Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 July 1885 — Glimpses of Peking. [ARTICLE]

Glimpses of Peking.

Being on the inside or the great gateway, 91111 therefore in no danger of being locked out at sunset, we were able to remain on the walls till the street-catering was over, anti so gained impressions of evening street-life as we w alked home in the twilight Of these the most curious were the second-hand-, c otbes auctions at .the open booths, where the stall-men were rapidly turning over their wares and shouting out their prices at the top of their voices. Noise and din and incessant chatter are marked features of all street li(o here; every one volunteers his opinion as to whatever business his neighbor has on hand, and the .voices of the crowd are neither sweet, gentle, nor low —very much the contrary, especially when, as. is usually the case, their loud, shrill Wrangling has reference to some infinitesimal sum of money; for here, just as in India, a squabble over a few farthings seems a source of positive enjoyment. Then there is the incessant din of street-cries, while as a deep bass to these comes the grunting chorus of the coolies, who, in the middle road, are urging on their heavily-laden carts, and the lighter rattle of a never-ceasing Stream of the terrible springless carts yvhich takes the place of cabs and carriages for the greatest mandarins as well as for humbler folk. Biders on mules and donkeys go jingling along to the music of their own bells. Clearer and most melodious is the tinkling of the square bell which hangs from the neck di the last camel in the long files which now and again move slowly up the street with soft, silent tread and gliding ’movement Some are laden with tea; others bring fuel for the city —-a compound of clay and coal-dust made up into balls, which, being burnt in common portable stoves made of clay, iron, or brass, give out much heat and no smoke. - Strange to say, though there are vast seams of coal in the mountains within fifty miles of Peking, it is so expensive here (being about 20 dollars a ton) that most people prefer to burn wood brought from America to Shanghai, thence to Tientsin by sea, and up the Peiho by boat. At one place we passed some mountebanks, whose buffoon called forth loud laughter; at another a denser crowd tempted us to press forward to see the object of special interest, and lo! it was a Chinese Punch and J udy, of much the same character as our own. From one street-hawker I bought a number of small fans for some incredibly small sum, not for their beauty, but for their oddjty,—some having printed maps of Pekin, to me incomprehensible, and others most intricate illustrations of ancient Tartar history, without any color—simply designs. _ At the open-air cook-shops plied the busiest trade. Some are shaded by huge umbrellas, beneath which are spread tjie dressed dishes for which a thick sprinkling of dust does duty instead of pepper. There are street ovens wherein all manner of pies are baked—strange compounds of unknown animal and vegetable substances, which nevertheless smell rather inviting; at least they would do so were it not fer the ever-present, allpervading fumes of tobacco and opium, the one* coarse, the other faint and sickly. Bean pudding in a crust of mashed potatoes fried in oil seemed to be in great.demand, as also little pies of vegetables, and nicely-boiled sweet potatoes. We watched the owner of a portable overt* dispensing these to a' hungry circle on receipt of some absurdly small coin, while many other men supplied them with hot tea. Various preparations of Indian corn flour were also in favor, especially when baked in the form of tarts, w’ith a little dab of treacle. There was also an enormous consumption of cakes of ground millet, sprinkled with scorched millet seed. As to what we understand by bread, it does not exist, the substitute being heavy dumplings of flour, which are steamed instead of being baked. They are not so bad, however, when toasted. But the favorite food here is a cake made of bean curd. Common small beans are ground between two granite mill-stones like a hand-quern. As the upper stone is turnrd, water is poured on, aud a creamy white fluid oozes out, which flows into a tub, and is boiled with salt. The froth is skimmed off, and the curd is tied up in a cloth, put under pressure, and so formed into square cakes, which really tastes much like our own curds. There is also an immense consumption of macaroni, which is made by kneading a thick dough of wheat - flour, rolling it into very thin, stiff sheets, and cutting these into narroy; strips, which are then boiled. This is eaten hot with chillies, and you see men swallowing yards of it, very much like the Neapolitan beggar, except that the Celestials use chop-sticks instead of fingers.—Lippirtcoit’s Magazine.