A skeleton service was maintained yesterday to, Soochow only, with tivo local trains in each direction, The officials of the railway are entitled to the highest praise for their efforts to carry on under difficulties, The usual crop of rumours are current in the city. An early morn-report that Wusih had been looted by the retreating Fengtien troops simmered down in the local Chinese press to the looting of a single school compound, ive soul started a story that the Chinkiang tunnel had been blown up, effectively halting the advancing forces, but the latest authentic reports show this to be untrue, A local report has it that a coin sioner of General Sun Chuan-fang visited Soochow on Saturday and quested of the gentry the nominal sum of $20,000. If this is true, it shows becoming modesty on the part of the new commander.
Business as Usual 'A general tone of quietness pre vails throughout the city. Busines: follows its usual course and there is no abatement in the crowds that flock in the streets. The city gates were closed on Friday, but open for Saturday, and to-day. Proclamations are posted throughout the city containing the usual assurances. It is noticed that the city police, who never were models of military now deport them= ind new puttees, Near the foreign conces side the walled city, polic seen showing squads of the newly-arrived troops the various ins and outs, but whether these wore official tours of inspection or merely sight-secing trips could not be ascertained, Perhaps a part of the peop! confidence arises from the fact that the city walls, which until recent months bore marks of the siege during the Taiping rebellion, and even earlier sears, have just been repaired. And yet—well, this is the third change of uniforms Soochow has witnessed within a year, $0 its citizens can hardly be expected tv become enthusiastic over such a. commonplace occurrence,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.