The Portland daily press., 1886-12-29

At o'clock a well dressed Celestial comes
to your apartments, and with all the dignity
of Lord Chancellor announces that "Tiffin
have got" If you happen to impress him as
man OF some consequence he will probably
change the phraseology to Master can
catchee Iitt1n. The dining hall is a large.
well ventilated, clean, comfortable apart
ment with French windows opening upon n
wide veranda. The little round tables, each
barely large enough to seat four persons, are
arranged in three parallel lines. Above each
OF these rows is q long punkah extending
from one end OF the hall to the other. Pun
kan IS another one of those East Indian
words that has been naturalized in China
ana represents machine for tanning a
room. II consists of movable frame COW
cred with canvas and suspended from the
ceiling. 1t is kept in motion by pulling
cord, which passes through hole in the wall
to the veranda outside. The motive power
is coolie, whose wages for such service
never exceeds 25 cents per week. All the
table servants are Chinese, of course, and
are draped in long white cotton or slken
gowns. When the meal is over these gar
ments are exchanged for the less expensive
blue cotton gown. The usual wages for
good dining room servant are So per MONTH
With this he will board and clothe himself
and save about So per month.
Ii your visit be insJuly or August all the
guests will be dressed in spotless white linen
or flannel. The gentlemen wear neither
cuffs. shirts nor cravats. Their attire con
sists OF short sack coat, with military collar.
buttoned up close to the chin. There is
nothing beneath it save a thin wooden sing
let. The trousers are of the same material
A pair of white hose and '0xford ties" COM
plete the outfit. In this attire a gentleman
may dine out or pay an evening call. The
few ladies present are dressed in the white
uniform of the summer solstice," relieved by
the usual feminine display of pink and blue
ribbons. Before you is nearly every type of
the Caucasian; the bluff, red-faced Briton,
the moon-eyed German, the self-conscious
little Frenchman, the Hebrew. and the lank,
lynx-eyed Anglo-American. All eat with
the leasurely air of well bred people, for
even Brother Jonathan seems to be strange
ly affected by the atmosphere of the place,
and abandOns himself to a moment of leisure
and refreShment.
Those who smoke have their cheroots
served with their coffee after desert: for
here, as all over Europe outside of England.
men never hesitate to smoke in the presence
OF ladies. But neither at the table not at
tn the cigar stand does any one offer to pay
silver change smaller than the Spanish dol
lar renders this impractieable He is OK
pected to sign chit, and pay at the end of
the week or month or quarter, according to
his convenience. "Chit" is an abbreviation
OF Hindu werd. and here merely signifies
ticket of indebtedness. When these
amount to several dollars the customer is ex-
pected to pay up and ask no questions. If
he tails to do so or If he scrutinizes his ac-
count too closely he loses social position. If
he gets behind and unable to pay, it only re-
mains for him to migrate or commit suicide
Hence, although the small credit system is
universal, shopkeepers seldom lose debt,
ands as their profits are large, they not UNI
frequently become quite wealthy.