ELSEWHERE in this paper we have written briefly on the subject of eternal life, showing that it can be obtained only in Christ, and that to deny that life comes only through Christ is virtually to deny Christ. Now it is doubtless a fact that the most of the professed Christians who believe that all men, whether good or bad, will exist throughout eternity, imagine that they do believe in life through Christ, because they confound life with happiness. They hold that only believers in Christ will have eternal happiness, and that unbelievers will be doomed to eternal misery, and they call the first state eternal life, and the second state eternal death. But in considering this subject it should not be forgotten that life and death are distinctly opposite conditions. As long as a man has breath he is alive, no matter how miserable he may be. People who are suffering intense agony, sometimes pray for death to relieve them of their sufferings. Nobody considers them dead because they are in misery. So if the wicked were to be drowned to an eternity of conscious suffering, they would have eternal life just as surely as would the righteous in glory. Let the terms "life" and "death" be taken in their simple, obvious meaning, and the doctrine of immortality as revealed in the Bible may very easily be understood.
SEEK FOR IMMORTALITY.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
"To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, [God will render] eternal life." Rom. 2:7.
FROM this verse we conclude that the sum of glory and honor and immortality is contained in eternal life, which is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 6:23. It also furnishes the most complete refutation of the idea made so popular by Plato and Addison, that men are by nature endowed with immortality, because there is so universal a longing for it. The apostle asks in one place, "What a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" and with far greater force might it be asked, What a man hath, why doth he yet long for? and with still greater force, What a man hath, why is he exhorted to seek for?
Let us note the occurrence of the word "immortality" in the Bible. It will not take long, for it occurs only five times, yet they take us by regular steps through the whole subject. First, we read in 1 Tim. 6:15, 16 that the "blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords," is the one "who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen nor can see." He has "life in himself," and can bestow it on whomsoever he will.
The contrast between God and man is clearly brought out in Rom. 1:23, where we are told that the heathen "changed the glory of the uncorruptible [or immortal] God into an image made like to corruptible [or mortal] man." God is immortal; man is mortal, and he is therefore exhorted to seek for immortality, that he may dwell with God.
But where shall we seek for immortality? Shall we look to writings of the ancient heathen? Of what use would that be? "The world by wisdom knew not God," and how then could they know anything of immortality, which belongs to God alone? The word of God alone can direct us in our search, and it declares that the purpose and grace of God in Christ "is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10. The gospel, then, is the place where we are to seek for immortality. There alone is it revealed; there alone can it be found.
Having found where immortality is revealed, how are we to make it ours? The Scriptures are very definite on this point. Thus we read: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36. The beloved disciple declares of Christ, that "in him was life." He was "full of grace [favor] and truth;" and the psalmist tells us that in the favor of God there is life (Ps. 30:5); therefore he who has Christ has the favor of God, and life from him.
That life comes from God, and that no man can have it except by the grace of Christ, is shown very clearly. Said Jesus: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10. From this, with the statement in Acts 17:28, "for in him we live, and move, and have our being," we learn that we depend upon Christ, not alone for immortal life, but for this present existence. When Adam fell he brought the race of mankind under the sentence of eternal death, and it was only through the grace of God in Christ that a second probation was granted. So while the saints will throughout eternity offer praises402to Christ for bestowing immortality upon them, all men owe thanks to him for giving them this little span of life, in which to seek for immortality.
Jesus reproved the Jews for inconsistency, in that, while they searched the Scriptures, because in them eternal life was to be found, and those Scriptures testified of him as the way of life, yet they would not come to him that they might have life. John 5:39, 40. Now if life could have been obtained in any other way than through Christ, the Jews might have retorted, "We don't need to come to you that we may have life, for we have it without you." This is what they, in effect, did; and it is what thousands are actually saying to-day. It is the language of Spiritualism. Believing that men are by nature endowed with immortality, Spiritualists scornfully reject Christ as the way of life. The inevitable tendency of the doctrine of the natural immortality of man, is to lead men to lightly esteem Christ.
Read one more testimony. "He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:10-12. It is a terrible thing to deny that life can be obtained only in Christ, for to do so is to charge God with lying, since that is the record that he has given. Let God be true, even though every man be proved a liar.
Note that while eternal life belongs to everyone who has Christ, no one is yet in full possession of it. God has given to us eternal life, but this life is in his Son. Not only is it to be found in him, but for a little space it remains in him, for safe keeping. Paul says to Christians: "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. 3:3, 4. Eternal life is ours now, if we have Christ, just as surely as it ever will be; but Christ keeps it in his own charge. When will it be ours by actual possession? This brings us to the summing up, which we read as follows:—
"Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Cor. 15:51-54.
