The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-31

which his artisans have been making for
us ever since the days OF the ark.
Niche, who lived long in China, says
that there prevails there a superstitous
belief that the missionaries bewitch the
people and kidnap the children. This is
not a belief of the ignorant classes alone.
but of the high caste Cinnamon. and II
houses fail to sell. or shrubbery to grow,
or any evil happens in a family. the
cause Is laid at the deor of the missions.
The Chinese are firm believers in ghosts
of q malignant sort. who are endlessiy
punished by being compelled to stay on
this earth. The greatest fear is of en-
countering the ghost of person who COM
mitted suicide in front of a looking glass,
such ghosts being fiercer and more dan
gerous than any others They employ
music to render those ghosts harmless.
Any one who has ever listened to Chinese
music will understand its power not only
to lay a ghost but to create one as well.
If DIR. johnson had lived in far Cathay
he would have named music as the most
instead of the least. disagreeable OF
sounds They have no harmonies in com
mon. and two performers will play the
same tune together i'm different keys. The
nearest they reach TO sweet strains is the
pinintive flute like notes of the birds
which they learn from nature and repro
duce from bamboo whistles I'm clever inn
itation.
Their songs and tomtoms have not the
slightest affinity for musical sound, but
fascinate and attract by their hideousness
and play part in their wars like the war
whoop of the Indians.
Was 1t a Chinaman who first discovered
America? Chinese imperial annals record
the account of some Chinese mariners who
were wrecked 5000 years ago on that part
of our coast which is now California and
Oregon. The Chinese We're then Il mari
time people, and among their crew were
five Buddhist monks. We have trace of
them in prehistoric times by coin of their
country found by the Indians and their
strange implements of worship and sacri-
fee have been unearthed i'm America,
where they had been buried for centuries.
1t was an American who advised Ii
Hung Chang to move the railroad that
skirted the sea near Shan-kai. 1t was
within two miles of the coast, and the
guileless American showed the Chnaman
how exposed IL was to attacks from the
sea, and that high caste official had II
moved inland far enough to be hidden
from coast craft, adding $l25.000 20 the or
iginal expense of construction.
The Chinese Sunday School class in
American churches will probably be abol-
ished--it should never have been institute
ed The youngest and prettest or most
charming of American society girls were
the instructors, and each Chinaman must
have a teacher 10 himself. He made
handsome presents to his instructor, fell
in love promptly, and bestowed his at
tentions until father or brother interfered
and stopped further demonstration. Their
education proceeded as far as reading a
verse from the Bible in an unknown die
lect. After Sunday School they finished
the day playing poker-they were heath
ems A lady who had seen one of the Ce-
lestials In gorgeous clothes at the street
church called at his laundry to have him
send TO her hotel for the weekly wash.
when this dialogue ensued:
you stlanger?" YES"
Then bling policeman-he know you
me not"