A CELESTIAL OTIJVIOA7 OF AMERICA AJVV AMERICANS • To “see ourselves as others see us” is at times a mortifying experi ence. and if all Chinamen see us like the unknown author of “As a China man Saw Us” the Chinese exclusion act would win fresh friends in this city, and every leading city on the continent. None escape the sneers and gibes and mockeries of this very bitter Celestial critic, who seems to hav.e seen , little that was good and much that was evil in America, and whose pen. dipped in corrosive sub limate. has written “snobbery, bom bast. immodesty anft brag” in glaring letters across the whole United States. •'His bitterest sarcasm is poured out on American women, their taik. their dress and their manners. The author is supposed to have spent some years in an American uni versity. presumably Harvard, as there are frequent references to people and places in or around Boston. So ciety folk at Manchester-by-the-Sea have their foibles and follies laughed at by the “heathen Chinese' in such excellent English and with such a mastery of the slang, the weaknesses and folly of society, the suspicion crops up quite often that Henry Pear son Grattan, the missionary editor of the letters, knows more than he tells about the author. He begins this remarkable series of Hters by numbering among the prin cipal characteristics of the American, his “self-glorious, egostistieal. super cilious. ignorant, superstitious, vain aud bombastic” traits. He likens him to the-Chinese evil spirit, who when asked to indicate >ns possessions tucked the earth under one arm,' droped the sun and moon into his pockets and the stars into the folds of his garments, claiming everything in sight. - “America has been from 1492 to the present time, the dumping ground of the world.” writes this candid critic. “It is. perhaps. due to the climate, per haps the water, or the air. but the product of these people born on the soil is described by no other word than American. It may be Irish Aoierican, very offensive; Dutch American, very strenuous; Jewish Ameriran, very commercial; Italian Amerfean, very dirty and reeking with garlic; but it is American, total ly unlike its progenitor, a something into which is blown a tremendous en ergy. that is very wearisome, a bom bast which is the sum of that of all nations, and a conceit like that pos sessed by - alone. You see it is insurable, also offensive—at least to the oriental mind. Yet I grant you the American is great; I-have it from him and herr it mnst be so. “The American pretends to be dem ocratic; scoffs at England and other lands, but at heart he Is,an aristocrat. His tastes are only limited by his means, and not always.. then. The distinctions in society are so singular that it is almost impossible for a for eigaer to understand them. In a gen eral sense a retail merchant, a man who sold shoes or clothes, a tailor, would under no circumstances find a place in the first social circles; yet if these same tradesmen should change to wholesalers and give ho selling one article at a time, they would1 become eligible to the best society. The vice-president is in so ciety (the best); the President is not. Where else could this hold? No where but in America. “With us a gentleman is born; with Americans it is possible to create one. though rarely. An American gentleman is described as a product of two generations of college men who have always had associations with gentlemen and the advantages of fam Young Chinaman, Educated at Harvard, Writes a Book of Scathing Criticism of the People of This Country. ily standing. Political elevation can not affect a man's status as a gentle man. I heard a lady of unquestioned position say that she admired Presi- j dent McKinley, but regretted that he i was not a gentleman. She meant that he was not an aristocrat and did not possess the savoir faire, or the fam ily association that completely round i out the American or English gentle- j man. I asked this lady to indicate the gentlemen Presidents of the coun- j try. There were very few that 1 re call. There were Washington, Harri- j son. Adams and Arthur: Doubtless there were others which have escaped me. Lincoln, the strongest American j type, she did not consider in the gen tlemen class, and Gen. Grant, the. na tion's especial pride, did not fulfil her ideas of what a gentleman should be." The “Four Hundred' set is mere!