Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-01-29
A queer Chinese raIe.
London Telegraph.

A correspondent forwards the fol-
lowing illustration of superstition
amongst the Chinese with reference
TO very ancient and widespread
belief that the fox has the power Of
assuming the human form to lead
nOrtals to their destruction. The
same lgBwer is also ascribed to the
badger by the japanese. In this
case the story is given as true one,
and the facts are stated to be well
known to everyone living in the
great street outside the Chen Men
(Front Gate) mt Pekin, where the
affair is supposed to have occurred
A certain NingpO man kept a
druggists shop at Pekin. Having
made a good deal of money by it he
determined to commence IA whole
sale business as well as the retail
one. He therefore bought ware
house for storing drugs and put it in
charge of nephew. His venture
proved eminently successful, and he
grew richer daily, principally for
the extraordinary reason that the
drugs stored in the warehouse were
less liable to get damp or mouldy
than anybody else's. As the neph-
ew was at work in the warehouse
he used constantly to notice the
prettiest girl he had ever seen pass
ing by the door. Though he sorely
longed to try to make acquaintance
with her, he was restrained by her
modest and retiring demeanOr. Time
went by, and one day an old gentle
man with long beard and leaning
on staff, called at the uncle's shop.
In the course of conversation it,ap-
peared that he came from the bOr-
ders OF Snensi and Kansu and had
originally fed to Pekin to escape
from the Mahomedan disturbances
in the west. Finally he said that
he had ofte'l remarked the nephew
at work in the warehouse and had
been struck by his steadiness and |
diligence, and he would like to mar
ry his only daughter to him. He /
had sufficient money to make libe- |
raj arrangements with regard to the |
trousseau and wedding presents, |
and would not quarrel about terms. |
The young man, being so far from
his home at NingpO, was not be- |
trOthed to anyone. His uncle there |
fore gladly accepted the proposal. I
AS both parties were strangers In
Pekin, everything was settled and
the marriage ceremony performed
without any unnecessary fuss or
formality. When the time came
for the bride to unveil, the bride
groom, who had never yet seen her,
was most anxious to known what
she was like. At the first glance,
what. was his JOY to discover that
she was the girl he used to see walk
ing past the warehouse. The mar
riage was a happy one. He was the
fOndest of husbands and she the
most loving and dutiful OF wives.
Before long the young mans father
in NingpO, wishing to see his new
daughter-in-law, wrote and told his
son to bring her home on visit.
The son accordingly made prepara-
tiOns to start off as soon its possible.
For the last day or two before his
the uncle, who had not
been home for many years. was con-
coming to his house, as he
had thousand things to talk abOat
--reminisces to recall, messages TO
be delivered and the like. When
the moment for them TO commence
the journey actually arrived, the
uncle went across for the last time
to say goodbye, but to his astonish-
ment neither nephew nor niece was
to be found. After a fruitless search
he went TO the house Of the girls
father TO see If he could learn any
thing there. But there was no house
standing, merely two or three
wretched little rooms in ruins, with
out doors or windows. He made
inquiries among the neigabors, but
none Of them knew anything Of the
old man or the house. Everything
was then plain. The old man and
his daughter were foxes and had
made away with the young hus-
band. But stranger than anything
else was the fact that from that day
forth the drugs stored in the ware
house became just as subject to
mould rs those kept anywhere else.