Mr. A. R. Colquhoun is still here, but is about'to go up to Peking: the same Fenmark nay bes made of Bz. Deising, The Haikuan Tao has done an exceedingly wi thing in appointing Me. Wu] bj Kuang-chien, of the Naval College, as his Secretary and Interpreter. Mr. Wu had a distinguished career at Greenwich where he was facile princeps of the year in mathematies:'he is an accomplished English scholar and spanker and an energetic straightforward man of exceptional ability "ud intelligence. During his four years' sojourn in England, he made special efforts to get on the inside track of the national mind and manners, If the Taotai hereafter comes to deadlocks with the Consuls or mer-chaute, it will assuredly not be from lack of an intelligent presentation of the foreign aspect of the points at issue, Yo have had a week of continued snow and discomfort; alternations of very low toroperature (-3 Fahr.) and slush.
5th of January we had a fall of near]; of snow, and off and on since we have had sleet or snow four or five times. It block-od all traffic for the day.
The death of Mr. Theodore Schnell who held colonel's rank in the Chinese Service has deeply affected many of his old friends in Tientsin, Mr. Schnell has been associated with the North of China for over 20 years and was very well-known in Tien-isin, He leaves widow and two (adult) children.
13th January.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.