Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-20

Order of Christ: the emperor of China has con-
ferred upon him the coveted peacock's feather
and the order of the Double Dragon, and his
/ Orange friends at Belfast-h1s native place
! will no doubt be much interested and pleased
to learn that he is, by direct gift from the
| pOpe-nothing less than ''sub annulo pisca-
tOriS'--a Commander of the Papal Order of
| Plus X. As for knowledge of China and the
/ Chinese. there is no one living who can COM
pare with him. and learned more of the inner
working of celestial affairs during the fortnight
that had the honor of being his guest than
/ years of simple residence could have afforded.
TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
! The Il G." and Sir Robert Hart however
are two very different people. Il was calling
| upon Lady Hart one day." said lady to me-
| land as l wished to speak to Sir Robert l was
| shown into his Office / found the Il. g. there
! Oh. it was TERRIBLE covered my face and fied!
| The distinction has. indeed. been admitted by
| himself. tie is not Jekyll and Hyde. but he is
/ certainly poet and person. Among the many
verses he has written at different times | have
| seen one which avOws the fact, Heine-like both
In substance and form. 1t is called The Twin
/ Hearts" and tells how serious and unchanging
/ enc heart is, while
| The other hearts monthly rose:
1t blossoms oft and smells so sweetly:
| 1t flowers ami fades-before one knows
1t buds. 1t dies-does both completely!'
| THE SECRET
! by which Sir Robert Hart has accomplished so
| most extraordinary of all for an Irishman This
/ Is a subject on which he is far from averse to
| giving good advice to men younger than him
/ self. and on which. too. he establishes an i'm
mediate enterte cordiaIe with his guests. Your
/ early tea he saws. will be brought to YOU
when you ring your bell-please ring it once
| only. holding the button pressed while YOU can
/ count three. Then it will be convenient to you
| to tiffin at II sharp? Because if not. / will
tit1in myself at ~ sharp and order your tiffin to
he at 10 II 81 .
| to 5-there Is always mount for you if you
wish 1t. Dinner at 7:30 sharp. and l must ask
you always to excuse me at H." The conse-
| quence Is that
EVERYTHING RUNS LIKE CLoCKwORK
in Sir Roberts household. and n guest is per-
fectly at home from the start. But the above
methOdity is nothing. in comparison. In the
dlning-rOOm there is big wicker chair, al
ways covered with rug. so that YOU cannot sit
down in it. In that chair the master of the
house has had his tea every afternoon for
thirty years. Upon shelf stands large blue
and-white cup. Out of that he has drunk his
tea for thirty years. And by employing the
odd moments that his ''boy"-who is punctu-
ality itself-has kept him waiting each day in
that chair for that cup he has managed during
the last year or two to read the whole of Lucans
IhdTSdbdi Oh course he has kept diary since
he could hold pen.
ALWAYS on TINE.
To test his preciseness l made point of
standing each day behind my door. watch in
hand till the clock struck u or half-past T.
\ Then L walked IN to the central hall from nv
| own side of the house. Sure enough the door
| opened opposite me and my host walked i'll
/ from the other. 1t was like watching for
/ transit of Venus or waiting for the apostles to
come out of the clock at Strasburg at noon
| And as find have not said a word of his outer
| man may conclude these personalities by say
| ing that he is of medium height and slight
! build. rather bald. with kind. thoughtful aud
! humorous face. a low voice shy and punctiliOus
! manner; that he is a most entertaining COM
/ panlon. teller of countless good stories. fond
/ OF tun and merry company, devoted to his chill
/ dren-as well he may be-a player of the violin
and cello. and host whose care and thought
fitness for his guests are feminine in their in
| sight and famous in their execution.
THE CUSTOMS SERVICE.
And what. in a word. is the customs service?
1t is SIMPLY the collection of all their maritime
| customs at the nineteen treaty ports. reach
| ing over S20.O00.OO0 last year. their chief
/ source Of national Income. which the Chinese
| have Contided to the hands of one foreigner
| leaving him absolutely free and Irresponsible
I his action unhampered by any colleague. and
/ his accounts unaudited. In passing round the
coast OF China you frequently see a smart little
| cruiser flying the yellow flag, with perhaps a
| miniature steel turret and couple of quick
| firing guns on board. or in swift launch pass
\ ing you viii notice the Chinese crew and for
| elgn skipper in dapper uniforms and a ten-bar-
| relied Nordenfeldt projecting over the bow
| These are the customs fleet. watching the coast
for smugglers. and ready at q moments notice
to fetch back some outgoing junk that disobeys
/ the waving of the red flag signal to heaye to
and be examined. The duty or opium is so
high that smuggling is extremely profitable,
| and therefore the customs officers are proper
| tonaIly Keen IN discovering and preventing it.
ALONG THE COAST,
too. in the neighbornOod of Hong Kong and the
| treaty ports you will see little stations, con-
sistlng OF a house or two. few boats, and a
lookout. These are also the customs. and all
the lighthouses are in the same hands. Indeed
Sir Robert Hart has already established the
customs post between the treaty ports and
except for the influence of Sir Thomas WAGE
| at ChefOO he would have given China an i'm
perial post-oftice and an imperial silver coinage
| as well. The relations between Sir Robert
! Hart and the Chinese government exhibit
/ the most extraordinary example of conf
/ dence in individual integrity that | have
| ever heard of. The u g." fixes
/ the total cost of the service. the Tsung-li
/ lamen hands 1t over to him without a word
] and all money collected Is paid directly by the
merchants into the Chinese bank A little
while ago it was 1900 600 taels annually Ia
/ 'Haikwan' or customs tael is the official none
. tary standard III China. Mexican dollar and a
/ half. A.. I'D. J. but an envious Cinnamon whom I
| 1amen with a secret offer to do IT for 500. 900
taels less. The lamen quietly informed Sir
Robert Of the attempt to cut him out What
did he do?
HE RAISED 1T.
One of his most characteristic actions. He
replied that the annual sum had been made
I quate for some years. and that he. on the other
hand. must ask them to raise it by 200 900 taels
which they Immediately did With this l. 100
( 600 tacls a year Sir Robert does exactly what
he likes, keeping as much or as little for his
own remuneration as he pleases and paving to
Others the salaries he considers just The pay
| OF stUdCH. when he enters the service to
learn Chinese Is 900 taels year. and this rises
+ to 5000 taeis, more or less, the pay of a full
commissioner. Instead of promise of pen
SION. which Sir Robert felt that he could not
be certain the Chinese would keep when lie
} should be gone, he pays bonus of one
| years pay for seven years service to
/ the indoor statf, for ten years service to the
outdoor staff. and for twelve years service to
J tine Chinese staff. But this bonus may be with
| held at his pleasure Che has never vet withheld
/ IT.. and II therefore does not form part of a
( dead mans estate-a thoughtful provision for
| widows and children. The indoor staff get
| two years leave after every five years service
| and the outdoor one year after every ten. both
/ on hait-pay. As may be expected. the personnel
| OF so attractive service Is OF very high
class, comprising all natioaalities. and to be in
/ the customs" cOnfers social standing through
| out the far east. He Is "a fortunate father in
/ these days who can see his son safely started
/ on SO pleasant, SO well paid. SO assured a road
1 of livelihood