The tombs are built of white marble, in the Chinese style of architecture, and the large space of ground on which they stand is surrounded by a thick wall with battlements, as though the builders had feared that the sacred spot would have need of defence. The Chinese generally, whatever their rank, make as much display as they can possibly afford in their funeral rites. The procession is usually extended to a great length and preceded by solemn music; the melancholy tones of a sort of clarionet being accompanied at intervals by three strokes of the drum. White standards inscribed with the name and age of the deceased and a vast number of white lanterns are carried in the train. The coffin is surmounted by a canopy and followed by the chief mourner, dressed in a garment of sackcloth, fastened round his waist with a cord, and a cap of the same material with a white bandage. He is supported by his brothers or two nearest relatives; after whom succeed, in a numerous procession, the friends and relatives, all habited in coarse white cloth, some on foot, others in sedan-chairs covered with white serge, these being mostly the females of the family, who utter loud lamentations the whole way. One of the principal objects in the procession is the tablet, which is sometimes carried in a gilded chair, and is taken back, after the interment, to be placed in the hall of ancestors. At the side of the tomb are erected temporary buildings of mat or bamboo, where refreshments are laid out on tables by the attendants while the friends are making the sacrifices and burning incense at the tomb. If the deceased has been a gentleman of high rank, it is not uncommon for his sons to remain several weeks on the spot, living in

bamboo huts, that they may renew their expressions of grief and make new offerings each day to the manes of the departed, and, in obedience to the injunctions of the ancient sages, "sleep upon straw with a sod of earth for a pillow."

CHAPTER XI.

THE GREAT KIEN-LUNG.

THE two great emperors of later ages in China were

Kang-hi and Kien-lung. Their reigns are extraordinary in history for having covered each the term of sixty years that of the former indeed was extended to sixty-one-and, including Yung-ching, who came between them, the father, son and grandson occupied the throne of China one hundred and forty-six years! And the reigns of the former and latter were as prosperous as they were long. Kang-hi was the ablest of the two and the more accomplished. His eminent literary character, and his solicitude for the intellectual and moral improvement of his people, have added a special lustre to his memory. But the name of his grandson will ever be connected with his, as worthy of the epithet 'great," in the history of this dynasty.

Kien-lung succeeded his father Yung-ching in the year 1735. On the day of his installation, while performing the customary rites in the hall of imperial ancestors, the young monarch made a vow that, "should he, like his illustrious grandfather Kang-hi, be permitted to complete the sixtieth year of his reign, he would show his gratitude to heaven by resigning the crown to his heir, as an acknowledgment that he had

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been favored to the full extent of his wishes." The vow was made in all sincerity, and the noble prince was spared to fulfill it. Not only in longevity, but also in the qualities which constitute a great ruler, he resembled his grandfather Kang-hi. He encouraged Chinese learning by cultivating it himself, and some of his poetical compositions are considered to possess intrinsic merit, independently of their being the productions of an emperor. The first public act of his reign was to recall from exile all who were still living of those unhappy members of the royal race who had been banished by his predecessor in consequence of their attachment to the Christian religion. The exiles returned in a very destitute condition, for all their property had been confiscated to the state, and as no portion of it had been restored, they had no means of subsistence but small pensions, to which they were entitled as princes of the blood, and which were wholly inadequate to the maintenance of a family.

It is a custom of long standing in China to provide for all the relatives of the emperor by granting them pensions in money, silks and rice; which allowances are larger or smaller according to the degree of affinity in which the pensioners stand to the throne; those who are more than five degrees removed being allowed only a bare subsistence. These princes, who are very numerous, occupy a most unfortunate position in society; for, with the exception of a few of the highest rank, who may happen to be honored with the emperor's especial favor, they are of necessity an idle, useless class of beings, treated as mere appendages to the court, and debarred from those opportunities of distinguishing themselves which

are freely accorded to all other members of the state. A prince of the blood is excluded from holding public employments or from the pursuit of any occupation with a view to emolument. He has therefore no inducement to give much of his attention to study, since. learning does not procure for him the same advantages that are derived from literary attainments by men of humbler birth. As a body, therefore, the princes of the empire are said to be illiterate men.

There are two branches of these idlers-the first being descended in a direct line from the famous Manchu conqueror, Tien-ming; the second, from the uncles and brothers of that great hero. The former take precedence in rank, and are distinguished by a yellow girdle; while the latter, being more distantly allied to the emperor, are only permitted to wear a red girdle. They are all obliged to live within the precincts of the court, to attend all the levées, to follow in the train of the emperor whenever he appears abroad; and in fact they are mere puppets, who seem to exist for no other purpose than to increase the pomp of the imperial

retinue.

The recall of the exiles gave hopes to those who were interested in the diffusion of Christianity that the emperor was inclined to countenance, or at least to tolerate, the preaching of the missionaries; which he did for some time. At length, however, the higher officers of the court presented a memorial on the subject to the emperor, who suffered himself to be persuaded, against his better judgment, not to afford any further protection or encouragement to the teachers of Christianity.