Being extracts from his diane at Shanghae for the past week, with sundry comments and observaciouns therein,. the whole with appropriate apologies to the memory of the Immortal Samuel dicioun for noe little time.
After digesting the fact awhile, they grinned and one did/ observe that the team which ed disable most of the other side in the shortest possible time wd therefore stand extremely good chances of winning. An Englishman's expostulation that that would nett be "eriquet" amazed them still more, for while they did agree they faild to apprehend exactly where his' remarque applied to the game they were watching. Fearing to burst out laughing in the face of so many husky men, and thereby arousing their ire, I then did move quickly' elsewhere and enjoyed my amusement voice, always a difMeult task. gentleman, long a barrasser of company: directors, had returned to the local scene and was once again posing his many questions, of which.I have filled many notebooks in the past, This gentleman, ere he eft for his homeland.some months agee, presented my' fellow craftsman and 1 an excellent, bottle of the rarest wine, of a vintage sixty years agee, jokingly remarquing that this was a small recompence for our many labours at meetings whereat he had plied no small number of questions. My friend and T adjourned from the office as soon as possible' and with trembling fingers did open the bottle, to sniff a bouquet which mere words! ed not describe. Which did recall to me the December 11.—To-day did sail for southern waters that popular sea-dog, Admiral Sir Charles Little, Commander-in-Chief of His 'Majesty's China Squadron,: after a month's sojourn in this city. And on seeing that he did sail from hence in the Falmouth, a litre! ship when beside such leviathans' as. the Augusta or the Montecuccoli, did reflect that Sir Charles is probably one of the tallest Admirals in Far Eastern waters. This methought is somewhat curious, for stress ig not laid on lit, in His Majesty's Navy as itis in many of His Majesty's regiments ashore, and while a finer body of men than the Navy would be hard' to find, tis derstandable that men of medium lit. wd preferable for negotiating corridors and cabin' doors in compact warshipps, Also to sail to-day was Col. F. R. W. Graham, Commandant of the S.V.C. for these past several yeares, and with whame have had frequent contact on several oc~ eaciouns, when he did treaty me with much kind courtesies, though T but a Gunner, acting, unpaid and a reporter in addicioun, The Colonel left to-day in the inv Jean Laborde, though twas yesterday he did say his farewell to Shanghae, inspecting a Guard of Honour and then waving his good-bye from the stern of a British naval launche which, in approved facloun, did take him away from the jetty and around the bend to land him elsewhere on the Bund—this, 1 understand. being the usual for departing' officers of foreign forces here, and noe doubt does allow them. to concentrate on getting abord shipp intact with baggage without fear of slight ina visiting Major or General by forgetting to. say good-bye, 'This ventive to the kinematograph, whereat did see a musical-comedy which, to my mind, did excell the usual rubbish by' virtue of three mighty Jesters, the Ritz brothers, whose foolery wd have earnd them Kknighthoods at the court of King Henry, Harry, the midder one, is, of course, the leader of the party and he it is who is responsible for most of their drollery. I have it on good understanding that they carry on in like vein even when not before the camera and often drive nigh to insanity directors and actors fon neighbouring sets—but that no discl~ plenary accoun is possible, by virtue of the fact that other film companies are ever endeavouring to lure them away.
December 12,—To-day being the Day of Rest, did remain snug in my bed till the crack of noon, much to the ire of my "boy, who by dint of forgetting "twas Sunday, dropt several strong hints that 1 would be late for the office and that Twas delaying the operagiouns connected with household cleaning, Whereupon, after my repeated complaints and express desire to be left alone, he did retire in dudgeon and refuse to come nigh me or to answer bells ill T had arisen und donned my raiment for the day, And on gazing at my favourite coat, did recall to mind the old anecdote anent the gentleman of modest means—noe doubt a reporter—who one day disclaimed thus to a friend;—"You know, T have a suit for each day of the week." His comrade, suitably amazed by virtue of his secret knowledge of the financial affairs of the impecunious one, remarqued:—"Say you soo!" "Yes, this is it" replied the other, gazing at a blue serge suit.