Now let us review briefly. All men are by nature mortal, corruptible; God only has immortality. If we would have immortality, we must seek for it. It is to be found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He who does not seek Christ, will know nothing of immortality. Outside of Christ there is no life. For a little season we have, by the mercy of God, existence granted to us, that we may seek life. As long as God's mercy is extended to men, good and bad alike may live; but when Christ shall say to those who reject him, "Depart from me," they will be cut off from the Source of life, and will suffer eternal death. But to those who have accepted Christ, the gift of immortality will be bestowed at his appearing.
How is it possible that men who profess to love our Lord Jesus Christ, can dishonor him by ignoring him as the giver of life?
E. J. W.
Four New Cardinals
The pope has made four new cardinals.
Sunday Opening of Museums and Libraries
The editor of the Christian Union, Dr. Lyman Abbott, is a strong advocate of the opening of museums, libraries, art galleries, etc., on Sundays.
Abraham’s Faith in Offering Isaac
"Did Abraham think that God would provide a lamb instead of Isaac?" is a question that comes to us for answer. We read in Heb. 11:17-19 that Abraham offered Isaac, through faith in God, "accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." If Abraham had expected that God was going to provide a substitute, there would have been no occasion for faith in the resurrection, and the matter would have been no trial at all.
Father Ignatius and His Monastic Community
A CLERGYMAN of the Church of England, Joseph Leycester Lyne, popularly known as "Father Ignatius," is now in this country lecturing and preaching to raise funds for the Abbey of St. Anthony, in Wales, where he has organized a community of Benedictine monks. The rules of the order are the same as those followed at similar Roman Catholic institutions. Mr. Lyne has gathered a number of clergymen who are infatuated with a monastic life.
The Old Testament Enfolding the New
By Editor
At the recent Convention of the New York State Sunday-school Association, Dr. John Hall delivered an address on "The Old Testament Enfolding the New," in which he said that it is simply calumny to say that God is represented in any other light in the Old Testament from what he is described in the New; and he closed with this exhortation:—
"Put before your pupils the union, completeness, and beauty of the Old and the New, and you will be magnifying Christ. That is the only thing you need to do. If you magnify Christ, he will draw all men unto him."
We are glad to see the attention of people directed to the entire Bible instead of to fragments of it. It is all profitable.
Alternate Sunday-School Lessons Proposed
In consideration of the fact that the Episcopal and Lutheran Churches do not use the International Sunday-school lessons, because they do not make provision for the festival days observed by those churches, the New York State Sunday-school Convention has adopted a resolution requesting the International Convention to instruct the lesson committee to issue alternate lessons for those desiring to use them, “which shall be appropriate to the Sundays preceding the days observed as anniversaries of the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord; and the descent of the Holy Spirit.”403
THE ONLY EXAMPLE.
THE following question and answer we clip from the Christian Advocate:—
"Question—Is it wrong for a professed Christian to read Shakespeare's plays?
"Answer—Wesley read them."
We do not quote this question and answer for the purpose of making any comment upon Shakespeare's plays, or upon the fact that Wesley read them, or to say whether or not any Christian should now read them. What we wish to note is the form of the answer,—"Wesley read them." We honor Wesley as a man of God, but the fact that he did a certain thing is no reason whatever why somebody else should do it. If it is right for Christians to do any given thing, it is not because some good man has done the same thing. If the thing is right, the Christian of to-day may do it for the same reason that the old-time Christian did it, but not because he did it.
There is not a man that ever lived on this earth, save "the Man Christ Jesus," whose example in any given thing may be taken as a reason why others may do the same thing. No matter how good the man was, he who refers to him as authority for any practice, is in a dangerous condition. Christ suffered for us, "leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps;" but he is the only example.
This is the reason why it is so dangerous a thing to take any man, however good, as a model either of faith or practice: There is no man who is infallible; so long as his course is exactly correct, his follower may not go astray; but he is liable to err, and then the poor follower, who has substituted another's judgment for his own, is sure to go wrong. To follow any man in belief or practice is to invest that man with infallibility; and to blindly copy his mistakes as well as his perfect deeds. The result will be a poor imitation of his goodness, and an exaggeration of his frailties.
