66 The Truth about Opium.

well known that polygamy is a custom in China , andthat it is quite an exception for a Chinese in anydecent position there not to have three, four, or morewives; the more he has the greater his consequenceamong his countrymen. This man, as a matter offact, had three wives, and when his so-called first wife(who is, in fact, the only legitimate wife recognizedas such by the law of China ) died, he was in a greatfright lest Dr. Legge should discover that he hadtwo more wives, for it is customary that the otherwives should attend as mourners the funeral of thefirst. Now these are the sort of converts, for themost part, to be met with in China . As a rule, theyare far less honest and more untruthful than theirheathen countrymen. Are these the class of theChinese from which truth is to be gleaned ? Is thetestimony of such people of the slightest value ?Yet these are the persons from whom the mission-aries derive their knowledge of opium smoking andits effects. I venture to say that among all theso-called Christian converts in China you will notfind more than five per cent, who are really sincere—all the rest professing Christianity to obtain somepersonal advantage. These so-called converts aregenerally people from the humblest classes, because,as I have mentioned before, people of the betterclass, such as merchants, shopkeepers and tradesmen,not only consider their own religion superior to theChristian’s creed, but they would be ashamed toadopt Christianity , as they would thus be disgracedand make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of their