344 EAMBLES OF A NATUEALIST. [Ch. XX. 



ment have reached a climax which cannot long delay its 

 doom. 



There can be no doubt that apathetic as the Chinese 

 people are, and little as they appear to appreciate the 

 civilisation of the West, iatercourse with Europeans is exer- 

 cising an important and silent influence upon them, which 

 win one day make itself felt. The entire absence of inter- 

 course with foreigners, which has characterised the Chinese 

 nation for such a long series of years, has naturally imbued 

 their minds with a degree of self-esteem and vanity which 

 cannot be eradicated in a year, or even in a generation ; but 

 it is not in the nature of things that this should endure for 

 ever. Their apathy has but one source, and that is igno- 

 rance. The foreign ministers of China, or rather its rulers 

 in general, have hitherto had no interest in making them- 

 selves acquainted with foreign institutions or the status of 

 foreign countries, and they therefore naturally remained in 

 profound ignorance of these things ; and, in the absence of 

 information, it is no wonder that they believed themselves 

 to be in all respects superior. With few exceptions, they 

 have the most ridiculously erroneous ideas concerning us ; 

 and their notions of their own superiority are not put on to 

 make an impression upon barbarians, but are the bona fide 

 articles of their own candid belief. 



But this state of things is insensibly changing, and since 

 the treaty of 1858 it is not improbable that the Chinese 

 have been the greater gaiaers of the two. For they have 

 everything to learn from us ; and although, of course, they 

 may learn some evil, they must besides imbibe a vast amount 

 of sound knowledge, useful and good. But we, on the other 

 hand, only derive commercial advantages from the Chinese, 

 in which they also largely share. No one can deny that 



