however, places hour of decease about two a.m., and why the defunct man should remain at his desk far into the night without putting pen to paper is another point which remains shrouded in obscurity. "'No cause so far has been assigned for Mr. Mirlees' sudden end, and the strange and tragic affair will of course necessitate coroner's inquest. Mr. Mirlees was thought to be enjoying good health, though his manner had been observed to be moody and distraught for some time, as if he were prey to some severe mental stress; this, however, is alleged by those who knew deceased orientalist best to have been a not uncommon mood with him.'" "Mr. Ronald Mirlees was a widower, having lost his wife in Shanghai some years back, and so far as is known leaves no relatives to mourn his loss. His death will be keenly felt among scholarly circles of the Far East, however, and indeed of the East generally, to whose researches in oriental art and archæology he contributed matter of recognised value, though not a few of our prominent sinologues were disposed to regard Mr. Mirlees' essays as more brilliant and imaginative than sound. His best known and most characteristic work was the volume entitled _Treasure of Asia_, which appeared only last year, and as is no doubt still fresh in the minds of our readers aroused a storm of controversy not only on this side of the world, but also among the learned societies of Europe and America. At the risk of repeating facts already known we will here state that Mr. Mirlees' work embodies much original matter of deep interest concerning the Buddhist faith and Buddhist temples of China, dealing more particularly, as the title indicates, with instances of treasure buried in and around the ancient shrines. The deceased author's critics, and there were many, challenged his statements on grounds of fact, alleging that no authentic evidence of these supposed hoards exists, and especially on the score of propriety, as they feared that Mr. Mirlees' allegations would have the unfortunate effect of attracting to this country an undesirable class of treasure-hunters who would desecrate religious sites in the mere hope of gain. We are happy to record that this fear has not been realised. Such excavations as have been made have been carried out under the auspices of duly authorised oriental societies, and though the finds so far brought to light have not been extensive, they have afforded considerable proof of the shrewdness and accuracy of Mr. Mirlees' speculations. It is admitted at least that the deceased scholar had opened up a branch of study of peculiar fascination: a line of research which if not absolutely new, has so far never been sufficiently explored; and there seems reason to anticipate that later excavations will still further vindicate his arresting and