Diary entries by Clarence McElroy during his trip to Asia.
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. . . of the grounds. The Campus was large & well kept. Saw Messrs. C------ & Dodson. They laid the corner stone of a new building & called it “Mann” after Dr. Mann, the former President (I think) who was drowned a year ago trying to save his friend. The College is now a University & has about 400 male students & about 140 french students in a separate school. As its male students marched in the long hall where the service was held. Most all had pigtails. At the service was the Bishop of Shanghai, the faculty, a Chinese Admiral & other notables. The President delivered a short address in Chinese & then a Chinese, a Dr. & in the Medical Department, delivered the address of the day in Chinese, he is a graduate of Harvard College. After this all marched to the new building & the corner stone was laid. The program was printed in Chinese & I sent a copy to Dr. Marshall. The students come from all parts of China, but the school is not self sustaining. It was begun some 40 or 50 years ago & is an Episcopalian Institution.
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Sept. 20
We went to Park for a while this morning with the Chinese. There is no Sunday & every body was at work as usual. But all stores in the Settlement are closed. We went to the Union Church & heard a very good sermon by Mr. Derwent. The Church was only partly filled. I spent the afternoon in French quarter, the buildings are long & imposing like the English quarter & the native part is as dirty as is the English. At night I went to the Cathedral (Episcopalian) [Holy Trinity Church]. It is said to be the largest & finest Protestant Church in the Orient. The main building is pure Gothic about 175 feet long by 50 wide. Every window has stained glass & the inside finish is brick. Many public buildings here seem on the same plan & the effect is good for a long room. Heard a sermon on Conscience by the minister
Sept. 21st
Went today to the Canton Mortuary where there seems thousands of graves either of brick or stone or plaster. This is the place where all Chinese from Canton or . . . .