It is no discredit to anybody to say that he is not authority in matters of doctrine, nor an example in the realm of duty. God's word alone is the standard of truth, for it is the truth, and it unfolds its treasures to the humblest as well as to the great. Whoever has a determination to do God's will shall know the doctrine. And he who follows a good practice because some good man has done the deed, really worships the man, instead of God. Even though the man never made a mistake, his imitator would fall far short of attaining to his goodness, because God is the only one whose worship can elevate. *Hero-worship is simply attempted imitation; but he who worships God alone, worships one who is not simply an example, but who lifts the worshiper to his own level.
Therefore, "be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven."
IS IT CIVIL?
By Editor
THE latest utterance of the chief worker in behalf of Sunday legislation is the following:
"Laws setting apart a weekly 'independence-day' are no more inconsistent with liberty and much more essential to it than the law of the annual Independence-day."
The man who expects that people are going to accept such a feeble comparison as that as sound argument for Sunday legislation, pays a poor compliment to their intelligence. There is no more likeness between the Sunday observance that is contemplated by the proposed laws and the observance of the Fourth of July, than there is between a Presbyterian synod and a college base-ball nine. When such a plea as that is made for Sunday laws, all you have to do is to ask if under the proposed Sunday laws it is designed to give people the same freedom of action that they have on the Fourth of July. Are we to believe that all the so-called American Sabbath Union is working for is for a law granting the people full liberty to take "a day off" every Sunday, to go on a picnic, let off fire-crackers, lounge around, and do as they please generally? Some less gauzy plea will have to be invented.
POSITIVE TESTIMONY.
The Independent and the Congregationalist have had a little friendly dispute in regard to women taking part in meeting. Both assume that the apostle Paul positively condemned everything of the kind, forgetting that his statement, "Let your women keep silence," etc., is to be read in connection with his directions as to how they shall appear when praying or prophesying in meeting. But assuming that Paul absolutely forbids women to speak in meeting under any circumstances, the Congregationalist says that to disregard the injunction is to impair the revelation of which it is a part. But the Independent retorts as follows:—
"Hardly so. 'In six days the Lord made heaven and earth;' that is quite as definite as what Paul said. And when it comes to the Sabbath, there is not only the injunction for the seventh day, as definite as words can make it, but reason given also, in the ordination of the week and the Sabbath as a memorial of creation, as definite as any reason given by Paul for the subjection of women. And yet the whole church has given it up, with no repeal and no history of the change, simply because time and conditions had altered."
But the conditions have not changed. It is still a fact that God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and rested upon and blessed and sanctified the seventh day, and the seventh day is still the only memorial of creation, and it is just as important to remember God's power now as it ever was. The commandment is unrepealed, and is as definite as it ever was. Only the people have changed.
FREEDOM IN CHRIST.
By Milton C. Wilcox
It is a great blessing to be forgiven the sins of the past; but forgiveness is a real blessing only when it is the beginning of freedom from sin and victory over sin. If we are forgiven only to fall into sin again, the blessing of forgiveness but deepens the despair of defeat. God’s object in forgiving, however, is not that we may fall again. He strikes off the chains of the bondage of sin that we may go free; and in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, we are bidden to stand fast, and not become entangled again in the bondage of sin. Gal. 5:1. Or according to the words of our Lord: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36. The same thought is expressed by the psalmist: “There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared [reverenced],” the reverence and godly fear with which God should be truly served. Ps. 130:4; Heb. 12:28. The greater question, therefore, for the Christian to consider is not, “Will the Lord forgive my sin?” but, “How may I gain the victory over sin? how may I maintain freedom from sin?”
It is a thought clearly and emphatically and frequently expressed in the Scriptures that the natural tendency of mortal flesh is to sin. In fact, it is sin which has brought mortality. The sinful deeds of man are called the works of the flesh, which have their rise in the passions of the flesh. Gal. 5:19, 24, margin. The carnal heart is in harmony with the tendencies of the mortal flesh. It not only has no means of separating itself from these tendencies, but it has no desire to separate. It follows the law of its nature, which is that of sin and death.
From this law Christ delivers by giving the individual a new heart, new life, new purposes, new desires. The individual henceforth is to be controlled by a new law—“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” which makes “free from the law of sin and death.” Rom. 8:2. The warfare is between the new heart and the new life on the one hand, and the tendencies of the mortal flesh on the other. The lusts of the flesh still exist, but the injunction is: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Rom. 6:12. The lusts are there, but they need not become passions. In passion the mind and will are responsive to the desires or clamors of the flesh, and passion is sin. But the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes us free from the power of sin.
