OF THE RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE ENGLISH.

THE worship of the supreme Lord of Heaven [Changti], is not unknown to these Barbarians, though degraded by many Superstitions.

The purity of the divine and original Worship (as with the vulgar in our Celestial Kingdom) is too simple. About 500 or 600 years after our Confutze, in the time of the Romans, there appeared in an obscure province of their Empire a new Sect of devotees, who asserted that they had among them a Son of Heaven. This Son they called Christ; and those who adopted this new deity were called Christians. This was nearly 2000 years [met-li-ze] ago. The Sect increased and spread. One of the Emperors of the West adopted the new god, and enforced the worship of him upon the subjects of the Empire.

All the Western Barbarians derive their knowledge from the Romans; whose power, indeed, they overturned, but whose civilization they imitated. Particularly, the Bonzes (Priests) of the new Superstition, joined to the Chiefs of new powers (which arose upon the ruins of the Roman Empire), preserved some remains of the ancient Learning, and enforced the new

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Superstition. What little of letters remained was almost entirely with the Bonzes. This event was much the same as the introduction from the Hindoos into our Central Kingdom of the worship of the Hindoo god, Fo; and, curiously, these events happened at about the same time.

It is to be observed that in our Illustrious Kingdom there is a tendency to superstitious observances. We have several Sects [pho-ti]; but our Literati merely tolerate and do not worship. A simple and pure homage to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven [Hoang-chan-ti] is an act of the Wise: and even the Sects make their Spirits subordinate to Him. The Western Barbarians, however, dishonour the true worship by strange "rites "-even by incredible superstitions, when the intellectual culture is considered. It is not long since, in the monstrous credulity of the people, directed by the Bonzes, it was believed that the Devil (Chief of the Evil Demons) would enter into an individual-generally some old, ugly, and friendless woman-and, by her, turn the milk sour, drive the cattle mad, torture children, shrivel up the limbs, blast with the Evil Eye; and even plague with disease and with horrible death! And these wretched women, and sometimes men, themselves often fancying that the Devil was really in them, were seized upon, dragged through mud and mire, fearfully maltreated, and put to death by the horrible torments of fire, upon this wild accusation: and this terrible scene was not caused by a maddened rabble of the common sort, but under the lead of the Bonzes, and according to the Laws of the Land The great, central figure of idolatry is the Pope, who sits enthroned in Rome; and is, generally, a very old man, not always remarkable for wisdom nor virtue. He claims to be the sole vicegerent of the Christ-god, and only visible divine Head-all who do not worship him are really not true worshippers. Yet, there are many Sects of this Superstition; and in England, the Sovereign is held to be the true Pope and Head! The English Pope now worshipped is therefore a woman-the Queen! Such a thing seemed to me to be too wild-a phantasy -I could not comprehend. I knew that this Sectthe Roman-had long ago followers in our Flowery Kingdom; and our annals show was tolerated: not, however, for the Superstition, but for the Bonzes, who were masters of some useful knowledge. Personally, I never knew any native devotees of the Superstition-in fact it has steadily diminished in repute, and its few and scattered adherents are very obscure. So I was, and am still, puzzled by this extraordinary Sect. I have read the Creed; a sort of verbal incantation, made by devotees in the temples.

One day, I begged of a good-natured, large-bellied, Priest to explain to me; and ventured to ask him if the Creed was really an Article of Belief, or only a formal and meaningless Invocation-like some of the mummeries [phin-zi] of our Superstitious Sects. He looked surprised; but when he saw that he was thus accosted by a "Heathen Chince" (as these Barbarians always contemptuously call the inhabitants of our Central Land), he merely said: "Why, you have in China our Missionaries to enlighten your darkness; have you never met them?" "No; I have heard of them at Shanghai; but they do not speak our tongue, nor do we understand them; and their teachings, even if understood, would attract no attention from the Literati, who would consider them as unworthy of notice as any other Superstition." "How so? our Religion is no Superstition; it is the true and only true Religion, revealed by God himself to his chosen people, and miraculously preserved for all believers." "I bow before your Illustrious mind and body; but we have, and have had from time immemorial, just such pretensions; they are as old as history." "I will not argue; but look at the excellency of our divine religion!" "Where shall I look? If you mean the excellency of certain moral principles, there is nothing peculiar to your Sect in them. They have been taught in our schools for thousands of years they are excellent; they show the divine in man-man is of the divine; morality comes of that." "But look at your frightful vices; at your Pagan worship-see the effects of idolatry!" "I bow to your Illustrious mind." I saw my effort to obtain any reasonable explanation was fruitless; I made my obeisance and left. What an illustration of ignorant and superstitious conceit! Vice, thousands of miles beyond sea, so dreadful; the vice at hand, defiling every corner, unseen! The only true Religion of this Priest will not see, or, seeing, he will not believe that it is Vice-or, at any rate, idolatrouspagan Vice! I could not believe, at first, that the Superstition was more than a Form, kept up merely for the advantage of the Priests. The sharp intellects of the Barbarians, applied so fruitfully to useful arts, seemed stultified, if I held to their actual belief. Ι doubted the honesty of the Priests; I knew the bad character of many of the Bonzes of our Superstitious Sects. Now, better acquainted with the imperfect civilization of the people, I am not moved by these ignorant and bigoted displays. Poverty, vice, and drunkenness ; crimes of violence and fraud, are rife among the Barbarians. The Temples, ordered and maintained by the Queen-Pope, are, for the most part-especially in great cities-empty. The Sects of the Low-Caste people, despised by the High-Caste, are far more zealous worshippers, though not better Christians. The funds raised to support the great Temples and the Priests, are nearly all absorbed by them, and the Temples left ruinous. The lowest Castes do not worship, but curse the Sovereign Lord. Yet, our Illustrious Kingdom is called Pagan-Heathen--words implying every degradation; and our people fit only to be turned over to the endless torments of Evil Spirits!

Like our Confutze, the principles of morality and general benevolence are taught in the sayings ascribed to Christ. Yet fighting in the most brutal manner is allowed in the Schools, although the teachings of Christ, commanding Charity and Peace, are conned over in the daily lessons; and horrible Wars for the subjugation of other Peoples, incessantly waged! Still, if we may believe these Barbarians, all true religion and virtue are possessed only by them! The education of the people has been disregarded; and now, when the wisest of their great men has, with great difficulty, caused a decree to issue for the teaching of the neglected masses, at least, in some rudimental learning, the purpose is likely to