Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-01-08

IuOSI tOy14 VlllGs hSS0 oAo
WI LANG. When Jim Han
~ ecy learned that the ambas-
sador's ring was in the hands of WI
LANG he ordered up chair and went
out to visit the old gentleman. WI
had the right to sign himself m. A..
oxon," which means q good deal in
China
Somewhat to his modification, Jim
found that he was in . little over his
depth. He was not strong on the
classical stun. Still, he was ashamed
to admit that any Chinese could know
moro about Greece and Rome than he
did. so he shut up and listened hard.
Besides, he owed this Difference to his
host. WI Lang. past seventy and very
frail, was one Of the greatest scholars
and philologists In all China Any
dealer in the business would have
written him q check for miiioh'
gold, for his private collection Oh MS
torio and authentic antiques.
Being straightforward-almost TOO
much SO for his own good-Jim Han
ecy came direct with an offer TO puy
the ring. At this the old scholar only
smiled gently and served tea. he
gradually launched into a disserta-
tion which even Hanecy, who knew
good deal, found very instructive.
81 suppose you know whence came
the ring? inquired WI Liang.
Hanecy assented. He was one
dealer who did not lie, even to buy
things cheaply.
ut was recently taken from the
crave of the Emperor Ling I'll. ne
said. 81 understand that 1t came 10
YOU" ,,
..True. Now, my friend. we shall
speak frankly, for l know your repu-
tation. 1t is one to be enVled ny
other white men in our country. FIRST
allow me humbly to show you the
ring"
An attendant brought in a box lined
with silk. From this box WI Llans
took another box. Four boxes in all
there were, and in the innermost ooA
Law the ambassadors ring. WI LANG
handed 1t to the American.
.You want this" he said. because
Of It's historic interest. ! want 1t De-
cause of its ethnologic interest, which
is far greater. Examine 1t, and you
will see.:
Hanecy was already going over the
ring with a magnifying glass.
It was a mounting of rather heavy'
soft gold, recently cleansed. Ihe
stone. of green jasper. bore the IN
taslio carving of lizard. Certainly
NO Chinese workmanship here! Then'
examining the inside of the circlet
where letters appeared, Hanecy ut
tered an exclamation of establishment
Liangw he calculated. looking
nm. This ring cannot have come from
Ling tbs tomb! These marks
"Are letters of the Roman alpha
bet. yes." The old scholar smiled.
.aThey are C. Pet. For, which take
to signify Caius Petronius Fortuna
fms The lizard Is a favorite Roman
symbol of Minerva. representing the
Loeos, or divine wisdom. Let me out
line my humble theory In regard 10
this ring. I beg that you Will correct
INV unworthy remarks from your own
superior knowledge.
"Jim Hanecy, as aforesaid, heio MS
peace and listened.
eve know" said old WI, blinking
through his spectacles. that an am
bassador from the Emperor Antonlnus
Plus came to Ling tt OF our eastern
Han dynasty, about the year 100 OF
YOUR calendar. This ring came from
the grave of Ling tt. So much, my
friend. we know; upon this. we may
predicate some interesting facts.
hitherto unproven.
"rhe name of this Roman amoas-
sador was Caius Petronius Fortuna
tins. and this ring was probably per-
,onal gift to our emperor. NOW, II
clears up a greatly vexed point In the
ethnologtc history Of our race. You
will, of course, recall that in China
the transition from bronze weapons
to iron was made suddenly ana mex.
plicably about the time Ling II
reigned."
Hanecy. who recalled nothing OF the
sort, assented mechanically. Later
IN he looked up the matter and founo
that WI Liang was right. Old WI
nursued his topic with competency
which nothing could have interrupted.
eve know from the work OF CHUNG
Chang-tung that armor with IRON
plates or laminae appeared suddenly
in use about the year 200 A. d. He
uses the term tie cha; and as cha
was formerly applied to bamboo writ
ing tablets, we learn that the iron
plates were of this same shape. Al
ways this sudden ascendancy OF iron
has been a mystery-it Is now a mys-
tery no longer! It was this Roman
embassy which introduced the Roman
style of plate mail: also their two
edged sword, and the use OF iron
You understand? This ring In your
hand completes an ethnologic circle,
accounts for deeply puzzling points In
our racial history. Could 1 think OF
selling it My friend, this is the most
remarkable piece in my humble COL
lection-it is one Of the ethnologic
wonders of the world, ranking with
the Rosetta Stone or the HISTORIAN
tablet of Sian. Why, the British Mu-
scum would give me ten thousand
hounds for tiff 1 wished to sell"
Correct" said Hanecy, not without
a sigh as his hopes went glimmering.
He returned the ring-the little circlet
which in the world of science had
more intrinsic value than chests of
gold and Jewels. But WI pursued
his subject with zealot's fervor.
Further. the crossbow appeared In
China about the same time, and in
the Yen Fan-lu. again, We are told
that the old hide armor was useless
against this new weapon. The infer