My intervention probably averted murder--at any rate, it seemed as
though murder would have taken place very soon but for my interference.
The whole populace gathered, of course, and the fight waged fiercely
until well on into the night. But wrapping myself in my mackintosh, and
putting my paper umbrella at the right angle, I went to sleep with the
rain dripping on me as they were indulging in final pleasantries
regarding each other's ancestry.
The first thing I saw at Chao-t'ong the next day was the foreign
cigarette, sold at a wayside stall by a vendor of monkey nuts and marrow
seeds. No trade has prospered in Yuen-nan during the past two years more
than the foreign cigarette trade, and the growing evil among the
children of the common people, both male and female, is viewed with
alarm. From Tachien-lu to Mengtsz, from Chung-king to Bhamo, one is
rarely out of sight of the well-known flaring posters in the Chinese
characters advertising the British cigarette. Some months ago a couple
of Europeans were sent out to advertise, and they stuck their poster
decorations on the walls of temples, on private houses and official
residences, with the result that the people were piqued so much as to
tear down the bills immediately.
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