The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-08
1he ADVERTISERS
 " HOME STUDY CIRCLE

There are many "objects of interest" to draw the tourist. The thirteen sep- ulchres Of the Ming dynasty, which ruled China from 1888 to l644, are splendid even in decay. Each stands in it's grove of cedars, through whose branches the spirits of the departed potentates sigh softly, gazing cown upon their neglected sepulchres. For the Manchu conQuerors located their royal tombs in another direction, 70 miles from Pekin.
 Even now these Ming sepulchers are we'll worth giving a few cash" to sec
 The marbles are exquisitely carved. the latticed panelsJand yellow tiles are still beautiful A few churlish guards watch them still, but more for levying tribute on tourists than for any useful purpose. which Is apparent. Such Is the estate of the last Chinese emperors.
 Some day a different kind of tourists will come to these hills. They will carry absurd chains. which they will lay upon the ground from place to place. and the little tubes mounted on tripods. through which they will squint so foolishly that even the tough old Buddhist priests will be moved to crack their parchment faces with a smile of derision. Hidden in those hills are coal deposits, both hard and soft.
 Now the Chinese pick out the coal in their feeble. inefficient way, put a little of it in a basket, and the basket is drs gged along the passage by q miser- able slave on all fours. farnessed like beast. At the mouth of the tunnel stands a camel. Into the camel's pam niers the coal is poured and when he has a load he starts for the city at his dizzy pace of four miles an hour. All the year round there is an end less procession of-these ungainly. pat tent beasts humping and shuffiing across the plain, each with his little load of coal or returning for more They are a characteristic feature of the Chinese landscape. No better illustra- tion of the cheapness of labor in China is afforded than tse fact that this coal, in spite of wastful and inefficient methods. Is delivered at your door in Pekin for less than 8 a ton. But then there are no Chinese coal barons-not yet.
 Usually we think of the Chinese as a stolid race. destitute alike of athletic or sporting blood. But the fact Is that nowhere in the world are more games played than by the Chinese youth Their games, however. like everything CiSC ShiAACSt. nave d btl SukSeStiOI of arrested development, they are sim- pie and childlike, even when athletic. Racing horses they are very fond of, and there are several race tracks in ur about Pekln.
 The principal one is not far north west of the city. and there the foreign residents congregate with thousands of natives. who make the grandstand q solid bank of blue and yellow. To the stranger there are few funnier sights than the first view of a Chinese jockey, sticking to his horses back like a yellow monkey in big vizored cap, high boots and gaudy satin jacket.
 But when the time to return comes 1t is the Chinaman's turn to laugh. The people went out by horseback, sedan chair. mule cart and mule litter, and all know that they must be within the city gate by the time the gate bell stops booming or be shut out relent- lessly for the night. So, long before the races are over. the returning stream of mules and filters begins to flow cityward.
 As closing time draws near the stream becomes a swollen river, and soon raging torrent. Clouds of dust arise. choking the perspiring shouting mob which pushes desperately on toward the yawning portal. Now the great bell Is on it's last strokes and the crowd becomes frantic. To make con- fusion worse counfounied. here come the white men on their horses at break neck speed. They have staid to the last race. trusting to a dash across fields to save then1.r
 In spite of the Strongest appeals, no one can enter, After the great gate clang together, and no one can delay their closing. We can almost suspect the Chinese of other motives than mere love of punctuality, for 1t must be a fine sight for them to see the aristocratic. high-tit representa- tives of the proudest nations on earth. sweaty and dusty. all mixed in one frantic crush to get inside before the gate is slammed in their faces! That ought to be some compensation for the humiliations which these same repre- sentatives have officially inflicted on Chinese pride
 Copyright. 19o1.)