The evening times., 1899-05-17
THE cH1HEss SERVANT.
Silent, Emcient, Polite, and Above
All Thlngs, Literal.


All Things, Literal.
Qrom the Northwestern Christian Advocate.)
Two things assailed my imagination
when l fist saw Pasadena. One is the
Chinaman as a waiter at table, His tongue
has singular obstinacy about the r. sound
for which he universally substitutes -
The result is startling sometimes. as when
he asks your ante-prandial preferences
and boiled rice" is on the bill Of fare.
think never have seen Chinese serv-
ant make a false motion or take step
| that does not count. II the gentleman CT
lady at your elbow leaves the table before
you do, all traces Of soiled dishes, rem
nants of food and every little crumb disap-
pear, as il eating were crime and your
departing neighbor had bribed the serv-
ant to secrecy. When you take your seat
at breakfast table a form clad in cleanest
white glides to your side with his gentle.
polite, and gracious Good moling. The
tone is sure to touch and soothe you, and
before your thoughts are directed toward
anything SO material as food you get a
safe and correct inferential reminder ttat
the beautiful, fresh. and lovely rose that
lays upon your plate came from the slim
hand of the Oriental.
Wing Moy, or LIE Su. is the most faithful
servant you ever had. He treads the floor
as silently as a cat, and he seems to know
what you wish for as well as you do. He
hears your preferences and seldom forgets
to bring the smallest item. AT the end OF
your list he gently mprmurs, "Alle light.
and disappears go silently. and utterly, and
quickly that you wonder II the route TO
the kitchen begins in the crack in the
floor, under your chair.--I never before
have perceived the glimpse Of truth and
nature in Bret Harees fine concerning
1.-The heather Chinee'-"With smile that
was childlike and bland" These servants
faces are wreathed in smiles whenever you
speak to them All seem to be like chill
dren while they are childlike Chesterhelds
when spoken to by ladies.
AS for literally. they remind you OF the
old advice to the effect that you must
follow the prescription, even II it blows
out of a third-story window" The yarn
about the Chinese tailor who followed
copy" to dot when he made pair OF
trousers for a seaman. the patches tnc.ud-
ed, is not impossible. Indeed, the opposite
would be impossible. unless the patches
were expressly forbidden, and even then
the tailor might not understand what
should be done with the area whereon he
thinks the patch should be. But the story,
as reasonable as it Is. must not be accept
ed as evidence that Cinnamon are not in
telligent. They are SO faithful in obeying
orders lQdt tHty SttIu " DC SAtAa htSAoAs
even to a laughable degree. All carica-
ture is the exaggeration of some truth.
An out-and-ou want of a semblance OF
truth is libel and falsehood, and the genu-
inc wit will decline to laugh at it.
II you should mark out a line OF hourly
duty for a house servant like the ones SO
much admire and respect. you could set
your watch according to the notions OF
the literally obedient and faithful servi-
tor. While he may abstract bit OF meat.
or a pair of potatoes. or leaf to carry to
some rendezvous of his countrymen, as
items of food in some social or religious
observance, you may be sure that your
servant will not allow any one else to rob
you of anything considerable. l know
servant here who found a $50 bill in
place to which the wind had blown 1t and
where no traces Of the finding were pos
sible, and who returned the bill, of whose
value he was aware. Another found and
returned fine diamond ring whose price
he had heard, and whose finding by him
was conditioned upon his own admission
alone.
1t is funny Except to their employer)
how an unpopular lady or family may sud-
denly find 1t impossible to employ new
servant for more than a day or few
hours. Tramps are reputed to mark gates
or fences to indicate the presence of vi
cious dogs or Of people who require work
in return for 'victuals." Chinese ser
wants have their signs and warnings. but
whether upon pots, or kettles, or kitchen
ranges, or walls, or on sea, or sky, no one
has found out; but the new servants SIM
ply read, ponder, and suddenly go. while
the irate and sorrowful mistress fails day
after day to get substitute in the person
Of anyone from the Chinese local settle
m ont