In the prefecture of Hunining Fu, in the district of Puchi Hsien, lived x' young Magpie. True he was young, but he was very intelligent, and in the Magpie exaininations he had one off #0 well that though junly aw entered graduate, he doubtedly in very high feather over success. Upon his return after the spring trial of wit and learning, he was teh cin good humour with himself, that he was ready to take command of any gathering Jof Magpies that might be assembled for any parpose whatever. It: was at this time that a circumstance attracted his attention, I which he had either never noticed at all before, or only dimly xnd at a distance, {A family of Foreign Devils moved into [the neighbourhood, from nobody knows where, for nobody. knows what, and they jad even gone ssu fur as to build uwo or unre houses, as if the whole country be-Innged to them to do as they pleased with, igh not so very unlike some Chinese these buildings hud one fatal peculiarity, docking in all well regulated Chinese houses—they had huge windows filled with panes of glass, which the young Magpie had never seen before, and which he did not at all like, Now that he was Decone so much of n character, owing tw is entrance into the class of Magpie literati, he felt that this was not to be endured without a protest. Accordingly he col-ceted xs many of his comrades as he could, nnd cawed to them his views of this state of things, "Are we to allow these Devils to come into our territory," said he, to build their horrid structures right before our eyes, insulting our native archi fecture, us if that were not good enough for them, and nothing done about it?? To this the other Magpies variously awed buck, thus they hud not been at home when the building went " it would have been fas carried on under some it from the officials or some one else, and common people could wot well interfere. 'Tu this the excited Magpie replied by taunts of cowardice, and remark ed that his companions had been corrupted by foreign devils' silver'. The frequent and protracted discussions of this burning question always broke up in cmfusion, and at last the Magpie resulved that he would discuss the matter no more.
[Tt was now time to net. Be clearly saw that the most vulnerable point of the noxious structures was the hated glass windows, and these he resolved to attack, This he did with grent deal of zeal and fury for along time, using his beak trip hammer. 'The' small' Foreign Devil who usually sat in the front room during the forenoons, working over aums in Partial Payments that would not come out right, was a good deal disturbed by a sound of distant tapping, and wondered what it was, and he went often on tiptoe see, till he was quite sure that it was nothing but a Magpie trying to get into the cellar through the glass window. "Why dou't_he come in through that broken pane?" he red of his Paps, But his Papa did not know. Nobody knew then, that it waa " riot, Yet after all, there was no one in it, but just that one Magpie. But he ind to make noise enough torn flock. And he did, The degraded Chinese that s" far forgot, his self-respect as In crack oval in the cellar for the Foreign Devil, put up" scare-crow outside the cellar window, to keep.off the Magpie. But
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.