The Republican journal., 1874-09-03


And even at this time Wang. still playin.
his fan. was taking chickens out of hats
making oranges disappear. pulling endles
yards Of silk from his sleeve, apparent,
1lling the whole area of the basemen
with goods that appeared mysteriousl,
from the ground, from his own sleeves
from nowhere He swallowed knives Il
the ruin OF his digestion Tor years to come
he dislocated every limb OF his body, h'
reclined in the air, apparently upor
nothing. But his erowning performance
which have never vet seen repeated
was the most weird, mysterious and rs
founding. 1t is my anology for this lone
Introduction, my sole eXcnce for writing
this article The genesis Of 1hi1 vcracioue
history.
lie cleared The ground OF lis cncnmbcr
ing articles lor 4 space Of about 1ittecr
feet square, and then invited us 10 wall,
forward and again examine il. We did
81 @rayely; there was nothing but the
cementfd pavement below to be seen al
felt. Ne then asked lor the loan OF a
handkerchief. and as chanced to be near
est him; | offered mine lie took it. and
spread il upon the iloor. Oyer this he
spread y large square Of silk, and over
this again a large shawl nearly covering
the space he had cleared lie then took a
position al one OF the points of this rect
angle, and began monOOnOuS chant,
rocking his body 10 and fro in time with
the somewhat lugubrious air
We sat still and waited Above the
chant we could hear the striking of the
city clock, and the occasional rattle of Il
cart in The street overhead The absolute
WatchlnlnesS aud expectation, the dim
mysterious halt-light Of the cellar falling
in 4 %rewsome way upon the misshapen
| bulk of q Chinese deity in the back ground,
Il faint smell Of opium smoke mingling
with spice. and the dreadful uncertainty
OF what we were really waiting for, sent
IN uncommon thrill down our backs, and
made us look at each other with q forced
and unnatural smile. This feeling was
heightened when Hop Sing slowly rose,
and, without a word. pointed with his
| finger to the centre of the shawl.
There was something beneath the shawl.
! Smely-and something that was not there
| before. At first mere suggestion in re-
lief. a faint outline; but growing more
andmore distinct and dvisible every moment.
The chant still continued, the perspiration
began TO roll from the singers face.
/ gradually the hidden object took upon it.
| self Il shape and bulk that raised the
| shawl in its centre some five or six inches.
| 1t WAS now Enthusiastically the outline of Il
| small but perfect human figure, with eX-
! tended arms and legs. One or two of us
| turned pale, there was a feeling Of general
! neasineS>. until the editor broke the
silence by gibe that, poor rs it was, was
! received with spontaneous enthusiasm
| Then the chant suddenly ceased, Wang
arose, and, with quick, deXterous move
mcnt, stripped both shawl and silk away,
and discovered, sleeping peacefully upon
my handkerchief, tiny Chinese baby.
The applause and uproar which followed
| this revelation ought to have satisfied
Wang, even il his audience was a small
one; it was loud enough to awaken the
baby-a pretty little boy about z year old
looking like Cupid cnl out OF sandal
wood. He was whisked away almost as
mystcrouSly as he appeared. When Hop
Sing returned my handkerchief to me
with a bow, asked if the noglcr was
the father OF The baby mo sabc:" said
the impermbable Hop Sing. taking
refuge in that Spanish form OF noncom-
mtlalism 50 common in California.
''But does We have 4 new bady tor
every performance? ," | asked. ''Prrhaps
who knows 'But what Will become oi
this onc?1 Whatever YOU choose. gentle
men, replied Hop Sing, With courteous
inclination, I'll was born hcre.--vou arc
It's godfathorS.
There were Two characteristic pccuiari-
! ties Of any Californian assembage i'll 1896
ii was quicl, TO take hint and generou,
10 the point of prodigality in its response
to any charitable appeal No matter how
sordid on ayarIcious the individual, he
could MOI resist the infection OF sympathy
doubled the points Of my handkerchief
into bag. dropped 4 coin into #, and
without a word, passed ii to The ludgr
He quietly added q twenty dollar gold
piece, and passed it 10 the next; when il
was returned to me il contained over I
hundred dollars knoltcd the money il
the handkerchief ard cave il lo llo]
Sing
''Eor lhc baby. from is godathcl'>.'
But what name. said the .illd@c. rher,
was Il running fire of ''Ercbus. :" "\oN.'
"rmtns, Terra Gotta" '.AnteuS,'' clc
Finally the question WAS referred 10 oni
! host
''Wh> not keep his own name?" he ~a,
puictly-.'W an Lee And he did
And TINS was Wan Lee. on the night o
Friday, the 18th OF March 1880 bonn into
this veracioue chronicle
The last form Of The Northern Star
for the 10Th OF July. 1860 the only daily
paper published in klamath county,-hac
Just gone to press, and at three A. NJ | wa,
putting aside my proofs and manuscripts
preparatory to going home. when | dis
covered 4 letter lying under some sheet:
Of paper which must have overlooked
The envelope was considerably soilcd, il
had 10 postmalk, but | had no difficulty
in recognizing the hand of my friend Ilol
Sing. opened it hurriedly, and rcad n
follows:
M Deaf >tf:: | do not know whether Iii
bearer will suit You, but unless the office 0
devil in your newspaper is 4 purely technica
one, think he has all the qualities required
stands English better than he speaks it, an,
makes up for any defect by his habits OF obser
walton and imitation. You have only to SHOW
him how 10 do a thing once, and he will repea
it, whether it is an offence or virtue. But yol
certainly know him already; You are one Of hi
son of Wang the Conjurer. TO whose perform
unccS | had the honor of introducing YOU: Bu
perhaps you have forgotten it.
shall send him With a gang of coolies I,
: Stockton, thence by express to your town. |
YOU can Use him there you will do me a favor
and probably save his life, which is at presen
in great peril from the hands Of the Nounge
members of your Christian and highly civilizc'
race who attend the enlightened schools in Sal
f Francisco.
He has acquired some singular habits AM
customs from his experience of Wang's protes
sion, which he followed for some years, until h
became too large TO go in hat or be produce
from his fathers sleeve. The money you lie!
with me has been expended on his education
he has gone through the tri-lieral classics but
| think. without much benefit. He knows bu
little of CONTIGUOUS, and absolutely rothing G
5 Mcncius. Owing to the negligence cl his father
2 he associated, perhaps, too much V it'll Americas
children
. should have answered your letter before b
post but thought of Wan Lee himself wonl
be 4 better messenger for this.
Yours respectfully. HOr SING.
| And this was the longdelayed answc
to my letter to Hop Sing But where wa
s.fho baornY pif 1JpVr >ync fha lat,a,. Il.