Province, outside the Pao-ngan Gate in the suburb of Sun-sze Ho, lived an old man who made a living by selling hens and ducks. As these are sold by weight, the old man made a practice of filling their crops with sand, which he would pour down their throats, forcing the sand again in the evening out at the bills of those which had not been bought by the deluded customers. The fowls which had experienced this cruel treatment at his hands were more numer rous than the sands of the Ganges. The old reprobate, having amassed a competency in business, retired, and forgetful of the suffering he had caused so many innocent fellow-bipeds, expected to live many peaceful years on his ill-gotten gains. But Neuiesis followed him, and he was suddenly smitten with a strange disease of the throat, an obstruction which made him bring up again everything which he attempted to swallow. He is at present lying at the brink of death, in great suffering, and the neighbours, who can do nothing to relieve him, say it is a visible retribution from Heaven,—Hu Pao.
'A telegram from Peking to the Shen Pao states that on 2ist February was published an Edict of the Empress conferring on the ancestors of Sir Robert Hart, for three generations back, first-class official rank, Bdict acknowledges the I. G.'s long and earnest devotion to duty, and the increase of late years in the Customs revenue under his management, Another edict of the same date confers on Prince Ch'un, father of the Emperor, in recognition of his distinguished service as head of the Peking Field Force and the Admiralty, a sword and yellow belt of honour.
Wang San-hu-hu,"' a theatrical impres sano, native of Tsang-chow, Chilli, last summer under false pretences induced sixteen lads of that town to proceed with his troupe, and carried them off to the Amur region, leaving their parents at home in great. distress. The Tsiang-kun, or Province, discovering the unworthy trick Military Governor, of the Hei-Lung Kian;
that had been played on these poor children and: their parents, has arrested Wang San-hu-hu, soundly castigated him, and sent the boys back in six carts in charge of a Deputy to T'sang-chow, presenting each, before Toa with a warm skin cap and robe and Tls. 7 for the journey. There were great rejoicings at 'T'sang-chow when the prefect sent for the parents to take over the returned children.
The Shen Pao has a leading article express sing, in very strong language, its regret at the mistake that has been committed in stoping the works for the Tientsin-Tungchow ay, which, it says, would have been in all ropability continued to the gates of Peking.
Tt goes so far as to say that at resent the building of railways in China is as important as the repairs to the breach in the Yellow River. The most successful mines, those of Kaiping and Keelung, owe their success to railways, and if the government wishes to properly develop other mines, it cannot do so without their aid. When this unfortunate check occurred, the popular opposition to them might be said To have. practically ceased, and everybody was predicting for them a brilliant future in China. The Sion-pao has of late been constantly urging on the public the superior benefits to a country conferred by coal mines as compared with mines of the precious. metals; coal being not a luxury for the rich, but a necessity for the millions, and requiring no preparation or refining process to render it ready for use, The violent storm of thunder and rain about 6 p.m. on 23rd February came ra ther prematurely, as this was only the 24th day of the first moon, and thunder is not expected until the solar term awakening of insects on the 4th day of the 2nd moon, when the thunder wakes them from their winter torpor and the {spring rain makes the bamboo sprouts begin to shoot. The proverb says, a clap of thunder before that term, and snow-flakes will be flying for 49 days. (Absit omen!)—Shén Pao.
Ta-li is the most important of the villages in the jurisdiction of the Nam-hoi" Hien, Canton. The people there are a rough sturdy race, who did good service in defer ing the city of Canton at the time of the Taiping rebellion. These people have a curious China New Year custom which reiterated official proclamations have failed to check, and which none but a rude and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.