.
It is touched here and there by the vital spark of Christianity, but at
the centre continues to be Chinese and inseparably associated with
the worship of ancestors and the reverence for those gods whose
influence has been woven into the early years of impressionable life.

That the hope of the educational, social, and religious change in
China rests with the new generation is evident to all. The Chinese
father and mother will sail in the wooden ships which their sons and
daughters are beginning to leave for barks of steel.

There is little doubt that new China will be Westernised in every
department of her being. No friend of China hopes for such sudden
changes, however, as will prevent the Chinese themselves from
permeating the new with their own distinctive individuality. There is a
charm about old China that only those who have lived there can
understand, and there is a charm about these dainty ladies, secluded
within their walls, which the modern woman may lose in a too sudden
transition into the air of the Western day.

Let Europe, let America, let the West come to China, but let the day
be far distant when we shall find no longer in the women's courtyards
such mothers as Kwei-li.

1
My Dear Mother,
Thy son has received his appointment as governor of this province,
and we are at last settled in this new and strange abode. We are
most proud of the words pronounced by His Excellency Yuan when
giving him his power of office. He said:

"You, Liu, are an example of that higher patriotism rarely met with in
official life, which recognises its duty to its Government, a duty too
often forgotten by the members of a great family such as that of which
you are the honoured head, in the obligation to the Clan and the
desire to use power for personal advantage. Your official record has
been without stain; and especially your work among the foreigners
dwelling in our land has been accomplished with tact and discretion. I
am sending you to Shanghai, which is the most difficult post in the
Republic because of its involved affairs with the foreign nations,
knowing that the interests of the Republic will be always safe in your
hands."

I write thee this because I know thy mother-heart will rejoice that our
President shows such confidence in thy son, and that his many years
of service to his country have been appreciated.

Shanghai truly is a difficult place at present. There are fifteen
nationalities here represented b