Mrs. Limby's Recollections of the Real Old Days 'Shanghai's oldest resident, that is in length of time spent " here, celebrated her 70th birthday this week, for Mrs. B. A. Limby was born' in Shanghai on November 22,1858, and, except for n few years fon holiday, has spent all her life in this Far Eastern port. No-one, meeting Mrs. Limby, would imagine that her age was within years of what it actually is, but 70 she is to-day and many are the wonderful changes that she has witnessed in this Paris of the East, the sixth port in the world. first memories of Shanghai are of the time when she was about five years old. The Bund then was a very different affair with little wooden jetties running to the water, and at high tide there was not more than a foot or two of pavement at the corner where Jardine's building now stand:
Announcing the Races The races, held on a Race Course that used to be where Lloyd Road, leading off the Nanking Road, is now, were very great events. Mi Limby was naturally too small to take much interest in the actual racing itself, but she can recall her great delight in the brightly colour-fed squares of satin silk that were sent rourd to all the lady members, giving the number of races and the entries for each Mrs, Limby remembers distinctly too the Ma Loo at night in those days, very different to the bright avenue of light it is now after dusk.
The road was very narrow, with iN built Chinese houses either side, and at night, (Mrs. Limby remembers walking down the road with her father Late one afternoon in the winter, when darkness had already fallen,) the only illumination was the Tittle spots of light given by the oil lamps burning in the houses passed. And the windows of these were all so dirty and dusty that nothing more than a feeble glow could penetrate into the street. outside.
Church Parade Another phase of her life which Mrs, Limby clearly recalls is Sunday morning. Every Sunday the service in the Trinity Church, as it was then, was duly attended, and after the service was over the eongregation would gather outside, where there was then the pond alleged to be without-a bottom, and exchange small talk. This over, most of the congregation sallied forth to the wall surrounding the Native City and took a stroll alone
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.