SWEET POVERTY.
"I am glad I was born to poverty." Tlie Laird of Skibo. ,
0 blessed, lung lost poverty, how aweet you acem to be.
An 1 look buck on those dear dnvs when you enveloped me!
What happy hours indeed were tlioRe, what momenta of delight,
When tupperlera 1 used to aeek my attic-room at night!
What jov it wan on ii'y morns to face the bitter wind.
With clothes by far too thin before, and even worse behind;
To pans the snowbound freezing street with patches on my pnnts,
Was joy of a peculiar kind unknown to high finance.
How sweet the taste of canned corned beef, washed down with watered milk!
What comfort was there in no socks, unknown to socks of silk!
I'd gladlv swap niv patent pumps for those old shoes forlorn
That fitted both liiy feet at once, and never knew a corn,
llow I recall those days of bliss when Saturday was through
1 counted up the wage I'd earned a dollar twenty-two
And with what pride 1 sought my home, and cried with joy immense
To tell my orphaned father of a raise of seven cents!
No music hath the world to-dav like that in times of yore,
When, baying night und day. tlie wolf sane iust outside my door.
No jovs in riches can rnntpKre to those 1 lived to see
In those fair davs when I was steeped in abject poverty
HUT YKT. vou need not ask me, friend, to swap my present cares,
Whereby I'd' join the pnuper crew, and yon the millionaires,
For I ain not a kcIIhIi man, and, though my wealth annoys,
I'd never in my life deprive a poor man of his joys.
John Kendnck Hangs, in Life.
THE SPELL OF THE MAJJI.
lKiiiiaiiaaaaEB kath jiasti-rsox. kiixkibmaxc
Her Mnjesty beamed over the cof
fee cups at the Boy. She had arrived
in town unexpectedly just as he was
about to start for their summer home
at Dalsyhurst to spend his Saturday
to Monday holiday.
She explained that she had grown
tired of the country and thought It
would be a jolly Idea for them to go
slumming In the city. Her Majesty's
definition of slumming Included the
most expensive dinners obtainable on
hotel roof gardens, trolleylng, and
table-d'hoting and wild suppers In
German restaurants.
"I'm sick of cows and chickens
and pigs," Bhe declared, as she bolted
Into the Boy's office. "I've a bad
ease of New Yoikltis. I want to go
up and see the monkeys In the Zoo
and be helped over Broadway by a
big policeman."
So on Sunday morning they found
themselves having a very informal
breakfast in the closed-up house
where the Boy had been keeping
bachelor hall.
"How delightful it seems to see
our face at the table once more!"
exclaimed the Boy. "I've stopped
breakfasting at home since you went
way. Home is not the same place
Without woman's gentle presence."
"I should say it isn't!" exclaimed
Her Majesty; "1 found thirty-seven
npty beer-bottles under the piano
and soiled collars hung all over the
rubber plant, just as though it were
a Christmas tree!"
"I entertained the Don't Worry
flub here one Friday evening," ex
llained the Boy, "and they seemed
io imagine that I had invited them
or a week-end party. They didn't go
home until Monday, and I had to lend
Ihem all clean collars. They were in
a decorative mood when they left,
and so hung their own collars on
the tree."
"Then the idea of the cat!" ex
claimed Her Majesty, iu ar. annoyed
way.
"Yon mean the kittens, 1 suppose,"
said the Boy. "Well, I couldn't help
that, you know."
"Then the geraniums in the win
flow boxes arc all in bloom," pouted
jrler Majesty; "It was so mean of
them to bloom while I was away!"
"That was the most remarkable
thing!" exclaimed the Boy..
"I've discovered that cigar asnes
will make plants bloom. I've ben
osing the window boxes as ash trays.
It worked so well with the Rowers
that I realized that there are undis
covered and perhaps valuable chemi
cal properties in cigar ashes. Just
as an experiment I put some in the
canary's seed, and, do you know. It
lias grown quite fluffy."
"I have decided," said Her Majes
ty, Berlously, "that it is a wife's duty
to stay by her husband's side during
the summer time. I Bhall not return
to Dalsyhurst. I have decided to send
Cor my trunks."
uon t tninK or sticn a thing: ex
claimed the Boy. "I am quite con
tented, I assure you."
