The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-24
THE %HEATHEN cHINEE."
And the Cards Bret Harte Wrote Into
His Flowing Sleeves.

His Flowing Sleeves.
Every one who knows American
poetry is familiar with Bret Harte's
Heather Chinee," written in the ear
ly seventies at the time when the feel
ing on the Pacific coast ran high
against the mild eyed Celestial and
voicing that feeling by portraying the
hero, If such a term may be applied to
All Sin. as a crafty card cheating
villain who outwits the sharps Of the
California mining camps.
1t Is not generally known. however
that the poem is unique in that II
contains an error which the author
failed to detect when reading the gal.
ley proofs and which survived and
still survives all attempts at correc-
ton. Perhaps 1t is the only instance
in literature where 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 and editor to kill 1t.
The poem was written while Bret
Harte was employed on a San Fran
cisco daily and, to him, was merely
II part Of the days work. 1t tells of a
Chinee, All Sin. who. with q smile
that was childlike and bland" sat In a
game of euchre with Truthful James
and Bill Nye.
At a crucial point Of the game the
artless Chinese plays the winning
card. (which" says Truthful James,
the narrator Of the catastrophe. 1.-THE
same Nye had dealt unto mey' Where
upon Truthful and Nye proceed to
go for that heather Chinee." The
damaging evidence disclosed by their
rough and searching investigation is
told as follows 10 the poem as it was
printed-and has been printed ever
since the initial publications:
In his sleeves. which were long. there were
twenty-four packs.
Which is coming It strong. yet state but
the facts.
In this form the busy Bret Harte
let the proofs so down to the printer.
and 1t was not until some time later
that he recalled having overlooked an
error in 1t. He hurried down to the
press, but already several hundred
copies had been struck OF and were
being distributed about the city to the
morning subscribers. Bret Harte, at
tachtng no importance to the fugitive
verses, which had merely oozed from
his pen the afternoon previous, made
NO effort at correction then. When.
however. the eastern press enthusiast
tically copied it and publishers and IL
Illustrators rang all manner Of comic
changes in it he tried to substitute the
correct phrase. but without avail. and
THE Heather Chinee'' has persisted
In its original form through number
less editions ever since.
What Bret Harte wrote was:
In his sleeves, which were long. he had
twenty-four jacks
Now, in the game Of euchre, as all
card players know. the jacks are Of
great value. and the stufing Of num-
beriess jacks up HIS lowing sleeves.
as the poet intended to sing. showed
great asutteness on the part Of All
Sin The uncorrecte ed error OF the com
position who set up packs instead of
Jacks" still left enough Of sense to
pass muster when embodied between
the contexts.
The poet. after years Of fruitless en-
deavor. finally gave up all hope and
resigned himself to the butchered read
ing.-New York Times
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