Note 157 — XV. (continued 2)

The Chinese find it not less inexplicable that we use such murderous-looking instruments to divide and convey our food to our mouths, with which they think we must every moment be in danger of wounding our lips or putting our eyes out, than that we should remove the bones from the flesh, or crack the shells of nuts and almonds, both which operations seem to them excessively absurd. In fact, it is no mere bon-mot which represents a Chinese gazing in astonishment at Europeans playing billiards, or nine-pins, waltzing, or "polking," and remarking, with an ill-concealed assumption of superiority, that wealthy people ought to leave such fatiguing things to be done by their servants!!