AN UNDESIRED HONOUR.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 582, 5 July 1913, Page 3

AN UNDESIRED HONOUR.

■■ f "When at Rome do as Rome does" is nofc a bad apothegm after all, especially in China. In support of th'is adVice a grimly-humorous incident is reported from Ning-po.

Two distinguished foreigners hired a couple of native sedans. The roofs being low, more ventilation was desired ; so they ordered the coolies to remove the tops. This the bearers flatly refused to do, and the Englishmen, fuming, were forced to perform the task themselves.

The strangers had not proceeded very far, however.before they became aware of the fact that the pedestrians were aU staring in their direction, and, on looking back, they were amazed to see a great procession following them. Nothing happened, however, and they duly arrived at their destination beyond the south gate of the city. There, on demanding an explanation, they learnt that to ride in a roofless sedan was the distinctive mark of a criminal going to decapitation, and as the usual place for the ghastly ceremony was near tuts particular gate, the bland Celestials had imagined that the two "foreign devils" were about to furnish them with the Chinese equivalent of a Roman holiday.