deck of his frail vessel saying the holy office, which was never forgotten.

But we have said enough to recommend this work strongly to our readers, and we must now briefly glance at the information which it affords.

It is impossible in these limits to touch on all the subjects of which these volumes treat, as they embrace in fact almost every aspect under which the condition of the Chinese empire may be viewed; but there are some of especial importance, which we cannot pass over. First of these, we would note the history given by M. Huc of the real circumstances and causes of the late Chinese insurrection, which has been so marvellously misrepresented as a movement in favour of Christianity. It is well known how largely this idea was propagated by the Bible Society, who claimed the merit of the supposed universal conversion, and how eagerly their adherents declared that the Chinese nation had by their efforts been induced not only to embrace the Christian religion, but to adopt it with all their own erroneous tenets, and without the agency or authority of that Church through which alone the Author and Finisher of our faith has willed that it should be established.

A conversion thus accomplished would have been an event so completely opposed to the order of God's providence, as it has been made manifest from the first hour when the Divine seed was planted by apostolical hands, that it might well have been received with no ordinary "mefiance;" but it is really astonishing to find on what flimsy materials this monstrous assumption was actually founded, and we shall, we conceive, be doing our readers a service by giving them the account of the whole affair from first to last, in M. Huc's own simple and straightforward language:

"If the original causes of the Chinese insurrection are almost entirely unknown in Europe, its more immediate occasion is not so. In the first instance, this was an isolated act of highway robbery; then followed the association of several villains of that description, endeavouring to resist the efforts of the Mandarins to repress them, and soon from the very dregs of the population a little army was raised, which began to occasion serious uneasiness to the vice-roy of the province of Kouang-si. At length the captain of this gang of robbers, now become the chief of an armed force, proclaiming himself Generalissimo, called in politics and religion to the assistance of his revolt, summoned around him the secret societies that swarm in the empire, declared himself the restorer of Chinese nationality, against the usurpation of the Mantchoo Tartar race, assumed the title of Emperor, under the pompous name of Tien-te, (Celestial Virtue,) and denominated himself also the younger brother of JESUS CHRIST. By means such as these has an empire of three hundred millions of men been brought to the brink of destruction.

"It may appear scarcely credible that a petty revolt of banditti should have increased to such an extent as to become formidable, and assume a sort of national character; but for those who are acquainted with China and its history it will not seem very surprising. This country has always been the classic ground of revolutions, and its annals are but the narrative of a long series of popular commotions and political vicissitudes. In the period of time between the year 420, when the Franks entered Gaul, and 1644, when Louis XIV. ascended the throne of France, and the Tartars established themselves in Pekin, a period of twelve hundred and twenty-four years, China underwent fifteen changes of dynasty, all accompanied by frightful civil wars.

"Since the invasion of the Mantchoo Tartar race, the nation has appeared, it is true, quite indifferent to the political situation of the country, and altogether absorbed in material enjoyments; but in the bosom of this sceptical and avaricious people, there has always remained a powerful and vivacious spark that the Tartar government has never been able to extirpate; secret societies have been formed all over the empire, the members of which have seen with impatience the Mantchoo domination and cherished the idea of overthrowing it to obtain a national government. These innumerable conspirators were all ready for revolt, and predetermined to support it, let the signal come from whence it might, whether from a discontented viceroy, or a highway robber. On the other hand the agents of government had contributed not a little by their conduct to provoke the outbreak. Their unheard-of exactions had filled up the measure of wrong doing, and great numbers of the Chinese, some driven by indignation, and others by poverty and despair, joined the ranks of the insurgents, for the sake of even a remote chance of ameliorating their condition, certain that they could not be more oppressed let the new government be as bad as it might.

