ll China is astir betimes, dressed in gala attire and
interchanging congratulatory visits. Business is entirely suspended
for several days, it being the one great annual holiday, and it is
extremely difficult to get even your own servants to pay so much as a
minimum of attention to their household duties; in fact, I yearly
register a mental vow not to lose my temper with them on any account
during New Year week, for besides being useless it would probably
entail the additional discomfort of having to engage and train new
hands.

At this season native officials as well as merchants are in the habit
of making presents indicative of good-will to those foreigners with
whom they have business relations.

Your boy brings in a bright red visiting-card eight inches by three,
coming from an official who begs you will deign to accept his best
wishes for the New Year, together with a few trifling presents.
Immediately three or four coolies arrive, groaning as loudly as
possible beneath the weight of hams, boxes of cigars, jars of dried
fruits, boxes of tea, oranges and champagne. You inspect the presents
with exclamations of appreciation and then privately consult the boy
as to what you should retain, it being the general practice to return
the greater part. A box of tea, a jar or two of dried fruits, some
oranges and perhaps a box of cigars are selected, while a few dollars
are presented to the coolies, by whom you forward in return your own
Chinese card to the official with seasonable wishes and thanks for his
thoughtful kindness.

As I was reading by my fire one afternoon in Shanghai the door was
quietly opened, two hands gently pushed an enormous live turkey into
the room and the door was again closed. The turkey commenced to stalk
about with an occasional gobble. After watching the intruder for a few
seconds I started to catch him, but found it was no easy matter. He
flew on to the sideboard, from there to the mantelpiece and then to
the window-sill, scattering knick-knacks and photographs far and wide.
He ran under the sofa and table, finally escaping into my bedroom,
where, with a desperate effort, I caught him by his legs under the
bed. While dragging him out he beat his wings with great force, and as
the bed had evidently not been swept under for months, drove forth
such a cloud of dust and fluff as to almost choke me, while filling
the whole room.

Round his neck was tied a red label bearing New Year greetings from