Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-24
THE CHINESE DRAMA.
4 VISIT TO THE CHINESE THEATEE
AT PORTLAND, OREGON.
Christian and Oriental Intelligence and
Civilization Contrasted A Romantic
Drama from the Celestial KingdOm-The
Plot and How Il is Carried Out.
Especial to the Globe.

|
Especial to the Globe.
PORTLAND, Sept. 16.
The general guests of the Willard party
are homeward bound, but before bidding
adieu to Portland, the plucky, enterprising
and hospitable antipodes, so to speak, of
st. Paul-it is only just to bear testimony
to the handsome manner ia which the citl-
zens backed the roy Il hov.it2lity Of t., 4,
hero Of the day, and in doing this it is but
meagre praise to say that the people left |
no stone unturned to make their visitors |
comfortable, and to make their trip to the |
shores of the Pacific, a trip to be remem-
bered during the whole span OF mortal eZ-
perience as red letter day. The inner
and outer man were equally we'll provided
for, and it is impossible to say who Jared
the best as far as physical good things are
concerned, those who were entertained by
private ladies and gentlemen, or those who
fed at the public tables.
By the way, Eppinger, whose Hospitality
and skill as public caterer we're put to
the test by some thirty of the most exact
ing of epicures in the ''press gang" gave
a farewell banquet on Sunday evening, the
menu for which was of the most
recherche description. To this 1
need only add that both the SER
vice and the viands were all that could be
| desired. The wines were especially good,
and-unlike the Minneapolis-Lafayette-
Minnetonka fasco-abundant. By the
wav. the Willard guests thought it a good
Joke the Minneapolis Tribune quoting the
GLOBES just castigation of the Lafayette
hotel management, and-yes, that is the
vord-swindle, as an evidence of the i'm
measurable supremacy of the great st.
Anthony village over the city of st. Paul,
as every child knows that our somewhat
spoiled and petulant sister city
claims Lafayette as ono of her own pet
institutions.
In my last mentioned the fact that
some of the guests, needless of the good
teaching of youth, departed somewhat
from the way in which they should 60 and
accompanied the good deacon to
THE CHINESE THEATER.
In former letter I gave very slight
outline of the plot of a historical musica
drama, part of which was set forth for the
delectation of the Willard guests. On Sun
day the play was equally inter
esting to those who, like tbs
GLOBE, can interpret all languages
and for the benefit OF GLOBE readers thei
Daniel will, like his prototype, the frs
Daniel, proceed to interpret the strang'
] ana mystic characters. First, be it know
oh We st. Paulites and peoples of Minneso
ia and the Dakotas and other principali
ties acknowledging the sway of the grea
GLOBE, that the children Of the Celestia
empire are as far advanced in civilization
over the Christian as the Christian think
himself over the heather Chinee. Gu
style of music has for ages long past beer
considered by them as the crudest noise @
uncultured barbarians, and an intelligen
Chinaman informed the GLOBE representa-
tive in the gravest possible manner that i
the long, long ago, the Chinese had n
better musical culture than the Christian
Z now has. Moreover, this same polishe
Il and suave gentleman assured me that i
}. and unenlightened, uncultured intellects
Y by producing realistic scenery; while they
!. the more aesthetical, more refined Celes
, |
> cultured mind of the audience, by their ez
y quisitely delicate and powerful imagina
), ton, fill up the picture. You leav
y nothing, said he, for the refined and cul
: tured mind to supply, probably becaus
your people are SO ignorant and barbar
'' GUS that their coarse minds would not 9th
I erwise understand the story. This was tn
u case he added, in China ten thousand year
. ago. But to
THE PLOT OF THE PLAY
: given on Sunday as interpreted by th
= GLOBE, Daniel. About a hundred thousan
! or it may be million thousand year
ago, "a few hundred thousand
G of years are nothing
Chinese history,) there was a primo
of China who lett his home because @
q some misunderstanding between himsel
and his older brother. He sojourned in
foreign land hundreds of thousands G
miles from his home, where he was enter
tanned by king who had several daugi
n tiers. He loved the third one, but the oil
man gave him the first. He prayed fo
: the third, and the old man, doubtless lik
many modern father wanted to get Ri
4 of his expensive girls fooled him agai
and gave him the second. The primo
J. | How TOOK matters IN MS own nanO5, an
- took the third without asking, as many a
honest youth has done since-if not be
. fore.
At the third marrige the other singl
girls were indignant, thinking probabl
it they were sighted, and they raised sue
y an outcry in the country, lit was not th
= old man as in Jacobs famous episode
that the young prince was obliged to &c
|, out with his wife, (not the three-differin
Q again from jacob He was pursued
q not by the old man, but by the virgil
daughters, who mustered all the king
g horses and all the kings men for the occa
S sion. The youth with the wife of his choic
escaped, however, into another countr!
This escape is shown in the most delicate
$ refined, poetical way. The two stand upo
a a board resting upon two rickety chairs
a The army of the sisters advances in tn
shape of four acrobats, lone for each sister
t AS they advance with queer and gracefr
] genufections, the escaping youth kick
away the board and remains standin
q with the choice of his heart-his liebohe
| upon one of the chairs, enc of the mounte