Since my last letter Hongkong has been favoured with about ten days of bl sun, without cloud or rain to mos the force of it influence. The result is that almost everybody is faygged unless they have been able to get ay nileed does the sky yet show any tation that this condit to give way to something pleasant. OF course it inst Jefore long. for these Ge not last for ever, and rain storms for typhoons will inter little cool air to rear and <0 set on our feet main.
AAll those who reside in the South of China know that at this time of the year, during the stifling days of August, the people, for ivme years, have been awenstomed to worship the god of tire, and at the same ti to indulge in certain ceremonies, of which fire ent to minister to whose relatives ai too poor or tow indifferent to at to their wants: in the nether world, Of course, all this ie very" expensive, and in some cases "is aly dangerous the well-being of the town for, not infrequently, fires reward those who are thus devoted and they got a bigger blaze than they have bargained for. issue grandmotherly adman are yearly couched in the same lan-gage, and are often written in doguere! verse. wen they have done this th assume that their duty has heew aevon plished. Until this year, no very mark-odd difference has been shown in the way things are done, though for the last two or three years the newspapers have denounced this foolish waste of energy and money. This year, however, in Cunton, the rulers of the most popular' and important section of the city have amer, tel have decided that, in the future, the okt cristo inasmuch as obviously it does no good. That it has been condeumed by the most influential section of Canton will ive the whole thing a blow from which it will never properly recove and it only needs time before it may disappear altogether.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.