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HEATHEN TEMPLES, JAPAN.

OUR engraving presents a view of a temple at Yoku-hama, a populous village in the Gulf of Yedo, Japan. In this secluded empire, which is just beginning to hold intercourse with civilized nations, every form of religious faith is permitted to find a home, with the exception of Chris

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HEATHEN TEMPLES, JAPAN.

[MAY, tianity. Unhappily, the Jesuits introduced into these islands that corrupt form of it which prevails in the church of Rome. They did so with great success, and counted their proselytes by tens of thousands. But becoming elated, and grasping at temporal power, they engaged in political intrigues; and, in the war which ensued, they and their followers were utterly overthrown; and Christianity, so impiously misrepresented to the Japanese, is now remembered only to be detested. The false religions which prevail may be briefly mentioned. Sin-syu, from "sin" (the gods), and "syu," (faith), is the original national religion. Its followers are called Sintús. The Sun goddess, Ten-sio-dai-zin, is the chief deity; but there are thousands of inferior ones, called kami, of whom the greater number are deified men. It inculcates the worship of the kami, both in temples and private habitations, and pilgrimage at certain seasons. The principal decorations of their temples consist of images of the kami, a mirror, the emblem of the purity of the soul, and various strips of white paper, called gohei, also an emblem of purity. On festivals the worshipper visits a temple, performs his ablutions in a reservoir provided for the purpose, kneels in the verandah, from whence, through a grated window, he gazes at the mirror, offers up his prayers, with his sacrifice of rice, fruit, tea, drops his coin into the money-box, and retires.

On Buddhism, widely spread as it is, we need not here to dwell particularly. Its leading features are metempsychosis-that the human soul, on leaving the body, assumes the form of inferior animals: hence the taking of animal life is prohibited-the worship of countless idols, the idea that the chief lama, or high-priest king, never dies, and the celibacy of the priesthood. This system of false religion has introduced itself from China, and has intermingled itself very much with Sintúism.

We shall add something respecting their temples. The general character of these structures may be concluded from the specimen before us. They are built of wood; and, although kept in tolerable repair, yet, being left unpainted, soon show the effects of the weather. The roofs are covered with tiles, and project beyond the walls. The posts, which support the superstructure, together with the rest of the woodwork, are covered with the famous Japanese lacquer. The temple in the engraving is of medium size. Sometimes the tiled roof rises fully sixty feet from the ground, and is supported by an intricate arrangement of girders, posts, and tie-beams, resting upon large lacquered pillars. At the rear of the principal temple, on acclivities and summits of hills, are shrines and pavilions within groves of trees, and approached by, a flight of stone steps, in the interior of which are rude images or inscriptions, dedicated to the tutelary deity of the place. Persons passing by, or living near, have thus abundant opportunity of propitiating the good and evil spirits which are supposed to frequent the place, and presenting their offerings, which may often be seen before the doors and at the shrines, consisting of bits of paper, rags, copper cash, bouquets of flowers, &c. In the Buddhist temples there is one main apartment, at the door of which there are, to the left, a drum, and to the right, a bell, the former of which is beaten, and the latter tinkled, when worship begins, to awaken the attention of the idols to the prayers about to be offered. Within, in niches, are ranged in perfect order the ancestral tablets. There are vari

1857.]

SARAH DAVIS.

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ous images, as in a Chinese joss-house; while on the walls an occasional picture is hung up, as a votive offering from some individual who considers that he is in some way or other indebted to Buddha, or some of his numerous progeny, Certain boxes for receiving alms are placed about, on which is inscribed, "For feeding hungry demons ;" and the assurance which follows, that thereby "merit will be consolidated."

Besides the shrine, or place for worship, the larger temples have usually connected with them apartments for lodging and entertaining strangers. They are also used on festival and market-days, and other occasions, when large assemblages are gathered together, and bazaars, for buying and selling, are not unfrequently held in them.

Around the Buddhist temples lies a graveyard, filled with monuments and tombstones of various forms, among which are distributed statues of Buddha, varying in size from the largeness of life to that of a foot or less. The tombs, as with us, have epitaphs inscribed upon them. When they can be deciphered, which is only while they are new, for they very soon become illegible, they are found to record the rank and death of the deceased, together with a summary of his meritorious actions, entitling him, in the estimation of his friends, to heavenly felicity. An invocation, "Oh, wonderful Buddha!" generally prefaces the inscriptions. Near the recent graves narrow boards, or posts, are placed, on which are written extracts from their sacred books, exhorting the living to add to their stock of good works by diligently repeating the pages of these volumes, or getting the priests to do it for them. At Yoku-hama some of the boards are covered with Tibetan characters, to scare away wicked demons from disturbing the dead.

With what sad feelings the sight of a vast heathen burial-place must fill the mind of a believer in Christ! He is looking upon the restingplace where lies the dust of generations of men, who lived and died in utter ignorance of that Saviour who is his hope and stay. What earnest pity ought we not to feel for those dark lands where Christ is unknown!— that kind of pity which does not evaporate in a sigh, but which leads to prayer and earnest effort on behalf of the perishing millions of our world.

SARAH DAVIS.

THE following interesting communication has been received from the Rev. B. Ashwell, our Missionary at Taupiri, New Zealand. Our readers will see how the Lord is pleased to deal with many of the young New-Zealand girls-first bringing them to the knowledge of Himself, then taking them away from the temptations of the world to be safe in heaven. He plucks early the flowers that bloom in His garden below, before the heat of the noon-day has spoiled them of their fragrance and beauty. The letter is dated October 30, 1856.

