s. There are only three of them, and they are the greatest men
in all China, next to the emperor.

There are many poor men who study hard in hopes to be one of these three.

This is the greatest honor a Chinaman can obtain. But a Christian can
obtain a far greater, even the honor of a crown and a throne in the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming.

The mandarins are all of the religion of Confucius, and despise the poor
who worship Buddha.

ANIMALS AND TREES.--Once there were lions in China, but they have all
been killed; there are still bears and tigers in the mountains and
forests on the borders of the land.

There are small wild-cats, which are caught and fastened in cages, and
then killed and cooked. There are tame cats, too, with soft hair and
hanging ears, which are kept by ladies as pets.

There are dogs to guard the house, and they too are eaten; but as they
are fed on rice only, their flesh is better than the flesh of our dogs.
The dogs are so sensible that they know when the butcher is carrying away
a dog that he is going to kill him, and the poor creatures come round him
howling, as if begging for their brother's life.

The pig is the Chinaman's chief dish; for it can be fed on all the refuse
food, and there is very little food to spare in China.

There are not many birds in China, because there is no room for trees.
Only one bird sings, and she builds her nest on the ground; it is a bird
often heard singing in England floating in the air,--I mean the lark.

In most parts of China men carry all the burdens, and not horses and
asses.

A gentleman is carried in a chair by two men: and a mandarin by four. Yet
the emperor rides on horseback.

THE THREE GREAT CITIES

Pekin on the north.
Nankin in the middle.
Canton on the south.

Pekin is the grandest.
Nankin is the most learned.
Canton is the richest.

At Pekin is the emperor's palace. The gardens are exceedingly large, and
contain hills, and lakes, and groves within the walls, besides houses for
the emperor's relations.

At Nankin is the China tower. It is made of China bricks, and contains
nine rooms one over the other. It is two hundred feet high, a wonderful
height.

Of what use is it? Of none--of worse than none. It is a temple for
Buddha, and is full of his images.

At Canton there are so many people that there is not room for all in the
land; so thousands live on the water in bouts. Many have nev