brotherhood of those who fought in the Great War. No officer can appear in any of these clubs without being most warmly welcomed. Invitations to dine and dance and hunt on the little China ponies are issued broadcast. The men, too, are invited to tea-parties in private houses, and canteens and hostels are organised and staffed by the ladies of Shanghai. An Amusement Committee is formed to arrange evening parties, and the members of the caste readily give their time, their money, and their talents. But for a short time the presence of the 20th Indian Infantry Brigade makes little difference to Shanghai. Khaki uniform is seen in the streets, but there are few other signs of the city coming into a war area. The The appearance of the town does not alter, nor is the life of the large majority of the inhabitants affected. Reconnaissances are made by the soldiers, and the perimeter is divided into sectors, but, for the present, no actual defensive positions are occupied. first sign of war is the shelling of the French Settlement by a Chinese gunboat, which, on the advance of the Cantonese army, deserts from the North and joins the South. Report says that the shells are directed at the arsenal, which lies a mile and a half outside the French Settlement, and is in the hands of the Northerners. But, whether intentionally or accidentally, a number of shells fall in the residential part of the town. True, they do not explode, and except for the partial destruction of a few walls, no damage is done. This incident, although regarded as rather a joke amongst the soldiers, when their first rush of activity is over, is nevertheless a sign that trouble may come. Day by day more Northern troops arrive at the North Station in Chapei, and to prevent their entrance into the Settlement it becomes necessary to post soldiers at all roads leading from that district, and gradually the perimeter begins to assume a warlike appearance. First comes the barbed wire, miles of which soon stretch round the edge of the Settlement; then sand-bag defence posts; and finally, concrete blockhouses to give protection both from bullets or bombs, and from the weather. Comic, though perhaps nearly tragic, incidents which bring the Chinese character into strong relief occur along the perimeter. On Markham Bridge over the Soochow Creek, leading from Chinese land, there appears one morning a Northern battalion in column, with two mounted officers at its head. The British sentries on the Settlement end of the bridge stop the column, but all endeavours to induce the officers to withdraw to the other side of the creek being unavailing, a message is quickly sent to the British Police. On their arrival under the inspector, the Chinese colonel withdraws; the barricades, manned by two but no sooner has he disappeared and is out of the line of fire than two machine-guns are mounted by the Chinese on the bridge, and directed at the group of police now standing alone in in the roadway, for the British soldiers have, at the request of the inspector, withdrawn under cover, and mounted Lewis guns in their sand-bag emplacements, and at windows overlooking the river. It is, for a short time, uncertain whether the Chinese commander will, to avoid loss of face, order fire to be opened, but the muzzles of Lewis guns in the windows and rifles peering over the sand-bags persuade him that he cannot fight, and the Chinese column withdraws. The next day, when the passage of two Chinese generals over the same bridge in a motor is stopped, machineguns are taken from a car in rear and again mounted in the roadway; but now the threat does not last for long, and after a short parley the guns are replaced and the cars move off. By this time the Shanghai Defence Force main body is arriving. Sandbag defence posts appear in the support line, and Shanghai begins more and more to assume the appearance of a beleaguered city. The incident of the 22nd March takes us a step further. In the evening of this day, a determined attempt is made by armed soldiers, in mobs, to enter the Settlement. Beyond companies of British and an In another place the crowd dashes through a narrow alley, held by only two British sentries, who, unable to take the quick responsibility of opening fire, receive the leaders on the point of the bayonet. They cannot, however, withstand the weight of the crowd. They and their dead victims are forced aside by the rush from behind, and the mob pours out into Range Road. Here they are quickly tackled by a corporal and his section, and, as soon as fire is opened, they throw their rifles on the ground and surrender. The souvenirs taken by the British in this affair are Cantonese insignia, though report says that the crowds consisted of Northern troops endeavouring to enter the Settlement to escape from the victorious Southerners. Later on, the same evening, an armoured car patrolling in Chapei is continually fired on, and in extricating it from a cul-de-sac, the officer in command and one of the crew are seriously wounded. And now is the appearance of Shanghai