526 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to ask. Thou came an ironical burst of glee- 

 know what his own hat is made of.' 



This foreign teacher does not 



Still more significant is the treatment these visitors received from 

 the master of the school, for it typifies in itself quite well the change 

 in China's mental attitude in her contact with western thought, as 

 pointed out in our first paper* — from initial arrogance and conceited 

 ignorance to a lively appreciation of the value of the newer learning: 



Before we left the college we found a teacher sitting at the head of one 

 of the courts with a bandage about his head. He was not glad to see us, his 



A View of the College Halls. 



malaria possibly accounted for his incivility, which, however, might have been 

 aggravated by the fact that two of the company forgot to remove their spectacles 

 on coming into his presence. However, his frigidity wore off, and when it 

 came out that the foreigners could write (more or less) as well as talk his 

 native language, the professor rose slowly and stood as he talked with us. 

 Enquiring if we were students he seemed first abashed and then incredulous 

 when he learned that all his interlocutors were second degree men. He looked 

 as much as to say 'These foreign chaps must have bought their degrees, if they 

 really have them' — not an unnatural thought for a Chinese. 



At length when the professor was thawed out, to the point of civility at 

 least, the Bostonian in the party produced from his impedimenta a large pack- 

 age nf Chinese books. The professor, with a quizzical look on his face, received 

 a beautifully illustrated life of Christ, and Dr. Faber's four volume Commentary 



See Popii.ak Science Monthly, September. 



