Litchfield enquirer., 1874-09-10

by not coming before, and how did you deliver that letter?
 Wan Lee looked at me and laughed Me pitchee in top side window"
 | did not understand. He looked for moment perplexed, and then snabehing the letter out of my hand, ran down the stairs. After moments pause, to my great astonishment, the letter came flying in the window, circled twice around the room, and then dropped gently like bird upon my table. Before had got over my surprise Wan Lee reappeared, smiled, looked at the letter and then at me, said, ''So, John," and then remained gravely silent. I said nothing further, but it was understood that this was his first official act.
 His next performance, I grieve to say, was not attended with equal success. One of our regular paper carriers fell sick, and, at 8 pinch, Wan Lee was ordered to fill his place. To prevent mistakes he was shown over the route the previous even- ing, and supplied at about daylight with the usual number of subscribers copies. He returned after an nour. in good spirits and without the papers. He had deliver ed them all, he said.
 
 eight o'clock indignant subscribers began to arrive at the office. They had received their copies; but how? In the form of hard-pressed cannon balls, delivered by q single shot and mere tour de force through the glass of bedroom windows. They had received them full ill the face, like base ball, if they happened to bel up and stirring; they had received them in quarter sheets, tucked in at separate win dows; they had found them in the chim- ney, pinned against the door, shot through attic windows, delivered in long slips l through convenient keyholes, stuffed into | yentilatiors, and occupying the same can | with tho Innrnina's milk. One subscriber, wtIU waited for some time at the office 1 door, to have personal interview with Wan Lee then comfortably locked in my bed-room), told me, with tears of rage in his eyes, that he had been awakened at five o'clock by amost hideous yelling be- low his windows; that on rising, in great agitation, he was startled by the sudden ap- pearance of ''The Northern Star,'' rolled hard and bent into the form of boomer l ang or East Indian club, that sailed into the window, described number of fiend- ish circles in the room, knocked over the light, slapped the baby's face, "took" him ! (the subscriber) Gin the jaw" " and then re- turned out of the window, and dropped 1 helplessly in the area. During the rest of the day wads and strips of soiled paper. purporting to be copies of ''The Northern Star" of that mornings issue, were brought l editorial on ''The Resources of Humboldt l County" which 1 had constructed the even- ing before, and which, had reason to be- lieve, might have changed the whole bal ance of trade during the ensuing year, and left San Francisco bankrupt at her | wharves, was in this way lost to the pub- lie.
 It was deemed advisable for the next three weeks to keep Wan Lee closely con- ! fined to the printing office and the purely mechanical part of the business Here he l developed a surprising quickness and adaptability, winning ever the favor and good will of the printers and foreman, who at first looked upon his introduction into the secrets of their trade as fraught with the gravest political significance. He learned to set type readily and neatly, his l wonderful skill in manipulation aiding him i'll the mere mechanical act, and h1s ignor- ance of the language confining him simply to the mechanical effort-confirming the printers axiom that the printer who con- siders or follows the ideas of his copy makes poor compositor. He would set up deliberately long diatribes against him. self, composed by his fellow printers, and hung on hls hook as copy, and even such short sentences as "Wan Lee is the devils own imp" "Wan Lee is Mongolian rascal, and bring the proof to mo with happiness beaming from every tooth and satisfaction shining in his huckleberry eyes.
 It was not long, however, before he learned to retaliate on his mischievous prosecutors. I remember one instance in which his reprisal came very near involv- ing me in a serious misunderstanding Our foreman's name was Webster, and Wan Lee presently learned to know and recognize the individual and combined l letters of his name. It was during poli- tical campaign, and the eloquent and fiery Col. Starbottle, of Siskyou, had delivered an effective speech, which was reported especially for "The Northern Star" In a very Sublime peroration Col. Starbottle had said: In the language of the god-like Webster, repeat, "-and here followed the quotation, which have forgotten. Now, it chanced that Wan Lee, looking over the galley after it had been revised, saw the name of his chief persecutor, and of course. imagined the quotation his. Af- ter the form was locked up, Wan Lee took advantage of Webster's absence to remove the quotation, and substitute thin piece of lead, of the same size as the type; en- grayed with Chinese characters, making sentence which, had reason to believe, was an utter and abject confession of the incapacity and ofensiveness of the Webs 4o, for Ixv Ivy on6 ov0nn6In0lxy on. logistic of Wan Lee himself personally.
 The next mornings paper contained Col Starbottle's speech III full, in which it appeared that the ''god-like'' Webster had on one occasion uttered his thoughts in excellent but perfectly enigmatical Chinese. The rage of Col. Starbottle knew no bounds. have 8 vivid recollec- tion of that admirable man walking into my office and demandinga Q retraction of the statement.
 But, my dear sir" asked, "are you willing to deny, over your own signature, that Webster ever uttered such sentence? Dare you deny that, with Mir. Webster's s well-known attainments, a knowledge of Chinese might not have been among the number? Are you willing to submit a translation suitable to the capacity of our readers. and deny, upon your honor as 8 gentleman, that the late MT. Webster ever uttered such sentiment? If you are sir, I am willing to publish your denial"
 The Col. was not, and left, highly in- dignant. ....-
 Webster. the foreman, took it more coolly. Happily he was unware that for two days after, Chinamen from the laun- dries, from the gulches, from the kitch- ems, looked in the front office door with faces beaming with sardonic delight; that three hundred extra copies of the Star were ordered for the wash-houses on the river. He only knew that during the day Wan Lee occasionally went off into con- vulsive spasms, and that he was obliged to kick him into consciousness again. A week after the occurrence I called Wan Lee into my office.
 ''Wan," said. gravely, "I should like you to give me, for my own personal sat- isfaction, 8 translation of that Chinese sentence which my gifted countryman, the late god-like Webster, uttered upon a