noon
So , as I said , the Chinamen 's cases were quickly disposed of , and fines and imprisonment promptly distributed among them . In one or two of the cases the charges against Chinamen were brought by Chinamen themselves , and in those cases Chinamen testified against Chinamen , through the interpreter ; but the fixed rule of the court being that the preponderance of testimony in such cases should determine the prisoner 's guilt or innocence , and there being nothing very binding about an oath administered to the lower orders of our people without the ancient solemnity of cutting off a chicken 's head and burning some yellow paper at the same time , the interested parties naturally drum up a cloud of witnesses who are cheerfully willing to give evidence without ever knowing anything about the matter in hand . The judge has a custom of rattling through with as much of this testimony as his patience will stand , and then shutting off the rest and striking an average . By noon all the business of the court was finished , and then several of us who had not fared well were remanded to prison ; the judge went home ; the lawyers , and officers , and spectators departed their several ways , and left the uncomely court-room to silence , solitude , and Stiggers , the newspaper reporter , which latter would now write up his items -LRB- said an ancient Chinaman to me -RRB- , in the which he would praise all the policemen indiscriminately and abuse the Chinamen and dead people . AH SONG HI .