The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-07-24
HOW A CHINAMAN DIES.
A CELESTIAL MERCHANTS DEATH
IN HIS NEW YORK HOME.
The Pious Task Of Cheering the lying
Man and sIinistering 70 His Physical and
spiritual Wants-Attractiv Interior OF
Chinese Home.

y A~fNNN
,o,ne a, No n reii street on Friday morn
ino Although he was so far away from his
nafire land he was tended in his dying
Lorr. bv some Of his cousins" for III China
the cousjn is any member OF the same family,
no matter how remote the klnship' anu 'ns
manner Of his death was a 1t woulu nave
been II he had died at home. His name i
| Hong Toi. and he Is a cousin OF a wealthy
| Cnnaman who keeps grocery al NO -
Mott street lie had just been taken away
| FROM R,-ton to die in thi, city. According
10 q certain Chinese superstition init i uniucky
10 allow a man to die in the same house where
| be lived Consequently, as soon as the AZ
tending physician pronounces the case nope
! los.. "A room elsewhere Is hired for him to die
| IN. Is was done in this case.
! Hong Toi was born in Quang- Iung-too IN
| 1865 and came 10 America "nen he was "
wears Of age Like So many Of his country
men. When he arrived here lie sought employ
ment in Il laundry, and set himself to make
a fortune. His savings after time were
| large enough to enable him to buy an interest
in a grocery. and before he died he had laid
M $4,000 His hopes and plans, however.
| all perished with him Four months ago he
nile of his race He coughed, grew thin and
| lost his appetite The American physician
whom lie employed At first pronounced the
| trouble maaria. bot his treatment did the
| patient little good \ Chinese doctor was
/ consulted later, and he declared the trouble
10 be pneumonia. This proved correct, aud
| the disease soon proved fatal
/ Within the last two weeks Of his iife he
was never LEFT alone lis friends and cousins
relieved one another in the pious task OF
| cheering the diving man and mlnlsterinc, II
| their heather fashion. 90 his spiritual rs well
as bis physical wants. They read long pas
/ sar,s t. him from their national books, such
| as the works OF Conluciu- and Mencius, the
| Tripito.a Of Buddha and the verses OF Lao
| Tszee and other famous poets. They fed him
| with the strange and delicate dalntles which
| the Chinese only can concoct, and talked oil
/ home when he was strong enough 10 listen.
/ Then. rs the end came nearer. they brought
/ ont and spread around INN numerous queei
| looking objects. such as had been familiar q
| him in bis childhood. evidently seeking, as
/ they might amu5e u tircd enid, to bIiDs
: some pleasant memory or happy thought into
| his mind while yet life might he made little
brighter.
They spread odt little squares Of sugar
| CANDY looking not unlike the butter scotch
/ American children like so well Queer cakes
were laid around on tables and chairs, and
/ oven on the bed, some with fruits and some
with SPICES in them, some with meats AMI
some with unfamiliar ingredient 10 the eau
| casian, very fow Of them were alike. Then
they brought even dolls, fashioned as nearly
/ after the babyhood OF China as the picture
/ OF their native artists arc like nature
/ grotesque, quaint and richly CARRIED, odd and
| pretty From the ceiling they hung Kites
/ and queer umbrellas, and some o. the Gle
CANT. fantastic paper lanterns that aesthetics
| DELIGHT in \ smile would sometimes come
/ over his wasted features, but for the most OF
the time his face was calm and grave, as i
the won't of Cinnamon. it is look not I'M
/ ike that Of babies, wise beyond their days
who look at all things with quiet attention
/ that seems TO speak a tolerant half approval
His bed was narrow bunk, covered with
whito mating, and the pillows were long.
narrow boxes, covered with upholstery.
| They looked not unlike the foot rests in al
/ old English church Around the walls hung
/ silkeB banners Of vivid scarlet aud rich en-
broidery tracing the hieroglyphics that
stood for verses from the poets over the
mantolpieco were religious pictures not un-
| like those that hang over the affairs IN the
| Chinese temples III the center was repre-
sentation OF God as the Chinese picture HIM,
seated Oh throne of barbarc magniiicence,
while Oh either hand were pictures or the
beings whom they suppose 10 personiiy the
powers Of destruction and reparation. IN
the opposite wall hung the words Of the
Christian hymn, Nearer, my Cod to Thee
On the mantelpiece underneath the religious
pictures were dozen or more artistic photo
graphs of ballet girls IN the extreme nude
ness Of the modern stage.
In one corner was a bamboo table, on
which were pots Of coal kept constantly
burning, and Of tea kept always hot. other
smaller tables supported bronze vases, some
Of them very costly and all artistic; bronze
bowls of clean white sand, in which were
stuck loss sticks, 10 be burned from time to
time in devotional exercises, ana some forty
or fifty volumes Of the writings OF Chinese
poets. These we're huge and cumbrous, but
Of rare workmanship, and must have been
expensive purchases.
The sick mans costume was = simple house
dress, somewhat resembling the pajanias that
have grown into popular favor in America
within the last few years. He wore blouse,
loose and without any approach to Lit,
made Of yellow muslin, and pair OK trou-
sers Of the same material, only reaching to
the ankle, and on his otherwise naked feet
were a pair of loose slippers. This was IN his
Boston home. few days ago, his physl-
clans having pronounced his case hopeless he
was removed TO this city, as stated above.
He confronted death with all the calm
courage of the true fatalist, evidently IN full
possession of all bis mental faculties and firm
in his Oriental faith. There was not the
faintest evidence Of any fear IN his manner
or his words, nor did there seem to be any
longing for life or desire to supplicate Tor 1t.
To an American whom he knew well, and
whom ho had learned to regard as good
friend, be said, as he graspsd bis land the
day before he died;
"Mayhap die one week, maybe one month
die alice samee No solly myself. All light
Solly my mothee, my mothee."
To one Of his Chinese friends he said, only
u few hours before he breathed his last, ane
when he was almost unable to articnlatel u
tbinl, I see tho Dragons 1t was the last ht