90 PRIMEVAL MAN. 



of Mankind. And to those facts must be 

 added others resting on evidence which is still 

 historical. There is another civilization which 

 appears to have been almost as ancient as 

 that of Egypt, and which has been far more 

 enduring. The authentic records of the 

 Chinese Empire are said to begin in the 

 twenty-fourth century B.C. — that is, more 

 than 300 years before the time of Abraham.* 

 They begin, too, apparently with a Kingdom 

 already established, with a capital city, and 

 with a settled government.f Yet this civili- 

 zation first appears at the farthest extremity 



* "The Chinese;" G. T. T. Meadows, p. 34. 



+ Since this passage was published I have been favoured with 

 an interesting letter from the Rev. James Legge, who has spent 

 many years as a Missionary in China, and has published 

 valuable editions of the Historical works of the Chinese. 



