Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1882-07-15
A CHINESE LOVE STORY.

a CHINESE LOVE STORY.
Chang Wing was our laundryman.
He had a wife a bright, chatty little
bOdy-and baby which, having been
born in this country. he proudly Boosted
of as an ''alle same Mclean baby
His wife used sometimes to bring
home the laundried clothes, on which
occasions the children of our family
would make much of the baby, and give
it presents, and beg from the baby's
mother in return real Chinese story.
She was fond of telling stories of her
own country, and as she spoke very good
English, for Chinese, and used very
expressive and animated gestures, she
afforded us much entertainment.
One of her stories l we'll remember.
1t was no eXtravagant, half-mythical
romance, such as the Chinese in general
delight in but a simple love episode that
might of happened in any country; and,
in fact, Mrs. vOuched for its entire
truthfulness "allee same.'
will here give it, though not in the
broken English. to which it owed half
its attraction, from the lips of its orig
inal narrator:
There was once good, and pious, and
beautiful young man named Hop Hi.
He had big boat, and little house on
a small island in the river, where he
raised ducks and geese, and caught
fish. Whenever he had ready bOat-lOad
of fish and fowl, he would sail away
down the river to sell them, and when
they were disposed of would come back
to the little house on the island to raise
more. So he slowly made little money,
but he was poor man Notwithstanding.
On the river bank, nearly opposite
Hop His house, lived Whang LO, who
owned and cultivated large tea gar
den. His house was fine and large, and.
he was rich, for his soul delighted in
making and boarding money. He
thought more of his money than Of his
beautiful daughter, Sing Lo, and there
fore 1T was that she had grown to the
mature age of sixteen without having a
husband provided for her.
Now Hop Hi, living opposite, could
not help seeing Whang Los beautiful
daughter. He watched each day as she
went tOttering around her fathers tea
garden on her lovely little club feet,
all bandaged up in linen cloth and wood
en- shoes.
He caught the CLEAN of her glittering
almond eyes peeping through the blinds
ing with his cOrmOrants; and so much
did he think of her on these occasions,
that he would often forget what he was
about, and allow lOng-necked birds to
devOur many fine fish, which otherwise
they would have been compelled to dis
gorge when half swallowed. SO it was
that the beautiful and piOus Hop Hi and
the good and lovely Sing Lo came to fall
in love with each other
One day Whang Los wife refused to
eat her blrds-nest soup at dinner. This
alarmed her husband, for never before
had Mrs. LO been known to refuse birds
nest soup; and when he inquired if she
were sick, she heaved a deep sigh and
said:
"My heart it is which is sick. Here is
our daughter, sixteen years of age to-
day, and still without husband. DOst
think, oh, Whang, that /, her mother, do
not feel the disgrace of having daugh-
ter an old maid, at sixteen years Old?"
But Whang answered:
Pooh! We cannot yet afford to give
her away. Let her gather tea and feed
silk worms, and make herself useful for
While longer, and when it suits us she
will be given in marriage"
Meanwhile Hop Hi fell more and more
deeply in love with Sing LO, until all
his friends and relatives felt uneasy
about him. And at length, one day, his
venerable grandmother called on Whang
Lo, bearing in her hand brazen warm
ing pan for present, and in Hop His
name besOught the hand of his daugh-
ter, Miss Sing, in marriage.
But the tea-gardener turned up his
snub nose and replied that never should
daughter of his marry a poor man;
and that Hop Hi was as brasen as the
present he had sent. So the grandmOth-
er took up the warming-pan and went
sorrOwfully away.
Next day the yet more venerable
grandfather of Hop Hi presented him
self at the house Of Whang LO. Upon
his aged back he bore the Offering of a
dragon-kite of magnificent size. and
said that his grandson had sent him to
propose for the hand of Miss Sing Lo in
marriage.
Then the tea gardner waxed exceed
ing wrOth, and he kicked the venerable
sage out of his doorway, and cut the
string of the dragon-kite so that IL went
floating away in the air, and was never
more seen.
So hard did he kick that he crippled
the toes of his right foot, which made
him yet more angry and while he hoped