El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-18

/" HE Chinese had stated that this
was the anniversary OF a very
sad day in his story, and the as
sistant Interpreter had sympathized
and requested the old man to tell him
what the sad event was.
1t Is not a short story, my lord, but
with care, ] may be able to relate It.
There was a time during the early
part Of the reign of the late empress
uOWager that I assisted my father at
at MS work. Ny father was a caster
OF bells. and later when my reverend
parent had passed into the great Mir
vana, became the successor to his
business
when my father died. I had no near
relatives who could have procured
Tor me wife I was then approach
ing my 10th year, and DESTROYS Of main
tanning the respecta cilitE of my firm.
1t was then. o. r that my
thoughts turned loa .s-arl-PearI
the little maid OF the l.-u tGins with
whom L had played so often when we
were children-she Of the beautiful
black eyes, the tiny mouth. the small,
inbound feet-a dream of loneliness.
1 trembled lest already she should have
been betrOthed, for at that time Pearl
could not have been less than Is years
or age. Imagine my state-nO one IN
china may without provoking scan
Cal, show any interest IN his future
'.I=e- Ehus, for myself to demand her
lit marriage would be to court disas-
ter. while to obtain the services Of
respectable go between would be eE-
pensiVe and slow No other course was
open, however, and I made arrange
ments with the same woman who mad
liked the marriage Of my parents be-
lore ne.
i may say that the go between
managed well. After a few months
uf anxious waiting. we were duly be-
Jc0thcd
pearl lived among the mountains,
quite close TO the place where the great
tanks nov are that supply this city
with water. Later, her family came
10 reside in PeNin; and, as the day of
the wedding approached, ! needs must
call upon her parents to pay my re-
spects.
u soon discovered that my passion
was returned. She, like myself, was
impatient TO be wed, and at last the
happy day broke when she entered
my house as my bride
For many moons Pearl and I lived
lcDpLl- -C--- --t-.
''One day a dark cloud darkened our
city. There were few foreigners then.
and We were not ashamed to mourn
over the death Of a prince Of the royal
blood. I speak of this death since it
concerned me. and therefore this story
greatly. inGsmLch as the empress
rcvager issUed an ecict that a bell
was to be cast in mCmorE c. she prince,
ana 1 was chosen to cast it.
-'Clu2ps you think UuoU must have
lbs 7n delighted at the prospect Of royal
patronage, but such was not quite the
case. There We're conditions accom-
,.anying this order. First Of all the
bell must be the largest in the world.
% must weigh not less than q. million
catties. Secondly, 1t must please the
empress doWager.
pay and night I toiled at the first
bell Day and night Pearl kept a fire
Of incense burning continuously be-
fore the deity Of desires, and when at
last the precious metal had cooled In
the cast. how sure was L OF my sue
cess The bell was splendid, magnl1l-
cent, superb All. yesi to me It was;
but IL did not please the Mother of
Heaven Our happiness was suddenly
broken by the great sorrow Of my
failure. My men, fearing their safety,
deserted me. and had to cope with
my task alone AIOnc-an, no never
alone The little Pearl came, and with
her soft hands helped me to break up
the first bell and cast it back into the
furnace
while the metal was melting. I
went to the old priest on the mountain
and asked him to tell me how I might
tone that il would please the empress.
culver yet when recall the
The bell viii. in all ways. please
the most mighty-the immortal Mother
Of Heaven-if into the furnace where
the metal melts is cass mat which the
bell maker lOveth most
Immediately the oracle spoke
knew what in the world I loved most.
Yet I tried to pretend to myself thar
I did not know. Into the molten metal
7 cast precious stones, jewels Of great
value, much gold and silver, but it was
in vain. The second bell almost pleased
the empress. but she returned it say
ing that no doubt the third would be
perfect
-i'u-in- these weeks I was like one
in the land of lost souls. By day or
night I could find no rest No food
tempted ny appetite, and them sor-
rows Of sorrOWs. unknown to me. Pearl
inquired from the sOOthsayer the secret
OF success.
on the eve Of the day on which I
cast the third bell I climbed the stair
way to the mouth Of the great furnace
and into the boiling pool threw valu-
ables Then, as stood gazing at the
dense fumes rising from the cauldrOn,
I heard someone ascend the stairs. Who
could il be- No one ever came to the
furnace at night. could but indis-
tinctly see the other side Of the fur
1.s--1 Il-,-.a. but my heart told me who
was there.
Pearl stood opposite me-the molten
metal lay. between.
We gazed at each other through the
fumes At last she spoke
&C. I know, o husband, why you can