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    ^ THE LEiDtB. [Satubj>at,

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    MONUMENTAL HISTORY OP EGYPT. Tlit Monume...

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    His Doctrine Is One Of The Great Moral A...

    onwelvw , -with gaiety and pleas « rt trifling . Friends meetm « n ^ ceremonious way toS ^ fflmwiae , ^ perhaps * o « mc * e the excellent tobacee < rf Leao-t ong ; and ^ Sl ^ n ^ Sea ^ ns ^ ey aauise themsefores by guessing riddle and making ^ IUU' Cr f ^ ESE COFFIN-FANCYING . ' , In no other country than China , perhaps , could men be heard exchanging comnlimeats ou the subject of a coffin . People are mostly « shy > of mentioning the lugubrious objects destined to contain the mortal remains of a relation or friend , and when death does enter the house , the coffin is got in in secrecy and silence , in order to aoaxe 4 he feelings of the mourning family . But it is quite otherwise in China ; * h ereia boffin is simply an article of the first necessity to the dead , and of luxury and lancy to the living . In the great towns you see them displayed in the shops with all . sortgof tasteful decorations , painted and varnished , and polished and trimmed up to attract the eyes of passengers , and give them the fancy to buy themselves one . People in easy circumstances , who have money to spare for their pleasures , scarcely fail to provide themselves beforehand with a coffin to their own taste , and which

    erer j they coxuadarbecommg ; and , until the moment arrives for lying down in it , it is kept in the house , aiot as -an article of immediate necessity , but as one that cannot fail to be consoling and pleasant to the eye in a nicely furnished apartmentiFor well-brought-up children it is a favourite method of expressing the ferveur of iheir filial piety towards the ^ authors of their being , a . sweet and tender consolation for Ihe heart ofason to be able to purchase a be ** utiful coffin for an aged father or mother , and come-in state to present the gift at tfesmoment when they least expect such an agreeable surprise . If one is not sufficiently ^ favoured by fortune to be aWe * oii & JMLthe puuchase of a . coffin in advance , care is always taken that before * ' saluting the world , " as the Chinese say , a sick person ^ shall at least have the satisiaciiomof casting a glance at his last abode , ; and if he is surrounded by at all affectionate relations , they never faH . * o buy him a coffin , and place it by the side of

    ^ i ^ p bed . , ¦ , In the country this is not always so easy ; foreoffins are not kept quite ready , and , Reside * , peasants have not such luxurious habits as townspeople . The only way then 4 s to send for the carpenter of the place , who takes measure of the sick person , not Jbrgettingio observe to Jum that it must be made a , little longer than would seem j ueoeaaary , because one always stretches out a little when one ' s dead . A bargain is itken-made concerning the length and the breadth , and especially the cost ; wood is iaought . * and the workmenset about their task in the yard close to the chamber of the ^ ving persos , who is entertained with the music of the saw and the other tools , whileieathisat work within him , preparing him to occupy the snug abode when it

    £ ti < fhis is done with ^ he most perfect coolness , and without the slightest emotion , Teal or affected . We have ourselves witnessed such scenes more than once , and it has Always been one of the things that most surprised us in the manners of this extra-^ urdiaary-country- A- short time after our arrival at the mission in the north , we were walkingone day in the country with < a Chinese seminarist , who had ~ the patience to jx $ \ y toMil our long -and ^ tedious . questions about the men and things of Jb . e Celestial Empire . Whilst we were keeping . up . the dialogue as well as we could , in a mixture 4 > f latin And Chinese , using a word of one or the other as we found occasion , we saw « emiog towards as a xather numerous crowd , who advanced in an orderly manner along a narrow path . It might have been called a procession . safe behind

    £ ) ur £ rst impulse was to lurn aside , and get into some corner a large iiill-5 for , not having as yet maeh experience in the manners and-customs of the - Chinese , weMdJBome hesitation in producing ourselves , for fear of being recognised and . thrown into prison— -possibly even condemned and strangled . Out seminarist , liowever , reassured us , and declared that we might continue our walk without any tfear . ^ The crowd had now come up with us , apd we stood aside to let it pass . Itwas composed of a great number of villagers ,-ivho looked at us with smiling faces , and had * 3 ie appearance of being uncommonly pleased . After them came a litter , on which was bwrrie an empty coffin , and then another litter , upon which lay extended a dying roan-wrapped in blankets . His face was haggard and livid , and bis expiring eyes iwere fixed upon * he coffin that preceded him . When every one had passed , we fastened * o ask the meamng of rtbas strange procession . " It is some sick man , " said , 4 fce aenrinai ^ ^^ « re bringing-home to hisfamily . The Chinese do not like to die away from their own Thouse . " " That is very natural ; but what is the coffin for ? " " For the sick man , who probably has not many days to live . They seem to have made everything ready ior bis . fuaer & L I xemarked . by the side . of the coffin a piece of white linen that they

