some one shall appear to claim her, and to undergo the punishment due to his negligence.” By the despotic laws of China a man not only suffers for his own crimes, but it is often ordained that his wife, all his mistresses, his children, and his near relations, shall be put to death, or sold into slavery. Suicide is said to be more common with both sexes in China, than in any part of the world. The habits of this singular people are very uncleanly. They seldom wash their garments, and do not, like most Asiatics, bathe frequently. It is said that the bandages round the women’s little feet sometimes drop to pieces without ever having been changed. Great numbers of people live continually in boats on the water. The children are tied to the raft with ropes, so that they can run about; and sometimes their mothers fasten an empty gourd about their necks, to keep them above water, in case they fall overboard. Many persons born in these floating dwellings never quit them till they die. Some of the Chinese customs are much despised by their Tartar conquerors. The Tartar women, instead of cramping their feet, add to their natural length by shoes with a long curved toe. The Chinese, in derision, call them Tartar junks, from the resemblance they bear to those vessels. These women have a frank confident look, and appear freely in the streets, either walking, riding on horseback after the fashion of men, or carried by two bearers on a little open carriage supported by one wheel. Like the Chinese women, they cover their faces with paint, but have naturally a more delicate complexion. They are in general well formed. A small waist is regarded by them as a peculiar characteristic of beauty. Their hair is turned up all round, tied on the top of the head, after the Chinese fashion, and almost always adorned with flowers. The constant habit of smoking and chewing betel makes their teeth yellow. At the new and full moon Tartar women sacrifice to a household god, called the Spirit of the Door. Two lighted tapers are placed on a small altar, and leaves of gold and silver paper are burned in a pan of perfumes. This is done with the idea of warding off certain malignant influences, which might bring disasters on the dwelling.