Three out of the four Chang sisters grew up in Soochow, yet they all considered themselves natives of Hofei: they spoke Hofei dialect, had Hofei nurse-nannies, and could all recall details of that world, even though they had only heard about it from other people. Hofei sits in the middle of Anhwei province, between the Huai and the Yangtze Rivers.* The military first recognized its strategic importance twenty-seven hundred years ago. Then, Hofei straddled two rival kingdoms and so naturally became the venue of their seesaw struggles.

Fo-kyen is bounded by Che-kyang on the North, Kyang-ſi on the Weſt, Quang-tong on the South, and on the Eaſt by the Sea of China.

We carried the big ohapuupi seeds with us, planting them anywhere they might grow, and as this had been done by the various tribes for hundreds or maybe thousands of years, bois d'arc trees were found all along the plains.

He found Andy morosely replacing some broken strands in his cinch, and he went straight at the mooted question.