The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1886-06-09
llEE AnoNe IAE cslesIlALs
cuflous slght,lea the streets q chlaa
,s9 Aver Patent People.

"a LIFE AMONG fdE CElE5IlALo.
cuflous slght,lea the streets q chlaa
ss1s Ayssy rallsat People.
whoandwhat are tllese melancholy.
aiorklls who are meandering along COW
sfedlwith q sfepskinsi They are what
Fhin you ~ them in Fleet street you
call sandwich men. They are ex-
libiting tho wars plrrhasabie at this
clothierS shop on our left Instead Of
Carrying ,ndyeffiscment, nt,boaris and
Wandering dp and down the street, q
layer Of lean mortality between two
slices Of wood, they wear upon their own
bael!s tlie very goods which you are re-
speetfully invited 10 inspect and 70 buy.
iD6not imagine tliat q Chinainan's mind
'hs.ls any qualihA at the thought that
thee gItmelts have beenforweeks upon
heiback Of one ofthe unwashed. Heis
troubled bylno such unpleasant reaec.
tons. But he would no doubt drive a
harder bargain, on the plea that they
had been already much worn.
These shsepslsins are very highly val
.hed'in winter BY tlie county people. II
you were relating to an agricultural au
dience in the south Of China, and in tbs
north also TO townspeople, the suffering
Of the persecuted saints Of old, It would
neyerdo to tell them that .thgy wandered
about in slleepskins and goatskins.' You
would err as much as the Moravian mis-
sionari6s did who first preached Of the
fires Of he'll 70 the Greenlanders. Those
arctic folk were immensely pleased with
the prospect Of going there, and tie mis-
ionaries were naturally very much
shocked at the'result OF their own preach.
ing. And SO to the Chinese mind tie
wandering about in sheepskinS and goat
Slins does not at alllinply that tlley@ere
destitute, afflicted, tornented.T They
lgenla very much like 10 be pssSeuted
TO that degree,
The Chinanian Is wonderful creature
for enduring endless nuisances, regard
ing them as things that are and have
been, and therefore must still be. We
could scarcely have better illustration
Of that last remark than this stage,
which has been thrown right across the
main thoroughfare. We must either find
our way round by a side street, drcreep
under the stage as best we can.
Fancy what 1t would be for a band
Of itinerant actors to erect q theatre in
Cheapsido, compelling all the traffic to
turn aside for a whole day, and then
consider that the street we nre In bears
about the same relation to tile city Of
Annoy as Cheapside does to the city OF
London. Yet tliel people do not COM
plain. II is probable that not one in n
hundred who turn aside because the
road Is blocked thinks that such a lais-
ance ought not be allowed.
1t is much more likely that the ihhab-
itants Of the street are objects df envy
because the theatre is brought to their
very doors. Some shopkeeper in the
street hps invited the actors at Ills own
expense, and his neighbos are much
obliged to him for giving them All OPP
portunity 70 sec the play, and Of hearing
the drums beat, the bells ring, tile
cymballs clash and the actors howl and
screech, without the trouble of leaving
their shop doors. The entertaining
sights are 80 numerous that to describe
alltliat strikes Che e@c6mcf as fantastic
would take a volume. Iousniny see a
woman deliberately washing her long
black hair In a wooden bowl, combing
it out and doing 1t upin public, without
so much US a thought that any one
would think she should do it indoors.
Or, maybe, 1t is a man in scanty garb,
sitting OH the threshold of his shop,
washing his long legs in busin Of hot
water.
Sometimes yon may come across a
conjurer performing at one Of the tiny
clear sl'aces where the road widens for a
few yards. Close by this spot once met
man who seemed tohaysa knife broken
off short in the top of his skull, and the
blood apparently running down upon his
clothes. The people stood aside with
what / thought was Q shocked aspect us
he walked solelnnly on, looking IN
neither right nor left, ahl il proved to be
only a famous eoniurer going through
one Of his most remarkable performances.
Occasionally yon may lioppen upon one
Of the eccentric customs Of idolatry and
see a new house concentrated by the
presence oftlle black face idol.
By the way, while We are just finish.
ing our journey, will tell you curious
fact about Cinnamon and foreign pict.
ureS The Cinnamon who see d foreign
picture for the first time looks at It with
the eyes Of a grown up child. When
had difcovered this fact ! tested the
truth Of it many times by showing pict-
ures to inteligentTriends a tine sketch
Of the interior Of o Turkish man.Of.war,
four guns served by about ten men,
and the admiral standing in the fore.
ground with his hand resting upon his
sword, was put down as "mountains;r y
and large and elaborate picture of the
funeral Of N. Thien proceeding through
the streets Of Paris was said to be "a ship
at sea-" This Is an interesting fact for
psychologists. = Everyday Life in
China"