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 PEKING 231 college for the Chinese and Mantchoo lan- guages. The Tartar city is under the control of the general of the nine gates, who is re- sponsible for the peace and good order within its limits ; the post is conferred only on Man- tchoos. Near his headquarters is a high tower containing an immense bell and drum which announce the hours of the night. A large number of Mohammedans, whose ancestors were from Turkistan, reside near the S. "W. corner of the imperial city, where they have a mosque. South of this stands the " church of heaven's Lord," with a convent attached to it, which the Jesuits and Portuguese built during the time of their influence, but which is now going to decay. There are thus reli- gious edifices in the Chinese metropolis ap- propriated to the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant churches, Islamism, Buddhism in its principal forms, rationalism, ancestral worship, and state worship, and temples dedicated to Temple of Heaven. Confucius and other deified mortals, besides a great number in which the popular idols of the country are adored. Among them is the tem- ple where the tablets of the kings and empe- rors of former dynasties are collectively wor- shipped, with the exception of a few who have been excluded on account of their wickedness. Near this is the white pagoda temple, so called from a costly obelisk near it erected by Kublai Khan in the 13th century, and rebuilt and ex- quisitely ornamented in 1819. Around the edi- fice are 108 small pillars on which lamps are burned in honor of Buddha. Outside of the city, on the east, is the " temple of heaven," which covers a large area and is surrounded with many spacious buildings ; on the west is a corresponding structure called the " temple of earth ;" both of these are connected with the state religion. The total number of the Christian population is estimated at 30,000. The Roman Catholic church has here a vicar apostolic. In 1870 there were 38 American and English Protestant missionaries, who were conducting Sunday and day schools and a hospital. The Chinese city is more populous than the Tartar, but it contains few edifices of importance, is not so well built, and the walls are not so solid. The principal streets are more than 100 ft. wide, and extend between gates at opposite sides of the city ; but those which branch off from the chief thoroughfares are mere lanes. They are generally unpaved, and according to the state of the weather are either knee-deep with mud or covered with dust. The houses are of brick, and seldom exceed one story. They are roofed with tiles ; and most of the private residences have a para- pet wall in front, upon which pots containing flowers and shrubs are placed. In the back streets the edifices are miserable, but in the principal thoroughfares many of them, par- ticularly the shops, are highly ornamented with painting and gilding. The shops are open in front, and the goods are exposed in heaps outside the doors. At each side of the estab- lishment there is gen- erally a wooden pil- lar or signboard, high- er than the house- top, bearing inscrip- tions in gilt letters setting forth the su- perior qualities of the wares and the probity of the dealer. Flags and streamers are hung out from these posts, and lanterns of different material and form are arranged with great ingenuity and taste. Notwith- standing the breadth of the main streets, they are much obstructed by the wares exposed outside the shops, and the number of occupations that are carried on in tents and in the open air in movable work- shops. Where the main streets intersect, very curious monuments bearing some resemblance to triumphal arches are erected in honor of distinguished individuals. On the E. side of the avenue which leads from the S. gate of the Tartar city, and adjoining the outer gate, stands the altar to heaven, consisting of three stages, each 10 ft. high, and respectively 120, 90, and 60 ft. in diameter, paved with marble and protected with balustrades. Within the enclosure is also the "palace of abstinence," where the emperor fasts three days preparatory to offering the annual sacrifice at the winter solstice. On the opposite side of the avenue is the altar to earth, dedicated to the supposed inventor of agriculture ; it stands in an enclo- sure about 2 m. in circumference, and in reali-