CHINESE ETIQUETTE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 184, 29 April 1908, Page 3

CHINESE ETIQUETTE.

, ".The. mandarin shocked me," said a mis- - , sionar,nuotea .Scottish paper,* tho'first. : timo;l-,'dined I.im; by referring, to his J , wife',jas., 'his good-for-nothing marital mis-' " ! But,' I interposed, ' it is said that your lady is brilliant, beautiful, and kind.' " lie smiled awkwardly, and changed the subject. However, with the courso of bamboo sjirouts- ho mentioned his wife again, calling her this time his ' stupid hand-the-clothes.'. . -. ... / " ' I am sorry your marriage is an unhaiiDy one,' said. X. .■ . " With an .embarrassed air !:'o ' bes&n to discourse on. the high-binders. Evory now and then, though, his wife's namo camo up, and he called her in quick succession his 'thorn in the flesh,' his 'punishment for. youthful sin,' his ' hideous, and lunatic spouse,' and his ' vilo one of the inner room.' "I spoko up impatiently. .'■ " 'Be more careful,' I said, ' regarding the lady. . There are two sides to every story, and I must tell you that your unmanly abuso inclines me very favourably towards your" poor wife.' ~ , ' " He threw down his chop-sticks impatiently, scattering shark's fin and soy over tho table.- " ' Don't you understand,' lie cried, ' that all this is' etiquette, pure etiquette? The Chinese host,-by the laws of etiquette must speak-of his own possessions as unworthy aud vile—even of his wife he must speak so, though she bo a full moon for beauty and a Chang Kivi, or sacred cow, for wisdom. I,havo no fault to find with my wife; quite the contrary; I only deride her in order to show proper Chinese courtesy to you. And now, l beg, don't interrupt again? " The missionary smiled ruefully. " It was a bad break for me to make," ho said. " The man was a powerful mandarin. But.it is truly most shocking, at the beginning, to hear these men abuso their women- -:; ■ The Rev.-Jacob.Primmer, whose suffragist niece >has been liberated from prisoii, has written another lettor to tho Home Secretary, in which he pTotests vigorously against "a frail and weak young lady" being charged 'Vwith resisting a, number of elephantine " six-feet-five-inches policemen."-