are in progress, The Emperor's edict has been carried out and the time-honoured, "eight division essay" is a thing of the past. The attempts of the officials in charge to suggest suitable themes for the essays on ign learning" are causing a good deal of quiet amusement in the more instructed circles, The docile manner in which the literati seem to be accepting the new order of things is somewhat surprising and not a little pathetic. There is a great demand for science primers and all manner of short-cuts to the coveted lore.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.