Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-04-12
TEACHING A cnlNAmAN.
4 Little Girl Artlessly Relsses Her Expe-
rlepce With q Heather.

"Oh, say" she exclaimed TO a WASH
ington Star reporter. throwing a great
emphasis on the sly" and her face
beaming with a sudden recollection,
have / told you about my Chinaman"
She was a modest little schoolgirl, and
her question seemed a trifle odd, and so
the Star man expressed an appropri.
ate amount of genuine surprise, and
told her that he had never heard Of
''her Chinaman."
"Well, let me tell you," she cor.
tinued, and as her auditor did not pro-
test she proceeded: 'He is Just too
cute for anything, and he Is so bright
that | am sure he will learn to speak
real good English very soon, and then
/ am going to have him teach me
Chinese. Won't that be nicep"
But you have not told me who and
what he u.s." suggested the reporter.
Haven't IP Well. he is my pupil
at the Chinese Sunday-school at the
Ascension Church-all my own-and I
am teaching him. You see, we have
got to teach them to speak English,
before we try to teach them any re-
ligion, and SO i am now trying &c make
him understand me. 1t is pretty hard
sometimes, but / am sure that he Is
going to learn"
How many lessons have you given
him." asked the reporter.
"Only one, but he can say several
things already and he is real bright.
You see there is a little primer book
chat we use that is written partly in
English and partly in Chinese-just
like one Of those horrid Latin books,
you know. First there is n line at the
top, where there are given some En-
glish words, you know, and opposite
these are the same words In Chinese.
Down below, at the bottom of the page,
these words aud so be learns. lie is
very eager to learn, but he can not
pronounce some of the words. for he
has trouble with his r. which be will
persist in calling an IL / can't break
him of the habit. | said he was bright,
didn't Ip Well, he Is in some things,
but he was SO stupid last Sunday. The
word hand was in the copy and 7
wanted TO illustrate its use to him, aud
so | just stretched out my hand and
said. MY hand What does the
stupid do but reach over and take my
hand and say, My hand OF course,
he did not mean TO be rude, but IL
sounded so presumptuous that it made
one mad for a minute. But the more |
tried to show him his error the moro
he persisted in saving hat my hand
was his. At last / took hold Of his
hand and said, Your hand, and then
he did the same for me and said; Your
band 1t was a little provoking. but /
am hoping he will know better next
Sunday
II suppose he is a heightened China
man, from the legation, perhaps, with
lots of silks and other nice ~clothesp"
suggested the reporter.
mo, indeed. he is not" was the
somewhat indignant reply. He is
not Que of those Cinnamon, but q real
nice, Woodworking, poor Chinaman,
who washes clothes for a living, and !
do not think any the less of him for it..
[ wouldn't have one of those legation
Chinamen; they are so proud and stuck
up they think that there is nothing
like them. They don't come TO Sun
iay-school; they know enough al
ready
We'll, do you like 10 teach China
men?" queried the reporter to round
Of the conversation.
Il should say | did. ! think it is
just too lovely for anything; but Idon't
want to have him think that my hand
is his, for it isn't aud never will be-"
and a pair of very black eyes sparkled
ch%armingly. Il really don't know
what | am going to teach him when l
get him so that be can read, but | sup
pose that it viii be something reli-
gious."