ing inscription: "Erected by numerous friends to the memory of Elizabeth Evans, known to the world as Dinah Bede,' who during many years proclaimed alike in the open air, the sanctuary, and from house to house, the love of Christ. She died in the Lord, November 9th, 1849, aged 74 years. And of Samuel Evans, her hus band, who was also a faithful local preacher and class leader in the Methodist Society. He finished his earthly course December 8th, 1859, aged 81 years." The writer of this sketch can faintly remember being taken as a little child, by a nurse who was very friendly with the Evans family, to see Mrs. Evans (Dinah), then quite an old woman, with a calm, sweet face, and wearing the simple Quaker's cap. But of Mr. Evans (Seth) the writer has a much stronger recollection; and in the mind's eye can see now his tall, spare, rather bent figure, dressed always in black, with knee-breeches; his snowwhite hair, and most benevolent and gentle face; a truly reverend-looking old man. He was a well-known and most familiar character in Wirksworth, constantly to be seen flitting up and down the little by ways and alleys, and in and out of the cottages. His special mission seemed to be that of visiting and praying with the sick and dying. Such, in brief and bare outline, were the lives of some of the people who, in the pages of one of the most remarkable works of this century, have become personal friends of many of A. JOHNSON. us.. THE DEFENCE OF CANTON. THE China Mail publishes a full account of the present defences of Canton, as well as of the works in progress, the details of which are stated to have been collected on the spot. The Bogue forts, according to this authority, are at present garrisoned by about thirty-eight hundred troops, who show themselves to be more orderly and amenable to discipline than the unruly hordes which the Chinese forces are generally represented to be. In addition to these troops a force said to be sufficient to bring the whole up to twenty thousand were under orders to rendezvous. Fu-Mun is the headquarters of the Chinese admiral. At the forts referred to there are seven twenty-five-ton guns, and a number of smaller smooth bore cast-iron guns, the latter only likely to be of service in repelling a landing party. The most formidable batteries are situated on two islands in the river. On the south side of the channel, opposite these islands, is another heavily armed battery commanded by a hill, on the crest of which is a fort, with barracks and accommodation for some two thousand men. After passing the Bogue there are no more defences until Whampoa is reached. Here some well-designed and most formidable earthworks are being hastily thrown up for the protection of a number of ten and twelve-ton Krupp guns. After passing these, on proceeding up the back reach of the river, there are some formidably armed forts of approved modern construction protecting the Macao passage. At the place known as Birds'-nest Fort, the island itself, situated in mid-stream, has been fortified; but at this point the main defences are on the mainland. On the other reach of the river that usually taken by the river steamers are strong earthworks, faced with masonry; these are situated near the spot known as Howkwa's Folly, which appellation was bestowed in derision, by tars of the British fleet, on a fort built at the expense of the late celebrated Co-hong merchant Howkwa. Near this point a barrier of stones, only partially removed, still seriously obstructs the navigation of the river. Some short distance further up the river is a long, low island, dividing the river into two reaches, and on the low point of land, at the southern end of this island, is another heavily armed battery. In addition to these preparations there are some hundred or more of torpedoes, of several patterns and designs, which have been lying for some time past in the arsenals of the city, besides a fleet of stone boats, now lying at Whampoa, ready for sinking. In the adjacent city of Canton (observes the same authority) a most complete and searching census of the population has been taken, and every house made to furnish its military contribution; in every family or house at least one man must exercise himself in the use of arms; and he receives from the district officials a jacket, inscribed with the name of his street and ward of the city. At sundown he dons this piece of military raiment, and, armed generally with a pike, or maybe a rusty musket without ammunition as much probably for his own safety as that of people in the neighborhoodhe sallies forth to do duty as a watchman and assist in preserving order in the street to which he belongs, but in the event of actual hostili. ties he would probably have to join the regular military forces. Every house in Canton has been subjected to the examination above mentioned, and, in consequence, bears upon its portals the Chinese characters Kau-nin cha, in black letters on yellow paper. In conclusion the writer expresses his belief that should the French, or any other foreign nation, attack