Bayard Taylor, the well-known traveller, thus speaks of the morality of the Chinese:

"It is my deliberate opinion that the Chinese are morally the most debased people on the face of the earth. Forms of vice which in other countries are barely named, are in China so common that they excite no comment among the natives. They constitute the surface level, and below them are deeps on deeps of depravity, so shocking and horrible that their character cannot even be hinted. There are some dark shadows in human nature which we naturally shrink from penetrating, and I made no attempt to collect information of this kind; but there were enough in the things which I could not avoid seeing and hearing—which are brought almost daily to the notice of every foreign resident—to inspire me with a powerful aversion to the Chinese race. Their touch is pollution, and, harsh as the opinion may seem, justice to our own race demands that they should not be allowed to settle on our soil."

If by the interposition of foreign powers the Insurgent "Tae-ping-wang" could be placed upon the throne, which he has nearly reached, much would, no doubt, be gained; but the excessive hostility of the Chinese to all outside barbarians seems to have united the Imperial and Insurgent fleets against the English. Our information, however, of the present condition, prospects, or intentions of Tae-ping-wang,

is very imperfect. That his success would be highly beneficial to the Chinese nation, there can hardly be a doubt. Though a native Chinaman, and with many of the prejudices and faults of his nation, yet we can hardly suppose that an Emperor, who had sat at the feet of our missionaries to inquire into the truth of the Christian religion, who calls himself and his party the "God worshipping," and who with his own hands breaks in pieces the cherished idols of his country, would not inaugurate a new era in the history of his country.

Such are the people from whom come our silks, our China ware, and our tea. While we speculate on the designs of England and France, merchants speculate on the rise of this eastern luxury. We might gladly give up our tea for years to come if something could be done towards the regeneration of China. Our lives are not, after all, dependent on tea; and, if the croakers are to be believed, our reputations are better off without it. If it becomes dearer, we must avoid the excess of Dr. Johnson, and reduce ourselves to a sort of Maine law standard. We must husband our resources, and exercise some of that self-denial that distinguished the Indians of old, when they turned Boston harbor into one great teapot. The sea was cold, and the tea must have been but poorly steeped, though it may have answered for the fish, unaccustomed to such luxuries;

but the patriotism of the Indians was boiling hot. They could give up their tea if necessary, but could never consent to give up a principle. Taxation and representation they thought should go together, and be, like the union and liberty of later days, "one and inseparable."

THE BROKER.

THE Broker is your "middle man," who is always on the lookout to bring this "party" and that "party" together, that in their exchanges something may be left sticking to his own palm. He fills a useful and honorable place in society, and in times of great excitement, of South Sea bubbles and Eastern land speculations, he plays a most important part. At such times he is looked upon with peculiar respect and reverence by those who, through him, expect to realize fortunes in a day, and roll in wealth and splendor for the rest of their lives. Alas for the vanity of human wishes! the "best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley." The South Sea bubble burst, scattering destruction and ruin in all directions; Eastern lands, out of water and under water, come to nothing; the millionaire of to-day is the pauper of to-morrow; the gas escapes from the balloon, so carefully blown up, and it tumbles headlong to the earth. Such is the fate which usually attends those who make haste to be rich-who leave