Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-12-28
THE aHEATHEn cHINEE."
And the Cares ares Harte Wrote irse
Ills FLOWING Sl-ovos.

And the Csr6s 5res Harte Wrote inc
his Flowing S.covos.
Every our who knows American
poetry is nminr with Bret Hartc's
"de',hcn hiree." written I'm the ear
IS seventies az the time when thc feel
Ing ON the Pacific coast rau hieh
against tHc mild csod Celestial and
voiciug that feeling Dy portraying the
hero. 10 such n term may Doc applied TO
All Sin. as a crafty card cheating
villain who outwits the sharps OF the,
California mining camps.
II is not gcnerally'Snowo. however.
that che poem is uiigue I'm that IL
contains ga error which the author
failed TO detect when reading the gai.
ley proofs and which survived and
still survives al attempts at correc-
ton. Perhaps Il is the only instance
in literature where q grossly patent
error in the copy reading OF an after
ward famous article. whether prose
or poem. has persisted through nu-
merous editions despite all efforts OF
author ard editor % kin il.
The poem was written while Rr-.
IIarte was employed on san Frnn-
cisco daily and 10 him. was merely
a part OF the days work. II tells OF n
Chinee, Ah SIN. who, with n smile
that WAS chidlike and bland" sat IN n
game OF cuchrc with Truthful James
and Bin Nye.
At n crucial point OF the game the
artleSs Chinese plays the winning
card. (which" SAYS Truthful James.
the narrator ~ the catastrophe. "the
same Nyc had dealt unto mcr' Where.
upon Truthful and Nye proceed 10
go Tor that heafhcn Chlncc." The
damaging evidence disclosed by their
rough and searching INVESTIGATION is
told as follows in The poem as Il was
printed-ond has been printed ever
since the initial publication:
In his sleeves. which were l'n,-. there were
twenty -four packs
which is coming 81 strong. yet state hut
the facts
In this form the busy Bret Harte
let the proofs go down TO the printer.
and IL was not until some time LATER
that he recalled having overlooked an
error in IT, lie hurried down 10 the
press, but already several hundred
copies had been struck on ana were
being distributed about the city To the
morning subscribers Bret Harte. nj.
taching no Importance 10 the fugitive
verses, which had merely oozed from
his pen the afternoon previous. made
no effort az correction then. When
however. the eastern press enthusiasts
ucally copied il and publishers and n.
Illustrators rang all manner OF comic
changes in IL he tried 10 substitute the
correct phrase. but without avail. and
The Heather Chinee" has persisted
In It's original form through number
less editions ever since.
What Bret Iartc wrote was.
In his sleeves. which were long. he had
tWsnty-four Jacks.
Now, in the game OF euchre as mn
card players know. the jacks are Of
great value. and the stumng of num-
berlesS jacks up his flowing sleeves
as the poet intended TO sing. showed
great astuteness ON the part OF All
Sin. The uncorrected error Of the com
positor who set up packs" instead Of
Jacks still left enough of sense 10
pass muster when embodied between
the conteXts.
The poet. after years OF fruitless en-
deavor. finally gave up all hone ana
resigned himself 10 the butchered read
ing.-New York Times.