| Show A CHINESE THE experiences OF A HUNGRY AND inquisitive REPORTER vo no oriental luxuries in sight A my ays teri compound IS rought to tho the table two slices of re sich rc aut 1 A pot of delicious tea lit in mulberry street near canal amid the noise bustle and confusion of t ho he busy merchants of the bend there Is a quiet and unpretentious dining I 1 room it is presided over at all hours of the day and night by byjah avah sing foo and the tha business is said to bo be a thriving one ona pictures of turtles pigs sharks and several kinds of bob hob hobgoblins goblins aro are pasted on the windows and their virtues as articles of diet are arc set forth in choice spider scratches upon pieces of brown paper the most attractive sign however I 1 reads as follows A good diner 8 cents this was to luro lure a reporter into the tha place recently there acro ere none of the tha oriental lum murles luxuries in sight on tho the walls were a few pictures of floii flowers ers highly colored and a certificate that mr poo foo oi or some of his friends had bad attended a school tho the tables were of pine pina and partially covered by a ragged material that looked like a cross between a dishcloth and a mop mr poo foo was engaged in leveling the solo sole of his shoo shoe with a hatchet when tho the reporter entered and after glancing up quickly went on with isis bis work the reporter dropped carelessly upon a stool and waited ile how long tho wait would have tasted lasted will never be known there was a sudden interruption A pungent odor stole in from the alio back yard where something was being cooled it was too powerful for fol I 1 any nose save a highly cultivated one the re poi ter tried to keep it back but out it camo came a double sneeze that set everything to jingling it struck mr foo the hatchet ml fell on his foot and the shoe dropped into comet something bing which looked like a keg of 0 molasses there was blood in his eye and there might ha haie e been a tragedy had not the innocent cause of all the commotion put on a hungry look and touched his sunken abdomen with his fliger finger THE BEST IX IN THE HOUSE mr foo smiled so that no one ona could tell whether lie ho was weeping wailing or gnashing his teeth as le he said wing fou foo ah ab allo go to kiting see bah 11 all right mr F foo oo 00 ill forgive you now just set up tho the best in the house up to the eight cent limit and all will bo be well mr roo 1700 jumped away with the air of a rian man who did not understand a word that had been spoken ile he kept gutof sight tor for twenty minutes and then appeared with a largo large bowl dt df something steaming hot which he set on tho table and then took tooka a seat close by he began to whistle a peculiar call end and the tha yellowish soup soup moved restlessly in ili tho the bowl A spoon came with the stuff it required somo some courage to take a mouthful and it would baie alke a team of horses and a derrick to get one up tip to the rack for a second trial A mixture df at lard mustard salt and bilge water may tempt a lagging appetite but it is just a littie surprising to the stomach of a man not thoroughly used to the customs of the I 1 flowry low kingdom mr poo foo took the mysterious compound som pound away and camo came back in a little whilo while with a large platter and a couple of mall dishes there were two slices of some brown matei lal ial on the platter sir mr F poo oo 00 admitted that it was I 1 pe sick re aut i 11 there is no doubt that it was tho the genuine goods it tasted so one ona of tho the slices was filled with small emall fish bones and the other was a dainty morsel m which aich might have been taken with a little imagination to be a bit of fried inukai my by there were also some beans cabbage mid lind rice mr poo foo evidently runs his place da ati tho the touch not and taste not plan well it keeps ono one from being poisoned A nibble here and there demonstrated that an ash can would be a safe place for mr foos layout it mado it easy to understand why a young chinaman wears wrinkles wrinkle 3 and appears liko like tu in old man while yet in his teens A SMALL POT OF TEA mr POO foo removed the dishes ile ho wanted to bring sn some more inore of the menu but the reporter indicated that ho he would prefer a drink tt df somo some kind after a long delay mr poo foo with a tray bearing a small pot of tea and a cup that resembled a toy the tea was a revelation it was aromatic and the flavor delicious licious ee and if there had not been a small family of croton bugs found in the teapot after the tea had been swallowed swallow bd it would havo have been thoroughly enjoyable this ended the dinner well mr poo foo how much do I 1 owe you the reporter asked simply as a matter of form the remark brought back mr F foos acs cheerfulness ful ness and ho he camo came near uncovering his apine with longitudinal extension of his smile he ha show showed ed for the first time that his bis english had bad not been entirely neglected after a few war marks with a brush through the wreath of miles came the words soft and low sixta nino a con I 1 sixty nine cents I 1 go to mr poo foo you are 1 aby your sign out there says that you give a good dinner tor for eight cents what llo do you mean by this extortion rl I 1 ali ah escus a me eight cen for foi poor chinaman man no batee liko like chinaman lie ile cafeo alenty soup beef end and good tings batee buchee imy belly good sixty iii ani a a cen chinaman loses lose money all time belly poor the bill was paid and the visitor came away with tuo CIO experience and conviction that hat 1 bir roo foo had mistaken his calling ile ho ought to double up with hungry joe and do the hand shaking act new york tribune |
