The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-09-13
THE CHINESE RIP VAN WINKLE.

In Shan Tung there is mountain in
whose side is mysterious hole or pit,
from the mouth OF which smoke NAV
be seen to issue previous to rain.
But that is not the strangest thing
about it. They say it is SO deep that #
is impossible to sound it. All people
at present alive in China are content to
let it rest at that. If truth lies at the
bottom of a well, there it may lie, for
all them. They would neither care nor
dare to go after it.
But once upon a time there was a
man who did not feel so. He lived on
the mountain, and the pit was daily be-
fore his eyes. He was rich man; but
not satisfied. He was reading man:
but his books did not tell him all he
wished to know. So be kept on pom
dering and wondering till he was forty
years old. Then, though the bottom
less well was as great mystery to him
as ever, he had taken the first step to
find it out; he had resolved to investi-
gate.
Well, when Ii Ching, for that was
the philosopher s name, approached his
fortieth birthday, he made feast. and
invited all his friends. Now, this Ii
On ing being rich, of course all his
friends were in the habit of making
him expensive gifts. But this year he
sent them notice that the only presents
ne wished to receive were coils of rope
and little bells. They brought them,
wondering and questioning. But Ii
Ching only looked mysterious. and
said ne might find a use for them some
time.
And so it happened every birthday
until the eightieth. He had been busy
some time before this day in preparing
for it. The feast was unusually fine
and the theatricals were performed in
the best manner; but that was only
preliminary. When this was all over
ee ied ms guests to the mouth of the
PIT and showed them how he had been
preparing for the day. There was
oooth OF mats at the mouth of the cave
an ana over It he had erected a windlass.
Inc building was nearly full of the
tOpes ne had been collecting all these
years all Joined together, and at each
Anos bell. He had also prepared a
car Tor himself. Then he told them he
meant to go down and fathom this
mystery. His friends tried to dissuade
MN. But he said that when he was
iorty years old he had made VOW that
= ne hyed to be eighty he would 90
ana Ind out for himself.
90 arrning himself with package of
= candies and paper lantern he got into
sIie car and ordered his sons to let him
aOwn slowly; but if he should encounter
@ny horrors on the way he would pull
So,, - sae rope, and when they heard the
sslls fang, they were to draw him up
very fast. (Now you mustn't inter-
lIpt 70 ask how he could pull a rope
when his own weight was hanoino
ION rom Z several leagues down well; or
@ aoW the sons above, paying out the
Ipe with bells attached could hear
s.s sooVe that ringing the tinkling of the
a.sle oells deep in the earth. You for
ses mat this was in China, where every
saing Is queer.) The sons, of course.
S Saa 20 obey their father. So bidding
;a, ;,.,n farewell, they let him down, feel
n. HSAC Into d grave.
a. als lantern was soon all they could
sSs 81 @ him; first bright star, then a
ss..nnerlng saa speck, like a FREELY; then it
-, va lost altogether. And still thew
p'1Sea out the jingling rope.
vel, and what of the old philos-
opaers The descent was at first per-
sp~elaicular; I'm but after a mile or two It
ssok turn, and he went sliding down
t;r,d an inclined plane. After long, long
h;ns..ine re .ne car stopped, and he found
1s,lsn ,asen on even ground; but still in the
sSarkness. East, West. North and An.
soasn so.li Were lost in this blackness. But
As1lng dannted, our philosopher takes
aIs iantern and sets out to explore the
s;oon, By and by he sees ahead Of
daes gllmmering light which he knows
lsnsarno ,ss mol come from the reflection Of his
saas ssssfn. so he eagerly follows thai
'a 10 san snuff out his candle; for =