The new North-west., 1888-10-05

7' <.@O3 NV. Is.
YELLOW SKINNED JOHN
THE CHINESE GREATLY EXERCISED
OVER THEIR FUTURE in AMERICA
Ihts Has Brought About Great Sale of
joss Sticks and Continued Prayers Be-
forc Their Heatl,en shrincs-fy,;,<s, ~
votions In New Fork.
e 8
I{!!|kII@|faa:|ZA
I; OSE John Chinaman
in your mind as you
A will, if you do not
know him very well,
with the preliminary advan-
A tage of his knowing you, the
chances are that you will do
~ him injustice. Especially will
Won do so if Won think him 4
fool. Make your most friendly advances to
him, and say the kindest and most reassur-
ing things that suggest themselves to you,
and lie will probably look you steadily in the
eye with no more expression than there is in
a wooden horse and say: "No sabe." Yet he
very likely knows English quite well enough
to understand all you are saying Why does
he pretend not toy Because he suspects an
tagonisin in the white man, and is cunning
enough to retain every advantage.
Never has the large Chinese population Of
New York been so stirred from its ipmost
depths as now. John reads the papers and
knows that his interests are debated in con-
gress, he understands that his countrymen
are already prohibited from joining him in
America. and the question row is: will he
some morning be himself invited to return to
the Celestial empirea He does not feel him
self competent to grapple with this conun-
drum. lie prefers to carry it to one who he
thinks should know all about it, and who
him authoritatively warning, consolation or
Tai-Gong, or Quong- He Say Gong, the Chi
The irreverent American shortens his name
Qnfo hi nit ~, Io *xu,n
temples that Chinese New York maintains,
there has been, since the Chinese question
was taken up by congress, an unwonted
amount Of devout sacrificing of joss sticks
and anxious consultation of tho divining
strips Of bamboo
There is no hour at which the devout Chi
nese worshiper MAY not approach the shrine
with confidence that Quong- Tai Gong is pre-
sent in spirit to receive his alteration, and
that priest will be ready to aid him, if de-
sired, in his questioning of the future The
manner of that questioning is very interest
ing Let US observe it as conducted In tbs
principal temple, that on the third floor of No.
10 Chatham square, New York.
1t is desirable, but not absolutely neces-
sary, that the shrine should be il the north
of the temple, and the ever burning flame,
SyluDOuC Ol VI AAAAAO1 C<AAACys ~ oAAS
south. That, however, is not practicable
here. Yielding to the architectural necessi-
ties of the situation, the figure of Quong-Tai-
Gong sits in the west About him is Won
drous mass of carved, gilded and painted
wood work, seemingly merely decorative,
but. actually full of the deepest symbolic
significance, in every bough, and leaf, and
tiny figure of bird, beast and fish. Before
him is great high table bearing bronze and
china bowls filled with sand, emblematic
dragons of bronze and other objects To the
right, little i'll front, bowl Of sand IS
placed upon the top of stove. To the left,
a little less advanced, upon the floor and un-
derneath table is another bowl Of sand.
Before tho center of the shrine, at a little
distance, in pendant lamp of bronze, burns
the light Of Immortality.
Either from smiling Muy Box in the store
below, or from priest in the temple, tho
worshiper supplies himself with "joss
sticks" They are very slender splinters OF
bamboo, about foot long, three-quarters OF
their length coated thickly with peculiarly
fragrant incense composition, and arc done
up In red paper sheaths, gorgeous with ire
cracker lingo printed in gold. Twenty-dva
cents buys ten packages of them, from IN
to 200 in all