Canton with anything less than a large force, with the requisite transport and commissariat arrangements, it would only be to sustain humiliation and dis. grace. zette. us benighted Westerns to read of the fair wee- A VIRTUE Reward OfficE. If there are in the Chinese newspapers reports of thefts, murders, and misdemeanors, prisons, fearful executions, and the bastinado, in the Celestial Empire, there is also the Virtue Reward Office, and its reports are frequent in the Peking GaWhat manner of virtue is rewarded we shall glean from a few examples. A petition with a long list of influential names is sent up to the throne, praying that a monument be erected to immortalize the name of the Lady Ho. The Lady Ho had been married, at eighteen, to Lu Shu-yung. When he was seized with his last illness the lady, "although occupied every night in secretly burning incense and offering up tearful prayers, main- THE FINANCES OF CHINA. - The North tained during the day a cheerful countenance, China Herald gives a very bad account of the that the parents might not be overcome by de present financial condition of China. Ever jection. For months she changed not her since July last there has been a heavy expendi raiments, but devoted herself sedulously to ad- ture going on upon war material, and the ministering to the wants of her husband; and money for this purpose has to a large extent finally, as a last resource, she cut from her arm been wrung from the industrial and trading a piece of flesh to mix with the medicine." classes. But notwithstanding all the efforts But it was all unavailing; Lu Shu-yung died. of the officials to collect money, they have Ho fainted several times with grief. "But found it impossible to gather in enough to she had already resolved not to outlive her cover the extraordinary expenditure. For inhusband, and after privately writing to her stance, the viceroy of the province of Kiangtsu, sister-in-law to come and attend upon the two in which Shanghai is situated, and which is parents, already advanced in years, she swal- the richest in the empire, was, the Herald lowed a gold ring, and at the age of thirty-four states, unable lately to send his accustomed thus sacrificed her life." And we should cer- remittance of from 40,000l. to 50,000/, to Petainly add our stone to her cairn but for that kin, and had to borrow the money from banklittle business of the ring, which, though pret-ers in Shanghai. "And," adds the Herald, tily devised, and according to Chinese notions virtuously done, sounds badly to Western ears. Another lady, by name Wu-chang, is to have a memorial arch erected to her for a similar suicidal sacrifice. Her husband having died before one year of marriage, she was dissuaded from killing herself only by the hope of serving his parents, which duty she carried out with truly praiseworthy faithfulness for many years, until after their death she declared she would follow her husband, and refusing all food, died after seven days. A third lady, by name Wang, residing at Choh Chow, not only chopped herself on all occasions in the most frightful manner, but applied burning incensestick to her arms to provide cures for her relations. Under all these overcharged examples we must not be blind to the true national virtue of the Chinese, their devotion to parents; and the ladies who are faithful to "one love in a life" are worthy of all honor; but it troubles "at that very time this viceroy was throwing away money in the construction of absurdities which he was pleased to call floating batteries. Weak as China is in many respects, she is weakest of all in her finances. Many of the high officials do not know where to turn for money. It is notorious that they have for some time been trying to borrow money here in the south and in London. It is now ru mored that one of them has secured a loan.” It is perhaps only fair to say that the Herald is a strong opponent of Chinese action in Tonquin, and that its view of the situation may unwittingly be colored by its sympathies. In any case, however, there should, we think, be no chance whatever of China being able at present to borrow money in Europe, or anywhere else abroad, although at the same time it is right to remember that want of money does not prevent a nation from going to war if it is bent upon fighting. For EIGHT DOLLARS, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually forwarded for a year, free of postage. Remittances should be made by bank draft or check, or by post-office money-order, if possible. If neither of these can be procured, the money should be sent in a registered letter. All postmasters are obliged to register letters when requested to do so. Drafts, checks and money-orders should be made payable to the order of LITTELL & Co. Single Numbers of THE LIVING AGE, 18 cents. A BALLAD OF MEMORIE. NAE mair, alas! nae mair I'll see Nae mair the heathery knowe I'll speel, An' see the sunbeams glancin', Like fire-flauchts, ower the loch's lane breast, Ower whilk the breeze is dancin'. Nae mair I'll wanner ower the braes, Thy