The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1877-12-08

Suddenly All Kin seized hold Of the
mantle, whisked it off, and there in the
center of the mound, was as perfect
fir tree in miniature as the mind could
conceive of.
Its tiny branches were thickly hung
with little nuggets of virgin gold, which
sparkled in the sunshine, and little en-
velope was sticking from the upper
branches, like a billet doux from fairy
land.
An exclamation of delighted surprise
ran through the assembly.
An Kin gravely seized the tree by
its slender trunk-it was not much
more than twelve inches high, and ex-
quisitely northumberland it gently
from the ground, and thus exposed the
genuine roots and then placed it in a small
flower pot that CHANGED to be lying near,
presented 1T to my wife with
the injunction that she should
take exceeding good care Of it, and
picking up the silk mantle, took his de-
prrture without word.
Wonderfully exclaimed Mr.. Cam
eron. The nuggets are genuine, too.
There's two hundred dollars worth of
gold on it,"
1t beats our Christmas tree all hol-
low" said one Of the Cameron offsprings,
whose mother thereupon sent her home
by peculiarly spiteful shove.
When they had plenty of time to adj
mire it, we took the wonder tree into the
cottage and inspected it at our leisure,
| and in the privacy of our family.
OF roIlrsa tho oh 1Iro,, xuara III Al
delight as | shook the solid nuggets
from the magic branches, and col
lected them in glittering heap upon
the table.
Read this missive," said my wife,
snatching off the small envelope. cts
directed to you, in All Kin's best pigeon
English"
have not the contents of that mo-
mentous missive before me Just now,
and shall not undertake to give its
phraseology from memory. Suffice it to
say that it gave me such minute direc-
tons to take out a claim in the noun
talns not more than twenty miles from
Red Gulch, which had never been pros
pected over before, specifying the place
IN the most careful manner, that lost
no time in instituting the claim in
close accordance with the directions re-
ceived, and the mines which l opened
made me independently rich.
But our house was broken into that
very Christmas night, and the wonder
full tree, which the grateful Chinaman
had Cat least apparently caused to
spring from the earth for our special
benefit, disappeared and was never seen
again. But, inasmuch as | had taken
care to secrete its precious fruits, and
the BURGLARS were frightened from COM
pleting their plumber, it was no mate
rial loss, though l should like to have
kept the tree for exhibition.
If the reader can offer an explanation
of its strange production, l should be
happy to know it, as / have long since
given it up as an inexplicable mystery
All Kin died shortly after I opened the
Charity Mine"-as / call the magnifi-
cent property which his information
placed me in possession of-and after
steadfastly refusing any compensation
for the favors he had conferred, but
leaving request that would embalm
his remains and have them sent back to
his friends in China, which of course did.
My children are all grown now, and
we seldom spend the holidays together
without recalling to mind the gratitude
of the poor Chinaman as evinced in All
Kin's wonderful Christmas tree.