Through the courtesy of the Procure des Lazaristes we are enabled to publish the following letter from Bishop H. Lo Croart, Vicar Apostolic of S, giving an account of the famine conditions in the vicariate of Hokienfu:—It is impossible to send you all the letters that I daily receive from the 35 sub-prefectures of my Vicariate where famine rages. Each one of them is a living, heart-rending document testified to by eye-witnesses. The hardship described by the missionaries 1s that of to-day. But what will be that of to-morrow when the snow and the terrible cold from Siberia will have set in?
These narratives are on the whole rather similar and to give them all or each of them in its entirely would become tedious. shall copy you only a few extracts from to-day's mail.
From Father Simon Li, s.s., of whom I have previously written you: "The refuge we have opened for old women and orphan girls is full: 50 persons in all. All the old women are at least 60 years old. They come from all parts of the country, within a radius of 10 to 20 i. Every day many more old women, blind or lame and penniless, beg for admission. The city of Hanhan is urgently pressing mae for a school. The house required is offered but T have to wait for the necessary funds. been paid for. The boatman, a hardhearted pagan, refused to yield to the father's entreaties for mercy. At last the unfortunate man, being absolutely penniless, seized the child and threw him into the river and he had already taken hold of another of his children in his despair when the cther passengers intervened and saved the child. This man had sold everything to get the money for paying his fare: he has not even, left enough money to buy food for the rest of his journey. What will be his fate when he arrives, being completely destitute
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.