A FAMILY OF AMOY.
THE MISSIONARY'S TEACHER.
It seemed incomprehensible to Sybil, as it must to us, that a mother could wish either to kill or to sell her little child, but neither the one nor the other event is uncommon in some parts of China, where the parent is poor; and even amongst the well-to-do classes little girls are sometimes put to death, if the parents have more daughters than they care to rear, not only at Amoy, but at other places in the neighbourhood; and even Chinese ladies will sometimes have their poor little daughters put to death.
"Why do people not kill their boys too?" Sybil asked, when she heard all about this.
"Because when they grow up they can earn money that girls could not earn; and not only can they help to support their parents when old, but they can worship their ancestral tablets and keep up the family name."
"I am sure a girl would do this too."
"Her doing so would be considered of little use."
