The Dickinson press., 1888-09-15
HOW A CIIlNAMAN DIES.
A CELESTIAL MERCHANTS DEATH
IN HIS NEW YORK HOME,
Tho Pious Task of Cheering the Dying
Man and Ministcring to His Physical and
Spiritual Wants-.AttractivcI Interior of a

| Tho pious Task of Cheering the Diving
Man and NIinistcrins to His Physical and
Spiritual Wants-.Attractive Interior of n
Chinese Home.
A heather died $4,000 miles away from
home, at No. Is Pcll street, Oh Friday morn.
ing. Although he was so far away from his
native land, he WAS tended in his diving
hours by some of his cousins" for III China
the cousin is any member of the same family,
no matter how remote the iinship, and the
manner of his death was us it would have
been if he had died at home. His name is
Hong Tol, and he isa cousin of Il wealthy
Chinaman who Keeps a grocery at No. 2G
Mott street. He had just been taken away
from Boston to die i'll this city According
to certain Chinese superstition it is unlucky
to allow man to die in the same house where
he lived. Consequently, as soon as the at
tending physician plonounces the case hope
less, a room elsewhere is hired for him to die
in, as was done in this case.
Hong Toi was born in Quang- Tung- Foo in
1865 and came to America when he was 20
years of age. Like so many of his country.
men, when lie arrived here lie sought employ
ment i'll n laundry, and set himself to make
u fortune His savings after Il time were
large enough to enable him to buy an interest
i'll q grocery, and before he died he had laid
up $4,000. His hopes and plans however,
all perished with him Four months ago he
| contracted an illness common among the peo-
pie of his race. He coughccl, grew thin and
lost his appetite. The American physician
whom he employed at first pronounced the
| trouble malaria, but his treatment did the
patient little good. y Chinese doctor was
consulted later, and lie declared the trouble
to be pneumonia. This proved correct, and
the disease soon proved fatal.
| Within the last two weeks Of his life he
was never left alone His friends and cousins
relieved one another in the plous task of
cheering the dying man and ministering, in
their heather fashion, to his spiritual as well
as his physical wants. They read long pas
sages to him from their national books such
rs the works of Confucius and Menci,ls, the
Tripiteka of Buddha and the verses of Lao
Tszce and other famouspoets. They fed him
with the strange and delicate danties which
the Chinese only can concoct, and talked of
home when he was strong enough To listen!
Then, as the end came nearer, they brought
out and spread around him numerous queer
looking objects, such as had been familiar to
him in his childhood, evidently seeking, as
Il.
some pleasant memory or happy thought into
| his mind while yet life might be made n little
brighter.
They spread out little squares of suga,
candy, looking not unlike the "butter scotch
American children like so we'll. Queer cakes
We're laid around on tables and chairs, and
even on the bed, some with fruits and some
with spices i'll them, some with meats and
q mi
casan; very few of them were alike Then
they brought even dolls, fashioned as nearly
after the babyloo'l of China as tho pictures
of their native artists are like nature
grotcsque, quaint and richly garbctl, odd and
pretty From the ceiling they hung kites
and queer umbrellas, and some CT tic c!e-
| CANT, fantastic paper lanterns that aesthetics
delight in. \ smile would sometimes come
over his wasted features, but for the most ul
the time his face was calm and grave, as il,
the wont of Chinamcn. 1t is n look not ull-
like that of babies, wise beyond their days,
who look at all things with {, quiet attention
that seems TO speak tolerant half approval
His bed was Il narrow bunk, covered with
white mating, and the pillows We're long
narrow boxes, covered with upholstery
They looked not unlike he foot rasis in an
oil Eng! g!ish church. Around the walls hlin.e
siiken banners of vivid scarlet and rich en-
b'oidcry tracing the hieroglyphics that
stood for verses from the rocts Over III.
| maltclpcce were religious pictures not un-
like those that hang over the affairs in the
Chinese temples In tho center was I, repre-
scntation Of God as the Chinese picture him,
seated ON !, throne of larl,u,i,. ,,i,,nifi,.o,,,
whll. o, either hand were. ,,ic,,rn. of ,l,o
beings whom they sunuo,,. 10 n.rso,if,. ,,n
powers of destruction and ,eraraf;n,, On
line o,,ro,it. wall L,;n.. ,bn word. ~ ,f,
Christian lymn ..Nearc.. mn, C;nd ,o,,,,n :.
On the mantelpece ur,.nrn,a,h ,be r,.,i,[i.,ns
pctures ,yere n dozen on. ,,or.,,,.t5.,i.,Il.,',
graphs of ballet .e;r,s in lin. rx,rc,nn n,,,n.
n,ss of the modern stooc
I'm one corner WAS n bamboo ..,,,,. n,
which were ,,ots of coal kent oon~t,,,,I,.
L,,li,ue. and OF tea j.out ;,lways hat Othnr
s,,.aIj.r t,i,las su,,,,,,,,..l )ro,, .',.,,
ff ,bo,, very costly aud ,n o,.,i., o l,,.[,'
b.,,yl, of clean wli,a sand i'm which v,,,,.
stuck loss stick, to be ,,pr,od fran, ti,no 4,
time in devotional exercises on1 sc,nn f,,,t,.
or fiftv vn1nmus Of ,ba ,vri, me- of 1,l;,',s
nfet, Tbnsn were L1,o,. onl c7,,,1I,,.,,i ,.+
a. rars ,,o,l.,nons,,i,, and ,,,s+ ha, a,' ou'
o,,,,o,,sivn ,,n,rhas~.
,rbn sicl, ,,,,s ,.,.s. ,,..,.,
nave r,,yn into nS,,,,,1,, f,,.o =,
within tba last fey y..ars u wera III
|ooso and w;tbont onv o,1,,,.(.h ,n '4ft' g.
,,,,,lo ~ ,.oI,',-,. ,,',sIit 0,'H - ~
sors of ,,,o so,,o ,,,a+a,.;a1 t,'I i-..
t onllc and an his a.iar,.-i: 'r''-l-,' ail
u.,a ,,ir ns ,ase s1i,,ars ri -.''
Eos+o howe f,,,, .,a,.. '-' - -.
o;,ns ,,roo,,,,col I, l'''
M re,nova1 +is cit,. r.