preserving what has been created rather than in producing aught of credit for the present. It must be conceded that the signs of past ability in nearly every direction of human thought and labor compare favorably with the remains of any nation; and with that China is satisfied. Progress and the adaptation of the mental powers to the requirements of modern needs find no favor with the average Chinaman; and perhaps it is in some sense fortunate for our amour propre that it is so, for if the tremendous mental acumen and brain subtlety possessed by this singular and very gifted race were earnestly applied to the problems of modern life it is extremely doubtful if the intellectual superiority of the Caucasian would be so much in evidence as appears at present. In real mental power, in the ability to grasp the most abstruse conceptions, I doubt if there can be found the equal of the better class of Chinese scholar. The native of Japan and his yellow brother of China have, however, a marked characteristic in common, and so pervading is this trait and so important as an indication of remote common origin that I think sufficient stress has not been laid upon it by ethnologists and observers. I refer to the persistence and infinite patience shown in carrying out the greatest works without the aid of machinery-"infinite repetition of individual effort" in all branches of labor. In the minds of the people of these two nations time is not an element entering into calculation, and the cost of a piece of work is apparently computed with sole reference to the quantity of labor expended without taking into account. the time as such. The native of Japan is willing to admit that he is not the aboriginal-that is, that he displaced a preceding raceand in doing so either absorbed or destroyed that race. of the Son of Heaven. He aspires to be first in everything, and in consequence has convinced himself that his race is the only one ever inhabiting the land where reigns the Celestial Empire. The Chinaman contends that he is aboriginal, actually to the manor born, and that China belongs to the Chinese because no other race ever occupied the soil. It must be admitted that the argument is on the side of the Chinaman, for no history or literature contains the slightest mention of his predecessors. The written records of Japan and China are daily becoming more accessible to the western scholar, and, notwithstanding the disbelief in their accuracy and value, these ancient documents will probably give as much real history as other ancient records of nations better known to the scholastic world. In the matter of domestic architecture Japan and China are at the antipodes. Throughout the Mikado's Empire the people inhabit structures of wooden framework surrounded by paper walls, so that a fierce wind will often blow the sides of a house in on one side and out on the other. The roofs of these slightly built houses are, however, of strong and heavy timbers, bearing a covering of earthen tiles or thick thatching. The frequent and widespread conflagrations in Japanese cities are not regarded as inflictions to be regretted; on the contrary, the huge fires which sometimes consume hundreds of dwellings are looked upon as blessings, their cleansing and sanitary effects more than offsetting the material losses. The almost painful cleanliness in a Japanese house is a never-ending subject of comment by foreigners, and the heartiness with which the maids of all work rub and scrub and deluge with water every available bit of wood-work is a real revelation of the innate cleanliness of the little brown man" and all his belongings. The result of all this per Not so the proud and haughty subject sistent cleaning is that throughout the Empire not an evil smell nor a filthy spot can be found. The vile odors caused by the collection and transportation of human excreta for fertilizer are forcible proof, though not apparent at first, of the instinctive spirit of cleanliness throughout Japan. With the Chinaman all this is almost exactly reversed. A Chinese house is built in the most substantial manner— of stone or tiles. It is, in fact, according to a trite proverb, intended to last forever, and its condition, while neat, is not especially clean. The condition of the streets in a Chinese city literally staggers belief. The villainous smells rising from the nameless filth of a street in a populous city cannot be adequately described. Although in domestic architecture these two peoples are so diametrically different, their ecclesiastical constructions are strikingly alike. A Buddhist temple of Japan might be set up in China and little difference would be noted in the building itself, but in its ornamentation, exterior and interior, especially in the images and figures, a marked dissimilarity is observable. In the Chinese temple there is a certain grotesqueness and unreality which is lacking in the Japanese figures. Not only is this true Not only is this true of the modeling and action, but in coloring the difference between the artistic sense of the two nations is very striking. The acute observer can readily assign to a colored figure its correct origin by these characteristics of the two nations whose ecclesiastical art has a common genesis. It is proper to note, however, that in neither example do these artists of the Far East approach in any degree the western standards. The charitable organizations among the dwellers in the Celestial Empire are the wonder of the western observer. The altruism born of countless centuries of civilization finds expression in charity as comprehensive in its methods as it is universal in its expression. In China there is scarcely a type of misery, of poverty, of sickness, of distress, without its corresponding charity among the more fortunate classes. In fact, charitable organizations are not confined to the rich, but among the poor themselves societies flourish and guilds exist for the amelioration of the condition of those occupying the social strata down to the very bottom in the scale of misery. The indigent, the sick, the maimed, the friendless, the blind, the beggar, the laborer, the young, the old, the living, and the dead-all in need of food, clothing, medicines, shelter, assistance, burialare the objects of definite charitable societies, whose members, while constantly on the lookout for their less fortunate neighbors, seldom or never apply for assistance in their good work from the few non-members of some guild or society. Not only are the distressed and sick assisted, but the coolie, the laborer on the bund, the bearer of burdens, is the object of care and charity, and close beside the streets, crowded with porters, “pole coolies," and wheelbarrow carriers, huge earthenware jars of tea are set out, furnished with cups, for the use of those who have no season of rest save on the completion of the task in hand. And it is a pleasant sight to see the smile with which a well-dressed Chinaman will hand a cup of tea to his ragged, sweating brother, burdened almost to exhaustion and parched with thirst. In these charities, as in all other things, the Chinaman is practical, and fine-spun theories give way to the actualities of every-day life. In practical philanthropy the Japanese and the Chinaman are widely separated, for notwithstanding the fact that charitable organizations exist and flourish among the subjects of the Mikado, they are neither so numerous nor so far-reaching as with the subjects of the Son of Heaven. Heaven. The Japanese altruism deals rather with