A Present for an Artist. The Chinese adore music, but they are also passionately fond of musicians. Their infatuation of this attitude is carried to extremes which are not easily understood in our civilized regions. Thus it is quite normal to see Chinese harnessed like horses to a cab and drive their idol around town. An when a pianist has improvised variations more or less brilliant of the "air of moonlight", "Ah!... you will say... Mama" or "King Dagobert", they find nothing better to bestow on him than a sword of honour which is accepted with a coolness equally laughable, plate 23 from Voyage En Chine

Honoré-Victorin Daumier

Art Institute of Chicago