an meat," it is beauty as well; and
this love of beauty has upon him a civilizing and refining effect, and
makes him in many ways the superior of the American day-laborer.[*239]

The peasants and farmers of Japan, thrifty and hard-working as they are,
are not by any means a prosperous class. As one passes into the country
districts from the large cities, there seems to be a conspicuous dearth
of neat, pleasant homes,--a lack of the comforts and necessities of life
such as are enjoyed by city people. The rich farmers are scarce, and the
laborers in the rice-fields hardly earn, from days of hardest toil with
the rudest implements, the little that will provide for their families.
In the face of heavy taxes, the incessant toil, the frequent floods of
late years, and the threatening famine, one would expect the poor
peasants to be a most discouraged and unhappy class. That all this toil
and anxiety does wear on them is no doubt true, but the laborers are
always ready to bear submissively whatever comes, and are always hopeful
and prepared to enjoy life again in happier times. The charms of the
city tempt them sometimes to exchange their daily labor for the
excitement of life as _jinrikisha_ men; but in any case they will be
perfectly independent, and ask no man for their daily rations.

Although there is much poverty, there are few or no beggars in Japan,
for both strong and weak find each some occupation that brings the
little pittance required to keep soul and body together, and gives to
all enough to make them light-hearted, cheerful, and even happy. From
the rich farmer, whose many acres yield enough to provide for a home of
luxury quite as fine as the city homes, to the poor little vender of
sticks of candy, around whose store the children flock like bees with
their rin and sen, all seem independent, contented, and satisfied with
their lot in life.

The religious beliefs of old Japan are stronger to-day among the country
people than among the dwellers in cities. And they are still willing to
give of their substance for the aid of the dying faiths to which they
cling, and to undertake toilsome pilgrimages to obtain some longed-for
blessing from the gods whom they serve. A great Buddhist temple is being
built in Ky[=o]t[=o] to-day, from the lofty ceiling of which hangs a
striking proof of the devotion of some of the peasant women to the
Buddhist faith. The whole temple, with its immense curved roof, its vast
proportions