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Show r St. Francis Xavier on Japanese. In view of the Japanese-Russian war, it may not be unintcrcsting.-to know what St. Francis vi- r. the reat prostie of this island, thought concerning them. He says : , "The Japanese are a cunning, intelligent nation, na-tion, and withal accessible to reason and most anxious anx-ious to learn. Being naturally very inquisitive, they never tire of discussing our controversial statements and discourses, and the answers which we make to their many queries. Having a lively desire always to learn some new thina they display dis-play the greatest interest in our conferences." The saint mentions, besides their intellectual gifts, their hostility to foreigners, likewise their martial spirit. "The Japanese," he says, "have a good opinion only of their own nation, and it may be owing to this depreciation of all other nations that up to the time of the landing of the Portuguese, Por-tuguese, they had entered into no commercial relations rela-tions whatever with any other nation. They are not one whit less warlike than the Spaniards." Apparently the Japanese have lost nothing of ......wic;., cunning and hostility to the foreigner. for-eigner. . |