The Brookhaven leader., 1885-04-02
FIVE O'CLOCK TEA IN foo-cHow.
In . Chinese Home-The Iadies-Melon
Seeds-EndurabIs Music

Seeds-Endurabts MUSIC
[cornhir Magazine
At last we reached high blank wall
forming one side of a dingy street, and
on being admitted within It's pUnderous
wooden gates we found ourselves in the
courtyard of a purely Chinese house.
The sudden change from the dirt and
squalor and dense population of the
streets to the large incloaure with
luxurious houses and pleasure
grounds, which form a sort of patri
archal encampment for the family of a
wealthy great man, is most startling.
Our host came to receive us in the outer
court, where we left our chairs and
coolies, then passed the kitchen aud
crossed another court, when we reached
the great reception hall decorated with
the usual handsome small tables and
ponderous chairs OF polished black
wood, with slabs of marble forming the
seat and back. In honor of our ex-
pccted visit, seats, divans, tables and
walls were decorated with the richly
embroidered scarlet cloth covers which
are always produced on ceremonious
occasions.
The weather being hot. we fully ap-
preciated the cool shade Of a small dark
room, in which we were invited to sit
awhile, ere being conducted TO the pres
ence of the ladies'. Tea was, of course,
brought in in the Usual small co cred
cups without saucerS; the use OF the
cover is to prevent the leaves from en-
tering the mouth in drinking, rs the
correct way to make tea Is TO put
pinch of leaves in each cup and pour on
10 ling water, thus making every cup
ful separately. Cf course sugar or milk
is never used. Tn the little tAbl,s we're
set the lnvarlable plates OF swee. meats
and small cakes.
But the quaintcst addition to these
are the little plates o. melon seeds,
which all the Chinese delight in picking
open and nibbling in accordance With
Chinese proyerb which expresses the
satisfaction of always having something
in the mouth In this respect the race
are like squirrels, except thatric men 5
long pointed nails do the work even
more etieetually than teeth. In every
votes itself to cracking me on seeds. AS
they walk in the streets or at the so ial
chat, to beguile the tedium of II journey
or TO Tighten the cares of business, the
infallible remedy is melon seeds. Even
at the theaters the spectators are pro
vided with little plates of water
Il elon seeds, and an attendant walks
about with a large basket to
replenish them again and AGAIN so that
the sound of the cracking seeds IS heard
necessarily, and the floor is invariably
strewn with them. They are offered for
sale everywhere. IL the districts where
melons grow abundautiy the refreshing
fruits are freely o cred to all comerS on
condition of their saving and restoring
the seeds These are collected in great
bales as articles of commerce, and form
the chief cargo of many j. nas on the
rivers. small children, busy mechan-
les and great mandarns delight IN
them. 1Ee loOreSt coolie, notwith-
standing the disadvantage Of his short
nails, cOntrlveS to spare few cash for
the purchase of this luxury | am told
that this curious assion for melon
seeds prevails throughout the empire,
and that the 400. coo, 900 of Cinnamon
are all Unsuitable for these dainties.
One entertainment provided for us
was musical-box made in Hong h ong,
WHICH pIdSCu al thc ld oI'lc purify
Chinese airs, end we were astonished to
find that several struck US as really
pretty. AS a general rule Chinese
music is so terribly loud, and is played
by so many utterly discordant instru
mentS of various sorts, that the name
only suggests ear-torture, castanets and
drums utterly drowning whatever
melody may De produced by guitars,
flutes and yiolins, which are supposed
to play i'll unison with shrill human
voices, but, as neither voices nor in
struments are ever strictly in tune, the
combination is never harmonious,
whether heard in theatres or temples, or
shrieked by street musicians. There
fore, to hear a real Chinese air rendered
on a musical box with no such ad-
ditions was most unusual treat