About a week ago, two Russian ladies, smartly dressed and of attractive appearance, scarcely out of their teens, engaged an apartment at the Burlington hotel, after apparently having resided at various places in Shanghai during the past year. On Tuesday morning, a.few minutes after six o'clock, they rang for the room boy, summoned the manager, and awaited events which proved to be not so extremely tragic as the young ladies had apparently' anticipated.
answering this unusual call, Mr. MacCabe made-a somewhat perplexing discovery. White and red flowers, lilies among them, graced the bed at its head and foot, and the ladies, Lydia and Eugene, exhibited symptoms of having taken poison, the floral decorations evidently having been arranged to give the tragedy a touch of poignant romance. On a table in the room there were two letters, one addressed to the manager of the hotel, informing him that chits would be met by a certain young man of Shanghai and another'to a friend requesting him to dispose of their personal property.
Fortunately, it was not necessary to approach the gentlemen named for performance of these sad offices. Dr. Massie was summoned, and after having given the ladies necessary attention, directed their removal to the Geneval Hospital.
Both patients retained consciousness, though they were in a condition of semi-hysteria, but it was not until one of the Sisters questioned them in the afternoon that information of an attempt to commit suicide was volunteered. Det.-Sgt. -McDermott was then sent to investigate the matter. The patients declined to answer questions, and, upon learning that they were being questioned by a police officer, one of them said: "Oh, do as you like." She added that her sister and herself had that morning taken 120 grains of quinine.
AccorpinG to a report publi in Peking, the Tariff Revisi Commission at present in session in Shanghai has found it exceedingly difficult to fix the new duty upon shark's fins and another meeting to deal with the subject will have to be held.
Worp has been received here that the Empress of Australia, one of the palatial new liners of the Canadian Pacific Steamships Ld., arrived at Vancouver from England en July 19, and was to leave on her maiden trip across the Pacific on Thursday, the 27th instant. This will bring her to Shanghai about August i4. The Empress of Australia was one of the ships acquired from: Germany under the Treaty of Versailles. She was built at Stettin, and prior to being given the names of Empress of Australia, was known as the Tirpitz.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.