CHINESE SKETCHES

by Herbert A. Giles




"The institutions of a despised people cannot be judged with fairness."

Spencer's Sociology: The Bias of Patriotism.




DEDICATION

To Warren William de la Rue,
"As a mark of friendship."




PREFACE

The following _Sketches_ owe their existence chiefly to frequent
peregrinations in Chinese cities, with pencil and note-book in hand.
Some of them were written for my friend Mr. F. H. Balfour of Shanghai,
and by him published in the columns of the _Celestial Empire_. These
have been revised and partly re-written; others appear now for the
first time.