The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-03-23
bright eyes admirably.

bright eyes admirably.
A Chinese household is a community
of which the parents are the head, over
which the mother rules with an iron
rod. Each son must bring his wife to
his mothers house upon his marriage,
and he must remain there with his
growing family Until she is tortu-
nate enough to give birth to son the
position of the daughter-in-aw is that
of an upper servant, and frequently
it is one of the utmost misery. When
guests are received she must remain
quiet in the background; she cannot
speak unless she is addressed, and can
not sit in the presence of her mother-in-
law until she is told to do so.
The best of the houses front the
south, and these, Of course, are occu-
pied by the mother-in-law. She has
usually suite Of several apartments,
a reception, dining and bedroom.
These are separated by handsomely
carved screens, but the door is simply
paved with brick and stone, and it is
not even covered with mating. That
is true of the emperor's palaces as we'll
as of the common people. The floor is
seldom clean, and is made the reposi-
tory of all manner of rubbish. When
visitor is expected, however, there is
a good "ridding up and both the
floors and the yards are carefully
swept.
In the reception room 4 handsome
table is placed against the wall oppo-
site the door, with stiff backed chair
on either side, and there are cabinets
filled with costly bronze and porcelain.
In the bedroom k'ang or open bed
takes up fully half the space, and spends
much more than half her time. She
sits on it to sew, to eat and gossip, ,and at
each end of the k'ang are carved ward
robes containing her finery.
The dining room is shut off from the
reception room by solid wall, although
under the same roof, and it must be
reached by going out of doors, along
the tagging protected by the deep
oveahanging caves. Its furnishings
are high, square table, with two OF
more stiff, polished, straight-backed
chairs, side tables for serving of many
dishes that constitute feast, and up
on the wall inscriptions in Chinese
characters, with other decorations.
At the door the hostess steps aside
and entreats her guest to enter; to be
polite she must firmly refuse, entreat-
ing her guest to precede her. The con-
troversy must be prolonged for some
time, when, of course, the guest enters
first, as was intended. She is then
conducted to the honorable place"
the chair at the right Of the table,
which she must refuses urging the
hostess to occupy it; another lengthy
controversy must follow, ending by
the guest seating herself in 'the hon
orable place"
Pipes are then brought in, and if,
being foreigner: the guest declines to
smoke, the hostess also foregocs the
pleasure of her accustomed indulgence
Presently tea is brought-the most
exquisite, ethereal beverage that could
be imagined-served without sugar or
cream, clear as amber, favored with
flowers; it is like slipping the breath Of
June. With the tea are served deli
cate little cakes, ornamented with YER
million spots, not unlike little round
sponge cakes, and delicious sweetmeats,
candied fruits, red fruit marmaladc
pressed into small squares, or walnuts
Drowned in boiling oil and then dipped
for ar instant into hot syrup. If the
guest wishes to he very polite she
must make good deal of noise with her
lips as she sips the tea and eats her
sweetmeats, for this shows that the
refreshment is appreciated.
Very few Chinese woman, even those
of high rank, are educated. The great
majority can neither read nor write.
Hemmed in by the walls of the courts
which they never leave, their range of
ideas is naturally very limited. 1t is
difficult, therefore, for even foreigners
who understand the language to con-
verse with them, they have SO few top
les in common
/ The guest will be asked her age.
first OF all; for with the Chinese it is
not considered rude to ask the most
pointed, personal questions. The older
she is the more admirable will she seem
IN the eyes OF her entertainer, Tor youth
in China is not entitled to much re-
spect. The hostess will then want to
know if her parents are living, how
many brothers she has and how many
sisters, and from this the transition to
the question Of dress is easy and natu
ral Any peculiarities in the visitors
toilet will be noted; her Jewels, rings,
and brooch will be closely examined
her lace and ribbons admired, and, she
will be asked if her gown was made by
a foreign tailor.
All that she possesses will be eX
travagantly praised, while the poor
belongings of the entertainer will be
correspondingly disparaged. When the
visit draws to close the hostess will
insist upon accompanying the visitor
to the outer court; this she is implored
not to do, the guest finally submitting,
and shaking hands Chinese fashion, by