tions. In one of our out-stations I but recently found a young
woman in a distressing condition. Her parents had no sons, and
consequently, according to the custom of the land, they had adopted a
son, who became the husband of their eldest daughter; the man proved a
rascal, and the family was glad when he decided that he did not care
to be their son any longer. Shortly after his departure a child was
born to the daughter; but, according to the law, she had no husband,
and consequently the child must either be registered as illegitimate,
or be fraudulently registered as the child of the mother's father.
There is much fraudulent registration, the children of concubines are
not recognized as legitimate; yet it is common to register such
children as those of the regular wife, especially if she has few or
none of her own.

An evangelist who worked long in Kyushu was always in great financial
trouble because of the fact that he had to support two mothers,
besides giving aid to his father, who had married a third wife. The
first was his own mother, who had been divorced, but, as she had no
home, the son took her to his. When the father divorced his second
wife, the son was induced to take care of her also. Another
evangelist, with whom I had much to do, was the adopted son of a
scheming old man; it seems that in the earlier part of the present era
the eldest son of a family was exempt from military draft. It often
happened, therefore, that families who had no sons could obtain large
sums of money from those who had younger sons whom they wished to have
adopted for the purpose of escaping the draft. This evangelist, while
still a boy, was adopted into such a family, and a certain sum was
fixed upon to be paid at some time in the future. But the adopted son
proved so pleasing to the adopting father that he did not ask for the
money; by some piece of legerdemain, however, he succeeded in adopting
a second son, who paid him the desired money. After some years the
first adopted son became a Christian, and then an evangelist, both
steps being taken against the wishes of the adopting father. The
father finally said that he would forego all relations to the son, and
give him back his original name, provided the son would pay the
original sum that had been agreed on, plus the interest, which
altogether would, at that time, amount to several hundred yen. This
was, of course, impossible. The negotiations dragged on for three or
four yea