THK CHILmiKX’S FRIEND.
Aprs3 28, iSt'S.
CJOINii TO TiaE MOEiKTAiWS.
(COXCLUDED.)
T.eaviug .'M(3b:meviIIe and go-
ing to llaAv llivcr, wo loiiud a
lord instead of a bridge, d'lie
nude att'irpted to go out at tlie
wrong pl}i.co and stncJc fast in the
mud ; but some kind friends lent
tlieir aid, and a firm road made
easy tlio journey l)y Grabam,
tlie Shops, McLeansville, Gib-
sonville, Greensboro, Jamestown,
High Point, Tliomasville and
Lexington. On Sunday the par
ty rested. On Monday Yadkin
Avas crossed at Oaks’ Ferr_y. Lut
let us mention lAvo impiovements'
by tlie Avay. J. H- Oavcu, a foAv
A-’ears ago AA-as a dry old bachelor;
noAV ho has a hvely A\dfo and
children and- his Avhole house
looks cheerful. It aa’os a real
pleasure to dine Avith him.
At Hood’s Cross Roads there
AA'as a I'ustA^ and rotten old hull
of a house used as a church.
Roav there stands in its place a
neat and tasty edifice, looking so
cosy and comfortable that OA'ery
one AA'ho sees it AA’ould like to
hear a sermon th.ere. But leav
ing tlie rich vally of the Yadkin
Ave came to Fork Church and se
cured dinner for man and beast.
At Mocksville, because “rough
ness'’ was scarce and our friend,
Mr. Clement so advised, Aveimsli-
exl ahead and spent the night Avith
Mr. Ed. Pass, a ))rosj)erons farm
er and zealous I’rieud of the or-
])hau Avork. TraA'olcrs are al
ways reluctant to leave such kind
poo})Ie as Mr. and Mrs. Pass; hnt
Avo pushed aliead and dined at
Cool Spring, one of the most
pleasant spots on the face of the
earth. Now let us pause aud
tell a hard story : A CasAvellman
Avout to Iredell to buy land and
made a contract for a farm. In
ten days he Avas to bring the
money ; but in the meantime the
seller Avas to soav wheat and plow
it in, and receive })ay for labor
and seed. He plowed very nice
ly; but Avas careful not to soav,
though intending to IniA’C pay for
Avlieat not soAA'ii. The buyer fail
ed to raise the money and the
trade Ava>s void. Now the wheat
(not being soavu) refuses to come
11)) aud the neighbors enjoy the
joke.
At 4 p. m. Ave reached States
ville. At the hotel the subject of
consideration Avas Avhisky. In
the Court House Judge Dick and
the hiAvyers Avere discussing
Avliisky. So AA^e passed on across
Third Creek and spent the night
Avith Sheriff Watts. Having
crossed all the dangerous rivers
and creeks, tlie ho_ys- were meth}'
Jlr, Sams, the SteAvard of the
Jlars Hill and they
leached their mountain home om
the fifteenth day after their de
parture from Oxford. J'he jour
ney Avas unusually jdeasant.
Jlaii)' kind friends Avero greeted
by the Avay, and no sickness nor
accident retarded tlie progress of
the party. As the venerable Dr.
Wait Aivas accustomed to say :
We liaA'e great reason to be grate
ful for journeying mercies.
Mrs. Judith J. Sampso’\ of Min
neapolis, Slinnesota, lietore her
marriage,, Avas a teacher in the
Orjdian Asylum at Oxford. She
is still a friend of the orphan
Avork, and avo-hereby recpiest her
to use her intiuenco for it in her
a(lo})te(.l home.
Wo ghullv Aveh-ome tlie JSliJfon
('laonlii' to onr exclunige table.
S>mc .,\-('rsight has hovelothvc
All So.—The foreman of the
Hillshorougli itccorJcr ollicc Avent
down to Dm-ham last Aveek, and
Avas vei’A' much })leased with the
tmvn and the ];oopio. Among
other business enterprises of Dnr-
man, lie has the following to say
of Reams & Co.’s Blacking maur
ufactnry :
“Gf Roams and Walker, onr
foreman is full of enthusiasm.
He Avishes ) articular attention
draAvn to llieir blacking. Having
tJ’ied it, we fully endorse it. Let
everybod}' try their blacking and
Ave are sure tiiey Avlll bo deiight-
ed.”
