The tune with which our
Chinese friend sought to entertain us on his fiddle was, "A Hot Time
in the Old Town To-night." He thought this would be agreeable to our
American ears. Meanwhile I glanced around this music-room and among
other things I saw, and which interested me, were several effigies of
men, characters in Chinese history. Some were no doubt true to life
while others were caricatures of the persons whom they represented. It
might be styled an Eden Musee.
Leaving the musician's, after giving him a suitable fee for
entertaining us, we turned our footsteps towards the _Chee Kung Tong_.
This is a Chinese secret society. The Chinese are wont to associate
themselves together, even if they do not mingle much with men of
other nations. They have their gatherings for social purposes and
for improvement and pastime, and, like the Anglo-Saxon and the Latin
races, they have their mystic signs and passwords. Of course we were
not permitted to enter the _Chee Kung Tong_ Hall, however much we
desired to cross its mysterious threshold. The door was well guarded,
and Chinamen passing in had to give assurance that they were entitled
to the privilege.
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