The usual quiet of our Soochow com munity was broken last week by the presence of the members of the M. E. Church, South Mission, who held their regular annual Conference at this place. The reports show steady progress along all lines and great hopes for the future. Dr. C. F, Reid, an old resident of Shanghai, but recently of Corea, was elected President. The Church was strengthened by the addition of several new workers from America, among the number Miss White and Professor Gee, who remain in Soochow, and also by several Chinese who were admitted into the Conference on trial, Proposed Girls' School.
A remarkable gathering of the elite of Soochow took place at the Woman's Hospital on Monday last. Invitations were issued to the ladies of seventy of the richest and most influential families of the city. The object of the meeting was to ut before the people the proposed Laura faygood School far high-class girls. Out of the seventy invitations, fifty-seven were accepted, and one hundred and fifty ladies were in attendance. Refreshments were served, and several short talks were made, setting forth the advantages of such' n school, and emphasising the necessity of having educated women to meet the growing demand for wives for men who have received their education at some of the Western colleges. This iden appealed to many who were callous to the advantages of an education because of its elevating effects. This meeting revealed a strong reactionary feel. ing against bound feet. "As educated men feel the need of natural-footed wives, the straws which show which way the wind is blowing lead us to hope that the supply will be more than equal to the demand. Such a gathering shows better than any other one thing the changed attitude of the people toward Western innovations. We must remember that heretofore Soochow has been one of China's most conservative cities, but the new era is dawning, and with it comes China's new woman. Welcome tv her.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.