Either of these can be whitened over, but not
readily changed; the same may be truthfully said of the moral leprosy of
the average Celestial. Here is a simple peanut-farmer's son, who knows
nothing of the outer world, yet no sooner does a stray opportunity
present than he develops immediately financial trickery worthy of a
Constantinople guide.
The paths across the Pi-kiang Valley are more walls than paths, often
rising ten feet above the paddy-fields, and presenting a width of not
more than two feet. Good riding, however, is happily found on the levees,
and a few miles up-stream brings me to Lo-pow.
The hittim at Lo-pow is somewhat superior to that of yesterday; it is a
two-storied building, and the proprietor hustles me up-stairs in short
order, and locks me in. This is to prevent any possible hostility from
the crowd that immediately swarms the place; for while I am in his house
he is in a measure held responsible for my treatment. The bicycle is kept
down-stairs, where it performs the office of a vent for the rampant
curiosity of the thousands who besiege the proprietor for a peep at me.
A little cup and a teapot of hot tea is brought me at once, and my order
taken for supper; the characters on ray limited written vocabulary
proving invaluable as an aid toward making my g-astro-nomic preferences
understood.
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