Foreign Woman Pays Tribute to Soul of Servant Hundreds of toy ships, loaded with food and flowers and decorated with lighted Janterns, slowly floated down the Whangpoo River fon the night of August 16" signifying the end of the three-day visit of the spirits of the dead to their former homes. The ships were brought to the Hongkew Wharf of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha by hundreds of small processions. The wharf itself Was crowded with gally-dressed "mu sume", old_women with babies to their backs, school children and Chinese. onlookers, On the night of August 16 and 17, the Japanese community turned out en masse to the Central Primary /Schoo!, Range Road, to participate in or withes the "bon" dance, expressing the happiness of the living having been able to commune with the dead still close to their hearts, Hundreds of apprentices in old-fashioned Japanese enterprises re ceived a day off Aug. 16~one of the two free days given to them annually, to visit their families.
One of the boats bore the soul of Yoshi Suzuki, 68, who died" last The ship, local Nipponese papers id, was lowered into the water by Mrs, "A. E, Robison, 33 Kungping Terrace, whose faithful servant Suzuki thad been. "Mrs, Robison rang up the [Japanese Consular Police asking them flow a Japanese would send off the soul of one who was once near to her.
'Although ordinarily only Japanese Jare allowed to conduct the rite, the [papers said, the police were so deeply moved by' Mrs, Roblson's affection for her servant that they gave her [special permission to join hundreds of Jepanese who parted with the spirits of the dead which have been visiting them for the past three days.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.