rs, or to the fact that the
sites of their graves have not been judiciously selected, and the
dissatisfied spirits are taking vengeance for these neglects or mistakes.
Another consideration which seems to exert much influence, is that if they
neglect the spirits of their ancestors, their descendants may neglect them.

"For the present life they can think of no higher happiness than success in
acquiring wealth, and the highest happiness after death consists in having
sons to supply the wants of their spirits. These are the two objects that
engross the highest aspirations of a Chinaman."

INFANTICIDE

"This will account in part for the barbarous custom of infanticide which
prevails to so lamentable an extent among these heathen. Only female
infants are destroyed. While the parents are living the son may be of
pecuniary advantage to them, and after their death, he can attend to the
rites of their souls, and even after his death, through him the parents may
have descendants to perform the ancestral rites. A daughter on the
contrary, it is supposed, will only prove a burden in a pecuniary point of
view, and after she is married she is reckoned to the family of her
husband. Her children, also, except her husband otherwise order, are only
expected to attend to the spirits of their paternal ancestors."

"Some have denied the existence of the practice of infanticide among the
Chinese, or, they have asserted that if it does exist, the practice of it
is very unusual. Every village which we visit in this region gives
evidence that such persons are not acquainted with this part of the empire.
A few days ago a company of us visited the village of Kokia. It is
situated on the northern extremity of Amoy Island, and contains, perhaps,
two thousand inhabitants. After walking through the village we sat down
for a short time under the shade of a large banyan tree. A large concourse
of people soon gathered around us to see the foreigners and hear what they
had to say. In this crowd we found by counting nearly a hundred boys, and
but two or three girls. Also when walking through the village very few
girls were to be seen. The custom of binding the feet of the girls, which
greatly affects their power of locomotion, would account for more boys
being seen than girls, but will not account for the disparity noticed. We
therefore inquired the cause of this disparity. They answered with
laughter that female children are killed. The same questio