exquisite inlaid work, are to be found in these homes of the wealthy Chinese.

The Chinese do not sit on the floor, as is the custom with all other Eastern peoples. In the houses of the poorer people there is little furniture, usually only a few things that answer for seats and tables. The one article of furniture sure to be found is the kang, or brick bed, built across one side of the room. This answers for a seat to sit on by day and for a bed to sleep on at night.

In northern China, where the weather is often very cold, these brick beds are heated by passing the smoke and hot air from the small charcoal stove upon which the cooking for the family is done, through a flue built into the brickwork.

Many temples are to be seen in Canton, but most of them are very dirty and show few signs of care or reverence. One of the largest and most interesting is the Temple of Five Hundred Gods. On all sides of the great hall are ranged the five hundred life-sized figures. The priests of the temple conduct a service consisting principally of beating tom-toms, wailing, and burning incense.

The religions of China form a very interesting study. Every true Chinaman is a believer in Confucius, a great philosopher who lived in China about five hundred years before the birth of Christ. His name is held sacred throughout the empire, and this veneration has become the center of a great religious system, of which the most important rites are the worship of heaven and earth, and the veneration, or worship, of ancestors.

The ancestral tablet is to be found in every home. It is a small strip of wood, set into a wooden base, usually painted red and bearing a gilt inscription to show its purpose. These tablets are the household gods, and are worshiped daily. Twice each year religious sacrifices are offered by all faithful Chinese believers at the graves of their ancestors. These sacrifices are intended to provide for all the needs of the ancestors, and so food of various kinds and pieces of silk for clothing are placed before their tombs. After a short time the spirits are supposed to have used all the food they desire, and then the thrifty Chinaman, with his never failing economy, sets out the baked meats, the rice, and the wine, to furnish forth a feast for his family!

While it is true that the Chinese are nearly all believers in Confucius, a great mass of the people are, at the same time, worshipers of Buddha, whose temples, large and small, are to be found in all parts of the country. Many of these temples are in a most dilapidated condition, but they are open day and night, and priests are always in attendance.

The form of worship is very simple. The worshiper buys of the priest a few sticks of incense. These he

lights and places before the image of Buddha, and then prostrates himself three times before the idol, each time knocking his forehead three times upon the floor, while the priest sounds a gong or beats upon a drum to wake up the god.

Two hundred miles to the north of Hong-Kong is Amoy, another port of considerable importance and one of the first opened to foreign commerce.

Between Amoy and Shanghai are many cities. The most important of these are Foo Chow and Ningpo. These are situated, as are all the other ports of China, not on the coast, but several miles up a river.

Foo Chow is on the Min River, a picturesque stream which in some respects resembles the Hudson River. Hills and mountains rise from the river banks and the scenery is beautiful.

The commerce of Foo Chow is large, the most important export being tea.

It is one of the cleanest cities along the whole Chinese coast; and this is no small praise, considering the usual conditions existing in the cities of China.

CHAPTER XIV.

SOME CURIOUS CUSTOMS.

We have traveled far enough in the "Celestial Empire" to have learned that the customs and manners of the Chinese are, in nearly every particular, the reverse of our own.

In all the outward forms of politeness the Chinese are carefully trained. All classes of people, from the rich mandarins engaged in matters of state ceremony to the ragged beggars along the streets, are mindful of every one of the ancient forms of politeness. It will be of interest to note some of these curious customs.

When Chinese friends meet, instead of shaking hands

with each other, as is our custom, each shakes his own hands. In China no one carries a cane unless he is aged or very infirm. To see men carrying singing birds in cages is a common sight throughout China. The Chinese devote time and patience to the training of these pet birds, and teach them many curious tricks. An American removes his hat as a mark of respect, but a Chinaman keeps his head covered for the same purpose. To remove one's hat in the presence of a superior would be a serious breach of Chinese etiquette.

There is nothing to correspond to our ideas of social life, since men and women are not expected to appear together in public. A Chinese gentleman would under no circumstances ride in the same carriage with his wife. Women never go shopping, but all articles they may wish to purchase are taken to their homes for their selection.

It is impossible for the Chinese to understand some of our ideas of pleasure, and many things we do must appear as strange to them as their customs do to us. It is related of the first Chinese minister to the United States, that, on attending a reception in Washington where dancing was a part of the entertainment, he watched the dancers for some time in astonishment, and then asked: "Why do they do all that hard work? Can they not afford to hire people to do it for them?"

The relations between China and foreign nations have frequently been disturbed because of some blunder committed by the foreigners. The Chinese, especially those holding official positions, insist upon the observance of the most minute forms of ceremony, and are