We have already had unmistakable hints that the hot weather is not, far off, and those who do not realise that the most comfortable spot in, the summer is one's own house with all its congenial amenities and plenty of ice, are thinking of Chefoo and, Peitaiho, Kuling and Mohkenshan, the mountains of Japan, or even the distant but alluring Banff. There is one thing to be said for the com-; panies whose steamers sail in and out of Shanghai, that they do do their best by inordinate charges to discourage people from deserting the Model Settlement. There are drawbacks to all the summer resorts we have named; Chefoo is very dull, in fact, the only attraction it possesses is its sea bathing; Peitaiho is a long 790' way off and is very difficult of access, {while sometimes people who want to get away from it have to swim for it; Kuling is a treeless waste whose only claim to respect is its coolness while of Mohkanshan we know very little, except that it can only be got at in houseboats and is as yet very much undeveloped. The favourite spots in Japan are dreadfully overcrowded and the innkeepers of that simple paradise have banded themselves together to fleece the visitors; many people too would like to have a little more experience of the working of the revised treaties, and do not feel by any means certain that the abolition there of extraterritoriality will add_to the bliss of a holiday in the Japanese hills. Banff is a beautiful place, undoubtedly, but the cost of getting there and back is prohibitive to all but \rich people.
Meanwhile there is almost at our doors a spot admirably suited for a summer resort in every way, but most accountably neglected, the SaddleIslands, They are not more than six hours by sea from Woosung, the bathing is perfect, they are not infested with unpleasant natives, and the temperature is about fifteen degrees below that of Shanghai. The fresh breezes from the vast. Pacific cool them, for looking eastward, nihil est nisi pontus et caer between them and the Pacific Slope. All the steamers going to and from Japan pass within hailing distance, and they are the only' available summer resort to which a man can send his family in the summer and run down to see them from Saturday to They are practically no-man's-land and this makes it difficult to geta title if one wants to build a bungalow; but it is understood that we have in Mr. Bax-Ironside a most capable Charge d'Agjaires, and it would be an easy matter for him to Shanghai Municipality have a lease of persuade the Tsungli Yamen to let the
the most desirable island on condition that it is not fortified or garrisoned, except possibly by a few policemen at a time requiring change of air,
"into a second-class naval station. and that it is not converted oven 6 should be understood that only the Municipal Standard should be hoisted on it, though the Chinese Dragon might be hoisted alongside it, as a concession to the amour propre of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.