    anaan Ao . use for the mourning . " These words threw uBonto the most profound -astonishment , and we saw then that are had come into a anew world—into the midst of a people whose Ttdeas and feelings ^ Ikfe ned widely from those of Europeans . These men quiefly setting about to prepare . Sot ihe funeral of a . still living friend and relation ; this coffin placed purposely under rithe eyes of jthe dying man , doubtless with the purpose of doing what was agreeable to jhi tp ; jaM this plunged , us into a strange reverie , and the walk was continued in dulence . B & . ncm baooaaee 4 * me *© aafoxaaa . our readers , on the authority of this in-Aenortin ^ looofc , * h at maoy cLreiuuaiftnces indicate the gradual decay of this anoit ontaoiewt 'system of traditions . Wbaterver is good an tbe / national life of

    • China is derived evidently from the most ancient period ; mad is still pre-* erreti to *& e ^ btrna'whi ch liaTe grown < mt < yf these tr aditions . ThiB industrious , 'ingenious , lively , mobile T * ee 'fcras Ijeen the creation of many oen-Ittiries ; and now—bo TO . Hue seems to think ( and the accounts we Tead ^ everywhere -confirm It ) —a period has arrived , when -the old things have 3 ast . £ heir . moral savour , and as yet no man sees whence the new are to 42 Qxae I A . thin blight settles upon their elaborately-created institutions Q & B & . . wdtfSmeaoe an spiritual matters—a fatal languor , indeed spiritually —tisefle « QjSir < and « viide . Corruption apreadfl in poiblio affairs . The grand old organisation , by which the whole talent of the country was honestly drawn mntv ike apuWic service , is being ruined by . bribery , And prostituted to the ' pwpmea c $ faronr < ftmm . They are passionately in earoeat About getting * nw » ey , « mfl obotft fitofle else . All these symptoms , we say , ai * e rife in China , • ana -may 'tw & wry Ti > encficiajHy studied Just « ow elsewhere !

    '"¦ ' - -SRBCW * L < DJKU , Y . .. , It fa tU 0 " ^^ m , forofoookd indUTerenoe to all religion—an indifference that is mnmtflji oionlmsTllfi > by cany ( who Jtave sot witnewed it—which is in our opinion the tmtl , > giMwd < obsta 0 fe that am eo long © ppoaed ith « pxogreas of Chriatianlty in China . The Chinese is so completely absorbed in temporal interests , in the things that fall mmtki Mm mmumi , tkmt his wHtie Jife is" only aaaterialiem'put in action . ' l « QPftii 4 lte taak mk & oet * n wWoh his eyes « ro oonatantlgr fixed . A burning . thirst - # n pf j llaii « n —mi nil I , U t in inn nil , abaonbs all * ia faoiutiea—the-whole energy of JUsflMing . j £ lDinmr * r ^ k nr « tM 0-anything with ard o ur but ri ehea -an d mat erial enj oy- ' ¦ mumfr . UoA-ntibti < tMd- « fatautt Ufe—he beliov-OB in none of * hem , or , rather , ho wmrrn HUstMrnbHtt Hum MAndUL . If Jie ever , iafcea * jyp a juwo ! or io % ious . book , It is , i

    only by way of amusement—to pass the time away . It is a less serious occupation than smoking a pipe , or drinking a cup of tea . If you speak to him of the foundations of faith , of the principles of Christianity , of the importance of salvation , the certainty of a life beyond the grave—all these truths , which so powerfully impress a mind susceptible of religious feeling , he listens to with pleasure , for it amuses him and piques his curiosity . He admits , everything , approves of all you say , does not find the least difficulty , or make . the smallest objection . In his opinion , all this is " true , fine , grand , " and he puts himself into an oratorical attitude , and makes a beautiful speech against idolatry , and in favour of Christianity . He deplores the blindness of men , who attach themselves to the perishable goods of this world ; perhaps he will even give utterance to some fine sentences on the happiness of knowing the true God ;

    of serving him , and of meriting by this means the reward of eternal life . To listen to him , you would think him just ready to become a Christian , in fact , that he was such already ; yet he has not advanced a single step . It must not , however , be supposed that hie speeches are wholly insincere ; he does really—after a fashion—^ -believe what he says ; at all events , he has certainly no conviction to the contrary ; he merely never thinks of religion as a serious matter at all . He likes very well to talk about it ; but it is as of a thing not made for him—that he personally has nothing to do with . The Chinese carry this indifference so far—religious sensibility is so entirely withered or dead within them—that they care not a straw whether a doctrine be true or false , good or bad . Religion is . to them simply a fashion , which those may follow who have a taste for it .

