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wish to imply that the writer does not mean what he says , tve only censure the bad taste which does not see how inappropriate are Christianity and sewage . It is not enough that Hygiene should he recommended , forcibly , on its own merits , but we must be told that the Gospel depends on it for its realisation ! Let us beg the editor of the London Quarterly ( and , indeed , of all other quarterlies ) to consider whether it would not be better to keep theology to its special articles , and not allow it-to be thrown in as a
condiment to science . The next article is a long and vicious one on Secularism— -vicious , we mean , from its abiding and irritable unfairness , its thoroughly unchristian and sophisticate spirit ; it is an article meant for temporary triumph , but which will be read with pain by all impartial persons . The three concluding articles are Public Education , Ultramontanism , and India under the English . Thus , it will be seen , the contents of this new Review are varied , and promise a new and important accession to our periodical literature .
In looking over the magazines left unnoticed last week , we find little demanding special comment . Our old and agreeable friend Fraser is not so sprightly and amusing this month , though there is a tragedy , in one act , on the subject of Dante ' s Madonna Pia , well worth reading . Dante , with his usual energetic concision , makes the unhappy Madonna Pia say : " Sienna me fece , disfeee la Maremma , " and , out of this and the two following lines , the Marquis de Belloy made a tragedy , in one act , which , after a successful performance at the Theatre Francais , was suddenly and without intelligible reason , prohibited . It has been freely and finely rendered by the English adapter . In the Dublin University Magazine there is an interesting paper on The Flowers of the Affections , and one on Popular Geology . The curious series on Irish Hivers is continued—this month devoted to the Suir .
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HISTORY OF THE CHINESE REBELLION . IS Insurrection en Chine ; depuis son origlne jusqy ? a la prise de Nankin . Par MM , Callery et Yvan . London : W . Jeffs , History of the Insurrection in China ; with notices of the Christianity , Creed , and Proclamations of the Insurgents . By MM . Callery and Yvan . Translated from the French ; with a supplementary Chapter , narrating the most recent Events . By John Oxenforcfc Smith , Elder , and Co An insurrection which has for three years been steadily advancing towards its goal—the destruction of a reigning 1 dynasty , —cannot be without interest even to the idle " general reader ; " and when this insurrection is nothing Jess than a revolutionizing of the Chinese Empire , the overthrown of the Mantchou dynasty , the destruction of Buddhist and other idolatries , and the enthronement of Christianity , there is something
more than an interest for the general reader—something more than a topic for politicians . Such an insurrection is chronicled in the work before us . The work is written b y Dr . Yvan , whose former work on China { Voyages et Recits ) was noticed by us on its appearance , and by M . Callery , interpreter to the French Embassy . Although undisguisedly in favour of the revolutionary party , the statements are confirmed b y documents printed in our Pai'liamentary papers . It is an animated , picturesque , amusing story . It has been very well translated by Mr . Oxenford , who has added several brief explanatory notes , and two supplementary chapters , bringing the narrative down to the 7 th of July last ; and . in spite of the want of European interest in Chineso affairs , no one will begin this book , and leave it unread . We select a few of the passages marked for extract : —
HOW THEY MADE AN EMPEROR . " The second Emperor of the dynasty of Tsin , Tsin-che-houang , being already old and infirm , sent his Bon Fou-sou , the heir to the throne , into the north of China , to superintend the defensive works , which three hundred thousand men Avere constructing on the Tartarian frontier . He gave the young prince for his guide and guardian the celebrated Mong-tien , an experienced general , and the most illustrious warrior of his time . While the imperial prince and his three hundred thousand men were working at that great wall of China , which travellers have so much lengthened in their narratives , tho old Emperor Tsin-chc-houang took it into his head to perform a pilgrimage into the southern provinces , to visit tho tombs of his predecessors Clmen and Yu . The latter is tho Deucalion of Chineso mythology , nnd his memory is held in high veneration .