Her Majesty looked sharply at him
Then her face softened. "Ah, yes,
she said, "you say that because you
are so self-sacrificing, so noble."
"Not at all ! Not at all ! " protested
the Boy. .
Since I have been away, wnit nr.
Her Majesty, "I have had more time
to think of serious things. When I
Went away 1 thought of nothing but
new gowns."
The Boy looked up in alarm. Hp
thought this angelic mood suggested
Illness. Her Majesty had a tecided
appreciation for new gowns nor
mally.
"They were very pretty gowns," he
remarked, gallantly; "they were
worth the money."
"They are all worn out now, ' said
Her Majesty, "to rags!"
The Boy started apprehensively
and looked keenly across the table.
He was accustomed to gentler meth
ods for the extraction of new gowns.
This was more cyclonic than Her
Majesty's usual 'orm.
' I'm thoroughly sick of dressing,"
he went on. "The women at Dalsy
hurst think of nothing else and talk
of nothing else. We women ure mis
understood because of the attention
we pay to our gowns. Men think w
are Idiots!"
"Nothing of the sort," said the
Ejy. "We know better."
"The best proof of it is beside
you," said Her Majesty, Indicating a
copy of the Dally Jollier as yet un
folded beside the Boy's plate. "In
that paper you will find a certain
page or pages devoted to women."
The Boy found a highly colored
supplement and handed It across the
tnble. Her Majocly opened it with
an air of distaste.
"Here, fur Instance," she said, "Is
a chnrmlng article for Sunday morn
ing reading, 'Eleven Ways to Kill
Cockroaches.' "
"One way would seem to -e sn!il- !
dent," mimed the Boy.
"Then comes an illustrated discis
sion of methods to rid tlie rompleilon
of Impurities called 'bluckheuds.'
Ugh!"
"It Is clean literature, at nil
events," reflected the Boy.
"But not elevating, you'll admit,"
went on Her Majesty. "The Jollier
seems to run to the Insect world to
day. Here is a half column on tlie
subject of bugs In cerenl foods!"
"It does sound a bit crawly, that's
a fact," admitted the Boy.
Then, right Iu the middle of nil
this positively nauseating matter, are
recipes for the making of luncheon
dishes. Can't you see how hideous
It all is how exquisitely vulgar? It
Is a mass of unpleasant Ideas placed
In repulsive association with the sub
ject of food."
"Women don't care to rend serious
stuff," said the Boy; "they like lo
read about other women's moles and
freckles and bleached hair and in
growing eyelids, even if they don't
have "em themselves."
We want something better than
soup bones, blackheads and bugs all
In a bouquet," said Her Majesty.
'The men who get out these things
nave an luea that women have no
soul above buttons."
"Or bugs," said the Boy.
"It is quite true we are frivolous
we know wo are frivolous. Men
are never frivolous, they are foolish.
But they don't know It."
"Oh, give over! give over!" said
the Boy.
"Thousands of copies of thlB parri
go out over the country to-day rep
resenting American womanhood. It
is n Journalistic insult!"
Her Majesty seemed almost on tho
verge of tears. The Boy watched her
narrowly. "Tell me," said he, "when
did you begin this serious linn of
thought? You showed none of thse
symptoms when I left Dalsyhurst last
week."
'Since then my soul has awak
ened," said Her Majesty, lookinn
deeply into the eyes of the Boy.
"The day after you left a Hindu lec
turer came to the Inn and gave one
of his wonderful talks on the soul.
He was a dreamy-eyed, tall, silent
man and wore a white turban."
"Ah!" said the boy, interestedly,
"Well, you know what those Dalsy
hurst women are. They Immediately
surrounded him with all sort? of
silly chatter, and wanted ji tiuto
graph and his photograph. He
treated them as though they were
children.
"I went out on the piazza. I didn't
care to mix with them at all. I had
on my blue chiffon gown, and n
white lace hat, and the Majjl noticed,
he told me afterward, that I wasn't
like the others."