- j lessly assailed. "Degeneracy marked ! some of their acts.” be writes; "di- | voroe blackened their records, and shameless affairs marked them. In , to her costume whereby her neck, her leg or her ankle Is exposed she will be mortified beyond expression; yet The night previous you might hwve sat in the box with her at the opera, when her decollete gown had made her the mark lor hundreds of lorg nettes. Again, this lady the next morning might bathe with me at the beach ami lie on the sand basking in the sun like a siren in a costume »hat would arrest the attention of a St. Anthony. "Let me describe such a costume. A pair of skin-tight black silk stock lings. then a pair of tights of black silk and a flimsy black skirt that comes just to the knee; a black silk waist, armless, aud as low in the neck as the moral law permits, beneath which, to preserve her contour, is a waterproof corset. Limbs, to expose which an inch on the street were a crime, are blazoned to the world at Newport, Cape May. Atlantic City and other resorts, and often photographed : - •* •' Limbs, to utpoM which an inch o» ihw vmm JcroS. awt Cjav«%d bnfcvopld ! this ‘'set,” and particularly its imi tators throughout the United States, the divorce rate is appalling. Men leave their wives and obtain a divorce tor no other reason than that a wom an falls in love with another woman's husband. The dress of American men and women, with the changing fashions and servile obedience of all to the god of fashion, is treated with the same caustic pen. Evening dress is de scribed with considerable humor, and i the opera hat interested the Celestial. ! "There is also a hat to go with the I evening costume,” he says, "a high ! hat which crushes in. You may sit ,on it without injury to yourself or hat. I know this by a harrowing ex perience.” "One of the most extraordinary features of American life is the dress of women.” he says. "The Americans make claim to being among the most modest, the most religious, the most proper people in the world, yet the ap pearance of the ladies at many public functions is beyond belief. They wear gowns in the French court fashion, with trains a yard or two in length, but the upper part cut so low that a large portion of the neck and shoul ders is exposed. At my fashionable i dinner I was embarrassed beyond ex- , pression; such an exhibition in China i could only he made by a certain class. This remarkable custom of a strange people, who deluge China with mis sionaries from every sect under the sun and at home commit the grossest solecisms, is universal, and not thought of as improper. "if I should tell you howr many American women asked me why Chi nese women bandage their feet, you would be amazed; yet. every one of these submitted to and practised a de ! formity that has seriously affected the growth and development of the race. “American women exchange their | fashions twice a year or more. Fash ions are in the hand of the middle Tlasses, and the highest lady in the land is completely at tbeir mercy: to disobey the mandates of fashion is to become ridiculous. ”1 was told thht one lady wore a $500 diamond in her garter. The ut terly strange and contradictory cus toms of these women are best ob served at the beach and bath. In China if a woman is modest she is so at all times; but this is not true with some Americans, who appear to have the desire to attract attention, especially that of men. by an appeal to the beautiful in nature and art; at least this is the impression the un prejudiced looker on gets by a sojourn in the great cities and fashionable re ports. If you happen to be riding horseback or walking in the street with a lady and any accident occurs f!t>P »n *n cti'&«i it w%a !u*n* a^HTi/rf' 3i*V-r :l\ o:Tlr.»rv ~ an., . now 11 i., the papers. To explain this manifest contradiction would be beyond the powers of an oriental had he the prescience of the immortal Confucius and the divination of a Ma homet and Hilliel combined. “Rails are a feature of American life. The women appear in full dress, which means that the arms and neck are exposed, and the men wear even ing dress. The dances are mostly 'ronnd.’ The man takes a lady to the ball, and when he dances seizes her in an embrace which would be con sidered highly improper under or dinary circumstances, but. the eiquette of the dance makes it permissible. He places his right arm around her waist, takes her left hand in his, holds her close to him. and both begin to move around to the special music de signed for this peculiar motion.” Consumption of Tobacco. The total receipts from tobacco from ail sources were $44,655,808.75 for the fiscal year, against $43,514, 810.24 for the fiscal year '1902-1903, or an increase of $1,140,998.51. This in crease is participated in by all branches of trade, except cigar manu facture—here we see a decrease of $236,756.01. As cigar manufacturing shows the worst condition, so tobacco manufacture shows' the beat condi tion. Receipts for this branch of the trade exceeded the receipts for the previous fiscal year by $1,077,790.02. The result of the year as a whole is satisfactory. In the fluctuation of business fiiom year to year a uniform ly good condition in all lines can not be expected. The output of manufac tured tobacco for the fiscal year is larger than during any previous year, and aggregates the enormous amount of 328,650.710 pounds.