The Portland daily press., 1881-01-01

she played simply and solely to the Ambas-
sador's box. Everybody In the Theatre no
ticed the touching patriotism which made
the popular actress pay more attention to
the mere diplomatic representative Of her
own beloved sovereign than to the heir ap-
parent to the British throne. "You know
these Chinese" said the Marchioness of
Monopoly, care so tenderly and sentiment
tally attached to the paternal rule of their
aimiable Emperors. They still retain that
pleasing feudal devotion which has yunfor-
tunately died out in Europe through the
foolish influence of misguided agrarian agi-
tators." At any rate Meenie hardly took
her eyes off the Ambassadors face. But
that impassive Oriental sat through the five
acts without sign or movement. Once
he ate an ice la Neapolitaine, and once
he addressed few remarks to an attache;
but from beginning to end he watched the
performance with a uniformly smiling face,
unmoved to tears by the great bastinado
scene, and utterly impervious even to the
touching incidents of the love-making in
the third act.
When the curtain fell at last, Meenie was
fevered, excited, trembling from head to
foot, but not hopeless. Calls of "Mee-Nee-
Shang' resounded loudly from the whole
house, and even Dukes stood up enthusiastic
cally to join in the clamor. When she went
Ambassador was still in his place, beaming
as before, but the interpreter had Quilted
his seat and was moving in the direction of
the managers room.
Meenie courtesied and kow-towed in a sort
of haze or swoon and managed to reel off
the stage somehow with her burden of bou-
quets. She rushed eagerly to Jacks room,
and as she reached the door she saw that
her worst fears were realized. A Celestial
s,.rz ~An1 49,
door, engaged in low conversation with the
manager.
Meenie entered with a swimming brain
and sank into chair. The Interpreter
shut the door softly, poured out a glass of
sherry from Jacks decanter on the table,
and held it gently to her lips. "Whisht,"
he said, beneath his breath, iL the purest
and most idiomatic Hibernian, ''make your
self perfectly aisy, me dear, but don't spake
too loud, If you plase, for fear ye should
ruin us botht."
There was something very familiar to
Meenie in the voice, which made her start
suddenly. She looked up in amazement.
''Whatv she cried, regardless of h:s warn
ing, sit isn't you, Patp'
''Indade an it is, me darlin'," Pat an
swered in low tone; shut kape it dark, if
you don't want us all to be found out to-
gither."
''Not your long-lost brother?" said Jack,
in hesitation. you're not going to per-
form Box and Cox in private life before my
very eyes, are your'
The precise thing, Inc boy" Pat replied,
unabashed. "Her brother that was in
run away to Calcutta. There got pas
sage to China, and took up at first with the
Jesuit missionaries. But, marrying nate
little Chinese girl, l thought might as well
turn Mandarin, SO passed their examine
tions, and was appointed interpreter 10 the
embassy. An now Pm in London I'm in
deadly fear that Mike Flaherty, who's one
of the chief detectives at Scotland Yard,
will find me out and recognize me, the same
as they recognized that poor cricketer fel-
low at Leicester"
A few moments suficed to clear up the
business. Pats features lent themselves as
readily as Meenie's to the Chinese disguise;
and he had cleverly intimated to the Am
bassad0r that an additional interpreter in
the national costume would prove more Or
namental and effective than recognized
European like DR.. Macartney. According
ly, he had assumed the style and title of the
Mandarin Hwen Thsang, and had success
fully passed himself off in London as gen.
uine Chinaman. Moreover, being gifted
with Meenie's theatrical ability, he had
iCdAuCu W opCdh d CcIIdlu UfOktu EuSllSu
without the slightest Irish accent; and it
was only in moments of emotion, like the
present, that he burst out into his native
dialect He had recognized Meenie on the
stage, partly by her voice and manner, but
still more by some fragments of Irish nur-
sery rhymes, which they had both learned
as children, aud which Meenie had boldly
interpolated into the text OF the "Fantais-
les de Canton" So he had devoted all his
energies to keeping up the hoax and delud-
ing the Ambassador.
And how did you manage to do it?'
asked Jack.
''Sure tould him, Pat answered quietly,
"that though ye were all Cinnamon, ye were
acting the play in English to suit your au-
dience. And the Ould haythen was per
fectly contint to behave it.''
But suppose he says anything about it
to anybody?'
''Diyil word can he spake to anybody
except through me. Make yourselves aisy
about it; the Ambassador thinks it's all as
right as tinpence. The things magnifi-
cent success. Yell jest coin money, and
nobody in London understands Chinese ex-
sthraight for ye there"
Meenie rushed into his arms and theIs
into Jacks. "Pat," said she with emotion,
''allow me to present you my future hus-
band"
''It's proud am to make his acquain-
tance," Pat answered promptly; ''and if he
could lend me a tin pound note for day or
two, it 'ud be convanience.''
Three days later, Meenie became Mrs.
Jack Roberts; and it was privately whispered
in well-informed circles that the manager Of
the Chinese play had married the popular
actress Mee-Nee-Shang. At least, it was
known that a number of the embassy had
been present at a private meeting in Rom
an Catholic chapel in Finsbury, where
priest was seen to enter, and Jack ana Meenie
to emerge shortly afterward.
OF course, the hoax oozed out in time, and
all London was in state of rage and de-
spair. But Jack coolly snapped his fingers
at the metropolis, for he had made a small
fortune over his seasons entertainment, and
had accepted an offer to undertake the man
agement of theatre at Chicago, where he
is now doing remarkably well. OF course,
too, his hoax was a most wicked and un-
principled adventure, which it has given the
present writer deep moral pain to be COM
PEELED to chronicle. But, then, if people
will make such fools of themselves, what is
a well-meaning but weak-minded theatrical
purveyer to do?