Evening star., 1921-04-10

time 20 orno as entertainers III ~"o
teahouses of Hongkong and Canton
and amused and astonished the ma
1ives with their powers OF the mystlc
art. There was no doubt OF his cieV-
erness and skill He could make
things appear and disappear. entireiS
Independent of their size or quantity.
Bowls Of tea. buckets Of rice. bunoies
Of knives. globes Of goldfish or torch
es of nre came out of his sleeves.
out OF his hands. out OF his hat-o'
out OF anywhere at all he pleased.
simply at his word OF command. Had
only some American Barnum been
able to induce him to cross the ocean
and appear on the home stage ne
wouM Nave drawn a fortune OF reai
gold out Of American pockets as
ea8fn as he drew brass cash out OF
the Chinese.
There Is ono great and essential
difference, however. between the Asl
alto and the European magician and
that is this: That while the latter
is willing to acknowledge to his Au-
dieDce that it is merely trickerE or
eleiEht-of-hand. the former-hoWever
patent the delusion or humbug may
be to his behoIders-always rigorous
ly insists that it is done by the pow
ers of the occult world. These gen
orally manifest themselves through
some idol or relic or treasure which
has been handed down to him from
his ancestors Originally conferred
upon them by some divinity. and OF
Which he alone possesses the secret.
Now, in this particular case, IL nap
pened to be something exceedingly
sfmple-n fact. nothing more nor less
than a pair of shoes. One might nave
called them shoes or slippers or san
tk<ls for they were really comolna-
ton of all three varieties OF footwear.
They had the high-curved toes OF the
native shoe, the thin sole and NAT heei
of the slipper and the blndlne tapes
of the sandal. They also represented
all ranks of society, for. as he always
explained to his audience when with
a majestic wave he caught them IN
his hands apparently quite out OF
empty space). and proceeded 10 put
Sing (Golden starr. my reVered
and honorable ancestor and court
juggber to the great Ming emperors'
have, as you all see, the lofty zoe
of the. scholar. the fat heel of the mer-
chant and the binding cord OF the
coolie, thus giving them mystic pow
er over all ranks and classes In the
middle kingdom. These Jewels Whlcn
sparkle in the midst of the goiden
embroidery were the gift of his I'm
addition to their magic pr0per'les
make them Of priceless value"'
II was his custom to constantly ap'
zeal to the sandals during the per-
formance. For instance, he would
borrow a jade-stone wristiet from
some one in the audience. TOSS 1t up
a few times into the air. and 10. 1T
vas gonei A careful search on the
uart Of himself and his assistants OF
all the tables, chairs. boxes, etc on
the stage failing to reveal it. he
would place a three-legged stool out
in front. rest his left foot upon it,
and. drawing back his brocaded gown
30 that the embroidered sandal would
be plainly visible. he would make a
few mysterious passes in the air and
then cry out in the most solemn
tones, venerable sandal OF my au-
gust ancestor, adorned with the sa-
cred gifts of the divine Hung Woo.
pray thee reveal to my humble ears
jewel" Then. lea ming forward as il
to listen carefully to its whispering
message. he would announce with
great flourish. The spirit Of the san
iaeomred nas cred rice bowl" and. sure
enough. there 1t was.
One night. while Fax Sing was en-
tertafning his audience in the tea
house of the PAX Yuin Low white
Cloud Pagoda). at the foot of Queens
road. a quiet and unobtruSve native
gentleman occupied a seat IN the very
front row. and not only w,atched his
every movement. but listened most
carefully to everything he said Had
any one taken the troublr to observe
the aforesaid gentleman as closely as
he observed the magician. they would
have seen that he drew a little note
book out of his silken sleeve from
time to time and iotted down some
rabaHstic marlS-but they were all
too pre occupied to pay any special
attention to him. and SO Wang Foo,
the greatest of all Chinese detectives.
made his private observations undis-
turhed and passed out with the throng
at the close. as ;unsuspected as when
he had come in
UOH. Mr.. Wo~thinston." exclaimed
~ the young lady at his side. as
their attention was suddenly drawn
aside from the attractive windows of
Yamamoto's Palace of Curios" to a ID.
crowd that hadJ gathered in the street.
what do you suppose is the trouble
there Those policemen seem to be
struggling with some poor man; /
wonder what he has done?"
Miss GoodseEIs escort turned and
took the whole scene in at a glance
why. it's nothing but the usual case
of an intoxicated jack-tar whom they
are trying to drag to the station
house. You see it every day in these
port-and mor>e.s the pity"
"It certainly is." she replied
"Officer." he said. addressing the
English bobbie who was trying to lift
the sailor to his feet. who is he and
what has he DONE"
"Oh' It's just tOld Lugs the Bo'sun.'
as we call him.. sir: the landsharks
have bitten him again and taken all
his belongings besides filling him up
with cheap liquor. sir" explained the
policeman.
Did he say a shark had bitten him.
Oh. How dreadful, ] hope they'll get
life I didn't know they had sharks
in these Hongkong waters-
Not the kind you're thinking of.
though almost as dangerous This is
a landshark. know. that is. man
who either runs n sailors grog-shop
himself or acts as agent for one, and
>hen sells his victims bad liquor and
robs them OF their pay.
"Oh, That's il, is it, ! was afraid IL
vas repetition of that awful scene
NE had in the Red sea when the
stoker jumped overheard and We tried
70 save him but were just too late"
The tragedy to which Miss Eveiine
(,oodse!l referred was one which Eu-
,opean travellers to the far east by
uay Of SueZ are sometimes compelled
TO witness 1t il geneEly very sud
den and is comprised in four brief
acts. as follows:
Ac, I. Native stpker. driven to tenn
porary insanity by the awful heat
down below, rushes up on deck and
over into the sea
NS NJ