Years ago when the swamp north of Tortoise Hill was being prepared for the erection of iron works, the then popular kodaks were everywhere said to be spirit-stealing machines; for without " supply of human' spirits, no iron works could he erected there Nor hare such supersti tions been confined to China. China is rather the international museum where many a nation may find notions and eust toms familiar enough to its own remote ancestors, famous bridge, over a certain continental river, apparently dating back to Roman times, had to be rebuilt. And on getting down to the foundation, the stones were found to form a box in which was the skeleton of: a child. That the Chinese may have had some such custom, where the soil was bad, seems probable from the general rumours current to-day. For how else could such a notion occur to them Let us hope, however, th national precedent for present day theories are, a8 In the ease of "the foreigners," " couple of thousand years out of date.
5th June.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.