"It is also far from impossible that another cause, but little apparent, may really have exercised considerable influence in the explosion of this Chinese insurrection; namely, the latent infiltration of European ideas put in circulation in the free ports and along coast by the commerce of the Western nations, and carried by the missionaries into the very heart of the empire, and to the most remote provinces. The people at large care little enough about what is thought or done by Europeans, whose very existence is all but unknown to them; but the educated classes do at present think much of foreign nations, and cultivate geography with great success. We have often in our journeys met with Mandarins, who had very correct notions of European affairs, and it is these learned men, who give the tone to opinion, and regulate the course of popular thought, so that the common people may very well be following the impulse of European ideas, without knowing so much as the name of Europe.

"One of the most remarkable aspects of the insurrection is the religious character that its chiefs have sought from its very commencement to impress upon it. Every one must be struck with the new doctrines with which the proclamations and manifestoes of the Pretender and his generals have been filled. The unity of GOD has been distinctly expressed; and around this fundamental dogma have been grouped a number of ideas borrowed from the Old and New Testament.

War has been declared at the same time to idolatry and to the Tartar dynasty; for after having defeated the imperial troops, and overthrown the authority of the Mandarins, the insurgents have never failed to destroy the pagodas and massacre the Bonzes.

"As soon as these facts became known in Europe, it was eagerly proclaimed everywhere, that the Chinese nation had decided on embracing Christianity, and the Bible Society did not fail to claim the merit and glory of this marvellous conversion.

"We do not, however, give the slightest credit to the alleged Christianity of the insurgents, and the religious and mystical sentiments expressed in these manifestoes inspire us with no great confidence. In the second place, it is by no means necessary to have recourse to the Protestant Propaganda to account for the more or less Christian ideas remarked in the proclamations of the revolutionary Chinese. There exist in all the provinces a very considerable number of Mussulmans, who have their Koran and their mosques. It is to be presumed that these Mahometans, who have already several times attempted to overthrow the Tartar dynasty, and have always distinguished themselves by a violent opposition to the Government, would have thrown themselves with ardour into the ranks of the insurrection. Many of these must have become generals, and have mingled in the councils of Tien-te. It is therefore not wonderful to find among them the doctrine of the unity of GOD, and other ideas of Biblical origin, though whimsically expressed.

"The Chinese have also for a long time had at their command a precious collection of books of Christian doctrine, composed by the ancient missionaries, and which, even in a purely literary point of view, are much esteemed in the empire. These books are diffused in great numbers throughout all the provinces, and it is more probable that the Chinese innovators have drawn the ideas in question from these sources than from the Bibles prudently deposited by the Methodists on the sea-shore.

"The new faith proclaimed by the insurrectional government, though vague and ill-defined, does nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, indicate great progress; it is an immense step in the path that leads to the truth. This initiation of China into ideas so opposed to the scepticism of the masses, and their coarse tendencies, is, perhaps, a symptom of that mysterious march of all nations towards unity, which is spoken of by Count de Maistre, and which, according to the expression which he borrows from the sacred writings, we ought to 'salute from afar;' but for the present it appears to us difficult to see in the chief of this Chinese insurrection anything else than a kind of Chinese Mahomet, seeking to establish his power by fire and sword, and crying to his fanatical partisans-'There is no God but GOD, and Tien-te is the younger brother of JESUS CHRIST.'"-Vol. I., pp. xii. xviii.

The author then proceeds to inquire into the probable result of this insurrection. He considers it a mistake to suppose, as European journalists have generally done, that the nation would simply return to its traditional course if the Tartar dynasty were once overthrown. He maintains that what is called the "Chinese

system," does really not exist, as the expression can only be understood in opposition to a Tartar system, and that there is not and never was a Tartar system of any kind. The Chinese, he tells us, have continued since their conquest by the Mantchoo race, to be governed by the very same institutions which were in force before that event. One of the distinctive features of the national character seems to be a sort of religious veneration for all things ancient, and especially the laws and forms of government, hallowed to them by antiquity. So that after every revolution they have faithfully applied themselves to reconstruct their past and recall their old traditions, that they may not in any degree depart from the usage of their ancestors. This peculiarity goes far to explain how it is that a people, who at an early period of history were so remarkable for their civilization, should have remained stationary in the scale of nations, and made no progress for so many centuries. We must give the conclusion of our author's remarks on this subject, as it shows the position which Christianity really holds in the matter.

