The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-09-17
THE GREAT LII HUNG CHANG
n Georgia Woman's Visit to the Chi
ncse Viccroy-An Interesting De.
scriptiOn Ofthc Interview

The New York Sun prints an exceed
ing bright and breezy interview whicl
a Georgia lady had with Ii Hnna
Chang. The writer is supposed to y,
Miss Clarie DcGrailcnrcid. The dc
scriptiOn OF her visit to the Chinese
viceroy is published below
On Wednesday afternoon at 6 O'Clock
| entered the Waldorf with the deter
minatiOn Of seeing and talking with
his eXccllency Lii Hung Chang. am
the fortunate pOsseSsor Of a quaint
Chinese ring-my only "open sesame y
unto his august presence. ! Dcnncd
these lines on the back OF my card
| Miss D, from Georgia, begs
that his excelency will grant her his
valuable ~advice concerning 4 hand
carved Chinese ring"
The messenger returned. Earl Lii
never read notes sent him in that way.
DR.. Mark regretted that the ambuss;,-
dor's finger panied him to such al cX-
tent that he had refused to sec anyone
that evening. Would not Dr.. Mark
see me? He regretted to refuse, but he
was dining. Possibly, however. DR..
Irwin would meet me.
Just then Il messenger came hurry
ing up. DR.. Mark Aad consented TO
speak with me. A youthful! Chinaman
in purple blue gown trippcd toward
me. Was the lady b from the
South? He signaled that | follow
him into the parlor. Wcll, what must
| see his cXcellency about? on . YES
that ring; yes, come. He was smiling,
unofficial, unstudicd.
We hurried into the elevator, then
down the long turning hall past Gle
gantly robcd Chinese, who stood in
rows to prevent any would-bc intruder
approaching even the outer walls of
lIl's private apartments. The Oriental
hangings, the gorgeous appointments
and many foreign faces, almost fright
encd mo, and iLNu.un:Ari.y ,Xuiau..
cd: o.. how very many Chinamcn." :"
My merry guide laughingly assured
me that they would not shoot: not to be
afraid.
The last por there parted for us. and
we entered the presence Of his excel
lcncy LII Hung Chang. Hc was resting
IN Il modern arm-chair, his feet perch
cd high on Il stool. He had discardc d
his black silk cap with red topknot.
lie wore sort Of uressipg-gown robe
of crimson plush, Tapped at the shoul-
der with two handsome gold buttons.
The loose sleeves icll back, occasion
ally revealing nanncl ribbed under
vest sleeves, rolled neatly at the wrist
as any New Workers. would be. His
linger mai Is were remarkable for their
perfect shape. They are beautifully
kept and unusually long. He has few
lines in his face. His complexion,
with faint, clear color in the checks
reveals robust health. His wounded
tnger was tied up in Il fuzzy little rag.
His cXccllcncy half rose from Iii.
chair, extending his hand in the mos
aDable manner as | bowed. | grasp.t
the hand glngerly as | dreaded immc
diate Punishment for hurting tn,
swollen finger.
Lii ordered a chair put close in from
OF him, and our conversation OF i:
minutes was opened by the happy ole
Chinaman.
Ii studied me as freak, ordained
Tor his especial amusement. He waiv.
ed any and all questions Of a sensible
nature. 10 my repeated inquiries rs
to his serious opinions Of American
women and many other topics he mere
~ smiled 6landly and replied with
lnhumerab!e questions Of his own. He
was bent on being amused. There
were six or eight Chinese standing
around, all grinning, regarding me rs
a rare joke. We were not disturbed
by the presence of any American.
Ills eXccilency, nodding often, chat
tercd-quitc as if | understood--thut
he had been curious to meet a type Of
our far South, near that land of llow-
crs--ah . called Florida-Florida wa
ter-and did | use that? It smcllcd
good How long had been in the biz
New York How far was Georgia ?
Had / travelled by land, a day or sew
cral days journey? As DR.. Mark en-
lightcncd him on these topics he gazcd
| intcrcstedly NJ me with friendly little
bObs OF his head.
| We were then diverted. a hugely
lat Chinaman came Offering a q lcel
pipe to the ambassador. The crooked
stem was quite Il yard long. The bowl
of silver was like a tiny Dutch stove
the stem Of gold. Two other attend
ants held lighted tapcrs. Ii put the
pipe to his lips, but seeming to rcmcm,
Der my presence he waved it aside. |
asked if it were opium.
Dr.. Mark vigorously oenicd that it
was. Ii bent toward me earnestly he
was excited at my mistake. He asked
me to taste it. But did not smoke.
Would try only Il pun or owo? The
pipe was brought to me. DR.. Mark, at
MS dictation, instructed me in the art,
and | took few whlrs. This gratiiicd
his exccllcncy. Hc urged that smoke
the entire pipe. | answered it would
make me scasick - dared not. He
roarcd with laughter, displaying his
long teeth. Well, why not? How
did | like it? Would | vouch for
its being tobacco He leaned back
relieved when assured him Of its be-
ing tho real Virginia leaf" Had /
ever used opium "Oa, no. Well, he
| begged me TO understand positively
that he, likewise, nnvcr used opium IN
any form. The American people were
falsely impressed that he smoked it {;
please correct this mistake.
He suddenly recalled my Chinese ring.
Hc bent forward, taking my hand IN
his own, puiIcL hard at the ring, but,
be ng unable to remove it, he Vas
quick to apologize, and had he hurt?
Well, he would pass Judgment it was
real Chinese. He twisted it about
critically, chattcring meanwhile.
Then the hand itself received due
comment. Then he extended his own
right hand and desired my judgment
on the large diamond solitaire worn
upon the little finger. Hc modcstIy
made light Of it, declaring it to be on :
cheap stone. But werc these uoi
worthy? lie handed me his black 81 k
| cun vifD IT,. IpuuI Clu5tOr of mntrr,H.