ents
allow their children to leave the home and then fail to write or
communicate with them, for months or even years at a time, is
incomprehensible if the parental love were really strong. And still
further, the way in which concubines are brought into the home,
causing confusion and discord, is a very striking evidence of the lack
of a deep love on the part of the father for the mother of his
children and even for his own legitimate children. One would expect a
father who really loved his children to desire and plan for their
legitimacy; but the children by his concubines are not "ipso facto"
recognized as legal. One more evidence in this direction is the
frequency of adoption and of separation. Adoption in Japan is largely,
though by no means exclusively, the adoption of an adult; the cases
where a child is adopted by a childless couple from love of children
are rare, as compared with similar cases in the United States, so far,
at least, as my observation goes. I recently heard of a conversation
on personal financial matters between a number of Christian
evangelists. After mutual comparisons they agreed that one of their
number was more fortunate than the rest in that he did not have to
support his mother. On inquiring into the matter, the missionary
learned that this evangelist, on becoming a Buddhist priest many years
before, had secured from the government, according to the laws of the
land, exemption from this duty. When he became a Christian it did not
seem to occur to him that it was his duty and his privilege to support
his indigent mother. I may add that this idea has since occurred to
him and he is acting upon it.

Infanticide throws a rather lurid light on Japanese affection. First,
in regard to the facts: Mr. Ishii's attention was called to the need
of an orphan asylum by hearing how a child, both of whose parents had
died of cholera, was on the point of being buried alive with its dead
mother by heartless neighbors when it was rescued by a fisherman.
Certain parts of Japan have been notorious from of old for this
practice. In Tosa the evil was so rampant that a society for its
prevention has been in existence for many years. It helps support
children of poor parents who might be tempted to dispose of them
criminally. In that province from January to March, 1898, I was told
that "only" four cases of conviction for this crime were reported. The
registered annual birth rate of certain villages has increased