March 8.—As the spring slowly advance: the birds begin to warble forth their exquisite songs, our minds are again filled with many pleasant memories—memories of places in the interior which used to be visited at this season of the year but which are, at present, difficult of access. It must be admitted, however, that this feeling is not shared by every local resident. Those who like to frequent dancing-halls, theatres and other places of popular amusement care little for visits to the country and lovers of mahjongg games would naturally prefer to stay at home in all weathers; but there are many to whom the call of spring is insistent. It is not that Shanghai lacks places of recreation for its inhabitants: our parks and recreation grounds are ideal in themselves in arrangement and upkeep; but the Chinese have their own conceptions of what they ad. mire as beautiful scenery. Firstly, what is most desired is historical background thing modern is apt to be regarded in a less favourable light. Secondly, we require the finest technique in the designing of garden: their open spaces should not be too frequent and the interior structures should be as ancient-looking as possible, with the houses overlapping One another, so to speak, rather than standing in isolated places; the paths, too, must be labyrinthine in aspect and have many unexpected turns and twists, so that it be impossible to exhaust the beauties of the place by a single visit. Indeed, so great is the attrac. tion of beautiful scenery for the æstheticallyminded that a mere recollection of scenes visited long ago is enough to comfort you in moments of idleness or anxiety. Imagine yourself, for instance, to be sitting in a hall in Liu Yuan (Liu Family Garden), the famous garden of Soochow, with the writings of many immortal calligraphists adorning its ancient walls; Or watching the moon rise unobtrusively over the historic South Lake in the picturesque city of Kashing. Or picture to yourself the grandeur of the Big Cave of Ising, reputed to have been the abode of a famous recluse in the 22nd century before the Christian Era. As I conclude this my mind is perplexed by the question: how many more months must elapse before these favourite spots may be revisited under normal conditions? As no satisfactory answer is forthcoming there seems to be no alternative but to "ramble on the Wings of Slumber" (namely, to read delightful books of travel) as a Chinese saying figuratively puts it, looking forward to the future when our fond hopes may be realized—cs.w.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.