—Western To bacco Journal. IN THE SUPREME COURT. 'Distinguished Body Surrounded with Elaborate Formality. As the hands of the clock point to 12 the crier of the Supreme Court of the United States raps with bis gavel, the murmur of conversation ceases and attorneys, court officials and vis itors rise while the crier slowly an nounces, “The honorable chief justice and (he associate justices of the Su preme court of the United States.” Robed in black silk gowns, they walk with slow and dignified steps toward the beach and as the chief justice appears at the entrance at the rear they slowly proceed to their seats. At this the crier cries: “Oyez! Ojrez! OyeSi! All persons having business before the honorable chief justice and the associated justices of the Supreme court of the United States are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the court to now sitting. God save the govern ment of the United States and this honorable court.” No man entering that domelike courtroom at Washington may w-r his overcoat. Such is the dignity and impressiveness of that tribunal that some men to whom embarrassment has long been a stranger evidence the renewal of their acquaintance with it by a stammering speech, a quickened breath, a nervous manner wrhen ad dressing the court. Kingdom in Central Africa. Last acquired of King Edward's do minions are the Housea states, which lie in remotest, darkest Africa, hemmed in on one side by the track less desert and on the other by a re gion notorious for the most deadly climate in the world. Here, surround ed by native tribes of the lowest and most degraded types, with no religion but the cult of “Ju-Ju," has been for ages a Mussulman empire, with a pop ulation of many thousands, dwelling in fortified towns, each governed by its own king, but owing allegiance to a- chief, the sultan of Socoto. Life within these cities recalls that of me diaeval Europe. Each is defended by a-wall which forms a respectable de fense. Kano, one of the most impor tant of the Houssa cities, possesses wails thirty feet high, with eleven gates, protected by moats and draw bridges. Over the gates are chambers for the garrison and flanking towers to shoot from. On the walls in time of war were stationed soldiers to dis charge poisoned arrows or to pour boiling oil on the attacking foe. With in such fortifications the Houssa kings dwelt securely fn palaces, imposing in size, though, like all the rest of the buildings, made only of sun-baked mud. He Needed It. “Amazing are questions.” said Gen. H. C. King, of New* York, "that are showered on the unhappy attendants of public museums. “In London, one afternoon. I was standing near a museum guardian who wore a military uniform, with a hel met. from which a chin strap hung. “A youth approached the man and said: V Would you mind telling me what j that strap under your chin is for?’ "‘That’ the attendant answered ; wearily, ‘Ts to rest my jaw when I get tired answering questions.’" SrOKTSME/TS COSTLy EQX/IPMEJSTT Many Men of Wealth Buy $700 Shotguns and $60 Reels When Starting on an Out ing A Bungalow In the Mountains o! Pennsylvania. There are some men who stifle in the city crowds and tire of the inter esting pursuit of making money, so. when summer comes and the fiscal year ends, they tear themselves away from the strong, clinging, smothering arms of civilization and lose them selves foe a month or two in the wil dernesses of British Columbia or Ari zona or the Adirondack. where they can be alone with nature. The big sportsmen, that is to say the wealthy ones, who like to get close to nature, are divided in their opinions-as to where nature’s bound lessness is most attractive. This year several Philadelphians are going to Arizona and British Columbia, for the Adirondacks are too near the influ ences of civilization not to have felt its touch. While a common A tent, a cheap rifle, a revolver and a $2.5t> fishing rod, w-ith a blanket and small cooking outfit, permit many a fover of the woods’to enjoy - his * summer * camp, there is another sportsman wrho does not count the cost, but perhaps that is because he is not good in addition of sums in three and four figures. Of late years there have been a larger number of sportsmen who do not count the cost than ever. They want the best, and they get it: but they pay well for it. It is no extra ordinary thing for a dealer in sport ing goods to sell a $30 reel, for in stance. To make such a sale does not cause the salesman to show any un usual interest. Neither does he be* tray any excitement making a sale of a couple of $70 rifles or a pair of $M0*sh'6tgnns. Tbeyare common oc i currences, although, as a matter of as well admit that we don’t carry them in stock. They have to be im ported. The $700 shotgun is a thing of beauty. It has Whitworth steel barrels and the stock is elegantly carved. It is made in Kngland, and the man who will have it must pay the price, and the 45 per cent, duty on it does not lessen the cost, either. Yet. we sell them—occasionally. The man who can shoot, however, will till his bag just as quickly with the $100 gun. “Now', it is different with the $70 rifie. That is the most expensive rifle sold. It is a 30.30 caliber, but the bullet expands to twice its size after leaving the barrel, and the cartridge is a very long one. This is the most popular game rifle, and you ca* bring down any big game with it. excepting, perhaps, the elephant: but even an elephant might succumb if you knew where to hit and were right smart about pulling the trigger." Was not the ammunition taken by the sportsman alluded to enough for a regiment? The salesman smiled. “No: it is not too much for a party of that size—there were five or six going on the trip. They shoot at everything, you know, and it takes about the weight in lead expended for everything they actually killed for the larder. Bad marksmanship does more for the protection of game than the game laws. If every shot went to the bull's eye there would not be enough game left to preserve." He was asked about the $€0 reel. Was it not extraordinary. “Well," he answ-ered. hesitatingly, “that reel is intended for tarpon fish ing. but you can use it for other big fish. It is made of German silver, has beautiful bearings and is the strong est reel made. You see,” and he drew one from a show case, “it is much larger than the usual reel. We don’t, of course, sell so many of that size, although the $30 reel is frequently sold. It differs principally in the mat ter of size.” The $1,500. bill the wealthy sports man left in this one establishment directly from the forests and used in their rough state, without planing or dressing. The only finished wood* workwork used in the construction are the window-frames, sash and doors; also finished flooring. All other woodwork, excepting roof, which is of rough-sawed cedar shingles, i3 in its unfinished state. AH interior walls and partitions are built of rough 1 logs, with mortar-filled joints. The j ceiling of the living hall is composed of large oak beams with plastering between same. All floors and finish ing woodwork are simply oiled. The spacious fireplace in the hall is built : of large, rough stones, with a stone j shelf and a plastered niche above. ' The hearth is also of large flagstones. On either side is a comfortable seat, a nook most eagerly sought on a chilly night, when there is no more inviting spot than a place in front of the burning pine logs. At either side of the hail are located the main bed rooms. which are spacious and well lighted, and between the same are the bathrooms. The kitchen and pantry are situated at the rear of the hall; ttey contain all the necessary up-to-date appoint ments. The servants' quarters are lo cated in the attic, where are also a storeroom, trunk room and tank room.—Philadelphia Ledger. Milk Wrinkles the Face. A writer on beauty in one of the society papers urges her readers nev er to wash the face with soap and wa-! ter, as being certain destruction to a fine complexion. I cannot indorse this view. Cleanliness is absolutely necessary to the beauty and delicacy of the tex 1 ture of the skin. If soap is not liked, at least oatmeal should take its place, and pure or distilled water invariably be used. I once saw the result fiO 50 15 130 68 20 100 24 12 IS 6 20 15 j Total $1,526 This list is not complete, for there were flasks and cups, and holsters and ! cartridge belts and numerous other trifles amounting to about $25 more. An inquiry was made as to the $*00 shotgun. What was it like? What could it be like? The salesman remarked: “I might does not by any means give an idea of the cost of bis trip. There is the | cost of provisions, enough for twice 1 the stay intended, to be added; the j cost of horses, the railroad transpor- ; tat ion, the employment of guides and | servants, two of whom went from the j East with the party. The whole out- ' ing cost the sportsman about $2,000 i more. Another sportsman took his outing i in one of the wildest parts of Penn sylvania, where game was not so abundant as it is in British Columbia or in Arizona, and his trip did not ; ike him quite so near to nature .'is the others. However, he has provided himself with an admirable bunga'ow, and if his month or two in the wilds is not filled with excitements of the hunt, it is at least spent comfortably and in the haunts of nature. His interesting rustic bunga'.ow, which was designed by Charles E. Oelschiager, is a plain, substantial, and yet artistic, summer home. Its total cost did not exceed $2,500. The base is constructed of large boulders taken from the mountain sides, and the walls above are built of large, rough-hew’n oak logs, firmly mortised together at the corners, while the in terstices are filled with mortar. The porch posts and railing were taken plexior. of the country woman who i:ses early, is much in the open air, and bathes freely in cold water. The homely idea of washing in the dew of the morning as an aid to beauty is s .rnply a practical way of expressing this fact.