ing to the prevalence of eye diseases and the poverty and
ignorance of the people in coping with these, than in the West;
and as blind girls do not bring much money when disposed of as
wives, so they are sold in large numbers into a life of shame.
Poor little slaves! Because they are deprived of the natural light
of day, so they are destined never to see a ray of moral light
enter their miserable existence! We saw three or four little blind
girls who had been rescued, by these Christian workers, from their
terrible fate; but these are only a few rare exceptions out of the
thousands that are borne on into the tide of shame and anguish
continually."

Of the many girls we interviewed at Hong Kong the story of the
following seems typical of her class, so we extract it from our
journal:

"At the first place we called there were six inmates--four of whom
were present at the interview. The keeper went out of the room as
we entered, and did not return. The girls were very friendly, and
one of them talked a little English. This one told us that she
came from Canton, and, in broken English, said that she had 'no
father, no mother, no brother; a poor man took her when a _very_
little child and raised her to sell. By and by a woman came and
offered to buy poor man's little girl, and as he had but little
food, he asks, 'How much?' then she buys the little girl and
brings her to Hong Kong. Then woman take her to Englishman and
say, 'She first-class girl,' and he say, 'I make her my wife,' but
he not good; he no husband; he go away to his house--England.'
Thus she described in a few simple words the tragedy of her life
with tears in her eyes; her training for vice; her sale; her hopes
of marriage; her desertion; the outcome, her consignment to a
Government-licensed brothel. She was but one of the tens of
thousands at Hong Kong. We asked, 'How would a girl have to do in
order to live in this house?' They said, 'She must be registered
at the Lock. Hospital, and would have to go to the Court and Mr.
Lockhart (the Registrar-General) would ask her questions; whether
she had a father and mother; how old she was; _where the money
went to that was paid for her_; and whether she wanted to be a
prostitute or not.' We asked, 'If a girl should say that she _did
not_ want to be a prostitute what would be done?'