On the 26th June, two days preceding the first day of the festival, the military mandarin stationed at Macheng was sent to Sungpu by the district Magistrate, to confer with Mr. Wikholm as to the desir ability of Mr. Johansson and himself leaving the place during the four days' festival. Tt was suggested that they might retire to Macheng or return to Wuchang. Mr. Wikholm replied that the people wore friendly, that so far as he could see there was no necessity for deserting his post, and that to do, so would only result in establishing a bad precedent. Seeing that they were determined not to leave, the military mandarin promised to give all the help he could. The missionaries rested in the assurance thus given them, and believed there was no longer.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.