'A Great Citadet of Christianity in the Far East Rather than an Outpost of Trade The current number of "The Rock" (Hongkong) gives an interes!- ing account under signature J. D. Francis of Macao in its early days of prosperity, comparing it with Hongkong of to-day. The author goes in some detail into a description of Macao's Sao Paolo, and the follov~ ing extracts will be of general interest.
We shall never understand Macao if we consider it merely a 17th contury edition of Hongkong. The fact that old Macao differed from new Hongkong as much, and in the same way as the spirit of the old empires differed from the empires to-day, Commercialism is the dominent note of the great empires of to-day. Therein lies the difference of her church Ex bells, of the Blessed Sacrament.
Deums, salvos of artillery, and twenty days of festival. Can rox imagine Hongkong of to-day playing such a part?
"You catch this same atmosphere triumphant faith in th "Oriente Conquistado" of de Sus Ay the end of the Fourth Conquest, for example, you have the descrip: tion of the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament at dawn on Easter Sunday. with the music of drum amd Tute and hautbos, the torches. and the danees, the maidens flower-crowned at the windows, the roses and the rose-water flung upon the crowds and upon tke Canopy over the Sacred Host.
Detween them and the ancient empires of Portugal and Spain. This not to say that commercial motives did not playa part and an important part, Such a statement would be manifestly false. But commercialism was not the exclusive motion, nor even the dominating one, in the minds of the people. They Delieved that they were fulfilling a duty incumbent on Christian nations to bring the light of faith to those who sat in darkness.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.