LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2572, 5 July 1882, Page 4

LITERATURE.

THE STORY OF LU-WEN. By Edwabd Qhekt. [‘Japan Gazatfce.’] Many of the moat beautiful legends of Japan are of Indian or Chineae origin, and are aa old as the bills. Among the moat popular and charming is the story of Luwcu tha woodcutter, wh’ch bears such a striking resemblance to Irving’s ‘ Rip You Wiukle that the lattes appears to be almost a plagiarism of the Oriental tale. The following is a rough translation of the Japanese version, aa told by a wandering storyThe priests ray, “ Pray continually : for every prayer uttered in this state you will escape a moment of pain In the next.” While this is well enough for persona who have nothing to do but to supplicate the gods, it Is a bad doatrine to teach those who have families to support; in proof of which I will relate the story of Lu-wen, who many centuries ago dwelt in the shadow of the sacred mountain of Tendai, the highest peak of the Nan’iin range (China). The woodcutter, Ilka most poor people, WRB blessed with many children, whoso necessities compelled him to labor from daylight until dawn, notwithstanding which he was always cheerful, and contrived to keep the rice pot well filled. One afternoon, when ho was engaged In felling a tree, a begging priest interrupted him and inquired whether he had ever thought of a future state. The woodcutter eyed the beau askance and curtly replied, «I have no time to attend to such things ; if you had to work for your living, as I do, and had a large family to support, you would not trouble yourself about the future. I find it hard enough to attend to tha pra • sent. Please stand out of the way or this tree may fail upon you,’ The hozu, who had a golden tongue and was nsed to hearing such plain talk, bowed and said, 4 My son, yon first must not forget that you owe something to yonreelf. Every hour you devote to prayer will save you a hundred years’ torture in a future state. Pray and work i then will your life be happy, and when your end approaches you will close your eyca satisfied that you have attained one stop toward eternal prrfection. Think hew terrible it would be to pass countless ages in various forms, eaoh lower than the la-t, or to hive your restless spirit wandering for millions of years amid the horrible labyrinths of hell. Would you suffer torments that no tongue can describe; thirst that even sn ocean of water could not quench j hunger that no food could satisfy ? Think of this, my eon, and that for a present miserable outlay and a few hours daily spent in holy contemplation, you may avert almost all these calamities, and by the aid of prayer, purge your soul until it is as white as the sacred flower on which rests the omnipotent Buddah.’ At first Lu-wen turned a deaf ear to bis pleadings. However, being only a poor, Ignorant follow, he could not resist the sophistries of the learned man, who, after filling the woodcutter’s soul with apprehension, and emptying his pouch of the saving of a life-time, retired, leaving tha unhappy man a prey to the most dismal forbodlogs. From that hour Lu-won became a changed being, and instead of working with his axe, wasted his time in religious disputation with all who would listen to him, and in meditation and prayer. When winter came he would sit by the scanty fire and count his beads, and during the rainy season ho occupied the sheltered eicle of the hut and compelled hia children to stand in the puddles. Like all a.'ceticsho was mild of speech, inoffensive of manner, and willing to receive anything from anybody. As time rolled on his family increased, and their means of subsistence dwindled to nothing. At first hia wife, who was an iudnatrlou? frugal woman, submitted In silence, and turned a deaf oar to the advice of her neighbours, who failed not to plainly express their opinions of her husband’s eooentrlo conduct; but at last, unable to withstand the pitiful cries of her children, she determined to remonstrate with him. One morning, after he had dreamily swallowed the only food there was in the house, and was preparing to ascend the mountain in order to enjoy hia devotions undisturbed, she approached him, prostrated herself, bowed respectfully, and murmured—- ‘ I desire to say something Important to yon.’ ‘ Ee quick,’ ho returned, * do not worry

