A Glimpse of the Japanese

1901

Mrs. Hugh Fraser, the author, widow of an English diplomat and sister of Marion Crawford, says of her life in Japan, to which her husband was minister from Great Britain:

The absence of snobbishness and kindred vices in Japan impresses itself very clearly upon one. There are two characteristics of the Japanese which stand out very boldly. Home life is paramount, and the possession of money is but lightly regarded. Any one who would pretend to be richer than he is would be calmly avoided as a fool. Money is not spoken of, the absence of it is not apologized for. A person living in a poor way gives a guest all he has to offer and is not humiliated at having to show his poverty. The rich man does not overwhelm you with his riches. He shows you one beautiful object from his collection at a time in an empty room, only beautiful through its perfect proportions, coloring and cleanliness.

These people travel through life so lightly weighted, their requirements are so few in the material order, that they seem as independent as the swallows and fly where we, weighted down by the commissariat for our artificial wants, can only creep. But they hold invisible things very precious. Honor and self respect, the love of their children, the harmony of the family, the privileges of patriotism, the commonwealth of learning, these are things for which they will sacrifice much.

Where People Are Content

1902

In his book, "The Soul of a People," Mr. H. Fielding Hall gives an interesting and sympathetic account of the quiet life and philosophy of the Burmese. Among other things he says:

"And so all the people are on the same level. Richer and poorer there are, of course, but there are no very rich; there is none so poor that he cannot get plenty to eat and drink. All eat much the same food, all dress much alike. The amusements of all are the same, for entertainments are always free. So the Burman does not care to be rich. It is not in his nature to desire wealth, it is not in his nature to care to keep it when it comes to him. Beyond a sufficiency for his daily needs money has not much value. He does not care to add field to field or coin to coin; the mere fact that he has money causes him no pleasure. Money is worth to him what it will buy. With us, when we have made a little money, we keep it to be a nest egg to make more from. Not so a Burman; He will spend it. And after his own little wants are satisfied, after he has bought himself a new silk, after he has given his wife a new bangle, after he has called all his village together and entertained them with a dramatic entertainment — sometimes even before all this — he will spend the rest on charity."

The Original Caribs

1902

Very mysterious is the origin of the fierce savage, now almost extinct, who were in possession of the Caribs, the smaller West Indian islands, when the white man discovered them.

They showed a distinct Mongolian character and it would be hard to distinguish a Carib infant from a Chinese child. Twenty years ago a Chinaman who had drifted to Dominica declared the Caribs to be his own people and married a pure-bred Carib woman. The resultant child showed no deviation from the native type.

The Caribs have dropped their man-eating ways; but in the sixteenth century they scoured the Spanish main in search of human food and from Porto Rico alone are said to have taken more than 5,000 men to be eaten. Though Spaniards, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, negroes or Arrowaks were all meat to them, the Caribs seem to have shown an interesting preference for certain nationalities. Davis says in his "History of the Caribby Isands," that "the Caribbeans have tasted of all the nations that frequented them, and affirm that the French are the most delicate and the Spaniards are hardest of digestion."

Laborde in one of his jaunts in St. Vincent overtook on the road a communicative Carib who was beguiling the tedium of his journey by gnawing at the remains of a boiled human foot. This man ate Arrowaks only. "Christians," he said, "gave him indigestion."

The Best Breed of Chickens

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Both Had Good Points
A southerner asked an old colored man what breed of chickens he considered the best and he replied: "All kinds has merits. De white ones is de easiest to find, but the black ones is the easiest to hide after you gits 'em."
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Basis of Life
Even in the midst of great enterprises domestic affections prove the basis of life, and the most brilliant career has only incomplete and superficial enjoyments if it be a stranger to the happy bonds of family and friendship. - F. P. G. Guizot.
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Value of Waste Paper
It is an interesting fact that waste paper can be so important a commercial factor. In Toronto, Canada, there are 10,000 tons of waste paper collected annually. For these there is received about $100,000. For just the ordinary waste paper the sum of $10 a ton is paid. But for the better grade of waste papers the price has been known to run as high as $40 a ton.
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And Real Dead
Who so neglects learning in his youth loses the past and is dead for the future. -- Euripides.

--The Ellis Review-Headlight, Ellis, Kansas, 1911.