From the age of ten the females are kept very secluded, and have no opportunity of intercourse with the other sex until they are married. In fact, they never see their intended until the time of marriage. Some of them, we should judge, would be sadly disappointed when they come to look at each other for the first time. All that they know of each other before marriage is through their fathers, mothers, or aunts, which, we should think, would be rather unsatisfactory. Yet we are inclined to the belief that they do, by some hook or crook, manage sometimes to get a glimpse of each other’s faces before marriage, else how could the following lines have come into existence, especially the third line of the third verse? It is said to be Chinese, though we rather incline to the contrary: “Oh, daughter of the great Ching-Chum, Whose eyes like Kasian diamonds glow, And wilt thou love thy Fa-fe-Fum, My sweet, my lovely Ho-ang Ho? “The swans their downy plumage lave Where Lano’s wandering waters flow; But can the swans of Lano’s wave Compare with thee, my Ho-ang Ho? “Six moons have traveled through the skies, And softly gleamed on Kifing-O, Since first thy beauty met my eyes, Light of my soul, my Ho-ang Ho. “Oh! when I clasp thee to my breast, Chang-fee, to whom the nations bow, Shall not be half so truly bless’d As Fa-fe-Fum and Ho-ang Ho!” The birth of a son is an occasion of great rejoicing; the family, or surname, is first given, and then the “milk name,” which is generally some diminutive endearment. A month after the event, the relatives and friends jointly send the child a silver plate, on which are engraven, “Long life, honors, and felicity.” The boys are trained in behavior and ceremonies from their earliest childhood; and at four or five they commence reading. The importance of general education was felt so long since in China, that a work, written before the Christian era, speaks of the _ancient_ system of instruction, which required that every town and village, down to only a few families, should have a common school. The wealthy Chinese employ private teachers, and others send their sons to day-schools, which are so well attended that the fees paid by each boy are extremely small. In large towns evening schools are held, that those who are compelled to labor through the day may not be without the advantages of education.