.
As souvenirs Of this trip have
written token from the high priest
I that I have performed an early morn
1 ing devotion ut a certain shrine. ant
have received absolution from him II
nerson-although, as q matter OF fact
4 n was nearly noon when We were II
the temple, and I never saw the htGf
priest. bought the document frol.
a nriest In the temple office for oEt
and a half cents. Similarly. have
! brass charm from the imperial high
priestess (whom l did not meet, l an
sorry to say), guaranteeing protection
to my body from every kind OF harm
and all for the SUM OF eight cents
Rsligion comes cheap In Japan. saw
pyiests emptying the money boxes
which stand before each shrine, and
later stringing the coins togetner
These are all OF copper, and OF the
lowest denominations. two sen, one
sen. half sen. rim and half rim. The
last two are the commonest. and are
worth respectively, one twentieth ane
one fortieth OF an American cent
These are now seldom used in com
merce, and are called temple
money" The sen Is worth one-hali
cent.
The elaborate and costly Buddhist
temple and its ritual and priests was
in sharp contrast with the impoyer
ished simple services which these un
uniformed missionaries had been hold
ing; but the latter had confidence
and q vitality which made one foresee
the possibility Of the overthrow oi
Buddhism by the plain gospel OF the
Naxarene.
<S:s