I have the melancholy satisfaction of recording the happy death of one of our school-girls. It is rather singular that several of our girls, just verging on womanhood, should have been so suddenly cut off by death. When near the age of seventeen years, a rapid consumption has quickly removed them from the evil to come, although means had been used to arrest the progress of the disease. A decided case of consumption among

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SARAH DAVIS.

[MAY,

the New Zealanders is seldom or never cured. They have not the stamina of the English constitution, and a few weeks' illness generally ends fatally. This was the case with Sophia and Benaiah: the latter indeed was a sweet Christian. Her life, death, and example, I feel convinced, have been the means of much lasting good to some of our children. Both these girls gave us much satisfaction.

Sarah Davis, the account of whose death I now forward, died August 4, 1856, after three months' illness, aged seventeen. She came to the school young. We considered her a girl of good abilities and an amiable temper; but she was thoughtless and giddy. Several years elapsed before we had any reason to believe that she was seriously inclined. At the death of her mother she was obliged to return to her native village, to take care of her younger sisters. She was at this time about fifteen years of age, and of a pleasing countenance. Her levity of dispo sition caused us to fear that she would soon be led astray. We lost sight of her for a time, as she removed with her father some distance. I am sorry to say we heard unfavourable reports of her conduct.

About a year and a half after this, she became anxious to return to the school, as an ark of safety and resting-place after her wanderings. I did not readily comply with her request. Her friends were urgent that we should give her another trial; but I feared that her levity of disposition would have an injurious effect on our elder girls. However, as her conduct continued good, we at last consented that she should return. She accordingly came, with her sister, about nineteen months ago; and we were much rejoiced to find that she was quite a changed characterthoughtful, gentle, attentive to her school duties, and anxious for religious instruction. We now felt assured that the good seed, once sown, although apparently lost, had at last sprung up: the bread cast upon the waters had been found, and our labour had not been in vain in the Lord.

After a few months' residence at the school, we observed symptoms of decided consumption. She gradually became weaker, and we felt assured that no human means could restore her. During this time I had frequent conversations with her; and I was much rejoiced to find that she had clear views of her own sinfulness, and Christ as her only Saviour. In March last I had great pleasure in recommending her to the Bishop for confirmation. She rejoiced in this opportunity of publicly declaring that, with the help of God, she would be His soldier and servant unto her life's end. Two months after this event she became so much worse, that her father wished her to be removed to her native village. He was much comforted by witnessing her firm faith in Christ, although suffering much pain. A short time before her death she said to him, "Oh, my father, be decided for Christ: love the Lord Jesus. Remember the great cloud of witnesses by which we are surrounded. Lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, looking unto Jesus. Father, look to Jesus. Go with my sisters to Taupiri school. Be decided for Christ." After this she became insensible, and remained so till her death, which took place the following morning. Her father and sisters came to school, one of whom died in a few weeks from the same complaint. He is in great affliction. I trust it will be the means of leading him to Christ, and making him a useful teacher amongst his own people.

1857.]

RESIGNATION.-ENTERED INTO REST.

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Our school continues to give us much satisfaction, especially our native teachers. We number in all, adults and children, sixty boarders. I am thankful to say we are doing a little to render it self-supporting. Several acres of land are now sown with wheat, potatos, and maize; and, should it please God to send us a plentiful harvest, we shall be enabled to support a third of the children. The Government allowance does not provide for more than twenty-eight children. Voluntary contributions, and our own efforts, have hitherto enabled us, through the blessing of God, to keep a school, averaging from fifty to sixty boarders, for the last eight years. One of our greatest difficulties is to keep a sufficient number of clothes to ensure the comfort of the children. Prints, calicoes, linsey-woolsey, flannels, and blankets, form a heavy item in our expenditure. Any contributions in such clothing, from the friends of New Zealand, would be received with much thankfulness, and would lighten our labour in this great work. A report of this school having been forwarded by the Rev. R. Burrows, one of the inspectors, I need not add more, excepting an earnest entreaty that the friends of education for our poor New-Zealand children will not allow me to lessen the number of my scholars from the want of a sufficient quantity of clothing.

I believe the drinking of ardent spirits is on the decline among the natives, excepting those in the towns. This district has hitherto remained comparatively free from this fearful evil. I do not know of more than seven or eight natives of the district who have been intoxicated. I trust the above account may be interesting, and beg an interest in your prayers.

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(See "Jay's Morning Exercises," Dec. 21.)
WALKING amid his plants, the gardener sees

A vacant spot, where yesterday there grew
A floweret rare, wearing a matchless hue,
Pouring its scent upon the passing breeze.
He, wondering, "Who could such a floweret seize ?"
One says,
"The Master took it: on his breast
I saw it blooming: be thy heart at rest!"

It is enough-the mourner is at ease.

And so, thou loved one, we control our woe
"Because He did it "-He, whose mercy gave

A boon so rich to us; and here below

So long did from the tomb thy beauty save:
Therefore, if still our grief will sometimes flow,
We'll bend with RESIGNATION o'er thy grave.
S. CLARKSONN.

Salford.

ENTERED INTO REST.

ANOTHER faithful soldier and servant of the Lord Jesus has been called to put off his armour, and enter into the joy of his Lord. The Rev. James Beale, not long since in England, and known to many of our readers, is no more amongst us. He died at Lagos December 17th. He had not been well; and, having been recommended a sea voyage, left Sierra Leone in the steamer for Fernando

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