so easily at defiance, and take and retain his towns at pleasure. An immense revolution of opinion must be fast working here. Many Chinese boys in our service are already ashamed of their countrymen as compared with ours, and could not be prevented from cutting off their own tails themselves; though this has hitherto been considered a most degrading punishment. The revolution of opinion spoken of in regard to military prowess, must have made rapid strides since the victory of Sykee; for, after this event, certain official documents were found, that threw a curious light on the schemes that had been concocted by the childishly-cunning people, in as far as war was concerned, for the overthrow and destruction of the "outer barbarian." One sage John Chinaman, advises his brethren "to fight with the sword alone, to advance by files and take off the barbarian heads, and then leave room for another file to advance and take as many more." An inducement in the shape of a rich bribe is offered to Sir Hugh Gough, in order to bring about a most unconditional surrender. "Even your posterity will share in this." And then how affectionate and friendly and coaxing the hint to our people, that "after so long an absence, at so great a distance, your mothers and sisters must be longing for your return." But now to give some notices of Chinese warfare: begin with these, Search having been made for a soldier of the 49th who was missing, his body (in consequence of information given to Mr. Gutzlaff) was found in a house not many yards from head-quarters. He had been murdered in broad daylight, strangled, bound, and bagged with the view of being carried over the walls at night. He was servant to one of the officers, and a very powerful man. A young sailor of H. M. S. "Columbine," having strayed from his boat, was seized with violence and nearly carried off; he escaped, however, by the sudden and unexpected use of his knife on the kidnappers, and joined his comrades who were not far off. The villains escaped, but their boat with cords and a bag was found in a neighbouring canal. This is truly a celestial, enlightened, and flowery empire, where they carry on war by such grand means as bagging the enemy. They are keen sportsmen and are becoming very expert. About the same time another marine was carried off at Chinhae, as also a black cook. The ir dignation of both officers and men here, against the Chinese, is very great and very natural. I am glad that our chief does not partake of it, but judges as coolly of the business as all of us on reflection shall do a few years or even months hence. Nevertheless, I take good care of myself, for it must be no joke to be bagged and made game of for these rascally Mandarins, whether we be killed or kept alive in cages. I regard every illlooking Chinaman in Ningpo, as a pheasant or partridge may be supposed to eye a keen sportsman; except, that unless the odds were very great, flight would, in my case, hardly be proper. If the Fokies (as we call them) look grave, we say, "See the sulky villain." If, on the other hand, they smile, we exclaim, "Oh, the hypocrites! they smile now, but how quietly they would bag you if they dared." If, lastly, they avoid us or run away, it is, "After them, they know their guilt, or they would not be afraid." In addition to this, some of the soldiers, and especially the followers, if no officer is by, purchase of things at their own prices, and beat and ill-treat poor Fokey. Foky, be it borne in mind, is the Chinese word for friend, and was with the British the common appellation of all the natives. This of the affair at Ningpo : The horrors of war first struck me when the enemy had ceased firing, for I was then not aware that it was the General himself who, at the head of the 49th, had carried the larger encampment. Two British sailors and a soldier, about fifty yards apart from each other, formed the points of a triangle, in which six or eight Chinese were running helpless about over the paddy fields, some disarmed and others with swords in their hands. Our three men were loading and firing at them as coolly as if they were crows, and bayoneting to death those who fell wounded. I endeavoured to stop them, but they paid no attention to me. A soldier who was following me in search of his regiment took a shot himself, and said to me, "if we don't kill them now, Sir, they will fight us again, and we shall never finish the war. Next attend to the capture of Chinkeangfoo: When the town was taken, the author, who was nearly dying of thirst, broke into some houses and drank a quantity of cold tea; but his thirst was not half appeased when he heard there was a well of beautiful water in the neighbourhood. He hastened to try it. Never had he quaffed any thing more delicious. He recommended it to his friends. The well was universally extolled; and it was not, I believe, till the following morning, that nine bodies of women and children were found, which had been thrown into it, when the enemy despaired of success. The interior of the Tartar part of the town stank of mortality