in the Shantung Road compound， various members of the sameMission continuing these services for many years， among whomwas the Rev. William Muirhead; but in 1864 the non-conformistsorganized themselves into a separate and independent church. In thesame year the first Union Church was build on a part of the LondonMission compound in Shantung Road. After twenty-one years， thecongregation purchased the present site on the corner of Soochow andYuen-ming-yuen Roads， and in 1886 a new Church was opened whichever since has been known as the Union Church. A Sunday SchoolHall and a Manse were added in 1899 and the church was altered andenlarged in 1901.
The Race Course and Recreation GroundShanghai was not long without a Race Course. Before there was aMunicipal Council， as far back as 1850， eighty mow of land had beensecured for a park. This was on the northern side of Nanking Road，and its eastern boundary was the present Honan Road. Here wereheld the earliest race meetings. Next what was called the New Parkand Race Course， situated east of the Defence Creek， was purchasedin 1854. One can retrace this Race Course in imagination by startingfrom Nanking Road （which did not then exist as a road） following thestraight Thibet Road around the curve of Pakhoi and Hoihow Roadsand back by Hoopeh Road across Nanking Road along the presentChekiang Road and Chefoo Road as far as Yunnan Road， curving backto the point of departure on Nanking Road. It was used as a ridingcourse as well as for racing. Four residents， whose names are worthyof remembrance—R. C. Antrobus， James Whittal， Albert Heard， andHenry Dent， in 186 0 purchased 40 mow of land in the interior ofthe second Race Course， so as to provide a place for cricket and othersports.
The second Race Course was succeeded in 186 2 by a third，the present one on Bubbling Well Road. When it was laid out， thegentlemen whose names have been mentioned above decided to sell theoriginal piece of property which had greatly increased in value， and topurchase a new piece inside the third Race Course.
Shareholders in the first recreation ground consented to sell theirshares to the committee at the original price. The land was sold for Tls.
49，425， and a Recreation Fund founded. Tls. 12，500 was used for thepurchase of 430 mow， within the present Race Course in 1863， and acricket ground was laid out.
As years passed this large piece of land was gradually convertedinto the splendid playing fields we have today， for all manner of sports.
Situated as it is in a densely crowded part of the Settlement， it servesthe purpose of an indispensable lung.
The Recreation Fund has been useful in many ways besides itsoriginal purpose. Loans were made out of it to aid other enterprises，not always advantageously， and involved it at one time in seriousfinancial difficulties.
The Shanghai Club
The Shanghai Club was built in 186 2， and was planned on anextravagant scale， far beyond the means of those called upon to supportit.
In order to finish the building a loan was obtained fromthe Recreation Fund， and as the Club was unable to pay off itsindebtedness， a long altercation ensued. For many years the Clubwas run in such a way that there was an annual deficit， and it wasnot until 1870 that it was put on a sound financial basis. The presentcommodious Club erected in 1909 occupies the same site as theoriginal building.
Social Life and SportsIn the beginning， as we can well understand， means of recreationwere somewhat limited. Indeed an old resident has described wheelbarrowraces up and down The Bund as an after dinner amusement onsummer evenings！ In a short time， how-ever， many clubs and societiescame into existence. Amateur theatricals began as early as 185 0， thetheatre in which they were performed being a transformed godown orwarehouse. Later， in 1866 ， the Amateur Dramatic Club was formed，and steps were taken for the erection of a permanent theatre at the costof Tls. 6，000. The first building of the Lyceum Theatre was a woodenone and was destroyed by fire in March， 1871. The one still in use wasplanned and built in 1874.
Royal Asiatic SocietyA Literary and Scientific Society was started as early as 1857
which in the following year became the North-China Branch of theRoyal Asiatic Society. After a few years of vitality it passed through aperiod of suspended animation. Then in 1864 it was revived and sincethen has steadily continued its existence， issuing its valuable Journals，which for many years have appeared annually.
For a long time it had no regular home. In 1868 ， a letter waswritten by Sir Rutherford Alcock recommending to the Foreign Officea grant to the Society of a site for a building. The grant of a piece ofproperty， situated in Museum Road， near Peking Road， was madeat once at a nominal rent on condition that if the Society should bedissolved or if buildings were not put up within three years the groundwould revert to the government.
The offer came near being voided， but towards the close of thethree years a great effort was made to collect funds for a building. TheDebating Society gave its balance on the understanding that it couldmeet in the Society"s rooms. Mr. Thomas Hanbury gave Tls. 500， Mr.
Thomas Kingsmill prepared the plans free of charge， and the buildingwas put up in 187 1 at a cost of about Tls. 3，000. Subscriptions wereraised amounting to Tls. 2， 700 by M. Henri Cordier， the HonoraryLibrarian， and by Mr. F. B. Forbes.
Of course a large part of the community was not deeply interestedin the Society and regarded it as a dry-as-dust institution， but it hashad a long and honourable history and has carried on valuable researchin the language， custom， ethics， history， etc.， of China.
It has a creditable museum and a very valuable library of books onthe Orient， the nucleus of which was obtained by the purchase of thesplendid collection of books belonging to Mr. Alexander Wylie.
In 1927 the Society celebrated its seventieth anniversary.
Shanghai Library