" Tsin-chc-houang performed tins long journey , accompanied by his second son , Hou-hai , and Tcha-kao , chief of tho eunuchs . Tho old Emperor could not support the fatigues of the journey . lie fell ill at a great distance from his capital , and feeling the approach of death , wrote to his oldest son to quit tho frontier , and proceed with nil haste to the capital of the empire , there to receive tho news of his decease , and to celebrate his funeral when his body nhould be brought thither by his faithful servants . The chiof of the eunuchs , whose ; office it was to placo the imperial seal on this despatch and send it to the crown-prince of the empire , fabricated another despatch , and boldly substituted it for that of the dying emperor . Jn this document , which had all the marks of authenticity , Tsin-che-houang ordered tho prince his son , and the illustrious warrior who accom panied him , to kill themselves , by wuy of expiating their transgressions .
" On the day sifter the perpetration of thin fraud , tho Emperor died . The infamouH Tcha-kao then persuaded the . second son to take possession of the throne ; but to effect this usurpation , it was necessary to conceal the doiith of the Emperor for a certain time , in order that the high functionaries , and the young princes , who had remained in the capital , might not of their own accord proclaim the heir , already appointed by the deceased monarch . " Tho eunuch therefore contrived this stratagem . The body , wrapped in fmmptuouH raiment , nnd in the name attitude as during life , was placed in a litter surrounded by a light trellis-work , and concealed by silken curtains . A few initiated porsons could alone approach it , and the eunuch proclaimed throughout the route that the Emperor , wishing to hasten his return , would travel day and night without alighting from his litler . At meal times , the procession stopped for a moment , to take in the food , which wan consumed by a man placed in a litter b y the sido of tho corpse ; but oven tho most ouvjoub eyo could not detect nnything behind tho thick Million curtains
" Unfortunately this took place during the most intense heat of summer , and th corpse soon began to send forth a most intolerable stench , which would ' hav vealed the terrible truth , had not the eunuch contrived a new expedient . He **' in . advance of the procession an ante-dated edict , professedly . issued by the EmpeT ^ which declared that the said Emperor , for the interest of commerce , allowed th * carts of vendors of oysters to take the same route as his cortege . -Formerly th ' had been severely prohibited on , account of the offensive nature of the wares . Th * oysters , which in Chinese are called pao-yu , are the enormous shell fish to ' which naturalists give the name of spondyles , and were then , as now , largely consumed by the people .
" The oyster-dealers took advantage of the permission which was granted thenv nnd consequently cart-loads of spondyles preceded and followed the imperial proces sion , sending forth effluvia which defied the most sensitive nose to detect the putrid exhalations of the corpse among the alkaline exhalations which surrounded it . j n this manner the imperial litter reached the capital amid the sound of gongs and the acclamations of the multitude . " Prince Hou-hai and the eunuch took their measures at once . Having gained over the high functionaries and the soldiers , they announced the death of Tsin-chfl .
houang , and proclaimed the new Emperor . While all this was going on at Pino- , yuen , Fou-sou and Mong-tien received with astonishment the imperial edict which commanded them to kill themselves . The old general observed to his pupil that it was contrary to the rules of sound policy to order generals who commanded 300 , 000 men to die by their own hands , without providing successors , and he was therefore of opinion that the imperial edict was a forgery . However , Fou-sou made the heroic reply that filial piety required him to obey , without examination or discussion , an order bearing his father ' s seal , and stabbed himself without hesitation .
