The child is at once washed with water, in which a herb called by the Chinese Kum-Ngan-Fa, or the gold and silver flower plant, the rind of green ginger, and the leaves of the whampu and pomeloe trees have been boiled. A custom like this is referred to in the book of Ezekiel (xvi. 4). The child is then wrapped in swaddling clothes, also an ancient Jewish custom. These are simply bands that closely confine the limbs. On the third day the infant is again washed in aromatic water. On this occasion the near relatives are invited to attend, and when "baby" has been washed they sit down to a repast, the especial feature of which is pork-patties, and balls of flour with sugar in the centre. The food of the patient consists chiefly of fowls, fine rice, and ginger-wine. Duck's eggs also form an item of her diet. These are also given, together with jars of ginger-wine, as birth-gifts to her relatives and friends. On her recovery the lady receives in return presents of silk embroidered work.

Amongst the upper classes, it is not usual for the husband to have an interview with his wife until a month after the birth of the child; and no visitor can be received at the house during this time. A large bunch of evergreens is suspended above the principal entrance of the house to intimate this; and visitors upon seeing it do not stop even to leave their cards. All persons residing in the house are regarded as unclean until the month has expired. The same rule applies to persons entering the house during the period in question. The members of such a family are, of course, not allowed to enter any of the public temples. At the close of the month, the mother washes her body, as a rite of purification, with water in which leaves of the pomeloe tree have been boiled. The father having worshipped the tablets of his ancestors, repairs, together with one of his wife's handmaidens, to a temple-the Temple of Longevity is frequently selected-with the view of thanking the gods for having given him a son. Until one hundred days have expired, the mother is required to remain at home. This custom reminds one of the Hebrew mother, who, by the law of Moses, was required to stay at home for about forty days after the birth of a male child, and about seventy days after the birth of a female

Ix.]

MUN-YUT.

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child. With the Chinese, as was the case among the Hebrews, the ground of the restriction lies in the mother being regarded as unclean. At the close of this period, she repairs with her child to a temple. Very often the temple is one in honour of Kum-Fa, and the child is dedicated to the goddess. If the mother has previously prayed for offspring to Koon-Yam, or to Tien-How, she repairs, of course, to the temple where her prayers were offered. When the child is one month old, he receives an infantile name. His head is then shaved for the first time, and the ceremony, which is called Mun-Yut is, in the case of wealthy families, attended with much rejoicing. All the male and female members of the family are present in their holiday robes, and the infant makes his appearance in a dress of a bright red colour. The barber who operates is generally an old man, the Chinese regarding it as auspicious that he should have reached a patriarchal age. He is dressed specially for the occasion, and receives more than his usual fee. In many cases, however, the mother or grandmother of the child prefer to do the shaving themselves. The hair is wrapped up in paper, and carefully preserved. When the barber has done his work, an aged man, hired for the office, next advances, and placing his hand on the head of the little one, exclaims, "May long life be thy portion." Those present then sit down to a liberal repast, and the little hero of the party is made to taste a very small piece of a rice flour cake presented by his grandmother. All who have bestowed gifts upon the child are invited to this banquet. Such presents consist of wearing apparel, bracelets, anklets, &c., &c. The infant receives on the occasion a red bedstead, a red chair, and a cap, on which are small golden, or silver, or copper figures of Buddha, or eight figures representing the eight angels. For the figures in question, letters representing old age or wealth, are occasionally substituted. The child is not permitted to rest on the bedstead until the father has consulted the calendar, and selected a lucky day for the purpose. A coat of many colours 2 is presented to a favourite child by its parents.

1 See Lev. xii. 2-5.

2 That the Jews had a similar custom is, of course, apparent from the narrative of the life of Joseph. "A garment of divers colours" was also the dress of "king's daughters that were virgins."

It is supposed to protect the infant from evil spirits, by diverting their attention from the wearer. The almanac is also consulted to ascertain what things must be kept out of the child's sight. It sometimes sets forth that it is unlucky for infants to touch or see articles made of bamboo during a certain month. Sometimes the prohibited articles are of iron or copper. Whatever the almanac proscribes is either removed or covered up.

The first visit the child pays is to its grandmother; and the day after the Mun-Yut is often selected for this. The aged dame bestows upon her little grandchild a gift consisting of four chickens, four onions, sticks of sugar-cane, two cabbages, and a quantity of rice-husks. The vegetables enumerated being very quick in attaining maturity, imply her desire for the rapid growth of the little one. The rice-husks signify her wish that the mind of her grandchild may readily receive instruction, and that education may result in scholarship. When the child is one or two years of age, or at the time when it first begins to walk, it is presented with a pair of shoes called Mow-Yee-Kai, or kitten shoes. They resemble a cat's face at the toes, and are supposed to render the child as surefooted as a cat. The female children of Chinese parents are, in some instances, put to death, Many reasons are assigned for a practice so wicked and unnatural. Poor people plead their poverty as an They contend that it is better to put their infant daughters to death than be obliged, as is, alas, the case with many, to sell them as slaves, or for the base purposes of prostitution. Infanticide, however, is not invariably confined to the poor, as the reader will learn from what I have said in another chapter on the subject of Chinese foundling hospitals. But though it is more or less practised by the nation, some Chinese regard the crime as one of a most diabolical nature. Let us take a case to illustrate the phases of national feeling with regard to it. In the spring of the year 1872, a woman who resided in the western suburb of Canton was seen by a neighbour to drown her adopted female child in the Wongsha creek. The neighbour informed the elders of the district. of the murder, and the accused was immediately seized, and imprisoned in the back room of a neighbouring temple. On the

excuse.