The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-27
CHINESE REVEL IN doors.
Dead Friends Frequently Kept for
Months in Living Rooms.
Lerr.rr, IL. oil MI c..--LI-

Months in Living Rooms.
From the Pail Mall Gazette.
The Chinese have no olfactory nerves.
as we understand them, and revel In The
foulest odors as they DO In Nth Remark
ing on this trait to an English missionary
whom 7 met in inland China, be related
how that the atmosphere in the house
of native pastor was so bad that once
when visiting him he expo tuIated on the
need of recommending Christianity by
some attention to the drains But fort
night later, when he came again, the evil
odor was even worse, though the much
troubled pastor explained that everything
| had been oVerhauled since last time, and
, that all was now sweet. Insisting, how
ever, on ascertaining the cause. the Eng
lshman commenced a tour of inspec ton
by tapping the handsome coffin which
every well-to-do Chinese keeps under the
sitting-Toom table, with the casual sug-
gestion that something might have got
in there
"Oh, yes" replied the reverend native
that's my wife's father. He came in from
the country some weeks ago, and died
here; so we just put him in there ill his
friends should come for him."
The clannish instinct of the Chinese Is
so strong that every effort is made to n
sure burial at the ancestral temple, and
bodies often have to traverse immense dis
tances that this may be accomplished
Dead Chinese are commonly repatriated
from Australia and America. On one oc-
casion one of the 100 Chinese on a Cana
dian Pacific train In which the writer was
travelling died ION board" He was trans
ferred to the baggage wagon, a coffin was
telegraphed for at the next town of i'm
portance, and thenceforward ne was stow
ed among the saratogas till he reached
China
A. Fl. Smith, in his Incompatible "Chin-
csc characteristics" tells, among many
good stories, of an old woman who, to
save her heirs the cost of transporting her
body tramped home some scores of miles
when about to die, and felt rewarded
when the end came. For some yeate
past there have been difficulties IN the
way of taking home the bodies of the
Ningpo colony in Shanghai famous for
their fretwork, and carving, 50 that an
accumulation of bodies has been taking
place at their temple to such an extent
that this summer the French have been
driven to drastic measures, the result
of which we now hear Of in the papers
Were this sanitary method always em-
ployed it would not so much matter. but
the Chinese are too often content to dis
pense even with burial. Often as not they
leave the huge, solid collins containing
their friends in the open country, with
nothing more than clOd OF earth on top,
ill they begin 10 fall apart, when they
are banked up a bit Petroleum eases
come in usually for children, and may be
seen standing out IN rows with the litte
forms doubled inside. Others bury in the
hillsides, tunneling in and building up the
entrance 80 that almost every biz Of iis-
ing ground in some parts has been thus
g. t-.lsf rfsrxs
ropean concessions. Chinese cemeteries
are not, on the whole inviting places, end
Il Is not exactly pleasant 20 be stopped
I'm a narrow canal by the passage OF the
boats conveying celestial remains.
Chinese notions Of death are by no
means morbid, and a prosperous trades
man Is proud OF the handsome shell"
which cOnfronts all who enter his door,
especially as it is adorned with deep
carved golden characters which tell his
virtues-"Mr Builder-of "a -Monas tery-
Chang" Mr.. Feeder-of- thew idowe-
Tseng," and so or. This is less expen-
sive and more useful than the erection
Of waysido arches. such as one often
sees set up TO commemorate works of
merit" These drawing room" collins
are Of polished cedar or kindred wood.
They are massive constructions of pc
culiar shape, with curvns sides some two
and half inches chick, overhanging base
and top and sunk with straight sides.
Within they are carefully prepared for
use. and furnished with four 10 six gall
Ions Of lime. in which the body resis.
Clad complete with a special cap and roll
ed in bed quilt, the defunct Celestals
are laid TO rest
-s-e--s---
-Jlmmy-But what do you do when
you git real sleepy? You don't own up
to it, do you?
Z 10 st.r