Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-03-09

He said that he had observed it, but it
made no difference. He could get more
easily from his couisn.
What will you wear when you go
to your cousin p asked /. Garments
of mine or-this p
At that he laughed, but his laugh
turned into cry, and little All Choon
went into as genuine fit Of Mysteries
as any fine lady could have managed.
No pleadings of mine availed: Ah
Choon was dismissed. There was a
tear in his eve when 1 shook his little
claw and said good-by, and there was
tear in mine.
Sometime afterward / heard bad ac-
counts from my washman Of Ah
Choon's subsequent career. He got a
place with rich lady who was in the
habit of keeping several hundred dol
lars at time in her desk. Ah Choon
took wax impression from the lock,
made key to it. and after abstracting
four hundred dollars set out for China,
where he is now in full enjoyment of
his vast and ill-gotten riches.
4 am indeed surprised | remarked
to the washman he was such an hon.
est boy with me-
'Oh, he likee you,' rerlied the wash
man; he no takee you money. Too
muchee sass, sass, he takee money, lun
away. Welly bad,' he adeed as an
ter-thought
Our next boy, Ah Hoon, stayed but
short time he called me mamma,
and after some pressing upon the SUBJ
ject told us that the Chinese tag be
placed upon the clothes when they
when to the wash might be translated,
al Hoon's mamma When not as
leep he spent all his spare moments
bathing in a big washtub.
Owing to general illness in the fam
ilv, l being an invalid myself at the
time, and the management of affairs
out of my hands, it was deemed advis-
able by the powers in authority to
bring in an Irishwoman to help with
the housework Ah Hoon's indigna-
tion was intense; he went about the
house sullen and silent for several
days Taking advantage of moment
when | was alone. he burst into my
room with his vdlise and bedclothes.
Too many bossee-women in this
house y he cried Il go away. You
look see no steal. You bossee-wo-
man; you look see. Bym-by | go
way. IIish woman mebbe stealee
spoon, stealee money; go say China
boy stealee Look see y and he shook
out each article violently, turned the
valise upside down, packed everything
back again, refused to receive his
wages, and walked off, leaving his
sheets and blankets beside my bed.
Then for wearisome time there
was a changing of pans and clashing of
pottery and trampling of heavy feet
that betokened the presence of the or
dinary servant-girl, two of whom were
found requisite to fill the place of my
one little light-footed, nimble-fngered
heather. How gladly would | have
given him wax impressions of all my
locks in return for his dexterous ma
nipulation of the household machinery
AS soon as | was we'll enough to re-
ceive into my own hands again the
reins of government, | made clean
sweep in my kitchen, "nd installed a
new China boy, All Gin by name,
instead of the women | sent away.
All Gin was fourteen years DID,
thirteen, according to our count. The
Chinese reckon the year they enter as
the year of their age, instead of, as we
do, the year that is accomplished He
was slender, pretty, very graceful
boy, with face of more refinement
than one usually sees in the lower
classes of his race
Unlike All Choon, he was an ex-
tremely timid boy, and never ventured
very far from the house unless | went
with him; consequently, when Ah
Gin needed new pair of stockings or
handkerchief | had to go with him
to the town, where he made his pur-
cbasas.
All Gin was much more of fine
gentleman than his predecessors, and
was greatly hattered that | should per-
ceive it and ask him what caused the
difference. He, he informed me, was
a schoolmaster's son, and had been
educated with great care and never al
lawed to associate with vulgar people.
He looked upon Christian Charley a
boy who had been converted and was
made a great pet of, with all possible
contempt. Charley was SO ignorant
said All Gin, that he didn't even un
dertand his own religion, or he would
lave seen that it was almost the same
as that to which he pretended to be
converted. He explained his own re-
ligious belief to me at great length,
saying that it was very like Catho-
licism. We are all called idolaters,
said he, because a few of US really are.
But why should we be despised for
idolatry and called heather, any more
than the ignorant among Catholics,
who pray to images of the Virgin and
to the cross in as idolatrous a spirit as
any poor Chinaman prays before his
Joss? To us educated Chinamep our
gods are merely symbols, which we
uSt uSI 10 IuC OdILOIlCo uO LuclIS, cue.
This is not given in Ah Gins own
language, which, however, was greatly
in construction and pronun-
citation to that of any other Chnaman
| have known, except, of course, Chi
nese gentlemen.
All Gin did his work in the deft.
quick way that is characteristic of the
Chinese servant, at the same time add
ing manylittle refnements of his own.
He always kept newly-plucked rose
in glass on the shelf of his kitchen
sink, taking wbfs of it's fragrance as
he washed his dishes The bowls of
the kerosene-lamps had rose-leaves
strewn in them, and all the vsses in
the house were kept filed with fresh
flowers and water. He objected to the