English: John Thomson: A LADY in China passes her life in strict seclusion. Her little world is her home, her companions the ladies of her own household, or relatives of her own sex. If married, she has a separate suite of apartments for herself, children, and maid servants. If she pays a visit, a sedan chair conveys her from her own door ; silken curtains screen her from the public gaze ; and thus protected, she is borne to the ladies' quarter in her friend's home, with jealous privacy and concealment. When seated among her friends she partakes of tea and a pipe, and displays in her conversation a far greater knowledge of the outer world than one might at first have expected. In passing through the streets her eyes have been busy between the spaces of her blinds, and she has formed her own impressions of the faces and figures as they went by. However contented she may be, her lot must at least appear monotonous to the ladies of western lands Her life ,s hedged round with so many restrictions ; she is not even permitted to monopolize the privilege of wearing false ha,r, for the gentlemen use it extensively, to add to the length and attractiveness of their queues. Neither are they free to dress as they may choose, for there is an Imperial edict which regulates her attire. I question however whether this law, which thus hampers the Chinese lady, is a more rigorous despot than fashion, which in our own country' sways the gentler sex. I shall have occasion to notice the Chinese ladies in a future part of the work, and I shall then show the costumes which prevail in different quarters of the Empire.