But in spite of these measures of such unprecedented vigour 1 never felt more pessimistic as to the immediate future than after this last trip out among the people. I might have known better but I am free to confess that I expected there would be in the country a general feeling of relief and rest after the ast *loody months of robbery and violence. I found nothing of the sort. Eh the contrary there was the very bitterest grumbling at the presence of the soldiers all over the countryside. There was universal resentment at the high-handed way that General Pei's road was built. is considered an outrage that he forced every family to furnish one man to work two days on the road. They admitted that he played no favourites but called out the rich and poor together, but the fact of actually being forced to do such an unheard of thing as build a road rankles their hearts as a bitter unjust When I frankly expressed say lack of sympathy with their complaints and pointed out that only by building a road could General Pei hope to get the situation hand I was met with the link declaration that they preferred the bandits to the soldiers every time. They expressed it thus: "Ninety-nine out of every hundred of us have no need to fear the robbers. There are dozens of ages containing not a single family of sufficient wealth to make them rebber bait. Even of the well-to-do it may be said to be a gambling chance. But all classes, rich and poor suffer from soldiers, 'They commandeer our kay and grain, our chickens and gs, the very mats on our beds} and they are unbearably insolent along with it. We are promised three months of such occupation, at the end of. which time. we will be pretty well ruined.' [_reminded them that these soldiers surely had-to eat and that it wae} a case of dog eat dog, for it igs country custom to hide everything saleable or desirable when the soldiers come in sight and if the soldiers waited for the people to supply their needs at reasonable prices they would certainly starve, to which they good-naturedly agreed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.