The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1898-03-25


" and the mamlarns. bu, hy all thos
Of lesser station whose pockets cal
compass the luxury.
The plants chosen to nourish th
Silk-worm are very young, white, ant
smooth, and to the :,ssiduous care givcl
to the culture is due the close, full
strong silk produced. The finest an,
soltcst silks come from Che kiang ant
Tonkin, Pckin and Canton drawing
their supplies from these factories
Strangers. particularly women. ar,
enthusiastic over these beautiful fabrics
There are delicately tinted grounds
strewn with wandering blossoms, truth
full copies from garden, greenhouse
and fieId shadowy watered streak:
upon navy-bluc or canary-yelloN
foundations, with bars of satin stripe
indeed, the goods thrown out befor.
one are bewildcringly beautiful. Dres
den floral patterns Of tiny rosebuds il
raised design upon old pink; clouded
effects Of white daisies upon green; rec
poppics upon black; old rose, robins
egg blue, pale gray, golden-brown
hccked with snow-drops or violets
starred with chry santhemums or rose
iaponicas; barred, plaided, and checked
sheer, gauzy, ex1uisitely delicate, OF
glossy, thick and rich,-thcse China
silks, from the plainest to the most
elaborate, display an artistic effect and
a brilliancy of coloring which appeal
strongly to the aesthetic sense.
The best of customers are the Chi
ncse themselves, rich natives paying
enormous prices: indeed, the finest
goods are never sent out of the coun.
try. Counterpanes of cherry or straw
colorcd satin, worked in variegated
silks, sell at about three hundred dol,
lars, but Grape shawls, hand-cmbroid-
cred, are valued often at less than fifty
dollars.
Many of the warehouses contain a
hundred thousand rolls of mating, in
designs to suit every fancy; and Won
a. nri i,tl ,,t,f /,
ings, alike on both sides and represent
ing landscape gardening The stranger
perhaps strays into Il grass-clcth shop,
ai' or he has bought a roll or two of
mating. and, while he is examining
the long dress patterns. soft and fine rs
linen cambric, cup of fragrant tea is
handed to him by coolie, and the pro-
prietor of the shop hegs his acceptance
of a dozen pocket handkcrchiefs.
The gold and tinsel cloths used for
trimming mandarin robes are held in
high estimation by foreigners, and are
covered with uneIuallel embroidery.
which possesses the peculiar excellence
OF never furnishing. Besides official
robes, considerable manufacture is
carried on in embroidered purses, fam
cases, skirts, trousers, jackets. smoking
caps, and ladies' tobacco-pouchcs.
Nearby is u jewellers shop. .lingy
within and having a narrow entrance,
but in this squalid cavern nav be
found gold and silver fIagree work,
and chasing in silver. unsurpassed hv
any of the ancient Venetian masters
Many Of the forms of jewel eases, cask-
cts, and vases suggest shapes found at
Herculanenm or Pompeii, and upon
these, in space Of much less than a
quarter of an inch, are dclneated, with
extraordinary accuracy. figures, houses,
or trees. Enameling on silver
is shown in high perfection, particular
ly exemplitied in the application of ul-
tra-marine, so perfect being the work
that, notwithstanding wear and at
exposure, the brilliancy of
color which makes the ultra-marine so
is never dullcd. The silver
smith can cut and set gems wonderful
ly, while the gold he uses is far better
than European. lie will reproduce
favorite pattern of fruit-knivcS. or line
a bowl with gold coating, or manufac-
turc a service Of plate, on incredibly
short notice, and, while he carries in
his stock no valuable Jewels, he has ex-
quisite samples ofagate, superb canoes,
and curious lotus-howcr cups, perfect
in polish and smoothness, fashioned
from that adamantinc, emerald green
the jade-stonc. Many of these
cups are valued at five hundred dollars,
and minute fragments claboratelv
carved are displayed here for sale as
clasps, amulets. or thu,nb-rinys. In
the western suburbs of Canton there is
Il ,a1e market. where most tcmpting
array of vases and fancy articles are
offered for i,bulnnS prices, but which
rln generally he purchased for about a
third of he sum demanded.
One entire street in Canton is occu-
pied by the dealers in fans; as one al
ways thinks OF China as Fan Land"
it seems appropriate. and the fans
spread ont for admiration in these cav
ernous littlt shops merit all the cxtrav-
agant praises bestowed upon them, so
tasteful and delicately painted are they,
and so elegantly finished in black and
gold,- present the prevailing mode.
There are painted feather fans with
figures, to which are attached ivory
faces; there are puzzle fans, which