The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 4: To California and ReturnWard, Artemus
General
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 4: To California and Return
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
I am glad I did not tell his sister, who was with him and with whom
I was lucky enough to get acquainted, what a beautiful white hand
she had. She might have given it to me on the spot; and that, as
she had soft eyes, a queenly form, and a half million or so in her
own right, would have made me feel bad.
Reports reach us here of high-handed robberies by the banditti all
along the road to the City of Mexico. They steal clothes as well
as coin. A few days since the mail coach entered the city with all
the passengers stark-naked! They must have felt mortified.
4.4. CALIFORNIA.
We reach San Francisco one Sunday afternoon. I am driven to the
Occidental Hotel by a kind-hearted hackman, who states that
inasmuch as I have come out there to amuse people, he will only
charge me five dollars. I pay it in gold, of course, because
greenbacks are not current on the Pacific coast.
Many of the citizens of San Francisco remember the Sabbath day to
keep it jolly; and the theatres, the circus, the minstrels, and the
music halls are all in full blast to-night.
I "compromise," and go to the Chinese theatre, thinking perhaps
there can be no great harm in listening to worldly sentiments when
expressed in a language I don't understand.
The Chinaman at the door takes my ticket with the remark, "Ki hi-hi
ki! Shoolah!"
And I tell him that on the whole I think he is right.
The Chinese play is "continued," like a Ledger story, from night to
night. It commences with the birth of the hero or heroine, which
interesting event occurs publicly on the stage; and then follows
him or her down to the grave, where it cheerfully ends.
Sometimes a Chinese play lasts six months. The play I am speaking
of had been going on for about two months. The heroine had grown
up into womanhood, and was on the point, as I inferred, of being
married to a young Chinaman in spangled pantaloons and a long black
tail. The bride's father comes in with his arms full of tea-chests,
and bestows them, with his blessing, upon the happy couple. As
this play is to run four months longer, however, and as my time
is limited, I go away at the close of the second act, while the
orchestra is performing an overture on gongs and one-stringed
fiddles.
The door-keeper again says, "Ki hi-hi ki! Shoolah!" adding, this
time however, "Chow-wow." I agree with him in regard to the ki hi
and hi ki, but tell him I don't feel altogether certain about the
chow-wow.
To Stockton from San Francisco.
Stockton is a beautiful town, that has ceased to think of becoming
a very large place, and has quietly settled down into a state of
serene prosperity. I have my boots repaired here by an artist who
informs me that he studied in the penitentiary; and I visit the
lunatic asylum, where I encounter a vivacious maniac who invites me
to ride in a chariot drawn by eight lions and a rhinoceros.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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