A ARRIVAL, Just. at present it pours nearly all day every day; but far from being at all warm, we cram on all the warm clothing we can, and shiver over fires. Nevertheless in spite of absolutely leaden skies, and never a imapse of sunshine, the coolies and the "90 years here, and not speak a word of the language" men wear sun hats, and pretend to get ill from the glare, when any one fresh from England would certainly say it was the damp. The floods must be advancing on what always seems to me like the beleaguered city, when T go out on the plain outside, and look back at the city wall with its dark water line clearly marked all round close to the top.
The country round certainly does not tempt one to' go out very often on to the rotten flag-stoned way by which one can walk three or four miles in order to reach 8 ove mile distance as the crow flies; feeble looking corn, and marsh at either side with an occasional tandem of buffaloes groaning not in unison with the discordant creaking of the cart they draw. Yet one_plods past the littlehomesteads each planted on its own artificial hill faced with stones on the side the floods come from. The very friendly people all come out of their cottages, and call out "Do rest with us awhile," ' Come in, do, and have some tea," but till I speal alittle more Chinese I do not care to repeat this too often. Though I rather enjoyed the first time going in and having tea, delicious tea—brought me at once, next a pipe, and then a bowl of water. Nothing could be friendlier than the Ferg are, and somehow or other I fancy I hold quite conversations with them.
But what we either of us exactly say to each other I don't know. So on and on we plod, resisting all Kindly pressure to turn in, till gradually the reflection of the setting sun es ted glow to the water in the ruts, Jast by an effort one summons up will! enough to turn and plod just exactly the same way over the self same stones back to Hankow, the beleaguered city, with its avenues of old arching willows, and beautiful Bund half 2 mile long—a mile walk up and down therefore as everyone takes care to tell you the first day you arrive, lest stricken by a sort of midsummer madness_you should. actually leave the English Settlement with its willows and its'villas and enter the China town.
The stories I heard about the China town gave me quite an excited feeling the first time I went into it. People threatened me with horrible sights, and still more horrible smells, But I suppose the people who talk The dollar price of cash in the city is in this way know very little of London, and nothing of the South of France or Italian towns. Hankow certainly strikes The Ts'ien Ts'iang Fung are by far the me as very fairly clean considering how largest holders amongst the sellers, but as crowded its streets are. The people are for the silk hong now farms its own likin, it in the most part wonderfully civil. I should not care to hear the shower of abuse that dificult to ascertain the exact holding of each. would greet.a foreigner in one of our English The laying out of the Taku-Tientsin and towns, who turned over and examined all Kelung-Tamsui railway lines has already the articles on a stall, and went away commenced, and, according to the Hu Pao, without buying anything, as English people both at Tamsui and Tientsin the authorities do not hesitate to do here. The Kiangsi have their hands full in endeavouring to and Hoonan Guild-houses are both well conciliate popular opposition. The Salt worth a visit, although the former has been Commissioner at Tientsin was besieged by a in large measure burnt down, and thus formidable array of house-wives carried to stripped of those wonderful, coloured tiles the scene of action in jinvieshas. The about which the few, who have seen them, Governor of Formosa has paid a visit of rave. Most people seem never to have seen inspection to the Foreign School. it at all. Asitis now the temple to the Peking correspondent of the Shénpao God of Literature at Hanyang has more says that the Board of War has just made charms for me, with its many curvy roofs the discovery that the Marquis Tatng should making such a harmonious rich dark medley. have inherited a hereditary Knighthood However of course in Hankow no-one is (yituchiyit) from his late distinguished thinking about architecture. "Thou art father as well as a marquisate, The Board of not science, but thou tea-chest art" is the Reveniue hus acourdingly boon requested to riddle they are all engaged with, and they ascertain how much back pay or pension is are very sad over it. For the tea is bad, due to the Marquis under his knighthood. and though the Chinamen have bound The Yangchow correspondent says that the themselves under awful penalties to have new seasons's Silk cocoons have been inno second crop, yet of course the second jured by the cold and that consequently the crop will be there soon, I look sadly at prevailing price (230-240 cash the catty) is those men from Hoonan sitting so trucuslightly higher than last year. ently in. their boats with their pig The native papers publish the rules under twice coiled round their heads, counting which the dozen or so of oficial Chinese over beforehand the gains they mean to take travelling agents are to move, About back home. And probably there will be Pls. 40,000 a year are set apart for this inone. We talk tea at breakfast, and tiffin, fund, to cover salaries of Tls. 200 a month, {and dinner, and we take it at five and Tls. 50 for an interpreter each, and second-consider its quality. But that won't make class travelling expenses. Candidates will {the people at home give up Indian tea, be selected after examination by the Foreign And so in between whiles we count up how Board, and special attention will be paid to narly suicides there were last tea season. their capacity for recording and describing, "And there will be more this year," says experiences. Two years will be allow first one, then another. for each outing, and' beyond that time the Meanwhile the pretty painted boxes agent must find his own salary and expenses. stream past the house at the rate of 80 a Exact accounts must be kept, in local minutes sometime,—always noiseless car-and Chinese currency, of all steamer, rail-ried by coolies in huge sun hats and too often way and cab fares, miscellaneous expenses, through the dripping rain. And the great gamble goes on, and the men, who drop in etc., with full particulars as to the nature of the place visited, localities, distances, to call, look wearier and wearier. mode of conveyance, ete. The legations and consulates abroad will be instructed to facilitate the agents' movements, and to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.