When Satan tempts men, it is through these tendencies and weaknesses of the flesh. Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed. Satan is the enticer; the uncrucified lusts of the flesh are the means by which he gains entrance to the heart and life of the justified saint. See James 1:14, 15.
It follows then that the true way to meet the temptations of the enemy is to cherish in our heart no evil desire, to allow no lust to reign in our mortal body. When the temptation assails, let faith lay hold on Christ, place him in our stead, claim his righteousness, his strength, his power to resist the temptation, and thus by his Spirit “mortify the deeds of the body.” Rom. 8:13. And the crucifixion of the lusts, the crushing out of evil habits, does not leave the soul naked. While the evil tendencies are put off, the righteousness of Christ in all its manifold manifestations is put on. Col. 3:5-8, 12. It was because no lust of evil was cherished in our Lord, that the devil had no power over him. The human was wholly subject to the divine. The prince of the world came to him, and found nothing in him which responded to his enticing wiles. John 14:30. Thus God would have the followers of Christ stand. Every imagination which would exalt itself against the knowledge of God must, by the presence of Christ kept near by faith, be subdued, crucified. But if we allow these tendencies of the mortal flesh to grow and twine around the affections of the heart, we build again the things once destroyed, and become transgressors. Gal. 2:18; Rom. 6:16. The only way is to ever keep a face resolutely set against every carnal lust, by keeping it fixed upon Christ and the loveliness of his character as revealed in the word of God, and in communion with Heaven through prayer. M. C. W.
"BLESSED is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." The one who said this seems to have grasped a great truth. It was not a mere flight of imagination. The many fanciful ideas of heaven, created by the popular theology of the day, cut off all consolation from any such comprehensive thought. Eating bread in the kingdom of heaven is entirely too "material" for modern sentiment. But in the "Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants," we find this promise, "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Chap. 19:9. Again, in Luke 12:37, referring to the same occasion (his second coming), we read: "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." Also, at the institution of the Lord’s Supper, which was to be kept in remembrance of him until his return, Christ made reference to the grand occasion alluded to in the text quoted above. In giving the cup to his disciples, he said: "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom." Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25.
THE parable which follows in the lesson is illustrative of the great "marriage supper of the Lamb." The servant being sent "to them that were bidden" shows that they had had previous knowledge of the occasion, and here is a special message informing them the time is near for the great event. This message is evidently to the church especially, but others may yet be brought in under it on the same conditions, although it be the eleventh hour. Hence the necessity of the church being awake to an understanding of the situation. "Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." "Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing." Matt. 24:42, 46.
THIS parable is also illustrative of the condition of the church when the Lord will come. The masses are all absorbed in the secular pursuits common to the world. It is apparently different from the "dinner" referred to in Matthew 22. That parable, although reaching down to the end, evidently begins with the first advent, showing the treatment Christ received at the hands of the Jews, the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and the turning of the gospel invitation to the Gentiles. That covers the bidding to the wedding-feast, especially the blessings in store for Israel had they accepted Jesus as the Messiah; while this parable in Luke applies directly to the time just preceding the second advent, and is an announcement to those who had been bidden.
THERE is ample testimony in the teachings of Christ and his apostles, in addition to this parable, to show the condition of the professed church when the Lord shall come again. On a certain occasion Jesus was asked this question, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" His answer was, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Luke 13:23, 24. The many spoken of as seeking to enter in are those who profess to be disciples; and, with all the efforts being put forth, by all manner of popular means, including civil law, must of necessity greatly increase the ranks of merely nominal professors. This fact adds significance to the question asked by the Lord,4"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
IN the parable before us, the man who had bought a piece of ground, and the one who had purchased oxen, and the one who had married a wife, although they had been bidden to the supper, had no time seriously to consider the subject of the time for supper being already at hand. Their real interest is in the same things which attract the attention of the people of the world. Of the masses, the Lord has plainly said that at his coming they will be engaged just as were the people immediately preceding the flood,—that is, they were all absorbed in eating and drinking and marrying wives. Also, like those in the days of Lot, of whom it is said, "They did eat; they drank; they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded," up to the day of their destruction. It is just so to-day, the popular church is too much engaged in business and pleasure to give attention to evident signs that the Lord's coming and wedding-supper are at hand.
AND Paul prophesies concerning the great apostasy of the church: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Tim. 4:3. That is just what the men in the parable did when informed that supper was ready; they "turned away their ears from the truth."
