Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-08-05
CHINESE THEATRICALS.
Amusing IlIustratIons of the Histrion-
he Art I'm n SAN Francisco Theatre.

From the San Francisco Morning Call.
few years ago the proprietor of the
Chinese theatre on Jackson street returned
from China, bringing with him a company
ol ninety performers that had been per-
forming for many years at Canton, as who
had a wide reput: ton for talent, and aero
bats, yaulters, vocalists, and general per-
formers. Their wardrobe is of the most
gorgeous style, and cost in China, where
everything is 50 cheap,a power" of money.
Their ARRIVAL al matter of course, caused
considerable excitement among the Chi
ness bon ton, because in the troupe were
several ladies whose feet were no larger
than mans little finger. The theatre on
jackson street, which is as large as the
Metropolitan, was crowded to excess on
the opening night, and each evening since.
The fame of the company has gradually
extended beyond Chinese circles, aud
every evening now sees quite a number Of
Americans in the audience. Last night we
dropped in for a few moments, and were
astonished at the scene before us. Near
the door sat : silent old fellow rolling up
betel nuts and quickllme, and selling a
''chcw" to the auditors rs they came in.
The females are the greatest patrons of the
luxury. and scarcely one failed to invest
five cents in chaw. A short distance of,
were several wcll-known politicians who
were evidently under the convoy ofa prom
inent Chinese eonprddore. The stage is
filled with actors, musicians, and specta-
tors; for If the actors have enough room to
stand and move about they are content
The music (?J-shade of Mendelseohn =
was considered grand by the Chinese, but
to our ears it was nothing but the terrific
dir. caused by the beating of gongs, the
clashing of cymbals, the squeaLing of fid-
dies, the beating Of drums, and the footing
Of asthmatic trumpets. IL gave
us headache that we did
not recover from for ten hours. When
We arrived, it had arrived to that pitch
where rebellion had broken out, and the
adherents of each party were preparing to
decide matters by the gage of battle
Troops were being marshaled and revie we'd
inspected and harangued to the highest
pitch of courage. The cavalry were rep
resented 10y fellows carrying switches, and
the taking of the switch from the hand of
the rider was, 10y violent presumption,
considered to be dismounting. One body
of cavalry was painted to look as near like
devils as possible, and, without hesitation,
we will accept them as such. Another lot
were gallant zoo-zoos, and wore the con-
ventional big trousers of the zouaves.-
These latter appeared to belong to the at
tacking party. and were ''eager for the
fray" for they dared their antagonists to
come out and have s. square thing" Of it.
After a great deal of preliminary fussing.
the battle began, and then we were treated
with display Of acrobatic feats such AZ
are never seen outside of Chinese thea
tire. One fellow who had penchdat for
getting upon a table to crow over his vic
tory, was continually getting knocked
''head over heels" by one of the rebels, who
would come upon the stage turning somcr-
saults, until he would reach certain dis
tance from the table, when he would
straighten ont. while turning, and plant
his feet in the breast of his adversary with
tremendous force. Some of the performers
had great fondness for climbing upon
three tables placed one on top of the other,
end, turning flip flap, light on their backs
on another table, ten or twelve feet away.
A double sword and spear combat displayed
considerable skill, and was fought with
real earnest, for several of the combatants
received severe wounds, from which the
blood poured i'm streams. This delighted
the audience, and their applause nerved
the actors to greater courage, and to more
valorous deeds. While some of their feats
of agility are wonderfully we'll executed,
they have not the grace and finish that is
to be seen in our gymnasts; in fact, they
appear to do everything by main strength
and awkwardness.