Page:Oriental Religions - China.djvu/156

126 tea, printing, the written characters, and compressed feet, while noticing so much that was far less remarkable.

In the sixteenth century the Portuguese found Arab merchants quietly settled in the chief cities of China, in Reception ^^^1 frccdom of traffic. In the seventeenth, Father of the Avril enumerates as many as six or seven 2:reat Dutch and Russians, routcs 01 Chmese trade across the coninent. In Navarrete. jg^g, the Dominican Navarrctc, sharp of eye for "heathen idolatry," bravely penetrates into China without help, " destitute of all human dependence ; the first," he is assured, " that ever ventured among these heathen in this nature." Deceived by Christians, whom he has engaged to attend him, he finds "an infidel, who conducted me with very good will and at a small charge." His experience is worth noting. Uncivil Christian soldiers robbed him of his money and church stuff. " I was on my guard against infidels, but not against Christians, which was the cause of my misfortune." Three native soldiers sailed up the river with him, and " could not have been civiler. All the way I never gave any man the least thing but he returned me some little present ; and, if he had nothing to return, there was no persuading him to accept a morsel of bread." Tired one day with climbing, he was kindly led into a guard-house by the captain, who " showed com- passion to see me travel afoot and weary, was sorry my things had been stolen, and took leave of me with much civility and concern."

Nieuhoff, Dutch ambassador in 1654, found at Pe-king envoys from the great Mogul, Tartars from the West, Lamas from Thibet. Jesuit Father Schaal sat in white- haired reverence in the cabinet, and the Khan graciously studied the geography of Holland, and admitted the claims of this political atom, which might have been dropped into