man who can furnish the biggest spread at these annual feasts is the man that is held in the highest esteem by his neighbors.
It was only last winter that I came upon a house where the tribes had met for this feast. It was a bitter cold day, the ground covered with snow, with the wind blowing a gale. It was such a day as makes one long for shelter. We were making our way up a steep mountain pass; and as it was about noon, our party (which consisted of one missionary besides myself, two Korean Bible women, and two men) was tired and hungry. The missionary and I had food enough for our dinner, but we did not care to eat till our Korean friends could get something. At last we came to a hut on the mountain side and asked for food, only to be told by the occupants that they did not have any. However, they let us go in out of the wind, where we proceeded to divide our small stock and make the best of it. In one room of the house we saw a large supply of food which had been prepared and spread out ready for the feast which was to take place the following day. This family was so poor that the wife and children were not half clothed, the woman having nothing on her body but one thickness of thin cotton cloth. And yet the strong hand of the law and custom of our village religion demanded and brought forth this great supply of food to be offered to the dead. Before we left, the story of Jesus and his love was faithfully told, but I fear that it found no lodgment in those dark minds, which were already filled with religion.