changed. It has become, in a sense, besieged. For no European can with safety leave the wire-enclosed Settlement, nor can the Chinese go through the lines without a pass. Certain roads are open to them at certain hours of the day; all others are closed. On the Bund near the HongKong and Shanghai Bank is a barbed wire fence, and beside it, in Avenue Edouard Sept, is a sand-bag post occupied by Japanese sailors armed with rifles. ing steel helmets and carrying rifles and ammunition. At the defence posts on the perimeter are large parties of men on duty, and others are strengthening the wire or erecting concrete sentry-boxes. Lorries full of soldiers are going up to the line, and others are returning to billets. Lorries, also, with rations and fuel, and Indian A.T. carts with rolls of blankets and ammunition-boxes. Kilted soldiers are playing golf in the centre of the racecourse, and men in khaki are riding China ponies round the track, for the Shanghai Volunteer Corps is mobilised. At night, in these times, the town. is deserted, for the curfew order is in force, and every citizen must be in his house before 10 o'clock. The streets, which we saw in February so crowded with rushing motors that a pedestrian must carefully wait for his opportunity to cross, are now deserted. The town is as brilliantly lit as before, but through it runs only an occasional car, which is frequently halted by picquets who require the passenger's pass, and if this be not forthcoming, escort him to the lock-up. And here comes a patrol of the Shanghai Scottish, and round that corner creeps an armoured car. As we think of the change on the face of Shanghai that has been wrought in the two short months since the vanguard of the Defence Force arrived, we picture also the unspeakable disaster that would have been the fate of the inhabitants of all nationalities had the coming of the soldiers been delayed for a few weeks. England alone, amongst all nations, by taking the bold step of despatching to China an efficient force, has preserved the lives and property not only of her own people, but of all foreigners in Shanghai. She has, moreover, gone far to recover any loss of face she may have suffered in former years. How long the regiments will remain in Shanghai we do not know, nor can we guess how long the recovery of her trade will be delayed, but it is evident that the arrival of the British soldier has had a most steadying effect upon her. His unfailing good temper, his cheerfulness in adversity, his universal kindness, and his absolute refusal to become in any way alarmed-all characteristics which shone 80 brightly throughout the Great War,-have brought confidence not only to the foreign merchant British, American, or Latin but also to the Chinese themselves. THE ELUSIVE TRAIL. BY CYRIL W. DAVSON. IX. GUATEMALA, IN the early morning all America from Mexico to those disturbing noises which Panama. But whilst musing belong to a small ship were in in this way, the lighters had evidence. It was still dark, but been loaded. Now for the people were moving about on human freight. Down in the deck, even the passengers, pre- cage, twenty minutes of swayparing for the ordeal of landing ing and tossing, and up again in lighters, and awaiting that on to the jetty. It's a loathgorgeous spectacle which would some method of embarking greet them at sunrise: the and disembarking from a ship, Seven Wonders of that world- but you cannot build harbours Tacana, Tajumulco, Santa on this exposed coast with its Maria (with half its side torn surf beach. away), Atitlan, Acatenango, Fuego, Agua-their shadowy forms appearing in the early dawn, and turning, as the sun rose, into immense coppery giants from twelve to fourteen thousand feet in height, their talus slopes covered with detritus merging into rich agricultural land, which in turn gave way to forests, and finally that streak of shining white sand buffeted by the thunderous rollers of the Pacific Ocean. The train for Guatemala City was waiting for us. Lucky indeed, for the accommodation available for passengers in this port is very uninviting. I remember, on a later occasion, when arriving here, inquiring at one of the rest-houses for accommodation. They call them hotels, but I don't. I was shown a room almost devoid of furniture, although it certainly possessed two beds. Nothing better offered, and Guatemala, unlike Salvador, hardly had I taken possession has two windows: the one, when an Englishman and his San José de Guatemala, at wife were ushered in by the which we were now about to hotel-keeper. I will give him land, looks out on to the his title, although he doesn't Pacific, and the other, Puerto really deserve it. That worthy Barrios, on to the Atlantic introduced us by merely saying, Ocean. Small British and and with a fatuous smile, " You American steamers ply along are all Engleesh, so it will be this coast, bringing news and all right," and pointed his exchanging trade with the finger to the other neighbouring States of Central "Caramba!" I VOL. CCXXII.-NO. MCCCXLI. bed. exclaimed, A 2 |