From the city of Huai Jen, in the north of Shansi near Tatungfu comes the report of the discovery of a pot containing more than 3,700 pearls, The find was made by a ttle girl. Her father took the pearls to Tientsin and Peking and is said to have disposed of them for upwards of $7,000. The theory that during the fight of the late Empress Dowager to Sian in 1900 some one in her retinue hid these peens at Huai Jen, hoping to return and claim then later.
Two cities in Shansi are preparing shortly to instal a public electric ighting system. One of these is "onehow in central Shansi, the other is Yuncheng, the city by the salt lake in the extreme southwest.
Another small evidence of progress is seen in the erection of a wireless telegraph outfit in a village outside the north gate of Pingyangfu.
For the past year or two a number of Russian pedlars have been visiting' Shansi and. selling cloth. Recently in Taiyuanfe the police were instructed to clear these pedlars off the streets. This order was not given because they were foreigners, but because, taking sdvantage of being aliens, they-sought to evade the payment of certain. ares,: So: far as my observation goes this is the first instance in Shansi 6f 'a generat police onder availingoitself of the absence of In Pingyao-Sha a few days igo one Hou T'iso-ma-er, a youth of 18, donned women's clothes, powdered and rouged his face and took his place among the women guests at a theatrical performance. Some of the young man's acquaintances among the men present called the attention of the police to the masquerader, who was forthwith arrested and haled into court, The magistrate sentenced the would-be female impersonator to a term of three years and six months in the workhouse and the young man is at present engaged in turning " millstone in that institution.
Governor Yen continues -to purchase flying machines and it is now reported that regular flying routes are shortly to be established in three directions from Taiyuanfa. It is likely that their use will be confined to the military only, but this will enable the governor to keep in close touch with the outposts of his army.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.