Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-26


the bundle had been stolen from him.
The manager of the mercantile
house, however, was unwilling to ac-
cept the report Of the servant.
Although you We're asleep. the god
Of travellers beside you would not have
let the' thief get off. just confess,
you turned into one of the teahouses,
got flirting with the Mattresses and
| mislaid or squandered the goods in
trusted to YOU"
Jagoro sWore that he had merely
rested by the stone image Of Jizo. But
it availed him nothing. He was dis
charged, with a suspicion of theft.
In this strait he determined to bring
the whole matter before the Chief
Justice Ooka, who was renowned far
and wide for his Soomon's wisdom.
He announced himself as the former
indoor servant of the mercantile house
or Echigoya, from whom large
bundle of cotton goods had been stol-
en- in the court of d temple in the
suburb of HOMO.
But the court clerk declined to both
er His Honor, the judge, with any
such matter. and, as Jagoro stood
upon his rights and kept getting moro
urgent, they had him conveyed by
two or three robust officials to the
safe of the spacious courthouse.
There he remained lying despairing-
~ three days and three nights till he
caught the eye of the judge borne past
him every morning and evening in the
official sedan chair, and by his order
Jagoro was summoned into the audi
ence hall. OOka patiently listened to
the tale.
The judge agreed with the manager,
in SO far as he, too, declared to the
astonished Jagoro that it had been the
duty of the stone god of travel, Jizo
to watch that nobody stole the bundle
that 4 sleeping wayfarer had laid
upon the sacred pedestal.
Still more however, wondered the
inhabitants of the suburb of HOMO
when a warrant for the arrest of the
stone Jizo of their temple was now
posted up. They came in great
swarms into the court of the temple
to witness how this queer arrest
would be made. The officers sent by
Ooka could not, of course, move the
heavy stone image from the place
But they knew-since they had been
instructed by the judge, Ooka-how to
get help quickly. a lawsuit against a
god like Jizo was surely something
very rare, they said, and especially be.
| fore such judge as Ooka, to see
| whom people travelled for miles. So
! then they promised to reserve all the
! spectators places at the trial for
! those who would help with the arrest
and transportation of the accused
| idol.
! At once hundreds offered assistance
! Ropes We're bound round the figure
| heavy poles fastened to them, and the
| gigantic burden, amid much shouting
| was lifted upon a wagon. To secure
! the place in the audience hall hun
dreds of the inhabitants of Homie
3! jostled each other to help pull on one
/ of the ropes or to push the wagon ur
! at least to run after it.
| When the stone figure was deposited
| before the judges chair Ooka at once
appeared to begin the proceedings.
The dense crowd of spectators, ad-
| mitted in return for the help at the
arrest of the god of travellers, he ap-
peared not to see.
With perfect gravity the Judge ad-
dressed the stone image at his feet
and demanded of it information as to
the whereabouts of the bundle of
white cotton stuffs deposited with il
| The stone image answered none of the
questions.
ooka finally threatned to punish the
| stone idol as a thiefs accomplice ac-
cordlng to law. However seriously
and formally he conducted the hear
ing, the public could not keep from
laughing:
That's said to be the smartest
judge in all Japan" sounded in the
silence that followed Oeka's last ques
ton, and not a few applauded the
critic
But that was just what the willy
judge had been waiting for. He rose
in the greatest anger, sentenced al.
present to immediate arrest for con-
tempt of court, and had the doors of
the hall shut and guarded. In the
suburb of HOMO he had the occur
renee publicly proclaimed by couriers,
and ordered whoever missed any
member of his family at once to APP
pear before him and obtain his re-
lease by bringing with him piece Of
white cotton stuff as bail
On that afternoon the dealers in
cotton goods in HOMO must have
driven a thriving trade: indeed. eveh
in the business streets of the city it
self the sudden demand for white
fabrics was spoken of with aston
ishment. over 800 pieces of cloth
We're heaped up. before sunset even,
in 0oka's courtroom, each with the
name and address of the deliVerer, and
the name of the one shut up in the
session room for whose bail il was II
serve.
Jagoro had To look over the pieces
to see whether he could find among
them one lost by him. In fact. two
pieces bore the private mark of his
former mercantile house.
At once Ooka sent messengers to
the addresses to ask where the pieces
were bought. Both were traced To =
shop in Canda.
proceedings in the hall with the i'm
prisoned spectators, beside the bound
stone image Were already covering
the two thieves betrayed by the
fence"