The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-01
IpEAL o00Ks FRoM CnENA.

Their Good Traits set Forth by sa
 Francisco Woman-1hey are leani,
 Ski ful and Trustworthy, and Solve
 Troubles mo Domestic Problem -Thel
 Ambition 10 Iearn-Chinese Wome
 Rare us Domestic Servants.
 [From the New York sun.l
 It was a San Francisco woman, whc
 when calling on a friend recently. tol,
 of the trouble she had undergone il
 trying to find good cook and lament
 ed the fact that she could not bring he. Chinese cook with her when she cam,
 to New York to live.
 But, said her friend, "you surely cannot perfer having an unclean, un principled heather in your kitchen rather than a white cook?"
 Indeed I do prefer them, and only wish it were possible to- find one here was the reply. AS for being unclean and unprincipled, they are models ot cleanness and neatness, and with theiI white linen Jackets and aprons, and queues wound round their heads, they are more attractive than the average slatternly white cook. They are scrup- ulously honest and devoted to their em- pl3yers and, besides all this, they are very quick to learn"
 This surprised the New York woman, whose only idea of the ordinary China man was the stolid laundryman with his pigeon English, and she wanted to know more about the superior individ- ual who, the San Franciscan affirmed, could prepare and serve as good and well-cooked 8 dinner as a French chef, and took as much pride in it's success as his mistress.
 Where do they learn to cook?" she asked.
 That is hard to tell. Tn some cases they ere hired as boys to wait on the table, and being ambitious to learn, will offer to assist the cook and watch his methods, and the preparation of a dish once learned is never forgotten. So far as know, there are no estab- lished schools, and question asked of one of them brings forth the invaria- ble answer, My cousin, he teach me, but, as every Chinaman is every other Chinaman's cousin, this reply at the best is vague, However, they learn somewhere, and no good cook will ever admit that there is any dish he cannot prepare.
 "On one occasion, wishing to give a small dinner party, I called Sing into consultation to decide on the menu After suggesting several dishes, asked him if he could cook lobster la Newburgh. How you call him?' he asked. I wrote the name for him on a slip of paper. He looked at the name a long while, and, gravely folding the paper, said, I'll sec After finishing his work that morning he went to Chi- natown, and was gone about an hour. At dinner in the evening the dish was served, cooked to perfection. I asked him where he learned the recipe. He did not seem to care about telling but my inslstence brought forth the usual answer: I see my cousin-I pay him fifty cents. He teach me This cous- in I found was an expert Chinese cook, countrymen to cook any dish, however unusual; in fact, he made his living that way
 They are excellent caterers and can buy to better advantage than most wo- men. They prefer to do their own mar keting, and can be relied upon to se- lect the best cuts of meat and freshest vegetables, Their judgment Is invari- ably good, and the mistress of the house is relieved of the worry of pug zling from day to day what shall be ordered for dinner.
 "The average Chinaman employed as cook can neither read nor write, Many Chinamen attend the mission schools, of which there are several in San Fran cisco; not, I am afraid, for the religious good it does them, for few Chinamen ever desert their Joss, however loud they may sing the church hymns, but for the benefit of the reading and wri- ting lessons received there. After the alphabet is mastered, and the student is able to worry through a reading ex- ercise, he becomes immensely proud of his requirements, and loses no opportu- nity to parade them l was visiting my sisters house last Christmas day and in the afternoon, her cook, who was faithful attendant at the mis- sion night school, entered the room where the family were assembled, car rying a tray on which was q large cake, He placed the tray on a table, and then, with a bow that took in every one m the room, presented the cake to his nis stress, wishing her a Nelly Cls- mas, and stood back with the air of'a It was 8 large fruit cake, frosted, and over the white surface he had scrolled in pink, Tn God We Trust The merrIment evoked by his rather odd Christmas greeting was 'eceived by him as a compliment.
 ''The Chinese cook delights in observ- ng holidays, and although he has only me for himself throughout the year, he ooks forward to the American holidays md celebrates them, as he does his ,wn, by presenting gifts of Chinese weetmeats or hideous spasms of color n the shape of Chinese baskets, to the amily, and feels called upon to use his ;reatest skill in preparing dinner on hese occasions.
 "One of the greatest attractions of he Chinese cook, and one that, next | O his skill, appeals to the housewife, is | is faithfulness. After his work is fin- l