Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-09-22
CHINESE ODDITIES.
THE EXCITEMENT CAUSED ~ THE
ADVENT OF A FOREIGNER.

Wssshins ths Pale Faced Travsisr ~
His nssal-Rsmarks Of the Almosd
Eyed BystanAsrs-Hossis ami Eating
Mousss-Bsds end Furniture.
I called them good humored. but Q
stranger would not think %. II he saw
them for the FIRST time. On tho contrary.
the state Of things seems to be bordering
on . riot. The amount Of energy that
lies latent In Chinaman, waiting TO be
developed and manifested by discussion
Of cash, is simply incalculable. As wo
coolly regard this throng Of half dressed.
yellow colored people. we see chance 20.
quaintanccs who have run against ono
another for half an hour. screaming their
loudest. with distorted countenanccs and
cning immediate death to those who diner
from them. Il seems incredible that the
subject Is Of no moro Importance than
whether a sack Of potatoes or basket Of
fish shall be half fArthing moro or less.
Imagine our coming suddenly into such
. crowd In . short serge jacket and big
sun hat, under which Is q pale face and
beard. II the place Is one where foreign
ers are occasionally seen, they will look
up, say "Iiwan. .kui" foreign ghostl and
after q few moments resume their cm.
ploynient as though we wero not there.
II, however, foreigners arc almost un.
known In those parts, we know perfectly
we'll that we shall have no peace except
such ~ we can secure by means Of little
msneuvering. Sometimes the landlord
pppesrs pleased to receive US. but now
and then be seems to think we take up
A<.<& s<-rtSh a - sAAv.A
round to look at us. II Is very entertain
ing to observe how excited such crowd
often becomes by the advent Of q for
eigner. and how rapidly the news spreads
to neighboring houses that . foreign
ghost" has arrived. Mine host stands
and threatens terrible things, which ho
has not tho smallest intention Of carrying
into execution. For half an hour he will
shout and gesticulate. entreating the un.
ltutored herd to remember the proprieties
and not crowd In SO much upon the for
eign gentleman.
A FOREIGNER AT HIS MEAn.
The point Of greatest interest Is always
reached when the traveller begins his meal.
He has carried with him all no wants with
the exception Of rice, potatoes, hot water
and one or two other things. Tho laying
out Of plates. knives and forks Is great
mystery. Much questioning goes on as
to tho way Of using them. They beg to
know the reason why we prefer to employ
. man to carry all our apparatus for din
ner, instead Of using their bowls and
chop sticks. Tho spoon and fork, sppar-
emily made Of solid silver, greatly aston
ishes them, and the traveller Is ready
enough to own that they are not silver st
all. When we lift our food to our mouth.
hondo In atvntlop NvoU n
they say quietly to one another, "Lookl
He Is doing like thisl' Standing 20
closely around our small table that wo
feel inconvenienced, we sntreat them to
give us breathing room while we dine. and
afterward we will tA.. to them. Many
voices break forth with pleasure at our
speaking to them. Tho foreigner
speaks our words" says one; Eyes. let
him eat, says another; Stand back. you
man without propriety," says q third.
whose zeal for good manners Is evidently
due only to his desire to secure front
place.
At such time ono is almost always
questioned In the same way. The most
trivial and ridiculous questions arc asked.
The inquiries they make Of Q foreigner are
such as they commonly mako among
themselves. How far "a II to your an
cestral homer Arc your venerable parents
hvingf How many sons have your Was
your linen made In China or In Englandl
How do you get 1t SO whitef How are
marriages arranged among the foreign
childrenf What is your incomef"
A little mild banter Is much appreciated
by the crowd. but brings out q moro rapid
fusillade of questions. In tho country
places about Annoy have been asked very
frequently, where Is the country where
the people have one leg2-one armf-one
eye?-and where there arc only womeni
Have you seen these landsT What the
origin Of these notions is 1t Is hard to say.
Perhaps some Chinese Baron Munchausen
or Dean Swift wrote burlesque book Of
travels. which has In the course Of time
been accepted as authentic by people
who have for SO many centuries stayed at
home.
INNS ON THE GREAT ROADS.
In China every traveller carries his bed.
ding with him; In the daytime 1t helps to
pack tho cart, or is laid, by way Of sad
die, upon the ass. The traveller may
count himself fortunate II he can find In
some Mutual Prosperity or Heavenly
Union hostel tolerable room In which to
rest. On the great roads, and the recog.
nized stages, the inns are pretty sure to
be decent, but elsewhere they are often
wretched.
J In those Of tho better sort there Is gen.
orally an eating house or tea shop on one
side Of the large door leading into the
yard. The shop faces the street, and Is
connected with the cook house and pri-
vate rooms Of the landlord. At this end,
too, are the rooms occupied by the carriers
and others. Passing through the great
door, the visitor finds himself In O large
unpaved yard with buildings all round II.
On ono side are, perhaps. six or eight
guest rooms, little boxes about twelve
feet square, with paper In place Of glass
for windows, doors which do not ft, and
through the openings Of which wind and
dust find their way.
A very rickety old chair and an equally
decrepit table are the only furniture, the
bed being simply brick or mud plat
form filing nearly half the little room
and raised about two feet from tho floor
Underneath it is fue. into which. In
cold weather, dry grass or other fuel Ii
pushed and fired, the heat and smoke pass
Ing in d zigzag line just under tho sur
face Of the couch. and finally escaping VI
vent in the wall. Other fireplace there
Is none; and II. as often happens. tn,
chimney should be foul the warmed bet
Is but poor compensation for smartint
eyes and partial suffocation. But ther'
are other rooms sometimes at the top O
the yard, and it Is always an object TO SO
| cure them, as they are trife larger ant
cleaner aud probably In better repair
The charges are moderate from 100 4
| 200 cash per night-about 20 cents-witl
n-t~aa TO- food end at,,;f ;ao IN carya "a