A SHORT TRIP. 16r

“Yes; on those stones are the names now bes’. wed upon the dead.”

Uncle Nat was silent, but thought of the passage in Revelation,
where it says: “To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the
hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a
“new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that re-
ceiveth it.”

As the party pushed on still farther, their attention was often
called to some novel feature. People were pursuing their trades,
working in their gardens or shops.

“And that is the sign of a barber,” said Uncle Nat to his nephews,
pointing in the direction of a certain shop.

“ See,” exclaimed Ralph, “the barber shaves the head of his customer,
and it is a little boy.”

The boys, according to the old Japanese custom, must have their
heads wholly shaved for three years after birth. Then, three tufts
of hair are permitted to grow; one at the back of the neck, or on
the top of the back of the head, and one above each ear. At ten,
they only shave the crown, and the boy wears a forelock. At fifteen,
a boy is supposed to take on the burdens of manhood, and he may let
his hair grow like a man’s. That is the old Japanese style; but now-
adays boys, especially in the larger cities, are beginning to wear
their hair in ‘European style, and some of the men also.

The noon of that very day, Uncle Nat said to his nephews, “Do you
want to start for Australia to-morrow? You see we must be going
soon, for my ship will be waiting for me at Kobe.”

Both the boys’ faces began to fall; but “ship” is an object
that will revive a lively lad’s drooping spirits, and this was the objeet
reconciling Rogers brothers to.a journey away from Sunrise Land.

“You see we take the big national road, the Tokaido, leading off
into the country, and connecting Tokiyo with the ancient capital,