The passions of men, therefore, have a very wide scope for their operations, and the consequence is the Chinese are anything but a highly moral race of people. That they are less so than other Eastern peoples is very seriously to be doubted, for wherever men feel themselves unrestrained excepting by an impersonal Force that does not question too closely the daily life of a man, the home virtues as practised by the true Christian are sure to be neglected and ignored. With regard to the Chinese, the facts above stated are abundantly verified by the records of the hospitals that have been opened by foreigners throughout the country for the treatment of the sick, and also by the elaborate system that is in existence in every town and city, as well as in the market places and even in the larger villages throughout the Empire, to meet the social evil that everywhere exists. There is one thing that mitigates somewhat the terrible tragedy of this widespread disregard for chastity, and that is that it is sedulously kept in the background, and the public gaze is never allowed to rest upon it. Day or night one might pass throughout the public thoroughfares, and along the less frequented side streets, or into the lowest slums of a great city, and yet no sign of anything wrong either on the streets or in the dwelling-houses could be discovered by the most critical eye. One of the ideals of Chinese life is purity. It is sung about in their ancient songs, and is the theme of the great poets who composed their lyrics and their epic poems in the centuries that have fled. It is the one element that goes to the making of a sage, and no man who is deficient in this beautiful grace can ever hope to win the homage and respect of his fellow-men. It is this ideal virtue that seems to permeate the atmosphere in which men live with its impalpable touch that has made the nation desire to hide the grossness of their lives from one another, and to put on an air of innocence that they do not possess. The immoral tendency of the Chinese mind is seen in a variety of ways. One very offensive one to a person who is acquainted with the language is the obscene character of the swearing that the people indulge in as a matter of common usage. It is quite safe to say that everybody in China, learned or unlearned, refined or unrefined, lady or gentleman, does habitually use bad language, and it is particularly painful to have to listen to the loathsome expressions that people hurl at each other when they are in a passion and wish to cut into the very soul of the person with whom they may be at variance. In passing along the street, one now and again comes upon a group that has been attracted by a quarrel, say, between two women, who, inflamed by passion, use the most degraded language, and for the time being ignore their sex, and seem to be utterly regardless of the number of people that are silent witnesses of their depravity.