Chefoo, Mar. 26.
There is a boom in embroidered and silk goods, in anticipation. of the visit of the American fleet, which is rumoured to be coming in the middle of May. Local shopkeepers are in communication with the factories in the interior to which orders have been given. urging them to. increase their. staffs in order to cope with present orders and in anticipation of a busy season. A large part of the fleet will be new visitors to Chefoo and therefore a record season should be the reward of the dealers in fancy goods and curios.
Business is quiet all round, and reports are current that this is not to ba a brisk year, but simply another one of hanging on hoping for better times. The hair net situation is further complicated by the fort that many Chinese firms have removed to Tsingtao, in anticipation of the increased prosperity of that port in Chinese hands. Ca what grounds the assumption of increased prosperity is based is not known; perhaps the movement northward of bandits is hoped for. In the meantime, at least one foreign hair net firm has -closed its premises, and left what business is done in the hands of another. It would not be surprising to see the hair net business left as it was a few years ago, in the hands of a few old-established firms.
Just now is a trying time in Chefoo, being the season when the south winds are prevalent. These winds are popularly supposed to be detrimental tio the more highly strung amongst us, having a peculiar effect on the nervous system and the sufferers being noticeably short in temper. Whether the nerves are really affected, or the annoyance is caused by the howling of the wind, accompanied by nasty dust storms, is a moot point, but it is a fact that usually _goodtempered people are giving each other a wide berth.
Great interest has been manifested lately in the ponies, and a fresh innovation, viz., the institution of paper hunts, has met with success. Two have been held on successive Sunday afternoons, the first being won by the French Consul, 'M. Fiche, and the second by Mr. Harle, of the Eastern telegraph Company from good fields in both cases. A few came croppers, but with no serious result. Having proved a success, it 1s hoped that they will be continued after the harvest. rieshas, give orders to be taken to the various mission compounds and two of these, according to their type-written, unsigned appeals for aid, claim to be 'Roman citizens.'" 1 trust that our Soochow community is not heartless, but having been "stung" so often' during the past few years,.we rather believe in the old saying that "a burnt child dreads fire." 7
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.