The Portland daily press., 1896-07-02
TESTAMENT THAT COST $1,000.
Presented to the Dowager Empress of
China on Her Birthday.

On the occasion of the celebration of
the sixBieth birthday of Tszohi Toanyu
Kangi Choayu Chaung Cheng Shokupg
Chinien Chungshi, Dowager Empress of
China, who. died few years ago, 1.-The
Christian women in the empire presented
to that royal lady splendid edition of
the New Testament translated into the
Chinese language, in token of their re-
gard for her. The book was highly dec
Grated with silver and gold, and was
placed in o oasket of silver in which it
was presented. Its cost was about
81, 200
When this elaborate volume was
printed in China, few additional copies
were run off the press, and one of these
copies, without the gold and silver deco
rations, was given to the American Bible
Society last week, to be placed on the
shelves of the library of that institution,
already filled with valuable and curious
collection of specimens Of the Holy Scrip
TUES in every tongue and of every age.
In preparing the gift for the Empress,
the committee having the matter in
charge decided that ii would be better to
present only the New Testament, rather
than the whole Bible, and selected the
version known as the Delegates 'as the
most scholarly of all the classical versions
of the New Testament in the Chinese,
and as the most suitable for the pur-
pose.
The book Is royal QuartO size. 10 by
Is by 2, printed on the finest paper pro-
Ia L.
of gold. The volume given to the En-
press was bound in silverEboards; that be-
longing ito the society Is bound in costly
black morocco The ornamentatiOn is
that of birds and of bamboo in relief
The name of the book Complete New
Testament is in large characters OF
gold, and In the center is a gilt plate, on
which is the inscription "Classio of Sal
walton for the World" According to the
| Chinese, the bamboo is an emblem of
peace and the birds are messengers; the
design on the covers, therefore, con-
veyed to the Dowsger Empress Zines
sage Of peace from hex Christian sub
jecgs.
In the memorial address which accom-
panied the gift was the following:
| Z Among the many just laws which
your Majesty has established, not the
| least is that which commands the sam Q
protection to your Christian subjects as to
| those of all other religions; therefore.
we, few thousand Protestant Christian
women throughout the various provinces
Of your empire, though mostly poor, can
not let the, "a suspicious occasion of your
| imperial Maiesty's sixtieth birthday pass
| without testifying our loyalty and ad-
| miration. We do so by presenting your
| Majesty with the New Testament which
| is the principal classic of our holy re-
| ligion, namely, the religion of Jesus
| Christ, which is the only religion that
| practically aims at the salvation of the
whole world from sin and suffering. The
| truths in this volume have brought
peace of heart and purity of life, with
| hope of everlasting happiness, to count
| less millions. 1t has also given to Chris
| tian nations the just laws ana stable gov
| eminent which are the root Of their tenn
poral prosperity and power. On this ao-
| count we hear it is a custom in the west
| to present Empresses, Queens, and Prin-
cesses with copy of this book on happy
occasions in their lives.
| The Empress graciously accepted the
| gift, and to the women who had done
| most in arranging for the gift she sent
great rolls of silk and rich cloths. 1t is
q curious fact, however, as told by mis-
sionary who was recently in this city, in
| speaking of the gift to the Empress that
| the repicients of the bounty of the En-
press really received only small and in
consequential portions of ssthe royal gifts
| for major part of the silk and cloth was
stolen by members of the Court long
| before any of them had reached those for
| whom it had been designed by the giver.
| Such, the speaker said, lis the morality
| OF the Chinese officials.