St. Landry democrat., 1880-07-03

he objectionable sins. To the sineu-
lar mind of the Chinaman running in
debt is a far more heinous otfense than
disembowelling your worst enemy or
abandoning your best friend in case of
sickness: 1t is an outcropping of the
eminently practical mind in which spir-
ituality finds no Granny for lOdgment,
and hard materialism rules, unsweet-
ened by sentiment, unliyhted by any
fugitive CLEAN of Imagination or humor.
The festival is heraiued BY great prep
arations and arouses an interest which
the apathetic Celestial seldom manifests
in any mundane matter. For days be-
fore the great event the curbstone deal
ers in poultry and pork are overwhelmed
with business. The door posts of many
of the shops of rich merchants receive
fresh coat of vivid red paint, while
the walls of the interior take on sky
blue tint. lmprovised sideboards are
putup, spangled with fancy tinsel paper.
and loaded with nuts, candies and cooked
meats Along the outer walls are hung
rows of large lanterns, painted in all
colors and adorned with those curious
figures, which may represent the fauna
OF the Contucian age, but which have
no living cOunterpartS in the beasts of
Celestial fields or the fishes in Celestial
waters. Arranged in a corner of each
shop is a store of tire-crackers, for this
noisy squib plays great part in the re-
ioicings.
The night before the great day is
ushered in with hideous Changing of
toms, squeaking of one-stringed tid-
dies and rattle of Il thousand exploding
tre-crackers. This is the time to see the
| Chinese quarter thoroughly aroused A
walk through the main streets is not al
ways safe, but the risk of burned coat
or singed eyebrow is amply repaid by
the many amusing spectacles seen on
every side. The shops and houses are
all brilliantly lighted, while the rows of
lanterns arranged at varying heights
make the street at distance look like q
political torch-light procession in which
the ward patriots have absorbed too
much beer. On each side of the street
long scarlet ropes of fire crackers hang
from the upper balconies, the blazing
ends dangling over the sidewalk.
One gets kind of opera bouffe
baptism of fire" in venturng through
the street. Seated aloft, smoking his
small pipe Or a cigar, is the proprietor
Of the house, his eyes dancing with ex-
element as he watches the line of fire
climbing slowly up his tirecrackers.
Occasionally he adds to the confused,
whiplash reports of the small artillery
by throwing into the street bomb
which exp,odes with an ear-splitting
report. The pavement is soon buried
under the red fragments of tirecrackers,
among which the daring hoodlum ranges
and secures any crackers which the fuse
has failed to ignite. From the upper
balconies of many houses, all adorned
with beautiful lanterns and Towering
plants which give them the appearance
Of hanging gardens, comes the sound
| of minstrelsy. The sing-song saluta-
tons of friends, the waiiing cry of the
| vendors of hot refreshments, the shrill
sound of the fiddles, the clash of Gym
bols and the hoarse roar of exploding
pyrotechnics- these make up a scene
as essentially barbaric as one could de-
sire. !;
On the following morning the visit
ing begins in earnest. The shops are
decked out in the bravest styles and
likewise their owners. The poorest
Chinaman scorns work at this time and
gets good food at the houses of his
wealthy friends. He wears his CUSTOM
airy clothes, smartened, perhaps, by a
new hat or Jacket The Chinese full
dress, however, is worn only by the
weather. class, and it is seldom seen
on the street except at this high feast.
1t differs widely from the ordinary
costume in cut and material, being q
far richer and more picturesque garb:
| The trousers are of damask silk, worked
with flowers and other designs Thev
are of all colors, but the prettiest arett
delicate fawn color or Of Nile gree
the identical tint which feminir
ion has lately added to her g
Some trousers even NAV
made of fine channels SIX
the leg closely and
tight about the ankle.
inner pajama of white Implying its
keen is worn q long * o
coat, generally of thin sky-bF s -
1t falls Just below the knee, anA
side is slit open, so that it CIV - =
what the appearance of those - 81
worn by the shapely beauties of the IS
riety stage, when one leg is counted up-
on to do spectacular duty. The sleeves
of this coat extinguish the hands en-
tirely, and when the usual salutations
are made on the street-raising the
hands quickly and joining them for an
instant-the tapping Of these loose
sleeves gives singular effect Over
this garment is worn pajama or frock
of rich cloth or satin, with sleeves full
six inches shorter than those of the
blue undercoat. This outer frock is
short, reaching only to the hips. Some
are thickly quilted, but the majority are
of fine blue or purple cloth. The head
is surmounted by skull cap of dark
silk with button of red OF lemon color.
This dress is universal; there is no vari-
alton except in tint. Many of the COM
binations of color are artistic and upon
graceful Chinaman the costume sits
easily. The greater number, however,
wear il with an air of constraint, and
as they 60 numbering along with their
awkward rolling gait they look not I'M
like band of sailors, masquerading IN
army overcoats half covered by pea
Jackets. Each carries fan, no matter