So-year old resident of Taichow, first thought of by this American gentleman, but be that tone of the men who has put hi mark on Taichow, or else who fas, been made into a product of Tale chow, is Mr. Kwan' Sch-ching who Als into the landscape so well that it would be hard to say whether the! county was cut to ft him or whether he was moulded to fit the county, At any rate Mr, Kwan looks as If he and Taichow belong. together and that neither would be just right without the other, Mr. Kwan Sch-ching has just celebrated his eightieth birthday. Halo and hearty for one of his years, he North China Theological Seminary is announcing two valuable additions to ite faculty in the Rev. Cheng Chi-kwel, who has been teaching in the Bible Institute at Changsha, Hunan and the Rev, Kao Kwel-cheng, of Shansi. Both expect fo begin their work here at the open= ing of the autumn term in September. About forly students have already applied for entrance to the seminary this autumn, and present prospects seem' to indicate a, large During the spring and carly summer, this part of the country was very dry, and the crops suffered, Recently, several good rains fell, but not enotigh io affect the rivers' and creeks, More rain is needed, There has been a great deal of cloudy wea ther, and an unusual amount of light= ning. So fas, the heat has not been fy oppressive es it was last summer. Kaoliang, millet. beans, sweet pata toes, and "ther crops seem {0 be in ood condition, terest in the affairs of the present; tone cannot help but feel that it such men as Mr. Kwan who have made China, and have held her together through so many centuries! while other peoples have flourished and decaded.
Mr. Kwan is a gentleman of, the old school. In the days when the candid ates for public amice took the examinations he secured the degree of Ching Sze. Mr. Kwan has held the ofice of Magistrate in various places Shantung Province, at Hai-feng. Chu Chen, Tan Ching "and others He was also formerly a member of the Bureau of Education of Shantung Province. Mr. Kwan can toll Some interesting tales of his experiences in public life, particularly while the Boxer uprisings swept over the country and when sometimes the provincial officials did not always! See eye to eye with those close to the throne in Poking. Mr. Kwan's activities in polities, at least as far as actually holding office are concerned, came to an end in 1910 and hho was glad to spend the remainder of this days in his comfortable home in the quiet old city of Taichow, where one can rest in peace when strife and struggle and war rock the foundations of Europe or even when revolutions roll over old China her-salt.
Some fifty of Mr. Kwan's relatives gathered at his home during the several days of rejoicing incident to this eightieth birthday and all the friends and associates in Taichow called to pay their respects and to offer their congratulations. Amons those who sent messages of good cheer and good wishes from a distance Jwere President Lin Sen and ex-Governor Han. Among the descendenis of Mr. Kwan present at his birthday festivities were several great grandchildren.
There has been a great deal rain around Taichow this summer and as a result the weather has been Quite cool. The farmers, however, are very uneasy at the continued wel weather.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.