"Who told you?" asked the Roy.
"Majjl. That was hlB name. The
others called him Mr. Majjl, but he
explained to me that was silly. In
his own t-ountry he said he was a
Maharajah or an Ahkoond or some
thing. He introduced himself lo me
and asked me to stroll with hit to
ward the ocean."
"Oh, be did!" said the Boy.
"Of course, this made those cats
Jealous, to begin with. They were
simply furious!"
"Do you mean to say that you
went?" asked the Boy.
' "Why, of course! He was'a stran
ger.
"Yes that's JuBt it."
"But he isn't like other men! He
Is a Hindu priest. And he has beau
tiful ideas. He said that when he
looked in my eyes he could see my
soul smiling at him in recognition.
He said we had known each other a
thousand years ago."
"Dear. me!" said the Boy.
"His theories of life are very beau
tiful. The only thing that really
matters are soul transitions. And
look here!" She stretched one hand
across the table with the pink palm
upward.
"Just look at that faint star un
der the life line. That Indicates that
the real romance of my life hasn't
yet unfolded. It is to sweep me away
like a .mighty wave!"
"Great Scott!", said the Boy;
"does Ji'JI look Ilka a- fighting
man?"
"He doesn't entertain any thought
but those of love, harmony, und the
soul. He thinks women are far, far
above men. He taught me for the
first time to appreciate how wonder
ful we are. He found new lines in
my palm every day."
"Where did these seances occur?"
asked the Boy.
"On the bench. We walked down
thero every morning nnd sat under
my green umbrella. Those women
up nt the Inn bad Held glasses watch
ing us all the time. We pretended to
be flirting Just to make them mad."
"Thnt was very soulful," said the
Boy. "How did you t :nr yourself
away from all this enchantment?"
"Ah, there Is tho marvelous thing!
All this time, while Majjl was ex
plaining to me the beauty of the soul
and the romance you see, he didn't
know at first that I was married nt
least he Imagined that I w was a
widow."
"Did he?" said the Boy. "Go
on!"
"All the time I was thinking of
you alone here In town. You see,
you were my romance, but he
Majjl didn't know! I auctioned hi in
to tell me aiuio and more about the
romance, but he paid It would just
happen. He said there were a great
many things fo mysterious that we
Just felt them."
"ip Mfiin uim nt l i.-.-i,,,, at "
asked the Boy, with terrible Intens'
Ity.
"No. When I told him I v.-as com
lug Into town to see you he hecntne
I'siS'isted with the place nnd every
thing. He went on--he said. He
was always going on on on. It
was really beautiful to hear him.
"B it those women at the Inn had
begun to gossip. They talked and
tallied and whispered whenever Mn,l
jj even said good morning on the
piazza. You know they have a very
odd way of saying good morning?"
"No 1 didn't know," tald the
Boy.
"They bow very low from the
waist you know, very seriously and
solemnly. "
"I see," said the Hoy.
"But when Majjl left Dalsyhurst I
drove down In the bus to see bin'
off and when I got buck, would yo-.
believe 11! those horrid old things
sat around and pretended to be read
ing or embroidering and didn't see
me! I swept past them and went to
my room and cried. Then I packed
a grip and took a train for town.
I left no word where I was going
I just thought I'd leave them in the
dark."
"Oh, you nre a clever girl!" said
the Boy, smiling at Her Majesty.
"Now, I think you'd better put on a
gown and we'll go directly back
there."
"To Dalsyhurst! Why?"
"Never mind. There dre some very
mysterious things that yon just feel.
1 just feel as though we had better
go back to the iun and sit on the
beach under your green umbrella."
"But why?"
"There are eleven ways to kill
cockroaches," remarked the Boy mys
teriously. "But one will do," said Her Maj
esty, thoughtfully.
"Exactly!" said the Boy, smiling
into her mystical eyes. New York
Times.
Prehistoric Itcnimns in Mexico.
For the last two weeks Mr. Leo
pold Batres has been excavating one
of the small artificial hills to the
southeast of the Pyramid cf the Sun.
