JAPANESE TEMPLE— AND A STORY. 151

of drawers containing things for a woman’s toilet — her hair-pins, and
so on. Off he started!

“On his way to the temple, thinking the matter over, he concluded it
would not be necessary to get from the god a blessing worth a hundred
cash, but a ten-cash blessing would do, and the ninety cash he could
have for a bottle of liquor and a jolly time after his temple visit! So
he made two piles of the money —a ten-cash pile and a ninety-cash pile
— intending to give the god the smaller heap. But, absent-minded as
usual, he threw into the treasury of the god the ninety-cash heap! He
felt like gnashing his teeth, when he found out his mistake. There
was no help for it, though, as the god never rectified any such mistake
as that, but grabbed all he could get. There was one consolation,
though, for the man, as he thought. There was the lunch that his
dear, dutiful spouse had fixed for him, and he could enjoy that; but
to his amazement when he opened the package, he saw hair-pins, hair-
oil and the like; but there was nothing he could eat! However,
there was the ten-cash pile, and was he not a lucky man to keep a
little money for himself? He resolved to go to a cake-shop and buy
something to eat.

“He saw there a large, round object, which, in his absent-minded-
ness, he thought would make him a lunch; and he bought it for
five cash. This was a fine opportunity ; and so cheap! He thought
the shop-girl must have made a mistake. Fearful that she might
discover it and want to rectify it, he posted off. I dare say he
hurried away to so good a distance that he could not easily re-
tur to mend the matter. He finally stuck his teeth into the
_ magnificent purchase, or at least endeavored to do so, but found
it was plaster of Paris— something made merely for show and to
attract custom, probably! He felt mad enough. It was dark when
he reached his house, as he supposed, and he was hungry