The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1874-09-17
THE HEArHEN CHTNEsE IN PRINT
ING OFFICE.a


Bret Harte. in Seribner's for Sep
tember, has a genuine humorous
sketch of certain Chinese characters.
We copy the following about IVAN
Lee" as Printers Devil,n and as a
newspaper carrier:
1t was deemed advisable for the next
three weeks to keep Wan Lee closely
confined to the printing Office and the
purely mechanical part of the business
here he developed a surprising quick
ness and adaptability, winning even
the favor and good will of the printers
and foreman, who at first looked upon
his introduction into the esecrets of their
trade as fraught with the gravest po-
litical significance. He learned to set
type readily and neatly, his wonderful
skill in manipulation aiding him in
the mere mechanical act, and his
ignorance of the language eonfining
him simply to the mechanical effort
confirming the printers .aXioms that
the printer who considers or follows
the ideas of his copy makes a poor
cOmpoSitor. He would set up deliber-
ately long diatribes against himself,
composed by his felloW-printers, and
hung on his hook as copy. and even
such short sentences as IVAN Leen is
the DEVILS own imp.n IVAN Lee is a
Mongolian rascal, ~ and bring the proof
to me with happiness beaming from
every tooth and satisfaction shining in
his huckleberry eyes.
1t was not long, however. before he
learned to retaliate on his mischieyous
prosecutors. remember one instance
in which his reprisal came very near
inVaEing me in a serious misunder-
stahding. Our foreman's name is
| Webster, and Wan Lee presently
/ learned to know and recognize the in
dividual and combined letters of his
name. It was during a political cam
paign, and the eloquent and frey Col.
Starbottle, of Siskyou, had delivered
an effective speech, which was report
ed especially for The Northern STAR
In a very sublime peroration Col Star
bottle had said: In the language of
the god-Iike Webster, / repeat'-and
here followed the quotation. which ]
have forgotten. Now, it CHANGED that
Wan Lee, lOokingoY the grlley after
it had been revised, saw the name of
his chief prosecutor, and of course inn
agined the quotation his. After the
form was made up, Wan Lee took adj
vantage of Webster's absence to re-
move the quOtation,a and substitute a
thin piece OF lead the same size as the
! type, engraved with Chinese charac-
/ JCAS3 A1aAlAS q SCAbCSAAC tN41CAA Il AoNO
reason to believe was an utter and alb
ject confession of the incapacity and
offensiveness of the Webster family
generally, and exceedingly eulogistic
of Wan Lee himself personally.
/ The next mornings paper contained
| Col. Starbottle's speech in full, in
which it appeared that the tgod-like'
| Webster had on one occasion uttered
his thoughts in excellent but perfe@ly
] 4 r
Starbottle knew no bounds. I have
vivid recollection of that admirable
man walking into my Office and de-
mauding a retfaction of the statement.
.'But, my dear sir, - / asked, @ are
| you willing to deny, over your own
signature, that Webster ever uttered
such a sentence? Dare you deny that,
with Mr.. Webster's well known at
tainmeEts, a knowledge of Chinese
might not have been among the num-
ber? :? Are you willing to submit a
| translation suitable to the capacity of
our readers, aud deny, Upon your hon
or as a gentleman, that the late Mr..
! Webster ever uttered such sentiment?
! IT you are. sir, am willing to pub
| lish your denial" /"
The Col. was not, andleft highly in
dignant.
Webster, the foreman, took it more
for two days after, Cinnamon from the
laundries, from the gulches, from the
kitchens. looked in the front Office
door with faces beaming with sardonic
delight; that three hundred extra cop
les 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 cOnvQlsive
spasms, and that he was obliged to
kick him back into consciousness again
A week after the occurrence / called
Wan Lee into my office.
Wan, !" said i, gravely, should
like you to give me, for my own per-
sOnal satisfaction, a translation of that
Chinese sentence which my gifted
countryman, the late god like Web
ster, uttered upon a public OCCASION
Wan Lee looked at me intently, and
then the slightest possible twinkle
erept into his black eyes. Then he
replied, with equal gravity:
+" Mistel Webster say China hoy
makee me belly much foolee. China
boy makee me heap sick.n Which /
have every reason to think was true.
WAN LEE AS PAPER CARRIER.
His next performance, grieve to say
was not attended with equal success.
! One of our regular paper carriers fell
sick, and, at pinch, Wan Lee was or
dered to fill his place. To prevent
mistakes he was shown over the route
| the previous evening and supplied at
about DAYLIGHT with the usual humber
of subscribers copies. In about an
hour he returned in good spirits and
without the papers, and said he had
delivered them all.
Unfortunately for Wan Lee, about
eight O'Clock indignant subscribers be-
gan to arrive at the Office They had
received their capiesi but how? In
the form of hard pressed cannon balls,
! delivered by q single shot and a mere
tour de force through the glass bed
room windows, They had received
| them full in the face, like q base ball,
/ if they happened to be up and stirring !;
! they had received them in quarter
sheets, tucked in at separate windows; !;
! they had found them in the chimney,
pinned against the door, shot through
/ convenient keyholes, stuffed into VEN
tillators, and occupying the same can
with the mornings milk. One subscri-
ber, who waited seme time at the Of
flee door, to have personal interview
with Wan, Lee, Chen 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 the
most hideous yelling below his window
i and on RISING, he was startled by the
sudden appearance of The Northern
Star, rolled hard and bent into the
form of q boomerang, or East India
club, that sailed into the window, des-
cribed q number of flendish circles in
the room, knocked over the light,
slapped the baby's face, took him (the
subscribeT) in the jaws and then re-
turned out of the window and dropped
helplessly in the area. During the rest
of the day wads and stairs of paper,
purporting to be copies of $ The Morn
! ing STAR Of that morning s Issue, were
brought Indignantly to the office. An
admirable editorial on THE Resources
of Humboldt County, which ] had
constructed the evening before, aud
which, had reason to believe, might
have changed the whole balance of
trade during the ensuing year, and
! left San Francisco bankrupt at her
wharves, was in this way lost to the
i public. eo.t e4f ss5g4