Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-19

i loNolys lQero were Will u fUhEoO ~ sAoOo,
O. Graham, ,Ha,per's Weekly; d. L. Bridg
man, Frank Leslie's, and 81. F. Fanny OF
Cincinnati, but do not think single
sketch was made. It might have beer
that the same causes interviewed which
prevented me making the attempt.
| We returned to Portland at o'clock, il
time for
AN EXCELLENT DINNER,
consisting of soups, salmon, fresh caught
from the Columbia, chicken, beef, veal
| grouse, etc., ETC., ETC., which was accom-
panied and supplemented by excellent
wines, Medoc, Sauterne, Mumm, etc.
cigars adiibitum, and our trip was such an
aDpe.iser that, although we had served an
elaborate lunch on the boat, we did ample
| justice to it. In the evening the town of
Portland was brilliantly illuminated, when
First street especially was one magnificent
blaze; not store or house was without
| some beautiful design III gas, while floods
| OF light issued from every window and the
street was mass of Chinese lanterns close
and moving human just below. 1t was a
| wonder to the visitors where the thousands
| and thousands of people came from who
| thronged the streets.
THE CHINESE STORES
were especially handsome with their rich
| and gorgeous draperies and gaudily colored
figures grouped in pictureso ae collections,
illustrative of some epoch of oriental his
tory or physiological legend. Mentioning
the Chinese decorations brings me to the
event of the day. The Chinese merchants
and they are both numerous and wealthy
had extended an invitation to Mr.. Vii
lard and his guests to attend one Of their
two theatres, where was provided special
entertainment in honor of the opening of
the highway between Portland and st.
Paul. The invitation was very generally
accepted, and long before the play COM
menced the body of the theatre was filled.
and it did not take long to fill the gallery
and "private boxes" Among those present
I noticed Mr., Mrs. and Miss Willard, Gen.
Grant, Carl Schurz, Evearts and many
of the English guests. The performance
was an opera representing several periods
in ancient Chinese history and like all
operas it commenced with an overture,
but unlike the usage of the stage and
which We are accustomed, the musicians
were placed at the back or what is termed
in theatrical parlance Sup the Stage
against the Flat" and the fat instead of
consisting of some appropriate scene was
just merely wooden partition which di-
vided the stage from the green rooms,
there being an arched doorway on each
side for exits, etc., which were closed in
with rich curtains. Another oddity was a
circular opening in the middle of this
partition from which a number of Chi
nese in their common blue linen costumes
probably actors a,and actresses, eagerly
watched the performance. Another sim
gular feature was that properties in the
shape of rickety chairs, old benches and
tables stood about the stage waiting their
turn to be used. The only sign of ornament
or scene was the word welcome in good
plain latin characters was written across the
| partition. The musicians were dressed in
the ordinary blue costumes; the instru-
ments were the ordinary tum- tums gongs,
| snee-ganks "a kind of trumpet giving a
sound between Scotch bagpipe and a
shepherds reed) and cymbals. The over
ture commenced with pienessimo passage
for the tum-tums, which through ores
endo movement opened up an allegretto
in which the snee ganks walled out the
weired melody while the gongs rolled and
the cymbals FLASHED a telling accompan-
ment. At first the effect was thrilling
with excruciating cords bordering so dan
gerously upon discord that at length the
slight barrier was broken, and of all the
HIDEoUs, UNEARrHLY SOUNDS
heard outside of pandemonium that was
the worst. The audience thrust their
fingers into their ears to keep out the hor-
rible, pain giving shrieks and walls and
thuds and clangs that crashed and
screamed with moniacal ferocity to unseat
reason from the throne. But to the play
The first act introduced a great and
good men who came upon the earth thou
sands of years ago, and like the founder of
Christianity tried to establish "peace on
earth and good will towards men," The
second act introduced six kings of six diff
erent nations, who were at war and en-
mity with each other, and the good man,
500 loom, one by one reconciled them
to each other and knit them together IN
one happy brotherhood. The third rep
uesented a fierce war between three kings,
one of whom, Cluma zee, ultimately sub
dued and slew the other two, and annexed
his territory. There was one scene which
appeared to especially to interest the
Chinese, in which ing Wing, enamored of
one of seven sisters. Clin Kee, returns to
her, when she pIesents him with an cpl
tome of himself in the shape of a wooden
doll. 1t would take to much space to
give the whole plot and the way it was
worked out, but it should be stated that the
battles were Swallowed forth"by fanciful
and clever encounters between members
of troupe of acrobats who performed
some very creditable feats of tumbling
and fencing. The dresses were magnif-
cent, consisting of robes of silk bullion
thread, gorgeous in coloring and brilliant
with lustre. The posing at the finish of
each scene formed most striking pictures
pictures which were recognized by the
audience which are to be found upon rare
Chinese porcelain and in oriental embroid-
cry. Notwithstanding the noisy discor-
dant music and the monotonous singing,
the performance was thoroughly enjoyed.
ALL AROUND THE GLOBE.
The autumn book trade sales began in
New York yesterday. Prices of the day
were considered fair.
The Powhattan will be ordered to-day