THE PEDALTO INSTITUTION FOR INCORPORATED ART

 
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DIRECTOR   Lorraine Allsass

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May 2Oth, Lord's Day.—Encountered another new character, one Moling Long, from the neighbourhood of Sh way-doung, a disciple of the great Toung-dwen teacher, the acknowledged head of all the semiatheists in the country. Like the rest of the sect, Moung Long is, in reality, a complete sceptic, scarcely believing his own existence. They say he is always quarrelling with his wife, on some metaphysical point. For instance: if she says, ' The rice is ready ;' he will reply, ' Rice! \VImt is rice ? Is it matter, or spirit ? Is it an idea, or is it nonentity?' Perhaps she will say, ' It is matter;' and lie will reply, ' Well, wife, and what is matter? Are you sure there is such a. thing in existence, or are you merely subject to a delusion of the senses?' When he first came in, I thought him an ordinary man. He has only one good eye; but 1 soon discovered, that that one eye has as ' great a quantity of being,' half a dozen common eyes. In his heard. ' Your servant,' said he, ' has not much to inquire of your lordship. In your lordship's sacred speech, however, there are one or two words which your servant does not understand. Your lordship says, that in the beginning God created one man and one woman. I do not understand (I beg your lordship's pardon) what a man is, and why he is called a man.' My eyes were now opened, in an instant, to his real character; and I had the happiness to be enabled, for about twenty minutes, to lay blow after blow upon his sceptical head, with such effect, that he kept falling and falling; and though b* made several desperate efforts to get up, he found himself at last prostrate on the ground, unable to stir. Moung Shwaygnong, who had been an attentive listener, was extremely delighted to see his enemy so v.rll punished; for this Moung Long bad sorely harassed him in time past. He poor man was not, however, in the least angry at his discomfiture; but, in the tree spirit of his school, said, that though b* had heard much of me, the reality far exceeded the report. Afterwards he joined us in worship, and listened with great attention, as did also his wife.