the depths of his soul, and that he does not die with lies upon his lips. Jesus' last words were, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, and so I cannot but believe that they reveal his true heart.

GIFTS OF THE PRISON HOUSE

XXVIII.

GIFTS OF THE PRISON HOUSE.

I want to tell you what divine favours were given me after I became a believer in Christ. First I received the imperishable and everlasting salvation of that most important part of man, his soul. As it is written: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. And again: Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. If we believe these words then we know that God has not forsaken us but has saved our souls forever.

It was only after I got into prison that I came to believe that man really has a soul, and I shall tell you how I came to see this. In the prison yard chrysanthemums have been planted to please the eyes of the inmates. When the season comes they bear beautiful flowers, but in the winter they are nipped by the frost, and wither. Our outer eye tells us that the flowers are dead, but this is not the real truth. When the season returns the buds sprout once more and the beautiful flowers bloom again. And so I cannot but believe that if God in his mercy does not allow even the flowers to die, there surely is a soul in man which He intends shall live forever.

I shall now speak of a second favour which I have received from God. When I was free I travelled about west and east out in the world, and saw and heard

many things, and had varied experiences. Today I am sitting in my prison cell with no liberty to come and go, and yet I am far more contented than in the days of my freedom. In prison, with only poor, coarse food to eat, I am more thankful than I ever was out in the world when I could get whatever food I wanted. In this prison cell, only nine by six feet in size, I am happier than if I were living in the largest house I ever saw in the outer world. Whatever agony is in my heart I can now overcome. No matter what discomforts I endure there is only gladness in my heart. The joy of each day is very great. These things are all due to the grace and divine favour of Jesus Christ.

I wish to speak now of the greatest favour of all,— the power of Christ, which cannot be measured by any of our standards. I have been more than twenty years in prison since I was nineteen years of age, and during that time I have known what it meant to endure suffering, although I have had some pleasant times as well. I have passed through all sorts of experiences, and have been urged often to repent of my sins. In spite of this, however, I did not repent, but on the contrary became more and more hardened. And then by the power of that one word of Christ's, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, my unspeakably hardened heart was changed, and I repented of all my crimes. Such power is not in man.

CRUCIFIXION

XXIX.

CRUCIFIXION.

I want to speak for a moment about some thoughts I have concerning crucifixion. Even in Japan there was once a man, by the name of Sogoro Sakura,* who endured crucifixion for the sake of others. He is said to have given his life to save the people of a certain small district of Chiba province. I saw the story played once at a theatre, and even I, heartless fellow that I was, pitied him and thought it was a cruel thing to have put him to death. The people of Chiba have erected a shrine and have made him into a kind of god.

As I think this story over very carefully today, it seems to me that if a man is worshipped today as a

The story of Sogoro Sakura is one of the most famous in all the annals of Japan. The outline, as told in Mitford's Tales of Old Japan, is as follows: A certain feudal lord taxed his farmers so outrageously that the chiefs of one hundred and thirty-six villages held council and petitioned against the oppression. Neither the local officials nor the lord himself, paid any attention to the grievance; and so in despair one of the village chiefs, Sogoro by name, determined to risk his life in an attempt to get the petition into the hands of the Shogun, who was the head of all the feudal lords and the chief executive of the nation. Accordingly, as the Shogun was proceeding one day in his litter, to worship at the tombs of his ancestors, Sogoro sprang forward from his hiding place, broke through the escort, and handed the petition directly to the Shogun. He was arrested and sentenced to death, along with his wife and his three little sons, for the crime of appealing to the Shogun over the head of his own feudal chief. The unjust taxes were, however, remitted.

crosses and

The day of execution came on the ninth day of the second month of the year 1644. The children were beheaded before their parents' eyes, and then Sogoro and his wife were bound to two speared to death. They both died bravely, sustaining each other with the thought that their death was not in vain, as the taxes had been remitted. Sogoro, however, with his last breath cursed his lord for having punished his wife and children as well as himself, and said, "Let my lord fence himself in with iron walls, yet shall my spirit burst through them, and crush his bones, as a reward for this deed." When he was dead, his head turned and faced the castle, and afterwards his ghost and that of his wife haunted the feudal house, and wrought terrible havoc. The lord's wife died of horror at the awful sights she saw in the night, and the lord himself was well-nigh crazed. Finally a shrine was built and Sogoro was deified. The ghosts then ceased to wander, and peace reigned once more in the castle.

god because long ago he gave his life for a few people in a small community; how much more must we think of Christ who gave himself for the sake of the whole world? To be sure I am not saying these things to lessen the reputation of Sogoro Sakura. What I think of him is this, he gave his life in a most chivalrous way, and he was undoubtedly much nobler than the ordinary man; but I cannot think that his sacrifice was the deed of a god. He gave his life to save the bodies of men, but he could not save their souls.

As I saw the story on the stage, Sogoro, when he was being crucified, turned to his executioners, who were the retainers of the feudal lord who had ordered his death, and said, "Though my body dies, I shall still be revenged upon you." With these words on his lips he died. Afterwards, it is said, his ghost haunted the feudal lord and his retainers and harassed them exceedingly. This spirit is quite characteristic of human

nature.

Christ, on the other hand, came to save men's souls as well as their bodies. Sogoro suffered the death penalty for a breach of the law of that day, but he left a curse behind. Jesus broke no law, but his sinless body was crucified because of the hatred of his enemies. I also believe that Jesus understood beforehand that his death was to be a ransom for sinners that they might be saved. Therefore there was no hate in his heart even when he was being crucified; and he left behind him only words of compassion, and died with a peaceful heart. If Japanese people make a god out of Sogoro, why do they not believe in Jesus Christ