I hear that the Taotai is to open a school for the study of English and the Western sciences. His nephew, a graduate of the Foochow naval school, who has also had three years' service afloat, is to have charge of the school. The gentleman is said to have been appointed by the grain commissioner, as his deputy for managing foreign affairs. I am somewhat puzzled to know just what the duties of this office are; it sounds well at any rate. He is about to open an Industrial school here also—will teach weaving, ete. If one could feel any assurance of the permanence of these efforts, one could feel much more interested in them. Hitherto the life of such things has been contemporaneous with the official life of the founder, i. ¢., anywhere from six months to two years, A Much-Needed Improvement.
Another mooted improvement is a macadamised road to a town about three miles distant, and the importation of jinricsha to run on this road. I fear it will be some time before this materialises. A solid road will be a fine object lesson when it is seen. The roads here are dirt roads—in dry weather very fine, but in wet weather they equal the Hongkong roads, though I doubt. if a steam roller would disappear altogether.
To ease the Moon.
On Sunday night the usual quiet was disturbed by the biggest hullabaloo I ever heard in China. Bells ringing, crackers and guns exploding, gongs furiously beaten. For a while I' thought a riot was coming; but as it continued, I concluded it must be an eclipse. On inspecting the moon I found it in partial eclipse. 'The noise, of course, was to scare off the dog, or dragon, or whatever animal was gorging itself on the moon. 'All the officials, as usual, I hear, went into their court-yards to kowtow' and burn incense for the same reason, Every one knows that the occurrences of eclipses are foretold in the official almanacs which are sent over the country from Peking, Therefore some one in Government circles must understand the true cause of the eclipse. It is passing strange that they do not take some steps to stop these absurd customs, which make their highest officials a laughing stock to intelligent people. It puts these officials in a position which their general intelligence does not warrant.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.