better cause; or that Christians, who have higher motives did not allow themselves to be outdone by heathen, in religious generosity.
When Jesus and his sufferings become the theme, the missionary is generally left to pursue his observations undisturbed, as they have seldom anything to urge against the Gospel plan of salvation. This is because they cannot see themselves sinners, or, at least, such sinners as stand in need of eternal redemption; and thus when the undertaking of a Saviour is alluded to they say, "it matters not where these men begin, they are sure to end in Jesus and his salvation." Sometimes they affect to recognize a resemblance betwen Christ's merits and the virtues of the Goddess Kwan-yin, who by her fasting and austerities, rescued her family, for several generations, from the pains of hell. At other times they observe, that their ancient sages did but tell them to be good, and there left them; but the deliverer of the west gave up himself for the salvation of the world; by which means pardon may be extended to the guilty, and the evil be made good. Most of them, however, pass over the subject in silence, or, in the midst of a solemn discourse, interrupt the speaker with some irrelavent question about his age, travels, or family, evidently shewing that they have no heart to the doctrine propounded. It has no charm, no interest, with them; and they say, with Esau, "What good shall this birth-right do to me?"
In 1826, the missionary had still to complain of the difficulty of forming a Chinese congregation. Not having been accustomed to meet for the purpose of social worship and mutual edification, in their own country, they could hardly be induced to attend the
