Morris tribune., 1911-11-10


little toy.
To-day in Beirut l was attracted
to little shop tucked away In the
bazaar-one of those hole-in-the-walI
affairs-where big sleepy old China,
man nodded over tray full Of ivory
carvings. Among so many Syrians he
was conspicuous. and sauntered up
to him and addressed him in a well
known Chinese dialect-that OF Can
ton.
Instantly he was alert and smiling
at me. We talked little, and pur.
chased one or two articles, and all at
once It occurred to me that he might
inform me about my bronze teapot
So once more I unwrapped it and dis.
played it to him, and again saw a
repetition of the terror Of the men
who had viewed it in China.
"'You know this?' I asked him in
the dialect.
"He nodded speechlessly, his fabby
cheeks white and trembling and his
little beady eyes fixed upon it.
"Then told him where had found
it and how l could not discover any
thing about It That had not tried to
open it. for the cover seemed secured
by some aromatic gum or wax and
that felt a certain amount Of defer
ence to the mystery that encompassed
the simple little toy-you know that l
have been much In the far east, and
there Is much to reverence there.
after some persuasion he told me
the history Of the teapot. after first
receiving my assurance that would
open it only at sea when the ship was
safely away from Beirut His wishes
I shall respect. He told me that he
himself had once had the teapot I'm his
possession. and the string Of I'll luck
and curses it brought upon his inno-
cent household had induced him to toss
it away In the filth Of a Canton street
to be picked up by some other unin-
formed person. He had been in Bel
rut for several years. and he and his
family had exiled themselves, so fear
full were they of again coming into
possession Of this evil charm.
ut seems. good people, that once
upon time. long before the Ming dy-
nasty, there was very wicked prince
Of China-you were not so very far out
Of the way, Mrs. Hanford-whose sub
jects murdered him one dark night,
burned his body and put part of his
n nShno info $hiS lftfIo I'D
up and tossed it into swift flowing
river. The remainder Of the ashes were
distributed to the four winds of heaven.
The story goes that the four winds took
pity on the vanquished and dead prince
and so gathered his ashes together in
some spot where they await the COM
ing Of the remainder The bronze tea
pot was washed ashore and time and
again down through the centuries has
been thrown into the sea, only to be
caught up in flsherman's net or to
be tossed ashore with the incoming
tide. They say that the soul Of the
prince is imprisoned herein with bis
ashes" The professor paused suggest
lively, and Mr.. Hanford broke the ST.
lence that had fallen upon the interest.
ed group. ....
"You are going to release the soul
now-is that what we are to under:
stand, professorT'
"I'm going to open the bronze teapot
and see what happens" amended Pro-
fessor Trayie, slowly rising to his tall
height, "and as many Of you as care
to are invited to- witness the demon
stration Of ancient oriental supersti-
tion and can draw your own conciu-
sions concerning its basis Of truth"
They all eagerly announced q. izten-
uon to remain. and 50 it was With keen
interest that they watched the pro-
fessor's preparations. They followed
him to an untenanted part Of the deck
near the rail, and without a word Eel
ton spread the carpet Of truth"
TT might contain an explosive of
some sort. You might ruin the car
pet" protested Miss Gray.
Professor Trayle and Alexander Eel
ton exchanged look. and the younger
man answered: I'm not afraid. /
know my east, and a royal carpet is a
fitting place for the reincarnation Of a
princely soul"
They stood around the rug at q re.
spectful distance, the ladies holding
their hands to their ears. as IL expect
ing the prince to emerge from his
close confinement with an explosive
greeting.
Professor Trayie knelt down and
with his penknife carefully removed a
wax stopper from the spout of the
teapot. Then he left the toy ON the
rug and stood aloof with the others.
Immediately there curled from the
tiny spout, which they could barely
see in the moonlight, thin streamer
Of vapor or smoke. 1t grew in vol
ume, shimmering with gold and green
and scarlet and yellow. Then 1t ceas-
ed to come and for an instant held
itself. suggesting the form Of an an.
cient Chinese warrior. brave in his
uniform, with a golden sword. before