libellous in making the assertion. My impressions were further agreeably confirmed after listening to the sermon of an esteemed English missionary, and witnessing what the ladies of the missions were doing to educate "the daughters of China," and bring them up in the faith of Christ.

In the small chapel the pews were divided off for the foreigners in one part, and the natives in the other. Here the party separated accordingly, and I saw how earnest the Chinese portion of the congregation were in their devotions. They were chiefly young females belonging to a seminary under the charge of a lady missionary devoted to her charge. Many of them were dressed in European clothes, and all of them joined in singing the psalms and hymns in English. It was heavenly to hear the voices of these girls joining in the praises of the true God, who otherwise might have been listening to the heathen chants of Buddhist priests.

On enquiry after the service was over, I ascertained that these were the scholars from a society recently instituted for the education of Chinese females. They were chiefly taught to study the scriptures from translations by the Protestant missionaries, so as to acquire an intelligent understanding of what they read. They were also taught the duties of household work, including sewing, washing, and cooking. Three of the most promising were learning to read English, and four were being taught the rudiments of music, so that they might become qualified for conducting the singing in the chapel. The expense of maintenance was contributed chiefly by the foreign lady residents.

In the afternoon Meng-kee and I went to visit the largest establishment in Shanghai for the conversion and training of children in christian doctrines. This was Tong-ka-doo

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AT SHANGHAI.

317

situated in the suburbs of the native city, near the Eastern Gate, and instituted many years ago by the Roman Catholic Propaganda in China. We were surprised to see the magnitude of this establishment compared with the modest proportions of the Protestant Mission we had just left. Here was a cathedral capable of accommodating a congregation of between two and three thousand, with cloisters attached, and offices like a French monastery. There were some thirty priests-French, Italian, and Spanish-with a bishop. What surprised us was that they were all dressed as Chinese, with the long plaited queue, long silk robes, and satin shoes entire. Indeed they were of such dark complexions and black hair, that we thought at first they really were Chinese. It was by the eyes we could distinguish them to be Europeans. Not only was it odd to see their exact copy of the native dress, but it was curious to observe the acolytes, who were Chinese youths, going through the ceremonies at the altar. Then the priests performed their genuflexions to the images, pictures, and candles, before a crowded church, while one of them performed upon an organ having pipes of bamboo, which sounded grandly. The whole scene was so incongruous, that it was difficult to imagine it a church dedicated to the service of the christian religion. It looked like an amalgamation of Romanism and Buddhism, and indeed it may be considered so, for there is such a similarity between the forms and ceremonies of the two creeds, that there are grounds for supposing the one must have copied from the other. This, no doubt, is the reason that the Propagandists make so many converts, or at least followers of their creed, as the converts have only to change their ceremonies from the mysteries of Buddha to those of the Romish dogmas.

Grand Festival at Shanghai among the Soochow Refugees.-Scenes at the City Temple.-Travelling Tinker.-Juggler and Musicians.Peripatetic Barbers.-Itinerant Story-teller.-Shanghai Tea Gardens. -Artificial Hill and Lake.-Grand Procession of the Golden Dragon. -The Gardens illuminated.-Fireworks on the water.

REAT were the rejoicings of the refugees in
Shanghai city and settlement at the surrender of
Soochow, for they had chiefly come from that
town and its neighbourhood, and their satis-

faction took a tangible shape in contributions from their hoards of sycee silver, to cover the expenses of an appropriate festival on the occasion. A day was set aside for that purpose and kept as a general holiday.

First we went to the city temple, and mingled with the crowd collected in the courtyard and on the steps leading to the entrance. Here were gathered together examples of all the itinerant hucksters, traders, and others that characterize street-life in China. There were groups of pipe-sellers with bundles of brass pipes, tea dealers with small boxes of the leaves slung over their shoulders, and occasionally a tinker pulling at his long bellows, repairing some article from a bystander, as shown in the illustration. Some of these were similar to what may be seen in England, such as cake and fruit vendors, but there were others which