for many days after the capture. There were also many dead in the small houses in the suburbs. On one occasion, on looking into a low little tent made of mattings, the author saw a corpse hanging by what appeared like a piece of twisted linen. The knees of the corpse were bent, the toes were on the ground. Such was the more than Roman resolution of our hitherto despised foes. Notices of the river Yang-tse-keang will be acceptable: Unless the Mississippi and Missouri are to be considered as one river, then, the Amazon being the first, the Yang-tse-Keang is the second river in the world in point of length. If you consider, however, the countless canals which it supplies with water, to keep under constant irrigation the surrounding country, the commerce which it carries on its breast, the fruitfulness displayed on its banks, where the richness of the foliage and the greenness of the herbage are quite astonishing; if, lastly, you add the depth and volume of its waters, it has some claims, I conceive, to the very first place among the rivers of the globe. In going up the river, nautically speaking, the left, geographically the right bank of the river, is the most picturesque side. The ranges of hills were frequently quadruple, the nearest sweeping down gracefully and gradually towards the river. The other side for a long way is very flat. The neat little villages were frequently, if not generally, placed in an angle formed by a canal and the great river. The villagers as we passed crowded towards the mouth of their canals. Great, doubtless, was their astonishment at the noble, and, to them, novel sight of a British fleet of warships and transports, the latter glistening with scarlet. None of these men had ever seen a ship more powerful or larger than a Chinese junk of war. No greater astonishment would probably have been felt by a pigmy of yore, at first view of any of the giants, "men of renown," who lived in "those days." We conclude with less serious matters, but such as lend an insight into social life and national character, the Field Officer's sketches of these things being remarkably clever. This of portrait painters is good: Chinese artists abound. Some-the pupils of Chinnery-are very respectable performers. Lunquah is the first; but he is gone to Canton. They take accurate likenesses, and will make copies of paintings to resemble the originals to such a degree that none but an artist can tell the difference. They don't know how to flatter yet; but English dollars will one day teach 'them that profitable art. A lady at Macao was having her portrait drawn. As the work proceeded, she expressed her strong dissatisfaction at the performance. "Spose,” said the painter, " you smile a little he lookee better." 'Twas vain; for when the "pigeon" was done, the indignation of the fair one was so great and so disagreeably expressed, that the irritated artist naively exclaimed, "If handsome face no got, how handsome face can make?" English artists could teach him. The word pigeon, we are told in a note, is Anglo-Chinese for business, a word which the flowery people cannot pronounce. "The constant use of the former between the Chinese and English is one of the drollest things which first strikes a stranger." This of Chinese ladies' nails: Not long before the evacuation of Ningpo, a report was brought very early one morning to Mr. Gutzlaff, that the head of his Chinese police, who resided about a quarter of a mile from head quarters, had disappeared, as also one of his wives, while the other lay murdered in the house. Mr. Gutzlaff, a soldier, and myself, proceeded to inspect the house, to see if we could trace any signs of the murdering kidnappers. We found the woman lying on the floor with her throat cut. She had been dead some hours. While looking at her, I observed what appeared like thin brown slips of bamboo loosely fastened round her wrists; and remarked to Mr. G. how singular it was that they should have found it necessary to bind her. But he exclaimed "those areher nails;" and true enough it was, as I found when I looked close. It appears that fine ladies are in the habit when going to bed of softening their nails in warm water, and then winding them round their wrists to prevent their being injured. This phenomonon is not so wonderful when you consider that five long nails are to be thus secured on each fair wrist. Last of all take a sketch of the interior of a temple, and what is not less important, a testimony to the credit of the 55th: One goddess, of huge proportions, has a small puppet in its arms. Indeed this group of half-painting and half-sculpture reminded me of the Madonna de la San Sisto at Dresden; not, however, from the beauty of its execution. The whole building had a Roman Catholic appearance. The gods and goddesses were much carved, and were inlaid as if all the colours of the rainbow had been taxed, and some more. The best statues were simply carved (out of wood, I suppose) and richly gilt. Some of these were really well done. We supposed they represented the sages of China. They had Chinese