Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-07-08

ppSu SoiIC i'Shf tSit'c' AAo" Aoiih
and peacefully the little stars twin
kled above the Orient that balmy
Saturday night!
laid down with nv face upturned
watching them. They were the
only familiar objects my eye had
rested upon for many long months,
and almost fancied they were nod
ding friendly recognition! But
my sentiment soon subsidized into
sleep, and when l awoke on Sunday
morning, we were at anchor under
the frowning walls of
HANG CHOW.
We made hasty breakfast short
lv after sunrise, paid our boatman
six dollars for our passage, and at
9 o'clock entered the city by the
north gate. Before I proceed with
this narrative, l beg the readers
pardon for moments digression.
Six hundred years ago, Marco
Polo, the celebrated Venetian trav
eler, visited Hang Chow. At that
time it contained population Of
over 2,5OO.00O souls, and was the
metropolis Of china. 1t was inclo
sed in the same walls we see now.
and it ranked among the wealthiest
and most populous cities on the
globe. According to the best au
thentieated history, Hang Chow
was built in the beginning Of the
Chow dynasty, 1922 years before
Christ. AT that time. Cartilage and
Troy were ttourishing. Rome had
not been founded, Athens was in
her infancy, and Solomon had not
vet dedicated the temple. To day
the very site of Troy is lost in the
night of antiquity, the ''Niobe o.
Nations is in the dust, the glory of
Athens is known only v in the chron-
icles of Homer, and traces of the
grand Temple of Solomon are only
to be found by laborious research.
What train Of dreamy musings it
suggests that amid all these chan
ges and chances here stand these
gloomy walls and towering temples
contemporaries with hoar an
tiquity-which, to all outward ap-
pc RANGES still preserve a set calm
and statuesque composnre
Now, gentle reader. if YOU have
any curiosity to peep inside these
aged walls, and wander for one
whole Sabbath day through the
densely crowded streets Of the an
cient metropolis of China, follow,
and my word for it you will say you
have been amply repaid for your
trouble.
AS l before said, we entered the
city by the north Aate. a living
stream of humanity poured con
stantly in and out through the mar
row gateway, and we were almost
sut,ocated in making our passage
through the dismal arch of the wall.
had only just time to glance at
the monstrous gate swinging upon
its rusty iron hinges as l was jos
tied past by the resisjless pressure
Of the crowd. No sooner had l
gained the street in the open street
inside the walls than [ was surroun-
ded bv great crowd of men, wo
men and children. They were not
hostile. but they crowded raround
me in a closed circle and poked out
their necks and stared their very
hardest. They laid hands on my
watch, examined my coat, took my
glasses off my nose. squinted
through them and made impertinent
remarks upon the color of my eyes.
NV chief prosecutor was dirty
squint eyed Celestial, with an un-
commonly
DIRTY FACE.
I felt justified in pointing out his
dirty physiognomy to the crowd,
> and in this way got rid of bin, for
the crowd roared and laughed i'm
moderately, and dirty face skunk off
looking as sheepish as possible.
The Chinese are an exceedingly
good natured people, very suscepti
bic to ridicule, and always enjoy q
hearty laugh. Their curiosity,
though perfectly Unsuitable and often
very rude an | embarrassing. is not
at all i'll meant, and all a foreigner
has to do is to keep his temper and
create laugh, and they are all on
his side at once.
During the day I noticed res
pectable lookir Chinaman who had
been following me like a shadow
for two hours Or mole. deter
mined to get rid Of him, and told
All Sam to offer him a cash. Now
if there is anything that Will van
quish a Chinaman who lays any
claim to respectabil.ty it is to be ta-
ken for beggar. The offer of the
cash was no sooner made than he
subsidized amid the most uprorious
laughter, and have not seen him
since.
Hang Chow is seldom visited by
foreigners, and the curiosity and as
tonishment of the simple minded
people is not much to be wondered
at after all.
TEA HoNGs.
In the tea hongs, we see the CHI
nese customers naked to their
waists; some lounging over tables,
slipping a weak etfusion of the
cheering leaf that 'exhiliarates but
does no intoxicate." Some stretched
out lazily on long bamboo chairs,
dreamily smoking opium; some are
eagerly engaged in game of
: chance, and others are discussing
some matter of local interest.