This is one of the tumuli that torn
the row of the Street of the Dead,
Here have been discovered a Lumber
of rooms which are apparently a part
of an cnclent temple, with rooms and
patios. Below these, stairways lead
to a large room some thirty-five feet
In length. Apparently there are oth
er rooms on this level connected with
one another.
These are the first subterranean
houses that have so far been found
In the valley, and they show that In
this buried city the bouses were two
and three stories high. The upper
stories had been destroyed by fire,
but the lower remained untouched,
and upon them there still remains the
red paint which was the characteris
tic color of Teotihuacan.
Among the interesting things
found is the skeleton of a man sup
posed to have been one of the an
cient Toltec kings. Beside the hu
man skeleton was that of a tiger and
both were painted red. In addition
to these there were also found large
quantities of sea shells, obsidian
beads, jade and obsidian Idols, knives,
snakes and polished stone masks rep
resenting heroes who lived three
thousand years ago. Many spiral
shells were also encountered which
had holes drilled through them, show
ing that they bad been used as beads.
They were beautifully polished.
Many copper, bronze, chlchehulte
and perite objects were also found
among the others, showing that the
dead man must have been of great
importance in his day. Many of
these were beautifully polished and
of extraordinary size. Mexican Her
ald. Bpos Fill Maple Tree With Honey.
While men were trimming a large
maple tree on Levi Grant's place, in
Main street. East Hartford, a large
quantity of honey was found. A
number of stabs of honey were re
moved, much to the disgust of the
army of bees, who made themselves
felt. For some time this tree has
been known as a "bee tree," and the
complete way in which the insects
cleared out the inside of the tree
makes the building efforts of human
beings seem unimportant. The ac
cumulation of honey in Itself was an
enormous work, but the preparation
of the tree for a hive and storage
must hare taken years. Hartford
CouianU
THE SEA
Tlie Delights of Solitude In a Boat.
A fanciful writer has developed the
theory that it is easier than It was
a hundred years ngo to find solitude
In civilized countries. " Then agri
culturists ranged naturally over the
great spaces; now tho truffle of life
keeps to the prescribed routes. The
writer made no allowance for the fact
that the tourist, with a sense of na
tural beauty more consciously culti
vated than ever before, has rushed in
where the agriculturists has ceased to
trend. Tho tourist calls "grand"
what his ancestor of the eighteenth
century called "savoge;" and It is
unjust to bis enterprise to say that
he does not wander far from the rail
ways. The rucksack, though It has
not yet won the pluce lu our esteem
It will have one day, has ulrcady en
abled thousands of Englishmen In
their own country to become inde
pendent of every means of transport.
But even In a rucksack you ennnot
carry a bed, and the present writer
(who would promise that ho Is not
averse to a reasonable comfort) has
learned from experience a method of
making the most romantic solitude
habitable. Tho secret, which is ap
plicable only to estuaries, rivers and
lakes, lies In the use of a beamy boat
as headquarters. A boat between fif
teen and twenty tons does very well
If orderly habits be observed If, for
Instance, you do not eat your break'
fast before your bunk is made, and
do not turn In at night before the
dinner things are washed up It will
be found that there is more room in
such a boat than in many cottageB
the bulk of which is a hundred times
greater. The architectural problem
of admitting many cupboards Into
small buildings was solved ages ago
by naval architects, though it still
puzzles us on land, where we have
been less hotly pressed by necessity.
The Incomparable advantage of a
boat Is that it can be moved from
place to pluce. Even if It be a bulk
without sails it can be towed. The
most convenient cottage ever built
remains in the same place.
The boat win lying in a creek on
the Norfolk coast, secure from the
highest wind that a winter night
could bring. To be truthful, the high
tide just lnpped her sides without
making her float. The sensation of
hearing a gale blow outside a room
Y.bere the curtains are drawn and
the fire burns bright has become a
kind of traditional satisfaction, cele
brated for us everywhere in litera
ture. But to those who are bad sail
ors, at all events, there Is still more
curious satl;' ictlon In hearing squalls
In rigbing while tie ship remains firm
as a rock.
