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Show % From Behind a Moongate. It has always been a source of regret to me, that in planning our^hospital compound at Techow, noone incorporated the, to me, fascinatingly enticing ''moongate'', so often found in the old type Chinese courtyard. Forbidding, indeed, may be the ponderous wooden gates, that at the street entrance, conceal from prying eyes, the family life within. But once inside, cool shade of trees, flowering plants and bushes, and beyond the round gate cut in the brick wall of the outer court, the ''moongate*' the family courtyard, the tea tables, and wicker chairs, invite you to rest and visit with your friends. In such surroundings I spent my vacation visiting my close friend, Dr. Marion Yang, who for six years was physician in Porter Hospital. When I left Tehchow I had thought of going to the mountains in Shansi, for nearly all my vacations in China have been spent at the seashore. But on reaching Peking where I must wait for the weekly express into Shansi, I found traffic in that direction so uncertain and crowded that it seemed impractical to even try. I would needs at least have spent ten of my precious days travelling, and so I hurriedly adjusted my plans. Dr. Marion and I had a week together at the Western Hills, just a short hour by auto from Peking, but where a slight elevation gave considerable relief from the heat of the summer at Tehchow. I renewed my acquaintance with donkey-back riding, and visited soke of the famous oldr temple grounds in that region. Bandit-thieves were numerous in the nearby villages, and after three visits in as many weeks to her house, our hostess decided to close her cottage, so we came back to the ''moongate''. The readers who are especially interested in public health work will care to know that Dr. Yang is one of the heads in this, in China, new department of work, doing a most creditable work in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Dept. of Peking. The Health Station in under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation, and even now in its beginnings, shows what the future holds for China in this needed field. Dr. Yang is just now on a brief leave of absence to study work done by, and training given to midwives in the Public Health Department of Manila. I saw something of this work when I was in the Islands in 1926, and crave that every village in China shall know such trained attention in the day of woman's greatest need. The untrained ''hags'', who through ignorance, not intentional cruelty, bring such untold suffering to our girl mothers here, will we trust, in due time, be replaced by graduates from such a course as Dr. Yang proposes to give in the near future. My last letter to you was of Christmas festivities, and here it is, already fall, and by the time you get this, you will be thinking about turkey dinners for yourselves, and getting a Christmas letter back to me! At least I hope so! The spring and summer months, filled with military activities and unrest, were too hectic to permit of letter writing. Many of you know that the few missionaries who have been at the compound during the last year, as the Nationalist army drew near, with possible war impending, all left, either for furlough, or to join their families in the ports. I, personally, having no family dependent on me, and knowing the hospital, in time of war, would be a busy place, and in need of its staff, decided to stay. I am now, so very glad that I did, on all scores. It entailed hard work during hot days, and many nights, but the contacts made with leaders and privates alike, were very worthwhile experiences, not to mention the evident appreciation of the Chinese staff for my presence and help. Our wards in both hospitals were filled to the brim, with typhus, typhoid, relapsing fever, and the wounded. Even the women's,chapel was turned into a convalescent ward, All regular hours for the outpatient department had'tobe waived, both lest we offend, and because the men needed immediate attention on arrival. Tired, footsore, feverish, delirious and lousy!! Small wonder they were grateful to be stripped, bathed, and put into a bed, hard though it might be, from our stand- point. We realized that if we did not keep our hospital open and running ourselves, that the military folk would take it over. That would mean disbanding our Chinese staff, dismissing our school of nursing, and inevitable commandeering of all our supplies and equipment. So we stayed by the goods, and held the fort as best we could, despite our limited number of workers. We were treated with all courtesy by high and low officials, as well as soldier patients. I had a personal letter from Marshall Fang Chen Wu, who commanded the wing that came up the Tientsin Pukow line through Tsinan, and on to Tehchow, expressing his appreciation that I remained in the interior during war time, for the services rendered his soldiers, and accompanied with three hundred dollars to assist in caring for charity work. The coming of sixty thousand troops into a region already stricken with famine could but prove a problem as to housing and food, but conditions as compared with those of two years ago, when the Northern troops looted the city from end to end, were very endurable. The soldiers paid for what they bought. To be sure they gave money which was at a discount, but it was all they had. The hospitals also suffered from that |