Evening star., 1893-12-12
HE IS A HE PANG IN coREA.
How q Pagan King Has Honored nm
American.

How q Pagan King Has HOnOred an
American.
From the San Francisco Chronicle
To be gazetted postmaster general of a
heather island which has no post Office, and
wear carved jade behind the ears, is an
oriental dream of magnificence and pagan
distinction which few Americans have ever
had thrust upon them The friends of
Clarence r.. Greathouse, formerly AN at
torney in this city. will be pleased to learn
that he has been so honored.
They may also f1atter themselves that, II
Clarence keeps his health and continues to
catch on with the heathen as in the past
his vaulting ambition may some day ele-
vate him to a position which will entitle
him to wear a ring of carved jade in his
nose. Meantime Mr.. Greathouse Is satisfied
with the Jumps of jade that dangle and
flop behind his ears, and which cause the
American to be much admired and looked
up to by his lowpagans.
Greathouse left San Francisco, where he
was known to nearly every lawyer and bus
iEess iIian, III looo, ~ pecoine .niteu states
consul general u Japan. III lew suort
years, aiaeo solely by MS hlgn capacity anu
conspicuous integrity oI CHARACTER, ne has
risen 10 the exaiIsu station OF tie fdass or
Seoul III the court OF Cored-
There Is no postal department In the king
dom oI Corea, but the rank o1 rte Pans,
whatever that IL, was an ONCE within the
girt cI the KING. and the ex-American con-
sui general got it. W hen the post once Will
be established Is a matter OF little or no
concern. Corea even lacks a bog IN which
to build a post office. but Clarence wears
the carved jade behind his ears just the
same, and rattles II when ne walks along
the streets OF Seoul with his friend, the
king. The jade resembles petrined paste
more than anything else, and has dragons
and snakes and things carved on 1t. In ad-
dition to the carved jade the He Pang OF
Seoul wears a hat which looks like Joint
of stovepipe. The height of the hat denotes
the rank Of the wearer. The one worn by
Mr.. Greathouse Is nearly three feet tall, ana
Ii Is said that no one in the Kingdom dare
ask him where he got 1t. When parading in
his flowered robes, tall hat and carved jade
the little pagans fall on the sidewalk to let
the He Pang pass.
Originally from Kentucky Mr.. Greathouse
early developed that antiphathy to water for
which Kentuckians are noted, and which
emnently fitted him for the social duties of
a diplomatic office abroad.
After establishing himself in the bar in
this city, as well as the bars the future He
Pang forsook the legal fraternity to shine
as journalist Clarence's great specialties
were sinkers, or editorials. as they are
sometimes called. which he wrote with the
aid of an amanuensis. Not frequently 1t
required a week or more to produce pol
ished leader, owing to a habit Clarence had
OF Gaining OH MS amanuenSlS Wnne tHey
went out for inspiration. Owing to his Ken
lucky training the editor outclassed his
hireing in this branch of the profession
and during the busy season II was neces-
sary to add snake charmer to the STAN
whose duty 1t was to keep the amanuensis
in working order.
Through the influence of political friends
Greathouse was appointed consular repre-
sentative to Japan. His rapid rise In the
estimation Of the heather was due, 1t Is
said to the disappearance of a cholera cpl
demic. which was raging at the time of his
advent there. Just why Asiatic cholera and
Clarence Greathouse could not do business
together in Japan is not clear, but at any
rate three weeks after he landed the mi
crobes dispersed and have never since in
vaded that part of the orient
During the early part of his administra-
ton Mr.. Greathouse combined the business
of trying out game cocks for export with
the duties of his office. The chickens were
sent to Con Mooney Of this city, and their
performances in the pit clearly established
the fact that the United States had a con-
sui general at Yokohama who knew his bus
mess. While still serving as consul Clar-
ence got quite a tip that the King of Corea
was thinking of changing his He Pang, and
as that was the job he wanted Mr. Great
house petitioned President Cleveland for his
release from office.
1t was granted a year before the expira-
ton of his term, and the aspirant for pagan
honors and carved jade behind his ears
went over to Corea. Unfortunately the He
Pang's time was not quite up, but Clarence
was installed as adviser to the king, In
which position he wore a bracelet on his
left wrist, as an insignia Of high rank.
Finally a vacancy occurred in the He Pang
department. which combined the office Of
postmaster general and carved jade. As
previously stated, there Is no post office In
Corea which in a measure accounts for Mr..
Greenhouses eagerness to secure the pagan
plum.