The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1903-01-30
IN THE
SHADOW OF
THE JOSS
By JESSIE JULIET KNOX

A shower Of almond blossoms. a low
musical laugh, and the world had jus
begun fer the young Ah Gong.
It was the week of the Chinese New
Year, the time when every heart Ccle;
tial beats with joy. and the heart of til,
handsome young Chinaman beat will
moro than the usual allotment Of joy
as he glanced upward to find III,
source of the snowy shower of the ON
niprrSent almond blossom. Was it .
woman who had dared? In that glanr,
upward his whole soul went out to the
owner of the sweet. piquant face as il
leaned far out over Il mass of Chinese
lilies and almond blossoms, and his
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'll sweet. shy WHY
not to be resisted hy one of the lem.
permanent Of All Gong. Who could
wonder that in the sweet intoXicatiol
of that glance he forgot that he had a
wife? \ wife who waS old and ugly
and like Il piece of parchment. not Il
sweet, dimpled, perfumed thing like
this.
The fair one. All Lecn. had been
burning her incense before the good
Joss and had bowed her pretty head,
toto
upon the rugs and waved her sandal.
wood sticks so dutifully. And while
doing this it had seemed to her maiden
heart that it must be lovely 10 he good.
as good as joss would like one to I've,
and after her deyotions 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 lam
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 YVES in great peril and
that it was absolutely imperative that
he should at once repair To the joss
house and supplicate the gods. He
suddenly remembered that he had been
very lax in that respect lately, and
with Il holiness quite remarkable for
one who cared nothing for these things
he mounted the stairway and-wcll-
''hcarts are hearts the weary world
over" There comes q time TO every
one when the sound of one voice and
power to thrill OR heartStrings and
make one forget everything except the
intoxication OF being loved. That time
had come for the aristocratic little
Chinese maiden, and through no fault
of hers 1t was fate-that was all.
She said TO the maid: All. Sucy,
look. You think bimCby he come: My
harris it pretty? My lips-are they
red? What makes me feel so strange?
VIII the good joss be angry
NO, no. You are beautiful; more
beautiful than the almond flower!
Your eyes are stars, your mouth 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 chnks of the carved woodwork, he
burned his incense sticks and little red
papers before the great joss. his silken
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
ural than that he. too, should repair
to the balcony to look down upon the
crowd? What more natural than that
the little All Leon should drop her fan
at that precise moment? She really
did not mean to do il, but she was so
startled by the appearance of the one
upon whom she had showered her al
mond blossoms. He was not like any
one she had ever seen. He was so
strong and handsome and young, not
in the least like the vicious old Gum
Ching the highbinder to whom her
father had promised her in marriage.
1t was also quite natural that All
Gong should pick UP the perfuncd fan
and return it to the fair unknown with
light pressure of the hand and Il
thrilling glance from his dark eyes.
All Suey might have been deaf. dumb
and blind for ausht ono could notice to
the contrary. Like the we'll trained
little maid she was, she saw and heard
nothing. The two conversed rs readily
as il they had known each other for
ever, and for Il time All Lccn forgot
that Sh" waS promised tn old Gum
Ching. She meant no narm She was
only young thing and human, and
she had tender, innocent heart which
had never before been touched. But
tonight she knew as she looked into
the aTes Of this man that life would