The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1891-12-26
Nc FO'S WILL.

= ~ was HIS udLles dS any one
Eve read on the door of his laun-
~ any one happened to know Chi
=: OF course he was called John. The
= American dubs every Chinaman John
just as the stout old gentleman calls
every pretty girl my dear"
If you CHANGED to walk south on Mott
street four years ago | have no doubt
.syou saw Johns laundry. 1t was in the
basement of a big tenement house.
Through the open windows one might
have seen John at work, sprinkling the
clothes through his teeth--a la mode
Chinoise-or, perhaps. polishing re-
fractory shirt front. At all events, there
he stood for ten good hours every day,
with that smile of bland idiocy that.
among strangers, the Chinaman wears
like mask
Above stairs in the tenement dwelt all
sorts and conditions of people. There
were broken down gamblers. Irish labor
ers, Jew peddlers and a few ''swell"
negroes given to flaring scarfs and much
cheap hair oil. 1t was in two dingy
rooms at the back and up three pairs of
stairs that old Otto Won Haeckel and his
pretty daughter Lischen lived. Herr Won
Haeckel earned few dollars every week
by playing the violin in a Bowery ''the-
Satire of varieties" Now, be it under
stood that Bowery theatre of varie-
ties" is very unsavory place, and the
less said about it the better.
Lischen, like good little housewife
of fifteen, stayed at home and scrubbed
the bare floor till it shone and darned
stockings till they were good as new
better in fact-and was desperately I'M
happy. For Lischen, like Caesar and a
great many worse folk, was ambitious.
You have voice like a bird, dearest
child, her father would say; lit is gold,
liebes kind. but it needs refining and
minting.
So Lischen, knowing what need there
was for minted gold practiced the exer-
cises her father set her. and hoped. And
the poor old man saved every penny
few enough they were-and tried to
make himself fancy that some day he
would take his nightingale to Milano.
For Herr Won Haeckel believes that one
cannot learn singing outside Of Italy.
But in spite of Lischen's hopes and the
old mans boarded pennies, Milano was
: very far away indeed; it seemed as
though it moved few leagues farther
away each day.
John, in the basement among the shirts
and collars, had sharp ear for the stair
case. Whenever he heard Lischens lit
tie feet tripping down he was sure to be
at the window to see her pass. Lischen
fell into the habit of glancing down at
him; soon the glance grew into smile;
the smile grew into a nod.
One day as she was coming home John
Chinaman met her in the hall. After
much mysterious fumbling he produced
large packet from some hidden cave
in his blouse. He thrust it into Lischen's
hands and vanished. Cinnamon have
the art of vanishing Fong did.
Lischen carried the packet to her room
and opened it. 1t contained a large
papier mache dragon and this was filled
with salty Chinese bonbons of wonder
full taste. When the old violinist came
home that afternoon from the Bowery
theatre of varieties she showed him the
dragon, and laughingly told him how she
had been presented with it.
"H'm, gut-jal' said her father, and
wrapped it up and took it down to the
Chinaman.
"My daughter cannot take this" he
explained, "she is much obliged to you.
Do you understand?
"Go'long way" returned John placid
~, "n'lot mine-go'long way"
Herr Won Haeckel tried again with nc
better success than before. At last he
was fain to 60 back, dragon and all, as
he came.
After that mysterious parcels would
come sailing through the transom; long
silk scarfs and gay colored handkerchief
twisted under the door like snakes-and
apparently of their own volition.
One afternoon Lischen was startled by
a sharp knock. She opened the door
and there stood John Chinaman. He
wore a long blue silk blouse, lowered
gorgeously. Yellow silk smalls were
wrapped about his thin legs, and white
silk shoes adorned his feet. His pigtai
hung to the floor and his face was
wreathed in a smile blander than new
butter. In one hand he carried lighted
wax candle. This he deposited on the
table. Then he drew up a chair and sal
down.
"Plitty day." he said. "Will you
mally mef"
scWhat?" exclaimed Lischen.