Durham is certainly a remark
able town, and its citizens, avo
are sure, are alive to every com
mend, bi0 enterprise. Mb: snul a
larger number of Tirn Children’s
Fjuenj) to Durham than to any
other post oflice in tlie State ;
seven more than to the Oxford
cilice, and tAveL’e more than to
Raleigh. At Durham aa'g have
the patronage of Avhole families-
five Cheeks ; four Lyons ; tliree
Reamses, and tliree others of the
Reams family at other ofrices.
Tiio largest club avo have eA’orre-
ceiA'ed at one time was gotten up
l.)y a friend at Durham, the num
ber being sixty-Iavo, the cash ac
companying it.
All iliis and mneli besides, in
cline us to endorse Avbatever may
bo said favorabU' of Durham and
its enterprising, Avidc-aAvake in
habitants.
Two Aveeks ago we publisbcd
an extract under the caption of
“Friday,” and another under that
of “Saturday Niglit,” which A-vero
credited to the “Patriot and Flag.”
M'T intended to ex))lain, but for
got it, that these extracts were
liirnished b}^ a friend, and taken
from the old Patriot and Flag,
published at Lexington, N. C.
over twenty years ago, and Avere
Avritteu by one Avho stood among
tlie leading newspaper writers of
that day, the then editor of the
pa))er troin Avliich the extracts
Avero made.
The Raleigh SVe/hTc/says : “W.
B. and J. H. .Furrow, of Cbar-
lotte, have invented or arrotating
dinner table which supercedes the
necessity of a negro behind each
chair at the table as Avas the old
custom oh the country. There is
an outer or stationar}' rim upon
Avhich is placed the jilate, knife
and fork. Then there is an inner
or circular centre, n);on Avliich the
plates and dislies containing the
meal are ))laccd. With a single
toucli of the finger you can turn
this inner or centre hoard so as
to bring before you any disli on
the table.”
“Invented,” indeed! Dr. W.
M. Fariiliardt, of JiCnoir, invent
ed that table more than tAvo years
ago. Has made two or three of
the tables and been using them at
his hotel, Avlu re, Ave suspect, those
FniTOAvs saw them and then Avont
off and “turned the tables” on
Earnhardt.—Fie.dmont Press.
Old man l.,each, Avho kept a
hoarding house at Trinity Col
lege fifteen years ago,, had one of
these tables, from which the Avri-
tor of this once ate as good a din
ner as ho ever cares to sit doAvn
to. Hoav long Mr. I.*each Inid
been using them before the time
alluded to this deponent knows
not.
A ilu>)>l\(!('p('r ill Spain not lung ago honght
a largo ELLli' from a colporteur. The pru'fjt
sax it ivr.sl told hhn to burn it; but tlio Uiun
not like to throxaway bis nioiU'V, iK) used
tbo leaves to wrap tilings hi- Inks nM-ssen-
ge-s of peace they wero llins scattered, aud
read by many. 'I'lic villagers impdred of the
shopkeeper where be got them; and when ih.;
eolpiU'teur re!iiru(-di tiny purcloo^ed friely th.e
l.ook,
CmLBKEN ,?APAiV.
The little folks .if that straiig-e
cniintiy do not liave as nnuth
time for enjoyment in cliildhood
as tile ehildren in Europe and
America. From tlie time that
tliey are al>le to walk they are
forced to tvork in some way,
I liave seen them often when
ahoitt foui- years old and justa,l)ie
to waddle along- the road -with
their }-mingei- brother or sister on
tlieii- backs, miii-h tlie same as the
India women carry their children,
d'lieir jiarcnts being poor, and not
able to hire nurses, the older
ciiildren, -vr-lielhor boys or girls,
have to perforin the duties that
arc g-enerall}' performed by the
mothers or nurses witli us. Tlie
children will, with this burden
I'orced on fliem, through weak
ness and carelessness, frequently
slurnble and-fall down ; in doing
BO they will awake t.leir sleeping-
companion, or jierliaps brnise
liim, vt-hen both nurse and child
will cry—that being the balm
that children all tlio ivorld over
tisc to cure their aches and pains.
But there they get little sympa
thy or attetitioii given them, so
that there i.s very little of it.
