ETIQUETTE, NO. II

The disadvantages of ignoring alike the language and customs of the
Chinese are daily and hourly exemplified in the unsatisfactory
relations which exist as a rule between master and servant. That the
latter almost invariably despise their foreign patrons, and are only
tempted to serve under them by the remunerative nature of the
employment, is a fact too well known to be contradicted, though why
this should be so is a question which effectually puzzles many who are
conscious of treating their native dependants only with extreme
kindness and consideration. The answer, however, is not difficult for
those who possess the merest insight into the workings of the Chinese
mind; for just as every inhabitant of the eighteen provinces believes
China to be the centre of civilisation and power, so does he infer
that his language and customs are the only ones worthy of attention
from native and barbarian alike. The very antagonism of the few
foreign manners and habits he is obliged by his position to cultivate,
tend rather to confirm him in his own sense of superiority than
otherwise. For who but a barbarian would defile the banquet hour "when
the wine mantles in the cups" with a _white_ table-cloth, the badge of
grief and death? How much more elegant the soft _red_ lacquer of the
"eight fairy" table, with all its associations of the bridal hour! The
host, too, at the _head_ of his own board, sitting in what should be
the seat of the most honoured guest, and putting the latter on his
_right_ instead of his left hand! Truly these red-haired barbarians
are the very scum of the earth.