recall a plate of stewed young celery. He may differ from us as to the means of doing it, but it is evident that the Celestial has a very good idea of the way to look after the inner man. I cannot say, however, that I can bestow much praise on his liquor department. Warmed spirit distilled from rice is not good, and taken as incessantly as a Chinese expects you to take it, and as most Chinamen do take it, it is apt to make you decidedly heavy, if not more, and sick as well. But the point in which the Chinese most excel in these social gatherings is in their duties as hosts. They are perfect hosts, full of attention to their guests, of cheery bonhomie, and of conversation. There is elaborate politeness, and a good deal of etiquette is observed, but no stiffness is apparent ; every one is cheery, and every one talks incessantly. It was a revelation, indeed, to us to find what good fellows these Chinamen could be amongst themselves. Seeing only the lower classes, the mule-men, the loafers of the streets, and the frequenters of the inns, one is apt to form a very unfavourable impression of the Chinese, and to regard them as a rude, coarse, and unmannerly race, who hate strangers, and take little trouble to disguise their feelings. But when one can see the Chinese gentlemen at home, one modifies this impression very considerably ; and personally, from this and other occasions on which I afterwards had opportunities of meeting Chinese gentlemen, I saw much to admire and even to like in them. I liked their never-failing politeness to one another, which seemed to me too incessant and sustained to be mere veneer, and to indicate a real feeling of regard for one another. Chinamen have little regard for strangers, but I think they have for one another. Then, again, their cheeriness amongst themselves is a trait which one likes. The general impression among Europeans is that Chinamen are cold, hard creatures who have not a laugh in them. As a matter of fact, they have plenty of heartiness and joviality when they care to indulge
IIIF Color HighRes