me with yonr foolish gossip. I have my prayers to ray, ’ This unkind reply stung her to the quick, and rising, she excitedly exclaimed — ‘ Listen te me, I can no longer contain my indignation or bear the sight of our li-tlc ones’ misery. Are you blind and deaf '! Cannot you see that their stomacas ar.adhering to their backbones and hear them mourning for food T I have worked until my fingers are worn to the bcno aud my strength is exhausted. I think it is time yon again took your axe and did somet-ing more important than mumble prayers.’ For av.-hile he could haraly credit the evidences of his ears ; however, ha preset tly recovered from his amazement and indlg nantly replied—- * Woman, the gods are before everything. Your words shook me ! See, our children are listening, and will be led astray by your thoughtless expressions. You forget that I am known as the moat pious man in this province,* ‘Pious! pious!* ejaculated the heartbroken creature, as she glanced around their miserable homo and saw nothing but hungry faces and empty vessels. ‘Your prayers do not fill our rice-pot! ’ * You are on impious creature ! ’ he wrathfnly answered, ‘and I will not waste my breath upon you. Consider yourself divorced. After this I will have none of you.’ He snatched np his axe from the corner where it had so long rested, and without deigning to look behind him strode up the mountain side, entered a mist cloud and disappeared from her sight. As he vanished she exclaimed : . 1 You may go your way, Xam satisfied ! I would rather bear the stigma of divorce than struggle to support such a lazy, dreamy, good-for-nothing vagabond—! May the foxes punish you for your unnatural behaviour to your offspring;’ Although the woman had, in her anger, expressed the feelings that agitated her soul, she presently, like a true wife, begen to reproach herself for having been so disrespectful to her husband, and when a neighbour looked in to inquire how she was getting along, she sighed and replied : ‘ 1 fear I havo driven Lu-wen away for good. Oh, what shall Ido ! ’ Her visitor chuckled and glancing at her, significantly returned : ‘ Even ascetics must cat. Don’t worry yonrsalf, yoi r husband will hurry back when ho smells burnt rice (equivalent to when he finds the burning in tee oven).' Lu-wen slowly ascended the mountain, and, as he walked, beheld the sun god drive back the dragon of the mist. Upon reaching his usual retreat he seated himself on a shelf o! rook and murmured a prayer to Buddah. Overhead was the blue sky, behind him the glorious peak of Tendai, with its snowy crest glistening like a oone of silver, and at hit feet the lonely valley, green with the early rice and teeming with men and women, busily engaged in cultivating the soil. The;feathered pines gave out sweet odors that, mingling with the perfume of ten thousand flowers, floated around him and charmed his tenses, i and, as he listened to the song of the peh-long (lark, called huudrod-apirit bird) he smiled and exclaimed : • What fools men are to toil and sweat in order to amass the dross of this earth. When will they learn that to acquire happiness it is only necessary to abandon material thing® and to pray to the gods ? Here all is peace, and one is not tormented with the chatter of a woman’s tongue.’ Having thus expressed himself ho yielded to the soothing Influences around him, and. closing his eyes enjoyed the oostaoy of holy contemplation. While thus employed he heard a noise in the undergrowth, and, arousing himself, saw a fox dart before him and vanish into a thicket of bamboo®. Although not fond of hard work, he had a. keen love cf the chase, so he oeized his axe, and rising started nimbly in pursuit, thinking as he beat the covert: ‘ When the winter storms howl around the base of Tendai, it vflll be good to have a fox skin to protect one’s head.’ He several times saw the creature’s tail, but fai’ed to run It down, and finally, after 1 a prolonged chase, was about to give up the hunt and return to his devotions, when, entering a cleared space, he, to his amazement, beheld two court ladies seated upon a finely woven mat playing chess. The woodcutter squatted respectfully, rested the head of his axe upon the ground, and placing his chin on the handle, watched the progress of the game, hl» soul being filled with a new emotion. •Ah! ’ha murmured to himself, ’if one of those glorious creatures would but notice me !’ The pious Lu-won, utterly forgetful of his good wife and starving children, continued to gaze upon the lovely ladies until the hours molted into days, the days Into weeks, the weeks into months, the months into years, and the years into centuries, devoured by his passion and oblivious to all save Us objects. The spring rains, which saturated his decaying garments, glanced harmlessly off the robes of hia charmers, who neither heeded them, the snn of summer nor the snowe of winter, *’but played as calmly as gods ” a game which appeared to bo as endless as time. Fortunately Lu-wen was unconscious of the changes that had taken place in hia appearance, aud when, after three hundred years, one of the mysterious beings made a false move, he deemed he had only been watching them a few moments, and cried, ‘ Wrong, most beautiful woman!’ In an instant the dames changed into foxes and vanished among the brushwood seeing which he thought, ‘ Wfceu the winter storms howl round the base of Tendai It will be good to possess two fox skins instead of one. I will secure them!’ As he moved his chin from its restingplace aud roie to resume the chase he discovered that his limbs were stiff, while the handle of hia axe, which had been made of the hardest kind of wood, crumbled into pnnky fragments and scattered about his feet. With a tremendous effort he contrived to stand erect, when to his horror he found in lieu of a shaven face be possessed a flowing white beard, and that hia head was covered with long, silvery hair. * Five hundred gods I’ he cried, raising his hand and clutching his snowy locks, ‘what has coma over me ? Ah, I understand 1 I have been bewitched by those foxes !’ He slowly passed his trembling fingers over hia wrinkled features and glanced with a dazid expression at his withered limbs and time-worn garments, then, bent like a bow, hobbled down the mountain path. Although he easily found the main street of hia native village everything in it was changed. Sapbngs had grown into trees, the giant monsters that formerly shadowed the road wore leafless and decayed, and ho beheld a new house and strange faces, while the awed children, who peeped at him around the corners, whispered to one another—‘Who is that mountain spirit? Is he of the demons or of the ancient gods ?’, Presently ho paused to rest, and shading hia eyes with hia palsied hands, quavered—- * How different everything is from what it was this morning.’ After awhile he reached the spot which had once been occupied by hia hut, when he beheld an aged woman, who appeared to rise out of the ground, and was aa ragged and weird as himself. He alternately surveyed her and the wonder stricken crowd that gathered around them, then querulously demanded what had become of his home, adding ‘ Surely I am not dreaming; this is the village of Yu-peen ?’ The crone regarded him with a penetrating glance, and replied—- ‘ Yes i this is Yu-peen. What is yonr honorable name?’ ‘I am Lu-wen, the woodcutter,’ he mumbled. * This morning I quitted home and ascended yonder mountain, in order to pray undisturbed, and while thus employed was bewitched by foxes.’ ‘ This morning! this morning I ’ she cried, ’lf yon are Lu-wen who loft your wife and little ones to starve, yon have been absent from here three hundred years. ’ * Three hundred years 1’ he gasped, placing hia bauds palm to palm In agony. • Woman, surely yon must be jesting.’ , •No, I speak the truth,’ she bitterly replied. ‘ The gods, to punish you for neglecting your little ones, have prolonged your life until there is not a La-wen left to burn incense at yonr tomb,’ Then she led the way through the village past the old temple, the only building which he recognised, and entered the cemetery where rested the bones of his ancestors, The shades of evening were falling, and the people followed the aged pair with awed faces end bated breath

‘ Slowly, for the patriarch walked with great difficulty, the weird ones advanced until they arrived at the moss-oovored tablets erected in memory of the wood- ( cutter’s ancestors, when the crone pointed i significantly to a hillock and ssld : ‘There rests the bodies ef your unfortunate children, who perished miserably through your piety.’ 1 As ho gszed on the neglected graves big ] tears courted down his withered cheeks and moistened his snowy board, and he covered his eyes with hia hands as though he could not bear the sight; then, turning toward the tombs of bis ancestors, prostrated himself, and for a while remained like one who is dead. The bystanders, pitying his age and infirmities, brought incense, and assisted him to make hia offerings, at the conclusion of which he rese, and, addressing the people said—- ‘ My children, do not follow the advico of the priests when they tell yon to pray continually. Prayer is good, and the gods are merciful, bnt we mast consider others an well as ourselves. For thinking solely of my own future I have been condemned to lose the happiest portion of my life—my manhood. The foxes justly punished me for my inhuman behavior to my offspring. Remember my last words—work and pray. Farewell!’ Thus speaking, he turned sorrowfully away and moved slowly In the direction of the monntain, followed at a reopeotful distance by the strange old woman, who, as he vanished into the gloaming, uttered a triumphant laugh and melted into air, Although some unbelieving persons assert that the forcgnng is merely an idle legend, invented by story tellers to frighten lazy persona who pretend to be pious In order to avoid labor, it is moat certain if you vidt the monntiin of Tendai, when the moon at its full, you will encounter the spirit of Lu-wen, the woodcutter.