The Shanghai Library dates back to 1849. In 1854 we find that itcontained 1，276 distinct works， and subscribed to 30 periodicals andnewspapers， and met a great need of the young Settlement.
It was housed at different times in various locations， at theShanghai Club， in rooms adjoining the premises of the Royal AsiaticSociety， on Nanking Road and finally in the Town Hall.
When the Shanghai Club built its own library， the ShanghaiLibrary lost about half its subscribers and for a time was crippledfinancially.
On condition that its Reading Room should be made free to thepublic， an annual grant was made to it by the Shanghai MunicipalCouncil.
Masonry
Masonry has always played an important part in Shanghai life.
We find that the first Lodge—the Northern Lodge—was establishedin 1849. This was followed by the Sussex Lodge in 1863. Its first homewas in Park Lane， now Nanking Road. The foundation stone of thenew Hall on The Bund was laid in July， 1865 ， and was one of thefirst buildings of pleasing character to appear on the water front. Thepresent site and building have recently been sold and it is now plannedto erect a large and handsome building in some other part of theInternational Settlement.
Sport
Turning to sport， we find， of course， that shooting was a favouritepastime. After the devastation wrought by the Taiping Rebellion in thevicinity of Shanghai， game became more plenteous than ever.
The first mention of a house-boat is in the year 1859. From thattime on one of the most delightful ways of spending a holiday was anexcursion up country in a house-boat for the purpose of shooting.
Cricket， as already noted， was one of the chief forms of sport.
The firrst recorded cricket match was played some where in Hongkew，and on this ground a match between team of officers from H. M. S.
“Highflyer” and a Shanghai eleven was played on April 22nd， 1858 。
The first interport match with Hongkong took place in 1866.
Rowing made its appearance in 1863 ， and a football club wasformed in 1867.
The early history of the Fives Court， the Bowling Alley andRacquets Court is somewhat wrapped in mystery. The Fives Court wassituated at the corner of Nanking and Honan Roads. Until recentlyan insignificant doorway in a Chinese wall at 49 Nanking Road， gaveentrance to what is said to have been the somewhat exclusive BowlingClub， and to the Bowling Alley which was made in 1857 。 Althoughthis old historic site has recently been sold and the building torn down，it is interesting to note that the Chinese still call that part of NankingRoad by the Chinese words pau-jew-dzang meaning “Bowling Alley.”
By 1864 Paper Hunting as an outdoor sport became fairlyestablished， but the club goes back to an earlier date. Its introductionwas due to the military officers who were familiar with it in other partsof the world.
The first paper hunt was won in December， 1863 ， by Mr.
Augustus Broom on a pony called “Mud.” About a year 1ater a packof beagles was followed across country， the dogs having been broughtout in 1864 。 Enthusiasts in regard to paper hunts refer with pride toa Royal Hunt. In 1881， Shanghai was visited by the late Prince AlbertVictor， Duke of Clarence， Prince George （now the King of England），and Prince Louis of Battenberg. On December 3rd Prince AlbertVictor and Prince George rode with the “foxes，” and Prince Louis rodein the Hunt and was sixth on the card.
Rowing became very popular， and an international cup was keenlycompeted for. In 1866 it was won by the American eight and in 1867
by the English. The races were rowed on the Soochow Creek. In lateryears as Shanghai developed， the congested traffic on the waterwaysnear Shanghai made it necessary to hold the annual regatta out in thecountry at Henli.
The Missionary communityAs soon as Shanghai was opened as a Treaty Port， it became acentre of Protestant Missionary work as well as of trade.
The Roman Catholic Church had carried on important work inChina since the seventeenth century， and a church had been built inShanghai pronunciation.
The author is indebted for these facts to Dr. C. Noel Davis， the present Master ofthe Shanghai Paper Hunt Club.
the Chinese city， largely by the help of the well-known convert alreadyreferred to， Paul Zi， or Hsü。 During a period of persecution this hadbeen seized and converted into a temple of the god of war. In 186 0，through the influence of General de Montauban， it was returned to theFathers， and restored to its former use. It still stands， and is known asthe “Lau Tong，” or “Old Church.”
In 1848 the foundation was laid of the important centre atSiccawei. The Orphanage， Industrial School， Library， MeteorologicalObservatory， T"usewei Printing Press， and Church form an interestinggroup at the present day.
As to the advent of the Protestant Missionaries， the Rev. W. H.
Medhurst， D. D. ， and Dr. Wm. Lockhart， of the London Mission，who had formerly been stationed at Canton， arrived in Shanghai a littlebefore Captain Balfour.
At the beginning of things the services of Dr. Medhurst weremuch in demand as interpreter in the negotiations carried on with theChinese authorities， “and thus the British Service at Shanghai benefitedfrom the wide experience and fluency of men from the Mission field.“These two were followed by the Revs. William Muirhead and JosephEdkins.
Mrs. Lockhart， a sister of Mr. （afterwards Sir） Harry Parkes， wasthe first Western lady to set foot in Shanghai. She survived her husbandfor many years， and died in England on January 2nd， 1918， at theripe age of ninety-five. She may be said to have been canonized by thepublic， inasmuch as St. Catherine"s Bridge derives its name from her.