I have seen parents who, not
being- able through poverty to
bring- their children up in tlie way
the)' would like them to go, dis
pose of .them to parties having
me.ans to do so. Although this
seem heartless and cruel, still in
man)' cases i> is greatly to the
benelit of them, they being- taken
care of and tangbt the trade or
pt-ofession that is best adapted to
thorn.
All persons there .are compelled
b\' tlio laws of tlie land to attend
school until they have attained
sufficient knovs-ledge of their w-rit-
ten and spoken ]angua.ge, so that
all are at least able to reaI and
write. ■ They have their hig-her
conrses and accomplisimients as
we have—the learned man being-
as much esteemed and respected
as -with us, they being -with the
doctors the only classes of men
w'ho wear their bea ds there ; for
vou must remember that the
beard is not, and onl)' a small
portion of the hair on the head is
worn there. The chiidren at a
very tender age undergo the
shaving- process, that is, the shav
ing of the head wlien they are
four months old—they do so be
lieving it will come out much
stronger in growth than if left as
with UP.
I watched a child who object
ed to being used in this manner.
The mother, to keep the child
quiet, placed it in a bath-tub, the
water being up to the poor little
one’s chin. In its straggles to
get away, the y-ater got into its
mouth. So v.'ith a natural in-
.stinet that it mig-lit get drowned,
it was with little difiiculty reliev
ed of the few hairs that liad gi-own
on its head.
After a bov or girl is five years
old the hair is allowed to grotr in
this w'ise r the hair on the top of
tlie head of the boy is shaved off;
the hair on the back and top and
forehead is then made into a cue
and liiid on the top of the head.
AVlien a boy is. foiu-teen years of
ago, the hair on tlie forehead is
shaved off—from thence- ho is
considered a man. The girls do
not sliave but little after they are
grown, Old)' a spot on the fore
part of the liead tibcrit an inch
square. Vvheu the girl is niarri-
el the hair is allowed to grow.
She then shaves off her eyebrows
and blacks her tc-otli, which gives
the married ivomeu a iiideous ap
pearance. 'flic barbers an; in
g-i-oat demand, aiuk(-ari.be seen at
ad hours in tl-.e in.ibiic streets
working- on the heads of the iia-
-dves. Their hair is dressed al
most every day, but to prevent it
being disan-auged when sleeping,
tliey ha-ee a small box about si.\
i.iclies long- by three inches wide
at the bottom, winch tajiers to a
height of iii'e inches ; on tills is
fastened a small round bag ol
rice chaff. This is their pillow,
and is placed under the back ol
the neck. Mv' sensations when
trying to use it during- my r isil
in the interior, when 1 liad beer.
!-)'iug- on it about ten minutes,
was that it was quite hard, then
quite high ; I then turned it over,
and found it would not do, so 1
t .rew it away in disgust, thinkiiig-
a log of wood were preferable.
As hats are not generally worn,
the little hair tliey have left is
not of imieh use, and very little
oriiament in the way -which they
ivear it. The women get ilieir
hair up in much neater style
than witii us—theirs being- quite
modest and becoming, v.'licu com
pared -with the ridiculous fashion
now in vogue -with us.
I saw during my travels a great
many schools, every district be
ing provided with three or four.
The children there, although de
prived of a great part of tlie ree-
roation as -with us, are the same
in nature as in any other part of
the world—full of play and mis
chief. The schnidniaster is not
the prim and sedate-looking per
son we have here, vclio with a
rule of iron holds sway over a
few dozen of their own species,
and who think themselves para
gons of perfection, never allow
ing that youth siiould have its
faults. In Japan, the teacher
comes down from th.at lofty
sphore and mingles -with Ids
.scholars—praising here, correct
ing there, and giving- words of
encouragement to all. I have
seen them at their -phras, the
teacher always taking all the
puiiislimeiit that tlie little ones
n ith their tiny hands could in
flict. The teachers are moetly
gentlemen, the ladies not having
the opportunities for getting suf
ficient education to teach. The)'
are not employed as teachers.
Their principal studies .are
reading, w-riting and arithmetic.
The writing is done with a hair-
qiencil and India ink. There be
ing 4,000 and upward of charac
ters in the ordinary written lan
guage, it takes at least three
years to get the least knowledge
of it, so tliat there are but few
. amongst the poorer people who
are well edu.cated. Each charac
ter re|)rcsent3 a sound. The let
ter L lias nothing to represesnt it.
;The natives can not correctly
. pronounce an English word, witli
it in. Mostly all of our common
words tliey can command, and
are very apt at learning them.
