Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1902-12-12
N THE
SHADOW OF
THE JOSS

A shower OF almond blossoms. a low.
steal laugh. and the world had just
rnn for the young All Gong.
1T was the week Of the Chinese New
Year, the time when every heart Celes.
dial beats with Joy. and the heart Of the
handsome young Chinaman beat with
more than the usual allotment Of Soy
as he glanced upward to find the
ource OF the snowy shower OF the ON
nipresent almond blossom. Was 1t a
wOman who had dsred7 In that glance
upward his whole soul went out to the
owner Of the sweet. piquant face as II
leaned far out over a mass Of Chinese
lilies and almond blossoms, and bis
young heart thrilled with something
that went straight to the heart Of the
fair one, the one who dared.
With all the coquetry Of her sex, she
smiled upon him I'm a sweet shy way
not TO be resisted by one Of the tenn
permanent OF All Gong. Who could
wonder that IN the sweet ~intoxlcation
of that glance he forgot that he had q
wife? A wife who was old and ugly
and like n piece Of parchment, not a
sweet, dlmpled, perfumed thing like
this!
The fair one, Alb Leen, had been
burning her incense before the good
Joss and had bowed her pretty head,
%glistenlng with jewels, so many times
upon the rugs and waved her sandal
wood sticks 80 dutifully. And while
doing this 1t had seemed to her maiden
heart that II must be lovely TO be good,
as good as joss would Ike one to be,
and after her devotions she had
stepped out upon the long balcony
overlooking the streets In order to gaze
upon the ever changing crowd.
The narrow streets were lined with
almond blossoms and lilies, and in
front OF every door and on all the pic
turesque balconies. swayed by the
breeze, glowed the great, round Ian
terms. and in every doorway were the
little bowls Of burning incense and the
red papers to scare away the devil. Far
up in the latticed windows burned
large red candles and from these same
windows peeped happy faces.
All Gong looked again. and the more
he looked the more was he convinced
that his soul was in great peril and
that it was absolutely imperative that
he should at once repair to the JOSS
house and s%upplicate the gods. He
suddenly remembered that he had been
very lax In that respect lately. and
with a boldness quite remarkable for
one who cared nothing for these things
he mounted the stairway and-well-
hearts Are hearts the weary world
over" There IN a time TO every
one when the sound Of one voice and
the glance from two eyes have the
power to thrill Our heartstrings and
make one forget everything except the
intoxtcation Of being loved. That time
had COM for the AristOcrntic little
Chinese maiden, and through no fault
OF hers. Ii was fate-that was all
She said tO the maid: "Ah, Suey.
lookl You think bimeby he GOMEZ Ny
harris It pretty? My llps-are they
redi What makes me feel 30 stranger
VIII the good joss be angryY'
mo. no. You are beautiful; more
beautiful than the almond nowerl
Your eyes are stars. your mouth a rose,
your heart speaks-listen!'
And, listening, she heard and saw
with the eyes OF her soul, and then
he came, and with his coming life was
changed.
First as the maid reported through
the ehinks OF the carved woodwork, he
burned his Incense sticks and little red
papers before the great 1OsR his Bilken
robes clinging gracefully to his 1.-the
form the while, and then he placed his
New Years card. a long slip Of red pa
per with his name IN Chinese letters.
on the carved table.
His deVotions over. what more nat
urnl than that he, too. should repair
TO the balcony to look down upon the
erOwd7 What more natural than that
the little Alb Leen should drop her fan
at that precise moment1 She really
did not mean to do II, but she was 30
startled By the appearance OF the one
upon whom she had shoWered her al
mOnd blossoms. He Was not Ike any
one she had aver seen. He was so
strong ana handsome and young, not
IN the least like the vicious old Gum
Ching the highlander to whom her
father had promised her In marriage.
II was also quite natural that All
Gong should pick up the perfumed fan
and return II to the fair unknown with
a light pressure Of the hand and q
thrilling glance from his dark eyes.
All suey might have been deaf, dumb
and blind for aught one could notice "a
the contrary. Like the wen trained
little maio she was. she saw and heard
nothing. The two ~conversed 20 readily
a. II they had known each other for
ever, and for q time All Leen forgot
that abe was promised TO old Gum
Ching. She meant no harm. She wal
only q young thing and human, and
ahs had q tender. innocent heart which
had nsVer before been touched But
tonight she knew az she looked into
The y { o. this man that life would
sever again be the same.
Aft0s haar.ng beT sad story be men
tally raRiutared q vow that abs should
HevaE wed the highbinder.
nkov m4rak mat AGAIN. but how M