I think it was in 1912 that I met a certain British schoolboy from the Chefoo School. With his shining morning face, as Shakespeare has it, he seemed so young that I was quite surprised to learn that as soon as war was declared in 1914 he offered for military service and was sent at once to the front. For four years he was in the thick of the fighting. Towards the close of the war he was wounded severely in the shoulder. More than one operation was necessary, and he was left with a stiffened shoulder and a shortened arm with impaired movement. A little time ago in England he was out boating with some others and one of the party—perhaps a stranger—fell into deep water and sank immediately. This boy with the crippled shoulder jumped in after him. The skill and strength in swimming which he had acquired at Chefoo now stood him in good stead. After a desperate struggle he brought the drowning youth to the surface, but the latter was far gone and it took more than two hours to resuscitate him. Our Chefoo boy has received the medal of the Royal Humane Society and also the Carnegie decoration. Is not "Britisher" proud of him? I am. And let me add that he is a grandson of the founder of the mission and has a brother who also served and was wounded in the knee. The members of the mission do not greatly care to defend themselves but a stranger may consider himself free to say a few words on their behalf, especially as they do not know who he is. The main point is, however, that no school should be condemned because it has not a. Boy Scout organization British boys can be brave and patriotic without it, In conclusion may I be permitted to say that I am sure "Britisher" is a good fellow at heart and has written from a chivalrous sense of duty. But if he will think over the whole matter calmly and fairly I shall be surprised if he is not sorry for trying to "queer" the scheme we have been discussing, and still more surprised if he does not eventually send a generous donation for the erection of the memorial hall.
I am, etc., Shanghai, March 11.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.