small and entirely open at the front, often displaying handsome goods and a variety of manufactures. Here we saw the workers in Jade stone, tortoise-shell, mother-of-pearl, wood, glass, silver and ivory. We also saw the feathers of the kingfisher set into jewelry in imitation of enamel ; paintings on rice paper, embroideries in silk; opium dens, restaurants in which dog's, rat's and cat's meat is sold, and the establishments peculiar to that edible, in which we procured the gelatine from which the bird's nest soup is made. This delicacy, in its natural state, is suggestively repulsive; but after undergoing certain processes of cleansing and clarifying, assumes more inviting appearance, and is sold at the rate of $10 per lb.

We next visited the Temple of Longevity; the Flowery Pagoda, 9 stories high; the Temple of 500 Buddhas, filled with as many gilt images of Buddha and his followers; the Temple of the Five Genii, where in front of each image was a stone, said to be the remains of a ram on which the spirit rode to the city; and the Temple of Confucius, which the Emperor of China visits once annually.

In the older portion of Canton is the palace of the Tartar General, around which were native sentinels bearing primitive-looking shields made of painted straw: here also, is the Examination Hall with its thousands of stalls or small rooms for students; and the Prison, where we saw num

bers of men with cassques—a large square wooden yoke fastened around their necks, permitting of no possibility of rest to the wearer; some loaded down with heavy chains, by means of which the body was held in unnatural positions; and others undergoing various torturing punishments.

In the Execution ground, where on an average 365 criminals are despatched yearly, we saw several barrels full of human heads lately severed from the body, and 3 crosses used in crucifying.

Taking a boat we crossed the river to the island of Ho-Nan, another portion of the city, to see its temple, where are kept sacred pigs; to visit the tea-firing and ginger-preserving establishments; and the Flowery boats, whose interiors are finished in marble, and are used exclusively for pleasure parties.

On the delta of the Pearl or Canton river 250,000 people are said to pass their entire lives. on the water. The Sampan, a small boat which serves as their floating home, is fitted up with shrines and a few household articles, and it is a common occurrence to see women, with infants strapped to their backs, rowing them. As soon as a male child is born, a life preserver, in the form of a gourd, is fastened around its neck, as a precaution in case of its falling into the water; but with a girl no such measure is taken, as the life of female infants is held of little or no value. As soon as a child can walk it is put to the helm or

oar, while the mother manages the sails, which are made of matting. The Chinese fishermen are probably the most venturesome in the world, and are often seen in small boats 300 miles out at sea, wearing in bad weather strange-looking cloaks made of rice-straw and cocoanut-fibre, with straw hats the size of umbrellas. Their boats, both large and small, invariably have two big eyes painted on the prow, and upon being interrogated upon the significance of this, they make answer: "No got eye, how can see ?"

The Chinese as a nation, though dirty and superstitious, are industrious and apt; having for thousands of years known many devices which foreigners penetrating the country have appropriated and introduced at home as original inventions. The upper classes are reserved and observing; the height of a Chinaman's ambition being to possess a tiny-footed wife. While the women are rarely permitted on the streets, we had the opportunity of seeing several whose feet measured about 4 inches in length; but the standard of perfection we were told is 21⁄2 inches.

The density of the Chinese population renders them conservative, and opposed to improvements of any kind that might be substituted for manual labor; and their history shows one straight unbroken line of a nation unparalleled in many respects by any other. Wheresoever a Chinaman may die his bones are in course of time

taken to China for final interment; and their opposition to having a limb amputated, even in the worst state of fracture, is that a cripple is unable to make a living, and paupers are not tolerated among them.

The Chinese religion partakes largely of idolatry; the Dragon and the Tiger figuring extensively in their mythological legends. Though Buddhism constitutes a large part of their religion, ancestral worship is probably more general; one of the rites of which consists in sending paper clothes, money, and written prayers to their forefathers through the medium of fire and ascending smoke. This latter religion, the most ancient in China, was revised and elevated by Confucius 525 B. C., whose teachings of duty and morality, in public as in private life, from the Emperor to the serf, have endeared him to the people, and whose laws, among which is the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would they should do unto you," have come down to us as the essence of honor and of happiness, and have been incorporated into the Christian religion.

Hong-Kong, the most eastern of the British possessions, with a mixed population of 250,000, composed of Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Hindus, Burmese, Malays, and Polynesians, is situated on an island at the mouth of the Pearl river. The city is built at the base of a high hill on which are many beautiful residences with

shady and winding walks, affording fine views of the large harbor. Hong-Kong unfortunately lies within the limits of the cyclones, during one of which, in 1874, 1,000 houses were demolished, hundreds of vessels wrecked, and vast numbers of lives lost. Here we passed several days, visiting its public gardens, witnessing the drill of the English military, and, by means of chairs, borne by four coolies each, ascended the Peak to the Flag-staff point to obtain a view of the surrounding landscape.

On leaving Hong-Kong we were accompanied by our Consul, Col. Mosby, in his private boat flying the U. S. flag, as far as our steamer, the "Takachio," of the Mitsu Bishi line, and after a five days' sail along the coast of China, through the Strait of Formosa and the Yellow Sea we reached Japan, and anchored in the beautiful harbor of Nagasaki.

CHAPTER XXXII.

NAGASAKI: INLAND SEA: KOBÉ: HIOGO: OTSU: LAKE BIWAKO: KIOTO: OSAKA: YEDDO: KAMAKURA: YOKOHAMA,

NAGASAKI, the extreme southwestern Treatyport of Japan, is a place of 30,000 inhabitants: it occupies a commanding position at the head of a