"Can it be hoped, nevertheless, that the present insurrection will bring any modification in this state of things? We must be permitted to doubt this. It is even probable that the unsympathising disposition of the Chinese towards the nations of the West will remain what it has always been. China is far from being open; and whatever may be said, we believe that our missions have very little to hope there. We must not forget, in fact, that Christianity is in no way concerned in the crisis which the empire is now passing through. The Christians, too wise and prudent to hoist a political standard, are also too few in number to exercise any sensible influence on the affairs of the country, and they have remained neutral. For this reason they have become equally suspected by both parties, and we fear will be hereafter equally exposed to punishment, whichever side may be ultimately victorious. Should the Mantchoo government triumph over the insurrection, which already more than once has displayed the cross upon its standards, it will have no mercy on the Christians, and this long struggle will have only served to redouble its suspicions and embitter its wrath; if, on the contrary, Tien-te should gain the victory, and succeed in driving out the ancient conquerors of China, since he claims not only to found a new dynasty, but also a new worship, he will, in the intoxication of victory, break through every obstacle that may oppose his projects.

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Thus the conclusion of the civil war may be to the Christians the signal of a new persecution. These terrible trials need not, indeed, induce us to despair of the future prospects of Christianity in China : for we know that the ALMIGHTY rules the nations at His pleasure, that He can, when He pleases, bring good out of evil, and that often, where men think all is lost, it is then precisely that all is saved.

"In fact, notwithstanding the worship professed by the Chinese for their ancient institutions-if circumstances should at length force the European element to quit its neutrality, and mingle in the affairs of

the Celestial Empire, this intervention would probably be the source of remarkable changes, and might gradually produce a complete transformation of China. It may be even, apart from the hypothesis of an intervention, that the new ideas introduced by the revolutionary Chinese will of themselves prove active enough to exercise considerable influence over the destinies of the empire. Then will regenerated China assume a new aspect, and who knows whether it may not ultimately succeed in placing itself on a level with European nations?"-Vol. I., pp. xix. xx.

Before leaving this part of our subject, we must subjoin some good-humoured remarks of M. Huc's, in a later part of his work, on the system of conversion by the indiscriminate distribution of the Holy Scriptures, which is so much in favour with many wellmeaning persons. Speaking of the intellectual condition of the Chinese and Mongol people, he says:

"Of late years there is a remarkable tendency among the educated Chinese to the study of geography and of foreign nations, and this appears to us an immense step towards the development amongst them of the taste for European science. Since the war with the English, there have appeared several very complete Chinese geographies, containing very correct information concerning the various parts of the world, and especially the kingdoms of Europe. It is evident that a European hand has been engaged in their composition, and from the flattering strain with which the United States are mentioned in them, it is strongly to be suspected that an American has had something to do with these publications.

"The Methodist ministers, who lie in ambush in all the five ports open to Europeans, having remarked that the prodigious quantity of Bibles furtively scattered along the shores of the empire have not proved remarkably efficacious in working the conversion of the Chinese, have at last given up this harmless and useless system of Propagandism. They seem convinced now that bales even of well-bound and cautiously distributed Bibles, will not make much impression on the Chinese nation, and they have lost some of their faith in the miraculous effect of this measure. However, their vocation being to print books and disperse them, they have composed certain little scientific works, by which they hope to captivate the minds of the Chinese.

"In 1851, a few days before our departure from China, we chanced to get sight of one of these productions. It was simply a technical treatise on the Electric Telegraph.

"Truly, a man must be profoundly ignorant of the Chinese nation to offer such a book for its instruction. The theory of the Electric Telegraph for men whose language does not even contain terms to express the simplest phenomena of electricity! It is scarcely credible. We feel assured, that throughout the celestial nation, there is not one man capable of understanding this work; for, in order to express new ideas, the author has had recourse to new combinations of characters, forming a very original jargon, which the Chinese will not be in a hurry to construe. Doubtless everybody must wish for the moment when the