, 1877-12-24


|. sc1t. fhr genrral effect Ia that of A tfratre:
there arc the atoees ami actors. and audience.
but everything II No coarse aud devoid Of ornA-
nentatlon that Il gives you the Impression that
barn has been hastily utilized for dramatic
purposcs.
The pnrquettt, which Is capablo OF seating
about 500 persons, Is filed With Cbincxo: and 4
gallery hboyc, where a higher psi:e IS charged,
rate gallery, large enough to accommodate tktr.
" or forty persons occupied entirely by wom-
en- who never e!t with tile ma1es at the thcslrc.
On the right, directly opposite tho ladlet' GAL
name for them, "A they resemble Immense dry
goods boxes with one etde removed and twp
benches inside, each sufficiently lsrHa to seat
thrce persons. Ihs T. the aristocratiec part Of
the house, and, as 1t was mot too good for us,
We occupied ono Of the bo1es.
The stage is p1an raf1ed platform without
curtain nr scenery Of any kind. A boar1partltIou
a. the back Of IL thu only thing that screens tho
partition has door on either side for exit and
cntrances and the fntcrspacc Is occupied by tits
orchestra, who ars thus In tho rear ,of lilo
actors. Tho Partition ta partly covered with
flaming rcd slce.papcr. I did not rcal anylof
them.
TIM ORCHESTRA
constats OF st1 musician, ~ who succeed IN
making tho most Internal tin imaginable.
Of those with which We are familiar, as tic
violin, guitar, triangle. drum. cymba1s, ronR,
etc, but tho sounds brought forth fru1n tllCin
arc indcsrrbably horrible. Tho only pleasant
Tho musicians have good titnc. They take oil
their coats, and. IN tho intervals OF tic play,
they eat, drink tea, and smoke.
The plays are usually OF Historical character,
and sometimes extent over several months,
The performance c0EnrnenccA With q short
piece. usual'y Of farcical character. This ID
followed by A sort Of operetta. the singing being
worse than ANYTHING tn the world o1rept the
tnstrumcntal accompaniment Then comes the
piece dsretstanrt tile tragedy, the acts Of which
arc interspcrsc1 In the most untneaulnE wnv with
acrobatia lcats, tu1nbl!nK etc. The costiiues arc
extremely gaMdy, ami somc OF them might even
be considered elegant. There are nj female
by male. with painted facGa, who talk and slug
III n squealltrg fafsctto vofce painful TO hear.
TIM oif1sksE ARB VERY POND or THE THEATRE,
although thcy never manifest their approval OF
anything tl0no ur said on the stage by loud
applause. hut they can and do laugh a. heartily
ny anybody when something Of humorous
character occurs.
The performances frequently continue from
pc1t morning; yet 50 insatiats ass tho auditors
that they have been known to create row aud
hreak benches because the slloH.tltd not last
lot,ger:: ] only stasa until 10 o'clock. Per-
haps gould have remained longer, nus fonnd
that ! was not understanding more than half
That was said. aud shEs n,ads II difficult to fol.
low ttle plot.
After leaving the theatre. we visited ons Of
tho flrst-claas Chiuese. restaurants. passng
the retFcahmcnt Of tho lnwer clafaee, and where
only the coa1scr nnti cheaper foods are tiispcnse
We asGcf,1cd to the second story, where arc
served somcwhat higher grade of dclicac1cs.
cratic tbr aoor, whera the bess ot everything u yt
Is set forth,--I mean tho Chinese best.
