1 AUGUST 1896, Page 24

In a Mule Litter to the Tomb of Confucius. By

Alex. Armstrong. (Nisbet and Co.)—Mr. Armstrong says very little about the tomb. He got there without much difficulty or danger, except of being cheated, a process in which most of the people were experts. The journey from Chefoa and back occupied a little more than five weeks. As it was made in mid-winter, the time was probably longer than it would otherwise have been. There is nothing very notable about the tomb itself, general as is the veneration with which it is viewed throughout China. It is curious to see that the guardians of the tomb have not received much good from the Sage's moral teaching. They demanded an admission-fee of 10,000 cash, not for entering the burial-ground- that was supposed to be free—but towards the expense of keeping it up. They were glad to get twenty pence. Mr. Armstrong had it in his mind to further the missionary cause. He describes himself as having been received with civility and attention in most places. There were no indications of the furious hostility of which there have been such dismal examples elsewhere.