Soochow, June 24.
The commencement exorcises of Soochow University, School of Science of Science and Arts, are to be held on Friday, the 27th instant.
The commencement week program was initiated last Sunday by the Rev, J. W. Shen, of Nanking Theolocal Seminary, who preached the Bacelaureate Sermon. The dus day exercises in which the graduating class bid farewell to schoolmates and faculty was held on Wednesday evening. On Thursday a play, "Lady Windermere's Fan," translated into Chinese, will be performed by the departing seniors. The chief speaker on the programme on Friday will be Mr. J. 1M. Van, the editor of the "Assoc tion Progress."
There will be six candidates to receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts, three Bachelors of Science and five Bachelors of Science in Chemistry. An honorary degree of Doctor of Laws will be conferred upon Mr. Wang Ching-kui, The Alumini day, instead of being held sometime this week, has been postponed until the autumn, when the new Science Hall will be formally opened. The China medi-Board Fund providing for equipment and supplies in the science departments is now avi able and orders for same have been sent out.
The teaching staff of the science departments will be increased by the arrivals of Dr. White, Mr. Tomlin and Mr. Tsai. Dr. White will Join the department of chemistry, Mr. Tomlin physics and Mr. Tsai Biology:
'St. Faith's Girls' School, Yangchow..
Yangchow, June 23.
The Commencement Exercises of St. Faith's Girls' School are being held. to-day. There are two who graduate from the Middle School, four from the Higher, Primary and ten from the Lower Primary depart-monts.
Yesterday afternoon a piano rejcital was given by Miss Hsu and Miss Chen, two girls who are reving diplomas. to: day. They. are, ithe first. graduates. to. have: taken! were pavilioned with vari-coloured calico, and one gorgeous effort was canopied with red sith, There were soldiers, and their ladies on all those boats. ' Athletes from among. the cal, and spade. ances ait river, dived for ducks and. therviso: enjoyed themselves. ust cessful divers wore ornamented. with: a red band round the head.
The Dragon Boat Festival of course commemorates the historic suicide of Ch'oh Yuan, a statesman of the Chow dynasty who drowned. himself in the Tongking Lake as a protest against his sovereign's bad government. The repentant_monarch went to find'him in.a boat. - He would be a bold man, however, who dared. to a categoric statement of everything the Chinese do believe in connexion with the feast. 'The nan' by which it is most popularly knowe up here is Tuan Yang, although Ten Chang is also heard occasion. ally, Tuan Yang connects it in nas tural sequence with Ching Ming, and. alludes to the end of the Yang period in the year's progress, and the immiment approach of Yin which arrives at Hsia Chih, or the Summer Solstice. Yang isthe period of Earth's impregnation: the time when the crops are sown; Yin is the peri of gestation when fruitful Earth brings forth her treasures. The Chinese here say that the present local. peace results from the keeping of the feast.
We have had a lot of rain. On the 7th the river rose considerably beyond the bridge. It is now below the bridge once more. Seldom does the water remain so low up till June.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.