Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1891-11-06
THE HEATHEN cHlNEE,


Unexeelied as n Servant. aud shrswo
Enough to Care for Himself
A former Detroit Young lady. now
married and living at Vancouver. n,
G., IS here visiting relatives. and tells
some interesting, as well rs amusing.
stories Of the Chinese, with which
article of humanity Vancouver is over
run. They are "a numerous therc A.
are negroes in certain Southern citlcs,
and no one would think Of hiring
white servant, because they are not
to be had. A a'tenderfoota family.
she says, ought to set the price Of
their first servant a. moderate a. pos
slble, for, should they pay him 80
per month TO start on, they will never
DC able to hire another for cent less.
The Chinese servants OF Vancouver
are not organized into a labor union.
They don't need to be. They all
Know each other and an work to-
gether to the common end-to get ~
much as they can Of the good things,
The minute q newcomer strikes the
town he is shown around. That. he
will be told 10y his yelow-skinned
brethren, is a S2j house; this q $50
house, and so on, and he readily
promises to do as the rest do.
Mrs. mcF--- tells Of a servant she
had. She had let a former servant,
TO whom she was paying SO per
month, go, and hired In his place 4
celestial from "twently-Aiee ddllcc1
house. The latter was the incarna-
tion Of stoliditt and stupidity. lie
could do only the simplest tasks and
cook only the plainest dishes. Dis
gusted with him the lady went to sec
his former mistress, to whom she told
all.
''He has simply been fooing you,n
answered that lady. "Ling was the
best servant | ever had a good cook.
who knew all about the choicest
dishes, willing and active. only let
him go because he chased my daugh-
ter with stick one day, with the
avowed intention Of heating her But
how much do yod pay him."
Twenty dollars"
"Ah, there's the secret of his lazf-
ness. He is merely gauging his work
to make it commensurate with his
pay-according to his idea of the 1T
ness Of things
Mrs. Mel raised his pay S.. ana
now gets the latest dishes. etc. She
has come to the conclusion that Chi.
nese, especially the servants. are not
such fGuls as they leoh,
they never steal. she says. But
they Will lease the household belong
ings just as though they owned them.
She went to a birthday dinner at
friends house one day and was aston-
ished to see three Of her silver teas
spoons and two Uamasl, napkins. all
handsomely monogramed, on tho
table, Her friend fortunately caught
her eye at the critical moment, and
noting the rising flush o. Mrs Me-
F-'s face, took her aside and ex-
p0ietd matters. She was satisfied
and resumed her seat at the table,
once more maryeling at the mixture
of shrewdness and independence III
the Chinese charattei-and honesty,
too, fer these things are all religiously
Returned, cleaned, to their rightful
owners She had reason later on to
thank her stars this was the Chinese
custom. She gave a o'clock dinner
in honor of the visit of IN Eastern
friend She wanted to invite thirty
guests; but hadn't the requisite
amount of tableware from which to
feed them all at table. In her di-
lemma she remembered the old trick,
and acquainted Ling with the facts.
"Allee light, me sabe Me gettee
him." promptly responded that
worthy
She and her guests entered the din
ing-room that evening and of a verify
Ling had kept his word, for upon that
table was the most varied assortment
of knives, forks, spoons, dishes, etc,
she had ever sccn: Tho ludicrous-
hess 81 the scene flashed upon her,
and laughing outright She explained
matters to her Eastern visitor while
the rest Of the company looked on and
laughingly nodded approval.
This is merely the Chinese servants
way of helping each other out and
the strong bond Of fellowship guaran-
tees the safe return of the property
every time Free Press.