The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1883-09-22
THE CHINESE RIP VAN wIsKLE.

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 may
be seen to issue previous to rain.
But that is not the strangest thing
about it. They say it is so deep that It
is impossible to sound it. All people
at present alive in China are content to
let 1t rest at that. II truth lies at the
bottom of well, there it may lie, for
all them. They would neither care nor
dare to go after it.
But once upon time there was a
man who did not feel 30. He lived on
the mountain, and the pit was daily be-
fore his eyes. He was rich man; but
not satisfied. He was q reading man;
hut his books did not tell him all he
wished to know. So he kept on pom
dering and wondering till he was forty
years old. Then, though the bottom
less well was as great q mystery to him
as ever, he had taken the first step to
find 1t out; he had resolved to investi-
gate.
Well, when Ii Ching, for that was
the philosophers name, approached his
fortieth birthday, he made feast, and
invited all his friends. Now, this Ii
Ching 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
he wished to receive were coils of rope
and little bells. They brought them,
wondering and questioning. But Ii
Ching only looked mysterious, and
said he might find use for them some
time.
And 50 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
he led his guests to the mouth of the
pit and showed them how he had been
preparing for the day. There was a
booth OF mats at the mouth of the cave
and over it he had erected windlass
The building was nearly full of the
ropes he had been collecting all these
years, all joined together, and at each
KNOT n hall Ha he'd oIo<S
car for himself Ther he * V tSnr, 10 .
meant to 90 down ana ssthn,o , .h Ie
mvsterv. His friend. tr;ad - - J;as,, LIE
him. But he said that when he was
fortv wears old he had made ! vow ~
If he lived tn he e;chtv ha would o~ ="
and find ont for h,mself ~ 81
So srminr himself With a n.ck.c. ~
candles and 4 naner lantern be not int -,
the car and ordered his son. n iot him hin,
down slowly: but Il b9 shonId enco u ua1a,-
any horrors on the wsv he would Su ,,,,I,
on the rome. and when thev haarap III
bells ring. thew were n dr.w him ,,r
very fasf Nov vou mustn,. ;nta ~
rupt to ask how he could null . r rss,.o
when his own weight wss h.na;r pc
from IL several lesores ao,vr . s'aif! r as
how the sons above nsvin@ " ont III ~
rope with bells aftacha3 ce,,,J II sa s1
above that rinoirc the t;rt1;~a a 80 III" al
little bells dee5 in the earth W., to ~.
get that this was in China whera ara ~
thing i oueer.1 The sons Of course
had to obey their father So b;dd;ng
him farewell. thew let him down feel.
ing ~ il it were into a grave.
His lantern was soon ali they cou,d
see Of him; first a BRIGHT star then a
glimmering speck, like freely; then Il