—Lady Greville, in London Graphic. Indians Remain in Canada. Nova Scotia is behind in having neither exterminated nor debauched its Indian population. In this, almost the easternmost American land, you see fhe face of an Indian oftener than you do in any western region except on the reservations. They seem more like peasants than wild people, but they keep most of their old wandering ways; they are guides, hunters, fish ermen, and they live on the outskirts of the villages, as well as on a re serve on Bear river, and make moc casins. baskets, rustic furniture and other odds and ends. When the French first came to Port Royal in 1604 they made all the In dians there Catholics. The French were driven out by the English, and their little town grew up to woods, but the Indians remained Catholics. The connection has helped them to keep distinct from the whites. Some of them are as dark as Apaches. TROUBLE WITH THE BABY. Youngster in Immediate Need cf “Financial Assistance." Old man Wilkes and his wife had "pinched and saved” to send their eld est son to college. When William returned he seemed to have developed such an amazing fondness for “big” words that his father and mother found it exceedingly difficult ever to understand what he was talking about. Dr. Uvermann, a young white doctor, who had been partially reared by “Uncle Ned." had an experience one night with William’s "high-flown” language, which experience was in a way an illustration of the daily ob fuscation of Mr. and Mrs. WTlkes. With rattling haste William rang the door bell of the doctor’s office. Said he: "Doctor, father wants you to come around to our domicile instanter!” “What’s the trouble?” inquired Dr. Livermann. “The baby has had a little financial difficulty, and father ia anxious to se cure forthwith your indispensable as [ slstanee.” Dr. Livermann had many and many a time, in token of "the old days,” helped “Uncle Ned” and “Mammy” to tide over hard places, but he could not think for the life of him what sort of financial trouble their 10 months-old baby could have. As soon as he reached "Uncle Ned’s” home the old man at once enlightened him by exclaiming: "Doctoh, I sont fur you to see ef you could do my baby any good. He swallowed a silvah dim ’bout a' hour ago, an* we can’t make him vomit it up. no matter whut we give him, so we 'lowed to sen’ fur you!”---L,ippin cott’s. Unsparing Criticism. Congressman Wade of the Second Iowa district has a well established reputation as wit and raconteur. Espe cially in the latter role does he show to advantage. One of his best stories about a young man who took a sack of grain to an old-fashioned mill to have it ground into meal. The pon derous wheels revolved slowly that only a tiay stream of meal trickled feebly, while the young man patiently waited. Finally his patience was ex hausted and he complained to the mil ler. “Do yon know,” he said, “I could eat that meal faster than your old mill can grind it.” “Yes.” replied the mil ler. “but bow long could you keep on eating it?” “I could keep on eating it until I starved,” was the conclusive answer of the young man. Quite Impossible. A woman of newly acquired wealth went into an art gallery the other day and said she wanted a painting of a certain size. “I have just what you want," the dealer assured her, as he showed her a genuine Troyon of the size desired— a beautiful animal painting. The woman looked at it for a few minutes and shook her head. “It won’t do,” she said; “I want this picture for my drawing room.” “Well?” questioned the dealer,-who saw no reason for the rejection so far as the drawing room was concerned. “You couldn’t have a cow in the drawing room, you know.” And that ended it.—Louisville Her aid. % “DolHe.’ Sli* With She But sport? a witching gown, a ruflV uj, and down. On the skirt’ is «"lit.le. she is ‘shy. there’s mischief in her eye— She's a flirt! She displays a tinv glove. And a dainty little |()\, .* Of a shoe; . ‘ And she wears her 1 at a-tilt Over bangs that never wilt ’ * In the dew. ’Tis rumored chocolate creams Ale the fabric of her dr ains But enough! I know beyond a doubt Jhai she carries them about In her muff. 