Identifier: spiritofmissions74epis (find matches)
Title: The Spirit of missions
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Episcopal Church. Board of Missions Episcopal Church. Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society
Subjects: Episcopal Church Episcopal Church Missions
Publisher: Burlington, N.J. : J. L. Powell
Contributing Library: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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es, and we sat for an hour while theyshook wands with bunches of whitepaper strips on the ends over the coffinto drive away the devils, beat everlast-ing, tuneless noises out of unresonantdrums, and chanted endless prayers infalsetto voices and in words that no oneof the present day can understand, noteven the priests themselves. At last thenearest relatives went up one by one toburn a little incense before the coffin asa sign of respect to the dead, and whenthat ceremony was over Mr. Kobayashiwas asked to read his speech. It wasbeautifully written, and such a relief tohear words, at last, that conveyed somemeaning. Out of courtesy, of course, hecould make no allusion to Christianity;but after he had told of O Matsu Sansexemplary life at school, her high idealsand ambitions, and her resignation tosuffering and to death at the end, he saidthat he regarded it as an honor to havebeen one of those who had had theprivilege of teaching her and perhaps insome way influencing her, and he knew
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baskets carried on the mens shoulders are full of live birds. As the coffin was loiccrcdinto the grave the cages were opened and the birds, set free, flew out and quickly disa/ppeared in the blvc sky that her death was only a going beforeto the place where she could wait with-out pain and without sorrow for herloved ones to follow her. When he finished, not only hermother and her own family were weep-ing, but there was not a dry eye evenamong the men who were there, some ofthem members of the nobility and menof high positions, and none of whom hadprobably ever heard and at the sametime seen illustrated such a strongChristian appeal, all made without onedirect reference to Christianity. In ad-dition to that, O Matsu Sans parentsare deeply moved by their daughterslove for her school, and they not onlygave a small sum of money, but I am sure that they will welcome Mr.Kobayashi if he carries out his presentplan of going to talk with thom aboutthe beliefs that O Matsu Sans schoolstands for

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