    This is not the hacknej'ed lamentation of a' mere missionary . M . Hue is something better ; and what he says is conflrmed from other quarters . No wonder tSat—iis he frankly admits ^ -the success of missionary work is slight . No wonder that a convulsion has been raised in the country by an energetic pretender to the throne , who is shaking it to the foundations . With regard to this " Celestial Virtue , " M . Hue is not hopeful ; and for his " Christianity , " he will by no means give his voucher . Witness the following , from his preface : — We do not , however , give the slightest credit to the alleged Christianity of the insurgentsand 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 liave mingled in the councils of Tien-te , It is therefoaceaiet wonderful to find among them the doctrine of the unity of . God , and other ideas of Biblical origin , thoughwhimsically expressed . had collection

    The Chinese have also ^ or a long time at ^^ their command a precious of books of Christian doetrine , 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 questionf rom these sources than from the Bibles prudently deposited by the Methodists on the sea-shore . And now , what will be the result of this Chinese insurrection ? Will its . promoters succeed in their design of establishing a new dynasty and a hew worship , more in harmony with their lately adopted faith ? Or will the Son of Heaven have power to re-establish the throne so roughly shaken ? The-recent course of . events is too imperfectly known to us , and appears also too little decisive , to enable us to determine these questions . Yet , notwithstanding the impossibility of forming any well-grounded opinion on the probable isBue of the struggle , the journalists of Europe have declared that were the Tartar dynasty once overthrown , the nation would merely return into its traditional course . It seems to us that this is an error . What is called the Chinese

    systemhas-really . no . existence ; for this expression can be understood in no other sense than by supposing it opposed"lo ^ Tart ' ~ sy 8 t'e ' m ~""' Now''there-is -not r -and-neVer was a Tartar system . The Mantchoo race has , indeed , imposed its yoke upon China , but has had scarcely any influence on the Chinese mind ; it has not been able to do much more . than introduce some slight modifications into the national costume , and force the . conquered people to shave their heads and wear a tail . The Chinese have been governed mostly by the same institutions after as before the conquest ; they have . always remained faithful to . the traditions of their ancestors , and have , in fact , hi a . great measure , absorbed the Tartar race , and imposed upon it their own manners and lan

    civilisation . They have even succeeded in nearly extinguishing the Mantchoo - guage , and replacing it by their own . They have nullified the Tartar action on the Empire , by engrossing the greater part of the offices that atand between the governors and the governed . Almost all employments , in fact , if wo except the chief military posts , and the highest dignities of the State , have become the exclusive inheritance of . the Chineae , who possess , more frequently than the Tartars , the special kinds of knowledge necessary to fill them . As for the Tartars , isolated and lost in the immensity of . the Empire , they have retained the privilege of watching over the security of the frontier , occupying the fortified places , and mounting guard . at the gates of the imperial palace .

    Our space is now exhausted . Let us note , that as a mere book of travels this has much literary merit . M . Hue has an eye for the picturesque , and a rpleaaant tkin vain of genial humour which gives a human interest to his pages .

    ^ The Leidtb. [Satubj>At,

    ^ THE LEiDtB . [ Satubj > at ,

    Monumental History Op Egypt. Tlit Monume...

    MONUMENTAL HISTORY OP EGYPT . Tlit Monumental ' Bistort / of Egypt , as Recorded on the Jtotinsof'her Temples , Palaces , Tombs . By W . -Oaburn . Two Vols . TrUbner . The materials of this history , Mr . Otfburn tells us , are altogether embodied in untranslated "hieroglyphic texts . The Greek historians are almost entirely laid aside . ; the earlier scholiasts are rarely consulted , and the modern Egyptologers are ( told that ithey . have generally reasoned from unsound premises to erroneous conclusions . In this manner does Mr . O . sburn sweep ihe ground clear £ er . the establishment of his own theory . It is nothing to fenm-that profound « nd patient scholars have investigated the records ot < anoient'Egypt , and declared many of them to be unintelligible ; ho is ready i ; o interpret , t > r even to correct , -the hieratic inscriptions to which Chumpollion gave no clue , which' Bunsen cannot decipher , and which oven tlio daring JLepsius has not ventured to translate . In fact , where there hud been enigmas , Mr . Osburn supplies obvious solutions ; whore there had been discrepancies , ho adduces striking coincidences ; and where theire had been irreconcilable dates , a synchronism helps him out of the difficulty . If I" *

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 10, 1855, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_10021855/page/18/