The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-03-23
Our &ops ano Girls.
why are A Chinaman's Eyes Oblique 2

able Lee All Chung, "that all the
men of your nation wear cues?" Lee
All Chung was the head priest in the
Chinese temple in Chatham Square,
and he worshiped joss daily. He was
old, but | never could guess how old,
and he knew many quaint legends.
1--WE have not always worn them,"
he said. at is only about three thou
sand years ago that the emperor COM
manded everybody to do so. Before
that every Chinaman wore his hair as it
seemed good to him, and Chinamen's
eyes were level, like your peoples eyes,
not oblique, as they are now.
"Does the cue make your eyes OBJ
lique?" l asked.
"Yes," said Lee All Chung, gravely.
"It is what you call a miracle. Three
thousand years ago, long before your
people knew that the earth was round,
or had discovered the magnetic needle,
Wong Tai Yen made boat, and sailed
away to find the north pole.
wong Tai Yen was a mandarin of
the blue button and the peacock's
feather. He was the wisest man in the
province of Quang-Topg. But although
he knew 80 much, he was great stu
dent, and was always trying to learn
more. He noticed that when the mag
netic needle was held sideways, it
would dip downward; and once when
he was summoned to see the emperor
in Chi.Li-that then was the capital of
the empire-in the far north, he saw
that the needle dipped more than it did
in Quang-Tong. So he said, There
must be some place where it will point
straight down, and that will be the
north pole
Then he built his boat, and made it
with wheels, so that it would go over
the ice.felds and over the land, and he
made great sail of bamboo mating,
and sailed away to the north. After
he had sailed two thousand miles, he
came to the great fields of ice; but he
did not stop, for his boat had wheels.
So he sailed over the ice where it was
low and fiat for five days, and two great
white bears chased him to eat him up.
Though his boat sailed fast, he could
not get away from them.
"Then he spread open his great
silken umbrella that he carried to keep
off the sun and the rain, and held it so
as to make another sail of it, for it was
very strong. 1t was a mandarin's UNI
brella, and it was made of bamboo and
the best of silk, and was embroidered
all over with vines and flowers, and
two great dragons, such as live in the
north, with teeth and claws stronger
and sharper than any other creatures.
When Wong Tai Yen saw that he
could not get away from the two bears
even by spreading all his sail and his
great umbrella, he was stricken with
fear, though he was brave man, and
he prayed much to Buddha and the
angels; and Buddha, who always lis
tens when good man prays to him,
heard Wong Tai Yen, and sent him a
strong west wind; for the wind had
come from the south before, and Wong
Tai Yen had sailed straight north.
"Then he tackled his boat, and sailed
toward the east. But the two bears
saw this and running swiftly for him,
they caught up with the boat, and one
of them climbed up over the side, and
the other caught Wong Tai Yen by the
hair: for his hair was long and wavy,
and hung down over his shoulders like
the hair of young girl.
Wong Tai Yen thought he must
surely die, and he prayed again to
Buddha, and, behold great wonder
was wrought for him. For the boat
sailed on ten times as fast as it had
before, and the bear that had caught
him by the hair could not climb into
the boat, because it was going so fast;
neither could he let go of the hair, for
it was stretched out into a rope, and
the rope was twined about the bears
paws and caught in his teeth, so that
he was dragged along on the ice, and
struck many of the hummocks, which
the wheels of the boat never struck,
and he was pounded to death and torn
to pieces.
p" But a greater wonder than this
Buddha performed in the boat. For as
the bear which had climbed in saw
what was done to his mate, he roared
terribly, and sprang toward Wong Tai
Yen to devour him; but before he could
come at him, the two fierce dragons en-
broidered on Wong Tai Yen's umbrella
sprang down before the bear, and grew
suddenly very large. Then they vom-
tied fire, and roared louder than the
bear, and sprang upon him. They tore
him to pieces with their claws, and ate
him up, and then grew small as sud-
denly as they had grown large, and they
went back on the umbrella, and lay
down where they had been before, and
WOW W olSCps
"Then the wind ceased until Wong
Tai Yen had loosened the rope of hair
from the first BEARS teeth and claws.
Then he was very much afraid, and he
knew that Buddha did not will that he
should find the north pole, and he jour
neyed home.
And when he looked in his mirror
his hair was straight and the rope was
cue, and his eyes had been pulled
by the bear till they were oblique, and
they were never straight again. And
he told the emperor what he had seen
in the North, and the emperor COM
handed that every Chinaman should
shave his head, aud wear only cue.
And after the Cinnamon had worn cues
for five years, all their eyes were
oblique, like Wong Tai Yen's, and
they knew that Buddha had done it."-
Horper'S Young People.