PAUL also tells us that the coming of the Lord will not take place "except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped." 2 Thess. 2:3, 4. This "man of sin" is to arise in the church, and he is to exist in full power when Christ comes, for he is the same "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." Verse 8. And this power shall work "with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Here again is what the men of the parable in the lesson before us did,—"they received not the love of the truth;" they were interested in worldly affairs, and consequently easily turned aside by pleasing fables, which required no special sacrifice on their part. W. N. G.
WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST?
It is reported that Edwin Arnold, author of “The Light of Asia,” is now engaged on a poem to be entitled “The Light of the World,” having for its subject the character and history of Christ. It is said that “the view of Christ’s person is that he was not God, but a perfect man, a link between God and man.” To be sure, Edwin Arnold is not a professed Christian; but his worldly wisdom ought to teach him that nothing can be a link between two objects, unless it actually touches both of those objects. So it is utterly impossible for Christ to be a link between God and man, unless he is both God and man. If he lacked but a hair’s breadth of perfect divinity, then he could not have power to make men partakers of the divine nature; and if by the same amount he failed to come down to the level of man, we could not get hold of him. But he does indeed form a perfect link between God and man, because, having by nature the attributes of divinity, he took upon himself the likeness of men. And, by the way, if Christ were not God, then he could not be a perfect man; for he testified of himself that he is God, and perfect men do not bear false witness. And, further, if Christ were only a perfect man, and not God, how can the fact be accounted for that never before or since his life on earth has there been a perfect man? Why hasn’t some other man made his way perfect? People may utter all the sentiment they please about the perfection of Christ’s character as a man, but it all amounts to nothing if he is not also acknowledged to be God.
Prayer Takes Hold of God’s Willingness
By Phillips Brooks
PRAYER is not conquering God’s reluctance, but taking hold of God’s willingness.—Phillips Brooks.
ITEMS ABOUT JAPAN.
By S. N. H.
It is less than fifty years since the attention of the world was called to the Japanese kingdom. In fact, to the western world, Japan was a sealed book till 1862, when at the International Exhibition at London, the products of the country were exhibited.
The true name of Japan is Dai Nippon (sun's origin). It is situated between latitude 24 and 51 north, and longitude 124 and 157 east of Greenwich. It is a peculiarly-shaped kingdom, and it is estimated to contain 149,000 square miles. Its population, according to the latest report, of 1886, is 38,151,217. It has 12,000 towns or cities and 59,000 villages. It is said to contain over three thousand islands, including the uninhabited rocks. It is very mountainous, with several active volcanoes. The highest mountain is Fugi, which is about twelve thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea. The longest river is Tonegawa, 170 miles. There are two large and principal plains,—Kwanto and Echigo.
The coast line is very irregular and teems with bays, some of which are of considerable size. The bays of Tokio, Sendai, and Osaka are among the largest. The Japanese, strange to say, have no names for their bays or straits, and those found and marked on maps and charts have been given by European navigators. The Yeddo Bay is the best known to foreigners, but Sendai Bay, and those running up to the north of the island of Awaji, and that one commonly called Osaka, are also famous. Good anchorage can be found in the small bays and harbors on the entire coast. The ports open for free trade are Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, Hakodate, and Niigato; but Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki are the ones that are continually in use by vessels calling.
The country is frequently visited by shocks of earthquake, but it is seldom that they are severe. The earthquake of 1855 was felt most severely at Yeddo. It is estimated that on this occasion there were 14,241 dwelling-houses and 1,649 fire-proof store-houses overturned in the city. In September, strong winds pass over the empire, causing a great deal of destruction.
The climate is very healthful and salubrious, but varies according to the locality. In the southern portion, lying close to the tropics, it enjoys a perpetual summer, whilst in the far north of the empire it shares the Arctic temperature of Kamchatka. The climate on the whole is said to be favorable to foreigners, although its frequent changes often prove trying to European residents. All the mountain ranges are wrapped deep in snow during the winter months, and from many peaks the snow never disappears. In the northern provinces it has been known to fall to a depth of no less than eight feet. After the winter months, there is a short rainy season. The best months for excursions into the interior are April and October. Winds blow from the south from about the middle of May till the end of August. There are certain seasons of the year when violent revolving storms known as typhoon, resembling the West Indian cyclone and the cyclone of the Indian seas, are liable to come up at any moment. These months are July, August, and September. Large trees are often snapped asunder like mere twigs, while roofs and chimneys also suffer severely. These storms occur every year.
