like the genii of the lamp; and in the glare of the light in which they wrought on their bench or at their stand the workers in gold and silver, the makers of ornaments and jewelry, were like some strange beings from another world.  They work to the point of endurance.  They have their amusements, their holidays, as the Chinese New Year which comes in February, their processions from time to time, but their great indulgence is in the use of opium.  Once or twice a month the ordinary labourer or workman gives himself up to its seductive charms, to its power more fatal to his manhood than intoxicating drinks taken to excess.  The Chinaman is so stolid and impassive that it is hard to arouse his wrath.  He will bear insults without a murmur for a long time, but in the end he will be stung into madness and he will give force to all his pent up fires of hate that have slumbered like a volcano.  He may wait long without having punished his oppressor, but he will bide his time.  So it was with the Boxers in China whose story is so painfully fresh in the memories of the great legations of the world in Pekin.

The men and women of Chinatown dress very nearly like each other; though you do not meet many women.  The Chinaman wears a blouse of blue cotton material or other cheap, manufactured goods.  This is without a collar, and is usually hooked over the breast.  There are no buttons.  Wealthy Chinamen, and there are many such, indulge in richer garments.  As a rule they have adopted the American felt hat of a brownish colour.  The shoe has the invariable wooden sole with uppers of cotton or some kind of ordinary cloth.  The hair is the object of their chief attention, however, in the making up of their toilet.  It is worn in a queue or pigtail fashion as it is commonly styled.  It is their glory, however, this long, black, glossy braid.  It is the Chinaman’s distinguishing badge.  It gives him dignity in the presence of his countrymen.  If cut off he feels dishonoured.  He can never go back to the home of his ancestors, but must remain in exile.  He wears this mark of his nationality either hanging down his back or else coiled about the head.  When at work the latter style is preferred, as it is then out of the way of his movements.  Some of the men whom you meet have fine intellectual heads.  The merchants and scholars whom I saw answer to this description.  As a rule they can all read and write.  They have a love of knowledge to a certain point, and a book is prized by them.  The great desire of the Chinamen who reach our shores is to learn the English language.  They know it gives them an advantage.  It is the avenue to success.  Sometimes they will become members of an American Mission or Bible-class in order to learn the language.  They still, however, have their mental reservations with regard to their native Joss-houses and worship.  But they are not singular in this respect.  Mohammedans and Jews in the East allow their children to attend schools where English is