Though Shanghai is often the rendezvous of a goodly number of the meu-of-war on the China Station, seldom has it happened during the last few years that the residents have had the pleasure of seeing the men on parade in larger numbers than can drill in the Consular Compound, and even these small turn-outs have been few and long between, But yesterday the ited States Navy had a parade on the Racecourse, which reflected credit alike on the oticers' and men, and afforded a most enjoyable afternoon's pleasure to a large section of the community, In the first place it may be well to mention that the notice given of the parado was rather indefinite, the first notification in the newspapers stating that it would take place on Wednesday last if the weather was favourable, The weather was favourable, but the: state of the Racecourse was decidedly not, Here and there were pools of water which had not drained off from the late rains, while the ground generally was so spongy and slippery that it would have been irksome for the men to drill and unpleasant for the spectators to stand and see them. Wisely then was the parade postponed, but it was hardly a happy selection, so far as event was looked forward to from a pleasurable point of view, that it should come off on the English mail day, as yesterday was, which doubtless caused the absence of many residents who would liked to have been present.
There are now four American men-of-war in port—the flagship Richmond, the corvettes Ashuelot and Monocacy, and the gun-boat Alert. The men of the Alert did not take part in the parade, and there was only a small detachment of blue-jackets present from the Asluelut, who were dratted among those from the Richmond and Monocacy. Altogether about 240 bluck jackets and marines, exclusive of officers, were landed opposite the United States Consulate-General between one and two o'clock, together with the splendid band of the Richmond, consisting of sixteen members, under' the conductorship of Bandmaster Meyrelles. 'They were formed into seven companies, two of marines and five of blue-jackets, Lieutenant-Commander Clark, of the Richmond, was in command; Master H. McCrea, of the Richmond, yeriormed the duties' of Ad-jurant, while the seven companies were in charge of the following officers in J. H. Higbee, Lieutenants Dickens, Stevens, and Clay, of the Richmond, and Lieutenants Buckingham and Colahan of the Monocacy. After a few preliminary movements, the force, headed by the band, marched off in column of fours up the Bund and Maloo for the Racecourse, presenting a sight not seen in Shanghai for many years. They area fine body of men, well trained and efficient in their duties, with one ed peculiarity, which is perhaps more ing to the observation in an American iment than in any other, and that is the wonderful intermixture of the distinctive marks of the people of many countries combined together in the same nationality: The attractive uniforms of the marines, light bine trousers, dark blue coats with urangecoloured facings, white belts and gloves, and brass epaulets, burnished to a dazzling brightness in sunshiny weather like yesterday, contrasted in a marked degree with the sabre habiliments of the Jacks while the accoutrements showed that they
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.