Lunghua, Feb. 18.
Undoubtedly Fukien is one of the most backward of all the provinces in China. It is almost entirely free from anything like signs of modern transportation, except on the water, Not long ago, I saw a huge banyan tree, lying prostrate across the main road of the province, connecting Foochow with Amoy. This tree had been blown down by a typhoon at least a year and a half ago, I was told. In all that time, every traveller who has come to that place has had to go out into the field to get round that tree. It blocks the road completely. Every group of chair-bearers set their burden down on either side of this tree, and the occupant of the chair gets out and walks round. Think of such a situation in this year our Lord 1915, near the coast of China!
Your correspondent saw the other day a grave being finished. It was the grave of a prominent local literary man. It was placed so near this same main road, that the fish and in front of it extended across the road, so that the road made a turn round it, This is not an old grave. The workmen were still at work upon it, when I saw it. Yet this was allowed to be done here in Fukien, within a short distance of a prefecture city, on this main high-Of course this grave was located by a necromancer who said that it was necessary to place it there and make the road go round the fungshun pond; and nobody attempted to prevent it.
Great numbers of the people, who cut off their queues two or three years ago, are letting them grow again,—Multitudes of them are in that fearful state where they are not long enough to brain and the cords of hois stand, ontron, their heads, like
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.