The following are translations from this work, made by a youth at Canton, who was studying the Chinese language: they will afford a specimen of a Chinese book of “Small Talk.” _The Sagacious Pig._――In the district of Suhchow, in Keanguan, a man was murdered, and his body thrown into a well. One of the officers, having long sought in vain for the murderer, was riding by the well one day, when the pig came before his horse, and set up a most bitter cry. His attendants not being able to drive the pig away, the officer said to them, What does the pig want? Whereupon the pig kneeled before him, and made the _kow-tow_. The officer then bid his attendants to follow the pig, which immediately rose up, and led them to a house, and entering the door, crawled under a bed and began rooting up the ground, and continued doing so until he had uncovered a bloody knife. The attendants immediately seized the master of the house, who, on examination, proved to be the murderer. The villagers, having deliberated on the case, took the pig and supported him in one of the temples of Budha; visitors came frequently to see him, and gave money for his support, saying, “Such a sagacious pig deserves to be rewarded.” After more than ten years, he died, and the priests of the temple, having procured for him a coffin, buried him with due formality. _The Enchanted Box._――On the banks of the lake Kanning, in the province of Yunnan, some husbandmen, while digging up the ground, discovered a small iron box, on which characters were written in the ancient form (used in the time of the Han dynasty.) The husbandmen did not understand this writing, but the characters by the side of it were intelligible, and were as follows: “Given by a fairy, in the first year of Cheching.” The husbandmen, not knowing what the box was, broke it open, when they found a small _worm_, about an inch in length, apparently dead. The boys, collecting, threw water on it. The worm then began to stretch itself, until it became quite long, and then it darted into the air. A hurricane soon came on; the rain fell in torrents; the heavens and earth seemed enveloped in black clouds; in the midst of which appeared a horned monster, fighting with two yellow dragons. Hail mingled with dew descended; and the houses and all property of the husbandmen were destroyed! _The Black Pillar._――Once, in the district Shaouhing, there lived a man whose name was Yen, who was married into the family of Wang, and was taken home by his father-in-law, who had no son of his own. After the ceremony, Yen returned to visit his family. His wife having been suddenly taken ill, after his departure, a messenger was sent by his father-in-law to inform him of it. Yen immediately left his father’s house, although it was in the middle of the night.