There is no bit of coast In Eng
land .iiite like that which stretched
from Wolferton to Wells. It Is the
Norolk mars n of the shallow Wash.
It Is gaining on the sea, in accord
ance Ith the principle that our
coast gains where It lies low and re
ceives continual accretions of sand,
and loses where it is high and is un
dermined by tho tea beating on the
base of cliffs. To a stranger who
has not studied bis map, it Is al
ways puzzling to find the', though
he Is on the Bast Coast he may see
the sun set in the sea, and - atch a
heavy sea roll in when the 7ind is
from the west. The unrivalled charm
of this wild coast, however, 1? the
salt marshes and fiats guarded by
barriers of sand further out to sea.
These marshes and mud flats arc
filled with an extraordinary variety
of birds, and are one of the favorite
arriving places of birds in the autumn
immigration. The present writer
has watched the immigrants arrive on
an autumn day, not volleying across
the sky In delirious flight, as they
are sometimes said to do, but flying
with the measured, deliberate air of
rather tired but still resolute pil
grims; flopping and lolloping they
came, yet never deviating from tb3
straight line.
As one looked seaward beyond the
In Line.
The members of the Johnson fam
ily had a singularly dispassionate
way of speaking of one another, but
they were all on amicable terms.
"My wife wanted me to tell you
she'd had a letter from Chicago,"
said Mr. Gregg, after delivering a
package of newspapers to Miss Au
rena Johnson. "Your brother Phll
ander's married."
"I guess 'tisn't Philander. She
means Emery, most likely," said Miss
Aurena, after a moment's reflection.
"You know there's two of 'em in
Chicago. I s'pose she beard through
Ellen's folks."
"Yes," said Mr. Gregg, "but she
said Philander, I'm sure."
"Well, it may be." said Miss John
son. "I haven't heard direct from
either of 'em for more'n two years;
it's my fanlt, for I'm no hand to
write but they aren't, either. But
I always felt that Philander would be
the one to die, and Emery the one to
marry, according to their natures."
"It's Philander," persisted Mr.
Gregg. - "He's married a widow
twice bereaved, she's been."
"Oh, well, that may be Philander,"
said Miss Aurena, with less doubt In
her voice. "That sounds a good deal
more likely than I thought at first"
Youth's Companion.
Not Much by the Day.
The Lady "What! thirty-eight
cents a dozen for eggs? Why, that's
more than three cents for one egg."
The Grocer "Well, mum, you must
remember that one egg is a whole
day's work for one hen." Cleve
land Leader.
- MARSH.
birds one could see nothing but a
dull, uniform, impalpable sheet hunj
before the eyes. Sea met sky; but It
was impossible to say where. Tba
stream of birds seemed to end not
far away, but all the time as one
looked, the meaningless blunk nt the
tall of the stream would tremble and
twinkle, and then burst and flatter
fa movement ns more and more birds
came Into sight. They grew out of
the sky. as tne conjurer's propertlo:
out of nothing. Thousands end
thousand!: they came clouds of
starlings, lattullons of rooks, Jack
daws Hying in friendly unison wlta
the rooks for the old hostility of the
spring was forgotten and the coir'ng
hostility not furcsuen), plovers, an'l
on tho edges of the column scattered
larks, vedettes of the Invading arr.iy.
But now In these winter days all
these birds are distributed about the
country, perhaps Ignorant of whence
they came and whither they vlll go
when the migratory Instinct shall
grip them again. Thousands of gray
crows "Danes" the Norfolk people
call them always remain falhtful,
however, to these marBheB, and with
a vigor which they hud not when the
first flapped down exhausted on the
beach, croak their unceasing warn
Ings at you from the gates and dyke
bridges.
It was at sunset on n certain Cay
recently when we left tho comfort
nble cabin of the boat with ot-r guns
to wait behind the bank of a creek
fo:- a shot at the flighting duck
Every morning at dawn the ducks,
which have fed all night in the
marshes and fields, "flight" out to
sen, where they roost all day, to re
turn to their feeding grounds at dusk
in the evening. The chilly saffron
lights in the west gleamed on the
mudbanks. The frozen grass crum
pled like pie-crust under our feet as
we walked. The air was filled with
the cries of birds, which became more
and more distinct as the world Inland
became more client. Ths beat of
harmless waves on the sand-barriers
beyond tr j flats made a monotone
which was almost like silence. The
high ground inland Ingled with the
inky clotidbank, but still a cburc.t
with a nobly proportioned towef
stood up clear and grand, and seemef.
to be thrusting its way across the
horizon like a great liner on a sabl
ocean.
