The world seemed to open towards the East; geography made immense strides, and ardor for discovery opened a new vent for the adventurous spirit of the Europeans.

As our own hemisphere became better known, the idea of another ceased to appear a wholly improbable paradox; and in seeking the Zipangon of Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World.'" The first aspect of China produces that impression on the mind which we call the grotesque.

This is merely because the customs of this singular nation are so opposite to our own.

They seem morally, no less than physically, our antipodes.

Their habits are as opposite to ours as the direction of their bodies.