'V ith ner dimples and her cm- i hhe exasperates the girls Past belief: •hey hint that she's a eat. And delightful things like that, • n their grief. Tt is shocking. I declare! But w hat does Itollie care, _ hen tiie beaux 1 ®m« flocking to her feet. I-!ke the bees aroond the sweet I-ittle rose’ Moscow's Barbaric Splendor. Xo one, so far as we know has presented to the mind of the dislant eader a more vivid picture of tha larharic splendors of Moscow than Ar thur Symons gives in this ^passage worn his hook about European cities ‘Colors shriek and flame; the Mus ro.ite eye sees only by emphasis and l y contrast; red Is completed either by another red or by bright blue. rhere are no shades, no reticences, no modulations. The restaurants ars hlled with rhe din of vast mechanical organs, with drums and cymbals, a Treat bell clashes against a chain t»u &1- the trams, to clear the road; the •nusit which one hears Is a ferocity of brass. The masons who build the houses build in top-hoots, red shirts '•nd pink trousers; the houses are painted red or green or blue; the churches are like the temples of sav age idols, tortured into every unnatur *’ shape and colored every glaring color *' His Shaving Mug In a Tree. The Webb City correspondent sends this “belated but interesting item ' regarding a storm which took place near Neck City a few days ago; ‘J N. Scott was not at home on the night of the storm last week, hav ing gone to a neighbor’s, some little distance away, and being prevailed upon to stay all night on account of the threatening weather. When h-’ ' arrived at what should have been his home next morning he found that his new two-room house had disap peared, not a trace of it was visible anywhere in the vicinity. His shaving mug and brush, which were in the house at (lie time of the storm, have been found in a tree two miles away. This leads Mr. Scott t.j believe that if he had been in the house at the time he would have baa a long and perilous trip”—Kansa* City Journal. Sorry She Hatched Quail. John Yeakel, residing near Urn** port. Pa., on July 2 accidentally killed a sitting quail in his meadow. A bantam hen which just then was looking for something to hatch was placed on the eggs. About a week or so ago six young quails appeared, and the bantam is having lively time with them. The manages to keep them at home pretty thoroughly, unless they are dn turbed, when they hide so quickly and effectually that their foster mother has a great time finding them again Big Rattlesnake Killed. One of the largest rattlesnake found in Georgia for several years wa* killed on Cumberland Island July 2*. by Miss Naomi Neill of Macon, a guest on the island, and W. T John ston, cashier of the Hotel Cumber land. The snake measured 7 feet an*) 3 inches in length, weighed IS3** pounds, measured 16 inches in cir cumference, and had twelve rattle^ and a button. It was kilted in th« woods about half way between the hotel and the dock landing.— Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution. New Swindling Game. A Connecticut man answered an advertisement the other day from which he expected to get rich. This \ is the bait that was hung out: “Save gas bills—the most wonderful inven tton of the twentieth century; over 15,000 sold last year; agents wanted; price, 25 cents. Address, etc. ’ The Connecticut gudgeon sent on his quar ter, received a nicely decorated booh and with it this line of instruction “Hang your gas bills on it and then you will save them.” “Grill Room’’ for Railroad. An innovation in passenger cars hat been planned by the general pa-sengej agent of a western road. It is a “Dutch grill room” on wheels. Th« interior woodwork of the car is to be of antique oak, writh heavy crossbeam!1 carrying wrought-iron lanterns. Red tile ia to be used in the floor, ami a large fireplace will afford a comfort able corner in which to while away a tedious car ride. Queer Freak of Memory. The Italian novelist, Salvatore Fa rina, recently delivered an address be fore the society of Psychic Research at Milan, in which be minutely de scribed the case of an author who. sii years ago, completely loat his memory for language and names, while other wise his mind %as more active and wideawake than ever before. At the expiration of that period the memory returned. Tree Grew From Cane. Twelve years ago John Nutt ol Rockport, Me., had a willow stick which he used for a cane. We placed it in the center of a flowe* bed for the flowers to trail on. It soon took root, and to-day measures six feet six inches around the trunk. Jilted Man’s Revenge. The jilted Philadelphia man who sent as a wedding present to his for mer sweetheart a miniature coffin full of old love letters, took a delicate means of demonstrating that his heart had not been broken.