The darkness Increased. A po
ment of ducks in a mere inland
quacked out a noisy discussion
Stints, knots, and curlews told one
another without ceasing that the
night had come. The sucking, gurg
ling sounds waxed in the creek as the
tide flowed; the ice was rent with
contlunus small explosions as the
water heaved It upward. Surely the
ducks must have al! parsed over our
heads already, very high up, as their
custom is, when there is no wind. A
gale is necessary to beat thein down.
Just when we had almost given up
hope a quacking sound from the sea
came nsar' and louder, and the air
shivered with the whirr of wings.
One might have fancied Strang j
things in ti.at dark, eerie space, after
tho long wait with strained eyes and
ears. The beating of the dark wings
might have been mystical tongues.
Hundreds of ducks passed too high
up for a shot, but three came rather
lower, with a meteoric curve, aiming
for the dyke behind us. It was a
longish shot, but the choke barrel
carried far enough, and the satisfac
tory thud of one of the three falling
on the frozen earth proclaimed more
than one could see. That was all
right, and the dog's nose would not
fail because it was dark. More wings
beat over our heads; a bird whistled
past like a bullet and came down on
to the ice behind, but it was invisi
ble. Our bag was the smallest possi
ble, it is true, lut the bag did not
matter; the experience was one of
those that count in the memory of a
lifetime. The Spectator.
A Wonderful Hit of Paper.
,Accord!-g to the Philadelphia Rec
ord, William Bradey, a veteran of the
Civil War and a devoted son of Ire
land, who lives In Germantown, told
a good Joke on himself at the last
campfire held by the comrades of
Ellis Post, 6, G. A. R. It appears
that Bradey was out of sorts a few
days ago, and his wife sent for tho
family physician, who wrote a pre
scription rfter examining him. Hand
ing the prescription to Mrs. 3:adey,
the doctor, upon departing said:
"Just let your husband take that
and you'll find he will be all right In
a short time." Nert day the doctor
called again, when Mrs. Bradey
opened the door to him, her face
beaming with smiles. "Sure, that
was a wonderful wee bit of paper
you left yesterday," she exclaimed.
"William is better to-day." "I'm glad
to bear that," said the much pleased
medical man. "Not but what I
hadn't a big job to get him to swal
low it," went on the wife, "but, sure.
I just wrapped up the wee bit of
paper quite small and pat it In a
spoonful of jam, and William swal
lowed it unbeknownst, and by night
he was entirely better."
Freak Insurance.
"Is It a fact?" asked a Judge
Justice Darling the other day, of
counsel in a case that was before
him, "that insurance companies in
snre against a successful appeal by
the other side?" "Yes," -answered
the learned gentleman. "I have been
told so. And they have different
rates for different Judges." Londoi
Daily Mail.
JEWS OF CHINA.
Kailengfu Colony That Marco
Polo Saw is All But Lost.
The latest visitor of the Jews of
Kalfengfu Is Mr. B. L. Putnam
Weale, who In bis "Reshaping of the
Far East" thus describes bis visit:
There Is here the latest remains of
one of the most curious nnd unex
plained thing's In the world, a colony
of Chinese Jews planted lu tho mid
dle of a vast empire and possessing
no history to explain how they got
there. Their existence has long been
known in China, for even Marco Polo,
that gossiping traveler, mentions
Ihem in the thirteenth century. Then
they mutt have been a powerful col
ony, for In the fourteenth century
they wore lnv!ed by the Mongol em
perors of China to send men and
money to aid the Imperial standards.
