AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 385 



probable great effect upon our commerce with them. He had 

 long ago been industrious to learn as much of that most remark- 

 able Empire that has ever existed upo:i the face of the earth. 

 He desired to learn its language that he might better learn its 

 civil and moral history, its resources of nature and of art. He 

 began by purchasing the first great dictionary ever published out 

 of Chhia. Tlie imperial copy published by Napoleon I, at the 

 cost of about $180 a copj , and had 1,000 copies charged to his 

 own funds. These copies were presents to nations, libraries, 

 etc. It is an elephant size, containing about eighty thousand 

 Chinese characters with explanations in Latin and French. I 

 purchased my copy in 1815, when Wellington was in Paris. It 

 was probably then stolen and brought over here. This great 

 work aided me in studying China. I read everything published 

 relative to China. 



The great similitude of China and the United States has been 

 remarked. In all things it is a great one. Pekin, in nearl}^ the 

 latitude of New- York, experiences similar extremes of w^eather, 

 the mean temperature of a year being 54° Fahrenheit. The 

 rivers there are usually frozen from December to March. In 

 September, 181 G, the heat attained 90'^ and 100'' in the shade. 



The Empire was hardly known to the ancients and entirely 

 lost sight of for ages, and when the first enterprising travelers 

 visited it and on their return home published the wonderful 

 things they saw there, they were called liars, until the voyage of 

 Vasco de Gama opened the way to Canton and Japan, and 

 gradually the eyes of Europe were awakened to the strange and 

 interesting condition of the unknown 300 or 400 millions of com- 

 paratively civilized men whose social system, arts, etc., had 

 remained unchanged, while the barbarians of early Greece and 

 Rome had gone |through changes to high civilization and to the 

 dark ages when kings could neither read nor write. 



Christian missionaries were admitted into China at first kindly, 

 they were hospitably treated both there and in Japan. A long 

 time passed and the Chinese and Japanese altered their conduct. 

 They murdered vast numbers, sent the rest away, and closed the 

 doors to the Empire. 



When the early Dutch traders appeared in Japan, they were 

 refused leave to land because they were " Christian dogs !" The 

 traders denied being Christians. The Japanese officer said " let 

 me see yon trample upon the bible !" This was immediately 

 done by the traders, and they were admitted. The hatred of the 

 Christians was felt for several centuries past by every man in 



