Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-05-14
AsHTABULA, OHIO. FRIDAY, MAYI14, 1875.

or Veranda, unless sne chanced TO De
asleep in a cupboard. Once in the
presence of the mandarin's wife, /
was received with the poIiteness of
a well-bred gentle woman, plac
ed on the seat of honor, which re-
sembles an English sideboard with
the legs cut short, and peculiarly un.
comfortable to sit upon, and imme-
diately entertained with tea and
sweetmeats. There was no awkward
surprise or embarrassment eviuced
at my unexpected visit. If had
dropped from the moon it would
have been all the same; thev would
have received me with the same pla-
cidity. | was stranger and a guest,
and therefore mustreceive hospitali-
~, and although never cody reserv-
ed or distant, we always ended by
becoming quite intimate friends. /
noticed that however quietly
chaneed to get into the ladies'
apartments the event flew like light
ming, or probably telegraphic fingers
through the whole feminine house
hold, and every aperture through
which l was visible was speedily
crowded with dark unwinking eyes.
But though they were dying of curl
osity, the ladies receiving me express
ed nothing of it. There was no hur-
ry and furry to get up. a company
styles" no attempt to stow ugly arti-
cles out of the way, and to look as
though such dainty eyes had never
dwelt upon aught that was coarse
or vul gar Chinese have not arriv-
ed at the point of civilization which
engenders company manners" A
strange mysterious creature must
have appeared to them, coming sud
denly among them with nv SdgOat
complexion, outlandish, absurdly
complicated European dress, all ends
and bows and fringes, and buttons
and hooks and strings. When we
became more familiar, and / exhibit
ed my fnery for their special de-
lactation, their amazement knew no
bounds. None of them had ever seen
a European lady de pres before
They could not UNDERSTANDING was
the use of ends which were not to be
tied and buttous which were not to
button. The sham amused them
immensely. But what shocked them
was the waist and definition of the
figure consequent upon encircling it.
They consider this custom of ours
outraging both modesty and health,
and were as much scandalized at my
waistband as an assembly of British
matrons would be at the little shoe
which holds in unnatural bonds the
distorted Chinese foot. By little |
ruse l got the better of them, for |
Chinese are very much smaller wo-
men than Europeans; five feet being
more thans the average height; con-
sequently l fastened my ceinture
easily roand any of. them, except one
pudgy old lady, who pufed and
gasped, and declared she was being
sufocated while we tugged at the
clasp. The variety and shape of
my garments, were-a source of mar
vel to them, and the number a mat
ter of contempt (yet | had only So,
the smaller number lady can appear
dressed in. My jewelry they inva-
riably pronounced bad gold! for the |
Chinese use the pure ore, without
alloy, and their ornaments have that |
tender beautiful color known as
"Virgin gold.'' So a
Nevertheless, they had all the
"woman's fancy" for "trying on
and it was a curious spectacle to be-
hold a score of Chinese women each
supporting some article of European
attire, laughing and enjoying the
fun equally with the children, of
whom there was always a large
gathering. The great dearth seem
ed to be of young ladies, such as
would be most prominent in all |
Europeon household. Here they |
were either little girls or decidedly |
married. looking women, appearing |
much older than they were. In fact,
one rarely sees girls in China unless
it be the sailor girls. They marry |
so young that they appear to spring |
from childhood to maturity without
any intermediate stage of girlhood- |
There appears to be no 'blushing
fifteen or "sweet seventeen" no
fiirtations, no balls, no picnics, no
billetsdous-no nothing in fine. The |
child has not Ceased to play with |
her doll, before she has baby to |
dandle, and surely then her trouble |
begins! 1 never could find out pre-
cisely what was the great joy of
Chinese woman's life; but l think it
must be dressing her hair" This /
is done with an elaborate artistic |
e curious to see. This hair
c. ssing is the womau's accomplish
ment; man would be considered |
quite out of placeAand I think they |
are right. Their hair is invariably |
black, and very long. 1t is drawn |
back tightly from the face and stiff I
fened with a gum made from GER
tain kind of wood. It is piled up in
a wonderful pyramid of bows, loops,
wings, twists, leaves, flowers, rolls
all so stiff that they stand. alone
without the aid of pads roulets,
puffs, or hairpins. Not a single hair |
is astray, thewhoIe highly polished, |
or, ] should say, veneered, which
keeps it smooth for nearly a week,
when the fabric is taken down and
remodeled. GLOW do they sleeP?"
asks curious reader. Ireply, Qua
ker fashion. GLOW did their great
grandmothers sleep when they wore
those immense BUSHES on their
heads! presume they had pillow
made on purpose, which fits under
meath the back of the neck, and
keeps the head in settled position.
Others have a case or box, in which
they put the whole head comforta-
bly,, and which protects the coiffure
from being disordered. Itis par
erceIIenee the more intricate struct-
ure that could be made with hair.
and when adorned with real flowers
and gems, is both an imposing and |