382 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



such reckless carelessness. With this view one 

 of his friends was dispatched to visit the family, 

 tocond'ile with them for their loss, and to explain 

 how thoroughly it was the result of accident. 

 He deplored the unhappy circumstance which had 

 deprived the family of 80 valuable and so respec- 

 table a member, and pointed out the cheering fact 

 that he was very old, and, in the natural course 

 of things, could not have been expected to live 

 much longer, and that pecuniary recompense 

 should be made to console the family fnr the few 

 months' society they might have anticipated en- 

 joying with him. They admitted that he was old, 

 very old, and as he could not have lived long, they 

 mentioned a hundred dollars, as a sum likely to 

 have a good effect in assuaging the bitterness of 

 their afiiiction. The ambassador, delighted at 

 hearing a demand so much more reasonable than 

 he had anticipated, but concealing his satisfaction, 

 pointed out that the deceased was so old that he 

 could hardly have estimated his short remnant of 

 existence at such a large sum ; that he had died 

 a very quiet and easy death, and that very like- 

 ly he was wanted in the other world, so that the 

 unlucky bullet might be esteemed a messenger 

 despatched by the gods. He thought, therefore, 

 that fifty dollars, to make a feast and burn plenty 

 of joss-stick and paper money, would be sufficient- 

 ly satisfactory to the spirit of their departed an- 

 cestor. The matter was finally settled to the sat- 

 isfaction of all parties by the payment of seventy- 

 five dollars; and I question whether one might not 

 have shot two-thirds of the old boys of Ting-liae at 

 the same reasonable rate, notwithstanding the 

 veneration in which age is held." 



ART IN CHINA. 



"The drama in China is at a very low ebb. It 

 is still in the strolling state : such as it might 

 have been when Thcspis and his company de- 

 claimed from a wagon, or rather, such as it was 

 in the middle ages, when mysteries weni per- 

 formed in the open streets and squares for popular 

 edification. 



"A wealthy citizen, or, sometimes, the parish 

 or municipality, hire a company of strollers, who 

 erect their stage across a thoroughfare, with little 

 respect for the public right of way. The enter- 

 tainer and his friends occupy seats in front of the 

 stage, and the tag-rag and bobtail stand in the 

 rear. 



"The actors are mere boys, who are dressed in 

 robes of silk and satin, rich with embroidery, but 

 much tarnished and rumpled. 



"The subject of the play is usually taken from 

 the life of some hero of mythology or history of 

 China, and the plot is constructed with an atten- 

 tion to the unities of the drama that would have 

 charmed a critic of the French school. 



"'1 he narrative begins with the earliest events 

 of the hero's existence, carrying them on in unin- 

 terrupted dulness to his apotheosis. The play 

 usually takes hours, and some of them, 1 have 

 been informed, some days. The spouting and pos- 

 turing are varied by recitative singing in a shrill 

 contralto key ; and every scene begins and ends 

 with banging of gongs and squealing of pipes, oc- 

 casionally varied by the exolosion of crackers, 

 when the interest becomes thrilling, and some 

 great event is enveloped in the noise and smoke, 

 being left, in otiier respects, to the imagination 

 of the audience." 



"There are some dramas which treat of the 

 loves of the heroes, in which little is left to the 

 imagination, although the dialogue is carried on in 

 a lofty rant which never descends toconjtdy,much 

 less to farce. With such taste, it is not surpris- 

 ing that this species of amusement is not in much 

 repute, and that its professors should be classed 

 with the mountebanks and vagabonds, to whose 

 ranks they properly belong. 



"There are no moral lessons to be learnt from 

 the Chinese drama : it inculcates no good princi- 

 ples, nor does it hold the mirror up to nature. 

 Buffoonery, coarse ribaldry, and exaggerated pas- 

 sion, are its chief characteristics ; one cannot 

 wonder at the low esteem in which it is held. 



"Music is not more advanced. All the singing 

 is in an unnatural falsetto key, pitched as high as 

 possible, so that anything more hideous and ludi- 

 crous than the sounds produced can scarcely be 

 imagined. A tom cat caterwauling on the pan- 

 tiles is the nearest approach I know to the vocal 

 music of this refined nation. They frequently ac- 

 company the voice with a kind of violin, the scrap- 

 ing of which is sufficient to put one's teeth on edge. 

 A lute with wire strings and a very wiry tone is 

 sometimes used for the same purpose. Tiie in- 

 strument, however, that is to be heard on all oc- 

 casions, is a sort of pipe, very much resembling 

 the bagpipe in tone. 



"The songs I have heard were all of very simi- 

 lar character, and were sung in short cadences, 

 alternating with the symphony, reminding me 

 very muoii of the Spanish seguidilla, as it is heard 

 screeched by the muleteers in the mountain paths 

 of Andalusia ; only that while the muleteer 

 screeches, thfi Chinaman howls in a way that 

 would excite the sympathy of a whole kennel of 

 hounds, compelling them to join in an obligato 

 chorus. 



"Chinese poetry is on a par with the music. 

 It either delights in namby-pamby sentimentality, 

 or puerile conceits. Graceful metaphor, subtle 

 allegory, warmth of sentiment, a picturesque feel- 

 ing for the beauties of nature, are all utterly un- 

 known ; while pliys-upon-words, and a studied 

 arrangement of jihrases, delight the most fastidious 

 critics, and satisfy their tastes." — London Li ader . 



For the Neiv Ensland Farn^r. 

 STATE REFORM SCHOOL. 



Dear Sir : — The remarks in your paper of late, 

 in relation to the Farm School in this place have 

 astounded us all. We had supposed it to be a 

 star of first magnitude in the constellation of the 

 charities of Massachusetts. VVe were aware 

 that little had been done to increase the ]»roducts 

 of the farm, hut attributed this to the spending 

 of lab(jr in more permanent improvements. It 

 had not occurred to us to suppose any want of care 

 as to the personal condition of the boys ; or any 

 defect in the system of instruction pursued. 



While the lamented Denny lived, we knew its 

 welfare was a prominent object of his attention, 

 and judging from the report annually published, 

 we had supposed the same vigilant supervision had 

 constantly been exercised. We knew that the 

 late superintendent had been confident in his own 

 opinions — liut we supposed this confidence had 

 arisen from his long experience and not from any 

 disposition to resist improvements suggested by 



