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Show Extracts from letters of Edith c. Tallmon, Lintsina, China, dated December 25, 1920 to January 11, 1921. If you oould have looked into my study almost any day these last few weeks, you would have see Shu £i here wrapnina up packages in pages of old ipagasines and Mr. John writing nan©* on stripes of red paper to paste on the outside and give they a gay and festive look. To ee sure the packages had. in theai very small things, pictures and safety-pins, or pictures and pencils, or just picture postals with a little yard tied in the end to hang them up by. Thre were a lot ot rolled paper beads of bright colors and we found thtt they made) fine tops, so they went a long way in Baking preseats to children. fl planned for 300 children but the list kept growing. 11 seat to the country out-stations and to the two home*for poor ahildren in our country field and with the church and school people here we found before we were through t hat there were over 900. It has been a busy time and the children have counted the days until Christmas just as the children at home do. On Thursdy the kindergarten had its Christmas exercises. The aprons used in kindergarten for several teres were given to the children and there were also some new ones of checked gingham. so each child got an aproh. Miss Van Kirk took a picture of the wee ones in their new aprons. Thursday eve- lag the school girls had their oeletoation, inviting the woernn of the oniieh to t he school and had soma of the nicest little pl$ys lhaee ever seen. One play was about a woma~. who was sad because an official wanted to marry her daughter and she was unwilling that the marriage should take place^ The"stable boy volunteered to wear the bride* s cltees and go in the ©hair in her place. The red cloth over his head hid his faoe and of oourse, it was most exciting when they finally found who had come. The girls took ill the parts and did remarkable well. They love dramatics. On Friday the little children at the Bamboo St.day school had their closing exercises and games and were given pencils and paner dolls. Iven the boys like paper dolls exceedingly and I showed the,, how to drese. the dolls and then wo had stories about Little Bo- Peep and Red Riding Hood. Friday evening Mrs. Eastman invited all us foreigners to an entertainment and Christmas tree at her house. Two U. S. soldier boys arrived thatd ay,sent by the RedCBoss to help in the Commissary Department of the road building. Two big boat loads of supplies had come and been unloaded and s.tored in what was once a stable. Great piles of sacked grain like Kafir corn and round cakes of *ras_* -peanuts with the oil pressed out. Those will be the foo of the men who build the road. Of course, there ha®e to be watchmen to guard.it at night. The Sunday after Christmas,"as W©11 as Christmas Day, were full of i eetings. I wish you could have heard my little Chinese kind-derga rten folks sing the Christmas songs, they are lovely even when translated. I wsih there were time to tell how we fixed up so e things to surprise the kiddies in the home for destitute children AA. bow glad they were. I took o®er my big r@g doll, Betty, and how they loved to plav witH her. Miss Van Kirk had four boxes of dolls that arrived here" on Christmas Day and we entertained all fifty school girls that night and they were delighted to ply with them. y- |