The new South-news., 1908-03-21

recent origin. 1dflHK back only some
four or five hundred years-a very
short time ms antiquity counts In
China The fashion was introduced by
the corquering Manchus. who succeed
ed In making II national by an edict
that no criminal should be allowed to
wear queue. II must be admitted that
the queue Is a graceful and becoming
method Of dressing the hair. and the
shasen front part OF The head gives an
effect OF dignity and beneyolence 10 Ce-
lestial faces that they would not other
Wise possess. In fact. fashion does for
the Fhiuaman what Nature does for the
Western type when she dlgnlfies and
distinguishes a man by depriying him
Of hair on the top OF his head. In China
the queue Is the sign II manhood. and
no American boy yearns so ardently for
bis first pair OF pants as the Chinese
boy 10 have The 'front.' OF bis head shaw
ed and the queue fairly started on It's
way. Then he feels himself a man at
last. and condescends TO his sisters and
snuba the babies of a smaller growth
whose hair IS siili tied in topknot
with red cord or ribbon.
The etiquette OF the queue IS arbit
rary and complex. aud on ceremonial
occasions It plays quite part No
aelf-rcspectlng Chinese gentleman
would be seen with his queue tied up
In knot: II must always hang It's
fun glossy length. finished OF al the
tip with a silk fasscl. Your NO.
boy" may occasionally put the end In
his pocket. II II 81 likely TO be In the
way. but he viii take II out before COM
Ing into your presence. unless he
wishes TO be disrcspectful. / have no.
ticed, too, that a Chlbaman on a BIZ
cycle always takes the very neces-
sary precaution OF putting the end OF
his queue safely In his pocket The
poorer Chinese and he coolie class roll
Their up into a knot. or twist 1t round
the head, for It would be decidedly In
the way when they are working. This
simple fact marks the great social d.
vision between the better Chinese CLAWS
and the coolies. and once a coolie has
worn his queue hanging. down his back.
he VIII. II he has any social ambition,
again. house coolle OF my acquaint-
oiice was. on one occasion, brought In.
to the dining-room to assist in wait
ing on some extra guests. and united
his queue for the occasion. But he
could never be persuaded to tie IL up
again. and had TO he dismissed since
he made but an Indifferent house boy,
though an excellent coolic.
A Chinaman takes great pride in his
I queue. and deyotes more time and at
I tcntion TO it tnan TO any other portion
OF his person. Barhershops are. nat
urally, extremely plentiful and always
well patronIzed. Not only does the
barber shampoo the hair and shave the
front OF the head OF his customers. but
he also turns his attention to their
ears and scrapes their eyelids in a
horrible fashion. giving rise TO much
of the ophthalmia so prevalent in
China The itineranr barber is also 20
be met everywhere. His customers are
the coolies, who are content with less
careful work. and who do not at all
object TO being shaved in the street. or
wherever they may be. The razor of
the street barber is rough piece Of
metal. needing frequent stropping.
and he uses hot water and no soap.
All purely Chinese queues are black.
though | have seen decidedly brown
one, only to discover that the owner
was not purely Chinese. And yet.
though all of the same color. there is
Ia, ~
few things more fascinating than a
study of the variety of ''pigtails" in
the streets of a Chinese city. There is
the long fat, rope-like tail OF beauti
fully-braided. glossy hair. the end
reaching to the knees. and all the va
rious gradations between that and the
pathetic thin gray wisp. that has
much ado to reach the bent shoulders of
an old man, Then there is the queue
that commences so promisingly at the
top. where it is thick and heavy. and
suddenly tails on into thin string.
that one strongly suspects is mostly
silk cord. There is the queue that
never makes any pretense at being lux
uriant, thin. long. miserable speci-
men. resembling nothing so much as a
boo;-lace.
There Is character. too. in the queue.
have one in my mind now. heavy and
thick. always beautifully braided, with
never a hair escaping. neatly tied at
the top. and with a silk tassel on the
end Quietly and decorously it lies
on the rich blue silk "Cheong sam
OF the polished and courteous owner.
And there was another queue | used to
know. belonging TO young boy who
waited on me at table for time.
have lost sight OF both boy and queue,
and fear both have come to an untime-
" end, | never could believe that
lively tail was merely hair; il was new
er still moment, but twisted and COLI
ed on the slightest provocauon. II
swung like a pendulum, or described
fourishes with the boys impudeat face
as the centre Of a dying circle of black
tail: boy and tail were most of tbs
time inextrcably mixed. II iounted
a dc. >S,>x l,{