The mode of conveyance for passengers is one that originated in this country, but has since been adopted in the island of Ceylon and Hongkong, China. It is by what is called a jin-riki-sha. There are those of sufficient size to carry two persons, although they are usually made to convey only one. They are a two-wheeled carriage, shaped something like a miniature gig. They are generally drawn by a single coolie, although for rapid travel two men are usually employed. In the city of Tokio alone, there are existing over ten thousand of these jin-riki-shas. They are of various styles and shapes, and were introduced twenty years ago. They travel at the rate of six miles an hour, or would compete with a common horse.
For the transportation of luggage or heavy goods, a large two-wheeled cart is used. These are drawn by four or six coolies. The palanquin is also employed for travel, and is suspended by poles resting on the shoulders of coolies. In the country districts where the roads are stony and narrow, pack-horses are used, and also bullocks and oxen. These animals are shod with straw sandals to protect the frog of the hoof, and their burden is attached by ropes to a rough pack-saddle, without girths. But a rope goes around their necks in front of a crouper so that it cannot slip back or forward. These animals will go up stone steps and very steep hills, with their straw sandals. Burdens of moderate weight are usually carried by coolies. The package is fastened at each end of a pole worn across the shoulders, Chinese fashion.
The farm buildings of the humblest are frequently situated in the midst of a rice-field, or on a higher slope at some little distance from the road. Men, women, and children go out to till the ground from early morning till late in the evening. Their labor sometimes is varied by felling trees and cutting brushwood on the hills. The plow is exceedingly small, with but one handle, and is easily pulled through the soft mud of the rice-fields by a single pony or a couple of coolies. Instead of threshing to separate the heads of grain from the stalks, the latter are pulled by hand, through a long row of iron teeth projecting from a short rack of timber. The sickle with which they reap the grain is merely a straight iron plate some four inches in length and sharpened on one side, which projects from a short wooden handle some four inches long. Rice is the staple article.
The Japanese race appears to be an amalgamation of different races, the Mongolian predominating. There are two types of Japanese,—one of slender build and often with a fine form of Roman nose; the other, the lower type, thick set, broad and muscular, and flat-nosed. But they have the same complexion, most of them being of a light yellow color. They are a small people, the average height of the male being about the same as that of an adult European female, rising five feet.
The religious beliefs of the Japanese people may be defined under the heads of the Shinto and the Buddhist. By the former is meant the religious beliefs of the natives prior to the introduction of Buddhism and the Confucian philosophy. They are not a nation of idol-worshipers, but there seems to be mixed up in the Shinto, a system of hero-worship. Many renowned warriors and other personages of ancient days are exalted into what we would term demi-gods. This inculcates a reverential feeling toward the dead.
In their large villages, the buildings and machine shops, the cleanliness of the streets, their form of arrangement, the industry and taste of the people as manifested in their painting and in-laid work, all indicate a superior intelligence. And yet, in all of these countries they have a taste peculiar to themselves. The whole nation speaks the one language, but different dialects are spoken in various parts of the empire.
They are an exclusive and an independent people. Their exclusiveness is seen in their former history,—shut up to themselves, avoiding treaties with other nations till quite recently. The same spirit is in all their society. Although there is no caste here, society is divided up into clans, each one looking down upon the other. But they are respectful and polite. It is not their custom to shake hands, but to bow from one to three times, and sometimes till the forehead touches the ground. They appreciate kindness, but if their politeness is not reciprocated, instead of being discouraged they stand back on their own dignity. The better class possess honor where confidence is imposed in them, and in matters of deal they are far more honorable than the African, East Indian, or the Chinese.
They will reason on almost any point and yield to sound argument. But like all of the heathen nations they reason from an entirely different standpoint from those who for generations have been moulded by Christian civilization. This point is appreciated by experienced missionaries among them. Those principles which we inherit and which become the basis of reason generally received by us, to them would be perfectly ridiculous, and vice versa. To as far as possible place ourselves in their position and realize the difficulty under which they labor, is the principle manifested by Christ in taking upon himself our nature; but to ignore this principle is to labor without Christ. The present generation of the heathen are not responsible for what they inherit, any more than we. Neither are they responsible for what they do not receive. This may be a reason why God in his infinite merciful providence is causing the rays of gospel light to dispel the mist that has so completely enveloped millions of the human race, in the closing scenes of the world's history. How many of these will take the crowns lost by those who have had great light and have refused to walk therein, the judgment alone will reveal.
Presbyterian Mission Appropriations for 1890
THE Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church in Canada asks, for 1890, the sum of $106,500 to carry on its foreign work, and $62,000 for Home Missions.