fortifications crowning the elevations which rise abruptly beyond, give the settlement, when approached from the sea, a formidable and ancient appearance. In Macao--as in all communities under Roman Catholic rule--the festivals of that Church are celebrated with much display, and, being under the patronage of the Government, are very generally observed by the people. One of these festivals is known as Corpus Christi Day, on which occasion we witnessed the elevation of the host,--the procession being composed of the bishop, the high officials of the colony, with several orders of priests in their different habits, proved a most imposing pageant. The consecrated wafer was carried by the bishop,--assisted by some of the high dignitaries of the Church,--over whom a satin canopy was upheld by the first civilians of the colony. The procession, with its chanting priests, having issued from the Cathedral, marched through the streets amid the firing of salutes from the guns of the Guia fortress; the military, who were drawn up near where it was to pass, falling on their knees while their canopied bishop moved by, and the band, also,--although continuing to play,--assuming the same posture of adoration. Hundreds of poor Chinamen were gathered to witness this august spectacle, most of whom were doubtless unable to perceive any difference between prostrating one’s-self before the host, or before their ancestral tablets and the gods of Buddha. It was a sad sight, and the more so, as these Romish priests and their people are looked upon by the Chinese as representatives of Christianity. Such displays, however, are well calculated not only to attract and gain the hearts of the Portuguese and the mixed races of the colony, but also those of many of the Chinese. A small company, composed of the soldiers garrisoning the forts, constitute a military dancing troupe, who, at the festival of St. John, hold a sort of carnival which lasts through several evenings, and is thought by the Portuguese to add greatly to the festivities of the occasion. As this festival occurs in the month of June, we had an opportunity of witnessing some of these evening entertainments.