The morning call., 1894-11-19

the old Monaghan masters did in the days
of COnfueius. His name is Fong Hi and
he is the pride of Dupont street and Wa
verify place. His fame extends even to the
remote washhouses of South San Francisco
ana orders pour in upon him from lovers
of the beautiful across the briny main.
| Just now he has large allegorical paint
! ing rolled up in his studio that his ardent
admirers constantly beseech him to IN
| fold and pin on the wall that they may
gaze upon it ere he ships the gem to China
| by the n ext steamer.
When the gods have smiled upon the
business of the local merchants, they go To
Fong hi aud commission him TO illuminate
them joss or two for their domestic
shrines, or else they commission MIN to
paint the entire family. which he does in
ralment more gorgeous than Solomon in
all his glory, and ne does not charge any,
thing extra for putting lotuses in the chill
dren's hands and representing The ladies
reclining with languid grace on banana
leaves.
Fong believes in the value of appear
ances and his studio is located On Way-
erly place because the outside of the
house is nicely decorated with color5 that
would make rainbow feel pale. a faint
pungent odor OF opium arsets the visitor
as soon as the doorstep is passed and the
walls and wooden staircase are as black
and dirty inside as the outside Of the house
Is fresh and gorgeous. Sill it is a palace
of cleanliness com pared with some Of the
Chinatown mansions. Foug's abode is in
The topmost story. close to The little Back
Rig Ting josshouse.
On Sunday afternoon the one and only
artist of Chinatown generally hol a re-
ception. Would-be painters come and as k
about the days when he was studying
from the old masters in Tientsin; art
patrons come TO command losses in GRIM
md n Of hn haa fftl
| assemble to admire and criticize the mas
terpieces that FODg Hi has produced dur
ing the week of toll. Yesterday the Chi
nese artist had several white visitors who
had been attracted by rumors Of the great
mans fame.
'Can ~ see your pictures ." was asked
as FoDg HI, In the dress of Chinese
masher with queue that almost swept
the ground. appeared smiling and bowling
! at the door of his studio. Fong Hi, who
does not add language to his accomplish
ments, did not understand, but a discipe
who was with him did and obigingly IN
terpreted. He say you come in" said
| the disciple, emphasizing the invitation by
| throwing little bric-a-brac off the chairs
and pointing to them invitingly.
Fong's studio would have delighted the
| Frenchman who said: "a beautiful confu-
sion is the effect of art" The black floor
was Uttered with baskets, kerosene tins.
okiDg utensils and painting materials.
| The tables were heaped with sheets of
paper, indian-ink, brushes. colOrs and little
trays all Jumbled in ineXtricable coDfu-
SioD, and lere and there the bare walls,
which were yellow and grimy with the
fumes of opium, glowed with brilliant
slips of vermilion and magenta paper.
And the pictules?" asked the visitors
in disappointed tones. When this wall had
| been translated TO Fong, ne smiled know
| ingly and tripped TO the head of his mat
fjnO-p0nnh a a All
peacefully on tray. By the bed all array
! of paper cylinders that looked like Egyp-
tan manuscripts was hanging. Fong un-
! hooked one OF these cylinders, and with
smile of pride mounted on chair and
| pinned portion of 1t 10 the wall, then he
| stepped down and let go.
! Immediately the apartment was iDuu-
/ dated with yards and yards of art. that
! unwound like bolt OF ribbon. Its sinn-
| Gus folds Il 'oded the chairs and ia bles and
! floor, and almost flowed out of the door
and into the corridor
| When the visitors had recovered a little
, from the shock to their nervous systems
| they got up and tried to look coldly and
critically al the chef d'9uvre. 1t was
painted in the approved style of Mon
golian art that is familiar to irequenters of
! iosshouses. ana represented two Chinese
! ladies smiling vaguely into space and
| wearing costumes OF unusual magnif-
| cence.
"How wonderfully the picture is like
The illumlpa:ions in Byzantine mssals p
said one OF the visitors, examining the
laboriously panied draperjes glowing
with gold and green and yermilion. "It
! is not only the colors. but the set of the
draperles that looks like the Byzantine
| work"
When this was translatedssto Fong he
gave his head scornfu shake and ex-
planned through hissEdisciple that there
were eight artists In his family, among the
foremost in Tientsin, and never yet had
he heard them name any byzantine artist
| as an authority. He knew nothing OF
ByZantium or its works.
After that expression of feeling he eour-
| teously unrolled whole gallery of pictures
! and explained The LEGENDS attached to the
| gods and demiguds that they depicted.
| There were pictures to suit all walls and