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--2 And just see that spoiled little youngster, all dressed in red, eating out of that tiny little wooden dish about as big as a pickle, and his big sister tagging around after him, letting him do whatever he wants to, in true Chinese fashion.

  Oh, here comes the teacher, and she has brought with her her little four year old niece. My, what a bright, pretty child! all the women remark about her and ask who she is; and when they find that she is the niece of the "lao shih" they say, "How beautiful! How bright! Not to be wondered at." Here come three or four more women, bringing two children, a brother and sister. Doesn't that one just want to make you call here, "The Old Dowager", with her can and her airs? Isn't it nice, the way all the other women give her the precedence?
  What's the excitement? Oh, it must be that the hsien official's grandson has arrived. Here he comes, borne aloft by a big man servant. And there is his amah behind, carrying a thermos bottle. He is not such a wonderful looking little lad to have all this fuss, in spite of his good clothes and his cap with its big red ball on top. You know they say that one reason why they send him to kindergarten is in order to get him weaned. He is certainly old enough - four years old.
  Now the teacher is going to write down their names. Some of them have names, but some still have their baby names and want the teacher to give them student names. This little girl's mother says she must ask her mother-in-law and tell the teacher to-morrow, if the name is all right. She cannot even name her own daughter.

Now at last the kindergarten is really opened and the children are playing with the peg-board. but their mothers and grandmothers cannot let them along; it is quite a race to see which one can help her small relative get through first. I am afraid they are disappointed because they cannot see anything remarkable in the amount of progress that their youngsters have made today, but at least they have something to come back for to-morrow. It is strange that there are only eight children here to-day besides the teacher's little niece. They said they were going to have twenty. But it seems that to-morrow is a lucky day, and I suppose some of them are waiting until then to start. Anyway, I will trust Mrs. Wang to hunt up the children and Miss Chu to keep them after they come. She has eighteen in her other kindergarten now, and there is no reason why this one should not be just as big, if not bigger.

  Miss Chu is giving the signal for the kindergartners to make their bow to her, and I suppose it is time to go. I do hope you are not sorry to have spent so much time.

Alice Margaret Huggins