Tlieir reading is as with their
writing, very difficult to acquire.
They have no spelling that vould
suit the children here, but from
the small knowledge that I got of
the langnage while living with
them, I should prefer our own,
w'ilh all its spelling aud defini
tions. Their arithmetic is much
the same as ours, only much
more primitice. It consists of a
square frame of fvood, in which
are ten w-ires, in each of wliich
ten balls are strung. Tlxis is their
four primary rules. In adi the
stores I sa.-vv in Japan this was
used to reckon up tlmir bills. It
is a very inconvenient and slow
way, but they have lieen used to
it for centuries, turd all attempts
to get tlieni to use pencil aud pa
per are fruitless.
The langiiago when spoken
sounds as wcl! as some of the Eu-
r.-ipean languages; and after a
per o:i hiis resided in the country
s )aie time ho will conclude tha it
is 1)T far nioro musical and
smooth than some of our fashion
able h'uiguiiges. A^ei-y little of
the Simon-pure Jajauiese laii-
guago is spoken by the foreign-
o.-s residing there. Some few'
have made it a stud)', and, after
years of close application, hat o
become qtiite ihient in the lan
guage. Uur countryman. Dr,
ilepbufii, af.er eight ye.i s of
hard stud}', 1 a-; succeeded in e li -
ing asniall dict.onary. Alt.tough
giving but eight thousand wi r Is,
it is very valuable, and ■'.vill be
inqu'ove.l on in time. It was
something that the want of ivas
felt for a long time, the Japanese
taking the greater portion of the
first edition. Few' men -would
ha.ve undertaken such a formida
ble task as did Dr. IIe])bnrn.
lie has succtK’ded in his attemi'-,
and may good lortuiie attend Idm
in his clforts to enlighten d Is rau.-t
free-hearted and willing nation:.
Their toy.s and pla.ything.s are
much the same as w-ith us, only
they go much more into the ri
diculous than we do. There -ivo
find mankind in all its hideons-
uess, they thinking it beautiful to
contort the humaii bod)', being
also more apt to frighten than
amuse the chiidren. There - was
one to),' that 1 noticed particular
ly ; it was made of some light
substance representing miniature
dragons, fisli drawing horses, and
everything that is capable of
moving. Under these wore plac
ed a large black bug; his back
was fastened to the toy ; the bug,
in endeavoring to get awav,
would drag the cart, and, being'
invisible, would for some time
puzzle a person as to how tlie
thing was done. They have also
their kites and tops. Almost all
the children practice in tumbling,
walking on tlieir hands, and for a
small sum of money will perforni
for the curious any time.
The respect that the children in
Japan show tor age is reiiiarka-
bie. Let the attaclimont be in
man, woman or hou.-e, all are
mticli more honored than in most
civilized countries, A young
man tliero is prond of his gra)--
haired father. Frequently )'ou
■will -find three or four generations
living imder one roof, 'riiey
speak with pride of theft old
liouses. 1 have heard them say,
‘‘Tliat property has been in onr
possession for 150 or 2{X) I'ears.”
An old house or building is rare
ly pulled down, tho)' believing it
unlucky to destroy anything tliat
has age, or has been of use to-
ail)' pierso-D, Here with ns it it
different. No sooner does a jia-
! rent g;et beyond tho years when
he CiiE labor for the benefit of his
children, than they speak of the
“old man,” or the the “old wo-
niaii,” w.’shing in many cases tlie-y
wc-'o out of the w-ay. I -no- 1.1
n.it, like to say that any of-the
r-eaders of your dear little Maga
zine commit an)' of those un
grateful acts, fchill, to coiiijiaro
these supposed heathoua witli a
portion cf the people in America,
the comparison ivill shewy who it
is that wants civilizing. An old
homestead with the thatched root
covered with moss, with creepers
.vuniring up the sides,, the old-
fashioned spinuiug-ivlioel,, as' with
ns in days gone by, are there,
aud, if there is such a place ia
tho world, it is Japan, where can
be found a true representation of
Home, Sweet Home,—Ihmorest’s
Youny jlmcrica.
A !it‘h‘ }>oy lu tin; vfoilku'.! filin' inilcs
to SiUK.lity ;i!i lajit winter. Ho was in
i'arnosf I teaciior wtis alwava
t'-HTT-