lanely glens, Roseha'! How white the haw, how red the rose, Gie oot their sweets, nae power they ha'e Nae mair I'll hear the cushie-doo, Wi' voice o' tender wailin', Four out her plaint, nor laverock's sang, I'll hear but in my dreams. When a' the house are gane to sleep I sit my leefu' lane, An' muse till fancy streaks her wing, Again I wanner thro' the wuds, Some waefu' auld-warld ballant strain, Again the snaw-white howlit's wing When frae her nest 'mang Calder Craig An' keekin in the mavis' nest, O' naked scuddies fu', I feed wi' moolins out my pouch Again I wanner ower the lea, But, oh! it's lang-sin-syne! Your gladsome voices hear Frien's o' my youth a' gane, a' gane! An' I sit blinlins here. The star o' memory lichts the past; But there's a licht abune, To cheer the darkness o' a life That maun be endit sune. From The Fortnightly Review. WHO and what is the Mahdi? is a question to which no very detailed answer has been given by the English press since the figure of this "Moslem Messiah" became so suddenly prominent in the political arena through his triumph over the ill-fated army of Hicks Pasha; yet, in order justly to estimate the character and extent of the influence which such a personage may exert in the East, it is surely important clearly to understand the origin of the idea which he represents and the nature of its reception by the Moslem world. The accounts which have been given by newspaper correspondents, and which seem to have been gathered somewhat hastily by oral information, have been imperfect and contradictory; but this is not altogether due to the imperfect understanding of the subject by the questioner or to untrustworthy replies from the Moslem informant, for the number of distinct and apparently conflicting traditions which exist, both in Arab literature and in oral tradition, concerning the expected prophet, is sufficiently great to puzzle, at first, even a very diligent student of the subject. It is not until the true meaning and origin of these legends is understood, and their derivation from the ancient Iranian mythology has been traced, that the real harmony of expressions apparently irreconcilable becomes clearly comprehensible. the Mahdi are of Shiah origin, and not accepted by the Sunni sects. The coming again of the twelfth imam, who was an historic personage named El Mohdi, and who died or disappeared in the cave near Baghdad in the ninth century A.D., is indeed an important Shiah belief; but the idea of the imam, a divine incarnation, is distinct from and opposed to the Sunni conception of a predicted "guide" or Mahdi, who is to be a mortal messenger of God, whose coming was foretold, according to the tradition, by Muhammad himself. This distinction it is most important to keep clearly in view. The Shiahs of Persia represent a population of some fifteen million; the four great Sunni sects together include a total of one hundred and forty-five million souls; and it is to the immense majority of the true believers, and not to the small minority of the Persian schismatics, that the Soudâni prophet consequently appeals. Impartial writers are accustomed generally to assume, first, that the Moslem creed is a very pure and elevated monotheistic faith; secondly, that the Moslem world contrasts with the West in the profoundly religious character of its society, including every class; thirdly, that a fanaticism resting solely on religious conviction is to be recognized among all Moslems, and forms a very dangerous element of Oriental politics; fourthly, that a religious sympathy exists between the faithful in all lands which may render the triumph of Islam in western Asia a most disastrous circumstance for England in India. First, it is remarkable that the Mahdi, or "guide," whose figure has become so important in Moslem lands, and so famil- As regards these beliefs I would urge iar even in the Christian West, is never that, after residing for six years in Mosmentioned in the Korân at all; and al-lem lands, after studying the religious though the references to the last judgment question with special care among the in the Suras are numerous and detailed, the eschatology of Islam, and especially the expectations of a time of trouble and of a future prophet, are much later developments of the faith mentioned by commentators and esoteric students who lived in times when the first force and energy of the great wave of Arab conquest had died out, and the expectation of universal power had been disappointed. It is, on the other hand, a mistake to suppose that the dogmas connected with the coming of peasantry, among the upper classes, and among the ruling caste, and after reading the most generally accepted authorities, I have gradually become convinced, first, that there is no Moslem nation in exist ence among whom the faith exists untinged by traces of earlier and lower forms of superstition, and that even in the Korân itself the survival and sanction of such superstition is plainly discernible in spite of much that is noble and spiritual in thought and language. Secondly, that |