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condemnation would have been found too strong, the Portuguese permanently lost their footing upon the mainland. But in the meanwhile they had adopted a different policy in the neighbourhood of Canton, a policy of bribery and conciliation, if not of obsequiousness. It succeeded so well that in 1537 they had three settlements in that vicinity, one at Shang-chuan, one at Lang-peh-kao (called by Europeans Lampaçao), and one at Macao. This last was the product of a deception. The Portuguese, pretending that certain goods, falsely represented as tribute, had been injured in a storm and must be dried, obtained permission to erect sheds at Macao for that purpose, and subsequently remained as tenants of the place on payment of a yearly rent of five hundred ounces of silver. Macao (a Portuguese abbreviation of the Chinese name "Ama-kau," or harbour of Ama) is situated on a promontory at the southern extremity of the Pearl River's estuary. It is open to the sea, and nevertheless communicates direct with Canton by a branch of the river. Convenient for business purposes, enjoying a salubrious climate, and possessing picturesque scenery, Macao long continued to be the chief emporium of foreign trade in China. The manner of its acquisition was discreditable, but its tenure is not associated with any acts of violence such as those that disgraced the early intercourse of the Portuguese in China. It may be said, indeed, that after the terrible fate which befell their lawless