Weihaiwei, Aug. 30.
Some days ago in passing along! the main road at a time when the road was crowded, a youth was, seen proceeding along its edge, chanting a mournful dirge and not; taking the slightest notice of passers-by nor they of him. It was then seen that he was dragging a broom and rake tied together; and half way up the handle of the broom child's small red jacket' was tied, with arms outstretched, kept in place by bamboos in the sleeves.
The man was very solemn and sincere and took no notice of any-eve dragging his apparatus backward and forward, seeking to lay hold of something or other. Upon) inquiry we found that he had a' sick child at home who had been) unconscious for a few days, and hel surmised that the last time he had taken the child out they had lost its spirit upon the road. By going over the same ground he hoped to sweep up the spirit into the red jacket, and by placing the red} jacket on the child again, it would recover its spirit and the sickness' would flee away.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.