theory than with facts; so that the whole difference may be put in a nutshell by the phrase, "The Chinaman does much and says little; the Japanese says much and does little." In both nations, however, the poor and crippled possess special privileges never interfered with by their more fortunate neighbors. It is said that robbery from a beggar is an unknown crime in either nation. The "Potter's Field" has no existence in China. The guilds for the burial of the dead see to it that no corpse is unprovided with a coffin and a definite burial place. During my stay in Shanghai a terrible accident on the Woosung Bar resulted in the wreck of the steamer On Wo and the drowning of several hundreds of coolies embarked for passage up the Yangtze. These men were of the very poorest class of laborers, and as their bodies were brought to the banks few were identified by friends or relatives for burial. Under the personal supervision, however, of a local mandarin, the member of a funeral society, every unclaimed body was placed in a decent coffin and properly buried after the Chinese style Among the Japanese the practice of cremation has long been in vogue, and this method of caring for the dead is adopted for the safe disposition of the remains of those dying without friends or money. In fact, on account of the ravages made by cholera at intervals, the crematorium has become an adjunct to nearly all the cemeteries in the Empire. Among both peoples, however, public mendicancy is a recognized institution, and the street beggar is sure of alms; so it must strike the thoughtful mind that our western civilization does not possess a monopoly in charity, either organized or individual, and that altruism is the property of the human family rather than of any particular branch of that family. These far eastern eleemosynary institutions will surely bear comparison with any mentioned in history. In the eyes of the Chinaman the soldier is a man defiled by blood, and in the social scale the fighter finds a place in popular estimation with the butcher, the tanner, and the preparer of the dead for burial. It follows from this that the dependence of the Empire for its defense is now and has been for many centuries the arts of the diplomat rather than the generalship of the soldier. Notwithstanding this condition, however, the Chinese have in the course of their long national history done some good fighting on various occasions and for various reasons, and it is not putting the case too strongly to assert that in the future the Chinese will give a good account of themselves on the field of battle in defense of their country, their Emperor, and of their national existence. The Passing how to the Japanese side, we see a nation so filled with patriotism, so earnest in defense of national honor, and so proud of their country, that from the earliest times they have been a fighting people. Altruism, as applied to a common enemy, has found no place in Japanese ethics, and today, having adopted the so-called western methods of warfare afloat and ashore, Dai Nippon is competent and willing to hold its own in any attack from any direction. fighting man-the soldier-of Japan, in public estimation, stands head and shoulders above his fellows, and the dearest wish of the father of boys is that his sons may be accepted for the service of the Mikado. In all the wars of Japan the government has suffered a true embarrassment of riches in the matter of personnel, every man of the Empire tendering his services in the field for the common good. Passing from the general to the particular, from the nation to the individual, it is interesting to note a few of the more common or ordinary differences in the two nations. The Chinaman, in a general way, is a fat and robust man; he shows the influence of prosperity by an increase in girth; his walk becomes stately; his expression benignant and kindly. He enjoys rich food and a good deal of it. The Chinaman of wealth and position clothes himself literally in purple and fine linen, and shows in every action an appreciation of the good things of this life. On the other hand, the Japanese, rich or poor, lives sparingly, eats plain food, and even with this limitation is genuinely abstemious in quantity. He is content with comfort without luxury, and from end to end of the Mikado's Empire it is difficult to find a fat man or woman. The question is often asked why the punishments inflicted in these eastern countries are so barbarous and cruel. With the Chinese, as with us, in the ory, the two points kept in view in the application of law to the criminal are: first, to make the punishment fit the crime; second, to make a deterrent example for those who, without the fear of consequences, would tend to the commission of crime. It must be acknowledged that on both these points the Chinese methods are typical, and if the criticism is made that many punishments are inflicted out of all proportion to the offense, it is wise to remember episodes in our criminal history when witches were hung, burned, and done to death in various cruel ways. We can remember when the theft of a loaf of bread in England sent the victim across seas a transport for life. Even in our own enlightened land it has frequently happened that the theft of a horse meant death to the culprit. So it may be wise not to criticise the Chinaman too harshly for trying to punish the criminal and instill terror in the evil-doer at the same time. In all literature on China and Japan the subject of morality, and especially what may be called sexual morality, occupies a due proportion of space, and its discussion is of great interest, but a clear understanding of the subject requires a more careful study of morality in the abstract than most writers can bestow. In this, as in many other important questions, much depends upon the point of view, and it is very difficult indeed to make a correct and comprehensible presentation of the point of view of the Asiatic upon such a vital subject as sexual morality. Generalization based upon incomplete knowledge is misleading and dangerous, and in connection with this question rests the real status of woman in China and Japan, a subject much too intricate to be presented in the pages of this Magazine. Perhaps in no single direction do the Chinese differ more from their Japanese neighbors than in the official position of woman. In China a man's wife is of little moment in the public or, more properly, the outdoor life of her husband. She seldom appears on the street, she has no male visitors presented to her, and so far is this effacement carried that to inquire after a wife is regarded as near akin to an insult to the husband. On the other hand, however, it is asserted by old residents in China that in matters of family economy, finance, politics, and the conduct of affairs the woman of the house has a wide range of influence, and in spite of the fact that female education is not recognized as existent, a wife generally manages to have her say in matters of interest connected with the family. In Japan, women, girls, and children are very much in evidence, and the consideration with which women are treated, the respect shown them in public and private, and the freedom enjoyed by the women of this remarkable country are in marked contrast with the practice in all other eastern lands. Woman in Dai Nippon enjoys, so far as can be understood by observation and inquiry, precisely the same status as her brother; has the same freedom from social restraints, has the same "right |