Wuchang, May 22.
The farmers around here are now -busy planting out their rice, and crops appear to be good, the recent spell of rainy weather having allayed the fears of the agriculturalists that there might not be enough water for their purpose. 'A bumper rice crop would go far towards easing the minds of a large proportion of the poorer classes the price of the staple food keeps soaring.
Ar tHe Temers or Het.
Last Sunday was celebrated the annual festival held on 28th of the 3rd moon at a temple outside the Great East Gate of Wuchang known as the Temple of Hell—an edifice containing a large number of groups of wooden figures portraying the sufferings in the nether regions in store for those who are given over to wickedness, or, what is nearly as bad, are, unorthodox in their views on religion.
For a week before the great day the priests had been "raising Cain" by. their continual _tomtomming and letting off'of crackers. On the feast day itself a great crowd of people, numbering many thousands, fathered round the temple and its environs. The building itself was lighted up with myvaids of candles and numberless sticks of incense were burning. The worshippers are supposed to come in order to pray for long life, though, judging by the number of consumptive-looking devotees, the healthier ones were courting a short existence by coming into such germ-laden atmosphere. There was also a chance to combine religion with pleasure, for in the neighbourhood of the temple sword-swallowers-jugglers and acrobats of various kinds sought to beguile the elusive 10 or 20 cash piece from the pockets of the interested onlookers, who followed the time-honoured custom of this festival by' stolidly sucking Pieces of sugar-cane. The crowds were very orderly and good humoured and by five in the evening most of the folks were wending their way citywards.
This, believe, is a local feast only, but it is one which the mili tary and police authorities are apt to look upon with some suspicion and there is usually a posse of armed police and soldiers present to prevent any trouble. casionally riots have started during this foast and there is a record of a rebellion having broken out on one occasion in the time of the Manchus-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.