te the threatening clash of arms when fierce retainers throng,
I loathe the drunkard's revels and the sound of fife and song;
But I love to seek a quiet nook, and some old volume bring,
Where I can see the wild flowers bloom and hear the birds in spring."

Ah, dear one, my heart flows through my pen, which is the
messenger of the distant soul to thee, my Mother.

Kwei-li.

10
My Dear Mother,
My days are passed like a water-wheel awhirl, and I can scarcely find
time to attend to the ordinary duties of my household. I fear I seem
neglectful of thee, and I will try to be more regular with my letters, so
that thou wilt not need reproach me. To-night my house is quiet and
all are sleeping, and I can chat with thee without the many
interruptions that come from children, servants, and friends during the
waking hours.

I have had callers all the day; my last, the wife of the Japanese
Consul, who brought with her two children. They were like little
butterflies, dressed in their gay kimonas and bright red obis, their
straight black hair framing their tiny elfin faces. I was delighted and
could scarcely let them go. Their mother says she will send to me
their photographs, and I will send them to thee, as they seem children
from another world. They are much prettier, in my eyes, than the
foreign children, with their white hair and colourless, blue eyes, who
always seem to be clothed in white. That seems not natural for a
child, as it is our mourning colour, and children should wear gay
colours, as they are symbols of joy and gladness.

My husband watched them go away with looks of hatred and disdain
within his eyes, and when I called them Butterflies of Gay Nippon, he
gave an ejaculation of great disgust, as at this time he is not o'erfond
of the Japanese. He believes, along with others, that they are helping
the rebels with their money, and we know that many Japanese
officers are fighting on the side of the Southern forces. He could not
forget the words I used, "Dainty Butterflies," and he said that these
dainty butterflies are coming far too fast, at the rate of many tens of
thousands each year, and they must be fed and clothed and lodged,
and Japan is far too small. These pretty babies searching for a future
home are China's greatest menace. Japan reels that her destiny lies
here in the Far East, where she is overlord, and will continue as such
until the time, if it ever comes, when new China, with her far greater
weal