" The accession of Hien-foung was not attended by such disastrous circumstances , though his father had not appointed him in the express terms to which the Chinese , ' who are formalists by nature , attach great importance . He mounted the throne without opposition , and if we have related the catastrophe of Prince Fou-sou , ifrig only for the purpose of showing the reader how easily the most audacious crimes may be perpetrated in a country where an almost invisible sovereign is surrounded by persons who , at any given moment , can conspire together to violate without a struggle the law of succession to the throne . The new Emperor , according to custom , abandoned the name he had hitherto borne , and took that of Hien-foung , which signifies Complete Abundance / " This Hien-foung is the present reigning Emperor , the antagonist of Tien-te , the Pretender . Their portraits are thus sketched : —
" Strange to say , the chief competitors in-this great struggle are two young men scarcely out of their boyhood . The Emperor Hien-foung is only twenty-two years of age . He is of a middle height , and his form indicates great aptitude for bodily exercises . He is slender and muscular . His face , which indicates a certain degree of resolution , is chiefly characterized by a very high forehead , and by an almost defective obliquity of the eyes . His cheek bones are very prominent , and strongly marked . The space between the eyes is large and flat , like the forehead of a buffalo . Hien-foung is of a stubborn and credulous disposition . In the midst of the most effeminate luxury he affects severity of morals , and , notwithstanding his youth , he is already married . The Empress is a Tartar princess , with large feet , totally devoid of that delicacy and fragile gracefulness which belong to the smallfooted Chinese women . The Emperor loves to see her perform the violent exercises which are the delight of the women of her nation , and she often gallops about with
him in the extensive gardens of the palace . " Tien-te , the chief of the insurrection , is not above twenty-three years of ago ; but study and want of rest have made him prematurely old . He is grave and melancholy , leads a very retired life , and only communicates with those about him when he gives his orders . His face is expressive of mildness , but it is a mildness peculiar to certain ascetics , and which neither excludes firmness nor that obstinacy belonging to persons of strong religious convictions . His complexion , which borders on the colour of saffron , is that of the Chinese of the southern provinces . In
stature he is taller than Hien-foung ; but ho appears less robust . Both of them have been influenced by their education ; and their moral are indicated by their physical qualities . The young Emperor , easy in his movements , and with firmness in his glance , has an aspect of haughty command , and requires blind obedience . Tien-te , on tho other hand , has a fixed gaze , which seems to penetrate into the depths of the human soul , and to unmask all its designs . He commands rather by suggestions than by directly giving orders . In a word , ho has the taciturn reserve of a man who has long reflected before ho has made any one the confide "
of his projects . " Tien-to was accompanied by a mysterious councillor , who , from Mr - Oxenford ' s supplementary chapter , there is reason to believe , was the prime mover of tho scheme , and is now the actual chief—the pretender being dead . There is , however , great difliculty in knowing any f » c ' ° the case . Whether under TiJsn-tfc , or another , the revolutionary army lias gradually increased , passing from victory to victory , subduing P " vince after province ; and has , at tho present date , captured Nankin am Amoy . Success is certain . Tho Tartar dynasty must be looked upon as Jos Two more extracts avjII sullico to show tho variety of tho contents : KOBUING A MANDARIN . i
"Ho came on his way to a deep and rapid stream , which could only bo c * os ' . by a swinging bridge of bamboos , Part of tho escort had already crossed to ¦ opposito bank ; Siu stopped his chair , and ordered tho coolies to proceed nl « w' > and cautiously . They obeyed , but had no sooner reached tho niiddlo of tho 1 «>< fTj than » Nudden nhock precipitated them and their burdens into tho stream . » ^ a moment of terrible disorder , ensued . . Tho military chest wn « tit tho 1 ><> ^ ^ oT tho river , and the unfortunate coolies were struggling against , tho c '"?'' j ^ uttering lamentable cries ; while tfiu , enraged , beat , the edge of his chair wi l ^ fan . Fortunately the coolies swam like fishes , and easily gained tho bank . ^ Viceroy would willingly have given thorn the , bastinado , but ho rc ^ . " ntj ,, jf luxury for another time , and ordered the luckless wretches , who wero nt »» P ^ and trembling , to fish up the precious chest without delay , threatening thoin
tho most terrible chastisement if they did not recover it . # . wnf <> r , " The coolies threw off their clothes , and courageously p lunged into tho ^ They were skilful divers , and having duly explored the bottom of 11 >« rlV (^ j ^ j , pueceeded , after many oHbrln , in bringing ashore the precious chest , wluc » » jng wet and covered with mud , had received no damage . Sin lost no time u oV < it placed on the « houlder « of two other coolies , and gavo orders to renew tho . ] > ^ ^ Homo days afterwards , when ho hud reached Chno-King , ono of his ^ r » t ca
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882 THE LEADER . [ Saturday
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 10, 1853, page 882, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2003/page/18/
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