countenances, and many of them appeared to be expounding like orators. Of the gods, I can call to mind two monsters sitting; one with a lyre, and one with a huge drawn sword in his hand. Our friend of the lyre was anything but an Apollo in appearance; and though he smiled, it was in such sort as to disgust rather than please. The swordsman had huge round eyes, and looked very savage indeed. In one of the court-yards in front of the temple, we ascended to look at a large bell. There are many larger in England; but this was very handsomely carved in the Chinese fashion. We also saw at the joss-house a school of literati (apparently) sitting at a long table. Most of them were middle-aged men. They had a president, who beat time with a stick on a scarlet thing not very unlike the top of a huge skull, while the rest followed him in a monotonous sing-song perusal of some work, all having small pamphlets in their hands. They did not take much notice of my fellow-passengers and myself. Though part of the 55th were quartered for nearly six weeks in this temple, we could not observe that any damage had been done even to the gilded sages above noticed; a fact greatly to the credit of British discipline. NOTICES. ART. XIII.-The Prophet of the Nineteenth Century. By the Rev. H. CASWALL, M.A. "THE Prophet of the Nineteenth Century; or, the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints," our readers will obseve, is the production of the same rev. gentleman, the Professor of Divnity in Kemper College, Missouri, whose "Three Days at Nauvoo" was nade by us the subject of an article a few months back. The present work is on a larger scale, and the result of further inquiry, as well as of deeper reflection, forming a handsome volume; but what is of more importance, containing one of the most extraordinary stories that ever had amply ascertained facts for a subject, and exceeding anything which imagination could have concocted. The rise, progress, and present state of the "Latter Day Saints, certainly furnish an example of truth being more wonderful than fiction. But what an appalling truth is it! and what an illustration of the monstrous credulity and gullibility of mankind! That upwards of one hundred thousand persons are at this moment, counting those in Great Britain as well as America, so far misled by an ignorant, uneducated, gross, and debauched blackguard, by name Joe Smith, as to believe him to be an inspired person, and to be favoured with daily direct communications with heaven, staggers one's mind, and must be regarded as only less miraculous than the fact would be if the gift of prophecy were really conferred in the nineteenth century on any of the human race. What are we to say to the statement, that in the course of last year about 5,000 persons set sail from Liverpool to lay themselves at the feet of this grovelling wretch, these emigrants being for the most part in comfortable circumstancs, and few of them, we may safely presume, unschooled? But there are other marvels connected with Mormonism; for, according to recent intelligence, Joe and his infatuated followers are threatening to resist the authorities of the State of Illinois, where they have founded their city. But we have not yet done with the wonders; for must it not be set down amongst the strangest instances of ignorance, that even in England, multitudes of intelligent people are still uninformed with regard to the existence of this rapidly-increasing sect, while another multitude of worthy people appear to treat the story with indifference? It is now to be hoped, however, that the public mind will be aroused to the frightful and perilous enormity, and that Mr. Caswall's narrative and representations will receive the grave attention that the subject, which he so earnestly and becomingly handles, merits. As a story, indeed, few books can yield anything more exciting, the hero of it being one of the expertest of swindlers, and offering such a variety of incidents, vicissitudes, and inventions, as sustain the interest, with the power of a skilfully constructed romance to the close of the volume, when the reader's mind necessarily falls back upon itself in profound cogitation, or looks forward with awe and fearful foreboding with regard to the social and moral results threatened by the "Latter-Day Saints." Having laid before our readers, on the appearance of Mr. Caswall's former publication, an account of some of the more striking passages in the history of the "Prophet of the Nineteenth Century," it is not necessary that we go into the larger and more particular narrative now before us. We quote one passage belonging to the conduct of the early converts, which will convey some idea of the extravagance to which they carry their antics and delusions, there being an allusion also to deeds of darker hue than can properly come under the designation of antics, or anything that is only monstrously ridiculous. "Many would fall upon the floor, where they would lie for a long tme apparently lifeless. The fits usually came on during or after their pryer |