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Chinese people wanted to come in. So, very early the next morning, I went with a photographer, and he took the picture. As soon as the Chinese people in the street saw us coming, they began to gather in a crowd to look on. But Ah Linn would not let one of them come into the room till the picture was done. Then we took a picture of the

INTERIOR OF THE JOSS-HOUSE, SHOWING THE SHRINE.

outside of the house. There were gay lanterns and bright red and yellow mottoes on each side of the door, which I thought would show in the picture, but they did not. The light was not strong enough to bring them out.

As we were arranging the instrument, I caught sight of three Chinese children in the door of one of the houses, the youngest not more than two years old, and the oldest not over six. They were dressed exactly like the grown-up ones, and looked so droll, toddling along in their baggy trousers and big-sleeved shirts, that I wanted to have them in the picture. Their father said they might go with me, and be taken; they looked a little afraid, but I coaxed them along, and was just placing them in good positions by the posts. of the piazza, when, from the crowd of Chinese men and boys who were looking on, there suddenly went up shouts, exclamations, and outcries, angry voices calling to the children.

I do not know whether this was the case or not; but at any rate they frightened the children away, and I could not coax them back. The oldest one dragged the other two away with him as fast as he could, and when I overtook them on the threshold of their house, and began to ask their father if he would not come with them, and make them stand still, he shut the door hastily in my face, saying in Chinese something which sounded as if it might be very unpleasant indeed.

Afterward I tried to get one of the big boys from the Chinese Mission, a boy who called himself a "Christian Chinese boy," to stand in the doorway and be photographed; but even he was afraid to do it.

"It is no use," said the photographer. "You have n't the least idea how afraid they are of it. They 've got to be pretty thoroughly enlightened before they will have their photographs taken; and even then they wont let their queue be seen

* The same curious belief exists among the Mic Mac Indians living along the St. Lawrence River, in New Brunswick.

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"God in Heaven,

in the picture. If it shows the least bit, they'll of wine and tea and food, like those in the inner make me print it out. I used to have great fun room. Above it was a great red banner, with with some of them who had a laundry near my large letters printed on it, which the interpreter rooms. They'd be out, hanging their clothes on said meant: the line, right under our windows; and all I had to do was to open the window and point a stereoscope at them, and they 'd drop everything, clothes and all, right on the ground, and run into their house, and never show their heads till we had gone away from the window."

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We pray to thee;

Come down from Heaven to teach us.

In front of this was a box of smoking, fragrant sandal-wood ashes, stuck full of the little prayerreeds.

On my way home, I stopped at the Chinese Mission. This was a small room in a low adobe

building, and here the Christian Chinese were keeping their New Year's day, with open house to all their friends, just as the Joss worshipers were doing in the other street. But, instead of the incense and prayer-sticks and heathen pictures, they had only bouquets of beautiful flowers, and bowls of Chinese lilies, and plates

of cake and candies on a table. On the wall they had hymns in English and Chinese, printed on large cards. There was a small organ in the room, and, whenever any lady came in who could play the organ, the Chinese teacher asked her to play a tune for the boys to sing one of these hymns; they sang very well, and I sat for half an hour listening to them. Later in the afternoon, as I was driving in a carriage past the building, I heard their voices again, rising full and clear above all the noise of the street. They were singing "The Sweet By and By "; and I thought that those words must mean a great deal to poor Chinese boys, who only a few years ago were burning paper prayers and bowing down before a painted idol. Now they are held by their countrymen in scorn and detestation, because they have adopted the Christian way of worshiping God, but in the good "by and by" will come a day when they will all worship together.

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TO-DAY my doll is one year old,
And she shall have a purse of gold
If she will speak, and tell me where
I'm sure to find a gift so rare.

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SNOW-FLAKE CHINA.

BY MRS. JULIA P. BALLARD.

ONE of the chief pleasures in china-painting is to be able to produce something specially appropriate in design to the article decorated. A spray of leaves and blossoms of the tea on a teacup, or coffee berries and leaves on coffee-cups (which was done on the famous set painted for the White House, except that in this set the stem of the plant was made the actual handle of the cup), are good examples.

The idea of decorating ice-cream dishes with the pattern of snow-crystals having seemed to me a pleasantly appropriate one, I send the method,

which by experiment I have proved practicable, to the readers of ST. NICHOLAS.

Should you have or be able to procure a book published by Appleton in 1865, "Cloud Crystals: A Snow-flake Album," you will have a sufficient variety of patterns to answer all practical purposes. ST. NICHOLAS has also given a number of reproductions in the issue for March, 1882.* The crystals themselves can best be obtained by letting them fall upon a cloth of black velvet, during a light snow-storm. These need a magnifying glass to reveal their beauty and enable you to

* We here republish a few of these designs.

enlarge the details correctly. The crystals shown on the preceding page may be used on plates of the size of the pattern given.

They can be varied on each plate. Four smaller ones, of one kind, alternating with four a little

larger, of the same

size as the center one, form

a pretty

This part of the work can be learned from a teacher in a few minutes. When the plate is dry, you will not need to draw the figure upon it. It mars the tinting and is unnecessary. Take a square

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of paper, just the size to embrace the hexagon

al figure, as they

are all formed on

six-sided

the plan,

one

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combina

tion. If un-
able to tint the
china, they look
well if done merely

in sepia on the plain

white; but those who can

tint will find upon trial that

white crystals on a blue ground

are most effective. They may easily be prepared in the following manner: Select china as perfect as possible, that no flaw may appear in the delicate blue. Tint the plate with Indianblue. The process of tinting is simple and readily acquired. Mix the Indian-blue thoroughly, by using the palette-knife, with a few drops of oil of lavender, thinned with a little turpentine. Cover the plate quickly with sweeping lines from a broad brush, and beat the surface with even strokes (a buffer, made by a

bunch of cotton covered with smooth old linen, is preferable) until it is of an even shade throughout.

paper answers for all of one size,

and make six points upon it,

where the outer end

of each line is to be,

as shown in the diagram

below.

Lay this upon the plate (it is well to do

the center one first) and with a sharp pencil make a point upon the china to correspond with each point on the paper. You can then go from point to point with a sharp needle or pen-knife, etching by aid of the eye only. After the six lines are etched, the details of each separate figure can be made in the same way. A little practice will make it entirely easy. The etching must be thoroughly done, so as clearly to expose the white china in distinct narrow lines.

The plates are then ready to be sent to the firer, and may have an ornamental gilt edge given them at the trifling additional cost of ten cents per plate.

THE JINGLING RHYME OF THE BOLD ROWER.

By Emily S. Oakey.

There was a Dog, and he barked and barked and barked

so loud, they say,

That he frightened all the rats and mice a hundred miles

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