The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-02-25
4 aUEER cH1NEsE TALE.

Il story that might have been Told I'm the
From the London Telegraph, Dec. 2S.l
A correspondent forwards the following IL
lustration of the 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 mortals to
their destruction. The same powers are 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 veil known to every
one living in the Great street outside the Chien
Men Front Gate1 at Pekin, where the affair is
supposed to have occurred:
A certain Ningpo man kept druggist shop
at Pekin. Having madea good deal of money
by it he determined TO commence Wholesale
business as we'll as the retail one. He there
fore bonght . wareh0usesfox storing drugs and
put il in charge Of nephew. His venture
proved eminently successful, and he grew rich
er daily, principally for the extraordinary
reason that the drugs stored in the warehouse
we're less liable to- get damp or mouldy than
anybody else's. As the nephew was at work in
the warehouse he used constantly to notice the
prettiest gir. he had ever seen passing by the
door. Though he sorely longed to try to make
cqaaintance with her, ,he'was restrained by her
modest and retiring demeanor. Time went by
and one day an old gentleman with long
beard and leaning on s 8 tai called at the uncles
shop. sssgss2
In the course of conversation it appeared
Kansu, and had originally fed to Pekin to es-
cape from the Mahometans disturb Dances in the
West. Finally, he said that he often remarked
the nephew at work in the warehouse, and bad
been struck by his steadiness and his diligence,
and he would like to marry his only daughter
to him. He had sufficient money to make lib
eral arrangements with regard to the trousseau
and wedding presents, and would not quarrel
about terms. The young man, being 80 far
from his home at Ningpo, was not betrothed
to anyone. His uncle therefore gladly accepted
the proposal As both parties were strangers
in Pekin, everything was settled and the mar
riage ceremony performed without any unne-
cessary formality.
When the time came for the bride to unveil,
the bridegroom, who had never yet seen her,
was most anxious to know what she was like.
At the first glance, what was his Joy to discov-
er that she was the girl he used to see walking
past the warehouse. The marriage was 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, wish
ing to see his new daughter-in-law, wrote and
told his son to bring her home on visit. The
son accordingly made preparations to start of
as soon as possible. For the last day or two
before his departure the uncle, who had not
been home for many years, was constantly
coming to his house, as he had thousand
things to talk about-reminiscence to recall,
messages to be delivered and the like.
When the moment for them to commence the
journey actually arrived the uncle went across
fo- the last time to say goodbye, but to his
establishment neither nephew nor niece was to
beSfound. After fruitless search he went to
The house Of the girls father to see if he could
learn anything there. But there was no house
standing, merely two or three wretched little
rooms in ruins without doors or windows He
made inquiries among the neighbors, 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 husband. But stranger
than anything else was the fact that from that
day forth the drugs stored in the warehouse
became just as subject to mould as those any
Ioro oloo