palace in heaven.' With such inflammatory words did they bind the members of the association to themselves so closely that no one ever quits them.

"In December, 1850, when their number and power had become great, I went to Kwang-se, where I saw Houng-seu-tsieuen; he had engaged many graduates of Kwang-toung to commence a system of pillage, and attack the Government. The members of the brotherhood followed these individuals very willingly, delivering up to them their persons, their families, their property, and, in a word, all they possessed; so that there was sufficient money to purchase horses and enrol troops. From this period their hopes of success increased, and they assumed the name of the Society of the Chang-Ti. (Shang-te?-Great-God.)

"On my arrival at Kouang-se, Houng-seu-tsieuen called me his worldly brother, bestowing on me the title of King Tien-tih, and taking from me lessons in the art of war. He called himself King Taï-ping (grand pacificator.) Yang was commander-in-chief with civil authority, and assumed the title of King of the East; Seaou was lieutenant-general of the right wing, with the title of King of the West; Houng was general of the advanced guard, with the title of King of the South; and Wei was general of the reserve, with the title of King of the North.

"They created ministers as well. Thus Che was appointed minister of civil affairs, and King of the right wing; Tsin was appointed to the ministry of finance, and made King of the left wing; Ou-laï and Tsang were generals of the guard; Tchew was named judge; and Tsang, Yu-sin, and Lo, were lieutenantgenerals. There were a great many other officers, whese names I forget. Some of them had command of three hundred men, and some of a hundred. Every individual who turned his back upon an enemy in an action was executed, and his officer severely punished; while rewards and advancement were given to those. who gained the victory. The Government troops killed great numbers of our men. I called Houngseu-tsieuen my elder brother, and our inferiors addressed us both by the title of your majesty; but we ourselves called each of the others by his proper name.

"On the 27th of August, 1851, we took Young-gan, after having put the Imperial troops to flight. Houng and myself made our entry in palanquins, and forthwith installed ourselves in the official residence called the Court, where no one was allowed to reside. Houngseu-tsieuen received from me all the knowledge of strategy which he possesses; but we did not always agree in our views. I looked upon the place we had taken as too insignificant, and often inquired of him

why he gave the title of king to so many persons. Besides this, he placed great confidence in the practice of magic; although, even in former times, no one ever attained the throne by this means. He was, moreover, addicted to wine and debauchery, having with him thirty-six women. I longed, from the bottom of my heart, to hear of his defeat and death; as, but for him, I should have succeeded in seizing the reins of power.

"At this period, Wei-tching commanded in our engagements with the troops; and in this he was skilful and indefatigable. He was very courageous, and with a thousand men, used easily to overcome ten thousand Imperialists. During the few months that we occupied Young-gan-tcheou, which we designated our Court, all our officers sent us in reports on the affairs of the State. A calendar was published, under Houng's direction; but there was no mention made of the intercalary moon; in this, however, I had no share.

"When the town was blockaded, and our powder and ammunition began to fail, the idea struck us that as the members of our association were very numerous in Kouang-touang and the province of Que-cheu, we should take courage and attempt to leave our prison, in order to go and join them. On the 7th of April, we arranged the plan of a sally, and divided our forces

into three bands. About the eighth hour of the evening, Wei-tching sallied out with six thousand men, while Yang and Foung left at the tenth hour with six thousand men, taking with them Houng-seu-tsieuen and his wives, together with palanquins, horses, and baggage. About the second hour of the morning, Seaou and myself sallied out with fifteen hundred men. Falling in with us at the distance of about three hundred miles from Houng-seu-tsieuen's columns, the Imperial troops attacked us, and as, on account of Seaou's not following my orders nor signals, we were put to flight, more than a thousand men were killed, and I myself made prisoner. It was I who ordered those in the eastern fort to fire, when we left the town, and who also caused the houses to be set on fire in order to facilitate our sortie.

Houng is not my true name, but I have assumed it ever since I contracted a friendship with Houng-seutseuen. I used to wear embroidered clothes and a raised yellow hat: the four kings had similar hats bordered with red. The other great officers wore yellow embroidered aprons when they went into action, and carried yellow flags. In the official palace, I used to wear a yellow robe, but it was not of my own choice that I placed myself upon the Imperial throne.

E

"This confession is true."

This is a very remarkable document-as showing the impression the imperialists had received thus early of the powers of the insurgents, of their rigid adherence to their principles-as to their uniform success, and of the fact that they acknowledged the existence of a principle which they did not understand, but which they attributed to magic.

It also shows that thus as early as 1850 the insurgents had attained to the organization which we found them to possess at Nankin, and that they had a common fund from which all were supplied: which last suggests the question, Whence was it, if not from the New Testament, in accordance with the early New Testament Church-that they should have had " all things in common?

Again he says (speaking of the bond of union which existed among them), "With such inflammatory words did they bind the members of the association to themselves so closely, that no one ever quits them," which principle was none other than that of Christianity.

This opinion may remind us of the answer made by Apollo when applied to by a person to know how he should cause his wife to relinquish Christianity: "It is easier perhaps," replied the orator, "to write upon water, or to fly into the air, than to reclaim her."