This afternoon, the weather being most balmy, did nonetheless wrap myself warmly ere setting out, for I have an extreme cold and would noir annoy it, Strolled to the Race Course where, being attract by the yound of martial music, I proceeded to the Polo Ground and watch a game which was later headlined "Wales Triumph Over Scotland to Win Rugger Series." My knowledge this strenuous pastime being but that a very occaciounal spectator, did nevertheless enjoy it extremely. My stacioun on the back line was near several members the Sixth Regiment United States Marines. who are soon to leave us. These well-bui Ya-dozen men were apparently watching their first game of Rugby as played in Britain. 'Their frequent innocent remarques were unintentionally causing amusement to many' who stood by, When one Fusilier Barry was Unfortunately disabled and carried off the field with an injured Knee, the game was held upp for some moments, whereupon the Marines fell a-wondering what had happened to the "substitutes," of which Amerikan Rugby is allowed full measure, even to the extent of eventually putting on an_almost entirely fresh team, A Scotsman's remarques that there were no substitutes in English Rugby scornd to paralyse their powers of December 13.
To-day saw fruit of one of the many exercises the Shanghai Volunteer Corps did have under the abel instrucioun of Colonel Graham in the earlier and quieter part of this yeara. The men of Battalion paraded for about two houres in the evening, ce-operating with the poll in the intensive search for armes in the city, of which there! is believed to be a fair amount as a result of the hostilities in this area. Travelling to the scene in lorries, they suddenly flung a cordon around a wide area, allowing none to pass, while the police did enter and search many houses in the sector.
Some dimMculty was experienced when two cinemas release their crowds who rushed for wai these were nally allowed to pass.
In talking with an S.V.C. sergeant in the evening, he kindly regaled 1.4 brief a/e of what the reacioun of the populace was. Men, he said, wd suddenly see the uniforms and cordon; they wa stop, some wd retreat hastily, and. then come forward once more. Their fears soon sped away when "twas seen the soldiers' were only volunteers and some of the crowd did think it was just "playpidgin" and did attempt to penetrate the cordon. This was] nett allowd, whereupon they wd argue or usc guile, to noe effect. One man, my sergeant! said, tried for almost ¥% an hour to penetrate] the piquet, also to noe avail, Whereat he left, after a brief historickall survey of what he claimed were my friend's ancestors.
December 14- To-day at the Japanese press conference, whereat the questions asked of the various spokesmen came so fast at times did remind me of cross-examinations by gifted counsel in intricate court cases. Equally interesting to a young reporter, however, are the foreign correspondents themselves, many of them important gentlemen and almost household names in the World of the Presse, yet do carry themselves with noe airs at all, and treat the novice or the newcomer as one of themselves. Which is most courteous and kindly, albeit somewhat startling, in view of personal experience of the airs often put on by men of similar axalled rank in other professions and spheres, and also in view of Hollywood's frequent representation of foreign correspondents as tunserupulous, unfriendly rogues.
And soe reflecting, did reali to mind an anecdote related by' one of them a slight while agee, concerning a friend and a fish. This friend, so spoke the correspondent, was fishing and afler some measure of slight success, caught what in pisckatorial circles is termed "a whopper." He called for help from! a fellow fisherman, but before the latter! could arrive supt and fell in, still hanging on to his rod, He struggled to shallower water and, fearful that the fish slid get away, gathered it to him and sat upon it, shouting the while for a nett. His friend rush up with the nett, but before he ed draw nish, the fisherman' yelpt and sprang high into the The fish, as subsequently revealed, had lented being salt upon, and had bitt him. In the laughter which followed the relating of this anecdote, I did unfortunately miss the end of the tale, and to this day know not if the fish was eventually landed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.