Here, acnting ourselves around a table, no
wera served With ten and variety of cnkes,
swcStmcats, nuts, etc. Thc lea y OF EXCELLENT
which II placed befozs each person. Whun IL
llu4 bcen stecpel for suilicluntly long time, il
Is poured Into another aud smaller cup from
which 1t is directly drank, or ladlcd out with q
small cnnoo with oao end drawn out like the
lower lip Ut q spootl-til1 duck. Some Of tho
cakes uure, fn Appearance, lika those In Use
among ourselves. Most Of them, however, con-
jan OF jclIy. Preserved ginger seomei to he q
staplo article OF diet with them; likewise fuuak-
ri almonds aud roasted water1ue!on seeds
ate little Of everything, and soon begun to
feel heathcnlst,. so that l called for
4 PAIR OF CHOPsrlcKB.
did not succeed very well With them, but as
was no longsr hungry, did not crtuye over the
iallnrc. nut my experlonco }ustttlcs me ia
advlsng oil wli'to persons who have been fast
Ing long time, and who have acccss TO nothing
tnorc noufIsli,ng than watermelon seeds, to usa
spoon or shovel ratt,cr than choustlcks. :.
On tho whole, in ono respect 1T least,
the meal was disappointing. expected to have
On opportunity 10 show how | could rise above
unreasonable prcjud!ca by eating kitten, snake,
rnt, or birds nest. But did not exurcss ,ny
disappointment until after VIC had left the place,
lest might put somebody 10 tho trouble OF
cooking these th1nQs especially for lnc.
next visited Chinese drugstore, whore I
was amazed md interested bY Witnessing tho
compromising OF prescriptions aont In BY their
Iativc doctors. Of whom there are ten OF twelve
in San francisco.
Tht medicines used consisted In every instance
Of roots, herbs, or see1a. tn ono prescription
counted fourteen Ingredients; In nnothcr ten.
The drawers md boxes containing tho different
articles wefe not labeled in any way, and as
three or four clcrks Wcro engaged In the coin
pounding Ok each prescription 1t seemed ~
though a mistake might occasionally be at least
possible.
/ asked one Of tho clerks, an intelligent young
China, ratl,er,-vhether The Chinese considered
their physicians sktllful. Hc replied that soulu
Of them , wsrc ''p'ot,y good," but that tbs 9th
insta1re Of tile business capaety Of some Of tho
| Chlhesc here. It IL the Dat,o S0n, whom have
hlrcaiy mentioned rs fn tho employ ct Wells,
Fargo u Co.'s Exprcss Company, IN which ca.
pactty he tral,sarts the business of that Com.
I,any very large t'usinesA too-wlth tha
ChEnese merchants here. liz and his partner,
! Tam Chute. lagc, Ia sdditlou to this store, 1
branch stUro At Havana, aud fle IL likewise d
partner fn the frm Ut Nnln Chong Il Co., OK.
tensivo' '1nauufacthrera Ut ladies', mtssss, and
chtItlseu's shoes aud galtcrs. lsoaIdcs all theas
| cares, Dane Son ha1 Wifc.
Did yuu ever happen to sea
| ulliNHaR TRUNkf
| A Ch[nanan snrcly travels any great dlAtAure
Without ono. II 1ttfcrs from those used by III
| In this, that everything IL packed on tho out
stde Of It. NuthiDg goes Inside. It corIs,stl
| Ut q pole ok Or seveu loot louK, Whtel
| thu proprietor carries on Its shoulder, ono end
III front and the other behind. On this pole he
hApgh buuLlea, baskets. ua-pans, ropes, aud per
hntIs u cooking stove and ,wheclbarrow
Loaded with such miscellaneous cargo ~ this
John will makn bis way through tho mos,
crowded street without knocking anybody
| down.
There are 6ess In California. A good mani
| Of them inhabIt Sun Fsanc4seo. They arc moi
| con,Mnnplace little bugs, but Wcll-lcyclopet
fellows, acttve aud industllous 10 their habits
nlltl possessed OF Ernut ctpAhlllt!es,-fcas. II
shurt, that Callfornfaus nre proud ufl Their pres
| cnee aud influence are felt and acknowledged
| by persu,ls tn all grades uf soeltty; ami an
Informed that It 10 uot an uncommon occurrence
| for q gentleman u lady In tho midst of
social gathering or at = table to suddenly stot
speaking, look queer, aud, e1elaimlng, "Ek