For the last three centuries, however,
nil these; Chinese, Jews have lived in
Kalfengfu and no trace of others has
been found In any other part of the
empire The only thing they them
selves claim to know is thnt they en
tered China "through the northwest
ern route during the Hun dynasty,
which was 2000 years ago."
ii v.iis not until me year J iun mat
these curious persons were first seen
by a white man. Then a Jesuit fa
ther, Pierre Coznnl, visited Kalfeng-
fil nnd wrote the earliest existing de
scription of the colony. The syna
gogue, called tho Ch'Ing-chee-Seu,
'the pure and true temple," wns then
a large establishment, consisting of
four separate courts and various
buildings enclosed for residence, wor
ship and work. The synagogue itself
measured Flxty feet In length and
forty in breadth, and was embellished
by n double row of stone columns
standing before It. In the centre of
the building was the throne of Moses,
a magnificent and elevated chair with
an embroidered teat, on which was
placed the Book of the Law when It
was read. But this wns In the days
of two centuries ago.
Stirred by these accounts, in 1S51
Smith, sent two native Christians
from Shanghai to learn the condition
of these Chinese Jews, but the mes
sengers after a prolonged absence re
turned with the report that the Jews
were penniless, that their synagogue
had been practically destroyed and
that they had only succeeded In copy
ing some portions of the Old Testa
ment which they found there written
on a vellum of great age.
FInaly, In 18CC, Dr. Martin, an
American missionary, set out from
Pekln determined to Investigate thu
whole matter most thoroughly and
to see what really remained. Of the
former synagogue he found that only
one solitary stone remained, but. on
this stone he was able to decipher
an Inscription commemorating the
erection of the synagogue In A. D.
1183, and Its rebuilding In 1488. He
also learned that the colony, sunk in
the deepest poverty and having lost
all knowledge of their sacred tongue,
the traditions and the ritual worship.
had sold the ruins of their temple
for building materials and that of the
ancient faith nothing remained. It
was this knowledge which urged the
Jewish Association of Shanghai a few
years ago to attempt a rescue. Mem
bers of the Jewish community in
London were interested in the under
taking and a mission sent to Kal
rengfu. which brought back six
Chinese Jews. These are n6w being
instructed, and it is hoped that this
ancient community, which has trav
eled so far and whose history is a
mystery, may regain something of
its lost position. But this hope
seems to be optimistic.
It was with this story in my bead
that I set out with a Mohammadan
from the Inn to see what there was to
be Been. We arrived in the Moham
medan quarter, which practically sur
rounds the sometime Jewish quarter,
but there was little to learn. My
Chinese Mohammedan was merely
amused, knowing nothing of history
excepting the history of cash, and
told me that the only thing he knew
was that the people I sought were
formerly called lan-mao hui-tzu'or
blue-capped Mohammedans, bnt that
now they and the ordinary Chinese
Moslems were "one people."
It was only after a lot of trouble
that an old woman was discovered
whose appearance promised well.
Her nose was booked and her man
ners expansive, but alas! when I
used three entirely different Chinese
expressions for Jew, she understood
none of them. "But still you are not
a Mohammedan," I urged. "No, I am
not, it is tvue, but I am not what you
say I am." Presently she went in
doors and fetched out a small boy
with a nose which no Chinaman
could possess were he of the pure
race. "What is he?" she asked. The
shape of the head was not that of a
Chinaman, the lips were thick, the
nose curved and the pigtail looked
odd enough. "He is a Jew," I an
swered. The old woman chuckled:
"This is a true Mohammedan who
cats no pork."
It is evidently an undeniable fact;
the Chinese Mohammedans and the
few remaining Jews in Kaifengfu
resemble each other so closely that
it is impossible to distinguish them.
They live all together and for years
have so Intermarried that it is doubt,
ful whether any pure-blooded Chi
nese Jews now remain. And from
subsequent Investigation it was clear
that the practice of circumcision had
fallen into desuetude. With no syn
agogue, no books, and no circumcis
ion, it will require a good deal of
effort to restore this curious lost
tribe to its former position, and there
can, therefore, be bat scant hope of
, T I - U
II Bvyaii3 .uiueac jcribu L-uwuiuuitj
ever existing again. American Hebrew.