534 Voyage of the Novara. 



that it is, if possible, still more erroneous than that enter- 

 tained of the Supreme Being by other idol-worshij^ping Chi- 

 nese. Their conception of the Redeemer, to whom they pay 

 equal honours, is crude, and thoroughly material. Their 

 prayers, far from giving the impression of a true reverence 

 of God, have much more the appearance of an idolatrous 

 mockery of sacred tilings ! " 



An English merchant, who accompanied Sir Hope Grant 

 on his reconnoitring excursion up the Yang-tse-Kiang, and 

 spent a week in what used to be called Nankin, now the 

 celestial capital of the Tai-ping, gives the following charac- 

 teristic sketch of them : '' The insurgents take no interest in 

 and do not encourage trade, except in muskets and ammuni- 

 tion. To our representations how unwise it was to lay waste 

 towns and villages, and shut out commerce, they promised, after 

 peace was concluded, to erect schools and other similar institu- 

 tions, and professed their willingness to promote trade, but ' for 

 the present,' they went on, ' we must, before anything else, 

 make the hills and the rivers subject to our power.' On the 

 whole I found the condition of the rebels far better than I had 

 expected. They are comfortably clothed and well fed. The 

 population of Nankin consists exclusively of officials. No 

 one not connected with the administration of the army is 

 admitted within the gates of the city. The majority of the 

 inhabitants, who number about 20,000, are prisoners and 

 slaves from every part of the empire. Although employed 



