50%
Kulangsu and Amoy,
SEP.
in-law, had with her own hand destroyed her first three children sueccessively, The fourth was also a girl, but the mother was afraid to lay violent hands on it, believing it to be one of the previous ones reäppearing in a new body."
Such deeds of cruelty as these, we do not remember ever to have heard or read of before. In other parts of the journal, Mr. Abeel gives some most lamentable instances of deceit, fraud, falschood, treachery, &c., one of which we quote.
at sea.
"April 30th. The falsehood and dishonesty of those who are connected with us render it necessary to maintain the strictest caution and vigilance. Though our knowledge of the language guards us against much of the impo- sition which is practiced upon others, it is quite insufficient to keep us from being often defrauded and deceived, even by those in whom we have placed the greatest confidence. When we first came, the carpenters and masons cheated us in almost everything they did and bought. Soon after we arrived, a man made his appearance who professed to be the near relation and guar- dian of the owners of the house in which we live. A little boy was presented by him, as the joint proprietor with his mother, his father having been lost From the appearance of the house and the testimony of others, we could easily credit his story, that the family were now in reduced circum- stances, having not only lost his house; but more than a thousand dollars beside, which the robbers had taken away from under the floor. Both Mr. Boone and myself conceived it right to allow a small rent for the house, and after inquiry fixed upon a few dollars a month, and gave them to the man, who put them into the hands of the child. The next month, he made his ap- pearance, but our boy, whom we had taken to be peculiarly frank and honest for a heathen, suggested the propriety of inquiring, whether the money was ever given to those for whom it was professedly received. He said he knew all the parties, and would go and ask the mother of the child. He returned with the information that the mother had heard nothing of the money, that the man who had received it, did not live with them. The true owner being made acquainted with our willingness to allow something for the house, sent a lad to us who was living in the family. Our boy and several others pre- sent assured us that they knew the lad, and that we might now rest assured that the money would be given to the proper party. A day or two afterwards, our cook came privately and whispered to me, that our honest boy, who had taken so much pains to prevent all fraud in this matter, had made the lad give him one half of the money for his disinterestedness in preventing it from falling into improper hands. The whole truth was that the boy had given this very cook a part of the money to bribe him into silence.
"But the most affecting instance of treachery and cruelty occurred the day before yesterday. The man, who nearly three weeks ago gave information of the purpose of the Chinese to attack the place, returned to tell us what had occurred in the meantime, and on what the time of the attack depended. From all that I can gather, our cook, having made himself acquamed with