Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-04-24
thou thrill with thought the entrails Of
Nha h;l,ss-

thou thrill with . thought the entrails Of
the granite hills.-
Sometimes it was found that all the work
indeed bad not failed; for the color seemed
good, and al faultlezs the matter OF the
vase appeared to be; having neither crack
nor wrinkling nor crankling; but the plant
softness Of warm skin did not NEE; the eve:
the desh-tinted surface offered only the
harsh aspect and hard glimmer Of metal;
all their exquisite toll TO mock the pulpiness
Of sentient substance bad left no trace, had
been brought TO nougtt by the breath Of the
furnace. And Pu, in his despair, shrieked
to the Spirit Of the Furnsce; 20 thou merci-
less divinity, U thou most pitiless god.
thou whom have worshipei with 1000
sacrifices. for what fault hast thou aban-
donei me! for what error hast thou forsaken
met How may /. mot wretcts Of men. ever
render the aspect OF flesh made 10 creep
with the utterance o. word-sentient 10
the Utilization Of a tIolSht-n thou wilt not
aid me-
And the Spirit Of the Furnace made an
swer unto him with roaring Of fire;
-Canst thou divide q soul. nay; Tbs life
for the life OF thy work thy soul for the
soul Of thy vase
And heariug these words Pu aross with a
terrible resolve swelling at his heart: and
made ready for the last and t;ftieth time TO
fashiun his work for the oven
One hundred Tins did he sift thu clay
and the quart, the kao-ling and the tun;
100 times di he purify them in cleare,t
water: l0J times with tireless hands did he
knead tbs creamy paste, mingling it a, Last
with colo-s known only To himself Then
was the vase shapen and reshapen. and
touched and retou hed b. the hands Of fu
until its bandness seemed 70 1--we, until IL
al peared to culver ami TO palpitate, as with
vitality from within, with the CULVER OF
rounded muscle undulating beneath the in
tegument For the huss Of life were upol
It and intltrated throughout its iunermost
substance; initiating the carnation OF b.ooi
bright tissue, and the reticulatei purple OF
the veins;-and over ali was laid the envei-
ops Of sun-colorei Pe-kia- ho-ths lucid and
glossy enamel. half diap hanous, even ike
the substance that i; coun,erfeited, the pol
ished skin OF a woman. Never since the
making OF the worli had any work co,npar-
able to tbs been wrougk lit BY the skill OF man
Then Pu babe those who aided him that
they should feed the furnace well with wood
Of tcha; hut be told his resolve unto mona
Yet after the oven bcSan to glow, and he
blnshing in the hsat, he bowed himself be
fore the Spirit Of flams, sni murmurod:
- thou Spirit and Master OF Fira, know
the truth of thy words. know that n soul
may never bs divided Therefore my life
for the life Of my work, my soul for the
soul Of my vase
And for nine days and for eight nights
tho furnaces were fed unceasingk With
wood of tcha; for nine days and for eight
nights men watched the wondrogs vase
into being. rose-iightei by the ;
breath OF the flame Now upon the coming ,
OF the ninth night PA bade all his weary |
retire to rest, FOR that the WORK |
was well nigh done, ami the SUCCESS assured |
"If ye find me not here at sunrise, he SAIL |
Fear not to take forth ths vase: for I know /
that the task will have been accomplished |
according to the command " tie august
So they departed
But in that same ninth night Iu entered /
the flame, and yielded up his ghost in the |
embrace Of the Spirit of the Furnace, Civ |
ing his life for the life Of his WORK, his soul /
for the soul Of the vasa. And when the |
workmen came upon the tenth morning t.
take forth the porcelain marvel, even tbs |
bones Of Pu hal ceased 10 he. but 10 tho
vase lived rs they looked upon i,; 5. ming l
to he flesh novel by the ut;erance OF a 1
word, creeping 10 the Utilization Of u
thought And whenever tapped by the
finger it uttered voice and a name, the
name of its maker, the nam, Of it, ere
ltor: PU.
And the Son OF Heaven hearing Of these
things, and viewing the miracle OF tn vase
aid unto those about him: Verify, the i'm
possible hath been wrought by the strength
of faith, by the force of Obedience Yet
never was it our desire that So cruel a sacri
ice should have been; We sought only to
know whether tho skill of the matches
Artificer came from the divinit.cs Or from
he demons-from heaven hell Now
indeed, discern that Pa hath taken his
place among the gods And the emperor
exceedingly for his faithful serv-
ant But he ordained TIA; ,'l-like honors
should lie paid unto the spirit 81 tn marvel
,us artist, and that his memory should Il,
revered forevermore, and that far statues
Of him should be- set up in all tho cite. Of
celestial empire, AMI above all the toiling Of
the potteries, that the multltude u workers
might increasingly call upon his Mains ant
invoke his bcnediction upon their lsborS
Lafcadio Hearn in New orieins Times D,-Inr
!, rat