The new doctrine proclaims the eternity of Heaven and sixteen worlds, and that, in the highest of them, the lucky inhabitants taste of perpetual felicity unmixed with sorrow. These worlds are liable to destruction and renewal and they reckon 18,000 years since the renewal of the actual earth. They grant the existence of a hell, but the priests never mention the torments prepared for the wicked, lest they should intimidate the feeble minded. Polygamy is the reward hoped for in the next world by the righteous, but as this doctrine is somewhat distasteful to the women, they are told that those who lead a godly life will be changed into men. The same reward is promised to all those who bestow their wealth on religious objects, by the assurance that the donor will have as many women as could be purchased by the treasure they have laid up in heaven. The priests, sworn to celibacy, console themselves with the belief that after death they will have the power to create a number of women with whom they may do as they please. They practise chastity during their lifetime with the sole idea of satiating their vicious desires in the next world, and that which is regarded as a virtue in Heaven is considered to be a vice on earth. Their monasteries are schools of debauchery or are filled with men of the lowest class. Puffed up with the dignity of their office they compel such a respect that the chief of the nation himself can refuse to grant it at his peril only. Their cells are separate and that of the abbot is magnificently appointed. Gold and silk and articles of luxury are everywhere apparent. Seated on a dazzling throne the abbot receives the worship of his underlings and of the devout public. I shall not enter into details of their mode of life as I should then be obliged to repeat what I have already remarked about the priests, but I ought to mention certain customs which seem to justify the opinion of those who maintain that Christianity in its early forms was established among these people. On the fourteenth day of every month they are obliged to assemble to make a public confession of their sins. A humble avowal is sufficient to gain absolution, and as the penances are not painful, backsliders are frequent. They frequently employ holy water of which they always keep a supply handy. They consider that it is a highly efficacious remedy against the severest diseases.