QUESTIONS.-1. What of the emperor Vati? How did he spend his time? 2. Tell the story of a very learned emperor. 4. When did Si-gu-en begin to reign? Where did he dwell? What did his son do? 5. What of Chwang-tsong? What curious fact is related of him? 6. When did Genghis Khan invade China? What of him and his descendants? 7. What of the emperor Ching-tsa? Relate the story of the mine. What happened in the reign of Yong-tching? 10. What is the name of the present emperor? When did he come to the throne?

CHAP. XXXII.-ASIA continued.

CITIES OF CHINA. MANNERS OF THE CHINESE.

1. I MUST now give you a short account of the cities and people of China as they are at this day. Nankin was formerly the capital of China. Pekin which contains two millions of inhabitants, is now the capital. The emperor's palace stands in a part of Pekin called the Tartar city.

2. The walls of Pekin are built of brick, and are nearly one hundred feet high, so that they hide the whole city. They are so thick that sentinels on horseback ride round the city on the top of the walls. There are nine gates, which have marble arches, and are prodigiously high.

3. The people of China have an olive complexion, with black hair, and small black eyes. The chief part of their dress is a long loose robe, which is fastened round the body with a silken girdle. In this girdle they carry a knife, and two sticks for eating, instead of a knife and fork.

4. The Chinese are great fibbers, and are very much addicted to cheating. There are some horrible customs among them. For instance, if parents have a greater number of children than they can conveniently support, they are permitted to throw them into a river!

5. The people are not nice about what they eat. Dead puppy-dogs are publicly sold in the streets for food. Rats and mice are frequently eaten. There is a sort of bird's nest brought from some of the Indian islands, which is made into a jelly, and is considered a great delicacy.

6. The Chinese ladies are chiefly remarkable for their little feet. A grown woman in China is able to wear smaller shoes than a young child in Europe. But their feet are kept merely for show, and are almost good for nothing to walk with.

7. Religion among the Chinese is in a very sad condition. The people are given up to idolatry. Almost all religions are tolerated, although but little reverence is paid to any. There are more temples than can be easily numbered.

8. When a Chinese wishes to be married, he buys a wife of her parents, but he is not permitted to see her till she is sent home. The young lady is brought to her husband's door in a palankeen. He puts aside the curtains of the palankeen, and peeps in at his new wife. If he does not like her looks, he sends her back again.

9. In China there are some very singular punishments. Sometimes a wooden frame, weighing two hundred pounds,

is put round a man's neck. He is compelled to carry it about with him wherever he goes; and, so long as he wears it, he can neither feed himself, nor lie down.

10. One of the most curious customs of China is that of excluding all foreigners from the country. Till lately only a few European and American merchants were permitted to reside at Canton, but they were obliged to leave their wives at Macao. No other strangers were permitted in the kingdom. But there are now five ports, at which foreigners are allowed to carry on their commerce. The people think that their manners and customs are the best in the world, and they do not wish foreigners to come and introduce new notions. They are the oldest nation that exists, and they appear to wish nothing more than to continue as they have been.

11. China has a great many large cities, and these are filled with countless numbers of inhabitants. They have many ingenious arts and manufactures; they till the earth with great skill, and their gardens are managed with special

care.

12. Tea is brought to us from this country, with a great variety of other articles. You will not be surprised that we get so many things from China, when you know that the country contains three hundred and sixty millions of people, that is seven times as many as in all America.

QUESTIONS.-1. What city was formerly the capital of China? What is now? How many inhabitants does Pekin contain? Where is the emperor's palace? 2. What of the walls of Pekin? The gates? 3. What

of the people of China? Their dress? 4. What of the character of the Chinese? Their customs? 5 What of their food? 6. What of the Chinese ladies? 7. What of religion in China? Temples? 8. What is done when a man wishes to be married? 9. What of punishments in China? 10. What custom is there respecting foreigners? Where do the wives of merchants reside? Why do not the Chinese wish foreigners to come among them? Which is the oldest empire in the world? 11. What of the cities of China? Manufactures? Do the people understand agriculture? 12. Where do we get our tea? What is the population of China?

CHAP XXXIII.-ASIA continued.

ORIGIN OF THE ARABS. RISE OF MAHOMET.

1. THE Arabs are descended from Ishmael, a son of Abraham. It was foretold of him, that "his hand should be against every man, and every man's hand against him." In all ages this prophecy has been fulfilled among his posterity; for they appear to have been enemies to the rest of mankind, and mankind enemies to them.

2. Arabia consists of several separate states or nations. The whole country is bounded on the north by Palestine, Mesopotamia, &c.; on the east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Ormuz, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and west by the Red Sea.

3. The Arabs have always been wandering tribes, and have dwelt in tents, amid the trackless deserts which cover a large portion of their country. Their early history is very

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imperfectly known. The first event that is worth recording is the birth of Mahomet. This took place at Mecca, a city on the borders of the Red Sea, in the year 570 of the Christian era.

4. Till the age of twenty-five, Mahomet was a camel-driver in the desert. He afterwards spent much of his time in solitude. His dwelling was a lonesome cave, where he pretended to be employed in prayer and meditation. When he was forty years old, he set up for a prophet.

5. He publicly proclaimed that God had sent him to convert the world to a new religion. The people of Mecca would not, at first, believe Mahomet. He was born among them, and they knew that he had been a camel-driver, and was no holier than themselves. Beside, he pretended that he had ridden up to heaven on an ass, in company with the angel Gabriel; and many of his stories were as ridiculous as this.

6. So the men of Mecca threatened to slay Mahomet, and he was therefore forced to flee to Medina, another city of Arabia. This flight was called by the Arabs, the Hegira. At Medina, in the course of two or three years, he made a great number of converts. He told his disciples that they must compel others to adopt his religion by force, if they refused to do so by fair means.

7. This conduct brought on a war between the disciples of Mahomet and all the other Arabians. Mahomet won many victories, and soon made himself master of the whole country, and of Syria besides.